Category: Military & Defense

German Heron TP UAV completes first successful flight in Israeli skies

In preparation for its delivery to the German Armed Forces, the German Heron TP UAV has completed its first flight in the skies of the State of Israel. The UAV was modified according to the needs and requirements of the German Ministry of Defense. It is the result of a joint program led by the UAV Executive Office in the Directorate of Defense Research and Development (DDR&D), of the Israel Ministry of Defense (IMoD), Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI), and Airbus DS Airborne Solutions, an Airbus Group company. The agreement between the respective ministries was signed in June 2018. The agreement Read more

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GKN Aerospace Sweden joins feasibility studies of future fighter jet engine

GKN Aerospace will participation in feasibility studies on technology development for the future combat air system and next generation of fighter jet engines with partner industries in Italy and the U.K. GKN Aerospace and Saab are the two companies in Sweden that are part of the cooperation. Air combat capabilities are designated by Sweden as a national security interest. Through a joint technology development, the Swedish aviation industry will be able to build and sustain their continuous development of competencies and capabilities in a cost-effective way. GKN Aerospace was contracted in Q1 2020 by FMV to conduct a study on collaboration with Rolls Royce on technology development of the future fighter Read more

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Astronics awarded contracts by Bell to develop electrical power systems for FARA and FLRAA programs

Astronics Corporation, a leading provider of advanced technologies for global aerospace, defense, and other mission critical industries, announced contract awards received from Bell Textron, a Texton company, (Bell) for Astronics to advance its CorePower® airframe electrical generation and power distribution systems to support their Future Long-Range Assault Aircraft (FLRAA) and Future Attack Reconnaissance Aircraft (FARA) programs. These programs are part of the U.S. Army’s Future Vertical Lift initiative to improve vertical lift dominance with next generation capabilities. Bell was recently selected for the competitive demonstration and risk reduction phase on the FLRAA program, which is intended to replace the UH-60 Read more

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U.S. Air Force and Boeing sign deal for F-15EX fighter jets

The U.S. Air Force has awarded Boeing a nearly US$1.2 billion contract to build the first lot of eight F-15EX advanced fighter jets to help the service meet its capacity requirements and add capability to its fighter fleet. The award also covers support and one-time, upfront engineering costs. Already under construction at the Boeing F-15 production facility in St. Louis, the first two jets deliver next year. The U.S. Air Force is also announcing the overall Indefinite Delivery Indefinite Quantity contract with a ceiling value of nearly US$23 billion for F-15EX.

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Boeing completes helicopter deliveries to Indian Air Force

Boeing has completed delivery of all new AH-64E Apache and CH-47F(I) Chinook military helicopters to the Indian Air Force (IAF). The final five of the 22 Apache attack helicopters were handed over to the IAF at Air Force Station, Hindan. Earlier in March, Boeing handed over the last five of 15 CH-47F(I) Chinook heavy-lift helicopters to the IAF. Boeing’s joint venture in Hyderabad, Tata Boeing Aerospace Limited (TBAL) has been producing aero-structures for the AH-64 Apache helicopter for both U.S. Army and international customers. TBAL marks a major step towards the co-development of integrated systems in aerospace and defense in Read more

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German Bundeswehr renews service contracts for Heron 1 systems in Afghanistan and Mali

Heron 1 ©Bundeswehr

Airbus Defence and Space and the Federal Office of Bundeswehr Equipment, Information Technology and In-Service Support (BAAINBw) have signed a renewed service contract agreement for Heron 1 unmanned aerial systems (UAS) in operation in Afghanistan and Mali. In Afghanistan, Heron 1 Services was extended in March 2020, for the period June 2020 / May 2021. It has successfully logged up more than 46,000 flight hours in over 4,100 operational flights. Also, in March this year, the German Air Force passed the milestone of ten years of Heron 1 operations in Afghanistan, with a first operational flight dating back to  March Read more

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Lufthansa Technik to equip two new Airbus A321neoLRs for German Air Force

©BAAINBw

The Federal Office of Bundeswehr Equipment, Information Technology and In-Service Support (BAAINBw) and Lufthansa Technik have signed a contract regarding the equipment of two brand-new Airbus A321neoLRs (Long Range) for the German Air Force. The aircraft are scheduled to arrive at Lufthansa Technik in Hamburg in August and October 2021, where they will be multifunctionally equipped for various missions. Lufthansa Technik’s VIP & Special Mission Aircraft Services business unit will prepare the two aircraft for various types of missions such as troop transport and the MedEvac role (medical evacuation). With the appropriate installations, the aircraft can be used in 18 Read more

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Airbus transforms A330s into Multi Role Tanker Transports

A330 MRTT static display ©Airbus

Airbus’ A330 Multi Role Tanker Transports (MRTTs) are now being outfitted for their multi-mission duties in an optimized industrial process – enabling five aircraft to undergo the conversion every year. The A330 MRTT is based on Airbus’ popular A330 widebody passenger airliner, with the aircraft produced on the company’s commercial airplane final assembly line in Toulouse, France. Once their initial built-up is complete, they are flown to Airbus’ military aircraft facility in Getafe, Spain to be transformed with hardware and systems for their dual roles as an air-to-air refueling platform and an airlifter for troops and cargo. During the conversion, Read more

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Lockheed Martin delivers F-35 Distributed Mission Training capability

F-35 Distributed Mission Training connects simulators across the world in a virtual environment ©Lockheed Martin

Lockheed Martin, the Joint Program Office, and the U.S. Air Force have successfully connected the F-35, F-22, F-16 and E3 Sentry in a highly contested simulated environment during a Distributed Mission Training final acceptance test at Nellis AFB, Nevada. This simulated training event was the first time these platforms were connected virtually. Additional platforms such as the F-15 can also connect into this shared virtual environment. The F-35 DMT capability creates interoperability across military platforms for continuation training and large force exercises. The initial delivery at Nellis AFB is a major step forward as it establishes the framework for F-35 Read more

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GKN Aerospace continues to support Gripen’s RM12 engine

RM12 engine ©GKN Aerospace

GKN Aerospace has signed a follow-on Performance Based Logistics (PBL) contract with the Swedish Armed Forces for the provision of comprehensive support for the GKN Aerospace RM12 engine. The RM12 engine powers the JAS 39 Gripen C/D fighter. This contract follows a series of multi-year RM12 PBL agreements and is expected to be worth approximately US$440 million. Under the agreement, GKN Aerospace will continue its support for the day-to-day operations of JAS 39 Gripen C/D users. The company will ensure engine availability for every Swedish Air Force mission as well as for Gripen C/D export customers: the Czech Republic, Hungary Read more

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