Defence`s Feeds

The United States and United Kingdom support the investigation into an apparent airstrike that hit a bus carrying school children in Yemen that will be carried out by the Saudi-led coalition, not an independent body. The strike took place on 9 August and hit the bus when it was in a crowded market

Turkish presidential spokesperson Ibrahim Kalin said on 15 August that Turkey would exercise its legal rights if the United States does not deliver Lockheed Martin F-35 Joint Strike Fighters to Ankara. He made the remarks in reaction to US President Donald Trump’s signing on 13 August of

The UK government has called on Welsh industry to exploit the opportunities arising from the United Kingdom’s upcoming acquisition of the Boxer 8×8 mechanised infantry vehicle (MIV). An industry day will be held in South Wales in September that will encourage industry from around the

Key Points The near-identical election result is likely to be ratified by Iraq’s Supreme Court within 15 days of the electoral commission’s announcement, allowing parliament to convene for the first time and government formation talks to officially begin. The alliance between the Nasr,

The Russian military will receive its first D-14 parachutes for the Ratnik soldier ensemble in late 2019, according to Technodinamika, a subsidiary of state-owned military export firm Rostec Corporation. “The first serial [D-14] parachutes will be handed over to the Ministry of Defence

Russian airborne troops (VDV) are strengthening their indirect fire capabilities, an industry source has told Jane’s. “In early August, the VDV received a batch of upgraded 2S9-1M Nona-SM air-droppable self-propelled mortars (SPMs),” the source said, adding that the VDV “is

Brendan Curran has been appointed as president of AvionX, a new avionics and electronics company within Boeing. Reporting to Stan Deal, president and CEO of Boeing Global Services, Curran moves to the company from Crane Co where he served as president of the aerospace and electronics group. In his

CAE remains on track to reach its full-year targets despite a long-running industrial dispute at its Montreal facility, Marc Parent, the company’s CEO, announced during a call with analysts on 14 August. The integrated training services provider reported strong revenue and profit increases

Video shows a C-5 performing a nose gear-up landing at JB San Antonio last March. As you may remember, on Mar. 15, 2018, an Air Force Reserve Command C-5M performed nose gear up landing at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland, Texas. A video of the emergency landing has eventually emerged. It show the Super Galaxy with […]

Photographer Chris McGreevy Captures Gold in Photos at Mojave Air & Space Port. Aviation spotter and photographer Christopher McGreevy has been shooting photos of unique and interesting aircraft, “Since I was a kiddo” he told TheAviationist.com last week in an exclusive interview over Facebook messenger. But what he captured on Friday, August 10, 2018 outside […]

Chinese DZJ-08 Multi-Purpose Rocket Launcher

Questions Remain in Stolen Airliner Crash: How Could It Happen? What is The Response? Nearly 17 years after the 9/11 terror attacks the bizarre stolen aircraft, intercept and crash incident in Washington state on Friday raises serious concerns not only about airline safety but about national security. How could a person – who is not […]

F-15Cs Went Supersonic During Intercept of Stolen Airliner as Airspace Secured. Here Are Audio and Videos Of the Intercept. In a bizarre incident originating from Seattle-Tacoma International Airport in Washington state an Alaska Airlines/Horizon Air Bombardier Dash 8 twin-engine turboprop commuter airliner was commandeered by a lone male, reported to be an airport maintenance worker, […]

As time plays tricks on the mind, not long ago it was a nothing more than a futuristic theme in a Hollywood movie. This is no longer the case. Today, “artificial intelligence empowered, war fighting drones” teamed with manned command and control are shaping up as the path forward. The last few years have seen […]

Ukrainian RPV-16 Thermobaric Rocket Launcher

Americas

The Naval Air Systems Command is procuring system components for its F-35 Lightning fighter jets. Lockheed Martin will provide the service with essential Aircraft Management System (AMS) and Panoramic Cockpit Display (PCD) components at a cost of $19.3 million. The company will also be responsible for mitigating hardware risks as part of the program’s technical Refresh Phase 3 development. The F-35 is an advanced 5th generation fighter jet that that comes with a broad range of integrated missions systems and sensor fusion. The Aircraft Management System is the brain of the aircraft and integrates with the Automated Information Logistics System, or ALIS, a centralized fleet management system developed to reduce the F-35’s sustainment cost. The Panoramic Cockpit Display was designed by pilots for pilots. The 20 inch by 8 inch PCD incorporates an integral touchscreen that dominates the cockpit. The fly by wire system is controlled via an active side-stick on the right and an active throttle on the left. Active means these inceptors are under complete computer control and can be programmed on the fly. Work will be performed at the company’s location in Forth Worth, Texas and is expected to be completed by September 2019.

UAS manufacturer Insitu is being tapped to support the US Marine Corps. The awarded firm-fixed-price delivery order has a value of $9 million and provides for the procurement of spare and sustainment parts needed to maintain the RQ-21A Blackjack unmanned aircraft system. Insitu’s ScanEagle family combines versatility, endurance and small size. The RQ-21A system is modular, flexible and multi-mission capable, providing roll-on, roll-off transitions between land and maritime environments. The drone is a bigger, heavier and more capable version of the ScanEagle unmanned aircraft that has logged thousands of hours in Iraq and Afghanistan. The United States Marine Corps has ordered 32 systems each consisting of five air vehicles. Work will be performed at the company’s location in Bingen, Washington and is scheduled for completion by January 2019.

