Guerre en Ukraine : les armées face au double enjeu de la massification et de la modernisation de leur arsenal

Sur le même sujet

• 

  19 juillet 2019 | International, Aérospatial

  Esper: F-35 Won’t Hit 80% Readiness, Cites Stealth Parts

  By COLIN CLARK WASHINGTON: Presumptive Defense Secretary Mark Esper says flatly the F-35 “is not expected” to meet the 80 percent readiness goal set for it this year because of problems with a cockpit part that improves stealth performance. “Transparency (canopy) supply shortages continue to be the main obstacle to achieving this. We are seeking additional sources to fix unserviceable canopies,” Esper said in response to written questions from the Senate Armed Services Committe (SASC). The Government Accountability Office (GAO) mentioned the canopy issue in a recent report, calling it a “special coating on the F-35 canopy that enables the aircraft to maintain its stealth.” That, the congressional watchdog said. “failed more frequently than expected” so F-35 prime contractor Lockheed Martin went looking for more manufactures to produce enough canopies to meet demands. GAO also said the F-35 program was considering a new design. This is all apiece with the general problem the F-35 program has had with obtaining new and spare parts. “A key contributor to spare parts shortages is the F-35 program's limited capacity to repair broken parts,” the GAO says in its April report. “The average time to repair an F-35 part was more than 6 months, or about 188 days for repairs completed between September and November 2018—more than twice that of the program's objective of 60-90 days.” Lockheed late last night sent comments on the transparency and its general efforts to improve F-35 readiness. UPDATE BEGINS “We are working closely with our F-35 transparency provider to build production and repair capacity and we are standing up a second source of supply. As these actions deliver results, we expect to improve supply availability and overall fleet readiness,” F-35 program spokesman Mike Friedman said, “We continue to see improvements in F-35 readiness rates and are receiving positive feedback from our customers, most recently from the Air Force who have several squadrons simultaneously deployed in the Middle East and across Europe for joint exercises and operations,” Friedman added. “Newer F-35 aircraft are averaging greater than 60 percent mission capable rates, with some operational squadrons consistently at or above 70 percent. We're taking aggressive action across the full F-35 enterprise to achieve the 80 percent mission capable rate target as soon as possible.”UPDATE ENDS As the SASC noted, former Defense Secretary Jim Mattis ordered the Air Force and Navy to increase mission capable rates for the F-35, F-22, F-16, and F-18 inventories to above 80 percent by the end of September 2019. “What progress,” the committee asked in the written questions, “has the Department made in increasing mission capable rates and decreasing costs for all four platforms?” The good news for the Air Force is that F-16 rates are better because the service has been able to increase parts supplies and add maintenance shifts. The F-16 fleet is expected to meet the 80 percent goal this year, Esper wrote. Not so, the F-22. It too faces stealth maintenance issue, made worse, Esper noted, “by the extreme damage at Tyndall Air Force Base from the effects of Hurricane Michael.” The F-22 fleet rates are improving but it probably won't make 80 percent this year. Oh, and Congress: “Improving mission capable rates for both fleets required additional funding investment for this fiscal year.” The Navy's fleet of F-18 is on track to meet the goal by September 2019. The Navy created a Maintenance Operations Center (MOC) to coordinate maintenance activities and optimize resources and reformed its depot and front-line maintenance process, thus improving regular inspections. Among a host of other changes, the Navy implemented supply chain reform that made it easier to track data across multiple sources. In the meantime, to address the gap in part repair capabilities at the military depots, the prime contractor Boeing has begun incentivizing manufacturers to increase their capacity to repair spare parts by establishing performance-based repair agreements. As of October 2018, according to program documentation, Boeing had established seven such agreements, with six more planned by May 2019. I contacted Lockheed and the F-35 Joint Program Office for comment and will add it when it arrives. https://breakingdefense.com/2019/07/esper-f-35-wont-hit-80-readiness-cites-stealth-parts/

• 

  11 décembre 2020 | International, Aérospatial, Naval

  Naval Air Systems Command Exercises Option for an Additional $38.7 Million for Full Rate Production (Lot 2) of the BQM-177A Subsonic Aerial Target System

