Americas
A C-17 assigned to Altus Air Force Base, which is the final aircraft of its type in service with the US Air Force, received the ADS-B Out equipment. All fifty-five C-17s received the modifications at Robins Air Force Base during their scheduled Program Depot Maintenance. “The ADS-B Out is a newer type of broadcast system that provides precise position and location information of an aircraft in real time to air traffic control,” said Anthony Scott, Avionics supervisor in the 562nd Aircraft Maintenance Squadron.
The Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) has admitted that its CC-144 Challenger jet was using the wrong transponder code while in flight. The code was supposed to be C2B3A5 but when the co-pilot takes control of the aircraft, it switches to 4233A1. The second erroneous code was transmitted by the second onboard transponder due to a loose plug that was suppose to program the code in the device. The incidents had been occurring since 2018 and involved at least 80 flights. The RCAF says all transponders on the CC-144 have been checked and are working normally.
Middle East & Africa
The Pentagon has identified an airman who was killed Saturday in a single-vehicle incident while on patrol in Kuwait. Senior Airman Jason Khai Phan, 26, of Anaheim, Calif., died and two other airmen were injured in the Saturday non-combat incident, the Department of Defense said in a statement. According to the USAF the incident happened while they were patrolling the perimeter of the Ali Al Salem Air Base. The two surviving airmen were transported to a hospital at Camp Arifjan, Kuwait, with non-life-threatening injuries, it said. Phan served with the 66th Security Forces Squadron at the Hanscom Air Force Base in Massachusetts since October 2018 and was deployed to the 386th Air Expeditionary Wing’s 386th Expeditionary Security Forces Squadron in Kuwait since July.
Europe
Lockheed Martin won a $9 million contract modification, which provides labor, engineering change order planning, installation and site support activities to operate the Cameri Regional Modification, Repair, Overhaul and Upgrade facility for F-35 aircraft for the government of Italy. The F-35 Lightning II joint strike fighter (JSF), is being developed by Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Company for the US Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps and the UK Royal Navy. The JSF is being built in three variants: a conventional take-off and landing aircraft (CTOL) for the US Air Force; a carrier variant (CV) for the US Navy; and a short take-off and vertical landing (STOVL) aircraft for the US Marine Corps and the Royal Navy. Work will take place in Italy and Texas. Estimated completion will be by December 2020.
Germany’s Federal Office of Bundeswehr Equipment, Information Technology and In-Service Support (BAAINBw) has ordered additional RBS15 Mk3 anti-ship missiles from Diehl Defence. The missiles are slated for delivery from 2023 on. The Mark3 version of the heavy-weight anti-ship missile, jointly developed with Saab, was first delivered in 2011 as main armament of the new Corvette K 130. A framework agreement which also provides for the procurement of further guided missiles is the basis for the present supplementary procurement.
Asia-Pacific
Boeing Australia announced on September 8 that it has made “significant advances” in the use of artificial intelligence (AI) to “teach” unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) to detect, decide, and act during a mission. The company said in a statement that a recently conducted flight test mission featuring four unmanned test beds demonstrated that AI-enabled UAVs can be taught 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”. This technology, which is particularly critical for intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) missions, aims to address the Australian Defence Force’s need for rapid response, tactical route execution, along with improved location and identification capabilities in congested and contested environments, added the company.
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