AIRBUS made first flight of first (022) of four A400Ms for ROYAL MALAYSIAN AIR FORCE. STRATEGIC DEFENSE INTELLIGENCE forecasts global military rotorcraft market will grow 2.6% annually to $27.3b by 2025. SIKORSKY AIRCRAFT began bladed ground testing on first of two prototype S-97 Raiders. EMBRAER made first flight of KC-390 tanker/transport; it has order commitments for 32 (28 from BRAZILIAN AIR FORCE).
With electronic warfare becoming increasingly important for U.S. Navy platforms and conceptual operations, the service is looking to control the domain just as it would in the undersea, surface and air realms. Indeed, the service wants, in the words of Adm. Jonathan Greenert, chief of naval operations, “to figure out how we can beat things electronically first.” To that end, the Navy wants to develop expertise in what it calls Electromagnetic Maneuver Warfare (EMW).
The Crowsnest system devised by Lockheed Martin consists of four IAI Elta ELM-2052 AESA radars, with two fitted into a composite pod, mounted on each side of the helicopter on the Merlin’s two weapon pylons.
Northrop Grumman Corp. has selected French defense electronics group Thales to supply flight management system (FMS) software to an avionics mission equipment package that will upgrade the U.S. Army’s UH-60L Black Hawk helicopters.
Russia’s involvement in Ukraine is adding urgency to Eastern European nations’ plans to re-equip their helicopter fleets with Western aircraft because of growing concerns about the supply of parts to keep their Soviet-era equipment flying.
With the FAA having missed another internal deadline to promulgate proposed rules for small unmanned aircraft systems (SUAS), legislation has been introduced in Congress to force the agency to relax restrictions on research into civil UAS.
The U.S. Navy remains confident in the further development of its Aegis combat system and air and missile defense radar, despite testing concerns raised by the Pentagon Director, Operational Test and Evaluation.
Fort Worth got underway from Singapore on Feb. 2 after completing its first six-day scheduled preventive maintenance period during an initial 16-month rotational deployment to the Indo-Asia-Pacific region
In case anyone is still wondering, Boeing’s work with Russia’s VSMPO-Avisma for titanium supplies remains unchanged and robust, despite Western sanctions elsewhere due to the conflict in Ukraine.
Development of unmanned systems to help manned platforms survive in high-threat environments is a key feature of new programs previewed by the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (Darpa) in its fiscal 2016 budget request.
Details of the incident, believed to have involved an Air Force F-16 operating from Jordan during a air-to-surface attack last Nov. 10, remain unconfirmed.
The Guimbal Cabri G2, a piston-engine light helicopter designed by former Airbus Helicopters engineer Bruno Guimbal, was awarded certification on Feb. 3 after a 16-month program.
After playing pingpong with Congress over how best to overhaul the nation’s cruiser fleet, the U.S. Navy’s fiscal 2016 budget request includes a revamped schedule for ship work.
With the U.S. Navy seeing more certainty that it will now be able to fund the overhaul work of the CVN 73 USS George Washington, the service is getting ready to plan and award contracts for the job.
In fiscal 2016 budget documents, the U.S. Air Force notes a plan to start funding in fiscal 2018 for modifications to the selected T-X trainer replacement to enable it to operate in the traditional aggressor role during live-fly training for fighter pilots.
Northrop Grumman and Lockheed Martin have each scaled back work on developing their own company-funded designs for the U.S. Navy’s Unmanned Carrier Launched Airborne Surveillance and Strike (Uclass) aircraft.
