Defence`s Feeds

The Department of Commerce's Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) implemented a series of restrictions on exports of sensitive items to Burma's Ministry of Defense, the Ministry of Home Affairs, armed forces, and security services in response to the Burmese military's actions to overthrow the democratically elected civilian government of Burma.

Americas

Northrop Grumman has revealed its concept for the US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) LongShot program to develop an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) capable of employing multiple air-to-air weapons. The company released a conceptual rendering of its proposed design on 10 February, two days after it was awarded a contract alongside General Atomics Aeronautical Systems Inc (GA-ASI) and Lockheed Martin for the first phase of its LongShot program. “The LongShot program enables us to combine our digital engineering skillset with our extensive knowledge in advanced technology weapons, autonomous systems, and strike platforms to increase weapon range and effectiveness,” Jaime Engdahl, program director, kinetic weapons and emerging capabilities at Northrop Grumman was quoted as saying.

The 104th Fighter Wing has painted an American flag on the nose of its flagship F-15C and the graphic is composed of the names of members in the wing as well as those who had lost their lives while serving the 104th Fighter Wing. The roughly six-foot by four-foot nose art graphic is painted on both sides of the aircraft and the names of those who had fallen are painted in gold color. This F-15C #85-125 scored a kill against a Iraqi MiG-29 on January 17, 1991 using a AIM-7 missile.

Middle East & Africa

A US-Turkey joint Navy exercise on the Black Sea successfully integrated surface, air and subsurface warfare capabilities this week, the two countries announced. The US Sixth Fleet’s Arleigh Burke Class guided-missile destroyers USS Donald Cook and USS Porter, joined by a P-8A reconnaissance plane, joined Turkish frigates TCG Orucreis and TCG Turgutreis and two Turkish F-16 fighter planes for the one-day exercise on Tuesday, the US Navy said. “The training conducted for the fundamental types of naval warfare has further strengthened cooperation between the Naval Forces of the two countries and has contributed to their interoperability,” the Turkish defense ministry said Wednesday in a statement.

Europe

Germany has flown the first Panavia Tornado combat aircraft to have its service life extended with the goal of seeing the wider fleet out to its 2030 retirement date. The Luftwaffe announced that the first Tornado, serial 43+42 from Tactical Air Force Wing 33, had flown following the process that had seen its airframe life extended to 8,000 flight hours from the type’s current 6,000 flight hours. “A decision by the Federal Ministry of Defence was decisive for the laborious step of dismantling the fuselage,” the Luftwaffe said. “According to this, all 85 Tornados should remain in service until the end of 2030. This can only be achieved if such extensive work is done.”

There’s a new layer of defense around the British HMS Lancaster and her 200 crew to keep enemies at bay. According to the Royal Navy, the Portsmouth-based warship has been fitted with heavy machine-guns to fend off small, fast-attack craft – guns tested for the first time off the South Coast this week as the ‘Queen’s Frigate’ shakes off winter cobwebs.

Asia-Pacific

Greece will buy frigates from France to strengthen its navy, the National Herald reported on Wednesday. The plans to buy the Belharra class ships follow the signing of a $2.79 billion deal with France to buy 12 used and six new Rafale fighter jets, the New York-based Greek American newspaper said. Greece has close political and defense ties with France, which has backed Athens in a dispute with Turkey over territory in the eastern Mediterranean. The acquisition of the French frigates will constitute the largest weapons program ever undertaken by the Greek armed forces, the National Herald said. Total spending would amount to $6.05 billion, it said.

Today’s Video

Watch: HMS Lancaster tests newly installed heavy machine guns

With the new aircraft the USAF will triple the E-11A fleet, one year after a fatal crash in Afghanistan left the service with only three airframes. The U.S. Air Force announced that on January 21, [...]

The post The U.S. Air Force Is Planning To Get Six New E-11A With The Battlefield Airborne Communication Node Payload appeared first on The Aviationist.

Americas

General Electric Aviation won a $21.1 million contract modification, which procures 4 T408-GE-400 turboshaft spare engines and various spare engine parts in support of CH-53K Lot 5 low rate initial production aircraft. The CH-53K is the United States Marine Corps’ (USMC) heavy lift replacement for the CH-53E. The most powerful helicopter in the Department of Defense, the CH-53K is a new-build helicopter that will expand the fleet’s ability to move more material, more rapidly throughout the area of responsibility using proven and mature technologies. The T-408 engines are more powerful and more fuel efficient than the T-64 engines currently outfitted on the CH-53E. GE Aviation says the T408 turboshaft engine offers cutting edge technology and the latest design innovations for maximum power at minimum cost. Work will take place in Massachusetts. Estimated completion will be in December 2024.

According to Oshkosh Defense, the company just recently recently produced its 10,000th Joint Light Tactical Vehicle -more than half it’s orders for the vehicle. Oshkosh officials pointed to the JLTV becoming a central piece of the US military’s ground force, as both the Army and Military Corps plan to adopt the vehicle, as making the milestone significant. Oshkosh Defense has received orders for 18,126 JLTVs for a total contract value of more than $6 billion. “Producing the 10,000th JLTV in under five years is further evidence of our ability to meet the demands of our domestic and international customers,” George Mansfield, vice president and general manager of joint programs for Oshkosh Defense, said in a press release.

Middle East & Africa

Vectrus Systems won an $18.3 million contract modification to provide all personnel, equipment, supplies, transportation, tools, materials, supervision and other items and non-personal services necessary for food services at the Area Support Group-Kuwait dining facility. Area Support Group – Kuwait implements the Defense Cooperation Agreement on behalf of US Army Central with the Kuwait Ministry of Defense, operates as the Base Operations Support Integrator and Security Coordinator for Kuwait, Command and Controls US Army Camps and Security Forces, and provides support for Reception, Staging, Onward Movement, and Integration of forces to facilitate theater operations. Work will take place in Kuwait City, Kuwait. Estimated completion date is February 10, 2022.

