All articles by James Drew – Page 23
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News
Raytheon sticking by tri-mode missile despite Lockheed JAGM win
Lockheed Martin might have won the battle for the US Army’s lucrative Joint Air-to-Ground Missile programme, but Raytheon says it would still offer its tri-mode seeker alternative it developed for the Small Diameter Bomb II if another opportunity were to emerge.
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News
USAF science panel recommends MQ-9, RQ-4 improvement plan
A panel of military scientists is briefing senior US Air Force leaders on ways to make the defenceless General Atomics MQ-9 Reaper and Northrop Grumman RQ-4 Global Hawk more useful in a war against a sophisticated enemy that has the ability to hunt and kill aircraft.
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Opinion
Concept of a nuclear-armed F-35C divides opinion
The US government may currently have no plans to carry nuclear weapons on the F-35C, the carrier-based variant of Lockheed Martin's Joint Strike Fighter, but some in Washington are keen to revive the concept.
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News
PICTURES: Marines' smiling Sea Knight farewelled after 51 years
After 51 years of service with the US Marine Corps, the Boeing-Vertol CH-46 Sea Knight flew for the last time 1 August at a retirement ceremony in Chantilly, Virginia.
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News
US Special Forces receive first AC-130J Ghostrider gunship
US Air Force Special Operations Command has received its first AC-130J Ghostrider gunship ahead of operational testing that it due to start later this year.
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News
Airbus CN235 military transport crashes in Colombia, killing 11
An Airbus CN235-200M military transport aircraft operated by the Colombian Air Force crashed 31 July, killing all 11 people on board.
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News
U-2 poised to receive radar upgrade, but not un-manned conversion
The Lockheed Martin proposal to “un-man” the U-2 is dead, but the old high-altitude surveillance aircraft is very much alive despite repeated attempts to kill the programme.
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News
First operational F-35 squadron declared ready for combat
The Lockheed Martin F-35 Joint Strike Fighter has achieved initial operational capability with the US Marine Corps 14 years after the fifth-generation combat jet entered development and five years after its original IOC target of 2010.
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News
UAE to install counter-missile system on head-of-state aircraft
The United Arab Emirates has been cleared by the US State Department to buy four Northrop Grumman infrared missile countermeasure systems to protect its Boeing-based head-of-state aircraft against missiles.
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News
Egyptian Air Force receiving long-awaited Lockheed F-16s
Egypt will receive eight Lockheed Martin F-16 Block 52 Vipers from the United States in the coming days following an uptick in diplomatic relations between the two nations.
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News
US Navy purchases six more Insitu RQ-21A Blackjack systems
The US Navy has grown its Boeing Insitu RQ-21A Blackjack low-rate production order to 11 with a $78 million Lot 4 order for six more Blackjack unmanned aircraft systems, which includes 30 air vehicles and 12 catapults.
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News
Boeing rolls out first Australian Growler
Boeing has unveiled the first of 12 Australian EA-18G Growler electronic attack aircraft at a ceremony in St Louis, Missouri, and company officials say the second example is already flight testing.
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News
USAF unveils roadmap for microwave weapons use
The US Air Force Research Laboratory has unveiled a technology roadmap for its cruise missile-based “CHAMP” high-power microwave weapon that successfully fried banks of computers at a test range in October 2012.
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News
US Special Forces pursuing AC-130-based ‘active denial system’
US Air Force Special Operations Command’s plans to mount an airborne laser and active denial system onto its new AC-130J Ghostrider gunship is maturing and has the strong support of the scientific community within the flying branch.
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News
USAF holding old gunships for laser demos
The US Air Force has kept some Lockheed Martin AC-130U gunships marked for retirement for use as directed energy weapon testbeds as the service pursues airborne lasers for offensive and defensive uses.
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News
Raytheon secures JSOW order from US Navy, Saudi Arabia
The US Navy has purchased 555 Joint Stand-Off Weapons from Raytheon for $180 million for itself and Saudi Arabia, according to a recent contact announcement.
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News
Northrop unveils evolved, exportable BACN aerial gateway
Northrop Grumman has expanded the networking capabilities of its Battlefield Airborne Communications Node aerial gateway to create a new product that promises to make “combat cloud” warfare commonplace.
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Analysis
ANALYSIS: Northrop battling to retain JSTARS as Lockheed, Boeing bid on recap
An effort to recapitalise the Northrop Grumman E-8C Joint Surveillance Target Attack Radar System (JSTARS) with a modern business jet is shaping up to be this summer’s blockbuster defence programme, with three solid industry teams now vying for the $6.5 billion prize and Raytheon working on a curious new airborne ...
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News
F-35 gun tests start while US Marines await IOC decision
Activity on the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter programme has reached fever pitch, with the US Air Force now testing the aircraft’s 25mm Gatling gun and a Marine Corps IOC decision imminent.
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News
Canada's reactivated CF-18 'Rams' squadron takes flight
Canada’s newly reborn CF-18 fighter squadron conducted its first operational fight this week since reactivating on 50 June.