Boeing to reopen the KC-46 and P-8 production lines

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  October 11, 2019 | International, Aerospace

  NGC Demos Advanced Capabilities at Northern Edge 2019

  Northrop Grumman's air dominance technologies bring new capabilities to U.S. warfighters Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE: NOC), together with military partners at Northern Edge 2019, successfully displayed advanced capabilities in air-to-air, air-to-surface and maritime tactical scenarios that address key warfighting gaps in advanced strike; intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance (ISR); and electronic warfare. Northrop Grumman's reconfigurable flight test aircraft significantly reduces the technology development process, bringing advanced capabilities to warfighters faster, more affordably and reliably. “Northrop Grumman is developing agile and affordable technologies that address the advanced strike, ISR and multi-domain command and control needs for our customers,” said Tom Jones, vice president and general manager, airborne C4ISR systems, Northrop Grumman. “Using reconfigurable flight-test aircraft outfitted with advanced sensors and cognitive artificial intelligence capability at events such as Northern Edge speeds up the development process significantly.” Northern Edge is the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command's biennial joint training exercise, held May 13-24 at the Joint Pacific Alaska Range Complex and the Gulf of Alaska. It involves all U.S. military services and agency partners, as well as virtual participants from stateside and overseas bases. The exercise is designed to enhance air warfare and interoperability among the services in a highly contested environment. Celebrating 10 years of participation at Northern Edge this year, Northrop Grumman has consistently demonstrated leading technology capabilities at the joint military-industry exercise. Innovative solutions tested at earlier Northern Edge exercises include auto target recognition and combat identification; advanced electronic protection and attack; cognitive mission computing; maritime search and track; long-range surface-to-air missile detection; and infrared search and track. Northrop Grumman also demonstrated Battlefield Airborne Communications Node (BACN) gateways and multi-level secure live, virtual and constructive training. Many of these capabilities are now fielded on U.S. platforms, providing a significant warfighting advantage to Air Force, Navy and Marine aircrews. Northrop Grumman is a leading global security company providing innovative systems, products and solutions in autonomous systems, cyber, C4ISR, space, strike, and logistics and modernization to customers worldwide. Please visit news.northropgrumman.com and follow us on Twitter, @NGCNews , for more information. http://www.asdnews.com/news/defense/2019/07/10/ngc-demos-advanced-capabilities-at-northern-edge-2019

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  August 28, 2019 | International, Naval

  EPF 11 COMPLETES ACCEPTANCE TRIALS FOR U.S. NAVY

  AUSTAL Limited (ASX: ASB) is pleased to announce that the 11th Austal designed and built Expeditionary Fast Transport Vessel, the future USNS Puerto Rico (EPF 11), has successfully completed U.S. Navy Acceptance Trials. These trials, conducted in the Gulf of Mexico, were unique in that they integrated formal Builder's Trials with Acceptance Trials for the first time on an EPF vessel. By combining the two at-sea trials into one event, there are great efficiencies gained, enabling reduced costs and a shorter completion schedule. Austal CEO David Singleton congratulated Austal USA for achieving this critical program milestone. “The future USNS Puerto Rico successfully completed and passed all tests – a clean sweep – and returned from sea earlier than scheduled, a testament to the effort and expertise of Austal USA's professional shipbuilding team and the U.S. Navy's Board of Inspection and Survey (INSURV),” he said. “These trials involved the execution of intense, comprehensive testing by the Austal-led industry team while underway, which demonstrated to the U.S. Navy the successful operation of the ship's major systems and equipment. Sea trials are the last milestone before delivery of the ship. The future USNS Puerto Rico is scheduled for delivery to the U.S. Navy before the end of the year and is the eleventh Spearhead Class ship in Austal's 14-ship EPF portfolio. “The flexibility and versatility of the EPF is becoming increasingly evident. From serving as a mother ship to test unmanned aerial and undersea systems in the Atlantic to performing as command ships in Pacific Partnership 2019 (an exercise that includes more than 500 military and civilian personnel from more than 10 nations), the EPF fleet is proving to be a great asset to the future 355-ship US Navy,” Mr Singleton said. Austal's EPF program is mature with ten ships delivered and three more under construction in Mobile, Alabama, in addition to the future USS Puerto Rico. The Spearhead-class EPF is currently providing high-speed, high-payload transport capability to fleet and combatant commanders. The EPF's large, open mission deck and large habitability spaces provide the opportunity to conduct a wide range of missions from engagement and humanitarian assistance or disaster relief missions, to the possibility of supporting a range of future missions including special operations support, command and control, and medical support operations. With its ability to access austere and degraded ports with minimal external assistance, the EPF provides unique options to fleet and combatant commanders. In addition to the EPF program, Austal has also received contracts for 19 Independence-variant Littoral Combat Ships (LCS) for the U.S. Navy. Ten LCS have been delivered, five ships are in various stages of construction and four are yet to start construction. AUSTAL MEDIA CONTACT Contact: Gemma Whiting - Government Relations Mobile: +61 (0)408 982 727 Email: gemma.whiting@austal.com Website: www.austal.com ABOUT AUSTAL Austal is an Australian shipbuilder and global defence prime contractor which designs constructs and sustains some of the world's most advanced commercial and defence vessels. Austal successfully balances commercial and defence projects and celebrated 30 years of success in 2018. Austal has designed, constructed and delivered more than 300 commercial and defence vessels for more than 100 operators in 54 countries worldwide. Austal is Australia's largest defence exporter and the only ASX-listed shipbuilder. Austal has industry leading shipyards in Australia, the United States of America and Philippines and service centres worldwide. Austal delivers iconic monohull, catamaran and trimaran commercial vessel platforms – including the world's largest trimaran ferry and multiple defence programs such as the Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) and Expeditionary Fast Transport (EPF) for the United States Navy. Austal has grown to become the world's largest aluminium shipbuilder. FURTHER INFORMATION Contact: Austal Phone: 61 8 9410 1111 Fax: 61 8 9410 2564 Email: media@austal.com https://www.austal.com/news/epf-11-completes-acceptance-trials-us-navy

