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MQ-9 Reaper: The First Operational UCAV?
12-Nov-2009 12:35 EST |
Related Stories: Americas - USA, Asia - Central, BAE, Britain/U.K., Budgets, Contracts - Awards, Contracts - Intent, Contracts - Modifications, Europe - Other, FOCUS Articles, General Atomics, New Systems Tech, Other Corporation, Partnerships & Consortia, R&D - Contracted, Raytheon, Support & Maintenance, Transformation, UAVs, Warfare - Trends
Reaper, ready…
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The MQ-9 Reaper UAV, once called “Predator B,” is somewhat similar to the famous Predator. Until you look at the tail. Or its size. Or its weapons. It’s called “Reaper” for a reason – while it packs the same surveillance gear, it’s much more of a hunter-killer design. The Reaper is 36 feet long, with a 66 foot wingspan. Its maximum gross takeoff weight is a whopping 10,500 pounds, carrying up to 4,000 pounds of fuel, 850 pounds of internal/ sensor payload, and another 3,000 pounds on its wings. Its 6 pylons can carry GPS-guided JDAM family bombs, Paveway laser-guided bombs, Sidewinder missiles for air-air self defense, and other MIL STD 1760 compatible weapons, in addition to the Hellfire anti-armor missiles carried by the Predator. When loaded up with laser-guided Hydra rockets, the Reaper becomes the equivalent of a close air support fighter with less situational awareness, lower speed, and less survivability if seen – but much, much longer on-station time. Some have called it the first fielded Unmanned Combat Air Vehicle (UCAV).
DID’s FOCUS articles offer in-depth, updated looks at significant military programs of record. The Reaper UCAV will play a significant role in the future USAF, even though capability set makes the MQ-9 considerably more expensive than MQ-1 Predators, whose price benefits from less advanced design and volume production orders. Given these high-end capabilities, and expenses, one might not have expected the MQ-9 to enjoy better export success than its famous cousin. Nevertheless, that’s what appears to be happening. MQ-9 operators currently include the USA and Britain, who have both used it in hunter-killer mode, and Italy. Other countries are also expressing interest, and international deployments are accelerating.
As a convenience to readers, new material is indicated in green type. The latest additions include reports of “phone home” problems, Germany going in another direction for UAVs, and the basing of MQ-9s in the Seychelles for anti-piracy missions…
Design & Preparations Continue for the USA’s New CVN-21 Super-Carrier
09-Nov-2009 17:24 EST |
Related Stories: Americas - USA, Budgets, Contracts - Awards, Contracts - Modifications, Design Innovations, Engines & Propulsion - Naval, Events, FOCUS Articles, Force Structure, Issues - Political, New Systems Tech, Northrop-Grumman, Other Corporation, Procurement Innovations, Surface Ships - Combat, Top Stories
USA’s Nimitz Class &
UK’s Invincible Class
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Some nations have aircraft carriers. The USA has super-carriers. The French Charles De Gaulle Class nuclear carriers displace about 43,000t. India’s new Vikramaditya/ Admiral Gorshkov Class will have a similar displacement. The future British CVF Queen Elizabeth Class and related French PA2 Project are expected to displace about 65,000t (British) – 74,000t (French), while the British Invincible Class carriers that participated in the Falklands War weigh in at around 22,000t. Invincible actually compares well to Italy’s new Cavour Class (27,000t), and Spain’s Principe de Asturias Class (17,000t). The USA’s Nimitz Class and CVN-21 Gerald R. Ford Class, in contrast, fall in the 90,000t-105,000t range. Hence the unofficial designation “super-carriers”. Just one of these ships packs a more potent air force than many nations.
Nimitz Class cutaway
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As the successor to the 102,000 ton Nimitz Class super-carriers, the CVN-21 program aims to increase aircraft sortie generation rates by 20%, increase survivability to better handle future threats, require fewer sailors, and have depot maintenance requirements that could support an increase of up to 25% in operational availability. The combination of a new design nuclear propulsion plant and an improved electric plant are expected to provide 2-3 times the electrical generation capacity of previous carriers, which in turn enables systems like an Electromagnetic Aircraft Launching System (EMALS, replacing steam-driven catapults), Advanced Arresting Gear, and integrated combat electronics that will leverage advances in open systems architecture. Other CVN-21 features include an enhanced flight deck, improved weapons handling and aircraft servicing efficiency, and a flexible island arrangement allowing for future technology insertion. This graphic points out many of the key improvements.
DID’s CVN-21 FOCUS Article offers a detailed look at a number of the program’s key innovations, as well as a list of relevant contract awards and events. The latest news involves the imminent keel-laying for the first ship of class, FY 2010 budget figures, and contract awards and testing milestones for its revolutionary EMALS catapults and AAG arrester system…
F-18 Hornets: Keeping ‘Em Flying
08-Nov-2009 07:34 EST |
Related Stories: Americas - Other, Americas - USA, Australia & S. Pacific, Boeing, Contracts - Awards, Contracts - Modifications, Fighters & Attack, GE, L3 Communications, Northrop-Grumman, Spotlight articles, Support & Maintenance
CF-18: which way?
