Although single base propellants have been around for over 100 years, production of this type of propellant only began in Australia during World War 2, when appropriate equipment and know-how were provided under the USA’s Lend Lease Scheme. Prior to this date, all propellants had been of the British double base type. The Mulwala gun propellant facility in New South Wales was set up to produce these commodities, and remains the sole supplier of military-grade propellants and high explosives to the Benalla ammunition plant in northern Victoria. These plants are deemed to be strategic national assets, and produce ammunition for Australia’s Defence Forces; Mulwala also produces low-grade explosives and propellants for a few other customers, including America’s NASA.
Australia isn’t the only country looking to modernize single-source ammunition facilities from World War 2 or earlier. The USA is in the same boat. The Mulwala redevelopment project has finally received full approval, and work is underway – with the assistance of the same firm that owns the USA’s prime (and until recently, only) small caliber military ammunition production facility. Now, Thales will have the assistance of America’s 2nd supplier as well.
The United Arab Emirates’ government announced at IDEX 2009 that it has selected a winner in its lead-in fighter trainer and light attack aircraft competition. The competition has been closely contested, as new options have appeared on the market, and the UAE’s planned order of up to 60 planes could provide an important sales and investment boost.
IDEX 2007 saw the shortlist announced. BAE’s Hawk already serves in this role for a number of air forces around the world, and is in service with the UAE, but their Mk128 variant was eliminated early. That left Aermacchi’s M346, a spinoff from a collaborative effort that also produced Russia’s very similar Yak-130; and Korean Aerospace’s supersonic T/A-50, designed and marketed in conjunction with Lockheed Martin…
The US Army soldier is burdened with C4ISR technology. The soldier uses a handheld radio to talk to other soldiers and commanders, Blue Force Tracker to track friendly and enemy forces, a portable GPS receiver to determine location, a ROVER system to receive UAV video feeds, and, if he or she is lucky enough, an Afghan interpreter to communicate with the locals.
What if all these things could be brought together on one device – a smartphone that millions use every day in civilian life. The US Army has undertaken an effort, called Connecting Soldiers to Digital Applications (CSDA), to develop smartphones for the office and the battlefield, such as tracking enemy movements, determining locations of fellow soldiers, sending intelligence reports, and receiving live UAV video.
There are a number of obstacles to this bold vision, however, not the least of which is security. How will the Army ensure that all of this classified information is protected using open source commercial technology?
The American TRICARE health insurance system for military members and their families is putting more and more pressure on US military budgets, as costs skyrocket far faster than inflation, or budget growth. Ballooning prescription drug costs in particular are causing significant policy and management issues.
One of the challenges is that many people are using more costly retail pharmacies instead of military treatment facilities or mail order, in order to get their medications. But who supplies the TRICARE mail order system?
In 2005, the Canadian Department of National Defence awarded a 22-year, $1.77-billion (USD $1.5 billion) contract to an “Allied Wings” team lead by Kelowna Flightcraft Ltd. of Kelowna, British Columbia, who beat out a competing group led by Bombardier’s military training division in Mirabel, Quebec. The long-term contract will provide primary flight training training and support services to the Canadian Forces and international allies. These services will be provided out of the “Canada Wings Aviation Training Centre” in the Southport Aerospace Centre near Portage la Prairie, Manitoba.
This is not the first time the Canadian government has chosen a public/private approach to aviation training. Bombardier was already managing the Contracted Flying Training and Support (CFTS) program, and the public-private NATO Flying Training in Canada (NFTC) program has been running since 1997. In some ways, however, the new “Allied Wings” contract was a logical next step aimed at solidifying Canada’s traditional advantages, as Canada attempts to make itself an international center of excellence for foreign military aviator training:
