Army Works to Slim Down Powerful New Laser Defense System

On the same subject

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  October 23, 2024 | International, Aerospace

  Strike, fixed-price contracts leave Boeing defense bleeding cash

  Boeing machinists are voting on a proposed contract that could end the nearly six-week strike.

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  September 30, 2020 | International, Aerospace, Naval, C4ISR, Security

  ATAC Nabs Final Contract For Initial ‘Red Air’ Training Sites

  THERESA HITCHENS WASHINGTON: The Air Force has awarded ATAC, Textron Systems' military airborne training unit, a contract to provide adversary air combat training to F-22 and F-35 pilots at Eglin AFB, Florida — making it the biggest winner in the initial round of the service's overarching effort to outsource pilot training that eventually could be worth billions. “When you add up the number of either sorties or flight hours — which of course the money goes with because you get paid by how much you fly — then you're at more than 50 percent of the total,” Richard Zins, ATAC vice president of business operations, told me today. Under the new award, worth $94 million, ATAC will use its fleet of upgraded and refurbished Dassault Aviation Mirage F1 fighters to play the ‘bad guys' in mock combat against Air Force pilots in more than 1,100 sorties per year for up to four-and-a-half years, ATAC explained in a press release today. The training is expected to begin in January 2021. The award is the last of six Red Air training ‘tasking orders' solicited this year under the the Air Force's Combat Air Forces (CAF)/Contracted Air Support (CAS) program. The Air Force last October chose seven contractors to compete under an overarching indefinite delivery, indefinitely quantity (ID/IQ) contract, worth up to $6.4 billion, for both adversary air combat training and close air support training. As colleague Rachel Cohen explained in March, the ID/IQ originally envisioned 40,000 hours of adversary air combat training at 12 locations. The ID/IQ also envisioned close air support training at up to 10 facilities, of which three were have been awarded this year. ATAC in July nabbed the awards for CAF training at Holloman AFB, New Mexico and Luke AFB in Arizona. Together they are worth up to $240 million. ATAC's flight operations at Holloman AFB are starting up, and will commence at Luke AFB by next month, Zins said. The company also is providing close air support training, playing as surrogate ‘Blue Forces,' for Air Force Special Operations Command Joint Terminal Air Controllers (JTACs) on the ground under the CAF/CAS program under an Aug. 10 tasking order worth $19.9 million, an Air Force spokeperson told me in an email today. Alongside ATAC's July award, two other companies — Draken International and Tactical Aircraft Support Inc (TACAIR) — also were awarded adversary air training tasking orders under the CAF/CAS program. Draken International is providing training at two sites: for F-15E pilots at Seymour Johnson AFB in North Carolina, under an award worth up to $74.5 million; and for Air National Guard F-16 pilots at Kelly Field in Texas, under an award worth up to $28.2 million. Draken has a mixed fleet of aircraft for use in training, including the upgraded Mirage F1M, the Aero Vodochody L-159E Honey Badger, the Douglas A-4 Skyhawk, and the Cheetah produced by South African firm Denel Aviation. The company further won a contract in 2018 to fly as aggressors at the Air Force Weapons School and Red Flag exercises at Nellis AFB in Nevada. TACAIR won a contract up to $90.4 million over four and a half years for training of F-15C/D pilots at Kingsley Field Air National Guard Base in Oregon. TACAIR is providing the training using its fleet of F-5ATs Advanced Tigers, which it also uses to train Navy pilots including at the Naval Fighter Weapons School (NFWS), i.e. TOPGUN. Industry officials are expecting the service to award another tranche of tasking orders next year. However, so far, the service has released no information about the scope or timing of a second round of training awards (and Air Force PAO is still working on my inquiry.) Zin explained that the market is booming for commercially provided airborne training because of the Air Force's enormous needs, driven in large part by its continued pilot shortage. In addition, Zin explained, training for pilots of fifth generation aircraft — especially the F-35, but also the F-22 — requires many more flying hour than older fighters. Another driver is the fact that when the Air Force dedicates an aircraft to pilot training, it takes a toll on combat readiness. Lastly, Zin said, it is more cost-effective to use outside contractors for adversary air training — and given that many of the pilots employed in the industry are retired military pilots. The CAF/CAS program awards for adversary training have “more than doubled” ATAC's business alone, he said. “”It's a massive increase to the industrial base of the companies providing this service.” https://breakingdefense.com/2020/09/atac-nabs-final-contract-for-initial-red-air-training-sites/

