Alligator Engineering is exhibiting with Wing Inflatable Solutions and showing their KDUCK – (FMP) Mod 2 fixture which offers a single point of attachment, suspension, and release of an unmodified P4.7 inflatable boat configured with full mission equipment to an H-60 series helicopter for Kangaroo Duck operations.
It is installed in minutes and ensures negligible aerodynamic effects to the helo throughout the flight profile.
Contact Alligator Engineering at scienceninja@md.metrocast.net
L3Harris and Air Tractor, Inc. are teamed to produce the affordable, production-ready aircraft designed for airborne intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) and strike missions in extreme combat environments.
L3Harris also will have an interactive Sky Warden systems integration lab in SOFIC Booth #813 to demonstrate the multi-sensor operator experience.
The multi-mission platform provides the operator agility and flexibility to identify, track and react to counter threats and merges the capabilities of larger ISR and armed aircraft into one resilient package. It is also capable of takeoff and landing on unimproved airstrips – allowing the aircraft to be deployed and co-located with special mission operators. Learn more at www.L3Harris.com/SkyWarden.
CHICAGO, IL – May 9, 2022 – Marshall Publishing & Promotions, Inc., in conjunction with Keeney & Company, today announced the release of the internationally popular aviation military video series, The Challenge of Flight, to major streaming channels. Originally aired on The Military Channel, The Challenge of Flight was created by pilots for pilots, military aviation enthusiasts and those interested in the history of flight.
The incredible Challenge of Flight video collection explores the many challenges faced by pilots in the air, including explosive mishaps and miraculous tales of survival. The series gives viewers an up-close and unedited look at some truly awe-inspiring moments in military aviation history as told by the pilots who experienced it all.
Producer Doug Keeney, a fighter pilot himself and author, said, “The series is a heroic piece of story-telling, a story of great personal triumph. Aviation history is marked not by nuts and bolts but by moments that gave and took lives away. It is the story of flight seen through the eyes of the military pilots who lived through it.”
The Challenge of Flight takes audiences into the cockpit to experience once-in-a-lifetime landings, life or death struggles for control off the carrier deck, horrifying ramp strikes, locked controls, burning tires, flat spins, near misses, close calls and mishaps.
Distributor Tom Edinger said, “These are the stories that pilots have talked about for years among themselves and are now revealed to us in an up-close and personal style.”
Incredible stories of survival and courage emerge from the world of military aviation every day. For those who dedicate their lives to protecting our freedom, the risks are high, but the rewards are great. From bone-jarring crashes to fiery landings, these brave men and women face challenges that would cause most of us to tremble in our boots. But they don’t give up easily, and their tenacity and skills are inspiring. The next time you see a jet fighter plane or another type of military aircraft take off or land, take a moment to think about the dedicated pilots and crew who make it all possible. They are true heroes.
The 19-episode, highly acclaimed series is available to buy, rent, or stream on Amazon Prime Video. For more information, visit thechallengeofflight.com, theusmilitarychannel.com, and watch the trailer on YouTube.
DUGWAY PROVING GROUND, Utah – Army Futures Command’s Future Vertical Lift Cross-Functional Team kicked off its annual Experimental Demonstration Gateway Event, or EDGE, on May 2 to assess new tactics, technologies and interconnecting architectures with more than 16 inter-service organizations and seven international partners.
EDGE 2022 includes progressive efforts connecting Joint All-Domain Command and Control to the lower tier of the air domain by extending the reach and lethality of the Future Attack Reconnaissance Aircraft Ecosystem to accelerate combined kill chains in all-domain operations. This year seven international partners; to include Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands and United Kingdom; are participating, some with network and weapons systems. This inclusion advances efforts to ensure integration and interoperability among allied nations.
“The EDGE experimentation is a powerful step in our transformation towards a data-centric Army,” said Lt. Gen. James Richardson, Acting Commanding General of Army Futures Command. “The effort continues our campaign of learning by focusing in on our aviation assets ability to network and utilize data as ammunition.”
EDGE22 objectives include:
Interoperability: Improve ability for allies and partners to coherently, effectively and efficiently act together to achieve tactical, operational and strategic objectives. Achieved across multiple dimensions: technical, procedural, human and information.
Network: Advance data-centric solutions and enable the speed, range and convergence to achieve decision dominance and overmatch.
