12 juin 2018 | International, Terrestre

Rafael to demo lighter Trophy protection system on Bradley Fighting Vehicle

PARIS — Rafael is rapidly driving toward a demonstration of a lighter version of its Trophy active protection system, or APS, on a Bradley Fighting Vehicle this summer as the U.S. Army continues to assess APS systems on its combat vehicles, according to Rafael's head of its land maneuver systems directorate.

The Israeli company has already been chosen to field Trophy on four brigade sets of Abrams tanks, and the U.S. Army continues to analyze two other systems on Bradley and on the Stryker combat vehicle. The Army is qualifying Israeli company IMI System's Iron Fist on Bradley and the Virginia-based Artis' Iron Curtain for Stryker.

The characterization efforts for both Bradley and Stryker systems are delayed by roughly six to eight months depending on the system.

Should one or both of them have insufficient performance or maturity, the Army could choose to adapt another system under evaluation to that platform; or the service could assess another nondevelopmental APS system to fit that same role; or furthermore, it could make a decision to move the system from engineering development activity under a science and technology development effort as part of the Vehicle Protection Systems program of record, according to Army spokeswoman Ashley Givens.

There's also fiscal 2018 funding that will be used to evaluate a fourth nondevelopmental APS system via an installation and characterization activity to be identified after a preliminary evaluation phase that will occur late this year, applying lessons learned from efforts to date, Givens added.

So Rafael sees a lighter version of Trophy as a promising candidate for other U.S. combat vehicles, which has advantages such as a large amount commonality with Trophy on Abrams, Rafael's Michael L. told Defense News in a June 11 interview at the French defense conference Eurosatory. Michael's last name has been withheld for security reasons.

And the timing seems right, according Michael, as the Army will move toward decisions on APS systems for its combat vehicles at some time this year.

Rafael has been conducting extensive testing of its lighter and smaller Trophy system, and the company is inviting the U.S. military to attend a major test event in August in Israel to witness the capability on a Bradley, which is the combat vehicle considered the most difficult on which to integrate a system because of the current variant's power limitations.

The company would also be capable of integrating the system onto a Stryker, but it has decided — along with its U.S. partner DRS — to focus on Bradley for the time being, Michael said.

While the current Trophy system would be too heavy, coming in at 1.8 tons as a full system, the lighter version will weigh just shy of half that, while still retaining “the same method of operations, the same logic, the same interface,” Michael said.

Rafael sees the solution not as a simple one, but a high-end one, which it believes would be needed on a platform like Bradley.

Israel and other countries are also calling for a lighter APS system that would work on infantry fighting vehicles, and so Rafael sees “a large business opportunity,” according to Michael.

“In August we are going to surprise a lot of people who weren't sure,” Michael said, “because when you say shrinking, it's not just making it smaller. You need to make sure that nothing was lost in the process ... we already know that nothing has been lost, but we are testing it to make sure that everything is in order, and I think we have a great solution.”

Rafael is also developing and testing a 30mm weapon station outfitted with Trophy as an all-in-one system, according to Michael.

The turret can be purchased with or without the Trophy system. One customer ― not Israel or the U.S. ― is buying more than a hundred 30mm weapons stations. The company will complete development of the turret in September and will then begin production for the country in January 2019, Michael said.

While the country has yet to commit to adding Trophy as part of a single system, it wanted to prove the system with Trophy.

Rafael is eyeing what happens with the ongoing assessment by the U.S. Army to upgun its Strykers with a 30mm cannon. The assessment of the current configuration is expected to wrap up in the summer.

Michael said the company has spoke with the Stryker program office in the U.S. to understand what the soldier wants from a 30mm cannon with the intention to fine-tune an offering should the Army decide to assess other 30mm options in order to outfit the rest of its Stryker fleet.

And to sweeten the deal, the 30mm cannon would come with an APS system already integrated into the turret, according to Michael.

https://www.defensenews.com/digital-show-dailies/eurosatory/2018/06/11/rafael-to-demo-lighter-trophy-protection-system-on-bradley-fighting-vehicle/

