Military meds are big business. In March 2010 the US DLA’s Defense Supply Center Philadelphia awarded a pair of 5-year contracts worth up to $807.1 million to Cardinal Health in Dublin, OH, for drug distribution to US military medical facilities.

For these contracts, the European region encompasses all US military medical treatment facilities (MTFs) located on the Continent of Europe, including Turkey plus the surrounding seas and oceans as well as Oman and Bahrain. The Pacific region encompasses all MTFs located in the Pacific including Guam, Diego Garcia and the surrounding seas and oceans. Another 5-year contract with wider reach involves deliveries to American ships.

Austal MRV/JHSV concept

Hawaii Superferries to supplement JHSV; Cut to program. (Jan 26/12)

When moving whole units, shipping is always the cheaper, higher-capacity option. Speed and port access are the issue, but what if getting there was faster, and full-service ports weren’t necessary? After Australia led the way by using what amounted to fast car ferries for military operations, the US Army and Navy picked up the idea themselves. Both services leased Incat TSV/HSV wave-piercing catamaran ship designs, while the Marines’ charged ahead with very successful use of Austal’s Westpac Express high-speed catamaran. These Australian-designed ships all give commanders the ability to roll on a company with full gear and equipment (or roll on a full infantry battalion if used only as a troop transport), haul it intra-theater distances at 38 knots, then move their shallow draft safely into austere ports to roll them off.

Their successful use, and continued success on operations, attracted favorable comment and notice from all services. So favorable that the experiments have led to a $3+ billion program called the Joint High Speed Vessel. These designs may even have uses beyond simple ferrying and transport.

• The US Military’s HSV/TSV Experience
• The JHSV Ships
• The JHSV Program [updated]
• Contracts & Key Events [updated]
• Additional Readings & Sources
  Continue Reading… »

MLP concept

Converteam picked for propulsion & power system; Ships named; Keel laid; Article updated. (Jan 19/12)

The Montford Point Class Mobile Landing Platform is intended to be a new class and type of auxiliary support ship, as part of the US Navy’s Maritime Prepositioning Force of the Future (MPF-F) program. They’re intended to serve as a transfer station or floating pier at sea, improving the U.S. military’s ability to deliver equipment and cargo from ship to shore when friendly bases are denied, or simply don’t exist. That’s very useful in disaster situations, and equally useful for supporting US Marines once they’re ashore.

It’s an interesting and unusual concept, one closely connected to the au courant concept of “seabasing”. The final MLP design changed substantially from the initial requirements, which lowered the platform’s cost along with its capabilities. Time will tell if the initial choices and tradeoffs were well-conceived or not. With contracts to build the ships underway, the remaining question is whether the ships can be built to meet the more limited promises that are being made now…

• Seabasing & MLP: Concept and Execution [updated]
  • The MLPs
  • Seabasing, Ancillaries & the MPF-F
• Contracts & Key Events [updated]
• Additional Readings [updated]
  Continue Reading… »

WANTED: stuff like this…

US Army initiatives. (Jan 18/12)

On July 25/06 Al-Anbar commander and U.S. Marine Corps Maj. Gen. Richard Zilmer submitted an MNF-W priority 1 request. It pointed to the hazards inherent in American supply lines, and noted that many of the supply convoys on Iraq’s roads (up to 70%, by some reports) were carrying fuel. Much of that fuel wasn’t even for vehicles, but for diesel generators used to generate power at US bases. That is still true, and Afghanistan has even more daunting logistics. By some estimates, shipping each gallon of fuel to Afghanistan requires 7 gallons of fuel for transport.

A number of Pentagon projects use alternative energy at various installations, but Zilmer’s request is believed to have been the first formal request from a front-line commander. Not to mention the first formal request that acknowledges the security dimension of alternative energy sources, in response to the growth of “systempunkt” terrorism and the non-linear battlefield. It has not been the last.

• The Need on the Ground
• Options and Considerations
• Contracts and Key Developments [updated]
• Additional Readings
  Continue Reading… »

• The Center for a New American Security (CNAS) think tank published a report [PDF] on the South China Sea, a potential hot zone because of its sea lanes and China’s increasingly assertive territorial claims driven by natural resources such as deepwater oil and gas. Just surveying these resources has been a source of tension between China and neighbors including Vietnam and the Philippines.

• IAI says: Our President is retiring. Oh, and by the way, we just made a $1.1 billion sale to an unnamed Asian country (Globes first reported it was India but later retracted). It reportedly includes aircraft (UAVs? G550 ISR? KC-767 MMTT?), missiles (ground strike, anti-ship or naval air defense), and intelligence technologies (very wide range).

• Fellow Israeli UAV firm Aeronautics DS now has 8 long-range Dominator XP UAVs in different stages of work, as the DA42-based UAV ramps up production in the wake of export clearances.

• Little Rock AFB, AR accepts the 4th of 5 C-130H Avionics Modernization Program test & evaluation transport aircraft, and the 1st modified by the USAF’s Warner Robins ALC.

