June 26, 2020 | International, Aerospace

The F-35 Will Give Poland A More Advanced Air Force Than Some Major NATO Allies

June 24, 2020 - This past January, the Polish government took the bold step to acquire thirty-two F-35A Joint Strike Fighters (JSF). Poland is becoming a major player in NATO. It is working to modernize its air, sea and land forces. It is also forging closer relations with the United States, hosting U.S. forces, allowing the prepositioning of military equipment, and working to improve interoperability. By making the decision to buy the F-35, Poland will leap ahead of a number of its European allies, most notably France and Germany, and enter the elite group of countries operating fifth- generation aircraft.

The F-35 will not only be America's premier fifth generation fighter, but the world's. From its inception, the JSF was going to be an international fighter. The F-35 Consortium, consisting of the United Kingdom, Italy, the Netherlands, Canada, Australia, Norway, Denmark, and until recently Turkey, contributed more than $4 billion towards the program's development costs. The aerospace industries in each of these countries also contributed critical technologies. Current estimates for international purchases are between 600 and 700 JSFs.

If all the NATO members currently planning to acquire the JSF fulfill their commitments, the F-35 will constitute NATO's single biggest fighter fleet, ahead of the Franco-German-British Eurofighter. This will provide a major boost to air power interoperability for the Alliance.

The move from the current fourth-generation platforms to fifth-generation is both inevitable and urgent. There is a general consensus that fourth-generation aircraft have decreasing survivability in the face of advanced, integrated air-defense networks. Efforts to sustain the ability of older aircraft to penetrate increasing lethal defenses will require larger force packages and the extensive use of scarce support assets, such as airborne jammers. Given that NATO air forces will also be fighting outnumbered, with their infrastructure under continuous attack from long-range-fire systems, this is a losing proposition.

The F-35 will inevitably become the centerpiece of NATO's air capability. Fifth-generation aircraft with low-observable features, commonly referred to as “stealthiness,” and an array of advanced sensors are able not only to counter advanced air defenses, thereby restoring the West's erstwhile advantage in the air, but improve the performance and survivability of fourth-generation aerial platforms. Employing its sophisticated suite of sensors, the JSF can pass high-quality, near-real-time targeting information to fourth-generation platforms operating at a distance from high-threat air defenses. In addition, with its revolutionary array of sensors and computers, the F-35 can serve as both a penetrating ISR and stand-in electronic warfare platform.

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July 22, 2019 | International, Aerospace, Land, C4ISR

Intevac Receives Record $40 M Digital Night Vision Contract Award
Intevac, Inc. (Nasdaq: IVAC) announced today it has received a $40 million contract award for the multi-year production of digital night vision cameras in support of the U.S. Government. “With this new order and increased backlog, we now have multi-year visibility for our manufacturing operations, and continued validation of our digital night vision technology.” “This award represents the largest single booking to date for Intevac Photonics, and increases our Photonics backlog to the historic level of just over $83 million,” commented Timothy Justyn, executive vice president and general manager of Intevac Photonics. “This award closely follows awards for both the U.S. Army's IVAS ground soldier program, and the Apache Helicopter's Pilot Night Vision Sensor (PNVS) foreign military sales announced last December, demonstrating Intevac's commitment to delivering the latest digital night vision technology to our Warfighters.” “We are very proud to have received this substantial order for our digital night vision technology,” added Wendell Blonigan, president and chief executive officer of Intevac. “With this new order and increased backlog, we now have multi-year visibility for our manufacturing operations, and continued validation of our digital night vision technology.” Intevac's digital night-vision sensors, based on its patented Electron Bombarded Active Pixel Sensor (EBAPS®) technology, provide state-of-the-art capability to the most advanced avionic fighting platforms in the U.S. Department of Defense inventory. Intevac was founded in 1991 and has two businesses: Thin-film Equipment and Photonics. In our Thin-film Equipment business, we are a leader in the design and development of high-productivity, thin-film processing systems. Our production-proven platforms are designed for high-volume manufacturing of substrates with precise thin film properties, such as the hard drive media, display cover panel, and solar photovoltaic markets we serve currently. In our Photonics business, we are a recognized leading developer of advanced high-sensitivity digital sensors, cameras and systems that primarily serve the defense industry. We are the provider of integrated digital imaging systems for most U.S. military night vision programs. For more information call 408-986-9888, or visit the Company's website at www.intevac.com . This press release includes statements that constitute “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 (the “Reform Act”). Intevac claims the protection of the safe-harbor for forward-looking statements contained in the Reform Act. These forward-looking statements are often characterized by the terms “may,” “believes,” “projects,” “expects,” or “anticipates,” and do not reflect historical facts. Specific forward-looking statements contained in this press release include, but are not limited to; the multi-year visibility of camera deliveries. The forward-looking statements contained herein involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from the company's expectations. These risks include, but are not limited to: changes in planned shipment dates, which could have a material impact on our business, our financial results, and the company's stock price. These risks and other factors are detailed in the Company's periodic filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Source: Intevac, Inc.http://www.asdnews.com/news/defense/2019/07/18/intevac-receives-record-40-m-digital-night-vision-contract-award
July 27, 2020 | International, Aerospace, Naval