Sur le même sujet

9 janvier 2020 | International, Aérospatial

Bell V-280 flies autonomously for first time
By: Jen Judson ARLINGTON, Texas — The Bell V-280 Valor tiltrotor demonstrator flew autonomously for the first time Dec. 18 at the company's Arlington facility in two sorties. Over the course of the day, the V-280 met all of Bell's flight goals for the aircraft's first venture into flying autonomously. The V-280 performed an autonomous takeoff, conversion into cruise mode, precision navigation to various waypoints, loiter maneuvers, conversion into vertical takeoff and landing mode and also landed autonomously, Ryan Ehinger, Bell's program manager for the V-280, told reporters at a company demonstration of the aircraft in Arlington on January 8. Army Secretary Ryan McCarthy and Rep. Kay Granger (R-Texas) attended the demonstration. While safety pilots riding in the cockpit took over between different elements of autonomous flight throughout the sorties, the V-280 completed all pre-programmed elements “without issue,” Paul Wilson, the program's chief engineer, said. The company has yet to determine future flight tests as part of a continued effort to advance the tiltrotor's autonomous flight capabilities or whether it might specifically conduct a flight where all autonomous elements are stitched together without pilot intervention in between each maneuver. Bell developed its objective in late 2018 to run autonomous flight demonstrations with the V-280 and, just a year later, was able to execute the flight tests. The V-280 was built for the Army's Joint Multi-Role Technology Demonstration and had its maiden flight in December 2017. The autonomous flight took place on the second anniversary of the aircraft's first flight. The JMR-TD program is meant to inform the Army's Future Long-Range Assault Aircraft (FLRAA) program. A Sikorsky-Boeing team is also flying a demonstrator — the SB-1 Defiant — as part of the program but got off to a late start, flying for the first time in March 2019, mostly due to delays related to issues building the rotor blades for the coaxial helicopter. The Army is planning to modernize its fleet through an ambitious effort to acquire two new Future Vertical Lift (FVL) aircraft — FLRAA and a Future Attack Reconnaissance Aircraft (FARA) — back-to-back. The service intends to field FLRAA by FY30 following a full-and-open competition. The Army wants both FLRAA and FARA to be optionally piloted aircraft, but whether that capability comes in the first tranches when the fleet is fielded remain to be seen. Bell told reporters at the demonstration that since its first flight two years ago, the V-280 has logged over 160 flight hours among seven test pilots. It has demonstrated it can fly over 300 nautical miles in one trip and proven it can do 2G acceleration turns, can climb to 11,500 feet and has reached speeds of over 280 knots. The V-280 flew at 200 knots during the January 8 demonstration and performed other agility maneuvers while showing off its hover performance. While the JMR-TD phase is over, Bell continues to consider what could still be demonstrated with the V-280 before the aircraft is officially put to bed. https://www.defensenews.com/land/2020/01/09/bell-v-280-flies-autonomously-for-first-time
2 novembre 2023 | International, Naval

Terma to Supply Radars for New Royal Navy Frigates
Danish manufacturer of advanced technology solutions for defense, Terma, is set to supply ten SCANTER 6000 radars to equip five Royal Navy Type 26 frigates.
7 décembre 2020 | International, Aérospatial, Naval, Terrestre, C4ISR, Sécurité

America sold $175 billion in weapons abroad in FY20
By: Aaron Mehta WASHINGTON — The U.S. sold $175 billion in weapons to foreign partners and allies in fiscal 2020, a 2.8 percent rise from the previous year's total, according to a Friday announcement from the Defense and State departments. The total comes at the end of the Trump administration, which made increasing arms exports a key part of its economic growth platform. Export licenses via the Direct Commercial Sales program totaled $124.3 billion in FY20, up from $114.7 billion the previous year. A series of reforms, started under the Obama administration and continued under the Trump team, has pushed more defense articles into the commercial sales realm. Deals made through the Foreign Military Sales program, which cover the majority of large defense articles, totaled $50.78 billion. Of that total, $44.79 billion came in payments from partner nations, $3.3 billion from Foreign Military Financing, and $2.69 billion for cases funded under Defense Department Title 10 grant assistance programs, such as train and equip programs. The FMS total represents an 8 percent drop from FY19. In FY17, the U.S. sold $41.93 billion in FMS deals. That number jumped a dramatic 33 percent in FY18 to $55.6 billion, then dipped slightly to $55.4 billion in FY19. Despite back-to-back years without growth, officials expressed optimism, pointing to the three-year rolling average of implemented FMS cases — which rose from $51 billion covering FY17-FY19 to $54 billion covering FY18-FY20 — as a sign of overall growth. Officials have historically argued that the volatility of the year-to-year FMS process means that the three-year average is the best indicator of overall growth or decline, as it captures sales that implemented late in one fiscal year or early in the next. The total of official sales is different from the total number of FMS cases cleared by the State Department. The latter figure — 68 cases worth $83.5 billion, the highest annual total of FMS notifications since the start of the Trump administration — is a good indicator of future sales, but quantities and dollar figures often change during negotiations. While industry will cheer the sales total, William Hartung of the Center for International Policy warned that the total may be questionable. “It is important to note that this is a vastly inflated figure if one is looking for statistics on sales that are actually likely to eventuate in contracts and deliveries,” according to Hartung. “There are many steps along the way in which an authorized sale can be sidetracked, including, for example, changes in demand and economic capacity on the part of potential customers. “The truth is we do not have reliable figures from the Pentagon or the State Department on how much weaponry the United States delivers each year, and what items have been delivered to what countries. Without this information, it is difficult to fully assess the impact of U.S. arms exports.” https://www.defensenews.com/pentagon/2020/12/04/american-sold-175-billion-in-weapons-abroad-in-fy20

Toutes les nouvelles

Rafael to demo lighter Trophy protection system on Bradley Fighting Vehicle

Sur le même sujet

Terma to Supply Radars for New Royal Navy Frigates Danish manufacturer of advanced technology solutions for defense, Terma, is set to supply ten SCANTER 6000 radars to equip five Royal Navy Type 26 frigates.

Terma to Supply Radars for New Royal Navy Frigates
Danish manufacturer of advanced technology solutions for defense, Terma, is set to supply ten SCANTER 6000 radars to equip five Royal Navy Type 26 frigates.