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December 29, 2024 | International, Land

Canadian military fears maintenance issues will plague equipment sent to Latvia

DND acknowledged a lack of storage and maintenance facilities at Camp Adazi in Latvia, but said fixes are underway.

https://ottawacitizen.com/news/national/defence-watch/canadian-military-equipment-maintenance-latvia

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  • Farnborough International launches FIA Connect, a digital aerospace event

    June 1, 2020 | International, Aerospace

    Farnborough International launches FIA Connect, a digital aerospace event

    Farnborough International has launched FIA Connect: a platform to connect the global aerospace industry. Taking place during what would have been the 2020 airshow week, FIA Connect will run from July 20-24. Over five days, there will be a series of free-to-attend digital aerospace events, including a full virtual conference program focussed on topics leading industry and featuring high profile speakers, as well as range of business growth opportunities. Speaking about the launch of FIA Connect, Gareth Rogers, chief executive of Farnborough International said: “The cancellation of the airshow in response to the COVID-19 pandemic was a major shock, however the team is determined to create something that brings as many aspects of the show to the global aerospace industry as possible. “Through our biennial airshow, we have been privileged to serve as a platform for connecting industry, facilitating business growth, and showcasing the very latest in innovation and technology. “The Farnborough International team is working hard to deliver a week of world-class content and thought leadership in order to provide some support to industry at a time when we cannot meet.” Registration for FIA Connect is set to go live in the middle of June. The schedule of events includes: The FINN Sessions – a comprehensive webinar program of insight and analysis featuring leading figures and focussed on the topics that matter: MRO, defence, airlines, space, urban aviation and future workforce. Meet the Buyer is to run free-of charge on Tuesday July 21. This is a strategic opportunity, connecting suppliers with buying decision makers at pre-arranged, private and secure virtual meetings. Farnborough Friday a day developed to help address the skills gap, this virtual hub will include careers advice, inspirational speaker videos, downloads and workshops. ADS Partnership – FIA Connect is partnering with ADS Group, the U.K. trade association for aerospace, defence and security, to provide support, guidance and topical sessions of analysis, giving the best of insight and resource to help business keep up to date, informed and connected. All content for FIA is being created in-house by the team at Farnborough International with the technological capability being delivered by Eventscase: a platform designed to facilitate all key areas of live, hybrid and virtual events. https://www.skiesmag.com/press-releases/farnborough-international-has-launched-fia-connect-a-digital-aerospace-event/

  • Important next step in the M Frigate Project

    June 26, 2020 | International, Naval

    Important next step in the M Frigate Project

    June 25, 2020 - On Wednesday 24 June, the Dutch Ministry of Defense took an essential step in the replacement of the current M frigates of the Netherlands and Belgian Navies. The B-letter was sent to the Dutch Lower House, marking the completion of the investigation phase, with a design that meets the requirements of both the Defense and NATO. Damen, Thales and a whole chain of companies involved in naval shipbuilding in the Netherlands, are delighted with this next step. They are ready to start with the next phase of the project. Director Damen Schelde Naval Shipbuilding Hein van Ameijden: “This kind of launching customer projects are essential for the future of naval shipbuilding in the Netherlands. We are delighted that we can build the successor to the M frigates. Much more importantly, the men and women of the Royal Netherlands Navy will once again have an innovative ship at their disposal, to sail and fight with.” The main task of the frigates will be to fight submarines remotely. This will be performed by way of a new torpedo, to be deployed from the ship or by the NH90 helicopter onboard. This is one of the subjects stated in the letter that the Dutch Lower House received from State Secretary Barbara Visser. The current four M frigates of the Belgian and Dutch navies are at the end of their lifetime. In addition to submarine combat, the new frigates must be able to protect themselves and other units. They must be deployable worldwide for maritime combat and safety operations and assistance. This requires means of defence against threats from the air and enemy ships on and underwater. The frigate has room for a 110-man crew. For mission-specific personnel and their equipment, 40 extra beds and various spaces are available. The first ship is expected to be delivered in 2027. After that, operational effectiveness and safety of the ship will be tested. The Dutch Navy is expected to receive this first frigate in 2028 and the second one a year later. The Belgian frigates will be delivered no later than 2030. View source version on Damen Schelde Naval Shipbuilding: https://nlnavy.damen.com/important-next-step-in-the-m-frigate-project/

