22 February 2024
by Ridzwan Rahmat
A model of the N219 at Singapore Airshow 2022. (Janes/Ridzwan Rahmat)
State-owned aerospace company PT Dirgantara Indonesia (PTDI) has secured its first-ever contract for the N219 twin-turboprop aircraft with a military customer.
A company representative who spoke to Janes at Singapore Airshow 2024 has confirmed that a USD68 million contract for six airframes was signed with the Indonesian Ministry of Defence (MoD) in November 2023. All six units will be delivered to the Indonesian Army.
PTDI's N219 aircraft derives its design from the Airbus Military C212 Aviocar and it was first conceived in 2007 as a multimission, short take-off and landing platform that can operate from austere runways, such as those found in the remote provinces of Indonesia.
A prototype of the aircraft was completed in 2015 and it was partly funded with grants from Indonesia's Ministry of State-Owned Enterprises. The maiden flight was achieved in 2017.
The N219 has an overall length of 16.7 m, a height of 6.2 m, and a wingspan of 19.5 m. It has a maximum take-off weight of 7,030 kg (15,498 lb) and it can deliver a maximum payload of 2,313 kg (5,099 lb).
26 April 2024
by Zach Rosenberg
A Kodiak-based MH-65 trains aboard the USCGC Healy in 2022. (Janes/Michael Fabey)
The last US Coast Guard (USCG) Airbus MH-65 Dolphin in Alaska retired from Air Station Kodiak on 23 April, ending the type's 36-year employment in the service's Alaska Patrol (ALPAT) role.
“For decades, the cutter and helicopter team were the core of the ALPAT mission,” said Commander James Kenshalo, a USCG MH-65 Dolphin pilot. “Together they projected force and protection to the most extreme remote regions of our nation's territories, operating beyond where help could reach.”
Air Station Kodiak operates six Sikorsky MH-60Ts and is scheduled to receive three more in 2025. The service intends to standardise its full rescue helicopter fleet on the MH-60T, which has a longer range, greater payload capacity, and commonality with other armed service fleets. Alaska is among the first regions to complete the transition because of the long ranges required to perform rescue and security missions in the region.
26 April 2024
by Olivia Savage
Flyeye is a multiple-optics telescope with a very wide field of view that will be capable of classifying objects in space as small as 15 cm in LEO and 35 cm in MEO. The 6.5 m high and 4 m wide telescope will be used by the Italian Space Agency and military for SSA. (OHB Italia)
The Italian National Armaments Directorate (NAD) is procuring three ground-based sensors to enhance the country's space situational awareness (SSA), Janes learnt at the Military Space Situational Awareness Conference 2024, held in London from 22 to 24 April.
In total, two optical telescopes and one high-performance radar are being procured as part of its national SSA plans, Lieutenant Colonel Ferdinando Dolce, the head of SSA at NAD, said at the conference.
The first sensor being procured is a high-performance optical surveillance telescope from OHB Italia called Flyeye, Lt Col Dolce said.
Flyeye will have the capacity to monitor objects in low Earth orbit (LEO), medium Earth orbit (MEO), and geostationary orbit (GEO), Commander of the Space Situational Awareness Centre at the Italian Air Force Colonel Dario Tarantino told Janes
25 April 2024
by Oishee Majumdar
A computer-aided design model of the satellite that GalaxEye Space is developing to conduct Earth observation for defence forces. The satellite will be equipped with SAR and EO sensor for enhanced surveillance. (GalaxEye Space)
Bangalore-based GalaxEye Space is developing a satellite that can carry multiple sensors for Earth observation to support the requirements of the Indian Armed Forces.
Speaking to Janes at the Indian DefSpace Symposium 2024 held in Delhi from 18 to 20 April, Deb Jyoti Pal, senior vice-president of business development at GalaxEye said the company is planning to launch the satellite into space in early 2025 for evaluation.
This low Earth observation (LEO) satellite will host an electro-optic (EO) sensor, and a synthetic aperture radar (SAR) with both sensors capturing data simultaneously to provide a more holistic view of strategic areas of interest, Pal added.
“The SAR sensor can capture data in day and night, and in any weather condition including in foggy or cloudy environment. EO sensors are not able to do this. On the other hand, SAR data can be difficult to interpret. This is where EO data can benefit a user,” Pal said.
State-owned aerospace company PT Dirgantara Indonesia (PTDI) has secured its first-ever contract for...
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