majalah militer

(Photo: kaddb)

September 14, 2009 -- Scientific and technical services provider to the Jordanian Armed Forces, King Abdullah II Design and Development Bureau (KADDB) has displayed its new land and aerial vehicles at this year's Defence Systems & Equipment International (DSEi 2009) exhibition in London.

At the show KADDB exhibited its new unmanned ground vehicle (UGV) armed with rocket-propelled grenade (RPG) launchers.

The UGV is a six-wheeled tele-operated ground vehicle with payload of 70kg and is driven remotely at up to 1km range.

The applications of the vehicle include reconnaissance, border surveillance, fire fighting, anti-terrorism and mine detection.

In addition, the company also displayed its new Quadrotor helicopter, which can be used as relay platform for real-time transfer of video imagery from an aircraft to a ground station.

The Quadrotor which can carry explosives is a small aerial system that is difficult to detect and has a maximum operating altitude of 50m, operating range of 300m and endurance of ten minutes.

Army Technology

KC-747. (Photo: unitedstatestanker.com)

September 14, 2009, Washington -– Boeing [NYSE: BA] today unveiled additional details of the company's potential offering in the U.S. Air Force KC-X tanker competition, saying the KC-7A7 will offer maximum capability at the lowest cost.

In a briefing at the Air Force Association's 2009 Air & Space Conference and Technology Exposition outside Washington, Rick Lemaster, Boeing KC-X director and program manager, said Boeing has "been listening to our U.S. Air Force customer, and we appreciate their efforts in preparing for the next competition."

"We are prepared to offer the best solution through the KC-7A7," Lemaster continued. "Whether it's the agile 767-based tanker or the larger 777-based tanker, Boeing is ready to deliver maximum capability at the lowest cost."

Lemaster highlighted the merits of the KC-7A7 -- a range of tanker options the company first introduced in June at the Paris Air Show -- by highlighting the full complement of capabilities of both aircraft.

"If the Air Force wants a flexible wide-body tanker that is well suited to operate in an austere, expeditionary environment, the Boeing 767-based tanker is a powerful and demonstrated solution," said Lemaster. "And if the Air Force values more fuel, cargo and passengers, the Boeing 777-based tanker offers superior capability."

Based on mission scenarios, the Boeing 767-based tanker can offload 20 percent more fuel, carry three times the cargo and transport five times the number of passengers compared with the Air Force's current KC-135, within a comparable narrow-body footprint. The Boeing 777-based tanker is comparable in size to the Airbus A330, but delivers 23 percent more fuel and carries 44 percent more cargo and 42 percent more passengers than the A330 in a more reliable and technologically advanced airframe.

Boeing also announced the launch of a new Web site dedicated to KC-7A7: UnitedStatesTanker.com. "What better venue to launch UnitedStatesTanker.com than at one of the country's largest gatherings of the Air Force community," Lemaster said. "The UnitedStatesTanker.com Web site provides a public forum to communicate information about the Boeing KC-7A7 offering and updates throughout the competition."

The site features a blog to encourage open dialogue and an exchange of ideas. It also highlights the capabilities of both platforms through a photo gallery, fact sheets and news links and will serve as the single Web-based point of contact for all Boeing information about its KC-7A7 offering.

BOEING

September 14, 2009, Little Rock, Ark. -- Boeing [NYSE: BA] has completed delivery of the U.S. Air Force's first simulator for the C-130 Avionics Modernization Program (AMP) to Little Rock Air Force Base. The Weapon System Trainer (WST) passed government acceptance testing and was declared "ready for use" on July 20.

Boeing is scheduled to deliver a suite of trainers over the next several years to support the AMP training program at Little Rock. Each piece of training equipment offers a different level of instruction to train crew members in the operation of the new capability AMP will install in the aircraft.

"As a guard unit, our entire mission depends on exceptional training," said Lt. Col. Domenic Sarnataro, 189th Airlift Wing Chief of Safety, Arkansas Air National Guard. "Ours is the only unit that will provide training for the C-130 AMP, so the sooner we can start using these simulators, the better prepared we will be when training begins late next year."

The simulator is a full-motion, high fidelity simulator that is essential in training Air Force aircrews to fly the AMP-modified aircraft in an operational environment. An important feature of this training device is that it uses the same software as the C-130 AMP aircraft, which will make it easier for the Air Force to keep the simulator current with the aircraft. Any future modifications can be made to the aircraft and the training devices at the same time, so aircrews can train on any new capability in the simulator before they fly it in the aircraft.

Three C-130 AMP aircraft have completed initial flight testing and are undergoing additional evaluation flights with the Air Force before the AMP upgrade kits are installed on the fleet.

Boeing partnered with Tampa, Fla.-based subcontractor CAE USA to integrate the new AMP cockpit into the simulator and to perform similar modifications for other training devices in the suite.

"As the world's most experienced provider of C-130 training systems and services, we are extremely pleased to partner with Boeing to deliver the first C-130 AMP Weapon Systems Trainer to the Air Force," said John Lenyo, president and general manager of CAE USA. "This state-of-the-art simulator will play a key role in ensuring Air Force C-130 crews are well-trained and mission-ready with the modernized aircraft."

Just as the training program is refurbishing old training devices, the AMP program will save the Air Force millions of dollars by modifying existing C-130s when compared with the cost of acquiring new aircraft.

BOEING

September 13, 2009, Moskow -- The Russian military has denied the existence of a new-generation main battle tank (MBT) based on T-80 design and featuring explosive reactive armor and a box-shaped turret.

The Russian media has recently resumed discussion of the secret tank, dubbed Black Eagle, which was developed by the Omsk Transmash design bureau and whose pictures were shown in several publications and on the Internet.

"There was no such project...and those 20-year-old pictures show a mock-up of a futuristic tank which remained just a product of someone's imagination," Col. Vladimir Voitov, head of research at the Main Directorate of the Armored Troops, said in an interview with the Echo Moskvy radio on Saturday.

He added that he was aware of a prototype of an experimental tank, but insisted that 'the turret of the vehicle did not have anything inside."

According to the Russian media, an early prototype of the Black Eagle was shown at an arms exposition in Siberia, in June 1999. It appeared to be based on a lengthened T-80U hull, and to have very thick front armor and new-generation Kaktus explosive reactive armor.

However, recent reports in open sources suggest that the Black Eagle program has been halted due to the acceptance of the T-90, built by the Uralvagonzavod plant, into the Russian military in the mid-1990s.

In addition, Russia has reportedly opted for Uralvagonzavod as the developer and manufacturer of a new-generation MBT, which will most likely have a designation as T-95.

Sergei Mayev, head of the Federal Service for Defense Contracts (Rosoboronzakaz) told a news conference in July 2008 that the Russian Armed Forces would start receiving new-generation tanks superior to the T-90 main battle tank after 2010.

The new tank will feature better firepower, maneuverability, electronics and armor protection than the T-90 MBT.

Its speed will increase from 30-50 kph to 50-65 kph (19-31 mph to 31-40 mph).

According to some sources, the new tank may be equipped with a 152-mm smoothbore gun capable of firing guided missiles with a range of 6,000-7,000 meters.

In comparison, the T-90 MBT has a 125-mm 2A46M smoothbore gun, which can fire AT-11 Sniper anti-tank guided missiles with a range of 4,000 meters.

RIA Novosti