Overblog
Suivre ce blog Administration + Créer mon blog
15 janvier 2016 5 15 /01 /janvier /2016 17:20
A U.S. Air Force Boeing B-52H Stratofortress of the 2d Bomb Wing static display with weapons, at Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana (USA), in 2006 - photo USAF

A U.S. Air Force Boeing B-52H Stratofortress of the 2d Bomb Wing static display with weapons, at Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana (USA), in 2006 - photo USAF

 

14 janvier 2016 par Aerobuzz.fr

 

Boeing annonce avoir livré à l’US Air Force six lanceurs rotatifs modernisés, utilisables par les B-52H. Ces lanceurs, placés dans la soute à bombe du bombardier, permettaient jusqu’à présent l’emport de missiles de croisière à charge nucléaire ou conventionnelle. Les bombardiers pourront maintenant également emporter en soute jusqu’à huit bombes à guidage GPS (JDAM).

Suite de l’article

Partager cet article
Repost0
11 décembre 2015 5 11 /12 /décembre /2015 12:50
La Royal Air Force dispose désormais de 14 Mark-6 Chinook photo Boeing

La Royal Air Force dispose désormais de 14 Mark-6 Chinook photo Boeing

 

10.12.2015 source Aerobuzz.fr

 

Boeing a livré (7 décembre 2015) le 14ème et dernier Mk6 Chinook commandé par le Royaume Uni. Ce qui porte à 60 la flotte des Chinook de la Royal Air Force. Cette livraison coïncide aussi avec le 35ème anniversaire de l’entrée en service de cet hélicoptère lourd au sein des forces aériennes britanniques. Les H-47 Chinook sont utilisés depuis 1980 pour le transport de troupes, pour des missions d’assaut et des évacuations sanitaires.

Partager cet article
Repost0
7 décembre 2015 1 07 /12 /décembre /2015 08:20
Air Defense: Anti UAV Defense

 

December 4, 2015: Strategy Page

 

The number of anti-UAV weapons showing up indicates that the countries with larger defense budgets see a need for this sort of thing and are willing to pay for a solution. That need has been created by the growing availability of small, inexpensive UAVs that can (and are) used by criminals and Islamic terrorists. These more sophisticated AUDs (Anti UAV Defense) are safer (for nearby civilians) to use because they rely on lasers or electronic signals to destroy or disable UAVs. For example the CLWS (Compact Laser Weapon System) is a laser weapon light enough to mount on helicopters or hummers and can destroy small UAVs up to 2,000 meters away while it can disable or destroy the sensors (vidcams) on a UAV up to 7,000 meters away. The CLWS fire control system will automatically track and keep the laser firing on a selected target. It can take up to 15 seconds of laser fire to bring down a UAV or destroy its camera. Another example is an even more portable system that can be carried and operated by one person. This is DroneDefender system, which is a 6.8 kg (15 pound) electronic rifle that can disrupt control signals for a small UAV. Range is only a few hundred meters so DroneDefender would be most useful to police.

 

There is also a high-end system similar to DroneDefender  that can use data from multiple sensors (visual, heat, radar) to detect the small UAVs and then use a focused radio signal jammer to cut the UAV off from its controller and prevent (in most cases) the UAV from completing its mission. The detection range of this AUDS is usually 10 kilometers or more and jamming range varies from a few kilometers to about eight.

 

AUDS can be defeated. For example a user can send a small UAV off on a pre-programmed mission. This can be to take photos or deliver a small explosive. No one has tried, at least successfully, using armed micro-UAVs yet but North Korea has been caught using small recon UAVs flying under automatic control.

 

If these UAVs are still detected they have to be destroyed via ground or air-to-air fire. This the South Koreans and Israelis have had to do several times. The Israelis were dealing with Palestinian Islamic terrorist groups using small UAVs, often Iranian models. South Korea and Israel has responded by adding more sensor systems, especially new radars that can detect the smallest UAVs moving at any speed and altitude. The downside of using missiles to machine-guns to take down UAVs is that those bullets and missiles eventually return to earth and often kill or injure people (usually civilians) on the ground.

Partager cet article
Repost0
3 novembre 2015 2 03 /11 /novembre /2015 07:20
Boeing au pied du mur dans le militaire après une défaite cinglante

 

02.11.2015 Romandie.com (AWP)

 

New York (awp/afp) - Après avoir perdu l'énorme contrat du bombardier du futur aux Etats-Unis, Boeing est au pied du mur pour relancer ses activités de défense alors qu'un rebond des dépenses militaires n'est pas attendu avant 2020-2023.

Le constructeur aéronautique se retrouve aujourd'hui exclu des deux plus importants programmes militaires américains de la décennie après la défaite concédée face à Lockheed Martin pour l'avion de combat de nouvelle génération F-35.

Une situation inédite pour un groupe ayant produit les célèbres bombardiers B-17 et B-29 de la Seconde guerre mondiale et le B-52 qui s'est illustré pendant la guerre du Vietnam. Le bombardier B-1 qu'il fabrique aujourd'hui avait été conçu par Rockwell, acquis en 2001 par Boeing.

