09 November 2021
by Pat Host
Beechcraft King Air 350ERs integrated with Sierra Nevada Mission Enhancement Kits for the US Army's Enhanced Medium Altitude Reconnaissance and Surveillance System fleet of aircraft. The US Army has procured 16 King Air 350ER MEKs. SNC delivered the ninth system in November. (Sierra Nevada Corp)
Sierra Nevada Corp (SNC) has delivered two Beechcraft King Air 350ERs integrated with Mission Enhancement Kits (MEKs) to the US Army for its fleet of Enhanced Medium Altitude Reconnaissance and Surveillance System (EMARSS) aircraft, according to a 3 November company statement.
The King Air 350ER MEK reduces aircraft weight, increases engine performance, and lowers the overall sound signature to improve the platform's capabilities in high-altitude areas. The King Air 350ER MEK also enables operations on shorter runways, making the aircraft more suitable for a wider variety of operational environments.
The US Army has procured 16 King Air 350ER MEKs. SNC delivered the ninth system in November, totalling three deliveries for 2021. SNC has not responded to a request for comment at the time of publication. A request for comment was made to the US Army, too, prior to publication.
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.
23 April 2024
by Zach Rosenberg
The first of two Textron T-54s delivered to the US Navy, intended to replace the T-44s. The deliveries were announced on 22 April. (US Navy)
US Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) accepted delivery of the first two Textron T-54 Multi-Engine Training System (METS) aircraft at Naval Air Station (NAS) Corpus Christi, Texas, the service announced on 22 April. The aircraft are set to begin training students at NAS Corpus Christi's Training Air Wing Four in boreal spring 2025, the US Navy (USN) told Janes .
The USN intends to operate 64 of the Textron King Air 200-based aircraft, which will replace the Textron T-44 as the service's main twin-engine pilot training aircraft. Deliveries are set to run through 2026, and the aircraft is meant to operate until 2055.
“This aircraft brings modernised training to student naval aviators and prepares them for the advanced aircraft they will fly in the fleet,” said Captain Duane Whitmer, USN programme manager.
17 April 2024
by Jeremiah Cushman
A computer-generated image of the Hypersonix Launch Systems scramjet-powered DART hypersonic testbed. (Hypersonix Launch Systems)
Hypersonix Launch Systems, headquartered in Brisbane, is building a hypersonic test vehicle for the Defense Innovation Unit's (DIU's) hypersonic and high-cadence testing capabilities (HyCAT) programme. DIU issued a solicitation for the project in September 2022. Hypersonix Launch Systems was awarded a contract for scoping the work in March 2023, and a launch contract in September 2023, Matt Hill, Hypersonix Launch Systems CEO, told Janes on 9 April at the Navy League Sea-Air-Space 2024 global maritime exposition in National Harbor, Maryland.
The programme calls for an airborne test vehicle “that can maintain speeds above Mach 5 with a manoeuvrable/non-ballistic flight profile and at least a three-minute flight duration with near-constant flight conditions”, according to a DIU statement in April 2023.
Construction of the first DART air vehicle is under way, and Hypersonix Launch Systems recently completed the component-level preliminary design review, Hill said. Rocket Lab will provide the launch capabilities for the system for the initial test flight.
Sierra Nevada Corp (SNC) has delivered two Beechcraft King Air 350ERs integrated with Mission Enhanc...
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