MCTAGS on Various Vehicles
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$74.1 million order for MCTAGS kits and turret assemblies. (March 17/10)

US Marines deployed in Iraq and Afghanistan face numerous hazards in close-combat urban environments. Certainly, small arms fire and fragments from IED explosions are high on the list. To lessen those risks, the USMC turned to BAE Systems to develop a transparent, bulletproof shield that can be attached to gun turrets on a number of types of armored vehicles.

It is called the Marine Corps Transparent Armor Gun Shield (MCTAGS), and BAE Systems received a contract in 2005 to develop and produce MCTAGS to replace the Gunner’s Protection Kit used on most USMC armored vehicles…

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• Canadian Association of Defence and Security Industries issues its Report on Military Procurement; recommendations include 1 minister to oversee it, rather than the current 3.

• F/A-18 E/F Super Hornet fighter rumored to have beaten the F-35A and JAS-39DK Gripen NG in Denmark.

• Indian interceptor missile test misses a Prithvi II target missile. RIA Novosti | Indian Express | Jakarta Post

• How The Hurt Locker’s bomb suit works.

• US Army fast-tracking GPS-guided 120mm mortar round to Afghanistan.

• Venezuela receives first 6 of 18 Chinese K-8 Karakorum trainer/ light attack jets.

• EADS aims to sell 210 A400M military transport planes to US Department of Defense. Good luck with that.

• Qatar’s C-17s flying aid missions to Haiti, and Chile.

• Lockheed Martin delivers 1st Hawk-T Mk.2 simulator to the winning Ascent consortium, for future use with the UK’s new Hawk Mk.128 LIFT jet trainers.

• DARPA looks to tap quantum mechanics for military application.

• Frost & Sullivan: Aging land military equipment in Asia Pacific countries fuels growth in upgrades and replacements.

FRES-U finalists:
There can be… none?
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FRES-SV weapon agreement; Shake, rattle & roll testing; BAE shifts course in bid to win FRES-SV contract. (March 12/10)

Many of Britain’s army vehicles are old and worn, and the necessities of hard service on the battlefield are only accelerating that wear. The multi-billion pound “Future Rapid Effects System” (FRES) aims to recapitalize the core of Britain’s armored vehicle fleet over the next decade or more, filling many of the same medium armor roles as the Stryker Family of armored wheeled vehicles and/or the Future Combat Systems’ Manned Ground Vehicle family. Current estimates indicate a potential requirement for over 3,700 FRES vehicles, including utility and reconnaissance variants. Even so, one should be cautioned that actual numbers bought usually fall short of intended figures for early-stage defense programs.

The FRES program was spawned by the UK’s withdrawal from the German-Dutch-UK Boxer MRAV modular wheeled APC program, in order to develop a more deployable vehicle that fit Britain’s exact requirements. Those initial requirements were challenging, however, and experience in Iraq and Afghanistan led to decisions that changed a number of requirements. In the end, GD MOWAG’s Piranha V won the utility vehicle competition. FRES-U is not the end of the competition, however, or the contracts. In fact, FRES-U had the winning bidder’s preferred status revoked; that entire phase will now take a back seat to the FRS-SV scout version…

• FRES: The Program
• FRES: Contracts & Key Events [updated]
• Additional Readings [updated]
• Appendix 1 – The British Army’s Armored Vehicle Fleet, late 2006
• Appendix 2 – A New Procurement Approach: System House Challenges
• Appendix 3 – FRES: Key Challenges for the Contractors
• Appendix 4 – FRES Experiments: Electronic Architecture Contracts
• Appendix 5 – FRES Experiments: Vehicle-Related Contracts
  
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M1A2 SEP
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22 more tanks, program details. (March 8/10)

America’s M1 Abrams tanks come in a number of versions. In addition to the M1A1 that is now standard, the US Army is beginning to field its M1 TUSK for urban warfare. It also operates the M1A2 System Enhancement Program (SEP), currently the most advanced standard variant.

This Spotlight article covers the M1A2 Abrams SEP upgrade program, and will be updated and backfilled as new contracts are issued and key events take place.

• M1A2 SEP: Additional Background
• M1A2 SEP: Related Contracts, 1996 – Present [updated]
• Additional Readings & Sources
  
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Lebanese armed forces

No MiG-29s – Mi-24s instead. (Feb 26/10)

The Lebanese Army’s own web site is blunt:

“The assistance received from Syria, the USA, and other friendly countries has played a basic role in bridging the gap between needs and available means.”

A number of countries are stepping up to fill those gaps, left in a military ravaged by foreign occupation, a long and losing civil war, and the presence of a foreign-backed private army in Lebanon possessing superior firepower. The USA has been supplying a wide range of equipment from ammunition to armored vehicles, and is adding tanks and mini-UAVs to that list. Belgium has worked to sell some of its own tanks and APCs, France has offered help with Lebanon’s existing French equipment; and in April 2009, Russia went so far as to offer MiG-29 fighters, for free, from its own stocks. What capabilities would these systems bring? And how are those sales going?

• UAVs, Tanks, and Planes [updated]
• Contracts & Key Events [updated]
• Additional Readings
  
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• 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.

• 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
  
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Pandur II w. RCWS-30
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Serious corruption allegations could destroy the deal – again. (Feb 22/10)

In January 2006, the Czech Republic selected General Dynamics’ European Land Combat Systems subsidiary Steyr-Daimler-Puch Spezialfahrzeug GmbH of Austria to supply its army with 199 new eight-wheeled Pandur II armored personnel carriers (APCs) between 2007-2012. The vehicles would replace Soviet-era OT-64 SKOT APCs, and would be produced in Austria and the Czech Republic.

In 2005 the contract included an option for 35 additional vehicles for a total of 234, and had a potential value of Koruna 23.6 billion ($1-1.4 billion). Steyr’s Pandur II was a finalist, and eventually won the competition. But questions arose, the deal became a political football, and delivery issues jeopardized the deal into oblivion. Or so it seemed. Despite the economic crisis gripping Eastern Europe, the Czechs reinstated a scaled-down version of the deal in late February 2009.

• Selection and a Winner
• Pandur II Industrial Arrangements
• Contracts & Updates [updated]
• Additional Readings
  
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M1130 Stryker MC
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GM General Dynamics Land Systems Defense Group LLC in Sterling Heights, MI received a $176.2 million firm-fixed-price contract for 103 Stryker vehicles.

Stryker is a family of 8×8 wheeled armored combat vehicles that can travel at speeds of 60 mph on highways, with a range of 312 miles. Stryker operates with an integrated armor package that provides protection against improvised explosive devices, rocket propelled grenades, and a number of infantry weapons…

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