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12 Nov 21. Turkish Aerospace has achieved a new ability to aerostructure field by A400M programme with the integration of “Directional Infrared Counter Measures” (DIRCM) system aerostructure parts for the first time to the MSN 105 tail number of A400M. The new system will detect and destroy incoming missiles via a missile warning unit, and a hand-held air defence systems directed to the A400M aircraft.
Being a stakeholder on Airbus Defence and Space with more than 5% share, Turkish Aerospace has succeeded for the first time “Design to Build” which is design data has been created by Turkish Aerospace, instead of “Build to Print” which is ready design data, on the A400M programme. Turkish Aerospace is currently managing the production and delivery processes of 405 detail and sub-assembly parts for DIRCM Project of A400M aircraft. With the integration of DIRCM system, the aircraft gained a capability that will enable 360-degree detection of multiple missiles with its multi-target capability.
Currently, for the A400M programme; Forward Center Fuselage, Tail Cone and Rear Fuselage Top Panel, Flaps / Speed Brakes, Paratrooper & Emergency Exit Doors, lighting systems, primary design and supply of waste/clean water systems, final assembly line management/support as well as design and manufacture of fuselage wiring, excluding the cockpit all interior and exterior lighting systems are all continued under the responsibility of Turkish Aerospace. Also, DIRCM structural design and analysis, equipment assembly design, retrofit solution design, detailed part production, assembly and a total of 2 km of new cable manufacturing for each aircraft has been included in its business package.
Sharing the thoughts regarding the integrated DIRCM system, Prof. Temel Kotil, President and CEO of Turkish Aerospace said “Turkish Aerospace continues to contribute to the aerospace abilities of our country by integrating aerostructre parts of Next Generation Technologhy platform first time into A400M. We continue our perfect production and delivery processes in the A400M program, which is among the world’s largest aircraft. I congratulate our colleagues who contributed to the success.”
Having a 7 percent share on A400M programme, Turkish Aerospace has produced and delivered 135 aircraft shipset to Airbus Defence and Space. The total programme includes 176 A400M aircraft.
10 Nov 21. EOS unveils T2000-DE variant turret. A computer-generated image of the EOS Defence Systems’ developmental T2000-DE turret. The DE weapon system is top-mounted above and to the right of the main armament in the image. EOS Defence Systems has disclosed the development of an integrated directed-energy (DE) weapon system variant of its T2000 modular medium-calibre turret, designed to address the escalating top attack threat posed to infantry/armoured fighting vehicles (IFVs/AFVs) by the proliferation and increasing sophistication of hostile unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) and air-launched loitering weapon systems. An internally funded initiative, the T2000-DE is evolved from the T2000 fully integrated manned turret system that is in development as the lethality solution for a number of programmes, including the Australian Department of Defence Land 400 Phase 3 tracked IFV requirement. A recommendation on the preferred tender for that programme is scheduled to be presented to the Australian government for consideration in 2022. A modification of the Elbit Systems MT30 30 mm turret, the T2000 combines the basic mechanical design and electric drive hardware from the MT30 with the fire control system, sensors, and user interface developed by EOS for its R-series of fully stabilised remote weapon stations (RWS). However, the T2000 was designed from the outset to integrate critical and emerging technologies beyond the sight and the gun, and integrate them into a solution designed and built for purpose. “This approach has optimised the integration of key systems to maximise their performance, including, for example, the flank mounting of active protection systems (APS) to avoid interference with, and from, other sensors and systems,” Grant Sanderson, CEO, EOS Defence Systems (Global) told Janes. (Source: Jane’s)
