18 janvier 2024 | International, Aérospatial
New Typhoon radar embodied for first flight
The European Common Radar System (ECRS) Mark 2 radar is being developed by Leonardo and integrated onto Typhoon by BAE Systems.
15 novembre 2018 | International, Aérospatial, Terrestre
Belarus to develop missile systems, combat drones with eye on rising global tensions
WARSAW, Poland — Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko has instructed the country's defense industry to develop missile systems to boost its military's strike capabilities as well as combat unmanned aerial vehicles to reinforce its air force, according to Roman Golovchenko, the chairman of the Belarusian State Military Industrial Committee.
“Conflicts come to life in various continents. Tensions between superpowers are on the rise. This is why, certainly, there is demand for defensive weapons," Golovchenko told the state-run news agency BelTA. “The Belarusian defense industry is ready to satisfy the demand. I hope the R&D products the head of state has approved will allow us to hit our targets.”
Golovchenko said that the Polonez multiple-launch rocket system (MLRS) is the first missile system to be completed by the Belarusian defense industry, and Lukashenko "has given instructions to develop this sphere in the future" as a "key" field of the country's military R&D.
Belarus is a member of the Russia-backed Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) which is designed as a counterbalance to NATO. However, Minsk is also developing military cooperation with various countries outside the organization in a bid to mark its independence from Moscow and bolster ties with like-minded governments.
Earlier this year, Azerbaijan signed a contract with Belarus to acquire the Polonez missile systems in response to Armenia's purchase of Iskander missiles from Russia. Minsk has also agreed to supply four Mikoyan MiG-29 fighters to Serbia, a non-member observer state to the CSTO, and the two countries were reportedly in talks over the potential sale of S-300 long-range surface-to-air missile systems to Belgrade. In addition to this, Belarus has announced projects to jointly produce drones with China and Turkmenistan, among others.
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22 août 2023 | International, Aérospatial
Opening up National Security Space Launch program endangers access
A former U.S. Air Force secretary argues against allowing a vendor who has not yet successfully launched to compete on the basis of a paper proposal alone.
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18 janvier 2021 | International, Aérospatial
L3Harris to build prototype satellite capable of tracking hypersonic weapons
Nathan Strout WASHINGTON — The Missile Defense Agency awarded L3Harris Technologies a $121 million contract to build a prototype satellite capable of tracking hypersonic weapons, the agency announced Jan. 14. Under the contract, L3Harris is tasked with building an on-orbit prototype demonstration for the agency's Hypersonic and Ballistic Tracking Space Sensor, a proliferated constellation in low Earth orbit that is capable of detecting and tracking hypersonic weapons. The constellation is designed to fill the gap in the country's missile defense architecture created by hypersonic weapons, which are dimmer than traditional ballistic missiles, making them harder to see with the nation's infrared sensors based in geosynchronous orbit. In addition, they are able to maneuver around terrestrial sensors. With China and Russia developing these weapons, the Department of Defense is eager to develop a new constellation that can detect and track the threats anywhere in the world. And so is Congress — in December lawmakers set aside $130 million to fund the project. The HBTSS design solves the hypersonic weapon problem by placing the sensor much closer to the Earth's surface in the lower orbit, making it easier to see the threat. But because the sensors are closer to the Earth, they have a far more limited field of view than the sensors in geosynchronous orbit. In order to achieve global coverage, the Missile Defense Agency wants a proliferated constellation made up of dozens of satellites on orbit. L3Harris was one of four companies awarded $20 million contracts in 2019 to develop a prototype payload design and risk reduction demonstration for HBTSS, along with Northrop Grumman, Leidos and Raytheon Technologies. According to the initial contract announcements, work on those designs was due Oct. 31, 2020. With this most recent award, L3Harris has won the subsequent competition between the four companies to build the actual prototype. The company has also been selected to build satellites for the Space Development Agency that will track hypersonic threats and feed data to HBTSS. In October, L3Harris won a $193 million contract to build four of the agency's eight wide field of view (WFOV) satellites, with SpaceX building four more. According to Space Development Agency leaders, their satellites will work in conjunction with HBTSS satellites to track hypersonic threats. The WFOV satellites will provide initial detection and tracing of the weapons, passing custody from satellite to satellite as the threats traverse the globe. Then, the WFOV satellites will pass custody to the medium field of view HBTSS satellites, which can provide targeting solutions with their more accurate sensors. The WFOV satellites are scheduled for launch as early as September 2022. Work on the HBTSS prototype contract will be complete in July 2023. https://www.c4isrnet.com/battlefield-tech/space/2021/01/14/l3harris-to-build-prototype-satellite-capable-of-tracking-hypersonic-weapons/