April 21, 2024 | International, Aerospace
India proffers HAL its largest-ever tender: 97 Tejas fighters
The state-owned company has ramped up its annual production capacity in anticipation of additional contracts.
August 26, 2020 | International, Aerospace
USAF initiative Agility Prime demonstrates eVTOL advances
The US Air Force's (USAF) initiative Agility Prime has demonstrated the developments in the electric vertical take-off and landing flight (eVTOL).
Conducted at Camp Mabry in Texas, US, the first Agility Prime ORB flight demonstration was witnessed by Air Force Secretary Barbara Barrett, Air Force chief of staff general Charles Brown Jr, and Air Force chief master sergeant JoAnne Bass.
The leaders were joined by Texas National Guard hosts and AFWERX personnel.
Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) contract recipient LIFT Aircraft demonstrated the flight.
The company is one of the first small companies selected as participants for the Agility Prime ‘Air Race to Certification'.
LIFT Aircraft has developed Hexa eVTOL to offer a fully autonomous people transport.
Under the Agile programme, it will refine and accelerate the progress of Hexa by expanding its flight envelope.
During the demonstration, LIFT CEO Matthew Chasen navigated Hexa over the Camp Mabry parade ground.
Agility Prime lead and AFWERX director colonel Nathan Diller said: “We now have over fifteen of the leading aircraft manufacturers in the world applying to partner with Agility Prime, with many of them already on contract.
“This flight today marks the first of many demonstrations and near-term flight tests designed to reduce the technical risk and prepare for Agility Prime fielding in 2023.”
Agility Prime is a non-traditional programme seeking to speed-up the potential commercial market for advanced air mobility vehicles.
These vehicles, or ORBs, could be used for specific operations such as medical evacuation, firefighting, civil and military disaster relief, search and rescue, and humanitarian relief.
During the launch of the programme in April, Barrett said: “Agility Prime is a programme with a vision of world impact.
“The thought of an electric vertical take-off and landing vehicle, a flying car, might seem straight out of a Hollywood movie, but by partnering today with stakeholders across industries and agencies, we can set up the US for this aerospace phenomenon.”
Last month, AFWERX innovation programme prepared to host the first virtual TeamUp event with the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL).
https://www.airforce-technology.com/news/usaf-initiative-agility-prime-demonstrates-evtol-advances/
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June 23, 2020 | International, Aerospace
Un nouveau drone pour l'US Air Force
L'US Air Force (USAF) a publié une RFI, ou demande d'information, afin de trouver le successeur du drone MALE MQ-9 Reaper. Observation et armement. L'US Air Force a rendu public une demande d'information dont l'objectif est d'identifier différents systèmes pouvant venir remplacer le MQ-9 Reaper à l'horizon 2030. Le drone MALE actuellement recherché devra être capable de mener des missions ISR (renseignement, surveillance, reconnaissance), l'essence même du drone, ainsi que des frappes armées. L'emport et la mise en œuvre d'armement par les drones MALE américain sont désormais fréquents et a démontré à plusieurs reprises son intérêt, malgré la dénonciation de certaines opérations par l'opinion publique. Quelle drone de nouvelle génération ? Si l'US Air Force s'intéresse ainsi aux nouveaux drones MALE pouvant être disponibles sur le marché d'ici à 2030 afin de remplacer son MQ-9 Reaper, l'USAF fait part également de son intérêt pour des solutions lui permettant de moderniser et d'améliorer les plateformes actuellement en service. Il n'est donc pas garanti que l'USAF fasse le choix d'acquérir des nouveaux drones MALE, certains MQ-9 Reaper pourraient également être modifiés afin de répondre aux nouvelles exigences opérationnelles. Le critère budgétaire semble en effet peser lourd dans la balance, notamment sur le plan du soutien et de la maintenance. Malgré tout l'US Air Force souhaite doter ses forces de systèmes modernes et performants, et l'emport de technologies intelligentes bénéficiera d'une attention particulière. Marché. Si la compétition est ouverte aux petites entreprises, se pose la question de potentielles importations. En effet, dans le domaine des drones MALE, l'armée américaine est entièrement dotée de systèmes développés nationalement et laisse peu de place à la concurrence étrangère. Par ailleurs General Atomics, constructeur du MQ-9 Reaper, continue sa quête de débouchés et un nouveau contrat avec l'Air Force permettrait d'asseoir sa crédibilité une fois de plus. Dans le domaine des drones MALE, aujourd'hui deux pays tirent véritablement leur épingle du jeu : les Etats-Unis et Israël. https://air-cosmos.com/article/un-nouveau-drone-pour-lus-air-force-23271
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July 19, 2019 | International, Land, Other Defence
Army Eyeing Navy's High-Powered Laser to Fight Enemy Drone Swarms
By Matthew Cox Army modernization officials are getting help from the Navy to make the service's High Energy Laser program more than twice as powerful for fending off aerial attacks from swarms of enemy drones. Currently, the Army's High Energy Laser Tactical Vehicle Demonstrator (HEL TVD) features a 100-kilowatt laser designed to fit on Family of Medium Tactical Vehicle (FMTV) trucks. The service plans to conduct a demonstrationof the system's target acquisition, tracking and other capabilities against a range of targets in 2022. Meanwhile, the Army's Rapid Capabilities Office plans to take advantage of the Navy's 250-kilowatt laser program, a system that could be adapted to fit on the FMTV platform, Army Lt. Gen. Paul Ostrowski told an audience Tuesday at an Association of the United States Army Institute of Land Warfare breakfast. "The intent is to work with the Navy, and we are doing that right now, in order to increase the power of that laser system from beyond 100-kilowatt up to maybe the 250-kilowatt mark," said Ostrowski, the military deputy to the assistant secretary of the Army for acquisition, logistics and technology. The Army's 100-kilowatt HEL TVD is being designed to provide air and missile support to forward operating bases and airfields, Ostrowski said. The service also plans to field a platoon of four 50-kilowatt lasers, known as Maneuver Short Range Air Defense (M-SHORAD) that will be mounted on a Stryker combat vehicle in fiscal 2022. The advantage of the laser is having an "unlimited magazine" for unmanned aerial systems, as well as rockets, artillery and mortars, instead of "shooting $100,000 missiles at $7,000" unmanned aerial systems, Ostrowski said, adding that the Army hopes to expand the potential use of lasers on the battlefield beyond air defense. "We want to be able to put that capability on our tanks to potentially get after targets that our combat vehicles can go after, so this is just the beginning ... of where we see lasers going in the future," he said. One of the challenges of working with lasers, Ostrowski said, is controlling the heat buildup generated by the power source. "It's not just the ability to create the energy to fire the laser, but it's also to dissipate the heat," he said. It's still uncertain whether the Navy's 250-kilowatt laser program will work for the Army, but "we are not going to ignore" its potential for dealing with more complex enemy air attacks, Ostrowski said. "The power piece is extremely important. If you don't have the power, you don't have that unlimited magazine, and that unlimited magazine makes a difference in a swarm environment where you have multiple targets and you have to be able to ... recharge quickly and be able to shoot them all down," he said. https://www.military.com/daily-news/2019/07/16/army-eyeing-navys-high-powered-laser-fight-enemy-drone-swarms.html