19 septembre 2023 | International, Terrestre
Saab Secures U.S. AT4 and Carl-Gustaf Ammunition Order
The extension will allow the U.S. customer to place orders of Saab’s world-leading close combat solutions for up to an additional USD 422 million.
17 juillet 2020 | International, Aérospatial
The Air Force cancels its Open Skies recapitalization program after US pulls out from treaty
By: Valerie Insinna
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Air Force on July 14 officially rescinded its solicitation to overhaul the OC-135 Open Skies aircraft, cancelling the program two months after President Donald Trump announced the United States' withdrawal from the Open Skies treaty.
“On 22 May 2020, the United States provided formal notice of its intent to withdraw from the Treaty on Open Skies. As a result, this announcement is hereby cancelled,” the Air Force wrote in a statement on beta.sam.gov.
The Open Skies Treaty permits its 34 signatory nations to conduct unarmed reconnaissance flights over the territory of other member-states for the purposes of monitoring military activity and controlling nuclear arms. The U.S. has relied upon two Boeing OC-135B aircraft flown by the 45th Reconnaissance Squadron out of Offutt Air Force Base, Neb., to carry out Open Skies missions since 1993.
As the aging OC-135s become increasingly difficult to maintain, the Air Force had planned to modify two modern business jets with a digital sensor, processing and control suite that would replace the wet-film cameras currently in use.
But although the service received $125 million from Congress in fiscal year 2019 for the first replacement aircraft and continued to survey industry about recapitalization options, it never moved past the request for information stage, with the final solicitation posed in December 2019.
In March, Defense Secretary Mark Esper told the Senate Armed Services Committee that recapitalization efforts were stalled as the Pentagon waited for instructions from the White House on how to proceed.
“At this point and time, until we make a final decision on the path forward, I'm not prepared to recapitalize aircraft,” Esper said. “We're holding until we get better direction.”
Although the OC-135B replacement program may be canceled for now, the United States' withdrawal from the Open Skies treaty is by no means a done deal. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in a statement on May 21, that the US would “reconsider our withdrawal should Russia return to full compliance with the Treaty.”
The United States also has a six-month window before a formal exit occurs in November — after the presidential election. Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden has voiced support for remaining in the treaty, and if elected, could reverse plans to pull out.
Sur le même sujet
-
-
25 août 2022 | International, C4ISR
Army IT leader pledges quicker cloud uptake in 'year of action'
When it comes to cloud, the coming year will be one of "action and acceleration," according to U.S. Army Lt. Gen. John Morrison.
-
20 mai 2020 | International, Aérospatial, C4ISR
Thales Alenia Space wins two contracts from ESA to study future upgrades to Europe’s EGNOS Navigation System
Cannes, May 18, 2020 – The European Space Agency (ESA) has awarded two contracts to Thales Alenia Space, the joint company between Thales (67%) and Leonardo (33%), concerning EGNOS (European Geostationary Navigation Overlay Service). These contracts, fully financed under the European Commission H2020 programme concern study phases on the system evolution. They will call on Thales Alenia Space's expertise as program prime contractor for over 25 years to study and develop upgrades for the EGNOS satellite navigation system. The first contract concerns possible upgrades for EGNOS aeronautical services, designed to improve performances in order to increase landing safety under limited visibility conditions (from current CAT-I to CAT-II), over the current EGNOS footprint, focused on Europe. The second contract will study changes required to extend its aeronautical services worldwide. Based on state-of-the-art technologies, this upgrade will call on the A-RAIM (Advanced Receiver Autonomous Integrity Monitoring) concept and the global coverage of the Galileo satnav constellation. RAIM is an already deployed technology that assesses the integrity of signals in the receivers that are part of a global positioning system, mainly GPS. Galileo will now be incorporated in the advanced version of this concept, A-RAIM, to provide enhanced horizontal guidance performance, not possible with RAIM using only GPS. The new concept would thus provide “safety of life” aeronautical services, including approaches with vertical guidance, thanks to inputs from GPS and Galileo via EGNOS. “Today's contracts are key for satellite navigation in Europe and bolster Thales Alenia Space's European leadership in state of art satellite navigation systems, including Safety of Life services”, said Benoit Broudy, head of the Navigation business at Thales Alenia Space in France. He added: “Our successes on export markets, as in South Korea, validate our innovative approach that allows us to offer increasingly powerful and agile solutions to meet the evolving requirements of customers from around the world.” About EGNOS EGNOS, a European Union flagship program, is a satellite navigation system designed to improve positioning signals delivered by GPS. Developed by Thales Alenia Space as prime contractor, EGNOS was first deployed in 2005, began operating in open service mode in 2009 and provided Safety of Life service starting in 2011. The GNSS R&D activities are financed by the European Commission H2020 programme. They are managed by the European Space Agency through a delegation agreement from the European Commission. Safety of Life service, a success in export markets The EGNOS Safety of Life service is used to carry out precision airport approaches, especially landings, without requiring ground guidance systems. Building on its expertise in this field, Thales Alenia Space won a contract in 2016 from the Korean space agency to supply the Korean Augmentation Satellite System (KASS). With its Safety of Life capability, KASS is a regional Korean navigation system that will initially be used for aviation. It will provide critical services at several points of each flight, especially landing, so that, airports no longer need ground landing aid facilities. Along the same lines, in early 2019 ASECNA, the air navigation safety agency for Africa and Madagascar, chose Thales Alenia Space to handle a Phase B project that will include the supply of a pre-operational service in 2020 for a Satellite Based Augmentation System (SBAS) in sub-Saharan Africa, to provide an optimized satellite-based solution to support the growing air traffic in this region. The project recently took a major step forward, with validation of the system's architecture and main performance characteristics. This study is being carried out jointly by ASECNA and Thales Alenia Space, with funding from the European Union, as part of an ambitious program to develop the aviation sector in Africa. Set for completion by the end of the year, it also includes the supply of a pre-operational service, along with demonstrations of how to use the service in conjunction with partner airlines. Thales Alenia Space has now completed acceptance testing of the demonstrator, which will subsequently be deployed at various sites. ABOUT THALES ALENIA SPACE Drawing on over 40 years of experience and a unique combination of skills, expertise and cultures, Thales Alenia Space delivers cost-effective solutions for telecommunications, navigation, Earth observation, environmental management, exploration, science and orbital infrastructures. Governments and private industry alike count on Thales Alenia Space to design satellite-based systems that provide anytime, anywhere connections and positioning, monitor our planet, enhance management of its resources, and explore our Solar System and beyond. Thales Alenia Space sees space as a new horizon, helping to build a better, more sustainable life on Earth. A joint venture between Thales (67%) and Leonardo (33%), Thales Alenia Space also teams up with Telespazio to form the parent companies' Space Alliance, which offers a complete range of services. Thales Alenia Space posted consolidated revenues of approximately 2.15 billion euros in 2019 and has around 7,700 employees in nine countries. www.thalesaleniaspace.com THALES ALENIA SPACE – PRESS CONTACTS Sandrine Bielecki Tel: +33 (0)4 92 92 70 94 sandrine.bielecki@thalesaleniaspace.com Catherine des Arcis Tel: +33 (0)4 92 92 72 82 catherine.desarcis@thalesaleniaspace.com Marija Kovac Tel: +39 (0)6 415 126 85 marija.kovacsomministrato@thalesaleniaspace.com View source version on Thales: https://www.thalesgroup.com/en/worldwide/space/press-release/thales-alenia-space-wins-two-contracts-esa-study-future-upgrades