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October 23, 2023 | International, Land

Joly calls for de-escalation of Israel-Hamas conflict but doesn’t say ceasefire

Calls for a ceasefire have been adding up over the last week, particularly since a deadly strike at a hospital in Gaza City on Oct. 17.

https://www.ipolitics.ca/news/joly-calls-for-de-escalation-of-israel-hamas-conflict-but-doesnt-say-ceasefire

On the same subject

  • US DoD buys USD3.4 billion worth of Hydra 70 rockets

    June 4, 2020 | International, Aerospace

    US DoD buys USD3.4 billion worth of Hydra 70 rockets

    The US Department of Defense (DoD) has contracted General Dynamics Ordnance and Tactical Systems (OTS) to manufacture USD3.42 billion worth of Hydra 70 rockets. The US Army Contracting Command award, announced by the DoD on 29 May, covers production and engineering services of the 70 mm rockets, and will run through to 30 September 2026. The DoD did not disclose the numbers of rockets being acquired. The Hydra 70 is an unguided air-to-surface rocket that has been in service with the United States and international operators since the mid-1960s. The rockets fire from seven and 19-tube launchers and can be mounted on most rotary- and fixed-wing aircraft including the Boeing AH-64E Apache Guardian attack helicopter and Lockheed Martin F-16 Fighting Falcon multirole combat aircraft. While the baseline Hydra 70 is an unguided rocket, it can be converted into a laser-guided munition with the Advanced Precision Kill Weapon System (APKWS) conversion kit developed by BAE Systems. As the APKWS system is a development of existing hardware it does not require any platform integration and little in the way of additional air- and ground-crew training. The mid-body design of its guidance section enables the use of existing warheads, fuzes, and rocket motors, dramatically enhancing the capability of the hundreds of thousands of Hydra 70 rockets in the DoD inventory. The APKWS has demonstrated an average hit accuracy of within 0.75 m of a designating laser spot (against a government specification of 2 m). https://www.janes.com/defence-news/news-detail/3a45334c-fcc8-453c-ad28-02d62549ad2e

