French military orders first sigint suite to work across all services

On the same subject

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  July 15, 2019 | International, Aerospace

  Raytheon awarded $17.8M for computers to launch Navy's anti-radiation missiles

  By Allen Cone July 11 (UPI) -- Raytheon was awarded a $17.8 million contract to deliver 114 computers to launch the U.S. Navy's high-speed anti-radiation missiles. The contract for the system, known as HARM, will include two pre-production units, one first article test unit and 111 production units in support of the Navy, the Defense Department announced Wednesday. Work will be performed at Raytheon's plant in Tucson, Ariz., and is expected to be completed in October 2021. Naval working capital, and fiscal 2017, 2018 and 2019 aircraft procurement funds in the full amount will be obligated at time of award, $6.2 million of which will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The CP-1001B/C HARM Command Launch Computer is an electronics subsystem installed on the airframe to interface with the AGM-88 A/B/C HARM Missile. "Continued hardware and software upgrades have allowed HARM to counter advanced radar threats. HARM has proven itself in both reliability and combat performance," Raytheon said on its website. HARM's primary mission is designed to suppress or destroy an enemy's surface-to-air missile radar and radar-directed air defense artillery systems. When it is airborne, the 800-pound missile can operate in preemptive, missile-as-sensor and self-protect modes. The AGM-88 HARM is a joint U.S. Navy and Air Force program developed by the Navy and Raytheon. The system is employed on a variety of Navy, Air Force and Marine Corpsaircraft, including the EA-6B, F-16 and F/A-18. In addition, the HARM is available to nations through foreign military sales. The AGM-88 HARM was first involved in combat against Libyan targets in the Gulf of Sidra in 1986. During Operation Desert Storm, U.S. aircraft fired 1,961 missiles against Iraqi targets. https://www.upi.com/Defense-News/2019/07/11/Raytheon-awarded-178M-for-computers-to-launch-Navys-anti-radiation-missiles/9561562846921/

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  September 30, 2020 | International, Aerospace

  Germany walks away from Lockheed, Boeing cargo helicopter offers

  Sebastian Sprenger COLOGNE, Germany — The German Defence Ministry wants to start fresh on a new heavy transport helicopter after finding that offers from American firms Boeing and Lockheed Martin for the Chinook and the King Stallion, respectively, were too expensive, officials announced Tuesday. The surprise decision halts an acquisition race that was scheduled to a see a contract awarded in 2021. The two companies delivered their initial proposals for the program, aimed at replacing Germany's aging CH-53G helicopters, in January 2020. A request for a second proposal was expected by the end of this year. The move comes as the budget implications of the coronavirus crisis are starting to materialize, despite leaders' pledges to keep military spending high. Given that context, other programs are also expected to be on shaky ground, according to sources in Berlin. Officials canceled the helicopter race — locally known as Schwerer Transporthubschrauber, or STH — because the government deemed offers by the defense giants as “uneconomical,” a Defence Ministry statement read. The chance of meeting all requirements while adhering to the envisioned multibillion-dollar budget would be “unlikely,” officials wrote. The STH program was initially planned to be a poster child for a no-frills, off-the-shelf purchase that's easy on the defense budget. But acquisition officials kept piling on requirements to such a degree that it surprised some industry executives associated with the bidders, Defense News reported earlier this year. Also included in the government's requirements was a decades-long maintenance scheme under which contractors had to guarantee certain availability rates. Tobias Lindner, the Green Party's point man in the Bundestag for defense issues, called the helicopter program's a “bitter sign” for Germany's soldiers. He argued the Defence Ministry had been naive in its approach to the much-needed acquisition. “A new competition alone won't solve that problem,” he said. https://www.defensenews.com/global/europe/2020/09/29/germany-walks-away-from-lockheed-boeing-cargo-helicopt

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  September 27, 2023 | International, Land

  Victus Nox mission highlights need for flexiblity, Space Force says

  As the service seeks to operationalize a tactically responsive space capability, it may need to make its systems more nimble to respond to real-time needs.