Archive for November, 2007
Thursday, November 29th, 2007
Following the issue of the Danish authorities’ original Request for Information (RFI) and the subsequent submission of the Gripen teams’ formal proposal response in December 2005, the Danish evaluation committee requested certain additional information and clarifications from the competing suppliers. The Gripen team’s response was formally handed-over, on time, by Gripen International’s Managing Director Johan Lehander.
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Posted in Military News - Europe | No Comments »
Thursday, November 29th, 2007
The fourth of the five F-310 class frigates that the Fene-Ferrol Shipyard is building for the Royal Norwegian Navy was launched on Friday 23rd November. The F-313 was christened “Helge Ingstad” in honour of the famous 20th century Norwegian explorer.
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Posted in Military News - Europe | No Comments »
Thursday, November 29th, 2007
Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) are the most dynamic growth sector of the world aerospace industry, report Teal analysts in their latest integrated market analysis.
Teal Group’s 2008 market study estimates that UAV spending will more than double over the next decade from current worldwide UAV expenditures of $3.4 billion annually to $7.3 billion within a decade, totaling close to $55 billion in the next ten years.
“The most significant catalyst to this market has been the enormous growth of interest in UAVs by the US military, tied to the general trend toward information warfare and net-centric systems,” said Teal senior analyst Steve Zaloga, one of the authors of the new study. “UAVs are a key element in the intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) portion of this revolution, and they are expanding into other missions as well with the advent of hunter-killer UAVs.”
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Posted in World Military News | No Comments »
Thursday, November 29th, 2007
BAE Systems and Wipro have signed an agreement to work jointly on commercial aerospace projects. The arrangement follows a memorandum of agreement signed by BAE Systems and Wipro in June.
In a partnership spanning BAE Systems’ operations in Johnson City, New York, and Rochester, UK, and Wipro Technologies operations in Hyderabad and Bangalore , the companies will combine efforts on the design of subsystems for the air transport and business jet markets. They will also cooperate on developing subsystems for aircraft engines.
The agreement also establishes technical development centres in Hyderabad and Bangalore , the first step in a partnership that could see the two companies cooperating globally in the defence and aerospace markets.
“We assessed a number of companies across the globe for this role, and Wipro was the most capable and offered the best business model,” said Mike Mendoza, BAE Systems’ managing director in India. “In Wipro we have an internationally renowned company with excellent technical capabilities.”
“This vital strategic partnership combines the strengths of two high-performing organizations, enabling us to better serve current customers and the emerging Indian defence and aerospace market,” said Dave Herr, vice president of commercial avionics for BAE Systems.
Through the agreement, a number of Wipro staff will be based with BAE Systems in the UK and U.S. Work has started in Johnson City, with Wipro staff already onsite, and activity will begin at BAE Systems in Rochester before the end of the year.
Posted in Defence Products Manufacturing Companies | No Comments »
Thursday, November 29th, 2007
Aerojet, recently completed developmental testing of an innovative cryogenic oxygen/methane Reaction Control Engine (RCE) critical to ongoing lunar lander architectural decision making. Aerojet completed over 135 tests of the reaction control engine for NASA’s Propulsion Cryogenic Advanced Development (PCAD) project of the Exploration Technology Development Program. The Exploration Technology Development Program, based at Langley Research Center, strives to mature technology to support future human and robotic exploration missions for the Exploration Mission Systems Directorate at NASA Headquarters. The results exceeded project goals.
The NASA PCAD project, managed by NASA Glenn Research Center and supported by the NASA Johnson Space Center, was created to explore cryogenic propulsion technologies that potentially enable higher performing space vehicles through weight reduction and provide simplified ground operations by virtue of non-toxic propellants. Aerojet’s recent fast-paced design, build and test program has provided valuable risk reduction for the RCE, which is widely recognized as a key challenge in fielding non-toxic propulsion systems.
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Posted in International Aerospace News | No Comments »
Wednesday, November 28th, 2007
Successful tests of fourth generation gas turbine engine M70FRU for salt resistance were carried out at NPO Saturn. The engine has a capacity of 14000 liters c.
Marine gas turbine engines have some fundamental differences from aircraft engines. In particular, in their creation tasks handled high corrosion resistance in aggressive environments.
One of the most pressing problems in the operation of gas turbine engines in marine conditions are high salt erosion faced in hot engine parts. To address this problem, special materials and various protective coatings are used for corrosion resistance. Another peculiar feature of the exploitation of the marine environment is the salinization of engine ducts due to sea air. The result is a deterioration of the characteristics of the engine and this could eventually lead to the loss of his power. The process of establishing marine engines check for resistance to corrosion and salinity is mandatory and necessary.
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Posted in International Marine News | 1 Comment »
Wednesday, November 28th, 2007
The U.S. Navy has awarded Raytheon Company a $52 million contract for the low rate initial production of nine new AN/AQS-20A sonar mine detecting sets, spares and their accompanying kits.
The award represents the exercising of options under the Navy’s existing AN/AQS-20A contract with Raytheon Integrated Defense Systems, bringing the total contract value to $191 million and increasing the total number of systems ordered to 20.
AN/AQS-20A, a key component of the U.S. Navy’s organic mine countermeasures strategy, has been integrated into the MH-60S, MH-53E airborne mine countermeasures helicopter and the remote mine hunting system. It provides critical capabilities in support of mine-clearing operations in both deep-ocean and littoral waters by enabling the detection, classification and localization of bottom, close-tethered and volume mines.
The AN/AQS-20A system is towed undersea to scan the water in front and to the sides of the vehicle, as well as the sea bottom for anti-shipping mines. The system uses sonar and electro-optical sensors to provide high-resolution images of mines and mine-like objects, as well as high-precision location information.
