Saudi F-15, refueling
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Sniper pods ordered. (March 16/10)

On Nov 14/06, a US Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) notice hinted that Saudi Arabia was about to become the first F-15 operator to switch its Pratt & Whitney F100 jet engines for General Electric’s F110, as part of a wider-ranging upgrade program for Saudi Arabia’s multi-role air superiority and strike fighters.

There’s often a long delay between the DSCA announcement and a contract, let alone delivery. Saudi Arabia’s F-15S variant did become the first fleet to perform a re-engining switch, however, and other upgrades are also underway.

• The Saudi F-15S, and its Upgrades [NEW]
• Contracts & Key Events [updated]
• Additional Readings [updated]
  
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F-35A: incoming…
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Denmark picks Super Hornet?; New program head nominated; Landing gear contract; new flight decks wanted. (March 18/10)

The $300+ billion F-35 Joint Strike fighter may well be the largest single global defense program in history. This major multinational program is intended to produce an “affordably stealthy” multi-role fighter that will have 3 variants: the F-35A conventional version for the US Air Force et. al.; the F-35B Short Take-Off, Vertical Landing for the US Marines, British Royal Navy, et. al.; and the F-35C conventional carrier-launched version for the US Navy. The aircraft is named after Lockheed’s famous WW2 P-38 Lightning, and the Mach 2, stacked-engine English Electric (now BAE) Lightning jet. Lightning II system development partners included The USA & Britain (Tier 1), Italy and the Netherlands (Tier 2), and Australia, Canada, Denmark, Norway and Turkey (Tier 3), with Singapore and Israel as “Security Cooperation Partners.” Now the challenge is agreeing on production phase membership and arrangements, to be followed by initial purchase commitments in 2009-2010.

This updated article has expanded to feature more detail regarding the F-35 program, including contracts, sub-contracts, and notable events and reports.

• The F-35 Family of Aircraft
• F-35 Program: Production Timelines & Structure
• F-35 Program: Controversies and Competitions
• F-35 Program: Events & Developments, CY 2009-2010 [updated]
• F-35 Program: System Development & Production Contracts, FY 2009-2010
• F-35 Program: Ancillary and Sub-contracts, FY 2009 – 2010 [updated]
• Additional Readings & Sources [updated]
• Video Viewing [NEW]
  
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F414-GE-400 engine
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General Electric Aircraft Engines business group in Lynn, MA received a $326 million modification to a previously awarded firm-fixed-price contract (N00019-06-C-0088), exercising an option for 80 F-414-GE-400 engines and modules and 2 spare engines for the US Navy.

They will be installed in the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet fighter and EA-18G Growler electronic warfare aircraft.

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Major engine support contract, after previous issues. (March 9/10)

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 $10.92 billion, and will be used to buy 143 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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E-8C JSTARS: Before
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$223.6 million USAF order kicks the program into gear. (March 2/10)

The USA’s E-8 JSTARS is a Boeing 707-300 derivative that provides a picture of the ground situation analogous to the E-3 AWACS’ picture of the air situation. JSTARS aircraft use their radars to determine the direction, speed and patterns of military activity of ground vehicles, helicopters, and even groups of people. They then send this information via secure data links with air force command posts, army mobile ground stations and centers of military analysis around the world. These surveillance and communications relay capabilities are somewhat unique, and have proven extremely useful in a series of conflicts from Desert Storm in 1991 to the present day. Europe originally intended to field a similar, smaller AGS aircraft based on the Airbus A321, but that project has now been cut to a small fleet of RQ-4 Global Hawk UAVs. With the Global Hawk limited by its payload capacity, and the USA’s E-10A program canceled, the USA’s 17-aircraft JSTARS fleet is likely to remain very popular for some time to come.

The question is how to keep that fleet relevant, flying, and allocated among all of the units clamoring for their attention. A range of upgrades were ordered in 2005, and a recent study claims that the structural improvements and other modifications could allow the aircraft to fly safely for another 40-50 years. The number one issue with the JSTARS fleet, however, remains its old JT3D-3B engines, whose core design was first introduced in the 1950s. An upgrade program is underway to address that, and the US Air Force finally appears to be on board.

• The Engines
• Program: Current State
• Contracts & Key Events [updated]
• Additional Readings
  
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Egyptian Air Force F-16D
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$213 million for long lead time items. (March 2/10)

The Egyptian government wants to buy 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 Egyptian Air Force is the 4th largest F-16 operator in the world, mustering about 195 aircraft 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. The formal request comes a few months after the Obama administration conveyed to Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak its support for Egypt’s long-standing request to buy the Block 50/52 aircraft…

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F/A-18F Super Hornet
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MYP-II over, article closed and returned to public access. (Sept 30/09)

The US Navy flies the F/A-18 E/F Super Hornet, and has just taken delivery of its first operational EA-18G Growler electronic warfare & strike aircraft. These buys are actually managed out of a common multi-year procurement (MYP) contract, which also manages many of the EA-18G’s support costs since it’s derived from the Super Hornet and many of the required maintenance items are common to both planes. The contract covers 42 aircraft per year, split between Super Hornets and EA-18Gs, with a variation quantity clause permitting up to 6 additional aircraft per year under the same terms.

