Showing results 1 - 10 of 114 for the search terms: fcs.
Results for "fcs"
BAE’s LROD Cage Armor
16-Nov-2009 16:07 EST |
Related Stories: Americas - USA, BAE, Contracts - Awards, New Systems Tech, Other Equipment - Land
RG-31, before
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Russian-designed RPG shoulder-fired rockets are a widespread threat in many parts of the world, including the current conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq. At present, the most common threats involve RPG-7 single warhead variants, which are also produced in quantity by China (to Iran for use abroad) and by Iran (direct shipment to Iraq and Afghanistan).
There are 3 standard approaches for protecting vehicles against incoming RPGs: (1) Heavy or layered armor the warhead can’t penetrate; (2) Reactive armor tiles that explode outward when hit, deflecting, disabling, and/or disrupting the rocket and its blast; and (3) “Cage armor” or similar add-ons that can prevent detonation, or prevent the shaped charge jet from forming, at least some of the time.* The bad news is that providing enough steel cage armor can add a couple of tons to vehicle weight.
Enter BAE Systems’ LROD, developed under a fast-response Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) program to provide RPG protection for Hummers and MRAP mine-resistant vehicles. The project led BAE to ask if steel was really necessary – and the answer was: no…
Dead Aim, Or Dead End? The USA’s DDG-1000 Zumwalt Class Program
15-Nov-2009 15:31 EST |
Related Stories: Americas - USA, BAE, Boeing, Budgets, Coastal & Littoral, Contracts - Awards, Design Innovations, Electronics - General, FOCUS Articles, General Dynamics, Issues - Political, Lobbying, Lockheed Martin, New Systems Tech, Surface Ships - Combat, T&C - IBM, Transformation
67% of the fleet
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The prime missions of the new DDG-1000 Zumwalt Class destroyer are to provide naval gunfire support and next-generation air defense in near-shore areas where other large ships hesitate to tread, possibly even as the anchor for an action group of stealthy Littoral Combat Ships and submarines. The estimated 14,500t (cruiser sized) Zumwalt Class will be fully multi-role, however, with undersea warfare, anti-ship, and long-range surface attack roles.
That makes the DDG-1000 suitable or another role – as a “hidden ace card,” using its overall stealth to create uncertainty for enemy forces. At over $3 billion per ship for construction alone, however, the program faced significant obstacles if it wanted to avoid fulfilling former Secretary of the Navy Donald Winter’s fears for the fleet.
True, or False?
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DID’s FOCUS Article for the DDG-1000 program covers the new ships’ capabilities and technologies, key controversies, associated contracts and costs, and related background resources. From the outset, DID has noted that the Zumwalt Class might face the same fate as the ultra-sophisticated, ultra-expensive SSN-21 Seawolf Class submarines. That appears to have come true, with news of the program’s cancellation at 3 ships. Or will it be 2?
The latest news involves more funds to finish the ship’s computing backbone, which has been identified as a concern in recent GAO reports…
NGC Contracted for USN/RAN SPQ-9B Radars & Support
01-Nov-2009 18:08 EST |
Related Stories: Americas - USA, Australia & S. Pacific, Contracts - Awards, Missiles - Anti-Ship, Northrop-Grumman, Radars, Surface Ships - Combat
AN/SPQ-9B radar
Northrop Grumman Systems Corp. in Melville, NY recently received a pair of contracts from America and Australia for the AN/SPQ-9B radar system. That radar was the main air defense radar on several American destroyer and cruiser classes, but is now relegated to a secondary role on advanced air defense ships. It provides the capability to detect and track low-flying, high-speed, small radar cross-section anti-ship missile targets in heavy clutter environments.
The AN/SPQ-9 radar is currently installed on CG-47 Ticonderoga class guided-missile cruisers, where this track-while-scan radar can be integrated into the Mk 86 gun fire control system (GFCS) or the Aegis Combat Direction System. It is also the primary radar on the LHA-1 Tarawa class amphibious landing ships. As for the AN/SPQ-9B…
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The Fire Scout VTUAV Program: By Land and By Sea (updated)
25-Oct-2009 11:36 EDT |
Related Stories: Americas - USA, C4ISR, Coastal & Littoral, Contracts - Awards, Contracts - Modifications, Electronics - General, FOCUS Articles, GE, Lockheed Martin, Middle East - Other, New Systems Tech, Northrop-Grumman, Other Corporation, Raytheon, Rolls Royce, Surface Ships - Combat, UAVs, United Technologies, University-related
MQ-8B Fire Scout
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The USA’s RQ/MQ-8 Fire Scout Unmanned Aerial Vehicle has had a colorful history. The program was begun with promise by the US Navy, canceled, adopted by the US Army, and finally revived by the Navy as well. The MQ-8B Fire Scout is currently linked with two major new defense programs: the Future Combat Systems program and the USA’s new Littoral Combat Ships (LCS); this is both helpful to the program because of the implicit commitments, and harmful because it ties the UAV to a pair of programs that have endured stormy histories and may face more turbulence ahead. Meanwhile, a competition expected in 2008-2010 may see the Fire Scout used by the US Marines, and the US Coast Guard’s Deepwater program is another potential buyer.