  • Saab delivers virtual Gripen E program update

    April 1, 2020 | International, Aerospace

    Saab delivers virtual Gripen E program update

    by Chris Thatcher The Saab Gripen E test program has surpassed 300 flight hours and the company is preparing to deliver production aircraft to the Swedish Air Force in 2020. “We are proceeding according to plan and are delivering according to our customers' expectations,” Eddy de la Motte, the head of Saab's Gripen E/F business unit, told webinar viewers during a briefing on Mar. 26. The annual update on the Gripen program was moved to an online forum in response to the coronavirus pandemic. Although Sweden has for now adopted a notably different approach to addressing the spread of COVID-19 than its neighbours – most businesses remain open – defence and aerospace journalists and other interested attendees were confined to virtual participation. “Saab is not one of those companies that is feeling immediate consequences because of the situation given a large order backlog and the business model that we use,” said Ellen Molin, head of Business Area Support Services. “We are doing everything we can to work on development and production.” The Gripen E is among three fighter jets contending to replace the Royal Canadian Air Force fleet of CF-188 Hornets. The others are the Lockheed Martin F-35A Lightning II and the Block III Boeing FA-18E/F Super Hornet. The Gripen E is the only one not yet in service. The briefing was an opportunity for Saab to highlight the progress of the flight test program and forthcoming deliveries to the first customers, Sweden and Brazil. The test program now includes six aircraft and will be expanding to two sites this year involving test pilots from Saab, the Swedish defence materiel administration, and the Swedish Air Force. The accelerated test and verification program will be “more efficient,” said de la Motte. “We are now shifting focus to more testing on the tactical systems and the sensors.” Saab had high expectations for the Gripen E's enhanced fused sensor suite and decision-support capabilities before flight testing began, he said. But the Active Electronically-Scanned Array (AESA) radar, passive infrared search and track (IRST) sensor, tailored datalink and multi-function electronic warfare (EW) system “are preforming better than expected.” Testing has also included an electronic jammer pod to complement the internal active EW system, flights with the MBDA Meteor beyond-visual-range air-to-air missile, and firing of the short-range IRIS-T air-to-air missile. The first production aircraft rolled off the line in Linköping, Sweden earlier this year, and the second and third will be delivered to Sweden later in 2020. Among other milestones, Saab turned over the first test aircraft to the Brazilian Air Force in August 2019. Its arrival in Brazil is scheduled for the end of 2020. Brazil has ordered 36 jets, 28 in the single-seat E variant and eight in the two-seat F model. In advance of the Brazilian flight test program and the launch of a Gripen flight test centre in Brazil, Saab has transferred aircraft intellectual property and knowledge to hundreds of Brazilian technicians, test engineers and pilots at its production facility in Linköping. Furthermore, the Gripen Design and Development Centre in Brazil has cut the first metal on the F-model two seat variant, to be delivered in 2023. Saab is also hoping to expand its customer base as the Gripen E enters service. In February, the company demonstrated two of its test aircraft at Pirkkala Air Base in southern Finland as part of the HX Challenge, the first stage of a capability assessment of five aircraft vying to replace the Finnish Air Force fleet of F/A-18 C and D Hornets. The Gripen is up against the Eurofighter Typhoon, Dassault Rafale, Lockheed Martin F-35A and Boeing F/A-18 Super Hornet. The two aircraft were demonstrated alongside a Saab GlobalEye airborne early warning and control platform, a multi-role air, maritime and ground surveillance system based on the Bombardier Global 6000/6500 jet. As part of a package with Finland, Saab is proposing to transfer intellectual property to operate maintenance, repair and overhaul facilities, spares production, final assembly and a development and sustainment centre. “We fully understand the needs of national security and the ability to control critical technology,” said de la Motte. A similar offer is likely to be part of Saab's pitch to Canada when the request for proposals closes on June 30. In March, the company announced a “Gripen for Canada Team” that includes IMP Aerospace & Defence, CAE, Peraton Canada and GE Aviation. De la Motte said the proposal for 88 Gripen E jets would include “high skilled jobs” as well as aircraft and systems built by Canadians. Both de la Motte and Molin emphasized the “smart and cost-efficient support concept inherent in the aircraft design” that now includes the ability to 3D print spare parts for battle damage repair in a forward hangar to allow grounded aircraft to return to a main operating base. That efficiency was underscored by Col Torgny Fälthammar, head of the Gripen program for the Air Staff of the Swedish Air Force (SAF). A former Saab 37 Viggen and Gripen C fighter pilot, he noted the SAF “operates in a domain where the time to react is sometimes very short – the aircraft and systems we face have a very high velocity.” Since Sweden can't field superior numbers, “we have to strive for the best balance between technology, competence and tactics, and having the relevant numbers... [and] we believe we have found that in the Gripen system.” The Gripen E will introduce “high tech, state-of-the-art systems,” he added. But “being a small country, we always have to think about money and affordability.” https://www.skiesmag.com/news/saab-delivers-virtual-gripen-e-program-update

  • Northrop Grumman gets a start on next-gen missile warning satellites

    August 30, 2018 | International, C4ISR

    Northrop Grumman gets a start on next-gen missile warning satellites

    By: Daniel Cebul WASHINGTON — The Air Force awarded Northrop Grumman a contract worth as much as $47 million for an analysis of system and payload requirements for a new missile warning satellite system in polar orbit. Specifically, the contract will be used for the Next Generation Overhead Persistent Infrared Polar (OPIR) space vehicles 1 and 2. Work will be performed in Redondo Beach, California, and is expected to be completed by June 25, 2020, according to a contract announcement. The OPIR polar space vehicles will be part of a five-satellite constellation that will augment the legacy Space-based Infrared Satellite (SBIRS), which operates as the U.S. military's early warning missile system. During the fiscal year 2019 budget release, the Air Force announced its plans to cancel the 7th and 8th SBIRS satellites in favor or reallocating funds towards OPIR systems. In May 2018, the Air Force released a notice of intent to sole-source contracts to Lockheed Martin and Northrop for the new program. Lockheed Martin will produce three geosynchronous orbiting satellites and Northrop Grumman is responsible for two polar orbiting satellites. The first geosynchronous OPIR satellite is scheduled to be launched in 2023, and the first polar satellite is scheduled to launch in 2027. The Air Force wants the entire “block O” architecture to be operational by FY 2029. Lockheed Martin is the prime contractor on the SBIRS satellites. Northrop Grumman provides the sensors, a scanner and a starer, on those satellites. Full article: https://www.c4isrnet.com/c2-comms/satellites/2018/08/29/northrop-grumman-gets-a-start-next-gen-missile-warning-satellites

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