All Defence articles – Page 144
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NewsChanging world creates vexing challenge for USAF planners: Rand
Washington think tank Rand has outlined the challenges facing US Air Force (USAF) and defence planners in a series of papers focusing on the future of warfare in the coming decade. The series of papers, which were sponsored by USAF, points out that the US has a poor record predicting ...
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News‘Agile’ strategy fails to deliver as F-35 upgrade two years late and cost rise $1.5bn
The Block 4 upgrade, modernisation of the relatively new stealth fighter’s software and hardware, was initially to be delivered by 2024, but now will not be handed over until 2026. Problems also pushed up the cost on the modernisation effort to an estimated $12.1 billion.
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NewsTokyo’s first V-22 Ospreys reach Japan
Tokyo has received its first pair of Bell Boeing V-22 Osprey tiltrotors, as the nation continues to build up its amphibious capabilities.
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NewsRoyal Canadian Air Force fighter competition delayed by coronavirus until 31 July
The deadline was pushed back at the request of potential bidders in the competition. Ottawa wants to buy 88 fighter aircraft, worth $15 to $19 billion.
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NewsUSAF abandons 80% mission capability goal after three fighters miss target
The mission capability rate is defined as the percentage of a fleet of an aircraft that are able to perform at least one assigned mission over a period of time.
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NewsLeonardo gains initial certification for M-345
Leonardo has secured initial certification for its M-345, edging the jet trainer closer to service introduction with the Italian air force.
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NewsMQ-8C starts flight tests with new radar
Flight tests of the Northrop Grumman MQ-8C Fire Scout UAV with an advanced search radar are underway with the US Navy. Flight testing with the Leonardo AN/ZPY-8 Osprey radar commenced from the US Navy’s Patuxent River testing facility in late February, says Northrop. “The AN/ZPY-8 radar significantly increases Fire Scout’s ...
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NewsLockheed Martin Skunk Works demos autonomous reconnaissance pod
Lockheed Martin’s Advanced Development Programs, also known as Skunk Works, has demonstrated an artificial intelligence-powered intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance pod autonomously searching out and confirming a target in a demonstration.
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NewsUSA approves $2.3bn refurbishment package for 43 of Egypt’s AH-64E Apaches
The helicopters would be used to put down a Bedouin insurgency in the Sinai Peninsula.
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NewsLeonardo finances hit by airline crisis after strong start to year
Italian group suspends 2020 guidance as commercial market collapse throws outlook into uncertainty
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NewsLong-Range Standoff Weapon franchise worth $10 billion over lifetime: Raytheon
The USAF gave Raytheon a sole-source contract in April for the LRSO, ending the missile development competition early. Lockheed Martin was also competing to design and build the missile.
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NewsJoint battlefield network one of USAF’s highest priorities: chief of staff nominee
US Air Force chief of staff nominee General Charles Brown plans to make pursuit of the Pentagon’s Joint All-Domain Command and Control battlefield network concept one of the service’s highest priorities.
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NewsFirst German government A350 arrives for outfitting in Hamburg
Airbus has transferred the first of three A350-900s for the federal German government to Hamburg for outfitting at the Lufthansa Technik facility. The aircraft flew from the airframer’s Hamburg Finkenwerder plant to the city’s main international airport on 7 May. It bears the civil registration D-AGAF but will be re-registered ...
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AnalysisWhy hypersonic developers have narrow window to enact arms controls
A forthcoming generation of missiles capable of travelling at Mach 5 threaten to overwhelm defences and upset the global power balance.
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NewsUS Army studies data fusion for FARA and FLRAA as pilot cognitive overload hits ‘tipping point’
The US Army is calling for ideas from US aerospace manufacturers for dealing with cognitive overload in its next-generation rotorcraft. The call for white papers comes ahead of the service’s plans to launch a “Holistic Situational Awareness—Decision Making” development programme in fiscal year 2021.
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In depth8 key hypersonic missile efforts for the US Department of Defense
In a race to catch up with China and Russia, the US Air Force, Army and Navy are sharing funding, designs and maybe eventually components from hypersonic weapons. These heady early days of industry and service co-operation will probably not last, but represent the all-hands-on-deck urgency that the US Department of Defense believes is needed.
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In depth7 technical challenges that need to be overcome by hypersonic missile builders
There remain great challenges to designing, building and fielding a reliable hypersonic weapon. Overcoming these seven technical problems is essential to advancing hypersonic missile technology to an operational state, according to leading experts at Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman and Raytheon Technologies.
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In depthPentagon to launch National Consortium for Applied Hypersonics by end of 2020
The US Department of Defense is moving forward with a plan to build and fund a consortium of universities to boost its hypersonic missile development efforts and train a new generation of scientists and engineers in the field
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In depthGeneration Orbit starts building X-60A hypersonic test vehicle
The X-60A rocket, designed to test components of hypersonic missiles, is approaching flight readiness and safety reviews by the US Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL). Those milestones come ahead of initial flight tests, which are expected to begin later this year and continue into 2021.
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NewsFirst CH-53K King Stallion simulator delivered to US Marine Corps
The first Sikorsky CH-53K King Stallion simulator was delivered to US Marine Corps (USMC) Air Station New River in Jacksonville, North Carolina.