July 21, 2020 | International, Aerospace
By: Mike Yeo
MELBOURNE, Australia — Indonesia has expressed interest in acquiring Austria's fleet of Eurofighter Typhoon fighter jets, in yet another surprise defense procurement plan from the southeast Asian country.
Indonesia's defense minister, Prabowo Subianto, wrote a letter to his Austrian counterpart, Klaudia Tanner, seeking to initiate negotiations to buy all 15 Typhoons belonging to the Austrian Air Force.
In his letter, which was published by Indonesian news outlets, Prabowo said the potential purchase will assist in his aims to continue modernizing the Indonesian Air Force.
He added that he understood the “sensitivity” of his proposal, which was likely to be a reference to the continued controversy surrounding Austria's 2002 acquisition of the Typhoon. That purchase has been dogged by questions about cost and the effectiveness of the aircraft. More recently, there have been allegations of corruption related to the original contract award.
These culminated in Austria's 2017 decision to retire the aircraft from service this year in favor of a “more effective and cost-effective” solution for the central European country's air defense needs.
Indonesia's interest in the fleet comes two weeks after the surprise announcement that the U.S. State Department cleared the country to buy the Bell-Boeing MV-22 tilt-rotor aircraft.
Indonesia has been seeking a fighter aircraft to serve alongside its fleet of 23 refurbished early-block Lockheed Martin F-16C/D Fighting Falcon jets. These are all former aircraft operated by the U.S. Air National Guard, and were delivered from 2014 onward.
The decision to seek the Austrian Typhoons, which are all Tranche 1 aircraft configured primarily for air defense missions, is a blow to Russian aspirations to sell the Sukhoi Su-35 Flanker interceptor to Indonesia.
Indonesia had selected the Su-35 as its next fighter to provide continuity with its existing fleet of Su-27 and Su-30s Flankers acquired in the early part of the last decade. Negotiations for the Russian jets ended in 2018, but Indonesia had been reticent to sign the $1.14 billion contract, reportedly over fears that it may be subject to American sanctions.
The sanctions would come from a U.S. law, Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act, that targets Iran, North Korea and Russia. CAATSA was passed by Congress in 2017 and is meant to discourage governments or entities from acquiring weapons or military hardware and parts from U.S. adversaries.
November 22, 2021 | International, Aerospace
The Missile Defense Agency has chosen three teams to design a Glide Phase Interceptor to defend against hypersonic threats.
November 21, 2019 | International, Aerospace
By: Sebastian Sprenger COLOGNE, Germany — NATO officials plan to spend $1 billion on upgrades to the alliance's fleet of AWACS reconnaissance planes, according to Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg. “I can confirm we will sign a contract upgrading, modernizing the AWACS fleet — $1 billion,” Stoltenberg was quoted as telling reporters ahead of a meeting of NATO foreign ministers in Brussels on Wednesday. The news comes coupled with an announcement that the first of five Global Hawk drones making up the Alliance Ground Surveillance program was en route from the United States to its future home base at Sigonella, Sicily. “This reflects how NATO is investing in high-tech capabilities,” NATO spokeswoman Oana Lungescu wrote on Twitter. The Boeing-made AWACS planes, introduced in 1982, are slated to remain in service until 2035. Their job is to detect enemy missiles and aircraft threatening NATO airspace. Alliance pilots have flown the aircraft to support missions against the Islamic State group and to secure the eastern flank in the wake of Russia's annexation of Crimea in 2014. NATO's website bills the AWACS enterprise as the “largest collaborative venture” and one of the few military assets owned and operated by the alliance. The fleet of AGS drones is based on the Northrop Grumman-made Block 40 Global Hawk of the U.S. Air Force. The primary job of the UAVs will be ground and maritime surveillance for commanders and deployed forces. The two announcements come as the alliance is in dire need of signs of life after French President Emmanuel Macron famously declared NATO “brain dead” in an interview with the Economist magazine some weeks ago. While experts are still debating whether the vivid assessment was constructive in nature or rather an unnecessary dig at an alliance already weakened by trans-Atlantic squabbling, there are signs that key European nations like Germany and France have plans to reanimate the pact. German Foreign Affairs Minister Heiko Maas on Wednesday referred to the alliance as Europe's “life insurance,” proposing a reform commission headed by Stoltenberg. NATO members' heads of state are slated to convene in London in early December. U.S. President Donald Trump is expected to attend the summit, determining in large part whether the alliance will be able to celebrate a revival or witness something of a funeral. https://www.defensenews.com/global/europe/2019/11/20/nato-to-upgrade-its-awacs-surveillance-aircraft-for-1-billion
