UH-1Y and AH-1Z
by Neville Dawson
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FY 2011 budget request, $50.4 million for long lead materials. (Feb 5/10)

The US Marines’ helicopter force is aging at all levels, from banana-shaped CH-46 Sea Knight transports that are far older than their pilots, to the 1980s-era UH-1N Hueys and AH-1W Cobra attack helicopters that make up the Corps’ helicopter assault force. While the tilt-rotor V-22 Osprey program has staggered along for almost 2 decades under accidents, technical delays, and cost issues, replacement of the USMC’s backbone helicopter assets has languished. Given the high-demand scenarios inherent in the current war, other efforts are clearly required.

Enter the H-1 program, the USMC’s plan to remanufacture older helicopters into new and improved UH-1Y utility and AH-1Z attack helicopters. The new versions would discard the signature 2-bladed rotors for modern 4-bladed improvements, redo the aircraft’s electronics, and add improved engines and weapons to offer a new level of performance. It seemed simple, but hasn’t quite worked out that way. The H-1 program has encountered its share of delays and issues, but the program survived its review, and continues on into the low-rate initial production stage and Initial Operational Capability.

DID’s FOCUS articles offer in-depth, updated looks at significant military programs of record. This article covers the H-1 helicopter programs’ rationales and changes, the upgrades involved in each model, program developments and annual budgets, the full timeline of contracts and key program developments, and related research sources.

• The H-1 Helicopters
• The H-1 Program [updated]
• Contracts and Key Events, 1999-Present [updated]
• Additional Readings & Sources
  
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Oshkosh M-ATV
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$84.7 million for M-ATV explosively formed penetrator kits. (Feb 5/10)

“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
  
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No worse enemy….
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While high-tech weapons items get a lot of billing, the Global War on Terror is very much an infantry war. Firepower overmatch matters in those situations, which explains the corresponding popularity of 40mm grenade systems on the modern battlefield. Enter, then, the US Marine Corps’ M-32 six-shot 40mm grenade launcher.

During an annual symposium several years ago, Marine gunners decided that they needed an option that was more powerful than the ubiquitous M203 one-shot launchers that mount under their M4 or M16 rifles. The M-32 won out as an experimental weapon for each marine battalion – and now a variant appears to have won a larger formal competition.

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RAAF C-130J-30, flares
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$146 million for another year of USAF fleet engine support. (Feb 1/10)

The C-130 Hercules remains one of the longest-running aerospace manufacturing programs of all time. Since 1956, over 40 models and variants have served as the tactical airlift backbone for over 50 nations. The C-130J looks similar, but the number of changes almost make it a new aircraft. Those changes also created issues; the program has been the focus of a great deal of controversy in America – and even of a full program restructuring in 2006. Some early concerns from critics were put to rest when the C-130J demonstrated in-theater performance on the front lines that represented a major improvement over its C-130E/H predecessors. A valid follow-on question might be: does it break the bottleneck limitations that have hobbled a number of multi-billion dollar US Army vehicle development programs?

C-130J customers now include Australia, Britain, Canada, Denmark, India, Iraq, Italy, Norway, Oman, Qatar, and the United States. American C-130J purchases are taking place under both annual budgets and supplemental wartime funding, in order to replace tactical transport and special forces fleets that are flying old aircraft and in dire need of major repairs. This DID FOCUS Article describes the C-130J, examines the bottleneck issue, covers global developments for the C-130J program, and looks at present and emerging competitors.

• The (Private) Labors of Hercules: the C-130J
• The C-130J and the 20-ton Bottleneck
• Turbulent Flight: The C-130J Program
• Contracts and Key Events [updated]
• Additional Readings & Sources, incl. emerging competitors & Special Operations requirements
  
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USMC KC-130J
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Sierra Nevada Corp. wins a $32M contract for MC-130W consoles, and MC-130Ws head to Haiti. (Jan 29/10)

Special Operations Command’s AC-130H/U gunships can lay down withering hails of accurate fire, up to and including 105mm howitzer shells, in order to support ground troops.

The Marines also wanted heavy aircraft that could support their Leathernecks on the ground. The bad news was that the the Corps could field about 45 KC-130J aerial tankers for the price of a 12-plane AC-130J squadron, and lighter options like the AC-27J “Stinger II” would probably tally similar costs once R&D dollars were factored in. Could the Marines change tack, and offer a modular weapon package that would let them arm their existing tankers as needed? Could armed KC-130Js offer limited fire support, while loitering over the battlefield and using their unique speed range to refuel helicopters and fast jets alike? The Harvest Hawk program aims to do just that. It would give the USMC a far less capable convertible gunship option for Afghanistan, at a cost that’s about 2 orders of magnitude below a dedicated gunship fleet.

Unsurprisingly, the next service to show interest in this concept was SOCOM itself…

• Gunships R Us: Equipping The Hercs [updated]
• Contracts and Key Events [updated]
• Additional Readings and Sources
  
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IOTV: key features
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When reading about modern body armor one often hears about small arms protective inserts (SAPI) or Enhanced SAPI (ESAPI) ceramic plate inserts. While these inserts are more fragile than past generations of inserts, they offer a significant improvement over their 1990s predecessors in terms of both weight and protection. After episodic issues with production ramp-up and quality control, this gear is widely fielded with the US Army and several allied militaries. The US Marines replaced it with the MTV. The Army itself has introduced the Improved OTV. Privately developed body armors like Blackwater Gear are also in theater. Yet all of these designs rely on a “vest and plates” approach that uses a similar set of inserts to give the vests most of their bullet-stopping power.