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The Hornet is the F/A-18 E/F Super Hornet’s predecessor, and the first models were introduced in the late 1970s as a spinoff of the USAF’s lightweight fighter competition. While the General Dynamics F-16 won, Northrop’s YF-17 eventually evolved into the McDonnell-Douglas (now Boeing) F/A-18 Hornet.
The F/A-18 Hornet is currently flown by the US Marine Corps as their front-line fighter, by the US Navy as a second-tier fighter behind its larger F/A-18 E/F Super Hornets, and by 7 international customers: Australia, Canada, Finland, Kuwait, Malaysia, Spain, and Switzerland. The USA’s aircraft were expected to have a service life of 20 years, but that was based on 100 carrier landings per year. The US Navy and Marines have been rather busy during the Hornets’ service life, and so the planes are wearing out faster.
This is forcing the USA to take a number of steps and issue a series of contracts in order to keep their Hornets airworthy, replacing center barrel sections, re-opening production lines, and more. Some of these efforts will also be offered to allied air forces, who have their own refurbishment and upgrade programs.
The latest additions involves a Finnish order…
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Coroner Delivers Scathing Indictment of UK Nimrod Fleet, Procedures
29-Oct-2009 15:26 EDT |
Related Stories: Asia - Central, BAE, Britain/U.K., Issues - Political, Official Reports, Other Corporation, Scandals & Investigations, Specialty Aircraft
Nimrod MR2 – incoming!
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On Sept 3/06, an RAF Nimrod MR2 sea control aircraft was flying near Kandahar, Afghanistan, using its advanced sensors and long endurance in support of NATO ISAF forces on land. The aircraft moved to take on additional fuel from an aerial tanker, in order to remain on station longer. That’s when the trouble began. Alerts soon began to sound, and the crew remained professional and businesslike as they steered their ailing plane toward Kandahar for an emergency landing. They never arrived. RAF Nimrod #XV230 exploded in mid-air over Afghanistan, killing all 14 crew members.
“Nimrod Was Actually a Fine Hunter: Upgrading Britain’s Fleet (updated)” details Britain’s current and future Nimrod sea control aircraft fleet, which first entered service in 1969. In the aftermath of the inquests and enquiries that have followed the September 2006 explosion, however, serious questions have been raised concerning the Nimrod’s fleet’s ongoing fitness, and the measures taken to maintain these aging aircraft.
The problems have continued to pile up for the RAF. Beyond a scathing coroner’s report, a set of High Court filings by the UK MoD admit to failures in the RAF’s duty of care. Those are weighty legal words, and now an official independent review has delivered its verdict…
Britain’s New CVF Future Carriers
25-Oct-2009 15:22 EDT |
Related Stories: Asia - China, BAE, Britain/U.K., Budgets, Contracts - Awards, Corporate Innovations, Europe - France, Events, FOCUS Articles, Force Structure, Issues - Political, New Systems Tech, Other Corporation, Partnerships & Consortia, Power Projection, Procurement Innovations, Project Management, Project Methodologies, Rolls Royce, Rumours, Surface Ships - Combat, Thales
RN CVF Concept
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In 1998, Britain’s Strategic Defence review (SDR) announced plans to replace the current set of 3 Invincible Class 22,000t escort carriers with 2 larger, more capable Future Aircraft Carrier (CVF) ships that could operate a more powerful force. These new carriers would be joint-service platforms, operating aircraft and UAVs from all 3 services (Navy, RAF, Army) in roles that could include ISR (Intelligence, Surveillance & Reconnaissance), force projection and logistics support, close air support, anti-submarine/ anti-surface naval warfare, and land attack.
The scale of the CVF effort relative to Britain’s past experiences means that the program structure is rather complex. It has passed through several stages already, and is being run and conducted within an industrial alliance framework. There is also a parallel international framework, involving cooperation with France on its PA2 carrier as a larger derivative of the CVF design.
This DID FOCUS article covers that structure and framework, ongoing developments, and the ships themselves as they round toward final design, construction, and fielding. The latest addition involves a report that one of the 2 carriers has been quasi-canceled, and Britain’s F-35 buy will be severely slashed…
Britain Prepares to Modernize Its Puma Helicopters
13-Oct-2009 10:18 EDT |
Related Stories: Britain/U.K., Contracts - Awards, EADS, Helicopters & Rotary, Support & Maintenance, Support Functions - Other
Puma HC1
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Back in August 2006, “Britain to Privatize Battlefield Support Helicopters?!?” discussed one of the most unusual public-private proposals we’ve ever seen. The question before the Ministry of Defense was how to replace Britain’s Sea King and its 34 Puma HC1 medium helicopters, which entered service during the 1960s and 1970s. Complaints about the lack of battlefield helicopter support have become acute in Britain, resulting in temporary fixes like buying 6 operational Danish EH101 helicopters and paying the cost of refit plus future replacements – about GBP 176 million total.
