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August 1, 2024 | International, Aerospace

GA-ASI Selected for Red 5 to Prototype Advanced Air-to-Air Autonomy on MQ-20 Avenger®

GA-ASI will operate two of its company-owned MQ-20 Avenger® Unmanned Aircraft Systems and provide mission autonomy software that integrates cutting-edge sensors, data links and other advanced mission systems

https://www.epicos.com/article/856525/ga-asi-selected-red-5-prototype-advanced-air-air-autonomy-mq-20-avengerr

On the same subject

  • BAE, Boeing, Lockheed respond to new Japanese F-X RFI

    November 9, 2020 | International, Aerospace

    BAE, Boeing, Lockheed respond to new Japanese F-X RFI

    By Greg Waldron5 November 2020 BAE Systems, Boeing, and Lockheed Martin have replied to a request for information (RFI) related to work on Tokyo's F-X future fighter programme. Japan's Acquisition, Technology & Logistics Agency (ATLA) confirms that the RFI was issued on 16 September, with seven companies showing initial interest. Only BAE, Boeing and Lockheed replied prior to the RFI's deadline – the Lockheed bid also involves Northrop Grumman. “MHI (Mitsubishi Heavy Industries) will conduct conceptual design to look for the best fighter configuration to meet the requirement,” says ATLA. “Receiving the answers of the RFI from 3 companies, [the ministry of defence] will assess them and choose a candidate company by the end of the year.” News of the RFI responses follows the 30 October confirmation that the ministry had signed a contract with MHI to develop the F-X, which will succeed the Mitsubishi-produced F-2 in the 2030s. BAE, which is leading the international Tempest programme in Europe, says that its response to the RFI discusses the company's technical capabilities across a range of areas where BAE can support F-X development. “We are delighted to have submitted our response to the Japanese Ministry of Defence and we firmly believe that we can add significant value to the F-X programme,” says Andy Latham, campaign delivery director – Japan, for BAE Systems' Air business. “We have decades of experience of partnering with nations around the world to deliver sovereign capability. Our track record of collaborating on complex combat aircraft programmes has provided us with insight and understanding of the likely challenges and the range of capabilities, technologies and relationships required to successfully deliver the next generation of such programmes.” Boeing has extensive combat aircraft experience in Japan, including involvement in upgrading Tokyo's fleet of F-15J fighters to a new “Japanese Super Interceptor” standard. “We are honoured to have been invited to submit a proposal to support the design and production of Japan's next generation fighter,” says Boeing. “Our proposal is for a Japan-led, next-generation fighter with cutting-edge technology based on the best of Japanese industry and Boeing. We have a strong and rich history of partnering with Japan, and a proven track record in advanced fighters, which will ensure a low-cost, low-risk approach for the Government of Japan and Japanese industry, along with key Japan-US interoperability.” Lockheed also has a long history in Japan. The F-2 is a derivative of the F-16, and Tokyo is in the process of obtaining up to 147 F-35s, which would make it the second largest operator of the type. MHI operates a final assembly line for the F-35. “Lockheed Martin has responded to Japan's F-X request for information (RFI) with Northrop Grumman,” says the company. “Our comprehensive RFI response outlines potential areas of development support and participation that could significantly reduce F-X development costs and schedule by leveraging close industry cooperation with Japan's F-X integrator, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, and ensuring indigenous design and sovereignty.” The company points to its experience with stealth aircraft, and also touches on the importance of interoperability with assets such as the F-35. “We firmly believe that we are well positioned to partner with MHI to cost-effectively develop Japan's next fighter and continue supporting the evolution of Japan's technological capabilities.” https://www.flightglobal.com/defence/bae-boeing-lockheed-respond-to-new-japanese-f-x-rfi/140995.article?adredir=1

