C-23 landing, Kuwait

M7 Aerospace became an Elbit Systems of America subsidiary in December 2010. Its 6 integrated business segments include Aerostructures Manufacturing; Government Logistics Support Services; Maintenance, Repair & Overhaul; Engineering Services; Aircraft Parts & Support and Supply Chain Management and Purchasing. Their platform specialties include the Shorts Aircraft series of short take-off light transports (incl. US Army’s C-23), and Fairchild’s Merlin & Metro (US C-26 variants).

The US military continues to operate variants of these aircraft, and M7’s strong position in those niches has led to a number of contract wins. A pair of December 2011 support contracts, dating back to FY 2005 and FY 2009, illustrate the point…

• After the cremated remains of at least 274 fallen US service-members, and 1,762 other unidentified body parts, were unceremoniously thrown into a county landfill as waste, Tom Ricks says that “either the Air Force Secretary, its Chief of Staff, or both” need to resign; “It’s not a colonel’s problem”. He makes a strong case. Meanwhile Congresswoman Renee Ellmers [R-NC] wants to legislate.

• The US House of Representatives approved the 2012 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) after the White House lifted its veto threat. The bill should now sail through the Senate and be made into law within the next few days. Which means focus will shift to FY13 and beyond. HASC Chairman Howard McKeon (R-CA) is introducing a bill as he had said he would to avoid sequester in 2013. The Senate is also on it, as per the video at the bottom of this entry. Also, representatives Mark Critz (D-PA-12) and Mo Brooks (R-AL-05) created last week a congressional caucus for Army Aviation (AAC).

• L-3 Communications bought for $210M in cash Kollmorgen Electro-Optical (KEO), a $160M/year unit of Danaher Corporation that employs about 550 people in Massachusetts and Italy. KEO will complement’s L-3s existing Sensor Systems division.

• Boeing and KAI deliver the 2nd E-737 AEW&C “Peace Eye” plane to South Korea’s air force.

• Boeing’s CONECT upgrade for the B-52H bomber is done flight testing. Now it’s up to the USAF to decide if they want to move forward.

• Alenia & EADS Cassidian sign an MoU to explore MALE UAV and UCAV co-operation, as the Obama administration waffles on selling armed UAVs. Talarion is mentioned explicitly, but anything they come up with will have to face the BAE/Dassault team (Mantis/Telemos), as well as potential offerings from Thales. Looks like Europe will have multiple UAV nodes, after all.

• Lockheed Martin announces that they have delivered the next-generation GPS-III’s Non Flight Satellite Testbed (GNST) to Denver, CO, where they’ve opened their new GPS-III manufacturing line.

• The US Navy’s Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command (SPAWAR) has delayed the release of Next Generation Enterprise Network (NGEN) RFP by several weeks – it was originally due for next week.

• Here’s a short primer on the various types of issuances from the Pentagon: Memorandums (DTMs), Instructions (DoDIs), Manuals (DoDMs), and Administrative Instructions (AIs). DTMs are effective for just 180 days. DoDOs establish or implement policy, and provide general procedures. Manuals implement or supplement policy stated in the two previous types of document. Finally AIs provide administrative guidance.

• Sweden has expanded its military exports to 60+ countries at a $2B+/year pace.

• Italy shared its stats on its participation in Libyan operations, adding to the metrics collected on this conflict.

• The Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses (IDSA) offers an Indian perspective on China’s tentative presence in the Seychelles. (IDSA is funded by the Indian Ministry of Defence but functions autonomously.)

• In Australia, Kim Carr’s demotion from cabinet-level Minister of Innovation and Industry to (non-cabinet) Minister for Defence Materiel and Minister for Manufacturing as part of a larger reshuffle is getting some push-back both from within the left in power and from the right-wing opposition. Outgoing Jason Clare is promoted to Minister for Home Affairs.
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• The US DoD acquisition office hosted the 1st Product Support Manager (PSM) Conference last week. Among the material presented there, we recommend this overview [PDF] of Open Systems Architectures (OSA) and data rights. “Data rights are rights granted to the government for technical data and computer software” which can help DoD maintain competition over the life of a program, among other benefits.

• Also of interest from the PSM event: sustainment metrics [PDF]; this primer [PDF] on the role of PSMs, a position created under Section 805 of the FY10 defense authorization bill. Per DTM 10-015 [PDF], all ACAT I/II major programs must have a PSM supporting them.

