USMC M1A1 settles a
firefight in Fallujah
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BAE gets $32 million order to RESET 417 M113 APCs. (Jan 26/10)

The RESET process takes used vehicles apart, inspects the parts, then replaces any defective parts and refurbishes the equipment to like-new condition. Sometimes upgrades are also performed. RESET and related processes like remanufacture/upgrades are being performed on M1 Abrams tanks, Bradley IFV/CFVs, HMMWV jeeps, and even helicopters. It usually takes place when the vehicles return from the front lines in Iraq, Afghanistan, and other locations, where sand damage and increased wear have taken their toll.

In truth, many of these vehicles were produced in the 1980s, and are reaching an age where “deep maintenance” is a wise and necessary measure. A July 2006 Washington Times article noted the effect age and wear have had on the USA’s vehicle fleet, and DID has also covered this subject under the wider rubric of the Army’s maintenance overhang. DID believes these efforts are sufficiently important that the consolidated visibility of a FOCUS Article is in order.

Note that this is not a complete list of RESET contracts; DID will seek to backfill its roster as opportunities arise, and newly-added materials will be presented in green as a reader convenience. Recent additions include a contract to reset FMTV medium trucks…

• RESET Programs and Procedures
• RESET Contracts, Delivery Orders & Developments, FY 2006-Present [updated]
• Vehicle Fleets and Maintenance Overhangs
• Additional Readings
  
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• NATO Ministerial: Gates pledges greater sharing of classified technology with allies; NATO chief calls for more resources to train Afghan army and police, while France agrees to send 80 more trainers.

• European defense ministers call for speedy conclusion to talks on troubled Airbus A400M military airlift program.

• The US Navy UCAS program receives $2 billion QDR push.

• US Army pays $253.3 million to service US Stryker vehicles around the world.

• Australia ready to OK final version of $547 million integrated HF communications system for armed forces.

• US Navy orders $122.5 million in spares and extra engine maintenance for V-22 Osprey.

• Obama administration beefs up missile defense budget. BMD report focuses on regional missile threats.

• Romania to allow US ballistic missile defense inceptor missiles to be deployed, following US cancellation of larger BMD deployments in Poland and the Czech Republic.

• Boeing gets $99.3 million order to supply 13 more AH-64D Block II helicopters to the US Army.

• Which defense firms will benefit from FY 2011 defense budget?

• Northrop Grumman feels Pentagon heat over KC-X aerial refueling tanker RFP.

• Taiwan’s order for Eurocopter EC225s could strain China-European Union relations – but hasn’t, so far.

• Asia-Pacific nations revamp their fighter inventories.

• DARPA has enlightened view on funding for ArcLight, a long-range strike weapon that could be launched using the MK 41 system onboard ships and subs.

• US military sends bomb-sniffing dogs to Iraq.

Before: AH-64A
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Another 13 helicopters. (Feb 5/10)

With the collapse of the RAH-66 Comanche program, and rededication of its funding into the ARH-70 Armed Reconnaissance Helicopter (ARH), the UH-145 Light Utility Helicopter (LUH), and other programs, the AH-64 Apache will remain the primary attack helicopter flown by the US and its allies over the coming decades. Unsurprisingly, some degree of remanufacturing and conversions to AH-64D status are either completed or ongoing for almost all AH-64A Apache owners.

In January 2007, Boeing announced a $1.149 billion extended Block II contract for the remanufacture of 96 US. Army AH-64D Apache Longbow helicopters, as well as 30 AH-64Ds for the United Arab Emirates. Now, that number is growing…

• AH-64D Block II, “Extended Block II,” and “EBII+”
• Contracts & Key Events [updated]
• Additional Readings
  
  Continue Reading… »

(click to view full)

$122.5 million for spares and extra engine maintenance. (Feb 5/10)

In March 2008, the Bell Boeing Joint Project Office in Amarillo, TX received a $10.4 billion modification that converted the previous advance acquisition contract (N00019-07-C-0001) to a fixed-price-incentive-fee, multi-year contract. The new contract now sits at $10.8 billion, and will be used to buy 141 MV-22 (for USMC) and 31 CV-22 (Air Force Special Operations) Osprey aircraft, plus associated manufacturing tooling to move the aircraft into full production.