AN/AQS-20A is modular, lightweight and produced under spiral development, enabling continuous improvement, serviceability and plug-and-play capability. Additionally, the system’s advanced technology combines with commercial off- the-shelf components to significantly reduce production costs and allows for easy upgrade and replacement of individual assembly parts. A significant benefit of AN/AQS-20A is its modularity, a capability that allows the Navy to operate the system across a variety of platforms.
Under the contract, Raytheon will deliver nine AN/AQS-20A sonar mine-detecting sets, seven installation kit electronics equipment packages and two remote minehunting system towed body modification kits. To date, the company has delivered 10 AN/AQS-20A systems to the Navy.
The system is currently undergoing technical evaluation as part of the Navy’s mine countermeasure operational testing - the final stage before official fleet deployment.
AN/AQS-20A engineering and support services will be performed at Raytheon IDS’ Maritime Mission Center, Portsmouth, R.I., and by Arete Associates, Tucson, Ariz.
Posted in Military News - America | No Comments »
Wednesday, November 28th, 2007
UTC Power, today announced it has signed a contract for the development phase of a program with Spanish shipbuilder Navantia, S.A., to supply a 300kW proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cell power module for use in the Spanish Navy’s S-80 submarine.
Terms of the agreement with Navantia were not disclosed, but UTC Power said this contract is one of the largest single contracts it has ever received.
The companies announced in July of 2006 that UTC Power would design a fuel cell to operate on reformed ethanol and pure oxygen. The design phase has been successfully completed, and the program will now move on to actual hardware development, which also includes the first operational fuel cell. Following successful completion of the development phase, Navantia and the Spanish Navy are expected to determine whether additional units will be produced.
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Posted in Military News - Europe | No Comments »
Wednesday, November 28th, 2007
The United Kingdom’s Defence Equipment & Support Organization in the Ministry of Defense awarded Lockheed Martin a $4.8 million contract to procure additional Desert Hawk III Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS). Together with a $6.3 million award in April, the contracts are directed at increasing the capability of the British Army.
The Desert Hawk III UAS consists of a light-weight, hand-launched, ruggedized air vehicle that includes a man-portable ground station. The UAS provides autonomous intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance capability, including terrain avoidance and dynamic in-flight re-tasking.
Desert Hawk has provided important support to British forces in both Afghanistan and Iraq.
Under the contract, Lockheed Martin will provide additional systems to British forces with the latest generation Desert Hawk UAS. The design of the Desert Hawk III maximizes the system’s target detection and recognition capabilities by using a long-endurance air vehicle capable of operating in high-wind environments, such as those experienced in the desert. The Desert Hawk III system’s air vehicle is less-detectable by ground-based foes and includes steerable plug-and-play imaging payload capabilities, providing British forces with greater situational awareness.
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Posted in Military News - Europe | No Comments »
Wednesday, November 28th, 2007
Thales Alenia Space, prime contractor for Meteosat satellites, joined French space agency CNES, the European Space Agency (ESA) and the European Meteorological Satellite Organization (Eumetsat), to celebrate the 30th anniversary of Meteosat weather satellites. This program is a textbook case of successful collaboration between European space agencies and industry.
For the last 30 years, millions of people have been using the daily weather reports based on Meteosat images: high pressure and low pressure zones, cloud masses and many other images have been a daily feature on TV screens for many years.
In addition to the daily forecasts, the data provided by Meteosat satellites play a vital role in planning ahead for major events such as storms, hurricanes and floods - and more generally to monitor the long-term changes in our planet’s climate.
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Posted in International Aerospace News | No Comments »
Wednesday, November 28th, 2007
Efforts to modernise the Royal Malaysian Navy continue with the awarding of a Letter of Intent to UK firm BAE Systems for two additional Jebat-class frigates. RMN inducted the first two frigates - KD Lekiu and KD Jebat - in 1999 and discussions have long been underway to add more vessels to the fleet.
BAE Systems, through its Naval Ships business, based in Glasgow, Scotland, will collaborate with Malaysia’s Labuan shipyard on the project. The two frigates operated by the RMN were built in the BAE Systems facility at Scotstoun in the 1990s. The contract for the two ships is expected to create substantial employment opportunities in Malaysia, with an emphasis on graduate opportunities.
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Posted in Military News - Asia | No Comments »
Wednesday, November 28th, 2007
The Boeing Company has successfully demonstrated the communications and transmission security architecture of its proposed Transformational Satellite Communications System (TSAT).
During recent tests, Boeing used TEAM TSAT partner General Dynamics C4 Systems’ Advanced INFOSEC Machine (AIM) to demonstrate how TSAT will send and receive encrypted messages once operational.
The tests, conducted at General Dynamics’ facilities in Scottsdale, Ariz., supported the Defense Department’s Crypto Modernization Initiative (CMI) to transform and modernize information assurance capabilities. The demonstration also showed key capabilities such as uploading and reprogramming algorithms over the network as well as other security functions.
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Posted in Military News - America | No Comments »
Wednesday, November 28th, 2007
An Inter Governmental Agreement (IGA) signed between the Indian and Russian Government on 18th October, 2007 envisages co-operation in:
Joint development and certification of a Prospective Multi-role Fighter (PMF); Preparation and set up of the fighter serial production; joint production and sale of the fighter; Joint marketing in third countries etc.
The fighter will be designed and developed in accordance with the technical requirements of Russian Air Force and Indian Air Force.
PMF will replace existing aircraft’s, which would be phased out by that time. The training pattern of aircrew and ground crew will be tailored specifically for the effective induction and operationalisation of PMF.
Posted in Defence Research and Development | No Comments »
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