October 3, 2024 | International, Land
Spain’s defence budget growth lags behind Nato targets
GlobalData's latest report indicates that Spain's defence budget will rise from $10.3bn in 2020 to $27.3bn by 2029.
August 2, 2018 | International, Aerospace
US Army discloses timelines for Block 3 Chinook
Gareth Jennings, London
Boeing is to begin development of a Block 3-standard Boeing CH/MH-47 Chinook transport and assault helicopter toward the end of the 2020s, ahead of fielding by the US Army in the late 2030s/early 2040s.
The timeline was disclosed by the army's MH-47G programme manager, Lieutenant Colonel Robert Klarenbach, in a briefing presented earlier in 2018 and seen by Jane'son 1 August. According to the briefing, Block 3 technology development for both the CH-47F and MH-47G will run from about 2027 to 2040, with production immediately following.
With Boeing currently engaged in the early stages of the Block 2 upgrade for the US Army's Chinook fleet (the first of three prototypes is now in final assembly, ahead of the first low-rate initial production delivery in fiscal year 2023), in May 2017 the company first touted the notion of a Block 3 upgrade to take the Chinook out to the 2060s.
No details as to what a Block 3 upgrade might include were released, but Boeing at that time noted it could feature the new Future Affordable Turbine Engine (FATE), which is being provisioned for inclusion in Block 2, as well as active parallel actuator systems and torque management systems. It could also see the Chinook become optionally-piloted. “[Optionally piloted] is not a huge technology challenge with the flights controls the Chinook has – it is more a tactics, techniques, and procedures [TTP] challenge,” said Randy Rotte, Boeing's director of cargo helicopter sales and marketing. “Unlike the [US Marine Corps'] K-MAX, which carried its cargo sling-loaded, someone would need to get inside [of the unmanned Chinook] to load and unload it.”
While the US Army has yet to comment on what a Block 3 Chinook might entail, Col Klarenbach's briefing slides showed two possible configurations.
Full article: https://www.janes.com/article/82113/us-army-discloses-timelines-for-block-3-chinook
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May 25, 2020 | International, Aerospace
The U.S. Navy’s New Drone Could Team Up With Stealth Fighters
The U.S. Navy is spending $13 billion buying 72 MQ-25 Stingray tanker drones for its 11 aircraft carriers. The idea is for the Boeing BA-made MQ-25s to refuel manned fighters, extending their range while also relieving the fighter squadrons of their own tanking duties. But the MQ-25 always had potential to be more than just an aerial-refueler. With its stealthy airframe and high endurance, it could be a surveillance plane and even a light strike platform, too. At least one fleet community isn't waiting for the Navy and Boeing to adapt the MQ-25 to other missions. The fleet's airborne command-and-control weapons school at Naval Base Ventura County in Point Mugu, California, already thinks of the Stingray as more than a tanker. Robbin Laird, a military analyst and writer, spoke to Cmdr. Christopher Hulitt, the head of the school, and summarized the conversation at Second Line of Defense. Laird and Hulitt's main point is that the Navy is acquiring new aircraft with highly-sophisticated communications systems and sensors. The F-35C stealth fighter. The E-2D early-warning plane. The MQ-4C high-altitude drone. And the MQ-25. Where before, E-2s would fly over a maritime battle, detecting targets and relaying commands to fighters, now a new system is coming together. The F-35C, E-2D, MQ-4C and MQ-25 all possess the qualities of a sensor- and command-and-control platform. So instead of passing information just one way—from an E-2 to a fighter—in coming years info could begin moving in all directions. An F-35C in stealth mode might detect an enemy ship using its passive sensors and beam, via secure datalink, the target's general location to the nearby MQ-25 that just refueled the F-35C. The MQ-25 could hand off the data to an E-2D. The E-2D crew could instruct the operators of an MQ-4C to steer their drone toward the enemy ship's location. Once the MQ-4C pinpoints the ship, the E-2D could then pass the targeting data back to the F-35C as well as to other allied vessels and planes, all of which could fire missiles. Imagine this whole process happening in minutes. “It is about deploying an extended trusted sensor network, which can be tapped through various waveforms, and then being able to shape how the decision-making arc can best deliver the desired combat effect,” Laird wrote. The Navy hopes to deploy the first MQ-25s as early as 2024. https://www.forbes.com/sites/davidaxe/2020/05/22/the-us-navys-new-drone-could-team-up-with-stealth-fighters/#9bc4fd875e2e
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June 23, 2024 | International, Land
Patriot in focus amid missile defense system shortage