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  July 2, 2019 | International, Aerospace

  Strategic Air Bases Receive First Counter-UAS Systems

  RACHEL S. COHEN Several Air Force installations with strategic assets are now armed with systems to protect against small unmanned aircraft that might loiter nearby. Steve Wert, the Air Force's digital program executive officer helping to roll out counter-UAS systems, said the service had fielded initial capabilities to an undisclosed number of US Strategic Command and Air Force Global Strike Command sites. Speaking at an Air Force Life Cycle Management Conference recently in Dayton, Ohio, Wert described the new systems as “a command-and-control capability integrated with some detection and some jamming,” but did not mention kinetic attacks. “Much more work to do,” he said. “We're finding the typical problems you will find on some bases. In order to have a radar providing detection, you actually have to build a tower. Building towers is hard because you have to do environmental assessments.” The systems provide “a composite suite of options” to sense and defeat drones attempting to enter restricted airspace around nuclear, space, electronic warfare, long-range strike, and missile defense resources, Air Force spokeswoman Laura McAndrews said. “The concept of ‘tailored and layered defense' provides the ability to execute kinetic solutions, such as traditional ballistic rounds and capture nets, coupled with other countermeasures that disrupt the operator's ability to navigate drones in our restricted airspace,” she said. The Air Force and Army are also collaborating on using 40 mm ammunition with nets that deploy and wrap around the drones to bring them down. “We've had some recent success working with the Army on kinetic defeat, successful test round firings,” Wert said. “The idea of a net round is probably a good solution, but that system's becoming accurate enough where the training rounds are directly hitting UAVs, so very good results there.” In May, Pentagon acquisition chief Ellen Lord told reporters Defense Department officials were concerned that military personnel weren't aware of their options for addressing UAVs and the services weren't sharing their ideas. Combatant command representatives and acquisition officials meet each month to discuss the right way forward. That's generated a list of counter-UAS systems in the DOD with details on their maturity, how many are deployed, and how they are used, Lord said. The Air Force is also working toward laser and microwave weapons for that purpose. The FAA already regulates how and where small UAS are allowed to fly, though those rules are evolving in collaboration with the Pentagon, which called the issue a high priority earlier this year. “I really do think of these UAVs as something that's low-cost, it's easy to manipulate,” then-acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan told the Senate Appropriations Committee in May. “We need to develop the capabilities and the rules because, quite frankly, this airspace is shared by so many different authorities, so it's as much about rules to operate in space as it is the technologies to defeat them.” Over the past few years, Defense Department officials have pointed to instances of enemy combatants dispatching small drones for strike and intelligence-gathering in the Middle East and of unmanned aerial vehicles lingering near high-end aircraft. US Strategic Command did not answer how many little aircraft have been spotted lately or if the number is growing. "So far, they've been incidental activities,” STRATCOM boss Gen. John Hyten said at a 2017 Senate Armed Services Committee hearing. "But the fact that they're occurring, and then if you watch what is happening overseas in the [US Central Command theater] with the use of lethal UAVs and the use of UAVs for surveillance on the part of a terrorist adversary, I'm very concerned that those same kind of UAVs could be employed against our weapon storage facilities, especially on the nuclear weapon storage facilities." Air Combat Command chief Gen. Mike Holmes in 2017 also noted two incidents that interfered with operations on the same day and required reports to Air Force leadership. Conventional military assets need similar policies and protections as STRATCOM has put in place over the past few years, allowing workers to track and engage drones when needed, he argued. "At one base, the gate guard watched one fly over the top of the gate shack, tracked it while it flew over the flight line for a little while, and then flew back out and left," Holmes said. "The other incident was an F-22 . . . had a near collision with a small UAS, and I don't have anything that I can do about it." http://www.airforcemag.com/Features/Pages/2019/July%202019/Strategic-Air-Bases-Receive-First-Counter-UAS-Systems.aspx