• Christmas came for the Swiss, with delayed delivery of their initial AEV-3 Geniepanzer heavy armored engineering vehicles. The Dutch and Swedes will be glad that problems were ironed out over there.

• Airdrops by US troops over Afghanistan reached a record last year at almost 16M pounds (about 7,250 tonnes). They like their JPADS. The airdrop ramp-up started a few years ago.

• THE US Air Force has a quick review on the state of eye injury protection and post-injury care. See also from the Army: Combat eye protection | Vision conservation and readiness program [PDF].

• US Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Director Jacob Lew will wrap-up the FY13 President Budget then replace William Daley as President Obama’s Chief of Staff.

LAV-25 in combat

Arrowhead turrets for AH-64D attack helis. (Jan 5/11)

The Saudi National Guard is seeing a lot of investment lately. In July 2006, the Saudis formally tabled a multi-billion dollar request to buy LAV wheeled APCs and related equipment for its National Guard. When we talked to GDLS in October 2007, they expected to complete a deal some time in 2008, but it took until November 2009 before a contract emerged. A separate December 2009 purchase request would add substantial firepower punch for use against enemy armored vehicles – or urban warfare strongpoints. Additional investments can be expected to follow, and have, in areas as diverse as laser training equipment and helicopters.

Who is the SANG, and why are they a globally significant institution? A must-read article in the Tribune-Libanaise explains:

FY 2011 and FY 2012 contracts; Team changes. (Dec 22/11)

Every year, US Air Mobility Command at Scott Air Force Base, IL issued a slew of indefinite-delivery/ indefinite-quantity, firm-fixed-price contracts for “International Airlift Services” to various commercial carriers. The way these awards work is that each contractor submits a bid, and the US military allocates award amounts according to each bid’s scope and competitiveness.

Stand-alone article have covered FY 2006 ($2.29 billion), FY 2007 ($2.32 billion), and FY 2008 (over $3 billion) orders, which saw a steady ramp-up in both absolute dollar amounts, and participating firms. Orders remained high through 2010, which was a boon to a recession-ravaged air transport industry, but the ebbing of hostilities has seen FY 2011 – 2012 contract totals drop by over a third…

• The Pentagon is to modestly reduce the number of its top-ranked officers, after a decade of “star creep.”

• How do you squeeze a Merlin AW101 helicopter into a C17? The BBC explains with a timelapse video and helpful charts.

• Some British soldiers are complaining that their new Personal Clothing System (PCS) makes them look American, which is apparently not a flattering statement.

• Turkey has frozen political and military relations with France because of the French recognition of the Armenian genocide as such. Back in September Turkey suspended its defense ties with Israel, though last week coordination between their respective air forces was reestablished.

• How will the United States’ AirSea Battle work-in-progress doctrine affect Japan?

• Kit Up’s advice on Carl Gustaf tactical employment: learn to use it or someone is going to get hurt, and not just the intended target.

AH-64 Apache
with Arrowhead sensor

Saudi order. (Jan 5/12)

For much of the post-WWII era, US helicopter pilots have been trained to fly “low and fast.” This was based on combat experience in Korea and Vietnam. However, in the urban environments of Iraq and Afghanistan, flying low and fast has made helicopters more vulnerable to a number of threats: terrain, wires/powerlines, rocket propelled grenades, small arms fire, and shoulder-fired missiles.

Enter the Arrowhead system. Arrowhead is an electro-optical and fire control system that AH-64 Apache helicopter pilots use for combat targeting of their Hellfire missiles and other weapons, as well as flying in day, night, or bad weather missions. The system also provides accurate targeting at high altitudes, a practice that also has its drawbacks. This free-to-view Spotlight article covers the Arrowhead’s characteristics, components, contacts, consequences, and contracts…

• Challenges of Urban Warfare
• The Arrowhead Advantage
• VNsight and Pathfinder
• High-Flying Drawbacks
• Key Contacts as of July 2010
• Contracts and Key Events [updated]
• Additional Readings
  Continue Reading… »

MQ-8B Fire Scout

Afghan deployment extended; MH-60s to extend MQ-8B range? (Nov 14/11)

A helicopter UAV is very handy for naval ships, and for armies who can’t always depend on runways. The USA’s RQ/MQ-8 Fire Scout Unmanned Aerial Vehicle has blazed a trail of firsts in this area, but its history is best described as “colorful.” The program was begun by the US Navy, canceled, adopted by the US Army, revived by the Navy, then canceled by the Army. Leaving it back in the hands of the US Navy. Though the Army is thinking about joining again.

The question is, can the MQ-8B leverage its small size, proven status, and “good enough” performance into a secure future with the US Navy – and beyond? DID describes this new VTUAV platform, clarifies the program’s structure and colorful history, lists related contracts and events over the program’s entire history, and offers related research materials:

• MQ-8: The Platform
• MQ-8: The Program
• Fire Scout Program Budgets
• Fire Scout Contracts & Key Events, full history [updated]
• Additional Readings & Sources [updated]
  Continue Reading… »