March 5, 2024 | International, Naval
Rearming US Navy ships at sea is no longer an option, but a necessity
Opinion: Fortunately, rearming VLS cells at sea is not an impossible engineering problem.
December 9, 2020 | International, Aerospace
BAE Systems Receives Order for LRASM’s Advanced Seeker
Posted on December 8, 2020 by Seapower Staff
NASHUA, N.H. — BAE Systems has received a $60 million contract from Lockheed Martin to manufacture and deliver additional advanced missile seekers for the Long-Range Anti-Ship Missile (LRASM), BAE Systems announced in a Dec. 8 release. The seeker comprises long-range sensors and targeting technology that help the stealthy missile find and engage protected maritime targets in challenging electromagnetic environments.
“Our warfighters need resilient, long-range precision strike capabilities to compete with modern adversaries,” said Bruce Konigsberg, Radio Frequency Sensors product area director at BAE Systems. “We're proud to partner with Lockheed Martin in delivering this distinct competitive advantage to U.S. warfighters.”
LRASM combines extended range with increased survivability and lethality to deliver long-range precision strike capabilities. LRASM is designed to detect and destroy specific targets within groups of ships by employing advanced technologies that reduce dependence on intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance platforms, network links, and GPS navigation in contested environments.
This LRASM seeker contract continues the transition of the program from Accelerated Acquisition to Low-Rate Production. BAE Systems has delivered more than 50 systems to date that have demonstrated excellent technical performance over multiple test events. The company also is working to make the seeker system smaller, more capable, and more efficient to produce.
The LRASM is being Deployed on Air Force B-1B bombers and Navy F/A-18E/F strike fighters.
BAE Systems' LRASM seeker technology builds on the company's decades of experience designing and producing state-of-the-art electronic warfare technology, and its expertise in small form factor design, signal processing, target detection, and identification.
Work on the LRASM sensor will be conducted at BAE Systems' facilities in Wayne, New Jersey; Greenlawn, New York; and Nashua, New Hampshire.
https://seapowermagazine.org/bae-systems-receives-order-for-lrasms-advanced-seeker/
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August 7, 2019 | International, Aerospace
Here’s why Boeing is getting $55.5M to fix a problem with the Air Force’s new tanker
By: Valerie Insinna WASHINGTON — The Air Force will pay up to $55.5 million for Boeing to redesign the KC-46's boom, but it will cost more than that to field a fix to the problem. According to a Aug. 2 contract announcement, the award will pay for a “system level hardware and software critical design review of the boom telescope actuator redesign,” and Boeing will receive $21 million of the proposed award value immediately. But because the contract has yet to be definitized, Boeing could receive up to $55.5 million once terms of the deal are cemented. And since initial award only covers the redesign of the boom — not the costs of testing, fabricating and retrofitting the new booms on existing aircraft — it stands to reason that the Air Force will owe additional money to Boeing to completely fix the issue. Unlike the other remaining critical deficiencies on the KC-46 program, the Air Force has agreed to foot the cost of fixing the boom problem, as it is a change in the service's initial requirements. Boeing's current boom design meets international standards for thrust resistance, and the Air Force accepted that design at Milestone C in 2016, when the KC-46 was cleared for production. But later flight tests demonstrated that the boom produces too much thrust resistance to refuel the A-10, necessitating a change in design. In January, an Air Force official told Defense News the process of redesigning and manufacturing the new booms could take about two years. The Air Force plans to buy 179 KC-46s over the life of the program. After years of delays due to technical issues, the service signed off to accept the first tanker in January, which was then delivered to McConnell Air Force Base, Kan., later that month. The KC-46 made its first flight for the initial operational test and evaluation phase on June 4 at McConnell AFB. Boeing is on the hook to pay for the other major critical deficiency: a redesign of the Remote Vision System, a collection of cameras and sensors that allow the boom operator to steer the boom into the fuel receptacle of the receiving aircraft. The service became aware of this problem after pilots experienced difficulties directing the boom during refueling, sometimes scraping the surface of the receiver aircraft — a mistake that could compromise the low observable coating of stealth aircraft. Despite this issue, the Air Force has decided to accept KC-46 tankers so that pilots can begin training with the new aircraft. However, the service is withholding up $28 million per plane in order to incentivize Boeing to move quickly on a redesigned RVS. About $360 million has been withheld so far, according to Defense One. https://www.defensenews.com/air/2019/08/06/heres-why-boeing-is-getting-555m-to-fix-a-problem-with-the-air-forces-new-tanker/
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August 27, 2023 | International, Aerospace, C4ISR
U.S. Navy Awards Sikorsky Contract To Build 35 CH-53K® Helicopters
The agreement includes 12 U.S. Marine Corps Lot 7 aircraft, 15 U.S. Marine Corps Lot 8 aircraft, and eight aircraft for Israel.