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JANUARY 2024 news
Defense Aviation and Aerospace Industry |
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Saab and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) Ministry of Defence have signed a contract and Saab has received an order regarding in-service support for the GlobalEye Airborne Early Warning and Control (AEW&C) solution. The order value is approximately USD 190 million with a three-year contract period that runs until 2026. The contract includes maintenance and logistics support, as well as training services.
In a report by Johnny Franks for Warrior Maven, it has been revealed that the U.S. is in the process of integrating Northrop Grumman's AGM-88G Advanced Anti-Radiation Guided Missile into its F-35 aircraft. This integration project, supported by a Pentagon contract exceeding $97 million, signifies a significant advancement in air defense suppression capabilities for the F-35.
In response to the recent article in Asia-Pacific Defence Reporter regarding the future of Australia's MRH 90 Taipan helicopters, the Australian Department of Defence has clarified its position. Contrary to speculation, they are committed to handling the aircraft in an environmentally responsible and cost-effective manner, as reported by Nigel Pittaway in Australian Defence Magazine.
As reported by Pattaya Mail, the Royal Thai Air Force (RTAF) is gearing up to unveil its development blueprint, which includes the acquisition of 12 new fighter jets, at the upcoming RTAF Symposium 2024 scheduled for next month.
As reported on Russian social media on January 17, 2024, the Ethiopian Air Force has received two Su-30K fighter jets, raising questions and interest due to the history and background of these aircraft. These aircraft were originally part of a batch of 18 fighters previously used by the Indian Air Force, and this acquisition by Ethiopia had not been disclosed earlier.
The B-21 Raider, the United States' latest bomber aircraft, completed its second confirmed flight on January 17, 2024, at Edwards Air Force Base in California. This milestone comes just over two months after its inaugural flight.
The Canadian government has allocated $1.7 billion (2.28 billion Canadian dollars) to extend the lifespan of its CH-146 Griffon helicopters. Bell Textron Canada Limited (BTCL) has been selected for this initiative, which aims not only to enhance safety but also to create jobs across the country.
Northrop Grumman Distributed Mission Operations Network (DMON) enabled the Combat Air Force (CAF) Distributed Training Center (DTC) at Langley Air Force Base in Virginia to successfully execute a large-force, virtual training event. DMON Argonne 23 provided training against peer adversaries in a complex, multi-domain threat scenario using networked aircraft simulators.
Airbus Helicopters and Aerovel have signed an agreement regarding the acquisition of Aerovel and its unmanned aerial system (UAS), Flexrotor, as part of a strategy to strengthen its portfolio of tactical unmanned solutions. Flexrotor is a small tactical unmanned aerial system designed for intelligence, surveillance, target acquisition and reconnaissance (ISTAR) missions at sea and over land.
On January 12, 2024, the French Defense Procurement Agency (DGA - Direction générale de l'Armement) announced the award of a contract to Dassault Aviation, Thales, Safran, and MBDA for the production of the 5th tranche of Rafale aircraft. This contract encompasses the manufacturing of 42 single-seat Rafale aircraft, all equipped with the F4 standard, intended for the French Air and Space Force.
Belgium has welcomed its final A400M, bringing the total number of aircraft in the Belgian-Luxembourg unit to eight, with seven for Belgium and one for Luxembourg. The delivery of this fleet, which began in October 2020, was completed in January 2024 after some delays.
According to the media and the Verkhovna Rada Committee on National Security, Defense and Intelligence, on January 14, a $300 million Russian A-50 Shmel aircraft was destroyed and an Il-22M11 was damaged, both over the Azov Sea, Ukraine's Center for Strategic Communication and Information Security (CSCIS) wrote on Facebook, Ukrinform reports.
The US Army has delivered two AH-64E Apache V.6 Guardian attack helicopters to the Royal Netherlands Air Force (RNLAF) as part of a larger order of 28 helicopters, with completion scheduled for 2025, Andrew Salerno-Garthwaite reports in Airforce Technology. The delivery was announced by the US Program Executive Office (PEO) on January 10, 2024.
On January 12, Lockheed Martin's Skunk Works rolled out the X-59, a unique experimental aircraft designed to quiet the sonic boom, at a ceremony in Palmdale, California. The ceremony marked a significant milestone in Lockheed Martin's and NASA's decades-long journey to solve one of the most persistent challenges of supersonic flight – the sonic boom. "We're thrilled to take on this challenge alongside NASA, whose quiet supersonic technology mission will have lasting, transformational impacts for people around the world," said John Clark, vice president and general manager of Lockheed Martin Skunk Works. "This project is just one example of the broader ingenuity of our industry as we continually strive to push the envelope of what's possible."
The Bundeswehr has awarded Rheinmetall a substantial order for decoy flares for protecting aircraft. The German military can now procure over 470,000 decoys from Rheinmetall’s tried-and-tested Birdie product line. Covering the period December 2023 to December 2029, the contract is worth nearly €50 million.
Japan has successfully launched a government intelligence-gathering satellite to monitor North Korean military sites and enhance its natural disaster response mechanisms. The launch occurred on January 12, 2024, from the Tanegashima Space Center in Kagoshima, southern Japan.
As reported by ANI on January 10, 2024, the Indian Navy has made its first acquisition of domestically produced Medium Altitude Long Endurance (MALE) drones. Indian Navy Chief Admiral R Hari Kumar unveiled the Drishti 10 Starliner Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) in Hyderabad on the aforementioned date. This UAV is an indigenous variant of the Hermes 900 UAV developed by Elbit Systems of Israel, with a substantial portion, over 70%, being of Indian origin.
The South Korean Air Force, in collaboration with the AEW&C team spearheaded by L3Harris, has unveiled a sophisticated Airborne Early Warning and Control (AEW&C) solution. The heart of this AEW&C system is its incorporation of the combat-tested mission design, integrated into the advanced Bombardier Global 6500 platform. This integration ensures that the system is not only robust in capability but also cost-effective in terms of development and maintenance. The adoption of the Bombardier Global 6500, known for its high-altitude and long-range capabilities, signifies a major enhancement in the surveillance and defense capabilities of the South Korean Air Force.
Late on January 11, U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III issued a statement on the US-British coalition strikes in Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen. The capital Sanaa and the port city of Hodeida, where AFP correspondents said they heard several explosions, as well as Taiz and Saada were targeted. The strikes were carried out using combat aircraft and Tomahawk cruise missiles, Washington saying it also benefited from support from Australia, Canada, the Netherlands and Bahrain. For its part, London said it had deployed four Typhoon FGR4 fighters to strike with laser-guided bombs the sites of Bani and Abbs, from where the Houthis launch drones.
Raytheon, an RTX business, in partnership with the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory's Strategic Development Planning and Experimentation (SDPE) office and Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace, demonstrated the operational performance and readiness of the GhostEye MR advanced medium-range sensor for the National Advanced Surface to Air Missile System (NASAMS) during an extended exercise at White Sands Missile Range.
