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SOCOM wants new industry pitches to connect autonomous tech
The goal is for government and industry officials to connect autonomous technology to work together.
May 29, 2020 | International, Aerospace, Naval
Navy Exploring Options for Multi-Engine Training Aircraft to Replace T-44
Posted on May 28, 2020 by Richard R. Burgess, Senior Editor
ARLINTON, Va. — Naval Air Systems Command is looking at options for an aircraft to replace the T-44C Pegasus multi-engine training aircraft, but the ultimate choice may not be “new.” The Navy is exploring options for adapting an existing aircraft design to the service's Multi-Engine Training System (METS).
According to a draft request for information (RFI) posted May 26, the Navy is looking at existing twin-engine aircraft to replace the service's fleet of 54 T-44Cs used to train Navy, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard pilots to fly aircraft such as the V-22 Osprey, E-2C/D Hawkeye, P-8 Poseidon, P-3 and EP-3 Orion, C-130/KC-130/HC-130 Hercules, E-6 Mercury, C-40 Clipper, HC-27 Spartan and HC-144 Ocean Sentry.
The T-44A, a variant of the Beech King Air 90 business aircraft, first entered service in 1980. The existing T-44As all have been modified to the T-44C configuration.
The Navy said the METS should have an FAA type certification for single- and dual-pilot operations under day and night visual flight rules and under instrument flight rules. It shall cruise at speeds greater or equal to 195 knots and shall be able to operate at a minimum of 20,000 feet above sea level. The aircraft also should have an endurance of 3.5 or more flight hours.
The pressurized aircraft cockpit will have side-by-side seating, as well as a jump seat for an instruct. The cockpit will be equipped with multifunction displays with digital moving map; redundant VHF and UHF radios; an integrated GPS/inertial navigation system; Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast; flight management system; weather radar, radar altimeter, and a cockpit data recorder.
The METS aircraft also shall have tricycle landing gear and a reconfigurable cargo bay in the cabin.
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Rheinmetall pitches Panther battle tank as heir to the Leopard
The proposal at the Eurosatory defense exhibition in Paris adds a new angle to the discussion in Europe about a next-generation tank for the continent.
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February 16, 2018 | International, Aerospace, Naval, C4ISR
LEONARDO TO LEAD OCEAN2020 PROGRAM, THE FIRST AND MOST IMPORTANT EUROPEAN DEFENCE AGENCY RESEARCH TENDER FOR NAVAL SURVEILLANCE TECHNOLOGY
OCEAN2020, a European Defence Fund initiative, will boost technological research in the naval domain also by the integration of unmanned platforms in surveillance and interdiction missions Leonardo is a leader in systems integration and will lead a team of 42 partner companies including Saab, Safran, PGZ and MBDA, research bodies such as NATO CMRE and the defence ministries of five countries The first operational demonstration will take place in 2019 in the Mediterranean Sea. The demo will involve Leonardo's ‘Hero' and ‘Solo' unmanned helicopters, naval vessels and systems from a number of partners, including Italian Navy's vessels equipped with Leonardo's systems Leonardo was awarded the most important project related to the first European Defence Found's initiative, OCEAN2020, to boost Europe's defence capabilities, issued by the European Union under the ‘Preparatory Action on Defence Research' programme. The competitive selection was conducted by the European Defence Agency and will be contracted in the coming weeks. The OCEAN2020 team, which will be led by Leonardo, comprises 42 partners from 15 European countries. These include the Ministries of Defence of Italy, Greece, Spain, Portugal and Lithuania, with additional support from the Ministries of Defence of Sweden, France, the United Kingdom and Estonia and the Netherlands. European industrial partners include Indra, Safran, Saab, MBDA, PGZ/CTM, Hensoldt, Intracom-IDE, Fincantieri and QinetiQ. A number of research centres include Fraunhofer, TNO, CMRE (NATO) and IAI. “We are extremely pleased with this result, the OCEAN2020 initiative has a high level of strategic and technological-operational value” said Alessandro Profumo, CEO of Leonardo. “It is the leading technological research project dedicated to the very topical issue of maritime surveillance, which is of interest across Europe and to the Mediterranean region in particular. This success has been made possible thanks to the strong collaboration between all 42 team partners which we have the honour to lead.” OCEAN2020 is the first example of a cross-European military research programme to-date. The Leonardo-led bid required a thorough analysis of operational requirements and a technologically-innovative yet operationally-realistic proposal. The research project also will see the integration of unmanned platforms in surveillance and interdiction missions. The success in winning the tender both highlights, and will enhance, Leonardo's strength in naval products and integrated systems. The company's expertise in the domain includes command and control systems, unmanned aircraft, sensors, helicopters for naval applications, communications and weapon systems, on the surface and underwater. OCEAN2020 will see unmanned platforms of different type (fixed wing, rotary wing, surface and underwater) integrated with naval units' command and control centres, allowing for data exchange via satellite, with command and control centres on land. The joint and cooperative use of both manned and unmanned vehicles will also be demonstrated as part of the project. Leonardo would like to thank the Italian Navy which, as a key OCEAN2020 partner, has and will continue to make important contributions to the project. This includes the development of operational scenarios and making available naval assets and helicopters, which will take part in demonstrations. In addition to complex simulation work, OCEAN2020 project will involve two live demonstrations of maritime surveillance and interdiction operations, conducted by European fleets using unmanned aircraft, surface vessels and underwater systems. The first demo, scheduled to take place in the Mediterranean Sea in 2019, will be coordinated by the Italian Navy and will see Leonardo's ‘Hero' and ‘Solo' unmanned helicopters operate from Italian naval units alongside other European partners. The second demonstration, which will take place in 2020 in the Baltic Sea, will be coordinated by the Swedish Navy. The data collected by various systems during these two demos will be processed and sent to a prototype European command and control centre in Brussels. http://www.leonardocompany.com/en/-/ocean-2020