Fire Scout-related awards to Northrop Grumman and Raytheon have been quite varied. DID lists them, along with budgetary figures from official DoD documents, and also explains the Fire Scout’s history and capabilities. The latest developments include export interest from the Middle East, and manufacturer estimates of potential demand…
Australia’s A$ 450M-600M LAND 17 Artillery Replacement
21-Oct-2009 19:58 EDT |
Related Stories: Asia - Other, Australia & S. Pacific, BAE, Electronics - General, Europe - France, Europe - Other, Force Structure, Guns - Artillery & Mortars, Official Reports, Other Corporation, Other Equipment - Land, Pre-RFP, RFPs, Raytheon, Rumours, Shells & Mortar Rounds, Tanks & Mechanized, Thales, Transformation, Trucks & Transport
Now: M2A2 105mm
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In February 2006, the Australian Government gave first pass approval for the replacement of the ADF’s current 105mm and 155mm artillery pieces with new, more capable, artillery systems that feature improved mobility, protection, range and accuracy. Current systems are all towed, and include the aged 105mm M2A2, the L119 Hamel 105mm Field Gun, and the M198 155mm Howitzer. Options for replacing them include a mix of self-propelled artillery systems and lightweight towed artillery systems under an A$ 450-600 million project known as LAND 17. The project will also examine advanced high precision munitions and a networked command and fire control system.
So, how does this project fit into Australia’s larger defense plans? What’s the expected program timeline? And who are the declared and potential contenders? That matters even more now that the solicitation has been released. DID covers the program, and a number of the confirmed or likely competitors… but one category has now been decided.
- The LAND 17 Program
- LAND 17: Likely Contenders
- Contracts & Key Events [updated]
- Additional Readings & Sources
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Have Guns, Will Upgrade: The M109A6 Paladin PIM Partnership
07-Oct-2009 15:47 EDT |
Related Stories: Americas - USA, BAE, Contracts - Intent, Electronics - General, Spotlight articles, Tanks & Mechanized
Before: M109 & M992
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The USA’s M109 self-propelled 155mm howitzers were first introduced in 1962, as a form of armored mobile artillery that could stand up to the massed fire tactics of Soviet heavy artillery and rockets. They and their companion M992 Armored Ammunition Resupply Vehicles have been rebuilt and upgraded several times, most recently via the M109A6 Paladin upgrade.
Even with the Paladin’s computerization and fast, safe set-up and take-down, however, a noticeable capability gap exists between the M109 and newer self-propelled guns like Britain’s AS90 Braveheart, Germany’s PzH-2000, or innovative long-range systems like South Africa’s G6. America’s comparable XM2001 Crusader/ XM2002 ARRV was canceled as an $11 billion Cold War relic in 2002, and the light 155mm NLOS-C may also be dead with the recent removal of the Future Combat Systems ground vehicle program.
In the mean time, the Army has re-learned a few home truths. Artillery arrives in seconds rather than minutes or hours, is never unavailable due to bad weather, and delivers a possible volume of explosive destruction that would otherwise require bombers and precision weapons worth hundreds of millions of dollars. Most combat casualties in the gunpowder age have come from artillery fire, and the US Army will need its mobile fleet for some time to come. So, too, will the many countries that have bought the M109 and still use it, unless BAE wishes to cede that market to South Korea’s modern K9/K10 system, or new concept candidates like the KMW/GDLS DONAR. What to do? Enter the Paladin Integrated Management (PIM) program….
- M109 Limitations & the M109A6 Paladin
- PIM: A New M109A6 Paladin
- Contracts and Key Events [updated]
- Additional Readings
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RESET of the US Army’s Vehicle Fleet Continues
04-Oct-2009 13:34 EDT |
Related Stories: Americas - USA, BAE, Boeing, Contracts - Awards, Contracts - Modifications, FOCUS Articles, General Dynamics, Guns - Artillery & Mortars, Helicopters & Rotary, Policy - Procurement, Procurement Innovations, Support & Maintenance, Tanks & Mechanized, Trucks & Transport, Warfare - Trends
USMC M1A1 settles a
firefight in Fallujah
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The RESET process takes used vehicles apart, inspects the parts, then replaces any defective parts and refurbishes the equipment to like-new condition. Sometimes upgrades are also performed. RESET and related processes like remanufacture/upgrades are being performed on M1 Abrams tanks, Bradley IFV/CFVs, HMMWV jeeps, and even helicopters. It usually takes place when the vehicles return from the front lines in Iraq, Afghanistan, and other locations, where sand damage and increased wear have taken their toll.
