September 16, 2020 | International, Aerospace
Gareth Jennings
Boeing Australia has powered up the engine of the first ‘loyal wingman' unmanned aerial vehicle it is developing in partnership with the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) ahead of upcoming flight trials.
The milestone, announced on 15 September, follows the completion earlier this year of the unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) that is serving as the foundation for the global Boeing Airpower Teaming System (ATS).
“This engine run gets us closer toward flying the first aircraft later this year,” Dr Shane Arnott, programme director of the Boeing ATS was quoted as saying. “We've been able to select a very light, off-the-shelf jet engine for the unmanned system as a result of the advanced manufacturing technologies applied to the aircraft.” Boeing has not yet disclosed which engine it has chosen for the ATS.
When it was unveiled at the Avalon Air Show in 2019, the ATS concept was named Boeing ATS (BATS). The Australian Department of Defense (DoD) said it would invest AUD40 million (USD29 million at the time) in the development. Boeing said the system represents the company's largest investment in a UAV programme outside the United States but did not disclose the amount involved.
December 7, 2018 | International, Aerospace
Collins Aerospace [UTX], formerly Rockwell Collins, will update B-1 Lancer training systems for Aero Simulation Inc. (ASI), which last month received a contract for B-1 training system sustainment from the U.S. Air Force Life Cycle Maintenance Command.There are... http://www.defensedaily.com/newly-minted-collins-aerospace-upgrade-b-1-trainers
June 26, 2023 | International, Land
The U.S. Army said on Monday it had selected General Dynamics and American Rheinmetall to compete to replace the Bradley fighting vehicle, in a deal that could be worth more than $45 billion to the winner.
July 21, 2020 | International, Land
by Ashley Roque Industry is concerned about a potential US Army plan to bid on, judge, and select its own M2 Bradley Fighting Vehicle replacement, and is likening such a measure to a metaphorical self-licking ice cream cone. During the past few weeks, defence companies have been eagerly awaiting the release of a draft request for proposal (RFP) for the army's latest attempt to design and field an Optionally Manned Fighting Vehicle (OMFV). Although they were interested in learning more about what the army is seeking this time around, they were also keen to see if a provision was included that enabled the service's Ground Vehicle Systems Center (GVSC) to also compete as a prime contractor. As several sources suspected, the draft RFP publicly released on 17 July included such provision. “Potential offerors are notified that a US government entity may submit a proposal as a prime offeror,” the army wrote. Ashley John, the public affairs director for the army's Program Executive Office for Ground Combat Systems, confirmed to Janes on 19 July that the service is exploring options to “leverage its core competencies and compete with industry in the design of a future combat vehicle”. More specifically, she said that the service wanted to use its science and technology community and engineers to “potentially develop” a Bradley replacement vehicle. As a result, interested vendors now have a flurry of questions over the ethics and legality of such a measure. One industry source that closely collaborates with the service and GVSC told Janes https://www.janes.com/defence-news/news-detail/us-army-seeks-to-compete-as-omfv-prime-industry-unnerved