The V-22 tilt-rotor program has been beset by controversy throughout its 20-year development period. DID’s “V-22 Osprey: A Flying Shame?” offers a focused look at a number of specific allegations associated with the program, with material from Pentagon test reports, critical reviews, ongoing news reports, and the US military’s responses. Despite these issues, and the emergence of competitive but more conventional compound helicopter technologies like Piasecki’s X-49 Speedhawk and Sikorsky’s X2, the V-22 program continues to move forward. This DID Spotlight article looks at the V-22’s new multi-year purchase contract, associated contracts for key V-22 systems, and program developments that arise after the contract conversion.

• Contracts & Key Events (June 2008 – Present) [updated]
• Additional Readings
  
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MHFCS Fixed Network Nodes
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To provide Australian armed forces with an integrated communications system, the Australian Defence Force contracted with Boeing Defence Australia, a subsidiary of US-based Boeing, to deploy an integrated HF communications system throughout the country, replacing the separate HF communications systems operated by each service.

The A$628 million (US$547 million) system – called the Modernized High Frequency Communications System (MHFCS) – provides the ADF with a nation-wide secure command and control network for all of the armed forces. The project is divided into two phases [pdf] – the MHFCS core system and the final system. The core system was delivered in October 2004, and the final system was introduced into service on Sept 24/09. Boeing expects Australia to formally accept the final system in March 2010.

On Feb 4/10, Boeing Defence Australia announced that the MHFCS final system completed 130 days in service…

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GPS IIIA concept
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$75.9 million to Boeing to support GPS III precursor. (Feb 5/10)

DID’s FOCUS articles offer in-depth, updated looks at significant military programs of record. It’s hard to be more significant than the USA’s Global Positioning System (GPS), which is widely relied upon for civilian uses, including timing services for stock trades and credit card processing. At the same time, military class (M-code) GPS guidance can now be found in everything from cruise missiles and various precision-guided bombs, to battlefield rockets and even artillery shells. Combat search and rescue radios use it, and so does a broadening array of individual soldier’s equipment. Disruption or decay of of the the critical capabilities provided by this line of communication in space would cripple both the US military, and many aspects of the global economy.

GPS-III satellites are a key part of this PTN (Positioning, Timing & Navigation) system’s future plan, offering several improvements over the existing GPS II family. When fully deployed, the current vision for GPS-III is that the new satellites will feature a new L1C civil signal; a cross-linked command and control architecture that allows the entire GPS constellation to be updated from a single ground station; and a spot beam antenna that provides resistance to hostile military jamming while improving accuracy and integrity. GPS III will also have limited interoperability with Europe’s ongoing Galileo GPS-type satellite constellation, per a 2006 agreement involving Lockheed Martin and EADS.

The latest additions include significantly upgraded background and contract information, GAO worries about the USAF’s ability to sustain its GPS capabilities if GPS IIF and IIIA encounter delays, and possible congressional funding cuts for GPS-III’s critical next-generation ground control segment…

• The Existing Array
• The GPS III Program
• Contracts and Key Events [updated]
• Additional Readings
  
  Continue Reading… »

67% of the fleet
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Program changes create a Nunn-McCurdy breach, trigger forced review. (Feb 3/10)

The prime missions of the new DDG-1000 Zumwalt Class destroyer are to provide naval gunfire support and next-generation air defense in near-shore areas where other large ships hesitate to tread, possibly even as the anchor for an action group of stealthy Littoral Combat Ships and submarines. The estimated 14,500t (cruiser sized) Zumwalt Class will be fully multi-role, however, with undersea warfare, anti-ship, and long-range surface attack roles.

That makes the DDG-1000 suitable or another role – as a “hidden ace card,” using its overall stealth to create uncertainty for enemy forces. At over $3 billion per ship for construction alone, however, the program faced significant obstacles if it wanted to avoid fulfilling former Secretary of the Navy Donald Winter’s fears for the fleet.

True, or False?
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DID’s FOCUS Article for the DDG-1000 program covers the new ships’ capabilities and technologies, key controversies, associated contracts and costs, and related background resources. From the outset, DID has noted that the Zumwalt Class might face the same fate as the ultra-sophisticated, ultra-expensive SSN-21 Seawolf Class submarines. That appears to have come true, with news of the program’s truncation to just 3 ships. Meanwhile, production continues.

