Recently, the UK Ministry of Defence announced its new strategy to accelerate the development of uncrewed systems for its armed forces and to generate products for export as well. In a 22 February 2024 press release by the UK MoD, this new strategy was introduced as follows: A new strategy…
By Robbin Laird In my last article, I highlighted a third way one can discuss autonomous systems working with manned air systems. This third way would focus upon crafting combat clusters which work in a combined arms operation involving a manned air system with autonomous maritime systems especially working as…
By Robbin Laird Generally, when autonomous systems are discussed in relation to manned systems, the focus is upon teaming. Images of the Australian Loyal Wingman come to mind whereby the autonomous system is seen as a slaved system to a manned aircraft, hence the term teaming. A key capability of…
By Robbin Laird Improving sustainment has been an ongoing major effort throughout the evolution of the tiltrotor enterprise. The Nacelle Improvement program (NI) is a major milestone in this effort. When discussing sustainment, an important metric is the mission-capable rate (MC). That rate - expressed as a percentage of total…
By Pierre Tran Paris - Airbus is taking more time to decide on the early stage of design for a European medium-altitude, long-endurance drone, with the industrial partners looking for a good fit with specifications, Guillaume Faury, chief executive of the aircraft builder, said Feb.15. “The preliminary design review (PDR)…
By Robbin Laird In my recent interview with LtGen Heckl, Commanding General, Marine Corps Combat Development Command, and the Deputy Commandant for Combat Development and Integration, we went back to his time as the second squadron commander to have taken the Osprey into combat. He was an experienced CH-46 pilot…
By Pierre Tran Paris - It was thanks to information shared on a social media link of the Association of Defense Journalists, a press club, this correspondent suited up to attend the Jan. 31 French parliamentary hearing of François Michel, chairman of John Cockerill, a Belgian company which builds armed…
U.S. Marines with Marine Heavy Helicopter Squadron (HMH) 461 and 2nd Distribution Support Battalion (DSB), U.S. Navy Sailors with Naval Mobile Construction Battalion Four, and animal packers with the U.S. National Forest Service hike to the site of a downed U.S. Navy MH-60S Seahawk to prepare it for recovery at…
