Polish F-16C,
air display

F-16C/D Block 52 aircraft serve as the backbone of Poland’s air force. In February 2012, the USA’s Defense Security Cooperation Agency announced [PDF] Poland’s official request for F-16 weapons, as well as a 5 year fleet support contract that includes associated equipment, parts, and training. They will be bought using the USA’s Foreign Military Sales process, and the requested items are expected to cost up to $447 million.

If a contract is negotiated after the 15-day FMS wait period for NATO members, the prime contractors are listed as Raytheon in Tucson, AZ and Waltham, MA; Boeing in St. Charles, MO; McAlester Army Ammunition Plant in McAlester, OK; and United Technologies Corporation in Hartford, CT. Poland’s specific request includes…

• The USAF wants to follow in the US Army’s “Land Warrior” wearable computing vest footsteps. That may not be such a great idea. Then again, riding with gear is different than walking and carrying it.

• US Army’s next-generation CIRCM effort to protect helicopters against enemy missiles moves ahead. Note that this won’t help against unguided RPG rockets, which have caused the high-profile helicopter losses in Afghanistan.

• James Hasik weighs in on the Navistar-Oshkosh merger debate, and industry pricing power.

• Reuters reports that Textron is another company that might see some corporate action, though divestiture of some of its parts seems more likely than an outright merger. But such talk about the conglomerate is not new and remains speculative.

• US signs memo with Britain to help them rebuild aircraft carrier capability, after the long hiatus that will follow the recent shelving of their Harriers and carriers.

• Wideband Global Satcom F4, the 1st Block II bird, flew to Florida aboard a C-5 transport plane in November, and is set to launch on Jan 19/12 aboard a Delta IV EELV rocket.

• DARPA’s Extended Solids program is organizing a workshop next month to present its goals and attract researchers. First they would like to identify high pressure material phases of molecular compounds that feature interesting (from a DoD perspective) structural, energetic or functional properties. But perhaps more importantly they’re interested in fabrication processes that don’t require ultrahigh pressure and thus can scale at an acceptable cost. And of course the material has to remain in a stable state under ambient temperature and pressure.

• American logisticians have increased use of the Northern Distribution Network and raised stock levels to mitigate the impact of Pakistan’s closing of border crossings. They had to adapt after Karachi’s port was backed up earlier this month. Of course this is not cost neutral, but military logistics is all about resilience to events such as port closures that can’t be predicted but can be planned against.

• The US Defense Logistics Agency has worked on making its DLAD acquisition directive more user friendly and is now making it available in HTML and PDF formats.

SU-34: takeoff!
(click to view larger)

Mass production approved; 6 more delivering. (Dec 12/11)

Russia’s SU-27 Flanker design has become one of its great export successes. It is also a design success. Its basic airframe applied lessons from all of America’s “teen series fighters,” producing a 4+ generation aircraft that remains the yardstick by which others still measure themselves. What’s even more impressive is that the design was very flexible, allowing further refinements and modifications that range from the SU-30 and SU-35 upgrades, to versions that add canard foreplanes (SU-30MKI/M, SU-37), and even carrier-launched capability (SU-33).

Then there’s the SU-32/34 “Fullback.” It was envisaged as a Flanker family successor to the F-111 analogue SU-24 “Fencer,” which was very highly regarded in Chechnya as a battlefield support aircraft. Its closest western comparison is the F-15E Strike Eagle, but the Russian design has evolved since its initial drafts in 1986, most visibly so in the present side-by-side cockpit configuration that includes features like an aisle to rest in, and even a toilet of sorts. More information is included below…

• The SU-32MF/-34 “Fullback” fighter-bomber
• Contracts & Key Events [updated]
• Additional Readings
  Continue Reading… »

Egyptian Air Force F-16D

Egypt picks Sniper pods; Egypt’s election earthquake; F-16 infrastructure contract. (Dec 7/11)

The Egyptian government wants to buy another 24 F-16C/D Block 50/52 aircraft, associated parts, weapons, and equipment to modernize its air force. The October 2009 request, made through the US Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) to Congress, could be worth as much as $3.2 billion to Lockheed Martin and the other contractors involved. The formal request came a few months after the Obama administration conveyed its support for Egypt’s long-standing request to buy the Block 50/52 aircraft.

