November 16, 2023 | International, Aerospace
Emirates says orders 15 Airbus A350-900 worth $6 bln | Reuters
Dubai's Emirates Airline on Thursday anounced an order for 15 Airbus A350-900 wide-body jets, which it said was worth $6 billion.
November 20, 2020 | International, Land
The Army is hunting for a new all-electric light recon vehicle
The Army is searching for defense contractors to furnish the service with an off-the-shelf squad reconnaissance vehicle to complement its growing fleet of next-generation ground combat vehicles.
The service on Wednesday published a market survey in search of a fully electric or hybrid-electric tactical vehicle to "inform" the acquisition strategy of its electric Light Reconnaissance Vehicle (eLRV) program.
The eLRV will provide "enhanced mobility, lethality, protection, mission load capacity, and onboard power" for six soldiers to conduct both mounted and dismounted reconnaissance and surveillance missions for Infantry Brigade Combat Teams, according to the market survey.
The ideal vehicle will be transportable via CH-47 or C-130, have a range of more than 300 miles, and come with a medium-caliber weapon system to provide "precision 'stand-off' lethality" against both small arms and other light armored vehicles, according to a 2019 Congressional Research Service report.
As Breaking Defense notes, the movement in the long-delayed eLRV program also comes amid a service-wide push to convert gas-powered ground vehicles to electric platforms for both tactical and logistical reasons.
Electric vehicles "accelerate quicker, run cooler, and move quieter than internal combustion ones – advantages that are all especially valuable for stealthy scouts like LRV," as Breaking Defense put it in October.
In addition, electric power "could reduce dependence on long supply lines and vulnerable convoys of tanker trucks, which are prime targets for adversaries ranging from Taliban irregulars to Russian missiles."
The eLRV will also "operate in conjunction" with the service's next-generation Mobile Protected Firepower (MPF) light tank and Infantry Squad Vehicle (ISV) to "enhance the lethality, mobility, reconnaissance, and security" of IBCTS, according to the market survey.
Those new formations are still a ways off: the Army only accepted its first batch of ISVs in October and won't conduct its assessment of its two MPF prototypes until January 2021.
And that's depending on if the Army formally sets aside any funding for the new scout vehicle in the first place. As the 2019 CRS report noted, the service did not actually request any money to fund the eLRV effort in both fiscal years 2020 and 2021
In the meantime, Army officials "were planning to use the Joint Light Tactical Vehicle (JLTV) to serve as the LRV on an interim basis," according to the CRS report. "From a programmatic perspective, the Army referred to its interim LRV solution as the Joint Light Tactical Vehicle-Reconnaissance Vehicle (JLTV-RV)."
If the Army gets its funding together, the service aims to potentially choose an off-the-shelf tactical vehicle for full production as soon as fiscal year 2025.
https://taskandpurpose.com/military-tech/army-electric-light-reconnaissance-vehicle-markey-survey
On the same subject
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May 26, 2022 | International, Aerospace
Dassault pushes back certification of 6X and 10X due to supply chain issues - Skies Mag
During EBACE 2022, Dassault said the supply chain challenges will have a minor effect on aircraft production, but will mean pushing back the certification dates of the new Falcon 6X and 10X aircraft.
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June 11, 2020 | International, Aerospace
French aviation rescue plan bets on defence helicopters, drones and tankers
The French government has pledged to buy new military heavy-lift helicopters and accelerate plans for naval drone, ISTAR and tanker aircraft programmes as part of a wider economic stimulus package, worth €15 billion ($17 billion), aimed at protecting the country's aviation industry from faltering under the strain of COVID-19. Based on the PlanAero initative, a decision to specifically issue the defence industry with funding of €600 million means that eight H225M rotary platforms will be ordered, while orders for three A330 MRTT and one Beechcraft King Air 350 ALSR will be expedited. VSR700 rotary-wing UAS and Aliaca mini drone plans have also been brought forward. The H225M order confirms that Paris will opt for it as a replacement for legacy French Air Force Puma helicopters while the new A330 MRTT arrangements will lead to retirement of the A340 being reset from 2028 to this year. A310s will similarly be taken out of service in 2021 – two years earlier than scheduled. The ALSR is under contract with Thales and Sabena Technics with a host of additional French suppliers contributing to the programme, including Ecrin, Aquitaine Electronics, Arelis, Avantix, Elvia and Protoplane, although a 9 June announcement from the French Ministry of Armed Forces does not mention a delivery date for the aircraft. PlanAero unmanned details include the addition of a second VSR700 demonstrator as part of the French Navy's SDAM programme but new commitments for the effort and the navy's SMDM mini drone programme stop short of exact order quantities. SDAM has been contracted to Airbus and Naval Group who have designed the in-development VSR700 from the Cabri G2 light helicopter, while SurveyCopter supplies the Aliaca for SMDM. 'This additional SDAM demonstrator will enable the programme to further secure the next steps, and in particular the development of technologies and the refinement of specifications to meet the French Navy's operational requirements,' an Airbus spokesperson told Shephard. The VSR700 is due to enter service in 2028 and boasts a 500-1,000kg MTOW capability. In November 2019, Airbus announced the platform had undergone tethered flight testing with future free flight trials anticipated. A VSR700 demonstrator phase. to include ship-based flights off French Navy frigates, has been laid out as part of risk reduction activities that were originally due to be completed by 2021. Shipborne deployments from the future FTI medium frigate are a longer-term target. Following on from France's aviation support plan, the European Commission warned on 10 June that budgetary pressures stemming from COVID-19 could impact member states, calling on them to 'spend better together'. In a joint statement Josep Borrell, VP of the European Commission and Thierry Breton, European Commissioner for the Internal Market, said that common capabilities, critical technologies and infrastructure must be strengthened but they questioned if Europe had given itself 'the means to do so'. https://www.shephardmedia.com/news/defence-helicopter/french-aviation-rescue-plan-bets-defence-helicopte/