• Zumwalt Class: Program and Participants
• DDG-1000 Key Technologies and Features
• DDG-1000 Issues and Controversies
• Zumwalt Class: Contracts and Key Events
  • FY 2010 [updated]
  • FY 2009
  • FY 2008
  • FY 2007
  • FY 2006
  • FY 2005
  • FY 1998 through 2004
• Additional Readings & Sources
  
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General Dynamics Team
Trimaran LCS Design
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New RFP, FY 2011 budget request, Problems with ship survivability, LCS-2 commissioning, GAO costs report. (Feb 2/10)

Exploit simplicity, numbers, the pace of technology development in electronics and robotics, and fast reconfiguration. That was the US Navy’s idea for the low-end backbone of its future surface combatant fleet. Inspired by successful experiments like Denmark’s Standard Flex ships, the US Navy’s $30+ billion “Littoral Combat Ship” program was intended to create a new generation of affordable surface combatants that could operate in dangerous shallow and near-shore environments, while remaining affordable and capable throughout their lifetimes.

It hasn’t worked that way. In practice, what the Navy wanted, the capabilities needed to perform primary naval missions, and what could be delivered for the sums available, have proven nearly irreconcilable. The LCS program has changed its fundamental acquisition plan several times since 2005, and canceled contracts with both competing teams, without escaping any of its fundamental issues. This public-access FOCUS article offer a wealth of research material, alongside looks at the LCS program’s designs, industry teams procurement plans, military controversies, and contracts.

• LCS: Concept & Needs
• LCS: The Competing Teams
• LCS Solution = Standard Equipment + Mission Modules
• LCS: Controversies & Cautions
• LCS: Budgets and Program Structure [updated]
• LCS: Export Potential
• LCS: Contracts & Key Events [updated]
• LCS Ancillaries: Mission Module & Weapon Contracts & Key Events
• Additional Readings & Sources [updated]
  
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P-8A Poseidon
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FY 2011 budget request, the US Navy’s self-inflicted 6-month delay, P-8i may have air-air surveillance capability. (Jan 29/10)

Maritime surveillance and patrol is becoming more and more important, but the USA’s P-3 Orion fleet is falling apart. The P-8A emerged from the ashes of the P-7 Long Range Air ASW (Anti-Submarine Warfare) Capable Aircraft program that was begun in 1988. That program originally envisaged an improved P-3, but cost overruns, slow progress, and interest in opening the competition to commercial designs led to cancellation for default in 1990. The successor MMA program was begun in March 2000, and Boeing beat Lockheed’s “Orion 21” with a design based on the ubiquitous 737 passenger jet.

This is DID’s FOCUS Article concerning the P-8A Poseidon Multi-mission Maritime Aircraft, and it will be updated as events and contracts are announced. Filling the P-3 Orion’s shoes is certainly no easy task. What missions will the new P-8A Poseidon face? What do we know about the platform, the project team, and ongoing developments? Will the P-3’s level of global customer coverage give its successor a comparable level of export opportunities? Australia and India have already signed on, but has the larger market shifted in the interim?

• The Controversy: Turboprop, or Turbofan Jet?
• P-8A Poseidon: Platform & Capabilities
• The P-8’s BAMS Companion: Kicking It Up a Notch
• P-8A Poseidon: History, Program, and Industrial Players
• P-8A Poseidon: Contracts & Events [updated]
• News & Analysis: India’s Interest, and Broader Export Potential
• Additional Readings & Sources: Platforms & Program Background
• Additional Readings & Sources: News & Updates
  
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E-737 Wedgetail
over New South Wales
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Successful C2 test, 5-year support contract for Thales. (Feb 2/10)

The island continent of Australia faces a number of unique security challenges that stem from its geography. The continent may be separated from its neighbors by large expanses of ocean, but it also resides within a potential arc of instability, and has a number of important offshore resource sites to protect. Full awareness of what is going on around them, and the ability to push that awareness well offshore, are critical security requirements.

“Project Wedgetail” had 3 finalists, and the winner was a new variant of Boeing’s 737-700, fitted with an MESA (multirole electronically scanned array) radar from Northrop Grumman. That radar exchanges the traditional AWACS rotating dome for the E-737’s stationary antenna and its “top hat” look. That design, and the project as a whole, have run into severe turbulence, creating problems for Boeing earnings, the ADF, and other export orders for the type. DID’s FOCUS articles offer in-depth, updated looks at significant military programs of record. This one covers contracts, events, and key milestones within Australia’s E-737 program, from inception to the current day.

• Project Wedgetail: Program and Participants
• Contracts & Key Events, 1997 – Present [updated]
• Additional Readings [updated]
  
  Continue Reading… »