July 26, 2022 | International, Aerospace
Airbus a testé son avion de transport A400M comme bombardier d'eau
Airbus a effectué des tests pour transformer l'avion de transport militaire A400M en bombardier d'eau à l'aide de citernes amovibles.
October 30, 2019 | International, Aerospace
In newly inked deal, F-35 price falls to $78 million a copy
By: Valerie Insinna
WASHINGTON —The Pentagon and Lockheed Martin have finalized a $34 billion deal for the next three lots of F-35 Joint Strike Fighters, setting the price of an F-35A jet below $80 million.
The fresh price tag has come a year earlier than expected. The deal includes 478 F-35s for U.S. and international customers across lots 12, 13 and 14.
On average, the price per aircraft will fall about 12.8 percent across all variants from Lot 11 to Lot 14, according to the Pentagon.
“This is the first time the F-35 Joint Program Office will award a significant F-35 aircraft procurement in the same fiscal year as the congressional appropriation year,” Pentagon acquisition head Ellen Lord told reporters Tuesday.
“We will reach a unit-recurring flyaway-cost-per-aircraft target of $80 million for a U.S. Air Force F-35A price by Lot 13, which is one lot earlier than planned — a significant milestone for the department,” she added.
The F-35A conventional-takeoff-and-landing model — which is used by the U.S. Air Force and most international users — is set to decrease from a Lot 11 price of $89.2 million to $82.4 million in Lot 12; $79.2 million in Lot 13; and $77.9 million in Lot 14.
The F-35B short-takeoff-and-vertical-landing model will fall to $108 million in Lot 12, $104.8 million in Lot 13 and $101.3 million in Lot 14. The F-35C variant, which can take off and land on aircraft carriers, also decreased in price, dropping to $103.1 million in Lot 12, $98.1 million in Lot 13 and $94.4 million in Lot 14.
Lockheed will deliver 149 F-35s in Lot 12, 160 aircraft in Lot 13 and 169 for Lot 14.
Neither Lord nor Lt. Gen. Eric Fick, the Pentagon's F-35 program executive, could explain why the size of the Lot 12 buy had dwindled from the 157 jets announced in June as part of the handshake deal to 149 jets in the definitized agreement.
However, it's likely that the decrease is due to Turkey's removal from the program. After the handshake agreement was announced, a source with knowledge of the deal told Defense News that it included Turkish jets to the order of about five to 10 F-35s per lot.
The Pentagon announced the contract definitization on Monday, awarding Lockheed Martin a $7 billion modification to a previous contract vehicle for the F-35. The Defense Department previously obligated funding to Lockheed through undefinitized contracts for about 255 aircraft, Fick said.
The award, which comprises some Lot 12 jets as well as Lot 13 planes added by Congress in the fiscal 2019 budget, includes 114 F-35s:
- 48 F-35As for the U.S. Air Force
- 20 F-35Bs for the U.S. Marine Corps
- Nine F-35Cs for the U.S. Navy
- 12 F-35As for Norway
- 15 F-35As for Australia
- Eight F-35As and two F-35Bs for Italy
- Funds for obsolescent parts, software data loads, critical safety items, nonrecurring and recurring engineering, and the Joint Strike Fighter Airborne Data Emulator.
“We are still left, then with about 100 aircraft to go and about another $7 billion to go associated with the work to be done for U.S. services in accordance with the [FY20 budget],” Fick said. “We don't have that budget yet. We can't make that contract award for the final aircraft until such time as we have this new statutory authority to do so.”
In a statement, Lockheed's F-35 program head hailed the progress on the aircraft's price reduction.
“With smart acquisition strategies, strong government-industry partnership and a relentless focus on quality and cost reduction, the F-35 enterprise has successfully reduced procurement costs of the 5th generation F-35 to equal or less than 4th generation legacy aircraft,” said Greg Ulmer, Lockheed's F-35 program vice president and general manager.