11 Nov 21. SANG confirms VL MICA acquisition. The Saudi Arabia National Guard (SANG) confirmed it has acquired the MBDA VL MICA on 9 November, when it released a photograph showing a launcher for the short-range air-defence system at one of its facilities in Riyadh. Neither the French government nor MBDA have confirmed the VL-MICA sale to Saudi Arabia, however, the French newspaper La Tribune reported in 2013 that the company had secured a EUR150m (USD173m) order to supply the air-defence system to the SANG. A photograph of VL MICA launchers at Jeddah’s port after their delivery began circulating in early 2018. These were carried on trucks made by Soframe: a French company that has supplied large numbers of vehicles to the SANG, including its Arive armoured personnel carrier. The Royal Saudi Land Forces are also believed to have a requirement for a new mobile short-range air-defence system to replace their Crotales. (Source: Jane’s)
11 Nov 21. KMW, Rafael, and General Dynamics European Land Systems to establish joint company for Trophy APS. Krauss-Maffei Wegmann (KMW), Rafael Advanced Defense Systems (Rafael) and General Dynamics European Land Systems (GDELS) announced today that they have signed an agreement to form a joint venture company under the name of EuroTrophy. EuroTrophy will be a Germany-based company that will provide potential marketing opportunities, sales and production of the Active Protection System (APS) “Trophy” to European customers and markets. The company will also supply potential vehicle integration services and related through-life support of the APS. Subject to antitrust clearance and other regulatory approvals, the new company is expected to be established by the end of this year.
Rafael’s President and CEO, Maj. Gen. (Ret.) Yoav Har-Even: “The establishment of a European joint venture for Trophy is a strategic milestone for Rafael, which speaks volumes of the confidence that European companies have in Trophy as a life-saving system. Germany was the first European nation to choose Trophy to protect its MBT’s, joining the U.S. Now with the establishment of EuroTrophy, we are confident that additional European countries will join the growing family of Trophy users, to protect their troops and assets from the growing challenges and threats on the battlefield.”
KMW’s CEO, Ralf Ketzel:”Our joint strategic move to establish the EuroTrophy joint venture is a clear commitment to Germany as a prime business location and underscores the importance of active protection systems. On today’s and tomorrow’s battlefields, they will be an important building block for the crew’s endurance, effectiveness and protection. As the leading system supplier for armored vehicles, the integration of state-of-the-art capabilities into our products is essential.”
“With EuroTrophy we will make a significant step into an important adjacent market for military vehicles since advanced protection technologies will play a crucial role for crew survivability in the future. The establishment of a joint company in Germany is also a clear sign of our commitment to our German and European customers and to international industrial cooperation,” added Alfonso Ramonet, president of GDELS.
11 Nov 21. UAV Aerial Firing Test Approved in Australia. Skyborne Technologies, a Defence Tech company specialising in smart aerial robotic platforms, has performed a “first of type” aerial firing demonstration of the company’s weaponised 5-shot 40mm UAV, the Cerberus GLH. The demonstration was performed in Australia under Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) approvals. The approval/testing site is on a Queensland rural property, on which Skyborne has partially leased, to support ongoing testing and development. Current Australian Civil Aviation Safety Regulation prohibits operation of a weaponised Remotely Piloted Aircraft on private land within civilian airspace. Skyborne first demonstrated the Cerberus GL UAV (single shot 40mm grenade) prototype in Georgia, USA near Fort Benning for a US Army Demonstration Program called Army Expeditionary Warrior Experiment in December 2019. The demonstration was the first to fly and fire the unique tri-tilt rotor man-packable weaponised UAV with an aerial firing activity for a US Army audience.
The COVID-19 pandemic stalled all company plans to return to the US in 2020 to continue testing and customer demonstrations. Skyborne embraced the challenge to steer through red tape and regulation hurdles to perform aerial firing testing in Australia. The company first contacted the civilian aviation authority (CASA) in June 2020 to propose the aerial firing activity on private land for research and development purposes. Seventeen months later, in October 2021, Skyborne performed the “first of type” aerial firing demonstration. This is not only a significant achievement for the company and its technology development pipeline, but also for Defence Industry and Defence.
