02 February 2023
by Zach Rosenberg
The Bell 360 Invictus demonstrator, pictured in July 2021 at the halfway mark of construction, is now past 95% completion. (Bell)
The Bell 360 Invictus demonstrator, Bell Helicopters' entry for the US Army's Future Attack Reconnaissance Aircraft (FARA) contest, is 95% complete, according to Keith Flail, Bell's director of future vertical lift.
The helicopter is scheduled to begin ground testing in March–May 2023, with first flight scheduled for later in the same year – pending delivery of its General Electric (GE) T901 engine from the US Department of Defense (DoD).
Testing of the lone Bell 360 is ongoing at Bell's Amarillo factory in Texas and Fort Worth facilities. “All the gearbox testing” is effectively finished, Flail told reporters during a 27 January briefing in Fort Worth. “The [rotor] blades, they're the actual flight blade for the aircraft, not the initial process verification blades. We've gone through similar processes that we use for production programmes on all the respective subsystems by applying power to the aircraft, making sure that the electrical [system], the cockpit, the displays – all those functionals, if you will, that we can do on the aircraft, short of the engine being installed.”
24 April 2024
by Jeremiah Cushman
Saab has developed an autonomy package for its CB 90 fast boat and demonstrated its ability to navigate the Swedish coast. Pictured above is a CB 90 that was delivered to Malaysia. (Dockstavarvet)
Saab has established a new business function to revamp how it develops and delivers products to meet changing customer requirements. Skapa, a Swedish word that means “to create, to make, or to shape”, will focus on solving customer and stakeholder problems at speed, Erik Smith, president and CEO of Saab in the United States, told reporters on 23 April. “Skapa will accelerate the development and deployment of cutting-edge solutions to our warfighters” at pace, he said.
24 April 2024
by Giles Ebbutt
The XR Training consortium's USMC Amphibious Combat Vehicle driver simulator in its seat configuration with two DoF motion platform. The Vive HTC Elite headset is on the seat. The Instructor station laptop is on the table behind. (XR Training)
A consortium led by XR Training has been awarded a contract by the US Marine Corps (USMC) under an Other Transaction Agreement (OTA) to produce a driver training simulator for the new Amphibious Combat Vehicle (ACV). The value of the contract was not disclosed but Neil Levin, XR Training CEO, told Janes that it was “in the high seven-figure area”.
The consortium, which also includes Talon Simulations (hardware), 302 Interactive (software development), and Theory Studios (modelling and visuals), will deliver 81 simulators by the end of 2024, followed by a two-year training and sustainment period. Most simulators will be deployed to Camps Pendleton and Lejeune, with some for use for “schoolhouse” training and some for deploying units.
18 April 2024
by Jeremiah Cushman
Actual and planned Canadian defence spending by category from 2021–22 to 2026–27. (Janes)
The Canadian government released its fiscal year (FY) 2024 defence budget on 16 April. The document projects spending of CAD33.8 billion (USD24.6 billion) in 2024–25, including adjustments from the Budget 2023 Refocusing Government Spending Exercise and incremental funding in the 2024 budget, although it warns that forecast amounts may change as programmes move through implementation. This is an increase from the forecast CAD29.9 billion spending in 2023–24, according to the document.
The 2024–25 main estimates produced by the Treasury Board projected defence spending of CAD30.6 billion, a small increase from the latest spending estimate for 2023–24, which totalled CAD30.3 billion. This is a 14% increase over the initial 2023–24 main estimate of CAD26.5 billion, according to Treasury Board figures. Expenditures in 2022–23 totalled CAD26.9 billion.
The Bell 360 Invictus demonstrator, Bell Helicopters' entry for the US Army's Future Attack Reconnai...
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