Proposals are being sought for the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency’s (Darpa) Tactical Boost Glide (TBG) program to demonstrate a rocket-launched hypersonic weapon capable of flying more than 1,000 mi. in 10 min. TBG is one of two new high-speed strike weapon efforts Darpa is launching with the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL). The other is the Hypersonic Air-breathing Weapon Concept (HAWC) program.
Marking its 2-millionth unmanned-aircraft flight hour, the U.S. Army is turning its attention to how the operation of its current UAS fleet needs to evolve. “We are post-development on all of our systems, and in production and fielding,” says Col. Timothy Baxter, project manager for unmanned aircraft systems. “The platforms we have are the platforms we will have for the foreseeable future,” he says.
Missile development and missile defense remain high on the list of concerns for commanders of U.S. and partner military forces in the Pacific. Chinese and North Korea continue to make advancements in missile technology that make them not only regional concerns, but global ones as well, military commanders say. Of the two, North Korea remains the most unpredictable and problematic as the U.S. develops better military-to-military relationships with China.
The U.K. Royal Air Force (RAF) has completed the final operational flights of its Lockheed L-1011 Tristar transport aircraft. The air arm formally concluded the type’s 30-year career on March 24 when two aircraft were launched from the home base at RAF Brize Norton to carry out refueling sorties over the North Sea before conducting farewell fly-bys at airfields associated with the aircraft.
Alenia Aermacchi is building its own production-representative M-346 trainer to continue development and testing for the young program after two mishaps claimed two of three of its prototype aircraft, according to company officials. This new development aircraft will be a company-owned asset and will complete in the production cycle by year’s end, an Alenia official says.
South Korea is reportedly looking at acquiring 20-60 used Lockheed Martin F-16s from the U.S. to use as gap fillers while it awaits the delivery of fighters to replace worn-out F-4s and F-5s.
BEIJING — Northrop Grumman RQ-4 Block 30 Global Hawks will enter South Korean service beginning in 2018, following the acquisition agency’s approval of the purchase. The Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) says it will sign a letter of acceptance with the U.S. government this month and then begin formal negotiations for four of the unmanned surveillance aircraft.
LONDON — The U.K. Royal Air Force expects to soon receive confirmation that its fleet of five Sentinel R-1 surveillance aircraft is to be retained in service. The airborne stand-off radar (ASTOR) system, operated by 5 Army Cooperation Squadron from RAF Waddington, Lincolnshire, was scheduled to be withdrawn from service in 2015, following the end of combat operations in Afghanistan.
BRUSSELS — NATO is taking steps to bolster the credibility of its defense guarantee to Eastern European members, most visibly with air power, in the wake of Russia’s invasion and annexation of Crimea. NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen says, “Russia’s military aggression in Ukraine is the most serious crisis in Europe since the fall of the Berlin Wall,” and “follows a pattern of behavior of military pressure and frozen conflicts in our neighborhood: Transnistria, South Ossetia, Abkhazia, and now Crimea.”
WORK RELEASED: The Senate Armed Services Committee is expected to advance the nomination of Robert Work to replace Ashton Carter as the next deputy defense secretary. Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) had placed a hold on his nomination regarding questions he had about delays to Littoral Combat Ship mission packages and integration challenges. While McCain remains disappointed in the answers he received from Work, the hold on his nomination has been lifted, according to a congressional aide.
The U.S. Navy should keep 11 aircraft carriers for global needs and build up its amphibious fleet in the Pacific, says Adm. Samuel Locklear, commander of the nation’s Pacific Command. “The 11 carriers are barely making it today,” Locklear said March 25 during a Senate Armed Service Committee hearing on North Korea and Pacific issues.
Raytheon and Norway’s Kongsberg Defense & Aerospace have jointly protested the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency’s (Darpa) plan to award Lockheed Martin a $175 million contract to complete the Long-Range Anti-Ship Missile (Lrasm) demonstration program. The Lrasm is a sea-skimming derivative of Lockheed’s stealthy Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile – Extended Range designed to counter heavily defended Chinese warships. Two successful flight tests were conducted in 2013 against moving ship targets.
As the U.S. Navy and nation consider whether to refuel or decommission the CVN-73 aircraft carrier USS George Washington, the chief executive of the company that does the work says skipping the fueling and complex overhaul (RCOH) on the ship will not disrupt the future carrier overhaul workforce.
With Seoul’s March 24 announcement of its long-held intent to purchase the F-35A, South Korea is likely securing an offset deal that will include a new military communications satellite and technical assistance in the country’s plans to develop an indigenous stealthy KF-X fighter.
Lower-than-expected reliability threatens the future of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter program, along with doubts as to whether the Pentagon can afford the planned production rate, according to the latest report from the U.S. Government Accountability Office. The program’s continued failure to develop and test mission software on schedule will also either result in delayed initial operational capability (IOC) dates, or in further reductions to the capability delivered at IOC, the report predicts.
ARMY AAI Corp. Hunt Valley, Md., was awarded a $38,523,230 modification (P00120) to contract W58RGZ-08-C-0023 to purchase five tactical common data link retrofit kits and mobile maintenance facility spares sets for the Shadow unmanned aircraft systems for the U.S. Marine Corps. Fiscal 2014 other procurement funds in the amount of $38,523,230 were obligated at the time of the award. Estimated completion date is May 31, 2017. The work will be performed at Hunt Valley. Army Contracting Command is the contracting activity. NAVY
The U.S. Navy’s proposed fiscal 2015 spending plan continues to put a charge in programs meant to improve the service’s ability to conduct electromagnetic maneuver warfare. “In addition to the actions to improve air and missile defense and sustain our advantage in the undersea and information domains, our program enhances our ability to maneuver freely in the electromagnetic spectrum, while denying adversaries’ ability to do the same,” says Adm. Jonathan Greenert, chief of naval operations.
RADIO EQUIPMENT: The U.S. Navy has awarded Rockwell Collins an $8.2 million contract modification for the purchase of AN/ARC-210(V) electronic radios and ancillary equipment for a variety of aircraft, the Pentagon announced March 24. Equipment being procured includes 57 control radio sets, 57 high-power amplifiers, 57 low-noise amplifier diplexers and 62 receiver transmitters. The work will be performed in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and is expected to be completed by May 2015. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Md., is the contracting activity.
MILAN — Israeli officials have said they are considering closer cooperation with Italy as part of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter program. The two countries have widened their defense ties following the signing in 2011 of a deal for Israel to purchase the Alenia Aermacchi M-346 jet trainer, while Italy in return plans to purchase two airborne early warning aircraft and an optical reconnaissance satellite from Israeli companies. Senior Israeli military leaders are promoting further opportunities.