The company’s aerial firing approval will allow Cerberus’s technology development to continue from the design and prototype phase to field testing to mature and test the weaponised UAV’s targeting accuracy and reliability, achieving a higher Technical Readiness Level (TRL). This accelerates the Cerberus UAV towards delivery to Defence end users for Test & Evaluation.
Federal, State and Council regulatory stakeholders were involved with Skyborne’s aerial firing approval including CASA and the Queensland Police Service.
The approval is conditional on the company having the following supporting documents:
- Operation manuals, including the weaponised operation procedure and pilot training
- Civil Aviation Act permission for carriage of dangerous goods on an RPA
- Weapons Act exemption for Cerberus weapon payloads
- Licence to use explosives for certain ammunitions under the Explosive Regulation
- Temporary range authorisation from Queensland Police
- Council material change for use of land
The Cerberus GLH is the next generation tactical-level aerial fire support UAS. Designed to be the first man-packable multiple-shot UAV on the market, the Cerberus GLH provides operators with up to 30 minutes of flight endurance, 5 shots of 40mm rounds (selectable) and VTOL launch capabilities. The Cerberus GLH also has day/night optics, AI edge processing and an onboard target laser range finder for accurate targeting.
Adrian Dudok, Chief Business Officer, headed up the approval process. He says: “This aerial firing approval is the ‘first of type’ in Australia on civilian land and it was a significant roadblock for Skyborne’s Cerberus UAV development. Australia is filled regulation red tape hurdles which directly impacts innovation and commercialising efforts in this country. The Australian Governments and ADF mandates Sovereign Capability, however when industry delivers capability there is limited support to test and further develop the capability in addition to allow the ADF to test, evaluate and train with such new and emerging technologies. Skyborne has invested significant internal resources over the past seventeen months to get this aerial firing approval off the ground, despite the many naysayers encountered along the way. This demonstrates the company’s ability to deliver cutting edge technology to enhance Defence Force’s capability, while navigating around red tape and absorbing the costs associated with the ongoing long journey”. Dr. Michael Creagh, Chief Executive Officer, says
“This is the first time that the 40mm HAVOC launcher has been fired from the air. Skyborne staff present at the demonstration were absolutely ecstatic with the result. The recoil response from the Cerberus GLH was an order of magnitude improvement over the old single-shot variant demonstrated in the US in 2019. The trial took on a crawl, walk, run approach. We tested critical subsystems one at a time, including geofencing, emergency return to home and auto-landing, before firing a single shot. The next step was firing all five rounds consecutively from the chamber and everything performed perfectly. The next steps for us will be to dial in the targeting system with practical experimentation, using a baseline from our sophisticated simulation software. We’re eager to get the complete Cerberus system into the hands of our ADF and other friendly forces for trials and feedback. Skyborne has developed fantastic relationships with CASA and the various other regulatory bodies involved in this process, and we take our hats off to these bodies, who have ultimately allowed innovation to progress in Australia.” (Source: UAS VISION)
08 Nov 21. UK, French officials gather to decide future of missile technologies. Officials and executives want to focus on mission systems and algorithms; seekers; lethal packages; propulsion; and materials, structures and electronics. With an eye on developing “generation after next” missiles, government and industry leaders from France and the UK recently gathered to coordinate how to invest their research and development money. The meeting, held here Oct. 27-28, was the final gathering of a working partnership called the Materials and Components for Missiles Innovation and Technology Partnership (MCM ITP). Launched in 2007, the MCM ITP successfully completed 180 projects to identify next-generation material and components for missiles, and has already been exploited for future missile programs including the Future Cruise/Anti-Ship Weapon. Representatives from the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD), Defence and Science Technology Laboratory (DSTL), French Defence Procurement Agency (DGA) and industry partners — including MBDA, Thales and Leonardo — were on hand to discuss the technologies that would be transitioning into the next stage of the working group, known as the Complex Weapons ITP. Defense and industry representatives confirmed the CW ITP had already initiated a limited amount of research and development work as it begins to build up to its new goals.
