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May 17, 2021 | International, Aerospace

Saab fait voler une pièce de fuselage d’avion de combat imprimée en 3D

Le constructeur suédois Saab est parvenu, pour la première fois, à faire voler un avion équipé d'une pièce extérieure imprimée en 3D. L'avionneur utilise la technologie de la fabrication additive depuis quatre ans, notamment pour imprimer des pièces internes, précise L'Usine Nouvelle. La pièce, une trappe située sur le flanc arrière du fuselage de l'appareil, un modèle Gripen, a été imprimée sur la base du scan de la pièce originelle. Parfaitement ajustée à l'avion, elle n'a montré « aucun changement structurel visible après le vol d'essai », assure Hakan Stake, responsable du projet, dans un communiqué. Cette démonstration devrait, à terme, « permettre au personnel sur le terrain d'avoir accès à des pièces de rechange ajustées individuellement, d'éviter les réparations d'urgence ou de cannibaliser un appareil déjà endommagé », souligne-t-il. Il estime par ailleurs que cette solution permettra de réduire le nombre de pièces transportées lors du déploiement d'un appareil et de réduire son temps de réparation. De nombreuses étapes de certification du matériau utilisé, un polyamide 2200, couramment utilisé dans la fabrication additive, sont encore nécessaires avant de déployer la technologie sur le terrain.

L'Usine Nouvelle du 17 mai

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  • Here’s how many bombs the US plans to buy in the next year

    February 11, 2020 | International, Aerospace, Naval, Land

    Here’s how many bombs the US plans to buy in the next year

    By: Aaron Mehta WASHINGTON — The Pentagon's fiscal 2021 budget request seeks to buy fewer munitions needed for the fights in Afghanistan and Iraq as it attempts to pivot towards investments in the kind of weapons that will be used in a high-end fight against China or Russia. The DoD has requested $21.3 billion in munitions, including $6 billion for conventional ammunition, $4 billion for strategic missiles and $11.3 billion for tactical missiles. Munitions and missiles make up 8.8 percent of overall procurement in the budget request. The department is pursuing a two-pronged approach, according to a budget summary provided by the Pentagon. The first is to make sure “U.S. worldwide munition inventories are sufficiently stocked” for ongoing needs. The second is to ensure “sufficient procurement of more advanced high-end weapon systems, which provide increases standoff, enhanced lethality and autonomous targeting for employment against near-peer threats in more contested environment.” Examples of that kind of high-end munition includes the Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile (JASSM) and the Long-Range Anti-Ship Missile (LRASM), both of which have enhanced procurement in the budget request. Major munitions buys in the budget include: 20,338 Joint Direct Attack Munitions (JDAM) - $533 million. That is down 8,050 units from the FY20 enacted. 7,360 Guided Multiple Launch Rocket System (GMLRS) - $1.2 billion. That is down 1,163 units from FY20 enacted. 2,462 Small Diameter Bomb 1 (SDB 1) – $95.9 million. That is down 4,616 units from FY20 enacted. 1,490 Small Diameter Bomb II (SDB II) - $432 million. That is down 197 units from FY20 enacted. 8,150 Hellfire missiles - $517 million. That is down 640 units from FY20 enacted. 601 AIM-9X sidewinders - $316.6 million. That is down 119 units from FY20 enacted. 125 Standard Missile-6 - $816 million. That is the same amount as purchased in FY20 enacted. 400 Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile (JASSM) - $577 million. That is up 10 units from FY20 enacted. 53 Long Range Anti-Ship Missile (LRASM) - $224 million. That is up 36 units from FY20 enacted. The slowdown of procurement for munitions comes as the U.S. dropped 7,423 munitions onto Afghanistan in 2019 —the highest number of bombs released in nearly a decade. “For munitions, we continue to carefully manage production and stockpiles," Pentagon comptroller Elaine McCusker said Monday. "The JADM stockpile is healthier due to our last four years of increased procurements. The SM-6 is being procured at the maximum rate of production, continuing a five-year, multi-year procurement contract.” Keeping the munitions industrial base humming is important for the Pentagon. A May 2018 report identified major gaps in the munitions industrial base, warning that key components for America's weapons could disappear entirely if a small handful of suppliers were to close up shop. https://www.defensenews.com/smr/federal-budget/2020/02/10/heres-how-many-bombs-the-us-plans-to-buy-in-the-next-year

  • Air Force wants to expand training for cyber teams

    July 17, 2020 | International, Aerospace, C4ISR, Security

    Air Force wants to expand training for cyber teams

    Mark Pomerleau The Air Force has selected the Air National Guard's training and education center at McGhee Tyson Air National Guard Base in Tennessee to be the focal point for training a cadre of defensive focused cyber teams, according to a news release. These teams, called mission defense teams (MDTs), will protect critical Air Force missions and installations such as critical infrastructure or computers associated with aircraft and remotely piloted systems. The teams are an outgrowth of the service's communications squadrons, which have performed much of the IT and cyber defense at the base or wing level. Now, with the Air Force outsourcing much of its IT management, the service was able to free up personnel and resources to focus on protecting these critical assets. The new crews differ from the cyber protection teams that the Air Force, and other services, provide to U.S. Cyber Command as part of the cyber mission force. At first, 20 students will participate in the mission defense team pilot class in mid-August. If that is successful, it will expand to six 20 student classes in 2021. The ultimate goal is to graduate 1,000 students each year across the service beginning in fiscal year 2023, the Air Force said. These teams will be stationed at 84 locations around the world. “This is an exciting moment for TEC and its future as an agile, innovative, and resilient center of learning for the total Air Force and the National Guard Bureau,” Col. Kenneth Lozano, the commander of the traning and education center, said. The Air Force has taken a “total Air Force approach” to cyber, to include its cyber mission force teams and mission defense teams, meaning, these forces are made up of combined active duty, guard and reserve forces. Prior training efforts for mission defense teams began at the 223rd Cyberspace Operations Squadron at Little Rock Air Force Base with a Cyber-Protect and -Defend course. The first classes were held in August 2019. The Air Force said to date, the schoolhouse has trained 160 airmen. The goal is for the training and education center at McGhee Tyson to assume 1,000 graduates a year, with the majority of training to transition there in 2022. One of the biggest hurdles thus far, is procuring a range for trainees to operate on. The Air Force is working through the Defense Cybercrimes Center to procure a cyber range and certify instructors. The price tag associated with this for the initial 20 students is $1.5 million. https://www.c4isrnet.com/cyber/2020/07/16/air-force-wants-to-expand-training-for-cyber-teams/

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