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February 15, 2024 | International, Aerospace

Canada acquiring air defence and anti-drone capabilities for Canadian Armed Forces members deployed with NATO in Latvia

Today, the Honourable Bill Blair, Minister of National Defence, announced that Canadian Armed Forces members deployed to NATO’s Canada-led Battle Group in Latvia will soon have two new defensive capabilities that are being acquired on an urgent basis.

https://www.canada.ca/en/department-national-defence/news/2024/02/canada-acquiring-air-defence-and-anti-drone-capabilities-for-canadian-armed-forces-members-deployed-with-nato-in-latvia.html

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  • Navy inks deal for synthetic aperture radar imagery

    May 14, 2020 | International, Naval, C4ISR

    Navy inks deal for synthetic aperture radar imagery

    Nathan Strout Capella Space announced May 13 that it signed a deal to provide synthetic aperture radar to the U.S. Navy, even though the company has yet to put a satellite on orbit. Unlike traditional electro-optical satellite imagery, which can be degraded or denied by adverse lighting conditions or weather, SAR creates images with radar, meaning it can produce images regardless of the weather or lighting conditions. Additionally, SAR sensors can provide data on material properties, moisture content, precise movements, and elevation, meaning that SAR can be used to build 3D recreations of a given geographical area. Capella says its planned SAR satellite constellation will be able to collect sub-0.5 meter imagery, capable of identifying various types of aircraft or vehicles at ground level. Still, the company has yet to put a single payload of their planned 36 satellite constellation on orbit. Although Capella executive hoped to have satellites launched by the end of 2019, it noted in January that the first satellite wouldn't launch until March, with six more to follow by the end of the year. With this latest announcement, the company simply stated the first launch would take place later this year. Until then it will collect imagery by flying its synthetic radar on a specially outfitted airplane. The Navy signed a contract with the company through the Defense Innovation Unit's Commercial Solutions Opening. Under the new contract, Capella will provide imagery as well as in-house analytics for interpreting that data. The Navy deal is just the latest military and intelligence contract for the company. “Defense & intelligence agencies utilize Capella's SAR data for a variety of purposes, including disaster recovery, infrastructure monitoring and indications and warnings of potential threats,” said Capella CEO and Founder Payam Banazadeh. “The continuous work we receive from these agencies is a testament to the future they see where Capella services play an important role in our national security.” The Air Force awarded the company a contract in November to use its SAR for virtual reality software, missile defense and developing predictive intelligence to foresee foreign threats. On the intelligence side, the National Reconnaissance Office issued a commercial study contract to the company in December as part of its efforts to diversify what types of imagery the agency purchases from commercial companies. https://www.c4isrnet.com/space/2020/05/13/navy-inks-deal-for-synthetic-aperture-radar-imagery/

  • To up fighter readiness levels, Pentagon looks to retire older planes and fix supply chains

    October 12, 2018 | International, Aerospace

    To up fighter readiness levels, Pentagon looks to retire older planes and fix supply chains

