2 août 2018 | International, Aérospatial
Gareth Jennings, London
Boeing is to begin development of a Block 3-standard Boeing CH/MH-47 Chinook transport and assault helicopter toward the end of the 2020s, ahead of fielding by the US Army in the late 2030s/early 2040s.
The timeline was disclosed by the army's MH-47G programme manager, Lieutenant Colonel Robert Klarenbach, in a briefing presented earlier in 2018 and seen by Jane'son 1 August. According to the briefing, Block 3 technology development for both the CH-47F and MH-47G will run from about 2027 to 2040, with production immediately following.
With Boeing currently engaged in the early stages of the Block 2 upgrade for the US Army's Chinook fleet (the first of three prototypes is now in final assembly, ahead of the first low-rate initial production delivery in fiscal year 2023), in May 2017 the company first touted the notion of a Block 3 upgrade to take the Chinook out to the 2060s.
No details as to what a Block 3 upgrade might include were released, but Boeing at that time noted it could feature the new Future Affordable Turbine Engine (FATE), which is being provisioned for inclusion in Block 2, as well as active parallel actuator systems and torque management systems. It could also see the Chinook become optionally-piloted. “[Optionally piloted] is not a huge technology challenge with the flights controls the Chinook has – it is more a tactics, techniques, and procedures [TTP] challenge,” said Randy Rotte, Boeing's director of cargo helicopter sales and marketing. “Unlike the [US Marine Corps'] K-MAX, which carried its cargo sling-loaded, someone would need to get inside [of the unmanned Chinook] to load and unload it.”
While the US Army has yet to comment on what a Block 3 Chinook might entail, Col Klarenbach's briefing slides showed two possible configurations.
Full article: https://www.janes.com/article/82113/us-army-discloses-timelines-for-block-3-chinook
25 juillet 2023 | International, Aérospatial
The weapons shipment will be worth up to $400 million, and the U.S. has sent more than $43 billion to Ukraine since Russia launched its invasion.
12 février 2021 | International, Naval
By: Sebastian Sprenger COLOGNE, Germany — Spanish shipbuilder Navantia has sealed its participation in the upcoming development of the European Control Corvette, a signature naval program that is part of the European Union's defense efforts. Company executives signed a memorandum of understanding to that effect with the Naviris consortium, the companies announced Feb. 11. Naviris is a 50-50 joint venture between France's Naval Group and Italy's Fincantieri. The notional European Patrol Corvette is meant to be a coast guard-type ship able to perform missions of fighting pirates and smugglers as well as border control and show-of-force trips in Europe's waters. At 100 meters and 3,000 tons, it will replace “several classes of ships, from patrol vessels to light frigates” in participating countries come 2027, the companies said. The program has been advancing through the EU's so-called Permanent Structured Cooperation framework, or PESCO, whose goal is to create joint capabilities across the continent. Companies participating in PESCO projects have a shot at subsidies flowing from the multibillion-dollar European Defence Fund. Italy has the lead on the patrol corvette project. The governments of France, Spain and Greece have already signed up, and Portugal is reportedly considering doing the same. All participating navies are expected to submit their design requirements this year, according to the Naviris announcement. The idea is to find “commonality of solutions and modularity for adaptions to national requirements,” the company said. “The ambition of the project ... is to include other European partners to integrate technological bricks, which correspond to innovation streams matching with national EPC requirements and European Commission strategy and guidelines.” The European Defence Agency announced earlier this year that it would lend project management and related support to the program. https://www.defensenews.com/global/europe/2021/02/11/spains-navantia-joins-industry-team-for-european-patrol-corvette
4 février 2020 | International, Aérospatial
Tucson will become the new headquarters for a combined business unit made up of Tucson-based Raytheon Missile Systems and a Massachusetts-based Raytheon business when parent Raytheon Co. and United Technologies Corp. finalize their merger. A Raytheon Missile Systems spokesman confirmed Friday that Tucson will become headquarters for the new Raytheon Missiles & Defense business, which will combine Missile Systems and Raytheon Integrated Defense, now headquartered in Tewksbury, Massachusetts. “We shared with our employees that upon merger close, our consolidated businesses will be named Raytheon Missiles & Defense and Raytheon Intelligence & Space," Raytheon spokesman John Patterson said. "They'll be headquartered in Tucson, Arizona and Arlington, Virginia respectively. We look forward to sharing more information once the merger closes — anticipated early in the second quarter of this year.” Raytheon — Southern Arizona's largest employer — announced in late October that Wes Kremer, president of Raytheon Missile Systems since last March, will become president of the combined missile and integrated defense unit as part of the merged parent company, which will be called Raytheon Technologies Corp. Raytheon Intelligence & Space will be formed from Raytheon's Space and Airborne Systems and Intelligence, Information and Services units, and UTC Mission Systems and Raytheon's Forcepoint cybersecurity unit. Together with two of UTC's current businesses — engine maker Pratt & Whitney and Collins Aerospace — they will form the four main business units of the merged company. But the company said it would not announce the headquarters location of the new business units until the merger was finalized. The so-called "merger of equals" will create an aerospace and defense behemoth with annual revenues of $74 billion, second only to Boeing in the industry. Raytheon and United Technologies shareholders have approved the merger of the two companies, which is also contingent on United Technologies' successful spinoff of its Carrier heating, ventilation and air-conditioning business and its Otis Elevator subsidiary. The deal is also subject to federal anti-trust approval, which is expected after the Defense Department said it had few concerns about the merger. Raytheon is the Tucson region's largest employer with about 13,000 local workers. The company has been working to expand its campus at Tucson International Airport amid a plan to add more than 2,000 jobs. Raytheon also has significant operations at the University of Arizona Tech Park. The company makes many of the nation's front-line defense systems, including the Tomahawk cruise missile and the Standard Missile series of ship-defense and ballistic missile interceptors, and more recently has been working on hypersonic missiles and laser weapons to defeat drones and other threats. https://tucson.com/news/local/raytheon-chooses-tucson-for-headquarters-of-combined-missiles-defense-unit/article_ee884dfe-4489-11ea-8617-6b5185c6107b.html