Leopard 2A6M CAN
& LAV-III, Afghanistan

Order for Rheinmetall’s Buffalo ARVs. (Dec 20/10)

Canadian Forces took some of the lessons re-learned during Operation Medusa in Afghanistan, directly to heart. Canada’s DND:

“The heavily protected direct fire capability of a main battle tank is an invaluable tool in the arsenal of any military. The intensity of recent conflicts in Central Asia and the Middle East has shown western militaries that tanks provide protection that cannot be matched by more lightly armored wheeled vehicles…. [Canada’s existing Leopard C2/1A5] tanks have also provided the Canadian Forces (CF) with the capability to travel to locations that would otherwise be inaccessible to wheeled light armoured vehicles, including Taliban defensive positions.”

In October 2003, Canada was set to buy the Styker/LAV-III 105mm Mobile Gun System to replace its Leopard C2 tanks. By 2007, however, the lessons of war took Canada down a very different path – one that led them to renew the very tank fleet they were once intent on scrapping, while backing away from the wheeled vehicles that were once the cornerstone of the Canadian Army’s transformation plan. This updated article includes a full chronology for Canada’s new Leopard 2 tanks, adds information concerning DND’s exact plans and breakdowns for their new fleet, and discusses front-line experiences in Afghanistan…

• Why New Tanks Now?
• Choices, Choices: Leopard 2s For Canada
• Contracts & Key Events [updated]
• Additional Readings
  Continue Reading… »

AC-130U & flares

25mm ammo handling systems. (Dec 19/11)

In 2006 GD was contracted to repackage A-10 ammo for AC-130 Gunships. As is so often the case, there’s a story behind the story. The USA’s fearsome AC-130U “Spooky” Hercules gunships were having their old 40mm Bofors cannons and 25mm GAU-12 gatling guns removed, and replaced with ATK’s 30mm MK44 autocannons.

It didn’t go very well. In the end, accuracy and operational needs trumped standardization, and the 40mm and 25mm guns had to go back in…

An M4 – or is it?

Smith & Wesson out of IC competition; So is USMC. (Nov 17/11)

The 5.56mm M-16 has been the USA’s primary battle rifle since the Vietnam war, undergoing changes into progressive versions like the M16A4 widely fielded by the US Marine Corps, “Commando” carbine versions, etc. The M4 Carbine is the latest member of the M16 family, offering a shorter weapon more suited to close-quarters battle, or use by units who would find a full-length rifle too bulky.

In 2006 an Army solicitation for competitive procurement of 5.56mm carbine designs was withdrawn, once sole-source incumbent Colt dropped its prices. The DoD’s Inspector General weighed in with a critical report, but the Army dissented, defending its practices as a sound negotiating approach that saved the taxpayers money. As it turns out, there’s a sequel. A major sequel, that’s only getting bigger with time.

The M4/M16 family is both praised and criticized for its current performance in the field. In recent years, the M4 finished dead last in a sandstorm reliability test, against 3 competitors that include a convertible M4 variant. Worse, the 4th place M4 had over 3.5x more jams than the 3rd place finisher. Was that a blip in M4 buys, or a breaking point? DID explains the effort, the issues, and the options, as the Army moves forward with an “Individual Carbine” competition. But will it actually replace the M4?...

• The M4 Carbine
• Nobody Loves Me but My Mother – and She Could Be Jivin’ Too…
• The Cry for Competition: How Much Is That HK In the Window?
• UPDATES: The Tests, Reactions, and Subsequent Developments
• Any Last Words?
• M4 Carbine Contracts Announced to Date
• Additional Readings & Sources – News & Developments [updated]
• Additional Readings & Sources: Weapons & Background
• Appendix A: Testing, Testing – Fairly?
  Continue Reading… »

LAV-III: stuck
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CCV (IFV) competition updates; $1+ billion LAV upgrade program. (Oct 21/11)

In late November 2008, Canada’s Department of National Defence (DND) announced its intention to combine 3 programs into one general set of upgrades to its armored vehicle fleets. The C$ 5 billion (about $4.3 billion) meta-program would include (1) a “close combat vehicle,” in order to perform as a tracked Infantry Fighting Vehicle or Armored Personnel Carrier alongside Canada’s new Leopard 2A6 tanks; (2) a new “Tactical Armored Patrol Vehicle”; and (3) upgrades the existing LAV-III wheeled APC fleet. In July 2009, A 4th “FME” project was added to field dedicated Armored Engineering Vehicles based on the Leopard 2, along with engineering-related attachments for Canada’s new Leopard 2 tanks.

The “Close Combat Vehicle” appears to be the most urgent purchase, but the stated procurement approach isn’t structured to deliver urgency. As things stand, all contracts are scheduled to take effect after Canada is slated to end its Afghan mission. The LAV-IIIs showed limitations in key terrain within Afghanistan, and keeping them in the field requires a lot of maintenance. Canada’s M113 tracked APCs have been used successfully as a supplement, but the Canadians appear to be leaning toward a heavier vehicle for their future CCV…

• The Close Combat Vehicle [updated]
• The Tactical Armored Patrol Vehicle (TAPV)
• LAV-IIIs, and the RESET/RECAP Imperative [updated]
• Force Mobility Enhancement: Heavy Engineering
• Contracts & Key Events [updated]
• Additional Readings & Sources
  Continue Reading… »

• Pentagon chief Robert Gates warns about China’s J-20 Black Eagle stealth fighter jet, DF-21D anti-ship ballistic missile during his first visit to Beijing.

• US DoD belt-tightening plan could benefit Raytheon, Northrop Grumman, Boeing, General Dynamics, Lockheed Martin, and L-3, says FBR analyst Patrick McCarthy.