The Egyptian Air Force is the 4th largest F-16 operator in the world, mustering about 195 F-16s of 220 ordered. Their overall fighter fleet is a mix of high-end F-16s and Mirage 2000s, low-end Chinese F-7s (MiG-21 copy) bought from the Chinese, a few F-4 Phantom II jets, and upgraded but very aged Soviet MiG-21s and French Mirage 5s…

AH-64 Apache
with Arrowhead sensor

Saudi order. (Jan 5/12)

For much of the post-WWII era, US helicopter pilots have been trained to fly “low and fast.” This was based on combat experience in Korea and Vietnam. However, in the urban environments of Iraq and Afghanistan, flying low and fast has made helicopters more vulnerable to a number of threats: terrain, wires/powerlines, rocket propelled grenades, small arms fire, and shoulder-fired missiles.

Enter the Arrowhead system. Arrowhead is an electro-optical and fire control system that AH-64 Apache helicopter pilots use for combat targeting of their Hellfire missiles and other weapons, as well as flying in day, night, or bad weather missions. The system also provides accurate targeting at high altitudes, a practice that also has its drawbacks. This free-to-view Spotlight article covers the Arrowhead’s characteristics, components, contacts, consequences, and contracts…

• Challenges of Urban Warfare
• The Arrowhead Advantage
• VNsight and Pathfinder
• High-Flying Drawbacks
• Key Contacts as of July 2010
• Contracts and Key Events [updated]
• Additional Readings
  Continue Reading… »

Federal Business Opportunities (FBO) has recently disclosed the following Requests for Proposals (RFP), modifications and notifications:

• The US Air Force releases a Statement of Work, Questions and Answers and additional documents in relation to the purchase and installation of a Lawful Intercept (LI) capability for the Government of Iraq (GOI). LI will provide the GOI with enhanced communications intelligence to support a range of security operations.
  Continue Reading… »

• Admiral Jonathan Greenert will be the next US Chief of Naval Operations. Information Dissemination  responds: “If we ignore ADM Greenert’s total failure at Fleet Forces Command, this is good news.”

• WikiLeaks cables reveal that elements in Japan are thinking about their own nuclear deterrence, as confidence in the USA’s alliance and nuclear guarantee weakens.

• “What Gates’ [NATO] speech shows more than anything is the strategic weakness of cooperative strategy… The value of burden sharing only exists when there are mutually shared threats to stability and security, not when there are mutually shared benefits of stability and security.” If so, what does that mean for the US Navy’s Seapower strategy?

• Deputy Defense Secretary William J Lynn tells the Aerospace Industry Association that it is important to preserve the manufacturing facilities, financial strength and durability of the defense industrial base in the face of spending cuts.

• In a news briefing on the eve of the Paris Air Show, the head of strategy and business development for Boeing’s Defense Space and Security Unit sees cyber-security and new unmanned aircraft programs as growth opportunities despite impending cuts to US defense expenditure. Sales to Asia, the Middle East and Latin America are also under consideration.

• Raytheon receives a contract from the US Air Force to produce the first airborne tactical hyperspectral sensor system. The Airborne Cueing and Exploitation System Hyperspectral (ACES HY) is an infrared sensor system developed to identify targets based on their spectral characteristics.

• As the US Department of Defense seeks greater energy efficiency across its operations, Honeywell and Safran sign a memorandum of understanding to create a joint venture to deliver a new electric green taxiing system for aircraft.

• Australia’s Ministry of Defence announces that the tender for a $300 million five-year contract for the repair and maintenance of the Navy’s eight Anzac Class frigates has been released.

• Research and Markets publishes its Iran Defense and Security Report Q3 2011.

• Following last week’s pledge to improve defense ties between Israel and China, Xinhua reports on the social, economic and political factors driving the Israeli defense industry.

