Northrop Grumman’s E 8C Joint Surveillance Target Attack Radar System (Joint STARS) T-3 testbed aircraft has completed its first flight equipped with new, upgraded Pratt and Whitney production-configured engines featuring a newly designed pneumatic system.
The flight comes after three years of design, production and testing according to the company. The newly designed pneumatic system, designed by Northrop Grumman, uses a single stage pre-cooling design that vastly improves reliability and the hardware's life cycle.
The new pre-cooler allows hot, compressed air from the engines turbines to be processed at a substantially cooler temperature and more consistent pressure level than its predecessor. This improves the efficiency of the Air Cycle Machines which cools the aircraft's environmental control system, cabin, and Prime Mission Equipment, as well as pressurises the utility hydraulic subsystem, engine starting capability and liquid cooling system.
According to the company, the new engines are an upgrade from the existing commercial engines used on the E 8C, allowing for an increased mission capable rate and lowered ownership costs. The re-engining of the fleet has the potential to provide the Joint STARS system with significant operational and maintenance improvements.
Airbus was awarded the Composante Spatiale Optique (CSO) contract at the end of 2010. This included an option for a third satellite, which was activated after Germany joined the programme in 2015.
In today’s contested operational environment, adaptability is key. The new Geospatial-Intelligence as a Service (GEO IaaS) solution from Fujitsu and MAIAR empowers militaries by enabling intelligence advantage, combining advanced technology with human expertise to deliver actionable insights.
Israel will continue to develop autonomy for its weapons and platforms as it brings together defence personnel, academia and industry.
Clavister CyberArmour, an integrated defence cybersecurity system, will be used on BAE Systems Hägglunds’ CV90 platform in deployments with a Scandinavian country, as well as in an eastern European nation.
The tactical satellite (TacSat) is an intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) system and will participate in exercises in 2025.
The airborne three-domain, the two ground-based and the ¼ ATR OpenVPX-based cross-domain systems were engineered to provide real-time security across multi-domain operations.
Connect with us on socials