  • AeroVironment debuts bigger, anti-armor loitering missile

    October 2, 2020 | International, Aerospace, Naval, Land, Security

    AeroVironment debuts bigger, anti-armor loitering missile

    Jen Judson CORRECTION - Blackwing is a reconnaissance system. The dash speed of the Switchblade 600 is 115 mph. WASHINGTON — Building on its Switchblade 300 loitering missile legacy with the U.S. Army, AeroVironment is releasing a family of capabilities to include its new Switchblade 600, a larger version suited to go up against armored targets at greater ranges in denied and degraded environments. AeroVironment has provided the tube-launched, rucksack-portable Switchblade to the Army for roughly a decade, delivering thousands of them into theater, but the company sealed the largest loitering munitions deal to date with the service in May — a $146 million contract, funded at $76 million for the first year, to supply the 300 version of the system for the Lethal Miniature Aerial Missile Systems program. “Our family of loitering missile systems is redefining and disrupting a multibillion-dollar missiles market,” AeroVironment CEO Wahid Nawabi told reporters during a Sept. 30 media event. The family also includes Blackwing, a loitering reconnaissance system that can be deployed from a submarine while submerged and used in an underwater air-delivery canister. “The ability to identify a threat on the battlefield, assess it, neutralize the threat with an extremely high degree of precision, with low to no collateral damage, while always having the option of waving off the mission and reengaging the same or different target, is at the core of our solution sets and capabilities,” Nawabi said, “and we're going beyond that.” Department of Defense customers wanted the same features of the 300, but with greater effects, Todd Hanning, AeroVironment's product line manager for tactical missile systems, said during the same event. “The 600 delivers with enhanced effects, greater standoff range and extended endurance,” Hanning said. “This all-in-one, man-portable solution includes everything required to successfully launch, fly, track and engage non-line-of-sight targets with lethal effects.” The 50-pound system can be set up and operational in less than 10 minutes and is designed to be capable of launching from ground, air or mobile platforms, “providing superior force overmatch while minimizing exposure to enemy direct and indirect fires,” Hanning said. The new version can fly for 40 minutes with a range of more than 40 kilometers. The missile exceeds a 115 mph dash speed and carries an anti-armor warhead designed to neutralize armored vehicles without the need for external intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance or fires assets. The new system comes with a touchscreen tablet-based fire control system with an option to pilot the vehicle manually or autonomously. The missile is secured through onboard encrypted data links and Selective Availability Anti-Spoofing Module GPS. The Switchblade 600 is also equipped with a patented wave-off capability where operators can abort missions at any time and recommit. “From [artificial intelligence] to autonomy, we're not stopping there. We're investing in future technologies like edge computing and artificial intelligence engines, latest-gen processing with massive computing power,” Hanning said. “We believe it'll be the smartest loitering missile in the market.” AeroVironment began developing the 600 as a new class of loitering missiles to meet a set of requirements in an Army development program called Single Multi-Mission Attack Missile. But according to Brett Hush, the company's senior general manager of product line management for tactical missile systems, “we've evolved beyond that.” Other customers, including the U.S. Marine Corps and a “number of DoD customers,” have since adopted similar requirements, he said. “We've been developing very closely with a number of DoD customers,” Hush said, “The only one that we can talk about publicly at this point in time is the U.S. Marine Corps program, of which we are one of the competitors in the phase one development demonstration.” He added there would be a fly-off in January followed by a downselect to a single supplier. The company has had a rigorous test schedule over the past several years for the Switchblade 600, according to Hanning. Most of that testing was ground-launched against both fixed and moving targets. “I think we are up to about over 60 flights in our test program,” he added, "and we'll continue to do that through this next year. Then the 600 will progress into both maritime and aerial environments, Hanning said. AeroVironment is also continuing to find ways to integrate Switchblade into air and ground platforms. The company continues to team up with General Dynamics Land Systems to offer an integrated solution as part of its offering to the Army's Optionally Manned Fighting Vehicle competition. AeroVironment is also teaming with Kratos Defense and Security Systems to demonstrate a “high-speed, long-range unmanned combat air vehicle” that serves as a mothership to deliver large quantities of Switchblade 300s that can provide a mesh network of information back to a ground control station “to tactically execute multiple attack scenarios cooperatively and to overwhelm and disable enemy systems,” Hanning said. Initial air-launch testing will begin at the start of next year, Hush said. While AeroVironment is not one of the initial companies developing capabilities within the Army's Future Vertical Lift Air-Launched Effects, or FVL ALE, portfolio, “we definitely see a way for AeroVironment to participate in that and really be a player in that market knowing that Switchblade 600 is definitely designed for air-launched effects, air-launched capability,” Hush said, “and that's something that we'll continue to work on and look at the opportunity to be a part of that effort. We definitely see its capabilities are directly aligned with that fight and with those platforms.” When asked if the company submitted an offering to the ALE development competition, Nawabi said: “I'm not in a position to be able to comment on the specific details due to the competitive nature of the deal, but we believe that we have a lot to offer for the ALE program and initiative as a whole. I will keep you updated in the future.” https://www.defensenews.com/land/2020/10/01/aerovironment-debuts-bigger-anti-armor-loitering-missile/

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