Archive for March, 2008
Friday, March 21st, 2008
Littoral Combat Ship, Freedom (LCS 1), has successfully completed another testing milestone with the “light off” and test of the new warship’s electric plant. The recent tests aboard Freedom included the light off – or initial operation – of the ship’s four 750-kilowatt Fincantieri Isotta Fraschini diesel generators and testing of its three-megawatt electrical power plant. The testing of the generators involved loading each generator to its full-power capacity.
Following successful completion of this step, further testing included synchronizing – or “paralleling” in shipbuilding terms – the generators to attain the power levels required to support Freedom’s operations at sea.
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Friday, March 21st, 2008
Raytheon Company recently completed its ninth consecutive successful JFires (Joint Force Interoperability and Requirements Evaluation SupraCenter) demonstration for the U.S. Army and Department of Defense. JFires is Raytheon Integrated Defense Systems’ (IDS) multi-service, multi- theater, multi-mission Joint Battlespace prototyping environment integrating high fidelity, large-scale digital simulations with fielded hardware and software in a “hardware-in-the-loop” setting. This effort is currently focused on accelerating critical single integrated air picture
(SIAP), combat identification and net-centric integrated fire control (IFC) capabilities for joint operations.
Highlights of the demonstrations include multiple near-simultaneous IFC engagements by the U.S. Army’s SLAMRAAM (Surface Launched Advanced Medium Range Air-to-Air Missile) and U.S. Navy ship-launched air and cruise ballistic missile defense interceptors.
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Friday, March 21st, 2008
Raytheon Company has completed the construction phase of the Upgraded Early Warning Radar (UEWR) at Thule Air Base, Greenland, signifying the facility’s readiness to begin hardware installation and integration. The Missile Defense Agency awarded Raytheon IDS the UEWR Thule contract in April 2006.
As the prime contractor, Raytheon will integrate new electronics, computer hardware and mission software to upgrade the existing two-faced, phased-array antenna facility at the remote site. Raytheon will also support integrated tests of the Thule UEWR, performing both missile defense and legacy missions.
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Friday, March 21st, 2008
The Rheinmetall Group of Düsseldorf has taken over Stork PWV B.V. from its parent company Stork N.V. of the Netherlands. The takeover strengthens Rheinmetall’s position as Europe’s leading supplier of systems and equipment for ground forces. It also reinforces Rheinmetall’s role in the Boxer programme, one of the largest armoured vehicle projects in Europe.
The parties have agreed not to disclose the purchase price. The acquisition still requires approval from the relevant competition authorities.
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Friday, March 21st, 2008
The U.S. Navy has awarded General Dynamics Electric Boat a $324.9 million contract modification to buy long lead time material (LLTM) for the FY 09 Virginia-Class submarine, SSN-784 and the FY 11 submarine, SSN-787.
The contract provides funding for steam and electrical plant components, main propulsion units and ships service turbine generator sets as well as miscellaneous hull, mechanical and electrical systems components for the two submarines.
Posted in Defence Products Manufacturing Companies, Military News - America | No Comments »
Friday, March 21st, 2008
Japanese Government Technology Research completed the development of a prototype of a new Type 10 tank. The new tank dubbed TK-X is lighter at 44 tons. The tank has an estimated cost of 700 million Japanese Yen.
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Posted in Defence Research and Development | No Comments »
Friday, March 21st, 2008
In the Matter of the Designation of al-Shabaab, aka al-Shabab, aka Shabaab, aka the Youth, aka Mujahidin Al-Shabaab Movement, aka Mujahideen Youth Movement, aka Mujahidin Youth Movement, aka MYM, aka Harakat Shabab al-Mujahidin, aka Hizbul Shabaab, aka Hisb’ul Shabaab, aka al-Shabaab al-Islamiya, aka Youth Wing, aka al-Shabaab al-Islaam, aka al-Shabaab al-Jihaad, aka the Unity of Islamic Youth as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist pursuant to Section 1(b) of US Executive Order 13224.