"Les activités militaires de BDS (Boeing Defense and Space, branche militaire NDLR) ne se portent pas bien", observe Loren Thompson du Lexington Institute.

 l'exception des hélicoptères d'attaque Apache et de transport lourd Chinook, BDS est face à une montagne de difficultés: les retards s'accumulent pour l'avion ravitailleur KC-46 et il est en train de fermer son usine californienne de production de l'avion de transport militaire C-17.

Faute de commandes suffisantes pour son chasseur F/A-18 Super Hornet, l'industriel risque de ne plus jouer les premiers rôles dans le segment des avions de combat, redoute M. Thompson.

 

- Suppressions d'emplois -

Conscient des enjeux, Boeing n'exclut pas de faire appel de la décision du Pentagone d'attribuer à Northrop le contrat estimé à environ 80 milliards de dollars sur le futur bombardier LRS-B (Long range strike bomber).

En attendant, l'avionneur doit trouver une solution d'avenir pour l'activité de production des avions militaires, héritage de l'acquisition de McDonnell Douglas, estime Rob Stallard de RBC Capital.

Si les revenus de BDS sont restés stables à environ 30 milliards de dollars - soit un tiers du chiffre d'affaires total de Boeing - en dix ans, les recettes de la part militaire ont en revanche dégringolé. Le nombre de salariés a fondu de 75.000 à 50.000.

Lors des quatre dernières années, Boeing a vu la valeur de ses contrats auprès du Pentagone passer de 21,5 milliards de dollars à 18,2 milliards, en raison des coupes dans le budget.

"L'ensemble de l'industrie de défense est en train de s'ajuster aux défis budgétaires de nos clients à travers le monde", explique à l'AFP Todd Blecher, un porte-parole de Boeing.

Les observateurs, qui ne s'attendent à une reprise des dépenses militaires qu'à partir de 2020 et 2023, parient sur une réduction de la voilure, une éventualité que le groupe de Chicago n'écarte pas.

Les sites de production de St Louis (Missouri, centre), qui emploient près de 15.000 personnes, vont en faire les frais. Le F/A-18 et le F-15, dont les cadences de production ont été abaissées récemment, y sont assemblés.

Après un geste du Congrès américain, la production du F/A-18 n'est assurée que jusqu'à 2017 et celle du F-15 jusqu'en 2020 grâce à des commandes de l'Arabie saoudite.

Le nombre de suppressions d'emplois pourrait être limité par la décision de Boeing, séduit par d'importantes subventions locales, de construire une usine de production de pièces de son gros porteur 777X dans la région.

 

- Grosse acquisition ? -

Boeing fonde ses espoirs sur les programmes T-X (remplacement des avions d'entrainement de l'Armée de l'Air américaine), Uclass (drone de combat embarqué pour la Marine) et sur les perspectives à l'export du KC-46.

"Le Japon voudrait passer commande", assure Todd Blecher et il est plus que probable que le groupe va participer à l'appel d'offres sur les avions radar de surveillance du sol JStars aux Etats-Unis et celui sur le remplacement du F/A-18C en Finlande.

L'avionneur compte en outre sur les versions militaires de ses avions civils (737 pour l'avion de patrouille maritime P-8A par exemple) et veut être, affirme-t-il, le principal interlocuteur du Pentagone pour les très lucratifs services de maintenance.

Le développement des satellites militaires et civils est également un relais de croissance qu'examine Boeing mais l'industriel doit, estiment les analystes, acquérir un acteur majeur de l'industrie comme Northrop Grumman pour véritablement relancer ses activités militaires. Cela lui permettrait de récupérer le programme de bombardier lourd.

Boeing se refuse à commenter, une réticence sans doute due au fait que le secrétaire américain à la défense Ash Carter a prévenu en septembre qu'il s'opposerait à la consolidation de grands acteurs par souci de concurrence.

Partager cet article
Repost0
27 octobre 2015 2 27 /10 /octobre /2015 17:20
Boeing and Lockheed Martin Statement on U.S. Air Force Long Range Strike-Bomber Decision

 

WASHINGTON, Oct. 27, 2015 – Boeing.com

 

Boeing [NYSE: BA] and Lockheed Martin [NYSE: LMT] today released the following statement on the U.S. Air Force’s decision to award Northrop Grumman the Long Range Strike-Bomber contract:

 

The Boeing and Lockheed Martin team is disappointed by today’s announcement. We will have further discussions with our customer before determining our next steps. We are interested in knowing how the competition was scored in terms of price and risk, as we believe that the combination of Boeing and Lockheed Martin offers unparalleled experience, capability and resources for this critically important recapitalization program.

 

Boeing is the world’s largest aerospace company and leading manufacturer of commercial airplanes and defense, space and security systems. In addition, Boeing supports airlines and U.S. and allied government customers in more than 150 countries. The company’s products and tailored services include commercial and military aircraft, satellites, weapons, electronic and defense systems, launch systems, advanced information and communication systems, and performance-based logistics and training. Boeing employs more than 165,000 people across the United States and in more than 65 countries. Company revenues for 2014 were more than $90 billion. Follow us on Twitter: @Boeing.

 

Headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland, Lockheed Martin is a global security and aerospace company that employs approximately 112,000 people worldwide and is principally engaged in the research, design, development, manufacture, integration and sustainment of advanced technology systems, products and services. The Corporation’s net sales for 2014 were $45.6 billion.

