Defense`s Feeds

EDA has issued a call for applications from parties interested in participating in the third edition of the ‘EDA Defence Innovation Prize’ contest rewarding companies and research entities who come up with innovative and ground-breaking technologies, products, processes or services applicable in the defence domain.

The area that has been selected for this year innovation prize is “AI applications for defence” and will include:

• Supporting decision-making tools in command and control
• Improve intelligence gathering and processing of information to improve the common operational picture
• Supporting the autonomy of unmanned systems
• Demonstrating the efficient use of AI in combination with 5G and Internet of Things

 
The winning idea/concept will be worth 30,000€

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is recognised as a disruptive technology with potentially revolutionary effects already in the short term. 

Even though civil applications and commercial producers are the main drivers behind the Artificial Intelligence evolution, Ministries of Defence and armed forces do not ignore the potential benefits of using these technologies to improve European defence capabilities.

Against this backdrop, contesters for this EDA Defence Innovation Prize are expected to propose ideas or concepts which, if implemented between now and 2035, would help improve and enhance specific EU defence capabilities.

No specific defence background is required to participate in the contest which is open to innovators from ALL types of industries and research institutions in Europe: defence & civil/commercial producers, large companies & SMEs, defence-related & civil research communities. Applications from dual-use and civil/commercial innovators and researchers are even particularly encouraged.

The rules of the contest and the criteria for participation are available here. 

Deadline for submissions: 30 August 2019 (5pm Brussels time).

Information on how to apply can be found in the contest documentation under the link above.

The prize winners will be notified not later than October 2019. An EDA Defence Innovation Prize award ceremony is scheduled to take place at the 2019 EDA Annual Conference in Brussels.

 

Status of the 2nd edition of the EDA innovation

The selection committee of the 2nd EDA Innovation prize, after a thorough evaluation of the submitted project ideas, decided not to award the prize to any of the participating project ideas. The reasoning behind this decision of the selection committee wasn’t because of the quality or merit of the submitted ideas but due to the fact that none of them could demonstrate a clear contribution of the project idea to a defence problem.
 

More information:

• Call for applications
• EDA Defence Innovation Prize webpage

 

The 19th edition of the Joint Personnel Recovery Staff Course, which ended today in Veszprem (Hungary), was also the last one of its kind: after six years, EDA’s Personnel Recovery Controller and Planner Course (PRCPC) project came to a successful conclusion. The last JPRSC was organized by the Hungarian Defence Forces’ Air Command and Control Centre with the support of the European Personnel Recovery Centre (EPRC), a close partner of EDA. 

Launched in May 2013 as an EDA ‘Cat B’ project initially supported by Sweden (lead), Austria, Germany and The Netherlands, the PRCPC grew over time to count today eight participating Member States (Belgium, Cyprus, Hungary and Italy joined later). During the six years, the project allowed participating Member States to train more than 500 staff who are now able to perform specific Personnel Recovery Planning tasks during military operations.
 

Follow-up project underway

Based on the project’s success, a follow-up collaborative initiative is already under preparation within the Agency, as a ‘Cat B’ project called ‘Joint Personnel Recovery Education and Training Courses’. Its objective will be to organise multinational Joint Personnel Recovery (JPR) training events under EDA’s umbrella.  Moreover, new courses will be developed and organised such as specific ‘JPR Leadership Courses’ and ‘JPR operational Planner Courses’.
 

Background

In 2011, EDA’s Project Team Personnel Recovery identified the lack of well-trained PR staff in military operations as an important operational shortfall, as well as a training gap. Accordingly, it initiated a series of four pilot courses for PR controller and planners to assess the need for conducting multinational PR courses at EU level. The four pilots were hosted by Sweden (March 2011), the Netherlands (November 2011) and Germany (March & November 2012).  Based on their success, four PT PR participating Member States (AT, DE, NL, SE) decided to join their forces under EDA’s umbrella for organizing multinational PRCPC events. The Cat B project PRCPC was established, initially for just two years but later extended twice for two years respectively, until 30 May 2019. In the meantime, four additional Member States (BE, CY, HU, IT) had joined.

In November 2018, the PRCPC contributing Member States decided to make the course documentation available to all EDA Member States, at no cost, in order to support them overcome the existent shortfall on well-trained PR staff. For this purpose, a dedicated workspace will be created under EDA’s Collaboration Platform.
 

More information

For more details regarding PRCPC/JPRSC documentation and related PR training tools (SERE e-learning and PR FAS ATD) please contact EDA at CAP@eda.europa.eu.

Americas

Raytheon won a $15.3 million contract in support of the Cooperative Engagement Capability (CEC). The deal includes design agent and engineering service efforts. According to Raytheon, the CEC program provides a sensor network with integrated fire control capability that significantly improves strike force air and missile defense capabilities by coordinating measurement data from strike force air search sensors on CEC-equipped units into a single, integrated real-time, composite track air picture. CEC improves battle force effectiveness by improving overall situational awareness and by enabling longer range, cooperative, multiple, or layered engagement strategies. CEC will be designed to help the military service coordinate measurement data from sensors during strike force air search missions and facilitate battle force situational awareness. Raytheon will perform work in Florida. The scheduled completion date is in September 2022.

The US Navy awarded L3 Technology a $14.1 million contract modification for MK 20 MOD 1 Electro-Optical Sensor Systems, which is a major component of the MK 34 Gun Weapon Systems employed by the DDG 51 class, CG 47 class and the Coast Guard’s offshore patrol centers. The MK 20 provides highly accurate, three-dimensional, time-tagged target position data in support of GWS operations, as well as day and night imagery to support visual detection and identification, navigation, surveillance and situational awareness. The modification also provides for radar cross section kits, shock ring kits, engineering support services, and spares for both the Navy and Coast Guard. The systems are to support the Gun Weapon Systems by performing safety check-sighting, look-point-shoot, target ranges, identification of air and surface targets in support of anti-air warfare and anti-surface warfare. Work will take place in Massachusetts and is scheduled to be completed by August 2021.

L3 Technologies and Northrop Grumman each won contract modifications in support of the Next Generation Jammer Low Band (NGJ LB) controller, receiver, exciter, and power generation subsystems. NGJ-LB is an external radar and communications jamming pod that is carried underneath an aircraft and is part of a larger series of weapon systems contracts that are planned to ultimately replace the aging ALQ-99 Tactical Jamming System currently used on Boeing EA-18G Growlers. The Navy awarded both companies more then $13 million for the modifications, which also provide for NGJ LB technique development, incorporation of updated goals documents, and environmental testing of the transmitter group. In October, L3 and Northrop won two separate $36 million technology demonstration contracts for the NGJ LB. Work by both companies is scheduled to be completed in June next year.

Middle East & Africa

According to reports, the US Marine Corps is seeking new air defense systems as it faces advancing military capabilities from Russia and China and contends with the proliferation of drone technology among small terror groups. The Corps is eyeing Israel’s Iron Dome or SkyHunter. According to a Senate briefing, the Marine Corps sought limited funding in fiscal year 2019 to begin testing and integration of the SkyHunter system with the Corps’ Ground/Air Task-Oriented Radar, or G/ATOR. The Iron Dome is designed to intercept and destroy short-range rockets and artillery shells fired from distances of 4 kilometers away. It is effective day or night and in all weather conditions including low clouds, rain, dust storms and fog. It features a first-of-its-kind multi-mission launcher designed to fire a variety of interceptor missiles. The Marine Corps has reportedly considered mounting the launchers and Iron Dome’s Tamir interceptors on the Joint Light Tactical Vehicle, or JLTV, and Oshkosh’s Medium Tactical Vehicle Replacement truck, or MTVR.

Europe

The UK Ministry of Defense gave Industry teams that have been bidding for the Royal Navy’s Type 31e frigate program additional financial headroom. The Ministry also loosened some commercial conditions in regard of design and build phase. The Type 31e program is for the acquisition of a class of five globally deployable general-purpose frigates geared towards forward-deployed maritime security, presence, and defense engagement operations. A few days ago it was reported that industry insiders warned of spiraling costs related to the project. The move by the Ministry of Defense means that the bidders will no longer be responsible for bearing the costs of government furnished equipment in their bids.

Asia-Pacific

The US government together with the Japanese Ministry of Defense are deepening their talks about Japan’s program to develop a platform in order to replace Japan’s Mitsubishi F-2 fighter, Jane’s reports. The F-2 support fighter aircraft is a multi role single engine fighter aircraft, which also resulted from a joint Japan and USA development program. But with the Air Self-Defense Force’s F-2 aircraft due to be retired in the mid-2030s, Japan has begun to examine potential replacement fighter jets. Costs may be reduced through joint development with other nations and industry giants from countries such as the US and the UK have proposed development plans based on existing aircraft. Discussions between the US and Japan are currently focused on the fighter aircraft technologies that the US would transfer to Japan to support the next-generation fighter program, which Japan wants to make a decision on in the near future.

The training ground for the Taiwanese F-16 pilots at Luke Air Force Base in Arizona will be relocated to Tucson International Airport within the next two years. The relocation will cost Taiwan approximately $8 million. Taiwan’s pilots have trained at Luke Air Force Base for more than 20 years since the country purchased the first batch of F-16 fighter jets from the US. The transfer of the 21st Fighter Squadron, where Taiwanese pilots are trained to fly F-16 jets, will begin in 2020, to provide space for new F-35 fighters.

Today’s Video

Watch: IDEF 2019 Aselsan Turkish defense industry equipment for military and security forces

Americas

The Navy awarded Lockheed Martin an $84.9 million modification for the AEGIS combat system. The deal provides for engineering, architecture, development, integration and test as well as Naval Integrated Fire Control-Counter Air integration and test, and training, studies and computer program maintenance. Aegis is a centralized, automated command-and-control and weapons control system that was designed as a total weapon system, from detection to kill. Lockheed will perform work in Moorestown, New Jersey. The scheduled completion date is in December this year.

Pratt & Whitney won a $55.7 million contract modification for additional funding for F135 long lead items. The deal supports the production delivery schedule, and exercises an option for additional initial spare parts. It also provides program administrative labor for the global spares pool in support of the Navy, Air Force, and Marine Corps, non-US DoD participants and Foreign Military Sales customers.The Pratt & Whitney F135 afterburning turbofan powers all three variants of the F-35 Lightning II fighter aircraft. Ten years ago, Pratt & Whitney delivered its first production version of the engine for the F-35 fighter program. The company managed to reduce the cost of producing each engine by over half in the last ten years. It plans to continue cutting manufacturing costs in the years ahead through tight management of production processes and suppliers. Work under the current modification will take place within the US and the UK and is expected to be finished by April 2022.

BAE Systems won a $10.9 million delivery order to upgrade the Advanced Precision Kill Weapon System (APKWS) guidance section. APKWS is an add-on kit that turns a standard unguided 2.75-inch 70 millimeter rocket into a precision laser-guided munition to give warfighters a low-cost surgical strike capability. Typically the kit fits on the Hydra 70 fin-stabilized unguided air-to-ground rocket. The APKWS rocket is qualified on the AH-1W and UH-1Y helicopters, and is expected to be similarly qualified for use on several other rotary- and fixed-wing aircraft. The system is available to allied forces through Foreign Military Sales. The order asks BAE Systems to combine separate guidance sections for the APKWS II intended for helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft into one hardware and software solution. The APKWS II uses semi-active laser-guidance for US military and allied military aircraft. BAE will perform work in New Hampshire and Texas and the scheduled completion date is in April 2021.

Middle East & Africa

The last of 36 F-16IQ Fighting Falcon aircraft arrived in Iraq on May 3. Having ordered its F-16IQs in two batches of 18 aircraft during 2011 and 2012, the Iraqi Air Force received its first one in late 2014. However, because of the critical security situation in the country at that time, Iraqi pilots and maintainers trained on their new aircraft alongside the Arizona Air National Guard’s 162nd Wing at Tucson, Arizona. The F-16IQ’s first reported combat mission came in April 2018, with a raid being flown against Islamic State targets in Syria. The Iraqi Ministry of Defense announced in early April this year that a new batch of F-16s would soon arrive at the Balad Air Base as part of the agreement between Iraq and the US.

Europe

Romania wants to purchase a new drone for expansion and modernization plans. The Navy seeks to purchase a completely new unmanned aerial system for the maritime and riverine domaine. The reason for this is growing tensions with Russia on the Black Sea. Romania wants to expend its presence in the Black Sea, the Mediterranean and elsewhere as needed by allies as well as maintain a submarine program beyond 2030. Additionally, plans are underway to buy four new multipurpose corvettes as the core of the Romanian Navy, and to modernize its Type 22 frigates defensenews reports.

According to local reports, the upgraded version of Russia’s Su-25 will get a sighting system with artificial intelligence elements that will be able to independently identify hostile targets, keep them in sight and guide missiles. The pilot would only have to select a target on the screen and the rest would be taken care of by AI. The new technology has reportedly been integrated into the unified troop command and control system, which allows mapping an optimal route towards the target and the trajectory of using weapons. The upgraded attack aircraft will also receive data on targets from external sources through the command and control system.

Asia-Pacific

Bloomberg reports that the weapons launched by North Korea on Saturday traveled into the stratosphere and flew long enough to strike deep into South Korea. The test could mean that North Korea is looking to thwart US missile interceptors, according to Kim Ki-ho, a defense professor at Kyonggi University in Seoul and former army colonel. Specifically, the weapons appeared to be flying too low to be intercepted by the US THAAD system and too fast for the Patriot System. The Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) is a transportable system that intercepts ballistic missiles inside or outside the atmosphere during their final, or terminal, phase of flight. It can intercept missiles flying at an altitude of 40 kilometers or more. Low-altitude missiles can be defended by the Patriot missile defense system. The Patriot is is a long-range, all-altitude, all-weather air defense system to counter tactical ballistic missiles, cruise missiles and advanced aircraft. Neither the US nor South Korea have confirmed North Korea fired a ballistic missile, which would be in violation of international agreements and complicate their current detente with Pyongyang.

