13 juin 2019 | International, Aérospatial
MADRID – The Spanish navy and air force are still interested in the American F-35 fighter jet, even though the government is about to join a Franco-German program to develop a new European plane.
The two services are in the beginning stages of an analysis in which the Lockheed Martin-made aircraft is emerging as a key contender, officials told reporters on the sidelines of the FEINDEF defense expo here in late May.
For the navy, the choice for the short-takeoff-and-landing variant of the jet, dubbed the F-35B, appears to be more clear-cut than for the air force. The Spanish navy wants to replace its 12 Harrier jets, which are launched from the LPH Juan Carlos I. That ship's short, ski-jump deck makes the F-35B the only option on the market, according to Cdr. Antonio Estevan, a staff officer at the service's plans and policy division.
“From a technical point of view, it's a very interesting option for us,” Estevan said. “The problem is the cost. The version for us would be, as far as I know, $100 million; the air force version $80 million. We are talking about high prices. Even the American president was surprised when he realized the cost.”
Air force officials, meanwhile, are keeping their options more open when it comes to replacing the service's 84 Boeing-made F-18s. Twenty planes of the “A” variant, stationed on the Canary Islands, need to be replaced first, by 2025, according to Brig Gen. Juan Pablo Sanchez de Lara, chief of the Spanish Air Force's plans division.
Airbus has its eyes on that business and is offering to outfit the squadron with the Eurofighter. While that outcome is also the air force's expectation, a replacement for the rest of the F-18 fleet, 64 planes of the “M” designation, is still up for grabs, according to Sanchez de Lara.
The two services cooperating on the requirements of a potentially joint program means the F-35 is on the table in some form or another, though it's unclear how compatible the branches' needs will be in the end. “For the navy, it's a very simple solution because they need an aircraft for vertical, short takeoff,” Sanchez de Lara said. “For us, it's different.”
Both services want new aircraft by around 2030. That would be ten years before the Future Combat Air System program, led by Airbus and Dassault, is scheduled to field a new combat aircraft.
The situation in Spain is reminiscent of the choice Germany faced about the F-35, and the government's decision earlier this year to ditch the plane as a contender to replace the Tornado.
The Luftwaffe, the German air force, was reportedly in favor of the American fifth-generation plane, while the defense ministry's civilian leadership preferred an upgraded version of the Eurofighter Typhoon. Airbus had lobbied hard against the F-35, arguing that the pick of a new U.S. aircraft at this stage would effectively sink the entire FCAS project.
Meanwhile, two F-35s arrived at Llanos Air Base near Albacete, Spain, earlier this week for training with other NATO air forces, according to announcements from the U.S. Air Force and NATO.
During the Tactical Leadership Program officials practiced integrating the aircraft into a search-and-rescue drill to extract friendly forces from enemy territory, a June 11 alliance statement reads.
16 décembre 2021 | International, Aérospatial, Naval
Congress established the PDI last year for two basic reasons: to better understand what the Pentagon was spending in the Indo-Pacific region, and to change the composition of that spending.
