• Russia’s revised official military doctrine to include preemptive nuclear strikes.

• France expects to decide in the coming weeks whether to sell 3 additional Mistral class amphibious assault ships to Russia.

• Russia’s PAK-FA stealth fighter: more than 1 development aircraft flying?

• US defense appropriations subcommittee chair John Murtha [D-PA] dies.

• BAE Systems agrees to pay $450 million in fines to settle misconduct cases in the UK & USA.

• France says “non” to financing deadline for A400M military airlift program.

• USA to make surplus MRAP mine-resistant vehicles available to allies as quickly as possible.

• US SOCOM putting portable ultrasound machines on the front lines.

• The Pentagon is studying ways to sustain the rocket motor industrial base after planned cancellation of Constellation program.

• Iran has launched UAV production lines and plans to deploy a missile air defense system comparable to the Russian S-300 system, according to the Iranian defense minister.

• Lockheed Martin and Kaman Corp. demonstrate an unmanned resupply helicopter for use in Afghanistan. The helicopter is competing against Boeing’s A160T Hummingbird.

• Bell Helicopter Textron secures $50.4 million contract from the USMC for long lead materials for new and remanufactured AH1Z and new UH-1Y helicopters.

• BAE gets $32 million order to RESET 417 M113 armored personnel carriers.

• Irvine Sensors snags subcontract to supply clip-on thermal imagers under $37.8 million US Navy special ops night vision contract.

Night raid
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Irvine Sensors snags subcontract to supply clip-on thermal imagers under $37.8 million US Navy special ops night vision contract. (Feb 8/10)

It was Christmas Eve 2007 and US Army Rangers were searching for suspected Al-Qaeda members in Mosul, Iraq. They were using their night vision goggles so they would have the element of surprise on their side. The story, detailed in a USA Today article, dramatically demonstrates the advantage night vision capabilities provide to US troops on the ground in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The Rangers found 2 Al-Qaeda suspects who were holding an 11-year-old Iraqi boy hostage. Using their night vision capabilities, they were able to shoot the suspects without harming the boy. After that encounter, a firefight erupted between the Army rangers and Al-Qaeda insurgents, with 10 insurgents killed, including the head of an assassination cell, and no Army ranger losses. As former General Barry McCaffrey, commander of the US Army’s 24th Infantry Division in the 1991 Desert Storm conflict, commented: “Our night vision capability provided the single greatest mismatch of the war.” It still does.

This DID Focus Article will examine how this technology works, how its military application has developed over years, how the technology is used by troops in the field, as well as major DoD contracts for procuring night vision devices. The latest contract was awarded to Optics 1 to provide Clip on Thermal Imager systems for PVS-15A night goggles…

• Night Vision Technology
• Generations
• Riding the Omnibus
• Thermal Weapon Sight II
• Multi-Functioning Aiming Laser System
• Helicopter Systems
• Panoramic Night Vision
• Contracts and Key Events [updated]
• Additional Readings
  
  Continue Reading… »

Oshkosh M-ATV
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$84.7 million for M-ATV explosively formed penetrator kits. (Feb 5/10)

“The Government plans to acquire an MRAP All-Terrain Vehicle (M-ATV). The M-ATV is a lighter, off-road, and more maneuverable vehicle that incorporates current MRAP level [bullet and mine blast] protection. The M-ATV will require effectiveness in an off-road mission profile. The vehicle will include EFP and RPG protection (integral or removable kit). The M-ATV will maximize both protection levels and off-road mobility & maneuverability attributes, and must balance the effects of size and weight while attempting to achieve the stated requirements.”
  —US government FedBizOpps, November 2008

Oshkosh Defense’s M-ATV candidate secured a long-denied MRAP win, and the firm continues to remain ahead of production targets. The initial plan expected to spend up to $3.3 billion to order 5,244 M-ATVs for the US Army (2,598), Marine Corps (1,565), Special Operations Command (643), US Air Force (280) and the Navy (65), plus 93 test vehicles; but FY 2010 budgets and purchases have pushed this total higher.

• MRAP ATV: Requirements and Contenders
• 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
  
  Continue Reading… »

• US QDR 2010 (Quadrennial Defense Review) in bullet points. Plus, some questions to think about. And what about small business and innovation?

• US Army to spend $7 billion to develop replacement for cancelled FCS manned ground vehicles.

• Portuguese Institute of International Relations and Security (IPRIS) – Using BRIC to build at sea: The Brazil-China aircraft carrier agreement and shifting naval power [PDF].

