• US Secretary of the Air Force Michael Donley and Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Norton Schwartz released a short whitepaper [PDF] outlining its priorities and choices within forthcoming budget constraints. It states: “More than 280 aircraft have been identified [...] for elimination [...] over the next five years. This includes 123 fighters (102 A-10s and 21 older F-16s), 133 mobility aircraft (27 C-5As, 65 C-130s, 20 KC-135s, and 21 C-27s), and 30 select ISR systems (18 RQ-4 Block 30s, 11 RC-26s, and one E-8 damaged beyond repair)”

• The US-China Economic and Security Review Commission had hearings last week on what China’s quest for global resources – water, fossil fuel, mineral, fish – means for the United States. Transcripts | Video.

• Andrew Davies from the Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI) thinks it is unlikely that the Australian Defence Force (ADF) will make a big rebasing effort to the country’s north. ASPI also released an economic and strategic analysis [PDF] pondering whether Australia should build warships.

• The Canadian Forces updated their casualty statistics covering their presence in Afghanistan from April 2002 to December 31, 2011.

• The US House Committee on Foreign Affairs will have its second hearing on “Export Controls, Arms Sales, and Reform: Balancing U.S. Interests” next Tuesday, Feb. 7, 10am. Marion Blakey, President & CEO of the Aerospace Industries Association (AIA) and Mikel Williams, CEO if DDi, will testify. The ADS trade association in the UK is concerned about the potential impact of ITAR changes on its members.

• US $1.3B military aid to Egypt is in jeopardy.

• India’s DRDO: We liked the Bollywood movie ‘3 Idiots’ so much, we bought its Netra UAV...

• Skills you didn’t know you needed as an helicopter maintenance engineer: black widow live capture.

• President Obama signed the FY12 defense authorization bill (HR1540) on December 31 but expressed “serious reservations with certain provisions that regulate the detention, interrogation, and prosecution of suspected terrorists.”

• A $355M contract (FA8637-12-D-6001) confirms the USAF procurement of 20 Light Air Support (LAS) Embraer EMB-314 Super Tucano aircraft, via Sierra Nevada Corporation (SNC). Deliveries of this batch of 20 planes is expected to be completed by the end of April 2014. Last year Hawker Beechcraft filed a GAO protest for being excluded from the RFP and sued the US Air Force after losing the protest. DefenseLink | SNC | DefesaNet [in Portuguese].

• Some former officers of the British Armed Forces are concerned that increased use of reserve forces serves to mask lack of personnel in the standing Army.

• The UK’s National Archives receive records from government departments after 30 years, when most of these documents are then made public. The 1981 archives reveal that the purchase of Trident nuclear weapons was less than consensual in the Cabinet (is it now?). Strong opinions were offered, as Foreign Secretary Peter Carrington stated at the time: “Failure to acquire Trident would have left the French as the only nuclear power in Europe. This would be intolerable.” He also warned Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher that “reductions would be interpreted by both the islanders and the Argentines as a reduction in our commitment to the [Falkland] islands and in our willingness to defend them.” This was just months before the Argentinian military invaded. For more historical context, see Margaret Thatcher’s files as Prime Minister, 1981.

• Fast forward to last month: the Mercosur trading bloc (Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay and land-locked Paraguay) agreed to prohibit ships flying the Falklands flag from entering its members’ ports.

IAI Heron

UAVs in service again, but relations go from bad to worse; Herons for the police; TAI Anka’s crashes; Looking for Plan B. (Dec 22/11)

In April 2005, Israel Aircraft Industries (IAI) and Elbit Systems won an contract to supply medium endurance unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) to the Turkish military. Turkey’s local industry would provide sub-systems and services amounting to 30% of the contract.

The contract’s terms have been the subject of shifting reports, and the type of UAV was not specified in the official releases. Over time, however, clarity has emerged on several fronts. One front is the UAV type: the same Heron UAVs that serve with Israel, India, Canada, and other customers. Another front has involved problems with the contract, related to the weight of made-in-Turkey equipment. As clarity has emerged on those fronts, however, a 3rd front – the political front – is introducing complications…

• Contract Arrangements and Participants
• The UAVs – and the Issues [updated]
• Contracts & Key Events [updated]
• Additional Readings and Sources [updated]
  Continue Reading… »

RQ-11B Raven

USAF to use RQ-11Bs at bases worldwide. (Oct 5/11)

The RQ-11 Raven is a 4.2-pound, backpackable, hand-launched UAV that provides day and night, real-time video imagery for “over the hill” and “around the corner” reconnaissance, surveillance and target acquisition.

