29 janvier 2021 | International, Aérospatial
As Boeing seeks to market the F/A-18E/F Block III in several countries, U.S. Navy officials are reviewing and could delete conformal fuel tanks from a package of upgrades planned for the latest version of the multirole fighter. The Block III version of the F/A-18E/F adds several new features, but...
17 septembre 2021 | International, Naval
The Hellenic Navy wants to buy four new frigates, modernize existing ones and receive an interim capability during the entire process.
8 juin 2020 | International, Aérospatial
By: Nick Perry, The Associated Press WELLINGTON, New Zealand — New Zealand's military said Friday it will buy five Super Hercules transport planes from Lockheed Martin for $1 billion. The planes will replace the military's existing fleet of Hercules, all of which are more than 50 years old and have been involved in a series of embarrassing breakdowns over recent years. Defence Minister Ron Mark said the new planes will be used for operations in New Zealand, the South Pacific and Antarctica. “Generations of New Zealanders have grown up and grown old with the Hercules, and they know these aircraft are an essential first line of response," Mark said in a statement. He said the new planes will be able to carry a bigger payload as well as travel farther and faster than the current fleet. Three of the nation's current C-130 Hercules planes date back to 1965 and the other two to 1969. They have been upgraded over the years, but frequent breakdowns have hampered some high-profile missions. At one point last year, the entire fleet was temporarily grounded. New Zealand will take delivery of the first of the new C-130J-30 aircraft in 2024 with the full fleet operating by 2025. The price tag of 1.5 billion New Zealand dollars (nearly U.S. $1 billion) includes a flight simulator and supporting infrastructure. Lockheed Martin is based in the U.S. state of Maryland. https://www.defensenews.com/2020/06/05/new-zealand-military-buys-5-lockheed-hercules-planes-for-1-billion/
29 octobre 2020 | International, Naval
Richard R. Burgess ARLINGTON, Va. — The secretary of the Navy is bullish on the future Constellation-class guided-missile frigate (FFG) and said it may be a possible candidate for sale to the nation's allied and partner navies. In an Oct. 28 webinar discussion with retired Rear Adm. Frank Thorp IV, president and CEO of the Navy Memorial in Washington, D.C., Navy Secretary Kenneth J. Braithwaite sees the potential for service in many nations' navies for the FFG, liking the potential of sales to the large number of customers for the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter. “Why can't we create a Joint Strike Frigate?” Braithwaite mused. “Why can't we take that same platform and offer it to our allies and partners around the world? After all, it is an amalgamation of an Italian-U.S. joint effort to build that ship in a U.S. shipyard. It's already got an international footprint.” Thorp pointed out a comment Oct. 26 from National Security Adviser Robert O'Brien at the Marinette Marine shipyard in Wisconsin, where the Constellation, will be built, that building two frigates would not be enough. “We're going to need two, three, four frigates built a year to get to the numbers of where we want to be,” O'Brien told employees during a visit to the shipyard, reported Paul McCleary in the Breaking Defense website. “This yard has the capability to build two or three of them itself.” “It's great to have that kind of support in the White House and I'd love to see us build [more],” Braithwaite said. “I'm a huge fan of that ship. It is an incredibly capable vessel. ... I spent a lot of time picking the name for that ship to make it fit into the culture piece of who we are and what we are as the United States Navy. Braithwaite noted that the Navy's FFG program of record calls for 20 to be built but predicted that “we'll build more than 20 of those.” He also noted that many navies operate ex-U.S. Navy Knox- and Perry-class frigates, which could be replaced by new frigates. https://seapowermagazine.org/secnav-touts-new-frigate-for-possible-sale-to-allied-partner-navies/