Partager cet article
Repost0
23 octobre 2015 5 23 /10 /octobre /2015 16:35
photo Boeing

photo Boeing

 

23 October, 2015 By James Drew – FG

 

Washington DC  - Just months after being rejected by South Korea and weeks after first flight, Boeing’s KC-46A has been selected by Japan to supplement the nation’s KC-767 tanker fleet.

 

The announcement came from Japanese defence minister Gen Nakatani on Friday, and constitutes a significant win for Boeing after a troubled start to the next-generation tanker development programme with the US Air Force. The Pegasus tanker can almost see the end of its development phase, after achieving first flight 25 September from Paine Field in Washington, following a roughly nine-month delay. According to Boeing, KC-46 is particularly attractive to Japan as it will be capable of refuelling the Japan Air Self-Defense Force’s planned fleet of Bell-Boeing MV-22 Osprey helicopters. Japan intends to procure three tankers for fielding in the 2020 time frame, at a cost of more ¥20.8 billion – about $173 million per tanker.

Read more

Partager cet article
Repost0
16 octobre 2015 5 16 /10 /octobre /2015 07:20
Boeing’s MOP bomb approaching second phase of redesign

MOP enhancements are tested against specially created underground test bunkers at White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico. This image is of a test conducted in 2009. - Defense Threat Reduction Agency

 

15 October, 2015 by James Drew – FG

 

Washington DC  - Boeing can expect a sole-source contract for redesign, qualification and testing of the US Air Force’s largest non-nuclear penetrating bomb, the 13.6t GBU-57 Massive Ordnance Penetrator (MOP).

 

A redacted notice published by the air force this week says Boeing is being put on contract for the second phase of a classified MOP modification programme, called Enhanced Threat Reduction IV. The specialised weapon began development in 2004 and was never intended for serial production. Instead, GBU-57 is built in small quantities by Boeing through the air force’s direct attack office at Eglin Air Force Base in Florida. MOP is specifically designed to destroy deeply buried bunkers, and the components are continually modified as those targets, such as Iran’s underground nuclear sites, dig deeper or are reinforced against US weapons.

Read more

Partager cet article
Repost0
16 octobre 2015 5 16 /10 /octobre /2015 07:20
A C-17 Globemaster III flies over Biggs Army Airfield, Texas, during Bold Quest 15-2 operations Oct. 2, 2015 - photo USAF

A C-17 Globemaster III flies over Biggs Army Airfield, Texas, during Bold Quest 15-2 operations Oct. 2, 2015 - photo USAF

 

October 15, 2015 defense-aerospace.com

(Source: US Department of Justice; issued October 14, 2015)

 

The Boeing Company has paid the United States $18 million to settle allegations that the company submitted false claims for labor charges on maintenance contracts with the U.S. Air Force for the C-17 Globemaster aircraft, the Justice Department announced today. Boeing, an aerospace and defense industry giant, is headquartered in Chicago.

“Defense contractors are required to obey the rules when billing for work performed on government contracts,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Benjamin C. Mizer, head of the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “Today’s settlement demonstrates that the Justice Department will ensure that government contractors meet their obligations and charge the government appropriately.”

The government alleged that Boeing improperly charged labor costs under contracts with the Air Force for the maintenance and repair of C-17 Globemaster aircraft at Boeing’s Long Beach Depot Center in Long Beach, California. The C-17 Globemaster aircraft, which is both manufactured and maintained by Boeing, is one of the military’s major systems for transporting troops and cargo throughout the world. The government alleged that the company knowingly charged the United States for time its mechanics spent on extended breaks and lunch hours, and not on maintenance and repair work properly chargeable to the contracts.

The allegations resolved by the settlement announced today were originally brought by former Boeing employee James Thomas Webb under the qui tam, or whistleblower, provisions of the False Claims Act. The act permits private individuals to sue on behalf of the government those who falsely claim federal funds, and to share in the recovery. Mr. Webb’s share of the settlement has not yet been determined.

The case was handled by the Civil Division’s Commercial Litigation Branch, the Defense Criminal Investigative Service, the Air Force Office of Special Investigations, the Defense Contract Audit Agency and the Defense Contract Management Agency.

The False Claims Act lawsuit is captioned United States ex rel. Webb v. The Boeing Company, CV13-000694 (C.D. Cal.).

The claims resolved by today’s civil settlement are allegations only; there has been no determination of liability.

Partager cet article
Repost0
8 octobre 2015 4 08 /10 /octobre /2015 11:20
Avion ravitailleur KC-46 de Boeing développé pour l’US Air Force qui en a commandé 179 – photo Boeing

Avion ravitailleur KC-46 de Boeing développé pour l’US Air Force qui en a commandé 179 – photo Boeing

 

07 octobre 2015 Par Julien Bonnet – Usine Nouvelle

 

Le futur ravitailleur de l’US Air Force, le KC-46 Pegasus de Boeing, a effectué son premier vol le 25 septembre dernier entre Everett et Seattle au nord-ouest des Etats-Unis. L’armée américaine en a commandé 179 exemplaires. Objectif : remplacer ses (KC-135) Stratotanker développés dans les années 50 et qui lui coûte plusieurs milliards de dollars chaque année pour les maintenir en service.

