U.S Army awards L3Harris ENVG-B production order

On the same subject

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  August 23, 2023 | International, Land

  US Army approves Sentinel A4 air defense radar for low-rate production

  The US Army's Sentinel A4 radar that can track challenging threat targets like cruise missiles is moving into low-rate initial production.

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  September 9, 2020 | International, Aerospace

  Lockheed offers drones to complement Poland’s future F-35 jets

  By: Jaroslaw Adamowski KIELCE, Poland — With Poland set to acquire 32 F-35A fighter jets under a deal signed in January, the aircraft's manufacturer, Lockheed Martin, is gearing up to supply the country with long-range drones to enhance the F-35′s operational capacities. “Both the U.S. and Poland are interested in a next-generation UAS capability,” Jack O'Banion, the vice president for strategy and customer requirements at Lockheed Martin's Skunk Works division, said at a press briefing ahead of the MSPO defense industry show. “We've seen the Polish Ministry of Defence's Technical Modernization Plan, which was released last year, which outlines the UAS need." O'Banion said the company saw “a significant overlap” between the U.S. and Polish tactical requirements for new drones, and it is highly interested in creating partnerships with local defense manufacturers to jointly develop and produce unmanned aerial systems. Deliveries of the F-35 are expected to begin in 2024. Poland will add the fighters to its fleet of 48 F-16 C/D Block 52+ jets. The $4.6 billion contract for the jets will allow Poland to replace its outdated Soviet-designed Sukhoi Su-22 and Mikoyan MiG-29 aircraft with fifth-generation fighters. https://www.defensenews.com/unmanned/2020/09/08/lockheed-offers-drones-to-complement-polands-future-f-35-jets/

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  August 9, 2019 | International, Aerospace

  Operators of NATO’s surveillance plane reveal what they want in its replacement

  By: Valerie Insinna AMARI AIR BASE, Estonia — As NATO looks to replace its E-3A Airborne Warning and Control System (AWACS) fleet, it has asked operators for feedback on what technologies to incorporate in its future system. While NATO leaders have not yet decided whether a single platform or a family of systemswill take over the early airborne warning mission, "I think the most essential thing is the capability ... be absolutely interoperable. I think that's the key, that is the most essential thing,” said Lt. Col. Hans Growla, a crew member and public affairs officer for the NATO E-3A component in Geilenkirchen, Germany. But Growla declined to comment on what specific technologies could be integrated into an AWACS replacement to grow its capability, citing sensitivities. In June, the head of the NATO organization that manages the E-3A inventory told Reutersthat the organization was racing against the clock to choose an AWACS replacement. NATO plans to spend $750 million for the final service life extension of the aircraft, which would keep it flying until 2035, said Michael Gschossmann, director of the NATO Airborne Early Warning and Control Programme Management Agency. But if it delays making a decision on a replacement for too long, it could get stuck paying for additional work on the current E-3A aircraft. “We have to get moving on this. We have to ensure that the studies move along quickly. We need a reality check,” he said. One option, Gschossmann said, would be to purchase the E-7 Wedgetail, a Boeing aircraft currently operated by Australia, Turkey and South Korea. The United Kingdom also plans to purchase the aircraft. “That would give us a basic capability that could be expanded in the future,” he said. Like the units that conduct Baltic air policing, the NATO E-3A component has found itself similarly taxed after the Russian annexation of Crimea in 2014, with the number of surveillance missions increasing. “There is a clear shift from training to real world missions/operations,” Growla said, with a growing presence over the skies of Poland, Romania and Bulgaria. “Flying in northeast Poland gives you a great view into the Baltic states. We don't need to be physically flying in the airspace of the Baltics, we can stay a bit more south and see everything.” Despite the high operational tempo, Growla said NATO's E-3A component is making do with its 14 AWACS planes. “The Ukraine crisis was starting when we were still deployed to Afghanistan. ... [For a time] we had more or less two tasking, and then ISIL," he said, using an acronym for the Islamic State group. "We were really busy.” Currently, 17 nations participate in NATO's early-warning-and-control force, which operates 14 E-3As and six E-3Ds: Belgium, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Spain, Turkey, the United Kingdom and the United States. Canada announced in February it would rejoin the NATO E-3A mission, after dropping out in 2014 to cut costs. Earlier this year, NATO wrapped up a two-year-long effort to modernize its E-3A aircraft, replacing the fleet's 1970s-era flight instruments with glass cockpits that include five full-color displays and modern avionics that are easier to maintain. One of those upgraded AWACS planes made the trip to Amari Air Base, Estonia, for an air show commemorating the Estonian Air Force's 100th anniversary. It was the first open display of a NATO E-3A in Estonia, with visitors able to walk inside the aircraft to view the cockpit and crew stations. “We want people to see the NATO asset that is flying more or less daily, touch it, and see the guys who are making their airspace safer,” Growla said. https://www.defensenews.com/smr/a-modern-nato/2019/08/08/operators-of-natos-surveillance-plane-reveal-what-they-want-in-its-replacement/