Author: Defenceline Webdesk

Leonardo AW149 medium helicopter at Farnborough, 24 July 2024. Credit: John Hill. The UK has confirmed a timeline for the entry of the NMH fleet between 2030 and 2033 This timeline comes nine days after Leonardo UK was finally tasked to deliver 23 AW149 medium lift helicopters But there are currently too few AW149s being built to fill the capability gap across the armed forces The UK has confirmed a timeline for the entry of the NMH fleet into service with the British Army and Royal Air Force for the first time. In a parliamentary written statement on 11 March,…

Embraer’s C-390 Millennium medium-size, twin-engine, jet-powered military transport aircraftIndia’s quest to modernise its tactical airlift capabilities has reignited a fierce competition between two prominent medium transport aircraft: Embraer’s C-390 Millennium and Lockheed Martin’s C-130J Super Hercules.The Indian Air Force (IAF) seeks to procure 60 new aircraft under the Medium Transport Aircraft (MTA) programme, aiming to phase out ageing Soviet-era platforms like the Antonov An-32 and partially relieve the overburdened Ilyushin Il-76 fleet.This procurement drive stems from the pressing need to replace the An-32s, acquired in the mid-1980s, which now grapple with escalating maintenance demands and scarce spare parts. The Il-76,…

The Diplomat China is moving from AI in the cloud to “embodied intelligence” with physical, real-world applications. Source link

LONDON — As the safety of sea lanes comes into dramatic focus with Iran’s closure of the Strait of Hormuz, the United Kingdom’s Royal Navy recently announced it’s purchasing a new fleet of unmanned surface vessels designed in part to “keep sailors safe on global deployments.” On Wednesday the navy said it would buy 20 K3 Scout Medium USVs made by Kraken Technology Group to be used by the Coastal Forces Squadron and 47 Commando Royal Marines “for operations, training and development activities to set the foundation for further uses of autonomous uncrewed technology.” The move is part of the navy’s…

Six crew members killed aboard a KC-135 that crashed in Iraq on Thursday—the most recent casualties of the war on Iran—likely had no parachutes, which were removed from the venerable tanker aircraft nearly two decades ago.Two aircraft were involved in the deadly incident, one of which returned safely to base. They were supporting the two-week-old Operation Epic Fury, but the incident was not the result of “hostile fire or friendly fire,” U.S. Central Command said in a Friday news release. The nature of the crashed KC-135’s mission was not immediately clear. The other plane was also a KC-135, according to a…

Leidos to modernise and secure US Air Force cloud operations. Credit: Michael Vi/Shutterstock.com. Leidos has secured a $454.9m contract to upgrade the US Air Force’s Cloud One platform, a central technology resource supporting mission-critical operations across the Department of Defense (DoD). The initiative involves collaboration with major cloud service providers, including Amazon Web Services (AWS), Microsoft Azure, Google Cloud Platform, and Oracle Cloud Infrastructure. Discover B2B Marketing That Performs Combine business intelligence and editorial excellence to reach engaged professionals across 36 leading media platforms. Find out more The project aims to enhance the security and automation of the platform while…

In a significant development amid escalating tensions in West Asia, two LPG-laden ships, the Shivalik and the Nanda Devi, have successfully crossed the Strait of Hormuz under the escort of an Indian Navy warship.These vessels, both flying the Indian flag and operated by the Shipping Corporation of India (SCI), mark the first such India-bound LPG carriers to navigate this critical chokepoint in nearly two weeks.The ships are collectively transporting approximately 85,000 metric tons of natural gas, vital for India’s energy needs. Travelling at typical LPG tanker speeds, they are projected to reach Indian shores by Monday night, providing much-needed relief…

Joe Miller, FT Remarks by AI and crypto tsar David Sacks show anti-war sentiment in the president’s Maga coalition Source link

WASHINGTON — Amid the strain of extended deployments, the Navy told Breaking Defense it has officially decided to keep its oldest active aircraft carrier in the water a little longer, prolonging the service life of the USS Nimitz to March 2027. A service official revealed the change late Friday, pushing back previous plans to mothball the ship this May. Extending the Nimitz’s service life means that the Navy could maintain its fleet of 11 carriers. The service is awaiting its newest aircraft carrier, the second Ford-class John F. Kennedy, which is currently slated for delivery in March 2027. The Nimitz…

The Defense Department is planning more multiyear deals and expects they’ll help smooth kinks in fragile supply chains. But the way prime contractors manage their suppliers, and the  potential for bottlenecks, could stall progress. Quadrupling munitions production “takes leadership—and I think we’ve got that in the [defense] secretary and the deputy. I think it takes money. I think it takes commitment,” Michael Duffey, the Pentagon’s acquisitions and sustainment chief, said Thursday during the Ronald Reagan Institute’s national security summit. Duffey said multi-year procurement deals, such as recent ones with Lockheed Martin and RTX, have helped create “a trust level with industry because…