Partager cet article
Repost0
4 octobre 2015 7 04 /10 /octobre /2015 11:20
Boeing might stop Manufacturing Fighter Planes

 

September 30, 2014 by: Udaynti Patel

 

With future-focused solutions, Boeing is the name reckoned for fixed wing aircraft, rotorcraft, rockets, satellites, unmanned systems and weapons. Having built world-class military planes for almost a century, now the sad news is that the company is getting ready for a fighter-less future.

 

So far this year, the company is said to have delivered nine of its F-15 Eagle fighters, 31 F/A-18E/F Super Hornets, along with EA-18G Growlers. By moving at a pace of manufacturing of four every month, the Super Hornet/Growler will provide a total of 47 airplanes in 2014. However, the F-15 has no monthly delivery program the company delivered two planes in January, April & June respectively and one in February, March & July and not any in the month of May or August.

Henceforth, the firm commitment of the U.S. along with many allies to the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter program formed by Lockheed Martin Corp. At this rate, Boeing is running out of funding for the fighters. At the present scenario, the head of the company’s defense unit is formulating a roadmap which would grant the market to Lockheed and shift the future of the business on other aircrafts, together with military versions of their commercial jetliners.

 

Read more

Partager cet article
Repost0
30 septembre 2015 3 30 /09 /septembre /2015 07:35
CH-47F Chinook helicopter

CH-47F Chinook helicopter


28.09.2015 by Livefist
 

It's a phrase thrown about often in this business, but in the compulsively bumpy world of Indian aviation procurement, there are few occasions when an item chosen for the armed forces is a certain, unequivocal game-changer. The Indian government's decision to clear a deal for 15 Boeing Ch-47F Chinook heavy lift helicopters steps far from the slapdash, frequently fallible procurement paths the armed forces have taken all too often. For one thing, the Chinook won a competition. Two, the government's decision to close the deal comes nearly three years of negotiations later -- an indication, perhaps and hopefully, that India has closed the best deal it could for the product. But now that the decks are truly cleared for a direct commercial sale contract between the Indian MoD and Boeing Defense, it's useful to examine sentiments within the Indian Air Force, which will operate the Chinooks possibly from its Chandigarh base, but possible closer to the country's capital too. Here are five reasons why the CH-47F Chinook in IAF colours (as detailed for the first time by artist Saurav Chordia above) could be a true game-changer in Indian service:

 

1. The IAF has had a troubled run with its spare heavylift rotory wing capability. Of the four Mi-26 Halos it bought in the eighties, three remain (one was written off after a severe crash-landing five years ago). But even before the accident, the platform has had typically severe serviceability issues that have mostly seen only one in the air at any given time -- not the worst of scenarios for such a small fleet, but grossly less than what the IAF wanted from these machines. Replaced with a full-sized fleet of new generation helicopters will give IAF planners the kind of heavylift rotory wing flexibility they've never had before. Squadron-sized numbers (and, of course, newer circumstances) will shore up serviceability and put more numbers in pilots' hands. The last few years have demonstrated that the ability to have more than one of these helicopters in the air at any given time is the difference, quite literally, between life and death. More numbers of heavylift copters in aero-bridge operations during humanitarian relief or disaster reconstruction work will be crucial.

 

2. Trials in 2010-11 convinced the IAF in no small measure that the tandem rotor capability would enormously boost what they were already doing with the conventionally framed Mi-26, especially in high-altitude operations. A comparison of what the tandem rotored Chinook could do in terms of landing approach capability, centre of gravity envelope etc., as opposed to the aerodynamic, performance and safety constraints on the CH-53 Super Stallion/Mi-26 proved to be too substantive to ignore. In simple terms, the IAF was convinced the Chinook could get more done, cleaner and safer.

 

3. The Chinook is substantially smaller and with a lower payload capacity than the Mi-26, but a higher degree of loading/unloading flexibility (especially rear loading) coupled with  a significantly greater number of cargo/troops/equipment configurations convinced the IAF that switching to the tandem rotor machine made more sense than explore the very capable Mi-26T2, that sports better engines, avionics and safety features than the variant the IAF currently operates. The Chinook's performance with under-slung cargo also won the IAF over.

 

4. The Chinook's flying qualities, agility in the air, significantly lower rotor diameter and landing flexibility will allow the IAF to fly it where it couldn't have even thought of taking the Mi-26. High altitude border areas, along narrow ridges and valleys, to deliver equipment, humans or materials for construction, road-building/repair, communications infrastructure building, disaster relief, casualty evacuation or any of the several other mission profiles the Chinook is built for. Why is that a game-changer? Because the IAF cannot satisfactorily deliver heavy payloads to precise sites even now. If not fully in some areas, tandem rotor operations will close the gap significantly, allowing the IAF to deliver closer to sites of requirement than ever before.

 

5. The Chinook is only the second heavylift helicopter the IAF will have ever operated. Unlike the Mi-26  that has performed strictly a troop/cargo transport role, the Chinook will obviously have a special missions profile as well. While the IAF has been looking at the MH-47 special operations configuration, the CH-47F variant it has chosen will definitely be used for special operations training and exercises, and will necessarily integrated with the larger joint special forces orbat. The IAF, a master at finding innovative new uses for its kit, could throw up several surprises behind the stick of a Chinook.

