10 août 2020 | International, Aérospatial
A U.S. Air Force B-52H on Aug. 8 completed the second and final instrumented measurement vehicle test flight of the Lockheed Martin AGM-183A Air-launched Rapid Response Weapon (ARRW), and the Air Force announced the payload for a previously separate risk-reduction program will be merged into the ARRW flight-test vehicles.
The latest trial by the 419th Flight Test Sqdn. (FLTS) at Edwards AFB, California, confirmed that the Navy's sea-range ground stations at Point Mugu, California, can receive transmissions of telemetry and GPS data from the instrumented measurement vehicle, the Air Force said in an Aug. 8 news release.
The second test appears to clear the Air Force to move forward with a series of powered test flights of the AGM-183A, beginning with a booster flight test before year-end.
“The entire team is excited to take the next step and begin energetic flight test of our first air-launched hypersonic weapons,” said Lt. Col. Michael Jungquist, commander of the 419th FLTS and director of the Global Power Bomber Combined Test Force.
The statement indicates that the Air Force has made a fundamental change to the original test plan for the Defense Department's only development program air-launched hypersonic glide vehicle (HGV).
When the Air Force launched the ARRW program in 2017, service officials expected to leverage flight-test data from the Tactical Boost-Glide (TBG) program, which is funded jointly by DARPA and the Air Force. The TBG and ARRW were expected to use a similar, if not identical, high lift-to-drag-ratio HGV. DARPA planned to complete flight tests of the TBG in 2019, so the performance data could be used to inform any changes necessary for ARRW, which completed the critical design review in February 2020.
The Air Force now acknowledges for the first time that DARPA has previously completed two captive-carry tests of the TBG demonstration system. Instead of continuing a separate series of flight tests, the TBG demonstration system “will be integrated into the ARRW payload,” the Air Force said.
“We are in a competition and must remain diligent in our efforts to stay ahead of our adversaries, who are vigorously pursuing similar weapon systems,” said Gen. Arnold Bunch, head of the Air Force Materiel Command.
It is not clear when the TBG captive-carry tests were staged, but the Aug. 8 event comes 416 days after the 419th FLTS completed a captive-carry test of the first instrumented measurement vehicle for the AGM-183A.
For the second test on Aug. 8, the Air Force loaded both AGM-183A captive-carry vehicles onto the inboard pylon of the left wing of a B-52 nicknamed “Dragon's Inferno.” Unlike the white-painted, first instrumented test vehicle, the second captive-carry version of the AGM-183A emerged in an operational, two-tone gray scheme, with the nose section painted a few shades darker than the booster section. The second instrumented measurement vehicle also was adorned with a new logo, featuring a skeletal figure firing an arrow over two Latin words, “celeri responsio,” which means “rapid response.”
The Air Force plans to fire the AGM-183A at the most heavily guarded targets, using the weapon's agility at hypersonic speed to evade missile defenses. The Air Force expects to field the first four AGM-183As by the end of fiscal 2022. The booster tests this year and next year will be followed by flight tests of the all-up round, including the release of the TBG-derived HGV payload, starting in October 2021.
“This capability will directly support our warfighters. Hypersonic weapons further enable the U.S. to hold any target at risk in any environment anywhere,” said Gen. Tim Ray, the head of Air Force Global Strike Command.
23 juin 2022 | International, C4ISR
A pair of Lockheed Martin tools recommended offensive and defensive firing solutions to joint force commanders at Valiant Shield 2022, and a second system digitally sent the targeting data to shooters on the ground.
22 janvier 2020 | International, Aérospatial
By: Andrew Chuter LONDON — Rotary pilot and rear crew training capabilities for the British military have been given a lift with an order for additional Airbus helicopters in part of a wider boost to a package of improvements announced Jan. 21 by the Ministry of Defence. The £183 million (U.S. $238 million) deal will see Airbus supply four of its H145 helicopters to the rotary wing element of the U.K. Military Flying Training System program. UKMFTS is run by the Babcock-Lockheed Martin joint venture Ascent Flight Training Management in partnership with the MoD. Aside from the H145 helos, known in Britain as Jupiters, the MoD has funded the acquisition of another simulator, made by Canadian vendor CAE, and infrastructure improvements at Royal Air Force Shawbury, the headquarters of Britain's tri-service helicopter training effort. “The new H145 helicopters and simulator will enable students to learn how to fly a range of missions, covering expected scenarios on operational deployment. In addition, the H145s enable students to practice winching tasks and rear crew activities,” the MoD said in a statement announcing the deal. “It is part of a wider program to increase training capacity for UK military pilots overall, as part of the £3.2 billion UKMFTS program and helps address the increased demand for pilot training identified in the 2015 Strategic Defence and Security Review,” the statement added. The helicopter element of MFTS currently operates 29 Airbus H135s for basic training, and three H145s for more advanced pilot training and particularly for rear crew work like winching. The H135 is known in Britain as the Juno. All four aircraft are expected to be delivered to the MFTS program by the end of this year. The more than doubling of the H145 fleet reflects the increasing number of rotary rear crew and pilots required by the British military. Crew shortages in fixed- and rotary-wing sectors have caused concern at the MoD, with Defence Secretary Ben Wallace saying late last year that fixing the problem is a top priority. To help meet demand, additional fixed-wing aircraft may also be added to a fleet that already includes T-6 Texans, Phenon multi-engine trainers and King Air rear crew trainers. https://www.defensenews.com/training-sim/2020/01/21/britain-orders-airbus-h145-helos-amid-scramble-to-fix-pilot-shortage/
13 octobre 2020 | International, Sécurité, Autre défense
Sebastian Sprenger COLOGNE, Germany — As NATO officials hash out reform proposals aimed at reinvigorating the alliance, there will be a dedicated push to enhance military technology development among member states, Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg announced this week. “As part of NATO 2030, I intend to put further proposals on the table to maintain our technological edge, to develop common principles and standards for new technologies, and to enhance cooperation between allies in areas like joint research and development,” Stoltenberg said during a speech at the Globsec think tank's Bratislava Forum event. The NATO 2030 drill encompasses various strands of analyses by experts inside and outside the alliance command structure. The reform push goes back to a resolution from the 2019 London summit, which tasked the Norwegian prime minister at the time to lead a “reflection process” that would incorporate new threats like cyberwar, the rise of China, Russian saber-rattling, climate change and terrorism. Over the summer, Stoltenberg unveiled a new political tack emanating from the NATO 2030 study, postulating that the alliance would strive to increase its global reach, including in the Indo-Pacific. “Military strength is only part of the answer,” Stoltenberg said in a June speech. “We also need to use NATO more politically.” He reiterated that objective this week, saying the alliance would seek deeper ties with “like-minded” nations outside of NATO. Resilience is another key prong of the reform agenda, and Stoltenberg previewed a new push for member states to shore up their defenses against potentially hostile forces seeking to undermine the alliance through the back door. Such measures could come in the form of a common monitoring regime for keeping foreign investors from snapping up “critical infrastructure, companies and technologies,” Stoltenberg said. “And we should agree common principles and whether to export technologies that we rely on for our security,” he added. Also on the docket in the course of the reform process is a new strategic concept that would replace the existing version dating from 2010, Stoltenberg announced. https://www.defensenews.com/global/europe/2020/10/09/nato-chief-seeks-technology-gains-in-alliance-reform-push/