Today’s Video

Watch: U.S. B-52s Take off for Bomber Task Force deployment from Barksdale Air Force Base

The European Defence Agency (EDA) currently has several job openings in different Directorates: 8 Seconded National Experts (SNE), 3 Temporary Agents, 2 Contract Agents and 10 Trainees (1 year duration). The profiles we’re looking for include head of unit, project officer, assistant and trainee positions across all EDA Directorates. Candidates must apply via the EDA website. 

Among the vacancies, you will find the position of Deputy Director/Head of Unit (Air Domain), Head of Unit Operations Support, Education, Training and Exercise, Project Officer SES Policy, Project Officer Land Programmes, Project Officer REACH, Project Officer Counter-IED, Project Officer Cyber Defence Technology, Project Officer Engage, Project Officer CDP & CODABA, Project Officer Air Systems Technologies and many more. Starting dates vary between September 2019 - September 2020. 

Through the EDA Traineeship Programme we offer 10 trainee posts of 1 year duration in different domains, starting September 2019. Deadline for applications: 31 May 2019.

Do not miss this chance and consult the EDA job portal for an overview of all open posts!

The Agency is an “outward-facing” organisation, constantly interacting with its shareholders, the participating Member States, as well as with a wide range of stakeholders. It works in an integrated way, with multi-disciplinary teams representing all of the Agency’s functional areas, to realise its objectives. Its business processes are flexible and oriented towards achieving results. Staff at all levels need to demonstrate the corresponding qualities of commitment, flexibility, innovation, and team-working; to work effectively with shareholders and stakeholder groups, formal and informal; and to operate without the need for detailed direction.

Americas

BAE Systems together with Lockheed Martin have supplied the US Air Force with long-range anti-ship missiles (LRASM) for the B-1B bomber aircraft, reaching early operational capability ahead of schedule. LRASM is equipped with BAE-built sensor and targeting technology that works to detect and engage adversarial warships. Bruce Konigsberg, the company’s Radio Frequency Sensors product area director explained that the ”sensor systems provide US warfighters with a strike capability that lets them engage protected, high-value maritime targets from safe distances. The missile provides a critical advantage to US warfighters”. The system uses semi-autonomous guidance and target cueing data to precisely locate and attack targets, reducing reliance on ISR platforms, networking links, and GPS navigation, which could be compromised by enemy electronic weapons. The service branch accepted the missile systems after completing integration, simulation and flight tests aimed to demonstrate mission readiness of the technology. BAE will produce more than 50 additional LRASM sensors for integration onto the US Navy’s F/A-18E/F Super Hornet.

The US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) is preparing to flight test two hypersonic weapons. DARPA director Steven Walker said during a breakfast meeting in Washington DC on May 1that both hypersonic vehicle prototypes were on track to have flights „before the calendar year ends“. One vehicle is part of the hypersonic air-breathing weapon concept, or HAWC, program. The other is the tactical boost glide, or TBG, effort. The military envisions developing TBG as an air-launched rocket with speeds faster than Mach 5 and able to reach altitudes of nearly 200,000 ft. The HAWC is also designed to be air launched but is envisioned as a hypersonic cruise missile. By the end of 2019, DARPA plans to flight test both weapons off a B-52 bomber. However, if qualifying challenges occur, Walker said the tests could extend into the early 2020 time frame. Additionally to working with the USAF on TBG and HAWC, DARPA has partnered with the US Army on the Operational Fires development program that is essentially a ground-launched capability with the TBG “front end“.

Middle East & Africa

The US State Department approved a possible Foreign Military Sale to Bahrain for various Patriot missile systems and related support and equipment. The Patriot missile systems deal is for $2.5 billion and adds Bahrain to a list of 16 countries that use the system. In addition to the United States, other countries in the region using the system include Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, United Arab Emirates and Qatar. Poland, Romania and Sweden are among the other militaries to most recently acquire the Patriot system. Bahrain has requested 60 Patriot Advanced Capability-3 Missile Segment Enhancement missiles, 36 Patriot MIM-104E Guidance Enhanced Missiles with canisters, nine M903 launching stations, five antenna mast groups, three electrical power plants III, two AN/MPQ-65 radar sets and two AN/MSQ-132 engagement control stations along with communications equipment, various tools, support equipment, training, technical equipment, and engineering and logistics support services. Lockheed-Martin is the prime contractor for the PAC-3 missile.

Europe

British Typhoons officially started their NATO Baltic Air Policing mission from Amari Air Base in Estonia on May 3. The aircraft from XI(F) Squadron normally based at RAF Coningsby in Lincolnshire already arrived on April 24 and the crew has been working with the German Luftwaffe and their Eurofighters to prepare themselves for the NATO mission of providing a Quick Reaction Alert capability off the Baltic Sea area around Estonia. The Handover Ceremony marked the replacement of the German aircraft with the British Typhoons and their crew.

Asia-Pacific

On May 4, the Chinese and the Russian Navy conducted their first ever joint warship-based live-fire missile exercise as part of the Joint Sea 2019 China-Russia naval drills. The Joint Sea 2019 is the latest iteration of an annual naval exercise between China’s People’s Liberation Army Navy and the Russian Navy that has been taking place since 2012. The drill was split into two parts, with the shore part of the exercise conducted from April 29 to 30, while the sea component was set to take place from May 1 to 4 in the East China Sea and Yellow Sea. The air defense exercise started around 12:40 pm on Saturday. Upon their approaches, the Chines Navy’s destroyer Harbin and Russian Navy’s anti-submarine ship Admiral Tributs launched a short-range surface-to-air missile each and successfully intercepted the two incoming threats.

The Pentagon 2019 China Military Power Report says the first Chinese aircraft carrier with catapults will enter the fleet in 2022. China began construction of its second domestically built aircraft carrier in 2018. The new carrier, which will be the third overall carrier for China, will be larger than the first domestically constructed ship and will feature a catapult launch system. According to the Pentagon report, the design will enable the carrier to support additional fighter aircraft, fixed-wing early-warning aircraft, and more rapid flight operations. China has one carrier, the Liaoning, in service with the People’s Liberation Army Navy. Formerly a Soviet heavy aircraft-carrying cruiser, this vessel is the flagship of China’s Navy.

Today’s Video

Watch: Airbus A400M Atlas will replace old C-130 military transport aircraft in the Belgian Air Force

Representatives of all EU and NATO Member States as well as the NATO International Staff were invited to the EDA premises today for an informal briefing on the revised Capability Development Plan (CDP) approved in June 2018 and on its ongoing implementation process. The event was held at the initiative of the EDA Steering Board as part of the renewed EU-NATO cooperation under the Warsaw and Brussels Joint Declarations which call for more transparency and coherence of output between the EU and NATO defence planning processes. 22 EU Member States are also NATO Allies.

Jorge Domecq, the EDA Chief Executive, and Martin Konertz, the Capability, Armament & Planning Director, provided participants with an detailed overview on the general CDP process, on last year’s revision and the 11 new EU Capability Development Priorities, as well as on their implementation through the development of individual Strategic Context Cases (SCCS) which will serve as launching pads for potential future collaborative projects. They also explained the crucial role the CDP plays as a key reference for Member States’ and EU's capability development, and how it guides and informs the Coordinated Annual Review on Defence (CARD), the Permanent Structured Cooperation (PESCO), and the European Defence Fund (EDF). 

Participants were also briefed about how EDA ensures coherence with NATO, thus mitigating the risk of unnecessary duplication.  The Agency will continue to pursue coherence of output and timelines between the EU and NATO Defence Planning Processes in full transparency with the Member States.

“The meeting aimed at further enhancing transparency and visibility on the overall process and main elements of the revised CDP priorities, and at elaborating on the ways EU and NATO pursue coherence of output as well as the associated benefits, considering that Member States/Allies have a single set of forces and capabilities”, Mr Domecq commented. “I am confident that the meeting was particularly beneficial to those Allies which are not involved in the CDP process”. 
 

More information

• 2018 European Capability Development Priorities (EDA brochure)

 

Americas

Orbital Sciences, a subsidiary of Northrop Grumman won a $46.8 million contract modification to provide Intercontinental Ballistic Missile (ICBM) target capability upgrade kits and associated engineering. Northrop Grumman is the prime contractor for the ICBM program. The company and its industry partners were chartered with maintaining readiness of the nation’s ICBM weapon system by ensuring the system’s total performance. The 18-plus year contract delivered sustaining engineering support and two Acquisition Category I / 13 Acquisition Category III ICBM modernization programs. According to Northrop Grumman, Orbital ATK has played a key role on every Intercontinental Ballistic Missile (ICBM) program for more than five decades. Since the Minuteman I was first fielded in 1962, Orbital ATK, along with its legacy companies, has provided motor stages and refurbishment services for the program. Last year it was reported, that Northrop Grumman and Boeing were developing competing designs for a new intercontinental ballistic missile that will replace the aging Minuteman III. Orbital Sciences will perform work in Chandler, Arizona and the scheduled completion date is in December 2023.

The US Air Force launched a Minuteman III Intercontinental Ballistic Missile from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. The unarmed rocket equipped with a test re-entry vehicle took off at 2:42 a.m. on Wednesday. The missile traveled approximately 4,200 miles to the Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands. According to the Air Force, the test was designed to verify the accuracy and reliability of the ICBM weapon system in an effort “to ensure a continued safe, secure and effective nuclear deterrent. The Department of Defense, the Department of Energy and US Strategic Command use data collected from test launches for ongoing force development evaluation.

Insitu won a $23 million modification for Mid-Endurance Unmanned Aircraft Systems (MEUAS) 1.5B intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance services. MEUAS is a fee-for-service or “power by the hour” contractor-owned and operated UAV network deployed in support of Special Operations Command. It uses catapult-launched mid-sized UAVs to provide intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance information to special forces on the ground. Insitu manufactures the ScanEagle UAV for the US military. The ScanEagle is an ISR-capable drone that can operate at high altitudes and has a very high endurance of over 24 hours. It carries an assortment of sensory and surveillance equipment.

Middle East & Africa

The State Department approved a possible Foreign Military Sale of Patriot Advanced Capability-3 Missiles Segment Enhanced to the United Arab Emirates. The sale, which is valued at $2.7 billion, would entail 452 PAC-3 MSE and related equipment. The UAE requested a possible sale of 452 PAC-3 Missiles Segment Enhanced. Also included are tools and test equipment, support equipment, publications and technical documentation, personnel training and training equipment, spare and repair parts, facility design, US Government and contractor technical, engineering, and logistics support services, and other related elements of logistics, sustainment and program support.

Bahrain requested to buy 32 AIM-120C-7 AMRAAM missiles and various other weapon systems to support its F-16 Block 70/F-16V aircraft fleet for an estimated cost of $750 million. The contract also includes 32 AIM-9X missiles and 20 AGM-84 Block II Harpoon missiles among others. These weapons support the new procurement of F-16 Block 70 and upgrades of existing F-16V aircraft, providing an increase in the capability of existing aircraft to sustain operations, meet training requirements, and support transition training for pilots to the upgraded aircraft. The principal contractors for this effort will be Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Company, Raytheon Missile Systems, and Boeing Corporation. There are no known offset agreements proposed in connection with this potential sale.

Europe

During the IDEF 2019, Turkish company Nero Industries announced it had signed a contract to supply the Ukrainian government with 90 Umay soft-kill active protection systems. Jane’s reports, that the Umay systems uses laser warning receivers that are able to operate across either a 180° arc, or through 360°. In addition to sensors detecting laser radiation, designed to detect second-generation anti-tank systems with a laser beam guidance system, it includes the director of an aerosol smoke screen, which can counter up to eight grenades in course of countering the enemy.

Asia-Pacific

India plans to build an aircraft carrier along the lines of the British HMS Queen Elizabeth as part of the „Make in India“ negotiations. The Indian Navy wants to buy detailed plans for the 65,000-ton British warship to build a so-called “copycat supercarrier“, named INS Vishal. The Sunday Mirror reports that „an Indian delegation has already visited Rosyth dockyard in Scotland where HMS Queen Elizabeth was assembled and where a second supercarrier, HMS Prince of Wales, is now being built“. The report notes that such a new Naval carrier would serve alongside India’s 45,000-ton carrier INS Vikramaditya. The design for UK aircraft carriers is owned by the British and French aerospace giants BAE and Thales. The reported India-UK Naval deal would follow the sale of Britain’s Falklands War carrier HMS Hermes to India in 1987.

Today’s Video

Watch: IDEF 2019 SSB Turkish Defense industry defense and security products for military market Turkey

Americas

The Air Force and Raytheon successfully conducted an exercise involving high-energy microwaves and guided lasers to shoot down drones. Raytheon’s advanced high power microwave (HPM) and mobile high energy laser (HEL) systems engaged and defeated multiple unmanned aerial system targets. The high energy laser system uses invisible beams of light to shoot down aerial targets, and the high-powered microwave bursts disrupt drone guidance systems. Its primary advantages are speed and a low cost per engagement. The weapons have been mounted on all-terrain vehicles specially made by Minnesota’s Polaris Industries for the military. Raytheon and the US. Air Force Research Laboratory have partnered on a $2 million contract to test and demonstrate high-power microwave and counter-UAV technologies.

The US Air Force conducted an airstrike targeting terrorist organization Islamic State’s assets at Wadi Ashai, Iraq using the F-35A Lightning II aircraft for the first time. The conventional take-off and landing fighter jets, performing the strike in support of Combined Joint Task Force Operation Inherent Resolve, used a Joint Direct Attack Munition to conduct the air strike to take out an entrenched Daesh tunnel network and weapons cache deep in the Hamrin Mountains. The strike marked the first combat employment of the F-35A. The F-35A aircraft were recently deployed from Hill Air Force Base, Utah, US, to Al Dhafra Air Base in the UAE and joined the Combined Forces Air Component team in the CENTCOM area of operations (AOR) last month.