8 juillet 2020 | International, Aérospatial, Naval
Vienna, July 6, 2020 – The Finnish Border Guard will operate the CAMCOPTER® S-100 for maritime surveillance purposes. The Remotely Piloted Aircraft System (RPAS) service is offered by the European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA) and will also extend to Estonia and Sweden. The CAMCOPTER® S-100 will support the Finnish authorities in carrying out Coast Guard functions, such as search and rescue, monitoring and surveillance, ship and port security, vessel traffic, environmental protection and response, ship casualty assistance, as well as accident and disaster response. The S-100 will execute these tasks equipped with an L3 Wescam Electro-Optical / Infra-Red (EO/IR) camera gimbal, an Overwatch Imaging PT-8 Oceanwatch, a Becker Avionics BD406 Emergency Beacon Locator and an Automatic Identification System (AIS) receiver. EMSA awarded the multi-year maritime surveillance contract for a Vertical Takeoff and Landing (VTOL) RPAS to Schiebel in November 2018. In execution of this contract, Schiebel provides simultaneous maritime surveillance services to several EU member states and EU bodies. Currently, the CAMCOPTER® S-100 is also operational in the Republic of Croatia supporting the Maritime Safety Directorate of the Ministry of Sea, Transport and Infrastructure of the Republic of Croatia. Hans Georg Schiebel, Chairman of the Schiebel Group, said: “The S-100 has extensive experience in the maritime domain. It is the UAS of choice when it comes to sophisticated maritime surveillance. We're proud to be EMSA's chosen RPAS providing vital surveillance services to its member states.” About Schiebel: Founded in 1951, the Vienna-based Schiebel Group focuses on the development, testing and production of state-of-the-art mine detection equipment and the revolutionary CAMCOPTER® S-100 Unmanned Air System (UAS). Certified to meet AS/EN 9100 standards, Schiebel has built an international reputation for producing quality defense and humanitarian products, which are backed by exceptional after-sales service and support. With headquarters in Vienna (Austria), Schiebel now maintains production facilities in Wiener Neustadt (Austria) and Abu Dhabi (UAE), as well as offices in Washington, DC (USA) and Shoalhaven (Australia). About the CAMCOPTER® S-100: Schiebel's CAMCOPTER® S-100 Unmanned Air System (UAS) is an operationally proven capability for military and civilian applications. The Vertical Takeoff and Landing (VTOL) UAS requires no prepared area or supporting equipment to enable launch and recovery. It operates by day and by night, under adverse weather conditions, with a beyond line-of-sight capability out to 200 km / 108 nm, over land and sea. Its carbon fiber and titanium fuselage provides capacity for a wide range of payload/endurance combinations up to a service ceiling of 5,500 m / 18,000 ft. In a typical configuration, the CAMCOPTER® S-100 carries a 34-kg / 75-lbs payload up to 10 hours and is powered with AVGas or JP-5 heavy fuel. High-definition payload imagery is transmitted to the control station in real time. In addition to its standard GPS waypoint or manual navigation, the S-100 can successfully operate in environments where GPS is not available, with missions planned and controlled via a simple point-andclick graphical user interface. The high-tech unmanned helicopter is backed by Schiebel's excellent customer support and training services. For further information, please contact us: Tel: +43 (1) 546 26-44 Email: pr@schiebel.net www.schiebel.net View source version on Schiebel,: https://schiebel.net/press-releases/
28 août 2018 | International, Aérospatial, Naval, Terrestre, C4ISR
By: Mark Pomerleau The Army's Rapid Capabilities Office is beginning to expand to new areas of interest. Initially stood up in 2016, the RCO was designed to address the Army's biggest capability gaps by delivering solutions in one to five years. The original focus areas for the office included electronic warfare, position navigation and timing and cyber. While in the past few years it has moved out a bit into areas such as countering unmanned aerial systems, officials presenting Aug. 22 at TechNet Augusta explained the organization is now officially looking into much broader areas. The first is in future communications and narrowband communications. Rob Monto, Emerging Technologies Office lead at the RCO, explained these new areas of interest for the RCO could allow for fall-back or redundancy in denied environments. They could also allow paths for certain specific messages, such as medevac, to be transmitted. Monto then outlined an interest in robotics for employing logistics and maintenance for heavy platforms. Robots can help replace parts faster during war or even augment humans in the way Special Operations Command has conducted experiments with exoskeletons. The next area is in conformal antennas, which Monto said were of interest in order to reduce the profile of vehicles. Monto described a keen interest for the RCO in electric drives and drivetrains, noting that commercial industry and heavy machinery have started to take this route. Lastly, Monto noted that the RCO is interested in high-energy lasers and directed energy technology. Anything in these areas are starting to become a broader portfolio for the RCO, Monto said, adding they are looking to bring new technologies in that might not be specifically leveraged today. https://www.c4isrnet.com/show-reporter/technet-augusta/2018/08/24/here-are-the-new-areas-of-interest-for-the-army-rapid-capabilities-office