Australia secures additional F-35 support work

On the same subject

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  October 22, 2020 | International, Naval, Security

  Boeing, U.S. Navy to develop long-range strike missile demonstrator

  Ed Adamczyk Oct. 21 (UPI) -- Boeing has received a $30 million U.S. Navy contract will demonstrate advanced missile technologies for use on F/A-18 Super Hornet fighter planes, the company said. Boeing and the Navy's Air Warfare Center Weapons Division will develop the Supersonic Propulsion Enabled Advanced Ramjet, or SPEAR, flight demonstrator, with a first flight scheduled for 2022. The contract comes after the Department of Defense sought information to help the Navy determine technical requirements of future carrier-based land and sea strike weapons systems, a Boeing statement on Tuesday said. The statement cites the company's "prior successes" in work on the experimental X-51A Waverider, a hypersonic weapon capable of traveling at five times the speed of sound, as well as the Triple Target Terminator program. The T-3 was led by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency and explored use of very-long-range missiles launched from aircraft to combat hostile aircraft, cruise missiles and on-ground air defense shields. Although no connection between supersonic and hypersonic missiles was announced, the Boeing statement indicates that the capabilities of the demonstrator will be included in future anti-ship and land-attack missiles carried by fighter planes. Boeing-built Navy F/A-18E/F Super Hornets will likely have advanced features added during Block III upgrade programs. Weapon advancements from the SPEAR program could also be added to F-35 Joint Strike Fighter aircraft as well. https://www.upi.com/Defense-News/2020/10/21/Boeing-US-Navy-to-develop-long-range-strike-missile-demonstrator/5121603298420/

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  November 30, 2018 | International, Aerospace

  France: Armée de l'air : le général Lavigne dévoile son plan de vol

  Par Alain Barluet L'espace, les effectifs, la protection aérienne du territoire et le système de combat du futur sont les priorités du nouveau chef d'état-major de l'armée de l'air. «Ce n'est pas un plan de rupture», prévient le général Philippe Lavigne. Arrivé à son poste début septembre, le nouveau chef d'état-major de l'armée de l'air (Cemaa) a tracé ses perspectives stratégiques sur la base des travaux largement entamés par son prédécesseur. Néanmoins, précise-t-il, «il m'appartient d'infléchir la trajectoire de l'armée de l'air pour lui permettre de prendre en compte les nouveaux enjeux des prochaines années». C'est ce «plan de vol» - une expression parlante pour tous les aviateurs - que le nouveau Cemaa a présenté jeudi à l'École militaire. Un projet qui, souligne-t-il, «s'appuiera sur l'ADN des aviateurs: agilité, précision, audace et passion». Selon la formule, directe, du général Lavigne, «l'objet de la mission sera de vaincre et protéger ensemble par les airs». Parmi ses priorités: le rôle futur de l'armée de l'air vis-à-vis de l'espace, qui s'affirme comme un thé'tre de conflictualité entre les puissances. «Nous devons désormais répondre à l'enjeu de ... Article complet: http://www.lefigaro.fr/international/2018/11/29/01003-20181129ARTFIG00299-armee-de-l-air-le-plan-de-vol-du-general-lavigne.php

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  January 29, 2020 | International, Aerospace

  US Defense Department launches Gremlins drone from a mothership for the first time

  WASHINGTON — The U.S. Defense Department is one step closer to having swarming drones that it can launch from military planes and recover in midair, having successfully conducted the first flight of the Gremlins aircraft in November. The test, which occurred at Dugway Proving Ground, Utah, proved that a C-130A could successfully launch an X-61A Gremlins Air Vehicle, said Tim Keeter, who manages the program for Dynetics. The company won the Gremlins contract from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency in 2018. “It gives us a lot of confidence going forward that this vehicle can fly where it's supposed to fly, how it's supposed to fly,” Keeter said during a Jan. 21 phone call with reporters. “Now the team can be principally focused on the other portion of our program plan ... which is to successfully rendezvous with a C-130, dock with our docking system ... and safely recover the vehicle.” During the test, which lasted 1 hour and 41 minutes, the X-61A flew with no anomalies and the DARPA-Dynetics team completed all test objectives, including transitioning the X-61A from a cold-engine start to stable flight; validating the Gremlins' data links and handing off control of the drone between air and ground control stations; deploying the docking arm; and collecting data on the air vehicle. However, during the recovery process, the drone crashed to the ground and was destroyed. The drogue parachute, which deployed first to slow the air vehicle, functioned as planned, Keeter explained. However, the larger main parachute — which would soften the landing of the air vehicle so that the drone could be reused — did not correctly deploy due to a mechanical issue. Dynetics has built four other Gremlins vehicles, leaving enough drones to accomplish the program's primary requirement to fly and recover four Gremlins in 30 minutes, said Scott Wierzbanowski, DARPA's Gremlins program manager. The next demonstration, set for sometime this spring, will verify whether the Gremlins can be successfully recovered by the C-130 while in flight. Wierzbanowski characterized this test as critical for proving that the Gremlins can be reused over multiple missions — a key point for bearing out the cost-effectiveness of the concept. "If I have an expendable vehicle, at some point I'm not going to want to be able to use those things because they're just too expensive,” he said. “But if I can recover them and then amortize the cost of that vehicle over 10 or 20 or 30 sorties, maybe there's a bend in the curve somewhere that really will allow us to benefit from these smaller, more affordable, attritable systems." During the recovery process, the C-130 will lower a towed capture device that will mate with the Gremlins drone, thus avoiding the turbulence generated by the wake of the larger aircraft, Keeter said. Once the drone is stabilized by the capture device, an engagement arm deploys, docking with the X-61A and bringing it inside the C-130 cargo bay to be stowed. https://www.defensenews.com/industry/techwatch/2020/01/28/us-defense-department-launches-gremlins-drone-from-a-mothership-for-the-first-time/