April 9, 2024 | International, C4ISR
July 31, 2020 | International, Aerospace
Japan commits to local F-35 production
by Jon Grevatt
The Japanese Ministry of Defense (MoD) has confirmed plans to continue the local production of Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter aircraft.
The move reverses a decision in late 2018 to cease local production at Japan's final assembly and checkout (FACO) facility in Nagoya and instead focus on the localised maintenance, repair, overhaul and upgrade (MRO&U) of F-35s. That move was previously prompted by the high cost of building the F-35s at the facility.
However, a spokesperson from the MoD told Janes that the new decision to continue building the aircraft at the Japanese FACO facility was influenced by the declining costs of producing the F-35 locally. Producing the aircraft locally, said the spokesperson, is now cheaper than importing the F-35 from the United States.
The spokesperson was speaking to Janes nearly three weeks after the United States government approved a potential USD23 billion deal to sell Japan an additional 105 F-35s.
This Foreign Military Sale means Japan will operate a total of 147 F-35s, becoming the second-largest operator of the aircraft in the world.
These aircraft will comprise 105 conventional take-off and landing (CTOL) F-35A aircraft and 42 units of the short take-off and vertical landing (STOVL) F-35B.
The spokesperson said, “For the acquisition of F-35As in fiscal years (FY) 2019 and 2020... the Japanese MoD has decided to use domestic manufacturing at the FACO... It is confirmed that the unit cost of aircraft produced at the domestic FACO [facility] is less, compared to the unit cost of imported aircraft.”
https://www.janes.com/defence-news/news-detail/japan-commits-to-local-f-35-production
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December 6, 2021 | International, Aerospace
Le consortium SAMI (Saudi Arabian Military Industries) signe des accords avec Airbus et Figeac Aéro pour la création de deux coentreprises
DÉFENSE Le consortium SAMI (Saudi Arabian Military Industries) signe des accords avec Airbus et Figeac Aéro pour la création de deux coentreprises Saudi Arabian Military Industries (SAMI), consortium d'Etat des industries militaires d'Arabie Saoudite, a annoncé samedi la signature d'un accord avec Airbus pour la création d'une coentreprise spécialisée dans la maintenance de l'aéronautique militaire. La part de SAMI s'élèvera à 51%, celle d'Airbus à 49%. SAMI a également annoncé la création d'une autre coentreprise avec Figeac Aéro, en partenariat avec Dussur (Saudi Arabian Industrial Investments Company). La SAMI FIGEAC AÉRO Manufacturing LLC (SFAM) vise à construire en Arabie Saoudite une usine de production de pièces d'aérostructures de haute précision. La participation de SAMI s'élèvera à 60%, contre 40% pour le groupe français. Cet accord a été signé par Walid Abukhaled, CEO de SAMI, et Jean-Claude Maillard, PDG de Figeac Aéro. La coentreprise a pour objectif de « développer les capacités industrielles de l'Arabie Saoudite en matière d'aérostructures, de former des ingénieurs et des techniciens locaux pour travailler dans le cadre du projet et de favoriser l'implantation d'acteurs du secteur aéronautique militaires et civiles conformément à la Vision 2030 du Royaume. Les premières pièces produites seront des éléments en alliage léger (aluminium) et métaux durs (titane) », indique Figeac Aéro. L'Usine Nouvelle et Les Echos Investir du 6 décembre
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September 10, 2020 | International, Aerospace
U.S. Army Reveals Mystery UAS Payload Called Blasphemy
Steve Trimble September 09, 2020 The U.S. Army has revealed a mysterious new payload called Blasphemy for the General Atomics Aeronautical Systems Inc. MQ-1C Gray Eagle. The name of the payload appeared in public for the first time on a presentation slide displayed by a panel of Army unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) program managers during the virtual AUVSI Defense Systems conference on Sept. 9. Blasphemy appeared as one of several payloads listed on the slide, but no other information about it was provided. When asked a follow-up question during the question-and-answer period seeking details about the new payload, the Army program manager demurred. “I think we're going to skip that one,” said Lt. Col. David Benjamin, the Army's product development manager for the MQ-1C program. The slide showed the Blasphemy payload loaded on to the same pylon as the Multi-Function Electronic Warfare (MFEW) pod. The Army plans to deploy the MFEW-Air Large pod on the MQ-1C next year, but hasn't before revealed any plans for a payload called Blasphemy. The slide showed a list of “integrated capabilities” for the MQ-1C in fiscal 2020. https://aviationweek.com/defense-space/sensors-electronic-warfare/us-army-reveals-mystery-uas-payload-called-blasphemy