See the show floor and live drills at Eurosatory

On the same subject

• 

  June 19, 2023 | International, Aerospace

  Reveal of French-made combat drone stirs up industry

  The Aarok is a medium-altitude, long-endurance (MALE) combat drone, designed and made in France by Turgis & Gaillard.

• 

  September 18, 2020 | International, Aerospace, C4ISR

  Avec SpaceHub, la région bordelaise veut tenir son rang dans la mobilité spatiale

  Pierre Cheminade Défendre et promouvoir la position de la région bordelaise dans la compétition mondiale de la mobilité spatiale, c'est l'ambition du SpaceHub lancé conjointement par des acteurs publics et privés dont la Région Nouvelle-Aquitaine, Bordeaux Métropole, ArianeGroup et Dassault Aviation. Malgré la vente d'avions Rafale à la Grèce, qui bénéficiera directement à l'usine Dassault de Mérignac, la filière régionale de l'aéronautique-spatial-défense (ASD) a bien besoin de signaux positifs dans un contexte compliqué, tout particulièrement pour les avionneurs civils et leurs sous-traitants. Alors que Technowest vient de lancer un appel à projets pour repérer et accompagner trois nouvelles startups de l'ASD, le conseil régional de Nouvelle-Aquitaine, Bordeaux Métropole, Saint-Médard-en-Jalles, ArianeGroup et Dassault Aviation se mobilisent pour fédérer les énergies en matière spatiale. Une nouvelle initiative après que la présidence bordelaise de la Communauté des villes Ariane en 2020 a subi le confinement et la crise sanitaire de plein fouet tout comme le festival Big Bang. La démarche SpaceHub, présentée le 7 septembre en présence d'une myriade de partenaires publics et privés (*), vise à ainsi à démontrer que le territoire tient son rang en matière de mobilités spatiales dans un contexte plus concurrentiel que jamais avec les progrès à marche forcée réalisés par les acteurs du New Space. Deux activités seront développées de concert pour mêler étroitement recherche fondamentale et applications concrètes : un centre d'analyse prospective dédié à la mobilité spatiale travaillant avec les universités et grandes écoles françaises et internationales ainsi qu'avec les agences spatiales, civiles et de défense ; un centre d'exploration et d'accélération des concepts spatiaux "pour aboutir rapidement aux meilleures solutions, obtenir des financements associés à ses projets innovants et générer de nouvelles opportunités d'affaires." Le tout dans une logique d'ouverture et de collaboration. Une démarche qui s'inscrit également dans une logique de relance économique à moyen terme tant les innovations et technologies développées initialement pour le spatial se traduisent, dans un second temps, dans l'économie et les usages plus grand public, de la communication à la santé en passant par l'environnement et la mobilité. (*) Les partenaires industriels du projet (ArianeGroup et Dassault Aviation), le CEA, les représentants de l'écosystème de la recherche (Université de Bordeaux, CNRS, Inria, Chaire défense & aérospatial de Sciences Po Bordeaux, etc.), des acteurs majeurs soutenant le projet (Thales, Cnes, Nouvelle-Aquitaine Academic Space Center, l'association Hyfar-Ara et la Fondation Bordeaux Université). https://objectifaquitaine.latribune.fr/business/aeronautique-et-defense/2020-09-17/avec-spacehub-la-region-bordelaise-veut-tenir-son-rang-dans-la-mobilite-spatiale

