Archive: News & Articles

Leonardo has received a $176.5 million contract for the production of the first batch of 32 TH-73A helicopters in support of the Advanced Helicopter Training System (AHTS) programme. Under the Advanced Helicopter Training System (AHTS) programme, the U.S. Navy has selected Leonardo’s TH-119 single-engine IFR helicopter to replace the ageing and increasingly difficult to maintain […]

Yesterday Boeing submitted its response to the call for tenders for Germany’s future heavy transport helicopter (STH). The invitation to tender was published by the German procurement agency BAAINBw in June 2019. The contract for the procurement of 44 to 60 helicopters, including maintenance, repair and training, is expected to be awarded in 2021. Boeing […]

Indra and the Galician company Gaerum have been working together on Targus, one of the largest civil drones in Europe, for several years. This work has now been rewarded by the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), that approved Targus to start flight tests. It is the first time that a 1.25-ton aircraft prepared to fly […]

Randall Howard is Director of Business Development for the integrated F-16/F-21 Fighter Group at Lockheed-Martin. He is the company’s primary interface and senior advisor for developing and maintaining key customer relationships, strategies, proposal development and transition plans to support and generate new business for the F-16 line, including the F-21, as it is called for […]

Azeri sources have recently confirmed to ES&D that a number of ROKETSAN-built SOM-B1 ALCMs have been acquired. While a sale of JF-17 “Thunder” to Azerbaijan has not been realized – this rumor exists since 2016 – the only possible Azeri platforms in which SOM could be integrated are the MiG-29 and Su-25, of which the […]

“The FCAS program will entail a tremendous development opportunity for the Spanish industry, and it will consolidate the sector’s position in the competitive arena introduced by the new Europe with its focus on Defence,” said Manuel Rodríguez Cerezo, CAS program director at Indra, at the work meeting convened by the Centre for the Development of […]

The future helmets of German helicopter crews have been chosen. German procurement agency BAAINBw has awarded contract on the future “Standard Helicopter-Crew Helmet” (SFH) to ESG, with Autoflug as subcontractor. Within this contract pilot’s helmet previously used by the German Armed Forces in various configurations will be gradually replaced by a standard, state-of-the-art pilot’s helmet […]

Airbus remains optimistic about sales opportunities of the PZL-130 Orlik on new export markets, as the manufacturer continues delivery of modernized trainer aircraft to the Polish Air Force. “The upgrade of the Orlik is basically structured in three different contracts,” said Manuel Heredia Ortiz, CEO, Airbus Poland S.A., adding that between 2016-2017, when the Polish […]

FLIR Systems has introduced the StormCaster family of Unmanned Aerial System (UAS) payloads for its SkyRanger R70 and R80D SkyRaider airframes. The new line launches with two multi-sensor products – StormCaster-T, which delivers continuous zoom and longwave infrared (LWIR) imaging; and StormCaster-L, which provides ultra-low-light imaging, tracking, and mapping. The next generation line of UAS […]

Polish WB Group has expanded its sales offer of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) by the introduction of new variants of its battle proven, renowned and highly demanded Warmate loitering munition system. The new assortment now includes also a tube launched variant developed in partnership with Rheinmetall as well as a vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) […]

Last week marked a milestone for ESA’s Proba-2 satellite: 10 years of operation in orbit around the Earth. Since its launch on November 2, 2009, the Proba-2 satellite (PRoject for OnBoard Autonomy) has probed the intricacies of the Sun and its connection to our planet, imaging and observing our star and investigating how it drives […]

The Hellenic Air Force (HAF) will conduct a series of demonstration flights for European countries together with General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. (GA-ASI) this December. The demonstration configuration is based on the MQ-9 systems operated by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. Flights will base out of the HAF’s site in Larissa to showcase maritime […]

Saab announced successful results of first flight tests with its new advanced Electronic Attack Jammer Pod (EAJP). The pod forms part of Saab’s Arexis family of electronic warfare systems. Its interfaces with the aircraft’s hardware and software as well as cockpit control and monitoring were tested during the flight. This new EAJP pod can protect […]

Logos Technologies presented its airborne, platform-flexible Multi-Modal Sensor Pod (MMSP) for the first time at AUSA. The Pod is 160 cm long, 40 cm wide and 48 cm high. It weighs around 45 kg. The MMSP consists of a wide-area motion imagery (WAMI) system, a wide-area hyperspectral imager, a high-resolution spotter, and an onboard embedded […]

Together with the German Aerospace Centre (Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt – DLR) Diehl and HENSOLDT carried out flight tests for a new sensor system to increase air safety in July and August. The objective is to prevent aircraft collisions. In the future, the sensors tested for detecting and avoiding collisions (Sense & Avoid) […]

The Helicopter Division of Leonardo has delivered the 1,000th AW139, assigned to the Italian Customs Police (Guardia di Finanza) on September 20. A historical milestone for a rotary-wing development and certification programme which was publicly launched in 1998 and which was celebrated by Leonardo at its historical assembly line facility at Vergiate (Varese), near Milan. […]

Lately, it has emerged that the Ministry of Defence (MoD) of Slovakia intends to start a procurement programme for a number of modern trainer aircraft, which will allow for the training of a new generation of pilots, who in the next years will start operating a fleet of 14 F-16V Block 70/72 multirole fighter jets, […]

The leading British defence companies including BAE Systems, Leonardo UK, Rolls Royce and MBDA UK, together with key Italian industry players represented by Leonardo Italy, Elettronica, Avio Aero and MBDA Italy, announced their intent to partner on the Tempest programme by signing a Statement of Intent (SOI) on the second day of DSEI 2019. The […]

From August 27 to September 01, 2019, the XIV edition of the MAKS International Aerospace Salon took place at the Zhukovsky airfield in the vicinity of Moscow. The fair was attended by 870 companies from 33 countries, including 184 international companies. The organisers counted over 578 thousand visitors and estimated the amount of contracts concluded […]

GE has recently presented its Catalyst, a new, clean-sheet turboprop engine developed entirely in Europe with all EU technologies. This engine has taken another important step in its development and certification programme. The company announced it has successfully completing altitude testing at Canada’s National Research Council Altitude Test Facility, where the engine has been tested […]

According to Chinese media, the newly developed stealth fighter J-20 has now been selected as the aircraft for the next generation of Chinese aircraft carriers. The J-20, developed by Chengdu Aerospace Corporation (CAC), has thus prevailed over the F-31 presented by Shendyang Aircraft Corporation (SAC), which produces the previous J-15 carrier aircraft. Both are subsidiaries […]