F-16F “Desert Falcon”
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The F-16 has become what its designers intended it to be: a worthy successor to the legendary P-51 Mustang whose principles of visibility, agility, and pilot-friendliness informed its design. It is no exaggeration to call it the defining fighter of its age, the plane that many people around the world think of when they think “fighter.” The aircraft’s ability to handle future adversaries like the thrust-vectoring MiG-29OVT/35 and advanced surface-air missile systems is in question, but upgrades have kept F-16s popular. The planes have been produced in several countries around the world, thanks to licensing agreements, but this does not change their status as the American defense industry’s greatest success story of the last 40 years.

The most advanced F-16s in the world, however, are not American. That distinction belongs to the United Arab Emirates, whose F-16 E/F Block 60s are a generation ahead of the F-16 C/D Block 50/52+ aircraft that form the backbone of the US Air Force and many other fleets around the world. The Block 60 has been described as a lower-budget alternative to the forthcoming F-35A Joint Strike Fighter – and is being treated as such in countries like India and the Netherlands, as they contemplate their future fighter needs.

The UAE invested in the type’s development, and with that investment comes inevitable fielding, training, and equipping needs. This DID article showcases the F-16 E/F “Desert Falcon,” and offers a window into its associated costs. The latest item is a contract for AMRAAM missiles, which had been part of an earlier DSCA request…

• The F-16E/F “Desert Falcon” [updated]
• Contracts and Key Events [updated]
• Additional Readings [updated]
  
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Base, Bleeding Out?

Back in July 2005, DID informed its readers that India’s sanctions against Denel and possible disqualification from a $2 billion artillery contract could have a major effect on the South African defense firm as a whole. In August 2005, those sanctions came to pass, barring Denel from a contract it was likely to win and accelerating efforts already underway to radically restructure the firm.

CEO Shaun Liebenberg launched that shift in late 2005 with some frank discussion of the global defense market, and the position of small-medium players like Denel in it. At DSEI 2005 in London, UK, the outline of this new strategy was already apparent. Many of the products Denel is known for will no longer define the firm. But could it find a way to stanch the bleeding and survive in a globalized market?

And how has it done since?

• Denel’s Position
• Denel’s New Strategy
• Updates and Key Events
  
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Virginia Block I-II
(click for SuperSize)

The SSN-774 Virginia Class submarine was introduced in the 1990s as a Clinton-era reform that was intended to take some of the SSN-21 Seawolf Class’ key design and technology advances, and place them in a smaller, less heavily-armed, and less expensive platform. The resulting submarine would have learned some of the Seawolf program’s negative procurement lessons, while performing capably in land attack, naval attack, special forces, and shallow water roles. In the end, the Seawolf Class became a technology demonstrator program that was canceled at 3 ships, and the Virginia Class became the naval successor to America’s famed SSN-688 Los Angeles Class. The Virginia Class program was supposed to reach 2 submarines per year by 2002, removing it from the unusual joint construction approach between General Dynamics Electric Boat and Northrop Grumman Shipbuilding – but that goal has been pushed back to 2012 in progressive planning budgets.

In FY 2005 dollars, SSN-21 submarines cost between $3.1-3.5 billion each. According to Congressional Research Service report #RL32418, and the Navy is working toward a goal of shaving FY05$ 400 million from the cost of each Virginia Class boat, and buying 2 boats in FY2012 for combined cost of $4.0 billion in FY 2005 dollars – a goal referred to as “2 for 4 in 12”. In real dollars subject to inflation, that means about $2.6 billion per sub in 2012, and $2.7 billion in 2013. The Navy believes that moving from the current joint construction arrangement will shave FY05$ 200 million from the cost of each submarine, leaving another FY05$ 200 million (about $220 million) to be saved through ship design and related changes. “Virginia Block III: The Revised Bow” chronicles some of the significant cost-saving design changes underway to the Virginia Class Block 3 subs, which begin at SSN-784, the 11th ship of class.

How is the program doing? The good news is, they just won a major procurement award for their efforts…

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“Killer Chick”
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The American Office of the Secretary of Defense sent this on to DID, and we thought we’d pass it on to all of our readers in the Washington area. The American Veteran Center’s 10th Annual Conference begins today, and will take place November 8-10 at the Renaissance Washington Hotel. there is still time to register and attend.

The AVC conference is one of the largest annual gatherings of decorated military combat veterans, and will host some of the greatest heroes of WWII, Korea, Vietnam and Iraq/Afghanistan. It features 3 days of speaker panels, wreath laying ceremonies at the World War II, Korea, and Vietnam memorials and an awards banquet. The conference also features salutes to Medal of Honor recipients and service members wounded in Iraq and Afghanistan. Some of the participants include:

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Vicki Golding
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Government Information Group will host GIT Rockin’ 2007, government IT’s 2nd annual battle of the bands that showcases the alter egos and talents of professionals from across the government information technology community. The finalist bands were chosen in a “blind panel” judging, and had to include two members of the government IT community (government and vendor executives were both eligible to participate).

Proceedings will be kicked off by Australian-born Specialist Vicki Golding of the D.C. National Guard’s 257th Army Band, winner of the 2006 Military Idol competition. The selected GIT Tockin’ bands and their affiliations include:

• The DISA-Peering Act (Verizon Business at DISA, Unisys at TSA, Canadian Army Special Ops for the JTF at DISA HQ, USMC for the JTF at DISA HQ). Our favorite band name;
• The Groove (EMC Software, Formatta Corporation);
• The Moogly Blues Band (VDOT, VITA);
• Outta Scope (NIH, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, DOD/State Department, WTEC) Does this band go to 11?; and
• Tacocat (AT&T Government Solutions, Perot Systems Government Services, Skjei Telecom)

The event will be hosted on Thursday, Oct 18/07 at the State Theater in Falls Church, Virginia. Tickets are $20 each, with an event maximum of 800 tickets. Proceeds from all ticket and band voting sales will be donated to the United Services Organization of Metropolitan Washington (USO-Metro). Git your tickets here.