  • Boeing Awarded $1.5B Contract for 28 Kuwait Super Hornets

    July 3, 2018 | International, Aerospace

    Boeing Awarded $1.5B Contract for 28 Kuwait Super Hornets

    By: Ben Werner Boeing was awarded a $1.5 billion contract to build 28 F/A-18E/F Super Hornets for the Kuwait Air Force, according to a Wednesday Pentagon contract announcement. Kuwait is buying 22 of the single-seat “E” variant and six of the two-seat “F” variant Super Hornet. The deal has been in the works since late 2016 when U.S. State Department notified Congress about Kuwait's intent to purchase Super Hornets. On March 30, Boeing was awarded a $1.16 billion contract to research, development and testing for the Kuwait deal. The deal Kuwait finalized Wednesday is a scaled-down version of the initial purchase announced in 2016 which involved 40 aircraft. At the time, the deal was considered significant by industry analysts and U.S. government officials because it would keep Boeing's Super Hornet production line operational. Since the 2016 announcement, Boeing has courted several potential international Super Hornet customers, including Finland, India, Switzerland and Germany. The U.S. Navy has announced it plans to purchase 116 additional Super Hornets — bringing its fleet up to 480 aircraft. When the Navy orders are added to possible international sales, the St. Louis-based production line could remain running for more than a decade. The following is the complete June 27, 2018 contract award. The Boeing Co., St. Louis, Missouri, is awarded a $1,504,995,240 fixed-price-incentive-firm contract that provides for the production and delivery of 22 F/A-18E and six F/A-18F Super Hornets in support of the government of Kuwait. Work will be performed in El Segundo, California (41.4 percent); Hazelwood, Missouri (28.2 percent); Fort Worth, Texas (4.7 percent); Santa Clarita, California (4 percent); Bloomington, Minnesota (3.3 percent); Greenlawn, New York (2.8 percent); Endicott, New York (2.3 percent); Santa Ana, California (1.9 percent); Clearwater, Florida (1.5 percent); Clifton, New Jersey (1.3 percent); Mesa, Arizona (1.3 percent); Torrance, California (1.2 percent); Ontario, Canada (1 percent); Vandalia, Ohio (0.9 percent); Kalamazoo, Michigan (0.8 percent); Fort Walton Beach, Florida (0.8 percent); East Aurora, New York (0.7 percent); and various locations outside the continental U.S. (2.1 percent), and is expected to be completed in January 2021. Foreign military sales funds in the amount of $1,504,995,240 will be obligated at time of award, none of which will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Maryland, is the contracting activity (N00019-18-C-1060). https://news.usni.org/2018/06/28/kuwait-finalizes-contract-for-28-super-hornets

