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September 24, 2019 | International, Aerospace, Naval

Marines Release RFI For Future Attack/Utility Aircraft, Bell Interested With V-280

QUANTICO, Va--The Marine Corps on Monday detailed its program to find a new Attack Utility Replacement Aircraft (AURA) that will likely replace its AH-1Z and UH-1Y helicopters, with plans to award contracts through 2023 to advance concept designs.

https://www.defensedaily.com/marines-release-rfi-future-attack-utility-aircraft-bell-interested-v-280/navy-usmc/

On the same subject

  • Senate panel OKs $6 billion military fund to confront China

    June 12, 2020 | International, Aerospace, Naval, Land, C4ISR, Security

    Senate panel OKs $6 billion military fund to confront China

    By: Joe Gould WASHINGTON ― Plans for a Senate-crafted version of the Pacific Deterrence Initiative, a new military fund to boost deterrence against China in the Pacific, is one step closer to becoming law. The Senate Armed Services Committee has approved nearly $6 billion for the fund in its version of the annual defense policy bill, the panel announced Thursday. It authorizes $1.4 billion in fiscal 2021, which would be $188.6 million above the administration's budget request, and $5.5 billion for fiscal 2022. The bill also directs the defense secretary to create a spending plan for all of the funds. “The best way to protect U.S. security and prosperity in Asia is to maintain a credible balance of military power, but, after years of underfunding, America's ability to do so is at risk,” the committee's summary stated. “The FY21 [National Defense Authorization Act] establishes the Pacific Deterrence Initiative (PDI) to send a strong signal to the Chinese Communist Party that America is deeply committed to defending our interests in the Indo-Pacific. “PDI will enhance budgetary transparency and oversight, focus resources on key military capability gaps, reassure U.S. allies and partners, and bolster the credibility of American deterrence in the Indo-Pacific.” Though not all details of the fund were immediately made public, SASC Chairman Jim Inhofe, R-Okla., and ranking member Jack Reed, D-R.I., previously said they would sponsor a measure to enable U.S. military operations in the region, beyond supporting new weapons platforms. Defense Secretary Mark Esper has said China is his department's top adversary, but said Congress has worked to sharpen the Pentagon's spending and focus in the region. The PDI would follow the form of the multiyear European Deterrence Initiative, which has consumed $22 billion since its inception after Russia annexed Crimea from Ukraine in 2014. Congress will have to internally negotiate the final dollar amount for PDI and what those funds would buy, but House Armed Services Committee Chairman Adam Smith, D-Wash., and ranking member Mac Thornberry, R-Texas, have expressed support for the idea. Though the Senate's approach differs, Thornberry has also proposed spending $6 billion―all in FY21―on priorities that include air and missile defense systems as well as new military construction in partner countries; Smith hasn't released his own plan. Once approved by the full Senate, its version of the NDAA would be reconciled with the House's version, which the HASC is expected to make public late this month before it goes through markup July 1 and advances to the House floor. With an eye on China beyond the PDI, the SASC bill also encourages the Air Force to establish an operating location in the Indo-Pacific region for F-35A fighter jets and to allocate “sufficient resources and prioritize the protection of air bases that might be under attack from current or emerging cruise missiles and advanced hypersonic missiles, specifically from China." There are also a number of provisions aimed at safeguarding America's technology and industrial base from Chinese intellectual property theft and “economic aggression,” according to the summary. The bill would also require reports from the Pentagon on how to mitigate the risks from vendors like Chinese telecom firms Huawei and ZTE when basing U.S. troops overseas. The SASC summary said its proposed PDI would: Increase lethality of the joint force in the Pacific, including by improving active and passive defense against theater cruise, ballistic and hypersonic missiles for bases, operating locations and other critical infrastructure. Enhance the design and posture of the joint force in the Indo-Pacific region by transitioning from large, centralized and unhardened infrastructure to smaller, dispersed, resilient and adaptive basing; increasing the number of capabilities of expeditionary airfields and ports; enhancing pre-positioning of forward stocks of fuel, munitions, equipment and materiel; and improving distributed logistics and maintenance capabilities in the region to ensure the sustainment of logistics under persistent multidomain attack. Strengthen alliances and partnerships to increase capabilities, improve interoperability and information sharing, and support information operations capabilities with a focus on countering malign influence. https://www.defensenews.com/congress/2020/06/11/senate-panel-oks-6-billion-military-fund-to-confront-china/

  • La NASA et le Pentagone unissent leurs forces

    February 3, 2021 | International, Aerospace

    La NASA et le Pentagone unissent leurs forces

    Les responsables du gouvernement américain et de l'industrie aérospatiale sont en train de faire tomber les barrières vieilles de plusieurs décennies entre les projets spatiaux civils et militaires, en réponse à l'intensification des menaces étrangères au-dessus de l'atmosphère. Le Pentagone et la NASA unissent leurs forces pour se lancer dans des projets tels que l'exploration de la périphérie de la Lune et la prolongation de la durée de vie des satellites. Ce rapprochement est motivé par les activités menées par Moscou et Pékin visant à mettre à mal les intérêts américains dans l'espace, via leurs armes antisatellites, leurs dispositifs de brouillage et d'autres technologies potentiellement hostiles. Le général John Raymond, chef d'état-major de la Space Force (Force spatiale américaine), a récemment dévoilé un partenariat de recherche avec la NASA visant à protéger les satellites des lasers et des cyberattaques. A terme, selon des responsables gouvernementaux et des dirigeants du secteur, la coopération entre civils et militaires devrait s'étendre à la défense des bases que la NASA a prévu d'installer sur le sol lunaire, ainsi qu'à la protection des opérations commerciales américaines censées y extraire de l'eau ou des minerais. L'Opinion du 2 février 2021 - The Wall Street Journal du 1er février 2021

  • Israel Keeps Eyes On F-35Bs; Lockheed-Boeing Battle It Out For Fighters, Choppers

    September 11, 2018 | International, Aerospace

    Israel Keeps Eyes On F-35Bs; Lockheed-Boeing Battle It Out For Fighters, Choppers

    By ARIE EGOZI TEL AVIV: Until last week there was a shadow war, fought behind closed doors, mainly in the highly guarded complex of the Israeli Defense Ministry and the Israeli Air Force headquarters in Tel Aviv. And in some newspapers. But now the war has gone public and the big guns could be heard all over Israel's national security establishment when one of the opponents sent a high level delegation to Israel. The war is between Lockheed Martin and Boeing. The battles are between F-35's or advanced F-15's, and between the CH-53K and the CH-47 Chinook. The proposed deal to purchase additional F-15 for the Israeli airforce ( IAF) includes the upgrade of the existing F-15I. The deal may have a total price of almost $4 billion for 25 F-15Is. This version has an airframe with an extended life span and large area display cockpit. A high-ranking Lockheed Martin delegation met in recent days with the top figures in the Israeli Defense Ministry and Air Force headquarters. Full article: https://breakingdefense.com/2018/09/israel-keeps-eyes-on-f-35bs-lockheed-boeing-battle-it-out-for-fighters-choppers

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