DefenseNews

V-22 Osprey could see second life, with new drive system, wings in 2050s

The V-22 program office is studying the future of the tiltrotor aircraft, weighing both a technology refresh as well as whether it could rip off the wings and nacelles to add decades of additional life to the airframes. U.S. Marine Corps Col. Brian Taylor, the joint program manager for the aircraft, told an audience at the Modern Day Marine conference in Washington that the U.S. military is the…
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DefenseNews

After Army canceled helo program, industry had to pivot

DENVER — Since the Army canceled plans to develop a Future Attack Reconnaissance Aircraft earlier this year, the two anticipated competitors have both moved to make use of their work on the program. The service is closing out its FARA effort at the end of fiscal 2024. Two…
DefenseNews

Here’s when the US Army will pick next long-range spy plane

DENVER — The U.S. Army will choose who is to integrate its long-range, high-speed spy plane this summer, a major step in its effort to overhaul existing fixed-wing aircraft that perform intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance missions, according to service officials…
DefenseNews

Raytheon picks Spain’s Sener to make Patriot interceptor parts

COLOGNE, Germany — RTX’s Raytheon selected Spanish engineering and technology group Sener to make a key component of the Patriot air-defense system’s interceptor missile at its Madrid site. The contract, announced by the companies on April 29, covers the electro-mechanical control section of the GEM-T missile, one of the interceptor options for the system’s global customer base. The part…
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DefenseNews

Here are the two companies creating drone wingmen for the US Air Force

The U.S. Air Force on Wednesday announced it selected Anduril and General Atomics to keep designing, building and testing its first batch of drone wingmen known as collaborative combat aircraft. The decision on contract option awards marks the service’s most significant step yet as it aims to create a series of drones using autonomous software to fly alongside piloted fighters, such as the F-35…
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DefenseNews

US Army faces uphill battle to fix aviation mishap crisis

FORT NOVOSEL, Ala. — In the first half of fiscal 2023, more than a dozen U.S. Army aviators died in helicopter crashes, a startling number that prompted an aviation-wide standdown in April 2023. The Army, after a thorough review, eventually lifted the standdown. But five months later, an MH-60 Black Hawk stealth helicopter belonging to the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment crashed into…
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