Getafe, 07 October 2019 – The Airbus A400M new generation airlifter has completed the certification flight test for the simultaneous dispatch of 80 (40+40) equipped paratroopers from both side doors on a single pass. Tests were performed in coordination with the French Armament General Directorate (DGA) together with French and Belgian Armed Forces. The flight test campaign, performed in the Ger Azet drop zone in southern France during daylight, also successfully completed the certification flight test to support the deployment of 58 paratroopers from one side door, the A400M’s maximum dispatch capacity from a single door.
Airbus A400M completes paratrooper simultaneous dispatch
These major milestones conclude the certification test phase of the paratroop dispatch capability of the A400M, pending on the completion of certification activities in the first half of 2020, and paving the way for the simultaneous deployment of up to 116 paratroopers and the certification for mixed operations. After 9 flights and 564 jumps, the completion of the test campaign concludes a very complex exercise built together with the A400M Customer Nations around the confidence in the aircraft and the highest safety requirements. The picture above highlights the successful dispatch of 80 paratroopers, to date the largest simultaneous deployment from an A400M on a single pass.
Airbus A400M completes paratrooper simultaneous dispatch
Airbus is a global leader in aeronautics, space and related services. In 2018 it generated revenues of € 64 billion and employed a workforce of around 134,000. Airbus offers the most comprehensive range of passenger airliners. Airbus is also a European leader providing tanker, combat, transport and mission aircraft, as well as one of the world’s leading space companies. In helicopters, Airbus provides the most efficient civil and military rotorcraft solutions worldwide.
Leading manufacturer of light tactical vehicles, AM General, together with the Jeep Brand of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA), introduced a new light tactical concept vehicle at the Annual Meeting and Exposition of the Association of the U.S. Army (AUSA). The Jeep Gladiator Extreme Military-Grade Truck (XMT) by AM General is the first phase of a collaboration that reunites two companies whose histories trace back to World War II. In creating the Jeep Gladiator XMT, AM General leveraged the Gladiator’s class-leading capabilities and customized the truck to meet global customers’ needs for a light-weight military truck. AM General is mostly known for turning the military-grade Humvee into the civilian Hummer, that behemoth gas guzzler that almost every person with money drove in the late ’90s and early 2000s.
AM General Jeep Gladiator XMT Light Tactical Concept Vehicle
AM General identified the all-new 2020 Jeep Gladiator – the most capable midsize truck ever, with 7,650 pounds of towing capacity and up to 1,600 pounds of payload capacity – as the ideal platform on which to develop the Extreme Military-Grade concept vehicle. The all-new Jeep Gladiator boasts unmatched functionality, versatility and especially capability – including two advanced 4×4 systems, locking differentials, skid plates, tow hooks, and incredible approach, breakover and departure angles – the perfect foundation for this ultra-capable military concept vehicle. The Jeep Gladiator XMT has been upfitted by AM General with both custom-built and commercially available military-grade parts to create an even more rugged truck that can traverse the toughest of terrains in adverse conditions and is ready to meet varied military customer requirements.
AM General Jeep Gladiator XMT Light Tactical Concept Vehicle
As with the iconic, proven and versatile Humvee, AM General can also apply its manufacturing and engineering expertise to convert the Gladiator XMT into mission-specific and purposeful light-weight tactical trucks based on customer requirements. Whether the need is to have a rugged personnel transport carrier or a command and control truck, the company has demonstrated through the Enhanced Tactical Kit (ETK) offerings on Humvee, its ability to deliver solutions that are customer-driven, and cost-effective. Pending feedback and interest in the military marketplace, production could begin in the second half of 2020. In addition to the gas model, Gladiator XMT would be offered to military customers as a diesel version.
AM General Jeep Gladiator XMT Light Tactical Concept Vehicle
All Gladiator models are Trail Rated with a badge indicating that the vehicle is designed to perform in a variety of challenging off-road conditions identified by five key consumer-oriented performance categories: traction, ground clearance, maneuverability, articulation and water fording. Gladiator Rubicon models are equipped with signature red tow hooks, Rock-Trac® 4×4 system, featuring a two-speed transfer case with a 4:1 low-range gear ratio, front and rear heavy-duty Dana 44 axles, Tru-Lok® electric front- and rear-axle lockers, segment-exclusive electronic sway bar disconnect, cab and bed rock rails and standard 33-inch Falken Wildpeak All-Terrain off-road tires.
