MBDA : le missile CAMM-ER franchit une étape majeure

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  October 15, 2019 | International, Aerospace

  Sikorsky Unveils Raider-X Proposal For FARA Armed Scout

  Graham Warwick Sikorsky is emphasizing growth capability to stay ahead of evolving threats as it unveils its offering in the U.S. Army's Future Attack Reconnaissance Aircraft (FARA) competition, the Raider-X. The coaxial rigid-rotor compound helicopter is a development of the S-97 Raider prototype now in flight testing. The Raider-X is about 20% larger, with a 14,000-lb. gross weight compared with 11,000 lb. for the S-97, and a 39-ft. rotor diameter compared with 34 ft. for the Raider. The Army requires a rotor diameter of no more than 40 ft. so that FARA can fly between buildings in urban combat. The Raider-X will exceed the FARA's threshold maximum speed of 180 kt. Sikorsky is not saying how fast it will fly, but notes the S-97 has reached 215 kt., and 207 kt. in level flight—exceeding the 205 kt. target in the Army's initial capability document, says Tim Malia, director of Future Vertical Lift - Light. The Army subsequently reduced the threshold maximum speed to enable a wider competition for the FARA program. But Malia says the greater speed and payload capability of Sikorsky's X2 coaxial rigid-rotor compound configuration compared with a conventional helicopter provides growth capacity. “We looked at a single main rotor helicopter for FARA, but it would be minimally compliant in the early 2020s. We need to be able to stay ahead of the threat into the 2030s and 2040s,” he says. Bell is proposing a winged, single-main-rotor helicopter for FARA, while AVX Aircraft is offering a coaxial-rotor, ducted-fan compound. Boeing and Karem Aircraft have yet to unveil their concepts. “Single main rotor will not be able to keep up. It's already tapped out meeting the minimal FARA requirements. It does not have the ability to grow capability over time,” Malia says. “We didn't want to pull out all the stops to be minimally compliant when we had X2 able to carry more payload and go faster.” The Raider-X has four-blade rotors and a pusher propulsor. The coaxial rotors generate lift only on the advancing sides, eliminating retreating-blade stall and enabling higher speed. At high speed, 90% of the engine power goes to the propulsor, says Bill Fell, senior experimental test pilot. The propulsor is declutched at low speed to reduce noise. The Raider-X closely resembles the S-97 prototype, with side-by-side seating. Compared with tandem seating, this improves crew coordination and situational awareness, Malia says. “And we can do it aerodynamically because of the robust performance inherent in X2. We are not trying to get out every last ounce of drag.” Behind the cockpit is a large internal weapons bay. Internal carriage of missiles and unmanned aircraft—which the Army calls air-launched effects (ALE)—is a FARA requirement, but Malia says the cabin-like volume of Raider-X's bay provides growth space for future, larger systems. “The minimum threshold works now, but what if in 2030 there is a new ALE that can be decisive, but can't be carried?” he asks. The Raider-X is powered by a single 3,000-shp-class General Electric T901 turboshaft—government-furnished equipment to all FARA bidders. “We do not have an additional engine to increase speed,” Malia says, referring to the supplemental power unit in Bell's 360 Invictus. This augments power from the single T901 to give the single-main-rotor, tandem-seat Invictus a 185-kt. maximum speed. “We use the power available and have a solid design built around it,” he says. “The T901 provides speeds out of the chute in excess of requirements and, as it improves, we can take direct benefit. We have a growth path to additional speed and payload as the T901 power increases.” Sikorsky is using the industry-funded S-97 prototype to reduce risk for its FARA bid, conducting flight testing to validate design models and optimize the Raider-X. This includes flying new rotor blades designed to reduce drag and vibration. “We are getting exactly the results the models said,” Malia says. With two rotor systems and a propulsor, Sikorsky is paying close attention to the Raider-X's cost. “We have done a complete affordability analysis and design to cost. We are extremely confident we will come in under the cost goal,” he says. Several divisions of parent company Lockheed Martin are part of Sikorsky's FARA team, Malia says, including Aeronautics, Missiles and Fire Control and Rotary and Mission Systems. Swift Engineering will build the airframe if Sikorsky wins one of two FARA competitive prototype contracts scheduled to be awarded in March 2020. The Army flyoff is planned for 2023, with the first unit to be equipped by 2028. “There is a critical cap in vertical lift, in attack/reconnaissance, and that gap is really impactful to the Army in the 2020s, ‘30s, ‘40s, even ‘50s. So there is a need for a long-term solution,” Malia says. “The threat is projected to evolve rapidly, so we require significant capability growth on our side to stay ahead. Raider-X can provide an asymmetric advantage in the 2030s-50s.” https://aviationweek.com/defense/sikorsky-unveils-raider-x-proposal-fara-armed-scout

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  February 15, 2020 | International, C4ISR, Security

