26 November 2021
by Nicholas Fiorenza
Lithuania's OPV Dzūkas is one of four Lithuanian OPVs that will receive a GEM Elettronica Columbus Mk2 3D navigation radar from Leonardo. (Lithuanian MND)
Lithuania has ordered GEM Elettronica Columbus Mk2 3D navigation radars from Leonardo for its offshore patrol vessels (OPVs), the Ministry of National Defence (MND) confirmed to Janes on 19 November.
The ministry announced on its website on 27 October that the EUR7.9 million (USD8.9 million) contract was signed the previous week, with its Defence Resource Agency carrying out the procurement. Leonardo will install and integrate the radars, provide technical documentation, and train their operators by the end of 2023.
The radars will be installed on Lithuania's former Royal Danish Navy (RDN) Flyvefisken‐class (Standard Flex 300) Žemaitis , Dzūkas , Aukštaitis , and Sėlis OPVs. Identification friend or foe antennas will also be integrated into the radars.
25 March 2024
by Zach Rosenberg
The CT-155 Hawks are retired, and despite the RCAF's plans it remains unclear when fighter pilot training will return to Canada. (BAE Systems)
The Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) has retired its fleet of BAE Systems CT-155 Hawk fighter lead-in training aircraft, according to a 4 March release by the service.
The NATO Flying Training in Canada (NFTC) operated 17 CT-155s from Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan, with the first delivered in 2000.
“With the Hawk reaching the end of its service life after 20 years, Canada, along with many countries is faced with the challenges of what will be the next jet trainer in a world of fifth-generation fighter aircraft,” Colonel Adam Carlson, director of Royal Canadian Air Force training, said in an 8 March statement.
The RCAF already sends some trainees to the Euro-NATO Joint Jet Pilot Training (ENJJPT) programme at Sheppard AFB, Texas, which currently hosts five Canadian instructor pilots and up to six Canadian students. The number of students has been upped to seven, said the RCAF. Additional students are to be sent to the International Flying Training School at Decimomannu, Italy, the RCAF told Janes on 18 March.
14 March 2024
by Zach Rosenberg
The 36th F-35, delivered in 2014, was CF-19, the US Marine Corps' first F-35C carrier variant. The Milestone C decision has slipped for nearly a decade beyond initial projections, even as the production has continued. (Lockheed Martin)
The US Department of Defense (DoD) approved the Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II to enter full-rate production, according to a 12 March announcement, even as deliveries remain suspended.
William LaPlante, the DoD undersecretary of defence for Acquisition and Sustainment, signed the full-rate production/Milestone C approval, allowing the programme to transition from low-rate initial production (LRIP).
“This decision – backed by my colleagues in the [DoD] – highlights to the services, F-35 co-operative programme partners, and Foreign Military Sales (FMS) customers that the F-35 is stable and agile, and that all statutory and regulatory requirements have been appropriately addressed,” LaPlante said in the announcement.
“[The Director, Operational Test and Evaluation] conducted [an] analysis of the results from initial operational test and evaluation and live-fire test and evaluation and delivered a comprehensive, combined report as required by statute to inform the Milestone C/full-rate production decision,” said Raymond O'Toole, Jr, the DoD's acting director of operational test and evaluation.
13 March 2024
by Meredith Roaten
The US Army's Precision Strike Missile is meant to strike targets as far as 400 km away. (US Army)
The multimode seeker that makes the US Army's Precision Strike Missile Increment 2 (PrSM Inc 2) unique and more advanced than Inc 1 is holding the capability back from its scheduled procurement in fiscal year (FY) 2025, according to budget documents.
While Inc 1 is designed for land targets, it is the Land-Based Anti-Ship Missile multimode seeker that enables Inc 2 to perform maritime targeting for the army. The service is requesting funding for 230 PrSM Inc 1 missiles – an increase from 190 missiles the service planned to purchase for FY 2025 in the 2024 budget request – but Inc 2 procurement has been pushed back to FY 2026, Major General Joe Hilbert, director of force development and deputy chief of staff (G-8), told reporters on 12 March.
“The bottom line is that technology was not ready, not mature enough to go into procurement in [FY 20]25,” Maj Gen Hilbert said. The seeker needs more time to mature, but he declined to provide more engineering details.
Lithuania has ordered GEM Elettronica Columbus Mk2 3D navigation radars from Leonardo for its offsho...
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