AM General Jeep Gladiator XMT Light Tactical Concept Vehicle
Built on more than 75 years of legendary heritage, Jeep is the authentic SUV brand with class-leading capability, craftsmanship and versatility for people who seek extraordinary journeys. The Jeep brand delivers an open invitation to live life to the fullest by offering a full line of vehicles that continue to provide owners with a sense of security to handle any journey with confidence. The Jeep vehicle lineup consists of the Cherokee, Compass, Gladiator, Grand Cherokee, Renegade and Wrangler. To meet consumer demand around the world, all Jeep models sold outside North America are available in both left and right-hand drive configurations and with various gasoline and diesel powertrain options. Jeep is part of the portfolio of brands offered by global automaker Fiat Chrysler Automobiles.
AM General Jeep Gladiator XMT Light Tactical Concept Vehicle
If the U.S. Army places an order for the Gladiator XMT which would be the first American military use of what we would regard as a Jeep in decades. The CJ-5-based M38A1 was in production until 1971. And if the project receives the green light, it would mark the first time the two companies have worked together in decades as well. Production could begin in the second half of 2020. While AM General is best known for making the Humvee, which famously spawned the civilian Hummer H1 released in 1992, it owes its existence to former Jeep parent company American Motors Corporation (AMC). AMC purchased Jeep from Kaiser in 1970 and split it in two the following year. The namesake brand continued making off-roaders like the Wagoneer and the CJ for the general public, while its military-oriented General Products Division morphed into AM General Corp.
Saab has together with Boeing conducted a successful long-range test firing of the Ground-Launched Small Diameter Bomb (GLSDB) in Norway. The test firing took place at the Andøya Test Center in Andenes, Norway, September 26, 2019. The objective of the test firing was to hit a predetermined target in the sea, 130 km away from the launcher. The launcher used in the test firing was a custom made, fully autonomous, 20 foot container.
“In collaboration with Boeing, we have developed a highly competent system that offers high precision at long range. We see a lot of potential in the GLSDB, since it provides armed forces around the world with a long range artillery capability, which there is a great demand for”, says Görgen Johansson, Head of Saab business area Dynamics.
Saab and Boeing Conduct Successful Test Firing of Ground-Launched Small Diameter Bomb
GLSDB is a partnership between Saab and Boeing. The GLSDB system stands out with its high accuracy over long ranges, and has the ability to fly complex trajectories and manoeuvres to strike targets that cannot be reached by conventional direct and indirect fire weapons. It is launcher independent, which means that it can be fired from a containerised solution, as well as any launcher capable of using the M26 launch pod container e.g. HIMARS, M270 and ChunMoo. The containerised solution can also be used onboard ships, providing GLSDB with the ability be fired from both land and sea assets.
“Boeing and Saab bring together deep knowledge of precision weapon systems and the ability to rapidly integrate and test solutions,” said Cindy Gruensfelder, vice president, Boeing Weapons. “Combining our companies’ expertise, experience and resources have resulted in an advanced, cost efficient, supportable global rocket artillery solution that brings warfighters the level of capability needed to combat current and future threats in a joint force environment.”
GLSDB gives land and naval forces a mobile, organic capability to hit targets that were previously out of their reach. This is achieved by taking advantage of the Small Diameter Bomb’s inherent manoeuvrability and accuracy. GLSDB is the ultimate long-range solution, combining affordability and performance, and meets the evolving needs of armed forces today and tomorrow.
Saab and Boeing Conduct Successful Test Firing of Ground-Launched Small Diameter Bomb
BAE Systems Plc may win U.S. Army approval as soon as next month for full-rate production of self-propelled howitzers after the $10 billion program was hobbled by several years of delays over defects. The company has been assembling the weapons system since October 2013 under low-rate contracts as it produced the vehicles late and with numerous welding defects. Deliveries were halted for six months in 2017 because of welding flaws that required the return for repairs of 50 of 86 vehicles already delivered. Since then, London-based BAE has invested $200 million in improvements at its factory in York, Pennsylvania.
BAE’s $10 Billion Howitzer Project Improves After Years of Flaws
The 155mm Paladin howitzer and the ammunition carrier that accompanies it are the centerpiece of the Army’s artillery plans as it shifts its focus to countering Russia after 18 years of emphasizing the defeat of terrorists. It’s part of the service’s “Long-Range Precision Fires” capability, which tops its list of modernization priorities. The weapon is scheduled to be upgraded in the next few years with a new Extended Range Cannon designed to match Russian systems in Europe. BAE Systems “is slowly making progress” by “providing high quality vehicles at improved production rates,”.