  Germany moves to protect its military-cyber industry

  Sebastian Sprenger MUNICH — A new German strategy document declares defense-related cyber technologies as key national assets, affording the domestic sector some protection from international competition. Government officials made the move with the publication of a paper this week outlining the types of technology Berlin wants to buy at home, in Europe or from global vendors. The designation of a key technology means the government can sidestep European Union rules requiring public acquisitions be open to companies throughout the bloc. The areas of artificial intelligence, electronic warfare, networked operations and cryptology, and defense-related information and communications technology are in the category deemed so crucial to national security that the government wants to keep the sector healthy. “A technological challenge for our security and defense lies in the area of digitalization and artificial intelligence,” read the strategy document, issued by the Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy. “Maintaining cybersecurity is the prerequisite for the digital advancement of the state, the economy and society, and it is equally important for the sovereignty of Germany and Europe,” it added. The new designation of cyber technologies as worthy of special protection sets up a delicate dance between maintaining a national industrial ecosystem while remaining true to the idea of a European Union with a single market. German Defence Minister Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer said her agency remains focused on cyber capabilities from a European perspective. For example, officials are working to ensure the relevant U.K. authorities remain plugged into EU networks after Brexit. The bloc, she said, must increase its cooperation on cyber issues, or risk falling behind China and the United States, Kramp-Karrenbauer said at the Munich Security Conference on Thursday. Germany's contributions to the NATO Very High Readiness Joint Task Force drives the country's plans for fielding a new information backbone for the land forces of the Bundeswehr, she said. In that context, officials have begun studying new approaches to managing the electricity required to power new communications kit on the battlefield, the minister added. It remains to be seen how the government will use the new strategy document on key national technologies to make investment decisions, said Matthias Wachter, a defense analyst with the Federation of German Industries, or BDI. For example, the stated domestic preference in electronic-warfare technology will be put to the test with the Air Force's upcoming buy of new aircraft for electronic warfare, Wachter said. In the running are the Airbus-made Eurofighter as a local option and the Boeing F-18 Growler from the United States. “There is nothing legally binding” in the new document, the analyst said, which means the decision could go either way. “But if you take the paper seriously, the Growler would be out.” https://www.fifthdomain.com/smr/munich-security-conference/2020/02/14/germany-moves-to-protect-its-military-cyber-industry/

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  July 13, 2020 | International, Aerospace

  DoD hands out $84 million in recovery funds for small drone makers and a space firm

  By: Aaron Mehta WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Defense announced Friday it is issuing $84.4 million in funding through the Defense Production Act to small unmanned technology, space and shipbuilding companies. The money, divided among seven different companies, will be used to “sustain and strengthen essential domestic industrial base capabilities,” per a Pentagon announcement. “These actions will help to retain critical workforce capabilities throughout the disruption caused by COVID-19 and to restore some jobs lost because of the pandemic.” The Defense Production Act has been in the spotlight in recent months, as it's served as a central tool in attempts by the Trump administration to increase production of personal protective equipment to combat the spread of the coronavirus, something critics say the administration was too slow to implement. Title III of the DPA gives the department the opportunity to fund what it sees as critical suppliers of the defense industry who might otherwise be at risk of closing. Although those authorities have been on the books for years, the department became more serious about using them following a 2018 landmark study of the defense industrial base that identified a number of sectors where small companies that provide key parts for America's arsenal could go out of business. The undersecretary of defense for acquisition and sustainment, Ellen Lord, previously identified shipbuilding, aviation and the small space sector as three areas that are suffering under the economic impacts from COVID-19. She has said her office will keep an eye on those sectors. That seems to have played out in the Pentagon's announcement about the $84.4 million in funding. Of the funding, $13.4 million went to five small unmanned systems companies. Funding was authorized and appropriated under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act, and awarded through the Defense Innovation Unit — the Silicon Valley technology hub for the Pentagon. The department claims the funding “saved 14 jobs, created 20 new positions, and will support continued advancement of capabilities providing the companies additional paths for recurring revenue.” Even before the economic damage from COVID-19, the department had identified small UAS manufacturers as a sector that needs to grow. Included in this latest funding are: AirMap, in Santa Monica, California, which received $3.3 million. The money will “aid product development and engineering support for integration of sUAS mission planning, post-mission analysis, and unmanned traffic management software.” ModalAI, of San Diego, California, which received $3 million to “develop their next generation U.S.-made flight controller that will enable advanced autonomy including GPS-denied navigation, and all-environment obstacle avoidance.” Skydio, in Redwood City, California, which received $4 million to “improve the flight controller hardware/software and data link for their sUAS so that highly capable components can be purchased and used across U.S. Government unmanned systems.” Graffiti Enterprises, located in Somerset, New Jersey, which was given $1.5 million to “modify their commercial data link for DoD's sUAS use including operation in restricted frequency bands, reduction in the size, weight, and power of the hardware, and software developments to improve security and resiliency of their data link.” Obsidian Sensors, from San Diego, California, which received $1.6 million to build a “low-cost, dual thermal sUAS camera that can be mounted onto a stabilization gimbal and then integrated and flown on small, packable, ISR systems.” In addition, the Pentagon awarded $15 million to LeoLabs, based in Menlo Park, California, to “ensure the continued viability of space surveillance capability through the operation and maintenance of a world-wide highly capable phased-array radar network.” The department said LeoLabs is the only domestic commercial supplier with the capability to meet requirements in this area. Last month, the Space Force invoked the DPA to get funding for six small space companies that were considered at risk, before it reversed those awards two weeks later. While those are all fairly small technology firms, the biggest dollar amount awarded was $56 million for ArcelorMittal Inc., a steel and mining company based in Chicago, Illinois. The funding, also from the coronavirus relief package, will be used to “protect” jobs impacted by the pandemic that are critical to military shipbuilding. Specifically, the investment will “expand ArcelorMittal's plate processing footprint and heat-treating capability, subsequently increasing its alloy steel plate production and ensure the U.S. Government gets dedicated long-term industrial capacity to meet the needs of the nation,” per the department. https://www.defensenews.com/industry/2020/07/10/dod-hands-out-84-million-in-recovery-funds-for-small-unmanned-companies-space-firm