August 21, 2024 | International, Aerospace
Aircraft carrier Bush gets first-ever Stingray drone control room
The carrier George H.W. Bush is now the host of an unmanned air warfare center, and more carriers are getting it soon.
April 30, 2020 | International, Aerospace
Boeing gets another $827M charge on the KC-46 program
By: Valerie Insinna
WASHINGTON — Boeing took a $827 million hit as cost overruns continue for the KC-46 tanker program, the company announced Wednesday.
About $551 million of the pre-tax charge was caused by new expenses associated with designing and integrating a new Remote Vision System for the tanker as part of an April agreement with the Air Force.
The remainder of the charge reflected “productivity inefficiencies and COVID-19 related factory disruption,” according to a news release. KC-46 production stopped for about three weeks over the past month due to a temporary shutdown at Boeing facilities in the Seattle area — including the factory in Everett, Wash., where the tanker is produced.
With the new charge, Boeing has now racked up about $4.6 billion in cost overruns over the life of the KC-46 program. Those expenses must be completely paid by Boeing under the terms of the $4.9 billion fixed-price firm contract it agreed to in 2011.
The bill comes as Boeing contends with the continued grounding of the 737 MAX and instability to the air travel market posed by COVID-19, which has led to lost orders and disruptions throughout the company's production lines.
But the RVS deal struck in April could potentially mark a new chapter for the tanker program, which has been mired in disputes between Boeing and the Air Force for years.
The RVS — integrated by Boeing with cameras and sensors from Collins Aerospace — feeds live video and other data to the boom operator, who is able to use those cues to pump gas into another aircraft. But the Air Force has complained that the system does not work properly in all lighting conditions, leading to an increased risk of the KC-46 accidentally scraping the aircraft receiving fuel.
Under the terms of the new deal, Boeing will make incremental hardware and software improvements to the existing system, but it will also design a new “RVS 2.0” with high-definition color cameras, better displays and improved computing systems not on the market when the first RVS was developed.
During an earnings call with investors on Wednesday, Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun said the defense market continues to be healthy with solid demand.
Overall, first quarter revenue for Boeing's defense sector decreased to $6 billion, down from about $6.6 billion in 2019. Most of that reduction was due to the KC-46 charge, according to the company, but a number of other defense programs were also impacted by the coronavirus pandemic, leading to reduced margin.
https://www.defensenews.com/air/2020/04/29/boeing-gets-another-827m-charge-on-the-kc-46-program/
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September 18, 2018 | International, Security
European Council - Leaders’ Agenda on Internal Security
As Leaders set out at the Bratislava Summit two years ago, the Union's objective in this area is to do everything necessary to support Member States in ensuring internal security and fighting terrorism. The European Union must help protect the public, safeguard the Schengen area and respond intelligently to a changing security environment where some threats are hybrid in nature, and where the line between internal and external security is sometimes blurred. Building on the real progress made in recent years to strengthen our collective security, we must think in more operational terms and ensure the full and effective implementation of our previous conclusions, including on cybersecurity (October 2017, June 2018) and on strengthening resilience to chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear-related risks, also in light of the Salisbury attack (March and June 2018). Leaders should focus on where EU efforts can add immediate value to national ones and on ways to reinforce Europe's long-term response to emerging and new threats, as part of the new Strategic Agenda for the Union to be adopted at the June 2019 European Council. Upgrading police and judicial cooperation Strengthening border security Resilience in cyberspace Crisis response capability Full article: http://www.consilium.europa.eu/media/36409/leaders-agenda-note-on-internal-security.pdf
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November 10, 2024 | International, Naval
US Marine Corps Initiates Full-Rate Production for ACV-30
The contract is part of a framework agreement worth up to USD 329 million.