• EADS CEO says the company is looking to buy a medium-sized defense company in the US; last US acquisition was PlantCML.

• The use of metrology assisted machining, manufacturing, and assembly is growing in the aerospace sector.

• Strategy Analytics: Annual market for SATCOM-related electronics to grow from $796 million in 2009 to nearly $2.58 billion in 2020.

• Der Spiegel Online attempts to cover the growing use of UAVs, includes interview with Brookings’ Peter Singer (vid. “In the Loop? Armed Robots and the Future of War”)

• US Navy i-ENCON program saves 354,000 barrels of fuel during Q1 2010; 4.9% better than Q4 2009.

• WIRED Danger Room looks at ongoing issues with removable storage in US military, and the flip-side of its cyber-security efforts for operations.

• Boeing completes design of US Navy free electron laser weapon system to take out high-speed cruise missiles.

• Honeywell gets US Army order to maintain Cold War era Washington-Moscow hotline.

• CACI secures $219 million contract to provide C4ISR and IT to SPAWAR Systems Center Atlantic.

Old as the hills…
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Russian tanker bid?!?; EADS reconsiders solo shot, and Pentagon may accommodate them. (March 19/10)

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… »

Oshkosh M-ATV
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M-ATV will add CROWS weapon systems. (March 10/10)

“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 [updated]
  
  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… »

BAMS Operation Concept
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FY 2009-2011 budgets, $25 million to Curtiss-Wright. (March 2/10)

The world’s P-3 Orion fleets have served for a long time, and many are reaching the end of their lifespans. In the USA, and possibly beyond, the new P-8 Poseidon Multi-mission Maritime Aircraft will take up the P-3’s role. While the P-8’s base 737-based airframe offers strong service & maintenance arguments in its favor, the airframe is expensive enough that the P-3s cannot be replaced on a 1:1 basis.

In order to extend the P-8 fleet’s reach, and provide additional capabilities, the Poseidon is expected to work with at least one companion platform under the BAMS (Broad Area Maritime Surveillance) and/or PUMAS (Persistent Unmanned Aerial Surveillance) programs. This DID FOCUS Article explains the winning BAMS concept, the program’s key requirements, and its international angle. We’ll also cover ongoing contracts and key events related to the program, which chose Northrop Grumman’s navalized RQ-4N Gloal Hawk.

• Next-Gen Maritime Patrol Systems: Issues and Options
• BAMS: Requirements and Missions
• BAMS: The RQ-4N Maritime Hawk
• BAMS: The International Angle
• BAMS: The Program [updated]
• BAMS: Contracts & Key Events [updated]
• Additional Readings & Sources
  
  Continue Reading… »

Into that good night
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Over $500M for improvements, SDV-only small business solicitation, Russia’s PAK-FA. (March 2/10)

The 5th-generation F-22A Raptor fighter program has been the subject of fierce controversy, with advocates and detractors aplenty. On the one hand, the aircraft offers full stealth, revolutionary radar and sensor capabilities, dual air-air and air-ground SEAD (Suppression of Enemy Air Defenses) capabilities, the ability to cruise above Mach 1 without afterburners, thrust-vectoring super-maneuverability… and a ridiculously lopsided kill record in exercises against the best American fighters. On the other hand, critics charge that it’s too expensive, too limited, and cripples the USAF’s overall force structure. Meanwhile, close American allies like Australia, Japan and Israel, and other allies like Korea, are pressing the USA to abandon its “no export” policy. Most already fly F-15s, but several were interested in an export version of the F-22 in order to help them deal with advanced – and advancing – Russian-designed aircraft, air-to-air missiles, and surface-to-air missile systems.

This DID FOCUS Article covers both sides of the F-22 controversies in the USA and abroad, and it will also be updated over time to cover and backfill contracts and events related to the F-22A Raptor program. This article has been restored to full public access, as F-22 program winds down to its end.

• The F-22 Raptor: Key Capabilities
• The F-22 Raptor: Criticisms & Controversies
• F-22 Raptor: Program and Events
  • Events: 2010 [updated]
  • Events: 2009
  • Events: 2008
  • Events: 2007
  • Events: 2006
  • Events: Pre-2006
• F-22 Raptor: Contracts & Production
  • Contracts: FY 2010 [updated]
  • Contracts: FY 2009
  • Contracts: FY 2008
  • Contracts: FY 2007
  • Contracts: FY 2006
  • Contracts: Pre-FY 2006
• Additional Readings & Sources
  • The F-22 & Key Components
  • The F-22 Program
  • Official Reports
  • Controversies & Events [updated]
    
    Continue Reading… »

• Chinese People’s Liberation Army Senior Colonel, Liu Mingfu’s new book, “The China Dream”, reportedly argues that China must become the world’s top military power.