Partager cet article
Repost0
17 septembre 2015 4 17 /09 /septembre /2015 16:20
A Boeing KC-46A tanker aircraft depicted in aerial refueling. Photo Boeing

A Boeing KC-46A tanker aircraft depicted in aerial refueling. Photo Boeing


 

NATIONAL HARBOR, Md., Sept. 16 (UPI)

 

As the budget deadline for fiscal year 2016 quickly approaches for U.S. lawmakers, the Pentagon reports operations under a continuing resolution may force the Air Force to end its contract with Boeing for the KC-46 tanker.

Under the current contract, Boeing supplements the cost for engineering and manufacturing for the tanker program, capped by the Air Force at $4.9 billion. Thus far, technical issues over the past 18 months have had Boeing paying $1.2 billion in tax overages. Should a continuing resolution continue, further services will require a waiver from Congress.

Top U.S. military officials have expressed concern over the potential end of the KC-46 contract.

 

Read more

Partager cet article
Repost0
16 septembre 2015 3 16 /09 /septembre /2015 11:20
KC-46 Refueling Tanker to Make First Flight This Month

 

September 15, 2015 by Bryant Jordan - defensetech.org

 

The U.S. Air Force’s new KC-46A aerial refueling tanker made by Boeing Co. is scheduled to make its first flight on Sept. 25, a general said.

 

The date was announced Tuesday by Brig. Gen. Duke Richardson during the Air & Space Conference near Washington, D.C. The milestone for the eventual successor to the KC-135 and KC-10 was initially planned for the spring.

 

“Once that first flight occurs we’ll go into initial air worthiness,” he said. That means the second flight will begin testing the boom, hose and drogue systems, he said.

 

Richardson, the program executive officer for tankers with the Air Force Material Command at Wright Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, said the subsequent flights will involve a variety of aircraft flying with the KC-46 and culminate with actual refueling flights in January.

 

Sen. John McCain, a Republican from Arizona and chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said the recent cost overrun on the aircraft, known as the Pegasus and based on the 767 twin-engine commercial airliner, is “deeply unfortunate” and that he’s concerned about delays to the program.

 

McCain said he detailed the concerns in a recent letter to Defense Secretary Ashton Carter. He and Sen. Jack Reed, a Democrat from Rhode Island, sent a similar letter over issues with the Air Force’s new bomber program.

 

“While the recently announced cost overrun on the Air Force’s KC-46A tanker is deeply unfortunate, it is encouraging that the contractor, and not the taxpayer, will bear this expense,” McCain said.

 

“That said, the resulting delays to the program’s internal deadlines for completing key qualification and planned ground and flight testing activities are indicative of a program at risk of not meeting its planned delivery milestones,” he said.

 

Boeing plans to deliver the first 18 KC-46As to the Air Force by August 2017. The service estimates it will spend $49 billion to develop and build 149 of the planes to replace its aging fleet of KC-135s, according to Pentagon budget documents. Boeing forecasts an $80 billion global market for the new tankers, according to Trading Alpha.

Partager cet article
Repost0
14 septembre 2015 1 14 /09 /septembre /2015 16:35
Boeing to Develop New Military Communications Network for Australia

 

14 Sept. 2015 by Pacific Sentinel

 

Land 2072 Phase 2B heralds next generation of networking for Australian Defence Force

 

BRISBANE, Australia, Sept. 10, 2015 – Boeing [NYSE: BA] will provide the next-generation communications system for land-based Australian Defence Forces (ADF) deployed around the world. Developed by an industry team led by Boeing Defence Australia (BDA), the Land 2072 Phase 2B system will provide secure wideband voice, data and video services over wireless and wired infrastructure between deployed forces and headquarters.

 

Acting BDA vice president and managing director Bill Madley said the system will be based on an agile, modular network design that improves communications capacity, flexibility and responsiveness. “After successfully delivering a number of the ADF’s most complex communication and information systems to date we are ready to deliver this critical new capability to the Commonwealth,” he said.

 

Under terms of the $665.7 million AU contract, BDA will provide the communications system and initial support services.

 

Defence’s Director General of Communication Systems, Myra Sefton, said that Defence's new Integrated Battlefield Telecommunications Network represents a generational transformation in the deployed communications capability of the Australian Defence Force.

 

“It will provide the infrastructure to handle the increasing data requirements of our modern defence force as they face a complex and dynamic battlespace,” Ms. Sefton said.

 

“The capability being developed by Boeing Defence Australia and its partners will be a force multiplier that will significantly enhance the effectiveness of our forces on deployed operations."

 

The Boeing solution is designed to be interoperable, scalable and able to evolve and grow with the needs of Australia’s modern army.

 

Boeing

Partager cet article
Repost0
11 septembre 2015 5 11 /09 /septembre /2015 18:20
photo LM - Boeingphoto LM - Boeing

photo LM - Boeing

 

Sept. 11, 2015 Defense.org

 

The Air Force will give an update next week at the annual Air and Space Conference on its two most needed yet controversial aircraft programs — the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter and the KC-46 Pegasus refueling tanker.

Both projects have recently come under fire from Congress – again. In addition to cost overruns on the $400 billion F-35 program, the fighter’s ability to perform close air support has come into question compared to the aging A-10 Thunderbolt.

The KC-46, developed by Boeing from its 767 series jetliner, has also been hit by cost overruns and questions about Boeing’s ability to meet a deadline to have the aircraft on the ramp and ready for missions by August 2017.

