Rare Beasts: 5 Military Aircraft That You Might Not Have Heard Of

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  April 28, 2020 | International, Aerospace, C4ISR

  US Army seeks tethered UAV for laser-designating

  Gareth Jennings, London - Jane's International Defence Review 26 April 2020 The US Army is looking to acquire tethered unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) to laser-designate ground targets from stand-off distances. A solicitation posted on 24 April by the Department of the Army calls for information on a tethered-UAV that can be used by Air National Guard (ANG) Special Tactics Operators (STOs) to observe and engage hostile ground forces using laser-guided weapons from greater stand-off distances. "The required product will allow STOs to develop tactics, techniques, and procedures for observing and engaging hostile forces with low-collateral, long stand-off, laser-guided weapons fired or released from weapons systems that are unable to self-designate and expedite targeting for systems that can self-designate but have not yet identified a target's location," the request for information (RFI) noted. Performance standards for the tethered UAV set out in the RFI comprise the ability to reach 200 ft above ground level (AGL); 24-hour flight on a 2 kw or smaller generator; a 5 lb (2.3 kg) payload capacity; AES 256 encryption of the UAV control and video data; ability for open architecture use of the UAV's onboard computer; gimballed camera with co-witness laser designator capability of 30 mj or better, laser spot tracker, and laser rangefinder (which would reduce the 5 lb payload); the ability to generate target co-ordinates; an untethered communications link range of 8 km or better; remote handoff capability desired; an untethered flight duration of at least 45 min with 3 lb payload; autonomous delivery capability of 4 lb; multiple hot-swappable payloads and batteries (ability to change payload and batteries without powering down); the ability to operate in high winds of more than 40 mph (64 kph); the ability to operate in precipitation- industry standard IP54 or better; a temperature capability of -10°F to + 120°F (-23°C to 49°C); a hover capability and forward flight speed of 35 mph or better; target recognition artificial intelligence (AI) capable for people and vehicles; an Android Team Awareness Kit (ATAK) integrated plugin; and the ability to operate and navigate in GPS and radar-denied environments. https://www.janes.com/article/95779/us-army-seeks-tethered-uav-for-laser-designating

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  December 13, 2019 | International, Aerospace, Naval, Land, C4ISR, Security

  Brexit A Certainty After Boris Johnson Election Landslide

  By Tony Osborne LONDON – Britain's aerospace industry is waking up to Brexit certainty after Prime Minister Boris Johnson secured a landslide majority in a Dec. 12 general election. Johnson's Conservative party secured a significant majority in the British Parliament – the largest since Margaret Thatcher in the 1980s - which will enable him to push through his vision of Brexit on Jan. 31, 2020 ending Parliamentary and legal deadlocks that have delayed the UK's departure from the EU since the original date of March 29, 2019. For aerospace, the Parliamentary majority means stability in planning and investment, and there are unlikely to be any more delays to the process. It should also mean that the threat of a no-deal Brexit – widely considered the worst-case scenario for aerospace – has largely evaporated for now. The current iteration of the withdrawal agreement between Britain and the EU calls for regulatory alignment with the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) and the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA), but the two sides still have to negotiate future trade agreements once the UK has exited the EU. A lack of agreement here could result in a no-deal. British aerospace and defense trade association ADS said it was looking forward to working with the new government but said that ministers needed to “deliver a close future relationship with the European Union." In a statement, ADS CEO Paul Everitt called on the government to push forward with “investments in innovation and green technologies, develop a defense and security industrial strategy and an ambitious national space program.” Airbus, one of the most vocal aerospace companies against Brexit, said it welcomed the fact that the British government now has a “clear mandate” and is looking forward to “positive discussions.” “Airbus remains concerned by the potential for a ‘no-deal' in December 2020 and we will continue to plan for that scenario as that is the only way any responsible business can plan,” the company said in a statement. “We will continue to run our major Brexit project in order to further eradicate and/or mitigate risks.” If the election result made Brexit more likely, it makes the break-up of the UK more probable too after the Scottish National Party (SNP) secured 48 of the 59 Parliamentary seats in Scotland. SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon said the result was a mandate for a second Scottish independence referendum. The Conservative government is unlikely to green-light such a referendum, but independence would have significant ramifications for UK defense given the presence of several airbases and the UK's ballistic missile submarines carrying the nuclear deterrent. https://aviationweek.com/defense/brexit-certainty-after-boris-johnson-election-landslide

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  July 23, 2018 | International, Aerospace

  Boeing serait "ravi" de participer au Tempest britannique

  PARIS (Reuters) - Boeing serait "ravi" de participer au nouveau programme d'avion de combat britannique, même si le projet doit encore être précisé, a déclaré vendredi à Reuters Leanne Caret, patronne de Boeing Defense, Space & Security. La Grande-Bretagne, qui n'a pas développé d'avion de combat seule depuis les années 1960, a dévoilé lundi son futur avion "Tempest" au salon de Farnborough, près de Londres, parallèlement au programme franco-allemand piloté par Paris à horizon 2040. "Ils sont encore en train de mener leurs propres études militaires et de déterminer où ils vont", a dit Leanne Caret au salon de Farnborough. "S'il y a une opportunité pour Boeing de participer et de jouer un rôle, nous serons absolument honorés et ravis d'être du voyage". Eric Trappier, PDG de Dassault Aviation a raillé jeudi le "réveil" des Britanniques vis-à-vis des avions de combat, tandis que ce projet crée une nouvelle lutte fratricide comme celle que se livrent actuellement le Rafale, l'Eurofighter et le Gripen suédois.. Il reste à savoir si les deux projets pourraient fusionner à la suite de la sortie de la Grande-Bretagne de l'Union européenne prévue en mars 2019 ou si Londres nouera de nouvelles alliances, peut-être avec le suédois Saab, constructeur du Gripen. Une alliance entre le britannique BAE Systems, Saab et peut-être le brésilien Embraer, récemment allié à Boeing, pourrait faire émerger un sérieux concurrent au projet franco-allemand. Boeing, qui construit les F/A-18E/F et F-15, pourrait ainsi trouver l'occasion de revenir dans un programme de développement d'avion de combat après avoir perdu le contrat du F-35 au détriment de Lockheed Martin en 2001.