24 décembre 2023 | International, Naval
USS Laboon shoots down four drones in Red Sea
U.S. Central Command said the drones “were inbound” to the destroyer.
7 novembre 2019 | International, Aérospatial
Leonardo sees market opportunity for M-346 attack variant in Middle East
By: Agnes Helou
Correction: Leonardo has corrected statements made about M-346 customers during a tour of one of its facilities by Defense News, and this story has been updated to reflect that.
BEIRUT — After the first order of its fighter attack variant of the M-346, Italian firm Leonardo is marketing the fighter jet in the Middle East, industry officials told Defense News, while noting that the training version was tested in the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait and Qatar.
“M-346 has been tested in Kuwait under hot conditions, passing all the tests successfully, and then it was also tested with the Italian Air Force in November 2018 in Qatar,” a Leonardo official said.
Defense News spoke to the official during a tour of the company's facilities in Venegono Superiore, Italy. Leonardo would not identify the M-346FA customer or the contract value, despite inquiries by Defense News during and after the tour.
The deal comes in the wake of increased interest for trainer jets — both those solely used for training and those able to perform close-air support missions — from Mideast countries seeking to expand their respective fighter fleets.
“There is an increasing need for trainer jets in the MENA [Middle East and North Africa] region as countries there work to expand their fighter fleets. The MENA nations have requirements for trainers also able to perform close‐air support missions," said Marco Buratti, Leonardo's senior vice president of international marketing and strategic campaigns.
“Among the most notable examples that have chosen Leonardo's training approach is the UAE's national aerobatic team, Al Fursan — widely recognized as one of the best in the world and considered as a UAE national pride — which uses the Aermacchi MB‐339 aircraft,” he added. “The Emirati pilots were trained in Italy and the UAE under the supervision of the Frecce Tricolori pilots using Italian aircraft and training systems.”
Leonardo offers its trainer customers the opportunity to send personnel to its International Flight Training School, where it trains pilots in four phases: primary training/screening; basic-advanced training; lead-in to fighter training; and an operational conversion unit.
Leonardo is a member of the Eurofighter consortium, which builds the Typhoon fighter jet. Oman, Qatar, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia are among those in the Gulf region who have ordered the aircraft.
Meanwhile, in Europe, Italy has joined the United Kingdom's Tempest program for a next-generation fighter. Will the M-346 be the chosen trainer for that effort?
“M-346 demonstrated its capability as [a] trainer for Eurofighter and F-35. It is early to speak about Tempest program because we don't know yet how it will be inserted in the combat environment," a Leonardo official told Defense News. "First, we need to understand [the] Tempest combat environment, and then we evaluate the M-346 as a trainer for the Tempest, or if in 10-15 years from now Leonardo will have to evolve the training system towards a new combat environment that require[s] new training skills.”
Sur le même sujet
-
-
16 juillet 2018 | International, C4ISR
L3 acquires two information security firms with eye toward multiple markets
By: Daniel Cebul ASHINGTON ― L3 Technologies on Wednesday acquired two information security companies, Azimuth Security and Linchpin Labs. The acquisitions are expected to strengthen L3′s C4ISR, cyber defense and combat systems businesses. The acquired companies, which will become L3 Trenchant, were purchased for approximately $200 million. But “the purchase price is subject to an upward adjustment of up to AUD$43 million (approximately USD$32 million), payable in L3 common stock," according to an L3 news release. This depends on post-acquisition sales from June 30, 2019, to 2021. The acquisition follows L3′s $540 million sale of Vertex in May. “These acquisitions sharpen our capabilities, heighten our responsiveness and advance L3's prime position as a C6ISR solutions provider,” said Christopher E. Kubasik, L3's chairman, president and CEO. “We are making targeted investments in cutting-edge technologies and integrating them with existing capabilities to support our domestic and international customers in strategically important business areas.” In a previous interview with Defense News, Kubasik said the company's acquisition strategy is based on addressing strategic needs and capability gaps. “In several cases after discussions with our customers and looking at the National Defense Strategy, we're looking for different technologies and capabilities” he said. " We look at our strategy, we go out and find things to fill the gaps." Some of the gaps L3 is looking to fill in the U.S. and overseas are related to underwater unmanned vehicles as well as intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance platforms. Kubasik said he hopes to capitalize on increased interest in sensor and communication technologies. “Internationally, we visited customers in Taiwan, Japan, Singapore, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates,” he said. “There is a lot of entrants, especially in the Mideast for ISR platform[s]. ... And of course that's in our sweet spot.” Canada-based Linchpin Labs specializes in custom software development and brings experience working with government clients on computer network operations, cross-platform and low-level systems development, and information technology services. Based in Sydney, Australia, Azimuth Security is an information security consultancy firm that focuses on in-depth software analysis, including threat modeling and design, configuration, and source-code review. “These pioneering intelligence solutions — the ‘I' in ISR — give our customers an intelligence advantage through next-generation network security and threat mitigation,” said Jeff Miller, L3's senior vice president and head of the firm's sensor systems unit. https://www.defensenews.com/industry/2018/07/12/l3-acquires-two-information-security-firms-with-eye-toward-multiple-markets/
-
23 juillet 2021 | International, Aérospatial, Naval, Terrestre, C4ISR, Sécurité
Contracts for July 22, 2021
Today