Friday, April 19, 2024
Friday, April 19, 2024
This Thursday INSIDER Daily Digest has news on the engine replacement effort for the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter and more.
We start off with coverage of the F-35 engine replacement effort:
GE makes case for F-35 engine replacement, touts 'leapfrog' technology matured through AETP
As the F-35 joint program office considers future propulsion system modernization options, General Electric is arguing for an F135 engine replacement the company says would outpace technology offered through an incremental upgrade approach.
The Navy/Marine Corps Expeditionary Ship Interdiction System (NMESIS) recently hit a target as part of a major exercise:
USMC test fires NMESIS during major exercise, validating design ahead of key milestone review
The Marine Corps says it successfully demonstrated its new robotically controlled, ship-killing ground vehicle during Large Scale Exercise 21, launching a pair of cruise missiles from an unmanned tactical vehicle in Hawaii and sinking an at-sea target, a significant development for the service's No. 1 ground vehicle modernization priority.
The Air Force is still working through the more than 60 responses it received to a second request for information surrounding an expanded MQ-9 Reaper replacement search from this past spring, a review that comes as officials work to upgrade the existing fleet:
Air Force determining next steps as service moves away from 'MQ-Next' direct replacement
With the Air Force moving away from seeking a direct replacement follow-on to the MQ-9, officials are assessing their next steps as they determine how a multirole unmanned aerial system could integrate with the broader force design going forward, according to a service spokesman.
More Reaper news:
ANG 'Ghost Reaper' demos are one leg of push 'to synchronize MQ-9 modernization'
The Air National Guard 174th Attack Wing's recent demonstration of a host of new MQ-9 capabilities within the Ghost Reaper suite is one leg of a synchronized push to "create an aircraft that is far more capable than any one service or organization could make on its own," the wing's chief of weapons and tactics told Inside Defense this week.
The Army has revealed that Northrop Grumman has dropped out of the competition to develop a short-range air defense laser:
Raytheon to provide laser for DE M-SHORAD after Northrop drops out
Raytheon Technologies will supply the laser for the prototype platoon of four Directed Energy Maneuver Short-Range Air Defense systems the Army plans to field in fiscal year 2022, after competitor Northrop Grumman dropped out of the program, according to service officials.