Each Raven system typically consists of 3 aircraft, 2 ground control stations, system spares, and related services. The digital upgrades are still designated RQ-11Bs, but they enable a given area to include more Ravens, with improved capabilities. The secret? Using L-band spectrum more efficiently…

• Ravin’ bout Ravens: Current Models, and Proposed Upgrades
• Contracts and Key Events [updated]
• Additional Readings
  Continue Reading… »

What really happened?

8 months support; 2 more planes coming. (Sept 29/11)

The US Army’s Constant Hawk program feeds into 2 big trends. One is the need to create systems that dip into the gushing firehose of data from UAVs, aircraft, ground-mounted stations like GBOSS/RAID, etc., in order to create information that people can use. “Too Much Information: Taming the UAV Data Explosion” covered some aspects of those efforts, and the critical area of “change detection” is an additional element.

US Army Program Manager – Aerial Common Sensor’s (PM ACS) Constant Hawk program is one of several change detection systems in operation, in the service of the second big trend: the drive to find solutions to the land mine problem, which has been the #1 killer in both Iraq and Afghanistan…

• The US Navy’s Program Executive Office (PEO) Integrated Warfare Systems (IWS) announces that it has made $50 million-worth of savings in procuring weapons for new construction amphibious ships between FY2009-2011.

• The British House of Commons’ Public Accounts Committee (PAC) publishes a report warning that until the Ministry of Defence (MoD) implements the Future Logistics Information Services project the UK’s Armed Forces remain reliant on a supply chain susceptible to a ‘critical risk of failure’.

• The US Army awards General Dynamics a $107 million contract for unspecified combat, assault and tactical vehicles.

• Meanwhile, the US Navy awards Federal Cartridge Company a $46.5 million contract for 5.56m frangible ammunition.

• Russia is to build its second Tupolev Tu-214ON aircraft for international aerial inspections under the Open Skies Treaty [PDF].

• Saab says its Skeldar V-200 unmanned helicopter will soon be on the market in its land-based and maritime versions.

• Boeing announces that it will use a Ryan Aerospace Helimod helicopter simulator to train Australian Army pilots to fly Bell 206B-1 Kiowa helicopters.

• The right-wing Heritage Foundation think tank raises concerns that the Budget Control Act will jeopardize the US solid rocket industrial base via the Administration’s reluctance to modernize strategic missiles to replace or expand on the likes of the Minuteman III ICBM and Trident II D-5 SLBM.

• Boeing and Siemens form a strategic alliance to develop ‘smart grid’ technologies to improve energy access and security for US military installations.

• Teal Group’s Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Systems – 2011 predicts that global UAV expenditure will increase from $5.9 billion to $15.1 billion over the next decade.

• Turkey’s defense companies are set to be among the major beneficiaries of Ankara’s $5 billion expenditure on materiel throughout 2011.

• Kawasaki’s XP-1 maritime patrol aircraft develops cracks during ground testing, prompting uncertainty over its entry into service.

• Sikorsky follows up its recent sale of its S-70i Black Hawk to Mexico with the announcement that it has delivered three S-70is to an undisclosed customer. Turkey is the S-70i’s 1st and biggest customer to date.

• Enstrom delivers the first batch of 480B light turbine helicopters to the Royal Thai Army. The aircraft form part of a contract signed in 2010 for 16 480Bs, to be used for training purposes. Thailand is also getting set to receive 2 MH-60S maritime utility helicopters.

• China’s Peoples Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) temporarily shifts attention away from its aircraft carrier program with the launch of its second Dalao-class submarine.

• So, does Burma/Myanmar have a contract for 20 more MiG-29 fighters or not?

• A recent meeting of the Defense Business Board at the Pentagon recommended the creation of a single Defense Logistics Organization (DLO) [PDF]. The Board argued that a single DLO with sole responsibility for supply, maintenance and transportation would increase logistics effectiveness and efficiency.

• The former Director of National Intelligence, Admiral (Ret.) Dennis Blair, tells the Aspen Security Forum that the United States should stop unilateral drone attacks and work in closer partnership with countries where unmanned campaigns are conducted. See embedded video at the bottom of this entry.

• Raytheon’s Second Quarter Results show net sales of approximately $6.2 billion, a slight increase on corresponding figures for 2010. The company’s Chairman and CEO attributes a strong second quarter performance to its ‘focus on execution and cost reduction strategies’.

• A US Marine Corps Officer tells the Lexington Institute’s Capitol Hill Electronic Attack Conference that the service is preparing to undertake tests on the new Intrepid Tiger II [PDF] communications intelligence and jamming pod.

