US Space Force awards third contract for anti-jamming SATCOM prototypes

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  January 31, 2020 | International, Aerospace

  Stealthy UAS Unveiled For USAF Target, Loyal Wingman Needs

  Steve Trimble A small start-up company in California has unveiled a new proposal for a stealthy unmanned aircraft system (UAS) to offer the U.S. Air Force as a “fifth-generation” target drone or a low-cost attritable aircraft. Tehachapi, California-based Sierra Technical Services, a company founded by previously retired Lockheed Martin Skunk Works engineers, unveiled the first photos of the completed Fifth Generation Aerial Target (5GAT) prototype after completing engine tests on the ground. A first flight of the 5GAT is scheduled in early 2020. The name of the aircraft is derived from its origins as a prototype funded by the Defense Department's Director of Operational Test and Evaluation (DOT&E), says Roger Hayes, president and CEO of Sierra Technical Services. Several years ago, DOT&E recognized an emerging gap for a new target drone that could fly as a surrogate for fifth-generation fighters emerging in Russia and China such as the Sukhoi Su-57 and AVIC Chengdu J-20. In 2017, DOT&E awarded Sierra Technical Services a $15.9 million contract to develop the 5GAT prototype, Hayes said. The pace of assembly has been dictated by the availability of parts cannibalized from other military aircraft, such as the engines and metallic components from the Northrop T-38 trainer and F-5 fighter, as well as aileron actuators from the Boeing F/A-18, Hayes said. Sierra Technical Services supplemented its revenue as assembly continued by working on other programs, including supplying components for the Kratos XQ-58A Valkyrie. As development continued, the Air Force started to develop interest in a fifth-generation target. The service has awarded Lockheed Martin a contract to develop the AIM-260 Joint Advanced Tactical Missile, which is being designed to counter the PL-15 missile fielded on China's J-20 fighter. The Air Force needs to test the AIM-260 and other missiles against a representative threat. Last May, the Air Force released a request for information for the Next Generation Aerial Target, which included a version that can replicate fifth-generation fighter attributes, such as a stealthy airframe with canted tails and serpentine inlet ducts. The Air Force also is developing a concept to pair manned fighters such as the F-22 and F-35 with an unmanned partner, known sometimes as a Loyal Wingman. The Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) funded Kratos' XQ-58A, which completed a first flight in March. AFRL also plans to demonstrate a UAS controlled by a “software brain” using artificial intelligence. This Skyborg program is sometimes considered a follow-on for the XQ-58A program, but Hayes said Sierra Technical Services could offer the 5GAT for the Skyborg contract. https://aviationweek.com/defense-space/stealthy-uas-unveiled-usaf-target-loyal-wingman-needs

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  December 7, 2018 | International, Aerospace

  Japanese acquisition officials reveal next steps in search for advanced fighter jet