Sikorsky, a Lockheed Martin company (NYSE: LMT), today introduced RAIDER X™, its concept for an agile, lethal and survivable compound coaxial helicopter, specifically designed for securing vertical lift dominance against evolving peer and near-peer threats on the future battlefield. Through the U.S. Army’s Future Attack Reconnaissance Aircraft (FARA) program, RAIDER X is the out-front platform in the Service’s revolutionary approach for rapid development and delivery of game changing technology and warfighter capabilities, equipped for the most demanding and contested environments. RAIDER X enables the reach, protection and lethality required to remain victorious in future conflicts.
“RAIDER X converges everything we’ve learned in years of developing, testing and refining X2 Technology and delivers warfighters a dominant, survivable and intelligent system that will excel in tomorrow’s battlespace where aviation overmatch is critical,” said Frank St. John, executive vice president of Lockheed Martin Rotary and Mission Systems. “The X2 Technology family of aircraft is a low-risk solution and is scalable based on our customers’ requirements.”
RAIDER X draws on Lockheed Martin’s broad expertise in developing innovative systems using the latest digital design and manufacturing techniques. Sikorsky’s RAIDER X prototype offers:
Exceptional Performance: The X2 rigid rotor provides increased performance including; highly responsive maneuverability, enhanced low-speed hover, off-axis hover, and level acceleration and braking. These attributes make us unbeatable at the X.
Agile, Digital Design: State-of-the-art digital design and manufacturing is already in use on other Lockheed Martin and Sikorsky production programs such as CH-53K, CH-148 and F-35, and will enable the Army to not only lower the acquisition cost, but enable rapid, affordable upgrades to stay ahead of the evolving threat.
Adaptability: Modern open systems architecture (MOSA)-based avionics and mission systems, offering “plug-and-play” options for computing, sensors, survivability and weapons, benefiting lethality and survivability, operational mission tailoring and competitive acquisitions.
Sustainable/Maintenance: Designed to decrease aircraft operating costs by utilizing new technologies to shift from routine maintenance and inspections to self-monitoring and condition-based maintenance, which will increase aircraft availability, reduce sustainment footprint forward and enable flexible maintenance operating periods.
Growth/Mission Flexibility: Focused on the future and ever evolving threat capabilities, X2 compound coaxial technology provides unmatched potential and growth margin for increased speed, combat radius and payload. This potential and growth margin further enables operational mission flexibility which includes a broader range of aircraft configurations and loadouts to accommodate specific mission requirements.
The nationwide supply team that Sikorsky has comprised to build RAIDER X will join company leaders today to introduce RAIDER X during the annual conference of the Association of the United States Army in Washington, D.C.
“RAIDER X is the culmination of decades of development, and a testament to our innovation and passion for solving our customers’ needs,” said Sikorsky President Dan Schultz. “By leveraging the strength of the entire Lockheed Martin Corporation, we will deliver the only solution that gives the U.S. Army the superiority needed to meet its mission requirements.”
Sikorsky Introduces RAIDER X™, A NextGen Light-Attack Reconnaissance Helicopter Based On Its Proven X2 Technology
Proven X2 Technology: Scalable, Sustainable, Affordable
With RAIDER X, Sikorsky introduces the latest design in its X2 family of aircraft. To date, X2 aircraft have achieved/demonstrated:
Speeds in excess of 250 knots
High altitude operations in excess of 9,000 feet
Low-speed and high-speed maneuver envelopes out to 60+ degrees angle of bank
ADS-33B (Aeronautical Design Standard) Level 1 handling qualities with multiple pilots
Flight controls optimization and vibration mitigation
“The power of X2 is game changing. It combines the best elements of low-speed helicopter performance with the cruise performance of an airplane,” said Sikorsky experimental test pilot Bill Fell, a retired Army pilot who has flown nearly every RAIDER test flight. “Every flight we take in our S-97 RAIDER today reduces risk and optimizes our FARA prototype, RAIDER X.”
The development of X2 Technology and the RAIDER program has been funded entirely by significant investments by Sikorsky, Lockheed Martin and industry partners.
Leonardo has signed a contract with Guardia di Finanza valued at over 150 million euros for the supply of three ATR 72MPs and related technical-logistic support services. This contract completes the acquisition of four aircraft, the first order was placed in July 2018, awarded under a European tender. The first aircraft will be delivered by the end of 2019, with the remaining three units expected to be supplied by 2022.
