Americas
* BAE Systems has introduced its iMOTR mobile multiple-object tracking radar at the Space and Missile Defense Symposium in Huntsville, Ala. Billed as a radar that is cheaper than competitors without skimping on performance, it uses C or X-band active electronically scanned array antennas for tracking objects in flight close to the ground while reducing object clutter, and is mounted on a trailer for greater mobility. BAE see the radar being purchased for use on test and evaluation ranges for aircraft and unmanned aerial vehicles.
* AAR has announced that it has received a $909 million contract to conduct work for the Landing Gear Performance-Based Logistics One program for C-130, KC-135 and E-3 landing gear parts. Under the terms of the 15-year deal, work to be performed by the company involves manufacturing, supply chain management, inventory control and depot level maintenance for the US Air Force and foreign allied aircraft. Work will primarily take place at AAR’s landing gear maintenance facility in Miami, Fla.
* A team combining Boeing and General Dynamics Land Systems will enter a US Army short-range air defense (SHORAD) shoot-off next month. The team will build a short-range air defense system by placing a modernized Avenger air defense system on the back of a Stryker combat vehicle reconfigured to accommodate the system on a turret. The new Avenger is designed to shoot a multitude of different missiles, can be equipped with a 30mm gun and potentially even directed energy weapons down the road. A need for a new SHORAD capability surfaced last year, when the Army noticed a requirement for such platforms in the European theater and has been moving quickly to fill it by developing a system that will give maneuver forces the capability to defend against air threats from peer adversaries on the forward edge of the battlefield.
Middle East & Africa
* AH-64 Apache helicopters operated by the Israeli Air Force have been grounded following a crash on Monday. The August 7 crash, which caused the death of one crew member and injuring the second, occurred between two runways at Ramon air base seconds after the pilot reported technical problems. This is the second grounding of Israeli Apache aircraft in three months after a routine inspection of the helicopters found a 7.8in (20cm)-long crack in a tail rotor blade. However, preliminary indications from an investigation into the recent crash do not connect the crash to the previously identified cracked tail rotor blade issue.
Europe
* The Royal Navy’s newest aircraft carrier, HMS Queen Elizabeth, has met the Nimitz-class USS George H. Bush and her carrier strike group off the coast of Scotland. Over 60 Royal Navy sailors and Royal Marines are currently on board the Bush, who have been working with their US counterparts to hone carrier strike skills ahead of HMS Queen Elizabeth’s entry into service. The Saxon Warrior exercise, which has been at play for nearly a week, has seen UK staff work with their American counterparts to fight off a series of simulated threats from enemy forces, using all the air, surface and sub-surface assets of the entire task group.
Asia Pacific
* Malaysia has refuted media claims that China has offered as many as 12 AR3 multiple-launch artillery rocket systems (MLRS) and a radar system to be based in the south east of the country. The denial comes following earlier reports that a Chinese delegation visiting Malaysia this week had proposed basing the military equipment in Johor, a Malaysian state bordering Singapore, and included a purchase program with a loan period of 50 years. A Malaysia military spokesman said no such proposal had been received.
* Japan has announced offers to transfer military equipment to the Philippines, as Tokyo hopes to improve its diplomatic clout with Manilla ahead of rival China. If the deal went ahead, it would include the transfer of thousands of helicopter parts to keep Philippine military choppers airborne, and would mark Japan’s first military aid deal since lawmakers scrapped a rule in June barring giveaways of surplus military kit to other countries. Japan’s interest in increasing defense aid to the neighboring archipelago comes as part of efforts to secure support against Chinese assertiveness in territorial disputes in the South China Sea. It fears that Beijing could defang opposition to its territorial assertiveness in these contested waters with arms sales and development aid to countries surrounding the busy waterway—which sees $5 trillion in ship-borne trade passing through each year.
* Deliveries of the LCA Tejas aircraft to the Indian Air Force (IAF) has been delayed after the Indian Ministry of Defense (MoD) announced that state-owned Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) has delivered only four aircraft to the IAF out of 40 ordered in 2005. The four aircraft so far delivered are from a batch of 20 designated for initial operational clearance (IOC), while the remaining 20 aircraft were designated for final operational clearance (FOC). In order to ramp up production, the government has established a second manufacturing line to support “structural and equipping activities. HAL has also altered the production of certain components and has reduced the manufacturing cycle time by improving supply chain management and boosting workforce.
Today’s Video
* Russian & Chinese aircraft destroy F-16 target during exercises:
