September 18, 2019 | International, Aerospace
By: Sebastian Sprenger
COLOGNE, Germany — General Atomics has nabbed a $125 million contract from the United Kingdom to make that country's Protector military strike drone certifiable to fly alongside civilian traffic, pushing the company's agenda to be first in Europe with such a system.
The money will help “complete” test and evaluation activities needed to demonstrate all safety features leading up to an eventual certification of the aircraft by British authorities, the company said in a statement.
Pairing drones with civil aviation in the same, unrestricted airspace involves a complex field of still-evolving regulations. In short, unmanned planes must be equipped with sensors and controls — collectively known under the name “detect-and-avoid” — to be able to avert midair collisions just a like a human pilot would.
“This completes another important milestone as we work towards the delivery of Protector to the Royal Air Force (RAF),” General Atomics CEO Linden Blue is quoted as saying in a company statement. “We have completed more than 100 qualification test flights using our two company-owned SkyGuardian.”
The British Royal Air Force is slated to receive the first Protector drones in 2024, according to a service statement released during the DSEI defense exhibit in London last week. Installing a detect-and-avoid package on the aircraft became an explicit objective of the program early this year. General Atomics officials said they are working toward a so-called military-type certification by the British authorities in the summer of 2023.
According to General Atomics, the company's detect-and-avoid system consists of a “due-regard” air-to-air radar and processor, which is integrated with a “Traffic Alert and Collision Avoidance System (TCAS II),” and an “Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B).” The Protector also will feature all-weather performance with lightning protection, damage tolerance and a de-icing system, the statement reads.
The company hopes the sale of certification-ready drones to the U.K., plus a similar deal with Belgium, will jump-start sales on the continent just as unmanned aviation reaches further into military and everyday life.
While General Atomics believes its previous work with the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration will translate into a tangible advantage, European manufacturers are busy readying their own drones for the challenge.
One industry insider, speaking on condition of anonymity, said there is a trans-Atlantic rift emerging when it comes to the regulatory framework for integrating large military drones into routine air traffic. On one side, companies like General Atomics are pushing toward a unified approach on both sides of the Atlantic, while manufacturers in Europe are circling the wagons to push a uniquely European path that could make it difficult for the Americans to gain a foothold.
October 7, 2024 | International, Aerospace
L3Harris est en pourparlers avec les responsables du programme F-35 – dont le géant américain Lockheed Martin – pour faire de ses installations québécoises un centre nord-américain d’entretien pour cet avion de combat, a appris La Presse. Cela permettrait à son site de Mirabel d’être un incontournable pour l’armée américaine.
April 24, 2020 | International, Aerospace, C4ISR
Melbourne, Fla. April 23, 2020 - The U.S. Space Force's Space and Missile Systems Center (SMC) has awarded L3Harris Technologies (NYSE:LHX) a five-year, $500 million ceiling, indefinite delivery, indefinite quantity (IDIQ) contract — with an initial delivery order of $30.6 million — for the Air Force and Army Anti-jam Modem (A3M). A3M provides the Department of the Air Force and Army with a secure, wideband, anti-jam satellite communications terminal modem for tactical satellite communication operations. The contract and order were received in the first quarter of 2020. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200423005148/en/ “With the proliferation and growing sophistication of threats in the electromagnetic spectrum, it has become increasingly important to enhance protected communications capabilities for the warfighter,” said Dana Mehnert, President, Communication Systems, L3Harris. “The A3M technology solution enhances the warfighter's ability to communicate critical data by maintaining resilient and secure satellite communications in highly congested and contested environments that include the presence of adversarial jamming.” L3Harris will collaborate with SMC for the design, development, fabrication, integration, certification and testing of Block 1 modems for use in the Air Force Ground Multiband Terminal and the Army Satellite Transportable Terminal. The jam-resistant modems support SMC's Protected Tactical Waveform technology, an anti-jam capability operating on military satellite communication terminals through the Wideband Global Satcom constellation. The L3Harris modems are optimized for high-rate production and are designed to become an integral part of the service's growing Protected Anti-Jam Tactical Service enterprise. Several airborne and ground-based platforms and thousands of terminals across the Department of Defense have been identified as transition candidates to the Protected Tactical Waveform. About L3Harris Technologies L3Harris Technologies is an agile global aerospace and defense technology innovator, delivering end-to-end solutions that meet customers' mission-critical needs. The company provides advanced defense and commercial technologies across air, land, sea, space and cyber domains. L3Harris has approximately $18 billion in annual revenue and 50,000 employees, with customers in 130 countries. L3Harris.com. Forward-Looking Statements This press release contains forward-looking statements that reflect management's current expectations, assumptions and estimates of future performance and economic conditions. Such statements are made in reliance upon the safe harbor provisions of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. The company cautions investors that any forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results and future trends to differ materially from those matters expressed in or implied by such forward-looking statements. Statements about the value or expected value of orders, contracts or programs and about our system capabilities are forward-looking and involve risks and uncertainties. L3Harris disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200423005148/en/
May 29, 2020 | International, Aerospace, Naval, Land, C4ISR, Security
Le 28 mai 2020, Florence Parly, ministre des Armées s'est entretenue avec Bruno Le Maire, ministre de l'Économie et des Finances pour trouver les solutions les plus adaptées pour soutenir les PME de la défense. Dès le début de la crise, une task force a été mise sur pied, soit une mission interministérielle d'une cinquantaine de personnes pilotée par le ministère des Armées qui associe Bercy et Bpifrance. « Le principe est d'ausculter 1 500 entreprises, d'aller au contact dans les territoires, de visiter les lignes de production, les bureaux d'études, de discuter avec les dirigeants de ces PME et d'identifier la nature exacte de leurs faiblesses », précise le ministère des Armées à l'Usine Nouvelle. L'Usine Nouvelle du 29 mai 2020