Collins Aerospace announced that it had supported the first end-to-end flight of General Atomic Aeronautical Systems’ MQ-9B SkyGuardian Remotely Piloted Aircraft in civil airspace. The flight took place at the Yuma Proving Grounds in Arizona on March 12. General Atomics used the Collins Aerospace Pro Line Fusion integrated avionics system as part of the interface for the flight’s ground control station. The integration of the FAA-certified Pro Line Fusion into UAS ground control stations helps to bring together a multitude of data inputs such as weather, airspace information, mission data, SAR pattern flight management and notice to airmen notifications, providing real-time mission optimization and a common operating picture for the operator.

Middle East & Africa

Turkish company Aselsan finished integration of the PULAT Active Protections System to Turkish Army’s M60T main battle tanks. Aselsan developed PULAT to meet the emerging demand to protect against the increase of rocket (RPG) and anti-tank guided missile (ATGM) threats against tanks. PULAT detects anti-tank missiles or rockets approaching to the platform with its high technology radar and disables them at optimum range from the platform by utilizing Hard-Kill method. ASELSAN has also been developing the AKKOR active protection system for ALTAY main battle tanks. The system is currently undergoing field tests and will be delivered to the Turkish Armed Forces along with mass production ALTAY main battle tanks.

Aselsan introduced another new technology at the IDEF 19 in Istanbul, which started on April 30. The Turkish company showcased an active electronically scanned array (AESA) design that is being pitched for integration on the Turkish Air Force’s F-16 fleet. According to the company, the radar will be able to perform non-co-operative and automatic target recognition, while also featuring protection against radar frequency jamming, and has electronic support and electronic attack functions. Aselsan sees the radar competing with systems such as Northrop Grumman’s APG-83 Scalable Agile Beam Radar on the domestic and export market.

Europe

Raytheon won a $159 million contract to support large-scale, live training exercises at the US Army’s Joint Multinational Readiness Center (JMRC) in Hohenfels, Germany. Raytheon developed the Mobile Instrumentation System technology that enables the distributed training. On the ground at JMRC, Raytheon provides a range of services including training area instrumentation, after action reviews and battlefield effects to increase training realism. The US Army Garrison Hohenfels Training Area is the largest US Army Europe maneuver training area and comes under the command of the Commanding General, Joint Multinational Training Center, Grafenwoehr.

Asia-Pacific

In the May issue of Combat Aircraft Magazine, Journalist Angad Singh states that the French Rafale will most likely win India’s 2019 tender for 110 new warplanes. Since India already once ordered 36 Rafales as part of an earlier fighter tender, he explains: “With 36 aircraft already on order and the infrastructure in place for an additional 36, a case could certainly be made that training, basing and sustainment costs for additional aircraft would not be an impossible burden.“ This would be bad news for Lockheed Martin as the company is developing a new variant of its iconic F-16 single-engine fighter in order to compete in the tender. Other candidates for the Indian tender are the Saab Gripen from Sweden, the European Eurofighter Typhoon, the MiG-35 from Russia and the Boeing Super Hornet from the United States.

Today’s Video

Watch: IDEF 2019 international defense industry fair exhibition show daily news Istanbul Turkey Day 2

Jean-François Ripoche joined the European Defence Agency (EDA) on 1 May 2019 as the Research, Technology and Innovation (RTI) Director. He previously held the position of Research and Technology Director at the Strategy Directorate of DGA (Direction générale de l'armement), the French Ministry of Defence Procurement Agency.

Mr Ripoche graduated from the Ecole Polytechnique (X90) and the Ecole Nationale Supérieure des Techniques Avancées in Paris, and holds a PhD in laser Physics. 

With his engineering background, Jean-François Ripoche brings to EDA years of experience in Research and Technology in the military field. He started his career in 1998 at the DGA and worked across various domains such as UAVs, Landsystems, Space and Cybersecurity. 

Holding the position of Deputy Director for Industrial Affairs in charge of the electronics, land systems and naval systems industries from 2008 to 2012, he developed a sound experience of relations with industry.

“l look forward to joining the European Defence Agency during this very challenging period. Research, technology and innovation are key areas that will contribute to effectively deliver European defence capabilities. I am committed to continuing the work initiated at EDA to streamline Member States’ and European defence R&T priorities and to promote cooperation opportunities, using adequate funding instruments”, Mr Ripoche said upon taking up his duties.

As Research, Technology and Innovation Director, Jean-François Ripoche will lead a key Directorate of the Agency which fosters and supports defence research at EU level. Based on the Overarching Strategic Research Agenda (OSRA), developed together with the Member States, the Directorate coordinates and plans joint research activities and the study of technical solutions to meet future operational needs. The Directorate provides support to Member States and to the European Commission for the Preparatory Action on defence research, including its implementation, and the research dimension of the European Defence Fund. The Directorate also ensures the promotion of innovation in defence and the exploitation of synergies at EU level with civil research in dual-use technology.
 

More information:

• Jean-Francois Ripoche CV

Americas

Northrop Grumman won a contract action with a not-to-exceed-value of $132.3 million to integrate the Department of Navy Large Aircraft Infrared Countermeasures (LAIRCM) system onto aircraft for the US Navy, Army, and the governments of the UK and Norway. The deal provides necessary hardware and systems technical support, analysis and studies for the integration work. The LAIRCM system enhances individual aircraft survival through improved aircrew situational awareness of the electromagnetic threat environment. The fundamental requirement for the LAIRCM system is to provide protection against man-portable, shoulder-fired and vehicle launched infrared guided missiles. Hardware for the procurement includes 283 advanced threat warning sensors, 79 control indicator unit replaceables, 52 -2103 signal processors, 120 infrared missile warning sensors, 91 Guardian Laser Transmitter Assemblies (GLTAs), 13 multi-role electro-optical end-to-end test sets, 190 GLTA shipping containers, 46 high capacity cards, 10 LAIRCM signal processor replacements smart connector assemblies, and 123 personal computer memory card, international association cards. Northrop will perform work within the US and expected completion date is in June 2021.

Boeing won a $21.1 million delivery order to procure inlet retrofit kits for the T-45 aircraft. The deal also includes support equipment and special tooling and engineering as well as logistics support for installations. In January, the US Navy tapped Boeing with a $56.7 million contract for T-45 support. The T-45 Goshawk is a highly modified version of the British BAE Systems Hawk land-based training jet aircraft. The T-45 was selected to meet the US Navy requirement for an undergraduate jet pilot trainer to replace the TA-4J Skyhawk and T-2C Buckeye. It features a new forward fuselage deepened to house a new twin-wheel nose gear, redesigned main gear units, a taller fin and tailplane of increased span, a single ventral fin, fuselage side-mounted airbrakes, an arrester hook and small fins ahead of and below the tailplanes. Work for the delivery order will take place in Patuxent River, Maryland and is scheduled to be completed in July next year.

Middle East & Africa

Jane’s reports that new Algerian aerial vehicles carried out an airstrike on April 28 and 29. The two El Djazair UAVs successfully engaged with a target in a mountainous area. This was the first time the Ministry of National Defense in Algeria announced a UAV strike. The target was identified by an El Djazair 54 and engaged with two El Djazair 55s. On December 20, 2018, the Algerian National People’s Army conducted air operations at the Central Air Polygon in Hassi Bahbah, located in the region of Ain Ouessara in central Algeria. It deployed four reconnaissance drones, armed and manufactured in Algeria.

Europe

Sweden could approve an extension of operations with the Saab Gripen C/D beyond 2030. This would increase the size of Sweden’s fighter inventory beyond the 60 E-model examples currently on order for its Air Force. The Air Force holds an active fleet of 100 Gripen. Saab has been awarded to produce 60 new-generation E-model fighters for the service, with operations to commence early in the next decade. Gripen C/D is a new-generation, multi-role combat aircraft currently in operation with the Air Forces of Sweden, South Africa, Hungary, Czech Republic and Thailand. Stockholm could confirm the decision to extend Gripen C/D operations on May 14, when it publishes its next long-term defense bill.

Asia-Pacific

Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd resumed flight tests of the HJT-36 Sitara twin-seat aircraft. Testing had been put on hold for three years after the aircraft encountered problems on the spin test flights in 2016. HAL developed the Sitara for the Intermediate Jet Trainer program, which aims to produce a direct replacement for the Indian Air Force Kiran. The production of the Kiran ended in 1989. HAL received a 1999 contract to develop the HJT-36 Sitara as an intermediate trainer successor, but the firm has missed its 2007 in-service date very badly, and a number of crashes have raised concerns. The aircraft that flew recently features a repositioned vertical fin and other design changes. It is possible that, if the new configuration proves up to customer expectations, the Indian Air Force may buy 73 serial examples. Working out remedies to improve spin characteristics for an otherwise promising and mature design required extensive wind testing on scale models. During the past three years, HAL also addressed issues of excessive airframe weight, while its program partners in Russia had more time to improve the engine that powers the HJT-36.

India’s Ministry of Defense awarded a $901.5 million contract to Garden Reach Shipbuilders & Engineers to build eight Anti-Submarine Warfare Shallow Water Craft (ASWSWC) vessels for the Indian Navy. The vessels will be equipped with advanced integrated platform management systems including propulsion, auxiliary, power generation, distribution and damage control machinery. They will have a speed of 25 knot and will be capable of full-scale sub surface surveillance of coastal waters and coordinated ASW operations with aircraft. The first ASWSWC will be delivered within 42 months, followed by two vessels per year. The performance period for the project is seven years.

Today’s Video

Watch: Amazing video of Wings Over Wayne Air Show 2019, featuring breathtaking stunts, airpower and more

LAIRCM Concept
(click to view full)

Defense Support Services (DS2), a Greenville, SC-based venture between Lockheed Martin and Day & Zimmermann, received a $96 million contract to provide support for the Large Aircraft Infrared Countermeasure (LAIRCM) System.

Northrop Grumman’s LAIRCM is a laser-based countermeasures system that is designed to defend C-17 and C-130 transport aircraft and other large, slow-moving aircraft from an infrared missile attack by automatically detecting a missile launch, determining if it is a threat, and activating a high-intensity system of pulsed lasers to track and defeat the threat by confusing its guidance head…

The LAIRCM was developed in response to heat seeking missiles that are able to outsmart the flares that large aircraft deploy to thwart them. Particularly troublesome are the shoulder-fired man-portable air-defense missiles (MANPADS). More than 700,000 MANPADS are estimated to have been produced in the past 30 years. According to the USAF, 90% of all US air combat losses for the last 25 years can be attributed to infrared missiles, such as MANPADS.

The LAIRCM system has 2 small laser transmitter assemblies mounted on the rear of the plane, as well as 5 missile warning transmitters at various points on the aircraft. The most prominent warning transmitters are in 2 projections on top of the aircraft just back of the cockpit that resemble “horns.” Processors in the cockpit and rear of the plane collect the data and transmit information to the aircrew.

Capt. Jeffrey Bryant, USAF 95th Airlift Squadron’s standardization and evaluation navigator, said that the USAF has seen a lot of MANPADS in Iraq. He explains how the LAIRCM system defeats them.

“The laser transmitters are the heart of the system. They basically work to interrupt the infrared signal, or heat. The two rear lasers ‘blind’ the missile’s eyeball, so it disables the missile’s ability to follow the heat source from the plane.”

The US Air Force’s Aeronautical Systems Center at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base manages the DS2 contact (FA8625-10-D-6501).

Updates

May 2/19: LAIRCM Integration Northrop Grumman won a contract action with a not-to-exceed-value of $132.3 million to integrate the Department of Navy Large Aircraft Infrared Countermeasures (LAIRCM) system onto aircraft for the US Navy, Army, and the governments of the UK and Norway. The deal provides necessary hardware and systems technical support, analysis and studies for the integration work. The LAIRCM system enhances individual aircraft survival through improved aircrew situational awareness of the electromagnetic threat environment. The fundamental requirement for the LAIRCM system is to provide protection against man-portable, shoulder-fired and vehicle launched infrared guided missiles. Hardware for the procurement includes 283 advanced threat warning sensors, 79 control indicator unit replaceables, 52 -2103 signal processors, 120 infrared missile warning sensors, 91 Guardian Laser Transmitter Assemblies (GLTAs), 13 multi-role electro-optical end-to-end test sets, 190 GLTA shipping containers, 46 high capacity cards, 10 LAIRCM signal processor replacements smart connector assemblies, and 123 personal computer memory card, international association cards. Northrop will perform work within the US and expected completion date is in June 2021.

November 22/16: South Korea has been cleared to continue with their purchase of Large Aircraft Infrared Countermeasure systems (LAIRCM). Developed by Northrop Grumman, the pods are designed to protect large aircraft from man-portable missiles. The $141 million sale will see four LAIRCM systems procured for Korean A-330 multirole tanker aircraft. South Korean F-16s are also slated for upgrade, following the awarding of a $1.2 billion contract by the Pentagon to Lockheed Martin.

August 9/16: Northrop Grumman has been awarded $45 million as part of the Large Aircraft Infrared Countermeasures (LAIRCM) program. The USAF deal will see NG conduct work on processor replacement and support hardware with completion expected for April 2018. First fielded in 2005, LAIRCM provides automatic protection against shoulder-fired, vehicle-launched, and other infrared-guided missiles for large transport and rotary-wing aircraft.

HPT-32
(click to view full)

India’s stalled defense procurements have become an international joke, but they’re not funny to front-line participants. The country’s attempts to buy simple artillery pieces have become infamous, but their current problem with trainer aircraft is arguably a more significant wound.