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March 3, 2021 | International, C4ISR, Security
Deadlines for B-21 Raider and ARCYBER
The B-21 Training Systems Innovation Challenge Deadline: WEDNESDAY 3 March 2021 The U.S. Air Force Global Strike Command and Rapid Capabilities Office have launched an innovation challenge on Vulcan focused on the B-21 Raider Training Systems. The results of the challenge will inform USAF decisions on the adoption of innovative solutions that enhance training systems for pilots and maintainers. The challenge is the continuation of a user-centered innovation effort spurred by a multidisciplinary USAF team (incl. end users) and—depending on merit and viability —provides the opportunity to: Engage with a state-of-the-art program and receive direct operator feedback. Be selected for a funded prototype demonstration Be considered for other potential development and/or integration activities beyond initial demonstration. Don't delay your engagement with this challenge. You can continue editing your submission all the way until the deadline next Wednesday 3 March 2021. Submit your innovations in Vulcan U.S. Army Cyber PAI Tools, Analytics, and Visualization Assessment Event (AE) Deadline: TUESDAY 2 March 2021 The U.S. Army Cyber Command (ARCYBER) Technical Warfare Center (TWC), is in search of industry expertise, software integration, analytic development, and data visualization capabilities to allow real-time, near real-time, and historical analysis of publicly available information (PAI). This call is interested in technologies that provide some or all of the following capabilities: Data Acquisition and Storage Data Structuring, Preparation, and Integration Data Analytics Data Visualization Submit your relevant capabilities to ARCYBER Cyber Fusion Innovation Center (CFIC) HERE by next Tuesday 2 March 2021. Review the instructions and be proactive in your submission process in order to increase the effectiveness of your engagement. IT TAKES A NETWORK!
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June 12, 2019 | International, Aerospace, Security
Sikorsky Gets $542M Navy Contract to Build 6 New Presidential Helicopters
By Gina Harkins The winner of the next presidential election will be the first to fly in one of six new helicopters built for the commander in chief. Sikorsky, a Lockheed Martin company, will deliver half a dozen VH-92A aircraft starting in 2021 as part of a new $542 million contract, Navy officials announced Monday. The six aircraft will be the first of 23 new presidential helicopters the company will deliver by 2023. The contract from Naval Air Systems Command includes support equipment, parts replenishment and spares, according to the announcement. Dave Banquer, Sikorsky's VH-92A program director, said the latest modifications to the aircraft make it capable of transporting the president anywhere around the world at any time. The aircraft has undergone rigorous testing and operational assessments, including on the south lawn of the White House, according to a Sikorsky news release. "The VH-92A has flown over 520 flight test hours establishing the aircraft's technical maturity and readiness of its mission systems," it states. The Quantico, Virginia-based Marine Helicopter One Squadron flies the aircraft that transport the president, vice president and foreign heads of state. The squadron includes a fleet of "White Top" VH-3D Sea Kings, VH-60N "White Hawks" and "Green Top" MV-22B Osprey tiltrotor aircraft. The VH-92A will "increase performance and payload over the current presidential helicopters," which have been flying for more than 40 years, a Navy release states. That includes better communication capabilities and maintainability. Most of the work on the new helicopters will be done in Connecticut and Pennsylvania, with some also taking place in New York, Maryland and Virginia. James Geurts, assistant secretary of the Navy for research, development and acquisition, said the government and contract teams were able to move the deal into initial production at more than "$1 billion less than the program's cost baseline." Marines in Quantico have been learning how to fly the new helos since earlier this year on a new training device. The replica VH-92A cockpit gives pilots "mission-oriented flight training in a simulation-based training device," Sikorsky said in its release. "The training suite allows maintainers to hone their skills to effectively maintain the aircraft and practice troubleshooting," it states. https://www.military.com/daily-news/2019/06/11/sikorsky-gets-542m-navy-contract-build-6-new-presidential-helicopters.html