Bell Seeks FAA IFR Certification of 407 GXi, As Required by Navy in Trainer Competition

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  12 juin 2019 | International, Aérospatial, Sécurité, Autre défense

  Air Force gets new stopgap system for GPS 3 satellites

  By: Nathan Strout The U.S. Air Force's first next-generation GPS satellite launched in December and the second GPS III satellite is slated to liftoff in July. But there Air Force has a problem: The ground system currently in use isn't fully capable of controlling GPS III satellites. Worse, a new ground system that can, formally known as the next-generation operational control system (OCX), is five years behind schedule and won't be delivered until June 2021 at the earliest, according to the Government Accountability Office. Enter the GPS III Contingency Operations (COps) software—a critical stop gap measure that will update the current ground control system and allow it to access some of the more advanced features of the GPS III satellites until the next-generation operational control system is ready. On July 11, primary contractor Lockheed Martin announced that it had delivered the COps upgrade to the Air Force. “Positioning, navigation and timing is a critical mission for our nation and COps will allow the Air Force to gain early access to its new GPS III satellites,” said Johnathon Caldwell, Lockheed Martin's vice president for Navigation Systems. “We just finished final qualification testing and delivery on COps, and it will be integrated and installed on the [Architecture Evolution Plan Operational Control System] over the summer. We look forward to the Air Force ‘flying' a GPS constellation on the COps OCS which includes the new GPS III satellites, later this year.” The new GPS III satellites are built to be more robust and accurate than their predecessors and come with advanced features such as the ability to use M-Code, an encrypted GPS signal for use by the military. The COps upgrade will allow the current ground system to control the GPS III satellites as well as the legacy GPS satellites. It will also allow the current system to access M-code Early Use, an encrypted GPS signal with improved anti-jamming and anti-spoofing capabilities, beginning in 2020. The Air Force contracted with Lockheed Martin to deliver the patch in 2016, the same year that the OCX program triggered a Nunn-McCurdy cost breach—a type of violation caused by significant cost growth that requires a program to be shut down unless the Department of Defense intervenes and approves a new cost estimate. The $6.2 billion OCX program is already five years behind schedule, and a May 21 Government Accountability Office report warned that the OCX program could be delayed even further. In addition, the Air Force has acknowledged that delays are possible during the seven-month testing period following delivery. Raytheon, the primary contractor behind OCX, rejected the GAO report, claiming that its findings were inaccurate. https://www.c4isrnet.com/battlefield-tech/c2-comms/2019/06/11/air-force-gets-new-stopgap-system-for-gps-3-satellites/

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  22 juillet 2020 | International, Naval

  ST Engineering and IAI Set Up JV to Market Advanced Naval Missile Systems

  July 16, 2020 - Singapore Technologies Engineering Ltd (ST Engineering) today announced that its land systems arm has signed an agreement with Israel Aerospace Industries Ltd (IAI) to set up a joint venture company (JV) in Singapore. ST Engineering and IAI shall each hold a 50% share of the JV. The JV, named Proteus Advanced Systems Pte Ltd, will leverage the strengths and track record of its parent companies to market and sell advanced naval missile systems, including a next generation anti-ship missile system. The setup of this JV is not expected to have any material impact on the consolidated net tangible assets per share and earnings per share of ST Engineering for the current financial year. ST Engineering is a global technology, defence and engineering group specialising in the aerospace, electronics, land systems and marine sectors. The Group employs about 22,000 people across offices in Asia, the Americas, Europe and the Middle East, serving customers in the defence, government and commercial segments in more than 100 countries. With more than 500 smart city projects across 70 cities in its track record, the Group continues to help transform cities through its suite of Smart Mobility, Smart Security and Smart Environment solutions. Headquartered in Singapore, ST Engineering reported revenue of $6.7b in FY2018 and it ranks among the largest companies listed on the Singapore Exchange. It is a component stock of the FTSE Straits Times Index, MSCI Singapore, SGX ESG Transparency Index and SGX ESG Leaders Index. For more information, visit stengg.com. View source version on Israel Aerospace Industries Ltd (IAI): https://www.iai.co.il/st-engineering-and-iai-advanced-naval-missile-systems

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  22 juillet 2020 | International, Terrestre

  Industry set to weigh in on US Army's latest OMFV plan

  by Ashley Roque The US Army is asking industry to provide feedback on its updated Optionally Manned Fighting Vehicle (OMFV) programme before it finalises a solicitation for its fourth and latest attempt at fielding a new infantry fighting vehicle (IFV) to replace its M2 Bradley Fighting Vehicle fleet. On 17 July, the service released its OMFV draft request for proposal (RFP) and tasked industry with weighing in by 28 August. As we continue to progress through the first phase of our five-phased approach for the OMFV programme, communication, inclusive feedback and innovative thinking from industry remains key, Major General Brian Cummings, the army's programme executive officer for Ground Combat Systems, said in a statement. We are looking forward to receiving feedback and learning from industry what's in the realm of the possible as we continue to develop this truly transformational vehicle for our soldiers. This time around, the army said it wants to provide industry with the space and freedom to innovatively design a vehicle. Therefore, the service said it was avoiding “quantifying or prescribing critical levels of performance wherever possible” and that items derived from updated OMFV characteristics are non-mandatory. “Accurately defining the desired set of capabilities without over-constraining the design is critically important, Brigadier General Ross Coffman, director of the Next Generation Combat Vehicles Cross Functional Team, wrote in the announcement. The army is committed to open communication with industry to ensure the characteristics and eventual requirements of the OMFV are informed by technological advances. Earlier this year, the service unveiled nine OMFV ‘characteristics' starting with the most critical – survivability, mobility, growth, lethality, weight, logistics, transportability, manning, and training. “Survivability is more important than mobility which is significantly more important than lethality,” the army wrote in the draft document. https://www.janes.com/defence-news/news-detail/industry-set-to-weigh-in-on-us-armys-latest-omfv-plan