Interactive Drone Swarm: Technology demonstration within Future Unmanned Aircraft System signature effort. Alters battlefield geometry providing tailored capability for threat overmatch through advanced teaming.
Multi-INT Sensors: Pursue tailorable payloads to include electronic sense, decoy and attack. Advance AI enabled aided target recognition to improve threat detect and identification.
Enhanced Sustainment: Increase systems’ reliability, availability and maintainability. Critical in contested and expeditionary logistic environments.
“We’re doing a couple really big things at EDGE22,” said Maj. Gen. Walter “Wally” Rugen, Future Vertical Lift Cross-Functional Team director. “Pulling in our international allies is an important piece, and the interactive drone swarm, testing how that needs to be fought, seeing how that concept develops and what needs to go into our doctrine. The swarm is tailored to generate overmatch, this concept of outpacing the enemy in a battlefield geometry that breaks them.”
Bottom line, he said, is that our teams are working to innovate and to “execute violently to get after innovation.” The goal is to keep pushing the envelope, working these complex problems hard and taking the risk if it’s going to bring us better knowledge.
EDGE22 is part of AFC’s Project Convergence Campaign of Learning and builds on lessons learned from previous experimentations at our nation’s Western Test Ranges, including EDGE21 at Dugway Proving Ground and Project Convergence 21 at Yuma Proving Ground, Arizona.
By Lisa Ferguson, AFC Future Vertical Lift Cross Functional Team
Maj Eric Hickernell from the 40th Flight Test Squadron flies an A-10C Thunderbolt II with Small-Diameter Bombs during a test near Eglin Air Force Base, Fla, Feb 9, 2022. The 96th Test Wing executes developmental tests of the A-10C, and improves its capability of carrying precision guided munitions and unguided munitions. (U.S. Air Force Photo by Tech. Sgt. John Raven)
Here we can see 16 Small Diameter Bombs on this A-10. As part of the A-10 Common Fleet Initiative this test integrating the BRU-61/A bomb rack transitions pylons from single weapon capacity to carrying four SDBs per position. The GPS guided, 250 lbs SDB can be released as far as 50 miles from its target. This gives the A-10 the stand off it needs to avoid many air defense systems and remain relevant well into the 2030s.
REDSTONE ARSENAL, Ala. — The U.S. Army Aviation and Missile Command hosted the Redstone Arsenal Center of Excellence — Advance Planning Briefings to Industry March 22-24 at Redstone Arsenal, Alabama.
The annual event offered transparency in acquisition strategies by providing long-range technology and capability development objectives to members of industry. It also showcased potential business opportunities available with various Team Redstone organizations.
Due to COVID-19 conditions, the event was held virtually again. Although the auditorium was nearly empty, approximately 1,000 participants tuned into the three-day forum, which was packed with presentations from senior leaders throughout the federal government, as well as civic leaders, such as Alabama Senator Tommy Tuberville, Huntsville Mayor Tommy Battle, Madison Mayor Paul Finley and Madison County Commissioner Dale Strong.
Army Materiel Command Commanding General Gen. Edward Daly was the keynote speaker and described the APBI as critical and beneficial, as it provides predictability and situational understanding to the corporate sector.
Daly outlined the four Redstone Arsenal core competencies of logistics services; space operations and missile defense; research, development, test and evaluation; and intelligence and homeland defense.
“Those are what we are focused on during APBI,” he said. “Making sure the industry partners have predictability and situational understanding on where we are going depending on what they do in support of those areas.”
He said the theme of this year’s event, “government-industry partnership to support large-scale combat operations,” is more important than ever due to the real-world events occurring in Europe.
Daly said his priorities are aligned to those of the Secretary and Chief of Staff of the Army and noted that industry partners could assist in those areas, such as modernization and identifying vulnerabilities in the supply chain — not just shortfalls and gaps, but also quality and cyber threats. His final message to the virtual audience was a reminder that when it comes to industry, the size of the company does not matter.
“This is not just about large industry partners; this is also about small businesses,” Daly said. “We have balanced this approach very carefully so that so we can simultaneously take care of small business efforts, as well as our corporate partners. We have a common bottom line, and that’s the support of the warfighter — that’s our single, common bond — our ability in those partnerships to take the right actions to support the warfighter.”
