Sensors & Electronic Warfare

Russia buys interim fighter-bombers; GA-ASI to vie for MQ-9 replacement; KC-46 RVS testing coming; COVID-19 contractor relief bill?

Our roundup of the main aerospace and defense stories making the news this week.

An inadvertent disclosure on an Army social media site reveals an advanced new concept already in flight testing.

The social media page of U.S. Army Secretary Ryan McCarthy shows details of a proposed new U.S. hypersonic concept.

A satellite laser communication terminal developed by General Atomics’ Electromagnetic Systems division will be demonstrated in orbit in 2021, the company says.

The successful test was performed June 3 at Redstone Arsenal in Alabama, and collected data that will be used to refine signal processing algorithms.

The radars will be able to surveil more patches of sky and surface at a time. The program also addresses parts obsolescence.

The awards create a pool of contractors now eligible to compete for a rolling series of task orders as the Air Force stages “on ramp” demonstrations for new Advanced Battle Management System technologies.

China is reaping rewards from investment in air-to-air missiles, exports are beginning to follow.

Leonardo says it has completed flight testing for the latest phase enhancement upgrade for the Eurofighter Typhoon, paving the way for the delivery of active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar-equipped aircraft to Kuwait.

Technology is rapidly shaping new generations of Western air-to-air missiles, as the need to outrange adversary weapons grows.

When discussing the U.S. Air Force's next C2 architecture, the temptation is to focus on the E-3 AWACS and E-8C J-Stars. Less attention is paid to the ground-based, and in many ways more powerful, corollaries of both aircraft.

The counter-UAS system must allow a single operator to intercept drones and employ countermeasures.

U.S. Navy’s training system search; Finland seeks export OK for fighters; an Army SHORAD slowdown; and satellite sensor design advances.

Air-to-air missiles once helped shape fighter aircraft, now they drive size of fleets as longer-ranges missiles hold foes at length.

U.S. federal agencies have formally petitioned the FCC to reconsider its order allowing Ligado Networks access to spectrum near GPS.

The arrival of Russian fighters in Syria will bolster the capabilities of Libyan National Army forces and escalate an already tense Libyan civil war.

The National Telecommunications and Information Administration has petitioned the Federal Communications Commission to reconsider its controversial order granting Ligado Networks access to radio frequency spectrum for a ground-based 5G network near the GPS allocation.

British aerospace services company Marshall Aerospace and Defense Group says it withdrew from participating in a program to convert Boeing 737s into E-7 Wedgetail airborne early warning aircraft for the UK Royal Air Force because the work was not “commercially viable.”

Russia’s arms export agency on May 21 announced that a radar capable of detecting hypersonic objects can be sold on the export market.

Leonardo’s Osprey active electronically scanned array flat panel radar is to equip a pair of Beechcraft King Air maritime surveillance aircraft operated for the UK Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA).

Spanish defense electronics firm Indra is taking the lead on a European Union program to develop an aircraft-mountable pod equipped with an active electronically scanned array (AESA) for radar, communications, and electronic warfare functionality.

A BAE Systems program to upgrade Australia’s three over-the-horizon radars amounts to rebuilding the sensor system, addressing parts obsolescence while providing a jump in performance.

Raytheon is close to delivering the first mission system pods of the ALQ-249 Next Generation Jammer Mid-Band (NGJ-MB) to launch the flight testing phase, the U.S. Navy program manager said on May 19.

U.S. Senate hearing fails to resolve why the FCC approved access to spectrum near GPS frequencies, with conditions.