• BAE Systems and Dassault Aviation name the program that will deliver their joint response for a next generation Medium Altitude Long Endurance (MALE) Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) as Telemos. Dassault’s international director is confident that if a contract is signed in 2011 the UAS could be delivered in 2016. While acknowledging that EADS could bring ‘equipment and competencies’ to the project, he also emphasized that the program would remain jointly-led by BAE Systems and Dassault.

• BAE Systems sells its remaining 10% stake in Saab for $249 million. The sale ends BAE’s involvement in the Swedish defense company over more than a decade.

• DCS Corp awarded the Ground Vehicle Simulation Lab (GVSL) contract, providing systems engineering and technical support to the U.S. Army’s Tank-Automotive and Armaments Command.

• Taber Extrusions LLC awarded a contract to supply extruded products for Austal USA’s Littoral Combat Ship Jackson (LCS 6) and Joint High Speed Vessel Fortitude (JHSV 3). 

• ThalesRaytheonSystems announces that reliability and maintainability improvements have been added to the AN/TPQ-37 Firefinder Weapon Locating Radar system. The AN/TPQ-37 is currently fielded in Iraq and is due to be deployed to Afghanistan in the coming months.

• The Israel Air Force (IAF) is re-evaluating the Bell-Boeing V-22 Osprey tilt-rotor aircraft as an optional future vertical lift capability.

• As the People’s Liberation Army’s chief of staff confirms that China is completing its first aircraft carrier, Defense Tech speculates that espionage and cyber capabilities will be integral to Beijing’s attempts to bridge the 20 year technological gap with the United States.

• The global armored vehicle and counter IED vehicle market is predicted to reach $25.1 billion this year, but decline to $24.1 billion by 2021, according to ASDReports.com

• Russian prosecutors are pursuing criminal charges against space officials over 4.3 billion ruble loss of 3 Glonass navigation satellites as the result of a failed launch attempt aboard a Proton-M rocket in December 2010.

• Pressure is building for land assaults on Somali pirate havens. Step 1 in the inevitable renaissance of the traditional “punitive expedition” concept?

• General Atomics delivers the 1st set of EMALS electro-magnetic catapult production components, to equip the new Gerald R. Ford aircraft carrier class.

• Alenia Aeronautica delivers a stealth-maintaining weapons bay for the prototype nEUROn Unmanned Combat Air Vehicle to France’s Dassault Aviation.

• USAF demonstrates new C2 forward concept design to improve mobility of the JFACC [PDF] command post using existing technology.

• Lockheed Martin chief Bob Stevens tells media that his company is cutting $500 million in cost, most of that coming from a 26% reduction in senior executive personnel through early retirement.

• Royal Navy leases retrofitted ice breaker MV Polarbjorn from Norway’s GC Rieber Shipping to replace damaged ice breaker HMS Endurance in Antarctica.

• Israel Aerospace Industries’ Bedek division is taking its K-767 multi-mission tanker transport (MMTT) to the global market. They’ll be converted from used Boeing 767-200s to keep the price low. IAI Bedek has already provided 1 to Colombia, and Israel is actively considering one as a combination VVIP plane/ tanker, alongside its KC-135s.

• Raytheon gets $84.7 million US Navy contact for continued production of the ALR-67v3 digital radar warning receivers for American F/A-18E/F Super Hornets, and Swiss F/A-18C/D Hornets. See the linked articles for full details; the Pentagon announced the contract in April 2011.

• Global defense budget is expected to reach $1.1 trillion in 2012, according to ASDReports.com

• Lockheed Martin gets $45.3 million order to upgrade 22 Finnish Army M270 multiple launch rocket systems, enabling them to fire GPS-guided munitions.

• BAE Systems gets GBP 39 million in MOD contracts to improve the intelligence processing capability of the RAF’s Typhoon fighter.

• General Dynamics Electric Boat receives a $33.5 million contract modification to develop advanced submarine technologies for US Navy undersea platforms.

• Northrop Grumman and Georgia Institute of Technology to develop MEMS gyroscope technology for DARPA’s Microscale Rate Integrating Gyroscope program.

• UK uses Roll Over Drills Egress Trainers (RODETs) – armored hulls outfitted like a real vehicle that can be completely rotated – to teach troops at Camp Bastion in Afghanistan how to survive if their vehicle hits an IED.