Elbit announces $114 million sale of patrol aircraft in Asia

On the same subject

• 

  February 3, 2021 | International, Aerospace

  Dassault Aviation receives order for 12 Rafales for French Air and Space Force

  Saint-Cloud, January 29, 2021 – Eric Trappier, Chairman and CEO of Dassault Aviation, today signed a contract for the sale of 12 Rafale aircraft with Florence Parly, French Minister of the Armed Forces. These aircraft will replace the 12 Rafales of the French Air and Space Force (FASF) sold to the Hellenic Air Force. The contract was signed during a visit by the French Minister of the Armed Forces to the Argonay plant in Haute-Savoie which has produced the flight control systems for all Dassault aircraft since 1963. Dassault Aviation and its industrial partners would like to thank the French Ministry of the Armed Forces, the French defense procurement agency DGA and the Armed Forces for their renewed confidence. “This contract for 12 new aircraft will enable our Air and Space Force to continue the Rafale build-up while awaiting the fifth tranche, which is scheduled for delivery between 2027 and 2030. The contract is a great satisfaction for Dassault Aviation, Thales, Safran and the 500 French companies involved in the program, in the particularly difficult conditions facing our aeronautics sector in the context of the Covid crisis“, said Eric Trappier. ABOUT THE RAFALE The only totally “omnirole” aircraft in the world, able to operate from a land base or an aircraft carrier, capable of carrying 1.5 times its weight in weapons and fuel, the Rafale has been designed to perform the full spectrum of combat aircraft missions: Interception and air-to-air combat using a 30-mm gun, Mica IR/EM missiles and Meteor missiles. Close air support (CAS) using a 30-mm gun, GBU laser-guided bombs and AASM GPS-guided bombs. Deep strike using Scalp/Storm Shadow cruise missiles. Maritime strike using the Exocet AM39 Block 2 missile and other air-to-surface weapons. Real-time tactical and strategic reconnaissance using the Areos pod. Buddy-buddy in-flight refueling. Nuclear deterrence using the ASMP-A missile. The Rafale entered service with the French Navy in 2004 and with the French Air and Space Force (FASF) in 2006, gradually replacing the seven types of previous-generation combat aircraft. It has been combat proven in different theaters: Afghanistan, Libya, Mali, Iraq and Syria. Of the 192 aircraft ordered by France to date, 152 have been delivered. A total of 114 Rafales have been ordered by Egypt, Qatar, India and Greece. ABOUT DASSAULT AVIATION With over 10,000 military and civil aircraft (including 2,500 Falcons) delivered in more than 90 countries over the last century, Dassault Aviation has built up expertise recognized worldwide in the design, development, sale and support of all types of aircraft, ranging from the Rafale fighter, to the high-end Falcon family of business jets, military drones and space systems. In 2019, Dassault Aviation reported revenues of €7.3 billion. The company has 12,750 employees. View source version on Dassault Aviation: https://www.dassault-aviation.com/en/group/press/press-kits/dassault-aviation-receives-order-for-12-rafales-for-french-air-and-space-force/

• 

  February 8, 2024 | International, Aerospace

  BAE Systems missile warning systems for US allies

  With the escalating challenges on contested battlefields, the demand for threat detection and countermeasure capabilities has surged.

• 

  May 25, 2020 | International, Aerospace

  The U.S. Navy’s New Drone Could Team Up With Stealth Fighters

  The U.S. Navy is spending $13 billion buying 72 MQ-25 Stingray tanker drones for its 11 aircraft carriers. The idea is for the Boeing BA-made MQ-25s to refuel manned fighters, extending their range while also relieving the fighter squadrons of their own tanking duties. But the MQ-25 always had potential to be more than just an aerial-refueler. With its stealthy airframe and high endurance, it could be a surveillance plane and even a light strike platform, too. At least one fleet community isn't waiting for the Navy and Boeing to adapt the MQ-25 to other missions. The fleet's airborne command-and-control weapons school at Naval Base Ventura County in Point Mugu, California, already thinks of the Stingray as more than a tanker. Robbin Laird, a military analyst and writer, spoke to Cmdr. Christopher Hulitt, the head of the school, and summarized the conversation at Second Line of Defense. Laird and Hulitt's main point is that the Navy is acquiring new aircraft with highly-sophisticated communications systems and sensors. The F-35C stealth fighter. The E-2D early-warning plane. The MQ-4C high-altitude drone. And the MQ-25. Where before, E-2s would fly over a maritime battle, detecting targets and relaying commands to fighters, now a new system is coming together. The F-35C, E-2D, MQ-4C and MQ-25 all possess the qualities of a sensor- and command-and-control platform. So instead of passing information just one way—from an E-2 to a fighter—in coming years info could begin moving in all directions. An F-35C in stealth mode might detect an enemy ship using its passive sensors and beam, via secure datalink, the target's general location to the nearby MQ-25 that just refueled the F-35C. The MQ-25 could hand off the data to an E-2D. The E-2D crew could instruct the operators of an MQ-4C to steer their drone toward the enemy ship's location. Once the MQ-4C pinpoints the ship, the E-2D could then pass the targeting data back to the F-35C as well as to other allied vessels and planes, all of which could fire missiles. Imagine this whole process happening in minutes. “It is about deploying an extended trusted sensor network, which can be tapped through various waveforms, and then being able to shape how the decision-making arc can best deliver the desired combat effect,” Laird wrote. The Navy hopes to deploy the first MQ-25s as early as 2024. https://www.forbes.com/sites/davidaxe/2020/05/22/the-us-navys-new-drone-could-team-up-with-stealth-fighters/#9bc4fd875e2e