Thales receives US Army production increase order for more than 7,000 of Combat Net Radios

On the same subject

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  April 29, 2019 | International, Aerospace

  Italy to buy drones to keep company alive, but the Air Force doesn’t want them

  By: Tom Kington ROME — The Italian government said it will purchase the troubled P.1HH drone from Italy-based Piaggio Aerospace as it seeks to keep the firm afloat, despite an apparent lack of interest in the platform from the Italian Air Force. The Ministry of Economic Development announced April 24 the acquisition of four drones, which are unmanned variants of the firm's P180 business aircraft. Confirming the purchase, the Defence Ministry said the purchase would serve the “operational needs” of the Italian armed forces and protect the “strategic value” of the company, while strengthening Italy's credentials as a partner in the pan-European EuroMALE drone program. The Ministry of Economic Development added that future purchases would follow, with an industrial source telling Defense News another four drones would be bought. Piaggio Aerospace was placed in receivership late last year by then-owner Mubadala, an investment fund based in the United Arab Emirates, which also canceled its planned order of eight Piaggio P.1HH drones. One reported reason for Mubadala's decision was its impatience as Italy dragged its heels on promises to buy an enhanced version of the drone, preferred by the Italian Air Force and known at the P.2HH. As Italy's parliamentary defense commission dragged its heels on approving the P.2HH order last year, Mubadala pulled the plug on the firm, even as work on its order of P.1HH drones was nearing completion. The decision put hundreds of jobs at Piaggio in jeopardy and left the firm with incomplete P.1HH drones. In March, Italian Air Force chief Gen. Alberto Rosso told Italy's parliament he was not interested in buying them, adding to speculation the drone program was dead. But he appears to be have been overruled, as Italy's government seeks to save jobs at the company. The industrial source said the four drones set to be purchased by Italy for the Air Force, plus the further four to be bought in the future, would be those originally destined for the UAE. One drone that had already been delivered to the UAE could now be returned for delivery to the Italian Air Force. The source said €70 million (U.S. $78 million) will be spent by the Italian Defence Ministry to achieve flight certification for the drones, which is expected to take between 12 and 18 months. Maintenance work and construction of the P180 will also now continue. The deal will allow a revived Piaggio to avoid layoffs and to find an “industrial partner,” the Ministry of Economic Development said. That could be Italy's Leonardo, although CEO Alessandro Profumo this month told Defense News he was only interested in Piaggio's engine maintenance activity. https://www.defensenews.com/unmanned/2019/04/26/italy-to-buy-drones-to-keep-company-alive-but-the-air-force-doesnt-want-them

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  February 21, 2020 | International, Aerospace, C4ISR

  The Federal Aviation Administration selects Thales Secondary Radar Technology for the Mode S Beacon Replacement System Contract

  February 19, 2020 - The FAA selected Thales secondary radar technology to support the Mode S Beacon Replacement System contract, being delivered with Leidos. Under the contract, Thales will supply up to 142 secondary surveillance radars to support Air Traffic Control management. The number of aircraft flying is on track to double by 2036, which is leading to an increase in complexity. Reliable, strong performing radars, capable of detecting, measuring precisely the position of an aircraft and allowing rapid and secure exchange of data is crucial. The Thales secondary surveillance radar is capable of providing surveillance and specific aircraft information necessary to support Air Traffic Control (ATC) automation in all traffic environments. The modern Mode S radar system will help the FAA increase operational availability and performance of the system, support common and consistent interface requirements, and provide a modern system that complies with current FAA Security Standards. Relying on Thales's expertise in air surveillance, with 700 Air Traffic Control (ATC) radars in more than 70 countries worldwide, the FAA will deploy a state-of-the-art radar meeting strict technical requirements. Under the MSBRS contract, Leidos and Thales will perform program management, systems engineering, design and development, system test and evaluation, training, production and site implementation. “Thales has been a great collaborator and we are thrilled to execute the FAA's MSBRS Program alongside their team,” said Fran Hill, Senior Vice-President and Operations Manager of Transportation Solutions with Leidos. “Leidos and Thales have formed an outstanding working relationship, and we look forward to building upon that relationship and delivering the latest technology to the FAA.” “This award is the result of strong team dedication and involvement between Leidos and Thales in the US and France. With our trusted and reliable solution, the FAA will benefit from secondary radar adapted to its critical needs.” Serge Adrian, Senior Vice-President Surface Radars, Thales. Documents • PR_20200220_The Federal Aviation Administration selects Thales Secondary Radar Technology for the Mode S Beacon Replacement System contract • CP_200220_La FAA sélectionne les radars secondaires de Thales pour amélio Contact Maria Mellouli, Media relations, Defence and Civil Aerospace Tel.:+33(0)1 57 77 84 57 maria.mellouli@thalesgroup.com View source version on Thales: https://www.thalesgroup.com/en/group/journalist/press-release/federal-aviation-administration-selects-thales-secondary-radar

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  August 7, 2019 | International, Aerospace

  Here’s why Boeing is getting $55.5M to fix a problem with the Air Force’s new tanker

  By: Valerie Insinna WASHINGTON — The Air Force will pay up to $55.5 million for Boeing to redesign the KC-46's boom, but it will cost more than that to field a fix to the problem. According to a Aug. 2 contract announcement, the award will pay for a “system level hardware and software critical design review of the boom telescope actuator redesign,” and Boeing will receive $21 million of the proposed award value immediately. But because the contract has yet to be definitized, Boeing could receive up to $55.5 million once terms of the deal are cemented. And since initial award only covers the redesign of the boom — not the costs of testing, fabricating and retrofitting the new booms on existing aircraft — it stands to reason that the Air Force will owe additional money to Boeing to completely fix the issue. Unlike the other remaining critical deficiencies on the KC-46 program, the Air Force has agreed to foot the cost of fixing the boom problem, as it is a change in the service's initial requirements. Boeing's current boom design meets international standards for thrust resistance, and the Air Force accepted that design at Milestone C in 2016, when the KC-46 was cleared for production. But later flight tests demonstrated that the boom produces too much thrust resistance to refuel the A-10, necessitating a change in design. In January, an Air Force official told Defense News the process of redesigning and manufacturing the new booms could take about two years. The Air Force plans to buy 179 KC-46s over the life of the program. After years of delays due to technical issues, the service signed off to accept the first tanker in January, which was then delivered to McConnell Air Force Base, Kan., later that month. The KC-46 made its first flight for the initial operational test and evaluation phase on June 4 at McConnell AFB. Boeing is on the hook to pay for the other major critical deficiency: a redesign of the Remote Vision System, a collection of cameras and sensors that allow the boom operator to steer the boom into the fuel receptacle of the receiving aircraft. The service became aware of this problem after pilots experienced difficulties directing the boom during refueling, sometimes scraping the surface of the receiver aircraft — a mistake that could compromise the low observable coating of stealth aircraft. Despite this issue, the Air Force has decided to accept KC-46 tankers so that pilots can begin training with the new aircraft. However, the service is withholding up $28 million per plane in order to incentivize Boeing to move quickly on a redesigned RVS. About $360 million has been withheld so far, according to Defense One. https://www.defensenews.com/air/2019/08/06/heres-why-boeing-is-getting-555m-to-fix-a-problem-with-the-air-forces-new-tanker/