The FAA is evaluating options to address privacy concerns about the expanded use of unmanned aerial systems (UAS) before selecting six test ranges for integrating the aircraft into the national airspace system. Under the FAA Modernization and Reform Act of 2012, the agency is required to develop a comprehensive integration plan by Sept. 30, 2015. In addition, it must establish six test sites as an early step in the process, also required under the 2012 National Defense Authorization Act.
Canada’s National Research Council (NRC) has flown a Dassault Falcon 20 with one engine burning 100% unblended biofuel produced from carinata, an inedible oil seed crop. Previous biojet flights have used a maximum 50% blend with conventional kerosene, but the fuel’s developers say its hydrocarbon makeup is almost indistinguishable from petroleum-based jet fuel.
Aerospace & Defense Programs November 6-7, 2012 Arizona Biltmore Resort & Spa, Phoenix, Ariz. Join top defense leaders for discussions on complexity, lessons learned, and affordability aimed at improving program performance! Aerospace & Defense Programs is the industry’s leading event for leaders in the areas of program management, engineering/technology, supply chain (and associated areas), life-cycle management, and strategic planning.
General Electric and Pratt & Whitney have been awarded contracts totaling more than $680 million to demonstrate variable-cycle fighter engines under the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory’s (AFRL) Adaptive Engine Technology Development (AETD) program. AETD is the follow-on to AFRL’s $524 million Adaptive Versatile Engine Technology (Advent) program, under which GE Aviation and Rolls-Royce Liberty Works will run adaptive-fan engine demonstrators next year.
A proprietary windscreen cleaner developed internally by PPG Aerospace could extend the useful life of the V-22 Osprey’s acrylic and polycarbonate windscreens, also built by PPG. PPG initially began developing the cleaner to help V-22 maintainers clean bug residue from the windscreens, a process that is time- and energy-intensive, says Connie Poulsen, PPG global director for military transparencies. However, tests of the cleaner revealed that it leaves a residue that may help reduce “hazing” in the windscreen, Poulsen says.
STEALTHY CHINA: China’s second known stealth aircraft, the Shenyang J-31 fighter, made its first flight Oct. 31. The first sight of the aircraft’s planform view confirmed its similarity to the Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor and F-35 Joint Strike Figher (JSF), with a clipped delta wing and stabilizers mounted well aft on twin tailbooms, and comparison with a J-11 chase aircraft supports earlier estimates that it is in the same size class as the JSF. Like the F-35, the J-31 generated prominent visible vortex wakes from its wingtips, even in low-energy flight.
Click here to view the pdf 2013 U.S. Defense Spending: Current Funding Outlook: Navy RDT&E Lines where 2013 request differs from the 2012 enacted amount by more than 20% ($ in thousands) 2013 U.S.
The guided-missile Ohio-class submarines — revamped SSBN ballistic missile boats converted into SSGNs — are proving to be some of the most versatile undersea platforms in the U.S. Navy fleet, with the ability to do a number of missions at any given time, says the former commanding officer of the first vessel. The Navy is now trying to figure out ways to operate its Virginia-class SSN attack subs in a similar fashion.
The commander of Naval Surface Forces for U.S. Pacific Fleet says providing ships ready for combat is a major challenge and priority for the U.S. Navy. “We’re getting to the balance between maintenance and modernizations of our ships and providing our sailors with the necessary equipment, repair parts, tools, technical documentation, education, and training to fix and maintain their equipment,” says Vice Adm. Tom Copeman in a recent message to the fleet.
Call it an early holiday wish list or simply a heads-up on what is uppermost in the mind of the U.S. chief of naval operations (CNO), but Adm. Jonathan Greenert recently outlined his list of programmatic priorities for the coming months. “These are the most important efforts we are planning but are far from a comprehensive list of what we will pursue over the next year,” Greenert says in his recently released 2012 “position report.” Here is what Greenert says he needs to meet his “warfighting first” precept:
ALL GROWN UP: The U.S. Air Force’s second Advanced Extremely High Frequency (AEHF) satellite has completed its on-orbit testing in preparation for transfer for operational use. The satellite, built by Lockheed Martin, was launched in May. In addition to the on-orbit testing of its own systems, it also executed trials to link with AEHF-1.
Initial night flights with a modified helmet-mounted display in the Lockheed Martin F-35 have shown improvements, but the program office says it is too early to declare victory over the visor-projected display’s technical challenges. So far, two night test flights have been performed to assess changes made to eliminate green glow around the edges of the visor, with “positive” results, says the Joint Strike Fighter program office.
An Oct. 24 bombing raid on the Yarmouk weapons factory near Khartoum, Sudan, destroyed dozens of shipping containers thought to be carrying rockets and other weapons headed for Egypt’s lawless Sinai peninsula and Hamas-run Gaza.
Aerospace & Defense Programs November 6-7, 2012 Arizona Biltmore Resort & Spa, Phoenix, Ariz. Join top defense leaders for discussions on complexity, lessons learned, and affordability aimed at improving program performance! Themes for 2012 include: -- Complexity -- Driving improvement and the roles that innovation and technology play -- Value chain optimization
While the U.S. is drawing down troops and pulling back on wartime resources, especially in Iraq and Afghanistan, Pentagon officials say they still need funds for investments to fight evolving battles on cyber and other fronts.
In the race for Missouri Senate, in which two members of the congressional armed services committees — Sen. Claire McCaskill (D) and Rep. Todd Akin (R) — are in a statistical tie, Boeing employees have largely put their money behind the Senate incumbent. Boeing Defense Space & Security is based in St. Louis. And the company’s employees have plunked down $58,500 for McCaskill, according to the Center for Responsive Politics.
Boeing used the recent Association of the United States Army (AUSA) convention to provide more details about its new Joint Air Breathing Multi-Role Missile (Jabmm) concept originally intended for the U.S. Navy’s Littoral Combat Ship (LCS). The new, small, modular missile payload was revealed in early 2012. Boeing is pitching the concept as a “turbine air breathing missile solution to countering proliferating anti-access threats.”
The U.S. Army is at odds with elected officials over the fate of four C-23 Sherpas. While the Army is seeking to stop operation of two of the fixed-wing cargo aircraft in Florida and another two in Texas, the governors of those states and Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-Calif.) are trying to ensure that they remain funded.