• Canada commits CDN $170 million over next 10 years to upgrade Defence Research and Development Canada’s (DRDC) Valcartier facility.

• US Navy’s unfunded priorities list: maintenance, parts.

• US Army makes moves to speed technology transfer to the front lines. Latest gadget: video game to teach cultural sensitivity.

• US Army is done evaluating new “Blue Force Tracker” software (FCBCB2 Joint Capabilities Release), will make a fielding decision in late summer 2010.

• US Sen. Sessions [R-AL] questions criteria for Littoral Combat Ship RFP: AL.com | YouTube video.

• BAE Systems kicks off production of UK Terrier Armored Engineering Vehicles.

• Pentagon lifts ban on accessing social networking sites for unclassified networks.

• Boeing gets A$44 million contract to increase support for Australian Army rotary wing training.

More advance models to speed integration. (Feb 25/10)

The US military’s JTRS program began in the late 1990s as an attempt to unify its underlying communications infrastructure. The program was visionary – and very ambitious. Ongoing requirements creep was thrown into the mix, and the result was major delays and cost overruns that eventually led to the complete restructuring of the program.

The part of the program that aimed to create radios for aircraft and ships – the Airborne, Maritime/ Fixed Station Joint Tactical Radio System (AMF JTRS) – saw pre-system development and demonstration contracts issued to Team Boeing (Boeing, BBN Technologies, Harris, L-3 Communications, Milcom Systems Corporation, Northrop Grumman, Rockwell Collins) and to Team Lockheed (Lockheed Martin, BAE Systems, General Dynamics, Northrop Grumman, Raytheon) back in 2004, with an extension in 2006 that brought the totals to about $75 million each. Team Lockheed won the $766.2 million AMF JTRS development contract in March 2008.

• AMF JTRS: Platforms and Prognosis
• Contracts & Key Events [updated]
• Additional Readings
  
  Continue Reading… »

• Raytheon team snags $886.4 million contract for GPS OCX advanced control segment.

• PWC reports that aerospace & defense mergers hit a record low in 2009. It wasn’t a good deal year for the chemicals sector, either, but transport and logistics was busy in Q4.

• Portsmouth becomes 5th of 6 UK shipyards involved in building Queen Elizabeth-class aircraft carriers, while Britain’s Conservative Party wants to know more about cancellation options. DID has in-depth coverage of the CVF carriers.

• Harris gets $78 million order for MRAP radios.

• Der Spiegel: A330 flight 447 from Rio to Paris may give new meaning to the term “software crash”; expect blowback into KC-X aerial tanker competition.

• General Dynamics NASSCO delivers USNS Matthew Perry, the 9th T-AKE supply ship, to US Navy’s Military Sealift Command.

• German Army report criticizes the NH90 helicopter for limited capabilities and other deficiencies.

• US Army releases RFP for next-generation armored vehicles.

• Frost & Sullivan: Indian Army’s land combat systems modernization to generate $33.76 billion in revenues.

Warrior in “Wrap-2” armor
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Program reportedly delayed 12 months. (March 3/10)

Britain’s MCV-80/FV510 Warrior Infantry Fighting Vehicle was produced between 1984 and 1995. Built of all-welded aluminum construction and armed with the 30 mm Rarden cannon, it was designed to be a fast, armored battlefield taxi for up to 7 infantry soldiers, capable of offering strong supporting fire and destroying enemy armored personnel carriers at ranges of up to 1,500m. These IFVs were pressurized to protect against Soviet chemical and biological weapons, and included a full range of night vision equipment. They served capably during Operation Desert Storm in 1991, were used to maintain the peace in Bosnia/Kosovo, and have found themselves in very high demand on the post 9/11 front lines.

Individual programs have improved some vehicles’ optics, radios, and add-on armor, but keeping the fleet in service until 2035 will require more. Hence the GBP 1 billion (currently about $1.65 billion) Warrior Capability Sustainment Programme (WCSP). In mid-November 2009, BAE Systems and Lockheed Martin UK submitted their bids.

• WSCP Program, Technologies, and Bid Teams
• Contracts & Key Events [updated]
• Additional Readings
  
  Continue Reading… »