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Anticipating the first flight of the
F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, members of the multinational
program have reinstated their support of the program by committing
to the nest phases of development. Canada, the United Kingdom
and Australia have “re-enlisted” for the program,
committing to the project’s production, sustainment and
follow-on development phase.
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Australia Considers
F/A-18E/F for a A$2 Billion F-111 Replacement
While commitment for the future Joint Strike Fighter plan is
reaffirmed, Australian Government is considering a A$2 billion
back-up plan to replace the Australian Air Force's aging F-111
fighter bombers while it waits for the controversial Joint Strike
Fighter jets to be delivered. The Australians are considering
buying 24 F/A-18E/F Super Hornets to cover the widening gap
between F-111 deactivation and activation of F-35s. (ABC
Australia) |
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The Australian Defence Materiel Organisation has signed contracts
with Boeing Australia Limited for the delivery and support of
a Tactical Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (TUAV) capability for the
Army. Boeing Australia, teamed with Israel Aircraft Industries,
will provide the I-View UAV
system. The Army’s TUAVs are scheduled to commence
operational service in late 2009, operated by 132 Battery, of
the 20th Surveillance and Target Acquisition Regiment, based
at Gallipoli Barracks in Enoggera. |
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KAI Wins Orders for 50 Additional
K-50 Trainers
The Government of South Korea has signed a contract with Korea
Aerospace Industries (KAI) for the procurement of 50 additional
T-50 and TA-50 Golden Eagle advanced jet trainers, bringing
the total number of T-50s ordered by South Korea to more than
70 of which eight are already operational. The T-50 was co-developed
by KAI and Lockheed Martin to train pilots who will fly advanced
fighters. The aircraft also carry weapons, including air/air
missiles and air/ground weapons, performing light attack missions. |
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The upgrading of 66 Indian Air Force MiG-29s has moved one
step further with the official signing of the U.S. $850 million
deal, with Moscow-based MiG Company. India currently operates
three squadrons of MiG29s received between 1986 and 1996. The
modernization process will include the introduction of the Klimov
RD-33 series 3 extended life-cycle jet engines, new, more
durable version of the original MiG-29 power plant. Other additions
will include improved radars, and advanced avionics. The aircraft
will be fitted with aerial refueling thus extending their range
and mission endurance. |
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 Harris
continues to expand the envelope of its latest Falcon family
member – the AN/PRC-152(C) Falcon
III radio. Following the recent SCA
certification Harris Corporation demonstrated a new application
of a software-programmable waveform that enables this software
configurable radio to communicate between military, national
guards and reserve units and commercially available APCO P25-based
radios, commonly used with law enforcement, FBI, FEMA and other
first responders.
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General Dynamics C4 Systems is producing 165 mobile Combat
Operation Centers (COCs) for the U.S. Marine Corps Systems
Command. The first systems will be deployed by July 2007 with
at regimental and battalion level with U.S. Marine Corps units
in Iraq. All systems will be fielded by 2009.
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DRS Technologies will develop and demonstrate for DARPA a new
near-mid wavelength infrared active detection receiver to be
utilized for future threat warning applications. The receiver
will be delivered for testing by November 2008. The total contract
award could reach $13.7 million, if a $7.4 million option is
exercised. |
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The German parliament approved the procurement of 272 BOXER
armored protected vehicles for the German Army. The Dutch armed
forces already confirmed the procurement of 200 vehicles which
will be co-produced by the German-Dutch ARTEC consortium, where
German and Dutch companies have equal shares.
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Chatten Associates, Inc. is integrating a 3DVisor
into remotely driven vehicle's controller. The new device enables
operators to manipulate robots to disarm and neutralize explosive
charges. The visor provides the operator with head-aimed vision
system, enabling them to intuitively control gimbaled mounted
sensors.
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Raytheon delivered new space based hyper-spectral imaging
payload designed to spot that could help troops identify potential
threats on the ground such as weapons, equipment and combatants.
The sensor called ARTEMIS (Advanced Responsive Tactically Effective
Military Imaging Spectrometer) was developed as an experimental
device, under a U.S. $14 million program within 15 months. The
new payload was developed to address the U.S. Air Force's responsive-space
approach, addressing the rapid development, assembly and deployment
of satellites and their cargo. Conceivably, systems could be
assembled, loaded and launched into low-earth orbit within a
week, compared to months or years required for the conventional
processes.
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Telephonics to Produce Counter
IED Devices for SRCTech
Telephonics Corporation, a Griffon Corporation company received
an additional incremental award of $30 million in funding from
Syracuse Research Corporation (SRCTec, Inc.) for the production
of Counter Improvised Explosive Device (Counter IED) systems.
The recent award received so far by Telephonics approach $280
million. The company will deliver all systems within a year. |
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L-3 Communications completed flight tests of a new IP-enabled,
wideband Multi-Platform Common Data Link (MP-CDL) demonstrating
the capability to sustain high capacity airborne networking.
The test involved multiple missions flown by two Big Crow NKC-135
aircraft, establishing up to 274 Mbps datalinks over distances
of 300 nautical miles (km). Simultaneous video transmission
to manpackable ROVER III
terminal validated the system’s ability to provide real-time,
full-motion video through the net-centric MP-CDL terminal directly
to warfighters on the ground. |