• Israel and India are reportedly negotiating to buy 3 more IL-76 Phalcon AWACs aircraft, to follow the current order of 3. IAI had been touting the long-range G550 CAEW used by Israel and Singapore as an even better follow up.

• EADS attributes its ‘solid results’ for the first half year 2011 to strong demand in the commercial aviation sector. The company reports that revenues increased in the first six months of 2011 by 8% to €21.9 billion ($31.2 billion).

• Dassault accuses Safran of holding up talks in relation to the French Government-backed deal to swap assets with Thales.

• The US Army awards Olin Corporation a $29 million contract to provide Small Caliber Ammunition for Caliber .50, 7.62mm and 5.56mm.

• Russia is studying the possibility of deploying paratroopers as part of its multi-branch Arctic contingent.  This may be extended to helicopter regiments by 2020, when Russia’s arms procurement program is due to be completed.

• A number of blog articles have highlighted the problems the Indian Air Force faces in keeping its ageing fleet of Soviet-built fighters airworthy. This may have proved influential upon recent decisions taken in relation to India’s Medium Multi-Role Combat Aircraft (M-MRCA) competition.
  Continue Reading… »

• The release of the Final Report of the 2010 Army Acquisition Review [PDF] reveals that since 1995 the US Army has spent $32 billion on testing and evaluation of weapons programs that were eventually canceled. Among the largest programs was Boeing’s Future Combat Systems.

• Russian police have launched a criminal investigation into the financial affairs of the management of the Severnaya Verf shipyard, St Petersburg. The investigation adds to concerns about the shipyard, after it announced that the launch of the first Admiral Gorshkov class frigate would be delayed until 2012.

• Australia’s Minister for Defence, Stephen Smith lays out progress and perils to date re: Australian acquisition reform, projects of concern, the 2030 defence capability plan, and more.

• EADS’ Cassidian signs a cooperation agreement with Ilex, a specialist Identity and Access Management (IAM) publisher. Cooperation is expected to to result in greater synergy between Cassidian’s Public Key Infrastructure system and Ilex’s access control platform.

• Bids have been submitted for two packages of work worth $33 billion in support of Canada’s National Shipbuilding Procurement Strategy (NSPS). However, officials have yet to decide whether to allow the new owners of Davie Yards to compete.

• Pictures of L-3 Communications’ Spydr modifications of a Hawker Beechcraft King Air 350ER show the replacement of the nose section with a new structure capable of carrying the company’s Wescam MX-15 camera.

• A declassified report obtained by the National Security Archive reveals that China’s electromagnetic pulse weapons (EMP) programs are more advanced than once thought. The report also indicates that China has developed tactics utilizing EMP weapons in the event of US deployments in any future conflict with Taiwan.

• The appointment of a maritime expert as Turkey’s new Defense Minister may see the profile of the indigenous shipbuilding sector on the rise.

• Pakistan’s Navy inducts its first squadron of indigenous Uqab-II UAVs at PNS Mehran, in Karachi. That’s just a day after a Pakistani Navy drone hit a bird and crashed near an oil refinery in a suburb of Karachi.

• NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen thanks General David Petraeus for his command of coalition troops, and hails the handing over of Bamiyan province to Afghan security forces as the beginning of full transition.

• UK Defence Secretary Dr Liam Fox is set to unveil a radical overhaul of the British Army. It is expected that regular troop levels will fall from 101,000 to 82,000 by 2020. Dr Fox is also expected to endorse a review of the UK’s use of its reserve forces for frontline activities.

• L-3 uses the UK’s Royal International Air Tattoo (RIAT) to unveil its Spydr intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) aircraft. The Spydr is based upon Hawker Beechcraft’s King Air 350-ER with the potential to be equipped with L-3’s processing, exploitation and dissemination systems.

• Australia welcomes another 3 of its 24 ordered F/A-18F Block II Super Hornet fighters, bringing its fleet to 18.

• ‘First cut’ ceremony marks the beginning of Scorpene attack submarine construction in Brazil.

• Belarusian defense firms are to exhibit over 40 types of electronic equipment and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) at next month’s MAKS-2011 air show near Moscow. Among the products on display will be the Strela target drone and Grif-1 UAV.

• Czech Republic’s Defense Minister warns that further budget cuts may bring into question the country’s ability to fulfil its commitments to NATO.

• Yemeni forces launch an offensive to recapture the southern town of Zinjibar. The town was captured by Islamist militants in May.

• As defense expenditure in the United States is set to decrease, Boeing’s KC-46A and Lockheed Martin’s F-35 projects may fall victim to Government reluctance to absorb cost growth.