US Army plans long-range missile fly-offs for future helicopters

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  23 novembre 2020 | International, Aérospatial

  IAI names Boaz Levy as new chief exec

  By: Seth J. Frantzman JERUSALEM — Israel Aerospace Industries has named Boaz Levy, its former vice president for the Systems Missiles and Space Group, as its new CEO. Levy's group oversaw major contracts for IAI over the years, including billion-dollar deals in India in 2018. He was also central to the Arrow 3 program, which was developed with U.S. support to intercept high-altitude targets in space, such as ballistic missiles. In his new position, Levy said he plans to lead the company through the challenges of the future. “IAI has transformed in recent years, but we still have a considerable way to achieve the company's potential and strengthen our position in existing and new markets,” he said. Levy's appointment was approved by the Board of Directors, according to a statement from the company. The search committee chose Levy to replace Nimrod Sheffer after announcing in July he would step down. Sheffer had replaced Joseph Weiss as CEO in 2018, who had been at the helm of the company for six years. Sheffer came from the strategic planning area of the company and had drafted a new growth strategy for IAI. In March the company said its annual revenue surpassed $4 billion for the first time. That was an increase from $3.6 billion in 2018 and $3.5 billion in 2017. IAI's chairman of the board, Harel Locker, praised the unanimous decision to nominate Levy. “Levy has successfully managed the Systems Missiles and Space Group — IAI's most profitable group that in recent years has made technological and financial groundbreaking achievements. Boaz knows the domestic and international defense market and understands our customer's needs,” Locker said. Sheffer officially stepped down on Oct. 31, and Levy's nomination has been submitted to Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz and Minister for Cyber and National Digital Matters Dudi Amsalem, who supervise the government's authority over IAI. IAI is one of Israel's three large defense companies along with Elbit Systems and Rafael Advanced Defense Systems. Many of the companies' capabilities are integrated into key Israeli weapon systems, such as the Iron Dome air defense system, which uses radar made by IAI subsidiary Elta Systems. Similarly, the new Sa'ar-class corvette will combine capabilities from IAI, including a new sea-to-sea missile the company recently tested. Levy was previously head of IAI's air defense division between 2010 and 2013. A graduate of Israel's Technion, he came to IAI in 1990 as an engineer and worked on the Arrow program in the 1990s and 2000s. According to IAI, he “headed the induction of the Arrow-2 into operational service.” He also headed the Barak-8 program, which IAI claims is one of the world's most advanced air defense systems. The Barak-8 is also a major revenue source for the company. In 2017, Levy indicated Israel aimed to build future interceptors beyond Arrow 2 and Arrow 3. The Arrow 3 is currently Israel's top tier in a multilayered air defense system that includes the Iron Dome and David's Sling, all programs supported by the U.S. More than 20 American states are involved in the production of Arrow 3. Israel faces increasing threats from Iran and also challenges at sea, which is partly why it has shifted its naval doctrine amid adoption of the new Sa'ar 6 corvettes, and also why it rolled out a new multiyear defense strategy called Momentum. The country has aso begun modernizing training, creating new military units and upgrading communications systems for its armed forces. https://www.defensenews.com/industry/2020/11/20/iai-names-boaz-levy-as-new-chief-exec

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  16 juin 2020 | International, Terrestre

