NATO calls for common standards in push to boost defence production

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  October 26, 2018 | International, Aerospace

  F-35 officially wins Belgian fighter contest

  By: Valerie Insinna WASHINGTON — Belgium has officially selected the F-35 as its next-generation fighter, becoming the 13th country to join the program, the Belgian government announced Thursday. With that decision, Lockheed Martin has defeated a bid by the governments of Spain, Italy, Germany and the United Kingdom for the Eurofighter Typhoon, as well as an informal offer by France for the Dassault Rafale and an option for Belgium to upgrade its existing F-16s. Belgium plans to buy 34 F-35As to replace F-16 inventory, which numbers about 54 jets. The U.S. State Department has already approved the deal, which has an estimated value of $6.5 billion. According to Reuters, Belgian Defence Minister Steven Vandeput told reporters on Oct. 25 that the F-35 beat the other contenders in all seven selection criteria. “We are investing heavily in defense,” Vandeput tweeted, citing Belgium's decision to buy F-35s and new land vehicles. Meanwhile, U.S. stakeholders immediately began celebrating the outcome of the competition. “Lockheed Martin is honored by the Belgian government's selection of the F-35A Lightning II for their future national security needs,” the company said in a statement. “We look forward to supporting the U.S. government in delivering the F-35 program to meet the requirements of the Belgian government.” Vice Adm. Mat Winter, head of the the F-35 joint program executive office, said the decision to join the program will strengthen the U.S.-Belgian relationship. “We look forward to working closely with our Belgian teammates as they mature plans for purchasing their F-35s,” he said in a statement. The U.S. Embassy in Brussels tweeted a response to Vandeput, stressing how Belgium's F-35 selection would add to NATO interoperability. “Belgium will fly @thef35 alongside some of its closest @NATO allies & longtime partners in air defense. US is extremely proud of our enduring air partnership w/ Belgium,” it said. U.S. Rep. Mike Turner, R-Ohio, who chairs the House Armed Services Committee's Tactical Air and Land Forces Subcommittee, said Belgium's F-35 buy “reaffirms Belgium's military and strategic partnership with the United States, as well as builds Belgium's defense capabilities as a strong NATO ally.” Turner had interfaced with Belgian officials over the past year, providing assurances that the U.S. Congress would support an F-35 sale to Brussels, he said in a statement. https://www.defensenews.com/air/2018/10/25/f-35-officially-wins-belgian-fighter-contest

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  July 9, 2019 | International, Aerospace, C4ISR

  BAE nets $4.7M by DARPA to integrate machine learning into RF signals detection

  By Allen Cone July 8 (UPI) -- The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency has awarded BAE Systems a contract worth up to $4.7 million to integrate machine learning into intelligence gathering involving radio frequency signals. The technology will be used in platforms to decipher the signals, BAE said in a news release Monday. Signals intelligence, or SIGINT, provides to the military advanced signal location and exploitation capabilities "to counter the threats of today and tomorrow," according to BAE. The total contract is dependent on successful completion of milestones and includes hardware delivery, as well as integration and demonstration support. The setup, which is called Controllable Hardware Integration for Machine-learning Enabled Real-time Adaptivity, or CHIMERA, provides a reconfigurable hardware platform for machine learning algorithm developers to make sense of radio frequency signals. BAE says the system is necessary "in increasingly crowded electromagnetic spectrum environments." The contract is the second BAE has received under the Radio Frequency Machine Learning systems program. The first was a contract to develop data-driven machine learning algorithms. "CHIMERA brings the flexibility of a software solution to hardware," said Dave Logan, vice president and general manager of Command, Control, Communications, Computers, Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance -- C4ISR -- Systems at BAE Systems. "Machine-learning is on the verge of revolutionizing signals intelligence technology, just as it has in other industries." The new system is capable of adapting to RF configurations in real time, offering better, easier control and improved performance that was not previously available. The system's open architecture interfaces also allow for third-party algorithm development, which BAE said will make it easier to upgrade and less likely to become obsolete. And communications, radar and electronic warfare also can benefit from the new hardware platform, BAE said. https://www.upi.com/Defense-News/2019/07/08/BAE-nets-47M-by-DARPA-to-integrate-machine-learning-into-RF-signals-detection/5261562595628/

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  July 30, 2021 | International, Aerospace, Naval, Land, C4ISR, Security

  Contracts for July 29, 2021

  Today