December 11, 2024 | International, Land
Army Secretary Christine Wormuth fired Gen. Charles Hamilton, the first Army four-star to be fired in nearly 20 years.
May 31, 2023 | International, Aerospace, Security
The EU said on Tuesday it is doubling its aerial firefighting fleet for the summer of 2023, citing challenges such as increasing forest fires due to the climate crisis.
February 16, 2018 | International, Aerospace, Naval, C4ISR
OCEAN2020, a European Defence Fund initiative, will boost technological research in the naval domain also by the integration of unmanned platforms in surveillance and interdiction missions Leonardo is a leader in systems integration and will lead a team of 42 partner companies including Saab, Safran, PGZ and MBDA, research bodies such as NATO CMRE and the defence ministries of five countries The first operational demonstration will take place in 2019 in the Mediterranean Sea. The demo will involve Leonardo's ‘Hero' and ‘Solo' unmanned helicopters, naval vessels and systems from a number of partners, including Italian Navy's vessels equipped with Leonardo's systems Leonardo was awarded the most important project related to the first European Defence Found's initiative, OCEAN2020, to boost Europe's defence capabilities, issued by the European Union under the ‘Preparatory Action on Defence Research' programme. The competitive selection was conducted by the European Defence Agency and will be contracted in the coming weeks. The OCEAN2020 team, which will be led by Leonardo, comprises 42 partners from 15 European countries. These include the Ministries of Defence of Italy, Greece, Spain, Portugal and Lithuania, with additional support from the Ministries of Defence of Sweden, France, the United Kingdom and Estonia and the Netherlands. European industrial partners include Indra, Safran, Saab, MBDA, PGZ/CTM, Hensoldt, Intracom-IDE, Fincantieri and QinetiQ. A number of research centres include Fraunhofer, TNO, CMRE (NATO) and IAI. “We are extremely pleased with this result, the OCEAN2020 initiative has a high level of strategic and technological-operational value” said Alessandro Profumo, CEO of Leonardo. “It is the leading technological research project dedicated to the very topical issue of maritime surveillance, which is of interest across Europe and to the Mediterranean region in particular. This success has been made possible thanks to the strong collaboration between all 42 team partners which we have the honour to lead.” OCEAN2020 is the first example of a cross-European military research programme to-date. The Leonardo-led bid required a thorough analysis of operational requirements and a technologically-innovative yet operationally-realistic proposal. The research project also will see the integration of unmanned platforms in surveillance and interdiction missions. The success in winning the tender both highlights, and will enhance, Leonardo's strength in naval products and integrated systems. The company's expertise in the domain includes command and control systems, unmanned aircraft, sensors, helicopters for naval applications, communications and weapon systems, on the surface and underwater. OCEAN2020 will see unmanned platforms of different type (fixed wing, rotary wing, surface and underwater) integrated with naval units' command and control centres, allowing for data exchange via satellite, with command and control centres on land. The joint and cooperative use of both manned and unmanned vehicles will also be demonstrated as part of the project. Leonardo would like to thank the Italian Navy which, as a key OCEAN2020 partner, has and will continue to make important contributions to the project. This includes the development of operational scenarios and making available naval assets and helicopters, which will take part in demonstrations. In addition to complex simulation work, OCEAN2020 project will involve two live demonstrations of maritime surveillance and interdiction operations, conducted by European fleets using unmanned aircraft, surface vessels and underwater systems. The first demo, scheduled to take place in the Mediterranean Sea in 2019, will be coordinated by the Italian Navy and will see Leonardo's ‘Hero' and ‘Solo' unmanned helicopters operate from Italian naval units alongside other European partners. The second demonstration, which will take place in 2020 in the Baltic Sea, will be coordinated by the Swedish Navy. The data collected by various systems during these two demos will be processed and sent to a prototype European command and control centre in Brussels. http://www.leonardocompany.com/en/-/ocean-2020
December 17, 2020 | International, Aerospace
Posted on December 16, 2020 by Seapower Staff DAVENPORT, Iowa — Cobham Mission Systems' underwing mounted refueling buddy store was carried for the first time during a successful test flight of Boeing's MQ-25 test asset, known as T1, Cobham said in a Dec. 16 release. The test helped to validate the unmanned aircraft's aerodynamics when carrying existing refueling equipment. The flight marks a significant milestone in the development of MQ-25, the first operational, carrier-based unmanned aerial refueler for the U.S. Navy. The Navy's F/A-18 fleet currently operates the same Cobham 31-301 buddy store, when fulfilling this key aerial refueling role. “This marks a significant milestone for the development of unmanned aerial refueling and we are proud that Boeing's MQ-25 test aircraft carried Cobham's underwing mounted equipment on this test flight,” said Jason Apelquist, senior vice president for business development and strategy for Cobham Mission Systems. “It is encouraging to see how proven solutions are being leveraged to further new mission capability. We look forward to supporting next-generation technology and continue to work with our customers as a key partner to deliver the aerial refueling solution of the future.” The 2.5-hour flight was conducted by Boeing test pilots operating from a ground control station at MidAmerica St. Louis Airport in Mascoutah, Illinois, on December 9, 2020. Future flights will continue to test the aerodynamics of the aircraft and the 31-301 Series Buddy Store at various points of the flight envelope. Insights from the tests will inform the eventual progression to the extension and retraction of the hose and drogue used in refueling. https://seapowermagazine.org/cobhams-aerial-refueling-buddy-store-mounted-during-mq-25-test-flight