Italy's Finmeccanica will establish a defense unit in 2013 set to combine all of its U.S. operations, including aeronautics, helicopters and defense electronics and U.S. subsidiaries. The new enterprise will be led by former U.S. Deputy Defense Secretary William Lynn. The move, unveiled last week by CEO Giuseppe Orsi, is part of several significant changes to the beleaguered giant's strategy, structure and businesses. The changes are necessary, Orsi says, to return Finmeccanica to profit as soon as this year.
NASA is claiming a breakthrough in the design of supersonic aircraft, with wind-tunnel tests proving it is possible to design configurations that combine low sonic boom with low cruise drag, characteristics once thought to be mutually exclusive.
It is not quite cloaks and daggers and poison pills, but Italy is taking measures to make sure its flagship aerospace and defense companies stay Italian as European neighbors size up the struggling country. To stave off intervention by the European Union, Italy is rolling out new rules governing attempts to acquire stakes in its strategic companies. The rules will affect the proposed sale of shares in propulsion company Avio, as well as any future attempts to gain control of defense giant Finmeccanica.
Thales is preparing for a three-month flight-test program of its RBE2 radar on Rafale with delivery of the first production version to Dassault. The French military expects to begin fielding the active, electronically scanned array radar next year. Flight testing will involve Rafale C137; the radar is being installed at Dassault’s Merignac facility in southern France. The flight-test campaign will take place at the Istres flight-test center.
Adm. Sir Raymond Lygo, the former chief executive of British Aerospace (now BAE Systems), died March 7. He was 87. The location and cause of death were not available. After retiring in 1978 from a 36-year career in the Royal Navy as a fighter pilot and ship commander, Lygo joined British Aerospace as managing director of its guided-missile manufacturing division. In 1983, he was recognized by Aviation Week & Space Technology for his efforts to promote private enterprise in the defense industry.
Conventional wisdom holds that the U.S. is facing a critical shortage of engineers—in aerospace and other industries—and that not enough students are studying science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) fields to offset this coming shortfall. A corollary to this belief is that U.S. high-school test scores in these critical subjects are low, hampering the country’s future competitiveness. But according to some academics, this conventional wisdom is a fallacy that industry repeats for its own ends.
After more than a decade of study, the Pentagon is finally moving forward with the development of a new, stealthy, long-range bomber. But the catch is a self-imposed cost goal of $550 million per aircraft, which senior Air Force leaders say they recognize as being hard and fast. Given a lackluster record of cost performance for recent Pentagon procurement programs, is it possible that a department so large and so used to spending so much money can rein in its appetite for something as critical—and potentially cutting-edge—as a new bomber?
LIFE-CYCLE SOLUTIONS: Expect to see Rockwell Collins announce renewal of its $17.2 million life-cycle support contract with the U.S. Army’s 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment. The company says it has a 100% availability rate for helicopter cockpit replacement parts for its common avionics architecture system. Also expect Rockwell Collins to introduce a tailored life-cycle service solution called FlexForce for military and government agencies. The FlexForce program is designed to provide transparent repair and supply-chain visibility on a performance basis.
As the U.S. Army continues to simultaneously recapitalize its helicopter fleet and support the war in Afghanistan, talks with suppliers to purchase more workhorse Black Hawk and Chinook helicopters are dominated by a pressure to reduce their price. The Army, which has been hit hard by budget cuts, is thinning the number of soldiers in its ranks and associated ground equipment. Its aviation portfolio, however, is being increased, although at a slower pace than originally planned owing to financial pressure.
The U.S. Defense Department plans to kick-start the domestic production of drop-in biofuels by co-funding the establishment of at least one regional supply chain using Defense Production Act Title III money. Title III, usually wielded to create or protect industrial capabilities critical to U.S. security, will be used to fund the construction or retrofit of one or more integrated biorefineries capable of producing at least 10 million gal. of fuel annually from domestic feedstocks.
TRAINING PARTNERS: German glider manufacturer Grob Aircraft will supply its G 120TP computer-based training system for Argentina’s Fadea IA-63 Pampa II lead-in fighter/trainer. State-owned Fadea has completed flight tests of the Pampa, which has been re-engined with the Honeywell TFE 731-40 geared turbofan engine.
