All Department of Defense articles – Page 8
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General Atomics developing lasers, missile interceptors to protect its UAVs
General Atomics, known for unmanned air vehicles that for decades conducted armed reconnaissance over Iraq and Afghanistan, is attempting to retool its aircraft with a futuristic arsenal of weapons, including lasers and missile interceptors.
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Pratt & Whitney’s GatorWorks to 3D print entire jet engine
The first time Pratt & Whitney’s GatorWorks attempted to 3D-print a combustor for the miniature TJ-150 jet engine, the results were anything but perfect. Lessons learned, the West Palm Beach, Florida-based outfit is now taking additive manufacturing one step further: attempting to produce a TJ-150 turbine entirely out of 3D-printed parts.
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F-35As drop inert B61-12 nukes in step toward operational certification
Two Lockheed Martin F-35A stealth fighters recently dropped inert B61-12 nuclear gravity bombs over Tonopah Test Range in Neveda as part of the type’s first full weapon system demonstration.
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Stratolaunch wraps critical design review, aims for hypersonic flight test in 2022
The Mojave, California-based company plans to use its massive, six-engined Roc aircraft as a launch platform for hypersonic vehicles and missiles.
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Raytheon flight tests loyal wingman UAV software
Raytheon has conducted a flight test during which a human operator controlled three autonomous unmanned air vehicles simultaneously using manned-unmanned teaming software.
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Boeing wins multibillion dollar contract to sustain global C-17 Globemaster III fleet
The US Air Force has awarded Boeing a multibillion-dollar contract to sustain the worldwide fleet of C-17 Globemaster III strategic transports over the next 10 years.
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DARPA’s HAWC scramjet missile goes hypersonic in successful test
The free flight test of the missile is the first time the US government has successfully launched a scramjet hypersonic vehicle since 2013 when the Boeing X-51 flew 240s, the record for longest air-breathing hypersonic flight.
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Lockheed agrees to F-35 ‘production smoothing’ plan
Coming off 2020, when the coronavirus pandemic threw production of the F-35 further behind schedule, the F-35 Joint Program Office and Lockheed Martin have agreed to a plan to ramp up production of the stealth fighter.
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USAF prepares to test adaptive engines from GE, P&W
The US Air Force plans to start testing adaptive engine prototypes from GE Aviation and Pratt & Whitney in early fiscal year 2022.
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Raytheon unveils compact, half-priced gallium nitride AESA radar
Lower-cost, smaller AESA radars are a critical enabling technology for several aircraft types, including ”attritable” unmanned air vehicles and light-attack aircraft. Both types have emerged in recent years as low-cost solutions for aerial combat.
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USAF secretary asks ‘hard questions’ of Advanced Battle Management System
Secretary of the US Air Force Frank Kendall is forcing a reassessment of one of the service’s highest development priorities, its Advanced Battle Management System (ABMS), after asking “hard questions” of the imagined battlefield network and receiving “answers that weren’t that good”.
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Lockheed agrees to $30,000 per flight hour cost for F-35A by FY2023
The F-35 Joint Program Office has awarded Lockheed Martin a sustainment contract for the F-35 that commits the company to reduce the operating cost of the stealth fighter to $30,000 per flight hour by fiscal year 2023, down 10.7% from FY2020.
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CH-53K King Stallion heavy lift helicopter flies first mission
The US Marine Corps’ CH-53K King Stallion heavy-lift helicopter flew its first mission on 5 September, retrieving a downed MH-60S Knighthawk utility helicopter that was sitting on a high-altitude ridge near the California-Nevada border.
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Boeing, Lockheed and Raytheon to design USAF’s ‘SCIFiRE’ hypersonic missiles
The US Air Force (USAF) has granted Boeing, Lockheed Martin and Raytheon separate contracts to develop air-breathing, hypersonic cruise missiles.
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Raytheon flight tests Coyote air-launched effect
As part of the test, the unmanned air vehicle was launched from a canister on the ground, successfully spread its wings and then established stable flight.
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Kratos demonstrates Air Wolf attritable UAV
Air Wolf appears to be a variation of the MQM-178 Firejet target drone.
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US military activates civil aviation for humanitarian airlift
The US military has asked airlines to participate in the humanitarian and diplomatic airlift from Afghanistan.
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Bell shows 360 Invictus scout helicopter more than 50% complete
Bell’s 360 Invictus scout helicopter prototype, its bid for the US Army’s Future Attack Reconnaisance Aircraft (FARA) programme, is more than 50% complete.
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Lockheed Martin finishes construction of new Skunk Works manufacturing plant
Lockheed Martin has finished constructing an “advanced manufacturing facility” at its Skunk Works headquarters in Palmdale, California – a site at which the company intends to manufacture unspecified products using new techniques.
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General Atomics Avenger uses Legion Pod’s infrared search and track to follow target
General Atomics Aeronautical Systems demonstrated in July one of its Avenger unmanned air vehicles autonomously tracking and following multiple targets using a Lockheed Martin Legion Pod’s infrared search and track capability.