August 19, 2020 | International, Aerospace
WASHINGTON - The U.S. Space Force will begin sharing valuable space situational awareness data with the United Kingdom as part of Operation Olympic Defender, the service announced Aug. 14.
Under a recently signed agreement, the Space Force will share it's Standardized Astrodynamics Algorithm Library with the U.K.‘s Ministry of Defense. SAAL is a collection of the Space Force's understanding of orbital physics and algorithms that helps the service predict the trajectories of objects on orbit.
“Aggressive actions in space must be deterred through a multinational, coordinated effort, allowing for the defense and protection or our collective capabilities,” said Maj. Gen. DeAnna Burt, USSF director of Operations and Communications, in a statement. “Sharing the SAAL with our coalition partners enables greater cooperation and coordination between the U.S. and our Allies.”
The agreement comes as part of Operation Olympic Defender, an American-led coalition of space-faring allies working together to deter hostile actions in space, strengthen deterrence against hostile actors and address the growing issue of orbital debris. Operation Olympic Defender was officially taken over by U.S. Space Command in May and is located at the Combined Space Operations Center at Vandenberg Air Force Base, California.
The U.K. was the first nation to join Operation Olympic Defender and is the first to receive access to the SAAL. Under the new arrangement, that nation's Space operations Center will now be better able to collaborate with the Space Force, sharing algorithms and data to better predict orbital trajectories.
The Space Force is looking to share the SAAL with more partners within Operation Olympic Defender. According to the announcement, the Secretary of the Air Force's International Affairs Office, SPACECOM and the Space Force have recognized a new framework that will allow other coalition partners to begin receiving SAAL. SPACECOM has signed a number of space data sharing agreements with other countries in recent months.
August 26, 2021 | International, Aerospace
New upgrades are afoot for the Command Control Battle Management and Communications system linking missile defense capability globally.
November 12, 2020 | International, Aerospace
By Ed Adamczyk Nov. 11 (UPI) -- Boeing Co. was awarded a $9.8 billion contract to support F-15 fighter planes of the Royal Saudi Air Force, the U.S. Defense Department announced. The deal covers modernization and sustainment of the Saudi fleet of nearly 130 aircraft over the next five years, the Pentagon said on Tuesday. The package of upgrades includes hardware, software, interface design, development, integration, test, installation of future modifications and enhancements to the F-15 Saudi weapon system. The contract also includes an option for an additional five years beyond the inital November 2025 time period. The F-15 was first put into service as a tactical fighter plane in 1978, and is in use by the air forces of the United States, Japan, Israel, Singapore and Qatar. The newest aircraft of the Royal Saudi Air Force are the F-15SA variant, which come with wing-mounted weapons-carrying packages allowing the plane to carry and launch a wider array of new weapons configurations. The Advanced Missile and Bomb Ejection Racks, or AMBER, allow the plane to carry up to 22 AIM-120 missiles, nearly double the capability of previous F-15s. The F-15QA variant to be used by the Qatar Emiri Air Force, regarded as the most advanced current version of the plane, is based on the Saudi design. Earlier this week, the Pentagon awarded two contracts totaling $734.8 million for infrastructure and equipment for the QEAF. The larger of the two deals is a $657.2 million contract for parts and training for Qatar's F-15 program, beginning with the arrival of the first F-15QAs in 2021. https://www.upi.com/Defense-News/2020/11/11/Boeing-awarded-98B-contract-for-Saudi-F-15-support/2971605119323/
May 19, 2023 | International, Naval
The contract for the lead frigate and 9 option ships, signed in 2020, has a cumulative value of 5.5 billion dollars, including post-delivery availability support and crew training.