An interesting quid-pro-quo military equipment deal between Israel and Italy may jeopardize Israel's future contracts with South Korea, but it has also solidified Jerusalem's relationship with Rome. Israel is opting for the Alenia Aermacchi M-346 advanced jet trainer over Korea Aerospace Industries' T-50 in an estimated $1 billion deal that will cover 25-30 aircraft plus ground-based training systems. This month, the director general of Israel's defense ministry, Maj. Gen. Udi Shani, recommended his government authorize the order.
New Delhi – An Indian air force Mirage 2000 combat jet crashed in central India on Feb. 24. Both pilots ejected safely. Engine failure is suspected to be the cause of the crash, an IAF officer said. The crew was on a routine flight-training sortie. India last year signed a $2.4 billion deal with Dassault Aviation to upgrade 51 Mirage 2000s in the IAF fleet. The first set of aircraft are already in France for the project. The IAF has ordered an inquiry into the accident.
MUOS-1 LAUNCH: A United Launch Alliance Atlas V lifted off from Cape Canaveral on Feb. 24, carrying the U.S. Navy’s first Mobile User Objective System (MUOS-1), an ultra-high frequency communications satellite based on the Lockheed Martin A2100 spacecraft bus. The initial phases of the 3-hr. mission to get the big satellite into its geostationary transfer orbit went nominally.
The U.K. Strategic Defense and Security Review (SDSR) was supposed to clarify the country's military plans and industrial agenda. But the reform agenda has turned into a form of Chinese water torture for industry, with an unending trickle of decisions, reports and strategies that so far have failed to spell out a clear path forward. In turn, industry has been left trying to guess what capacities it needs to maintain and where it can rationalize its businesses, with indications now that the bottom line is being hit.
The deadline of Sept. 30, 2015, for integration of unmanned aircraft systems into U.S. civil airspace, set in the new FAA reauthorization bill, is expected to be met using ground-based sense-and-avoid (GBSAA), a Pentagon official says. Using ground radars, GBSAA will allow “routine access” to airspace for unmanned aircraft transiting between their bases and restricted areas used for training, says Steven Pennington, U.S. Air Force director of bases, ranges and airspace.
Ever since Charlie Taylor hand-built the first four-cylinder piston engine for the Wright Flyer in 1903, most of the step-change advances in aviation propulsion have been driven by military-led research and requirements.
New Delhi – India’s defense research agency on Feb. 23 announced plans to develop electronic warfare technologies to help paramilitary and police forces across the country. G. Elangovan, the Chief Controller Research and Development (Avionics) at the Defense Research and Development Organization (DRDO), says a department for Low Intensity Conflict (LIC) was introduced for internal security due to rising incidents of violence in India.
The budgets for at least three air-launched, directed-energy weapons are being fully protected by the U.S. Air Force in fiscal 2013 budget plans, says a senior Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) official. Plans for U.S. Army anti-electronics weapons are less developed, but basic research in associated disciplines continues.
WASHINGTON – With a raft of recent reports warning about increasing Arctic security and commercial issues due to global climate changes, the U.S. Coast Guard is making the development of a new ice breaker a budget priority. But noticeably absent is any stated Pentagon budgetary focus on Arctic assets, despite a recent U.S. Navy-sponsored report warning of a need for more U.S. military-dedicated equipment for the region.
The deadline of Sept. 30, 2015, for integration of unmanned aircraft systems into U.S. civil airspace, set in the new FAA reauthorization bill, is expected to be met using ground-based sense-and-avoid (GBSAA), a Pentagon official says. Using ground radars, GBSAA will allow “routine access” to airspace for unmanned aircraft transiting between their bases and restricted areas used for training, says Steven Pennington, U.S. Air Force director of bases, ranges and airspace.
Singapore – Boeing is busy ensuring its international customers in need can secure U.S. Export Import Bank support, while also keeping an eye on the global economic situation and U.S. defense cuts. The CEO of Boeing Commercial Airplanes, Jim Albaugh, says there is no doubt that the European banks have less liquidity than they once had, but he adds that the Asian banks are coming in to help fill the void.
Special Operations Forces (SOF) could shoulder additional burdens due to the Defense Department’s new global strategies, a recent Congressional Research Service (CRS) report says. The Pentagon’s 2013 budget proposal makes SOF funding a bigger priority, and those forces can use the extra financial attention, according to the CRS report released earlier this month.
Anatoly Perminov, the former director general of the Russian space agency Roscosmos, has downplayed the prospect that Russia will have manned space missions to the Moon.
PARIS – Following a rough year in 2010, France remained the world’s fourth-largest arms exporter last year, behind the U.S., U.K. and Russia, reporting a 25% boost – from €5.1 billion to €6.5 billion – at the end of 2011. The French armaments agency DGA estimates the world’s top four arms exporters account for 90% of the global military export market, although anemic U.S. and European budgets are helping to stimulate the market entry of new players, including China and South Korea.
BUDGET BALANCE: Widely followed federal contracting analysts at Deltek near Washington think the 2013 fiscal year will be another flat-to-declining budget for most government contractors, with budget cancellations, additions and trims throughout. But they see “promising” growth in demand for contract services, as well as good news for contractors on the turning of the tide over insourcing, the practice of moving full-time positions onto government payrolls. Said Deltek, “This budget carries forward the themes of the last two ...
Washington – A Lockheed Martin-developed advanced foliage-penetration radar has been deployed operationally to South America, as the company expands the sensor’s ability to track moving ground vehicles and people on foot. Mounted under a U.S. Army Hawker Beechcraft C-12, the Tactical Reconnaissance and Counter-concealment-Enabled Radar (Tracer) is being used by Southern Command (SouthCom) to support anti-terrorism and other operations.
AeroVironment has secured another order for its Switchblade loitering munition as it works to expand its small unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) business in the face of slowing U.S. orders for its workhorse RQ-11 Raven.
