December 16, 2024 | International, Aerospace, Naval, Land, C4ISR, Security
September 20, 2019 | International, Aerospace
First European-Built F-35 For The Netherlands Presented
Being Built For Lockheed Martin By Leonardo Company
The first F-35 (009), which will be based in the Netherlands from this fall, was officially presented recently in Cameri, Italy. There, the Italian company Leonardo is building the new fighter plane for manufacturer Lockheed Martin. The Italian aircraft manufacturer has a production line for wings and a final assembly line on which it assembles complete aircraft.
State Secretary Barbara Visser and her colleague Mona Keijzer from Economic Affairs and Climate were present at the ceremony.
"With the F-35 and later also the MQ-9 Reaper, the Air Force will get the nicest things that others are looking forward to. And it will be a wonderful year for Leeuwarden," Visser said. "In just 49 days, on 31 October, the Air Force will receive this aircraft there. It is fantastic that we work together in Europe to build the aircraft, but also to later maintain it."
"A perfect example of how national security and economic affairs go together", Keijzer said. "The F-35 brings prosperity to the Netherlands in defense, economic growth and business innovation."
Aircraft "009" will remain in Italy for a few more weeks, including for some test flights. "We accept the aircraft, and will then transfer it to the Air Force as quickly as possible. The less it remains with us, the sooner the user can get started with it," said Director Defense Equipment Organization, Vice Admiral Arie Jan de Waard.
In Cameri, Leonardo is building the F-35A for both its own air force and 29 units for the Netherlands. With the distribution of the largest contracts some 10 years ago, it was agreed that Italy would be assembling the aircraft while The Netherlands does the engine maintenance of at least the Italian and Dutch F-35s.
That happens at the Woensdrecht Logistics Center, where the European storage location for parts of the F-35 is also located.
In Cameri the four main components of an F-35 are assembled. Leonardo itself builds one of those components, the wing section. Part of these is used for the on-sire final assembly process, but the vast majority goes to the Lockheed Martin factory in the United States. There, they are used to assemble aircraft for America, Australia, Denmark, Norway and South Korea, to name a few.
For the Netherlands, other F-35s are currently on the production line in Italy at various stages. The next one, the F-010, is expected to also come to the Netherlands this year.
The delivery of the final aircraft is now scheduled for mid-2023; The Netherlands will then have 37 aircraft.
http://www.aero-news.net/getmorefromann.cfm?do=main.textpost&id=f92e55c3-7e8e-4b56-9a0d-64e829ad8c50
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July 3, 2019 | International, Aerospace
These 4 technologies are big problems for US military space
By: Nathan Strout A recent report highlights the fact that the commercial space sector is an increasingly important part of the military's efforts in space, but there are places where industry falls short. The national security space arena is a niche market, characterized by low production runs paired with a need for high-quality products. That combination makes it a difficult area for the commercial sector. While national security space increasingly relies on industry to provide components for space vehicles, the fact remains that in some key areas there are no domestic suppliers for critical technologies, leaving the United States dependent on foreign suppliers. Here are four such technologies singled out in a recent report on the United States military's industrial base: Solar cells According to the report, the commercial sector is not investing in the research and development needed to improve solar cells, which are used to power satellites. Businesses have maxed out the capacity for triple-junction solar cells, but do not appear capable of pushing forward to four- or five-junction solar cell technology. The Pentagon also wants solar cells that are able to withstand more radiation for longer than current products on the market. Improving solar cells to get the same or more power out of even slightly smaller panels could have a major impact when it comes to launching a satellite into space, meaning that reducing solar panel size is highly valuable. Tube amplifiers Starting in the 1990s, the domestic supplier market share for traveling-wave tube amplifiers — electronic devices used to amplify radio frequency signals to high power — dropped from 50 percent to just 12 percent. While that market has shown a slight recovery, the presence of heavily subsidized companies like Thales in France make it difficult for American companies to compete. Gyroscopes Precision gyroscopes are used in spacecraft to determine altitude and are essential to providing inertial navigation systems. According to the Department of Defense, there is only one domestic supplier of hemispherical resonating gyroscopes, resulting in long lead times — the report claims that the company can only produce one to two units per month. Fiber optic gyroscopes fair better with three domestic suppliers currently manufacturing them, but those companies are themselves vulnerable to overseas supply issues with their subcomponents. Infrared detectors Just one foreign manufacturer produces the substrates necessary for space infrared detectors, and the Pentagon warns that a disruption of any more than a few months of production of the substrates could negatively impact the quality and completion of American satellites. Because of this, the U.S. government has used a Defense Production Act of 1950 provision that allows it to offer economic incentives to either develop, sustain or expand domestic production of technology critical to national defense, and an Industrial Base Analysis and Sustainment program is in the works to support the remaining two American foundries for one type of substrate. https://www.c4isrnet.com/battlefield-tech/space/2019/07/02/these-4-technologies-are-big-problems-for-us-military-space/
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June 13, 2018 | International, Naval
US Navy awards Lockheed Martin MK48 maintenance contract
The US Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA) awarded Lockheed Martin a five-year follow-on contract option on 12 June worth about USD65 million to support the Navy's intermediate-level maintenance activities for MK48 torpedoes at the Pearl Harbor Heavyweight Torpedo Intermediate Maintenance Activity (IMA). The initial contract was awarded in March 2018. The Lockheed Martin MK48 Torpedo IMA Program focuses on ensuring availability and reliability of the torpedoes, Richard Dunn, programme manager for Lockheed Martin Rotary and Mission Systems, said in a statement, while reducing total programme life cycle costs for the US Navy's torpedo programme. Lockheed Martin has provided specialised maintenance for the MK48 torpedoes since 2007. http://www.janes.com/article/80934/us-navy-awards-lockheed-martin-mk48-maintenance-contract