BAE wins Air Force electronic warfare contract

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  January 17, 2019 | International, Aerospace

  Airbus wins DARPA contract to develop small constellation satellite bus for Blackjack program

  HERNDON, Va., USA, 14 January 2019 - Airbus Defense and Space Inc. has been awarded a contract from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) to develop a satellite bus in support of the Blackjack program. DARPA describes the Blackjack program as an architecture demonstration intending to show the military utility of global low-earth orbit constellations and mesh networks of lower size, weight and cost. DARPA wants to buy commercial satellite buses and pair them with military sensors and payloads. The bus drives each satellite by generating power, controlling attitude, providing propulsion, transmitting spacecraft telemetry, and providing general payload accommodation including mounting locations for the military sensors. “Airbus has previously co-invested hundreds of millions of dollars in high-rate manufacturing technology and supply chain logistics to build large constellations of small satellites,” said Tim Deaver, Director of US Space Programs at Airbus Defense and Space, Inc. “Airbus is committed to growing manufacturing capability in the US and our government customers can leverage this commercial capability to develop low-earth orbit constellations to complement large existing systems.” This contract positions Airbus Defense and Space, Inc., of Herndon, Va., and its strategic joint venture partner, OneWeb Satellites, of Exploration Park, Fl., as the ideal service providers for Blackjack. High production rates and design-to-cost management techniques enable OneWeb Satellites to offer low cost constellation solutions for the U.S. government and current customers. Constellations of inexpensive satellites permit wide scale disaggregated architectures enhancing survivability across many different mission areas. OneWeb Satellites is pioneering new value propositions in space. They are leading the design and manufacturing of ultra-high performing satellites at high-volumes. “We have created a game changer with our overall design, supply chain and production system,” said Tony Gingiss, CEO, OneWeb Satellites. “Our team is transforming the space industry and we are in the midst of demonstrating we can deliver on our promises.” OneWeb Satellites brings to bear capabilities which dramatically lower the cost and shorten acquisition timelines for customers thanks to a modular design and agile serial production of satellites. The OneWeb Satellites satellite manufacturing facility in Florida is the latest step in Airbus' continued and long-standing commitment to growth in U.S. manufacturing, job creation and investment. This facility, which will ultimately support thousands of jobs and follows the opening of our U.S. Manufacturing Facility for A320 aircraft in Mobile, Alabama, from which we delivered our first aircraft in 2016. An A220 assembly line on the same site in Alabama will break ground in January of 2019. With our extensive network of U.S. suppliers, Airbus is the largest consumer of U.S. aerospace and defense goods in the world – buying more than any other company or even country. Airbus invested $16.5 billion with U.S. companies in 2017, supporting 275,000 American jobs. https://www.airbus.com/newsroom/press-releases/en/2019/01/Airbus-wins-DARPA-contract-to-develop-small-constellation-satellite-bus-for-Blackjack-program.html

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  September 12, 2019 | International, Land

