June 26, 2024 | International, Security
Chinese and N. Korean Hackers Target Global Infrastructure with Ransomware
Chinese and North Korean hackers target global infrastructure with ransomware, blurring lines between cybercrime and espionage.
July 6, 2020 | International, Aerospace
US appears to confirm expanded F-15QA buy for Qatar
by Gareth Jennings
The United States appears to have confirmed an expanded procurement by Qatar of the Boeing F-15QA Advanced Eagle combat aircraft, with recent Department of Defense (DoD) articles and notifications referring to a larger number than officially contracted.
The Gulf state is currently contracted to receive 36 of the latest-generation multirole fighters, with a deal signed in December 2017. However, since at least late-May the DoD has issued no fewer than three official statements in which it has referred to a buy of 48 aircraft. The US State Department initially cleared Qatar to buy 72 aircraft, so this expanded procurement would be in line with current Congressional approvals.
On 23 May the DoD disclosed that the US Army Corps of Engineers had contracted Doha-based company BAH-ICM JV to build facilities for the Qatar Emiri Air Force's (QEAF's) new fleet. In the notification, the department said; “The Foreign Military Sales (FMS) purchase of forty-eight (48) F-15QA aircraft improves the State of Qatar's capability to meet current and future enemy air-to-air and air-to-ground threats”. Janes noted this discrepancy in the numbers at the time, but as it was the first such occurrence this suggested that it may have been in error.
https://www.janes.com/defence-news/news-detail/us-appears-to-confirm-expanded-f-15qa-buy-for-qatar
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August 9, 2018 | International, Aerospace
Studies Seek to Industrialize Additive Manufacturing for Aerospace
Lindsay Bjerregaard Oerlikon is partnering with Boeing and Lufthansa Technik to research standardization and qualification of additive manufacturing processes. Oerlikon is pairing up with major aerospace players to make additive manufacturing (AM) a more feasible option for industrialization. The Swiss technology and engineering group has signed agreements this year with Lufthansa Technik (LHT) and Boeing to collaborate on research into ways AM for aerospace can be more easily standardized and qualified. The most recent of these agreements is the memorandum of understanding (MoU) with LHT, which aims to establish “robust and repeatable processes for AM in the aircraft MRO industry.” According to a spokesperson for Oerlikon, the collaboration's research seeks to understand what process variability exists when the same component geometries are built on the same machine using the same powder batch, heat treatment, testing conditions and build parameters in different global locations. Oerlikon and LHT will print these components using an Oerlikon-produced IN718 powder alloy on identical printers at LHT Hamburg and Oerlikon's locations in Charlotte, North Carolina and Barleben, Germany. Once the variables are identified, the study's objective is to understand how they can be controlled to achieve repeatable processes—which will ensure that all parts meet quality requirements and reduce the cost of recurring quality validation, according to Oerlikon. The company says this repeatability could also provide potential savings in procurement, warehousing and supply chain management. For now, the partnership is set for a one-year period, but the companies say the scope and timeframe is likely to increase. Meeting the challenges of qualifying AM materials and processes for aerospace is also at the heart of Oerlikon's collaboration agreement with Boeing. The five-year agreement, which was signed in February, seeks to develop standard materials and processes for metal-based AM. The collaboration's research will initially focus on industrializing titanium powder bed fusion AM. The companies say that in addition to meeting qualification challenges, it will enable them to “provide a route for the adoption of AM with a qualified supply chain that achieves quality and cost targets.” Full Article: https://www.mro-network.com/emerging-technology/studies-seek-industrialize-additive-manufacturing-aerospace
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August 29, 2024 | International, Aerospace
Embraer sells A-29 Super Tucano to the Uruguayan Air Force
Uruguay becomes the sixth nation to operate the A-29 Super Tucano in South America along with Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador and Paraguay.