04 August 2022
by Oishee Majumdar
Rocket Lab launched NROL-199, co-developed by the US NRO and the Australian DoD, with the help of its Electron rocket from a spaceport in New Zealand's Māhia Peninsula on 4 August. (Rocket Lab )
The second of the two surveillance satellites co-developed by the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) of the United States and the Australian Department of Defence (DoD) was launched by the US-based Rocket Lab from its spaceport in New Zealand's Māhia Peninsula on 4 August.
The US NRO and Rocket Lab confirmed the launch of this second satellite, named ‘Antipodean Adventure' or NROL-199, on Twitter.
The first satellite named ‘Wise One Looks Ahead' or NROL-162 along with NROL-199 “carry national security payloads” designed and built by the US NRO in partnership with the Australian DoD, a spokesperson for the NRO told Janes on 3 August.
The two agencies will collaborate in operating these satellites, the spokesperson said.
The spokesperson said that the NROL-162 and NROL-199 “missions are the latest examples of NRO's commitment to enhancing relationships” with the US' “allies and partners and demonstrates NRO's capability to consecutively launch multiple rockets from overseas locations”.
24 April 2024
by Jeremy Binnie
A still from a video released on 21 April shows the Iraqi Army Aviation Command stand at IQDEX in Baghdad. (Iraqi Ministry of Defence)
Iraqi Army Aviation Command (IAAC) has confirmed it has ordered, if not already received, Chinese-made CH-5 unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs).
The command's stand at the International Defense Exhibition in Iraq (IQDEX) held in Baghdad from 20 to 23 April was decorated with posters that showed all the aircraft it has in service, which included the CH-5 next to the CH-4 UAV operated by its 100 Squadron.
Earlier reports that Iraq had acquired CH-5s were based on a photograph that circulated on social media in September 2023 showing a man holding a certificate in front of a projected image that identified the event as the “closing ceremony for CH-5 training” above Iraqi and Chinese flags.
A second photograph purportedly of the certificate showed it was for the successful completion of the CH-5 theoretical, practical, and flight training courses. While the graduate's name was obscured, it had stamps from the Iraqi military attaché office in China as well as the Chinese companies Poly Technologies and CH UAV Science and Technology Company.
24 April 2024
by Zach Rosenberg
A GA-ASI Mojave UAV performs a gun-run with a Dillon DAP-6 podded minigun. (GA-ASI)
General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc (GA-ASI) has tested a podded gun on its Mojave short take-off and landing (STOL) unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), the company said in a 23 April release.
GA-ASI mounted two Dillon DAP-6 podded miniguns to the Mojave and tested the combination at the Yuma Proving Ground in Arizona on 13 April. The Mojave performed seven gun-runs during two flights, expending around 10,000 rounds of ammunition against “a variety of targets”, according to GA-ASI. A video accompanying the release showed the UAV destroying a pickup truck.
“For this live-fire demonstration, our goal was to validate the [Mojave's] battlefield relevance,” GA-ASI told Janes on 23 April. “As such, the effort was done completely using GA-ASI's [internal research and development funding], but we believe that successfully demonstrating this capability is of considerable interest to potential customers.”
Integrating the gun pods took “about 70 business days” to complete, added the company.
23 April 2024
by Jeremy Binnie
Chad's new Aksungur is seen warming up for take-off in a still from a video released by the AAT. (Armée de l'Air Tchadienne)
The Chadian Air Force (AAT) has revealed it has received at least one Turkish Aerospace (TUSAŞ) Aksungur unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV).
It released a video on 21 April that included footage of an Aksungur with AAT markings and the Turkish-format serial 23013 taking off from Adji Kosseï Air Base at N'Djamena International Airport armed with eight MAM-L small laser-guided bombs. The video also featured AAT personnel being trained by TUSAŞ in Türkiye.
The AAT operates at least two TUSAŞ Anka UAVs and three TUSAŞ Hürkuş-C turboprop light-attack aircraft, which were unveiled when President General Mahamat Idriss Déby Itno visited Adji Kosseï Air Base in July 2023.
The second of the two surveillance satellites co-developed by the National Reconnaissance Office (NR...
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