Americas
Rolls-Royce won a $62.4 million contract modification, which exercises an option to procure 29 AE1107C engines for the Navy V-22 aircraft. The AE 1107C-Liberty (T406) is a 6,000-shp class turboshaft engine. The two-shaft axial design of the AE 1107C consists of a 14-stage compressor followed by an effusion-cooled annular combustor, a two-stage gas generator turbine, and a two-stage power turbine. The engine features six rows of variable compressor vanes, dual FADEC (controls both engine and propeller), a self-contained oil system that allows for vertical operation, modular construction, and a so-called ‘on-condition’ maintenance capability. Work will take place in Indianapolis, Indiana and expected completion will be in December 2021.
General Atomics won a $25.2 million delivery order, which procures Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch System (EMALS) Depot Planning Phase II efforts, including depot level logistics support analysis, engineering support for logistics, supportability analysis, maintenance planning, reliability maintenance, technical manual development and engineering support as it directly correlates to depot planning for the USS Gerald Ford (CVN 78) and USS John F. Kennedy (CVN 79). More than 99 percent of the work on this contract will be performed in San Diego, with one-tenth of one percent of work on the contract taking place in Tupelo, Mississippi. Expected completion date is February 2022.
Middle East & Africa
The Armed Forces of Mali deployed reconstituted battalions that include former rebel soldiers to both Kidal and Timbuktu in the north of the country. A battalion arrived in Kidal on February 13, becoming the first FAMa troops based in the city since Azawadi (Tuareg) rebels overran the city after the March 2012 coup in Bamako. United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA) facilitated the deployment by escorting the FAMa battalion from Gao to Kidal and refurbishing Camp General Abdoulaye Soumaré, where it is now based. It described the deployment as a “major step forward in the implementation of the peace agreement.” The 2014 Algiers Accord stipulated that former rebel combatants would be integrated into the armed and security forces.
Europe
Boeing has officially launched the flight evaluation phase of its F/A-18E/F Super Hornet and EA-18G Growler aircraft for Finland’s HX fighter replacement program, with three aircraft arriving at Tampere-Pirkkala Airbase north of Helsinki on February 18. The arrival of one single-seat F/A-18E, one twin-seat F/A-18F and one EA-18G in Finland for Boeing’s HX Challenge evaluation followed earlier stints from the Eurofighter Typhoon from 9 to 17 January, the Dassault Rafale from to January 20 to 28, the Saab Gripen E and GlobalEye airborne early warning and control (AEW&C) aircraft from January 30 to February 6, and the Lockheed Martin F-35A Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) from February 10 to 17. Boeing will conclude proceedings on February 26. While the Super Hornets and the Growler being evaluated are in their current Block 2 and Block 1 configurations respectively, for its offering to Finland Boeing is pitching the Block 3 version of the Super Hornet and Block 2 version of the Growler which will be available to the US Navy from 2023 and 2025.
Asia-Pacific
A recently upgraded Indonesian Air Force (Tentara Nasional Indonesia – Angkatan Udara: TNI-AU) F-16 A/B fighter aircraft has conducted its first flight. The aircraft, with serial number TS-1610, conducted the flight on February 18 from the Iswahyudi Air Force Base in Madiun, East Java. The airframe is the first Indonesian F-16 to undergo the Falcon STAR (Structural Augmentation Roadmap) and enhanced mid-life upgrade programmes, the TNI-AU said in a statement on the same day. The aircraft operates with the service’s Skuadron Udara (Aviation Squadron) 3. As part of the upgrades, the aircraft received structural enhancements, enhanced avionics and weapon systems, and can operate up to 8,000 actual flying hours, said the TNI-AU.
Pakistan announced that it has test-launched a new variant of its Ra’ad II nuclear-capable, air-launched cruise missile (ALCM) with a range of 600 km. According to Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the media wing of the Pakistani military, said that the 600 km range of the new missile “significantly enhances” the PAF’s “air-delivered strategic stand-off capability on land and at sea”. The new missile variant, which was shown in a low-resolution video being launched from a Pakistan Air Force (PAF) Mirage III fighter aircraft, “is equipped with state-of-the-art guidance and navigation systems ensuring engagement of targets with high precision”, said the ISPR, referring to the weapon system as “a major step towards complementing Pakistan’s deterrence capability”.
Today’s Video
Watch: Indian Defence Updates : More Rafale Confirmed,S400 Massive Delay,NCM Offer,INS Kavaratti Delivery