In an Aug. 31 letter to Defense Secretary Ashton Carter, Sen. John McCain, R-Arizona, chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, wrote that “I am concerned that the recent problems with the tanker modernization program could prevent the Department of Defense from delivering this critical capability to our warfighters as promised and on schedule.”

The lineup for the Air Force Association’s Air and Space Conference and Technology Exposition at National Harbor, Maryland, on Tuesday includes a panel on the F-35 and the KC-46 led by the main officers in charge of getting both programs back on track – Lt. Gen. Christopher Bogdan for the F-35, and Brig. Gen. Duke Richardson for the KC-46.


Read more:
Partager cet article
Repost0
30 juillet 2015 4 30 /07 /juillet /2015 07:40
Top 100 des entreprises d'armements

 

28.07.2015 fr.sputniknews.com

 

Le magazine américain Defense News a publié le Top 100 des entreprises d'armements et de matériels de guerre.

 

Sans surprise, les Etats-Unis restent hégémoniques sur le marché des armes, avec sept entreprises américaines parmi les dix premières du classement annuel présenté par Defense News.

 

Le géant des groupes de défense Lockheed Martin reste le premier vendeur d'armes de la planète, avec 40,128 milliards de dollars de chiffre d'affaires (dans l'armement). Boeing (29 mds USD) est deuxième et le groupe britannique BAE Systems est troisième (25,5 mds USD).

 

Sept sociétés russes figurent parmi les meilleures entreprises d'armements et de matériels de guerre au monde, selon le magazine américain.

 

Le meilleur producteur d'armes russe est Almaz-Anteï qui monte du 12e au 11e rang dans la nouvelle version du classement. Il a réalisé, en 2014, un chiffre d'affaires (dans l'armement) de 9,209 milliards de dollars.

 

Le Consortium aéronautique unifié (OAK) entre dans le Top 100 à la 14e place avec 6,244 mds USD de ventes d'armes, et le groupe Hélicoptères de Russie se situe au 23e rang (3,960 mds USD).

 

Le Consortium unifié de construction de moteurs (ODK) qui produit des propulseurs et moteurs pour l'aviation militaire et civile ainsi que pour les vaisseaux spatiaux progresse de 8 places pour se retrouver au 26e rang avec un chiffre d'affaires (dans l'armement) de 3,324 mds USD.

 

Le consortium russe Missiles tactiques (KTRV), qui fait aussi ses débuts dans le classement de Defense News, est 31e (2,812 mds USD) et le groupe de recherche et de production Uralvagonzavod est 52e (1,545 mds USD).

 

Le consortium RTI Sistemy, qui était 78e en 2014, se hisse à la 69e place avec 947,2 millions de dollars de ventes d'armes.

 

La France est représentée par cinq sociétés dont Thales (12e, 8,472 mds USD), Safran (20e, 4,081 mds USD), DCNS (21e, 4,074 mds USD), Nexter (57e, 1,392 md USD) et Dassault Aviation (58e, 1,332 md USD). Thales, qui occupait la 9e place en 2014, quitte de nouveau le Top 10.

Partager cet article
Repost0
23 juillet 2015 4 23 /07 /juillet /2015 16:20
Boeing’s first KC-46 tanker test aircraft takes off from Paine Field, Washington, on its inaugural flight in Dec. 28, 2014.(Photo Paul Gordon/Boeing)

Boeing’s first KC-46 tanker test aircraft takes off from Paine Field, Washington, on its inaugural flight in Dec. 28, 2014.(Photo Paul Gordon/Boeing)

 

22.07.2015 LaTribune.fr

 

Boeing a enregistré une charge 536 millions de dollars lié à des problèmes de test du KC-46 et vu ses profits chuter de 33% au deuxième trimestre. Mais le groupe connait un chiffre d'affaire en hausse de 11%, sa plus forte croissance en deux ans grâce ses ventes d'avions de ligne.

 

Boeing a annoncé mercredi 22 juillet un bénéfice en baisse pour le deuxième trimestre, affecté par une lourde charge sur un projet d'avion ravitailleur militaire. Il est ainsi ressorti en baisse de 33% à 1,11 milliard de dollars (1,02 milliard d'euros), soit 1,59 dollar par action, au deuxième trimestre, contre 1,65 milliard, soit 2,24 dollars par action, un an auparavant.

Les profits réalisés sont toutefois meilleurs que prévu grâce à une demande toujours aussi forte pour les avions de ligne. Les livraisons d'avions de ligne du groupe américain d'aéronautique et de défense ont augmenté de 9% pour atteindre 197 appareils et son chiffre d'affaires a progressé de 11%, soit la plus forte hausse en deux ans, à 24,54 milliards de dollars.

 

Les charges s'accumulent pour le K-46

Les profits de Boeing ont été affectés par une charge après impôt de 536 millions de dollars sur ses comptes du deuxième trimestre, liée à des problèmes ayant émergé pendant les tests du circuit carburant de son avion de ravitaillement en vol KC-46 destiné à l'U.S. Air Force.

C'est la deuxième charge passée sur cet avion qui est l'un de ses plus gros projets dans l'aéronautique militaire, ce qui porte les charges totales après impôt sur ce projet à un peu plus de 800 millions de dollars et à près de 1,3 milliard avant impôts.