• 

  August 21, 2018 | International, Aerospace, Naval

  The Navy's Fighter Shortage Is Finally, Slowly Improving

  By Kyle Mizokami The U.S. Navy's horrible fighter availability rate is gradually improving thanks to increased funding for fighter maintenance. At one point in 2017, just one in three F/A-18 Super Hornet fighters was available, a number that's increased to nearly half of all fighters. The problem is in large part due to past budget shortfalls and delayed introduction of the F-35 fighter jet. The U.S. Navy has 546 F/A-18E and F/A-18F Super Hornet fighters, larger, beefier, slightly stealthier versions of the original F/A-18 Hornet. Aircraft readiness rates, or the percentage of aircraft ready for deployment, should typically be north of seventy five percent, depending on type of aircraft, the complexity of the aircraft systems, and the age of the fleet. In 2017, the Navy's Super Hornet fleet hovered around 30 percent readiness, a shockingly low number the service blamed on minimal maintenance budgets and non-stop operations. The Navy struggled to place flight-capable aircraft with squadrons deploying on aircraft carriers. On the outside things looked fairly normal, as carriers went to sea with flight decks filled with Super Hornets. Behind the scenes however non-deployed squadrons suffered, acting as spare parts donors for deployment-bound ships. This cascading effect had negative implications for stateside squadrons and pilot training. According to DefenseNews, Secretary of the Navy Richard Spencer cited increased maintenance budgets over the past two years as a major part of the turnaround, allowing the service to fund repairs and spare parts. The service also streamlined maintenance processes, avoiding duplication and increasing efficiency. The maintenance crisis was caused by several problems. The high demand for strike fighters, particularly for combat operations against the Islamic State, increased the amount of wear and tear on the Super Hornet fleet. Super Hornets also act as aerial refueling tankers, increasing flight hours and wear and tear on the platform. Meanwhile the Navy struggled to operate within the budget mandated by the 2011 Budget Control Act that trimmed federal spending. Making matters worse, so-called "continuing resolutions" passed during times of budget bickering to keep government going were an inefficient means of spending money and played havoc with the Pentagon's budget. Another problem that indirectly cause the crisis: a delay in the introduction of the U.S. Navy's version of the Joint Strike Fighter, the F-35C. The F-35C, meant to replace older F/A-18C Hornet fighters, is now at least three years behind schedule. As the chart above illustrates, the Navy originally expected the F-35C to be initial operations capable—when the first Navy squadron is at least partially combat-capable—in late 2015. That date has gradually slipped to late 2018 or early 2019. On the outside things looked fairly normal, as carriers went to sea with flight decks filled with Super Hornets. Behind the scenes however non-deployed squadrons suffered, acting as spare parts donors for deployment-bound ships. This cascading effect had negative implications for stateside squadrons and pilot training. According to DefenseNews, Secretary of the Navy Richard Spencer cited increased maintenance budgets over the past two years as a major part of the turnaround, allowing the service to fund repairs and spare parts. The service also streamlined maintenance processes, avoiding duplication and increasing efficiency. The maintenance crisis was caused by several problems. The high demand for strike fighters, particularly for combat operations against the Islamic State, increased the amount of wear and tear on the Super Hornet fleet. Super Hornets also act as aerial refueling tankers, increasing flight hours and wear and tear on the platform. Meanwhile the Navy struggled to operate within the budget mandated by the 2011 Budget Control Act that trimmed federal spending. Making matters worse, so-called "continuing resolutions" passed during times of budget bickering to keep government going were an inefficient means of spending money and played havoc with the Pentagon's budget. Another problem that indirectly cause the crisis: a delay in the introduction of the U.S. Navy's version of the Joint Strike Fighter, the F-35C. The F-35C, meant to replace older F/A-18C Hornet fighters, is now at least three years behind schedule. As the chart above illustrates, the Navy originally expected the F-35C to be initial operations capable—when the first Navy squadron is at least partially combat-capable—in late 2015. That date has gradually slipped to late 2018 or early 2019. As a result of this delay, the Navy was forced to extend the lives of five squadrons of older -C model Hornets while it waited for the F-35C. That work added to the burden of Navy maintenance units already working to keep Super Hornets flying. In addition to the Navy's maintenance work, Boeing is set to take 40 to 50 Super Hornets a year and upgrade them to the new Block III configuration. DefenseNews says this will also bring the jets in the worst shape back to flying condition. In the long term F-35C production should ease the burden on the Super Hornet community, as the fifth generation fighter will eventually equip half of the strike fighter squadrons deployed on U.S. Navy carriers. The executive branch's 2019 defense budget also plans for an additional 110 Super Hornets over five years. Finally, the Navy plans to acquire a small fleet of MQ-25 Stingray unmanned aerial refueling aircraft to take over tanking duties from the overworked strike fighters. Full article: https://www.popularmechanics.com/military/aviation/a22778556/us-navy-fighter-shortage-progress