Sailors aboard littoral combat ship USS Coronado (LCS 4) prepare an MQ-8B Fire Scout unmanned aircraft, left, and an MH-60S Seahawk helicopter for flight operations at sea, March 19, 2017. (Amy M. Ressler/U.S. Navy)
The Navy is on the hunt for a helicopter to replace its MH-60 Seahawk and MQ-8 Fire Scout — and it’s looking to join the Army‘s Future Vertical Lift program to find…
US Air Force has a fix for two major KC-46 problems
February 2, 2021
WASHINGTON — Two of the KC-46 aerial refueling tanker’s major technical problems may be in the rearview mirror.
The U.S. Air Force on Feb. 1 announced it closed one of the Boeing-made aircraft’s six category 1 deficiencies — which indicate problems that impact…
Submarine maker to add jobs amid $39 billion backlog in work
February 2, 2021
GROTON, Conn. — General Dynamics Electric Boat plans to add 2,200 jobs this year in Connecticut and Rhode Island as it tackles a $39 billion backlog of work, the submarine maker’s top executive said Monday.
Kevin Graney, Electric Boat’s president, made the…
US Army looks at Israeli precision munition for infantry squads
January 30, 2021
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Army is evaluating Israeli defense company Rafael’s shoulder-launched, short-range version of its Spike missile and demonstrated the capability at the Army Expeditionary Warrior Experiment 2021 earlier this month, according to a company statement.
“This assessment was the first live-fire demonstration of SPIKE SR on US soil,” the statement said.
The experiment…
Lockheed’s F-35 program head to lead aeronautics biz
January 30, 2021
WASHINGTON — Lockheed Martin announced Jan. 29 the appointment of Greg Ulmer as the company’s executive vice president of aeronautics, making him the top executive overseeing flagship aviation programs such as the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter as well as the secretive Skunk…
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Army is heading into a culminating event used to evaluate four different unmanned aircraft systems capable of replacing the service’s current tactical UAS — the Textron-made Shadow.
The service will hold a “rodeo” at Fort Benning, Georgia…
PARIS – The French Air and Space Force will be getting 12 new Rafales to replace those being removed from its inventory to sell to Greece, Defense Minister Florence Parly said on Friday.
The announcement comes a few weeks later than originally planned. Florence Parly had told the National Assembly’s Defense Commission last fall that the order would be placed with Dassault Aviation, the…
Rheinmetall, MBDA building high-energy lasers for Germany’s Navy
January 29, 2021
STUTTGART, Germany — Rheinmetall and MBDA Deutschland have officially been tasked to build, test and field a high-energy laser weapon system for the German Navy over the next year.
The consortium, dubbed ARGE, was awarded a contract “in the low double-digit million…
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Army will head out west to conduct an intricate, aviation-focused exercise called Edge 21 ahead of the service’s second Project Convergence event, Brig. Gen. Walter Rugen, who is in charge of Army aviation modernization, told Defense News in a…
Latest Chinook helo variant has excessive rotor blade vibrations heading into major test
January 28, 2021
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Army is dealing with excessive rotor blade vibrations in its latest variant of the Boeing-manufactured Chinook cargo helicopter as it heads into a limited-user test during the first half of the calendar year, according to a report by the Pentagon’s chief weapons tester.
The new Advanced Chinook Rotor Blade, or ACRB, on the CH-47F Block II aircraft “produces excessive…