Alessandro Profumo, CEO of Leonardo, said: “We are proud that Guardia di Finanza has chosen to rely once again on our ATR 72MP, an aircraft which fully represents Leonardo’s technological capabilities in terms of design and integration of platforms and systems at the highest levels.”
Lucio Valerio Cioffi, Aircraft Division MD at Leonardo, said: “The ATR 72MP combines reliability, low operating costs, all the advantages of the ATR 72-600 regional passenger transport aircraft together with a state-of-the-art mission system.”
Contract Valued at Over 150 Million Euros with Guardia di Finanza for the Supply of Three ATR 72MPs and Logistic Support Services
The ATR 72MP will be integrated into the aeronautical capabilities of Guardia di Finanza, in the context of the multiple roles assigned to the Corps by the current regulatory framework. The Guardia di Finanza is the only law enforcement agency with general jurisdiction capable of exercising incisive and constant supervisory activities along the entire national coastal development and in international waters, carried out also due to the advanced technological equipment installed on its own aircraft.
Specific latest-generation capabilities embedded for the first time into the ATR 72MP will be useful to support dedicated surveillance activities entrusted to the Guardia di Finanza.
The ATR 72MP will operate in air-sea patrol and search missions, using on-board sensors to identify, even discreetly, sensitive objects, monitor their behavior, acquire evidence, and lead the intervention of naval units and land patrols.
The ATR 72MP – already in service with the Italian Armed Forces in a military version called P-72A – is equipped with the modular Leonardo ATOS (Airborne Tactical Observation and Surveillance) mission system. The ATOS manages the wide range of sensors of the aircraft, combining the information received in an overall tactical situation and presenting the results to the operators of the mission system in the most suitable format, providing an excellent and constantly updated scenario.
Thanks to its commercial derivation, the ATR 72MP delivers its crew levels of ergonomics that increase its efficiency and effectiveness during maritime patrol, search and identification missions, SAR (search and rescue) missions, counter drug trafficking, piracy, smuggling and preventing any illegal action across the territorial waters, which can typically last more than 8 hours.
Utilizing the next generation of digital controls to enrich our power conversion and energy management capabilities, Northrop Grumman has developed a suite of power solutions using a modular, scalable, and flexible architecture. Northrop Grumman solutions can be configured to support a system, a collection of systems, or a complete platform. For large dynamic shipboard loads, Northrop Grumman has used our building blocks to create a modular and flexible Prime Power Equipment (PPE) architecture. Our power system is designed to support the wide range of electrical input power that can be present with shipboard systems and to operate within the harsh maritime environment. Additional modules or cabinets can be added as the application dictates. While Northrop Grumman has developed power quality control techniques that have been shown to save 80% or more in required energy storage, our systems can be expanded to include additional storage as the mission CONOPS requires.
Northrop Grumman’s Integrated Power & Energy Systems (IPES)
Northrop Grumman embedded machinery control systems take advantage of Northrop Grumman lower power, modular electronics building blocks and real-time digital control products. These software-enabled control systems provide a tremendous level of flexibility and control over the machines, incorporating advanced control concepts in coordination with the overall electrical system and network controls. The result is a highly integrated system that is better suited to address transient and dynamic conditions as well as optimize component performance. The resulting reduction in size and weight are highly desirable in an environment where space is at a premium.
Northrop Grumman’s Integrated Power & Energy Systems (IPES)
Northrop Grumman specializes in advanced power and control systems in the maritime environment and beyond. Northrop Grumman have designed modular and scalable power conversion and energy management solutions applicable at the system, enclave, and enterprise level. Northrop Grumman solutions are ideal in supporting the dynamic loads associated with advanced directed energy, radiated energy, and kinetic energy weapons and systems. We support our customer across the entire life cycle from requirements and architecture development to logistics and field support. Northrop Grumman experience across the entire electrical spectrum from generation to weapon system dynamics is key to providing an optimized solution and to effectively exploit system capabilities and provide efficiencies in the electrical system other integrators often overlook.
Northrop Grumman has been pushing the state-of-the-art with power quality controls, incorporation of energy storage, and the ability to support a variety of dynamic loads with the same power conversion equipment. We are proud to produce the most power dense, reliable, and robust military power and energy systems available, poised to support the needs of today and the fight of tomorrow.
