20 October 2022
by Gareth Jennings
An image of a Reaper with Polish markings accompanied the leasing announcement by Mariusz Błaszczak, deputy prime minister and defence minister. (Ministry of National Defence via Twitter)
Poland is to lease a General Atomics Aeronautical Systems Inc (GA-ASI) MQ-9 Reaper as an interim solution until it can field its own national medium-altitude long-endurance (MALE) unmanned aircraft system (UAS) capability.
Mariusz Błaszczak, the country's deputy prime minister and defence minister, made the disclosure on 21 October, announcing on his official Twitter account that the Reaper is being leased as “a bridging solution” for intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR).
“Another investment in the security of Poland. We have signed a lease agreement for [the Polish Armed Forces] for the MQ-9A Reaper unmanned reconnaissance system. It's a bridging solution. We will use it until we acquire our own unmanned reconnaissance system,” he said, illustrating his message with an image of Reaper serial number N508HK with Polish Air Force markings.
Błaszczak did not disclose how many Reaper systems or air vehicles Poland is leasing, or for how long.
25 April 2024
by Victor Barreira
A Brazilian Air Force Embraer EMB 314 Super Tucano light attack/counter-insurgency aircraft. The details of Brazil's fleet upgrade are as yet undisclosed. (Janes/Gareth Jennings)
Embraer Defense and Security is to carry out the mid-life upgrade (MLU) of 68 of the EMB 314 (locally designated A-29) Super Tucano training and light attack aircraft of the Brazilian Air Force, the service's commander Lieutenant Brigadier Marcelo Kanitz Damasceno said on 17 April during a presentation to the Brazilian Committee on Foreign Relations and National Defense.
The MLU is intended to extend the lifespan of the aircraft by up to 25 years, Lt Brig Damasceno said, and follows a June 2023 agreement between Embraer and the Brazilian Air Force to study a technological refresh of the Super Tucanos, although details were not disclosed.
Brazil purchased 25 A-29A and 51 A-29B aircraft in 2001, adding eight A-29As and 15 A-29Bs in 2005. The fleet was received between 2003 and 2012.
For more information, please seeEmbraer sees market for 490 Super Tucanos .
25 April 2024
by Gareth Jennings
The RACER high-speed helicopter departed Marignane on its maiden flight on 25 April. (Airbus)
Airbus Helicopters has flown its Rapid and Cost-Efficient Rotorcraft (RACER) concept for the first time, the company announced on 25 April.
The milestone took place at Airbus Helicopters' Marignane production facility in southern France, with the maiden flight lasting for approximately 30 minutes during which the aircraft's flight characteristics were assessed.
“This important milestone launches the flight campaign, which will take two years and will aim to progressively open the aircraft's flight envelope and demonstrate its high-speed capabilities,” Airbus said.
First revealed at the Paris Air Show in 2017, the RACER is geared towards providing the best trade-off between speed, cost-efficiency, sustainability, and mission performance. The concept has a stated goal of a cruise speed of more than 400 km/h (250 mph).
25 April 2024
by Gareth Jennings
An artist's impression of a demonstration announced on 25 April, in which QinetiQ for the first time in the UK demonstrated MUM-T between jet aircraft. (QinetiQ)
QinetiQ has for the first time in the UK demonstrated manned-unmanned teaming (MUM-T) between jet aircraft.
Announced by the company on 25 April, the demonstration at the Ministry of Defence (MoD) Boscombe Down site in southern England saw a manned BAe 146 testbed aircraft provide inflight tasking to a modified unmanned Banshee Jet 80 target drone.
“The success of this trial demonstrates that the combination of [MUM-T] between current front-line combat aircraft and next-generation drones can be potentially achieved successfully with the existing combat air fleet, while offering the potential to increase combat capability in an affordable manner,” QinetiQ said, adding that the mission was completed not only by the live Banshee but also a number of digital Banshees within a live-virtual swarm.
For the demonstration, the Banshee was equipped with QinetiQ's Airborne Command and Control for Swarm Interoperable Missions (ACCSIOM) technology, which, the company said, enabled the drone to communicate with the manned aircraft using the same messaging format as the standard NATO Link 16 datalink.
Poland is to lease a General Atomics Aeronautical Systems Inc (GA-ASI) MQ-9 Reaper as an interim sol...
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