Australia demonstrates 'hard kill' with first directed energy weapon, Fractl

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  2 août 2018 | International, Aérospatial, Naval, Terrestre, C4ISR

  Congress finalizes $717 billion defense budget authorization months ahead of schedule

  By: Leo Shane III WASHINGTON — Senators gave final approval to the annual defense authorization bill on Wednesday, sending the $717 billion budget package to the White House to become law in the next few weeks. The move marks the 58th consecutive year Congress has approved the military spending policy measure and the earliest that lawmakers have finished the work in 41 years. Typically, lawmakers labor until late fall before reaching agreement on the legislation. It sets the military pay raise at 2.6 percent starting next January, adds 15,600 more troops to services' overall end strength, and boosts aircraft and ship purchases above what the White House had requested. It also gives lawmakers a solid legislative victory to tout before voters in the lead-up to the November mid-term elections, and some parliamentary breathing room they hope can lead to progress on appropriations bills in the next few weeks. WASHINGTON — Senators gave final approval to the annual defense authorization bill on Wednesday, sending the $717 billion budget package to the White House to become law in the next few weeks. The move marks the 58th consecutive year Congress has approved the military spending policy measure and the earliest that lawmakers have finished the work in 41 years. Typically, lawmakers labor until late fall before reaching agreement on the legislation. It sets the military pay raise at 2.6 percent starting next January, adds 15,600 more troops to services' overall end strength, and boosts aircraft and ship purchases above what the White House had requested. It also gives lawmakers a solid legislative victory to tout before voters in the lead-up to the November mid-term elections, and some parliamentary breathing room they hope can lead to progress on appropriations bills in the next few weeks. Congress is giving the officer promotion system a massive overhaul The changes will have a far-reaching impact on military culture and change the incentives for how individual officers manage their careers. By: Leo Shane III A day earlier, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., announced that he had reached an agreement with Senate Democrats on bringing defense appropriations legislation to the Senate floor later this month, as part of a broader effort to wrap up fiscal 2019 military spending issues before the election. Full article: https://www.militarytimes.com/news/pentagon-congress/2018/08/01/congress-finalizes-defense-budget-authorization-months-ahead-of-schedule/

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  9 août 2018 | International, Terrestre

  Missile defense info sharing with allies still a challenge as need to operate together grows

  By: Jen Judson HUNTSVILLE, Alabama -- The U.S. is seeing the need more and more to become increasingly interoperable with allies when it comes to missile defense, but there are many challenges still to overcome, according to a panel of former and current missile defense stakeholders at the August 7 Defense News Missile Defense Networking Reception. “Probably the challenge that we struggle with the most with regards to our foreign partners is increasing and enhancing our cross-domain solution capability,” Col. Francisco Lozano, the Army's project manager for the service's Lower Tier Project office within the Program Executive Office Missiles and Space, said. “So not only just the ability to share information between our international partners in a given combat scenario but actually to do it at a high enough fast data rate so that the information is relevant and actionable.” The Army has worked toward this in exercises in Europe specifically, not just focusing on missile defense, but all levels of information sharing as it attempts to tie together systems and networks so, if the coalition had to respond in a crisis, information would flow more freely and in a more timely fashion for allies and partners to fight together. “So that becomes important for us to continue to improve, especially as just U.S. defense systems in general proliferate across multiple different countries” Lozano said. The colonel noted that the Army is finding ways to learn from its partners and allies that are involved in regular combat operations even if they are not directly connected system-to-system. “We stay tied in very closely with them and it has become a great partnership situation where we are continuing and able to work very closely in their country to understand the execution of engagements, what impacts are on certain systems and certain environments operated 24/7 for very long periods of time, understand the relevancy of certain threats and how those threats are employed and then improve those through [tactics, techniques and procedures] and [concepts of operations] not only for a given country but also for ourselves,” Lozano said. https://www.defensenews.com/digital-show-dailies/smd/2018/08/08/missile-defense-info-sharing-with-allies-still-a-challenge-as-need-to-operate-together-grows/

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  2 juin 2020 | International, Aérospatial

  Bell 360 Invictus Attack and Reconnaissance Aircraft

  Bell 360 Invictus is a new attack and reconnaissance helicopter being developed by Bell Textron to deliver improved lethality, survivability, and extended range for army aviation. The advanced helicopter is being offered for the US Army's Future Attack Reconnaissance Aircraft (FARA) programme, which mainly aims to replace the army's AH-65 Apache and OH-58D Kiowa Warrior helicopters. The rotorcraft will offer security and situational awareness in the battlefield upon completion of its government flight test evaluation in 2023. It will serve as an affordable, lethal and sustainable solution, while delivering next generation performance. Bell 360 Invictus development Bell was contracted under other transaction authority for prototype (OTAP) agreement to design a vertical lift aircraft with advanced performance capabilities to face asymmetric threats in multi-domain operations, in April 2019. In September 2019, Bell Textron entered a partnership agreement with Collins Aerospace Systems for avionics hardware and software incorporating cyber-hardened and enhanced digital solutions. Collins Aerospace will also offer model-based systems engineering (MBSE) tools and processes to integrate mission avionics into the Bell 360 Invictus aircraft. The attack and reconnaissance helicopter was unveiled at the Association of the United States Army (AUSA) National Conference held in Washington DC in October 2019. In March 2020, Bell Textron was selected to continue its work on US Army's FARA programme, after almost a 12-month design and risk-reduction work. Bell Textron preferred Triumph Systems & Support for the supply of hydraulic components for the Bell 360 Invictus aircraft in May 2020. Design and features of Bell 360 Invictus The rotorcraft's design will be based on Bell 525 Relentless aircraft, which will feature hydraulic pump and reservoir assemblies. The robust, articulated rotor, lift-sharing wing and optimised tail rotor ensure effective attack and reconnaissance operations in both urban and rural areas. The helicopter will accommodate a pilot and a gunner. The lift-sharing wing of the aircraft will mainly reduce rotor lift demand during forward flight and will offer high-speed manoeuvrability without a complex propulsion and drive system. A digital toolkit aboard will help in reducing hundreds of man hours and downstream costs. The advanced digital flight control system will further offer an enhanced flight operations. The helicopter will be fitted with state-of-the-art sensors and air-launched effects to improve situational awareness and lethality across all domains. The modular open systems approach (MOSA) digital backbone will allow plug and play capability, while the platform will be compliant with future airborne capability environment (FACE). The digital fly-by-wire flight control system of the rotorcraft will be upgradeable throughout its life cycle. 3D digital twin will serve as a common data source as it helps in monitoring survivability and supporting test scenarios for evolving battlefield technology. Bell 360 Invictus weapon systems The payload capacity of the aircraft will be approximately 635kg (1,400lb) and the helicopter can carry internal and external weapons payloads. The aircraft will be armed with an integrated munitions launcher and a 20mm cannon and will have the capability to support air-launched effects. It can also accommodate future weapons and current inventory of munitions. Engine and performance Bell 360 Invictus will be powered by General Electric's T901 turbo-shaft engine, which will serve as the main power unit. The Pratt & Whitney Canada PW207D1 engine aboard the rotorcraft will act as a supplemental power unit delivering power for ground maintenance and system checks. It will also enhance cruise airspeed, dash speed, hover payload and autorotative performance. The helicopter will be able to fly at a maximum cruise speed of 180k and offer a range of approximately 135nm with more than 90 minutes of time on station. The main rotor will have high flapping capability ensuring high-speed flight. It will achieve hover out of ground effect (HOGE) of 4k/95F. https://www.army-technology.com/projects/bell-360-invictus/