Airbus Military has successfully demonstrated the loading of NH Industries NH90 and Eurocopter EC725 helicopters onto the A400M new generation airlifter.
When the Pentagon and Obama administration released the nation’s new global defense posture earlier this year — with the “Pacific Pivot” refocus — one area of the world that seemed to get a little less attention was the African continent, especially in light of the recently created Africa Command (Africom). But, U.S. military officials say, Africom’s assets are expected to produce a lot of bang for the buck.
Boeing, Lockheed Martin and Virgin Galactic are working under U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (Darpa) contracts to design air-launch systems that can orbit sub-100-lb. payloads for $1 million, including range costs. “Previous attempts at air launch did not focus enough on the rocket side,” says Mitchell Burnside Clapp, Darpa’s Airborne Launch Assist Space Access (Alasa) program manager. “They over-invested in an aircraft that could only do one thing—support the launch.”
ARLINGTON, Va. — The U.S. Navy is sponsoring the development of technology that is designed to overcome size and weight limitations to placing radar detectors on small UAVs. The technology is contained in a multi-mode Analog-to-Information based Radar Warning Receiver (A21RWR), a device is being developed through Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) funding by SA Photonics of Los Gatos, Calif.
The first Amphibious Ready Group (ARG) ship scheduled to shift homeport to Naval Station Mayport, Fla., will arrive in the last quarter of 2013, earlier than Navy officials had indicated. U.S. Navy Secretary Navy Ray Mabus said June 15 that the USS New York, USS Iwo Jima and USS Fort McHenry will move to Mayport from Norfolk, Va. The USS New York will be the first to change homeport, followed by the Iwo Jima and Fort McHenry in 2014. Mabus previously had announced the ARG would arrive no later than 2015.
SKY DRAGON: China is starting to globally market a new medium-range, surface-to-air missile system called Sky Dragon. China North Industries Corp. claims an engagement range of 3-50 km (2-31 mi.), with a maximum engagement altitude of 20 km. The target set includes fighters, helicopters, unmanned aircraft and cruise missiles. A system comprises 3-6 launchers with four missiles each, an Ibis150 3D radar providing greater than 130-km detection range and a battle command system. The company says 12 missiles can be controlled at the same time.
NEW DELHI — India is likely to start receiving MBDA’s MICA missile beginning in 2015, a senior defense ministry official says. “We are hoping that MBDA will expedite its delivery of the MICA missiles to mount on the 51 Mirage 2000H aircraft that are being upgraded by France’s Thales and Dassault jointly with Bangalore-based Hindustan Aeronautics,” the official says.
LONDON — The Norwegian government has kicked off the purchase of its F-35A Joint Strike Fighters after years of discussions and a recent budget move to adjust procurement plans. The deal also puts the Kongsberg Joint Strike Missile (JSM) on a path to integration on the fighter, which Norway sees as key to achieving its industrial goals.
Consolidation in the aerospace and defense supply chain can be big news when it involves publicly traded companies as prominent as United Technologies and Goodrich.
New Zealand's government will face an uphill political battle convincing the public that buying 11 ex-Australian navy Kaman SH-2G Super Seasprite helicopters makes sense. Nonetheless, officials seem convinced the purchase is worth the money.
Six huge, three-stage missiles on their giant 16-wheel transporter erector launchers (TELs) rolled through Pyonyang's Kim Il Sung Square on April 15, unleashing a blizzard of speculation in the West. Was this the fulfillment of former Defense Secretary Robert Gates's prediction of a new North Korean road-mobile ICBM? If so, this would vindicate the U.S. investments in the Ground-based Midcourse Defense system deployed in Alaska and California. No wonder some critics rushed to trivialize the parade and portray the missiles as crude props designed to impress the yahoos.
Whether the U.S. Navy's first demonstration of a biofuel-powered fleet represents a one-off effort or the potential start of a new industry may now rest in the hands of the U.S. Senate. The Navy bought 450,000 gal. of fuel— made from algae or other crops—for about $27 per gallon to power its “Great Green Fleet” in the Rim of the Pacific exercises scheduled to start later this month. But if the defense authorization bill passed by the Senate Armed Services Committee stands, the biofuel-powered fleet will run aground next year.
As Obama administration and Pentagon officials ponder when to attack Iran’s nuclear facilities, another crucial question is whether to use bombs or bytes. A reason for not conducting a conventional bombing attack on Iran is the ease with which the attacker can be identified. Cyber attack, on the other hand, offers an offensive capability without removing the cloak of anonymity.
