8 avril 2024 | International, C4ISR
Shield AI to let Hivemind software fly three more aircraft
The company has already folded the autonomous flight software into three classes of quadcopters, the V-Bat drone, the F-16 jet and the MQM-178 drone.
23 avril 2020 | International, Aérospatial
Lockheed looks to sell additional F-16s to customers in Africa, Asia and South America
By: Valerie Insinna
WASHINGTON — Lockheed Martin anticipates another wave of international F-16 sales, with countries from Africa, South America and Southeast Asia among those interested in purchasing the jet, the company's chief financial officer said Tuesday.
“I think this is a good fourth-generation aircraft for those customers that can't afford the F-35 or, frankly, can't at this time buy the F-35,” Lockheed CFO Kenneth Possenriede told investors during an April 21 earnings call. “It might be a good intermediary step for customers to go from the F-16 to F-35. So we see it frankly as complementary and not competing against themselves.”
Unlike the F-35 program, which is seeing disruption within its supply chain that could delay future deliveries, the F-16 production line has experienced little impact as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, Possenriede said.
The company moved production of the F-16 production line from Fort Worth, Texas, to Greenville, South Carolina, in 2019 to accommodate production of 16 Block 70 aircraft for Bahrain. Since Bahrain's order in 2018, Lockheed has garnered contracts for eight F-16s for Bulgaria, 14 aircraft for Slovakia, and is working with the U.S. government on a sale of 66 jets for Taiwan.
“We also have a couple of orders for F-16 that we're working to try to shape,” Possenriede said. “There is an African country that is interested in F-16, so we're hopeful that will happen. [There is also a] South American country, and then there are some Southeast Asian countries that are interested in F-16 as well.”
Possenriede didn't detail which nations were considering purchases of the F-16, as defense companies typically wait until international militaries publicly declare their interest in a sale before talking about specific customers.
Richard Aboulafia, an aerospace analyst with the Teal Group, said there's a “pretty good chance” that some of those orders materialize.
“Lockheed was doing a disservice by forgetting the F-16 program for so many years. They had this idea that the future was F-35 and nothing but F-35, ignoring the part of the market that is not prepared to buy the F-35 price tag,” he said. “It's actually a really good franchise with a really solid core market. It seems ill-advised to neglect it.”
If a new customer in Africa is looking to buy F-16s, it could be Botswana, which has indicated an interest in buying fighter jets, Aboulafia said. Lockheed has already sold F-16s to Morocco and Egypt, and the U.S. State Department in 2019 cleared Morocco for new F-16s and upgrades.
In South America, Lockheed has been trying to sell F-16s to Argentina for years, but Aboulafia believes a second order for Chile is a more likely prospect. In Southeast Asia, a sale to Indonesia “would seem to be one of the most likely possibilities,” he added.
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3 juillet 2024 | International, Terrestre
As Estonia donates to Ukraine, Norway and Netherlands enhance air defences - Army Technology
Norway buys NASAMS, Netherlands to procure Patriots, and Estonia donates Mistrals to Ukraine, as attention turns to air defences.
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1 octobre 2018 | International, Aérospatial, Naval, Terrestre, C4ISR, Sécurité
Trump signs defense spending plan, with one more swipe at Democrats
By: Leo Shane III WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump finalized an $854 billion spending bill on Friday that fully funds the military for fiscal 2019 and prevents a government shutdown next week, accomplishments that congressional leaders have called important and laudable. But Trump's signature came with one final attack on Democrats over the spending measure, lamenting lawmakers' decision not to include extra money in the appropriations package for his planned wall along the southern U.S. border. “Unfortunately, the radical Democrats refuse to support border security and want drugs and crime to pour into our country,” he said in a statement after signing the bill. The comments came just a week after Trump took to social media to blast “this ridiculous Spending Bill,” raising fears of a presidential veto on Capitol Hill. Instead, Trump largely praised the measure on Friday, calling it “important legislation to rebuild our military” and promote other domestic priorities. The appropriations measure includes $674 billion in defense funding for fiscal 2019, and marks the first time in a decade Congress has finalized the spending measure before the start of the new fiscal year. The measure funds a 2.6 percent pay raise for troops starting next January and a boost in military end strength of 16,400 spread across the active-duty and reserve forces. Trump, in his statement, praised the measure for including “93 new F-35 Lightning Joint Strike Fighters, 142 Apache and Black Hawk helicopters, and 13 Navy battle force ships — made right here in the USA.” In a statement after the signing, House Armed Services Committee Chairman Mac Thornberry, R-Texas, praised the president for pushing for the funding increases in his budget request and past public statements. “By funding our military in full and on time, we can begin to restore its strength, agility, and effectiveness,” he said. “As I have said before, the task before us now is to make full, on time funding of our military the rule in Washington, and not the exception.” The spending bill also includes full-year funding for the departments of Health and Human Services, Education and Labor, as well as bridge funding for a handful of other government agencies to keep them operational through Dec. 7. Last week, Trump signed into law a separate package that included full-year funding for the Department of Veterans Affairs and for military construction projects. https://www.militarytimes.com/news/your-military/2018/09/28/trump-signs-spending-plan-avoiding-shutdown