Page 2 - Aerotech News and Review, July 6 2018

Briefs
Putin: New Russian weapons decades ahead of foreign rivals
Russian President Vladimir Putin is boasting about his country’s prospective nuclear weapons, saying they are years and even decades ahead of foreign designs.
Speaking June 28 before the graduates of Rus- sian military academies in the Kremlin, Putin said the new weapons represent a quantum leap in the nation’s military capability. He said Russia has achieved a “real breakthrough” in designing new weapons.
The Russian leader singled out the new Avan- gard hypersonic vehicle and the new Sarmat in- tercontinental ballistic missile, which are set to enter service in the next few years. Putin also mentioned the Kinzhal hypersonic missile that has already been put on duty with the units of Russia’s Southern Military District.
Those systems were among an array of new nuclear weapons Putin presented in March amid tensions with the West. AP
House backs $675 billion spending bill for Pentagon
The House has approved a $675 billion spend- ing bill for the Defense Department that includes a 2.6 percent raise for the military.
Lawmakers approved the bill, 359-49, June 28. The vote sends the bill to the Senate, where the Senate Appropriations Committee approved a similar measure last week.
The House bill provides $146 billion for equipment and upgrades, including $22.7 billion for 12 Navy ships, two Virginia-class subma- rines and three fast-moving littoral combat ships.
The bill includes an amendment by Arizona Democratic Rep. Ruben Gallego to bar the Pen- tagon from buying goods or services from Chi- nese telecommunications giants ZTE and Hua- wei. ZTE is accused of violating trade laws by selling sensitive technologies to North Korea and Iran. Huawei has ties to the Chinese government and is considered a security risk. AP
French helicopter company testing pro- totype in New Mexico
A France-based helicopter company has come to test a prototype helicopter at the Four Corners Regional Airport in Farmington, N.M., where mid-altitude conditions and warm weather can be found.
Experimental flight test engineer Nicolas Cer- tain tells The Daily Times that the test performed this week involves mimicking engine failure.
He says the test is necessary so Airbus Helicop- ters’ H160 can receive certification from both the Federal Aviation Administration and the European Aviation Safety Agency.
Prior to visiting Farmington, the crew tested the H160 helicopter in the hot temperatures of Lake Havasu, Arizona. Its next stop will be Leadville, Colorado, where the crew will test its ability to fly at high altitude.
Airbus hopes to get the helicopter certified so it can start selling it by 2019. AP
Australia awards UK’s BAE $26 billion navy frigate contract
British defense company BAE Systems has won a 35 billion Australian dollar ($26 billion) contract to build Australia’s fleet of new navy frigates, the government said June 29.
The company’s Type 26 Global Combat Ship will be the design for the frigate program to re- place the aging Anzac-class frigates.
The new ships will be built by the Australian government-owned company ASC Shipbuild- ing in the southern city of Adelaide and will be known as the Hunter class, with the navy to receive nine advanced guided-missile frigates beginning in the late 2020s.
program would create 5,000 direct jobs nation- ally, and 10,000 indirectly through a national supply chain.
“This city, Adelaide, will be the center of na- val shipbuilding in Australia. It will be one of the major shipbuilding centers in the world and in the region,” Turnbull told Australian Broadcast- ing Corp. radio.
The Hunter class frigates gave Australia the highest levels of lethality and deterrence, Turn- bull said.
BAE had been shortlisted for the frigate program with Italian company Fincantieri and Spain’s Navantia.
ASC Shipbuilding will become a BAE subsid- iary under the deal.
British Foreign Minister Boris Johnson said the project was a sign of a strong bilateral re- lationship.
“Fantastic news that #Australia has chosen @ BAESystemsplc Type 26 frigate ... Even further proof the UK-Australia relationship is stronger than ever!” Johnson tweeted. AP
China reaffirms Taiwan threats follow- ing naval mission
China is reaffirming its threats to take action to block “independence separatist plots” by self- governing Taiwan, following the recent passage of Chinese navy ships through the Taiwan Strait.
Spokesman for the Cabinet’s Taiwan Affairs Office Ma Xiaoguang made the comments June 27 in response to a question about whether the mission by a destroyer and cruiser was intended as a warning to the island’s independence-lean- ing government.
Ma warned independence supporters not to “play with fire” and said China has the “stern will, full confidence and sufficient capability to defeat any form of Taiwan independence sepa- ratist plots.”
Ma’s comments came as United States De- fense Secretary Jim Mattis is visiting Beijing for talks, during which official are expected to reiter- ate China’s opposition to U.S. military assistance to the island claimed by Beijing. AP
Navy shipbuilder to hire 7,000 workers with state’s help
The Virginia company that builds the nation’s aircraft carriers and some of its submarines says it will hire nearly 7,000 people in five years. Vir- ginia’s governor says the state will help the pri- vate shipbuilder recruit and train those workers.
Gov. Ralph Northam made the announcement Tuesday outside Newport News Shipbuilding, which sits along the James River near the At- lantic Coast. Northam said Virginia’s commerce secretary will lead the partnership to ensure the company gets the skilled workers it needs.
Newport News Shipbuilding President Jen- nifer Boykin says many new hires will replace retiring workers. But the shipyard will see a net gain of 2,000 jobs.
The new jobs are for existing military con- tracts. But the Navy’s goal of expanding the fleet reflects the growing need for skilled workers in the future. AP
Estonia to buy South Korean howitzers in $54 million deal
Estonia has agreed to buy South Korean artil- lery in a $54 million deal that officials say will substantially boost the small Baltic country’s defense capacity.
The Estonian military procurement agency says the contract with Seoul-based weapons producer Hanwha Land Systems is for 12 K9 Thunder howitzers, training, maintenance and spare parts.
Agency director Col. Rauno Sirk said after a signing ceremony June 26 that the artillery pieces “will bring Estonia’s defense capacity to a new level and be one of the most consider- able steps of building up armored maneuvering capacity.”
The first howitzers are to arrive in Estonia in 2020.
Finland, Norway and Poland are among cur- rent European users of the self-propelled K9 Thunder. AP
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Lightning brings fire
Air Force photograph by Master Sgt. Michael Jackson
An F-35A Lightning II test aircraft assigned to the 31st Test Evaluation Squadron from Edwards Air Force Base, Calif., released AIM-120 AMRAAM and AIM-9X missiles at QF-16 targets during a live-fire test over an Air Force range in the Gulf of Mexico on June 12, 2018. The Joint Operational Test Team conducted the missions as part of Block 3F Initial Operational Test and Evaluation. The 31st TES is a geographically separated unit of the 53rd Wing, headquartered at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla.
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Aerotech News and Review
July 6, 2018
Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull said the
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