14 juin 2019 | International, Aérospatial

Leonardo and Diamond Aircraft partner to offer maritime surveillance variant of DA62

Leonardo and Diamond Aircraft Industries are teaming up to offer a version of Diamond's popular twin-engine DA62 aircraft customized for maritime surveillance missions. The new variant, designated DA62-MSA (maritime surveillance aircraft) will be on show for the first time at the Paris Air Show. It will be outfitted with a full intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) suite based on Leonardo's ATOS (airborne tactical observation and surveillance) mission system.

The collaboration is a response to the need for cost-effective, short/medium-range land and maritime surveillance platforms in regions such as South America, Africa and Asia Pacific. The DA62-MSA meets this requirement by bringing together an affordable and pilot-friendly aircraft with a full set of state-of-the-art sensors which, through the ATOS mission system, deliver a single, intuitive operational picture to the crew.

The DA62-MSA's baseline sensor fit will include a Leonardo Gabbiano Ultra-Light TS Radar, which comes with an extensive suite of modes including optimized maritime patrol capabilities (such as high sea state detection), high resolution ground mapping via synthetic aperture radar (SAR) modes, ground moving target indication (GMTI) and weather avoidance modes. The aircraft will also come with a high definition electro-optic (EO/ IR) turret which, like the radar, will be fully integrated into the operator's touch-screen ATOS display in order to follow and manage the surveillance missions. Sensor options will also be offered for users who require additional capability, including Leonardo's SAGE electronic support measures (ESM) system and Spider communications intelligence (COMINT) system. SAGE provides tactical threat awareness and strategic intelligence gathering in the radio-frequency (RF) environment, while Spider can detect, intercept, identify and geo-locate communications of interest.

More than 110 twin-engine special mission aircraft have been sold by Diamond and more than 60 ATOS systems are installed by Leonardo on 10 different platforms, including for Italy's Air Force, Guardia di Finanza (customs police) and Coast Guard, and Australian Customs. With the DA62-MSA, Leonardo and Diamond are able to offer an extremely cost-effective and user-friendly light ISR solution for maritime security needs, with a takeoff weight of 2,300 kilograms, endurance of up to eight hours and up to four crew able to operate with land and maritime radar.

Liqun Zhang, CEO of Diamond Aircraft said, “Diamond Aircraft is very proud to step into such an important strategic partnership with Leonardo to provide a cost-efficient high-performance maritime surveillance solution to the market. We all recognized the importance of such a capability and the high demand of many countries to protect their borders against illegal fishing and other criminal operations, this new airborne solution, based on our DA62 special mission aircraft, will be available to the market by the end of the year, ready to deliver and provide security and surveillance tasks. During Paris Air Show 2019, stand A6, the very first time Diamond will static display this configuration to the audience.”

“Partnership is central to Leonardo's way of doing business and as such we are delighted to be working with Diamond Aircraft on this venture. Our aim is always to provide the optimum solution to our customers and we believe that this combination of Diamond's platform with a full suite of Leonardo sensors and our mission system provides an extremely compelling offer for this market segment,” said Fabrizio Boggiani, senior vice-president, Airborne Sensors & Mission Systems, Leonardo Electronics.

https://www.skiesmag.com/press-releases/leonardo-and-diamond-aircraft-partner-to-offer-maritime-surveillance-variant-of-da62/

Sur le même sujet

  • Boeing (BA) Wins $1.6B Deal to Repair Minuteman III ICBM | Nasdaq

    21 septembre 2021 | International, Terrestre

    Boeing (BA) Wins $1.6B Deal to Repair Minuteman III ICBM | Nasdaq

    The Boeing Company BA recently clinched a contract involving the Minuteman III Intercontinental Ballistic Missile (ICBM). The Air Force Nuclear Weapons Center, Hill Air Force Base, UT has awarded the agreement.

