17 December 2021
by Alessandra Giovanzanti
On 17 December, Korea Aerospace Industries announced it won a contract to develop and manufacture four Baekdu-II ISR aircraft system, which will be based on the Dassault Falcon 2000LXS (shown here). (Korea Aerospace Industries)
Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) has been awarded a KRW800 billion (USD675 million) contract to develop and manufacture four intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) aircraft systems for the Republic of Korea Air Force (RoKAF) under the second phase of the Baekdu project.
The contract, awarded by South Korea's Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) and announced by KAI on 17 December, is due to be completed by the end of 2026 and will develop the new ISR system that will replace the four Hawker 800SIG Peace Pioneer reconnaissance aircraft that first entered service with the RoKAF in 2001.
The company had previously announced in early November that the new Baekdu ISR aircraft will be based on the Dassault Falcon 2000LXS business jet and that mission systems will be developed in co-operation with LiG Nex1.
24 June 2022
by Ashley Roque
Douglas Bush (left), then the Acting Assistant Secretary of the Army for Acquisition, Logistics, and Technology, and Timothy Goddette (right), at a ceremony at the Detroit Arsenal in Michigan in May 2021. (Ted Beupre)
Douglas Bush's tenure helping guide and craft defence policy from the legislative side of the government is a driving force behind several key priorities guiding his time as the Assistant Secretary of the US Army for Acquisition, Logistics, and Technology, he recently told Janes .
After a handful of years donning the army uniform, Bush spent nearly two decades as a Congressional staff member, including 14 years working for the House Armed Services Committee. On this committee, he helped lawmakers craft their annual defence oversight bill at a time when the army encountered several high-profile acquisition setbacks including the demise of the Future Combat System (FCS), Armed Reconnaissance Helicopter, and Ground Combat Vehicle programme.
23 June 2022
by Amael Kotlarski
Meprolight Tigon, which was unveiled at Eurosatory 2022. (Meprolight)
Meprolight, part of the SK Group, provided further details of its recently unveiled Tigon hybrid sight at Eurosatory 2022 in Paris.
The Tigon combines a standard red-dot-type sight with a thermal sight in a single unit, with the ability to seamlessly transition from the red dot to the thermal channel.
The day sight is similar to the company's existing Mepro M5, offering a wide field-of-view (FOV) window used to display the sight's reticle. The model shown at Eurosatory used an outer interrupted ring with an inner aiming dot.
Four brightness settings are available on the sight, which can be manually adjusted using the push buttons on the left-hand side of the sight housing. Alternatively, the sight features a sensor that can automatically adjust the brightness of the reticle based on ambient light levels.
23 June 2022
by Gareth Jennings
A full-scale mock-up of the Eurofighter EK (formerly ECR) was displayed at ILA 2022, complete with an electronic attack pod in the foreground. (Janes/Gareth Jennings)
The Luftwaffe's commitment to field an airborne electronic attack (AEA) capability for NATO has slipped by at least three years, with an overdue formal requirement expected to be launched by the Bundeswehr in the coming months.
Industry officials told Janes at the ILA Berlin Air Show on 22 June that the previously stated timeline of 2025 for fielding the Luftgestützte Wirkung im Elektromagnetischen Spektrum (luWES) mission for NATO has slipped to 2028, with the German Ministry of Defence (MoD) expected to launch a market survey in support of the capability before the end of 2022.
Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) has been awarded a KRW800 billion (USD675 million) contract to deve...
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