April 14, 2022 | International, Naval
Austal USA opens steel line ‘at a critical time,’ says Navy official
Flexibility of cutting-edge facility leaves company poised for growth, leaders say
August 15, 2018 | International, Aerospace
Tinker cracks down on tool checkouts after ‘lapses’ lead to impounded aircraft
By: Stephen Losey
The 552nd Maintenance Group at Tinker Air Force Base in Oklahoma has issued strict new rules on who can check out tools after several recent “minor lapses” in keeping track of them.
In an emailed statement Monday, 552nd Air Control Wing spokesman Ron Mullan said the lapses in tool accountability did not cause any mishaps. However, the lost tool incidents led the 552nd to impound two aircraft to make sure they were safe before returning them to full flying status.
“The 552nd Air Control Wing employs a multitude of standard procedures regarding activities in and around aircraft to ensure safety," Mullan said. ”Occasionally, despite sound procedures, we identify emerging trends which cause us to review and adjust these procedures as needed to maintain the highest standards of safety."
The 552nd Maintenance Group supports the wing's 28 E-3 Sentry, or AWACS, aircraft. The wing's official website said those planes are worth a total of $8.4 billion.
“Ensuring the safety, health and welfare of the men and women of the 552nd Air Control Wing is always a top priority and essential to mission effectiveness,” wing commander Col. Geoffrey Weiss said in a Thursday email. “Therefore, I have asked our maintenance group commander and his team to review tool checkout and accountability procedures and make necessary changes to ensure our ground and flight operations remain fully safe and effective across the full range of our mission responsibilities.”
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June 14, 2019 | International, Aerospace
Leonardo and Diamond Aircraft partner to offer maritime surveillance variant of DA62
Leonardo and Diamond Aircraft Industries are teaming up to offer a version of Diamond's popular twin-engine DA62 aircraft customized for maritime surveillance missions. The new variant, designated DA62-MSA (maritime surveillance aircraft) will be on show for the first time at the Paris Air Show. It will be outfitted with a full intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) suite based on Leonardo's ATOS (airborne tactical observation and surveillance) mission system. The collaboration is a response to the need for cost-effective, short/medium-range land and maritime surveillance platforms in regions such as South America, Africa and Asia Pacific. The DA62-MSA meets this requirement by bringing together an affordable and pilot-friendly aircraft with a full set of state-of-the-art sensors which, through the ATOS mission system, deliver a single, intuitive operational picture to the crew. The DA62-MSA's baseline sensor fit will include a Leonardo Gabbiano Ultra-Light TS Radar, which comes with an extensive suite of modes including optimized maritime patrol capabilities (such as high sea state detection), high resolution ground mapping via synthetic aperture radar (SAR) modes, ground moving target indication (GMTI) and weather avoidance modes. The aircraft will also come with a high definition electro-optic (EO/ IR) turret which, like the radar, will be fully integrated into the operator's touch-screen ATOS display in order to follow and manage the surveillance missions. Sensor options will also be offered for users who require additional capability, including Leonardo's SAGE electronic support measures (ESM) system and Spider communications intelligence (COMINT) system. SAGE provides tactical threat awareness and strategic intelligence gathering in the radio-frequency (RF) environment, while Spider can detect, intercept, identify and geo-locate communications of interest. More than 110 twin-engine special mission aircraft have been sold by Diamond and more than 60 ATOS systems are installed by Leonardo on 10 different platforms, including for Italy's Air Force, Guardia di Finanza (customs police) and Coast Guard, and Australian Customs. With the DA62-MSA, Leonardo and Diamond are able to offer an extremely cost-effective and user-friendly light ISR solution for maritime security needs, with a takeoff weight of 2,300 kilograms, endurance of up to eight hours and up to four crew able to operate with land and maritime radar. Liqun Zhang, CEO of Diamond Aircraft said, “Diamond Aircraft is very proud to step into such an important strategic partnership with Leonardo to provide a cost-efficient high-performance maritime surveillance solution to the market. We all recognized the importance of such a capability and the high demand of many countries to protect their borders against illegal fishing and other criminal operations, this new airborne solution, based on our DA62 special mission aircraft, will be available to the market by the end of the year, ready to deliver and provide security and surveillance tasks. During Paris Air Show 2019, stand A6, the very first time Diamond will static display this configuration to the audience.” “Partnership is central to Leonardo's way of doing business and as such we are delighted to be working with Diamond Aircraft on this venture. Our aim is always to provide the optimum solution to our customers and we believe that this combination of Diamond's platform with a full suite of Leonardo sensors and our mission system provides an extremely compelling offer for this market segment,” said Fabrizio Boggiani, senior vice-president, Airborne Sensors & Mission Systems, Leonardo Electronics. https://www.skiesmag.com/press-releases/leonardo-and-diamond-aircraft-partner-to-offer-maritime-surveillance-variant-of-da62/
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August 19, 2020 | International, Aerospace
Finland’s $12 billion fighter plan dodges the post-pandemic budget ax
By: Gerard O'Dwyer HELSINKI — The Finnish government's budget proposal for 2021 has allayed concerns of delays or reduced funding for the Armed Forces' (FAF) HX Fighter Program. The plan will effectively increase the military's budgetary framework in 2021 by $2 billion to $5.8 billion to meet phase one of the project's procurement costs. The economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, which has forced Finland to significantly increase international borrowings and further load national debt, was feared to have a negative bearing of the fighter replacement project, particularly against the backdrop of a potential economic recession and grim forecasts of an 8 to 10 percent drop in GDP in 2020. Instead, the 2021 budget both protects and moves forward the $12 billion national security capital investment. The HX Fighter Program will have a “substantial effect” on the FAF's budgetary position and finances from 2021, said the HX Program's Director, Lauri Puranen. The $5.8 billion allocation represents a massive 54 percent increase on the FAF's defense budget for 2021 compared to 2020. Moreover, the higher financial provision will elevate military non-aligned Finland's defense spend, as a ratio of GDP, from 1.4 percent in 2020 to over 2 percent in next year. Finland plans to procure up to 64 fighters to replace its ageing fleet of F/A-18C/D Hornets. The government is slated to finalize its decision on the choice of fighter aircraft in 2021. The project timetable, with oversight from the FDF's Logistics Command, envisages the Finnish Air Force taking delivery of new fighters over the period 2025 to 2030. International fighter aircraft in contention for the $12 billion contract include the Boeing F/A-18 Super Hornet, the Dassault Rafale, Eurofighter Typhoon, Lockheed Martin F-35 and the Saab Gripen. Phase two of the HX project is currently underway. This is focused on the content of the procurement in respect to each individual bidder. A request for best and final offers will be sought at the end of the second phase of negotiations in the fourth quarter of 2020, and ahead of a government decision on selection in the first half of 2021. Although the 2021 budget has secured project-specific funding for the HX Fighter Program, the overall fragile state of Finland's national finances threatens to curtail capital increases to other areas of defense, including training and multi-branch field exercises, in that year. Gen. Timo Kivinen, the FAF's defense chief, said that while the COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in the postponement of exercises, it has not affected Finland's military readiness. https://www.defensenews.com/global/europe/2020/08/18/finlands-12-billion-fighter-plan-dodges-the-post-pandemic-budget-axe/