You can’t produce pilots properly without appropriate training, but the IAF’s fleet of 114 locally-designed HPT-32 Deepak basic trainers has been grounded since August 2009, because they aren’t seen as reliable enough or safe enough to fly. Since then, equally aged HJT-16 Kiran jets are being used for both Stage-I and Stage-II fighter training. That yawning gap has added urgency to a replacement buy, but progress has been predictably slow. With its high-end Hawk AJT jet trainer deals behind them after 20+ years of effort, can the IAF take the next step, and plug the hole in the middle of its training? In May 2012, it did.

India’s Trainer Choice(s) Basic Training: Pilatus Wins the Competition

IAF PC-7 MkII
(click to view full)

By June 2011, Switzerland’s Pilatus had emerged as the IAF’s preferred basic choice with their PC-7 Mark II, which is in wide international use with over 20 air forces. The PC-7 Mark II, introduced in 1994, adds all of the avionics advances and some airframe changes from the P-9M, but uses a very cost-efficient Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-25C engine. The engine provides less power, in return for a lower price and lower operating costs. Ejection seats, an anti-g system, and On-Board Oxygen Generating System (OBOGS) help round out its capabilities; and the plane is still touted as being suitable for aerobatics, tactical flying, and night flying. All of these things mark a sharp step up from the HPT-32.

Overall, Pilatus has touted the PC-7 as a trainer that can cover both basic and intermediate training roles, at very low operating costs. In recent years they’ve backed off a bit, emphasizing the PC-9M and PC-21 turboprops as their advanced trainer offerings. On the other hand, the PC-7 Mark II’s original South African customer uses it as the sole lead-in to the same Hawk Advanced Jet Trainer that India flies. Like the HPT-32s, PC-7s can be armed, and this has been done by a number of customers.

To win, Pilatus beat Korean Aerospace’s KT-1 and Hawker Beechcraft’s T-6C in the finals. Embraer’s EMB-314 Super Tucano armed trainer, Finmeccanica’s M-311 jet trainer, and Grob’s G-120 TP didn’t make it past the technical trials.

In May 2012, the IAF has signed a contract to import 75 PC-7s from Pilatus in fly-away condition, and the planes were formally inducted into the IAF in February 2013. Some Indian pilots trained on the PC-7s in Switzerland, then returned to India as trainers themselves.

A HAL proposal for a locally developed “HTT-40 trainer” also lost out at some point in this process, but it has been revived under political pressure as a developmental program. The problem, as a May 2013 article in the Daily Mail explains, is timing:

“As per the project report submitted by the company in 2011, it had promised to deliver two aircraft by 2019 and 10 by 2021. At this rate, the IAF can begin training on home-built [HTT-40s] only by 2022…. The Defence Acquisition Council had mandated IAF to exercise the [38-plane option] clause to buy more aircraft from the foreign vendor only if HAL’s HTT-40 does not take off before the delivery of first Pilatus PC-7. With first Pilatus arriving in February and HTT-40 nowhere in sight, the IAF will go for 38 more PC-7s.”

HAL wants the government to mandate the HTT-40 as the IAF’s only trainer option beyond the initial 75 PC-7s, but the IAF disagrees vigorously, citing timing problems, training volume needs, and HAL’s known problems handling their workload on other programs. Even so, state-owned HAL has managed to block the intended February 2013 approval for the PC-7 contract’s 38-plane option clause. India’s government continues to dither over any means of moving forward, whether that means buying from Switzerland and moving on, having HAL build 106 PC-7s under license, or mandating the HTT-40.

Intermediate Trainers: HAL’s IJT

HJT-36 IJT
(click to view full)

India’s current intermediate training curriculum rests on a dwindling stock of HJT-16 Kiran jets. They were first introduced in 1968, though another 65 Kiran Mk.IIs entered service beginning in 1985. They serve as the bridge between existing basic flight trainers, and the IAF’s advanced Hawk Mk.132s.

HAL received a 1999 contract to develop the HJT-36 Sitara as an intermediate trainer successor, but the firm has missed its 2007 in-service date very badly, and a number of crashes have raised concerns. HAL is contracted to deliver 12 limited series production aircraft and 75 production IJTs, but the Sitara still hasn’t achieved initial certification as of late 2013, and remains saddled with serious aerodynamic issues.

The question is whether the plane can enter service by 2015, and whether it will be safe if it does. A mid-2014 admission that major redesigns are required casts serious doubt on both requirements.

The PC-7 fleet performs the intermediate training role in other countries, and the threat of choking the IAF’s pilot training pipeline may be crippling enough to force a potential opportunity. As of mid-2014, the IAF is floating a foreign RFI for an intermediate trainer that can also serve in counter-insurgency roles. The IAF is already flying one – but India has a long political history of pursuing indigenous programs well past the point of crisis.

Contracts & Key Events 2014 – 2019

HAL admits IJT must be redesigned; IAF looks abroad for IJT options; PC-7s noticeably improving IAF training.

PC-7 Mk.II: unfrozen
(click to view full)

May 2/19: Flight Tests Recommence Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd resumed flight tests of the HJT-36 Sitara twin-seat aircraft. Testing had been put on hold for three years after the aircraft encountered problems on the spin test flights in 2016. HAL developed the Sitara for the Intermediate Jet Trainer program, which aims to produce a direct replacement for the Indian Air Force Kiran. The production of the Kiran ended in 1989. HAL received a 1999 contract to develop the HJT-36 Sitara as an intermediate trainer successor, but the firm has missed its 2007 in-service date very badly, and a number of crashes have raised concerns. The aircraft that flew recently features a repositioned vertical fin and other design changes. It is possible that, if the new configuration proves up to customer expectations, the Indian Air Force may buy 73 serial examples. Working out remedies to improve spin characteristics for an otherwise promising and mature design required extensive wind testing on scale models. During the past three years, HAL also addressed issues of excessive airframe weight, while its program partners in Russia had more time to improve the engine that powers the HJT-36.

June 2/16: Hindustan Aeronautics Limited’s (HAL) Hindustan Turbo Trainer-40 (HTT-40) has made its maiden flight after much delay. The Indian indigenous trainer will see at least 70 of the aircraft procured by the Indian Air Force despite the service’s preference for the Swiss built Pilatus PC-7 Mark II. Funding for the HTT-40 had been blocked by the Defense Ministry after the IAF claimed that the trainer would be too expensive, too heavy, and that it will not meet their need.

Aug 5/14: IJT. Defence Minister Shri Arun Jaitley makes it official, in response to a Rajya Sabha question:

“HAL, which has been developing the Intermediate Jet Trainer (IJT), as a replacement for the Kiran aircraft, has not so far been able to resolve critical wing and airframe Design & Development issues related to stall and spin.

In order to meet the emergent situation created due to inordinate delay in the IJT project, IAF has already initiated the process for extending the technical life of the Kiran aircraft. The IAF has also initiated action to look for alternate options for the IJT.”

See March 30/14 for that RFI. Sources: India MoD, “Replacement of Intermediate Trainer Planes of the IAF”.

July 5/14: IJT redesign. Shiv Aroor’s exclusive report says that HAL is looking for foreign help to redesign the HJT-36 Sitara, and offers some excerpts from the RFI:

“The HJT-36 aircraft presently weighs around 4150 Kg in its Normal Training Configuration…. HAL is envisaging achieving maximum possible weight reduction / optimisation for the aircraft…. The design of the above need to be revisited, analyzed and the scope for weight reduction / optimization studied while ensuring the required strength, stiffness & fatigue criteria…. Towards this HAL is looking forward for partnership / technical assistance / consultancy from a well experienced airframe design house…. This weight reduction / optimization study must be comprehensive, encompassing all the Structure, Mechanical Systems & Electrical Avionics Systems.”

In light of this call for help, it becomes very doubtful that the plane can enter service by 2015 – a date that would already be 8 years late. Indeed, it’s legitimate to question whether the design will ever meet the IAF’s criteria. Whether or not the IAF opens another competition (q.v. March 30/14) will be a political decision. Sources: Livefist, “EXCLUSIVE: Totally Cornered, HAL To Re-design Lumbering Intermediate Trainer”.

May 8/14: PC-7. Pilatus explains how important the PC-7 Mk.IIs have been to India. The translation needs a bit of work, but the gist is very clear. Available, reliable aircraft make a huge difference to pilot training quality:

“Due to the excellent endurance, low maintenance and reliability of the PC-7 MkII aircraft, the Indian Air Force supported by Pilatus has been able to maintain a very high availability rate on the flight line since the introduction of the new platform. Thanks to this, the Indian Air Force is already planning to advance their plans to enhance the number of student pilots by 150% from the next course…. Furthermore, the PC-7 MkII has enabled the Indian Air Force to increase the basic training syllabus in terms of flight hours by 220% compared to the old syllabus and increase the solo content from only 1 to 14 sorties.”

So far, India has taken delivery of 35 PC-7 trainers since the contract was signed in May 2012, and the remaining 40 are being flown in on an accelerated monthly schedule. A Fixed Base Full Mission Simulator is now operational at Dundigal, with a 2nd simulator and other training systems scheduled to be operational by the end of 2014. Overall, the PC-7 MkII fleet has achieved more than 12,000 flying hours, and accumulated well over 24,000 landings since deliveries began in February 2013. Sources: Pilatus, “Indian Air Force Pilatus PC-7 MkII Fleet Clocks Record Performance”.

March 30/14: IJT competition? The IAF has reportedly published a non-binding global RFI regarding intermediate (Stage-II) jet trainers “for a primary task of Stage–II training of Pilots and also capable to undertake a secondary task of Counter Insurgent Operations” (sic).” The specifications seem to aim directly at some of the HJT-36 Sitara’s problem areas:

“Stalling. An unmistakable natural stall warning should be available, irrespective of the configuration. (b) Spinning. The aircraft must be resistant to spin but it should be possible to perform intentional spin upto six turns to either side and recover safely thereafter. The aircraft behavior in the spin should be predictable and consistent. (c) Aerobatics The IJT should be capable of performing loops, barrel rolls, rolls, combination maneuvers and negative ‘g’ flight without adverse effects on the engine and aircraft structure. The aircraft should be capable of sustained inverted flight for at least 30 seconds at sea level at maximum takeoff power…. The aircraft should be capable of carrying at least 1000 kg of external load. The aircraft should be equipped with a minimum of five hard points and each hard point on the wing should be stressed to carry at least 300 kg stores. The aircraft should be, free from buffet, dutch roll, snaking and wing rock during air to ground weapon training. The aircraft should be capable of employing the following armament: (a) Gun. A light weight gun/ gun-pod with adequate ammunition for at least 5 sec of firing time. (b) Rocket Pods. Reusable rocket pods. (c) Bombs. Should be able to carry at least 4×250 kg retarded or ballistic bombs. The stations should be capable of employing Carrier Bomb Light Stores (CBLS) type of dispensers for carriage of practice bombs (25 lbs and 3 Kg).

Defense News says that the RFI was reportedly sent to Russia’s Yakolev; Italy’s Alenia Aermacchi; Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI); Boeing, Northrop Grumman and Beechcraft; and Sweden’s Saab. That’s a strange list, if true. Boeing, Northrop Grumman, and Saab don’t really have current products in this space. Russia’s Yak-130 is a different class, overlapping India’s existing high-end Hawk AJT fleet; ditto KAI’s supersonic T-50 jet. Beechcraft doesn’t make jet trainers, just a T-6C turboprop which is designed for the basic-intermediate role, as is KAI’s KT-1. Ironically, these 2 turboprops were the finalists that Pilatus beat with the PC-7 Mk.II. The only real jet candidate would be Alenia, whose M-311 jet trainer didn’t even make the finals against Pilatus’ PC-7 Mk.II.

If India demands jets, the PC-7 wouldn’t qualify, but the hardpoint requirements may be within the PC-7’s 1,000 kg capacity. There have been efforts to arm the HJT-36 (q.v. Feb 19/11), but it isn’t clear how successful they have been. Sources: Livefist, “HAL’s IJT Delayed, IAF Scouts Foreign Source” | Defense NEws May 2014, “India Looks Abroad for New Jet Trainer”.

Feb 10/14: IJT. Defence Minister Shri AK Antony admits that the HJT-36 IJT isn’t going to arrive any time soon:

“The Intermediate Jet Trainer (IJT) is planned to replace Kiran Mk-I. Due to repeated revisions in the time line set for the Initial Operational Clearance (IOC) of IJT, and also considering the present state of the project regarding induction of the IJT in Indian Air Force (IAF), it has been decided to extend the use of Kiran Mk-I.

After the study of the fatigue life spectrum of Kiran Mk-I aircraft, the Regional Centre for Military Airworthiness (Aircraft) has recommended extension of Total Technical Life of the aircraft. This will help IAF to utilize the fleet till 2017-18, though in gradually reducing numbers.”

Sources: Indian MoD, “Replacement of Kiran Aircraft” | India’s Economic Times, “5th gen fighter aircraft project with Russia delayed: A K Antony”.

Jan 20/14: Next BTA? Ajai Shukla pens an oped that looks at HAL’s arguments for the HTT-40, while dismissing any concerns raised by the other side. That isn’t very valuable in and of itself, and makes his “full” cost figures suspect. On the other hand, he details the IAF’s counter-proposal: INR 24.05 billion (about $393 million) for 10 more full PC-7 imports, and 96 license-assembled PC-7 Mk.IIs at IAF’s 5 Base Repair Depot in Sulur, Tamil Nadu: 28 semi-knocked down kits, and 68 fully knocked-down parts sets.

There is merit to his point that lifetime costs are larger than purchase costs. An India unable to produce its own spares locally does leave itself at the risk of paying more, and subject to currency fluctuations. The core argument involves pinning down the potential differences, and then asking whether the IAF’s training fleet is both economically small enough, and militarily important enough, to justify the tradeoffs in exchange for a no-risk solution. The IAF says yes, and makes an argument. Shulka won’t address the question.

