June 10, 2022 | International, Land
MBDA présente Akeron, nouvelle famille de missiles de combat tactique de 5ème génération, comprenant les missiles MMP et MHT, désormais rebaptisés respectivement Akeron MP et Akeron LP. Selon MBDA, ces missiles constituent un « saut quantique par rapport aux armes de 3ème et 4ème génération actuellement disponibles sur le marché ». La famille de missiles Akeron « intègre les dernières technologies en termes d'imageurs multi-bandes haute résolution, d'ogives multi-effets (anti-char, anti-infrastructure, anti-personnel), de liaisons de données et d'algorithmes de guidage multi-modes basés sur des techniques d'IA. Tous ces éléments garantissent un guidage robuste et précis à n'importe quelle distance, dans toutes les conditions », souligne MBDA. Selon Janes, qui cite un représentant d'Airbus, le missile Akeron LP pourrait armer la prochaine génération d'hélicoptères d'attaque Tigre. MBDA précise que « les missiles de la famille Akeron répondent aux besoins opérationnels actuels et futurs pour le combat débarqué ainsi que depuis des plateformes terrestres, aériennes (hélicoptère, drone) et même navales ».
Janes du 9 juin
May 27, 2024 | International, Security
Storm-0539 steals up to $100K/day from companies through sophisticated gift card fraud. Learn how to protect your organization from this growing thre
February 21, 2020 | International, Aerospace
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — Lockheed Martin's Sikorsky is already building its prototype for the U.S. Army's Future Attack Reconnaissance Aircraft competition ahead of the service actually choosing companies to build prototypes. While the Army will select two companies to proceed next month, Lockheed is already using funding as part of its contract to build its Raider X coaxial helicopter, Tim Malia, Sikorsky's FARA director, told a group of reporters Feb. 19 at the company's flight test facility. The Army awarded full-scope contracts to the five teams selected to design FARA; those deals included funding to build aircraft. But when the Army chooses which two teams will move forward, that funding spigot essentially turns off for those that aren't picked. When asked what happens with Raider X, should the Army decides to go with other teams, Malia said: “I don't anticipate that problem.” The five teams that won awards in April 2019 to design FARA were: AVX Aircraft partnered with L3 Technologies; Bell Helicopter; Boeing; a Karem Aircraft, Northrop Grumman and Raytheon team; and Sikorsky. Sikorsky's offering is based on its X2 coaxial technology seen in its S-97 Raider and the Sikorsky-Boeing developed SB-1 Defiant, which are now both flying. The prototype aircraft are expected to start flying in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2022, and the flight test is expected to run through 2023. The engineering and manufacturing development phase is expect to begin in FY24. “This is the culmination of years of investment in the X2 Technology Demonstrator and the S-97 Raider aircraft that have proven the advanced technology and shown its ability to change the future battlefield,” Malia told Defense News when the company first unveiled its design for FARA. FARA is intended to fill a critical capability gap currently being filled by AH-64E Apache attack helicopters teamed with Shadow unmanned aircraft following the retirement of the OH-58D Kiowa Warrior helicopters. The service has tried and failed three times to fill the gap with an aircraft. The Army also plans to buy another helicopter to fill the long-range assault mission, simultaneously replacing some UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters in the fleet. The SB-1 Defiant is a possible candidate for that future aircraft. https://www.defensenews.com/land/2020/02/20/lockheeds-raider-x-already-under-construction/
May 14, 2020 | International, Aerospace
By: Aaron Mehta WASHINGTON — The COVID-19 pandemic has not had an impact on the production and delivery of Apache helicopters, but Boeing is closely watching the international supply chain for signs of slowdown, a company official said Tuesday. The coronavirus impact going forward is difficult to predict, said T.J. Jamison, Boeing's director of vertical lift international sales. Still, he expressed a belief that the company should be able to stay on track with its plans to produce more than 100 Apache models in 2020. While production on the CH-47 Chinook and V-22 Osprey in the Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, area was stopped for two weeks in April, the Mesa, Arizona, Boeing plant that produces the Apache never had to stop work. However, there have been a number of individuals working remotely, primarily from the sales team; it will likely be a month or more before they are all back working at their desks, Jamison said. Some international customers have signaled that “we might need a potential slowdown in operations. But not one has said: ‘Hey, we need to cancel these orders because of the COVID-19 issue,' ” Jamison said. “There have been no cancellations, and there have been no significant requests for delay.” However, just like the Pentagon, the company is closely watching the international supply chain. For the Apache, that includes fuselage production in Hydrabad, India (managed by Tata) and in Sacheon, South Korea (managed by Korea Aerospace Industries). Boeing's decision to maintain two suppliers for that production has “served us very well” in the current situation, Jamison said, adding that while India has been hit hard by COVID-19 and is undergoing government-mandated shutdowns, the Korea Aerospace Industries plant is able to keep production on track. “We really do not like to have a single point of failure with any of our components that we receive through the supply chain,” he said. “There hasn't been a dramatic impact to the supply chain today. Again, I don't have that crystal ball and I can't tell you how this pandemic is going to play out. But right now, there hasn't been a dramatic impact.” https://www.defensenews.com/land/2020/05/13/no-covid-impacts-on-apache-production-supply-chain-says-boeing/