More than half of the 73 tenants that call Redstone Arsenal home spoke at the 2022 APBI, and event organizer, AMCOM Ombudsman Eric Lampkin said the event has steadily grown each year. With that growth, he said the virtual option, while necessitated for the last two events due to the COVID-19 pandemic, will remain as an option, even when APBI returns to in-person attendees.
“Next year we anticipate doing a hybrid of both virtual and in-person,” Lampkin said. “The virtual option allows attendees to dial-in when it is relevant to their needs and as their time allows. However, nothing beats the ability to shake hands, meet face-to-face and network in-person, especially when it comes to the industry matchmaking event.”
The second day of APBI traditionally features a matchmaking forum, which allows small businesses to meet with large corporations, federal contractors and government organizations. Lampkin said hosting the matchmaking event virtually was challenging because you do not get those personal connections, so he looks forward to the crowds returning to the Bob Jones Auditorium next year.
Rodney Pennywell, who assisted Lampkin by coordinating the civic leadership involvement, attended the event as a small business owner. He said when he started attending APBI six years ago, the structure and focus were different; they did not address the needs of small businesses or provide opportunities for how industry could assist Redstone organizations.
He said, “Over the years, the presenters have dramatically tailored their message to the industrial base, particularly to small businesses, ensuring that they better understand RSA missions and related business opportunities. These presentations now truly address industry needs by giving advance notice of where the federal government requires industry assistance with developing innovative technologies and solutions to achieve long-term goals and objectives.”
Former AMCOM commander Jim Rogers works for a large defense industry partner and while he was not able to attend APBI this year, as the vice president of Army programs for his company, he encouraged employees from all over the U.S. to register and tune into the virtual event.
Rogers concurs with Pennywell. He said APBI is much more robust than it was when he served at Redstone 2010 through 2012.
“Our business areas are from the west coast to the east coast, and it’s not only the people who have interest in doing business with Redstone, but also our supplier diversity, which is the folks who are looking for small businesses who want to do business with us. So you have the whole gamut of people on the line listening about what is going on at Redstone Arsenal.”
The next APBI will be held in spring 2023 and Lampkin said the planning will begin about eight months prior to the kickoff. He said he hopes to be in person next year, with a virtual option for attendees, but regardless of the forum, the intent of the event will not change, which is securing partnerships between the Department of Defense and the private sector.
“It’s important that we communicate with industry so they know where to direct their energy and resources,” Lampkin said. “It’s value added to them and it’s also value added to us on the government side, because we can communicate the technology we are looking for, what we are trying to do, where we see ourselves in five years and where we need industry to help us get these things done.”
Lampkin added, “We have to have industry continuously engaged in the organic industrial base, continuously engaged in the defense department and continuously delivering technology so we can remain ahead of our near-peer competitors.”
By Michelle Gordon
SCHENECTADY, N.Y. (AFNS) —
LC-130 Hercules aircraft will have a smoother takeoff from Antarctica and Greenland thanks to the 109th Maintenance Squadron.
Propulsion specialists with the 109th assembled the first Air National Guard-built T56 3.5 turbo engine. The 3.5 modification is part of an Air Force initiative to update C-130 aircraft.
The 109th’s engine is the first to be assembled in-unit by Airmen.
This 3.5 engine is the finishing piece to modernizing the 109th’s legacy fleet into a more powerful and eco-friendly force.
Operating the Defense Department’s only ski-equipped LC-130 Hercules aircraft, the 109th MXS deploys annually to the austere environments of Greenland and Antarctica in support of the National Science Foundation.
Occasionally, the aircraft have trouble taking off from icy surfaces of these areas of operation due to heavy cargo loads or friction lock under the skis.
Traditionally, jet-assisted takeoff bottles are used to create extra thrust to get the aircraft off the snow or ice and into the air. JATO production, however, officially stopped in 1991.
Maj. Jim Roth, 109th MXS commander, explained the increasing challenges using JATO.
“They are depleting, and every time we use them, we have to shoot eight off at a time, and it begins to present a real logistical concern when it comes to the decreasing supply,” Roth said.
The new T56-8-15A 3.5 engines, combined with the LC-130H’s NP2000 eight-bladed propellers, are the answer to beginning to shift away from JATO bottles.