The longer term roadmap remains uncertain – but an announcement by Eurocopter as part of the 2007 DSEi defense show turned out to be the path forward, as Britain formally abandoned its public-private partnership proposal. It would take almost 2 more years before that resulted in a contract, which is now leading to sub-contracts. Including the helicopters’ defensive systems…
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DARPA’s Vulture: What Goes Up, Needn’t Come Down
30-Sep-2009 13:30 EDT |
Related Stories: Americas - USA, BAE, Britain/U.K., Contracts - Awards, DARPA, Design Innovations, Materials Innovations, New Systems Tech, Other Corporation, R&D - Contracted, Transformation, UAVs
Boeing’s concept
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In April 2008, 3 teams received Phase 1 contracts to begin developing develop a radical new aircraft, under a US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) program known as “Vulture.” DARPA’s goals for Vulture are not trivial: 5 years on station with a 450kg/ 1,000lb payload, 5kW of onboard power, and sufficient loiter speed to stay on station for 99% of the time against winds encountered at 60,000-90,000 feet.
So, what’s the significance of a platform like that, who is competing, and what is happening now? Well, Phase 1 is done, and a $155 million Phase 2 is being prepared.
- The Potential, and the Process
- The Designers & The Designs
- Contracts and Related Events [updated]
- Additional Readings
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EMALS: Electro-Magnetic Launch for Carriers
29-Sep-2009 10:35 EDT |
Related Stories: Americas - USA, Britain/U.K., Contracts - Awards, Contracts - Modifications, Design Innovations, General Atomics, New Systems Tech, Other Corporation, R&D - Contracted, Small Business, Surface Ships - Combat, University-related
EMALS Components
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As the US Navy continues to build its new CVN-21 Gerald R. Ford Class carriers, few technologies are as important to their success as the next-generation EMALS (Electro-MAgnetic Launch System) catapult. The question is whether that technology will be ready in time, in order to avoid either costly delays to the program – or an even more costly redesign of the first ship of class.
Current steam catapult technology is very entertaining when it launches cars more than 100 feet off of a ship, or gives naval fighters the extra boost they need to achieve flight speed within a launch footprint of a few hundred feet. It’s also stressful for the aircraft involved, very maintenance intensive, and not really compatible with modern gas turbine propulsion systems. At present, however, steam is the only option for launching supersonic jet fighters from carrier decks. EMALS aims to leap beyond steam’s limitations, delivering significant efficiency savings, a more survivable system, and improved effectiveness. This free-to-view spotlight article covers the technology, the program, and its progress to date.
The latest developments include additional costs and continued testing, which is not yet finished…
- From Steam to Magnets: EMALS vs. Current Approaches
- Program Teams [NEW]
- Contracts and Key Events [updated]
- Additional Readings
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Death Spiral for HELIX? Britain Wants RC-135 Rivet Joint Planes
24-Aug-2009 11:00 EDT |
Related Stories: Americas - USA, Britain/U.K., C4ISR, Contracts - Intent, L3 Communications, Signals Intercept, Cryptography, etc., Specialty Aircraft
Nimrod MR1 & E-3D AWACS
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“Nimrod Was Actually a Fine Hunter: Upgrading Britain’s Fleet” describes a parallel set of efforts. One multi-billion pound program seeks to upgrade 12 of Britain’s unique Nimrod Mk2 maritime patrol aircraft to Nimrod MRA4 status.
The other effort, named Project HELIX, sought to keep its related Nimrod R1 electronic and signals intelligence/ relay aircraft fleet flying until 2025. A 9 month assessment phase involving L-3, Lockheed, and Northrop-Grumman was down-selected to L-3 and Lockheed Martin in 2005. In April 2007, L-3’s team won the Phase 3 risk reduction contract, and became the preferred bidder for the main HELIX contract in 2009.
An October 2008 DSCA request cast doubt on that effort, by conveying Britain’s official $1+ billion request to field 3 RC-135V/W Rivet Joint ELINT/SIGINT aircraft, but Britain’s budgetary woes may yet have the last say…
- The RC-135 Rivet Joint
- Contracts and Key Events [updated]
- Other Options?
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Britain’s 2009-2019 Torpedo Support Contract
10-Aug-2009 18:38 EDT |
Related Stories: BAE, Britain/U.K., Contracts - Awards, EADS, Finmeccanica, Logistics Innovations, MBDA, Other Corporation, Support & Maintenance, Support Functions - Other, Underwater Weapons
Sting Ray onto EH101
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The UK Ministry of Defence has signed a GBP 369.5 million (about $615 million), 10-year contract with BAE Systems Insyte to support and maintain the Royal Navy’s light Sting Ray and heavy Spearfish torpedoes. The availability-based Torpedoes Capability Contract consolidates 11 separate contracts into one, and will see BAE Systems and the MOD’s DE&S Weapons Operating Centre working together as “Team Torpedoes.” It covers all aspects of support and maintenance, as well as Spearfish development and upgrade work. BAE says that they expect this partnering approach to lead to savings of about GBP 65 million, or 20% over the traditional support approach.
The TCC agreement will directly secure around 120 posts at BAES Insyte in Portsmouth, as well as subcontractors who will receive about 33% of the contract’s total value. Sub-contractors and torpedo details follow:
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