This DID spotlight article covers the USA’s purchases in this area. The latest news involves a $12.4 million order for Ceradyne to supply SAPI lightweight ceramic body armor under a foreign military sales requirement….

• ESAPI, Explained
• Contracts & Key Events, 2004 – Present [updated]
• Additional Readings & Sources
  
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LPD-17 cutaway
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LPD-17 San Antonio class amphibious assault support vessels are just entering service with the US Navy. Between 10-12 scheduled ships of this new class are slated to assume the functional duties of up to 41 previous ships. Much like their smaller predecessors, their mission is to embark, transport, land, and support elements of a US Marine Corps Landing Force. What changes are the ships’ size, their cost, and the capabilities and technologies used to perform those missions. Among other additions, this new ship is designed to operate accompanying platforms like the Marines’ MV-22 Osprey tilt-rotor aircraft, and the Expeditionary Fighting Vehicle amphibious armored personnel carrier.

While its design incorporates notable advances, the San Antonio Class has also had its share of teething problems. So, too, has the New Orleans shipyard to which most of this contract has been assigned. The number of serious issues encountered in this ship class have been much higher than usual, and more extensive. The initial ships have been criticized for sub-standard workmanship, and it took 2 1/2 years after the initial ship of class was delivered and accepted before any ship of class was sent on an operational cruise. Whereupon the USS San Antonio promptly found itself laid up Bahrain due to oil leaks. Meanwhile, costs are almost twice the originally promised amounts at over $1.7 billion per ship – 2 to 3 times as much as many foreign LPD classes, and more than 10 times as much as Singapore’s 6,600 ton Endeavour Class LPD.

DID’s FOCUS articles offer in-depth, updated looks at significant military programs of record. This is DID’s FOCUS Article for the San Antonio Class, detailing the ships’ unique features and capabilities, its program innovations and issues, ship timelines, and related contracts throughout the program’s history. As has become DID custom, the most recent additions are highlighted in green type. The latest developments include problems with the LPD 21 New York now, which contains steel from the destroyed World Trade Center…

• LPD-17 San Antonio Class: Capabilities and Features
• LPD-17 San Antonio Class: Process & Issues
• LPD-17 San Antonio Class: Program, Budgets & Timelines [updated]
• LPD-17 San Antonio Class: Contracts and Events (1996-Present) [updated]
• Appendix A: Additional Readings & Sources – LPD-17 Ship Class
• Appendix B: Additional Readings & Sources – News and Views
  
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CH-53E, Cobra Gold 2002
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The U.S. Marines have a problem. The CH-53E Super Stallion medium-heavy lift helicopters they rely upon to move troops, vehicles, and supplies off of their ships are wearing out. Fast. Yet the pace demanded by the Global War on Terror is relentless, and usage rates are 3 times normal. Attrition is taking its toll, and CH-53s are being recalled from “boneyard” storage at Davis-Monthan AFB in Tucson, AZ, in order to maintain fleet numbers in the face of recent losses and forced retirements. No flyable spare airframes are left, and by 2012-2015, replacements will be urgently needed.

Enter the Heavy Lift Replacement (HLR) program, also known as the CH-53X and given the formal designation CH-53K in April 2006. The 156-helicopter program will define the future of the US Marine Corps’ medium-heavy lift capabilities. To fulfill that goal, Sikorsky received $3.04 billion for System Development and Demonstration (SDD), to include 4 SDD aircraft, 1 ground test vehicle, and associated program management and test support. Initial Operational Capability isn’t set to happen until 2016, however, which risks a helicopter gap unless other measures are taken.

DID describes the CH-53K’s requirements, covers some of the potential improvements, and notes the treacherous political waters this program will need to survive, in order to wind up delivering US Marines the tools they’ll need to survive. The latest news involves a number of firsts and risk reduction efforts for the program, as it prepares for a critical year in 2010…

• The HLR Program Lifts Off
• The CH-53X / CH-53K [updated]
• HLR Program: Contracts, Events & Milestones [updated]
• Appendix A: Flying Between Scylla and Charbydis: Navigating The Political Shoals (April 2006)
• Appendix B: Interesting Ideas: The CH-53X Skycrane Concept
• Appendix C: Additional Readings & Sources
  
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US Marine Corps IT
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General Dynamics Information Technology (GDIT) in Needham, MA received an $8.6 million delivery order (#0010) under a previously awarded indefinite-delivery/ indefinite-quantity contract [pdf] (M67854-09-D-4726) to install IT capabilities and tools for the fielding of US Marine Corps Enterprise IT Services.

GDIT was awarded the original 5-year, $95 million contract on Dec 22/08. GDIT leads a team that includes Hewlett-Packard in Palo Alto, CA; Electronic Data Systems in Plano, TX (acquired by Hewlett-Packard in 2009); Smartronix in California, MD; and Zenetex in Herndon, VA.

Under the deliver order, GDIT will install, test, configure, integrate, develop detailed procedures, and train operators for Enterprise IT Service Management (E-ITSM) processes and tools within the Marine Corps Enterprise Information Technology Services (MCEITS) framework…

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US Marines on patrol
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Kalman and Co. in Virginia Beach, VA received a $6.9 million task order to provide business and analytical support to the US Marine Corps Systems Command, Program Manager, Infantry Combat Equipment (PM ICE), Combat Equipment Support Systems (CESS). The PM ICE fields, sustains, and assesses clothing and equipment for Marines.

Kalman and Co. will provide specialized analysis supporting CESS as it develops and refines the USMC’s requirements for asset management and logistics support improvements through the consolidation of equipment…

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