25 juillet 2018 | International, Aérospatial
By Stephen Carlson
July 24 (UPI) -- Boeing has proposed design options to the U.S. Air Force for design of the Ground Based Strategic Deterrent, a possible replacement for the Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile.
"We offered the Air Force cost and performance trades for a deterrent that will address emerging and future threats," Frank McCall, vice president for Boeing Strategic Deterrence Systems, said in a press release.
"By considering the various capabilities and opportunities for cost savings, the Air Force can prioritize system requirements as we progress toward the program's next phase," McCall said.
Boeing received a $349 million contract from the Air Force last August for work on the GBSD, and completed a design review in November.
A system functional review will be completed later this year, while Boeing is expected to present the completed design to the Air Force in 2020.
Along with Boeing, Northrop Grumman and Lockheed Martin are competing for development contracts on the new missile.
The Ground Based Strategic Deterrence program is the U.S. Air Force effort to replace the venerable LGM Minuteman II ICBM, which is nearing the end of its lifespan.
Upgrades of the Minuteman series of ICBMs have been in service since the early 1960's. Much of its components are over 50 years old and making replacement necessary.
The GDSM program is still in its early stages but is expected to start entering service in 2027 and is planned to be in service until 2075.
The current Minuteman III is an underground silo-launched missile armed with nuclear warheads with up to a 350 kiloton yield. It has a range of well over 6,000 miles, though the exact maximum range classified.
The Minuteman III can carry up to three multiple independent reentry vehicle warheads but is restricted to one per missile by treaty. The United States currently has 450 ICBMs in service.
29 octobre 2021 | International, Aérospatial
Lockheed Martin's $4.4 billion acquisition of Aerojet Rocketdyne is expected to close in the first quarter of 2022, one quarter later than expected.
9 septembre 2020 | International, Aérospatial
Nathan Strout WASHINGTON — The U.S. Space Force can now collect critical weather data from a repurposed government satellite, the armed service announced Sept. 8, ensuring that war fighters have an accurate picture of what's happening over the Indian Ocean. The Space Force declared initial operational capability of the Electro-optical Infrared Weather System Geostationary satellite, a former National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration weather satellite known as GOES-13. The EWS-G1 satellite will now provide cloud characterization and theater weather imagery of the Indian Ocean region to the Department of Defense, filling a critical gap between the end of the Defense Meteorological Satellite Program and the launch of a new constellation of weather satellites operating in low Earth orbit. “EWS-G1 is a prime example of innovation and the leveraging of partnerships. SMC partnered with NOAA and NASA to deliver critically needed Geostationary visible and infrared cloud characterization and theater weather imagery in the Indian Ocean region. This effort demonstrates speed by allowing the spacecraft to be moved and operated in the Indian Ocean region far earlier than a new satellite could be produced and fielded,” said Charlotte Gerhart, the Space and Missile Systems Center's Production Corps Low Earth Orbit Division chief. “The repurposing of GOES-13, and residual NOAA ground equipment, accomplished the mission at a fraction of the procurement cost of a brand new system.” Initially launched in 2006, GOES-13 provided weather coverage of the American East Coast for 10 years before being replaced. No longer needed by NOAA, it was transferred to the U.S. Air Force in 2019. It was then relocated to its new position, where NOAA and the Space Force completed a thorough review of the satellite and its sensors. The satellite is currently providing weather data to the DoD, although the NOAA will continue to operate it on behalf of the Space Force. https://www.c4isrnet.com/battlefield-tech/space/2020/09/08/space-force-now-using-repurposed-noaa-satellite-for-weather-data/
7 octobre 2022 | International, Aérospatial
Gen. Luca Goretti said Italy urgently needs to get in on the ground floor of development of the technology to avoid playing catch-up later.