July 11, 2023 | International, Aerospace
Elbit announces $114 million sale of patrol aircraft in Asia
The unnamed customer could be Philippines, which has long searched for such planes on the global market.
August 24, 2020 | International, Naval
Watchdog: 75 percent of sub and aircraft carrier maintenance ended late in recent years
While the U.S. Navy has spent nearly $3 billion to improve shipyard maintenance performance in recent years, “the shipyards continue to face persistent and substantial maintenance delays that hinder the readiness of aircraft carriers and submarines,” according to a government watchdog report released this week.
Three-quarters of the 51 aircraft carrier and submarine maintenance periods from fiscal 2015 to 2019 were completed late, resulting in 7,425 days of delays, according to the report by the Government Accountability Office.
The Navy's four shipyards — in Portsmouth, Virginia; Kittery, Maine; Honolulu, Hawaii; and Bremerton, Washington — provide vital maintenance that includes ship overhauls, nuclear refueling, alterations and refits, among other duties.
The aircraft carrier maintenance periods that ended late exceeded their deadlines by an average of 113 days, the GAO reports, while submarine maintenance periods ending late missed the mark by an average of 225 days.
Such availabilities last anywhere from six months to three years, and when they don't end on time, it gums up the entire system, delaying other maintenance periods, deployments and other needs.
The main factors leading to the tardiness had to do with shipyard workforce performance and having enough people to perform the vital work, the GAO found. Unplanned work, or tasks identified after finalizing maintenance plans, was also cited as a significant factor resulting in the delays.
While the Navy has taken steps to address such delays, the sea service has yet to fully address the unplanned work and workforce factors causing the majority of delays, according to the GAO.
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April 22, 2021 | International, C4ISR
DoD SBIR/STTR Component BAA Open: Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) HR001121S0007-07
The DoD Small Business and Technology Partnerships Office announces the opening of the following Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) topic: Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), HR001121S0007 • SBIR Topic HR001121S0007-07: "Multi-Wavelength Laser Sources,” published at: https://beta.sam.gov/opp/2e23f6a5e3104da6bf819d31822edb95/view IMPORTANT DATES: • May 25, 2021: BAA closes, full proposals must be submitted in DSIP no later than 12:00 p.m. ET Full topics and instructions are available at the link provided above.
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August 7, 2018 | International, Land
Stealthier Tanks Are On The Way
BY JOHN WATTS Several tech trends will make tomorrow's tanks harder to spot — and that may have strategic implications. Truly game-changing technology does not develop in isolation. It results from the convergence of multiple trends and usually the combination of multiple technologies. For example, today's social-media platforms did not arise from internet connectivity alone. Rather, they evolved iteratively over multiple generations of technological development, incorporating the miniaturization of digital cameras, the increase in portable computing power of smartphones, and advances in cellular connectivity. In that context, a cluster of technological trends may be converging to produce a potentially transformative battlefield capability: “stealth tanks.” This concept is not new and there is no certainty that these new technological developments will fully scale or prove operationally effective. But as these technologies develop they hint at possibilities that warrant serious discussion about their potential application to armored vehicles, as well as their operational and politico-strategic implications. By “stealth,” we do not mean invisibility. Rather, it is a collection of technologies designed to reduce an object's observable signature, thereby making detection more difficult. Even if temporary or incomplete, stealth provides a significant tactical advantage. Aircraft achieve stealth through a decreased radar cross section which incredibly complicates detection. Full Article: https://www.defenseone.com/ideas/2018/08/stealthier-tanks/150276/