“The updated features allow the aircraft to create the same thrust as JATO bottles but at lower operating temperatures, making them more eco-friendly,” said Staff Sgt. Jason Candido, a propulsion specialist with the 109th. “We’re looking at an efficiency of about 20 percent more fuel efficiency compared to the 3.0 engine.”
The aircraft will also be able to carry heavier cargo loads to remote polar regions.
“We are the only heavy airlift able to reach these remote polar camps. These new engines allow for greater range and capacity. We’re advancing the Arctic Strategy that much more,” Roth said. “It’s the expertise and abilities of 109th Airmen like Jason Candido that drive us forward.”
Candido, who has been at the 109th for more than 10 years, was one of the Airmen who assembled the new engine.
“This is the exact same engine that we’ve been using for years. Just the internals are different,” Candido said. “The updated engine uses different types of metal in the turbine and compressor that have better heat retention, giving us the same power at lower temperatures.”
Assembling the 3.5 engine is a two-person job that took approximately a month to complete, he said.
“This is exactly what the National Guard is all about. It’s about retaining key talent and having an experienced workforce. Bringing that to the table allows us to do this stuff,” Roth said.
“For me, there’s a lot of pride in putting this engine together,” Candido said. “A lot of people just look at the engine, but I look at my work. It’s like art.”
The improved engines will also cut down on frequent maintenance and inspection.
When the LC-130Hs finished the transition from four to eight-bladed propellers in 2018, Candido said there was a noticeable difference in maintenance time.
“Whenever we had a seal leak in Antarctica, you couldn’t replace that one blade. You had to do the entire process to put a brand new one back on,” Candido said.
The eight-bladed propellers, however, are designed for a simpler fix in the event of a seal leak.
“We went from having an engine with a day-and-a-half downtime to maybe two hours, and then it’s flying again,” Candido said.
The 109th propulsion shop has the approval to assemble the rest of the 3.5 engines, some in Little Rock, Arkansas.
Members from the 109th MXS will attend a conference at the end of March to discuss a timeline to outfit all LC-130Hs with the 3.5 engines.
“We are plowing ahead with our own builds to help supplement the force. We are building ours quickly, so we’re ready to go as soon as possible,” Roth said.
By SSgt Madison Daquelente, 109th Air Wing Public Affairs
Taufkirchen, 11. March 2022 – In the course of the acquisition of three Lockheed C-130J-30 and KC-130J “Hercules” aircraft each, the German Bundeswehr decided to equip all aircraft with HENSOLDT’s latest generation of defense sensor technology. With MILDS Block 2, HENSOLDT is supplying a total of 35 sensors (five per aircraft and five units for lab use) to Danish company Terma A/S, which is managing the integration of the systems at Lockheed Martin through Terma Inc. The contracts, with a scope of 2.9 million euros, were signed in 2020. So far, 20 sensors and the ordered desiccant-kits have already been delivered. By January 2023, the remaining 15 sensors will be delivered. The first “Hercules” for the German Air Force was handed over in Évreux/Fauville (France) on February 19, 2022 to the Franco-German air-transport squadron. With MILDS Block 2, HENSOLDT is also helping to close the capability gap created by the retirement of the C-160 “Transall”.
MILDS Block 2 is a passive, true imaging sensor system optimised for detecting emission signatures in the UV solar blind spectral band emitted from an approaching missile exhaust plume. The sensor is designed as the successor to the well-known MILDS AN/AAR-60, offering increased sensitivity and additional applications. MILDS Block 2 detects incoming missile threats and indicates the direction of arrival with maximum warning time. MILDS Block 2’s high spatial resolution combined with advanced temporal processing provides a very high declaration rate while virtually eliminating false alarms. MILDS Block 2 consists typically of four to six identical interconnected detectors integrated into the higher-level EW system. In addition, neither cooling nor a central processing unit are required.
A high percentage of aircraft losses in current and recent conflicts have been caused by ground-based defense systems using IR SAM (infrared surface-to-air missile). To keep pace with this evolution on the threat side, HENSOLDT Sensors has developed the MILDS AN/AAR-60 Block 2 missile warning system, a self-protection solution specifically for helicopters and wide-body aircraft that allows for higher performance and enables additional features such as in-sensor data recording and Hostile Fire Indication (HFI). Rapid detection and declaration, combined with automatic countermeasure release and crew alerting, supports mission success and safe crew and aircraft return.
