March 5, 2021 | International, Aerospace
Pratt & Whitney Makes Hypersonic Revival As Pentagon Pushes Reuse | Aviation Week Network
A secret program inside GatorWorks seeks to deliver a high-speed, reusable propulsion system.
December 17, 2020 | International, Aerospace, Naval
Boeing Awarded U.S. Navy Contract for New Zealand P-8 Training
Posted on December 15, 2020 by Seapower Staff
OHAKEA, New Zealand — The U.S. Navy recently awarded Boeing a Foreign Military Sales (FMS) contract, valued at $109 million, to provide P-8A Poseidon training for the Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF), the company said in a Dec. 14 release.
A suite of training systems and courseware will prepare RNZAF aircrew and maintainers to safely and effectively operate and maintain the world's premier maritime patrol and reconnaissance aircraft for decades to come.
Boeing's holistic P-8 training system will enable the RNZAF to conduct up to 70 percent of all Poseidon-related training in a simulated environment. As part of the contract, Boeing will provide:
- Operational Flight Trainer (OFT) – Full-motion simulator incorporates all P-8 unique displays and switches.
- Weapons Tactics Trainer – Simulates mission systems and tactical operations, and when coupled with the OFT, forms a Weapons Systems Trainer that enables multi-crew, high-fidelity mission rehearsal training in the same simulated environment.
- Virtual Maintenance Trainer – Enables training of maintenance professionals to properly perform maintenance tasks and procedures on the P-8A aircraft
- Scenario Generation Station – Creates custom scenarios for mission training
- Brief/Debrief Station – Provides post-mission analysis and playback.
In addition, Boeing's Electronic Classroom will give RNZAF instructors and students access to courseware and testing capabilities. Boeing also will provide initial Instructor Cadre Training to a group of RNZAF instructors, enabling them to continue training additional RNZAF P-8A instructors and aircrews following delivery of the training system in early 2024.
“This holistic training system will enable aircrew to safely train for all aspects of flying and maintaining the P-8A Poseidon,” said Tonya Noble, director of International Defense Training for Boeing. “We look forward to bringing these training capabilities in-country and working alongside the RNZAF to ensure readiness of aircrew and maintenance personnel.”
All training will be conducted in Ohakea, New Zealand. In March 2020, the RNZAF acquired four P-8A Poseidon aircraft through the U.S. Navy FMS process, with expected delivery beginning in 2023. New Zealand is one of seven nations operating the P-8.
https://seapowermagazine.org/boeing-awarded-u-s-navy-contract-for-new-zealand-p-8-training/
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October 29, 2021 | International, Land, C4ISR
NODAR to develop 3D vision systems for US Army’s autonomous ground vehicles
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May 7, 2020 | International, Aerospace
Lockheed-Raytheon’s deadlier F-Model Javelin anti-tank missile rolls into production
By: Joe Gould WASHINGTON ― Raytheon and Lockheed Martin's joint venture for the Javelin has completed production of its first F-Model of the shoulder-fired anti-tank weapon, meant to be more lethal against advanced armor and soft targets, the companies announced Wednesday. Though there's no contract for international customers yet, Poland could be in line to be the first. The European country recently completed negotiations with the U.S. to buy 180 Javelin missiles and 60 launchers for its paramilitary Territorial Defence Forces, launched in 2016 amid tensions with Russia. “I believe that the Poland case actually hasn't been determined which way it's going to go yet, so they could make the F-Model available to them, or they could take the E-Models out of stock,” said Javelin Joint Venture Vice President Dave Pantano. “That would be up to the government-to-government process to make that determination.” The weapon's final assembly takes place in Troy, Alabama, with 511 in the first lot and deliveries to U.S. government set for this fall. The new model, also known as FGM-148F, has an advanced multipurpose warhead that combines charges to defeat explosive-reactive armor, and it has a fragmenting steel case for striking unarmored and lightly armored targets, according to the team. Its new command launch unit boasts a reduction in weight and an improved target tracker. “The warhead now combines multiple effects into one,” Pantano said. “It multiplies fragmentation, as well as the standard high-explosive anti-tank [charge]. So now the war fighters are prepared for any mission, without having to switch out different rounds for different targets.” Taiwan drew an immediate protest from China last year when the former asked to purchase more than 100 tanks from the U.S., along with air defense and Javelin systems. (Several kinds of Chinese-made tanks have been reportedly seen with explosive-reactive armor.) European allies with an eye on Russian armored vehicles are likely to be interested in the F-Model, according to James Hasik, a defense industry analyst and senior research fellow at George Mason University. “This is definitely about Russian armor. The Javelin is, by all accounts I've heard, a great weapon, but recent developments in active protection systems may lend some concern for its continued ability to reliably destroy tanks. I'd encourage any defense ministry in Europe, but especially those along the eastern frontier, to buy a lot of those or a similar weapon," Hasik told Defense News. “I should also note that the dual-purpose warhead is a welcome feature. The infantry ideally should have a single weapon for engaging multiple types of target. That's less essential with other arms, which may have a few more seconds to think about how to react, and more carrying capacity for multiple types of weapons.” The U.S. announced April 2 that it delivered 128 anti-tank Javelin missiles to Estonia. Polish Defence Minister Mariusz Błaszczak announced in a tweet last month that talks to buy Javelins were complete and that Warsaw was working to get more light anti-tank missiles. “This is not the end of strengthening these abilities,” he said. Days earlier, the U.S. Defense Security Cooperation Agency announced that Poland was cleared to buy the Javelin missiles and 79 command launch units for $100 million. The sale will help Poland “build its long-term defense capacity to defend its sovereignty and territorial integrity,” DSCA said. Domestically, the Pentagon last year awarded the joint venture a production contract for 2,100 F-Model missiles after passing qualification tests. The full-rate production agreement for the FGM-148F replaced the FMG-148E (Block 1). The president's fiscal 2021 budget request in February asked Congress for $210 million, or 773 Javelin missiles for the Army and 98 for the Marine Corps; that's up from the $163 million Congress enacted in FY20. In October, the U.S. Army delayed plans to integrate the Javelin atop the Stryker combat vehicle over problems were discovered in connecting the weapon to the vehicle's remote weapons station. The Army also plans to mount a 30mm cannon on the vehicle. Officials with the joint venture expect to restart the Stryker efforts this summer or early fall. Also last year, an Estonian robot at Redstone Arsenal Test Center in Alabama test-fired the missile using a Kongsberg remote launcher on an unmanned ground vehicle. The Titan unmanned ground vehicle was built by Qinetiq North America and the Estonian company Milrem Robotics. https://www.defensenews.com/2020/05/06/deadlier-f-model-javelin-antitank-missile-rolls-into-production/