The most interesting point Shulka makes is that the original Basic Trainer Aircraft RFP only covered 75 fully built aircraft. Could a competitor snarl the proceedings by citing the failure to include a local-assembly under Transfer of Technology option, on the basis that they would have won had it been part of the tender? Anywhere other than India, the answer would be no. Separate contracts are separate. In India? Who knows. Sources: Business Standard, “Is indigenisation just a slogan?”

2012 – 2013

PC-7 Mk.II contract signed, plane inducted; HAL fighting to push its HTT-40, attacks procurement process and stalls follow-on basic trainer buy; KAI’s procurement challenge fails; India’s weak currency becomes a problem.

2013 induction

Dec 18/13: HTT-40. Minister of State for Defence Shri Jitendra Singh replies to a Parliamentary question in India’s Rajya Sabha upper chamber, and attaches a number to HAL’s basic trainer attempt. It’s a bit less than previous reports (q.v. April 15/13):

“HAL has sanctioned an amount of Rs.176.93 crore [DID: INR 1.77 billion, currently about $29 million] for preliminary design phase and detailed design phase activities of Hindustan Turbo Trainer-40 (HTT-40) aircraft. IAF has expressed reservations over acquiring the HTT-40 developed by HAL and has recast its proposal from ‘Make’ category to ‘Buy and Make’ category to procure the balance 106 Basic Trainer Aircraft (BTA).”

Source: India MoD, “Use of HTT-40 Trainer by IAF”.

Oct 14/13: Build to print? The IAF is forwarding what seems to be a compromise proposal: have HAL build the last 106 PC-7 Mk.II trainers, using blueprints supplied by Pilatus. Sources:

Oct 10/13: IJT. HAL is having serious flight and safety problems with its HJT-36 Intermediate Jet Trainer. The plane has an inherent asymmetry that makes the aircraft roll around 16 degrees during stall trials. That’s very dangerous to trainee pilots, and has forced the suspension of stall testing. HAL is still saying that they hope to get the HJT-36’s Initial Operational Clearance (IOC) by the end of December 2013, but “insiders” don’t consider that very likely.

HAL is contracted to deliver 12 limited series production aircraft and 75 production IJTs, but the IJT program has been in trouble for several years now. The original IOC date was supposed to be 2007, but a string of crashes (q.v. April 29/11) and other problems have pushed the likely date back by 7 years or more. It’s not a very good advertisement for HAL’s “MTT-40” lobbying, and the longer-term question is whether continued IJT problems will push effective fielding beyond the old HJT-16 fleet’s safe life. Sources: Indian Express, “HAL struggling with jet trainer project”.

July 30/13: Currency exchange. India’s Business Standard follows up on its earlier report about HAL’s HTT-40 trainer offer by discussing an IAF clarification, but won’t quote that clarification or link to it. That’s bad practice and questionable ethics, especially when other sources note the IAF statement’s citation of persistent delays and problems across all of HAL’s aircraft production programs. With that said, the Business Standard makes an important point along the way.

The flyaway price of each PC-7 Mk.II trainer in the contract is reportedly SFR 6.09 million. Since payment is linked to delivery, India’s declining rupee is steadily making each subsequent trainer more expensive. The IAF had given a mean figure of INR 300 million for the 2014 delivery year, but on May 24/12 when the contract was signed, the conversion worked out to INR 360.8 million each. Today’s conversion is INR 394.7 million – a 9.4% cost hike. India’s RBI is stepping up its defense of the currency as it approaches record lows, but a current account deficit amounting to 4.8% of GDP requires broader policy changes to avert further decline.

Currency exchange factors weren’t part of the cost figures in IAF Air Chief Marshal N A K Browne’s letter to Defence Minister A K Antony earlier this month, and the letter also gave wrong information regarding some basic specifications like the PC-7’s flight speed. That’s bad form indeed, and could become a club in the Minister’s hands if he wishes to pursue this issue. India’s Business Standard | India Today | Reuters.

July 29/13: Changed standards. India’s Business Standard reports that the IAF changed a number of key specifications for its trainer competition, after laying down a more stringent Preliminary Air Staff Qualitative Requirements (PSQR) for the HTT-40. Items changed include zero-zero ejection seats (lowered to 0/60), instructor visibility levels from the rear cockpit, the ability to the instructor to simulate front-seat instrument failures in flight, glide ratio reduced from 12:1 to 10:1, and the need for a pressurized cabin.

The report adds an important missing piece, which seems to explain HAL’s sudden ability to offer their HTT-40 for 42% less: lower standards. India’s critical shortage of IAF basic trainers pushed the service to look abroad, rather than risk serious damage to pilot training while waiting for a developmental plane. Once that decision is made, it’s entirely normal to set performance requirements to a standard that invites more competitors and better deals. Especially when dealing with established offerings, whose performance has proven more than adequate to train thousands of pilots in air forces all around the world.

These moves are especially notable because India has had serious problems with a number of important military programs, which remain in limbo to this day because of poor (and often late) framing of unusual requirements with no reference to the marketplace, followed by rigid insistence that vendors provide off-the-shelf, unmodified solutions. Current high-profile casualties of that approach include India’s LUH/RSH light helicopter program, a body armor program for soldiers, the lightweight assault rifle program, 2 armored personnel carrier programs that included an urgent deployment need, upgrades to India’s BMP-2 APCs, new anti-tank missiles, the QR-SAM and MR-SAM air defense programs, and 155mm towed and self-propelled howitzers. Taken together, this is a huge and serious set of gaps in India’s military capabilities, and adding basic flight training to this list would have been catastrophic.

Lower standards could allow a legitimate price reduction from HAL, though one has to acknowledge that estimates for an airplane that exists only on paper are wildly unreliable. In contrast, bids from abroad involved tested, in-production aircraft that are known to be able to meet both performance and cost specifications. Those considerations also factor in to vendor ratings, if the buyer is competent. India’s Business Standard.

April 15/13: I’m sorry, Danuj, you can’t do that. India’s Business Standard reports that the option for 37 more PC-7 Mk.II trainers is being stalled by HAL. The state-owned firm is demanding that the IAF buy 108 of their undeveloped HTT-40 trainer instead, in order to meet India’s requirement for a total of 183 basic trainers.

They’re leaning on defense minister Antony’s recent fetish for India-only production, in order to avoid “corruption” in defense procurement. We use fetish here in its traditional sense: a key component of animist magic that is performed as a placebo, in return for tangible recompense. To review:

After a long history of late or deficient performance on other aircraft programs, and a INR 600 million per trainer bid (vid. Dec 19/12) that got them thrown out of the competition, HAL has miraculously discovered that they can offer the HTT-40 for just INR 350 million per plane, a 42% reduction that’s suddenly cheaper than Pilatus’ proven INR 385 million figure. This will include development of an armed HTT-40, and HAL is also claiming lower life-cycle costs.

Bids for blueprints-only aircraft tend to be followed by “unexpected” price hikes once political commitment makes it hard to back out. That same commitment dynamic may be driving HAL itself, after their corporate investment of about INR 2 billion (about $36 million) to develop the HTT-40. The corresponding life cycle cost estimates are also likely to be too low, and experience shows that truthful figures require a flying fleet like Pilatus’, not paper promises without a prototype.

Meanwhile, the Indian Air Force will find it difficult to train its pilots, because HAL is lobbying to block planes the IAF says it needs, by making promises it almost certainly can’t keep. All in return for money and political favors. Which, somehow, doesn’t qualify as corruption. India’s Business Standard, ”
HAL’s trainer pitted as Rs 4,500 cr cheaper than Swiss Pilatus trainer” | UK Daily Mail India, “HAL’s trainer aircraft headed for disaster as development costs soar”.

March 13/13: IJT. In a Parliamentary reply, Minister of State for Defence Shri Jitendra Singh says that:

“Indian Air Force (IAF) has signed two contracts with HAL for delivery of 12 Limited Series Production Intermediate Jet Trainer (IJT) aircraft and 73 Series Production IJT aircraft. The IJT aircraft is presently targeted to be inducted in IAF in the year 2014 onwards.”

That would make 15 years from initial contract to induction for HAL’s HJT-36 Sitara intermediate trainer jet, which is already late. Even so, 2014 gives the IAF a very narrow window in which to shelve this project, and they probably won’t. The opportunity, such as it is, is that the IAF envisaged possible orders of 200-250 IJTs, for use in “Intermediate Stage 2” training. That leaves about 115-160 aircraft as potential pickups for a rival like the PC-7 MkII, if HAL’s IJT runs into delivery, service, or cost issues.

Feb 4/13: Options clause. India’s Business Standard reports the IAF will exercise their contract option to buy another 37 Pilatus trainers at the same price, which is reportedly INR 300 million per plane. This brings India’s Swiss-made order total to 112:

“A top IAF official told Business Standard, “The contract for 75 Pilatus trainers, which was signed last year, includes an options clause that allows India to order an extra 50 per cent of the contracted number of aircraft (i.e. 37 trainers) at the same price as the first 75 trainers. We will exercise this options clause this month.”

Feb 2/13: the first 3 Indian PC-7 Mk.IIs arrive at the Air Force Academy in Dundigal, near Hyderabad. They were flown in by the Swiss pilots. MSN India | WebIndia123.

1st PC-7s arrive

Dec 19/12: HHT-40s and IJTs. India’s Business Standard reports that HAL had also been a contender in the basic trainer competition, with a proposal to develop and build 106 “Hindustan Turbo Trainer – 40” (HTT-40) planes. The problem was that HAL was about twice as expensive as foreign-built aircraft, at Rs 60 crore per plane. Basic trainers aren’t exactly a strategically vital competency, so that was it for HAL. The paper even suggests that additional PC-7 Mk.IIs beyond the initial 75 could be manufactured in Switzerland.

The other question the paper raises involves the IAF’s missing solution for “Stage 2” intermediate training, between the PC-7 and the jet-powered Hawk AJT. Pilatus touts their plane as being effective through Stage 2, but HAL continues its 14-year old quest to develop an Intermediate Jet Trainer. A 2011 crash has set that option back again, and more problems or unfavorable cost comparisons could earn the PC-7 another slice of business.

PC-7 Mark II
(click to view full)

May 24/12: PC-7 contract. India and Pilatus sign a contract for 75 PC-7 MkII turboprop aircraft, their integrated ground based training system, and a comprehensive logistics support package. The contract also contains an option clause for extending the contract to 105 planes. Indian reports place the initial contract value at INR 29 billion, but Pilatus rates it higher, at “in excess of 500 million” Swiss Francs. In dollar terms, it’s worth over $525 million.

Delivery of the PC-7s and their associated training systems is scheduled to begin by the end of 2012, and the 30-plane option clause will expire in May 2015. As part of this contract, Pilatus will establish in-country depot level maintenance capabilities at Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), which will allow the IAF to fix the planes in country, instead of having to send them back to Switzerland. Pilatus has also entered into the required 30% value industrial offset contract, and says that it is “our intention to leverage the offset opportunity to establish manufacturing capability for the region in support of our business plans for India.”

It’s a very good week for Pilatus, who just won a 55 plane order from Saudi Arabia for 55 of its top of the line PC-21 trainers. India’s contract is the largest single contract in the company’s history, and will extend Pilatus’ global fleet of turboprop trainers to more than 900 aircraft. IANS | PTI | Swissinfo | Flight International.

PC-7 contract

May 2-3/12: KAI aside. India’s Minister of Defence Shri AK Antony, in a written reply to Shri PiyushGoyal in Rajya Sabha:

“The proposal for procurement of Basic Trainer Aircraft for the Indian Air Force (IAF) is awaiting consideration of the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS)… A representation submitted by M/s Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI), one of the bidders, has been found to be devoid of merit.”

Korean Air Industries (KAI) had alleged flaws in the selection procedure, on the grounds that Pilatus’ bid was incomplete. Antony’s written response sets off a flurry of reports, indicating that the PC-7 deal’s major bottleneck has been cleared. India MoD | Times of India | Flight International | Jane’s.

2009 – 2011

HPT-32 basic trainer fleet in crisis; Pilatus picked as preferred; HJT-36 crash.

PC-7 Mk.II
(click to view full)

July 18/11: Indian media reports that Pilatus’ rivals are pressing the Indian government to keep their aircraft in the race, but the IAF is sticking by its preference. The PC-7 Mk.II is said to be a lot less expensive than the most modern offerings like Pilatus’ PC-21. That was a key to its win, but it’s also a plane in wide use around the world.

Pilatus is conducting commercial negotiations with the Indian government, after which India’s parliament must approve the budget for the deal. If the billion-dollar, 181 plane deal is approved, 75 aircraft would reportedly be delivered by Pilatus in flyaway condition, with another 106 to be built by HAL in India. India Strategic | Flight International.

June 18/11: Contract details. The daily Le Temps reports that Pilatus Aircraft is about to sign a record SFR 850 million (about $1.01 billion) deal to supply 75 PC-7 MkII trainers to the Indian Air Force (IAF), which could eventually be extended to as many as 200 of the single-engined turboprops.

Pilatus declined to comment on the report that the trainer had been selected as the winner of offers invited by India in 2009 for a new trainer. Aviation Week offered quotes that stressed the absence of a deal, quoting Indian chief of air staff, Air Marshal P.V. Naik as saying that:

“Of the three short-listed firms from the U.S. [T-6], Korea [KT-1] and Switzerland [PC-7 Mk.II], the bid made by Pilatus has emerged the lowest… We have started price negotiations with the Swiss vendor for supplying 75 aircraft…”

Other contenders that didn’t make the IAF’s short list reportedly included Grob’s G-120 TP, Embraer’s EMB-314 Super Tucano, and Finmeccanica’s jet-powered M-311. See The Hindu | France 24 | Oman Tribune | Aviation Week.

