Improving
Israel's Crisis Management is Imperative
A major conclusion from the interim report of the Winograd
Investigatory Commission is the need for Israel to establish
a strong crisis management team, manned by professionals,
having the trust and loyalty of the supreme leadership.
Military Confrontation
with Hamas in Gaza Unavoidable
As rockets slammed into Jewish towns last Tuesday, Israelis
apprehended that the five months "Hudna" (cease-fire)
with the Islamic group was finally over. In the first rocket
attack it had claimed responsibility for in five months,
Hamas fired 39 Qassam rockets and 79 mortars from the Gaza
Strip aimed at nearby Jewish communities. The attacks occurred
as Israelis nationwide celebrated the country's 59th Independence
Day. Read Col. David Eshel's analysis on this subject and
more...
Singapore will buy four Gulfstream G550 special mission business
jets, configured for Airborne Early Warning missions. The aircraft
will replace four Northrop Grumman E-2C Hawkeye aircraft currently
in service. According to the Singapore MOD, the G550 AEW will
be capable of flying 9 hours missions at an altitude of 41,000ft
(12,500m). Singapore will receive the first aircraft by 2008,
and all four are expected to be operational by 2010. While Singapore
has not released further details about the electronic and radar
suite to be installed in the aircraft, the only system currently
available for this platform is the Israeli PHALCON radar, developed
for four Israel Air Force G550 AEW aircraft known as Eitam,
currently being delivered by IAI/Elta. The first aircraft was
handed over by Gulfstream on September 2006.
Sikorsky Aircraft announced today that it has selected four
subcontractors to design and fabricate the major fuselage sections
for its new CH-53K heavy-lift helicopter currently under development
for the United States Marine Corps. Sikorsky's Fuselage Team
will consist of Aurora Flight Sciences, EDO Corp., GKN Aerospace,
and Spirit AeroSystems. Sikorsky will conduct the integration
and test program on the complete fuselage structure. The major
subcontracted sections include the cockpit and cabin (Spirit),
aft transition (GKN), tail rotor pylon and sponsons (EDO), and
main rotor pylon (Aurora).
Prototype obstacle warning radar, developed at BAE Systems
has completed flight testing on a helicopter. The system can
operate under all-weather conditions, identifying cables and
other obstacles, indicating the pilot the precise altimeter
information necessary to negotiate the obstacle through combat
flight maneuvering. The system detects cables and other obstacles
using low-probability-of-intercept, low-probability-of-detection
radar technology.
EADS Accelerates
UH-72A Production
EADS North America is accelerating the deliveries of UH-72A
Lakota Light Utility Helicopter to the US Army. To date, six
helicopters have been delivered, ramping up to a production
rate of two helicopters per month in September, the company's
production target for the current program phase. At full-rate
production, EADS NA plans to build five UH-72As per month. The
Army has a requirement for up to 322 UH-72As in a 10 year program
with a total life-cycle value of over $2 billion. These helicopters
will be operated primarily within the U.S. for homeland security
operations, medical evacuation, passenger/logistics transportation
and drug interdiction missions.
BAE Systems conducted a successful test flight of its 2.75-inch
guided rocket, the Advanced Precision Kill Weapon System (APKWS),
on May 8, 2007. The test, held in partnership with the U.S.
Navy program office, was the first with the APKWS in its production-ready
configuration. The rocket hit the target within the 2 meter
requirement of a laser spot that was designating the target.
In 2006 BAE Systems was selected by the US Army as Prime contractor
for the APKWS program, a joint-interest program with Army and
Navy/Marine Corps participation. The test was the program’s
eighth successful ground launch and the first using the system’s
production-ready configuration.
The US Air Force received five Predator Mission Aircrew Training
System (PMATS). By June 2007 seven PMATS systems will be based
at the Creech Air Force Base in Indian Springs, NV to support
the newly established unmanned systems wing. L-3 Link is a division
of L-3 Communications (NYSE: LLL). The simulator enables Predator
UAS pilots and sensor operators to undergo fully immersive,
mission-based simulated training exercises.
Lockheed Martin (NYSE:LMT) has been selected to provide a Tactical
Reconnaissance and Counter- Concealment Enabled Radar (TRACER)
capability to the United States Army. Under this contract, Lockheed
Martin will work with the Army to incorporate low frequency
synthetic aperture radar systems into Predator class unmanned
aerial vehicles. The total value of the TRACER contract is approximately
$40M.
General Atomics was awarded two new contracts worth about $69
million. The larger contract worth about 58 million is funding
serial production of four new Reaper
MQ-9 (Predator B) unmanned aerial vehicles, scheduled for
delivery by December 2009. The company also received another
$10 million contract to develop the Predator
MQ-1B aircraft into a 'Block X' modification, which will
improve the current MQ-1B model into a platform similar to the
US Army Warrior (ER-MP). The Air Force 'Block X' will use a
Heavy Fuel Engine (HFE), support a 3,200 lbs gross take-off
weight, and will carry four Hellfire missiles (2 on each wing,
compared to a single missile on each wing station in the current
model). Apart from the Warrior, the new Block X aircraft could
leverage off technology from US Air Force' Predator B (MQ-9)
program.
Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC), in conjunction with
the Office of Naval Research, demonstrated the ability to extend
communications range and capability using the Killer Bee tactical
unmanned aerial vehicle (TUAV), built by Swift Engineering,
Inc. ACcording to John Featherston, chief engineer for Northrop
Grumman's Beyond line-of-sight TUAV Communications Relay (BTCR)
project, the UAV can extend communications over the long distances
and accross obstacles, such as mounteous or urban terrain, "We
have successfully demonstrated that TUAVs can function as airborne
communication relays and move information back and forth between
tactical and command and control units."
New USAF UAV
Wing Tasked With Global Recce & Strike
As unmanned aerial vehicles become more important to the global
war on terrorism, the US Air Force has reactivated the 432nd
Wing to become the first MQ-1 Predator and MQ-9 Reaper wing
in the Air Force. The new wing is located at Creech Air Force
Base, near Las Vegas, Nev. Over the next three years, the Air
Force plans on greatly increasing the number of UAVs in the
service, which will also mean an increase in personnel to fulfill
the Predator and Reaper missions. This will include Airmen across
the Total Force to fill pilot, sensor operator and maintenance
positions.
Wing commander is Col. Christopher Chambliss.- The 432nd Wing
was last active in 1994 at Misawa Air Base, Japan. Prior to
that, it was a based out of Udorn, Thailand, and was responsible
for reconnaissance and tactical missions over Southeast Asia.
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