• M&A Fever: August was a busy month for mergers and acquisitions in the US defense industry, particular in the areas expected to be spared from the Pentagon cuts, such as sensors, RF technology, and UAVs.

• UK-based Chemring Group completes the purchase of Belgian ammunition manufacturer Mecar and its US subsidiary Mecar USA from US-based Allied Defense Group for $59.6 million in cash.

• CENTCOM is proposing to spend $1.2 billion over five years to build up Yemen’s military forces to fight Al Qaeda; the Pentagon has already announced plans to spend $155 million this year on helicopters, Hummers, and night-vision equipment for Yemen.

• Argentina’s Minister of Defence commits to raising spending from 0.9% of GDP to 1.5% of GD, with a 50% increase to modernize equipment. Can Argentina’s government actually pay for it, or finance it? Time will tell. Meanwhile, 2 new Mi-17 helicopters are a very small step for Argentina, but a big step for Russia.

• Around the world, UUV development is moving along as the robotic evolution gains steam. But is the US Navy really buying in?

• Will Japan’s growing economic dependence on China create problems for the island nation’s plans for an expanded military role in East Asia?

• Talking Turkey: The US tells Turkey that it will not participate in the Anatolian Eagle air exercises in October, amid reports that the US had conditioned its participation on Israeli participation.

RAAF C-130J-30, flares
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Supplemental funding commitment buys 5 US planes. (Sept 2/10)

The C-130 Hercules remains one of the longest-running aerospace manufacturing programs of all time. Since 1956, over 40 models and variants have served as the tactical airlift backbone for over 50 nations. The C-130J looks similar, but the number of changes almost make it a new aircraft. Those changes also created issues; the program has been the focus of a great deal of controversy in America – and even of a full program restructuring in 2006. Some early concerns from critics were put to rest when the C-130J demonstrated in-theater performance on the front lines that represented a major improvement over its C-130E/H predecessors. A valid follow-on question might be: does it break the bottleneck limitations that have hobbled a number of multi-billion dollar US Army vehicle development programs?

C-130J customers now include Australia, Britain, Canada, Denmark, India, Israel, Iraq, Italy, Kuwait, Norway, Oman, Qatar, Tunisia, and the United States. American C-130J purchases are taking place under both annual budgets and supplemental wartime funding, in order to replace tactical transport and special forces fleets that are flying old aircraft and in dire need of major repairs. This DID FOCUS Article describes the C-130J, examines the bottleneck issue, covers global developments for the C-130J program, and looks at present and emerging competitors.

• The (Private) Labors of Hercules: the C-130J
• The C-130J and the 20-ton Bottleneck
• Turbulent Flight: The C-130J Program
• Contracts and Key Events [updated]
• Additional Readings & Sources, incl. emerging competitors & Special Operations requirements
  
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The Steregushchy
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In April 2010, a RIA Novosti’s “Russia’s Black Sea Fleet may lose all warships by 2015” suggested that the fleet might be unfit for missions at sea by that date, as age takes its toll on existing ships. One solution would be to build new Project 20380 Steregushchy Class corvettes, but Russian shipyards wouldn’t be able to deliver them in time. It was a vivid and consequential demonstration of the near to mid-term issues and trends profiled in “Russia’s Military Spending Jumping – But Can Its Industry?”

The first-of-class Steregushchy was put into service with Russia’s Baltic Fleet in October 2008. It was followed by the Soobrazitelny, which was floated out on March 31/10; the Boyky and the Stoyky, are under construction. A Gazeta article quoted a Russian Navy source, who said that:

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In June 2009, Elbit Systems in Haifa, Israel, agreed to pay $18 million for a 19% stake in fellow Israeli defense firm Mikal Ltd., the country’s 2nd largest privately owned defense conglomerate. The Mikal group operates through 3 main divisions: Soltam Systems, which supplies artillery, mortars, and ammunition; Saymar, which supplies armored fighting vehicles; and ITL Optronics, which supplies sensors for soldiers, unmanned aerial vehicles, military vehicles and battle management systems.

By August 2010, however, the acquisition had shifted to a targeted buy of several Mikal properties. The move will consolidate Elbit’s position in a number of sectors, offering the prospect of close links between its sensors, targeting systems, UAVs, and front-line battlefield platforms.

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Harpoon in flight
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Sometimes, an order request is just an order request. Sometimes, as seen in Singapore, it amounts to more than that. In September 2008, the US DSCA announced India’s official request to buy a package of 24 L-model Harpoon Block II ship-killing missiles, with added GPS guidance and littoral/ land attack capabilities, for up to $170 million.

