August 8, 2018 | International, C4ISR
By: Jen Judson
ANDOVER, Mass. — Raytheon has built a new massive radar development facility — complete with robotic helpers — to assemble and test its newest radars, but the facility's design will take the company's radar work well into the future.
Meeting visitors at the door of the $72 million addition to Raytheon's Andover, Massachusetts, radar production facility is a small square robot flashing purple light, offering a verbal welcome before scooting off to its docking station across the expansive room.
The Automated Guided Vehicle whisks past an enormous, yellow robotic arm that takes on a life of its own as it inspects the side of an array with a laser, chooses a tool and a part, and gets to work assembling a component.
Raytheon will build its AN/SPY-6 radars under contract with the U.S. Navy in the new facility. The company brought its first array under contract there in June, only 18 months after the company decided to begin the project to build the new 30,000-square-foot center.
The development facility was partly driven by Raytheon's need to build its AN/SPY-6 missile defense radars. It needed a larger facility and near-field ranges to test and calibrate the large arrays.
Full Article: https://www.defensenews.com/land/2018/08/07/raytheon-builds-massive-radar-development-facility-complete-with-robotic-helpers/
September 24, 2023 | International, Aerospace
Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace has signed an agreement with Lockheed Martin Aeronautics worth NOK 1.2 billion to supply parts for the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter Program.
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The agreement will allow AFRL and Orbit Fab to share information as the company prepares to launch its orbital refueling operations.
November 17, 2020 | International, Aerospace
by Gareth Jennings Lithuania signed for four Sikorsky UH-60M Black Hawk transport and utility helicopters on 13 November, the country's Ministry of National Defence (MND) announced. The USD213 million procurement, which will be paid off over five years, includes additional equipment, spares, and a training, repair, and logistical support package. The US government is providing USD30 million to support the purchase, and has cleared the sale of a further two helicopters should the Lithuanian Armed Forces request them. “The decision to pass on to a modern western technology that meets all criteria and requirements was made in order to ensure proper readiness of armed forces to face the challenges of modern armed conflicts, as well as excellent compatibility and interoperability with allies. The new platform will fully substitute for the [Mil] Mi-8Ts currently used by the Lithuanian Armed Forces. The Soviet-made helicopter fleet is in its thirties, and its airworthiness has come to the deadline, its operation is also difficult: expensive maintenance, prone to failures, risky repair because of complicated provision of spares from Russia,” the MND said. News of the contract came some four months after the US State Department approved the sale to Lithuania of six Black Hawks for USD380 million. The Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) notification on 6 July followed an announcement by the MND in late 2019 that the country was to begin negotiations with the US government to acquire the Black Hawks to replace three Soviet-made Mi-8 ‘Hips' and three French-built Aerospatiale AS365 N3+ Dauphins. https://www.janes.com/defence-news/news-detail/lithuania-signs-for-black-hawk-helos