  San Diego, December 10, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ: KTOS), a leading National Security Solutions provider and industry-leading provider of high-performance, jet-powered unmanned aerial systems, announced today that Kratos has received an additional $38,691,360 from the U.S. Navy for Lot 2 of its recently-awarded Full Rate Production (FRP) contract for an additional 48 BQM-177A Subsonic Aerial Targets (SSAT) and associated technical data. Steve Fendley, President of Kratos Unmanned Systems Division, said, “The SSAT is an incredibly high-performance threat representation system consistently providing performance levels previously unachievable. The exercise of the FRP Lot 2 option secures the uninterrupted production of our SSAT system well into the Government's Fiscal Year (GFY) 2023. Concurrently, we have been part of the Navy's site activation plan and I couldn't be prouder of the part we played in supporting the first flight at the Pacific Missile Range Facility in Kauai, Hawaii last month. Under Captain Molly Boron's leadership, the NAVAIR-Kratos team is already halfway to its goal of achieving Full Operational Capability (FOC) in GFY21. Even under normal circumstances, achievement of FOC would be very challenging but to be making the progress we have during this pandemic is a testament both to the Navy's leadership and the commitment and perseverance of the Kratos team during these challenging times.” About Kratos Defense & Security Solutions Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:KTOS) develops and fields transformative, affordable technology, platforms and systems for United States National Security related customers, allies and commercial enterprises. Kratos is changing the way breakthrough technology for these industries are rapidly brought to market through proven commercial and venture capital backed approaches, including proactive research and streamlined development processes. At Kratos, affordability is a technology, and we specialize in unmanned systems, satellite communications, cyber security/warfare, microwave electronics, missile defense, hypersonic systems, training, combat systems and next generation turbo jet and turbo fan engine development. For more information, please visit www.KratosDefense.com. Notice Regarding Forward-Looking Statements Certain statements in this press release may constitute “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements are made on the basis of the current beliefs, expectations and assumptions of the management of Kratos and are subject to significant risks and uncertainty. Investors are cautioned not to place undue reliance on any such forward-looking statements. All such forward-looking statements speak only as of the date they are made, and Kratos undertakes no obligation to update or revise these statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. Although Kratos believes that the expectations reflected in these forward-looking statements are reasonable, these statements involve many risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially from what may be expressed or implied in these forward-looking statements. For a further discussion of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ from those expressed in these forward-looking statements, as well as risks relating to the business of Kratos in general, see the risk disclosures in the Annual Report on Form 10-K of Kratos for the year ended December 29, 2019, and in subsequent reports on Forms 10-Q and 8-K and other filings made with the SEC by Kratos. Press Contact: Yolanda White 858-812-7302 Direct Investor Information: 877-934-4687 investor@kratosdefense.com View source version on Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc.: https://ir.kratosdefense.com/news-releases/news-release-details/naval-air-systems-command-exercises-option-additional-387

