U.S. Navy awards Leidos $248 million contract to provide autonomous systems design and engineering

Sur le même sujet

• 

  14 novembre 2024 | International, Aérospatial

  Germany took step toward clearing Turkey's Eurofighter jet buy, Turkish official says

• 

  14 janvier 2020 | International, Aérospatial

  Stealthy UAS Unveiled For USAF Target, Loyal Wingman Needs

  Steve Trimble A small start-up company in California has unveiled a new proposal for a stealthy unmanned aircraft system (UAS) to offer the U.S. Air Force as a “fifth-generation” target drone or a low-cost attritable aircraft. Tehachapi, California-based Sierra Technical Services, a company founded by previously retired Lockheed Martin Skunk Works engineers, unveiled the first photos of the completed Fifth Generation Aerial Target (5GAT) prototype after completing engine tests on the ground. A first flight of the 5GAT is scheduled in early 2020. The name of the aircraft is derived from its origins as a prototype funded by the Defense Department's Director of Operational Test and Evaluation (DOT&E), says Roger Hayes, president and CEO of Sierra Technical Services. Several years ago, DOT&E recognized an emerging gap for a new target drone that could fly as a surrogate for fifth-generation fighters emerging in Russia and China such as the Sukhoi Su-57 and AVIC Chengdu J-20. In 2017, DOT&E awarded Sierra Technical Services a $15.9 million contract to develop the 5GAT prototype, Hayes said. The pace of assembly has been dictated by the availability of parts cannibalized from other military aircraft, such as the engines and metallic components from the Northrop T-38 trainer and F-5 fighter, as well as aileron actuators from the Boeing F/A-18, Hayes said. Sierra Technical Services supplemented its revenue as assembly continued by working on other programs, including supplying components for the Kratos XQ-58A Valkyrie. As development continued, the Air Force started to develop interest in a fifth-generation target. The service has awarded Lockheed Martin a contract to develop the AIM-260 Joint Advanced Tactical Missile, which is being designed to counter the PL-15 missile fielded on China's J-20 fighter. The Air Force needs to test the AIM-260 and other missiles against a representative threat. Last May, the Air Force released a request for information for the Next Generation Aerial Target, which included a version that can replicate fifth-generation fighter attributes, such as a stealthy airframe with canted tails and serpentine inlet ducts. The Air Force also is developing a concept to pair manned fighters such as the F-22 and F-35 with an unmanned partner, known sometimes as a Loyal Wingman. The Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) funded Kratos' XQ-58A, which completed a first flight in March. AFRL also plans to demonstrate a UAS controlled by a “software brain” using artificial intelligence. This Skyborg program is sometimes considered a follow-on for the XQ-58A program, but Hayes said Sierra Technical Services could offer the 5GAT for the Skyborg contract. https://aviationweek.com/special-topics/combat-aircraft/stealthy-uas-unveiled-usaf-target-loyal-wingman-needs

• 

  28 juin 2021 | International, Aérospatial

  Guerre des drones : le dossier du Monde

  Dans les ajustements capacitaires de la programmation militaire, figure notamment la lutte anti-drones, identifié comme un « domaine opérationnel clé dans le récent conflit du Haut-Karabakh » par la ministre des Armées, Florence Parly. En effet, les conflits au Donbass, en Libye, et au Haut-Karabakh ont mis en lumière les vulnérabilités des forces françaises dans le domaine de la défense sol-air de courte et moyenne portées. Pour enrayer cette menace, l'armée de Terre a inauguré en janvier le Battle-Lab Terre sur la base de Satory, à Versailles. Des fusils capables de brouiller les fréquences des drones sont en cours de déploiement et un système de radar raccordé à une mitrailleuse, baptisé « Icare », pouvant détruire des drones à distance a été développé. Il doit équiper, d'ici à la fin de l'année, des véhicules de l'avant blindé. Les forces terrestres recevront également à partir de janvier 2022 le système de drone tactique Patroller (Safran Electronics & Defense). « Le conflit du Haut-Karabakh doit nous ouvrir les yeux sur un changement de paradigme », résume Jean-Baptiste Jeangène Vilmer, directeur de l'Institut de recherche stratégique de l'Ecole militaire (Irsem). Le Monde, 27 juin