January 30, 2024 | International, Aerospace
August 7, 2018 | International, Aerospace
The light attack aircraft competition will be down to two competitors
By: Valerie Insinna
WASHINGTON — The Air Force is preparing to begin buying light attack aircraft next year — and the winner is going to be either Textron's AT-6 Wolverine or the Sierra Nevada Corp.-Embraer A-29 Super Tucano.
According to a pre-solicitation posted on FedBizOpps on Aug. 3, the service will put out a final request for proposals to the two competitors in December with the hopes of awarding a contract by the end of September 2019.
However, Air Force spokeswoman Ann Stefanek told Defense News on Monday that service leaders have not yet made a final decision on whether to green-light a program of record. Should that happen, the pre-solicitation will ensure that the service can move as quickly as it would like to eventually procure new planes, she said.
If the new weapons program moves forward, it appears the service will limit the competition to the two aircraft currently involved in the service's light attack experiment. The pre-solicitation states that SNC and Textron Aviation “are the only firms that appear to possess the capability necessary to meet the requirement within the Air Force's time frame without causing an unacceptable delay in meeting the needs of the warfighter.”
The Air Force's decision to only consider the A-29 and AT-6 had been foreshadowed by officials like Lt. Gen. Arnold Bunch, its top uniformed acquisition officer, who repeatedly stated that the service would likely limit a competition to those two participants.
Full Article: https://www.defensenews.com/air/2018/08/06/the-light-attack-aircraft-competition-will-be-down-to-two-competitors/
On the same subject
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May 4, 2021 | International, Aerospace
Finnish officials begin sifting through final HX fighter offers
The government in Helsinki received finals offers from five vendors for the multibillion-dollar HX fighter competition, kicking off an evaluation phase slated to run through the remainder of 2021.
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August 20, 2020 | International, Aerospace
Fortem Technologies takes aim at ‘dark' UASs with SkyDome
by Gerrard Cowan Counter-unmanned aerial system (C-UAS) specialist Fortem Technologies has seen a growing military interest in its systems, the company told Janes , with the US-based firm emphasising an interception approach to tackling potential UAS threats. Fortem Technologies' SkyDome is an end-to-end system encompassing several elements that can be operated separately or as part of an integrated approach. This comprises artificial intelligence (AI)-based software SkyDome Manager that includes ThreatAware, a capability that can analyse input from several sources and sensors. These sources include the company's TrueView radar, which can help to detect ‘dark' UASs that do not emit radio frequency (RF) or other signals. The overarching system also includes DroneHunter, a multirotor UAS that can intercept rogue UASs using a net tether. Adam Robertson, Fortem's co-founder and chief technology officer (CTO), said the company opted for the DroneHunter approach for several reasons. First, it can help to avoid collateral damage. Second, it means that the targeted UAV can be brought back for forensic analysis. ”That allows us to figure out where the source is - really we're interested in stopping the source of the threats, not the object that was threatening us,” said Robertson. The company sees potential for the systems in both fixed installations and mobile platforms, as well as on temporary sites, he noted. Robertson added that Fortem has been working to increase the autonomy of the system. While it still requires human supervision, the system can function independently to varying degrees depending on the rules of engagement. https://www.janes.com/defence-news/news-detail/fortem-technologies-takes-aim-at-dark-uass-with-skydome