November 2, 2024 | International, C4ISR, Security
March 8, 2022 | International, Aerospace
Sikorsky's HH-60W Jolly Green II has multiple improvements to make it safer in a crash and collect information on where the rescue needs to take place.
November 7, 2019 | International, Aerospace, Naval, Land, C4ISR, Security
By: Nathan Strout Military leaders are reluctant to treat the electromagnetic spectrum as a separate domain of warfare as they do with air, land, sea, space and cyber, even as the service increasingly recognize the importance of superiority in this area. At the Association of Old Crows conference Oct. 30, representatives from the Army, Navy and Air Force weighed in on a lingering debate: whether the electromagnetic spectrum should be considered its own domain. In short, while the spectrum can legitimately be described as a physically distinct domain, it does not make sense logistically for the Department of Defense to declare it a separate domain of warfare, they said. “It's something that we've had a lot of discussion about ... In one way, you can argue that the physical nature of the electromagnetic spectrum, the physical nature of it being a domain. However, I understand the implications and those are different challenges for a large organization like the Department of Defense. So I think that there's a little bit of a different discussion when you talk about domain and what that implies for the Department of Defense and each of the departments in a different way,” said Brig. Gen. David Gaedecke, director of electromagnetic spectrum superiority for the Air Force's deputy chief of staff for strategy, integration and requirements. Regardless of whether it's an independent domain, military leaders made clear that leveraging the electromagnetic spectrum is a priority for every department and every platform. “We're going to operate from strategic down to tactical, and EMS ... is going to enable all of our forces to communicate and maneuver effectively, so we'll have a layered approach across all the domains that we operate in,” said Laurence Mixon from the Army's Program Executive Office for Intelligence, Electronic Warfare and Sensors. “EMS is definitely an aspect of the operational environment that every tactician has to be aware of, understand and leverage. And on the acquisition side we have to consider EMS when we are developing every one of our systems. I think since EMS crosses all of the domains that we currently have today that we identify and use in the joint parlance--I don't think the Army is ready to call it a domain." Similarly, while the Navy is working to understand how EMS works best within the maritime domain, Rear Adm. Steve Parode, director of the Navy's Warfare Integration Directorate, N2/N6F, indicated that there was no rush to declare EMS a separate domain. “For the Navy, we're pretty comfortable with the way we are into the maritime domain as our principal operational sphere. We are working through understanding the EMS and the way it relates to physical properties in that domain. We know where we're strong and we know where we're weak. And we understand principally why we're weak. We're making decisions about how to get better,” said Parode. https://www.c4isrnet.com/electronic-warfare/2019/11/06/should-the-military-treat-the-electromagnetic-spectrum-as-its-own-domain/
November 14, 2018 | International, Aerospace
By: Mike Yeo MELBOURNE, Australia ― The first Airbus A330 Multi Role Tanker Transport for the Republic of Korea Air Force has landed in South Korea for its acceptance tests. According to a news release from the manufacturer, the aircraft, which was piloted by a joint Airbus and Air Force crew, arrived at Gimhae Air Base in Busan after a ferry flight from the Airbus Final Assembly Line in Getafe, Spain, with a stop in Vancouver, Canada. It will now undergo ground and flight tests in Gimhae. The Air Force will be supported by a team from Airbus, which will be based in South Korea for the duration of the tests and until the aircraft is officially handed over to the customer. Airbus did not specify how long the acceptance tests will last, and referred questions about the specifics of the test program to the Air Force. This aircraft is the first of four ordered by South Korea. Its arrival marks the second regional customer of the A330 MRTT to receive its first aircraft this year, with the first of Singapore's six aircraft having been delivered in August. Another customer, France, had also taken delivery of its first MRTT in October. The A330 MRTT marks the introduction of a dedicated tanker capability for South Korea's Air Force, and it will allow the service's fighters to increase their persistence during missions. The service is currently operating the Boeing F-15K Slam Eagle and the Lockheed Martin KF-16C/D Fighting Falcon as its primary combat aircraft. South Korea has also ordered the Lockheed Martin F-35A Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter, with the first one for the Air Force rolling out earlier this year. South Korea selected the A330 MRTT for its $1.26 billion KC-X program in 2015 after evaluating competing proposals from Boeing, with the KC-46 Pegasus, and Israel Aerospace Industries, who proposed converting 767 airliners in a tanker aircraft. https://www.defensenews.com/air/2018/11/13/airbus-a330-delivery-brings-dedicated-tanker-capability-to-south-korean-air-force