Air Force defers NGAD decision to Trump administration

Sur le même sujet

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  24 avril 2022 | International, Terrestre

  Lithuania launches talks to buy more than 120 Boxer military vehicles

  The ulterior aim of critics' inflation focus is not economics but the strategic choices the Pentagon's budget request implements.

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  21 mai 2020 | International, Aérospatial

  NATO group in Europe to receive first jointly owned aerial tankers

  By: Sebastian Sprenger COLOGNE, Germany – A group of six European NATO nations next month will take delivery of the first two of eight Airbus A330 aircraft suitable for aerial refueling and transport missions, the alliance announced. The MFF program, short for Multinational Multi-Role Tanker and Transport Fleet, is one of only a few examples of select NATO nations jointly owning and operating equipment. The first aircraft are slated to arrive in the Netherlands at the main operating base in Eindhoven in June following “a limited delay” over the original schedule, according to a statement. The NATO Support and Procurement Agency manages the program on behalf of member nations Belgium, Czech Republic, Germany, Luxembourg, Norway and the Netherlands. The six nations share the cost of buying the planes as well as flying hours used for missions. The Airbus A330 MRTT aircraft are destined mainly to bolster the aerial-refueling capabilities of participating air forces, which is key to extending the operating radius of their fighter fleets. The tanker can refuel F-16, F-35, Eurofighter, Tornado and Gripen jets, as well as “most of the other” aircraft used by the alliance, including C-17 cargo planes, the NATO statement reads. Nations can also operate the tankers in a cargo, passenger or medical-evacuation configuration. According to a memorandum of understanding governing the aircraft's use, Germany has booked up to 5,500 flying hours per year, followed by the Netherlands (2,000), Belgium (1,000) Luxembourg (200), and Norway and the Czech Republic with 100 each. Besides Eindhoven as the main base hosting five of the envisioned eight total aircraft, the German city of Cologne is slated to host three. NATO officials have touted the capability to ferry cargo among nations here as key to fighting the coronavirus epidemic. Member nations have repeatedly organized flights to deliver medical equipment, for example, to help each other out. In alliance parlance, the increased transportation muscle provided by the MFF program goes to the heart of what officials have called NATO's “resilience” in the face of crises. To that end, officials have begun an examination of how the pact's military assets can help civil authorities absorb the kinds of shocks brought by the coronavirus. https://www.defensenews.com/global/europe/2020/05/19/nato-group-in-europe-to-receive-first-jointly-owned-aerial-tankers/

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  16 octobre 2020 | International, Terrestre, Sécurité

  Army signs $87 million deal for latest tank killer

  Mike Glenn The Army signed an $87 million deal with Saab to arm its soldiers with the latest version of the Swedish manufacturing company's powerful 84mm bunker-busting, Carl-Gustaf anti-tank weapon. The seven-year contract calls for Saab to provide an indefinite number of the shoulder-fired weapons, designated as M3E1, to the military. They will be used by the Army, Marine Corps and elements of U.S. Special Operations Command, company officials said. “The lightweight and effective recoilless rifle ensures readiness on the modern battlefield with multi-role capabilities through a wide array of munitions,” Erik Smith, president and CEO of Saab in the U.S., said in a statement. The latest version of the Carl-Gustaf is 28 percent lighter than its predecessor. The system has been popular with U.S. troops as a combined anti-tank, anti-personnel weapon system since it was first fielded in the late 1980s. The Army decided it would acquire the latest version in 2018. https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2020/oct/15/army-signs-87-million-deal-latest-tank-killer/