EA-6B Prowler

Electronic Attack kits clarified; DOT&E Testing report. (Feb 6/12)

The USA’s electronic attack fighters are a unique, overworked, and nearly obsolete capability. With the retirement of the US Air Force’s long-range EF-111 Raven “Spark ‘Vark,” the aging 4-seat EA-6B Prowlers became the USA’s only remaining fighter for radar jamming, communications jamming and information operations like signals interception [1]. Despite their age and performance limits, they’ve been predictably busy on the front lines, used for everything from escorting strike aircraft against heavily defended targets, to disrupting enemy IED land mine attacks by jamming all radio signals in an area.

EA-18G at Pax

All airframes have lifespan limits, however, and the EA-6B is no exception. The USA’s new electronic warfare aircraft will be based on Boeing’s 2-seat F/A-18F Super Hornet multi-role fighter, and has 90% commonality with its counterpart. That will give it decent self-defense capabilities, as well as electronic attack potential. At present, however, the EA-18G is slated to be the only dedicated electronic warfare aircraft in the USA’s future force. Since the USA is currently the only western country with such aircraft, the US Navy’s EA-18G fleet would become the sole source of tactical jamming support for NATO and allied air forces as well.

DID’s FOCUS articles offer in-depth, updated looks at significant military programs of record. This article describes the EA-18G aircraft and its key systems, outlining the program, and keeping track of ongoing developments, contracts, etc. that affect the program.

• EA-18G: The Platform [updated]
• EA-18G: Industrial Program
• EA-18G: Numbers & Budgets
• EA-18G: Contracts & Other Key Developments [updated]
• Appendix A: The EA-18G and the Future Force Mix
• Appendix B: Additional Readings and Sources [updated]
  Continue Reading… »

2007 AAR experiment

Initial flight tests taking 1st steps. (Jan 26/12)

Quick question: what’s the biggest limiting factor in today’s aircraft? Answer: the pilot. Fortunately for pilots, they’re also an aircraft’s greatest advantage, which will keep them in the mix, and in the cockpit, for some time to come. Those limitations are bringing unmanned aircraft into the combat picture, however, especially when it comes to the greatest limitation a pilot places on an aircraft: aerial endurance. Remaining awake, active, and effective in a manned fighter aircraft for 72 hours straight is simply not within the realm of possibility. On the other hand, a UAV with that endurance level, flown by pilots on the ground or at sea who can hand the aircraft off to a colleague while they depart for a coffee, bathroom break, or sleep, could easily remain aloft that long. All it needs is an appropriate level of mechanical reliability – and, of course, the ability to take on fuel from an aerial tanker aircraft.

That simple concept has profound implications for the ways in which airpower might be used:

• Implications
• Program Goals: Phase II [updated]
• Contracts and Key Events [updated]
• Additional Readings
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• Latest on JSF: Reuters and Bloomberg report that Leon Panetta is about to announce that the F-35-B is off probation; Canadian industrial participation; 1st night flight; 3rd F-35B delivered; F-35C tail hook redesign.

• Israel’s IDF now believes that unrest in Syria has allowed Hezbollah to seize SA-8/ 9K33 vehicle-mounted surface-air missiles. They’re worried that Syria’s large chemical arsenal could also be vulnerable.

• K-Street Washington lobbyists see promise in the 2012 retirees, but how’s this for a blunt assessment? “Republicans are bonds. Dems are the options you play with the last 20 percent of your money…”

• The US Coast Guard is getting more and more interested in underwater inspection & surveillance. Their Research & Development Center is currently evaluating an advanced Underwater Imaging System (UIS) from CodaOctopus.

• Meanwhile, WSG has finished the initial demonstrations of their Argus One platform to the U.S. Department of Defense at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Nevada Test Site. Yes, this is our unmanned blimp, and yes, we are happy to see you.

• Could the same gas hydrates that caused the BP Deepwater Horizon’s blowup become a stable, low-energy input energy storage medium for hydrogen?

• Algorithms matter. Researchers have developed one that offers up to 10x improvement on the fast Fourier transform, widely used for tasks like image compression.

• Did the US Army’s policy of refusing to arm MEDEVAC helicopters, in a war against illegal combatants, cause the death of a US service member? Rep. Tom Akin [R-MO-2] is upset. The US Army responds.

• Undersecretary of Defense for Policy Michele Flournoy’s principal deputy Dr. James N. Miller will replace her when she leaves next month according to Yahoo News.