  • Contract Awards by US Department of Defense - July 30, 2019

    31 juillet 2019 | International, Aérospatial, Naval, Terrestre, C4ISR, Sécurité

    Contract Awards by US Department of Defense - July 30, 2019

    ARMY BAE Systems Land & Armaments LP, York, Pennsylvania, was awarded an $88,000,000 modification (P00024) to contract W56HZV-17-C-0001 for long lead material associated with the build of the Self-Propelled Howitzer, Carrier-Ammunition Tracked Vehicle, as well as the gathering of parts associated with the total package fielding package in relation to Option 2. Work will be performed in York, Pennsylvania, with an estimated completion date of Jan. 31, 2023. Fiscal 2019 other procurement, Army funds in the amount of $88,000,000 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Contracting Command, Warren, Michigan, is the contracting activity. Tidewater,* Elkridge, Maryland (W912DY-19-D-0017); NIKA Technologies Inc.,* Rockville, Maryland (W912DY-19-D-0004); Bowers & Kubota Consulting,* Waipahu, Hawaii (W912DY-19-D-0019); and HFS Co.,* San Antonio, Texas (W912DY-19-D-0018), will compete for each order of the $25,000,000 firm-fixed-price contract for project management support, quantity verification and analysis representative, project integration, and other medical support services. Bids were solicited via the internet with four received. Work locations and funding will be determined with each order, with an estimated completion date of March 5, 2025. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Huntsville, Alabama, is the contracting activity. Northrop Grumman, Herndon, Virginia, was awarded a $24,436,905 modification (P00116) to contract W911S0-11-C-0014 for support services in combined arms education, doctrine, and leadership training. Work will be performed in Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, with an estimated completion date of Nov. 30, 2019. Fiscal 2019 operations and maintenance, Army funds in the amount of $24,436,905 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Mission and Installation Contracting Command, Fort Eustis, Virginia, is the contracting activity. General Atomics Aeronautical System Inc., Poway, California, was awarded a $21,742,996 modification (00005P) to contract W58RGZ-18-C-0037 for MQ-1C Gray Eagle extended range aircraft unique initial spares and ground support equipment. Work will be performed in Poway, California, with an estimated completion date of July 31, 2021. Fiscal 2017 aircraft procurement, Army funds in the amount of $21,742,996 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Contracting Command, Redstone Arsenal, Alabama, is the contracting activity. Burns & McDonnell Engineering Co. Inc., Kansas City, Missouri, was awarded a $15,000,000 firm-fixed-price contract for general design architect-engineering services. Bids were solicited via the internet with five received. Work locations and funding will be determined with each order, with an estimated completion date of July 30, 2024. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Concord, Massachusetts, is the contracting activity (W912WJ-19-D-0011). Accenture Federal Services, Arlington, Virginia, was awarded an $11,793,894 modification (P00026) to contract W52P1J-17-C-0022 for General Fund Enterprise Business System-Sensitive Activities cloud migration to IL6. Work will be performed in Arlington, Virginia, with an estimated completion date of May 31, 2021. Fiscal 2018 and 2019 research, development, test and evaluation, Army funds in the amount of $2,681,158 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Contracting Command, Rock Island Arsenal, Illinois, is the contracting activity. DEFENSE LOGISTICS AGENCY Schuyler Line Navigation Co. LLC,* Annapolis, Maryland, has been awarded a maximum $43,103,161 firm-fixed-price contract for liquefied natural gas. This was a competitive acquisition with three responses received. This is a five-year contract with no option periods. Locations of performance are Maryland and Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, with a June 30, 2024, performance completion date. Using military service is Navy. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2021 through 2024 operations and maintenance funds. The contracting activity is Defense Logistics Agency, Energy, Fort Belvoir, Virginia (SPE604-19-D-7518). Pocono Profoods Inc., Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania, has been awarded a maximum $15,610,588 fixed-price with economic-price-adjustment, indefinite-quantity contract for full-line food distribution. This was a sole-source acquisition using justification 10 U.S. Code 2304 (c)(1), as stated in Federal Acquisition Regulation 6.302-1. This is a 361-day contract with no option periods. Location of performance is New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania, with a July 25, 2020, performance completion date. Using customers are Army, Navy, Marine Corps, and federal civilian agencies. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2019 defense working capital funds. The contracting agency is the Defense Logistics Agency Troop Support, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (SPE300-19-D-3229 and Admin contract SPE30019DA047). NAVY Ultra Electronics Advanced Tactical Systems Inc. Austin, Texas, is awarded a $39,920,000 firm-fixed-price, cost-plus-fixed-fee, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for the sustainment and upgrade of the Common Aviation Command and Control System Virtual Air Defense System Integrator. The program is managed within the portfolio of Program Executive Officer Land Systems, Quantico, Virginia. Work will be performed in Austin, Texas, and is expected to be completed by July 29, 2024. Fiscal 2019 operations and maintenance (Marine Corps) funds in the amount of $2,188,092 will be obligated on the first delivery order immediately following contract award, and funds will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was not competitively procured, in accordance with Federal Acquisition Regulation 6.302-1 and 10 U.S. Code § 2304(c)(1). The Marine Corps Systems Command, Quantico, Virginia, is the contracting activity (M67854-19-D-0001). Harris Corp., Clifton, New Jersey, is awarded $31,312,350 for firm-fixed-price delivery order N00019-19-F-0046 against a previously issued basic ordering agreement (N00019-16-G-0003) to procure 77 Generation 2 Digital Receiver/Technique Generator Shop Replaceable Assemblies (SRAs) and Switch Board Assemblies to support (V)4 to A(V)4 conversions and SRAs to support Repair of Repairables, along with the associated AN/ALQ-214B(V)4/5 part number change. Work will be performed in Clifton, New Jersey, and is expected to be completed in July 2021. Fiscal 2019 aircraft procurement (Navy) funds in the amount $31,312,350 will be obligated at time of award, none of which will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Maryland, is the contracting activity. Ultra-Electronics, Undersea Sensor Systems Inc., Columbia City, Indiana, is awarded a $24,865,776 indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract containing firm-fixed-price provisions to manufacture, test, inspect, package and deliver first article and production DT-511C and DT-592D hydrophones. Work will be performed in Columbia City, Indiana, and is expected to be complete by July 2024. Fiscal 2019 and 2018 other procurement (Navy) funding in the amount of $3,205,793 will be obligated on the first delivery order at time of award and will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was competitively procured via the Federal Business Opportunities website with two offers received. The Naval Undersea Warfare Center Division, Newport, Newport, Rhode Island, is the contracting activity (N66604-19-D-E900). Raytheon Integrated Defense Systems, Marlborough, Massachusetts, is awarded a $14,296,116 firm-fixed-price, definite-quantity contract action for production of AN/SPY-1 radar solid state switch assembly modification kits. Work will be performed in Marlborough, Massachusetts, and is expected to be complete by November 2021. Fiscal 2019 other procurement (Navy) funding in the amount of $14,296,116 will be obligated at time of award and will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was not competitively procured in accordance with 10 U.S. Code 2304(c)(1), (only one responsible source and no other supplies or services will satisfy agency requirements). The Naval Surface Warfare Center, Crane Division, Crane, Indiana, is the contracting activity (N00164-19-C-WP57). Power Pro Plus Inc.,* Rancho