All articles by James Drew – Page 18
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NewsSaudis seek nine more Sikorsky Black Hawks
Saudi Arabia could purchase up to nine Sikorsky UH-60M Black Hawk combat helicopters under a $495 million foreign military sale package approved by the US State Department this week.
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NewsLockheed secures split-buy of -ER and baseline JASSM missiles
Lockheed Martin’s JASSM cruise missile programme has locked in a contract for 280 more missiles, with an even split of baseline and extended-range variants.
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NewsLockheed displays new-look Terminator UAV
Lockheed Martin has displayed an evolved version of its 'Terminator' loitering unmanned air vehicle, which it is offering for the US Army's long-running terminator Lethal Miniature Aerial Munition System programme.
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NewsGeneral Atomics confirms first Improved Gray Eagle purchase
General Atomics Aeronautical Systems has confirmed the US Army’s purchase of 19 “Improved Gray Eagle” UAVs following the service’s disclosure this week that its MQ-1C procurement has been “amended” to the extended-range version.
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NewsBoeing to fly new CH-47 Chinook ‘Block II’ rotor blade in 2016
Boeing’s development of an advanced blade for the tandem-rotor CH-47 Chinook is moving ahead, with the first blade “about to finish this week” ahead of flight trials in 2016.
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NewsBAE secures US Army Apache as APKWS laser-guided rocket customer
The US Army has ordered its first batch of 70mm laser-guided rockets from BAE Systems for its Boeing AH-64D Apache Longbow “for immediate deployment” following the Advanced Precision Kill Weapon System’s qualification on the helicopter gunship last year.
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Boeing, Lockheed unveil competing UAV-killing concepts
With reports that Islamic State (IS) militants have begun operating commercially-produced unmanned air vehicles to support their activities in the Middle East, Boeing and Lockheed Martin are pursuing two very different approaches to knocking unmanned aircraft out of the sky.
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NewsUS Army wants more Gray Eagle weapon options
The US Army is interested in new weapons options besides the Lockheed Martin AGM-114 Hellfire missile for its General Atomics Aeronautical Systems MQ-1C, and the service has asked industry to offer smaller, cheaper and more specialised alternatives as it considers a future requirement.
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Sikorsky S-97 Raider reaching for top speeds by “summer 2016”
Sikorsky will conduct a significant amount of ground testing on its S-97 Raider before returning to flight trials, with just 2.2h of a 110h test programme clocked since the maiden flight in May.
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NewsBell and Lockheed modify V-280 contract ahead of Sikorsky takeover
Lockheed Martin’s pending acquisition of Sikorsky has caused some contractual changes between Lockheed and Bell Helicopter for V-280 Valor development to ensure there is no cross pollination with its competitor, the Boeing-Sikorsky SB-1 Defiant.
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NewsVirgin Galactic’s new SpaceShipTwo approaching maiden flight
LAS CRUCES, New Mexico – Construction of Virgin Galactic’s second SpaceShipTwo is progressing quickly but cautiously with technicians fitting the main oxidiser tank into the suborbital spaceplane in preparation for its maiden flight, which is expected “soon”.
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NewsBlue Origin waiting on New Shepard tests before selling tickets
Space tourists could be waiting up to two years to purchase tickets to ride Blue Origin’s New Shepard suborbital space capsule, with the company saying it wants to get much further through flight testing before offering its zero-gravity experience.
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NewsSierra Nevada touts Dream Chaser as X-37B alternative
Sierra Nevada Corporation believes its Dream Chaser could be a viable alternative to the Boeing X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle for long-duration, recoverable experimentation in space.
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SNC's updated Dream Chaser to resume flight tests
Sierra Nevada Corporation’s Dream Chaser could resume flight testing in early 2016 following the repair and upgrade of the first engineering test asset that crash-landed in October 2013.
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NewsSpaceport Colorado submitting FAA license application this month
LAS CRUCES, NEW MEXICO – Spaceport Colorado intends to submit its application for a commercial spaceport license by the end of the month with the aim of securing approval in the second quarter of 2016, says air and spaceport director David Ruppel.
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DOD warns defence primes of high supplier profit margins
The Pentagon’s top acquisition office says first-tier subcontractors’ profit margins for production programmes are 7% higher on average than for the prime contractor, and this imbalance could be deterring major suppliers from bidding for new contracts as primes.
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NewsPentagon concerned about prime contractor consolidation
The Pentagon has very few tools in its arsenal to constrain major mergers and acquisitions between prime contractors – a fact that has become all too apparent to defence acquisition chief Frank Kendall with Lockheed Martin’s $9 billion acquisition of Sikorsky.
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NewsNorthrop builds first F-35 centre fuselage for assembly in Japan
Northrop Grumman has built the first F-35 centre fuselage destined for Japan’s domestic joint strike fighter assembly plant, operated by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI).
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NewsLockheed considering laser weapon concepts for F-35
Lockheed Martin’s F-35 has not yet seen combat, but already the defence manufacturer is exploring “concepts” for installing and employing a high-power fibre laser weapon onto the new-generation combat jet for shooting down missiles and other airborne threats.
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NewsLockheed F-35C begins second round of sea trials as bombs drop
Two US Navy F-35C test aircraft have begun a second round of developmental testing at sea aboard the aircraft carrier USS Eisenhower, aimed at smoothing the aircraft’s entry into service in 2018.