Mil News Australia, NZ, Oceania Military News

Australia:
Engineers from Australia and the UK have successfully completed a rigorous structural testing programme that has seen a Hawk airframe achieve the equivalent of 50,000 flying hours.

Hawk aircraft are used to prepare pilots from 13 countries across the world for life in a fast jet cockpit.

The Mark 127 Hawk operated by the Royal Australian Air Force has a safety clearance to fly 10,000 hours and is the most advanced standard of the aircraft.

Air forces in the United Kingdom, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and Oman operate similar standards of aircraft in their Hawk fleets with the Qatar Emiri Air Force due to become the latest to operate this most advanced standard of aircraft.

A team from BAE Systems and the Australia Defence Department have recently completed a major structural testing programme on a specially adapted Hawk Mark 127 to put it through five-times this clearance.

The airframe has been subjected to and tested on the range of loads it would experience in actual flight, with durability tests carried out at the Defence Science and Technology Organisation in Melbourne to simulate real life fleet usage based on projected operational requirements.

"This a major milestone for the Hawk programme which proves there is many years more life left in the 650 aircraft we have training pilots across the globe every day.

"To achieve 50,000 flying hours in structural testing is five times the current clearance of the most modern Hawk in air forces across the world and more than ten times the current flying hours on most of the Australian fleet.

"Hawk has been the world's flying classroom, preparing more than 20,000 pilots for life in a frontline fast jet, for decades and this is proof that it has many years more safe, effective flying ahead of it with customers set to operate the aircraft well into the 2040's."

The testing programme began in February 2006 with the intention of demonstrating the structural integrity of a Mark 127 airframe to five times its intended life. The testing was completed on June 5 2020.

It involved a team of BAE Systems engineers in Brough, United Kingdom working alongside the DSTO team in Melbourne, Australia, to ensure the successful completion of the programme.

The airframe will now be dismantled with components undergoing a further two-year period of detailed inspections.
https://www.baesystems.com/en/article/hawk-airframe-to-fly-for-decades-to-come
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Wow, 14 years. I guess the apprentice is now the project manager...
 
Build them at home and quote the whole of life costs in addition to the initial vehicle unit purchase price and you get your answer.
And that's not even beginning to take into account how much of those production and life costs are getting spent domestically.
 
Kind of ADF news, but I found out recently the dude that slotted an Afghan soldier who shot and killed three Aussies in 2011 was one of my infantry training instructors. He was a weapon of a soldier, pack a day smoker and could still run a sub 9 minute BFA.
 
Australia:
Minister for Defence Linda Reynolds and Defence Industry Minister Melissa Price have announced the request for tender to locally-build 30 self-propelled howitzers as part of the Protected Mobile Fires project.

The 'K9 Thunder' SPH will provide significant capability enhancement for the Australian Army. As the original equipment manufacturer (OEM) of the K9 Thunder, Hanwha is ready to build and assemble 30 K9 Thunder SPHs and supporting systems in Australia.

The request for tender will be released to preferred supplier Hanwha Defence Australia, to build and maintain 30 self-propelled howitzers and 15 armoured ammunition resupply vehicles, and their supporting systems.

Defence Minister Linda Reynolds said it marks a key step in progressing the project that was a key election commitment.

"Through this project, this government is delivering the capability Army needs while creating local jobs in and around Geelong that will grow our highly skilled workforce. The acquisition of this capability will provide the ADF with the mobility, lethality and protection required to support Joint Force operations in the land domain," Minister Reynolds explained.

The Huntsman SPH is a 50 tonne, 52 calibre, 155mm platform capable of taking advantage of current and emerging 155mm munitions technologies. It has a crew of four or five depending on the configuration with an ammunition capacity of up to 48 rounds and accompanying modular charge systems.

The Kongsberg ODIN Fire Control System which sits within the broader Kongsberg Integrated Combat System allows passage of information to the Advanced Field Artillery Tactical Data System (AFATDS) forming the core of the C4I system. The AS10 AARV is a largely robotised system built on the same chassis as the K9.

It holds 104 rounds of 155mm ammunition and is used to provide ammunition resupply under armour and forward to the Artillery unit.
Hanwha_K9_Self_Propelled_Howitzer_558a.jpg

https://www.defenceconnect.com.au/l...st-for-tender-for-army-protected-mobile-fires
 
Australia:
The Government of Australia has launched a grants programme that seeks to develop a skilled workforce in the defence industry sector.