• Memo from the Pentagon: “Multiple U.S. Army Public Health Command studies of basic trainees have demonstrated that shoe selection based on arch type does not reduce injuries.” They do have a lot of soldiers running, so they ought to know a thing or 2. What follows are tips and cautions re: using new “minimalist” running shoes like the New Balance Minimus.

• It’s hard to call people who pay farmers 1/1,000th of their crop’s value Marxists, but FARC tries to wear the mask. Turns out they’re under pressure on the cocaine front, so they’re switching to… cattle rustling.

In January 2012, Lockheed Martin Global Training and Logistics in Orlando, FL received a 5-year, $94 million cost-plus-fixed-fee, indefinite-delivery/ indefinite-quantity contract to continue supporting the USAF’s Distributed Mission Operations Center. The mission of the 705th Combat Training Squadron DMOC is to to conduct exercises, training, tactics, techniques and procedures-warfighter readiness, testing, experimentation, tactical to operational-bridged events, and standards development for USAF Air Combat Command and its allies. Their efforts range all the way up to theater-level, full spectrum combat training, test, and mission rehearsal, including Air Combat Command’s Synthetic Battlespace inter-team training events; Air Expeditionary Force-aligned, quarterly recurring Virtual Flag exercises; etc.

Lockheed Martin will continue to operate the award-winning center, building and maintaining network infrastructure, developing and maintaining associated software and hardware, and conducting distributed mission operations engineering activities at Kirkland Air Force Base, NM. The contract runs until Jan 31/17, and is managed by the AFNWC/PKE at Kirkland AFB, NM (FA9422-12-D-0001).

• The RAND Corporation published a report prepared for the Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD) on what it would take to sustain a competitive military aircraft industry in the US. It comes with plenty of charts on research and procurement spending by contractor and by program, with historical context going back to 1980 and projections into 2025. Among the sustainment scenarios the research firm looked at: resuming production of F-22s for export, and starting a new bomber.

• Wired: “The Defense Department’s networks, as currently configured, are ‘not defensible,’ according to the general in charge of protecting those networks.” Among other threats, malware that targets DoD smart cards.

• The US Army is pausing its Enterprise Email migration until it has finished turning it into a formal acquisition program with the Army Acquisition Executive as its milestone decision authority (MDA), then reported to Congress.

• Preserving technical documentation across decades, from old-school 2D printed blueprints to CAD computer files in various formats is proving to be a headache because of physical deterioration, skill loss and fast digital obsolescence. Libraries around the world have been working on long-term preservation methodologies for years individually and together through organizations such as the OCLC, but they don’t face the same operational obligations.

• US, Israel postpone “Austere Challenge” missile defense exercise.

• The USA’s 2nd Independence Class Littoral Combat Ship (LCS 4 Coronado) is christened.

• Over at HII, they’re touting a naval “Patrol Frigate 4921” that could be based on the US Coast Guard’s frigate-sized Legend Class National Security Cutters. They’ll need a customer, though.

• The British Armed Forces are about to go through their 2nd tranche of personnel reduction of up to 400 people in the Navy, 900 in the Air Force and 2,900 in the Army.

• Canada’s Ottawa Citizen: “The deputy minister of Defence approved a $374,000 renovation to his executive suite just three weeks after the department circulated a business plan highlighting the need to save money and eliminate the jobs of at least 2,100 civilian public servants…”

GPS IIIA concept

Contract to start satellites 3 & 4. (Jan 11/12)

Disruption or decay of the critical capabilities provided by the USA’s Global Positioning System (GPS) satellites would cripple both the US military, and many aspects of the global economy. GPS has become part of civilian life in ways that go go far beyond those handy driving maps, including timing services for stock trades, and a key role in 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 rely on this line of communication, and so does a broadening array of individual soldier equipment.

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. So, too, are its companion OCX ground control system. This DII FOCUS article looks at the existing constellation, GPS-III improvements, the program’s structure, its progress through contracts and key milestones, and additional research links…

• GPS: The Existing Array
• The GPS III Program
  • GPS-III Satellites
  • OCX & MUE: New Ground Control & Receivers
  • GPS-III Budgets
• GPS-III: Contracts and Key Events [updated]
• Additional Research
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RIM-162: sections

Japan will begin license production. (Jan 10/12)

The RIM-162 Evolved Sea Sparrow Missile (ESSM) is used to protect ships from attacking missiles and aircraft, and is designed to counter supersonic maneuvering anti-ship missiles. Compared to the RIM-7 Sea Sparrow, ESSM is effectively a new missile with a larger, more powerful rocket motor for increased range, a different aerodynamic layout for improved agility, and the latest missile guidance technology. Testing has even shown the ESSM to be effective against fast surface craft, an option that greatly expands the missile’s utility. As a further bonus, the RIM-162 ESSM has the ability to be “quad-packed” in the Mk 41 vertical launching system, allowing 4 missiles to be carried per launch cell instead of loading one larger SM-2 Standard missile or similar equipment.