    By: Aaron Mehta WASHINGTON — With Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis issuing new guidancedemanding readiness for tactical air assets increase in just one year, the Pentagon is openly acknowledging that older planes will have to be retired and cannibalized for parts to make it happen. The department will also look to overhaul how it handles its supply chain, according to the department's No. 2 official. In a September memo, first reported by Defense News, Mattis ordered the Air Force, Navy and Marines to get the Pentagon's fleets of F-16, F-18, F-22 and F-35 fighters to a minimum of 80 percent mission ready. That would represent a major jump in readiness over a short period of time, raising skepticism amongst analysts. From a pure numbers-on-paper standpoint, the easiest way for getting readiness rates up on the fleet would involve retiring older, less ready aircraft — essentially increasing the percentage of good-to-go planes by reducing the overall size of the fleets. Such a move may not be popular on the Hill, which routinely complains about the size of the military compared with previous eras. But it's a logical step being endorsed by both Deputy Secretary of Defense Patrick Shanahan and Gen. Robert Neller, the Marine Corps chief of staff. “You gotta get rid of airplanes. At some point, you gotta get rid of the old ones,” Neller told reporters Wednesday at a Defense Writer's Group event, when asked how he would hit that 80 percent mark. Neller added that such a move has to be part of a broader spectrum of moves, including better quality parts from vendors, being more efficient with maintainers, and adjusting the flying hours for pilots to make sure the wings aren't being worn off on jets. “It's not going to be a single thing, so we've got to do our part,” he added. Speaking to reporters at the AUSA conference the same day, Shanahan seemed to zero in on the oldest Navy jets as ones that could be retired. “Well, when you look at the size of the fleet of the F-18s, you got [F-18A models] out there, then you look at what it would take to restore them to a certain level of readiness, you might say it's much easier just to retire those,” he said. “So, I mean, there's a mix of answers.” “It probably doesn't make sense to generate a lot of activity to make something that is older more reliable, but when you think about the joint strike fighter and the hundreds of those that we're going to take, 80 percent should be the minimum, OK? It shouldn't be some aspirational goal, it should be the minimum.” However, he pushed back at the idea that anyone will “game the system” to get those readiness percentages up. Commercial practices In the memo, Mattis specifically notes the commercial aviation industry is able to maintain higher readiness rates and directs the service to look that way for inspiration. “I am confident in our department's ability to generate additional capacity from our current aircraft inventory, alongside the commercial aviation industry's sustainment of high availability rates,” Mattis wrote. “As we seek to achieve our goals, we can learn from industry's benchmarks for measuring speed, cost and mission capability, as well as its best practices for implementing a sustainable, Department-wide system.” Shanahan, who will be the overall leader of the readiness rate improvement efforts, is a longtime Boeing executive who worked directly on a number of commercial jet production programs. And to him, there are absolutely lessons that can be drawn from passenger aviation. “A jet engine is a jet engine; no one will convince me otherwise,” he said. “I've lived in both worlds, I've been on more airplanes than anybody in the United States, I know these things, OK?” The deputy said his focus was on helping the service develop “methods, systems and practices” that will lead to systemic changes in how maintenance is done and provide dividends for years to come. “When you look at the F-18s, this is the same size of fleet as Southwest has. It's not a super-large fleet, they're all basically the same,” Shanahan noted. “So how do we put in place, you know, the support practices and the parts so that people aren't working as hard?” The need to keep part quality and quantity up were on display just a day after Shanahan and Neller's comments. On Thursday, the Pentagon ordered a temporary stop to flying the F-35 as it investigated a fuel tube inside the engines of the fleet. That same day, an F-22 crashed on its side following a landing gear malfunction. During his talk with reporters, the Navy was singled out as already having committed to improving their methodologies. And he called out the need to “restructure” how both the Navy and Air Force handle their supply chains — something he said will ultimately bleed over into maintenance beyond the four selected jet fleets. “The real end game to me is as a department, how do we end up with a single sustainment system? And what was good about this is that once you get the F-18 right, it spills over into the P-8, because they're side-by-side, so [the P-8 maintainers] going to be like, ‘Those guys, they're working a lot less hard than we are and they're getting much better results, why don't we just do it that way?' “And then as people see the methods they apply to shipbuilding or ship maintenance,” he added. Shawn Snow of Marine Corps Times contributed to this report. https://www.defensenews.com/air/2018/10/11/to-up-fighter-readiness-levels-pentagon-looks-to-retire-older-planes-and-fix-supply-chains

  • Lockheed, U.S. Military Establish F-35 Public-Private Partnership

    June 16, 2020 | International, Aerospace

    Lockheed, U.S. Military Establish F-35 Public-Private Partnership

    Lee Hudson Fleet Readiness Center East is now certified to repair and test 14 F-35 components as part of a new public-private partnership with Lockheed Martin. FRCE is the lead site for depot-level maintenance on the F-35B short-takeoff-and-vertical-landing variant. Since 2013, the depot has conducted modification and repair for all three F-35 variants. FRCE provides engineering and logistics support for naval aviation, the other services, federal agencies and foreign governments. “This is a new workload coming in for Fleet Readiness Center East,” Steve Gurley, F-35 capability establishment at FRCE, said in a June 15 statement. “We inducted our first F-35 valve in February, into our valves and regulators shop. That valve is the first of 14 components that we've declared capability on.” Components of FRCE will work on span from valves, to ejection seats, to a turbomachine that provides power to start the jet's engine. The depot has declared capability in repairing and testing 14 components and anticipates that list growing to more than 105 components for the F-35. This new work positions FRCE to have a scheduled workload through 2024, Gurley said. Each new component declaration requires an in-depth analysis of current workload, future workload, facilities and required skill sets. “Our team consists of logisticians, industrial engineering technicians, engineers, facilities, program managers and the business office,” Gurley said. When FRCE establishes a new capability, the goal is to begin operation at full capacity and work through any unexpected obstacles. “We don't want to induct a component for repair and then have it go right into a delay status for material, or something that we have control over,” Gurley said. The plan is for FRCE to go from 14 F-35 components to 57 through November 2021. Some of the components are on the fleet's top degrader list, meaning when FRCE can repair and test those components it should help support F-35 readiness rates. https://aviationweek.com/defense-space/aircraft-propulsion/lockheed-us-military-establish-f-35-public-private-partnership

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