German lawmakers greenlight $344 million support package for future P-8 fleet

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  January 25, 2021 | International, C4ISR

  Northrop Grumman gets $3.6B for work on Air Force communications node

  By Ed Adamczyk Jan. 22 (UPI) -- The Defense Department announced a $3.6 billion contract with Northrop Grumman on Friday for support of the Battlefield Airborne Communications Node. BACN is U.S. Air Force airborne communications relay and gateway system housed in the unmanned RQ-4 Global Hawk, another Northrop Grumman product, to receive and distribute battlefield communications. It is designed to facilitate the transport of voice and data across the battlespace, enabling network connectivity among weapon systems, sensors, warfighters and decision makers, the Air Force says. The contract "provides for research, development, test, and evaluation, integration and operations and sustainment for existing and future payloads contained in or connected to the BACN system and associated ground stations or controls, ancillary equipment, support equipment and system integration laboratories," and includes a 2026 deadline. In use with modifications since 2005, the node has been carried by the unmanned EQ-4B and the manned Bombardier E-11A aircraft. "Diverse weapon systems were unable to communicate with each other [in battlefield situations involving line-of-sight communications]", the company says on its website. "Each operating unit could see only a limited set of the complete picture. BACN bridges the gaps between those systems, enabling essential situational awareness from small ground units in contact up to the highest command levels," according to the company. https://www.upi.com/Defense-News/2021/01/22/Northrop-Grumman-gets-36B-for-work-on-Air-Force-communications-node/8711611342857

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  September 24, 2019 | International, Aerospace, Naval

  First test flight for Boeing MQ-25

  Boeing and the U.S. Navy on September 19 completed the first test flight of the MQ-25 unmanned aerial refueler. Designated as T1, the MQ-25 test asset completed an autonomous two-hour flight under the direction of Boeing test pilots operating from a ground control station at MidAmerica St. Louis Airport in Mascoutah, Ill., where the test program is based. The aircraft completed an autonomous taxi and takeoff and then flew a pre-determined route to validate the aircraft's basic flight functions and operations with the ground control station. “Seeing MQ-25 in the sky is a testament to our Boeing and Navy team working the technology, systems and processes that are helping get MQ-25 to the carrier,” said Boeing MQ-25 program director Dave Bujold. “This aircraft and its flight test program ensures we're delivering the MQ-25 to the carrier fleet with the safety, reliability and capability the U.S. Navy needs to conduct its vital mission.” The Boeing-owned test asset is a predecessor to the engineering development model (EDM) aircraft and is being used for what the company describes as early learning and discovery to meet the goals of the U.S. Navy's accelerated acquisition program. Boeing will produce four EDM MQ-25 air vehicles for the U.S. Navy under an US$805 million ($1.1 billion) contract awarded in August 2018. Boeing receives $805M MQ-25 contract Boeing explains the MQ-25 will provide the Navy with a much-needed carrier-based unmanned aerial refueling capability, which will allow for better use of the combat strike fighters currently performing the tanking role. It will also extend the range of the carrier air wing. “Today's flight is an exciting and significant milestone for our program and the Navy,” said the Navy's Unmanned Carrier Aviation (PMA-268) Program Manager Capt. Chad Reed. “The flight of this test asset two years before our first MQ-25 arrives represents the first big step in a series of early learning opportunities that are helping us progress toward delivery of a game-changing capability for the carrier air wing and strike group commanders.” The Navy expects the first four MQ-25s to reach operational capability on carrier decks in 2024. After this contract is complete, covering the design and production of the four MQ-25 airframes for testing, the Navy plans to buy 72 more vehicles with a total program cost of about US$13 billion ($17 billion). Héroux-Devtek to supply landing gear for Boeing MQ-25 Stingray In April 2019, Héroux-Devtek Inc. of Longueuil, Québec, was awarded a contract by Boeing to supply the complete landing gear system for the MQ-25 unmanned aerial refueling program. T1 received its experimental airworthiness certificate from the FAA in September, verifying that the air vehicle meets the agency's requirements for safe flight. https://www.wingsmagazine.com/first-test-flight-for-boeing-mq-25

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  December 7, 2020 | International, Naval

  Norfolk Naval Shipyard can go ahead with power and steam plant, state air quality regulators say

  By DAVE RESS DAILY PRESS | DEC 04, 2020 AT 5:14 PM Norfolk Naval Shipyard can proceed with plans to build a plant to supply the steam and most of the electricity it uses, the State Air Pollution Control Board ruled. The board found that the new facility would not boost pollutants — including sulfur dioxide, carbon monoxide and nitrogen oxide — above air-quality standards. Its staff analyses also found increased emissions of those chemicals would not be significant, although the board staff did note that increases in very small particulate matter would be significant. The shipyard wants to install two natural gas-powered turbines, each capable of generating 7 megawatts of electricity, as well as a boilers, heat-recovery generators and one 2.4 megwatt steam turbine. The $30 million project would allow the yard to generate its own steam, instead of purchasing it from the nearby Wheelabrator plant. The plant also would supply most of the electricity the yard now receives from Dominion Energy. James Boyd, president of the Portsmouth branch of the NAACP, said the project would add pollutants to the already bad air, raising serious environmental justice concerns. In a letter to the board, he also said forecasts of emissions miscalculated totals, by reporting pollutant totals from one gas turbine and one burner from the steam generator, instead of calculating the total of all the turbines were operating. University of Richmond geography professor Mary Finley-Brook noted that the shipyard is a Superfund site, which means its neighbors are more vulnerable to harm from emissions. Finley-Brook said the assessment of impact on community health was inadequate. A study for the board by two Massachusetts-based PhD toxicologists said air currently is safe and new plant would not change that, while board staff said air quality in the area had improved over the past 20 years. Chesapeake Bay Foundation executive director Peggy Sanner said she is disappointed that the board did not require monitoring and reporting of actual emissions from the plant, once it is operating, in 2022. “There are serious environmental justice concerns around building a new fossil fuel plant in this predominantly African-American community, which is overwhelmed by health risks from industrial pollution, she said, adding " Portsmouth residents already live near high concentrations of toxic waste at the nine Superfund sites within a 15-mile radius.” https://www.pilotonline.com/business/shipyards/dp-nw-naval-shipyard-plan-20201204-6pb3dpzdxvgo5b5yr3z4ygptem-story.html