USAF grounds part of training fleet amid Martin Baker ejection seat issues

by Gillian Rich

The USAF has grounded 40% of its T-38 fleet because of the CAD issue. (US Air Force)

The US Air Force (USAF) said that 40% of its Northrop T-38 Talon training aircraft may be affected by a defect with Martin Baker ejection seat cartridge actuated devices (CAD). The US Navy (USN), UK Royal Air Force (RAF), and German Luftwaffe also announced groundings related to the potential problem.

In a statement to Janes on 28 July, the USAF said approximately 203 T-38 and 76 Beechcraft T-6 Texan II aircraft (15% of the fleet) could be affected by the CAD issue. The fleets were grounded on 27 July and the service planned to lift the grounding on unaffected aircraft on 28 July.

The USN started shipping out replacement CADs on 24 July to the units with affected aircraft following an alert from Martin Baker of a potential problem, the service stated in a press release on 26 July. Boeing F/A-18B/C/D Hornet, Boeing F/A-18E/F Super Hornet, Boeing E/A-18G Growler, Boeing T-45 Goshawk, and Northrop Grumman F-5 Tiger II training aircraft are affected by the CAD problem.


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PLA WZ-7 HALE seen over East Sea for first time

by Akhil Kadidal

The Japan MoD has disclosed two airborne ELINT flights by Chinese PLA aircraft near Japanese airspace on 26 and 27 March 2024. (Japan Ministry of Defense/Janes)

A Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) Guizhou WZ-7 Xianglong (Soaring Dragon) unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) was observed near Japanese airspace over the Sea of Japan (East Sea) for the first time.

This high-altitude long-endurance (HALE) UAV appeared from the direction of the “continental area” on “the morning of 26 March 2024”, the Japan Ministry of Defense (MoD) said.

A map issued by the MoD showed the WZ-7 flying a counterclockwise route over the Sea of Japan (East Sea) before turning northwest towards North Korea and Russia. The event prompted the Japan Air Self-Defense Force (JASDF) to scramble fighter aircraft from its Chūbu (Central) Air Defense Force (of the JASDF Central Area sector), according to the MoD.

The WZ-7 “circled over the Sea of Japan [East Sea],” the MoD said.

Based on the MoD's map of the incident, Janes


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Australia uses waveform technology to deliver satellite-enabled push-to-talk capabilities

by Oishee Majumdar

In a recent demonstration to the ADF, Fleet Space Technologies applied the Beagle waveform technology to deliver push-to-talk capabilities using its Centauri 4 LEO satellite (pictured). (Fleet Space Technologies)

South Australia-based Fleet Space Technologies has used communications waveform technology Beagle to demonstrate satellite-enabled push-to-talk (PTT) capabilities to the Australian Defence Force (ADF).

Janes understands Beagle is a design framework developed by Australian company Safety from Space to generate efficient radio frequency (RF) signals that can transmit small and large amounts of data. The radio signals are carried on electromagnetic waves and the data is encoded and mapped using modulation techniques to determine the form. The waveform generated is specified by a complex mathematical representation.

The Beagle waveform was applied on Fleet Space's Centauri 4 low Earth orbit (LEO) satellite to deliver tactical PTT during the demonstration, which was announced by the company on 12 March. The demonstration was conducted as part of Defence Space Command's (DSpC's) ASCEND2LEO programme, which aims to develop a LEO satellite communication (satcom) system leveraging Centauri satellites to deliver tactical voice and data transmission where connectivity is limited.


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Israel announces that Oron intelligence aircraft is operational

by Yaakov Lappin & Jeremy Binnie

Oron arriving at Nevatim Air Base in April 2023. (Israeli Air Force)

The Oron intelligence-gathering aircraft is carrying out missions in support of Operation ‘Iron Swords' against Hamas in the Gaza Strip, the Israel Ministry of Defense (MoD) announced on 26 March.

“The aircraft became operational quickly for use in Operation ‘Iron Swords' and has already recorded hundreds of operational flight hours and close to 100 sorties,” the MoD said in a statement.

Developed by the MoD's Directorate of Defense Research and Development (DDR&D), Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI), and the Israeli Air Force (IAF), the Oron is a Gulfstream G550 business jet equipped with an advanced active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar produced by IAI subsidiary Elta, as well as electro-optical and signals intelligence (SIGINT) sensors and advanced data-processing systems.

“What makes Oron unique is its ability to perform a wide range of intelligence missions in the same sortie and to transmit in real time to all relevant entities,” the MoD's statement said. It added that the aircraft can collect a larger volume of information than any other Israeli platform.


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https://www.janes.com/defence-news/air-platforms/latest/usaf-grounds-part-of-training-fleet-amid-martin-baker-ejection-seat-issues

The US Air Force (USAF) said that 40% of its Northrop T-38 Talon training aircraft may be affected b...

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