Rheinmetall takes over maintenance of German Air Force’s CH-53G transport helicopter at Diepholz Air Base

On the same subject

• 

  September 20, 2019 | International, Aerospace

  L3Harris awarded nearly $12.8M for Eglin AN/FPS-85 radar work

  The radar, located at Eglin Air Force Base in Florida, performs detection, target recognition, acquisition and tracking of many space objects. Sept. 19 (UPI) -- L3Harris Technologies has been awarded a $12.8 million in a contract for sustainment support of the Eglin AN/FPS-85 radar in the Air Force Space Command Space Surveillance Network. The contract, announced Wednesday by the Department of Defense, applies to a previously awarded contract to L3 Harris Technologies, Colorado Springs, Colorado for sustainment support of the radar. The Eglin AN/FPS-85 Radar is a computer-controlled, phased-array radar set operating in the Air Force Space Command Surveillance Network that performs detection, target recognition, acquisition and tracking of many space objects. The radar operates at Site C-6 Eglin Air Force Base as part of the weapon systems for the 20th Space Control Squadron to conduct space object identification and intelligence in support of space domain control. Earlier this year, the 20th Space Control Squadron celebrated the 50th anniversary of the AN/FPS radar since space operation began for the AN/FPS-85 Space Track Radar in February 1969. Work on the new contract will be performed at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla, where the radar is located, with a completion date of June 30, 2020. https://www.upi.com/Defense-News/2019/09/19/L3Harris-awarded-nearly-128M-for-Eglin-ANFPS-85-radar-work

• 

  March 26, 2019 | International, Aerospace

  F-35: What The Pilots Say

  by Linda Shiner In my interviews with F-35 pilots, one word repeatedly came up: “survivability.” Surviving the Lockheed Martin F-35's primary mission—to penetrate sophisticated enemy air defenses and find and disable threats—requires what the fifth-generation jet offers: stealth and a stunning array of passive and active sensors bringing information to the pilot. The F-35 can see trouble coming—ahead, behind, or below the aircraft—far enough in advance to avoid a threat or kill it. Faced with multiple threats, the sensor suite recommends the order in which they should be dispatched. U.S. forces first took these capabilities into combat last September, when Marine F-35Bs struck the Taliban in Afghanistan (five months after its combat debut with the Israeli air force). More than 360 of the multi-service aircraft—Air Force F-35As, Marine short-takeoff-and-vertical-landing Bs, and carrier-capable Cs—have been delivered to 16 U.S. airbases and to seven other countries. Reaching these milestones has not been easy. The program's difficulties and its cost—$406 billion for development and acquisition—have been widely reported. But now the F-35 is in the hands of the best judges of its performance, its pilots. I asked eight of them—test pilots who contributed to the jet's development as well as active-duty pilots—about their experiences. Here, in their own words, are their answers. Full article: https://www.airspacemag.com/military-aviation/f-35-faces-most-critical-test-180971734/

• 

  August 8, 2019 | International, Aerospace

  Lockheed Martin-Built AEHF-5 Protected Communications Satellite Now in Transfer Orbit

  The Lockheed Martin (NYSE:LMT)-built AEHF-5 satellite is now responding to the squadron's commands as planned. The squadron began "flying" the satellite shortly after it separated from its United Launch Alliance Atlas V 551 rocket approximately 5 hours and 40 minutes after the rocket's successful 6:13 a.m. ET liftoff. AEHF-5 complete a geostationary ring of five satellites delivering global coverage for survivable, highly secure and protected communications for strategic command and tactical warfighters operating on ground, sea and air platforms. Besides U.S. forces, AEHF also serves international partners including Canada, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom. "This fifth satellite adds an additional layer of flexibility for critical strategic and tactical protected communications serving the warfighter. This added resilience to the existing constellation will help ensure warfighters can connect globally to communicate and transmit data at all times," said Mike Cacheiro, vice president for Protected Communications at Lockheed Martin Space. "In the weeks ahead, AEHF-5 will move towards its operational orbit, deploy all of its solar arrays and antennas, and turn on its powerful communications payload for a rigorous testing phase prior to hand over to the Air Force." AEHF-5, with its advanced Extended Data Rate (XDR) waveform technology, adds to the constellation's high-bandwidth network. One AEHF satellite provides greater total capacity than the entire legacy five-satellite Milstar communications constellation. "Individual data rates increase five-fold compared to Milstar, permitting transmission of tactical military communications, such as real-time video, battlefield maps and targeting data," said Cacheiro. "AEHF affords national leaders anti-jam, always-on connectivity during all levels of conflict and enables both strategic and tactical users to communicate globally across a high-speed network that delivers protected communications in any environment." Lockheed Martin designed, processed and manufactured all five on-orbit AEHF satellites at its advanced satellite manufacturing facility in Sunnyvale, California. The next AEHF satellite, AEHF-6, is currently in full production in Silicon Valley and is expected to launch in 2020. The AEHF team includes the U.S. Air Force Military Satellite Communications Systems Directorate at the Space and Missile Systems Center, Los Angeles Air Force Base, Calif. Lockheed Martin Space, Sunnyvale, Calif., is the AEHF prime contractor, space and ground segments provider as well as system integrator, with Northrop Grumman Aerospace Systems, Redondo Beach, Calif., as the payload provider. For additional information, visit our website: http://www.lockheedmartin.com/aehf