July 28, 2022 | International, Aerospace
Saltzman nominated to lead Space Force
Saltzman would be the second person to serve as the Space Force's top officer since the service was created.
January 13, 2021 | International, Aerospace
BAE, Vertex announce deal to maintain Harrier II fleet
By
Christen McCurdy
Jan. 12 (UPI) -- BAE Systems and Vertex Aerospace announced Tuesday that they have signed a nine-year agreement to enhance availability of the U.S. Marine Corps' AV-8B Harrier II fleet.
Vertex, which received a $123 million task order for maintenance of the fleet in July, chose BAE as its subcontractor for the logistics support contract.
Under the contract, BAE and Vertex will "support the crucial training and combat operations conducted from U.S. Navy's aircraft carriers, amphibious assault ships, and forward operating bases," said an announcement from BAE.
"The Harrier is one of the most iconic military aircraft ever created, with its British designed short take-off and vertical landing technology," Tom Fillingham, senior vice president of US Programs for BAE Systems Air, said in a press release.
"Our expertise with the aircraft goes back 40 years and this new contract with Vertex Aerospace ensures we can continue to apply our expertise to support the U.S. Marine Corps in their crucial operations," Fillingham said.
In May, Boeing was awarded two contracts worth $87.5 million to upgrade the U.S. Marines' T/AV-8B Harrier II trainer aircraft.
The Harrier, meanwhile, is due to be phased out in 2025 while the Marines extend the life of Boeing F/A-18 Hornet strike fighters, per an aviation plan released in 2014.
On the same subject
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June 18, 2018 | International, Aerospace
Work on Dutch F-35s kicks off in Italy
Tom Kington ROME — Assembly is underway in Italy on a F-35 Joint Strike Fighter destined for the Netherlands Air Force, Dutch and Italian officials have said. The Netherlands is planning to assemble most of its F-35s at the line at Cameri in northern Italy, where Italian Air Force and Navy F-35s are already being assembled. Dutch secretary of state for defense, Barbara Visser, attended a ceremony at Cameri on Thursday to mark the start of the work on Dutch aircraft. “She was there as the aircraft, ‘AN9,' went to the mating station as assembly got under way,” said Dutch Air Force spokesman, Sidney Plankman. The aircraft is the ninth of the Netherlands' order of 37 F-35As. The first eight are being assembled at Lockheed Martin's Fort Worth facility in the U.S. The first Dutch F-35 assembled in the U.S. will roll off the Fort Worth line in January 2019 and will head to Luke Air Base for pilot training, said Plankman. “Six or seven of those assembled in the U.S. will go to Luke,” he added. Under a deal struck with the Italian government, the remaining 29 Dutch aircraft will all be assembled at Cameri, which is owned by the Italian government and operated by Italian state-controled defense firm Leonardo in partnership with Lockheed Martin. AN9 will be completed in February 2019 before undertaking test flights in Italy and heading to the Netherlands around October 2019. “It will be the first F-35 to arrive in the Netherlands,” said Plankman. Cameri has already delivered F-35As to the Italian Air Force, which are flying from Italy's Amendola Air Base. In January, the first F-35B to be assembled outside the U.S., which is destined to fly with the Italian Navy, was handed over to Italy at Cameri. Italy is currently due to purchase 60 F-35 As and 30 F-35Bs. https://www.defensenews.com/global/europe/2018/06/15/work-on-dutch-f-35s-kicks-off-in-italy/
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July 26, 2018 | International, C4ISR
Strategic Command will now oversee nuclear communications
By: Andrew C. Jarocki   The communication system which keeps the president in touch with the nuclear triad during a crisis will now be the responsibility of the head of U.S. Strategic Command. The change came about from concerns that the nuclear command, control and communications systems, or NC3, lacked a clear chain of command under the current structure. The system is comprised of satellites, radars and fixed or mobile command posts. “The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff has appointed the commander of U.S. Strategic Command to be the NC3 enterprise lead, with increased responsibilities for operations, requirements, and systems engineering and integration,” a U.S. STRATCOM spokeswoman told SpaceNews. The Pentagon's 2018 Nuclear Posture Review found the NC3 system “subject to challenges from both aging system components and new, growing 21st century threats” such as cyber warfare. The report also warned that “Russian nuclear or non-nuclear strategic attacks could now include attacks against U.S. NC3." “The Secretary [of Defense] has told me multiple times," Gen. John Hyten, the head of U.S. Strategic Command, said in a recent speech at the nuclear submarine base in King's Bay, Georgia. "Besides your day-to-day operational responsibilities ... your next highest priority is to make sure we get nuclear command and control right.” https://www.c4isrnet.com/c2-comms/2018/07/25/strategic-command-will-now-oversee-nuclear-communications/