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Tanks, Planes and UAVs for Lebanon
18-Nov-2009 14:57 EST |
Related Stories: Americas - USA, Contracts - Awards, Fighters & Attack, Middle East - Other, Russia, Tanks & Mechanized, UAVs
Lebanese armed forces
The Lebanese Army’s own web site is blunt:
“The assistance received from Syria, the USA, and other friendly countries has played a basic role in bridging the gap between needs and available means.”
A number of countries are stepping up to fill those gaps, left in a military ravaged by foreign occupation, a long and losing civil war, and the presence of a foreign-backed private army in Lebanon possessing superior firepower. The USA has been supplying a wide range of equipment from ammunition to armored vehicles, and is adding tanks and mini-UAVs to that list. Belgium has worked to sell some of its own tanks and APCs, France has offered help with Lebanon’s existing French equipment; and in April 2009, Russia went so far as to offer MiG-29 fighters, for free, from its own stocks.
What capabilities would these systems bring? And how are those sales going?
Continue reading…
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 a request from Italy, which would increase its order limit…
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?
(click to see clearly)
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…
Continue reading…
EA-18G Program: The USA’s Electronic Growler
03-Nov-2009 14:07 EST |
Related Stories: Americas - USA, Boeing, Contracts - Awards, Contracts - Modifications, Delivery & Task Orders, ECM, FOCUS Articles, Force Structure, IT - Software & Integration, New Systems Tech, Northrop-Grumman, Other Corporation, Raytheon, Specialty Aircraft
EA-6B Prowler
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With the retirement of the US Air Force’s long-range EF-111 Raven “Spark ‘Vark,” the aging 4-seat EA-6B Prowlers are now the USA’s sole remaining tactical aircraft type for radar jamming, communications jamming and information operations like signals interception [1]. They’ve been predictably busy as a result. In Iraq, they’ve been used for everything from escorting strike aircraft against heavily defended targets during the opening days of the war, to disrupting enemy IED attacks by jamming all radio signals in an area.
EA-18G at Pax
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All airframes have lifespan limits, however, and the EA-6B is no exception. The USA’s new electronic warfare aircraft is based on Boeing’s 2-seat F/A-18F Super Hornet multi-role fighter and has 90% commonality with its counterpart. That will give it decent self-defense capabilities as well as electronic attack potential. At present, however, the EA-18G is slated to be the only dedicated electronic warfare aircraft in the USA’s future force – and since the USA is the only western country with such aircraft, it would become the sole source of tactical jamming support for NATO air forces as a whole.
DID’s FOCUS articles offer in-depth, updated looks at significant military programs of record. This article describes the aircraft and key systems, outlining the program, and keeping track of ongoing developments, contracts, et. al. that affect the program. New items will be highlighted via green type. The latest news involves the FY 2010 budget, and a parts contract…
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…
The USA’s 2005-2009 Multi-Year Hornet Procurement Contract
23-Sep-2009 12:46 EDT |
Related Stories: Americas - USA, Boeing, Contracts - Awards, Contracts - Modifications, Engines - Aircraft, Fighters & Attack, GE, Logistics Innovations, Project Successes, Specialty Aircraft, Spotlight articles, Support & Maintenance
F/A-18F Super Hornet
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The US Navy flies the F/A-18 E/F Super Hornet, and has just taken delivery of its first operational EA-18G Growler electronic warfare & strike aircraft. These buys are actually managed out of a common multi-year procurement (MYP) contract, which also manages many of the EA-18G’s support costs since it’s derived from the Super Hornet and many of the required maintenance items are common to both planes. The contract covers 42 aircraft per year, split between Super Hornets and EA-18Gs, with a variation quantity clause permitting up to 6 additional aircraft per year under the same terms. FY 2008 marks year 4 of the 5-year MYP-II contract.
DID already has an EA-18G FOCUS Article; we will be using this entry to cover the Super Hornet MYP program’s budgets, and this article has been updated to include all announced contracts since MYP-II began. The latest entries include almost $40 million for engine spares…
CROWS = Videogame + Vehicle + Real Guns
07-Sep-2009 16:52 EDT |
Related Stories: Americas - USA, BAE, Contracts - Awards, Contracts - Modifications, Design Innovations, Europe - Other, New Systems Tech, Other Corporation, Sensors & Guidance
CROWS in Iraq
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Most military vehicles can mount some sort of weapon, and even small protected vehicles like up-armored Hummers have top mounts. Manning them can be hazardous, however, as the story behind the Chavis Turret illustrates. Gunners are especially exposed to enemy sniper fire and counter-fire in urban environments, which figure prominently in current and expected war scenarios.