This is DID’s FOCUS article for the program, containing details about the RIM-162 Evolved Sea Sparrow missile family, and contracts placed under this program since 1999. The Sea Sparrow was widely used aboard NATO warships, so it isn’t surprising that the ESSM is an international program. The NATO Sea Sparrow Consortium includes Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Germany, Greece, The Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Turkey, and the USA – as well as non-NATO Australia. Foreign Military Sales customers outside this consortium include Japan, Korea, and the United Arab Emirates.

• ESSM: The Missiles and the Program [updated]
• ESSM-Related Contracts & Key Events (1999 – Present) [updated]
• Additional Readings & Sources
  Continue Reading… »

In January 2012, US Army Program Executive Office Enterprise Information Systems (PEO-EIS) issued 9 firm-fixed-price contracts, worth up to $249.8 million total over 5 years, for Enterprise Cloud Computing services. Cloud computing is a about providing computing applications and management as a service, rather than installing it as machine-specific software. Apple’s iCloud is one well-known example, and Google’s Gmail would be another, but cloud computing can encompass more than just 1 application. It’s connected to the phenomenon of virtualization, which improves back-end efficiency in data centers, but the 2 trends can exist independent of one another. The 7 contract winners are:

AH-64 in Afghanistan

$181M for Taiwan, US radars & UAV controllers; Conversion training. (Dec 30/11)

With the collapse of the RAH-66 Comanche program, and rededication of its funding into the Armed Reconnaissance Helicopter (ARH) and Light Utility Helicopter (LUH), and other programs, the AH-64 Apache will remain the USA’s primary attack helicopter for several more decades.

Overall, AH-64D Longbow Block III improvements incorporate 25 technology insertions as part of the Army’s future force plan. On July 14/06, Boeing and U.S. Army officials signed a $619.3 million contract for Block III upgrades to the current and future Apache fleet, via a virtual signing ceremony held in Washington, DC; Huntsville, AL; and Mesa, AZ. Previously signed and executed contracts for risk reduction engineering work were collectively valued at another $66.1 million, and there had also been some advance ordering and development of components like radar units.

So… how many helicopters will be modified under the AH-64 Block III program, what do these modifications include, how is the program structured, and what has been happening since that award?

• The AH-64 Apache Program: Sunset, Sunrise
• The AH-64D Block III [updated]
• Contracts and Key Events [updated]
• Additional Readings
  Continue Reading… »

USN Heli Plan

Cockpit components for Australia & USA; AVET trainer for MH-60S. (Dec 29/11)

The US Army’s UH-60 Black Hawks have always had a naval counterpart. SH-60B/F Seahawk/ LAMPS helicopters were outfitted with maritime radar, sonobuoys, and other specialized equipment that let them perform a wide variety of roles, from supply and transport, to anti-submarine warfare, search and rescue, medical evacuation, and even surface attack with torpedoes or Kongsberg’s AGM-119 Penguin missiles. Like their land-based counterparts, however, the Seahawks are getting older. The Reagan defense build-up is receding into history, and its products are wearing out.

European countries chose to build new designs like the medium-heavy EH101 and the NH90 medium helicopter. They’re larger than the H-60s, make heavy use of corrosion-proof composites, and add new features like rear ramps. The USA, in contrast, decided to upgrade existing H-60 designs for the Army and Navy. Hence the MH-60R Multi-Mission Helicopter (aka. “Romeo”) and MH-60S (aka. “Sierra”) Seahawks. MH-60Rs and MH-60Ss will eventually replace all SH-60B/F & HH-60H Seahawks, HH-1N Hueys, UH-3H Sea Kings, and CH-46D Sea Knight helicopters currently in the US Navy’s inventory. Both programs are underway, and will be covered in this DID FOCUS Article.

• Romeo, Armed: The MH-60R Multi-Mission Helicopter [updated]
• Blue Collar Sierra: The MH-60S
• The MH-60R/S Program
• MH-60R/S Contracts and Key Events, 2005-Present [updated]
• Additional Readings and Sources
  Continue Reading… »