US Military Aviation Special Report Hide
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US Army ahead of ITEP schedule despite CDR delay
The Critical Design Review (CDR) phase of the US Army's Improved Turbine Engine Programme (ITEP) has been delayed by two weeks because of COVID-19 issues. …
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SOF seeks integration help to counter unmanned aircraft
US Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) is seeking industry white papers for its C-UAS Systems Integration Partner (CUxS SIP) requirement. In an RfI published on 17 April, USSOCOM …
Digital Battlespace
Fire Scout set to gain Link 16
Northrop Grumman is set to receive new contracts from the US Navy over the next two years to integrate Link 16 on the MQ-8C Fire …
Defence Helicopter
US Army counts down to AH-64E V6 operations
The US Army will aim to have the new AH-64E Apache Guardian V6 configuration in service during Q1 2022 following flight training with the first …
Air Warfare
U-2 Dragon Lady shows plenty of life
A popular phrase in the US is ‘if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it’. In aviation, one could think of the DC-3 and the 747, …
Air Warfare
COVID-19 poses practical and strategic questions for US air power
The COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic has changed just about everything, including US air power. The effects are likely to be felt for years, including a downturn …
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Uncrewed Vehicles
AeroVironment unveils Quantix Recon
24th April 2020
AeroVironment on 23 April launched a military variant of its Quantix crop-surveying UAV. Quantix Recon is a fully-automated hybrid VTOL UAS, designed to deliver high-resolution …
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Uncrewed Vehicles
General Atomics continues support for US Gray Eagle fleet
24th April 2020
General Atomics Aeronautical Systems has secured a $9.94 million contract modification for continuing efforts to support the US Army Gray Eagle MQ-C1 UAS fleet. The …
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Air Warfare
Northrop Grumman continues AARGM production for USN
23rd April 2020
Northrop Grumman, on 23 April, secured a $165 million contract for Lot 9 full rate production of the AGM-88E Advanced Anti-Radiation Guided Missile (AARGM) for …
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Defence Helicopter
Northrop Grumman upgrades US Army UH-60V cockpits
22nd April 2020
Northrop Grumman confirmed on 22 April that it has provided the US Army with new digital cockpit upgrades for its UH-60V Black Hawk helicopters. The …
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Air Warfare
Norway and US continue solid fuel ramjet tech partnership
21st April 2020
The Department of Defense (DoD) and the Norwegian Ministry of Defence will continue with the Tactical High-speed Offensive Ramjet for Extended Range (THOR-ER) programme for …
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Air Warfare
Raytheon to develop USAF LRSO missile
21st April 2020
Raytheon has been selected by the USAF to continue developing its Long-Range Standoff (LRSO) cruise missile, which will replace the legacy Air-Launched Cruise Missile. Raytheon …
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Defence Notes
Boeing restarts defence-related operations at Puget Sound facilities
17th April 2020
Boeing on 16 April confirmed that defence production at its Puget Sound site resumed earlier this week, with 2,500 employees returning to work after a …
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Defence Helicopter
Boeing delivers 500th AH-64E Apache
16th April 2020
Boeing confirmed on 16 April that it has delivered its 500th AH-64E Apache Guardian helicopter, which is used by the US Army and other militaries …
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Defence Helicopter
Sikorsky demonstrates air-to-air refuelling of CH-53K
14th April 2020
Sikorsky has reported that a CH-53K King Stallion naval helicopter has completed an air-to-air refuelling test which took place above the Chesapeake Bay, Virginia with …
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Defence Helicopter
General Electric strikes ventilator and military engine balance
13th April 2020
General Electric’s healthcare division claims to have ‘doubled’ ventilator production in the wake of COVID-19 and it is predicting to do so again in June. …
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Defence Helicopter
HH-60W completes extreme weather testing
9th April 2020
The USAF has completed extreme environment testing for the HH-60W Jolly Green II helicopter at the McKinley Climatic Lab on Eglin AFB, Florida. Testing was concluded …
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Uncrewed Vehicles
X-61A made to wait for first recoverable flight test
8th April 2020
Dynetics has revealed that the reshaping of flight test activities at the US Army’s Dugway Proving Ground, Utah, has led to a delay of a …
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Training
US sim business continues at pace
8th April 2020
Selling a simulator is one thing but the real long-term benefits come from upgrading that device over its lifetime to keep the training device current …
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Uncrewed Vehicles
CTTSO embraces counter-drone capabilities
7th April 2020
Reporting to the US Assistant Secretary of Defense Special Operations/Low-Intensity Conflict (ASD SO/LIC), the Combating Terrorism Technical Support Office (CTTSO) is tasked with identifying and developing …
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Air Warfare
SNC hypersonic engine passes next stage of OpFires programme
3rd April 2020
Sierra Nevada Corporation (SNC) has progressed to the next phase of the Defence Advanced Research Project Agency’s (DARPA) Operational Fires (OpFires) programme with its Vortex …
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Uncrewed Vehicles
Boeing to deliver more MQ-25 refuelling UAS for USN
3rd April 2020
Boeing has been awarded a contract modification to provide three more MQ-25 unmanned refuelling aircraft for the USN, bringing the total order number to seven. …
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Air Warfare
USAF identifies organisations to be transferred to US Space Force
2nd April 2020
The USAF has identified a total of 23 organisations which will be transferred to the command of the US Space Force. The US Space Force …
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Training
USAF to get new F-16 simulator training devices
1st April 2020
The USAF Life Cycle Management Centre is set to receive an unspecified number of F-16 aircraft simulator training programme devices from L3 Harris. A firm-fixed-price …
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Air Warfare
US orders 78 new F-35 combat aircraft
1st April 2020
USN Naval Air Systems Command has placed an order worth $4.7 billion for 78 new F-35 Joint Strike Fighters from Lockheed Martin. The fixed-price-incentive-firm-target, firm-fixed-price …
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Defence Helicopter
US Army savours FARA respite but hurts from COVID-19 budget shortfall
27th March 2020
Following the on-schedule downselect of Bell and Sikorsky to compete for the Future Armed Reconnaissance Aircraft (FARA) prototype design and test phase, the US Army has confirmed it sees …