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October 5, 2023 | International, Naval

Japan, South Korea and the US should mirror AUKUS for destroyers

But before breaking a celebratory bottle of champagne across the bow, obstacles must be addressed.

https://www.defensenews.com/opinion/2023/10/05/japan-south-korea-and-the-us-should-mirror-aukus-for-destroyers/

On the same subject

  • UK Declared F-35 Operational Despite Issues, Auditors Say

    March 20, 2020 | International, Aerospace

    UK Declared F-35 Operational Despite Issues, Auditors Say

    Tony Osborne The UK declared the F-35 operational even though the fleet was suffering from availability, infrastructure, logistics and security issues, auditors have revealed. The UK National Audit Office (NAO) found that the December 2018 initial operating capability (IOC) from land bases was granted with 67 exceptions, with almost one-third of those still yet to be resolved more than a year later. It is not clear on how many criteria IOC (Land) was judged. In its report studying how new capabilities are delivered into front-line operations, the NAO reported that in the run-up to the milestone there had been delays in the provision of synthetic training facilities. This impacted the availability of pilots and maintainers, while operational availability of the aircraft “hampered the ability to deliver training.” The report appears to confirm the reasons behind a 34-day flying break by the UK-based fleet in the late summer of 2018 reported by Aerospace DAILY. Plans to use simulators for training have been frustrated by “technical difficulties and delays in security vetting.” The NAO said the UK Ministry of Defense is able to use exemptions when bringing a new capability into service. Capabilities that do not meet specifications but are deemed good enough would be given an exemption. The NAO also says that IOC acceptance criteria for the F-35 was not finalized “until several years” after business case approval in the second half of 2017. Exemptions arose from “not being able to demonstrate deployability through a planned exercise,” because of aircraft availability, a reliance on contractors for mission support because of a lack of trained Royal Air Force personnel, and a lack of access to mission support training facilities in the U.S. Another challenge was an inability to program aircraft with UK mission data independently of the U.S. This has since been addressed with the opening of the Australian, Canadian and United Kingdom Reprogramming Laboratory (ACURL) at Eglin AFB, Florida, which was declared operational in February. The NAO notes that some 20 of the exemptions had still not been resolved as of last month. But the NAO says the Royal Air Force and Royal Navy have made progress in the areas of training personnel and logistics. The UK now has 15 F-35Bs based in the country flying with front-line unit 617 Sqdn. and with 207 Sqdn, a training unit. Since their arrival to the UK, the aircraft have been deployed to Cyprus and flown operational missions in the Middle East. They also recently took part in a Tier 1 Red Flag exercise with Five Eyes partners Australia and the U.S. A Lockheed Martin spokesman said that while it was for the customer to answer questions concerning IOC, “the F-35 program globally continues to mature, and Lockheed Martin has made significant steps in terms of reliability and aircraft availability, with the global fleet averaging greater than 65% mission-capable rates and operational units consistently performing near 75%.” Questions to the UK Ministry of Defense had not been answered at the time of publication. https://aviationweek.com/defense-space/budget-policy-operations/uk-declared-f-35-operational-despite-issues-auditors-say

  • A friendly reminder from the Department of National Defence and the Canadian Armed Forces: NORAD is ready to track Santa’s flight

    December 24, 2023 | International, Security

    A friendly reminder from the Department of National Defence and the Canadian Armed Forces: NORAD is ready to track Santa’s flight

    The Department of National Defence and the Canadian Armed Forces remind you that North American Aerospace Defense Command is ready to track Santa on Dec. 24, for the program’s 68th year.

  • Raytheon awarded $551 million US Army contract to begin production of Patriot™ for the Kingdom of Bahrain

    March 11, 2020 | International, Land

    Raytheon awarded $551 million US Army contract to begin production of Patriot™ for the Kingdom of Bahrain

    Tewksbury, Mass., March 9, 2020 /PRNewswire/ - The U.S. Army awarded Raytheon Company (NYSE: RTN) a $551 million contract to begin production of the combat-proven Patriot™ air and missile defense system for the Kingdom of Bahrain. The contract was awarded on January 31, 2020. "Raytheon's Patriot provides the Kingdom of Bahrain and 16 other countries around the globe with a combat-proven system that protects citizens, infrastructure and armed forces from a broad spectrum of threats," said Tom Laliberty, vice president of Integrated Air and Missile Defense at Raytheon's Integrated Defense Systems business. "Patriot works, has saved countless lives, and will continue to do so for many years because the system is constantly tested, modernized, upgraded and improved to stay ahead of the advancing threat." Raytheon's Patriot is the most advanced tactical air and missile defense system in the world, providing protection against a full range of advanced threats, including aircraft, tactical ballistic missiles, cruise missiles and unmanned aerial vehicles. About Raytheon Raytheon Company, with 2019 sales of $29 billion and 70,000 employees, is a technology and innovation leader specializing in defense, civil government and cybersecurity solutions. With a history of innovation spanning 98 years, Raytheon provides state-of-the-art electronics, mission systems integration, C5I® products and services, sensing, effects, and mission support for customers in more than 80 countries. Raytheon is headquartered in Waltham, Massachusetts. Follow us on Twitter. Note to Editors The 17 Patriot Nations are: United States of America The Netherlands Germany Japan Israel Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Kuwait Taiwan Greece Spain Republic of Korea United Arab Emirates Qatar Romania Sweden Poland Kingdom of Bahrain Media Contact Mike Nachshen +1.520.269.5697 idspr@raytheon.com SOURCE Raytheon Company View source version on Raytheon: http://raytheon.mediaroom.com/2020-03-09-Raytheon-awarded-551-million-US-Army-contract-to-begin-production-of-Patriot-TM-for-the-Kingdom-of-Bahrain

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