 

 

Suite de l'article

Partager cet article
Repost0
25 juin 2015 4 25 /06 /juin /2015 11:20
L’A-10 en statique au salon du Bourget – photo Frédéric Lert (Aerobuzz.fr)

L’A-10 en statique au salon du Bourget – photo Frédéric Lert (Aerobuzz.fr)

 

22 juin 2015 par Frédéric Lert – Aerobuzz.fr

 

L’US Air Force a de nouveau amené un A-10 à Paris. Sans doute la dernière fois que l’avion y sera vu sous les couleurs américaines. En attendant une vente à l’export ?

 

Inutile de présenter le A-10, tout le monde le connaît. L’avion est venu pour la première fois au salon du Bourget en juin 1977. Il n’en était pas reparti, ayant été détruit (et son pilote tué) dans un accident au cours de sa présentation en vol. Trente-huit plus tard, l’avion était encore là la semaine dernière, venu dans les fourgons de l’US Air Force aux côtés des inoxydables F-15 et F-16…

Au cours des 38 années écoulées, le A-10 a monté la garde devant le rideau de Fer avant d’aller semer vigoureusement ses obus de 30mm à l’uranium appauvri dans les sables irakiens et la rocaille afghane. Aucun doute là-dessus, le A-10 a la générosité des fromages du terroir qu’on nous montre à la télé. Malgré son aura de vétéran, l’avion est aujourd’hui au centre d’un vigoureux débat entre l’US Air Force et le Congrès américain.

 

Suite de l’article

Partager cet article
Repost0
22 mars 2015 7 22 /03 /mars /2015 12:20
SecAF: KC-46 First Flight 'Hopefully' Summer

 

March 19, 2015 By AARON MEHTA – Defense News

 

WASHINGTON — The Air Force secretary expects the KC-46A tanker to have its first flight sometime over the summer, a "several month" delay for a milestone on the program.

 

The timeline laid out for Defense News by Air Force Secretary Deborah Lee James clarifies comments made Tuesday by Brig. Gen. Duke Richardson, program executive officer for tankers, that the tanker was going to miss the expected first flight date of mid-April.

 

"It is concerning me," James said in a Thursday interview. "My best belief, at this point, is it will be a several-month delay. So hopefully summertime is when it would occur."

 

This is not the first delay of a major test point on the tanker. The first test flight of a Boeing 767-2C, a test version of the KC-46A without the refueling boom and other tanker equipment, was scheduled for June 2014; it eventually occurred just before the New Year.

 

Executives for Boeing have emphasized that its focus is on a contractual obligation to provide 18 ready-to-go tankers on the ramp by 2017, and noted that first flight dates are targets, not obligations.

 

James did say that the KC-46 program has some good news, noting that the costs are capped and the company is largely on track for its major contractual requirements.

 

However, Richardson warned on Tuesday that the margin built into the schedule was essentially gone, and that any delay in getting that first flight up was a concern because of the need to get air worthiness certifications.

 

James echoed Richardson's concern about the lack of margin, and added that Boeing has submitted a new integrated master schedule, laying out its internal target dates, for review by the Air Force.

 

"The worrying news is that underneath those contractual and milestone requirements, there are a whole lot of other milestones," James said. "This is the internal plan for how do you get from here to there to meet the milestones. That's where there have been challenges and slippages and so forth, so that is the worrying part."

 

The KC-46A will replace the majority of the service's tanker fleet with 179 new planes, based on a Boeing commercial design.

Partager cet article
Repost0
21 mars 2015 6 21 /03 /mars /2015 12:20
Jeff Johnson to Lead Boeing Military Aircraft Business Development

 

Mar 19, 2015 ASDNews Source : The Boeing Company

 

The Boeing Company [NYSE: BA] today named Jeffrey Johnson, vice president, Business Development, Boeing Military Aircraft (BMA). He succeeds Tim Norgart, who recently retired from Boeing. Johnson will be based in St. Louis, Missouri, and report to BMA President Shelley Lavender.  

Johnson has been president of Boeing Middle East since March 2011, based in the company’s Dubai office. Before that, he was senior director of Global Strike Business Development for Boeing Defense, Space & Security (BDS) from November 2009. Over his Boeing career, Johnson has business development experience in more than 40 countries. 

 

Read more

Partager cet article
Repost0
19 mars 2015 4 19 /03 /mars /2015 08:35
Falcon 900 MPA - photo Dassault Aviation

Falcon 900 MPA - photo Dassault Aviation

 

March 18, 2015 By: Greg Waldron - FG

 

Langkawi - Maritime patrol and surveillance were the most prominent themes of this year's LIMA show, as big manufacturers jockeyed to promote their various solutions for the mission.

Industry sources say that Kuala Lumpur is in the process of crystallising a requirement for six to eight long-range maritime patrol aircraft (MPA).

The potential requirement attracted attention from a range of companies including Boeing, Saab, Dassault, and Indonesian Aerospace.

Boeing brought its Maritime Surveillance Aircraft (MSA) technology demonstrator to the show. The type appeared on the static line, and the US airframer briefed media and officials on the MSA's capabilities. A modified Challenger 604 business jet, the unarmed MSA is optimised for high altitude, broad area surveillance.

Saab, Dassault, and Indonesian Aerospace also displayed models of MSA and MPA solutions on their stands.