Al-Shabaab (the Youth) terrorist group was formed in 2006 after breaking away from Mogadishu (Islamic) courts. Al-Shabaab is led by Adan Hashi Ayrow, who is said to have been trained in Afghanistan.
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Thursday, March 20th, 2008
The GE Rolls-Royce Fighter Engine Team has successfully completed a high-altitude afterburner testing program at the US Air Force Arnold Engineering Development Center in Tennessee, including common exhaust hardware for the F-35 Lightning II aircraft. The F136 engine is a 40,000+ lb. thrust, combat engine that will be available to power all variants of the F-35 for the US military and eight partner nations.
All test objectives were reached as planned using an engine configured with Conventional Takeoff and Landing (CTOL) and Short Takeoff Vertical Landing (STOVL) common exhaust systems. The engine configuration included a production-size fan and functional augmentor allowing several run periods to full afterburner operation.
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Thursday, March 20th, 2008
Lockheed Martin announced today that it has received a $23.9 million contract modification from Northrop Grumman Corporation to provide hardware components for the next phase of full-rate production for the Minuteman III Intercontinental Ballistic Missile (ICBM) Safety Enhanced Reentry Vehicle (SERV) program.
This contract is for the third of four phases of full-rate production. In this phase, Lockheed Martin will deliver an additional 120 full-rate production SERV hardware kits by December 2010. With options, the total value of this contract over seven years is estimated to be approximately $137 million.
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Thursday, March 20th, 2008
At the CELM missile launch test centre in Biscarrosse, southwest France, on 31 January 2008 at 14:50 CET, the Crotale Mk3 missile system destroyed a target flying at an altitude of 500 metres and a range of almost 15 000 metres in less than 35 seconds.
This test campaign was conducted to demonstrate the functionality and performance of the Crotale Mk3 missile system, and in particular its autonomy, intercept range and reaction time, and the ability for the operator to retain control of the situation at all times.
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Thursday, March 20th, 2008
A new version of Skeldar – Saab’s unmanned helicopter – completed its first flight in February following major work to redesign it. Parallel to the development of the new demo version of Skeldar, Saab is participating in new international initiatives that will make it possible for unmanned vehicles to fly in civil airspace.
The base platform that Skeldar is built on was first test flown about a year ago. With the experiences of this as a foundation, Saab has carried out a complete review and redesign of the unmanned helicopter. The helicopter that has just had test flights is a new version with the most of the components replaced with the intention of arriving at a product that meets Saab’s high quality requirements.
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Thursday, March 20th, 2008
The Indian Army and the Indian Air Force jointly executed the Air Land Battle doctrine at Pokharan Field Firing Ranges during Exercise “Brazen Chariots” Yesterday. This doctrine is based on manoeuvre and rapid response to disrupt enemy’s decision cycle. It is also associated with the idea of an extended battlefield, intended to disrupt and delay the enemy’s follow on echelons. Organic weapons of the Army may not always be capable of achieving this objective due to their limited range and mobility.
This can most effectively be carried out by air power. The probability of future conventional wars being short, swift and intense has necessitated a shift in focus of land battle to manoeuvre warfare. The Air Land doctrine stresses on the fundamental shift away from the past attrition style of warfare to one of air arm making a significant contribution to the success of battle. It progressively recognizes that the inherent flexibility, variety and reach of airpower makes it a prime contributor to the future war.
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Posted in Indian Air Force News, Indian Army News | No Comments »
Thursday, March 20th, 2008
Radar will be incorporated onto Northrop Grumman Corporation’s (NYSE:NOC) MQ-8B Fire Scout Vertical Takeoff and Landing Tactical Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (VTUAV). The Navy has decided to commit funds in 2009 to develop a radar capability on Fire Scout.
Northrop Grumman first demonstrated radar capability on the RQ-8A Fire Scout in 2003 using a General Atomics Lynx Radar. That demonstration carried both radar and an electro-optical/infrared system. The same demonstration will take place on the MQ-8B Fire Scout this year on a company-owned Fire Scout using a non-developmental Telephonics RDR-1700B maritime surveillance and imaging radar.
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