Lt. Cdr. Paul Greason, the Royal Navy’s head of capability development weapons, evaluation and capability assurance, told delegates at the event that the new working group will “ensure that the technology required to provide freedom of action and operational advantage is identified, developed and tested to an efficient level of maturity in time for exploitation to meet and counter the threat.
“Early consideration of military capability benefits and test and evaluation requirements are essential for efficient exploitation,” Greason continued. “Is there a breakthrough technology that can be used to significantly reduce the timelines for a maturing technology which is a game changer in the test, evaluation and weapon qualification which provides capability to the frontline user quicker?”
Referring to the current threat environment, Greason described emerging capability of strategic adversaries around the world which already matched or exceeded UK capabilities. He highlighted the threat of swaming drones; high speed effectors; “sophisticated” air defense weapons; directed energy; and hypersonic weapons, such as those recently tested by the People’s Republic of China in low earth orbit.
RELATED: After China’s ‘Hypersonic’ Test, US Alarm And Many Unanswered Questions
“The rate of change and proliferation [of technology] continues to increase. We need to think big and broad because others are doing so already,” he concluded before referencing technology areas of interest including artificial intelligence, autonomy, digital backbones, communications and navigation, much of which must be deployed in a contested electronic warfare spectrum.
According to MBDA’s program lead for CW ITP, Edward Dodwell, the partnership already features more than 60 registered companies and organizations from across France and the UK.
“Our vision is to collaboratively identify and develop revolutionary and innovative technology to enhance UK/French complex weapons capability for 2035 and beyond,” Dodwell said before outlining CW ITP’s mission to identify key technology trends, capability improvements and pin-tail disruptors that will define “generation after next missiles and timely concepts.” (Source: Breaking Defense.com)
05 Nov 21. John Cockerill exhibits new turret in Spain. Cockerill 1030 is a lightweight, accurate and multi-mission system and combines modularity, reliability and high performance. John Cockerill Defense Espanha has showcased its new turret on 3-5 November at the FEINDEF 2021 exhibition in Madrid. The Cockerill 1030 is a lightweight, accurate multi-mission system that combines modularity, reliability and high performance. The company claimed in a press release that Cockerill 1030 is ‘the answer to the needs of today’s and tomorrow’s armed forces’ and can be used in all types of vehicles and missions by providing high firepower. The turret weighs less than 1.5t and has a 1.5m diameter at the vehicle interface. It features NATO Level 2 ballistic protection, a 200-round capacity, two digital vision systems, high elevation (up to 70°) and the ability to integrate a wide range of subsystems. The company also exhibited the 30mm and 105mm versions of the Cockerill 3000 Series, hundreds of which have been delivered to the Middle East and Asia in recent years. Cockerill 3000 is a manned or unmanned multi-purpose system designed to equip any wheeled or tracked vehicle. It can function with 30mm, 40mm, 90mm or 105mm guns on a single chassis. Its modular design means that the Cockerill 3000 allows ‘a high degree of commonality in terms of training, maintenance and spare parts’, John Cockerill claimed, which optimises maintenance management and total life cycle cost. (Source: Shephard)
08 Nov 21. Reaction Engines, IP Group and STFC launch decarbonisation venture. British space propulsion company Reaction Engines, IP Group, and the UK Government-funded Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC) will jointly create a world leading decarbonisation technology company based partly on rocket motor technology. At the COP26 Summit in Glasgow, the partners announced the formation of a joint venture technology company to produce lightweight and compact ammonia cracker reactors for use in hard to decarbonise sectors. The new venture will combine Reaction Engines’ heat exchanger technology developed for its SABRE™ air-breathing rocket engine, STFC’s leading ammonia catalyst expertise and funding from IP Group The new joint venture will design and bring to market lightweight and compact ammonia reactors to enable the use of ammonia as a zero-carbon fuel for use in transport applications, such as aviation and marine shipping, in addition to other hard-to-decarbonise applications such as power generation, particularly ‘stranded grids’ or ‘off grid’ applications. The reactor will catalytically crack the ammonia into an easy to combust fuel for gas turbines and internal combustion engines. The collaboration will combine Reaction Engines’ heat exchanger technology developed for its SABRE engine and currently being used in other technology applications, STFC’s leading expertise in developing ammonia catalyst technology, along with funding and venture-building expertise from IP Group.
