The RQ-7Bv2 incorporates several improvements, including extended endurance, encrypted data link and reliability upgrades. The U.S. Army plans to upgrade all of its 102 Shadow systems, each with four aircraft, to the new configuration. The biggest capability change is introduction of the Ku-band tactical common data link, already carried by the Army’s larger General Atomics MQ-1C Gray Eagle UAS.
While the Air Force and Navy programs will share elements and technologies, the two services have distinct requirements that likely cannot be reconciled into a single program. Still, the two services continue to pursue a joint analysis of alternatives to fully vet the need for separate programs.
Raytheon’s win of USAF’s Three-Dimensional Expeditionary Long-Range Radar competition has larger ramifications for rivals Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman
The U.S. Army is refining strategies for pairing manned/unmanned air platforms, such as its new General Atomics Gray Eagle UAS and Boeing AH-64E "Echo" Apache attack helicopter, to eventually include remote weapons release.
The U.S. Air Force is reviewing industry studies of fitting its 50-year-old Boeing B-52 bombers with new commercial-derivative engines, according to Lt. Gen. Stephen Wilson, commander of the service’s Global Strike Command. So far, Wilson said Oct. 9 at a Washington meeting, the Air Force assesses that the change would result in a net cost savings over the remaining life of the B-52s, which are expected to fly until 2040.
The manufacturer wants to redefine rotorcraft with a configuration that offers higher speed, maneuverability and hover performance, but retains the helicopter’s defining low-speed agility while enabling unique flight characteristics.
International defense companies visiting last month’s MSPO defense exhibition in Poland are responding to the call for munitions that can strike ballistic missile launchers, long-range air defense and command-and-control centers deep in enemy territory.
A significant number of attempts to fly at hypersonic speed have failed—not due to the advanced airframe or propulsion technology being tested, but because of the rocket booster needed to reach that speed.
The announcement by Airbus Group that it was putting €2 billion in defense and space businesses up for sale is an important milestone not only for Airbus but also for European A&D.
If the KF-X survives while production of older European and U.S. aircraft winds up, then next decade it may be the only alternative to the Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning as a fighter engineered for compatibility with Western weapons and communications
Lockheed Martin’s full-scale mock-up of its Unmanned Carrier Launched Surveillance and Strike (Uclass) contender was unveiled in late September when CNBC reporter Jane Wells tweeted a photo from the company’s Skunk Works unit.
Fabrizio Giulianini, CEO of Selex ESofficially opened the new Riyadh offices of Selex ES Saudi Arabia yesterday, in the presence of VIPs from the Saudi Arabian government and national agencies.
After $79 billion dollars of work and nearly 10 years of operational use without a kill, the stealthy, twin-engine F-22 has finally destroyed its first target in a conflict.
Goal is to form an overarching network of data, each platform a node contributing information to the cloud and downloading from it, even in the heat of battle.