In truth, many of these vehicles were produced in the 1980s, and are reaching an age where “deep maintenance” is a wise and necessary measure. A July 2006 Washington Times article noted the effect age and wear have had on the USA’s vehicle fleet, and DID has also covered this subject under the wider rubric of the Army’s maintenance overhang. DID believes these efforts are sufficiently important that the consolidated visibility of a FOCUS Article is in order.
Note that this is not a complete list of RESET contracts; DID will seek to backfill its roster as opportunities arise, and newly-added materials will be presented in green as a reader convenience. Recent additions include a contract to reset FMTV medium trucks…
SSGN “Tactical Trident” Subs: Special Forces and Super Strike
28-Sep-2009 17:48 EDT |
Related Stories: Americas - USA, BAE, Coastal & Littoral, Contracts - Awards, Contracts - Modifications, Design Innovations, Electronics - General, FOCUS Articles, Forces - Special Ops, General Dynamics, Issues - Political, Missiles - Precision Attack, New Systems Tech, Northrop-Grumman, Nuclear Weapons, Other Corporation, Power Projection, Procurement Innovations, Submarines, Transformation, UUVs & USVs, Underwater Weapons
From these…
In the aftermath of arms control treaties, some of the USA’s nuclear-powered Ohio Class SSBN nuclear missile submarines are being converted to become long range conventional strike and special operations SSGN “Tactical Tridents.” Four ultra-stealthy Ohio-class SSBNs are having their 24 Trident II D-5 nuclear ballistic missiles removed and replaced with up to 154 Tomahawk cruise missiles. The USA is also adding accommodation for 66-102 special forces troops, special attachments for new Advanced SEAL Delivery System (ASDS) or older Seal Delivery Vehicle (SDV) “mini-subs,” and a mission control center. In future, the SSGNs may also carry UUV underwater robotic vehicles and even UAVs for aerial operations.
...to these
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These modifications provide the USA with an impressive and impressively flexible set of conventional firepower, in a survivable and virtually undetectable platform that can remain on station for very long periods.
DID FOCUS articles cover significant programs of record. This updated article covers the origins of this conversion program, the key players, the timeline, the key technologies involved, and comprehensive coverage of the announced contracts under this $1.4 billion refurbishment and conversion program to date. All 4 submarines have now returned to service, and they are beginning to execute key missions…
RQ-16: One Small Step for a UAV, One Big Step for FCS Class I
27-Sep-2009 17:48 EDT |
Related Stories: Americas - USA, Boeing, Britain/U.K., Contracts - Awards, FOCUS Articles, New Systems Tech, Other Corporation, Project Methodologies, T&C - SAIC, Testing & Evaluation, Transformation, UAVs
Class 1 MAV
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In October 2005, “Four FCS UAV Sub-Contracts Awarded” tended to focus on the larger Class II company and Class III battalion-level options, while a FOCUS Article covering the MQ-8B Fire Scout addresses the Class IV brigade-level UAV for the Army’s Future Combat Systems (FCS) program. The smaller “Class I” platoon-level UAV options were addressed only in passing, largely because that aspect of the program wasn’t yet at the same level of development. That has changed.
The FCS Class I UAV will be used for reconnaissance, security and target acquisition operations in nearly all terrain, including urban environments. Each system of 2 vertical take-off and landing air vehicles, a dismounted control device, and associated ground support equipment will be carried by selected platforms and dismounted soldiers, and will use autonomous flight, navigation, and recovery.
This is DID’s FOCUS Article for the Class I effort, which survived the 2007 reorganization of the FCS program. It’s now known as the RQ-16 T-Hawk. The USA and Britain continue to place orders, and ongoing research may even give them GPS targeting capabilities one day…
ALE-55 Towed Fighter Decoys for US Navy, Australia
23-Sep-2009 10:10 EDT |
Related Stories: Americas - USA, Australia & S. Pacific, BAE, Contracts - Modifications, ECM, Fighters & Attack, New Systems Tech
AN/ALE-55
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“Raytheon’s ALE-50 ‘Little Buddy’ Decoys” covered a towed system that serves with F-16 Falcon/Viper, F/A-18 Hornet family, and B-1B Lancer heavy bomber aircraft.
A related system is made by competitor BAE, whose AN/ALE-55 (V) consists of an electronic frequency converter (EFC) and a fiber optic towed decoy. It works together with an aircraft’s onboard electronic warfare (EW) equipment, throughout the ECM cycle of Suppression (harder to acquire or track), Deception (active jamming techniques aimed at launchers); and Seduction (active jamming aimed at the missile, and being a decoying target if all else fails). Contracts include…
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