Table of contents
Raytheon to Upgrade Tomahawk Equipment | General Atomics to Repair UK Reapers | Indian Air Force wants to Limit AN-32 Use after Crash
Americas
The US Air Force awarded the federal Canadian Commercial Corporation a $10.4 million firm-fixed-price contract for C5M Super Galaxy Communication, Navigation, and Surveillance/Air Traffic Management Production. The C5M strategic transport aircraft is a modernized version of the C5 Galaxy. Lockheed Martin manufactured the aircraft to extend the capability of the C-5 fleet to remain in service at least until 2040. The C-5M Super Galaxy transport aircraft achieved initial operational capability in February 2014. The aircraft set 89 world aeronautical records to date. Work will take place in Ottawa, Canada and is scheduled to be complete by the end of October this year.
Raytheon won a $29.6 million delivery order, which provides for the upgrade of the Block IV Tomahawk missile equipment. The upgrade includes test equipment like the system Integration Laboratory, the Air Vehicle System Integration Laboratory, hot-benches, automated flight test equipment and associated test equipment. Tomahawk Block IV cruise missiles can launch from a ship or a submarine and can fly into heavily defended airspace more than 1,000 miles away to conduct strikes on targets with minimal collateral damage. The cruise missile is designed to circle for hours above or away from its target and change course on command. The Tomahawk is also able to send an image of its target to controllers right before it hits the target. The latest Block IV variant includes a two-way satellite data-link that enables the missile to be retargeted in flight to pre-programmed, alternate target. Raytheon will perform work within the US and is expected to finish in June 2021. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Maryland, is the contracting activity.
Middle East & Africa
The Jerusalem Post reports that the Israeli Air Force (IAF) is holding a large-scale drill simulating a multi-front war. The drill started on Sunday and also premiers the F-35i Adir stealth fighter jet. The F-35i Adir is the result of the Israeli procurement of F-35 Lightning II. The first nine Israeli aircraft became operational in 2017. The Adir will be the only F-35 variant to enter service heavily tailored to a foreign country’s specifications. Israel’s multi-front drill also includes all aircraft from combat squadrons, helicopters and transport planes as well as troops from the Aerial Defense Division and the IAF control units. The drill is aimed at improving the readiness and efficiency of the IAF to cope with a multi-front wartime scenario including numerous attacks over a short period of time as well as assistance to ground forces, who are full partners in the drill.
Europe
General Atomics Aeronautical Systems won a $91 million contract to support the UK’s MQ-9A Contractor Logistics Support Phase IV Program. The deal provides for depot repair, life cycle sustainment, and software maintenance services. The Reaper unmanned aerial vehicle is able to perform remotely controlled autonomous flight operations. The UK operates Reapers since 2006. In 2007 the UK’s defense ministry deployed the MQ-9A to Afghanistan. Since 2014 the Royal Air Force’s Reapers are part of the Operation Shader, the United Kingdom’s contribution to US-led military intervention against the Islamic State. The drone has an endurance of over 27 hours, a speed of 240 knots true airspeed, can operate at an altitude of up to 50,000 feet, and has a 1,746 kg payload capacity that includes 1,361 kg of external stores. General Atomics will perform work under the new contract in Poway, California and is expected to be finished by September 30, 2021. The contract involves 100 percent FMS funds to the UK.
Asia-Pacific
Jane’s reports that the Indian Air Force wants to limit the use of its aging fleet of Antonov An-32 ‘Cline’ transport aircraft. Just recently an AN-32 aircraft of the Indian Air Force with 13 people on board crashed 33 minutes after taking off from Jorhat in Assam for Arunachal’s Menchuka, killing all 13 service personnel. Senior Indian Air Force officers said, the Force plans to curtail operations of the service’s 105 Soviet-era An-32s in the country’s Himalayan regions and over the Bay of Bengal due to safety concerns. Four fatal accidents involving the twin-engine turboprop transporter, resulting in the deaths of 54 service personnel and civilians, have taken place since the early years of the AN-32’s services for the Indian Air Force.
The Royal Australian Navy’s Anzac Class frigate HMAS Arunta (II) has reportedly rejoined the fleet after having undergone a 20-month-long Anzac Mid-Life Capability Assurance Program upgrade at the Australian Marine Complex in Henderson, Western Australia. The Arunta is the first of eight ships of the class to have completed the extensive upgrade. She returned in early June to its home port of Fleet Base West where she rejoined the fleet. The 118 meter-long ship, which was commissioned in December 1998, will soon start to conduct work-ups and testing the new equipment on board.
Today’s Video
Watch: Dassault Rafale Fighter Flying Display at Paris Air Show 2019 – AINtv Express
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