• Conundrums can arise when safety procedures meet environmental concerns in the life of a military base. For instance, US DoD policy requires periodic aircraft hangar fire suppression foam system nozzle discharge checks to make sure these systems will perform when needed. But these necessary checks generate nontrivial amounts of wastewater, a liability and another burden to deal with. The Naval Facilities Engineering Command Engineering Service Center think they have an answer with their “NoFoam” design [PDF].

• Meanwhile the US Army is trying to scale its renewable energy efforts through its recently-created Energy Initiatives Task Force (EITF).

• If you’re a US military member preparing to enter the federal or private sector workforce, this US Navy primer will help.

• The WSJ reports that the CIA has made concessions about how it uses UAVs for strikes in Pakistan.

• The USAF’s unique BACN jets and UAVs receive official designations.

• Assistant Secretary of State for Political-Military Affairs Andrew J. Shapiro gave a speech last Friday summarizing the nature of American military support for Israel, which receives $3B per year in funding for training and equipment under Foreign Military Financing (FMF), or 60% of a total $5.5B spread among 70 countries.

• Transfield Services (Australia) Pty Ltd wins A$ 90 million Comprehensive Maintenance Services (CMS) contract for all Defence establishments in South Australia, from 2011-2014, with options to 2017.

• The US Air National Guard has approved the new LITENING G4 surveillance and targeting pod for fielding on its F-16s.

• Bloomberg has a wrap-up on the F-35, one of the few programs that have been identified by name in recent budget cut talks.

• 6th Swiftship patrol boat delivered to Iraq.

• The anti-climatic video below shows US National Guard soldiers loading tanks to be shipped out of Contingency Operating Base Adder, Iraq:
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• The US Army is looking to change its physical fitness test (shorter but harder), and may add a combat readiness test before deploying. Army readers, you may want to adjust your PT.

• Leadership failure: A Marine Corporal and a US Army Captain charge together into enemy fire, repeatedly, to retrieve their fellow soldiers’ bodies. The Marine is getting the Medal of Honor. The Army Captain… nothing?!? Wouldn’t want to make the officers in the TOC, who denied them fire support, look bad.

• Australia and Canada will now work together on mutual defense procurement issues (vid. Australia transcript | Canada release). The F-35 fighter program’s cost & schedule risks, and their respective problems with their unready Collins Class and Victoria Class submarine fleets, are obvious places to start.

• The UK’s DSTL introduces its latest research project: Super Bainite perforated armoring steel. It will be manufactured in Britain by India’s Tata Steel.

• Boeing hands Australia the keys to its 5th C-17A heavy airlifter, while L-3 assumes responsibility of RAAFB Amberley’s C-17 Training System for pilots, loadmasters and maintenance personnel.

• Who let the dogs out? Gen. Petraeus. Now the US Army (TEDD) and USMC (IDD) each have funded programs from 2012-2014, to put more K-9 teams on the front lines in Afghanistan. Canine PTSD remains a top issue.

• Portuguese Ministry of Defense José Pedro Aguiar-Branco told the local press that some programs were under review [in Portuguese], given the country’s fiscal difficulties. Last month, El Pais was reporting [in Spanish] that neighboring Spain’s Ministerio de Defensa was facing a tough financing hurdle in years to come to pay for committed armament acquisitions. Reflecting its stronger fiscal position, Germany’defense ministry is set for a modest 2012 budget increase, pending parliamentary approval.

• DoD Comptroller and CFO Robert F. Hale asked Congress to reprogram $3B of funding, in part in anticipation of likely delays with the FY12 OCO budget.

• The Aerospace Industries Association launched yesterday a public relations campaign dubbed “Second to None” (video below). Meanwhile POGO is not convinced by contractor math. Both organizations, among plenty of interested parties, will no doubt want to have the ear of the Defense Business Panel recently created by the House Armed Services Committee.