April 29/11: IJT. HJT-36 prototype #S-3466 crashes in the Krishnagiri district of Tamil Nadu. It’s the 3rd crash in 4 years for the intermediate flight trainer, which was supposed to become operational in 2007. A crash at Aero India 2007 had a plane swerve off the runway just as the pilot was getting airborne; and in February 2009, the 2nd prototype landed on its belly. DNA, “IJT aircraft crashes for third time in 4 years”.

IJT crashes

Feb 19/11: IJT. HAL is looking to arm the HJT-36 Sitara, and is reportedly inviting bids to give the platform a 12.7-mm gun pod with 200 roun
d capacity on its in-board wing stations. That makes sense, since the Sitara will be used for primary weapon training of pilots in gunnery, rocketry, bombing and weapon aiming. The bad news? Initial Operational Clearance is slated for June 2011, and the plane is entering final tests. This seems a bit late to be looking at such fundamental capabilities. Sources: Livefist, “Effort To Arm Indian Stage-2 Trainer Begins”.

Oct 2/09: An Indian Express report says that India is urgently seeking up to 180 trainer aircraft to replace or augment its trainer fleet at all levels, in the wake of problems with the lower-tier HPT-32 fleet and contract issues with its upper-tier Hawk AJT program.

The report adds that a plan to buy 40 additional Hawk AJTs has hit a roadblock, due to differences over price between BAE and the IAF.

Oct 1/09: HPT-32s. Plans to phase out India’s grounded HPT-32 basic trainer fleet will intensify India’s needs for trainer aircraft at all levels. Indian Express quotes Air Chief Marshal P V Naik:

“The IAF lost two experienced instructors in a fatal crash of HPT-32 this year. We have ordered an inquiry and a study on the aircraft, as we have had a lot of problems since their induction in 1984. We hope to use it only till 2013-14″…

Sept 2/09: HPT-32s. India’s Business Standard:

“The Indian Air Force (IAF) is desperately short of aircraft for training its flight cadets. With the entire fleet of basic trainers – the HPT-32 Deepak – grounded after a series of crashes, advanced training is suffering equally due to unexpected delays in the manufacture of the Hawk advanced jet trainer (AJT) in India…

Trainer crisis

Additional Readings

• Bharat Rakshak – HAL HJT-36. Photos. “The first flight of the HJT-36 was done on 7th March 2003 by Sqn Ldr Baldev Singh (Retd), Chief Test Pilot (Fixed Wing (FW)) of HAL. He took up the IJT on its maiden flight, which lasted for about 20 minutes.”

• Pilatus – PC-7 Mark II. The main site defers to the PC-9M for Advanced/Intermediate training roles, but countries like South Africa are already using PC-7 Mk.IIs all the way up to Hawk Advanced Jet Trainer transition.

IAF Fighters

• DID – India Ordering, Modernizing SU-30MKIs.

• DID – India’s M-MRCA Fighter Competition.

• DID – LCA Tejas: An Indian Fighter – With Foreign Help.

Americas

Boeing won $5.7 billion for Pegasus Combat Capability (PC2) enhancements. According to the DoD, work will include a broad range of post-production related non-recurring and recurring requirements centered on KC-46 air vehicle needs. The Pegasus KC-46 is a refueling tanker that was developed from the Boeing 767 jet. Boeing was first contracted to build four KC-46A aircraft under the $3.9 billion KC-X contract awarded by the USAF in 2011. The Air Force took delivery of the first two Pegasus aircraft in January this year. However, in March debris issues occurred and acceptance was stopped. Deliveries were resumed last week. Boeing will perform PC2 work in Seattle and the scheduled completion date is April 28, 2029.

The Navy tapped Lockheed Martin with a $1.1 billion contract in support of the F-35 Lightning II. The deal is a cost-plus-incentive-fee, cost-plus-fixed-fee, firm-fixed-price, cost share contract that includes ground maintenance activities, action request resolution, depot activation activities, Automatic Logistics Information System operation and maintenance, reliability, maintainability and health management implementation and support, supply chain management, and activities to provide and support pilot and maintainer initial training. The contract is in support of the F-35 Lightning II for the Air Force, Navy, non-US DoD participants and Foreign Military Sales customers. FMS partners are Israel, Japan and the Republic of Korea. Work will take place within the US and the UK and is expected to be finished in December 2022.

Northrop Grumman will provide product support and software support activity efforts for the E-2D Advanced Hawkeye. The Navy awarded the company a $38.8 million contract modification. Earlier this month Northrop won a $3.2 billion deal to buy 24 E-2D Advanced Hawkeye surveillance aircraft. The twin-turboprop airborne early warning aircraft had its first flight in August 2007. The Advanced Hawkeye features the new AN/APY-9 radar, radio suite, mission computer, integrated satellite communications, flight management system, improved T56-A-427A engines, and a glass cockpit. Northrop will perform work under the modification within the US and is expecting completion in April 2020.

Middle East & Africa

Boeing was tapped for post-production system support including product support of the Apache aircraft for the Saudi Arabia National Guard. The Foreign Military Sales contract modification awarded by the US Army is worth $39.5 million. In 2008, the US approved the purchase of 12 AH-64Ds requested by Saudi Arabia. In October 2010, Saudi Arabia requested a further 70 AH-64Ds to improve its ability to effectively protect its borders. Boeing will perform work under the modification in the US and Saudi Arabia. Work is expected to be finished by April 29, 2020.

PAE Government Systems won an $8.2 million Foreign Military Sales modification for the National Maintenance Strategy Ground Vehicle Support effort for Afghanistan. In 2017, the company won a National Maintenance Strategy contract to support the US Army’s mission in Afghanistan. The contract was slated to run five-and-a-half years with a base value of $142 million. Work under the current modification will take place in Kabul, Afghanistan and is scheduled to be finished by the end of August, 2022.

Europe

Rheinmetall won a contract from the Dutch Armed Forces to modernize their Bergepanzer 3 Büffel armored recovery vehicles. The BPz3 was jointly developed by the Bundeswehr and the Netherlands based on the Leopard 2. „Starting immediately, Rheinmetall will completely overhaul the Royal Netherlands Army’s Bergepanzer 3 Büffel ARVs, bringing them up to the latest technological and tactical standard. This will extend the service life of these tried-and-tested combat support vehicles through the year 2040“, Rheinmetall stated. The exact value of the contract, signed on April 18, was not disclosed. In a first phase, four vehicles will get a combat performance upgrade. The first vehicles are scheduled to be delivered to the Netherland in the beginning of 2021.

Asia-Pacific

According to Jane’s, Russia donated two Mil Mi-8MT „Hip-H“ multirole medium helicopters and nine upgraded BRDM-2M 4×4 reconnaissance vehicles to Kyrgyzstan. The choppers are supposed to increase transport and search-and-rescue capabilities of the military in Kyrgyzstan. The reconnaissance vehicles, which are reportedly of the same configuration as those delivered to Laos in January, are to enhance maneuverability of ground troops. According to the Russian government, the donated equipment has an estimated value of $5.9 million.

Today’s Video

Watch: Naval Group Launched ‘Alsace’ the 1st FREMM DA for the French Navy

Americas

Lockheed Martin won a $13.9 million contract modification for AEGIS Speed to Capability Development. Lockheed Martin’s Aegis Speed to Capability (ASToC) initiative provides quick solutions to problems based on US Navy feedback. The ASToC team works together from kickoff to identify possible design changes, prototype new solutions, and recommend performance improvements. The ASToC process accelerates the pace of development maintaining the high engineering standards that are the hallmark of the Aegis Combat System. The modified contract provides for systems engineering, modeling and simulation, and design for AEGIS Speed to Capability cycles as well as the completion of the development and fielding of the AEGIS Baseline 9 AEGIS Weapon System and integrated AEGIS Combat System on AEGIS Technical Insertion (TI) 12 configured destroyers as well as TI 12 and TI 08 configured cruisers. Lockheed will perform work, which is expected to be finished by May 2020, in New Jersey and Pennsylvania.

The Air Force awarded Raytheon a $94.3 million modification to manufacture DAS-4 targeting systems. The company will provide an additional 54 new AN/DAS?4 Model B Multi?Spectral Targeting System turrets and convert one turret unit into the DAS?1A configuration. The AN/DAS-4 is the third generation of the Multi-Spectral Targeting System incorporating greater fire control and Target Location Accuracy technology for precise coordinates. The DAS-4 includes four high definition cameras covering five spectral bands, a three-color diode pump laser designator/rangefinder, laser spot search and track capability, automated sensor and laser bore sight alignment, three mode target tracker, and built in provisions for future growth. Raytheon will manufacture the systems for the US Air Force as well as the Netherlands. Work will take place in Texas and is scheduled to be complete by January 31, 2021.

Middle East & Africa

According to Russian reports, Turkey is interested in buying other weapons apart from the S-400. Aleksander Mikheev, the Head of Russian company Rosoboronexport, stated that Turkey was also looking into other Russian air defenses and anti-tank weaponry as well as other weapon stations. The two countries also have joint ventures aimed at developing jets and helicopters, modules for armored vehicles and maintenance for the equipment, previously sold to Turkey. Earlier this month it was reported that the US had halted component deliveries for the F-35 to Turkey due to Turkey’s plan to purchase the Russian S-400.

Europe

The US Navy tapped Lockheed Martin, Rotary and Mission Systems with a $9.1 million contract modification for the AEGIS Ashore Support and Ship Integration and engineering of the AEGIS Weapon System as well as on-site support in Romania an Poland. The modification also includes technical data package and test package/procedure development, technical documentation, feasibility studies, configuration management support, lifecycle and system engineering, environmental qualification testing, topside analysis, Ballistic Missile Defense engineering, combat system alignment and integration of Advanced Naval Weapon Systems on DDG 51 Class ships. Just recently it was reported that the Aegis Ashore in Romania was undergoing updates. During the updates the USA will temporarily deploy the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system to Deveselu in Romania. The Polish AEGIS Ashore system has been hit with delays due to construction issues at Redzikowo military base that are unrelated to the system’s performance. It won’t be operational until 2020. Work under the current contract modification will take place in Deveselu and Redzikowo as well as various sites within the US. Scheduled completion date is in September this year.

Belarus will showcase two different military systems at the defense technology expo MILEX 2019 in Minsk, which starts on May 15. One of them is the Buk-MB3K system by OKB TSP. It is the company’s latest surface-to-air system and features a self-propelled firing unit equipped with a newly developed S-range solid state phased array AESA radar capable of detecting air targets at ranges up to 130 km. The radar can perform automatic target detection and tracking, measuring the primary data of an aerial target, including azimuth and range, and the radial speed in both active and passive modes. The Buk-MB3K system can detect and intercept all types of maneuvering aerodynamic targets ranging from unmanned aerial vehicles to cruise missiles. The other innovation showcased at the expo will be the Groza-P2 mobile Counter Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (C-UAVs) jammer by Belarusian defense industrial group KB Radar. The portable rifle-style jammer is designed to prevent unauthorized access of small UAVs into the territory by location and neutralizing aerial threats.

Asia-Pacific

The Royal Australian Air Force will equip an additional five of its C-130J Hercules airlifters with an upgraded satellite communications (satcom) suite, following a successful trial. The first Hercules aircraft was fitted with SATCOM in 2017. The system uses the Inmarsat Global Xpress Network to provide broadband internet connectivity for high-definition video and is able to support complex mission planning whilst in flight. The new system is in addition to the L-Band SATCOM voice and data system fitted to all 12 C-130Js. Installation of the Honeywell JetWave Ka-Band SATCOM antennas and associated systems will be completed during scheduled maintenance periods by Airbus and all five aircraft are expected to be completed by 2022.

Today’s Video

Watch: U.S NAVY WILL HAVE ANTI TORPEDO TORPEDO – FULL ANALYSIS

Americas

Lockheed Martin won a $723.5 million contract modification to procure a variety of Hellfire II missiles for the US Army as well as three allies. The air-to-surface missiles will be produced for Lebanon, the Netherlands and France as part of Foreign Military Sales. All Hellfire II variants have been used successfully in Operation Iraqi Freedom, with more than 1,000 missiles fired to date. With more than 22,000 rounds delivered since production began in 1994, Hellfire II has been successfully integrated with a wide array of platforms, including the US Army’s Apache and Kiowa Warrior helicopters, the US Marine Corps’ Cobra, the US Navy’s Seahawk helicopter, the UK’s Apache attack helicopter, the Eurocopter Tiger and the US Air Force’s Predator and Reaper unmanned aerial vehicles. Lockheed Martin will perform work in Florida, with an estimated completion date of September 30, 2022.

The US Navy awarded Boeing an $89 million contract to integrate various external stores and alternative mission equipment onto the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet and EA-18G Growler aircraft. The Super Hornet is a twin-engine, carrier-capable, multi-role fighter. The F/A-18E single-seat and F/A-18F tandem-seat variants are larger and more advanced derivatives of the F/A-18C and D Hornet. Last month, Boeing won a $4 billion multi-year contract modification to build 78 F/A-18E/F Super Hornet fighters. The Super Hornets would be the first new-build examples of the Block III variant of the F/A-18E/F. The Block III flies farther and carries more weapons than an older F/A-18E/F can and is stealthier than earlier Super Hornet models are. The Growler is a variant of the F/A-18F Super Hornet. Work under the current contract will take place within the US and is expected to be complete in December 2022.

Middle East & Africa

The Israeli Air Force is authorized to issue a Letter of Request for two Boeing KC-46 refueling tankers, IsraelDefense reports. After a new government has been established and the next Minister of Defense has been appointed, the Israeli Air Force will likely face some changes. The most pressing decision to make is what heavy-lift helicopter will replace the CH-53 Yas’ur. In the matter of choosing a new refueling tanker, it is very likely that IAF will decide on the KC-46 as it already has reviewed the aircraft and flown in it. The KC-46 Pegasus was developed by Boeing from its 767 jet airliner.

