The Undersea Defense Technology (UDT) conference and show here in June marked a break from previous years when much of the focus was on large and sophisticated remotely operated underwater vehicles and submarines. This time a number of small and medium-sized companies were showing novel, low-cost systems for littoral security.
A more robust and maturing sensor network for the U.S. missile defense architecture is allowing planners to expand the options for an enhanced kill vehicle (KV).
Airspace access is the holy grail for an unmanned-aircraft industry seeing wartime demand winding down and looking to civilian uses for continued growth.
Rolls-Royce's association with India began in 1932, with Gypsy engines on the first Tata Aviation aircraft. Today, Rolls-Royce has 1,300 engines in service there. Kishore Jayaraman, president of Rolls-Royce India, discusses his company's future plans with Aviation Week's Jay Menon. AW&ST: Can you elaborate on any specific plans for Rolls-Royce in India in the next five to ten years?
U.S. defense primes are reporting impressive second-quarter earnings. General Dynamics, Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman and Raytheon all raised guidance for 2013, and their stock prices responded favorably. The bite of sequestration—automatic, across-the-board cuts in the Defense Department's budget—has initially proved to be not as harsh as was expected earlier in the year, and operating profits are benefitting from cost-cutting. Shareholders adore the primes' share repurchase
The European Union is keen to set up its own network of space surveillance assets that could track spy satellites and near-Earth objects, help satellite operators avoid orbital-debris collisions and protect critical infrastructure when spent spacecraft or other objects enter Earth's atmosphere. (Photo: NASA)
Flying a helicopter low and fast over rugged terrain—using the hills for masking—to a safe landing in a forest clearing is among the most demanding tasks a pilot can face, but one that U.S. Army researchers believe can be performed autonomously with the right sensors and algorithms.
EADS has sought to be a broad and balanced aerospace group ever since its inception in 2000. That the group is now renamed Airbus—consolidating its weaker businesses—indicates it remains what it was: a commercial aircraft manufacturer with a defense/space and helicopter division.
A testbed for future fuel-efficient transport and unmanned aircraft with slender, flexible wings has made its first flight at the NASA Dryden Flight Research Center, Calif. The X-56A Multi-Utility Technology Testbed was built by the Lockheed Martin Skunk Works for the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) and NASA to test active aeroelastic control technologies for flutter suppression and gust-load alleviation.
As the European Union's biggest defense powers pare back military budgets, the crisis in public spending is bolstering the EU's case for taking on more responsibility in the realm of defense, space and security. The European Commission (EC) issued a long-awaited slate of broad policy proposals last month that would harmonize defense commerce in Europe, develop common standards, fund dual-use R&D and ultimately see the EU's executive arm purchase and operate its own military hardware.
General Atomics Aeronautical Systems (GA-ASI) has flown an improved version of the MQ-1C Gray Eagle unmanned aircraft with twice the payload and endurance of the Block 1 aircraft now flown by the U.S. Army.
How unmanned aircraft have matured over more than a decade of war is illustrated by the AeroVironment RQ-11 Raven. This hand-launched UAV is often overlooked, even though it outnumbers all other U.S. unmanned systems put together—there were 5,394 in service as of November 2012 —but advances in microelectronics have given the Raven capabilities previously associated only with larger aircraft. Small size brings challenges. “Our engineers operate within a tight SWAP [size, weight and power] trade space,” says AeroVironment Vice President Steve Gitlin.
Tap on the icon in the digital edition of AW&ST for an interactive map with more on the U.S. missile defense sensor architecture, or go to AviationWeek.com/misdef
Alenia Aermacchi and TAI have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) formalising the interest of both companies in expanding industrial and commercial cooperation on products of mutual interest and identifying potential programmes in third country markets.
New ISTAR (Intelligence, Surveillance and Target Acquisition) imagery ground control stations are to enter service with two Middle East armed forces in the next 12 months following the award of contacts worth over £2.5 million to a team from Marshall Land Systems, part of Marshall Aerospace and Defence Group, and UTC Aerospace Systems.
