September 5, 2018 | International, C4ISR
Northrop Grumman has revealed the details of a production-ready new radar called Vanguard that the company's Electronic Systems division quietly launched about five years ago with the ambitious goal of reinventing the active, electronically scanned array (AESA), the company confirms exclusively to Aviation Week. Northrop designed the Vanguard architecture to support a shift away from developing highly tailored AESA systems optimized for only one application to a modular approach that ...
August 30, 2023 | International, Aerospace
The United States separately deployed B-1B bombers for joint drills with South Korea and Japan on Wednesday, as the three allies have stepped up responses to threats from North Korea.
July 16, 2020 | International, Aerospace
By: Andrew Chuter LONDON – Britain's Ministry of Defence has signed a deal with General Atomics for the first three Protector remotely piloted air vehicles destined to equip the Royal Air Force with a replacement for its Reaper drone force. A £65 million (U.S. $80 million) contract for three Protectors, the British version of the MQ-9B SkyGuardian was announced by Defence Secretary Ben Wallace during a virtual air power conference held by the RAF July 15. Protector will fly further, hit harder and, crucially, be able to fly in unsegregated civilian airspace compared with the Reaper vehicles widely used by the British in Afghanistan and the Middle East over the last several years. Three ground stations and other associated support equipment are also included in an initial deal that will see the first vehicle delivered to the British next year. The initial vehicle will remain in the United States for test and evaluation until 2023, ahead of deploying to its UK base at RAF Waddington, eastern England. Able to fly for up to 40 hours Protector is expected to enter service in 2024. The aircraft will be armed with MBDA's Brimstone missile and Raytheon UK's Paveway IV precision-guided bomb, enhanced data links and detect-and-avoid technology. The deal for Protector production includes an option on a further purchase of 13 drones. A contract firming up the options is planned for April next year. An MoD spokesperson denied that breaking up the order into two parts was related to balancing the over-stretched budget for this year. The cost of purchasing the remaining drones is put at around £180 million, or $230 million. The MoD spokesperson said consideration is also being given to an additional acquisition of drones over and above the 16 vehicles already envisaged. A total force of more than 20 Protectors was envisaged in the Conservative government's 2015 strategic defence and security review. Now, the final numbers will likely be subject to the outcome of an integrated defense, foreign policy and security review now underway by the Conservatives. Many people here think the already cash-strapped MoD will be a post-Covid-19 target for capability cuts as the government shifts its emphasis on defense equipment spending away from more conventional technologies into areas like space, cyber and artificial intelligence. Protector has already been a victim of MoD financial pressures. Sir Simon Bollom, the CEO of the Defence Equipment and Support arm of the MoD, alluded to the difficulties saying in an MoD statement his organization had "overcome considerable challenges" to keep the program on track. The vehicle was originally slated to enter service with the RAF in 2018 but that was then put back until 2021 before the new date was agreed. In announcing the deal defence secretary Ben Wallace said, „Protector will provide the RAF with vast global reach, meeting the UK's defense and security needs for decades to come, and provide another increase to the unmanned inventory for the armed forces.“ https://www.defensenews.com/global/europe/2020/07/15/uk-orders-first-three-protector-drones-from-general-atomics/
June 5, 2020 | International, Naval
Le PDG de Naval Group, Pierre Éric Pommellet, s'exprime dans Le Figaro. Il évoque la gestion de la crise sanitaire et ses conséquences : «Naval Group n'a perdu aucun client et ne déplore aucune annulation de contrats. Le carnet de commandes est solide. Nous préparons toutefois un recalage des calendriers de livraisons, dont nous discutons avec nos clients, afin de nous organiser», explique le dirigeant, qui souligne sa confiance dans l'entreprise, dont il a visité les sites et rencontré les équipes : «le navire est solide, il est préparé pour croiser au long cours», déclare-t-il. Naval Group a confirmé son engagement en faveur de la jeunesse, avec l'arrivée, d'ici à la fin 2020, de 400 apprentis, qui n'avaient pas pu être accueillis en mars pour cause de confinement. Le Figaro du 5 juin