Europe

Poland signed for AugustaWestland AW101 helicopters. The European country signed an agreement worth $428 million with Leonardo on Friday to to satisfy its anti-submarine warfare and combat search-and-rescue requirement. Part of the production will take place in Poland, which will help boost the country’s economy and technological sector. In Poland, work on the helicopters will be carried out at the Leonardo unit PZL-Swidnik. While the order announced is for four helicopters, there may be a follow-on order for a further four at a later date. As noted by Leonardo, the AW101 is well suited to the overwater ASW and CSAR roles in that it benefits from three-engine safety: a full ice protection system for flight in known icing conditions, long range and endurance, a range of 1,300 km, and a proven 30-minute ‘run dry’ gearbox as well as multiple redundancy features in the avionic and mission systems.

Asia-Pacific

The Indian Air Force plans to testfire the air-launched version of the supersonic cruise missile BrahMos from a Su-30MKI next week. BrahMos or PJ-10 is a short-range, ramjet powered, single warhead anti-ship land attack missile. It was jointly developed and manufactured by India and Russia. The missile has a reported supersonic speed of between Mach 2.0-2.8, depending on the cruising altitude used. The BrahMos has a range of between 300-500 km depending on which variant and launch platform is used. It was first flight tested in July 2018 from a Su-30MKI. Sources in the IAF said they are very keen for a fast track development of the air-launched missile, which can be used for Balakot-type air strikes where the planes won’t have to cross enemy borders for the hit.

The Royal Australian Air Force received the first of three Falcon 7X trijets. The RAAF will use the jets for government VIP service. According to Dassault Aviation, the Falcon 7X was destined to be a revolutionary aircraft, introducing business aviation to the industry’s first Digital Flight Control System. Today, over 270 Falcon 7X aircraft are in service in 41 countries. In all, more than 120 Falcon jets—of which more than 50 are 7Xs—are operated in Australia and other Asia-Pacific countries.

Today’s Video

Watch: Bronco 3, a replacement for the Bv 206?

Latest updates: New 2011-2014 contract; Long-lead buy for AGM-114Rs under previous contract.

Hellfire II cutaway
(click to view full)

Hellfire I/II missiles are the USA’s preferred aerial anti-armor missile, and are widely deployed with America’s allies. All use semi-active laser guidance as their base mode. They equip its helicopter fleets (AH-64, AH-1, OH-58D, MH-60S/R), AH-64 and S-70 helicopters flown by its allies, and even Australia and France’s Eurocopter Tiger attack helicopters. Range is officially listed as 9,000 meters, or about 5.6 miles.

While Hellfires lack the fast-jet launch capabilities – and correspondingly extended maximum range – of the UK’s MBDA Brimstone missiles, Lockheed Martin’s missile has carved out unique niches as tripod-launched coastal defense assets in Norway and Sweden, and as the guided missile integrated into American UAVs like the MQ-1 Predator family. This article covers the current set of contracts, which began in 2008:

• Lockheed Martin’s Hellfires
  
• Contracts and Key Events [updated]
  
• Appendix A: A Sticky Situation – Lockheed’s 2008 (I)TAR Baby
  
• Appendix B: Additional Readings
  

Lockheed Martin’s Hellfires

AGM-114K-A warhead
(click to view full)

Hellfire II missiles come in several variants. The AGM-114K is the basic Hellfire II missile; it uses a shaped-charge HEAT(High Explosive Anti-Tank) warhead that can destroy armored vehicles, or punch into buildings.

The recently-introduced AGM-114K-A variant adds a blast fragmentation sleeve to the HEAT warhead’s anti-tank capability, giving it added versatility against unarmored targets in the open.

The AM-114M version was originally developed for the Navy; its warhead is solely blast fragmentation, which is effective against boats, lightly armored vehicles, etc.

The AGM-114N variant uses a thermobaric (“metal augmented charge”) warhead that can suck the air out of a cave, collapse a building, or produce an astoundingly large blast radius out in the open.

AGM-114P onto MQ-9
(click to view full)

A new AGM-114R “multi-purpose” Hellfire II is headed into production/ conversion. It adds some guidance and navigation improvements, and goes one step further than the K-A variant: it’s intended to work well against all 3 target types: armored vehicles, fortified positions, or soft/open targets. The “Romeo” will become the mainstay of the future Hellfire fleet, used from helicopters and UAVs, until and unless Hellfire itself is supplanted by the JAGM program. Hellfire systems product manager US Army Lt. Col. Mike Brown:

“One of the most noticeable operational enhancements in the AGM-114R missile is that the pilot can now select the [blast type] while on the move and without having to have a pre-set mission load prior to departure… This is a big deal in insurgency warfare, as witnessed in Afghanistan where the Taliban are fighting in the open and simultaneously planning their next attacks in amongst the local populace using fixed structure facilities to screen their presence.”

Two more Hellfire variants feature key changes that aren’t related to their warheads.

The AGM-114L “Longbow Hellfire” adds a millimeter-wave radar seeker, which makes it a “fire-and-forget” missile. It’s integrated with the mast-mounted radar on AH-64D Apache helicopters, and AH-1 Cobra family attack helicopters have been tested with different add-ons that would give them similar capabilities.

The AGM-114P variant is modified for use from UAVs flying at altitude. That requires greater environmental tolerances, as the difference between temperature at launch altitude and near the target can be well over 100 degrees Fahrenheit. The AGM-114P’s 3-axis inertial measuring unit (IMU) gives it a 360-degree targeting capability, making it easier to fire from UAVs that lack a helicopter’s swivel and point maneuverability. Its unique features will also be present in the new AGM-114R, which will succeed it.

Contracts and Key Events

Hellfire II tripod
(click to view full)

The common denominator in this article is the contract: W31P4Q-08-C-0361.

Hellfire Systems LLC in Orlando, FL is a Lockheed Martin/ Boeing joint venture, and is the only source of Hellfire missiles. The US Army Aviation & Missile Command in Redstone Arsenal, AL manages these contracts, unless otherwise noted.

April 29/19: New Procurement Lockheed Martin won a $723.5 million contract modification to procure a variety of Hellfire II missiles for the US Army as well as three allies. The air-to-surface missiles will be produced for Lebanon, the Netherlands and France as part of Foreign Military Sales. All Hellfire II variants have been used successfully in Operation Iraqi Freedom, with more than 1,000 missiles fired to date. With more than 22,000 rounds delivered since production began in 1994, Hellfire II has been successfully integrated with a wide array of platforms, including the US Army’s Apache and Kiowa Warrior helicopters, the US Marine Corps’ Cobra, the US Navy’s Seahawk helicopter, the UK’s Apache attack helicopter, the Eurocopter Tiger and the US Air Force’s Predator and Reaper unmanned aerial vehicles. Lockheed Martin will perform work in Florida, with an estimated completion date of September 30, 2022.

April 9/12: An $8.75 million firm-fixed-price contract to buy long lead parts for the Hellfire II Romeo RX. Work will be performed in Orlando, FL, with an estimated completion date of March 31/14. The bid was solicited through the Internet, with 1 bid received by U.S. Army Contracting Command in Redstone Arsenal, AL (W31P4Q-08-C-0361).

Aug 1/11: A $159 million firm-fixed-price, unfinalized contract begins the 2011-2014 buy of up to 24,000 AGM-114N/P/Q/R Hellfire II missiles (W31P4Q-11-C-0242). Read “US Hellfire Missile Orders, FY 2011-2014” for full coverage.

March 28/11: Lockheed Martin announces the 6th and final proof-of-principle test for the new AGM 114R HELLFIRE II successfully concludes at Eglin AFB, FL, using ground launch in lock-on after launch mode from 2.5 km away. The missile penetrated the brick-over-block target, and successfully detonated with the specified fuze delay. U.S. Army Lt. Col. Mike Brown, HELLFIRE Systems product manager at the Army’s Joint Attack Munition Systems project office:

“The AGM-114R baseline design is now defined and allows us to go into system qualification… The R model remains on cost and on schedule, and meets all performance objectives.”

March 14: A $38.6 million firm-fixed-price contract covers an in-line production configuration change of 2,600 Hellfire II AGM-114P2 missiles, for use from UAVs. Work will be performed in Orlando, FL, until the end of FY 2013: Sept 30/13. One sole-source bid was solicited with one bid received (W31P4Q-08-C-0361).

Sept 10/10: A $20.1 million firm-fixed-price contract to transition the new air-to-ground AGM-114R Hellfire II Romeo missile into the current Hellfire II missile production line.

Work will performed in Orlando, FL with an estimated completion date of Sept 30/13. One sole-source bid was solicited and 1 bid was received (W31P4Q-08-C-0361).
Aug 30/10: An AGM-114R hits and “destroys” a stationary M-60 tank target 6.4 km down range, in the missile’s 3rd proof-of-principle flight test. The missile was ground launched, with a flight profile designed to simulate airborne launch from a UAV. The missile was launched in lock-on-after-launch mode, with a high trajectory. It used its inertial guidance to fly to the approximate location of the target before beginning its search, and struck the target within inches of the laser aimpoint. Lockheed Martin.

Aug 26/10: A 3-year, $14.4 million firm-fixed-price, indefinite-delivery/ indefinite-quantity contract for Romeo Phase 3 engineering, which will re-configure existing Army AGM-114K2 and AGM-114N missiles to the AGM-114R configuration.

Work is to be performed in Columbia, SC with an estimated completion date of Sept 30/13. One bid was solicited with one received (W31P4Q-08-C-0361; Serial No. 1765).

July 26/10: The Longbow, LLC joint venture in Orlando, FL received a $39.5 million cost-plus-fixed-fee contract for engineering services supporting the Hellfire and Hellfire Longbow missiles. Work is to be performed in Orlando, FL (50%); Baltimore, MD (25%); United Arab Emirates (10%); and Taiwan (15%), and will run to Sept 30/12. One bid was solicited with one bid received by the U.S. Army Aviation and Missile Command, AMSAM-AC-TM-H in Redstone Arsenal, AL (W31P4Q-10-C-0256).

This contract is not in the same series as the other entries; it is offered as a one-time reminder that all equipment buys come with associated engineering service support contracts, as part of their operations and maintenance costs. Taiwan and the UAE are already Hellfire customers; the UAE uses them on its AH-64 attack helicopters, while Taiwan became a customer in 2005.

June 23/10: A $22 million firm-fixed-price contract, exercising a FY 2010 option for 331 Hellfire II missiles. Work is to be performed in Orlando, FL, with an estimated completion date of Sept 30/13. One bid was solicited with one bid received (W31P4Q-08-C-0361).

May 10/10: An $84.5 million firm-fixed-price contract, exercising a FY 2010 option for 1,253 Hellfire II missiles. See also March 26/10 entry. Work is to be performed in Orlando, FL, with an estimated completion date of Sept 30/13. One bid was solicited with one bid received (W31P4Q-08-C-0361).

May 6/10: A $15.8 million firm-fixed-price contract to add the new AGM-114R Hellfire II Romeo missile into the current missile production line. As noted above, this variant is designed to offer a “tri-mode” warhead that can be effective against armored vehicles, fortifications, and targets in the open.

Work is to be performed in Orlando, FL, with an estimated completion date of Sept 30/13. There’s only one maker of Hellfire missiles; 1 bid was solicited by the U.S. Army’s AMCOM Contracting Center at Redstone Arsenal, AL, with 1 bid received (W31P4Q-08-C-0361).

April 29/10: Alliant Techsystems announces $32 million in follow-on production sub-contracts from Lockheed Martin for about 7,100 Hellfire II missile rocket motors, and 2,200 AGM-114N metal augmented charge (thermobaric) warheads. The motors and warheads will be built at its manufacturing facility in Rocket Center, WVA.

ATK was awarded the HELLFIRE II baseline sub-contract in November 2008 to produce and deliver rocket motors and warheads. This represents the first option, with deliveries scheduled to run from April 2011 – July 2012. A second option could be awarded in late 2010. Dating back to HELLFIRE I in the 1980s, ATK has produced nearly 80,000 HELLFIRE rocket motors and over 6,400 MAC warheads. In addition, ATK manufactures the copper liner for the AGM-114K’s main shaped-charge high-explosive anti-tank (HEAT) warhead.

April 8/10: Lockheed Martin announces success in its 1st live warhead proof-of-principle (POP) flight test, conducted at Eglin Air Force Base, FL. The test featured a lock-on-after-launch engagement of a stationary target board at 1.6 miles/ 2.5 km, launched with a low trajectory suitable for a military operation in urban terrain. The multi-purpose, multi-stage warhead was set with a delayed fuze that allows the missile to penetrate the target before detonating.

The AGM-114R’s multi-purpose warhead and electronic safe, arm and fire, or (ESAF) module were the critical technologies being tested.

March 26/10: Hellfire Systems in Orlando, FL received a $268.75 million firm-fixed-price contract modification, exercising FY 2010 options for 3,955 Hellfire II missiles. Work is to be performed in Orlando, FL, with an estimated completion date of Sept 30/13. US Army Contracting Command, AMCOM Contracting Center, Redstone Arsenal, AL manages the contract (W31P4Q-08-C-0361).

Feb 18/10: The US Army announces that its MQ-1C ER/MP UAV has successfully completed a series of tests with a HELLFIRE II UAS missile variant, whose 360-degree targeting ability allows UAVs that lack a helicopter’s instant maneuverability to put missiles on target faster. Testing began on Nov 22/09, and took place at Naval Air Weapons Station, China Lake, CA, following cooperation from General Atomics-Aeronautical Systems, Inc.’s Software Integration Laboratory, the company’s El Mirage Flight Test Facility in El Mirage, CA, and Edwards Air Force Base, CA.

The tests began with dry runs and an inert test missile, followed by a successful “cold” pass using a live missile to verify lock-on, followed by “hot pass” firing. November and December involved testing in various conditions, from varying altitudes, against stationary or moving targets. Tests recorded 9 successful shots, which helped pave the way for the MQ-1C UAV’s February 2010 Milestone C production approval.