AAV7s, Somalia
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The Upgraded M36E3 Thermal Sight System is designed to improve the USMC’s AAV7 “Amtracs” amphibious vehicles; as Military Aerospace & Electronics notes, the Amtracs don’t have thermal sights. Instead, the current system employs image intensifier (aka. “starlight scope”) technology that amplifies existing light and has a range of less than 1 km (0.6 miles). Nor do current sights provide the ability to see through smoke, fog, sand or other obscurants to visible light.

The work-in-progress Expeditionary Fighting Vehicle will include far superior optics, but the Marines can’t wait that long. With Amtracs being pressed into service as armored personnel carriers far inland in theaters like Iraq, that’s a serious handicap. The replacement AAV7A1 day/night sight must provide daylight as well as nighttime sighting ability to detect targets to 4.7 km/ 3 miles, recognize targets to 2.5 km/ 1.5 miles, and identify targets at 700 m. See full solicitation specifications [HTML | MS Word].

It would appear that procurement in earnest is now underway…

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In the wake of the USA’s Base Realignment And Closure (BRAC) 2005 process, Aberdeen Proving Ground is preparing for an influx of new personnel – including Team C4ISR (Command, Control, Communications, Computers, Intelligence, Surveillance, Reconnaissance) from the U.S. Army’s Fort Monmouth.

To help Maryland’s business community understand and capitalize on these future changes at APG, the Maryland Technology Development Corporation (TEDCO), the Tech Council of Maryland (TCM) and APG will jointly host the event “Aberdeen Proving Ground: Current and Future Capabilities for Business Opportunities.” Co-sponsored by the Greater Baltimore Tech Council, the event is designed to highlight new collaboration and commercialization opportunities for businesses, government agencies and academia.

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Small business qualifier Bristol Design Build Services LLC in Anchorage, AK received a $9.2 million firm-fixed-price contract for design and construction of a Department of Homeland Security border patrol station in Sumas, WA. Work is expected to be completed by June 30, 2008.

Bids were solicited via the World Wide Web on Oct. 12, 2006, and 5 bids were received by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in Seattle, WA (W912DW-07-C-0005).

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Defense Update covers the UAE’s IDEX 2007 show, which ended last Thursday. IDEX is the premier Middle East arms exhibition, and one that is growing in both size and global prominence given regional spending trends. During the show, the UAE Armed Forces announced that it has signed deals with worth over 1.34 billion Dirhams (currently about $360 million) with local and international companies. The UAE’s defense procurement process is widely respected, and carries influence beyond its borders. Announcements included:

• A Memorandum of Understanding with EADS for 3 aerial tankers; EADS says it’s the A330 MRTT selected by Australia & Britain, and bidding for the USA’s $20-30 billion KC-X Phase 1. The contract was finally signed in February 2008, and deliveries are expected to begin in 2011.
• DHS 390 million for 48 Agrab (Scorpion) 120 mm mobile mortar systems (MMS). The Agrab consists of a Singapore Technologies Kinetics (STK) 120 mm Super Rapid Advanced Mortar System, mounted to the rear of a BAE Systems OMC RG-31 Mk5 4×4 mine-protected vehicle fitted with a new 3-person fully enclosed cab.
• DHS 343 million to GAMCO of Abu Dhabi to support the United Arab Emirates’ various BAE Hawk trainer versions
• DHS 240 million (currently about $65 million) in communications equipment from Harris;
• DHS 228 million to DynCorp International to support their unique F-16 E/F Block 60 “Desert Falcon” fighters
• DHS 127 million for 12 fast patrol boats from Abu Dhabi Ship Building Company
• DHS 18 million for 10,000 pistols from local firm Caracal
• A shortlist for their advanced trainer competition: Aermacchi’s M-346, BAE’s Hawk 128 LIFT, and the Korean Aerospace/ Lockheed T-50 Golden Eagle

See Defense Update’s article for more.

BAE’s Talisman
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Naval Surface Warfare Center Panama City (NSWC PC) is busy preparing to host the Autonomous Underwater Vehicle Performance Demonstration, called AUV Fest, on June 4-16, 2007. These events started in 1997, and are hosted at 18 month intervals or so. NSWC PC’s AUV Fest 2007 Coordinator Phil Bernstein said that this AUV Fest is expected to draw more than 100 teams from government, industry, academia, and foreign military, bringing in excess of 80 unmanned vehicles equipped with a variety of sensor packages. He believes this will be the world’s largest-ever in-water unmanned systems demonstration.

Underwater mines will be a particular focus of AUV 2007, and cooperative behavior will be another area of special interest. the center of operations will be conducted from NSWC PC’s Littoral Warfare Research Facility, but would also involve coordination with multiple facilities located throughout Naval Support Activity Panama City. AUV 2007 will operate from the Joint Gulf Test Range; there will be a total of 14 operational areas in St. Andrews Bay and the Gulf of Mexico involved in deploying and testing Unmanned Underwater Vehicles (UUVs), Unmanned Surface Vehicles (USVs), Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), and Unmanned Ground Vehicles (UGVs).” See US Navy Newsstand release.

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