August 14, 2020 | International, Aerospace
By: Valerie Insinna
WASHINGTON — Despite impacts from the coronavirus pandemic, the U.S. Air Force's B-21 Raider program remains on track as Northrop Grumman continues production of the first B-21 bomber, the head of the service's Rapid Capabilities Office said Thursday.
Speaking at a Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies event, RCO Director Randall Walden acknowledged that some B-21 suppliers had been adversely affected by the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. For instance, Spirit AeroSystems — which builds large composite aerostructures for the bomber — has run into challenges not only on its defense side, but also for its commercial division due to the halt in Boeing 737 Max production, Walden said.
Spirit received $80 million in Defense Production Act funds meant to help stimulate struggling businesses, and Walden noted that the company also funneled employees who normally work on the 737 Max line into augmenting B-21 production efforts.
“The folks that are not manufacturing 737s and those components came over to our production line and really kind of beefed up — where people had some COVID issues — they beefed up that portion of our production,” he said. “Right now, the components that we're building are really for the test fleet, but the good news: All of what we're doing today is really insightful for what we're doing for production in the future.”
After completing a critical design review in 2018, B-21 prime contractor Northrop Grumman is currently building the first B-21 test aircraft in Palmdale, California. The Air Force plans to buy at least 100 Raiders.
On Aug. 3, Walden traveled with Defense Secretary Mark Esper to Northrop's B-21 design and development office in Melbourne, Florida, to receive a program update.
“I think overall his takeaway was he's happy with the progress we're making,” Walden said. “The good news is all of the tough critical designs, all of the hard engineering is kind of behind us, and now it's a matter of actually producing the airplane and actually rolling it out and getting on with the developmental flight test activities.”
Walden said his office has flight tested some B-21 mission systems and avionics on a surrogate aircraft to work though software bugs and design problems before installation on the actual B-21 test aircraft.
“I know we're not going to be immune from design flaws. We're going to have to work through those, and we're doing some of that today. From my perspective, I want to find out what those design deficiencies were as fast as I can, get on with a solution, get that into the program in the development phase, and get on with production.”
In July 2019, Air Force Vice Chief of Staff Gen. Stephen Wilson said the Raider could take to the skies in about “863 days,” which would pinpoint an inaugural flight in December 2021. Walden has since said that would be the earliest possible date for first flight.
https://www.defensenews.com/air/2020/08/13/b-21-still-on-track-despite-complications-from-pandemic/
April 5, 2023 | International, Aerospace
The aircraft support contract is valued at approximately ?147M and will ensure and enhance the UK F-35 fleet?s availability and capability to conduct combat missions worldwide
November 19, 2018 | International, Aerospace
ADELAIDE, Australia--(BUSINESS WIRE)--General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. (GA-ASI), the world's leading manufacturer of Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems (RPAS), has been advised that, following consideration by the Australian Government, it has been selected to provide the Armed Remotely Piloted Aircraft System under Project Air 7003 for the Australian Defence Force (ADF). “We look forward to providing our world-leading RPAS to meet the Air 7003 requirements,” said Linden Blue, CEO of GA-ASI. “We'll work closely with Team Reaper® Australia partners to provide a highly capable and affordable RPAS to the ADF, while creating meaningful and enduring Australian jobs.” The ADF joins other top-tier military forces in choosing a MQ-9 variant because of its proven multi-role combat performance. Known as the “operators” choice, the MQ-9 is part of GA-ASI's Predator® series of RPAS, which is the world's most trusted and capable Armed Medium-Altitude, Long-Endurance (MALE) RPAS, and hails from a family of RPAS which recently surpassed five million flight hours. GA-ASI announced its intention to offer a MALE RPAS to the ADF during AVALON 2017 – the Australian International Aerospace and Defence Exposition – with the launch of Team Reaper Australia, a robust grouping of Australian industry partners. The team currently consists of ten Australian companies providing a range of innovative sensor, communication, manufacturing and life-cycle support capabilities that includes Cobham, CAE, Raytheon, Flight Data Systems, TAE Aerospace, Quickstep, AirSpeed, Rockwell Collins Australia, Ultra, and SentientVision. About GA-ASI General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. (GA-ASI), an affiliate of General Atomics, is the world's leading designer and manufacturer of proven, reliable Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems (RPAS), radars, and electro-optic and related mission systems, including the Predator®, Reaper® and Gray Eagle UAS programs of record and the Lynx® Multi-mode Radar. With more than five million flight hours, GA-ASI provides long-endurance, multi-mission capable aircraft with integrated sensor and data link systems required to deliver persistent flight, enabling situational awareness and rapid strike. The company also produces a variety of ground control stations and sensor control/image analysis software, offers pilot training and support services, and develops meta-material antennas. For more information, visit www.ga-asi.com. Predator, Reaper, and Lynx are registered trademarks of General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20181115006098/en/
October 29, 2021 | International, Aerospace, Naval, Land, C4ISR, Security
Chaque année, les revenus liés au ministère des Armées alimentant les territoires s'élèvent à 50 Md€ environ. Ils découlent de plusieurs dynamiques qui, dans certaines régions, se cumulent pour aboutir à des systèmes locaux liés à la défense, selon l'observatoire économique de la Défense (OED). Ces retombées ne sont néanmoins pas réparties de manière équivalente sur le territoire français. Ainsi, l'Ile-de-France (32%), la Nouvelle Aquitaine (13%) et la région PACA (10%) concentrent à elles seules 53% des revenus. Les retombées en Outre-mer sont également importantes, tout comme à l'étranger, la France disposant de bases militaires dans d'autres pays. Outre les trois régions métropolitaines citées, la Bretagne et la Nouvelle Aquitaine sont également des espaces intéressants pour la défense avec la présence de ports (Brest) ou d'espaces de manœuvre et d'essais de matériels de guerre. Selon l'étude, il existe logiquement une certaine proximité géographique entre les industriels (base productive) et les emprises militaires (base publique), une proximité institutionnelle (parcours professionnels proches entre ingénieurs, techniciens et militaires) et une proximité technique entre les industriels et les personnels militaires, utilisateurs et testeurs. Sud-Ouest du 25 octobre