Archive for February, 2008
Friday, February 22nd, 2008
Marking the first time a British helicopter demonstrated air-to- air refueling capability. The AW101 and RAF test pilots successfully plugged the helicopter’s refueling probe to each of the
tanker’s two wing station drogues on the first attempt. The sorties were flown at 4,000 ft altitude, with both aircraft traveling at 127 knots. All trial objectives were completed with multiple in-flight refueling events successfully achieved up to the maximum Merlin Mk3 flying weight of 34,400 lbs.
“To support our win strategy of providing the U.S. Air Force the lowest risk offer, we completed the aerial refueling tests prior to contract award,” said Dan Spoor, Lockheed Martin’s CSAR-X vice president. “With this proven aerial refueling capability, the aircraft has demonstrated all
critical capabilities required for the CSAR mission. The aircraft exceeds the technical readiness level required by the CSAR-X RFP.”
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Thursday, February 21st, 2008
It is for the first time that an Indian has reached this position in BAE Systems. The Board of BAE Systems plc has appointed Ravi Uppal as a Non-executive Director of the Company, with effect from 2 April 2008. Ravi Uppal is President, Global Markets, for the power and automation technology group ABB Limited, where he is also a member of the Group Executive Committee. Based in Zurich, he is responsible for ABB’s marketing and business development worldwide.
Ravi Uppal
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Thursday, February 21st, 2008
The Pentagon has opened the window of time in which it will shoot down a malfunctioning U.S. reconnaissance satellite, a senior U.S. military officer said here today. Today’s return of the space shuttle Atlantis to Earth prompted the start of the optimal time period for shooting down the satellite, which extends until about the end of the month, the senior officer told Pentagon reporters.
Only “tens of seconds” will be available each day for a favorable launch of a ship-based SM-3 interceptor missile, the senior officer said. “The window is small, … but we’re looking for the best orientation of the satellite” before launching the missile, the officer explained.
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Posted in Military News - America | No Comments »
Thursday, February 21st, 2008
Ugandan Government and the rebel Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) have signed an agreement to set up accountability and reconciliation measures to help end the conflict that has ravaged the north of the country for two decades.
Government forces and the LRA have fought since the mid-1980s and the rebel group has become notorious for its use and abuse of children, either as soldiers, porters or in other roles, during the long-running conflict. Captured children were often subject to extreme violence soon after being abducted by the LRA, with many girls allocated to officers in a form of institutional rape.
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Thursday, February 21st, 2008
BAE Systems will debut its Mine Resistant Recovery and Maintenance Vehicle (MRRMV) at the Association of the U.S. Army’s (AUSA) Winter Symposium in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, Feb. 27-29, 2008. The MRRMV is designed to speed and enhance the retrieval and repair of disabled Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) vehicles, Medium Mine Protected Vehicles (MMPV) and other medium tactical vehicles in combat situations.
The MRRMV is capable of up-righting, winching and towing all MRAP, MMPV and Stryker class vehicles. The MRRMV can keep pace with other combat wheeled platforms, perform unscheduled field-level maintenance and provide battle damage assessment and repair.
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Thursday, February 21st, 2008
BAE Systems has completed critical fuel testing on the first F-35 Lightning II short take off and vertical landing (STOVL) variant five days ahead of its schedule proving the maturity of both the aircraft and programme.
The important fuel checks of the design and build of the aircraft was led by BAE Systems and involved constant testing, 24 hours a day for 13 days, which checked the calibration of the aircraft’s fuel gauging systems. Testing took place at Lockheed Martin’s Fort Worth plant in Texas where the first STOVL aircraft, BF-1, is currently undergoing a series of tests in preparation of first flight later this year.
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Posted in Defence Research and Development | No Comments »
Thursday, February 21st, 2008
“Imagine your newspaper as a set of unorganized articles, BOBCAT Themes would automatically organize the articles into the sections for World News, Sports, Business, and so on. Intelligence data by its very nature lacks organization, BOBCAT Themes organizes it so that analysts can quickly determine where they should focus their attention” says says BOBCAT Product Manager Jessica Bradley.
DECISIVE ANALYTICS Corporation (DAC) today released BOBCAT 4.1, the latest version of its suite of services to accelerate the intelligence analysis process. BOBCAT provides actionable intelligence in real-time enabling the Warfighter to make life and death decisions.