Commenting, Dr James Barth, Ammonia Program Lead at Reaction Engines, said, “Having IP Group’s backing for Reaction Engines’ first commercial spin-out is a huge vote of confidence in the compact, lightweight ammonia reactor technology we are developing. We are excited to work together to help decarbonise power and propulsion systems in transport, power generation, and other hard to abate sectors.”
Fully decarbonising transport, and particularly long-distance travel, remains one of the hardest to solve technological challenges as countries seek to move towards a net-zero economy. Appropriately blended using the unique lightweight cracker technology developed by the new joint venture, ammonia and hydrogen together can be the carbon-free substitute that addresses the challenges of hard-to-abate sectors such as aviation and maritime. The joint venture technology company is taking forward IP that was developed with STFC proof-of-concept funding as part of STFC’s active support for innovative technologies. The collaboration was kick-started through the Harwell Energytec Cluster and initially funded by the STFC cross-cluster proof of concept. At present aviation and maritime account for 5% of total global carbon emissions and both sectors are expected to see significant increases in carbon emissions over the coming years. (Source: Rumour Control)
04 Nov 21. Expal introduces dual EIMOS 81 mm mortar system. The Onboard Mortar System was developed through an R&D programme with SDGPLATIN, following the requirements of the Marine Corps. The first batch is expected to be delivered in the coming months. Spanish company Expal displayed a prototype of its dual EIMOS 81mm onboard mortar system for the Spanish Navy at the FEINDEF defence exhibition in Madrid on 3-5 November 2021.
Dual EIMOS was developed through an R&D programme with SDGPLATIN (the technology and innovation division of the Spanish MoD), in line with Spanish Naval Infantry requirements.
Expal noted in a press release that the collaborative effort was concluded in April 2021 and the first batch of onboard mortar systems is expected to be delivered in the coming months.
The dual EIMOS system was designed for mobile ‘shoot and scoot’ operations with automatic 360º aiming and firing without the need for additional stabilisers. It can also overcome steep slopes and deep fording without preparation.
In March, at the Retín Training Range in Cádiz, experimental exercises were carried out with Naval Infantry and Spanish Legion troops operating the mortar system.
Expal also transferred in May its EIMOS Light Vehicle Embarked Mortar to the Spanish Army for evaluation within the framework of the Force 2035 (Fuerza 2035) project. (Source: Shephard)
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Arnold Defense has manufactured more than 1.25 m 2.75-inch rocket launchers since 1961 for the U.S. Army, U.S. Navy, U.S. Air Force and many NATO customers. They are the world’s largest supplier of rocket launchers for military aircraft, vessels and vehicles. Core products include the 7-round M260 and 19-round M261 commonly used by helicopters; the thermal coated 7-round LAU-68 variants and LAU-61 Digital Rocket Launcher used by the U.S. Navy and Marines; and the 7-round LAU-131 and SUU-25 flare dispenser used by the U.S. Air Force and worldwide.
Today’s rocket launchers now include the ultra-light LWL-12 that weighs just over 60 pounds (27 kg.) empty and the new Fletcher (4) round launcher. Arnold Defense designs and manufactures various rocket launchers that can be customized for any capacity or form factor for platforms in the air, on the ground or even at sea.
Arnold Defense maintains the highest standards of production quality by using extensive testing, calibration and inspection processes.
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