  • Tired of sweating in your ACUs? Try these new hot-weather cammies

    June 27, 2019 | International, Other Defence

    Tired of sweating in your ACUs? Try these new hot-weather cammies

    By: Todd South FORT BELVOIR, Va. – Beginning in July, soldiers in Hawaii and at Fort Benning, Georgia will be able to buy the Army's newest field uniform – the Improved Hot Weather Combat Uniform. Following the first delivery of 2,000 uniforms to those sites, the Army will roll out more batches of the uniform in six more waves through February 2020 when it will be available at all military clothing stores. Don't sweat it yet. The IHWCU is not a clothing item required for inspections but it is an option that soldiers will have to use how they see fit in hot climates and even in garrison in situations where they would wear the Army Combat Uniform. The IHWCU maintains the same Operational Camouflage Pattern as the current ACU and comes in at about the same price, which runs approximately $100 for the set, depending on sizes, Col. Stephen Thomas, project manager, soldier protection and individual equipment at Program Executive Office-Soldier told Army Times. The most notable change when the two uniforms are side by side is that the IHWCU has no breast pockets. But changes go deeper once a user dons the lighter, more breathable and streamlined uniform built to help keep soldiers cool with improved airflow but also more comfortable with a new material that dries from soaking wet within 60 minutes. Thomas got to experience that firsthand recently when wearing the new uniform to a Pentagon meeting and getting caught in a downpour. “As soon as we pull in, the bottom falls out of the sky,” the career light infantryman said. Walking through security, he was leaving puddles of water but by the time he finished his first meeting he was essentially dry. The seven waves of deliveries will start at 2,000 for the first wave and conclude with a 5,000- to 6,000-uniform wave next year. After that production will depend on demand, Thomas said. If soldiers like them and buy them, then the Army will order up more. The seasoned colonel recalled a more distant uniform change having a certain effect. When he was a second lieutenant, the Army had the standard Battle Dress Uniform, but it was heavier than necessary for hot climates. So, similarly the Army produced a “lightweight” summer BDU, which also was not a required clothing item but quickly became the standard uniform most soldiers wore for comfort. “What ended up happening is it became a uniform of choice,” Thomas said. “I think this will have the same results.” The new uniform uses a 57 percent nylon and 43 percent cotton blend to reduce the weight of the uniform by a pound and increasing drying rates and air flow. Other not immediately recognizable but important additions include reinforced elbow and knee areas, helping to prevent ripping. Changes to contours by designers have used a “raglan” sleeve that is more fitted, less baggy with less bunching or binding as is sometimes common with the current ACU, Thomas said. The knee areas are also better tailored to allow for movement where the ACU can sometimes snag or drag when wet, said Lester Smith, systems acquisitions manager at PEO Soldier. And the crotch gusset allows for the same freedom of movement in the trousers, also preventing drag and keeping the pants in a better position, especially when loaded down with cargo pocket items or wet. How the Army developed the uniform includes laboratory and field testing by scientists at the then-Natick Soldier Systems Center in Massachusetts. That work kicked off in 2015, after soldiers pointed out problems with the existing uniform options for hot, wet environments such as those often encountered by soldiers with the 25th Infantry Division in Hawaii and soldiers rotating through the ongoing Pacific Pathways exercises that partners U.S. soldiers with Indo-Pacific region militaries, many in very hot, often jungle environments. The results were pushed to PEO Soldier in 2017, which did a large scale test with 25th Division soldiers and others beginning in January 2018 and which resulted in further changes and adjustments that ultimately became the soon-to-release IHWCU. Along the way, the Combat Capabilities Development Command Soldier Center, 25th Infantry Division, 6th Ranger Training Brigade, Jungle Operations Training Center and Maneuver Center of Excellence contributed to testing and evaluations. Pentaq, NIB, Goodwill Industries and ReadyOne are the companies producing the uniform for military clothing stores. Key features of the new IHWCU include: Blouse Single-breasted Raglan sleeve front with a five (5) button closure Fold-down collar with a fusible interlining Long sleeves with cuffs with one button and three buttonholes for an adjustable cuff tab The top of the button down closure is open to accommodate a pen Front placket has a loop tape for the Rank Patch Coat has two bellow-style top opening upper sleeve pockets and includes an eyelet drain-hole Sleeves have an elbow reinforcement patch Both sleeves have an Identification Friend or Foe tab cover that can be opened and closed using hook and loop fastener IFF tab cover is centered and sewn onto the sleeve above the upper sleeve pocket Double turned and cleaned finished hem Trousers Covered fly with a four (4) button/ buttonhole closure, or three (3) button/buttonhole closure, depending on size Seven (7) belt loops Two (2) side hanging pockets Two (2) front side pleated cargo pockets with three (3) button/ two (2) buttonhole closure flaps High end of cargo pockets at front of pocket rather than rear like ACU Two (2) lower leg side pockets with one (1) button/ one (1) buttonhole closure flaps Side cargo pockets shall have three (3) sewn-in eyelets hidden by the bellows Double needle seat patch and a pleated knee reinforcement incorporated into the pant leg at the knee One (1) piece single gusset Two (2) front side hanging pockets Mesh fabric attached on the inside of the trousers at the bottom of the legs as inner cuffs Bottom of the trousers leg hems, the inner cuffs, and the waistband shall have drawstrings How the IHWCU came to be First they stripped down the ACU and then added the following items: Chest, calf and back pockets were removed to reduce weight and dry time. Blousing strings were eliminated from trousers to allow for airflow and drainage. The elbows, knees and seat were reinforced with 330 denier nylon, a thicker nylon that increases durability and abrasion resistance. Crotch gussets, extra patches of fabric that reduces stress on the seams, were added to prevent blowouts common to the Flame Resistant ACUs. Buttons were used on the ACU blouse instead of a zipper, with the intent to increase air flow. Another hot weather version in early testing incorporated mesh into the uniform design and had all of the same changes as the stripped down ACU except it used a zipper instead of buttons. With this version soldiers didn't need to blouse their boots because a mesh material inside the trouser leg along the ankle. By tucking in the mesh, soldiers could get air flow and also keep insects or leeches from getting at them. Some early testing added a “knit yoke” or wicking material to the back of the trouser waist band. That add-on was to wick away pooling sweat that often accumulates there. Wicking draws moisture away from the body so that it can evaporate. They also looked at two different Army Combat Shirt changes, testing both a cooling material for the torso and collar and also a wicking version. Between 2015 and 2016 the Army conducted four uniform user test evaluations, three of those only on material, not design. The first was a 50/50 nylon/cotton weave with ripstop reinforcement, just like the standard ACU. The second had the same blend but used a “twill weave” to make it stronger and more tear resistant. The third used a 38/38/24 blend of nylon, cotton and PTFE, polytetrafluoroethylene: a compound use in Teflon coatings. The fourth version was 100 percent nylon ripstop. Without cotton it takes on less water and weighs less but is still as strong as nylon. The fifth version was a 57/43 nylon/cotton blend, which was the final choice for the current IHWCU. Full article: https://www.armytimes.com/news/your-army/2019/06/26/tired-of-sweating-in-your-acus-try-these-new-hot-weather-cammies/

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