Cucamonga, California, is awarded $12,204,059 for firm-fixed-price task order N62473-19-F-4769 under a previously awarded, multiple award construction contract (N62473-17-D-4620) for construction of communication line operations to administration at Naval Air Station Lemoore. This project constructs a communication ductbank and manhole system to supplement the existing communication lines in support of F-35C information technology and communication system. This project will provide diverse, multiple path, communication routes within the base in secure underground communication lines. This project will also provide secondary connection between the base operations area and the base administration area. The ductbanks will be concrete encased and reinforced under paved areas and at roadway crossings. At railroad crossings, the ductbank will require directional bore with steel sleeves and will be buried at an appropriate depth under the ground surface. Manholes will be provided in the ductbank runs and as required at transition points. Full size manholes will be provided in the main cantonment areas of the base. Work will be performed in Lemoore, California, and is expected to be completed by May 2021. Fiscal 2019 military construction (Navy) contract funds in the amount of $12,204,059 are obligated on this award and will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. Four proposals were received for this task order. The Naval Facilities Engineering Command Southwest, San Diego, California, is the contracting activity. The Boeing Co., Seattle, Washington, is awarded $10,565,320 for modification P00148 to a previously awarded firm-fixed-price contract (N00019-14-C-0067). This modification procures 16 P-8A A-Kits and 16 Turret Deployment Units for Lots 8 and 9 full-rate production aircraft. Work will be performed in Seattle, Washington (55%); Mesa, Arizona (44%); and Winnipeg, Canada (1%), and is expected to be completed in August 2021. Fiscal 2017 and 2018 aircraft procurement (Navy) funds in the amount of $10,565,320 will be obligated at time of award, $5,650,704 of which will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Maryland, is the contracting activity. Oregon State University (OSU), Corvallis, Oregon, is awarded an $8,741,152 cooperative research agreement to conduct research for a machine common sense (MCS) service for artificial intelligence and robotic systems. The service will learn MCS planning and inference capabilities about objects, agents and places equivalent to the capabilities of an 18-month-old infant. OSU will train the service using a first-person infant simulator, driven by real world infant behavior data. This is a four-year contract with no option periods. Work will be performed at OSU in Corvallis, Oregon. The period of performance of the award is from July 30, 2019, through July 29, 2023. The type of funding to be obligated is research, development, test and evaluation (Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency). This effort was competitively procured via a broad agency announcement and publication on the Federal Business Opportunities website, with 23 proposals received and nine were selected for award. Naval Information Warfare Center Pacific, San Diego, California, is the contracting activity (N66001-19-2-4035). AIR FORCE Watterson Construction Co., Anchorage, Alaska, has been awarded a $9,363,000 firm-fixed-price contract for renovation of weapons load training building at Eielson Air Force Base, Alaska. This contract provides renovation to Building 1340 to accommodate the addition of operations for the two incoming F-35A squadrons, as well as accommodating unique requirements for the F-35A aircraft to include architectural, structural, mechanical, electrical and fire protection work. Work will be performed at Eielson AFB, Alaska, and is expected to be completed by May 15, 2020. This award is the result of a competitive acquisition and seven offers were received. Fiscal 2019 operations and maintenance funds in the amount of $9,363,000 are being obligated at the time of award. The 354th Contracting Squadron, Eielson Air Force Base, Alaska, is the contracting activity (FA5004-19-C-A010). *Small Business https://dod.defense.gov/News/Contracts/Contract-View/Article/1920997/source/GovDelivery/

