MEADS: air view
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MEADS gets NSA approval to use Italian crypto/IFF, and German T/R modules pass testing, but US Army reportedly doesn’t want it any more. (March 10/10)

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 a 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…

• MEADS: The System
• MEADS: Mobility and Employment
• MEADS: The Program [updated]
• Contracts & Key Events, 2004 – Present [updated]
• Additional Readings
  
  Continue Reading… »

IAF: Jaguar, Mirage 2000
SU-30K, MiG-27, MiG-21BiS
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Eurofighter’s engine offer, Swedish Gripen could face disqualification, India may speed up competition. (March 10/10)

“It’s the biggest fighter aircraft deal since the early 1990s,” said Boeing’s Mark Kronenberg, who runs the company’s Asia/Pacific business. India’s planned multi-billion dollar jet fighter buy is a contest between Dassault, Saab, MiG, American competitors and EADS’ Eurofighter.

What began as a lightweight fighter competition to replace India’s shrinking MiG-21 interceptor fleet appears to have bifurcated into 2 categories now, and 2 expense tiers. What’s going on? In a word, lots. The participants changed, India’s view of its own needs is changing, and the nature of the order may be changing as well – but with the release of the official $10 billion RFP, the competition can begin at last. DID offers an in-depth look at the MRCA/MMRCA competition’s changes, the RFP, and the competitors; and also offers an updated timeline regarding competitive moves since this article was published in March 2006…

• India’s MRCA (Multi-Role Combat Aircraft): Changes (i.e. “Continue reading…”)
• MMRCA: The RFP, Please…
• The Competitors: Analysis
• MMRCA: Updates and Developments [updated]
• Appendix A – MMRCA: The Naval Angle
• Appendix B – Dassault’s Move: Au Revoir, Mirage
• Additional Readings
  
  Continue Reading… »

Upgraded F-5BR
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Paper reports bid pricing; government denies, says no decision yet. (March 9/10)

Could the words “Brazilian fighter” begin evoking images unrelated to the Gracies? A proposed 50% boost to Brazil’s defense budget could be on its way to accomplishing that, and more. While the Navy and Army are also in line for funds to replace broken-down equipment, the fighters will be a critical centerpiece of the Forca Aerea Brasileira’s efforts. The 36+ aircraft buys under consideration are mostly the same set of 4+ generation fighters that were considered last time: Boeing’s F/A-18 E/F Super Hornet, Dassault’s Rafale, EADS’ Eurofighter, Lockheed Martin’s F-16 Block 60, Saab’s JAS-39 Gripen NG, and Sukhoi’s SU-35. The Gripen, Rafale, and Super Hornet were picked as finalists, and along the way, the Brazilian competition became much more important to at least one of that trio.

This free-to-view DID Spotlight article covers Brazil’s reborn F-X competition, adds its assessment of their offers’ relative strengths and weaknesses, and covers ongoing events. Before the competition was done, the Brazilian government anointed Dassault’s Rafale as its preferred choice. Then an Air Force evaluation appears to have ranked it dead last. Which has now led to an amended report…

• A Stirring Giant?
• F-X2: The Competition
• Analysis: F-X2, The Competitors
• Updates and Key Events [updated]
• Additional Readings
  
  Continue Reading… »

Old as the hills…
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Boeing pares down its v2.0 KC-767 offering, as Round 1’s winner walks away. (March 8/10)

DID’s FOCUS articles cover major weapons acquisition programs – and no program is more important to the USAF than its current bid to replace its aerial tanker fleet. In January 2007, the big question was whether there would be a competition for the USA’s KC-X proposal, which will cover 175 production aircraft and 4 test platforms. The cost for this first phase alone is likely to reach $35+ billion spread over about 20 years, but America’s 40-50 year old aerial tanker fleet demands new planes. Otherwise, unpredictable age or fatigue issues, like the ones its F-15A-D fleet experienced in 2008, could ground its aerial tankers – and with them, a substantial slice of the USA’s total airpower. KC-Y and KC-Z contracts may follow in subsequent decades, in order to replace all 530 KC-135s/ Boeing 707s (195 active; ANG 251; Reserve 84) that were delivered until 1965, as well as the USAF’s 59 larger KC-10 tankers delivered from 1979-1987.

