AIN Defense Perspective » September 19, 2011

Defense Companies Say ‘No More’ To Budget Cuts
September 19, 2011 - 4:55am
Pratt & Whitney president David Hess warns that the U.S. aerospace and defens

U.S. aerospace and defense companies have drawn a line in the sand, telling Congress that budget cuts beyond more than $350 billion the Pentagon expects over the next decade will erode the country’s industrial base and diminish its ability to respond to future threats.
Predator UAVs Opening Up to Foreign Sensors and Control
September 19, 2011 - 4:50am
New payloads from foreign suppliers can now be added to the Predator/Reaper s

A cooperation between General Atomics Aeronautical Systems (GA-ASI) and Selex Galileo will enable the integration and control of non-U.S. sensors on the Predator and Reaper UAV series. Selex Galileo has developed a “platform agnostic” open architecture named SkyIstar for unmanned aerial systems. The Anglo-Italian company will now integrate the SeaSpray 7500E radar on a Predator-B.
Turkey’s Own Cruise Missile Makes First Flight
September 19, 2011 - 4:45am
Turkey’s own cruise missile, the SOM, on its way to the target after launch f

Turkey has designed and test-flown an air-launched cruise missile. The stand-off missile (SOM) was launched from a Turkish Air Force F-4E Phantom on August 9. It flew for more than 100 nm before hitting its target “with high accuracy,” according to Tubitak-SAGE, the state-owned Defence Industries Research and Development Institute.
Raytheon Pitches SM-3 to European Countries for Ballistic Missile Defense
September 19, 2011 - 4:40am
An SM-3 missile is launched from a U.S. Navy Aegis-class destroyer. Raytheon

Raytheon has proposed that 10 European warships be equipped with the company’s standard SM-3 missile, so that the burden of providing a missile defense shield over Europe can be shared more equally among the NATO countries. The alliance has crafted a Phased Adaptive Approach (PAA) to extending the shield, so that it covers the entire European continent. But the U.S.
Scan Eagle Proved Worth Over Libya, Maker Insitu Says
September 19, 2011 - 4:40am
A Scan Eagle skirts the water after launch from a U.S. Navy warship. The UAV

The use of another UAV over Libya during NATO Operation Unified protector was revealed, when Insitu stated that the Scan Eagle system was employed. Launched and recovered by the U.S. Navy destroyer Mahan, the Scan Eagle provided video imagery over three days and located “contacts of interest that no one else could find,” according to ships’ officer Lt. Nick Townsend, as quoted by Insitu.