  DSEI: UK’s Warrior fleet upgrade about 18 months away from kickoff

  By: Andrew Chuter LONDON — Negotiations are underway on a production contract to update the British Army's fleet of Warrior infantry fighting vehicles, according to the Ministry of Defence official running the program. “We are now talking about how we go forward on production,” Marcus Bruton, the MoD's Warrior upgrade director said during an interview at the DSEI show Sept. 10. Bruton said the two sides were probably 18 months away from a contract allowing Lockheed Martin and its supply chain to start upgrading the Warrior. The effort to progress the long running Warrior capability sustainment development program into the manufacturing phase has come on the back of Lockheed Martin successfully achieving 20 battlefield mission assessments – a key milestone in the reliability growth test program now underway. The MoD said in March it would open manufacturing contract negotiations once it was satisfied with progress on reliability trials. In late August Lockheed Martin achieved that milestone. The company said that in cooperation with the British Army Armoured Trials and Development Unit, it had fired thousands of rounds from the new CTAI developed 40 mm cannon, driven more than 5,000 kms, and achieved the battlefield mission assessments with flying colors. Lockheed Martin Warrior program Director Lee Fellows said he is expecting a deal towards the back end of next year. The company is keen to get the production contract signed and sealed but “we need to get it right, so it will take as long as it needs to," he added. "Getting it done at pace and quality aequally important.” Quantities, the mix of variants and affordability are among the items due to be discussed. Discussions on how to overcome issues of design authority ownership is also part of the build up to a production contract, said the officials. BAE holds the design authority on the existing legacy Warrior, but Lockheed Martin holds the approval for the extensive upgrade — particularly the new turret. “The expectation is there will be a collaboration with BAE. We are talking with them already, that's part of the negotiations,” said Fellows. Neither executive will comment on what sort of upgrade numbers the British Army is looking at. Roughly 740 vehicles were delivered to the British Army starting 1988 but a number were lost in Iraq and Afghanistan. A number of vehicles have been earmarked for battlefield support duties that don't require a new turret. At one time the number of hulls to be updated was in the region of 380, but suppliers at a company briefing in March said that as the British Army downsized and budgets became more challenging the figure slipped to around 265 or lower. The Lockheed Martin executive said that the next 18 months or so will bring further reliability growth trials, but that the major risks have been removed and testing had not unearthed any significant problems. The update is considered one of the Army's top priorities alongside other vehicle programs, including the Challenger 2 tank upgrade and procurement of the Boxer mechanized infantry vehicle from German company Artec. Lockheed Martin was awarded a development deal to upgrade Warrior vehicles back in 2011, but the program has been dogged with problems slowing down progress towards a production deal by several years. The update program includes a new turret fitted with the CTAI cannon, electronic architecture, a modular protection systems and other enhancements. It's a much needed update. The current vehicle's inability to fire on the move is just one of a number of shortcomings deemed to make the Warrior obsolete by current battlefield standards. https://www.defensenews.com/digital-show-dailies/dsei/2019/09/11/uks-warrior-fleet-upgrade-about-18-months-away-from-kickoff

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  December 7, 2020 | International, Aerospace

  L’industriel français Dassault dans le premier cercle des vendeurs d’armes

  Le classement mondial des industriels de l'armement, publié lundi, est trusté par des groupes américains. Par Isabelle Chaperon Publié aujourd'hui à 00h00, mis à jour à 07h39 En tête, rien ne bouge. Cinq groupes américains – Lockheed Martin, Boeing, Northrop Grumman, Raytheon and General Dynamics – dominent le classement mondial des industriels de l'armement, publié lundi 7 décembre par l'Institut international de recherche sur la paix de Stockholm (Sipri). Ce palmarès a été établi à partir des données de 2019, année où les ventes d'armes et autres équipements militaires des 25 premiers acteurs du secteur ont atteint 361 milliards de dollars (298 milliards d'euros), soit 8,5 % de plus que le top 25 en 2018. Derrière les leaders, la hiérarchie évolue. D'abord parce que, pour la première fois, le Sipri a inclus des fabricants chinois. Quatre d'entre eux, dont Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC), apparaissent ainsi parmi les vingt-cinq groupes mondiaux de l'armement sachant que d'autres entreprises chinoises auraient pu y figurer « mais les informations étaient insuffisantes », précise le Sipri. En un an, les ventes de Dassault Aviation ont augmenté de 105 % Ces quatre représentants de l'Empire du Milieu raflent 16 % des ventes du club des 25 leaders mondiaux et forment le deuxième bataillon national derrière les douze fleurons de l'armada américaine et leur 61 % de part de marché. Ensemble, les six Européens de l'Ouest (BAE Systems, Leonardo, Airbus, Thales, Dassault, Rolls Royce) comptent pour 18 %. Les deux Russes (Almaz-Antey, United Shipbuilding Corp) pour 3,9 %. A noter la création de EDGE, un acteur des Emirats arabes unis né en 2019 de la fusion de vingt-cinq entreprises locales, qui se place au 22e rang. Du côté des industriels français, « une forte hausse des livraisons de l'avion de combat Rafale a propulsé Dassault Aviation dans le top 25 pour la première fois », souligne Lucie Béraud-Sudreau, directrice du programme armes et équipements militaires au Sipri. En un an, les ventes de l'avionneur tricolore ont augmenté de 105 %, soit la croissance la plus élevée en pourcentage dans le secteur. En parallèle, Naval Group qui figurait en 2018 au vingt et unième rang a perdu sa place dans le club. Airbus arrive à la 13e place (10e en 2018) et Thales à la 14e (13e). https://www.lemonde.fr/economie/article/2020/12/07/dassault-dans-le-premier-cercle-des-vendeurs-d-armes_6062420_3234.html