• Kit Up! and DefenseTech discuss the Taliban’s performance in defeating and overrunning OP Topside and COP Kahler near Wanat, Afghanistan, with reference to the final report. Intelligent use of gear by the Taliban made a difference – and so, apparently, did problems with the Americans’ M4 carbines.

• US Army recognizes its Top 10 inventions for 2010. CERDEC goes into more detail about the REPPS backpack solar power system, Duke v3 CREW jammer; and the Wolfhound system for finding the radio used by that enemy you can hear talking, or think might be nearby scouting you, but can’t see.

• Israel Defense Force considers anti-mortar system along Gaza border.

• Pentagon’s proposal to increase health care fees for working-age military retirees draws fire.

• USAF 59th Medical Wing Clinical Research division at Lackland AFB, TX are studying vascular injuries and their effects on limbs, based on field experience in Iraq and Afghanistan where these injuries are 75% more common than previous wars. Their subject model suggests that conventional wisdom re: 6 hours to re-establish blood flow to an injured leg may be wrong – anything beyond an hour may be causing problems.

• WikiLeaks identified cooperating Afghans, and will get people killed. These days, there’s also LubyanskaPravda, a series of “top secret” documents said to be from Russia’s FSB (KGB successor), covering operations it has run in former Soviet Republics.

• Biden as Belichick: The US should appoint a “head coach” – such as the vice president – to oversee the government’s efforts to combat weapons of mass destruction, the head of the WMD Commission set up to study the issue tells a US Senate panel.

• The King and I: Military leaders loyal to the Thai King are being placed in top positions in the Thai military as the government moves to counter the “red shirt” movement.

• Boeing and the Argon Buy: Boeing has completed its purchase of Argon ST, a Fairfax, VA-based supplier of military C4ISR systems, for $34.50 per share, or $775 million in cash.

• EXPRESS Service: CSC snags task order worth up to $104 million to provide technology integration and engineering support to the US Army Aviation and Missile Research Development and Engineering Center under the $7.7 billion EXPRESS contract vehicle.

• US Lobbying firms upset that late filers under the Lobbying Disclosure Act will now be named publicly. Life is tough. Bring a helmet.

• Boeing announces receipt of the first new AN/APG-82v1 AESA radar, which will be retrofitted to American F-15s.

• 10th Mountain Division becomes the 6th US Army unit to field the new CH-47F Chinook.

• ESCO Technologies gets 5-year contract worth up to $35 million to supply anti-icing valves for the T700 engine used in US Army’s UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters.

ARTHUR on Bv206:
Fading away?
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Fire location radars are valuable in high-end wars against heavy artillery and rocket salvos, and in counter-insurgency conflicts where incoming mortars and simpler rockets are a frequent hazard. While artillery tracking systems have existed for decades, tracking very small, fast-moving projectiles is no easy task. False positives can be a problem during a high-end war in Germany’s Fulda Gap, but they become a bigger problem during counter-insurgency campaigns.

Canada has some radars of this type already, but their limitations were starting to chafe, and a new contract for counter-battery radars could be the result. A recent DSCA request adds impetus to that search – but will it come in time to make a difference?...

• Conundrums & Contenders
• Contracts & Key Events
  Continue Reading… »

Private investment firm Cerberus Capital Management, LP has reached a $1.5 billion deal to buy the support and security contractor DynCorp International, including the assumption of debt. The purchase price would be $17.55 per share – a 49% premium to the April 9/10 close of $11.75, and 12.4x the FY 2010 consensus forecast of $1.41 earnings per share. A “go shop” provision gives DynCorp 28 days to find a higher and better offer, if it can.

Affiliates of Veritas Capital Fund Management, L.L.C. have already executed a Voting Agreement in favor, swinging an aggregate of 34.9% of the outstanding shares. That level of support will make the deal very difficult to stop.

Note that 12.4x is still a low multiple, when compared to a number of more diversified public competitors like KBR and SAIC. Unfortunately, it’s difficult to compare DynCorp with privately-held security contractor peers like the similarly-controversial Xe (formerly Blackwater), IAP Worldwide Services, Triple Canopy, etc. The result is somewhat predictable…

Much better on pavement

One complaint heard about the 8×8 wheeled Stryker armored vehicles in Afghanistan was that they had difficulties with the rough, mountainous off-road terrain. The Canadian forces in particular found that their Strykers’ mobility limitations created unacceptable difficulties.

Another complaint about Stryker vehicles is that upgrades designed to address combat needs have been done in a piecemeal fashion. This has resulted in significant inefficiencies, including having to turn off some systems to operate others.

To address Stryker vehicle limitations and overcome the piecemeal approach to vehicle improvements, the US Army TACOM Lifecycle Management Command has undertaken a Stryker modernization program…

IEDs: The Aftermath

Lockheed Martin Integrated Systems in Ellicott City, MD won a $318 million indefinite-delivery/ indefinite-quantity time-and-material task order to provide operational support services for the Joint Improvised Explosive Device Defeat Organization (JIEDDO) analytical support teams deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan.

The task order is part of a broader contract (W91CRB-08-D-0024) issued April 25/08 by the US Army Research Development and Engineering Command (RDECOM) to provide operations support services to JIEDDO. Other companies that received JIEDDO support contracts were BAE Systems (W91CRB-08-D-0025), ITT (W91CRB-08-D-0026), and CACI (W91CRB-08-D-0027). Each contract has a maximum value of $453 million.

JIEDDO is responsible for developing and coordinating US Department of Defense efforts to defeat improvised explosive devices (IEDs)...