July 10, 2024 | International, C4ISR, Security
Navigating fed cybersecurity: Strategies to achieve network compliance
Opinion: The complexities of federal cybersecurity guidance necessitate a multifaceted approach to achieving compliance.
January 14, 2021 | International, Naval
Raytheon UK wins contract in $1.3B Royal Navy modernization plan
By
Jan. 13 (UPI) -- Raytheon UK won a $200 million contract to improve the Royal Navy's training, it announced on Wednesday, part of a $1.3 billion transformation of the nation's navy.
The British subsidiary of the U.S. company will "provide the Royal Navy with transformative technology, training and learning solutions over the next 12 years," a Raytheon statement said.
Led by the London-based outsourcing and professional services company Capita LLC, a consortium of companies will transform and modernize the Royal Navy's shore-based training at 16 sites across Britain.
The contract with Capita was announced in December. Raytheon, Elbit Systems UK and Fujitsu are also among the suppliers, according to British officials.
Raytheon UK will "play a key role in modernizing and transforming the Royal Navy's training analysis, design, delivery, assurance, and management/support services, helping to make the UK Armed Forces more agile and adaptable than ever to tackle future challenges," the company said in a press release.
Modernization of the British military has been a key element in recent national policy.
Defense Minister Ben Wallace noted on Monday that an "integrated review that we will publish in 2021 will make the most of new technologies, improve integration across the domains and demonstrate that we remain the international partner of choice."
An example is Britain's Queen Elizabeth-class aircraft carriers, the first of which was commissioned in 2017 and capable of carrying helicopters and F-35 fighter planes.
The HMS Queen Elizabeth is currently undergoing testing in advance of its first deployment with a carrier strike group of destroyers, cruisers and other vessels.
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October 15, 2024 | International, Aerospace
Sending THAAD to Israel adds to strain on US Army, leaders say
The top two Army leaders said the THAAD deployment also adds potential delays in modernizing the service’s missile defense systems.
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June 25, 2020 | International, Aerospace
The F-35 Lightning II can’t fly in lightning once again
By: Valerie Insinna WASHINGTON — The most widely used variant of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter is currently unable to fly in thunderstorms after the discovery of damage to one of the systems it uses to protect itself from lightning, its prime contractor Lockheed Martin said Wednesday. To safely fly in conditions where lightning is present, the F-35 relies on its Onboard Inert Gas Generation System, or OBIGGS, which pumps nitrogen-enriched air into the fuel tanks to inert them. Without this system, a jet could explode if struck by lightning. However, damage to one of the tubes that distributes inert gas into the fuel tank was discovered during routine depot maintenance of an F-35A at Hill Air Force Base's Ogden Logistics Complex in Utah, Lockheed said in a statement. Lockheed temporarily paused F-35 deliveries June 2-23 as the company validated whether it was properly installing OBIGGS systems. However, “it appears this anomaly is occurring in the field after aircraft delivery,” Lockheed said in a statement. Lockheed has since delivered two F-35s, company spokesman Brett Ashworth said. Because it cannot be confirmed that the OBIGGS system would function properly if the jet was hit by lightning, the F-35 Joint Program Office has opted to institute flight restrictions. “As a safety precaution, the JPO recommended to unit commanders that they implement a lightning flight restriction for the F-35A, which restricts flying within 25 miles of lightning or thunderstorms,” Lockheed said. “We are working with the F-35 Joint Program Office (JPO) on a root cause corrective action investigation to determine next steps.” The issue only seems to affect the F-35A conventional-takeoff-and-landing variant, which is used by the U.S. Air Force and the majority of international customers. The OBIGGS design is slightly different on the F-35B short-takeoff-and-vertical-landing variant due to the aircraft's lift fan, and the problem has not been observed on F-35C carrier-takeoff-and-landing aircraft, Ashworth said. Bloomberg, which obtained a JPO memo dated June 5, reported that flawed tubes were found in 14 of the 24 “A” models inspected. The JPO did not respond immediately to a request for comment. For a plane nicknamed “Lightning II,” the F-35′s lightning protection systems have, ironically, become an embarrassing problem issue for the jet at times throughout its development. The F-35 was prohibited from flying within 25 miles of lightning in the early 2010s after the Pentagon's weapons tester discovered deficiencies with the original OBIGGs system in getting enough inert gas into the fuel tanks. Those restrictions were rescinded after the OBIGGS was redesigned in 2014. https://www.defensenews.com/air/2020/06/24/the-f-35-lightning-ii-cant-fly-in-lightning-once-again/