The Skilling Australia’s Defence Industry (SADI) Grants programme is devised to award small-to-medium businesses with grants of up to A$500,000 to boost employee skillsets.

As agreed, the government will allocate A$39m ($28.32m) for the SADI programme in the next three years to support the development of a skilled workforce.


Particularly, the programme will award funds to companies to support technical and trade skills training, job training, as well as enhancing human resources practices and apprenticeship supervision.

Notably, the funding is part of the government’s recently announced A$1bn ($720m) investment package to support the defence industry.

Australian Minister for Defence Industry Melissa Price said: “I am proud to support small-to-medium Australian businesses in the defence sector by providing opportunities to upskill and retrain their staff through the SADI Grants programme.

“This initiative will provide certainty to businesses looking for ways to grow their workforce skills and ensure those skills are up-to-date.”

The government will also provide funding to eligible industry associations, which facilitate training for defence industry small-to-medium businesses.
https://www.army-technology.com/news/australia-defence-industry-grants-programme/
 
Australia:
Boeing Australia has conducted successful experiments in which unmanned air vehicles (UAVs) equipped with artificial intelligence (AI) have been able to detect and act upon simulated targets.

Using machine learning techniques, Boeing Australia says it has been able to teach a UAV how to detect a target, make a decision, and take action.

“We’ve been developing machine learning techniques in the lab environment with multiple unmanned aircraft,” says Emily Hughes, director of Boeing Phantom Works International.

“We’ve effectively taught the unmanned systems to behave and learn using simulations, so they can detect a target in the real world, and then make a decision to act or react to the environment.”

In addition to identifying and classifying targets, the UAVs were able to perform route planning, and also coordinate with both unmanned and manned platforms.

The work was conducted in partnership with Australia’s Trusted Autonomous Systems Defence Collaborative Research Centre (DCRC).

“What’s particularly critical for this project is the unmanned systems’ ability to achieve these objectives in missions where conditions are degraded or in a denied environment,” says Professor Jason Scholz, chief executive officer of the DCRC for Trusted Autonomous Systems.

“Projects such as the one we’ve pursued with Boeing continue to grow our knowledge and understanding of artificial intelligence, and furthers the Australian government’s advancement in trusted autonomy.”

Australia figures prominently in Boeing’s efforts to develop autonomous combat aircraft. In cooperation with the Australian government, Boeing is developing the Airpower Teaming System, a “loyal wingman” that can complement manned aircraft.

The first Airpower Teaming System airframe was rolled out in May, with a first flight due by the end of the year. The system has been developed rapidly following the programme’s formal unveiling at the Avalon Airshow in February 2019.
https://www.flightglobal.com/milita...rogresses-with-ai-enabled-uavs/140092.article
 
The local angler was visiting the reef, about 550km off the NSW coast, with his wife. He photographed his discovery and reported it to authorities.
Navy divers aboard HMAS Adelaide carefully removed the abandoned explosive on September 25 by floating it to the surface and towing it further out to sea where it was dropped into 550-metre-deep waters.
"The chances of that UXO (unexploded ordinance) ever coming back to the surface is negligible."

The origin of the bomb is not known and divers couldn't estimate its age owing to deterioration, a spokesman for Environment Minister Sussan Ley told AAP.
Bombs of that size were used as long ago as World War I, sometimes dropped from aircraft to target submarines.
The minister's spokesman said the difficult operation was complicated further by the COVID-19 pandemic and took five months to be realised, during which time the reef was closed to visitors.
 
HMAS Adelaide has provided a platform for the Republic of Singapore Air Force CH-47 helicopter crews to qualify and land on the RAN’s largest vessels, HMA Ships Adelaide and Canberra.

The deck landing qualifications were conducted over two days off the coast of Queensland, where Adelaide is conducting a range of amphibious and aviation training exercises.

Commander Air HMAS Adelaide, Commander Leon Volz said the qualifications would provide significant benefits and boost overall combined capability for the Australian and Singapore Defence Forces.

“This is a great opportunity to provide interoperability between both the Singaporean Air Force air crew and ourselves,” Commander Volz said.

