5 février 2024 | International, Naval
Thales inks $2B deal to improve British Royal Navy’s maintenance
The support program will see Thales use data technology, including AI and virtual reality, to provide more proactive and predictive maintenance.
4 mai 2020 | International, Aérospatial
Airbus just beat Boeing to be the first to complete a wholly automated air-to-air refueling operation
Airbus just bested Boeing, achieving a massive milestone in an area that's recently been haunting the American manufacturer: air-to-air refueling.
In the latest match-up in the cross-ocean rivalry between the American and European manufacturers, an Airbus A310 MRTT tanker test aircraft successfully completed an automatic refueling operation with a Portuguese Air Force fighter jet. Boeing has not yet been able to achieve the feat, even with its newest aerial tanker.
Airbus has been leading the charge in autonomous flight operations, with the newly-automated refueling process the latest step in reducing manual control in aerial procedures. In December, an Airbus A350 XWB successfully took off without pilot input, using software integrated to onboard cameras.
The system has plans to be implemented on Airbus' newest tanker, the A330 MRTT, with the certification phase scheduled to begin next year. The Airbus A330 MRTT is the European competitor to Boeing's KC-46 Pegasus.
Currently in use with the US Air Force, the KC-46 Pegasus is Boeing's newest jet but is also proving to be one of its most problematic. Boeing's Pegasus is nowhere near autonomous refueling, with the company needing to fix a key system before autonomy can be discussed, an Air Force official told DefenseNews.
Take a look at how Airbus is making history with its flying gas station.
https://www.businessinsider.com/airbus-a330-achieves-first-aerial-refueling-beats-boeing-2020-4
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4 décembre 2020 | International, Aérospatial
Leonardo: Italian Air Force enhances emergency response and homeland security capabilities with the delivery of the first HH-139B helicopter
Rome, December 3, 2020 - Leonardo has announced today the recent delivery of the first HH-139B twin engine helicopter to the Italian Air Force, a customised variant of the bestselling AW139 platform, from its facility based in Vergiate. The aircraft is the first of 17 HH-139Bs and deliveries are expected to be completed by 2021, in order to further strengthen the multirole capabilities of the Italian Air Force as an essential enabler to support emergency response and security requirements across the nation. The helicopter will be operated by the Italian Air Force's 15th Wing which is in charge for search and rescue (SAR) duties and supports the national community in case of disaster relief operations. The HH-139Bs will perform a range of missions including SAR, fire-fighting, Slow Mover Intercept, and join an existing fleet of 13 multirole HH-139As and four VH-139As, the latter are used for Government transport missions. Compared to the HH-139A, the 7-tonne HH-139B variant features, among others, new electro-optics, new radar, a new rescue hoist and a mission console in the cabin. Core avionics will feature Phase 8 software release allowing even more advanced and safer all-weather navigation and mission capabilities. In order to ensure the greatest level of responsiveness and effectiveness, an extended coverage area will be ensured by distributing the helicopters in several bases. Each aircraft can be quickly reconfigured from SAR to MEDEVAC or fire-fighting. The growth of the Italian Air Force's HH-139 fleet also benefits from unique logistical, operational and technical, certification and training commonalities and synergies across the growing AW139 fleets of Government and public service operators in Italy. This reinforces the possibility to perform effective and safe joint operations with other users of this modern type and represents a quantum leap in homeland security, disaster relief capability and overall through-life-cycle cost/effectiveness for the future. During the Covid-19 pandemic, AW139s have been extensively used in Italy to deliver unique biocontainment installation transport services in its class. In Italy, the AW139 has also been selected by Italy's Guardia di Finanza, State Police, Coast Guard, National Fire Corps and Carabinieri, in addition to several emergency medical service operators. This latest Italian Air Force's programme brings the total number of AW139s chosen by all of these Italian Government operators to nearly 80, covering a wide scope of public utility roles including law enforcement and homeland security, patrol, special operations and anti-terrorism, SAR, fire-fighting, command and control, government/VVIP transport, disaster relief and training. Many military or law enforcement operators from countries around the world have selected or are already operating the AW139 to fulfil their requirements. With orders placed by over 280 customers from more than 70 nations, the AW139 is the most successful helicopter programme in the last 15 years with almost 1,100 units in-service logging over 2.9 million flight hours for the widest range of missions. The US Air Force (USAF) will soon introduce the AW139-based Boeing MH-139 to replace the UH-1N fleet. Leonardo is committed to serving and protecting communities around the world, contributing to their sustainable growth by leading in next generation technologies. Partnering with Governments, private organisations, and industries for the best security and safety capabilities and this is a cornerstone of Leonardo's Be Tomorrow 2030 Strategic Plan. View source version on Leonardo: https://www.leonardocompany.com/en/press-release-detail/-/detail/03-12-2020-leonardo-l-aeronautica-militare-italiana-rafforza-le-sue-capacita-di-risposta-alle-emergenze-e-nelle-missioni-di-sicurezza-nazionale-con-la?f=/home
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24 septembre 2018 | International, Terrestre, C4ISR
Army makes strides toward network modernization with much anticipated radio award
By: Mark Pomerleau The Army has awarded Harris Corp. and Thales Defense a much anticipated radio contract that leaders say is critical for mission command on contested battlefields in the future. The two-channel leader software-defined radio will allow commanders on the ground to switch frequencies if one is being jammed by adversaries. The Army said it plans to exercise a delivery order for 1,540 Leader Radio sets and 338 vehicular mounting kits. The value of the order was not immediately clear. “This is an important step in providing critical tactical communications capabilities that are interoperable and effective in a contested electronic warfare environment,” Col. Garth Winterle, project manager for tactical radios, said in a Sept. 21 Army release. Army leaders have described the radios as critical to the Army's overall network modernization strategy. The contract allows for annual orders and for the easy integration of new capabilities. “The award of the two-channel Leader radio contract is an important milestone in the modernization of the Army's tactical network and Harris is honored to be part of it,” Dana Mehnert, President, Harris Communication Systems, said. Maj. Gen. David Bassett, the program executive officer for Command, Control, Communications-Tactical, told reporters in March that these types of radios have shown themselves to be able to run a wide range of waveforms. This has proven to be a critical feature as the Army considers more advanced, harder-to-jam waveforms for the future. This could be especially important in electronic warfare as adversaries make strides in their jamming and sensing abilities within the electromagnetic spectrum. The two-channel Leader radio will also be a key component of what the Army is calling the integrated tactical network, which focuses on a simplified, independent, mobile network solution at the battalion level. That solution is intended to provide network availability down to the small unit dismounted leader for better mission command, situational awareness and air-to-ground integration. https://www.c4isrnet.com/c2-comms/2018/09/21/army-makes-strides-toward-network-modernization-with-much-anticipated-radio-award