• 

  6 juillet 2020 | International, Aérospatial

  US Air Force delays timeline for testing a laser on a fighter jet

  By: Valerie Insinna WASHINGTON — The U.S. Air Force's long-planned test of an airborne laser weapon aboard a fighter jet has been delayed until 2023 due to technical challenges and complications spurred by the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, its program head said. The Air Force's Self-Protect High Energy Laser Demonstrator program, or SHiELD, had originally planned to conduct its first flight demonstration in 2021, but the test has been pushed two years back, said Jeff Heggemeier, SHiELD program manager for the Air Force Research Laboratory. “This is a really complex technology to try to integrate into that flight environment, and that's ultimately what we're trying to do with this program, is demonstrate that laser technology is mature enough to be able to integrate onto that airborne platform,” he told Defense News in a June 10 interview. “But even things like COVID, and COVID shutting down the economy. That has impacts.” Beyond that, the future of using laser weapons aboard fighter aircraft is even more unclear. The goal of SHiELD was to give combat jets a way to counter missiles shot by an enemy aircraft or by air defense systems on the ground. But in May, Mike Griffin, the Pentagon's undersecretary of defense for research and engineering, noted that he was “extremely skeptical” that an airborne laser could be used for missile defense. Asked what that meant for SHiELD, Air Force acquisition czar Will Roper acknowledged that the service is rethinking how it could best use directed-energy technologies. Perhaps the most optimal use for SHiELD wasn't onboard a fighter, he said. “What I've told that team is, let's have a dialogue,” Roper said during a June 9 event hosted by the Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies. “Let's understand the different power levels and what they should correspond to, and let's not make the highest power level that we can dream up and the mission that's the sexiest be the thing that drives us.” “What I expect to get laser weapons to the goal line has been the humble, but important and very worrisome small drone threat. They continue to show up, they're difficult to attribute — we don't know who is sending them to our installations and tests and things of that nature, and we can't afford to shoot missiles at them,” he added. “So this is a perfect threat to make laser weapons real, and once they're real, we'll do what the military does. We'll look to scale the power.” Heggemeier said there are many ways the Air Force could spin off laser technologies developed by the SHiELD program, but it's critical the service continue with development so it can gauge the maturity and usefulness of the capabilities. “I think it's important for us to first remember what the whole point of SHiELD is. The whole point of SHiELD is not an acquisition program where we're turning out hundreds or tens of these laser systems for operational use. What we're trying to do with SHiELD is exactly answer those questions of: ‘Is laser technology mature enough to go on an airborne platform? Have we solved enough of those technical challenges that this is now a feasible thing?' Because there is that concern.” He also drew a distinction between the tactical, self-defense capability a SHiELD laser would give combat aircraft versus a more powerful laser capable of intercepting highly-advanced ballistic missiles, as the Missile Defense Agency has proposed. “You're not talking about these really, really long ranges. You're talking about a shorter range and different targets just to protect yourself or your wingman,” Heggemeier said. “Missile defense can mean a lot of things. Some of those missile defense missions are very, very hard, and some of them aren't quite so hard.” For now, at least, the Air Force's investment in directed energy remains stable. The service's budget lays out cash for high-energy lasers in multiple funding lines. For fiscal 2021, it requested $15.1 million for basic research and $45.1 million for applied research for high-energy laser technology, as well as another $13 million for high-power, solid-state laser technology. In FY20, the service received $14.8 million for basic research and $48.2 million for applied research for laser technologies. SHiELD is comprised of three elements: the laser itself, which is being developed by Lockheed Martin; the beam control system made by Northrop Grumman; and the pod that encases the weapons system, from Boeing. Heggemeier said the pod is under construction, with integration of the laser and beam control system planned to start next year. “A lot of the challenge is trying to get all of this stuff into this small pod. If you look at other lasers that are fairly mature, we have other laser systems that some other contractors have built that are ready to be deployed. But these are ground-based systems, and they are much, much more mature,” he said. In April 2019, the Air Force Research Lab conducted a ground test with a surrogate laser system — the Demonstrator Laser Weapon System, or DLWS, now in use by the Army. The demonstration involved the successful downing of several air-to-air missiles. “It turns out the DLWS system, when you take everything into account, is a really good surrogate for the laser power on SHiELD,” Heggemeier said. Because both SHiELD and DLWS generate similar amounts of energy on target — in SHiELD's case, Heggemeier would only say that it amounts to “tens of kilowatts” — the surrogate test gave the lab a good idea how the laser physically affects a target. In 2019, the team conducted a flight test of a pod with the same outer mold line as the one under development by Boeing. The pod was mounted to an aircraft — Heggemeier declined to specify the model — and flown around Eglin Air Force Base, Florida, to help measure how vibrations, the force of gravity and other environmental factors might influence the performance of the weapon. Air Force Magazine reported in 2019 that aerial demonstrations of SHiELD would occur onboard an F-15 fighter jet. https://www.defensenews.com/air/2020/06/30/us-air-force-delays-timeline-for-testing-a-laser-on-a-fighter-jet/