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  October 15, 2019 | International, Aerospace

  Helsinki dispose de 11 milliards pour son nouvel avion

  Pascal Kümmerling Le gouvernement finlandais a fixé un plafond de 11 milliards de dollars américains pour l'achat du futur avion de combat a annoncé mercredi le ministère de la Défense. Le plafond financier comprendra le coût d'achat de nouveaux jets, de leurs armes et de divers systèmes au sol. Le projet vise à remplacer la flotte actuelle de 64 avions de combat F/A-18C/D « Hornet » achetés aux États-Unis au début des années 90. Le ministre finlandais de la Défense, Antti Kaikkonen, a déclaré que le nombre de nouveaux avions à acheter pourrait être supérieur ou égal au niveau actuel et espérait qu'il ne serait pas inférieur. Les bases du projet La Finlande ne veut pas sacrifier sa capacité d'engagement en temps de paix et doit pouvoir compter sur une dotation lui permettant un engagement sur de longs mois en cas de situation tendue au niveau international. Pour ce faire la Force aérienne veut un minimum de 64 nouveaux avions de combat multirôle, soit la même dotation qu'actuellement. Pour la Finlande il n'est pas question de sacrifier sa capacité d'action. L'avion doit pouvoir évoluer en réseau connecté avec les systèmes de défenses au sol et le reste de l'armée. A noter, que la Finlande estime que les coûts à l'heure de vol pourraient atteindre trois fois le montant du prix d'achat sur une période de 30 ans. Cette donnée sera prise en compte pour le choix final. Les aéronefs en compétition On retrouve une nouvelle fois les grands classiques du moment, avec le Lockheed-Martin F-35 «Lightning II», le Saab JAS-39 Gripen E MS21, l'Eurofighter «Typhoon II» T3A/B Block20 et le Dassault Rafale F3-R, ainsi que le Boeing F/A-18 E/F « Advanced Super Hornet ». Essais techniques La Finlande a observé avec intérêt les essais des quatre avions effectués ce printemps dans notre pays à Payerne. Le pays procédera également à des tests techniques qui seront effectués en Finlande cet hiver. Mais avant cela, le pays enverra des demandes d'offre plus détaillées aux candidats durant l'automne. Les dernières offres seront organisées en 2020. Le gouvernement finlandais fera son choix en 2021. Le Hornet en Finlande C'est en 1992 que la Finlande décida d'acquérir 64 F/A-18 C/D «Hornet» pour remplacer les bons vieux MiG-21 et Saab J-35 «Draken». A l'époque, les Hornet finlandais ne sont pas complètement équipés, notamment en matière de guerre électronique et d'avionique, ce qui avait permis à l'époque de faire baisser le prix d'achat. Mais dès le début des années 2000, la Finlande décida d'équiper ses « Hornet » des systèmes manquants. Depuis les « Hornet » finlandais ont reçu les missiles air-air à moyenne portée de type AIM-120 AMRAAM avec un système de système de visée plus performant et de doter ceux-ci, du système de guerre électronique AN/ALQ-67. Le groupe de travail du ministère de la Défense finlandais a recommandé que la flotte de F/A-18C/D puisse entrer en retraite durant la période 2025-2030. A signaler, que la Finlande considère que le coût d'un programme d'extension de vie des « Hornet » est à la fois risqué et prohibitif. https://blogs.letemps.ch/pascal-kuemmerling/2019/10/13/helsinki-dispose-de-11-milliards-pour-son-nouvel-avion/