Navy Plans Upgrades to Fly E-2Ds into the 2040s
August 3, 2021 10:02 PM
An E-2D Advanced Hawkeye with VAW-120 is refueled in the air. US Navy PhotoNATIONAL HARBOR, Md. With production coming to an end in four years, the Navy is working out a plan to sustain the E-2D Advanced Hawk command-and-control aircraft for at least another 30.
Upgrades include cockpit avionics and enhancements to mission systems, communication capabilities and cybersecurity to keep the “eyes of the fleet” open well into 2040 beyond, according to Capt. Pete Arrobio, who heads the Airborne Command and Control Systems Program Office at NAVAIR PMA-231.
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One of the two solar array wings on the SBIRS GEO 5 spacecraft is deployed during ground testing. Credit: Lockheed Martin
A sophisticated combat-ready U.S. military missile warning satellite moved to its launch pad at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station Saturday on top of a United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket, ready for liftoff Monday afternoon.
The U.S. Space Force’s fifth Space Based Infrared System, or SBIRS, satellite was built by Lockheed Martin and cost approximately $1 billion, military officials said. The spacecraft carries infrared sensors to detect and track hot plumes from missile launches around the world, giving warning to U.S. and allied military forces of an impending attack.
By
Paul McLeary on April 22, 2021 at 12:56 PM
B-21 Raider artist rendering
WASHINGTON: The secretive B-21 stealth bomber appears to be solidly on schedule, the top lawmaker on the House Armed Services Committee said today, calling a recent briefing on the program “one of the most positive, encouraging things that I’ve had happen to me in the last couple of weeks.”
Rep Adam Smith, never known for sugarcoating the facts on any big-ticket acquisition program, said that the Air Force appears to have “learned the lessons” of the vastly over-budget F-35 program which has long since blown its original schedule for fielding, which he has excoriated in the past. The B-21, by contrast, is “on time, on budget, and they’re making it work in a very intelligent way.”
The companies hit a milestone in the growing business of servicing satellites while in space. Today s successful docking of our second Mission Extension Vehicle further demonstrates the reliability, safety and utility of in-space logistics, Tom Wilson, vice president of Northrop Grumman s strategic space systems said in a statement. The success of this mission paves the way for our second generation of servicing satellites and robotics, offering flexibility and resiliency for both commercial and government satellite operators, which can enable entirely new classes of missions.
Intelsat
A close up look at Intelsat s IS-10-02 satellite as MEV-2 approached for docking in orbit.