TANKER NAMED: The U.S. Air Force has finally given its newest aerial refueler, Boeing’s developmental KC-46, a name. Chief of Staff Gen. Mark Welsh announced Feb. 20 at the Air Force Association’s Air Warfare Symposium in Orlando, Fla., that the aircraft will be dubbed the “Pegasus,” referring to the winged stallion from Greek mythology. The aircraft, however, has yet to fly. The first Boeing 767-2C, a commercial jetliner outfitted with plumbing and wiring for the military refueling modifications, is slated to roll out of the factory this summer.
BAE Systems’ profits fell by £800 million ($1.33 billion) in 2013 because of reduced government spending in the U.S. Significant drops in sales were felt in the company’s U.S.-based Platforms and Services business and in cyber and intelligence, as well as in its electronic systems businesses. But overall sales were up 2%, from £17.9 billion in 2012 to £18.2 billion in 2013, thanks mainly to increased sales and new contracts in the Middle East.
Lockheed Martin has completed a company-funded flight test of its dual-mode seeker for the Joint Air-to-ground Missile (JAGM), as the U.S. Army edges towards development and production of a new version of the Hellfire missile. Originally intended as an all-new, joint-service replacement for the Hellfire with a tri-mode seeker and increased range, JAGM has evolved into a program to develop the seeker for a new version of the Hellfire, with tri-mode capability and new rocket motor as potential future upgrades.
The Pentagon is going on the offensive over electromagnetic spectrum (EMS) management issues — both internally and externally — according to officials’ comments on Feb. 20 as they unveiled the U.S. Defense Department’s long-awaited EMS strategy. “It’s an objective to be more proactive than reactive,” said U.S. Air Force Maj. Gen. Robert Wheeler, the department’s deputy chief information officer (CIO) for command, control, communications, computers and information infrastructure capabilities.
Raytheon has tested the latest Block III version of its Griffin miniature air-to-ground missile, which public documents say is to enter service this year on U.S. Air Force special operations gunships. The Block III enhancements, which apply to both the AGM-176A aft-launched and -176B forward-launched versions of the 33-lb. weapon, are an improved laser seeker and multi-effects warhead to increase lethality.
U.S. Naval Support Weapon Systems Support (Navsup WSS) officials this month approved a program to modify spare F/A-18 Hornet windshield panels to fit Boeing F/A-18E/F Super Hornets and EA-18G Growlers, Navy officials say. The initiative, known as the F/A-18 Windshield Logistics Engineering Change Proposal (LECP), will save the Navy approximately $8 million in fiscal years 2015 and 2016, according to the service.
NEW DELHI — Indo-Russian consortium BrahMos Aerospace has plans to develop a Mach 7 hypersonic missile, the BrahMos 2. “We have established a lead in supersonic missiles,” says Praveen Pathak, general manager for market promotion and export at BrahMos Aerospace. “Hypersonic vehicles with multi-use will reduce the cost [of] putting payload in orbit. It could deliver the payload at multiple points and it can come back.”
SpeedNews Events! Registration Open SpeedNews 4th Annual Aerospace Raw Materials & Manufacturers Supply Chain Conference March 3, 2014 Beverly Hills, California SpeedNews 28th Annual Commercial Aviation Industry Suppliers Conference March 3-5, 2014 Beverly Hills, California
INTEL AUDIT: A new congressional audit of the Intelligence Community’s (IC) annual inventory of core contractors has found results there to be inconsistent and possibly inaccurate. “In the wake of Edward Snowden’s damaging leaks of classified information, the intelligence community must demonstrate that it can rigorously vet, hire, manage, and oversee the contractor workforce it relies upon to help perform its mission,” said Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine).
LONDON — Missile manufacturer MBDA says a recovery program to put its Brimstone 2 missile program back on track has improved the weapon’s maturity and performance. Brimstone 2 is being developed by MBDA under the Team Complex Weapons initiative to meet the U.K.’s Selected Precision Effects at Range (Spear) Capability 2 requirement for a direct-fire, air-to-ground missile for eventual use on the Eurofighter Typhoon.
SINGAPORE — Airbus Defense and Space says it is involved in two advanced sales campaigns for its A400M airlifter. Speaking at the recent Singapore air show—where the company was debuting its new identity, having absorbed both Cassidian and Astrium into Airbus Military at the beginning of 2014—Commercial Director Christian Scherer said that the company was involved in “at least two advanced campaigns around the world,” for the new airlifter, and was confident that one contract could be secured this year.
The U.S. is pressing Persian Gulf allies to adopt a regional missile defense architecture, including the acquisition of U.S. systems, the State Department’s No. 2 official reiterated Feb. 19.
UAV AUDIT: U.S. congressional auditors are due to deliver a report to lawmakers recommending changes to how the U.S. Air Force manages and promotes UAV pilots. The report was spurred in 2012 by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.), whose state is home to major Air Force UAV operations, and Armed Services Chairman Carl Levin (D-Mich.). It was triggered by congressional concerns that unmanned aircraft pilots were experiencing second-class status compared with the armed services’ traditional manned aircraft pilots.
Small vessels that represent a crime or piracy threat in global waters also present a potential means to smuggle weapons of mass destruction (WMD) into the U.S., according to a National Research Council (NRC) report.
LONDON — U.S. heavy-lift helicopter operator Columbia Helicopters is buying three ex-U.S. Army Boeing CH-47D Chinooks to bolster its fleet of the tandem-rotor helicopter. The purchase represents the first time a commercial operator has purchased former Army Chinooks for commercial use. The aircraft will be refurbished at the company’s maintenance facility at Portland, Ore., before beginning operations, although Columbia says no specific projects or contracts have been identified for the new Chinooks.
Anticipating the long-awaited release of the U.S. Navy’s draft request for proposals for a new carrier-borne unmanned air system (UAS), one influential congressman is going on record to support a set of demanding requirements. This could, perhaps, counter a push by some Pentagon leaders, including Adm. James Winnefeld, the vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. He is said to be supporting requirements that are less rigorous in the area of survivability than those backed by officials in the Navy’s aviation community.
TEL AVIV — Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) a is expanding its cyber activities internationally, with the establishment of a cybersecurity research and development center in Singapore.
India’s military procurement plans are likely to be hampered by a minimal raise in budget allocation for acquisition in the next financial year. Though India has proposed increasing its defense spending by 10% to 2.24 trillion rupees ($36.2 billion) in its 2014-15 fiscal year, which begins April 1, the capital allocation earmarked to buy new arms and weapons systems has been increased by only a paltry 3.2%, or 28.47 billion rupees, to 895.87 billion rupees. The remaining 1.34 trillion rupees will go toward payment of salaries and other expenses.
LONDON — The French defense ministry has taken delivery of its first upgraded E-3F Sentry airborne early warning aircraft to be modified by Boeing and Air France Industries. The aircraft was handed over to the French defense procurement agency DGA, which will carry out ground and flight tests at Avord air base before handing the aircraft back to the French air force later this year, Boeing announced Feb. 17.
