Defence`s Feeds

The US Air Force (USAF) on 30 July awarded Hermeus a USD60 million jointly funded contract to accelerate the commercial development of hypersonic aircraft and propulsion...

Washington is deploying an additional 3,000 military troops to Afghanistan to assist with the evacuation of US civilian personnel from its embassy in Kabul, as well as...

Americas

Textron Systems won an $11.3 million deal for the logistics and repair support of MV-22B, CMV-22 (Navy) and CV-22 (Air Force) Osprey components in support of the Joint Service Electronic Combat Systems Tester system. The V-22 Osprey is a joint-service, medium-lift, multimission tilt-rotor aircraft developed by Boeing and Bell Helicopters. Work will take place in Maryland. Estimated completion will be by August 2026.

An unarmed Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile equipped with a test re-entry vehicle was launched by Airmen from the Global Strike Command on August 11. During this launch, a Hi Fidelity Joint Test Assembly re-entry vehicle that detonated conventional explosives prior to hitting the surface of the water was used. The vehicle landed downrange near Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands.

Middle East & Africa

According to Defense News, Canadian company Lortie Aviation is entering negotiations to buy five of Lebanon’s Hawker Hunter fighter jets after the Ministry of National Defense held three auctions for the aircraft. The ministry authorized the Lebanese Armed Forces to issue an agreement of consent with the Canadian firm for the sale of the five Hawker Hunters and spare parts.

Europe

According to the UK Royal Navy, a new robotic vessel has begun trials with the Royal Navy. The Otter Pro has been put through its paces at the Defense Diving School, on Horsea Island, Portsmouth. The next stage of the trials will see the Otter Pro, from RS Aqua Ltd, tested in a more complex environment and its near-real time data processing will be refined

Unlike global trends where attack drones are equipped primarily with guided weapons, Russia is developing a series of unguided rockets and bombs for use on the aircraft. The project to develop the weapons has received the green light from the Russian Ministry of Defense, Izvestia reported.

Asia-Pacific

Japan reportedly plans to deploy missile units next year on an island that is merely 300 kilometres off the coast of Taiwan. The move is aimed at countering Beijing’s increasing naval presence in an area that carries a history of military disputes, reported Japanese media, adding that the nukes will also help defend against a potential Chinese attack

Today’s Video

Watch: US Army Test a ScanEagle Unmanned Aerial System Capabilities

The armed forces of Bolivia and Peru have deployed fixed- and rotary-wing aircraft equipped with Guardian firefighting systems and Bambi buckets to combat forest fires...

This Agile Combat Employment event during exercise Northern Strike 21 represents the first time in history that the Air Force has purposely landed modern aircraft on a civilian roadway in the US. The U.S. Air [...]

The post A-10C Thunderbolt IIs And C-146A Wolfhounds Conducted First Ever Highway Operations In The US appeared first on The Aviationist.

South Africa's Denel formally announced the reorganisation of the company from six divisions to two, as part of a broader five-year plan.

The Australian Department of Defence (DoD) has rejected claims of a weight problem that could affect the successful integration of the Lance turrets contracted for 133...

The South Korean government plans to increase its budget for the procurement of locally developed unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) more than sixfold within a year – from...

Americas

$1 million in funding from the US Army Combat Capabilities Development Command Aviation & Missile Center (AvMC) has been awarded to RE2 Robotics to develop a robotic system that can autonomously refuel AH-64 Apache helicopters in the field. Naval Facilities Engineering and Expeditionary Warfare Center in Port Hueneme, California, is managing the project entitled Remote Robotic Refueling for Extended Missions (R3EM), which is part of the Autonomous and Robotic Remote Refueling Point (AR3P) program.

Lockheed Martin won a $11 million unpriced letter contract for long-lead material and the labor, planning, and scheduling necessary to support the fiscal 2022 Trident II (D5) missile production schedule. This unpriced letter contract will be definitized on or about October 1, 2021, as a fixed-price-incentive contract. The Trident II D5 fleet ballistic missile is a three-stage, solid-propellant, inertial-guided ballistic missile developed by Lockheed Martin. Work will take place in Florida. Estimated completion date is September 30, 2026.

Middle East & Africa

According to Jane’s, Emirati company Milanion Group has signed a memorandum of understanding with Ukrainian Armor to give the latter distribution rights of unmanned ground vehicle Agema. Agema is designed to support a range of missions, including national and civil defense and security; fire and rescue; logistical support; fire support; intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance; anti-tank support; medevac; and route inspection and clearance. The platform can also provide encrypted communications.

Europe

Rheinmetall and Escribano Mechanical & Engineering (EM&E) demonstrated new modules carrying EM&E sensors and weapons systems for the Mission Master SP Autonomous Unmanned Ground Vehicles (A-UGVs). The demonstrations that took place at EM&E’s new facilities in San Juan del Viso in Spain involved two Mission Master A-UGVs.

According to a news release, the defense Science and Technology Laboratory has awarded a $13.1 million contract to In-Space Missions Ltd for the build of the Titania satellite, which will undertake research on the next-generation of communications technology

Asia-Pacific

The Australian government has selected Lockheed Martin Australia and Northrop Grumman Australia to progress to the next round of its fifth-generation Joint Air Battle Management System (JBAMs) competition, to be delivered under the $2 billion Air 6500 Phase 1 project.