  By: Mike Yeo TOKYO — Japan is pushing ahead with research and development into advanced fighter jet technology, despite uncertainty over its acquisition strategy for a next-generation fighter and questions about the degree to which Japanese industry will be involved in the program. These technologies include a new fighter engine, thrust vectoring control, stealth shaping for low observability as well as the weapons carriage and release mechanism for internal weapons bays, according to representatives from Japan's Acquisition, Technical and Logistics Agency, or ATLA, who spoke at the Japan International Aerospace Exhibition in Tokyo, which ended Nov. 30. Several of these technologies were fitted on the Mitsubishi X-2, a technology demonstrator built by the Japanese and used to test and validate several of these features. Since then Japan has continued development work on the 15-ton thrust XF-9 afterburning turbofan. That turbofan displayed an improvement up to 70 percent during the time it took to spool up to full thrust from idle, when compared to the earlier XF-5 used by the X-2, said Lt. Gen. Hiroaki Uchimura, director general of aerial systems at ATLA. Japan is also working on an advanced active electronically scanned array radar, as well as manufacturing techniques to reduce or eliminate the need for fasteners in aircraft structures. Neither feature found its way to the X-2, but work continues on both fronts, with the radar having been tested in the laboratory and slated for flight tests onboard a Mitsubishi F-2 fighter jet test bed. The continuing R&D effort is reflected in the budget requests the Ministry of Defense made for next fiscal year, which begins in April 2019. This includes $194.6 million for research into fighter “mission system integration studies and manned-unmanned aircraft teaming technology,” and is on top of the $1.7 billion Japan has invested in fighter research since 2009. That first figure is also more than 10 times the amount spent on R&D for Japan's Mitsubishi F-2 fighter, according to Uchimura. Japan's next-generation fighter will replace the F-2 around the mid-2030s, and both Uchimura and ATLA Commissioner Nobuaki Miyama, who spoke at different conference sessions at the aerospace exhibition, touched on five critical attributes for Japan's next fighter program. These include its ability to secure air superiority over potential adversaries; the ease of upgrading as new technologies emerge; the latitude to domestically perform upgrades and sustainment without requiring overseas approval; the level of involvement of local industries in performing those upgrades and sustainment; and the need for the fighter and program as a whole to have a “realistic and feasible” cost. Japan is currently studying several different procurement strategies for its next-generation fighter, including a wholly domestically developed and manufactured design, an international collaboration, or what it calls a “spinoff” development of an existing design. Japan and the United Kingdom have agreed to exchange information with each other for their respective fighter programs. Reuters previously reported that both Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman responded to Japan's request for information on potential fighter offerings, with the former said to have an “F-22/F-35 hybrid” in mind. https://www.defensenews.com/digital-show-dailies/japan-aerospace/2018/11/30/japanese-acquisition-officials-reveal-next-steps-in-search-for-advanced-fighter-jet

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  September 30, 2019 | International, Aerospace

  Pose de la première pierre du nouveau laboratoire ExceLab de Safran Landing Systems

  Situé à Vélizy, ce nouveau laboratoire surface d'environ 2 000 m2 regroupera l'ensemble des capacités d'essais de Safran Landing Systems pour ses futurs matériels, du prototype de R&T jusqu'au produit fini dans un éventail de conditions opérationnelles très larges. C'est le 26 septembre 2019 que Ross McInnes, Président du Conseil d'administration de Safran et Jean-Paul Alary, Président de Safran Landing Systems ont, avec Valérie Pécresse, Présidente de la Région Ile de France, posé la première pierre du laboratoire d'essais « ExceLAB » (littéralement laboratoire d'excellence) dédié aux systèmes d'atterrissage et de freinage de demain, notamment électriques. D'une surface d'environ 2 000 m2 , ce nouveau laboratoire regroupera l'ensemble des capacités d'essais de Safran Landing Systems pour ses futurs matériels, du prototype de R&T jusqu'au produit fini dans un éventail de conditions opérationnelles très larges. Il s'inscrit notamment dans la stratégie du Groupe d'électrification progressive des fonctions de l'aéronef, et bénéficiera d'une organisation optimisée pour les essais hydrauliques et électriques. « Ce nouveau laboratoire, outil essentiel de compétitivité et d'innovation pour Safran Landing Systems, permettra d'aller bien au-delà de notre capacité d'essais actuelle. Il accélérera le développement et la mise sur le marché de nos futures solutions notamment plus électriques, » a déclaré Jean-Paul Alary. Ce nouveau laboratoire qui disposera de moyens techniques fortement digitalisés (réalité augmentée, 3D, objets connectés, cobotique, etc.) représente un investissement global de près de 4 millions d'euros qui bénéficie du soutien de la région Ile de France, et devrait être opérationnel d'ici octobre 2020. Plus de 60 nouveaux collaborateurs rejoindront « ExceLAB » et une vingtaine de fournisseurs de la région seront impliqués dans ce projet. https://air-cosmos.com/article/pose-de-la-premire-pierre-du-nouveau-laboratoire-excelab-de-safran-landing-systems-21766