The procurement strategy for the U.S. Missile Defense Agency’s new Exoatmospheric Kill Vehicle likely will be released with the fiscal 2016 budget plan.
The Royal Air Force of Oman is believed to have ordered Robinson R44 helicopters to fulfil training needs with its air force. The Omanis follow the Royal Jordanian Air Force (RJAF) who ordered eight Robinson R44 Raven II helicopters, becoming only the fifth military operator of the type.
Airbus is urging Japan to base its next army utility helicopter on the X4, an advanced rotorcraft that the European manufacturer is developing for the civil market.
2014 was a year in which world peace broke out as long as your standard for conflict was declared and open war between nation-states. The actual picture was very different, with two major wars in the Middle East and a European state facing the real threat of being dismantled.
Airbus and Boeing are jointly attempting to unseat Lockheed Martin from South Korea’s KF-X indigenous fighter program, offering technology from Europe that could not be supplied from U.S. sources, industry officials say.
Expanded Tables Online Download expanded specifications on in-production and under-development unmanned aircraft and search more than 3,100 other systems at AviationWeek.com/specs
Expanded Tables Online Download expanded specifications on in-production and under-development military transports and search more than 3,100 other systems at AviationWeek.com/specs
The renewal of Germany’s rotary-wing fleet is being given a top priority as the country resumes spending on defense equipment. Officials have been charged with closing an €8 billion ($10 billion) deal, pending since March 2013, with Airbus Helicopters.
According to company officials, the T-X Hawk is likely to feature an F-35-style single screen display in both the front and rear cockpits. It will also have a structurally different wing with fewer pylons—five instead of the current seven
Russia is determined to continue to strengthen the military, which it exploits for foreign policy goals and internal propaganda, however shrinking budgets—due to soft oil prices and a slumping national currency—have cast uncertainty on these plans.
Germany’s long-term plan is to reach the NATO goal of spending 2% of gross national product on defense; in the short to medium term it will concentrate on using available funding more efficiently.
Sweden and Poland have notably stepped up their defense plans, but almost all of the European nations are boosting defense capabilities in light of aggressive actions in Russia
Japan’s defense ministry seeks more funding but may not get it. New maritime-patrol aircraft, additional fighter jets and funding to support R&D programs in 2015 are in the budget request.
The Middle East states have varying degrees of influence in defense programs. The U.S. and Russia are poised to benefit, while manufacturers in Europe have been, for the most part, disappointed.
When Congress began to cap Pentagon budgets in 2011, the process of recovering from a decade of failed, delayed and over-budget major procurements was only starting. Ever since, lawmakers and defense officials have been tussling over how to cull older systems to pay for future ones. And more of the same type of wrangling looks likely for 2015.
Much hinges on the outcome of the 2015 elections. In Stephen Harper’s nine-year run as prime minister, his team has attempted a number of ambitious procurements, but overall budget stringency has delayed these efforts. New faces at the helm could help or hinder the procurement process.
