Back to news

April 19, 2021 | International, Aerospace

US Air Force HH-60W combat rescue helicopter finishes developmental tests

The US Air Force’s Sikorsky HH-60W Jolly Green II combat rescue helicopter finished its developmental test programme on 13 April.

https://www.flightglobal.com/helicopters/us-air-force-hh-60w-combat-rescue-helicopter-finishes-developmental-tests/143313.article?referrer=RSS

On the same subject

  • Senate panel OKs $6 billion military fund to confront China

    June 12, 2020 | International, Aerospace, Naval, Land, C4ISR, Security

    Senate panel OKs $6 billion military fund to confront China

    By: Joe Gould WASHINGTON ― Plans for a Senate-crafted version of the Pacific Deterrence Initiative, a new military fund to boost deterrence against China in the Pacific, is one step closer to becoming law. The Senate Armed Services Committee has approved nearly $6 billion for the fund in its version of the annual defense policy bill, the panel announced Thursday. It authorizes $1.4 billion in fiscal 2021, which would be $188.6 million above the administration's budget request, and $5.5 billion for fiscal 2022. The bill also directs the defense secretary to create a spending plan for all of the funds. “The best way to protect U.S. security and prosperity in Asia is to maintain a credible balance of military power, but, after years of underfunding, America's ability to do so is at risk,” the committee's summary stated. “The FY21 [National Defense Authorization Act] establishes the Pacific Deterrence Initiative (PDI) to send a strong signal to the Chinese Communist Party that America is deeply committed to defending our interests in the Indo-Pacific. “PDI will enhance budgetary transparency and oversight, focus resources on key military capability gaps, reassure U.S. allies and partners, and bolster the credibility of American deterrence in the Indo-Pacific.” Though not all details of the fund were immediately made public, SASC Chairman Jim Inhofe, R-Okla., and ranking member Jack Reed, D-R.I., previously said they would sponsor a measure to enable U.S. military operations in the region, beyond supporting new weapons platforms. Defense Secretary Mark Esper has said China is his department's top adversary, but said Congress has worked to sharpen the Pentagon's spending and focus in the region. The PDI would follow the form of the multiyear European Deterrence Initiative, which has consumed $22 billion since its inception after Russia annexed Crimea from Ukraine in 2014. Congress will have to internally negotiate the final dollar amount for PDI and what those funds would buy, but House Armed Services Committee Chairman Adam Smith, D-Wash., and ranking member Mac Thornberry, R-Texas, have expressed support for the idea. Though the Senate's approach differs, Thornberry has also proposed spending $6 billion―all in FY21―on priorities that include air and missile defense systems as well as new military construction in partner countries; Smith hasn't released his own plan. Once approved by the full Senate, its version of the NDAA would be reconciled with the House's version, which the HASC is expected to make public late this month before it goes through markup July 1 and advances to the House floor. With an eye on China beyond the PDI, the SASC bill also encourages the Air Force to establish an operating location in the Indo-Pacific region for F-35A fighter jets and to allocate “sufficient resources and prioritize the protection of air bases that might be under attack from current or emerging cruise missiles and advanced hypersonic missiles, specifically from China." There are also a number of provisions aimed at safeguarding America's technology and industrial base from Chinese intellectual property theft and “economic aggression,” according to the summary. The bill would also require reports from the Pentagon on how to mitigate the risks from vendors like Chinese telecom firms Huawei and ZTE when basing U.S. troops overseas. The SASC summary said its proposed PDI would: Increase lethality of the joint force in the Pacific, including by improving active and passive defense against theater cruise, ballistic and hypersonic missiles for bases, operating locations and other critical infrastructure. Enhance the design and posture of the joint force in the Indo-Pacific region by transitioning from large, centralized and unhardened infrastructure to smaller, dispersed, resilient and adaptive basing; increasing the number of capabilities of expeditionary airfields and ports; enhancing pre-positioning of forward stocks of fuel, munitions, equipment and materiel; and improving distributed logistics and maintenance capabilities in the region to ensure the sustainment of logistics under persistent multidomain attack. Strengthen alliances and partnerships to increase capabilities, improve interoperability and information sharing, and support information operations capabilities with a focus on countering malign influence. https://www.defensenews.com/congress/2020/06/11/senate-panel-oks-6-billion-military-fund-to-confront-china/

  • AITC Awarded U.S. Army Contract for Medical Simulation and Training Support at NATO Allied Centre for Medical Excellence (ACME) HQ Facility

    June 26, 2019 | International, Other Defence

    AITC Awarded U.S. Army Contract for Medical Simulation and Training Support at NATO Allied Centre for Medical Excellence (ACME) HQ Facility

    WINTER SPRINGS, Fla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The U.S. Army Program Executive Office for Simulation, Training and Instrumentation (PEO STRI), Joint Project Manager for Medical Modeling and Simulation (JPM MMS) has awarded Advanced IT Concepts (AITC) with a contract to support the relocation and outfitting of the ACME Training Facility at NATO Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe (SHAPE) Special Operations Headquarters (NSHQ), Mons, Belgium. AITC is a certified 8(a) small business systems integration and information technology (IT) firm that provides solutions and services, such as training and simulation support to the federal government and public sector markets. The ACME Training Facility will be enhancing their training capability by expanding their physical footprint and providing simulation that tightly replicates the different battlefield environments and medical evacuation platforms, in which medical training could be performed. AITC will procure, install, integrate and operate the Medical Training Command and Control (MT-C2) system software, leveraged as Government Owned Training Software (GOTS), with Commercial off the Shelf (COTS) hardware, defined in the MT-C2 Technical Data Package (TDP) as designed for the Medical Simulation Training Centers (MSTCs). AITC teamed with Design Interactive (DI) to provide an optional C130 medical simulator at the ACME Training Facility since DI specializes in building adaptive training systems and user interfaces. Additionally, DI and AITC have an existing partnership at the Transport Medical Training Laboratory (TMTL) in San Antonio, Texas, where they developed the helicopter medical simulation and AITC is operating and maintaining the training systems. “AITC's experience at TMTL and delivery of IT solutions, system support and training operations provides the experience and collaboration capabilities necessary to deliver an innovative and adaptable solution to facilitate an effective medical training operations environment for the NATO Allied Center for Medical Excellence,” says Gabe Ruiz, CEO and President of AITC. “We are pleased and humbled to have been selected by PEO STRI for this effort.” “AITC will deliver a high level of infrastructure management, system test and implementation, logistics and instructor training support to enhance the ACME Training Facility at the NATO ACME Special Operations Headquarters, in Mons, Belgium,” says David Balleweg, AITC's Director of Sales and Marketing. About Advanced IT Concepts (AITC): AITC is an 8a minority and Service-Disabled Veteran Owned Small Business founded by former military information technology (IT) professionals. AITC assists government and private sector customers through systems design, engineering, test, integration and implementation of innovative solutions that draw upon information technology solutions in network, security, training, collaboration, communications, logistics and infrastructure, as well as program and project management, deployment, operations and maintenance services. Visit www.aitcinc.com or contact Christa Santos at christa.santos@aitcinc.com for more information. https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20190625005702/en

  • Germany unveils increased defense budget

    July 5, 2023 | International, Other Defence

    Germany unveils increased defense budget

    Germany’s Cabinet has approved a draft 2024 budget that foresees lower spending, with defense among the exceptions.

All news