26 mai 2024 | International, Sécurité

Update Chrome Browser Now: 4th Zero-Day Exploit Discovered in May 2024

Attention Chrome users! Google has released fixes for a high-severity security flaw (CVE-2024-5274) that has been actively exploited in the wild.

https://thehackernews.com/2024/05/google-detects-4th-chrome-zero-day-in.html

Sur le même sujet

  • Despite progress, industry faces ‘very tough roadmap’ to field FCAS by 2040

    10 décembre 2020 | International, Aérospatial

    Despite progress, industry faces ‘very tough roadmap’ to field FCAS by 2040

    By: Vivienne Machi   STUTTGART, Germany — After the decade that has been the year 2020, it may seem like 2040 is centuries away. But for Airbus, the scheduled in-service date for Europe's next-generation combat aircraft and weapon system feels just around the corner. The Future Combat Air System (FCAS) industry partners have made significant progress on the pan-European, multi-system effort despite the hurdles of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, Airbus, along with its co-contractors Dassault Aviation and Indra, face a “very tough roadmap” to finalize system designs, begin preliminary development, launch production, and get the systems into service, said Bruno Fichefeux, FCAS leader for Airbus, during the company's annual trade media briefing Dec. 9. The 18-month Joint Concept Study and Phase 1A of the demonstrator portion are progressing well, but the companies need to move quickly to reach key technology maturation phases, he said. “This is a major de-risking and speeding approach towards the future development program, to ensure that we are on time on expectation.” France, Germany and Spain have teamed up on the FCAS program, which includes seven next-generation technology pillars: a sixth-generation fighter jet, multiple “remote carrier” drones, a next-generation weapon system, a brand new jet engine, advanced sensors and stealth technologies, and an “air combat cloud.” In September, the nations' three air forces worked together to down-select the five preferred architectures that will help inform the program's follow-on phases, Fichefeux said at the virtual briefing. The goal for 2021 is for FCAS to enter the preliminary demonstrator development phase for the next-generation fighter and the remote carrier aircraft. Those contracts are currently in negotiations, he noted. Starting in 2021, the FCAS will go from spending a “few million” euros to “billions,” he added. “It's a massive step forward [that] we want to initiate next year.” Observers can expect to see some major design choices after those negotiations are complete; for example, whether the next-generation fighter will have one or two seats, Fichefeux said. Airbus' unmanned aerial systems team has moved forward with efforts related to the remote carrier and manned-unmanned teaming technologies. Jana Rosenmann, the company's UAS leader, said at the briefing that her team had submitted their proposal for Phase 1B of the FCAS demonstrator portion that is scheduled to begin next year. The team is studying two remote carrier designs. “We are looking at both a smaller, expendable remote carrier, as well as a larger, conventional-sized remote carrier, looking in the direction of a loyal wingman to fly together with the combat aircraft,” Rosenmann said. Airbus is the lead contractor for the remote carrier pillar. The program has some new partners on board, Fichefeux shared Wednesday. In April, Airbus teamed up with the German Ministry of Defence for an eight-month pilot program bringing non-traditional startups and research institutes into the FCAS fold. Eighteen organizations worked on 14 separate program elements, spanning the entire range of technology pillars. Those efforts have led to concrete results, to include a first flight-test-approved launcher of an unmanned aerial system from a transport aircraft; a secure combat cloud demonstrator; and a demonstrator of applied artificial intelligence on radio frequency analysis. These 18 partners could be picked up for subcontracts later on in the program, Fichefeux noted. The plan is to “mature these pilots step by step, and then it could develop into real contracting participation within the FCAS development,” he said. “There is a perspective to bring them on board at a later stage.” Meanwhile, Airbus also announced Wednesday that its Spanish subsidiary was selected as lead contractor for the low-observability pillar of the program. Airbus Spain will also lead Madrid's contribution to the next-generation fighter pillar. Indra serves as national lead for the entire program since Spain joined FCAS in early 2020, and also heads the sensor pillar while contributing to the combat cloud and simulations efforts. The finalization of the low-observability contract “completes Spain's onboarding as an equal nation across all FCAS activities,” Airbus said in a release. “The signature closes a ten-month process of onboarding Spain as the third nation.” The program will begin testing low-observability technologies early in the demonstrator phase, Fichefeux confirmed. Both the fighter aircraft demonstrator and the remote carrier will have stealth capabilities when they begin flight tests, which are expected as early as 2026. Then the team will need to work on issues such as how to factor in the future engine's heat signature, and how to integrate sensors and antennae, Fichefeux said. Low-observability “is part of almost all pillars, and the aim of this maturation is to prove” what works and what won't work, he noted. Along with a personal deadline, the FCAS program may also face schedule pressure from Europe's second sixth-generation fighter program. The United Kingdom, Italy and Sweden have teamed up on the Tempest program, with a current goal of delivering new fighter aircraft to the nations' militaries by 2035. When asked whether the two fighter programs may converge at some point, Fichefeux noted that that would ultimately be a government decision. “That is our responsibility, on the industry side, is just not to lose time waiting,” he said. “If the governments want to define a path of convergence, we will support it in due time.” https://www.defensenews.com/global/europe/2020/12/09/despite-progress-industry-faces-very-tough-roadmap-to-field-fcas-by-2040/

