Americas
* Radar signal management technology made by a Taiwanese company will be used in Lockheed Martin’s latest MIM-104F (PAC-3) air defense missile system upgrade. Developed by the state-owned National Chungshan Institute of Science and Technology, the technology is also found in the indigenous Sky Bow III air defense system. So far, it has made $25.3 million in international orders.
* Sikorsky has just delivered its 1000th H-60M Black Hawk helicopter to the US Army in a ceremony that saw the deliveries of the 792nd UH-60M and the 208th HH-60M. A Lockheed Martin subsidiary, the company delivered the first UH-60M to the service in 2007 and the first HH-60M Medevac helicopter in 2008. The “Mike” model helicopters represent the Army’s third standard baseline H-60 Black Hawk aircraft version in the program’s 38-year production history.
Middle East & North Africa
* US-made radar systems have been cleared for sale to the government of Kuwait by the US State Department. Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, and Raytheon will compete for the $194 million contract which will see the winner provide six short-range radars and a long-range radar system with primary and secondary surveillance radar arrays, upgrades to existing systems, friend-or-foe identification and related support. The radar systems provide situational awareness for security forces in Kuwait to detect and interdict fixed- and rotary-wing aircraft along the country’s borders.
Africa
* South African company Ultimate Unmanned has launched its new Viper 1000C UAV with aims to market the drone across Africa and the Middle East. Based on the Stemme motor glider, the company plans to lease the Viper for a variety of missions including surveillance, border patrol, anti-piracy, pipeline monitoring, counter-terrorism, mapping, anti-smuggling, and wildlife monitoring. Ultimate Unmanned said the aircraft can be used for both civilian and military missions but the company is planning a dedicated Viper 1000M military version and is also studying rotary wing UAVs.
Europe
* Thales’ new-generation TALIOS laser targeting pod has successfully completed a more than two-hour first flight on a Rafale fighter. Development of the pod has been carried out as part of a major development program for French Air Force and Navy Rafales. The company reported remarkable performances in pointing and telemetry from the pod with the system collecting high-quality images taken using the “day” channel. Adjustment and performance measurement tests with the pod and fighter will continue throughout 2017.
Asia Pacific
* An agreement between the leaders of Russia and India has paved the way for negotiations to bring the S-400 Triumph air-defense system to India. The state-run manufacturer of the system ROSTEC stated contracts could be prepared and signed by early 2017 with delivery of the system to commence in 2020. With the S-400 system currently being rolled out across Russia as well as being spotted in Syria, the agreement with New Delhi points to a willingness by Moscow to deepen strategic ties with one of its biggest buyers.
* Bell Helicopters is keen to sell its AH-1Z attack helicopter as a solution to Japan’s AH-X program. As part of preparations the company has teamed with engineers from Fuji Heavy Industries on modification work to the helicopter aimed at improving transmission performance. If selected, between 60-70 of the Bell 412EPI-based helicopters would be produced locally in Fuji with the first slated to deliver in 2022. Civilian variants would also be produced in Fuji in an effort to help the production line attain scale.
* An undisclosed number of Taurus KEPD 350K cruise missiles were formally handed over to the Republic of Korea Air Force (RoKAF) last week. The German-made munitions have been integrated for use on Korean F-15K fighters and are an enhanced version of the Taurus KEPD 350 fielded by Germany and Spain on their Panavia Tornado, Boeing EF-18 Hornet, and Eurofighter Typhoon aircraft respectively. The Korean missiles are also equipped with new Rockwell Collins GPS receivers that come with a Selective Availability Anti-Spoofing Module (SAASM) to prevent jamming.
Today’s Video
Taiwan’s MQ-9 clone:
