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16 Nov 17. First E-2D for Japan makes maiden flight. The first Northrop Grumman E-2D Advanced Hawkeye E-2D Advanced Hawkeye airborne early warning and control (AEW&C) aircraft for Japan made its maiden flight on 13 November. The milestone, which was announced by the aircraft manufacturer two days later, took place at Northrop Grumman’s Aircraft Integration Center of Excellence in St. Augustine, Florida. The Japanese Ministry of Defence (MoD) selected the E-2D Advanced Hawkeye in 2014 to help fulfill the nation’s AEW&C requirements, serving alongside the earlier model E-2C as well as the Boeing E-767 airborne warning and control systems (AWACS). Northrop Grumman began production in 2016 on the two aircraft so far contracted, with deliveries set to be complete by the end of 2018. One operational with the Japan Air Self-Defence Force (JASDF), the E-2D will augment the 13 E-2C aircraft and four E-767s already in service. As the latest variant of the Hawkeye carrier-based E-2 AEW&C aircraft that has been in US naval service since the mid-1960s, the E-2D features the more powerful AN/APY-9 radar that is designed to provide 360° coverage against hostile aircraft and cruise missiles, as well as the in-flight refuelling capability. (Source: IHS Jane’s)
17 Nov 17. DroneShield Ltd (ASX:DRO) (OTCMKTS:DRSHF) (“DroneShield” or the “Company”) is pleased to announce that it has received an order for a DroneGun tactical drone jammer product from its distributor Mega (“Mega”). DroneShield understands that the DroneGun has been ordered for Mega’s customer, the Paraguyan Ministry of National Defense (MDN). Importantly, the order was received following DroneGun’s win of a competitive tender. The order is at the Company’s full commercial rate price for one unit (which revenue is not material), and is understood to have been placed so that the Paraguayan Ministry of National Defense could conduct an in-field evaluation of DroneGun with a view to a larger order. This is the first South American order for any of the Company’s products. (Source: Google/ABN Newswire)
17 Nov 17. Counter UAVs to drive enemy drones out of the sky. Defence drones to seek out and bring down hostile military UAVs are being developed in Australia.
An early model of the Counter UAV drone
Military drones have changed the landscape of the modern battlefield in recent years but according to My Sky Technologies Director Steve Auch-Schwelk the technology to counter them has not kept pace.
Reacting to this gap in the market the startup is developing two models in Adelaide, South Australia. The first is a compact counter UAV drone with metal rotors that can be stored in a soldier’s pack and launched when an enemy drone is believed to be in the area.
Using a range of sensors including RF, infrared, video and GPS, the 600-gram drone can quickly locate and reach an enemy UAV and then attack it with saw-like rotors to bring it down.
“We’ve created a man-portable, field-deployable fire-and-forget counter UAV solution,” Auch-Schwelk said.
“You can have a few of these in your pack and you pull them out, the blades snap open and it autonomously searches, classifies, tracks, engages and destroys.”
The counter-attack drone reaches speeds of up to 250kmh, can fly to an altitude of 5000m and has a range of about 8km.
“What people don’t realise is that these little walnut-sized motors on here are about as powerful as your average circular saw and we’ve got four of these so when you add metal props there are not many commercial drones it won’t cut through.”
The second model, which uses a similar suite of sensors and is just as portable, is designed to provide fast battlefield assessments.
“If you come under fire and you don’t know where it is coming from you can throw one of these things up into the air and it will go up about 200m to