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Posted by Unknown
Friday 28 November 2014
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The IAI Phalcon, or the EL/M-2075 Phalcon to give it its full title, is an Airborne Early Warning and Control (AEW&C) active electronically scanned array radar system developed by Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) in the early ’90s. The advanced radar, which up until 2008 was considered to be the best AEW&C system available (according to the Federation of American Scientists), was primarily designed to be fitted in the nose of a Boeing 707, although it could also be fitted to other aircraft, including the Boeing 767, 747, some Airbus aircraft and the Lockheed Martin C-130.
The Phalcon radar system was built for both the Israeli military, as well as for export. It is designed for airborne early warning, tactical surveillance of airborne and surface targets and intelligence gathering.
Aside from its impressive capabilites as a radar system, which include the ablity to track low flying objects from hundreds of miles away in any weather day or night, the ability to create a new object track initiation in as little as 2 seconds (as opposed to up to 40 seconds for conventional rotodome radars), and the capability to directly integrate the information with command and control, the IAI Phalcon radar system looks very odd when fitted in the nose of its host aircraft.
Aside from the Israeli airforce, which has now replaced its fleet of AEW&C aircraft with more modern systems, one of the primary users of the IAI Phalcon system is the Chilean Air Force. They were the first user of the system, taking delivery of a refitted Boeing 707 version of the aircraft, which is known as the Condor. Presumably because the Andean condor, which inhabits most of Chile, and much of the west coast of South America, has an equally ugly head.
[via- diseno-art]
General Atomics Aeronautical Systems has come a step closer to developing a viable sense and avoid (SAA) system for unmanned air vehicles (UAVs), a major requirement for UAVs to share the US national airspace with manned aircraft.
GA recently announced it has tested a proof-of-concept SAA system in partnership with the Federal Aviation Administration and Honeywell. It was the first successful test of the FAA’s airborne collision avoidance system for unmanned aircraft.
The company also has completed the first flight tests of a prototype air-to-air radar called due regard radar (DRR) that enables UAVs to detect and avoid other aircraft in flight and is the first of its kind designed specifically for a remotely piloted aircraft.
“Our latest sense and avoid test represents a major step forward for integrating RPA safely into domestic and international airspace,” Frank Pace, president of aircraft systems at GA-ASI, says in a statement. “Our proof-of-concept SAA system is now functional and ready for extensive flight testing with the FAA, NASA, and our industry partners.”
Eventually, GA plans to clear the due regard radar for routine operation in non-segregated civilian airspace over the US and abroad. Since 2011, the company has integrated automatic dependent surveillance-broadcast (ADS-B) – a system that augment’s radar tracking to provide pilots with advanced positioning data, though few general aviation aircraft yet carry ADS-B – aboard a Guardian UAV. It has also flight tested a prototype DRR aboard a Twin Otter aircraft.
The DRR also has been flight tested over Southern California aboard a Beechcraft King Air where it attempted to detect and track multiple test aircraft including general aviation aircraft beyond 10 miles. That test campaign opened the door for testing the system aboard a Predator B, the company says.
During flights on 4, 5 and 10 September at GA’s Gray Butte flight operations center in Palmdale California, a company owned Predator B was outfitted with the SAA system and demonstrated automatic collision avoidance, and sensor fusion that gave the remote pilot “a clear picture of the traffic around the aircraft”, the company says.
The Predator “proved the functionality” of the automatic collision avoidance system during maneouvres against aircraft outfitted with ADS-B. The FAA’s collision avoidance system also is design to work with existing traffic collision and avoidance systems (TCAS), which is currently the global standard system for commercial transport aircraft.
“Automatically executing collision avoidance maneuvers will enable Predator B to maintain safety in the National Airspace System in the unlikely event of a loss of the command and control data link,” GA says.
The company is working toward integrating the SAA system onto a Predator B owned by NASA, which will then serve as the primary aircraft for further testing through December at the Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California. The flight test campaign will evaluate the SAA system in a wide variety of both collision avoidance and self-separation encounters and will include a sensor fusion algorithm being developed by Honeywell, GA says.
[via-flightglobal]
Airbus Defence and Space has delivered the first Airbus A400M new generation airlifter to the Royal Air Force, beginning the next stage of the transformation of the United Kingdom´s air mobility fleet.
The aircraft is the first of 22 ordered by the UK and will be known in service as the A400M Atlas.