• The Deficit Supercommittee will have its first closed-door meeting today (Thursday).
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US F-16

In Smithsonian Air & Space magazine’s 10-year, post-9/11 look at the US Air National Guard, Lt. Col. Scott Van Beek talks about the US ANG’s coming pilot crunch, driven by trends in civil aviation, and by the military’s own attempt to shift to UAVs. Going forward, he had this to say:

“For now it’s a good balance, but by the end of 2012, things will get interesting. 9/11 and the economic downturn allowed many of us to put our civilian careers on hold to fill the 9/11 tasking. Employers have been very accommodating, because if their employee came back they would have to lay off someone else, so they would rather let us stay on leave. But there’s a storm brewing. The Air Force had a need for UAV pilots… so they involuntarily transitioned current fighter pilots, and downplayed the fighter track to new graduates from the academy. They’re now facing a fighter pilot shortage. The airlines are slowly hiring again. When the airlines are hiring, pilots leaving active duty increases. The age-60 [retirement] rule has delayed airline retirements, because the [new] rule allowed pilots to stay for another five years. That five-year period will be over at the end of 2012, and mandatory retirements will skyrocket. That is when the airlines, short on pilots, will make [Guard] pilots come back. And the Guard units will look to fill the empty positions from a fighter pilot pool that does not exist.”

This can be
the easy part…

Deployments aren’t easy for active personnel. They can be even harder on families, and the impacts don’t end when the deployment does. In recent years, the US military has recognized the effect family difficulties have on its all-volunteer force, and placed a higher priority on family assistance programs. The priority is especially urgent with respect to special forces, who are deployed more often because they’re in such high demand. That means trouble if family problems cause them to decide to do something else. Even if replacing existing operators is possible, it’s time-consuming, difficult, and costly.

One example of the US military’s response is the Naval Special Warfare (NSW) Resiliency Program, which recently issued a contract worth up to $44.4 million to Loving Couples Loving Children, Inc. in Seattle, WA. This LCLC program was originally developed by John and Julie Gottman for low-income couples expecting a child...

• NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen thanks General David Petraeus for his command of coalition troops, and hails the handing over of Bamiyan province to Afghan security forces as the beginning of full transition.

• UK Defence Secretary Dr Liam Fox is set to unveil a radical overhaul of the British Army. It is expected that regular troop levels will fall from 101,000 to 82,000 by 2020. Dr Fox is also expected to endorse a review of the UK’s use of its reserve forces for frontline activities.

• L-3 uses the UK’s Royal International Air Tattoo (RIAT) to unveil its Spydr intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) aircraft. The Spydr is based upon Hawker Beechcraft’s King Air 350-ER with the potential to be equipped with L-3’s processing, exploitation and dissemination systems.

• Australia welcomes another 3 of its 24 ordered F/A-18F Block II Super Hornet fighters, bringing its fleet to 18.

• ‘First cut’ ceremony marks the beginning of Scorpene attack submarine construction in Brazil.

• Belarusian defense firms are to exhibit over 40 types of electronic equipment and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) at next month’s MAKS-2011 air show near Moscow. Among the products on display will be the Strela target drone and Grif-1 UAV.

• Czech Republic’s Defense Minister warns that further budget cuts may bring into question the country’s ability to fulfil its commitments to NATO.

• Yemeni forces launch an offensive to recapture the southern town of Zinjibar. The town was captured by Islamist militants in May.

• As defense expenditure in the United States is set to decrease, Boeing’s KC-46A and Lockheed Martin’s F-35 projects may fall victim to Government reluctance to absorb cost growth.

• Chairman of the House Armed Services Readiness Subcommittee, J Randy Forbes (R-VA), has outlined a number of shortfalls in US Navy programs. Concerns focus upon increased inspection failures for naval vessels, the deployment of ships lacking essential equipment or systems and aircraft that are not combat ready. Forbes’ concerns have also been echoed by two senior Navy officers during a hearing on fleet readiness.

• The House Armed Services Committee announces the formation of a bipartisan financial management panel to scrutinize the Department of Defense’s (DoD) financial management systems.

• The Defense Contract Agency questions Northrop Grumman’s claims that the divestment of its shipbuilding business and the closure of the Avondale shipyard will save the United States an estimated $600 million.

• A New Jersey based defense contractor pleads guilty to a charge of conspiring to illegally export Department of Defense (DoD) weapons plans to China. Rather than fulfil the obligations of the DoD contract to domestically manufacture defense materiel, Swiss Technology contracted with a company in China who made the products at a cheaper price.

• Russian President Dmitry Medvedev gives the Defense Ministry the go-ahead to purchase foreign military equipment if domestically manufactured products are overpriced.

• Speaking at a conference at the UK’s RUSI think tank, Defence Secretary Liam Fox echoed comments made by recently-retired Defense Secretary Robert Gates by criticizing NATO member states who are ‘not pulling their weight’ in the Libyan air campaign.