April 14, 2020 | International, Aerospace
Simi Valley, Calif., April 7, 2020 – AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV), a global leader in unmanned aircraft systems (UAS), today announced its receipt of a $10,677,987 firm-fixed-price contract award for Puma™ 3 AE systems and spares on Feb. 18, 2020 for the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps Small Tactical Unmanned Aircraft Systems (SUAS) Program. Delivery is anticipated by April 2020. “Puma 3 AE is a combat-proven enabler of U.S. Navy and Marine Corps tactical operations, providing persistent situational awareness, expeditionary reconnaissance, surveillance, and target acquisition, force protection and overwatch – anywhere and at any time,” said Rick Pedigo, AeroVironment vice president of business development. “Its versatility, ruggedness and reliability in a wide range of operating environments – over land and sea – consistently provide the actionable intelligence warfighters need to proceed with certainty.” The AeroVironment Puma 3 AE is a fully man-portable unmanned aircraft system designed for land and maritime operations. The hand-launched Puma 3 AE has a wingspan of 9.2 feet (2.8 meters), weighs 15 pounds (6.8 kilograms) and can operate for up to 2.5 hours at a range of up to 12.4 miles (20 kilometers) with a standard antenna, and up to 37.2 miles (60 kilometers) with AeroVironment's Long-Range Tracking Antenna (LRTA). Capable of landing in water or on land, the all-environment Puma, with its Mantis i45 EO/IR sensor suite, empowers the operator with extended flight time and a level of imaging capability never before available in the small UAS class. AeroVironment's family of small UAS comprises the majority of all unmanned aircraft in the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) inventory and its rapidly growing international customer base numbers more than 45 allied governments. To learn more visit www.avinc.com. About AeroVironment Tactical UAS The RQ-20A/B Puma™, Puma™ LE, RQ-11B Raven®, RQ-12A Wasp®, together with the VAPOR® Helicopter comprise AeroVironment's family of tactical unmanned aircraft systems. This family of systems provides increased capability to the warfighter that gives ground commanders the option of selecting the appropriate aircraft based on the type of mission to be performed. This increased capability has the potential to provide significant force protection and force multiplication benefits to small tactical units and security personnel. AeroVironment provides logistics services worldwide to ensure a consistently high level of operational readiness. AeroVironment has delivered thousands of new and replacement tactical unmanned air vehicles to customers within the United States and to more than 45 allied governments. About AeroVironment, Inc. (AV) AeroVironment (NASDAQ: AVAV) provides customers with more actionable intelligence so they can proceed with certainty. Based in California, AeroVironment is a global leader in unmanned aircraft systems and tactical missile systems, and serves defense, government and commercial customers. For more information visit www.avinc.com. Safe Harbor Statement Certain statements in this press release may constitute "forward-looking statements" as that term is defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements are made on the basis of current expectations, forecasts and assumptions that involve risks and uncertainties, including, but not limited to, economic, competitive, governmental and technological factors outside of our control, that may cause our business, strategy or actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from the forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, our ability to perform under existing contracts and obtain additional contracts; changes in the regulatory environment; the activities of competitors; failure of the markets in which we operate to grow; failure to expand into new markets; failure to develop new products or integrate new technology with current products; and general economic and business conditions in the United States and elsewhere in the world. For a further list and description of such risks and uncertainties, see the reports we file with the Securities and Exchange Commission. We do not intend, and undertake no obligation, to update any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. E-mail Facebook TwitterShare Additional AV News: click here AV Media Gallery: click here Contact: AeroVironment, Inc. Steven Gitlin +1 (805) 520-8350 pr@avinc.com Mark Boyer For AeroVironment, Inc. +1 (310) 229-5956 mark@boyersyndicate.com View source version on AeroVironment, Inc. : https://www.avinc.com/resources/press-releases/view/aerovironment-awarded-10.7-million-puma-3-ae-contract-for-united-states-nav