Prime Minister David Cameron was today guest of honour at a ceremony to celebrate the acceptance of the aircraft at RAF Brize Norton, which is in his parliamentary constituency, where the entire Atlas fleet will be based. He was accompanied by Minister for Defence Equipment Support &Technology Philip Dunne.
Executive Vice President Military Aircraft, Domingo Ureña Raso, said: “It is an enormous pleasure to see the A400M entering service with the RAF which is one of the leading exponents of military air mobility worldwide. I would like to express my sincere thanks to all our employees, especially those in the UK, as well as OCCAR and our UK customer for making this day possible.
“Airbus Defence and Space is today privileged to be the biggest provider of large aircraft to the RAF and we are absolutely committed to executing that responsibility to the very best of our abilities for many years to come.”
The A400M will replace the C-130 in RAF service but, because it can carry approximately twice as much load, or the same load twice as far, fewer aircraft will be required.
Uniquely it is able both to cruise at jet-like speeds and altitudes over intercontinental ranges due to its extremely powerful engines and advanced aerodynamic design, as well as to operate repeatedly from short and unprepared airstrips close to the scene of military action or humanitarian crisis.
At Brize Norton the A400M will operate alongside the RAF’s Airbus Voyager multi-role tanker transport fleet. The wings of both aircraft are built in the UK at Filton and Broughton respectively. Additionally the Voyager’s engines are produced in the UK by Rolls-Royce, which is also a member of the Europrop International consortium that produces the A400M’s TP400 engines.
Altogether the A400M supports some 8,000 jobs in the UK including around 900 Airbus Group employees working directly on the aircraft at Filton. To date eight nations have ordered 174 aircraft of which the first seven have now been delivered.
Source : Airbus Defence and Space
Posted by Unknown
Thursday 27 November 2014
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A regiment from Nanjing Military Region conducts joint military drill with an army aviation regiment in strange areas on Nov. 16, 2014.
The advanced Armata will be equipped with a special blend of steel resistant to extremely low temperatures.
The top secret Armata tank, which will be presented to the general public on the Victory Day anniversary parade in 2015, may be deployed in the Arctic. Yevgeny Chistyakov, representative of the Scientific Research Institute of Steel, a developer of the advanced material, said at the Interpolitech 2014 exhibition in Moscow that the new 44S-SV-SH steel armour does not lose its qualities and can be operated at Arctic temperatures.
The Arctic may become a bone of contention between the major powers over energy resources located under the melting ice. Russia is already claiming its rights for a significant share of these resources, and is constantly increasing its military presence in the region.
Colonel General Alexander Postnikov of the Russian Army had said the technical basis for the Arctic brigades for the near future is a multi-purpose armoured tractor carrier MT-TWT. In the future it will become the combat platform for the family of combat and support vehicles on the basis of a two-tier armoured tracked unified platform. Officially, the Ministry of Defence does not speak about creating an armoured brigade in the Arctic. The nearest motor-rifle division of Russian Armed Forces is located in the town of Pechenga in the Murmansk region.
However, the military command must consider the hypothetical possibility of utilising any equipment in the area of its interest. Today this is the Arctic.
When talking about the deployment and combat operations with the use of armoured vehicles in critically low temperatures, it is important to consider the experience of the Soviet troops. During the Second World War, the Soviet Army successfully operated against the German forces in Finland and Norway.
Independent military expert in the field of land armaments Alexey Khlopotov said Russian tanks proved to be superior back in the Second World War in Northern Norway during the Petsamo-Kirkenes operation. “Tank brigades and self-propelled artillery regiments were conquering Norwegian mountains at strong frosts,” Khlopotov said. “One needs to keep in mind that they were not modern tanks, but 1940s models: KV (Klim Voroshilov) and the self-propelled artillery units ISU-152 based on the JS (Joseph Stalin) tank.” According to Khlopotov, in the Soviet era, tank trial runs were often held outside of Murmansk, the city located above the Arctic Circle.
The tank will become lighter
The planned advantage of the new Armata tank is its lightweight armour. The developers managed to increase the hardness of steel while retaining its plasticity. This combination allows the reduction of the thickness of the armour plate by 15 percent without reducing its security features. It's also planned to use the new material to upgrade existing military machines. The Scientific Research Institute of Steel said the new steel blend offers a high level of protection due to its fine grained structure, optimized alloying process and special heat treatment.