Partager cet article
Repost0
19 mars 2015 4 19 /03 /mars /2015 08:20
Boeing Working US Navy Laser Weapon

 

Mar 18, 2015 defense-aerospace.com

(Source: Albuquerque Journal; published Mar 17, 2015)

 

Boeing Wins $30 Million Navy-Laser Contract


Boeing Co.’s Directed Energy Systems division in Albuquerque is leading a U.S. Navy effort to build a beam control system that can provide pinpoint accuracy for laser weapons on warships.

The company’s Defense, Space and Security unit, headquartered in St. Louis, Mo., won a $29.5 million contract with the Office of Naval Research to build a precision beam control system for ship-mounted solid-state lasers – building on truck-mounted laser systems developed for the Army.

For naval systems, the laser must be able to withstand harsh conditions at sea, said David DeYoung, director of Boeing’s Directed Energy Systems in Albuquerque, where all of the company’s directed-energy operations are centered.

“We’ll add new pieces to the system for operating in a naval environment, where there’s potential for sea spray and difficult atmospheric conditions” DeYoung said.

“Accuracy and functionality depend on how fine you can get the aim point and hold the beam,” said Boeing spokeswoman Queena Jones.

Boeing won’t build the lasers, just the beam control. (end of excerpt)


Click here for the full story, on the Albuquerque Journal website.

Partager cet article
Repost0
18 mars 2015 3 18 /03 /mars /2015 08:35
A330 MRTT photo Airbus DS

A330 MRTT photo Airbus DS

 

Mar 14, 2015 defense-aerospace.com

(Source: Korea Herald; published Mar 13, 2015)

 

South Korea has postponed the introduction of aerial refueling tankers by about a year until 2018 due to a delayed process of selecting a successful bidder, government officials and industry sources here said Friday.

 

The 1.4 trillion won ($1.26 billion) project to purchase four refueling tankers has drawn interest from three aerospace giants: Europe's Airbus Defense and Space, Boeing of the United States and Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) of Israel.

 

The Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA), South Korea's state arms procurer, had planned to choose the winning bidder by the end of last year, but the process has been delayed due mainly to gaps in offsets of defense trade terms, according to industry sources.

 

Offsets in defense trade encompass a range of industrial compensation arrangements required by foreign governments as a condition of the purchase of defense articles and services from a non-domestic source.

 

"We will resume negotiations with the candidates next week," said a DAPA official, requesting anonymity. "After wrapping up the talks and bidding process by the end of next month, we will make a contractor selection in June."

 

The delay in the selection process has subsequently caused the military's schedule of putting the tankers into service to be postponed from 2017 to 2018, a defense ministry official said.

 

"But we are to deploy all four tankers by 2019 as planned -- two in 2018 and two in 2019," the official noted.

 

The use of tankers allows the fighter jets to stay airborne for an extra hour and carry more weapons. The greater payload is made possible because the jets can take off with less fuel, thereby lightening their weight. (Yonhap)

Partager cet article
Repost0
17 mars 2015 2 17 /03 /mars /2015 17:20
Boeing’s first KC-46 tanker test aircraft takes off from Paine Field, Washington, on its inaugural flight in Dec. 28, 2014.(Photo Paul Gordon Boeing)

Boeing’s first KC-46 tanker test aircraft takes off from Paine Field, Washington, on its inaugural flight in Dec. 28, 2014.(Photo Paul Gordon Boeing)

 

March 17, 2015 By Aaron Mehta – Defense News

 

WASHINGTON — The KC-46A Pegasus tanker program director is "not comfortable" saying the tanker's first flight will happen as planned in April.

 

Brig. Gen. Duke Richardson, program executive officer for tankers, told an audience Tuesday that he is now targeting a more general date of second quarter of this calendar year, which extends to the end of June.

 

"What I'm trying not to do is get fixated on days," Richardson said at the CreditSuisse/McAleese conference, held annually in Washington. "I feel more comfortable saying second quarter calendar 15. I feel more comfortable with that."

 

The KC-46A will replace the majority of the service's current tanker fleet with 179 new planes, based on a Boeing commercial design. The contract protects the Air Force from major cost overruns on the way to having 18 planes ready to go in 2017.

 

The first engineering, manufacturing, development (EMD) configuration flew in late December, while first flight of a full-up KC-46A had been scheduled for April. That now appears to be slipping.

 

Read more

Partager cet article
Repost0
17 mars 2015 2 17 /03 /mars /2015 08:20
Boeing Updates NATO AWACS with 21st Century Flight Deck, Avionics

 

Mar 12, 2015 ASDNews Source : The Boeing Company

 

    Improving capability, efficiency, situational awareness for operators

 

Boeing [NYSE: BA] recently completed the first flight of a NATO Airborne Warning and Control System (AWACS) aircraft with modern flight deck and avionics systems that replace 1970s-era analog systems.

During the two-hour flight on Dec. 31 testers evaluated five full-color glass displays with customizable engine, navigation and radar data. The systems performed better than expected and the program will now enter an extensive flight test qualification phase. Fourteen NATO AWACS in total will receive the flight deck modernization, delivery of the first upgraded aircraft is scheduled for January 2016.

 

Read more

Partager cet article
Repost0

Présentation

  • : RP Defense
  • : Web review defence industry - Revue du web industrie de défense - company information - news in France, Europe and elsewhere ...
  • Contact

Recherche

Articles Récents

Categories