Prototyping is still a vital tool for U.S. Air Force and Pentagon programs, but officials worry that its benefits may be misunderstood and downplayed, according to a recent prototypes workshop draft report released by the National Research Council (NRC). “Prototyping has historically been of great benefit to the Air Force and Department of Defense (DOD) in terms of risk reduction and concept demonstration prior to system development, both during austere budget environments and at other times,” the NRC report says.
LONDON — Airbus Military is close to finalizing the flight control laws to support air-to-air refueling on the Airbus A400M Atlas airlifter. Company test pilots in late November completed the first “wet” air-to-air refueling of an A400M from a French air force C-160 Transall in a set of sorties designed to verify the newly written flight control laws, known to the company as “Delta Six Romeo - Papa.” Until then, the aircraft had only conducted “dry” contacts from U.K. Royal Air Force (RAF) Vickers VC10s and A330-200 Multi-Role Tanker Transports.
A large, classified unmanned aircraft developed by Northrop Grumman is now flying—and it demonstrates a major advance in combining stealth and aerodynamic efficiency. Defense and intelligence officials say the secret unmanned aerial system (UAS), designed for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) missions, is scheduled to enter production for the U.S. Air Force and could be operational by 2015.
By making its announcement on Cyber Monday, Dec. 2, the biggest online shopping day of the year in the U.S., electronic-commerce giant Amazon was certain to get exhaustive and enthusiastic news coverage of its plans to use unmanned aircraft to deliver packages directly to customers. While Amazon has conducted test fights using a small quadcopter UAV to deliver a package, the realities of the FAA's regulatory requirements make it unlikely the delivery service, called Amazon Prime Air, will become available in 2015 as the company suggests.
While there is plenty to debate about where U.S. defense budgets could settle in 2014-15, there is no debate about the Pentagon's desire to continue to compete with cutting-edge technology. It expects defense advantages to be sustained through investment in new weapons and support systems that provide a generational lead over those fielded by adversaries.
While green shoots of economic recovery are beginning to emerge in Spain, deep cuts in public spending have had a dramatic effect on the country's armed forces. For the air arm, which was poised to undergo a major modernization, the cuts could not have arrived at a worse time. The service was preparing to introduce new helicopters and transport aircraft while continuing to integrate the Eurofighter Typhoon.
Amy Butler (Washington), Bill Sweetman (Washington)
In December 2011, Iran proudly displayed on state television a stealthy U.S. unmanned aircraft it claimed it had downed while conducting reconnaissance overflights. The trophy was a Lockheed Martin RQ-170 Sentinel, an aircraft publicly acknowledged by the U.S. Air Force two years earlier.
In an unprecedented move, the United Launch Alliance (ULA) is planning to resource its industrial base at a level beyond the number of rocket orders placed by the Pentagon.
To call launch market upstart Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX) a change agent would not be an overstatement. The company is bursting onto the scene with the stated goal of CEO Elon Musk to break the monopoly for U.S. national security launches now held by the United Launch Alliance's (ULA) Atlas V and Delta IV rockets. Air Force officials say they are already seeing ULA take measures to become more efficient and reduce cost (see page 43). And SpaceX is infusing the market with new manufacturing and design techniques.
For suppliers of defense equipment, selling a platform or a subsystem is just the beginning. The importance of what would be called “after-sales service” in the commercial market has increased as the global economic climate has worsened, but in certain sectors it has never really been about just selling a product. This is particularly true of electronic warfare (EW) systems.
When Marenco Swisshelicopter unveiled the mock-up of its radical-looking, single-engined light helicopter at Heli-Expo in 2011, critics were quick to pass judgment. They questioned the business model and the ability to keep costs low while building the aircraft in a country considered to be the most expensive in Europe.
London has held the responsibility for the defense of the British Isles since the Act of Union in 1707, but if Scots opt for independence on Sept. 18, 2014, that will come to an end, and Scotland will assume responsibility for its own defense.
European aerospace manufacturers are turning up the pressure on governments to develop a pan-European approach to the continent's medium-altitude, long-endurance (MALE) unmanned air vehicle requirements. But their protests appear to be falling on deaf ears as another European nation signs up to purchase the MQ-9 Reaper. The Netherlands announced plans Nov. 21 to introduce four General Atomics MQ-9 Reapers into full operational service by 2017.
Amy Butler (Washington), Bill Sweetman (Washington)
A large, classified unmanned aircraft developed by Northrop Grumman is now flying—and it demonstrates a major advance in combining stealth and aerodynamic efficiency. Defense and intelligence officials say the secret unmanned aerial system (UAS), designed for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) missions, is scheduled to enter production for the U.S. Air Force and could be operational by 2015.
With the U.S. Senate expected this week to pick up its stalled version of the defense authorization bill for fiscal 2014, most headlines out of the Capitol will be about debate over sexual assault in the military, the Guantanamo Bay prison, the Iranian nuclear deal, budget cuts or the possibility that no annual law will be enacted for the first time in 52 years.
The decision by former Defense Secretary Robert Gates to cap Lockheed Martin’s production of the stealthy, twin-engine F-22 will “prove to be one of the strategically dislocating decisions that we will suffer from” on security made in this era, according to Gen. (ret.) T. Michael Moseley, former Air Force chief of staff from 2005-2008.
Electronic components distributors can now get a one-of-a-kind DNA mark to authenticate their products. Applied DNA Sciences, a provider of DNA-based anti-counterfeiting and product authentication technology, is now offering unique electronic components plant-based SigNature DNA marks to specifically identify authorized distributors, to be applied to incoming components, or legacy inventory before shipment per customer request. The marked components will be absolutely identifiable as sourced from the authorized channel, the company says.
NEW DELHI — India is increasing its ability to produce highly enriched uranium for military purposes, including more powerful nuclear weapons, at a facility near Mysore in the southern state of Karnataka, a U.S.-based think tank says.
MOSCOW — The Russian armed forces are beginning to enjoy the first benefits of the massive rearmament spelled out under the 10-year defense procurement program adopted in 2010. The air force alone can count on receiving almost a quarter of the program’s budget — or about 4.5 trillion rubles ($136 billion). The program’s implementation was reviewed by Russian President Vladimir Putin during a series of meetings in late November in which military officials and defense manufacturers reported on their achievements and plans.
HORNET FANS: Rep. Randy Forbes, the Republican chairman of the U.S. House Armed Services seapower and projection forces subcommittee, is adding his name to a list of lawmakers — most with ties to Boeing — calling on the Pentagon to maintain the Boeing F-18 production line beyond current Navy plans due to worries about losing industrial capacity. Forbes, whose southeast Virginia district surrounds the largest naval complex in the world in Norfolk, wrote Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel on Dec. 4 to say he thinks that “creating a single U.S.
The current battle over East China Sea airspace shows the need for even greater cooperation between U.S. and Chinese military forces and officials, U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel says. “I would focus on one particular area … that is developing a stronger military-to-military relationship between the PLA [People’s Liberation Army] and the United States,” Hagel told reporters Dec. 5. “We have been working at that — both sides.”
The U.S. Navy recently completed the successful installation of the first operational next-generation tactical afloat network aboard the Arleigh Burke class guided-missile destroyer DDG-80 USS McCampbell. Based in Yokosuka, Japan, McCampbell completed its installation of the Consolidated Afloat Network and Enterprise Services (Canes) in November. Prior to that, the destroyer conducted sea trials in October to validate how the network would perform in an operational environment and that the network would meet mission needs, Navy officials say.
