Un nouveau drone pour l'US Air Force

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  31 juillet 2020 | International, Aérospatial

  Japan commits to local F-35 production

  by Jon Grevatt The Japanese Ministry of Defense (MoD) has confirmed plans to continue the local production of Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter aircraft. The move reverses a decision in late 2018 to cease local production at Japan's final assembly and checkout (FACO) facility in Nagoya and instead focus on the localised maintenance, repair, overhaul and upgrade (MRO&U) of F-35s. That move was previously prompted by the high cost of building the F-35s at the facility. However, a spokesperson from the MoD told Janes that the new decision to continue building the aircraft at the Japanese FACO facility was influenced by the declining costs of producing the F-35 locally. Producing the aircraft locally, said the spokesperson, is now cheaper than importing the F-35 from the United States. The spokesperson was speaking to Janes nearly three weeks after the United States government approved a potential USD23 billion deal to sell Japan an additional 105 F-35s. This Foreign Military Sale means Japan will operate a total of 147 F-35s, becoming the second-largest operator of the aircraft in the world. These aircraft will comprise 105 conventional take-off and landing (CTOL) F-35A aircraft and 42 units of the short take-off and vertical landing (STOVL) F-35B. The spokesperson said, “For the acquisition of F-35As in fiscal years (FY) 2019 and 2020... the Japanese MoD has decided to use domestic manufacturing at the FACO... It is confirmed that the unit cost of aircraft produced at the domestic FACO [facility] is less, compared to the unit cost of imported aircraft.” https://www.janes.com/defence-news/news-detail/japan-commits-to-local-f-35-production

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  16 juin 2020 | International, Aérospatial

  Israelis To Boost F-35 Fleet’s Electronic Warfare

  By ARIE EGOZIon June 15, 2020 at 1:02 PM TEL AVIV: The Israeli air force's F-35 special test aircraft is set to arrive in Israel, suitably enough, on the Fourth of July, along with three more Joint Strike Fighters. The arrival will start a planned process of upgrading the IAF's F-35 aimed at making them the main target supplier for the Israeli defense forces. In November another three are scheduled to arrive, bringing the IAF's total to 27 out of the 50 in the current contract. The special test aircraft was officially delivered to the IAF a year ago and some new systems developed by Israel have been installed. But the most sensitive systems will be installed only after the aircraft lands in Israel. Currently, the IAF operates 20 F-35 (Adir) and uses them in combat. One of the key capabilities of the F-35 is its capability to absorb electronic signals from radars and air defense systems and to quickly classify them, geolocate them, and display them to the pilot. Then the aircraft can distribute that data to other combatants. The critical data is collected by the aircraft's passive antennas embedded in the F-35's edges. They feed the signals information to the jet's computers. Using interferometers, the slightest time delay between when a signal hits one antenna compared to another, azimuth and range can be defined and target-quality coordinates created on where the threatening radio frequency emission is coming from. The already very advanced ELINT system of the F-35 is going to be further upgraded by the IAF, working with Israel's defense companies. Since the stealth fighter aircraft first arrived in Israel, some locally-made systems have been partially tested in different scenarios, but the test aircraft will allow these new systems to be put completely through their paces. The test aircraft will enable each of the Israeli F-35s to function as a “Target Generator” for all Israeli ground and naval forces thanks to what some have described as an Israeli-built command-and-control system. The Israeli companies that are developing systems for the IAF's F-35's are reluctant to provide details about the systems under development. Eitan Ben Eliyahu, former commander of the IAF, told Breaking Defense that the F-35 will bring two main capabilities to the Israeli air force's existing ones: “The stealth of course is the obvious one and it is crucial in an area where different forces deploy advanced anti-aircraft systems. “The second capability is the one that allows this aircraft to receive and distribute all kinds of combat data from a long list of sensors. This,” Ben Eliyahu said, “is very important for an air force that is performing combat missions almost on a daily basis.” https://breakingdefense.com/2020/06/israelis-to-boost-f-35-fleets-electronic-warfare

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  23 juin 2024 | International, Terrestre

  Russian lawmaker warns Moscow may change timing for use of nuclear weapons