Europe

BAE Systems has been selected to supply 12 Bofors 40 Mk4 naval guns to the Belgian and Dutch navies as part of the Mine Counter Measures Vessels (rMCM) program, the company announced in a press release. The Bofors 40 Mk4 is a flexible, highly versatile gun system designed to react quickly in coastal environments. Lightweight and compact, the naval gun system combines long range and a high rate of fire, giving the mine hunting vessels a greater level of defense against surface, air, and shore-based threats.

Asia-Pacific

South Korea’s Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) has given an update to the press on the status of the joint development of the KF-X fighter with Indonesia. Kang Eun-ho, chief of the Defense Acquisition Program Administration, told the reporters that both parties are “sounding out each other’s position” and South Korea “will elaborate in detail when the time is right.” Indonesia has failed to pay $584 million in development fees for the KF-X project.

The Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) will reactivate the No. 100 Squadron as the Air Force Heritage Squadron to mark its 100th anniversary. The squadron will fly warbirds such as Spitfire, Mustang and Sabre from Point Cook, Victoria, and Temora, New South Wales. The minister for Defense Personnel Darren Chester said 100 Squadron had a proud history and after a 75-year absence it was fitting that RAAF reactivates it in the same year as it commemorates its first 100 years.

Today’s Video

Watch: JLTV (Joint Light Tactical Vehicle) 8th Comm Marines conduct advanced drivers course during MEFEX

The 2021 air show schedule for the Air Force’s F-35A Lightning II Demonstration Team was cut by about one-third because of engine issue. The F-35 Demo Team will not display the capabilities of the F-35A [...]

The post F-35 Demo Team Forced To Cut Airshow Appearances Due To Fleet-Wide Engine Issues appeared first on The Aviationist.

The implementation of ARTUS, a project selected under the 2019 call for proposals for the EU Preparatory Action on Defence Research (PADR) managed by EDA, was officially launched at an online kick-off meeting held on 10 February 2021. 

ARTUS stands for ‘Autonomous Rough-terrain Transport UGV Swarm’. The project, with a budget of approximately €1.5 million, was selected following an EU-wide PADR call for proposals on the topic of ‘Future Disruptive Defence Technologies - Emerging Game-changers’, sub-topic ‘Augmenting Soldier Capacity’. 

ARTUS aims at developing a technological feasibility concept and demonstrator for a small swarm of intelligent and autonomously operating Unmanned Ground Vehicles (UGVs) to support infantry platoons during their missions. The supporting swarm will significantly augment their capacity by: providing substantially added payload for the entire equipment through harsh environments, including densely wooded or sloped areas; reacting autonomously to unexpected developments, such as losses of parts of the swarm; increasing the unit's mobility and flexibility; and increasing the overall protection level of the troops.

The consortium is led by Fraunhofer Gesellschaft zur Förderung der Angewandten Forschung E.V. (Germany) and also encompasses ONERA (France), another well-established R&T organisation, Diehl Defence (Germany), a global player in defence systems, and charismaTec (Austria), a highly innovative SME. The project has a duration of 24 months. 

More information on the consortium can be found on the ARTUS project page.

About the PADR

The ARTUS project is part of the Preparatory Action on Defence Research (PADR) launched by the European Commission in 2017 to assess and demonstrate the added-value of EU supported defence research and technology (R&T). It paved the way for a proper European Defence Programme to come as part of the European Defence Fund (EDF), under the EU’s Multiannual Financial Framework (2021-2027).
The PADR implementation is run by EDA following the mandate via a Delegation Agreement between the European Commission and EDA signed on 31 May 2017. By this agreement the Commission entrusts EDA with the management and implementation of the research projects launched within the PADR.  

 

Some interesting details can be found in the first photos of the F-15EX, which are useful also for a comparison with the F-15C that will be replaced by the new fighter. The first F-15EX built [...]

The post Here Are All The Details We Noticed In The Photos Of The New F-15EX During Its First Flight appeared first on The Aviationist.

Source : © European Union, 2021 - EP

According to Intelligence Online's, sources, the Kremlin is considering replacing 65-year-old Valery Guerassimov as chief-of-staff of the Russian army, a position he has held since 2012. Guerassimov took what appeared to be a first step towards retirement when he was

Marine Corps Forces Cyberspace Command (MARFORCYBER) recently contracted the US firm Vulnerability Research Labs (VRL) to update its software program

According to our sources, Calidus, the company run by the UAE defence ministry, decided to review all its plans last

According to our information, the French maritime transport leader CMA CGM has its eye on operating the container terminal in

Weblink, a cryptography company with ties to the People's Liberation Army (PLA), talked up its team of former military experts

As Intelligence Online's sister publication Africa Intelligence has reported, the United Nations Security Council has finally bowed to pressure from

Colonel-General Sergey Istrakov, the deputy chief-of-staff of the Russian Armed Forces, visited Yerevan the week of 25 January to meet

With the current vote in the French parliament on the bill against religious separatism, the French intelligence community is being

Switzerland's Federal Intelligence Service (FIS), led by Jean-Philippe Gaudin (IOL 804), announced new appointments on 1 February that are a

Facing his fourth election in two years next month, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is desperately trying to get another Muslim

The Ministry of Public Security, or Gonganbu, pushed for deeper police-civil fusion as it announced on 3 February that it

There was much gnashing of teeth in the CIA, the DGSE and other Western intelligence services at the sight of