  • Czech aircraft maker boosts Asian presence with Vietnam jet trainer deal

    17 février 2021 | International, Aérospatial

    Czech aircraft maker boosts Asian presence with Vietnam jet trainer deal

    By: Jaroslaw Adamowski and Mike Yeo WARSAW, Poland, and MELBOURNE, Australia — Securing the first Asian customer for its latest product, Czech aircraft maker Aero Vodochody has signed a contract to sell 12 L-39NG jet trainers to Vietnam's Ministry of National Defence. Deliveries are scheduled for the years 2023 to 2024, and Czech arms exporter Omnipol is acting as an intermediary for the deal. “We are proud to announce this crucial and strategic cooperation which is an important milestone for the L-39NG project,” Jiří Podpěra, the president of Omnipol, was quoted as saying in a statement. The value of the deal, which includes training, spare components and related logistics support, was not disclosed. The sale includes a range of related services such as pilot and instructor training, spares, as well as ground and logistical support equipment, the company said. The Czech Ministry of Defence certified the jet trainer last September, paving the way for the L-39NG's exports. The move followed about 300 test flights on two flying prototypes and ground tests on two static prototypes, according to the producer. Since then, Aero Vodochody has managed to secure a contract to deliver four such aircraft in a light-attack variant to Senegal's Air Force. Omnipol is a minority shareholder in Aero Vodochody, with a 49 percent stake. Hungarian businessman Andras Tombor holds the remaining 51 percent of the shares. The L-39NG is a modernized version of the L-39 trainer that was originally introduced into service in 1970. The new aircraft features a host of improvements over the original design, with a modern glass cockpit, improved avionics and the FJ44 turbofan engine by U.S. manufacturer Williams International. The Vietnam People's Air Force or VPAF currently operates older versions of the L-39, with an estimated two dozen aircraft still in service. The announcement that Vietnam will acquire the L-39NG comes after the country ordered a similar number of Yak-130 jet trainers from Russia in early 2020. A news segment on Russian state TV from January showed a Yak-130 for Vietnam on the production floor of the Irkutsk Aviation Plant, which produces the jets. It is likely that the VPAF will operate the L-39NG as a basic jet trainer, with the higher-performance Yak-130 acting as an advanced jet or lead-in fighter trainer. Vietnam is one of six countries claiming ownership of the disputed Spratly and Paracel islands in the South China Sea, and has been one of the most vocal in pushing back against fellow claimant China's increasingly assertive military activities in the area. The Vietnamese military still operates primarily Russian equipment, but has in recent years acquired transport aircraft from European manufacturer Airbus and taken delivery of surplus ships from the South Korean navy and U.S. Coast Guard. An arms embargo on the country imposed by the United States following the end of the Vietnam War was lifted in 2016, and U.S. Navy ships, including aircraft carriers, have made port visits to Vietnamese ports in recent years. https://www.defensenews.com/global/europe/2021/02/16/czech-aircraft-maker-boosts-asian-presence-with-vietnam-jet-trainer-deal/