India’s rival Pakistan is already arming its P-3 Orions with AGM-84Ls, so regional stability wasn’t an issue, but the exact match for India’s missiles remained a mystery for a while. The order seemed to presage a buy of P-8i Sea Control and Surveillance aircraft, and India did indeed end up choosing Boeing’s 737 derivative. In September 2010, however, reports indicated that the deal was really focused on India’s fleet of Jaguar IM strike aircraft…

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LEMV concept
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L-3 WESCAM wins electro-optics slot. (Sept 2/10)

The rise of modern terrorism, sharply increasing costs to recruit and equip professional soldiers, and issues of energy security, are forcing 2 imperatives on modern armies. Modern militaries need to be able to watch wide areas for very long periods of time. Not just minutes, or even hours any more, but days if necessary. The second imperative, beyond the need for that persistent, unblinking stare up high in the air, is the need to field aerial platforms whose operating costs won’t bankrupt the budget.

These pressures are forcing an eventual convergence toward very long endurance, low operating cost platforms. Many are lighter-than-air vehicles or hybrid airships, whose technologies have advanced to make them safe and militarily useful again. On the ground near military bases, Raytheon’s RAID program fielded aerostats, and then surveillance towers. Lockheed Martin has also fielded tethered aerostats: TARS along the USA’s southern border, and PTDS aerostats on the front lines. The same trend can be observed in places like Thailand and in Israel; and Israeli experience has led to export orders in Mexico and India. At a higher technical level, Raytheon’s large JLENS aerostats are set to play a major role in American aerial awareness and cruise missile defense, and its ground and air scanning ISIS radar was developed under a DARPA project, to pair with Lockheed Martin’s fully mobile High Altitude Airship.

The Army’s LEMV project fits in between RAID and HAA/ISIS, in order to give that service mobile, affordable, very long term surveillance in uncontested airspace. Its technologies may also wind up playing a role in other projects…

• The Army’s LEMV [NEW]
• Surveillance Options, and the Rise of the LTAs
• Contracts & Key Events
• Additional Readings [updated]
  
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Heron 1 UAV, Canada
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How’s my driving, mate? (Sept 3/10)

Israel Aerospace Industries’ Heron is a large MALE UAV in the MQ-1 Predator’s Class. It is primarily used as a surveillance UAV over land and sea, and can be equipped with a number of modular radar, sensor, and even electronic intelligence packages. The 2006 war in Lebanon also demonstrated that they could be armed, if necessary. Herons are known to serve with Israel (Heron 1 and Heron TP), India, Turkey, and in France as the EAGLE/ Harfang variant. They have also been used successfully by US SOUTHCOM as drug interdiction aircraft; a leasing deal with El Salvador is reportedly pending, and Brazil is also showing interest.

Canada has a long-term JUSTAS program that includes UAVs in this class, and the Heron will fill the Phase 1 near-term MALE UAV requirements – but the longer-term procurement choices will not be made until Phase 2. Meanwhile, the Heron UAV have begun serving Canada in Afghanistan, under an August 2008 arrangement. In 2009, Australia added itself as a second customer…

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• Can We Share? The Times of London is reporting that the UK and France are discussing an agreement to share aircraft carriers because of severe defense budget constraints in both countries, although the Wall Street Journals says the two sides are only talking about coordinating carrier retrofits so that one carrier is always available from the European theater.

• Chinese Surprise: Was a recent Chinese space maneuver using 2 satellites, the SJ-12 and SJ-06F, in preparation for a space exploration program or a space warfare program? Wired.com examines the question.

• Cool, Clear Water: Aqua-Chem gets DLA contract worth up to $386 million to supply water purification systems that provide fresh drinking water for US soldiers in remote locations.

• Up to $219 million to Northrop Grumman to provide personnel to operate the C-RAM anti-mortar defense systems at forward operating bases in Afghanistan.

• CSC snags subcontract worth up to $50 million to provide analysis support for threat detection of attacks on DoD’s networks.

Keep ‘em runing…
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At the beginning of FY 2002, Honeywell won a support contract for the USAF’s Satellite Control Network (AFSCN). The SCN contract consolidated development, systems engineering, integration and support functions into one contract that has the potential to reach $1.22 billion, and run to FY 2017.

Under this contract, Honeywell will replace existing communications technologies that make up the AFSCN’s ground network and tracking systems with improved components and antenna systems. Honeywell’s team includes TRW, L-3 Communications, Booz-Allen and Hamilton, SPARTA Corporation, Integral Systems, Inc., and IITC…

• The AFSCN
• Contracts & Key Events
• Additional Readings
  
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Pearl Harbor Naval Base
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Pentagon contracts are sometimes used to execute projects on behalf of other agencies, especially agencies who already have a close relationship with the the US military, or when the project site itself is a crossover location.

Walsh Construction Co. in Chicago, IL won a $131.1 million firm-fixed price contract to build the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Pacific Regional Center at Ford Island, in Pearl Harbor. The project involves adaptive reuse of historic hangers on that historic landmark site, and includes site work, hazardous material abatement work, and incidental related work. The contract also contains 1 unexercised option which,would increase the cumulative contract value to $131.9 million. Work will be performed in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, and is expected to be complete by October 2012.

The reuse program is diverse…

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