8 octobre 2023 | International, Aérospatial
How a shovel can help with training, plus common mistakes during drill
Basic security tasks, communication, logistics and maintenance planning make all the difference.
3 janvier 2019 | International, Aérospatial
Army's Decision On Huge Helicopter Engine Program Will Impact GE, Honeywell, United Technologies
Sometime in the very near future, probably this month, the U.S. Army will announce the winner of a competition to develop a new engine for most of the service's helicopters. Called the Improved Turbine Engine Program (ITEP), it is a multibillion-dollar effort that has often been described as the Army's top aviation modernization priority.
It isn't hard to see why. The weight of Army light and medium helicopters has been growing by 70-100 pounds per year since they debuted in the last century as new equipment, munitions and armor were added. As a result, both the Black Hawk utility helicopter and the Apache attack helicopter are under-powered when operating in “high-hot” conditions, meaning above 6,000 feet in temperatures of 95 degrees or greater.
Such conditions are common in places like the Persian Gulf, and pose a challenge to conducting missions successfully. In 2006, the Army launched an effort to develop an engine that could provide 50% more power than the existing General Electric T700 engine (3,000 versus 2,000 shaft horsepower), while reducing fuel consumption by 25% and extending the life of the engine 20%.
That in itself was a tall order, but the new engine also had to fit into thousands of fielded helicopters with minimal modifications, and it couldn't weigh more than 500 pounds (the current engine weighs 456 pounds). The Army also wanted each engine to cost much less than the T700–not just in the cost of manufacturing the new engines, but in the cost of maintaining them across a multi-decade service life.
Given these very demanding requirements, and a dearth of money for modernization during the Obama years, it isn't surprising that a dozen years passed before the Army felt it was in a position to pick a design that met all the service's needs. But now it is. The choice is between a successor to the T700 built by General Electric Aviation, and a competing design offered by a joint venture of Honeywell and Pratt & Whitney (a unit of United Technologies, and contributor to my think tank). The decision has probably already been made, and simply awaits formal announcement later this month.
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1 août 2018 | International, C4ISR
Cyber Command wants to partner with private sector to stop hacks
By: Justin Lynch The head of the National Security Agency and Cyber Command is advocating for a more expansive partnership between the government and the private sector amid an array of cyberthreats. Gen. Paul Nakasone, speaking July 31 during the Department of Homeland Security National Cybersecurity Summit in New York City, said that partnerships are America's “advantage in cyberspace,” "We have tremendous, exquisite, foreign intelligence reporting,” Nakasone said, but added he wanted to understand what the private sector and firms who make up America's digital infrastructure were looking for “so we can really tailor the information.” Information from Cyber Command and the NSA will be used in a new National Risk Management Center that hopes to share cyberthreats between the government and the private sector, according to a department spokeswoman. ”Resiliency begins with a dialogue,” Nakasone said. The new center's announcement comes after DHS said that Russia was continuing to attackAmerica's electric grid. Last week, Sen. Claire McCaskill D-Mo., said that Russian hackers tried unsuccessfully to infiltrate her office. On the same day that Nakasone spoke, Facebook said that it removed 32 accounts in an apparent influence campaign. Ninety percent of America's critical infrastructure is in private hands, Nakasone said. Therefore, the Department of Defense is kicking off the new risk center with a “90 day sprint” to identify companies that are most essential to the U.S. way of life in an effort to protect them from foreign cyberattacks. “Not all risks are created equal,” Nakasone said of the initial effort. https://www.fifthdomain.com/dod/cybercom/2018/07/31/cyber-command-wants-to-partner-with-private-sector-to-stop-hacks/
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15 juillet 2024 | International, Terrestre
SRC Awarded $25 Million Contract for U.S. Army Range Radar Replacement Program
The contract is a part of the U.S. Army’s ongoing Range Radar Replacement Program