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November 25, 2019 | International, Aerospace, Naval

U.S. Navy orders 48 retrofit redesign kits in support of Super Hornet aircraft

The U.S. Department of Defense announced on Thursday that Boeing Co. has been awarded a new contract for support F/A-18 Super Hornet aircraft.

U.S. aerospace giant has won a contract valued at as much as $43 million to build, test and delivery of 48 Trailing Edge Flap retrofit redesign kits in support of the F/A-18E/F aircraft.

Work will be performed in St. Louis, Missouri (72%); Lucerne, Switzerland (20%); Paramount, California (5%); and Hot Springs, Arkansas (3%), and is expected to be completed in June 2022.

Production of the flaps involves the use of new manufacturing methods including advanced composites and high-speed machining, which were not used in the manufacture of flaps for the earlier Hornets.

The Super Hornet is the most advanced addition to the combat-proven family of F/A-18 Hornets. Both the single-seat E and two-seat F models offer longer range, greater endurance, more payload-carrying ability, more powerful engines, increased carrier bringback capability, enhanced survivability and the growth potential to incorporate future systems and technologies to meet emerging threats. Although it is 25 percent larger than the Hornet, the Super Hornet has 42 percent fewer parts.

The company's website said the Super Hornet is the backbone of the U.S. Navy carrier air wing now and for decades to come.

The combat-proven Super Hornet delivers cutting-edge, next-generation multi-role strike fighter capability, outdistancing current and emerging threats well into the future. The Super Hornet has the capability, flexibility and performance necessary to modernize the air or naval aviation forces of any country. Two versions of the Super Hornet – E model and F model – are able to perform virtually every mission in the tactical spectrum, including air superiority, day/night strike with precision-guided weapons, fighter escort, close air support, suppression of enemy air defenses, maritime strike, reconnaissance, forward air control and tanker missions.

https://defence-blog.com/news/u-s-navy-orders-48-retrofit-redesign-kits-in-support-of-super-hornet-aircraft.html

The U.S. Department of Defense announced on Thursday that Boeing Co. has been awarded a new contract for support F/A-18 Super Hornet aircraft.

U.S. aerospace giant has won a contract valued at as much as $43 million to build, test and delivery of 48 Trailing Edge Flap retrofit redesign kits in support of the F/A-18E/F aircraft.

Work will be performed in St. Louis, Missouri (72%); Lucerne, Switzerland (20%); Paramount, California (5%); and Hot Springs, Arkansas (3%), and is expected to be completed in June 2022.

Production of the flaps involves the use of new manufacturing methods including advanced composites and high-speed machining, which were not used in the manufacture of flaps for the earlier Hornets.

The Super Hornet is the most advanced addition to the combat-proven family of F/A-18 Hornets. Both the single-seat E and two-seat F models offer longer range, greater endurance, more payload-carrying ability, more powerful engines, increased carrier bringback capability, enhanced survivability and the growth potential to incorporate future systems and technologies to meet emerging threats. Although it is 25 percent larger than the Hornet, the Super Hornet has 42 percent fewer parts.

The company's website said the Super Hornet is the backbone of the U.S. Navy carrier air wing now and for decades to come.

The combat-proven Super Hornet delivers cutting-edge, next-generation multi-role strike fighter capability, outdistancing current and emerging threats well into the future. The Super Hornet has the capability, flexibility and performance necessary to modernize the air or naval aviation forces of any country. Two versions of the Super Hornet – E model and F model – are able to perform virtually every mission in the tactical spectrum, including air superiority, day/night strike with precision-guided weapons, fighter escort, close air support, suppression of enemy air defenses, maritime strike, reconnaissance, forward air control and tanker missions.

https://defence-blog.com/news/u-s-navy-orders-48-retrofit-redesign-kits-in-support-of-super-hornet-aircraft.html

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  • Missile Defense Agency picks 2 vendors for hypersonic weapon tracking sensor prototypes

    January 26, 2021 | International, Aerospace

    Missile Defense Agency picks 2 vendors for hypersonic weapon tracking sensor prototypes

    Nathan Strout WASHINGTON — The Missile Defense Agency selected two companies to build prototype sensors capable of tracking hypersonic weapons from space. L3Harris and Northrop Grumman will create the prototypes for the agency's Hypersonic and Ballistic Tracking Space Sensor. L3Harris won a $122 million award Jan. 14, while Northrop Grumman received a $155 million award Jan. 22. In tandem with the Space Development Agency's tracking layer, the HBTSS constellation is the Pentagon's answer to hypersonic weapons, which are too dim to effectively track with current sensors in geostationary orbit and can potentially avoid terrestrial sensors. The constellation will be closer to the planet's surface in low Earth orbit, allowing sensors to more easily see the dimmer threat. However, being closer to the Earth's surface results in a far narrower field of view for each satellite. In order to get worldwide coverage, the Pentagon is pursuing a proliferated constellation made up of dozens of satellites. SDA's tracking layer satellites will initially pick up a threat, with each satellite tracking the weapon and then passing off custody to the next satellite as the weapon leaves its field of view. Ultimately, the threat will be passed on to the more sensitive HBTSS, which can provide targeting data. “The combination of high speed, maneuverability and relatively low altitude of some of the emerging advanced missile threats makes them challenging targets for our current missile defense systems,” the agency said in a statement. “HBTSS is needed, since we cannot populate the Earth and the oceans with terrestrial radars to meet this need. The ‘birth-to-death' tracking that HBTSS can provide when integrated with terrestrial sensors will make it possible to maintain custody of missile threats from launch through intercept regardless of location.” Four companies were in the running to build the new HBTSS prototypes, but MDA stated on Jan. 22 that L3Harris and Northrop Grumman will be the two moving forward into the on-orbit prototype demonstration. The other transaction authority contracts covers the prototypes through launch and early on-orbit testing. According to MDA, the prototypes should “demonstrate the sensitivity and fire-control quality of service necessary to support both the emerging hypersonic threat kill chain and dim upper-stage ballistic missiles.” https://www.c4isrnet.com/battlefield-tech/space/2021/01/25/missile-defense-agency-picks-two-vendors-for-hypersonic-weapon-tracking-sensor-prototypes

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