“Gaining these qualifications allows the RSAF crews to operate with Adelaide, with Canberra and also with HMAS Choules, which will provide a significant capability enhancer between both our Defence forces.

“So when we’re both operating in the region, for example, then we can actually cross-deck and gain more experience in the way that both Defence forces operate in the maritime aviation environment.”

The Singaporean CH-47 heavy-lift helicopter crews, which are permanently based at Oakey in Queensland, communicated with Adelaide’s flight control room and were guided by the ship’s aviation team on the flight deck.

The timing of the deck qualifications also coincides with the 30th anniversary of the Singapore Armed Forces training in Australia.

Commanding Officer HMAS Adelaide, Captain Jonathan Ley said qualifying Singaporean Air Force personnel to operate their CH-47 aircraft on Navy’s amphibious vessels extended the shared history of cooperation between the two nations.

“Singapore’s CH-47 aircraft worked alongside Army’s 5th Aviation Regiment during the 2020 bushfire emergency in Victoria, so to have that combined capability at sea is an important element as we again move into the high-risk emergency season,” Captain Ley said.
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Northrop Grumman has started assembling Australia’s first MQ-4C Triton, an unmanned maritime intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) aircraft.

“The MQ-4C Triton will be a very important ISR capability for Australia,” said air commodore Terry van Haren, the RAAF’s air attaché to the Australian embassy. “It is ideally suited for Australian operating conditions, given its high altitude, long endurance, and impressive sensor suite. The Royal Australian Air Force looks forward to operating the MQ-4C alongside its other ISR and response aircraft such as the P8A Poseidon.”

Dan Mackin, the US Navy’s Triton programme director, applauded the continued progress of the program, stating, “With much of our team working remotely, geographically dispersed, and across many time zones, I am so impressed with the continued productivity I have seen and the great work being done. Our partnership near and far remains strong as we prepare to deliver the first Triton aircraft to Australia in 2023.”

“As a strategic partner in the cooperative development program, Australia is a critical part of Triton’s development and production,” said Doug Shaffer, vice president, Triton programmes, Northrop Grumman. “This game-changing system will boost Australia’s ISR capability and enable them to meet their surveillance needs to manage the world’s third largest exclusive economic zone.”

The MQ-4C is a cooperative development program between the Royal Australian Air Force and the U.S. Navy, and provides a round-the-clock maritime wide-area ISR. Operating at altitudes exceeding 50,000 feet, Triton can cover more than one million square miles, or two and a half million square kilometers, of ocean and littorals in a single flight, bringing unprecedented awareness to commanders’ common operating pictures.
MQ-4C-Triton-Deployed-Quickly-Became-an-Invaluable-Asset-1024x496.jpg

https://www.aero-mag.com/northrop-grumman-mq-4c-triton-29102020/
 
Australia:
The Defense Security Cooperation Agency announced that the US State Department recently approved the potential sale to Australia of more than $46 million worth of Javelin anti-tank guided missiles.

The complete package includes two hundred Javelin FGM-148E missiles with US Government technical assistance and other related elements of logistics and program support.

According to a notice released on October 30, the proposed sale will support the foreign policy and national security objectives of the United States. Australia is one of our most important allies in the Western Pacific.
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Australia:
The Defense Security Cooperation Agency announced that the US State Department recently approved the potential sale to Australia of more than $46 million worth of Javelin anti-tank guided missiles.

The complete package includes two hundred Javelin FGM-148E missiles with US Government technical assistance and other related elements of logistics and program support.

According to a notice released on October 30, the proposed sale will support the foreign policy and national security objectives of the United States. Australia is one of our most important allies in the Western Pacific.
To view this content we will need your consent to set third party cookies.
For more detailed information, see our cookies page.
Interesting, I thought the ADF was considering going to the Spike across the board but that must just be for the CRV and possibly IFV mounted systems. Hopefully they are the latest F models and NZ can jump on the tail end of the buy.
 
First phase of Malabar exercise starts today
Malabar Naval Exercise 2020: Showcasing India, US, Japan and Australia’s resolve to support an open Indo-Pacific, the exercise focuses on increasing the countries’ cooperation in the region that has been witnessing increasing Chinese military assertiveness.

 

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