  • Army Invites Air Force ABMS To Big Network Test: Project Convergence

    29 mai 2020 | International, Aérospatial

    Army Invites Air Force ABMS To Big Network Test: Project Convergence

    This fall's experiment will study how the Army's own weapons can share target data, Gen. Murray said, but in 2021 he wants to add the Air Force's ABMS network. By SYDNEY J. FREEDBERG JR.on May 28, 2020 at 5:06 PM WASHINGTON: Damn the pandemic, full speed ahead. The four-star chief of Army Futures Command plans to hold a high-tech field test in the southwest desert this fall, COVID-19 or no. Called Project Convergence, the exercise will test sharing of targeting data amongst the Army's newest weapons, including aerial scouts, long-range missile launchers and armored vehicles. The Army also wants to plug in its new anti-aircraft and missile defense systems, AFC head Gen. Mike Murray told reporters, but those technologies are at a critical juncture in their own individual test programs – some of which was delayed by COVID – and they may not be ready on time for this fall. “I'm going to try to drag them all into this,” Murray said. The experiment, set to begin in late August or early September, will definitely include the Army's Artificial Intelligence Task Force, as well as four of its eight modernization Cross Functional Teams. That's Long-Range Precision Fires (i.e. artillery), Future Vertical Lift aircraft (including drones), and the tactical network, he said, plus the Next Generation Combat Vehicle team in “a supporting role.” What about the Air & Missile Defense team? “We'll see,” Murray said. “Right now... I'm very cautious, because of the two major tests they've got going on this fall in terms of IBCS and IMSHORAD.” IBCS is the Army's new command network for air and missile defense units, which had to delay a major field test due to COVID. IMSHORAD is an 8×8 Stryker armored vehicle fitted with anti-aircraft missiles and guns, which Murray said is now delayed “a few months” by software problems. Meanwhile, the Air Force – with some input from the other services – will be testing its own nascent data-sharing network. That's the ambitious Advanced Battle Management System, the leading candidate to be the backbone of a future Joint All-Domain Command & Control (JADC2) network-of-networks linking all the armed services. The Air Force's ABMS experiment will be separate from the Army's Project Convergence exercise happening at roughly the same time this fall, Murray said. But he wants to hold a Convergence test each year from now on, he told reporters, and he wants to bring in ABMS in 2021. “In '20, we're parallel, not interconnected,” he said. “Our desire is to bring them closer and closer together, beginning in '21.” Sensor To Shooter Murray spoke via phone to the Defense Writers Group, along with the Army's civilian chief of acquisition, Bruce Jette. While the two men's roles and organizations are kept distinct by law, they've been joined at the hip on modernization, and Jette – a scientist, engineer, and inventor — is clearly enthused about the experiment. “We are looking at the potential integration of all of our fires into a fires network,” Jette told the listening reporters. Currently, he explained, the Army has one network, AFATDS, to pass data about ground targets to its offensive artillery units – howitzers, rocket launchers, surface-to-surface missiles. Meanwhile, it's developing a different network, IBCS, to share data on flying targets – incoming enemy rockets, missiles, and aircraft – amongst its air and missile defense units. The two networks and the sensors that feed them must meet very different technical demands, since shooting down a missile requires split-second precision that bombarding a tank battalion does not. But there's also great potential for the two to share data and work together. For example, the defensive side can figure out where enemy missiles are launching from, then tell the offensive side so it can blow up the enemy launchers before they fire again. “If I can bring the two of them together,” Jette said, you can use a sensor the Army already developed, bought and fielded to spot targets for one weapon – say, the Q-53 artillery radar – to feed targeting data into a totally different type of weapon – say, a Patriot battery. Artificial intelligence could pull together data from multiple sensors, each seeing the same target in different wavelengths or from a different angle, to build a composite picture more precise than its parts. “We're moving past just simple concepts of sensors and shooters,” Jette said. “How do we get multiple sensors and shooters [integrated] such that we get more out of them than an individual item could provide?” Looking across the Army's 34 top modernization programs, Murray said, “an individual capability is interesting, but the effect is greater than the sum of the parts. There have to be connections between these [programs]. And that's really the secret sauce I'm not going to explain in detail, ever.” Testing, Testing What Murray would share, however, was that the Army got to test a slightly less ambitious sensor-to-shooter link in Europe earlier this year, as part of NATO's Defender 2020 wargames. The field experiment fed data from a wide range of sources – in space, in the air, and on the ground – to an Army howitzer unit, he said. However, the Army had also wanted to experiment with new headquarters and organizations to command and control ultra-long-range artillery, Murray said, and those aspects of the massive exercise had to be cancelled due to COVID. The service is looking at alternative venues, such as its Combat Training Centers, but “it's just hard to replicate what Defender 2020 offered us,” he said. “What we lost was the largest exercise we've done and the largest deployment of forces in a very, very long time.” That makes the stakes even higher for Project Convergence. “You can call it an experiment, you can call it a demonstration,” Murray said. “Right now, the plan is we're going to do this every year... every fall as we continue to mature... this architecture that brings the sensors to the right shooter and through the right headquarters.” While this year's Convergence exercise will focus on the Army, Murray is already working with the Air Force to meld the two next year. “We have been in discussion with the Air Force for the better part of the year on how we integrate with the effort they have going on,” he said. “I was actually out at Nellis the last time they had a live meeting on JADC2 [Joint All-Domain Command & Control] with all of the architects of ABMS.” Those discussions made very clear to both the Army and the Air Force participants that “it all comes down to data and it all comes down to the architectures you build,” Murray said. “As Bruce [Jette] talked about, it's not a specific sensor to a specific shooter,” he said. “On a future battlefield... just about everything is going to be a sensor. So how you do you store that data and how do you enable a smart distribution of data to the right shooter? Because we can't build architectures that are relying upon huge pipes and just massive bandwidth to make it work.” https://breakingdefense.com/2020/05/army-invites-air-force-abms-to-big-network-test-project-convergence

Toutes les nouvelles