Today’s Video

Watch: Rheinmetall demonstrates new Mission Master SP modules developed in collaboration with Escribano

Flight Demonstration by Luftwaffe’s Air Transport Wing 62 Showcases A400M. It was a weekend of firsts for air show fans in Michigan this past Saturday and Sunday at Willow Run Airport for Thunder Over Michigan. [...]

The post First-Ever North American Luftwaffe Airbus A400M Atlas Demo at Thunder Over Michigan appeared first on The Aviationist.

Americas

The nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford has successfully completed its third and final round of Full Ship Shock Trials. According to the Naval Sea Systems Command statement. The third explosive event was conducted Sunday off the coast of Jacksonville, Florida.

A research paper by a team from the US Air Force Institute of Technology describes how a tanker-centric stereo vision system can be used for automated aerial refueling (AAR). Currently, differential GPS is used so that the tanker and receiver are on a stable flight path for the transfer of fuel. The authors argued that by having a vision-based system can improve the integrity of the process.

Middle East & Africa

Israeli Air Force engineers can now repair damaged runways with Fiber Reinforced Polymer (FRP) mats and anchoring systems thanks to training by US Air Force and Army engineers. The US Air Force’s Rapid Airfield Damage Recovery concept uses the same type of technologies. This was the first time FRP kits were used in such a large crater configuration and the first time the kits were tested using F-35s.

Europe

Two British minehunters were decommissioned in Rosyth, Scotland this week. According to the Royal Navy, both Sandown-class mine countermeasures vessels have served extensively during careers spanning 21 years and 175,000 miles for Ramsey, 185,000 miles over 20 years for Blyth, supporting operations in the Middle East, around the UK or on NATO duties in northern European and Mediterranean waters. Dozens of affiliates and friends joined the crews, RN leaders and Deputy Chaplain of the Fleet Reverend Martin Evans, with music provided by the Band of HM Royal Marines Plymouth.

Asia-Pacific

China’s Hudong Zhonghua shipyard launched the third Type 054 A/P Frigate destined to serve in the Pakistan Navy. “The Launching ceremony of 3rd state-of-the-art Type-054 Class frigate constructed for Pak Navy, was held at Hudong Zhonghua Shipyard, China. The technologically advance platform is fitted with latest surface, subsurface, anti-air weapons, combat management system & sensors,” the Pakistan Navy tweeted last week.

During a recent voyage of the Chinese Liaoning aircraft carrier, a batch of Instructor-Pilots were certified for night operations paving the way for rapid induction of naval aviators into the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Navy. In a test conducted on a windy night with fierce sea waves in the Bohai Sea, several pilot instructors from PLA Naval Aviation University steered J-15 fighter jets and landed on the flight deck of Liaoning.

Today’s Video

Watch: Meet Royal Navy’s Sandown Class Minehunter

Thunder Over Michigan: New Show Format That Combines Two Air Shows Per Day Gets Strong Reviews. Under the gun, behind the eight ball and facing the resurgence of a 14-month global pandemic along with massive [...]

The post Thunder Over Michigan Introduces New ‘Matinee’ Style Drive-In Air Show appeared first on The Aviationist.

The company showcased the technology that will allow the in-flight recovery of the Sparrowhawk SUAS, as well as a first look at the new Longshot drone being developed for DARPA. Last year, General Atomics (GA-ASI) [...]

The post General Atomics Provides Detailed Look At Sparrowhawk Air-Launched And Air-Retrievable Small UAS appeared first on The Aviationist.

AEC Skyline is a European Red Air private contractor providing adversary services. Among the participants at the multinational military exercise Adriatic Strike 2021 there was also a private company: the Netherlands-based AEC Skyline. To know [...]

The post Let’s Have A Look At The Activities Of Dutch Red Air Provider AEC Skyline appeared first on The Aviationist.

Red Flag 21-3 saw the participation of all services from the U.S. Armed Forces to train next generation joint warfighting against more modern, stronger and dangerous threats, including Aggressor F-35s. Blue air participants of Red [...]

The post Aggressor F-35s Joined The Fight During First Next Generation Red Flag Exercise appeared first on The Aviationist.

American FB-22 Strike Raptor Stealthy Ground Attack Aircraft

A prototype of the Su-75 Checkmate is going to be assembled for static tests. Komsomolsk-on-Amur Aircraft Plant (KnAAPO or KnAAZ; Russian: Комсомольский-на-Амуре авиационный завод) will build a prototype of the Checkmate fighter, destined for static [...]

The post Russia To Build Prototype Of Its New ‘Checkmate’ Light Tactical Fighter for Static Tests appeared first on The Aviationist.

The NF-16D VISTA aircraft is currently being upgraded to remove some limitations and better support autonomy testing for the Air Force Research Laboratory’s Skyborg program. The NF-16D VISTA (Variable In-flight Simulator Aircraft), operated by the [...]

The post NF-16D VISTA (Variable In-flight Simulator Aircraft) Changes Name To X-62A Ahead Of Skyborg Testing appeared first on The Aviationist.

German Rheinmetall MAN HX3 Tactical Military Truck

The live fire event is the first in a series of development test events that will ensure AARGM-ER can meet required objectives as it is about to enter Low Rate Initial Production. The U.S. Navy [...]

The post U.S. Navy Launched An AGM-88G Advanced Anti-Radiation Guided Missile – Extended Range For The First Time appeared first on The Aviationist.