30 mars 2022 | International, Aérospatial
Canada picks the F-35 in fighter replacement competition
Canada plans to buy 88 new fighter jets to replace its CF-18s.
17 mars 2021 | International, Aérospatial, Naval
Fire Scout Tested for Potential Anti-Sub Mission
Northrop Grumman is looking to add an anti-submarine mission to its Fire Scout unmanned helicopter, a company executive said.
The potential upgrade — known as multistatic acoustic search — is a technology that uses a network of buoys to locate objects in the water, said Dan Redman, the company's Fire Scout maritime mission expansion lead.
A test conducted last fall confirmed that a Fire Scout dropping a series of acoustic detection buoys would save time and manpower during submarine detection missions, he said.
There are no existing Navy requirements for the capability, but as defense budgets decrease and submarine threats from Russia and China increase, the need for a more efficient way to detect enemy subs will continue to grow, Redman said.
Both Moscow and Beijing have increased their submarine activity in the North Atlantic and Western Pacific, he added.
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7 janvier 2020 | International, Aérospatial, Naval
USAF, US Navy and industry discuss physiological sensors development
The US Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) has hosted an industry day to brief industry about the need for sensors to reduce physiological episodes in pilots. More than 150 members from the US Air Force (USAF), US Navy and industry took part in the inaugural Physiological Episodes Mitigation Technology Summit and Industry Day conducted in Dayton, Ohio, US. At the event, participants discussed the research and development of sensors to collect physiological data from pilots. The USAF and US Navy intend to develop sensors that are capable of gathering data from pilots before, during and after a flight. USAF Physiological Episodes Action Team (PEAT) lead Brigadier General Gregor Leist said: “Efforts surrounding this issue are really driven by the nature of the challenge. It's a safety-critical issue, and we need to throw everything we can at this and find the root, if there is a root, for the safety of our pilots.” Both the airforce and navy established PEATs to address the spike in the rate of physiological episodes. The services have been working with each other to share data and research. Leist added: “What really drove a lot of the airforce activities for this was the T-6 trainer and the steep rise in air breathing-associated physiological episodes. “We've been partnering continuously with the navy, sharing data in both directions so we're not duplicating efforts, and have the defence department's best working this.” The PEATs used different sensors to collect aircraft data. The effort was aimed at accurately characterising the breathing and pressurisation systems to understand the cause for physiologic episodes. AFRL sensors development team lead Dr James Christensen said: “The Integrated Cockpit Sensing programme aims to identify best-of-breed sensors for near-term operational implementation while defining an architecture, which will allow the airforce to continually add or upgrade the best sensing capability to prevent and/or mitigate the effects of physiological events.” https://www.airforce-technology.com/news/usaf-physiological-sensors-development/
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13 novembre 2019 | International, Naval, C4ISR, Sécurité
EU unveils new cooperation projects in training, cyber operations, naval warfare
By: Martin Banks BRUSSELS — The European Union has unveiled the latest batch of projects under its flagship defense-cooperation scheme, boosting the areas of training, cyber operations and naval warfare. The decision, announced on Tuesday, brings to 47 the number of projects that are currently in place under the Permanent Structured Cooperation, or PESCO, initiative. The first two batches were adopted in the spring and fall of 2018. Finnish Prime Minister Juha Sipilä, whose country is the current holder of the EU's rotating presidency, welcomed the bloc's progress in security and defense cooperation, saying the PESCO schemes are “steps in the right direction.” “We should now concentrate on implementation and reaching results,” he said. The eventual aim of PESCO is to develop and deploy forces together, backed by a multibillion-euro fund for defense research and development Two of the 13 new projects relate to efforts to counter cyber threats. An envisioned EU Cyber Academia and Innovation Hub (EU CAIH), for example, could enhance the creation of an innovative web of knowledge for cyber defense and cybersecurity education and training. The aim of another scheme, the Cyber and Information Domain Coordination Center (CIDCC), is to create a “standing multinational military element” where the participating member states “continuously contribute with national staff but decide sovereignly on case-by-case basis,” reads an EU announcement. The Integrated European Joint Training and simulation Centre (EUROSIM) will integrate tactical training and simulation sites in Europe into a “real-time, networked, connected system.” Another of the new PESCO projects, the European Union Network of Diving Centres (EUNDC), will coordinate and enhance the operation of EU diving centres in order to better support defense missions, while the European Patrol Corvette (EPC) will design and develop a prototype for a new class of military ship. The Maritime Unmanned Anti-Submarine System (MUSAS), meanwhile, aims to develop and deliver an advanced command, control and communications service architecture for anti-submarine warfare. Elsewhere, the Special Operations Forces Medical Training Centre (SMTC) will focus on medical support for special operations and expand the Polish Military Medical Training Centre in Łódź. One other new scheme is the CBRN Defence Training Range (CBRNDTR), which intends to accommodate what the EU calls a “full spectrum of practical training, including live chemical agents training.” The Airborne Electronic Attack (AEA), also included in the latest batch, will allow European and NATO air forces to safely operate within EU territories while the Timely Warning and Interception with Space-based TheatER surveillance (TWISTER) scheme seeks to strengthen the ability of Europeans to better detect, track and counter air threats. A scheme called “Materials and Components for Technological EU Competitiveness” (MAC-EU) will develop the European defense technology and industrial base while the EU Collaborative Warfare Capabilities (ECoWAR) initiative hopes to increase the ability of the EU armed forces to face “collectively and efficiently the upcoming threats that are more and more diffuse, rapid, and hard to detect and to neutralize.” Jamie Shea, former Deputy Assistant Secretary General for Emerging Security Challenges at NATO, said the new projects “are good news for the EU at a time when President Macron is calling for the EU to step up its defense efforts and stand on its own feet. They show that PESCO is gaining traction in EU capitals and nations are buying in to the long overdue need to pool and share capability programs.” https://www.defensenews.com/global/europe/2019/11/12/eu-unveils-new-cooperation-projects-in-training-cyber-operations-naval-warfare/