DID already has an EA-18G FOCUS Article; we will be using this entry to cover the Super Hornet MYP program’s budgets, and this article has been updated to include all announced contracts since MYP-II began. The article is now closed, and returns to public access.

• Hornet MYP: Aircraft Types & Budgets
• Contracts & Key Events [updated]
• Additional Readings
  
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F136 Prototype
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Gates provides the termination business case, key players unimpressed; Rival F135 may see increased costs. (Feb 25/10)

Back in January 2006 the Pentagon attempted to remove FY 2007 funding from the F-35 Lightning II’s second engine option, the GE/ Rolls Royce F136. As predicted, protests from fellow Tier 1 partner Britain followed at the highest levels of government. Many in the US Congress, meanwhile, were openly skeptical of handing Pratt & Whitney’s F135 engine the keys to the entire F-35 fleet. In the end, the Pentagon’s argument that low program risk made R&D spending on F136 development a waste, failed. Congress re-inserted funding, and F136 development has continued on schedule.

Fast forward to the FY 2008 budget. For the second year in a row, the Pentagon removed funding for the GE/RR F136, arguing that killing the F136 would free up $1.8 billion. Politicians disagreed, and the USA’s GAO auditors backed them up. Funding was reinstated. Again. So far, that process has been repeated every year. Now it’s 2010, and the 2011 budget is in progress. The USAF is trying to kill the F136. Again.

• The F136 Program
• The F136: Detractors and Defenders
• Updates and Key Events [updated]
• Additional Readings
  
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MQ-8B Fire Scout
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Fire Scout’s resupply capability demonstrated during US Army high-tech exercise. (Feb 15/10)

The USA’s RQ/MQ-8 Fire Scout Unmanned Aerial Vehicle has had a colorful history. The program was begun with promise by the US Navy, canceled, adopted by the US Army, and finally revived by the Navy as well. The MQ-8B Fire Scout is linked with two major defense programs: the Future Combat Systems program and the USA’s Littoral Combat Ships (LCS). The Pentagon decided to cancel the FCS in 2009 and rolled parts of the program into the Ground Combat Vehicle (GCV) program. The troubled LCS, however, is moving ahead with the Jan 26/10 release of a request for proposal to build 10 LCS over the next 5 years. Meanwhile, the US Coast Guard is testing the Fire Scout for its National Security Cutter program.

Fire Scout-related awards to Northrop Grumman and Raytheon have been quite varied. DID lists them, along with budgetary figures from official DoD documents, and also explains the Fire Scout’s history and capabilities…

• MQ-8: The Platform
• MQ-8: The Program
• Fire Scout Program Budgets
• Fire Scout Contracts & Key Events, full history [updated]
• Additional Readings & Sources
  
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UH-1Y and AH-1Z
by Neville Dawson
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FY 2011 budget request, $50.4 million for long lead materials. (Feb 5/10)

The US Marines’ helicopter force is aging at all levels, from banana-shaped CH-46 Sea Knight transports that are far older than their pilots, to the 1980s-era UH-1N Hueys and AH-1W Cobra attack helicopters that make up the Corps’ helicopter assault force. While the tilt-rotor V-22 Osprey program has staggered along for almost 2 decades under accidents, technical delays, and cost issues, replacement of the USMC’s backbone helicopter assets has languished. Given the high-demand scenarios inherent in the current war, other efforts are clearly required.

Enter the H-1 program, the USMC’s plan to remanufacture older helicopters into new and improved UH-1Y utility and AH-1Z attack helicopters. The new versions would discard the signature 2-bladed rotors for modern 4-bladed improvements, redo the aircraft’s electronics, and add improved engines and weapons to offer a new level of performance. It seemed simple, but hasn’t quite worked out that way. The H-1 program has encountered its share of delays and issues, but the program survived its review, and continues on into the low-rate initial production stage and Initial Operational Capability.

DID’s FOCUS articles offer in-depth, updated looks at significant military programs of record. This article covers the H-1 helicopter programs’ rationales and changes, the upgrades involved in each model, program developments and annual budgets, the full timeline of contracts and key program developments, and related research sources.

• The H-1 Helicopters
• The H-1 Program [updated]
• Contracts and Key Events, 1999-Present [updated]
• Additional Readings & Sources
  
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