28 septembre 2020 | International, Aérospatial, C4ISR
(Reuters) - A federal judge plans to deny SpaceX's challenge to U.S. Air Force contracts awarded to its rivals, writing in a Thursday court filing that the Pentagon properly assessed the development of SpaceX CEO Elon Musk's Starship rocket system as “too risky and expensive.”
Musk's Space Exploration Technologies Corp in its year-long lawsuit had accused the Air Force of unfairly awarding development contracts to Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin and other competitors for new rocket systems in 2018.
But in a ruling that was briefly posted online by the court before being sealed, the judge found no wrongdoing by the Air Force in denying the company funds to help develop Starship, a reusable rocket system that Musk envisions will send satellites to orbit and one day ferry humans to the moon and Mars.
Judge Otis D. Wright II gave the parties a week-long window to change his mind before entering judgment.
https://www.reuters.com/article/idUSKCN26G2MA
2 mai 2022 | International, C4ISR
'When we think about today's environment, it's less about the traditional arms race of the past, and it's more about the technology race of today and the future.'
31 décembre 2018 | International, Aérospatial, Naval, Terrestre, C4ISR, Sécurité
By PAUL MCLEARY The release of the 2020 defense budget is still over a month away, and it's already been a wild ride. A look at what has happened, and what might happen next. WASHINGTON: If there's one complaint that has sounded a consistent across the Joint Chiefs and Pentagon leadership in recent years, it has been the lack of predictability in year-to-year funding. If there's one thing we have learned about President Trump, it's that nothing is certain until the very end. And even when there's a decision, it can be flipped, rehashed, tinkered with or forgotten about in the time it take to knock out a Tweet on phone. After two years of budget certainty in 2018-19, the 2020 submission was humming along at $733 billion — until it wasn't. In late October, the number plummeted (relatively speaking) to $700 billion, until the president was convinced by Defense Secretary Jim Mattis — not yet on his way out at the time — to rocket it up to $750 billion. But even that number isn't certain. Most analysts see the 2020 submission settling around the $733 billion level. Visiting US troops at the Al Asad air base on Dec. 26, the president gave the latest vague update. “I mean, I want to see costs come down, too. But not when it comes to our military. You have to have the finest equipment anywhere in the world, and you have that — $716 billion. And this year, again, we're going to be — don't tell anybody because nobody else knows — even a little bit higher.” Whatever the number is, it appears likely that incoming acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan will be the one to deliver and defend it on Capitol Hill in February, as Mattis has been told to leave by Jan. 1. It's unclear what effect the firing of Mattis will have on the process, or if there will be any significant strategic shifts for the department given the change in leadership. As budget guru Todd Harrison of the Center for Strategic and International Studies told me this week — specifically in reference to the Space Force, but it really applies across the entire budget — “the thing to keep in mind is that this is, so far, just the Pentagon's proposal to the White House. It's not clear if the White House is going to agree to this. The president has a way of sticking to his ideas even if his own administration recommends otherwise.” Here are a few of the stories we've done over the past months breaking down what is happening, and what might — might — happen next. Full article: https://breakingdefense.com/2018/12/budget-busters-what-to-look-for-in-2019-and-beyond
6 septembre 2019 | International, Aérospatial
By: Seth J. Frantzman JERUSALEM — Israeli defense company Rafael Advanced Defense Systems' acquisition of local firm Aeronautics Limited combines the former's expertise in intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance with the latter's ties to the UAS market. “We have a strong feeling and understanding that the world is changing and moving more operational requirements toward unmanned vehicles and specifically unmanned aerial vehicles,” said Yuval Miller, executive vice president of aerial and C4I systems divisions at Rafael. The 850 million shekel (U.S. $240 million) deal has been in the works for more than a year and received approval earlier this year. Under the agreement, announced Sept. 3, Rafael will hold a 50 percent stake in Aeronautics along with businessman Avichai Stolero. Rafael, which is known for its Iron Dome air defense system, Trophy active protection system, Litening pods and advances in artificial intelligence, sees an advantage in adding UAS to its global strategy. Aeronautics has a portfolio involving 50 countries and a spectrum of UAVs. Rafael says it has in-house capabilities such as sensors, systems and munitions that have been used on fighter jets and other platforms that can pair well with what it describes as Aeronautics' lower-tier UAVs. Rafael has historically cooperated with other local and foreign companies that make UAVs, such as Elbit Systems and Israel Aerospace Industries. For instance, its RecceLite pod was integrated on General Atomics' Predator B/MQ-9s with the Italian Air Force in 2016. But Rafael noticed even more potential in the platforms made by Aeronautics, including its Orbiter UAV products, such as the Orbiter 3 lightweight drone that has a range of 150 kilometers and is used for intelligence, surveillance, target acquisition and reconnaissance missions. “These platforms are becoming more robust and their endurance has grown significantly,” Miller said. Indeed, the market is growing in size, to the tune of billions of more dollars in annual spending over the next decade alongside the bolstered capability and and further miniaturization of UAVs. “This has put us in a position to look for a partner, and we found that Aeronautics, which has an excellent portfolio in 50 countries around the world, and their UAV platforms on the lower tier are world leading, and binding that with Rafael's network and sensor capability looks like excellent synergy,” said Miller, who foresees a fast-growing business with the acquisition. Rafael plans to maintain Aeronautics as an independent company, which will evolve its business to Rafael's products. The two companies already partnered in acquiring Controp Precision Technologies in 2012. Controp makes electro-optical systems. Rafael envisions a productive meshing with its electro-optics for ISR missions and area surveillance. “We are talking about onboard advanced image processing and [artificial intelligence], and today that also is available in small and lightweight for lower-tier and low-cost UAVs,” Miller said. Currently, medium-altitude, long-endurance and high-altitude, long-endurance UAVs are costly, but stronger and smaller drones will evolve and combine more sensors and networks, fusing data for an overall customer gain, according to Rafael. Rafael did not discuss how it might mesh with Aeronautics' loitering munitions, such as the Orbiter 1K. The acquisition is part of a growing trend of consolidation in Israel, which saw Elbit acquire former state-owned IMI last year. In 2017 and 2018, Aeronautics was under several investigations that saw its exports restricted and stock price falter. Those hiccups now appear to be behind the firm. https://www.defensenews.com/industry/2019/09/05/rafael-acquires-drone-focused-firm-is-240m-deal