The United States has delivered the first of three Beechcraft King Air 350ER aircraft to Canada for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance operations. The Army Program Executive Office’s Aviation Fixed Wing Project Office turned over the ISR platform on Feb. 22 at L3Harris Technologies’ facility in Greenville, Texas. L3Harris won the contract in November 2020 to...
Mine warfare units from the United States, Australia and New Zealand participated in Exercise Dugong 24, which tested their capabilities to neutralize sea mines. The training ran from March 4 to 22 and involved integration, training and tactical stages, with the latter phase tasking the participants to conduct mine countermeasures and explosive ordnance disposal operations....
The Australian Department of Defence has announced the appointment of Emily Hilder as head of the Advanced Strategic Capabilities Accelerator, a new government agency formed in May 2023 to transition game-changing concepts into capabilities that provide a warfighting advantage to the Australian Defence Force. The department said Hilder brings 20 years of industry and academic...
New Zealand’s first C-130J Super Hercules has completed its initial test flights in the United States. The Lockheed Martin-manufactured aircraft flew for 246 minutes over Georgia and Alabama, achieving an altitude of 10,500 feet and traveling a span of 984 kilometers, Auckland said. Defence Minister Judith Collins described the test flights as a significant milestone...
Lockheed Martin detected space objects using its AN/Spy-7(v)1 radar for Aegis system-equipped vessels during the technology’s first live track demonstration. From the company’s facility in Moorestown, New Jersey, the solid-state radar transmitted data to Amazon Web Services for processing. “The Spy-7 radar product line uses technology from the long-range discrimination radar program to enhance overall strength against evolving threats,” said Chandra...
Australian space startup Hypersonix Launch Systems has appointed Arthur Sinodinos as board chair, replacing David Waterhouse, who now assumes the deputy chair role. Sinodinos, who co-chairs the AUKUS Forum, formerly served as a senator for New South Wales and Australia’s ambassador to the United States from February 2020 to March 2023. He also held other...
U.S.-based defense technology company Shield AI is expanding its business in Australia with the acquisition of Sentient Vision Systems, a company that provides artificial intelligence-enabled imagery. On Thursday, Shield AI announced its “definitive agreement” with the Australian firm to “merge AI expertise and operational understanding to deliver superior intelligence surveillance and reconnaissance capabilities.” The two sides...
BAE Systems has selected South Australian company Airspeed to supply a critical component of the U.K. Royal Navy’ Hunter-class frigates. Under the subcontract, Airspeed, provider of composite materials for the aerospace, maritime and energy sectors, will build the replenishment at sea stump masts for the first batch of the upcoming frigates. The stump masts enable the...
Ultra Intelligence & Communications has introduced its Archer family of troposcatter beyond-line-of-sight communication systems for the global defense market. The company said Archer has demonstrated the capability of sustained communications beyond 185 kilometers and meets the U.S. Army’s standards for a secure communication platform. Chris Bishop, Ultra I&C chief growth officer and a Potomac Officers...
The Italian Navy has assumed command of Combined Task Force 153, taking over from the U.S. Navy. Italy’s Capt. Roberto Messina formally replaced his American counterpart, Capt. David Cole, during a change of command ceremony at the Combined Maritime Forces headquarters in Manama, Bahrain, on Wednesday. In his address at the event, Messina said he...
