All Department of Defense articles – Page 5
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NewsNorthrop to modify four EQ-4 Global Hawks with hypersonic missile testing sensors
The Department of Defense granted Northrop Grumman a contract to start reconfiguring four US Air Force (USAF) EQ-4 Block 20 Global Hawk unmanned air vehicles (UAVs) with sensors for tracking hypersonic missiles during tests.
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NewsCollins demos stealthy directional comms system for UAVs
Collins Aerospace has demonstrated a “directional communications system” that could allow unmanned air vehicles (UAVs) to securely transmit battlefield data while operating in contested airspace.
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NewsDARPA catches airborne X-61 Gremlins drone from C-130 cargo ramp
The US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency in October for the first time caught an airborne X-61 Gremlins unmanned air vehicle using a mechanical arm and towed docking “bullet” deployed from the cargo ramp of a Lockheed Martin C-130.
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NewsLockheed, Rafael partner to sell SPICE 250 glide bomb kit to USA and Poland
Lockheed Martin and Rafael Advanced Defense Systems of Israel signed an agreement to jointly develop, manufacture, support and market the Smart, Precise Impact and Cost-Effective (SPICE) 250 guidance kit to the USA and Poland.
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NewsLockheed Martin to develop military 5G technology with Verizon
Lockheed Martin has signed an agreement with Verizon to develop 5G wireless communications technologies for the US Department of Defense.
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NewsAerospace firms see near-term pain, long-term gain from vaccine mandate
Several aerospace manufacturers are anticipating dismissal of employees who refuse to be vaccinated against the coronavirus, worsening the industry’s labour shortage in the short term.
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NewsUSA working to resolve disputes with Turkey over F-35 programme removal
The US Department of Defense sent a delegation to Ankara on 27 October to attempt to resolve fallout from Turkey’s ejection from the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter programme.
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NewsGeneral Atomics developing lasers, missile interceptors to protect its UAVs
General Atomics, known for unmanned air vehicles that for decades conducted armed reconnaissance over Iraq and Afghanistan, is attempting to retool its aircraft with a futuristic arsenal of weapons, including lasers and missile interceptors.
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NewsPratt & Whitney’s GatorWorks to 3D print entire jet engine
The first time Pratt & Whitney’s GatorWorks attempted to 3D-print a combustor for the miniature TJ-150 jet engine, the results were anything but perfect. Lessons learned, the West Palm Beach, Florida-based outfit is now taking additive manufacturing one step further: attempting to produce a TJ-150 turbine entirely out of 3D-printed parts.
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NewsF-35As drop inert B61-12 nukes in step toward operational certification
Two Lockheed Martin F-35A stealth fighters recently dropped inert B61-12 nuclear gravity bombs over Tonopah Test Range in Neveda as part of the type’s first full weapon system demonstration.
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NewsStratolaunch wraps critical design review, aims for hypersonic flight test in 2022
The Mojave, California-based company plans to use its massive, six-engined Roc aircraft as a launch platform for hypersonic vehicles and missiles.
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NewsRaytheon flight tests loyal wingman UAV software
Raytheon has conducted a flight test during which a human operator controlled three autonomous unmanned air vehicles simultaneously using manned-unmanned teaming software.
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NewsBoeing wins multibillion dollar contract to sustain global C-17 Globemaster III fleet
The US Air Force has awarded Boeing a multibillion-dollar contract to sustain the worldwide fleet of C-17 Globemaster III strategic transports over the next 10 years.
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NewsDARPA’s HAWC scramjet missile goes hypersonic in successful test
The free flight test of the missile is the first time the US government has successfully launched a scramjet hypersonic vehicle since 2013 when the Boeing X-51 flew 240s, the record for longest air-breathing hypersonic flight.
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NewsLockheed agrees to F-35 ‘production smoothing’ plan
Coming off 2020, when the coronavirus pandemic threw production of the F-35 further behind schedule, the F-35 Joint Program Office and Lockheed Martin have agreed to a plan to ramp up production of the stealth fighter.
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NewsUSAF prepares to test adaptive engines from GE, P&W
The US Air Force plans to start testing adaptive engine prototypes from GE Aviation and Pratt & Whitney in early fiscal year 2022.
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NewsRaytheon unveils compact, half-priced gallium nitride AESA radar
Lower-cost, smaller AESA radars are a critical enabling technology for several aircraft types, including ”attritable” unmanned air vehicles and light-attack aircraft. Both types have emerged in recent years as low-cost solutions for aerial combat.
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NewsUSAF secretary asks ‘hard questions’ of Advanced Battle Management System
Secretary of the US Air Force Frank Kendall is forcing a reassessment of one of the service’s highest development priorities, its Advanced Battle Management System (ABMS), after asking “hard questions” of the imagined battlefield network and receiving “answers that weren’t that good”.
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NewsLockheed agrees to $30,000 per flight hour cost for F-35A by FY2023
The F-35 Joint Program Office has awarded Lockheed Martin a sustainment contract for the F-35 that commits the company to reduce the operating cost of the stealth fighter to $30,000 per flight hour by fiscal year 2023, down 10.7% from FY2020.
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NewsCH-53K King Stallion heavy lift helicopter flies first mission
The US Marine Corps’ CH-53K King Stallion heavy-lift helicopter flew its first mission on 5 September, retrieving a downed MH-60S Knighthawk utility helicopter that was sitting on a high-altitude ridge near the California-Nevada border.