• A former British Army General argues that the country’s military could offset financial problems associated with ‘equipment lust’ by striking a balance between regular and reserve forces.

• A member of Iraq’s Security and Defense Commission says the country is interested in increasing defense cooperation with the European Union (EU).

• IMI’s M329 APAM-MP-T Kalanit 120mm tank shell wins an Israeli 2011 Defense Prize. The shell works in both time fuzed/airburst mode, and conventional HEAT mode, to kill targets hiding in trenches or behind walls. It’s one of the many spinouts of Israel’s 2006 Lebanon War experiences.

• A Chinese media profile has emerged of the man regarded as the ‘architect’ of the J-20 stealth aircraft.

• UK Defence Secretary Liam Fox is due to unveil the findings of the Defence Reform Unit’s Report. It is likely the report will lead to an overhaul in the number of Armed Forces senior officers and a radical shake-up of the Ministry of Defence’s (MoD) senior decision making body, the defence board.

• The Pentagon is to send almost $45 million in aid to Burundi and Uganda to help tackle the growing terrorist threat in Somalia. Items being shipped out include four Raven shoulder-launched unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV), body armor and surveillance systems.

• Russia is to resume test launches of its Bulava submarine launched ballistic missile (SLBM) on June 28. At least four test launches are scheduled for this year.

• Australian think tank the Lowy Institute releases a report examining maritime security issues in the Asia Pacific region. Crisis and confidence: major power and maritime security in Indo-Pacific Asia argues that the changing maritime strategies of the region’s major powers are increasing the prospect of Asia becoming a danger zone for conflict at sea.

• Another Australian think tank says that a combination of scandals and equipment-related problems have left the nation’s defense in a ‘beyond tolerable’ condition.  The Australian Strategic Policy Institute advocates improving civilian influence within the Ministry of Defence and making the services more accountable when problems occur.

• Israel’s Defense Ministry clears its authorities of any wrongdoing after Spanish businessmen attempted to sell to Iran Bell B-112 helicopters previously used by the Israeli Air Force.

• South Korea’s Defense Acquisition Program Administration among the government agencies to be targeted by the Ministry of National Defense’s new inspection system. The Ministry’s plans form part of attempts to curb corruption and promote military reform.

• Debate regarding China’s fighter aircraft program continues unabated. A recently-published report [PDF] predicts that China is 5-10 years away from from being able to consistently mass produce turbofan engines for a fifth-generation fighter.

• UK government steps forward with the 1st explicit covenant, stating the moral obligation which exists between the British nation, the Government and the Armed Forces. See full document, and a companion document discusses the steps they’re taking to turn its principles into action. Not in the covenant: the duty to protect armed service members and their families, by maintaining security & confidentiality when appropriate.

• On which topic… US “SEAL Team 6” (TINSTS) members who killed Osama are worried that their identities will leak. It would be nice for the US media to rediscover OpSec, but that doesn’t seem to happen unless a journalist is the one threatened.

• Kratos Defense & Security Solutions agrees to pay $266 million in cash and stock [PDF] to acquire Integral Systems, a Columbia, MD-based provider of controls for military ground systems and satellites.

• Vector’s Ground Vehicles forecast sees a real crunch coming between US recap/RESET programs, and planned new ground vehicle purchases. They say that FY 2013 will be a key inflection point.

• Turkey is considering Russian and Chinese weapons systems in its long-range missile and air defense system procurement, something that concerns other NATO members.

• UAE has hired a number of contractors to train its military: Spectre, which provides academy training capabilities; Horizon, a pilot training firm; and R2, a company run by the founder of Blackwater Worldwide, which provides operational, planning, and training to the military.

• GAO says NTIA, which manages the US government radio spectrum – including military – requirements, has failed to develop a federal spectrum plan, and has no way to determine if agency self-reported spectrum requirements are accurate. Recall the FCC’s $1 billion spectrum screw-up, involving the B-2 fleet…

• RAF disbands Number XIII Tornado Squadron, less than 2 months after their Tornado GR4s opened the war in Libya with Storm Shadow cruise missile strikes. The squadron will re-form in 2012, flying the RAF’s new MQ-9 Reapers.

• Meanwhile, a US Navy P-3 is providing overwatch for British ships off of Libya. Without its Nimrod fleet, or an affordable replacement…

• US military’s working dogs, trained to provide explosive detection, combat tracking, and patrolling dues, are now able to enjoy life in retirement. Shamefully, we used to kill them.