29 octobre 2020 | International, Aérospatial, Naval
This post has been updated to include a new photo of the CH-53K from Sikorsky.
The Navy has issued Lockheed Martin-owned Sikorsky a $550.4 million contract modification for the next lot of the Marine Corps' new heavy-lift helicopter.
The Navy awarded Sikorsky the funds for six CH-53K King Stallions as part of lot 4 of the program's low-rate initial production phase, according to an Oct. 26 Pentagon contract announcement.
“The production of this CH-53K helicopter represents a new era in capabilities, technologies, safety and mission flexibility for the U.S. Marine Corps,” Bill Falk, the CH-53K program director for Sikorsky, said in a statement.
“Sikorsky is committed to supporting the Marine Corps to maximize the benefits of this all-new helicopter,” he added. “Pilots are already training on state-of-the art flight training devices to prepare in a safe, cost-effective manner for operational deployment.”
The Navy anticipates Sikorsky finishing the work in July 2024, according to the announcement.
USNI News previously reported that the Navy restructured the CH-53K test program to address technical deficiencies discovered on the test aircraft. Sikorsky and the Marine Corps announced the two had found a fix to one of the main problems – exhaust gas reingestion – in December 2019.
The Navy decreased the number of aircraft it planned to purchase in the Fiscal Year 2021 budget request because it had not yet identified fixes to several technical problems.
Lt. Gen. Steven Rudder, the former Deputy Commandant of the Marine Corps for Aviation, told the House Armed Service tactical air and land forces subcommittee earlier this year that the service was ready to increase the rate of production in hopes of bringing cost of the aircraft down.
“The higher the numbers, the greater the learning curve from production,” Rudder told the panel of lawmakers at the time. “As we saw with F-35, as we ramp production, the cost curve comes down.”
https://news.usni.org/2020/10/27/navy-issues-sikorsky-550-4-million-modification-for-6-ch-53ks
21 janvier 2024 | International, Aérospatial
The LGM-35A Sentinel nuclear missile has seen its costs increase at least 37%, triggering a review that could see the program restructured or canceled.
11 juillet 2019 | International, Aérospatial
By: Diana Stancy Correll The Air Force is launching a “Digital Air Force” initiative aiming to revamp its data management, IT architecture and business operations so the force will remain competitive against adversaries. “Our advantage in future battles depends on our ability to fuse vast amounts of data to accelerate our decision cycle to guarantee the success of any mission," said acting Air Force Secretary Matthew Donovan in a news release Tuesday. “Victory in combat will depend on us becoming a Digital Air Force.” This means the Air Force must establish tools to efficiently generate information and data in real-time to help the service make informed and quick decisions, he said. "Doing so will allow the Air Force to rely less on personal experience or intuition. The Digital Air Force initiative, detailed in a July white paper, focuses on eliminating “antiquated processes” and overhauling how the service curates, uses and shares data and information, amid difficulties coordinating systems across air, land, sea and cyber domains. Specifically, the initiative calls for cultivating a 21st century IT infrastructure that can react to the demands of modern combat. This will require cloud-based solutions to store and share data so airmen have constant access to data, the white paper says. Additionally, the Air Force said it is creating data management architecture and standardized policies that facilitate sharing data and using platforms. “This requires data that is gathered, stored and transmitted in commonly read and digested formats to minimize the delay between receiving, processing and using information derived from multiple systems,” the white paper said. The service said it is hiring contracted service providers to handle daily IT infrastructure management so cyber professionals can “focus on warfighter tasks and connecting information operations to our tactical and strategic ends.” The process accompanies the Air Force's plan to streamline its business practices to free up funding for “efforts that increase the lethality and readiness of the force.” “We must move beyond antiquated processes, systems and mindsets,” the white paper says. “We will pursue new ways to leverage technology and institute a culture of innovation and informed risk-taking.” Such changes will influence every segment of the service, the Air Force said. The undersecretary of the Air Force is spearheading the initiative. “The Air Force must control and manipulate massive volumes of information to out-think and out-maneuver its opponents,” Donovan said. “The Digital Air Force initiative will ensure all Airmen have uninterrupted access to the data they need, where and when they need it.” https://www.airforcetimes.com/news/your-air-force/2019/07/10/air-force-unveils-digital-air-force-initiative/
10 novembre 2021 | International, C4ISR
The deal is expected to close in the second half of 2022.