The US Special Operations Command is determined to keep its incumbent MEUAS II-B program running. Insitu is being awarded a $5000 minimum, $232 million maximum additional task order for maintaining its mid-endurance unmanned aircraft systems intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance services. MEUAS II-B is a fee-for-service or “power by the hour” contractor-owned and operated UAV network deployed in support of SOCOM operations. The catapult-launched mid-sized ScanEagle provides SOF units on the ground with intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance information.

The Canadian Armed Forces are increasing their numbers of ‘smart’ soldiers. Rheinmetall will deliver 1,256 additional sets of the Argus Soldier System at a cost of $16.9 million. The order is part of the Canadian Army’s Integrated Soldier System, with 1,632 sets of the same equipment expected to be delivered this year. Argus provides soldiers with an enhanced situational awareness and enables them to perform functions such as navigation, detect, locate, identify and engage targets, and several other command and control functions. The system comprises of a hand-held Tactical User Interface with Battle Management Software (BMS), tactical soldier radio, connection hub, control unit, head set, active noise reduction earphones, and high capacity batteries. The system’s tactical radio provides simultaneous communication for voice and data between soldiers and their commander on multiple nets. The Argus Soldier System is a modular data display provider ranging from a light version to a medium and extended command-and-control version. Argus has been developed to assist the soldier to operate in the future battlefield. Being networked give troops a tactical advangtage in urban areas and when facing a number of asymmetric threats and attacks by irregular forces.

Middle East & Africa

The US Army is awarding a PAE Government Services with a contract modification for sustained vehicle support work. The $10.8 million modification enables the company to continue its efforts as part of the US National Maintenance Strategy – Ground Vehicle Support program in Afghanistan. Under NMS, PAE will provide training and mentoring to the Afghanistan National Defense Security Forces (ANDSF) in maintenance, supply chain management and warehouse support across 25 locations in Afghanistan. PAE will also provide Contractor Logistics Support to the ANDSF, which will include maintenance, supply chain management and parts support for vehicles and ground equipment. The ANA’s inventory consists of approximately 23.000 types of vehicles, that include Soviet-era T-55 tanks and MT-LB armored personell carriers, 150 rather new T-72 tanks and about 2.500 US-made Humvees. A key outcome of the NMS in Afghanistan is to develop a long-term capacity and a near-term readiness to ensure that the country is self sufficient. The strategy aims to bridge the gap between the dependence on US logistics support and the transition of all responsibility of the ANDSF. Work will be performed in Hkia, Afghanistan and is scheduled for completion by August 30th 2022.

Europe

The German Naval Yards (GNY) shipyard group joins forces with former competitor ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems as means to land the contract for the German Navy’s future MKS 180 multirole combat ship program. MKS180 ships are expected to be capable of tackling targets above and below water in addition to supporting land missions. Armament should feature a 127 mm naval gun while surface to air missiles should be capable of hitting targets at a distance of 15 miles thereby enabling protection from air threats. The ships will be equipped with towed sonars for anti-submarine warfare and include sick bays or detention rooms for counter-piracy missions. The German Navy wants to acquire four MKS180s for $4.5 billion and wants them to enter service by the beginning of 2023. The newly formed German partnership will compete against Blohm + Voss, which is bidding with Dutch shipyard Damen.

Swedish defense manufacturer Saab will deliver its Integrated Defensive Aids Suite-2 (IDAS-2) to India. The order is being placed by India’s state-owned defense contractor Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) at a cost of $39 million. According to the company IDAS-2 is an EW system designed to provide self-defence in sophisticated, diverse and dense threat environments. It integrates with a platform’s radar and provides the aircrew with radar-warning, lasar-warning and missile-approach warning funtion. IDAS-2 is also fully integrated with with the BOP-L countermeasures dispenser, which automatically dispenses countermeasures under the control of the EWC upon threat-identification. The system will be produced at Saab’s facility on Centurion, South Africa. IDAS-2 will protect India’s fleet of Dhruv light attack helicopter. First deliveries are scheduled to begin in 2019.

Asia-Pacific

Taiwan wants to procure Phalanx style systems to protect its air force bases. The government’s public solicitation for the “Near Force Air Defense Fast Propeller System” requires the air-defense weapon to have high-precision, a high rate of fire, to be mobile and to operate automatically. It must be able to counter a number of airborne threats ranging from subsonic missiles to UAVs. The US military has used the Phalanx Centurion in Iraq to protect FOB Kalsu from incoming rockets, artillery shells and mortars. The Centurion can reach beyond its own array and use other target acquisition sensors to detect and track fired rounds. The Air Force plans to install the land-based Phalanx Centurion at the Jiashan, the Hualienjia and the Taidong Zhihang bases where large stockpiles of AMRAAM missiles are stored.

Today’s Video

Watch: RAAF timelapse of medical facility deployed at Pitch Black 2018.

The US Army Contracting Command, Redstone Arsenal, in Alabama has awarded Lockheed Martin a USD218 million Foreign Military Sales (FMS) contract for the first 18 M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) launchers for Romania, the US Department of Defense announced on 9 August. The

Israeli defence company Rafael has made a bid for unmanned systems developer Aeronautics, it has been revealed. In a disclosure to the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange (TASE) on 9 August, Aeronautics said it had received an offer valuing the company at ILS430 million (USD116.6 million) from Rafael and

Saudi tankers are again moving through the Bab al-Mandab strait into the Red Sea after a 10-day suspension of transits, IHS Markit maritime data has confirmed. Saudi Arabia announced that it was temporarily suspending oil shipments through the strait on 25 July after two tankers were attacked by

Key Points IHS Markit data indicates that non-state armed groups that we have classified as ‘jihadist opposition’ have been contained by Turkey and its proxies in a pocket of control around Idlib. Turkey is likely to yield to pressure from Russia, which effectively controls airspace