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  September 10, 2020 | International, Aerospace

  U.S. Army Reveals Mystery UAS Payload Called Blasphemy

  Steve Trimble September 09, 2020 The U.S. Army has revealed a mysterious new payload called Blasphemy for the General Atomics Aeronautical Systems Inc. MQ-1C Gray Eagle. The name of the payload appeared in public for the first time on a presentation slide displayed by a panel of Army unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) program managers during the virtual AUVSI Defense Systems conference on Sept. 9. Blasphemy appeared as one of several payloads listed on the slide, but no other information about it was provided. When asked a follow-up question during the question-and-answer period seeking details about the new payload, the Army program manager demurred. “I think we're going to skip that one,” said Lt. Col. David Benjamin, the Army's product development manager for the MQ-1C program. The slide showed the Blasphemy payload loaded on to the same pylon as the Multi-Function Electronic Warfare (MFEW) pod. The Army plans to deploy the MFEW-Air Large pod on the MQ-1C next year, but hasn't before revealed any plans for a payload called Blasphemy. The slide showed a list of “integrated capabilities” for the MQ-1C in fiscal 2020. https://aviationweek.com/defense-space/sensors-electronic-warfare/us-army-reveals-mystery-uas-payload-called-blasphemy

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  August 14, 2019 | International, Aerospace

  Update: F-35 test fleet struggles with low readiness rates as key deadline approaches

  Pat Host, Washington, DC Key Points The F-35 programme's test fleet has a fully mission-capable rating that is roughly 10% of its goal This could make it difficult for the Pentagon to make an educated decision on whether to enter full-rate production The Pentagon's Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) test fleet has a fully mission-capable rate of 8.7% compared with an 80% goal, causing one watchdog to question whether the programme can accomplish all of its initial operational test and evaluation (IOT&E) test points before the phase ends. Dan Grazier, military fellow with the Project on Government Oversight (POGO) watchdog group in Washington, DC, said the Pentagon plans to make its full-rate production (FRP) decision by the rapidly approaching end of fiscal year 2019 (FY 2019) or early FY 2020. The fiscal year changes on 1 October. If the F-35 programme cannot accomplish all its IOT&E test points by this deadline, Grazier said the Pentagon cannot make an informed decision on FRP. The FY 2016 Director of Operational Test and Evaluation (DOT&E) report called for an 80% availability rate to conduct an efficient IOT&E and support sustained combat operations. According to an F-35 programme briefing slide provided by POGO and dated 19 July 2019, the 8.7% rate is an improvement from 4.7% in May. https://www.janes.com/article/90429/update-f-35-test-fleet-struggles-with-low-readiness-rates-as-key-deadline-approaches?from_rss=1

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  November 12, 2023 | International, Aerospace

  US Air Force's new B-21 Raider "flying wing" bomber takes first flight | Reuters

  The U.S. Air Force's B-21 "Raider" bomber shaped like a flying wing took its first flight on Friday, the next step in rolling out a new fleet of long-range nuclear-capable stealth bombers built by Northrop Grumman , according to a Reuters witness.