  Japan suspends Aegis Ashore deployment, pointing to cost and technical issues

  By: Mike Yeo MELBOURNE, Australia — Japan has abruptly suspended the planned deployment of the Aegis Ashore ballistic missile defense system, which will drastically alter the U.S. ally's plans for defending itself against such threats. Defense Minister Taro Kono cited cost and technical issues as the reasons for the suspension of Japan's plans to deploy two Aegis Ashore systems at Japan Ground Self-Defense Force, or JGSDF bases at Akita Prefecture in the north of Japan's main island of Honshu and at Yamaguchi Prefecture in the south. He explained during today's announcement that that the main technical issue was the need to ensure that the rocket boosters of the interceptor missiles, which are used to accelerate the missile to supersonic speeds following their launch, will fall on its designated areas following separation from the missile. Attempts to modify the software on the SM-3 Block IIA missiles to ensure correct booster separation so as to not put civilian lives and infrastructure at risk have not been successful so far, with modifications to the missile hardware likely to be needed, the minister said. Kono added that Japan has already spent the equivalent of $1.02 billion on the development of the SM-3 Block IIA so far, which is being developed jointly by Japan and the United States. The missiles can also be fired from the Aegis equipped ships of both countries to intercept short- and intermediate-range ballistic missiles. Japan's Aegis Ashore deployment plans have been controversial, with the defense ministry facing strong opposition from local governments and residents at both sites, citing concerns about the radiation from the system's Lockheed Martin Long Range Discrimination Radar. The news of the suspension comes a little over a month after local media reported that the ministry will cancel the planned Aegis Ashore deployment at Akita and choose another site. However, this was swiftly denied by Japan Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga, who said at the time no decision had been made. In announcing the suspension of the Aegis Ashore deployment, defense minister Kono said that Japan will continue to rely on its Aegis-equipped destroyers to provide ballistic missile defense against North Korea's missiles in the meantime. Japan operates seven such destroyers and is building another, although the Aegis Ashore radars are more advanced than that used on the ships. The land-based systems also reduce the demands placed on the ships and their crews by the missile defense mission. The latest developments come as Japan announces completion of the deployment of an upgraded Patriot Missile Segment Enhancement, or MSE, interceptors at four different locations throughout the country earlier this month. The announcement was made during a media briefing by Gen. Yoshinari Marumo, chief of the Air Staff of the Japan Air Self-Defense Force, or JASDF, last Friday. The missile batteries, which can be used against aircraft or short-range ballistic missiles, are located at JASDF bases at Narashino, Hamamatsu, Ashiya, and Tsuiki. https://www.defensenews.com/global/asia-pacific/2020/06/15/japan-suspends-aegis-ashore-deployment-pointing-to-cost-and-technical-issues/

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  5 septembre 2018 | International, Aérospatial

  T-X competition to end in September with selection of new USAF trainer aircraft

  2018-08-30 WILLIAM KUCINSKI Officials will soon award a 350-unit contract to one of three competing aircraft teams. According to officials, the U.S. Air Force (USAF) will select a new trainer aircraft by September 30 – before the end of the 2018 fiscal year. The aircraft will be one of the three remaining next-gen trainer candidates from the USAF's ongoing T-X competition, either the clean-sheet T-X from Boeing and Saab, the T-50A from Lockheed Martin and Korea Aerospace Industries, Ltd. (KAI), or the T-100 from Leonardo DRS. The USAF will replace its aging fleet of Northrop T-38 Talon supersonic jet trainers with 350 new aircraft from the T-X competition, spending approximately $16 billion to acquire and maintain the new trainers over the course of their service life – one of the largest USAF contracts in recent times. The seasoned T-38 has been in use since 1961, training nearly 50,000 pilots who would later fly aircraft like the Boeing B-52 Stratofortress, Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird, McDonell Douglass F-15 Eagle, and Fairchild Republic A-10 Thunderbolt II. However, as the USAF transitions employs more and more cutting-edge technologies, a next-gen trainer is needed to better facilitate fifth-gen fighter aircraft pilot training for the Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor and F-35 Lighting II. The winning T-X aircraft will serve as a platform to acclimate pilots to aircraft with extreme agility, full-sensor fusion, integrated avionics, supercruise, and consolidated and integrated battlespace management technologies. Industry analysts currently favor the Lockheed/KAI T-50A – based on KAI's T-50 trainer used by South Korea's Republic of Korea Air Force and co-developed by Lockheed Martin, manufacturer of the F-22 and F-35; and the Boeing/Saab T-X – which, as a completely new design – benefited from additional development time due to the T-X competition's repeatedly protracted award announcement. While speculation has floated that the T-X award announcement would occur during the Air Force Association's Air, Space & Cyber (ASC) Conference from Sept. 17-19, those close to the program hinted at a decision coming through the following week of Sept. 24. https://www.sae.org/news/2018/08/t-x-competition-to-end-in-september-with-selection-of-new-usaf-trainer-aircraft