The mission of the new armour is to protect the fighting modules, the optoelectronic devices and the external equipment of the tank from the small-arms' bullets and the automatic missiles.
“Better alloying of steel decreases the friability, which is important for the equipment operating in the zones of low temperatures,” says Mikhail Timoshenko, the independent military expert, author of the book The Russian Army.
Yet the innovativeness of ‘the tank of the future’ does not make it immune to the possible challenges of extremely cold regions. For example, the software of Armata may become at risk in the zone of low temperatures. It's necessary to consider the efficiency of heavy armour in terms of temperature and atmospheric corrosion resistance of the electronics.
Therefore, despite the super-steel, the electronic filling may encounter problems. But then again, one should be aware of the actual characteristics and capabilities of the radio-electronic filling of armoured vehicles, which is abundant in modern models, independent military expert Vasily Ponyatov told RIR.
All military radio-electronic equipment has the indications of temperature range of use (for example, from -50 to +50). In case of the Arctic the low temperature limit will be pushed further down as well as the corresponding military acceptance of electronic components for REE and the terminal electronic device itself, Ponyatov said.
[via-http://in.rbth.com/]
Airbus Helicopters has performed the maiden flight of the EC645 T2 military utility rotorcraft at its facility in Donauwörth, Germany, in front of representatives of the nation’s armed forces.
Berlin has an existing order for 15 of the 3.7t helicopters to be used by its air force for commando operations. Deliveries are scheduled to commence in 2015.
“This first flight is a milestone in the EC645 T2 programme and we’re thrilled to be able to celebrate this event with our customer,” the airframer says.
The type is the military variant of the civil EC145 T2, which gained certification earlier this year and was delivered to its launch customer in late July.
Upgrades over the previous model include a reshaped, lightweight tail boom, a new Helionix avionics suite, upgraded Turbomeca Arriel 2E engines and an enclosed tail rotor.
The Royal Thai Navy is the only other customer for the EC645 T2, with a commitment placed in October for five examples.
[via-flightglobal]
Posted by Unknown
Wednesday 26 November 2014
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Rolls-Royce has been awarded a new two-year contract to provide aftermarket engine support for the US Marine Corps and Air Force V-22 fleets, which provides a reduction in support costs of more than 30%.
The contract, through the company's innovative MissionCare model, is valued at up to $287 million and will cover all V-22 aircraft across the Marine and Air Force fleets. Rolls-Royce is the sole engine provider for V-22 aircraft and has delivered 750 AE 1107C engines to the programme.
The reduced maintenance costs result from a significant improvement in engine time on wing since 2009 when the original MissionCare contract was signed. Rolls-Royce has invested $90 million in capability and reliability improvements for the AE 1107C engine. Rolls-Royce has designed a series of upgrades that boost 'hot and high' performance and add 17% more power to the engine over the original specification.
MissionCare, a Rolls-Royce developed package of services, incentivises the company to design, develop and implement technology and affordability improvements to benefit the customer.
Tom Hartmann, Rolls-Royce, Senior Vice President Customer Business, said: "This new contract demonstrates confidence from V-22 operators that Rolls-Royce will continue to provide outstanding service and capability to the V-22 fleets. Operators know they can count on Rolls-Royce to provide the power and support they need to succeed in their missions - while also focusing on increased affordability."
The Rolls-Royce AE 1107C engine is robust and battle-proven, demonstrating reliability during deployments across the Mideast, Africa and the Pacific. V-22 operators have never cancelled a mission due to engine availability.
The AE 1107C engine shares a common core with the Rolls-Royce AE family of engines, which totals more than 62 million flight hours of service and includes nearly 6,000 total engines in military and commercial service.
[via- adsadvance.co.uk]
DJI have introduced their spectacular new drone, the Inspire 1, a hi-tech device that combines DJI’s most advanced technology and an unrestricted 360⁰ view letting you create images like never before. The lightweight Inspire 1 features elevating carbon fiber arms(elevate when filming, and lower automatically when landing), advanced camera stabilization, and lets you shoot an impressive 4K video and capture 12 megapixel photos. The hi tech drone also features a vision positioning system that lets you fly indoors, even when GPS is unavailable, and offers the possibility of dual-operator control using two remote controllers, one person flies, while the other controls the camera.
