B-52H No Longer To Require External Cart | Austrian Engines Found In Iranian Drones | Philippines Lead Multilateral Naval Exercises

Americas

The US Air Force’s Special Operations Command (AFSOC) has taken the Agile Combat Employment (ACE) concept one step further by having the MQ-9 operate in a simulated base situated behind enemy lines. Field 6 at Eglin Air Force Base was used for the simulation. A team of airmen secured Field 6 after arriving on board an MC-130J and cleared it for the MQ-9 to land and take off. The flight operations of the MQ-9 were carried out using Satellite Communications Launch and Recovery so that no Launch and Recovery Element was required at the site. “We did this by using a small team, landing at a simulated forward operating base, refueling and continuing to fly the mission. All of this was accomplished with an extremely small footprint which opens up the possibility for using MQ-9s in places we could not reach previously,” according to a MQ-9 pilot from the 2nd SOS.

The B-52H bomber will no longer require an external cart nor gunpowder cartridges for starting up its engines in future. Boeing is said to have selected Honeywell’s 36-150 auxiliary power unit (APU) as part of the Commercial Engine Replacement Program. “The B-52 is one of the most enduring USAF aircraft ensuring force readiness against emerging threats,” said Dave Marinick, president, Engines and Power Systems, Honeywell Aerospace,” said Dave Marinick, president, Engines and Power Systems.

Middle East & Africa

Israeli and Lebanese leaders finalized a US-brokered maritime demarcation deal on Thursday, bringing a measure of accommodation between the enemy states as they eye offshore energy exploration. Leaders from Lebanon, Israel and the United States have all hailed the deal as “historic” but the possibility of a wider diplomatic breakthrough remains slim. As a result, there was no joint signing ceremony: Lebanese President Michel Aoun signed a letter approving the deal at his palace in Baabda in the presence of the U.S. official who mediated the accord, Amos Hochstein.

Europe

RAM-System won a $277.8 million deal for fiscal 2023 procurements for Rolling Airframe Missile (RAM) Block 2B Guided Missile Round Pack (GMRP) and spare replacement components for RAM Block 2 recertification. This contract is a 100% purchase for the German navy under a cooperative memorandum of understanding (MOU). Work will take place in Arizona and Germany. Expected completion date will be in March 2029.

An engine designed by the Austrian company Rotax was discovered installed in one of Russia’s Iranian-made Mohajer-6 drones that went down over the Black Sea earlier this month. Rotax says it has launched an investigation into its engines powering Iranian drones. The delivery of such hardware to Iran violates violates European Union sanctions banning the export of items with both civilian and military purposes, such as vehicle parts. Identical sanctions are imposed by the European Union against Russia, as well. Rotax is an Austrian subsidiary owned by the Canadian company Bombardier Recreational Products (BRP), which is known for producing engines for snowmobiles, boats, motorcycles, airplanes and a significant number of drones. BRP’s Rotax jet engines are known to power the advanced US MKU-1 Predator drone and Israel’s Heron drones.

Asia-Pacific

The Armed Forces of the Philippines led the first-ever simultaneous joint maritime exercises with the US Navy and Royal Australian Navy. A total of 742 sailors from the three nations participated in the eight-day drills, including representatives from the United Kingdom, Japan, France, Canada, Brunei, and Malaysia attending as observers. The exercises, held in the Philippines’ Visayas region, enhanced the participating navies’ warfighting capabilities in territorial defense, terrorism, and transnational crime.

Today’s Video

WATCH: RIM-116 Rolling Airframe Missile