Airborne C4ISR

Australia has committed to buy eight Boeing P-8A maritime patrol aircraft as part of an investment of $A5 billion. These aircraft will maintain the capability currently provided by the AP-3C Orion aircraft, when that aircraft is retired in 2018 after 30 years of RAAF service. Until then, the Australian Defence will cooperate with the U.S. Navy to develop upgrades to...

The Centaur optionally piloted aircraft (OPA) has flown multiple unmanned flights over the State of New York, operating from Griffiss International Airport in Rome, New York during the past month. The flights marked the first time any large-scale, fixed-wing aircraft has flown at either of six FAA-designated unmanned aircraft test sites in the U.S.

Cassidian has successfully carried out a series of test flights with its Barracuda UAS (Unmanned Aerial System) technology demonstrator at Goose Bay military test range in Canada. In the past month Barracuda testbed completed five test flights under the 'Agile UAV in a Network Centric Environment' (Agile UAV-NCE) program.

L-3 Communications (NYSE: LLL) Integrated Systems (L-3 IS) was selected by the United Kingdom's Ministry of Defence (MoD) to become the preferred bidder for a planned upgrade of the RAF Nimrod R1 electronic reconnaissance aircraft fleet. L-3 IS was awarded a contract worth more than GBP 11.5 million ($21.7 million) to carry out the risk reduction studies for HELIX...

Sharing of Ground Moving Target (GMTI) data between a Global Hawk Block 40 unmanned aircraft E-8C Joint STARS aircraft is paving the way for increased precision in target acquisition, improved target tracking and the ability to extend the surveillance coverage area without dependence on ground segments.

The United States Navy is planning to deploy Northrop Grumman MQ-4C Triton Broad-Area Maritime Surveillance (BAMS) drones to Andersen Air Force Base in Guam with preparations for deployment projected to begin during Fiscal Year 2014 (FY14).

Boeing is modifying its single-isle flagship - Boeing-737-800 airframe into a fighting machine. The first fuselage was completed by Spirit Aerospace and moved by rail from Wichita, Kansas to Renton, Washington, where the first B-737-800 is transformed into the P-8A Poseidon multi-mission maritime aircraft (MMA), a future successor of the venerable P-3 Orion. As it enters service in 2013...

After a third night of mounting military pressure by coalition forces, units loyal to Muammar Gaddafi were reported to withdraw from Benghazi, shifting their pressure to the west on Tuesday, Gaddafi’s forces attacked two Libyan towns on the eastern border with Tunisia.

The TANGRAM program, managed by the US Air Force Research Lab at Rome is developing a fully automated intelligence analysis support system to continuously process intelligence information from classified and unclassified sources, rapidly detecting suspected terrorist activities. To date, many of the intelligence analysis programs have focused on systems, tools and algorithms to suspected activities and events of interest....

Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) unveiled a new persistent surveillance system that provides a high-resolution situational awareness picture of moving targets, covering a wide area of interest in day and night. Utilizing state of the art EO and IR sensors, AI algorithms, and adaptive rule engines, the system captures large areas at a high revisit rate, enabling tracking, identification, and alerts of multiple moving targets over large areas.

Switzerland's defense ministry (ArmaSwiss) has announced that the first two Elbit Systems Hermes 900HFE drones have been delivered to Emmen airfield last week. Two ground stations, communications, logistics, and maintenance equipment were also delivered with the drones. The Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (D-11 and D-14) have already been assembled and they will undergo a functional check before the first flight tests in mid-year.

Information Management Network Implemented in F-16I Squadrons The Negev Squadron will be the first unit to deploy the new Squadron Information Management Network (SIM Net), an advanced information recording and management network available for training and debriefing available at the squadron level. A network based mission debriefing system designed by RADA. SIM NET is composed of the Ground Debriefing Station (GDS),...

Focusing on a range systems complementing unmanned aerial systems (UAS) Israel’s weapon systems expert RAFAEL Advanced Defense Systems is introducing at the AUVSI 2011 a range of hardware and software systems, supporting UAS missions.

As the U.S. Air Force is heading for a final selection of a Light Attack and Armed recce (LAAR) aircraft, final evaluation of the Brazilian Embraer A-29 Super Tucano and Hawker Beechcraft Defense Company (HBDC) AT-6 are performed. The AT-6 has been undergoing extensive weapon qualification and operational evaluation outlined in this article