Elbit Systems Demonstrates an Innovative Armored Fighting Vehicle Operated by a Helmet Mounted Display

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  29 octobre 2018 | International, Aérospatial

  Could the Air Force restart the C-17 production line?

  By: Valerie Insinna WASHINGTON — As part of the Air Force's push to boost its number of operational squadrons to 386 total, and the service may need additional C-17s, the head of Air Mobility Command said Friday. The service's expansion plan, which was named “The Air Force We Need” and unveiled this September, called for one airlift squadron and 14 tanker squadrons to be added by 2030. At the time, service leaders from Air Force Secretary Heather Wilson to AMC Commander Gen. Maryanne Miller, said more work would need to be done in order to determine the mix of aircraft needed to get to the 386 squadron goal, which is 74 more than the service has now. But now, AMC has a better idea of what it could require, Miller told reporters during an Oct. 26 roundtable. The analysis from “The Air Force We Need” supports adding three new C-17 Globemaster III squadrons and cutting two C-130 Hercules squadrons from the airlift inventory, she said. That would bring the total number of airlift squadrons up to 54, an increase of one squadron. But Boeing's C-17 production line in Long Beach, California is dead, with the company having manufactured the final Globemaster in 2015. Increasing the number of C-17s could entail restarting the production line — an expensive proposition for any aircraft — but Miller said the Air Force had not yet begun discussing the possibility with Boeing. "Those are the details that we have not looked at,” Miller said. “That will be the next discussion as we proceed, talking with Congress and working with Congress, because the same would apply for the tanker fleet,” she said. “An additional 14 squadrons by 2030 — what would be the path to get there? Something we're looking at, but again, this is just the initial stages of talking with Congress and getting this concept out there." It's unclear what other options would exist to increase the number of C-17 squadrons aside from restarting the production line. The U.S. Air Force currently operates 222 C-17s, but began retiring some of the oldest Globemaster IIIs in 2012. It may be possible that those C-17s could be taken out of storage and revitalized. A spokeswoman for Boeing had no comment. Miller stressed that discussions about the makeup of the future airlift fleet are still in the beginning stages, and will be informed not only by Congress but also by an ongoing AMC study. That Mobility Capabilities Requirements Study is slated to be delivered to Capitol Hill in a couple of months, and may have different recommendations than the “Air Force We Need” analysis on how many airlift squadrons are needed, and of what aircraft models. “The two studies took slightly different approaches to that,” she said. “The results of each of those studies will be reviewed and I think there will be a combination somewhere in there to try to validate the results of those studies put together.” https://www.defensenews.com/digital-show-dailies/airlift-tanker-annual/2018/10/26/could-the-air-force-restart-the-c-17-production-line

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  18 juin 2019 | International, Naval, C4ISR

  UK sets out vision for ‘Intelligent Warship’ technologies

  Richard Scott, London The UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) is soliciting proposals for novel concepts aimed at integrating 'intelligent systems' into future warships. Being competed through the MoD's Defence and Security Accelerator (DASA) programme, the Intelligent Ship programme is seeking to mature innovative technologies and techniques applicable to ship classes in the 2040+ timescale. A budget of GBP1 million (USD1.3 million) is available to fund multiple Phase 1 proposals, with an additional GBP3 million potentially available to fund follow-on phases. Released on 12 June, the Intelligent Ship competition document has set out to de-risk and evaluate technologies and approaches that could enable alternative, revolutionary future fleet concepts that can maintain or enhance UK military advantage. "This aim is based on a future vision where elements of automation, autonomy, machine learning and artificial intelligence [AI] are closely integrated and teamed with human decision makers," said the MoD. It added, "It is expected that this will ensure timely, more informed and trusted decision making and planning, within complex, cluttered, contested and congested operating and data environments." Phase 1 proposals are sought to improve automation, autonomous functions, AI-enabled decision aids, or alternative human-machine interfaces, and how they could improve speed and/or quality of decision-making and mission planning in a future operating environment. Proposals may also aim to demonstrate innovative system and platform design options that could enable the exploitation of intelligent systems in alternative platform concepts. The competition document has set out six specific 'challenge' themes: mission planning and decision aids, information fusion, sensor and information management, novel human-machine interfaces, human-machine teaming (applied to challenges 1-4), and integration. Phase 1 submissions are due on 23 July. Potential further phases are expected to include the development of an evaluation environment to enable demonstration of quantification of the selected intelligent functions. https://www.janes.com/article/89315/uk-sets-out-vision-for-intelligent-warship-technologies

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  8 juin 2020 | International, Aérospatial, Naval, Terrestre, C4ISR, Sécurité

  France Plans Billions of Euros to Rescue Aerospace Industry

  By Francois De Beaupuy and Tara Patel The French government will present a plan worth billions of euros to rescue its beleaguered aerospace industry, protect key suppliers from Chinese interests and may bring forward some defense orders, the transport minister said. The aid package to be presented Tuesday is aimed at European jet manufacturer Airbus SE, engine maker Safran SA, defense group Thales SA, and hundreds of French suppliers that have seen their businesses dry up during the coronavirus pandemic. The plan will be worth as much as 10 billion euros ($11.3 billion), Les Echos reported Monday, although it's not clear what will be included in the total. “We will invest several billions over a rather long period,” French Transport Minister Jean-Baptiste Djebbari said on LCI television Sunday. “The state will be here, the European Union will be present.” The package will aim to kickstart air transport, relaunch manufacturing, and develop less-polluting “hybrid planes” toward 2027 and “carbon neutral” aircraft by 2035, the minister said. In exchange, the industry will have to create or relocate as many jobs as it can in Europe, he said. However, the minister said the industry will probably have to cut jobs. With airlines grounding their fleets worldwide because of the health crisis, Airbus faces a 40% drop in its activity over at least two years, he said. Airlines around the world are struggling to survive, with European giants Deutsche Lufthansa AG and Air France-KLM getting state bailouts and carriers desperate to salvage business from what is normally the busy summer. The French government has extended loans and guarantees worth 7 billion euros to Air France-KLM, tying the funds to a reduction in carbon emissions and services on its domestic routes. The rescue will include the creation of several funds to consolidate the industry and to prevent key suppliers from being acquired by foreign investors, Djebbari said. Chinese companies are making “offers” to small and medium-sized companies with “critical skills” that are currently weakened by the crisis, he said. Many of the companies that have been hardest hit are small and medium-sized. While they have limited access to commercial bank funding, some are considered strategic because they are also defense suppliers. Read More: Macron Is Set to Unveil Rescue Package for French Aerospace Many European nations will probably agree to reopen air travel in the so-called Schengen area from June 15 assuming that the coronavirus crisis continue to recede, Djebbari added. The number of Air France's flights may rise from 5% of its usual level to 15% from June 15, and to 40% in mid-August, he said. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-06-07/france-plans-billions-of-euros-to-rescue-aerospace-industry