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Posted in Counter Terrorism, Defence Products Manufacturing Companies, Military Information Technology | No Comments »
Wednesday, February 20th, 2008
Raytheon Company’s United Kingdom-based subsidiary has been awarded a contract to support the integration and flight trials of the Paveway(TM) IV dual mode precision guided bomb onto the U.K. Royal Air Force Tornado GR4/4A. The contract is valued at GBP8.5 million, or about $16.6 million. Raytheon Systems Limited (RSL) is now under contract to integrate Paveway IV on all U.K. strike platforms including Harrier GR9/9A (successfully completed in August 2007), F-35B Lightening II (Joint Combat Aircraft), and Eurofighter Typhoon.
Integration on the Tornado GR4 is scheduled for completion in 2010. The program will focus on providing weapon system performance documentation, advice to the development of the aircraft stores management systems, and flight clearance of the weapon onto the aircraft. In support of the flight trials and certification program, RSL will provide BAE Systems with the required trials hardware and weapon system simulators.
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Wednesday, February 20th, 2008
BAE Systems has begun assembly of the first major components of Taranis, the £124m Unmanned Combat Air Vehicle (UCAV) that will help inform the UK MoD on the balance and capability of its ‘future force mix’. Specialist jigs have now been set up in a dedicated assembly hangar at BAE Systems which will be home to Taranis until it prepares for its first test flights in 2010.
BAE Systems is leading a Team comprising Rolls-Royce, QinetiQ and GE Aviation (formerly Smiths Aerospace) in developing the UK MoD Taranis Technology Demonstration Programme which brings together a wide range of expertise on flight dynamics, autonomous systems and stealth capability.
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Wednesday, February 20th, 2008
Typhoon continues deliveries to the five air forces across Europe which are currently flying this leading edge swing-role combat aircraft. By the end of 2007, the combined fleet of 136 in-service Typhoons and seven Flight Test aircraft has accumulated over 35,000 flying hours, demonstrating the tremendous growth of the in-service fleet and unprecedented serviceability levels. In the UK, the Royal Air Force with BAE Systems support is currently achieving a 94% sortie success rate, with a post sortie serviceability rate of over 65%.
The build up of flying hours in the Nations’ Air Forces reflects the success of integrating the weapon system into their Armed Forces and, increasingly, highlights the importance of Typhoon for NATO air defence responsibilities. Already the aircraft is on full operational duty in the air-to-air role with in the UK, Italy and Germany.
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Wednesday, February 20th, 2008
The Boeing Company has been awarded a $49 million U.S. Air Force contract to advance the state of the art in laser technology.
Under the Laser Application Support and In-house Research and Development (LASIR) contract, awarded Feb. 1, Boeing will support research, design, development and testing at Air Force Research Laboratory sites at Kirtland Air Force Base in Albuquerque, N.M. Specific efforts will include:
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Posted in Defence Research and Development | No Comments »
Wednesday, February 20th, 2008
gustaWestland is pleased to announce that the Korean Government has signed a contract for two AW139 medium-twin helicopters in maritime patrol configuration for operation by the Korean Coast Guard. The order represents the first AW139 helicopters to be sold into Korea for government applications and both helicopters are scheduled to enter service at the end of 2009. The Korean Coast Guard AW139s will perform Maritime Patrol, SAR and EMS missions and will be equipped with a Forward Looking Infra-Red (FLIR) camera, search/weather radar, rescue hoist, emergency flotation system and a four-axis autopilot with SAR modes.
Speaking after the contract award, Giacomo Saponaro, Senior Vice President International Business Unit, AgustaWestland said “We are delighted the AW139 has been selected by the Korean Government for its maritime patrol helicopter requirement and proud to be able to add the Korean Coast Guard to our growing list of customers. This deal marks the first sale of the AW139 to a government agency in the Republic of Korea and we look forward to building upon this success.
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Posted in Para Military and Coast Guard News | No Comments »
Wednesday, February 20th, 2008
The Boeing Company today delivered the first Japan KC-767 Tanker to the Itochu Corp., for Japan’s Air Self-Defense Force (JASDF). It is the first aerial refueling aircraft in Japan’s history. “The KC-767 will have an immediate impact and significantly increase Japan’s capabilities,” said Jim Albaugh, president and CEO of Boeing Integrated Defense Systems. “This delivery also confirms Boeing’s standing as the world’s leading provider of aerial refueling tankers and continues our company’s proud 75-year history of producing tankers.”
The 12-hour non-stop flight to Gifu, Japan, near Nagoya, originated in Wichita, Kan., near Boeing’s tanker modification center, following a final review by Japan Ministry of Defense (MoD) Air Staff. Itochu will deliver the KC-767 Tanker to the MoD following in-country acceptance processes.
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Posted in Military News - Asia | No Comments »
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