Back to news

April 6, 2021 | International, Aerospace

Airbus solely qualifies for Canada's tanker procurement

Only Airbus and its A330 Multi Role Tanker Transport (MRTT) aircraft qualified to bid for Canada's Strategic Tanker Transport Capability (STTC) Project, Canada announced on 1 April. Canada seeks to replace its Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF)...

https://www.janes.com/defence-news/news-detail/airbus-solely-qualifies-for-canadas-tanker-procurement

On the same subject

  • Plans for a new base closing round may be running out of time: Report

    August 16, 2019 | International, Aerospace

    Plans for a new base closing round may be running out of time: Report

    By: Leo Shane III The next few months could decide whether the Defense Department gets another base closing round in the next decade, according to a new analysis from a conservative think tankwarning military officials not to dismiss the potential looming impact on budgets and readiness. Officials from the Heritage Foundation, whose policy priorities have helped influence President Donald Trump's administration, have in the past supported a new base closing round to cut back on excess military infrastructure and more efficiently spend annual defense funding. In the analysis released this week, author Frederico Bartels — policy analyst for defense budgeting at the foundation — said a Pentagon report on the issue being compiled now represents “the best chance for the Department of Defense to make the case for a new round of BRAC” in years, and perhaps the last realistic chance to advance the idea for the near future. “I think it's the last chance of the Trump administration to make an argument for this,” he said in an interview with Military Times. “Even if he gets re-elected next year, I think it will be hard to go back and make the case if they're unsuccessful this time.” The military convened six base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) Commissions between 1988 and 2005, shutting down dozens of military installations and turning over that land to state and local municipalities. The process has always been fraught with political turmoil, as lawmakers protest any loss of jobs, military personnel and resulting economic benefits in their districts. But the 2005 BRAC round was particularly controversial, as defense officials consolidated numerous service locations into joint bases and massively rearranged force structure in an attempt to modernize the military. As a result, cost saving projections from that process were significantly below past rounds, and members of Congress have strongly opposed any attempts at another round since then. In the fiscal 2019 national defense authorization act, lawmakers did include language for a new military infrastructure capacity report — due next February — where defense officials can make the case for the need for additional closures. Similar Pentagon reports in the last few years have shown excess capacity of between 19 and 22 percent. Bartels said Pentagon leaders have repeatedly supported the idea of another round in recent years, but have done a poor job selling lawmakers on the idea. “The department needs to make the case for a new round of BRAC based on two key tenets: potential savings and the National Defense Strategy,” he wrote. “A new BRAC round could save $2 billion by reducing unneeded infrastructure. Additionally, a new round of BRAC would permit the department to assess its infrastructure against the threats outlined by the National Defense Strategy, providing a holistic look at all of the infrastructure.” He warns that naming specific locations will only exacerbate political tensions on the issue, and said defense officials also need to publicly acknowledge problems with the 2005 base realignment round to win back congressional support. And Bartels argues that the Trump administration must do more to push the issue. Defense officials requested a base closing round as part of their annual budget for six consecutive years before the Trump White House dropped the idea in their fiscal 2019 and 2020 budget plans. If officials fail to request one next spring, or if the planned infrastructure report is delayed by several months, the department risks pushing the idea back at minimum an entire extra budget cycle and likely several more years down the road. Even if approved, the new BRAC round is likely to take several years of research and debate before any recommendations are made. “I think there is still support for this in Congress,” Bartels said. “I think there are enough people that are about good stewardship of government funds that this can move ahead, if (defense officials) make the right argument. At least, I hope those lawmakers still exist.” The full analysis is available on the Heritage Foundation's website. https://www.militarytimes.com/news/pentagon-congress/2019/08/15/plans-for-a-new-base-closing-round-may-be-running-out-of-time-report/

  • TA558 Hackers Weaponize Images for Wide-Scale Malware Attacks

    April 16, 2024 | International, Security

    TA558 Hackers Weaponize Images for Wide-Scale Malware Attacks

    TA558 hackers are using steganography to hide and distribute malware like Agent Tesla, FormBook, Remcos RAT, LokiBot.

  • Lockheed drops bid to design FFG(X)

    May 31, 2019 | International, Naval

    Lockheed drops bid to design FFG(X)

    By: Aaron Mehta WASHINGTON — Lockheed Martin has decided not to submit a version of its Freedom-class littoral combat ship for the Navy's next-gen frigate design competition. The contractor's move to abandon its bid to become the prime contractors on the FFG(X) deal leaves four rivals in the running — Huntington Ingalls Industries, Austal USA, Fincantieri and General Dynamics Bath Iron Works. But the world's largest defense firm still intends to bid on capabilities involved in the FFG(X). “After careful review, we have decided to focus our attention on the FFG(X) combat system, delivering Lockheed Martin technologies such as the Aegis-derived weapon system, MK 41 Vertical Launching System, anti-submarine warfare processing, and advanced electronic warfare,” the company said in a statement released late Tuesday. “We will continue to serve as a shipbuilder for the U.S. Navy, and we're exploring opportunities including unmanned surface vessels and the large surface combatant.” The news was first reported by USNI on Tuesday. The FFG(X) grew out of a 2014 requirement for an up-gunned frigate that could survive brutal combat at sea, a problem critics raise about the LCS, a vessel that was developed for sneaky missions near shorelines. The goal of the new frigate design is to both integrate with, and complement, the carrier strike group and operate as a distributed node in a sensor network, officials say. Planned capabilities include anti-surface warfare, anti-submarine warfare, electromagnetic maneuver warfare and air warfare. The Navy asked for $1.3 billion for the first FFG(X) hull in 2020 but estimates each subsequent frigate will run closer to $800 million. David B. Larter in Scotland contributed to this story https://www.defensenews.com/naval/2019/05/29/lockheed-declines-to-bid-for-ffgx-design

All news