“Gloves are off” as US Defense Secretary memo calls for sweeping drone procurement reform
US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth has promised to usher in a new era of “military drone dominance”.
E-2D ready for launch from the flight deck of USS Nimitz. (Photo: USN/Petty Officer 3rd Class Samuel Bacon)
E-2D Advanced Hawkeye cockpit redesign efforts in the US are progressing with the latest $12.7 million contract modification from Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR).
NAVAIR awarded Northrop Grumman the original $34 million cockpit redesign contract in September 2020.
The programme includes a critical redesign of hardware and software components of the current AN/AYK-27 integrated navigation control and display systems, as well as an integration of a glass cockpit solution into the weapon system.
Under the latest contract modification, Northrop Grumman will provide various ‘non-recurring engineering’ services in support of the cockpit redesign, such as requirements development, systems engineering technical reviews, certification planning, performance-based navigation and cyber.
Work is expected to be completed in June 2023, the DoD noted in a 13 October announcement.
US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth has promised to usher in a new era of “military drone dominance”.
The possible sale for nine HH-60W makes Norway the first Foreign Military Sale customer for the rescue and combat helicopter and adds to the country’s ongoing acquisition of Sikorsky-made helicopters.
The programme first began in 2023 with Bell and Boeing’s concepts progressing to Phase 1B, in which testing has been carried out over the last year.
The report discloses that while the capability provided by the F-35 is superior to previous UK aircraft, delays from the UK Ministry of Defence on the programme have significantly impacted the country’s warfighting capabilities.
The new ‘Entente Industrielle’ will work on a range of other projects to boost the UK economy and defence industry, including joint development on new high-tech frequency weapons and extended range air-to-air missiles.
The E-7A is one of three aircraft submitted for the South Korean AEW&C II competition, which seeks to acquire four more aircraft of the type for its air force by 2028.