LONDON — The Australian government is moving forward with plans to upgrade its F/A-18E/F fleet with Growler electronic-attack equipment. The military already has taken 12 of its 24 aircraft wired for the electronic-attack system and now is laying the groundwork to equip them for the EA-18G role, although the final decision to do so will not come until later this year, says Defense Minister Stephen Smith.
As EADS North America unveils a new concept for the U.S. Army's still-unmet Armed Aerial Scout (AAS) requirement, executives are expressing annoyance over what they say is a slow and unclear management of efforts to replace the aging Kiowa Warrior fleet.
When international customers first signed up for the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter program, they brought a love-at-first sight attitude to the table. But now that actual purchase decisions have to be made, a far more sober attitude prevails as a result of program delays, increased costs and budget realities. Anxiety still exists in many quarters but, one-by-one, the U.S. and Lockheed Martin are persuading partners to take the next big financial step and make purchase decisions, with the total foreign commitments now topping 100 fighters.
Passing time in London's Wallace Collection, the editor-in-chief saw these curious 17th century left-hand daggers (either side of the crossbow). Called “sword-breakers” the idea is to trap, twist and snap the opponent's weapon. The adage “if you're not cheating, you're not trying hard enough” apparently pre-dates air combat.
Backing for the Assad regime in strife-torn Syria hinges on a centuries-old Russian ambition. From the Crimean War to “the great game” of the 1800s, the lack of a deep, warm-water port has cramped Russia's global desires.
The Israel Aerospace Industries RAM MkIII traces directly back to the original mine-protected RBY platform developed by IAI's Ramta unit during the early 1970s. The latest version adds antiballistic armor, counter-mine blast protection and a firewall bulkhead that separates the engine compartment and fuel tank from the crew, weapon system and power pack.
Elbit Systems' Large Area Display (formerly Cockpit NG) received an important endorsement last month when Boeing chose it to provide the advanced avionics systems for its fighter aircraft, including upgraded versions of the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet and F-15SE Silent Eagle. The system integrates tactical data, mission planning and flight information into an 11x19-in. complete situational picture responding to specific mission phases and pilot controls.
It is an illusion to think that a $200M aircraft will have operating and support costs anywhere close to the $60M aircraft it is replacing. More expensive aircraft cost more to operate than less expensive ones, and it is often a proportional relationship. Partner nations may get a 'deal' on procurement as has been suggested, but will they be able to afford to operate the aircraft for 30 years?- —Talos IV on a post about Canada's commitment to the JSF
Getting Helicopter Development Right For The U.S. Army Getting Helicopter Development Right For The U.S. Army Getting Helicopter Development Right For The U.S. Army
The XM25 Individual Semi-Automatic Airburst System (Isaas) offers a new solution to one of the perennial challenges in combat: how do you hit what you cannot see?
It has been decades since the U.S. Army had the chance to define a clean-sheet rotorcraft. But an opportunity is approaching as the service heads toward the multi-year demonstration of configurations and technologies for next-generation utility/attack rotorcraft that could replace today's Sikorsky UH-60s and Boeing AH-64s, beginning around 2030.
U.S. Marines began deploying BAE System's Advanced Precision Kill Weapon System (APKWS) in Afghanistan last month. APKWS is a mid-body attachment that converts Hydra-70 2.75-in. unguided aerial rockets to laser-guided missiles. Reported accuracy is less than 1 meter (3.3 ft.) at 3 mi. APKWS was in development for years by the Army, then, following cutbacks, the Navy, which designates it WGU-59/B. The weapon fills a niche in asymmetric warfare: destroying soft and lightly armored targets cheaply and with low collateral damage.
Reviewed By Angus Batey 21ST CENTURY CYBERWARFARE BY WILLIAM T. HAGESTAD, 2nd IT Governance Publishing, 2012 348 pp., $119 In recent months, Bill Hagestad has become a familiar yet discomfiting figure on the cyberdefense conference circuit.
