9 février 2021 | International, Aérospatial
Posted on February 8, 2021 by Richard R. Burgess, Senior Editor
ARLINGTON, Va. — Naval Air Systems Command has awarded Sikorsky a third production contract to build five VH-92A helicopters for the U.S. Marine Corps.
The Naval Air Systems Command awarded Sikorsky Aircraft Corp. — a Lockheed Martin company — a $478.6 million firm-fixe-price contract modification to build five Low-Rate Initial Production Lot III VH-92As, according to a Feb. 5 Defense Department announcement. The award also includes orders for “interim contractor support, two cabin interior reconfiguration kits, support equipment, initial spares and system parts replenishment,” the release said. Work on the contract is expected to be completed by December 2023.
The VH-92A was selected in 2014 to provide transport for the president of the United States, the vice president and other high-level government officials. The helicopter will replace the 19 VH-3D Sea King and VH-60N “White Hawk” helicopters operated by Marine Helicopter Squadron One. The Corps plans to acquire a total of 23 VH-92As, 21 for operations and two for testing. The May 2014 engineering and manufacturing development contract procured two test aircraft and four production aircraft. Six VH-92As were ordered in June 2019, followed by six more in February 2020.
The presidential helicopter fleet is operated by Marine Helicopter Squadron One, based at Marine Corps Air Station Quantico, Virginia, with a detachment at Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling in Washington.
“Government testing to validate system performance and prepare for Initial Operational Test and Evaluation is progressing on schedule and will support an Initial Operational Capability (IOC) planned for July 2021,” a Navy spokeswoman said. “The VH-92A will enter service post IOC at the determination of the White House Military Office.”
https://seapowermagazine.org/navair-orders-five-vh-92-presidential-helicopters-from-sikorsky/
25 mars 2024 | International, C4ISR
Cloud is often seen as a means to get the right data to the right people at the right time — a pillar of Combined Joint All-Domain Command and Control.
21 octobre 2020 | International, Terrestre, C4ISR
Andrew Chuter LONDON — British Defence Secretary Ben Wallace has announced a new science and technology strategy aimed at competing with potential adversaries. “We are in a very real race with our adversaries for technological advantage. What we do today will lay the groundwork for decades to come. Proliferation of new technologies demands our science and technology is threat-driven and better aligned to our needs in the future,” Wallace said Oct. 19 during a visit to the British Army's Salisbury Plain training ground in the west of England ahead of a war-fighting experiment there. The latest strategy launch comes weeks after the MoD rolled out a new integrated operational concept to shape how Britain adapts its future military effort to the changing security threat posed by the likes of China and Russia. With the rollout of a defense and security review fast approaching, the MoD has been revealing busy some of the key supporting strategies that will likely underpin what is being touted as Britain's most fundamental military shakeup in generations. Both the science and technology strategy and the integrated operational concept are key elements of an integrated defense and security review planned to link defense, security, foreign policy and international development aid. The review, expected by the end of November, is meant to signal big cuts to conventional capabilities as the Conservative government invests in high-tech areas like space, cyberspace, artificial intelligence and undersea capabilities. The initial response from industry appears positive. “I welcome this MoD innovation initiative and hope that it translates into more conversations and activity with industry,” said Steve Beeching, the managing director of the U.K. arm of American communications company Viasat, which has a growing defense presence in Britain. "We want to work collaboratively in supporting the rapid implementation of future mission capabilities to empower our defense and security forces in the constantly evolving adversarial environment.” Future military development would focus on five emerging technology areas that have posed the most significant enduring capability challenge, according to the new S&T strategy document. Technology areas listed are: Pervasive, full-spectrum, multidomain intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance. Multidomain command and control, communications, and computers. Improvement of the U.K.'s ability to compete against adversaries below the threshold of conventional conflict while addressing vulnerabilities, especially in the information environment. Develop systems to target adversaries in new ways across all domains. Generate affordable, survivable capabilities that can rapidly address evolving threats and can operate within a denied electromagnetic environment. “They have been recognized as the key drivers for science and technology and research and development within the MoD," the document read. "The Department will continue to have an enduring requirement to maintain investment in science and technology capabilities and programs beyond these.” The country noted it isn't dismissing other equipment areas; it has also pledged to invest in the areas of cyberspace; chemical, biological and radiological technology; novel weapons; and system of systems integration. The document does not mention how Britain will afford the strategy, but it does talk about new approaches to funding. The MoD said it plans to invest in new, riskier activities in hopes of developing technologies by using demonstrators, experimentation and better exploitation processes. It also hopes to make rapid progress on the strategy by the end of the first year. The progress includes creating a strategy implementation plan, giving clear policy positions on the critical capabilities that the government must sustain, providing direction to academia and industry on priority areas, and revitalizing the government's technology incubation program. https://www.defensenews.com/global/europe/2020/10/19/britain-unveils-strategy-to-gain-a-technological-advantage-over-adversaries/
6 avril 2021 | International, Naval
ARLINGTON, Va. — The U.S. Navy has awarded Northrop Grumman a contract modification to support the service's fleet of E-2D Advanced Hawkeye battle management aircraft and to build one additional E-2D. Northrop Grumman Systems Corp. Aerospace Systems, Melbourne, Florida, was...