Julien Mercier, Author at defense-aerospace

Contract Award for the Next Phase of the NGWS/FCAS Project

MADRID – France, Germany, and Spain signed a trilateral contract on December 15 that launches Phase 1B of the New-Generation Weapon System/Future Combat Air System (NGWS/FCAS). The deal names Dassault Aviation, Airbus Defence and Space (Germany and Spain), Indra Sistemas, and Eumet (the Safran Aircraft Engines–MTU Aero Engines joint venture) as prime contractors. Valued at about €8 billion for the full demonstration campaign, it allocates more than €3 billion for the first 36-month work package that starts this month.

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Ahead of Modi Visit, US Approves Sale of 22 Guardian Drones to India

The United States has cleared the sale of twenty-two MQ-9B Guardian unmanned aircraft to India, opening a path for New Delhi to field its first long-endurance maritime surveillance fleet just days before Prime Minister Narendra Modi meets President Donald Trump. U.S. officials notified both the Indian government and manufacturer General Atomics of the State Department decision on 21 June, valuing the package at two to three billion dollars.

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US Software Stranglehold Threatens F-35 Foreign Operations

The F-35 is entirely dependent on the ALIS system for its maintenance, and on US-based software laboratories for its mission data loads, so that its operation requires secure and high-speed Internet links between its operating bases and the US. (USAF photo)

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F-35 Engine Unit Costs Continue to Grow Even As Production Increases

Early F-135 advocates promised a smooth learning curve. They said each production lot would cost less than the one before. Fresh data show the opposite. Unit prices still hover near $30 million, even though annual output has more than doubled since 2011.

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F-35 Program Massages Flight Test Results

The latest annual report from the Pentagon’s Director of Operational Test & Evaluation (DOT&E) states that the F-35 Joint Program Office (JPO) claimed improved reliability by adjusting the way it records equipment failures rather than by delivering technical corrections.

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F-35 Report: Overview of Problems with F-135 Engine

KESTEREN, Netherlands — Last week’s grounding of the F-35 fleet puts the Pratt & Whitney F-135 engine back in the public spotlights, just one week before the planned international debut of the F-35B at the RIAT 2014 and Farnborough Airshows.

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Spacecom and Israel Aerospace Industries Signed a Purchase Agreement for Amos-6 Satellite; Deal Estimated at $195 Million

Israel Aerospace Industries President and Chief Executive Joseph Weiss sat beside Spacecom head David Pollack at Ben Gurion Airport yesterday and signed a single document that binds both companies to deliver, launch, and operate the Amos-6 communications satellite for roughly $195 million. The agreement’s signature ends nine months of negotiation, locks the delivery calendar, and maintains Israel’s ambition to keep national satellites working at the crowded 4° West slot.

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The New Norwegian Long-term Defence Plan

On 23 March the Norwegian Government presented a fresh long-term plan for the Armed Forces. The document repeats the core security goals set after the 2004 re-orientation, yet it answers two new pressures at once: higher front-line costs in Afghanistan and sharper attention to the High North. The plan keeps the NATO pledge of a credible national deterrent but trims legacy overhead to give combat units more flight hours, sea days, and live-fire drills.

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Rafale in Combat: “War for Dummies”

Pilots walk to their jets before sunrise, climb the ladder, key the INS, and watch the route and target files flow in by Link 16. A typical launch leaves the chocks with the following kit:

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