  • Belgium reportedly picks F-35 for future fighter jet

    25 octobre 2018 | International, Aérospatial

    Belgium reportedly picks F-35 for future fighter jet

    By: Valerie Insinna and Sebastian Sprenger WASHINGTON and LIÈGE, Belgium — Belgium appears poised to select Lockheed Martin's F-35 over the Eurofighter Typhoon as its next-generation fighter jet, with government sources on Oct. 22 telling national news outlet Belga that an F-35 victory has already been decided. The Belgian government is expected to formally announce its decision before Oct. 29, Reuters reported on Monday. A Lockheed Martin spokesman said he could not confirm whether Belgium had communicated its choice to the firm, but said the company remains confident in its offering. “The F-35 offers transformational capability for the Belgian Air Force and, if selected, will align them with a global coalition operating the world's most advanced aircraft,” Mike Friedman said in an emailed statement. “The F-35 program is built on strong international partnerships, and our proposal includes significant industrial opportunities for Belgian companies to contribute to the global F-35 enterprise.” The F-35 was widely considered the favorite in the competition, which included the Eurofighter — a partnership among the United Kingdom, Italy, Spain and Germany. This summer, Belgium announced that it would also consider two options in addition to the F-35 and Typhoon: France's Dassault Rafale or upgrading its existing F-16 fleet instead of purchasing new aircraft. U.S. aerospace behemoth Boeing and Sweden's Saab pulled out of the competition last year, with Boeing claiming that Belgium's requirements favored the F-35 and Sweden stating that it was not able to provide the operational support needed by the Belgian Air Component. A win by the F-35 would further solidify the joint strike fighter's dominance among U.S. allies in Europe and deal a heavy blow to Franco-German ambitions for a prominent role in building Europe's next-generation defense capabilities. Both Rafale and Eurofighter had pitched extensive industrial packages to Belgium in the hopes of bolstering their offers. Analysts had said that Belgium's decision could be a bellwether for future European fighter jet competitions. U.S. industry sources told Defense News this summer that they believed that President Donald Trump's rhetoric on NATO allies' defense spending and tariffs on steel and aluminum may have led Belgium to take a closer look at the European offers. Meanwhile, European defense officials and experts repeatedly made the case that Belgium should pick a European plane. For Brussels, the capital of Europe, to choose the U.S. plane would amount to nothing less than an act of “betrayal,” the French business journal La Tribune headlined on Monday. Two practical considerations were seen as playing heavily into the Belgian government's inclination toward the joint strike fighter: For one, the neighboring Netherlands already is an F-35 customer. The two countries agreed some years ago to pool their resources in policing their common airspace, and having only one aircraft type presumably would be good for interoperability. In addition, Belgium for decades has had an agreement with NATO that requires its planes to be capable of carrying U.S. nuclear weapons into a hypothetical atomic war. Belgium, like neighbor Germany, stores a few warheads within its borders for that purpose. Certifying a European-made aircraft, like the Airbus Eurofighter, for the nuclear mission after the F-16 is politically tricky and – some say – perhaps even undoable given the current state of trans-Atlantic affairs. In that line of thinking, a nuclear-capable F-35 could represent the most trouble-free option for Belgium. The Belgian decision is sure to be watched closely by Germany. Berlin is in the market to replace its Tornado aircraft, looking for roughly 90 new planes. While officials have said they prefer the Eurofighter, uncertainty surrounding the nuclear-weapons certification of the future fleet remains something of an elephant in the room. Belgium intends to buy 34 new fighters to replace its aging inventory of F-16s, which number about 54 jets — although that number may be even fewer after an embarrassing incident earlier this month, where a mechanic accidentally opened fire while doing repair work and and blew up a neighboring F-16. In January, the U.S. State Department pre-emptively approved a $6.53 billion F-35 sale to Belgium that would include 34 F-35A conventional takeoff and landing variants, 38 F-135 engines manufactured by Pratt & Whitney, and a slew of other equipment to enable operations, training and logistics. That estimate is expected to come down as Lockheed and the government hammer out a final contract. https://www.defensenews.com/air/2018/10/22/belgium-reportedly-picks-f-35-for-future-fighter-jet

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