In response, larger armored vehicles have begun using Remote Weapon Systems (RWS), consisting of a gun and sensors that sit on top of the vehicle. These systems are controlled from inside via joystick and screen, and all ammunition, sensors, etc. are part of the topside assembly. The USA’s Common Remotely-Operated Weapons Station (CROWS) brings those capabilities to smaller vehicles, like up-armored Hummers or blast-resistant MRAPs. CROWS orders had traditionally been filled by Recon/Optical Inc., but a major “CROWS-II” framework agreement with Kongsberg in 2007 changed that landscape. Recent developments include a major delivery order…
- The CROWS System
- Contracts & Key Events [updated]
- Additional Readings
Continue reading…
Small Firms Fret about Air Force’s ‘Small Firm’ Definition
01-Sep-2009 20:20 EDT |
Related Stories: Contracts - Awards, IT - Cyber-Security, IT - General, IT - Networks & Bandwidth, IT - Software & Integration, Partnerships & Consortia, Pre-RFP, Small Business
Small businesses – which traditionally have done very well competing against larger firms for the first NetCents program – are now complaining that the Air Force is gaming the system to gut set-aside requirements to small businesses in the second NetCents round.
The Network Operations and Infrastructure Solutions project – a $4.2 billion Air Force effort to provide IT purchasing services to various government agencies, part of the Network Centric Solutions 2 (NetCents 2) contract – will likely employ NAICS codes that include a greater number of potential vendors than was the case in the first round.
Defense Systems reports hearing from small businesses, cited anonymously, that they fear the Air Force is broadening the pool of vendors for its convenience, contravening stated precedence. The story reports that an official from the Air Force Small Business Programs Office warned that recent proceedings indicated this change may make the whole program vulnerable to successful challenges and related delays.
Dutch Choose Bushmaster IMVs for Afghan Mission (updated)
23-Aug-2009 17:13 EDT |
Related Stories: Asia - Central, Australia & S. Pacific, Contracts - Awards, Europe - Other, Field Reports, Force Structure, Issues - International, Policy - Procurement, Procurement Innovations, Remote Weapons Systems, Support & Maintenance, Thales, Trucks & Transport, Warfare - Lessons, Warfare - Trends
Dutch Bushmasters’
first Afghan patrol
(click to view full)
Despite ongoing US procurement of M1151/M1152 Hummers, the retreat from Jeep-like vehicles is accelerating among Western militaries. Insufficiently protected against land mine threats in modern conflict zones, and insufficiently protectable due to inherent design limitations, conventional vehicles like G-Wagens, Land Rovers, and HMMWVs are being replaced in manufacturer lineups and military acquisitions by more protectable truck-based models, or by dedicated mine-resistant patrol vehicles. A wide array of countries are buying these vehicles for the first time. Meanwhile, nations that were ahead of the curve continue to add to their stocks.
ISAF, S. Afghanistan
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Australia’s move to more than double its original order of 300 Thales-ADI’s Bushmaster IMVs, which have proven themselves with Australian forces in Iraq and Afghanistan, offers ample evidence of the seriousness with which they view the global trend toward IED land mines in conflict zones. First-time buyer The Netherlands has also adopted the Bushmaster, to strengthen its own Afghan force.
The Dutch move to field mine-resistant vehicles was concluded in close cooperation with 2 friendly foreign governments, and it has just placed its 6th order…
- The International Trend [NEW]
- The Dutch Decision
- 3 Governments in a Cooperative Effort
- Contracts and Key Events [updated]
- Additional Readings
Continue reading…
Beyond Patriot: The MEADS Program SD&D Phase
06-Aug-2009 11:11 EDT |
Related Stories: ABM, Alliances, Americas - USA, Budgets, EADS, Europe - Other, FOCUS Articles, Issues - International, Lockheed Martin, MBDA, Missiles - Surface-Air, New Systems Tech, Northrop-Grumman, R&D - Contracted
MEADS: air view
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The Medium Extended Air Defense System (MEADS program aims to replace Patriot missiles in the United States, the older Hawk system in Germany, and Italy’s even older Nike Hercules missiles. MEADS will be designed to kill enemy aircraft, cruise missiles and UAVs within its reach, while providing next-generation point defense capabilities against ballistic missiles. MBDA’s SAMP/T project would be its main competitor, but MEADS aims to offer improved mobility and wider compatibility with other air defense systems, in order to create an linchpin for its customers’ next-generation air defense arrays.
The German government finally gave their clearance in April 2005, and in June 2005 MEADS International (MI) formally signed a contract worth approximately $3.4 billion to design and develop the tri-national MEADS system. This DID FOCUS Article covers that program, which is about to add a second missile to the mix…