Last week was a pretty good one for two of Europe’s remaining fighter manufacturers, as the continent’s four Eurofighter nations at last committed real money to provide the Typhoon with a new-generation radar, and as Saab received strong and long-term backing from new customer Brazil.
The wait to get formal approval for the Eurofighter’s Captor-E active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar from Germany, Italy, Spain and the UK has been a long one, and has without question harmed the type’s export prospects over the last few years – remember its near-miss with the United Arab Emirates, for example. But the industry’s faith in having self-funded the work to date has been rewarded, with a €1 billion ($1.3 billion) deal signed with the Euroradar consortium to complete development and integration of the “E-scan” sensor.
There remains a problem here, however. Welcome as the new development is, it still stops short of any of the Eurofighter nations wholly committing themselves to fitting the Captor-E to any of their aircraft. The UK has a clear roadmap and aspiration to do so, but as the desire of its cash-strapped and less combat-minded partners might be less immediate, it is hedging its bets by also backing a national-specific alternative. Seen positively, this means potential future customers could have a choice of two AESA systems for their combat aircraft.
With production for its core nations now in its final Tranche 3A phase, Eurofighter needs to finalise new orders, if its lines with Airbus Defence & Space, Alenia Aermacchi and BAE Systems are to continue building Typhoons beyond late this decade. Sales officials and chief executive Alberto Gutierrez have talked a good game for the last couple of years about the addition of new capabilities, and the Captor-E deal adds much-needed and overdue substance to their claims.
Things are looking good for Saab too, with a senior Brazilian air force official having revealed long-term plans for the service to build on its initial, 36-aircraft buy with additional batches that should treble this fleet strength to 108 jets.
The Swedish company’s F-X2 selection and recent $5.8 billion contract with the Latin American nation could prompt a fresh wave of buyers for the E/F-model fighter, and has helped the manufacturer to forget its disappointment in Switzerland earlier this year.
Now, if Dassault can succeed in getting its Rafale deal with India on contract, the European dogfight can really continue for a few more battles yet.
[via-flightglobal]
The Flyer-60 Advanced Light Strike Vehicle was developed to fill operational gaps in fixed and rotary wing ground mobility deployment requiring a lightweight, mobile, air transportable vehicle capable of being rapidly reconfigured for a variety of mission needs. The Flyer-60 is a mature, highly mobile platform, with a payload capacity of up to 3,500 pounds and meets all internal transport requirements for the V-22 Osprey. Capable of being either internally and externally transportable in the V-22, CH-53, C-130 and C-5 aircraft. The Flyer-60 can move to and from the event location with a higher payload capacity and increased range over traditional transport capabilities.
As a reliable and high performance vehicle, the Flyer-60 offers safe and fast operating speeds with superior levels of mobility and maneuverability. It’s highly adaptable to severe, rugged and restrictive terrains while providing off-road, cross-country mobility in all types of weather conditions.
Rapid Mission Reconfiguration Modularity
The Flyer vehicle’s modular approach provides the warfighter with a rapid mission reconfiguration capability. The vehicle can quickly be reconfigure in the field, to perform multiple missions such as light strike assault, rescue and evacuation, command and control, and reconnaissance, either armored or unarmored. The vehicle can easily incorporate a 360º weapon ring or carry up to a five patient litter.
VARIANTS:
• Light Strike Armored or Unarmored
• Rescue and Personnel Recovery
• Reconnaissance
• C4ISR (Sensor, UAV, SOWT, RSTA)
• Communication
The Flyer-60 is a Non-Developmental Item (NDI) containing 80% COTS and HWMVV platforms. The Flyer has a state of the art diesel 1.9L 150 Hp six-speed power train, cooling, brake and fuel systems with a low fuel consumption rate of 24mpg when traveling at 40mph.
The Flyer maximizes the use of HWMVV NSN parts such as: differentials, steering rod ends, tie down rings, light system, alternator, batteries, suspension ball joints, air compressor and tires.
Posted by Unknown
Tuesday 25 November 2014
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Japan has announced plans to purchase a fleet of Bell Boeing V-22 Osprey tiltrotors and has included funding for the aircraft in its 2015 defense budget.
The budget document, recently posted on the Japanese Ministry of Defence’s website, says “source selection is underway” for acquisition of a tiltrotor but does not specify the Osprey. Included in the document are generic renderings of an aircraft that resembles the V-22, which can takeoff and land like a helicopter and fly like a plane.
