September 22, 2022 | International, Aerospace
Brazil buys new Airbus helicopters for Air Force, Navy
The new aircraft will replace AS350 and Bell 206 helicopters currently in use by the two services.
July 24, 2020 | International, Land
Germany’s KMW pitches bridge-launching Boxer vehicle
COLOGNE, Germany — German tank-maker Krauss-Maffei Wegmann is developing a tactical bridge-launching capability for its Boxer vehicle that the company hopes to sell to its growing customer base.
Executives still consider the module an internal prototype, with more testing planned in the coming months. But the premise of a bridge-launching capability in forces lighter than the heavy, tracked vehicles mostly used for that job today could garner interest, they said.
The German military, Lithuania, the Netherlands, the U.K. and Australia are current or soon-to-be operators of Boxer fleets. The vehicles were developed in a joint venture with Germany's Rheinmetall.
The rides are modular by design, consisting of base chassis that can be combined with payloads for troop transport, command and control, combat, or medical evacuation, for example.
The new module will be able to deploy two types of bridges: a heavy variant that spans 14 meters and can carry 80 tons, and a longer version of 22 meters certified for 50 tons.
Those weight limits are sufficient for heavy battle tanks and the slightly lighter infantry fighting vehicles, respectively.
KMW officials had planned to debut the new development at the Eurosatory expo in Paris, France, last month before organizers canceled the event due to the coronavirus pandemic. The next chance to display the bridging module for would-be clients will be the U.K.-based DVD2020 conference, sponsored by the British Ministry of Defence, in November, according to the company.
Modifications needed to operate the bridging module with the base version of the Boxer include a new drive output for siphoning power from the main engine to the hydraulic arms used to push the bridge from the vehicle to the ground, officials explained.
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June 5, 2023 | International, C4ISR
US Space Force taps L3Harris to design missile-tracking sensor
According to the Space Force, selecting L3Harris to design a third sensor reduces program risk and gives the service more options.
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March 26, 2019 | International, Aerospace, C4ISR
German Air Force jumping on passive radar
By: Sebastian Sprenger COLOGNE, Germany — The German Air Force has created a formal acquisition track for passive sensing technology, joining a global military equipment trend that could reshuffle the cat-and-mouse game of radar versus stealthy aircraft. A defense acquisition spokesman told Defense News that the service is working on an “FFF” analysis for passive sensor systems, a technical acronym from deep inside the military-acquisition bureaucracy. Short for “Fähigkeitslücke und Funktionale Forderung,” the process serves to describe a capability gap, derive requirements and eventually tee up an actual investment program. Information about the acquisition status came in a response by the Defence Ministry to Defense News about an event in November that showed the military's keen interest in passive radar. The Luftwaffe and the ministry's defense-acquisition organization had staged a weeklong “measuring campaign” in southern Germany aimed at visualizing the entire region's air traffic through TwInvis, a passive radar system made by Hensoldt. Queries about the results of the demonstration were left unanswered. Full article: https://www.defensenews.com/global/europe/2019/03/22/german-air-force-jumping-on-passive-radar