Iraq performance,
25ID’s 25 CAB, 2006-2007

Aug 18/08: Hellfire Systems in Orlando, FL received a $356.7 million firm-fixed price contract for Hellfire II High-Energy Anti-Tank missiles. Work will be performed in Orlando, FL, and is expected to be complete by Oct 31/11. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The US Army Aviation & Missile Command, Redstone Arsenal, AL manages the contract (W31P4Q-08-C-0361).

The DefenseLINK release is almost certainly referring to the AGM-114K Hellfire II missile, but Lockheed Martin spokespeople add that the contract also includes options for up to 200 training missiles, for additional orders in FY 2009 and 2010, for Foreign Military Sales buyers, and for up to 1,200 variant conversions. If exercised, those options could increase the contract’s value to over $1 billion, and secure Hellfire missile production until 2013.

To date, American forces have fired more than 6,800 Hellfires in Iraq and Afghanistan, and Lockheed Martin has delivered more than 22,000 rounds since Hellfire II production began in 1994. Lockheed Martin release.

Appendix A: A Sticky Situation: Lockheed’s 2008 (I)TAR Baby

US AH-64A
(click to view full)

The Hellfire missile also made the news in a different capacity. Lockheed Martin discovered that efforts to sell 460 more Hellfire missiles to the UAE in 2003-2004 had crossed the line, by failing to get proper ITAR approvals beforehand for certain discussions, and by divulging classified missile-related information to a UAE Air Force officer in response to questions.

The UAE was already a Hellfire customer at that time for its AH-64A Apache helicopters, but that does not remove the procedural requirements, and weapon export requirements are taken very seriously by all concerned.

Lockheed Martin discovered the mistakes itself, and informed the US Department of State, which manages ITAR. The final settlement involves a $4 million fine, with $1 million of that suspended if Lockheed Martin meets certain criteria for improved internal compliance measures. Reuters | NY Times’ International Herald-Tribune

Appendix B: Additional Readings

• Lockheed Martin – Hellfire II Missile

• Boeing – History: Rockwell International AGM-114 Hellfire

• Global Security – AGM-114 Hellfire Modular Missile System (HMMS)

• Designation Systems – Boeing/Lockheed Martin AGM-114 Hellfire

• DID – JAGM: Joint Common Missile Program Fired – But Not Forgotten. JAGM will replace AGM-114 Hellfire, *GM-71 TOW, and AGM-65 Maverick missile variants on Army and Navy helicopters, UAVs, and fighter aircraft.

Americas

Vigor Marine won a $14.3 million contract in support of the USNS Wally Schirra or T-AKE 8. The Lewis and Clark Class cargo ship has a length of 689 feet and was launched on March 8, 2009. The mission of Lewis and Clark Class ships is to deliver ammunition, provisions, stores, spare parts, potable water and petroleum products to carrier battle groups and other naval forces, serving as a shuttle ship or station ship. The deal provides for regular overhaul and dry docking. Work will take place in Portland, Oregon and the estimated completion date is August 25, 2019.

The Navy awarded Lockheed Martin a $117.1 million contract modification for air vehicle initial spares to include a deployment spares package, afloat spares package, and associated consumables to support air vehicle delivery schedules for the F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter aircraft. This contract comes after it was reported that the estimated total price for research and procurement in the F-35 program has increased by $22 billion in current dollars adjusted for inflation. The increase reflects for the first time the current cost estimates for a major set of upgrades planned in coming “Block 4” modifications. Pentagon acquisition chief Ellen Lord and Acting Defense Secretary Pat Shanahan have been pushing the program office and Lockheed to reduce projected operations and support costs. Work for the initial spares contract will take place within the US, the UK and the Netherland and is expected to be finished in August 2023.

Lockheed Martin announced in a press release that it had won a $362 million contract to recapitalize 50 of the US Army’s Multiple Launch Rocket System (MLRS) launchers. The US Army’s MLRS recapitalization effort will eventually upgrade its existing fleet of 225 MLRS M270A1 launchers, and 160 decommissioned M270A0’s slated for de-militarization, to M270A2s. The M270 is a 227mm Multiple Launch Rocket System designed to be used against troops and light equipment, air defense systems and command centers. In 1983, the first MLRS units entered service with the US Army. The MLRS M270 self-propelled launcher vehicle is a stretched version of the American M2 Bradley infantry fighting vehicle. The Launcher Loader Module, mounted on the rear of the vehicle hull consists of a base, turret and cage.

Middle East & Africa

Raytheon won a $399.4 million contract from the US Missile Defense Agency to provide long lead hardware procurement and manufacturing, systems engineering and program management, obsolescence and reliability updates, maintenance planning, facility design support, country support and common software development to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Foreign Military Sales funds in the full amount will be used to fund the effort. Work will take place in Woburn, Massachusetts.

Europe

According to a leaked Russian government document, a Russian MiG-31 supersonic interceptor aircraft was mistakenly shot down by “friendly fire” during a training flight near the Telemba proving ground in Siberia almost two years ago. The incident in question had happened on April 26, 2017. At the time, the Kremlin said that the plane had been on a training exercise, but offered no additional details about the mishap. Both of the Foxhound’s crew survived the incident. In the leaked report, investigators concluded that the crew in the plane that got shot down had improperly followed procedures, allowing them to stray into the potential line of fire during the live-fire exercise. It also faulted aviators flying the other Foxhound for turning on their Zaslon-AM’s fire control function at the wrong time, cueing an R-33 missile right at their wingman.

Rheinmetall’s Rapid Obscuring System (ROSY) will protect armored vehicles of the Portuguese and Belgian Armed Forces. Deliveries of 126 systems to Spanish defense contractor URO Vehículos Especiales (UROVESA) will start this month and will run through March 2020. Rheinmetall, acting as subcontractor for Jankel, will also begin pre-series delivery of the system for the Belgian Army’s Light Troop Transport Vehicle (LTTV). All 199 vehicles are being prepared for integration of the system, in addition to the supply of control units and launchers for 167 vehicles. According to Rheinmetall, ROSY offers light military and civilian vehicles protection from unexpected attacks, for example during patrols or when traveling in convoys. Unlike the conventional smoke protection systems in use, ROSY is able to generate dynamic smoke screens as well as spontaneous, large-area and multispectral interruption of the line of sight.

Asia-Pacific

Australia deployed its Airbus Tiger Armed Reconnaissance Helicopter, Jane’s reports. On April 21, four Australian Army Tiger helicopters were airlifted to the Royal Malaysian Air Force Air Base at Subang on a Royal Australian Air Force Boeing C-17A Globemaster III strategic airlifter for joint training exercises with Malaysia. The Tiger is designed to perform armed reconnaissance, air or ground escort, air-to-air combat, ground fire support, destruction and anti-tank warfare, day or night and in adverse conditions. The exercises mark a major milestone for the helicopter given that until very recently Australian auditors were recommending that it not be operated aboard ships due to performance limitations.

Today’s Video

Watch: RAF F-35B Jets Flying into RAF Marham Airbase

Americas

The Navy awarded Raytheon a $28 million contract modification for integration and production support for the Air and Missile Defense Radar AN/SPY-6(V). The AN/SPY-6(V) next-generation integrated radar will be featured on the Flight III Arleigh Burke Guided Missiles Destroyers. According to Raytheon, the SPY-6 is built with so called Radar Modular Assemblies, each of them a self-contained radar in a 2’x2’x2’ box. They can stack together to form any size array to fit the mission requirements of any ship, which would make the SPY-6 the Navy’s first truly scalable radar. In January, the radar completed an important milestone when it successfully tracked a ballistic missile target in the system’s final development test. The radar is on schedule for delivery to the Navy in 2020, replacing the SPY-1 radar. The contract includes support for continued combat system integration and testing, engineering, training, software and depot maintenance as well as field engineering services. Raytheon will perform work at various locations within the US. The estimated completion date is in December this year.

Raytheon successfully completed a static test of its new DeepStrike missile rocket motor. The next-generation, long-range, surface-to-surface precision strike missile will replace the Army Tactical Missile System. Raytheon won the $116.4 million contract to build the missile in June 2017 under the technology up-gradation and risk trimming phase of the Long-Range Precision Fires (LRPF) program. The missile will be compatible with two launch systems of the US Army, the M270 multiple launch rocket system (MLRS) and the M142 high-mobility artillery rocket system (HIMARS). The rocket motor test brought the weapon one step closer to its maiden flight test, scheduled for this year. A previous milestone for the DeepStrike was the successful preliminary design review, in which the Army evaluated every aspect of the new missile’s design, from its advanced propulsion system and innovative lethality package to its guidance system.

Middle East & Africa

Israeli company Rafael dropped out of Switzerland’s $8 billion air defense tender. Rafael had initially offered its David’s Sling system. David’s Sling is an Israeli system developed with the United States that is designed to defend against short-range and theater ballistic missiles, large-caliber rockets, and cruise missiles. However, the Israeli Department of Defense did not give the company the necessary permit to go further in the tender. Reasons for this decision are unclear. Companies still participating in the tender are Raytheon with the Patriot system and Eurosam with the SAMP/T.

Europe

Contributing to NATO’s increased presence in the Baltic states, the UK deployed five Boeing AH-64 Apache attack helicopters to the Amari Air Base in Estonia. The AH-64s are expected to participate in upcoming NATO military exercises and provide defense coverage for a military base near the Russian border. Defense Secretary Gavin Williamson commented on the deployment: “It’s a very credible threat that we see from Russia and part of the reason that we’re deploying five Apache attack helicopters is making sure that we’re constantly adapting to a changing situation.“ According to the British Army, the Apaches will be working in tandem with the Wildcat battlefield reconnaissance helicopters to provide valuable training opportunities to NATO allies on Estonia’s annual Exercise Spring Storm and to the UK-led battlegroup deployed on NATO’s enhanced Forward Presence.

Asia-Pacific

The US and the Sri Lankan Navy ended the Cooperation Afloat and Readiness Training (CARAT) exercise four days earlier than scheduled due to the recent attacks in the Asian country. “All US personnel involved in CARAT are accounted for and redeployment is in progress,” it says in an updated news release. Several bombers carried out six coordinated attacks at churches and hotels on Sunday, killing at least 290 people. The government declared a state of emergency to take effect at midnight Monday. The declaration allows police and military forces to detain and interrogate potential suspects without a court order. The US-Sri Lanka CARAT exercise was slated to take place for a week and was based off the southern port city of Hambantota. Hambantota was not targeted in Sunday’s attacks, but the suspension of exercises will allow Sri Lanka to reallocate military resources should they become necessary in the aftermath. The CARAT is the US Navy’s oldest and longest continually-running regional exercise in South and Southeast Asia. Participants conduct partnered training focused on building interoperability and strengthening relationships.

According to reports, China’s Gas Turbine Research Institute designed and tested a prototype of a new turbofan engine for fighter aircraft within 18 months. The team of young engine designers will be given an award during China’s Youth Day on May 4. It took the development team only a year to design the engine, and just six months to finish testing the first prototype. No details of the engine, including its designation, have been revealed, but official statements claimed that the new engine would “rival advanced foreign fighter jets and represents China’s highest technical level in aero engines”. Until now, long-standing difficulties that have hampered China’s production of military aircraft engines forced it to import Russian-made engines for several of its major aircraft projects.

Today’s Video

Watch: New Advanced Version of its F 15 Eagle for the US Air Force, Next Super Fighter Electronic Warfare

I have published a review of Dima Adamsky‘s excellent new book on Russian Nuclear Orthodoxy on the Russia Matters site. Here’s a preview.

“Russian Nuclear Orthodoxy: Religion, Politics and Strategy”
By Dmitry Adamsky
Stanford University Press, April 2019

“Russian Nuclear Orthodoxy,” an important new book by the Israeli scholar Dmitry Adamsky, explores the critical but highly understudied juncture between religion and the military. Focusing on the role played by the Russian Orthodox Church (ROC) in the restoration and development of the Russian nuclear weapons complex in the post-Cold War period, Adamsky highlights the organizational and ideological impact of the church on the gradual remilitarization of Russia over the last three decades. Adamsky has written a highly readable and informative book on a woefully understudied topic, though one that at times reads like a continuous success story for the church and raises many questions. Also, the book would have been strengthened by a more comparative focus, vis-à-vis both the role of other religious faiths in Russia and the experience of other countries.

The main argument comes in three parts. First, the church has played and will continue to play a crucial role in promoting the rebuilding of the Russian military in general and the nuclear weapons complex in particular. The book demonstrates that the church was among the earliest advocates for the nuclear weapons complex, at a time when the military and nuclear agencies were generally unpopular among Russians and neglected by a cash-strapped government. Second, the church has influenced the direction of security thinking among both Russian politicians and military leaders. Finally, church advocacy has resulted in a gradual conflation of national defense and rearmament with holiness and spirituality. The protection of the state and nation through armed force has been portrayed as a holy act that is highly compatible with religious belief and spiritual values.

The book is organized chronologically by decade. The first, labeled the Genesis Decade, follows the collapse of the Soviet Union and is the period during which the church-nuclear nexus was first developed, beginning as a grassroots phenomenon within the nuclear complex that combined with outreach efforts by the ROC. The second decade, labeled the Conversion Decade, features the emergence of a top-down trend that supplemented the bottom-up initiatives of the 1990s. During this period, which coincides with Vladimir Putin’s first 10 years in power, the increased role of religion in Russian society and political life merged with a gradual increase in societal respect for the Russian military to result in the formulation of the “nuclear orthodoxy doctrine.” The Operationalization Decade of the last 10 years, Adamsky argues, has resulted in peak clericalization of the Russian military and Russian foreign policy. During this period, “Orthodoxy became the main pillar of Russian nationalism and the basis of state ideology”; in the military sphere, “religious rituals became tightly interwoven with … combat activities” while “priests have penetrated all levels of command.”

Please click here to read the rest