Boeing spokeswoman Caroline Hutcheson confirmed that Japan is buying the V-22, which it builds the aircraft in partnership with Bell Helicopter.
"The Bell Boeing team is honored the Japanese Ministry of Defense has selected the V-22 Osprey to support its operational requirements, and we’ll continue to work with the U.S. government on the foreign military sale."
It also does not spell out how many examples Japan will buy, but Bell Helicopter chief executive John Garrison said Japan had already budgeted for 17 V-22s as part of a long-term spending plan. Industry sources confirm the deal is for 17 of the type.
The Japan MoD website says the fleet is being formed “with a view to enhance unit deployment capabilities in amphibious operations”. The tiltrotors will “complement and strengthen the capabilities of transport helicopters in terms of cruising speed and range”, it says.
The orders will be a boon to Bell Boeing, which is under pressure to keep sales up after 2015 and could lose a deal to sell six V-22s to Israel. Earlier in November, Israeli sources told Flightglobal that the recent conflict in Gaza inflated demand for ground systems over aircraft and put overall strain on budgets for large acquisition programmes. The situation could lead to postponement of the deal if it is not canceled outright, the source says.
[via-flightglobal]
The Ministry of Defence (MOD) has signed a contract for the first production batch of 4 Lightning II stealth combat aircraft – which will operate from both the Royal Navy’s new aircraft carriers and Royal Air Force (RAF) land bases.
The contract for the F-35B aircraft forms part of the MOD’s investment in Lightning II over the next 5 years to procure an initial 14 of these multi-role fifth generation aircraft, as well as putting in place the necessary support arrangements and infrastructure.
Further contracts will cover the procurement of a range of equipment such as engines.
Minister for Defence Equipment Support and Technology, Philip Dunne, said:
''Looking to the future, the investment we are making in the F-35 aircraft will ensure we are securing the skies for decades to come, providing the UK with the latest stealth technology and multi-role aircraft capability.''
''Not only does our investment in these next generation aircraft afford us air superiority, but the UK’s tier one status in the entire programme provides UK industry with a unique opportunity to produce world-leading products, technologies and manufacturing expertise for coming decades. The aircraft will be a powerful testament to the strength and capability of British industry.''
''In addition, with the aircraft being supported and operated from RAF Marham, this will create job opportunities for the local community, as well as maintaining its key role as an RAF operating and engineering sustainment base which will support the military and civilian workforce for years to come.''
The news comes as a UK test team has completed initial aircraft handling trials for ASRAAM and Paveway IV on the F-35B aircraft.
Trial rounds, which are identical to the operational weapons, were tested for the first time during a series of flights from the US Navy’s test facility at Patuxent River Naval Air Station in Maryland.
These initial tests are an important step in integrating weapons onto the F-35B, allowing test pilots to understand how they affect the way the aircraft performs and handles.
The aircraft are short take off and vertical landing (STOVL) and feature the latest stealth capabilities alongside intelligence, surveillance, target acquisition and reconnaissance (ISTAR) technology.
Source : Ministry of Defence (United Kingdom)
Posted by Unknown
Monday 24 November 2014
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At the 2014 EICMA motorcycle show in Milan, Swedish motorcycle company and outdoor equipment manufacturer Husqvarna showed off a pair of motorcycle concepts which look straight out of a sci-fi movie.
The complimentary duo, one called Vit Pilen (White Arrow), and the other called Svart Pilen (Black Arrow), were created by the industrial design firm Kiska (the same company that designed the KTM X-Bow). Both bikes are designed to gauge public opinion ahead of a possible production run.
Starting with the Husqvarna 401 Vit Pilen. This version of the concept is a proposal for a simply styled, yet high-tech road bike. It’s an exceptionally clean design, with every part stripped down to the bare minimum necessary for function. It features an exposed trellis frame, with just a minimal amount of bodywork. Up front the 401 Vit Pilen has a futuristic LED headlight with a halo ring running around the outside.
The Husqvarna 401 Svart Pilen on the other hand is more of an off-road machine. It has the same basic architecture as the Vit Pilen, but adds knobbly tires, a high-mounted exhaust, higher and wider handlebars, and small storage racks on the tank and tail section. The headlight gets a faux rock guard too.
Powering both motorcycles is a 373 cc, 43 horsepower single cylinder engine, which is the same unit used in the production KTM Duke 390.
