General Atomics, BAE Systems Test Lynx based SAR Pod

General Atomics and BAE Systems completed a first phase of a demonstration of Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) pod flown on an F-16, mounting a derivative of the Lynx SAR radar, previously used on UAV. Follow-on demonstrations will include SAR/EOIR sensor fusion.

  Boeing Pull the Plug on Future C-17 Productions

After receiving the last orders from the US, UK and Australia, due for delivery in the next few years, Boeing is preparing to shut down production by 2009. The company is pressing the U.S. Government to commit to continued C-17 procurement to sustain future production. As these commitments did not come, Boeing alerted its suppliers to stop working on uncommitted airplanes.

 US UAV Fleet Reach Milestone Records

The fleet of MQ-1 Predator unmanned aerial systems achieved a milestone of 200,000 flight hours in July 2006. According to the manufacturer, General Atomics, more than three-quarters of that time spent in combat for a total of 10,961 combat missions. Another UAV record was reported in July by the Global Hawk, achieving 10,000 flight hours in June 2006, of which 63% were flown in combat missions.

 PacBots for the German Army EOD Teams

iRobot will supply the German Bundeswehr PackBot EOD robots. 18 systems will be delivered this year. The Germans have an option to buy 22 additional robots in 2007. PacBots will be deployed with bomb disposal units, to counter IEDs. This is the second recent international contract for PacBots, in July iRobot received an order for 30 PackBots from the United Kingdom.

 Oshkosh, Plasan to Protect 700 USMC LVSR Trucks

Oshkosh and Plasan Sasa won a US Marine Corps contract to supply armor kits for 700 LVSR trucks. The kits will be developed by Plasan Sasa beginning 2007, to be followed by deliveries through 2010.

Raytheon announced the successful demonstration of GPS/INS enhanced High-speed Anti-Radiation Missile, which will improve attack capability in electromagnetically cluttered environment, cope better with restrictive rules of engagement and enable high-speed attack of time critical targets.

Previous newscasts: August 16, 2006, August 17, 2006,
August 21, 2006