June 18, 2021 | International, Aerospace
Another Boeing-Airbus tanker war is coming soon
The Air Force wants to buy as many as 160 KC-Y tankers after it's finished with KC-46 production. Both Airbus and Boeing are ready to compete.
October 19, 2020 | International, Aerospace, C4ISR
Thales launches small AESA radar for small aircraft
PARIS – Thales launched on Oct. 16 its new AirMaster C, a compact, active electronically scanned array (AESA), airborne surveillance radar for small and medium-sized platforms.
Although the radar's design phase has been finalized it still needs testing airborne. Nevertheless, Stéphane Lavigne, a sales director at Thales, said that the French Armed Forces Ministry had already notified its intention to buy the equipment for the future light joint army helicopter, the Guépard, developed by Airbus Helicopters and due to enter service in 2026.
Jon Bye, Thales' head of customer marketing, said that the AirMaster C would ensure customers got “that great picture, first time, every time.”
The active antenna radar is based on SiGe (silicon-germanium) technology fully validated in 2019. Thales says SiGe is “much more energy efficient than other technologies used for AESA radars, and allows the radar to self-cool.”
François Arpagaus, the company's airborne surveillance product line director, said that AirMaster C is easy to integrate, less complex to operate and would allow users to “see more, more of the time” thanks to “multi-polarization” which allows the radar to automatically select the optimal settings for each mission.
The radar was designed for a small footprint, making it 30 percent lower in size, weight and power than other radars in its class. It is small, no bigger than two A4 pages side by side, weighs less than 20 kg (45 lbs) and uses about 1 Kw of power. “It's perfect for small and medium-sized platforms, both manned and unmanned,” Arpagaus said.
Lavigne said the sensor had been designed with a lot of input from radar users. “The program is launched, we are ready to take orders,” he said, adding that typical delivery time from contract signing would happen within two years.
https://www.c4isrnet.com/c4isr/2020/10/16/thales-launches-small-aesa-radar-for-small-aircraft/
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November 19, 2023 | International, Aerospace, Land
Norway plans to purchase NASAMS air defence and new missiles
The proposed investments include eight launcher units and four fire control centers for NASAMS, replacing equipment donated to Ukraine earlier this year.
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February 21, 2020 | International, Naval
Virtual Training becomes reality for Royal Netherlands Navy
February 20, 2020 - Technical students from the Royal Netherlands Navy can now make virtual acquaintance with naval ships. They do this with a Virtual Reality (VR) programme that Damen Schelde Naval Shipbuilding (DSNS), Thales Nederland and the maritime innovation cluster Extended Reality developed for them. The programme was commissioned by the Royal Dutch Navy last Wednesday, prior to the signing of the contract for a new supply vessel. The so-called Intro-TD-OPV experience was created for students of the Royal Navy Technical Training. Supported by game techniques and a narrative, the student moves over the HNLMS Holland, a patrol ship of the Holland class and learns, playfully, the functional design of the ship and the location of the systems on board. The idea is that VR technology, game technology and gamification contribute to innovative education. With this, the Royal Netherlands Navy tries to fascinate and bind the technical target group. After all, the defence sector in general, and the Royal Navy in particular, nowadays need all the tools to recruit and retain suitable personnel. The VR programme was developed in close collaboration with the maritime innovation cluster Extended Reality. This cluster is largely run by naval personnel from the Simulation Center Maritime (SimCenMar). Here experiments are performed with all kinds of possibilities of extended reality. For the realisation of this VR project, DSNS worked closely with students from the Media Designer course at Scalda in Vlissingen. They participated in the course 3D models and graphics. To date, more than ten trainees have been involved in DSNS's ever-growing VR/AR department. View source version on Damen: https://www.damen.com/en/news/2020/02/virtual_training_becomes_reality_for_royal_netherlands_navy