In the end, it was Team Boeing’s KC-767 Advanced (767-200 derivative) vs. the Team Northrop Grumman KC-30B (Airbus A330-200 derivative), both within the Pentagon and in the halls of Congress. Most observers correctly pointed out that all this lobbying was important, since the financial stakes guaranteed a huge political fight no matter which side won. A fight that ended up sinking, and restarting, the entire program. Recent additions revolve around the KC-X v2.0 draft RFP. The canceled competition is on again, with a decision expected by mid-2010. Except that it won’t be a competition…

• KC-X: The Story So Far
• KC-X RFP v2.0: The New Structure
• The Contenders and The Cargo Factor: KC-30B, KC-767… KC-777?
• KC-X: Teams & Locations
• KC-X RFP: Key Developments [updated]
• Additional Readings
  
  Continue Reading… »

A400M rollout, Seville
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Contract re-negotiation final, capabilities reduced, Spanish threat to Britain, EADS’ loss provisions, MSN1 flies to France. (March 6/10)

Airbus’ A400M is a EUR 20+ billion program that aims to repeat Airbus’ civilian successes in the full size military transport market. A series of smart design decisions were made around capacity (35-37 tonnes/ 38-40 US tons, large enough for survivable armored vehicles), extensive use of modern materials, multi-role capability as a refueling tanker, and a multinational industrial program; all of which leave the aircraft well positioned to take overall market share from Lockheed Martin’s C-130 Hercules. If the USA’s C-17 is allowed to go out of production, the A400M would also have a strong position in the strategic transport market, with only Russian IL-76 and AN-124 aircraft as competition. To date, 184 orders have been placed by Germany (60), France (50), Spain (27), Britain (25), Turkey (10), South Africa (8), Belgium (7), Malaysia (4), and Luxembourg (1); and Chile has expressed an unfinalized interest in 3 planes.

EADS firm’s biggest issue, by far, has been funding for a project that is more than EUR 7 billion over budget. The next biggest issue was timing, as A400M delivery penalties and Lockheed Martin’s strong push for its serving C-130J Super Hercules cast a pall over the A400M’s potential future. The entire project has been under moratorium for over a year as all parties decided what to do. Cancellation was not a realistic contractual option for most customers, but late deliveries could be refused, giving both Airbus and its customers negotiating leverage. This DID Spotlight article covers the latest developments, as the A400M project slides toward a new agreement, and production.

• The A400M Program: A Snapshot
• The A400M Program: Airbus’ Dilemmas
• Updates & Key Events [updated]
• Additional Readings
  
  Continue Reading… »

• “Taking Back the Infantry Half-Kilometer” – US infantry poorly equipped for rifle engagements in Afghanistan?

• EADS expects final deal on A400M military transport plane; Euro 3.5 billion funding deal in works.

• US Navy, House Armed Services Committee members, clash over FY 2011 shipbuilding budget.

• ThyssenKrupp’s Swedish subsidiary Kockums to build Sweden’s next-generation submarine.

• Israel’s Plasan secures $170 million subcontract from Oshkosh to supply 1,460 M-ATV protection kits; see Oshkosh’s recent win for 1,460 M-ATVs.

• US Army’s NETFIRES non line-of-sight launch system (NLOS-LS) fails recent tests at White Sands.

• US Marines go green.

• DARPA working on foliage-penetrating radar signal processing workstation to detect infantry moving in dense foliage.

Pandur II w. RCWS-30
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Serious corruption allegations could destroy the deal – again. (Feb 22/10)

In January 2006, the Czech Republic selected General Dynamics’ European Land Combat Systems subsidiary Steyr-Daimler-Puch Spezialfahrzeug GmbH of Austria to supply its army with 199 new eight-wheeled Pandur II armored personnel carriers (APCs) between 2007-2012. The vehicles would replace Soviet-era OT-64 SKOT APCs, and would be produced in Austria and the Czech Republic.

