October 11, 2023 | International, Aerospace, Security
The Army's Version 6.5 Apache helicopter flew for the first time in Mesa, Arizona, the company announced.
https://www.defensenews.com/industry/2023/10/11/boeing-flies-upgraded-ah-64e-apache-for-first-time/
August 20, 2024 | International, Land
The Russian military's plodding reaction to Ukraine's surprise attack — and Ukraine's plan to create a buffer zone in the Kursk region — should compel Western political and military leaders to question many of the assumptions they're been making about this long-running war.
October 22, 2020 | International, Aerospace
Seapower Staff EAST HARTFORD, Conn. — Pratt & Whitney, a division of Raytheon Technologies Corp., has been awarded a $1.5M contract to conduct an F135 modernization study and operational assessment by the F-35 Joint Program Office to determine specific propulsion system growth requirements for Block 4.2 F-35 aircraft and beyond, the company said in an Oct. 20 release. The study is expected to conclude in March 2021. “This award is a significant milestone for the program and the warfighter, as we look to ensure the F135 propulsion system continues to provide the foundation for all air vehicle capability requirements over the full lifecycle of the F-35,” said Matthew Bromberg, president, Pratt & Whitney Military Engines. “As we look to the future, growth in aircraft capability must be met with matched propulsion modernization. Fortunately, the F135 has ample design margin to support agile and affordable upgrades that will enable all F-35 operators to keep pace with evolving threat environments.” Under this award, Pratt & Whitney will assess F135 engine enhancements required to support future F-35 weapon system capability requirements across all F-35 variants beginning with Block 4.2 aircraft. The scope of the assessment focuses on enhancements addressing improvements to up and away thrust, powered lift thrust, power and thermal management capacity, and fuel burn reduction. Designed with the knowledge that operational environments will evolve and threats will advance, the F135 is postured to meet future F-35 capability requirements. Its modular design and advanced digital architecture allow for the agile development and spiral insertion of both hardware and software upgrades. As part of the study, Pratt & Whitney's GATORWORKS organization will complete the conceptual design and analysis of multiple F135 Engine Enhancement Package (EEP) growth options with phased insertion plans. Leveraging significant U.S. Government and Pratt & Whitney investment in next generation adaptive propulsion technologies, Pratt & Whitney's EEP approach offers low risk, variant-common upgrade options for the F135 that provide increased performance aligned with the program's continuous capability development and delivery strategy and serve as a critical enabler for future capability growth of the F-35 weapon system. The combat-proven F135 is the most advanced operational fighter engine in the world, delivering 26% more thrust, 116% more powered lift, and more than a 300% increase in power and thermal management over 4th generation fighter engines – all with a demonstrated mission capability rate of greater than 94%. “Built upon decades of combat propulsion experience, the F135 provides the warfighter with a critical technological advantage over adversaries at an unparalleled value to the taxpayer,” said Bromberg. “With more than 40,000 pounds of thrust, unmatched low-observable signature, world-class thermal management, and innovative engine control system, the F135 is a critical enabler of the F-35 weapons system and of operations conducted in advanced threat environments – a core element of the National Defense Strategy.” https://seapowermagazine.org/pratt-whitney-awarded-contract-for-f135-engine-modernization-study/
September 7, 2018 | International, Aerospace, C4ISR
BY PATRICK TUCKER DARPA's new research in brain-computer interfaces is allowing a pilot to control multiple simulated aircraft at once. A person with a brain chip can now pilot a swarm of drones — or even advanced fighter jets, thanks to research funded by the U.S. military's Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, or DARPA. The work builds on research from 2015, which allowed a paralyzed woman to steer a virtual F-35 Joint Strike Fighter with only a small, surgically-implantable microchip. On Thursday, agency officials announced that they had scaled up the technology to allow a user to steer multiple jets at once. “As of today, signals from the brain can be used to command and control ... not just one aircraft but three simultaneous types of aircraft,” said Justin Sanchez, who directs DARPA's biological technology office, at the Agency's 60th-anniversary event in Maryland. More importantly, DARPA was able to improve the interaction between pilot and the simulated jet to allow the operator, a paralyzed man named Nathan, to not just send but receive signals from the craft. “The signals from those aircraft can be delivered directly back to the brain so that the brain of that user [or pilot] can also perceive the environment,” said Sanchez. “It's taken a number of years to try and figure this out.” In essence, it's the difference between having a brain joystick and having a real telepathic conversation with multiple jets or drones about what's going on, what threats might be flying over the horizon, and what to do about them. “We've scaled it to three [aircraft], and have full sensory [signals] coming back. So you can have those other planes out in the environment and then be detecting something and send that signal back into the brain,” said Sanchez. The experiment occured a “handful of months ago,” he said. It's another breakthrough in the rapidly advancing field of brain-computer interfaces, or BCIs, for a variety of purposes. The military has been leading interesting research in the field since at least 2007,. And in 2012, DARPA issued a $4 million grant to build a non-invasive “synthetic telepathy” interface by placing sensors close to the brain's motor centers to pick up electrical signals — non-invasively, over the skin. But the science has advanced rapidly in recent years, allowing for breakthroughs in brain-based communication, control of prosthetic limbs, and even memory repair. https://www.defenseone.com/technology/2018/09/its-now-possible-telepathically-communicate-drone-swarm/151068