• London-based IISS’s annual military balance report warns that cyber warfare threat is growing.

• Georgian satellite channel taken off-air by French firm as a condition of the proposed Mistral Class amphibious ship sale.

• Eurojet says it will share single-crystal engine blade technologies with India if Eurofighter wins MMRCA, or EJ200 engine is selected for the LCA Tejas Mk2.

• US Intel community funds power-generating silicone implants. No, really.

• Is a Golden Age of the Silicon Economy just ahead of us? That’s silicON – but if the above is true, we suppose it could be silicone…

• Northrop Grumman posts higher quarterly sales across nearly all of its businesses. What do the analysts have to say?

• Canada’s CAE gets C$58 million ($54 million) in Germany military contracts, including several contracts to provide flight simulator upgrade, maintenance and training support.

• Spiderman gets military assignment: DARPA’s web crawler device could enable US special ops forces to scale walls.

• IBM to develop secure cloud computing for US Air Force networks.

• US Air Force mulls $2 billion order for 100 light-weight armed counter-insurgency planes.

• The Royal Navy flagship HMS Illustrious arrives in Scotland to undergo a £40 million ($63 million) maintenance and upgrade program.

• Barak LR-SAM with 120 km range to fly in August 2010?

• Canada’s submarines – finally operational by 2012?

• Is a shortfall in the number of Pashto interpreters threatening the Afghan war effort?

F-35A: incoming…
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FY 2011 budget proposals, withheld performance fees, a change in program leadership, Australian reaction. (Feb 2/10)

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. New material is highlighted by putting it in green type.

• 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 [updated]
• F-35 Program: Ancillary and Sub-contracts, FY 2009 – 2010
• Additional Readings & Sources
  
  Continue Reading… »

MK 41s in action
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US Navy and 8 countries place orders worth up to $104.9 million for MK 41 electrical design agent. (Feb 1/10)

The naval MK 41 Vertical Launching System (VLS) hides missiles below decks in vertical slots, with key electronics and venting systems built in. A deck and hatch assembly at the top of the module protects the missile canisters from the elements, and from other hazards during storage. Once the firing sequence begins, the hatches open to permit missile launches of various types.

Lockheed Martin is the system’s prime contractor, and BAE Systems Land & Armaments also makes components and canisters for the MK 41 system. The latest addition involves a FY 2009 production contract for 3 nations…

• A Naval Swiss Army Knife: The MK 41 VLS
• MK 41 VLS Contracts [updated]
  
  Continue Reading… »

Egyptian Air Force F-16D
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Egypt chooses its engines. (Feb 1/10)

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…

Continue Reading… »

Flying around in the deserts of the Middle East, where the daytime temperature can reach 110 degrees Fahrenheit, can take its toll on military aircraft’s electronics.

That is one of the reasons why the US Navy launched the Land-based Air Conditioner (LBAC) program, which is developing next-generation equipment to cool the electronics onboard US Navy and US Marine Corps aircraft when they return to base.

The Navy awarded a $21.4 million contract to JBT Corp. in Chicago, IL to produce 130 LBAC units and support equipment…

Continue Reading… »

USMC KC-130J
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Sierra Nevada Corp. wins a $32M contract for MC-130W consoles, and MC-130Ws head to Haiti. (Jan 29/10)

Special Operations Command’s AC-130H/U gunships can lay down withering hails of accurate fire, up to and including 105mm howitzer shells, in order to support ground troops.

The Marines also wanted heavy aircraft that could support their Leathernecks on the ground. The bad news was that the the Corps could field about 45 KC-130J aerial tankers for the price of a 12-plane AC-130J squadron, and lighter options like the AC-27J “Stinger II” would probably tally similar costs once R&D dollars were factored in. Could the Marines change tack, and offer a modular weapon package that would let them arm their existing tankers as needed? Could armed KC-130Js offer limited fire support, while loitering over the battlefield and using their unique speed range to refuel helicopters and fast jets alike? The Harvest Hawk program aims to do just that. It would give the USMC a far less capable convertible gunship option for Afghanistan, at a cost that’s about 2 orders of magnitude below a dedicated gunship fleet.

Unsurprisingly, the next service to show interest in this concept was SOCOM itself…

• Gunships R Us: Equipping The Hercs [updated]
• Contracts and Key Events [updated]
• Additional Readings and Sources
  
  Continue Reading… »