In 2005 the contract included an option for 35 additional vehicles for a total of 234, and had a potential value of Koruna 23.6 billion ($1-1.4 billion). Steyr’s Pandur II was a finalist, and eventually won the competition. But questions arose, the deal became a political football, and delivery issues jeopardized the deal into oblivion. Or so it seemed. Despite the economic crisis gripping Eastern Europe, the Czechs reinstated a scaled-down version of the deal in late February 2009.

• Selection and a Winner
• Pandur II Industrial Arrangements
• Contracts & Updates [updated]
• Additional Readings
  
  Continue Reading… »

CH-53E, Cobra Gold 2002
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Contract for Cobham, new Sikorsky facility. (Feb 22/10)

The U.S. Marines have a problem. The CH-53E Super Stallion medium-heavy lift helicopters they rely upon to move troops, vehicles, and supplies off of their ships are wearing out. Fast. Yet the pace demanded by the Global War on Terror is relentless, and usage rates are 3 times normal. Attrition is taking its toll, and CH-53s are being recalled from “boneyard” storage at Davis-Monthan AFB in Tucson, AZ, in order to maintain fleet numbers in the face of recent losses and forced retirements. No flyable spare airframes are left, and by 2012-2015, replacements will be urgently needed.

Enter the Heavy Lift Replacement (HLR) program, also known as the CH-53X and given the formal designation CH-53K in April 2006. DID describes the CH-53K’s requirements, covers some of the potential improvements, and notes the treacherous political waters this program will need to survive, in order to wind up delivering US Marines the tools they’ll need to survive.

• The HLR Program Lifts Off
• The CH-53X / CH-53K [updated]
• HLR Program: Contracts, Events & Milestones [updated]
• Appendix A: Flying Between Scylla and Charbydis: Navigating The Political Shoals (April 2006)
• Appendix B: Interesting Ideas: The CH-53X Skycrane Concept
• Appendix C: Additional Readings & Sources
  
  Continue Reading… »

Austrian Alouette-III
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Confirmation of all Round 2 contenders, India joint venture for AW, HAL’s parallel progress. (Feb 17/10)

How safe are the Indian Army’s aging fleets of Chetaks (Aerospatiale SA316 Alouette III) and Cheetahs (SE316B Alouette II)? These old designs have consistently proven themselves in high altitude operations, and remain useful as long as their airframes remain safe. The problem is that at their age, the safety margin is pretty slim.

In 2003, India issued an RFP for 197 light helicopters estimating a deal worth between $500-$600 million to buy 60 helicopters outright, with the remaining 137 being built under license by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL). Eurocopter’s AS550 C3 Fennec and Bell Textron’s 407 competed in the second and final round of summer trials, and as 2007 ticked toward a close, it looked like we had a winner. As often happens in India, however, the process ended up completely derailed. There’s a new RFP out for a successor “Reconnaissance and Surveillance Helicopter program” – but inside lobbying from HAL has backed India off of its initial goal of 312 foreign helicopters, and the competitors have changed.

• The Contenders
• Milestones & Developments [updated]
• Additional Readings & Sources
  
  Continue Reading… »

Austrian Typhoons
w. IRIS-T missiles
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Lucky/unlucky landing, readiness controversy. (Feb 17/10)

In 2003, Austria signed a EUR 2 billion contract to receive 18 EADS Eurofighters plus required support (just over $2.5 billion, or about $140 million per plane), and the aircraft were already under construction in Germany. The situation changed when the leftist SPO party, whose campaign promises included canceling the deal, had to be part of the next government in the wake of the 2006 election results.

The Eurofighter’s rough ride in Austria seemed to be over with delivery of the 15th and final aircraft in 2009, but controversies continue. The details and history follow below.

Continue Reading… »