Funding for naval drones in the NDAA will encourage innovation
By: Brian Wynne Unmanned maritime systems are increasingly allowing military and commercial users alike to go farther and deeper than ever before. Initially proven by the military for their dependability and reliability, they are now also disrupting the commercial sector and enabling applications from mapping to surveillance to port security. In recognition of the many benefits UMS stand to offer, the president's budget for fiscal 2021 requested strong support for the U.S. Navy's unmanned programs. Now, as Congress considers the National Defense Authorization Act for FY21, it should fully fund UMS research and development efforts to allow innovation to flourish and for military and commercial operators alike to reap the benefits. As president and CEO of the Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International, I have witnessed the growth in UMS innovation firsthand. Our membership includes organizations from across the defense industrial base that support the growing integration of unmanned and autonomous systems in the force protecting the United States. Their investments have led to substantive achievements in the development of autonomy, reliability, propulsion and integration of advanced payloads and sensors. Fielding UMS will ensure continued U.S. naval dominance and support the industrial base. Unfortunately, Congress is currently considering disrupting funding to the research and development of this vital technology. Both the House and Senate versions of the NDAA drastically cut R&D funding for medium and large unmanned surface vessels, with the Senate eliminating all requested funding for the program entirely. The severe reduction in funding considered in the FY21 NDAA would eliminate jobs, drive many small companies out of business, and cause larger companies to shift their R&D investments to more stable opportunities. AUVSI is also taking issue with Congress' misunderstanding of UMS operations, focusing on the reliability of individual components rather than that of the system as a whole, ignoring the operational context in which the UMS will be used. Unmanned systems have well-documented reliability in the commercial sector performing in a range of demanding and complex environments, including deep-water exploration. If Congress attempts to apply unique reliability requirements to UMS use by the U.S. Navy, it will only serve to drive up cost, decrease competition and significantly delay fielding of the systems to the war fighters that need them. While Congress has previously demonstrated its support for the growth and integration of unmanned systems in the future Navy fleet architecture, its reliability concerns and proposed funding cuts in this instance are misplaced. Industry has determined that the wholeness of autonomy is critical to mission duration and success, and the emphasis on testing reliability should be on that wholeness rather than focusing on individual components. What's more, the Navy's R&D effort is already working to field systems that can prove reliability in a realistic operational context. The utilization of unmanned technology is inevitable and timely, but appropriate levels of R&D funding are needed to field this critical capability. Industry has invested significant resources to support the Navy's UMS programs thus far and will continue to do so if these programs are adequately funded by Congress. Conversely, proposed funding cuts will drive industry to move its investments away from UMS to other markets, drive small, developing businesses out of the unmanned maritime business, and cost jobs throughout the developing unmanned industrial base. Congress should therefore adopt the funding levels set out in the president's FY21 budget request without any cuts to ensure that innovation will flourish, R&D can continue unabated and our nation's Navy can take full advantage of the potential that UMS stand to offer. https://www.defensenews.com/opinion/commentary/2020/07/24/funding-for-naval-drones-in-the-ndaa-will-encourage-innovation/
September 21, 2018 | International, Aerospace

Dutch defense chief opens door for more F-35s
By: Sebastian Sprenger COLOGNE, Germany – Dutch defense minister Ank Bijleveld has eliminated the country's budget cap for F-35 purchases, opening the possibility of buying more planes in the future, a spokesman confirmed to Defense News. The defense ministry spokesman described the move as “just a formality” that would not require parliamentary approval, as the Dutch objective of buying 37 copies of the Lockheed Martin-made jet for €4.7 billion remains in place. But it means “we leave the option open to buy new planes” beyond those already envisioned in the budget, the spokesman said. The development was first reported by the Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf, which wrote that the air force was angling to eventually get 67 aircraft. That amount would be enough to field four squadrons in the Netherlands, according to the newspaper. Dick Zandee, a defense analyst at the Dutch Clingendael foreign policy think tank, said the recently released 2019 budget still reflects the government's target of buying 37 planes. But the budget cap elimination at this time could set the stage for additional contracts in a few years' time, once deliveries of the batch already on order are nearing completion. The Dutch are set to take delivery of eight F-35s in 2019. That's in addition to two test aircraft already produced. The fifth-generation aircraft are meant to replace the country's fleet of 60 or so F-16s, with yearly deliveries scheduled between six to eight planes until the target number of 37 is reached. That inventory will allow the Netherlands to field four F-35s for operations, considering that a certain number is always set aside for training, undergoing maintenance or otherwise unavailable to deploy, said Zandee. “There is a lot of pressure from NATO that 37 are not enough,” he said, adding that there has been talk in Dutch defense circles to up the number to 52. “The air force always wants more” of the planes, and the service would consider an increase to 52 as an intermediate step to get an even greater number later, Zandee told Defense News. Meanwhile, the jet is facing some pushback in the Netherlands over its development price tag and the high cost of ownership. “The criticism is that you're buying an aircraft that is not fully developed yet," said Zandee. But, he added,"The attitude is that the Americans are throwing so many billions at the program that problems will be solved." https://www.defensenews.com/global/europe/2018/09/20/dutch-defense-chief-opens-door-for-more-f-35s

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