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Paveway-IV components
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In 2003, Raytheon UK operation won the GBP 120 million pound contract to develop and produce Paveway IV, beating Boeing’s INS/GPS guided JDAM. The GPS/INS and laser-guided 500-pound bombs are a British project, and will add a number of other enhancements including longer range than previous Paveway versions.

The British military had wanted to deploy Raytheon’s latest Paveway IV bombs in Afghanistan by September 2007, on board its newly-upgraded Harrier GR9 aircraft. Unfortunately, testing problems with the Thales UK’s Aurora fuze removed that option.

The MoD found a way to deploy the smart bombs with lesser capabilities by December 2007, and now reports that the full Paveway IV is ready to go – while clarifying the fuzing capabilities that were the heart of the problem…

• Paveway IV: Capabilities and Challenges [updated]
• Paveway IV: Updates [updated]
• Additional Readings
  
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F/A-18F over CV-63
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DID has covered the recent controversies over Australia’s involvement in the F-35 Lightning II program, amid criticisms that the F-35A will be unable to compete with proliferating SU-30 family aircraft in the region, lacks the required range or response time, and will either be extremely expensive at $100+ million per aircraft in early (2013-2016) production, or will not be available until 2018 or later. The accelerated retirement of Australia’s 22 long-range F-111s in 2010 has sharpened the timing debate in particular, with a recently retired Air Vice-Marshal and the opposition (now governing) Labor Party both weighing in with criticisms and alternative force proposals.

In December 2006, The Australian reported that Defence Minister Brendan Nelson was discussing an A$ 3 billion (about $2.36 billion) purchase of 24 F/A-18F Block II Super Hornet aircraft around 2009-2010. A move that came as “a surprise to senior defence officials on Russell Hill”; but is now an official purchase as requests and contracts work their way through.

Australia’s new Labor government’s decided to keep the Super Hornet purchase, and has now issued a request for follow-on support worth over $1 billion…

• RAAF Super Hornets: Variants and Variances
• Contracts & Key Events
• Additional Readings
  
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SOAR’s AH-6J
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July 30/08: The US Defense Security Cooperation Agency announces Iraq’s formal request to buy 24 helicopters. Based on the request, Iraq seems to be interested in Armed Reconnaissance Helicopters that act as scouts, perform light close air support, and escort other helicopters on dangerous missions.

The IqAF currently relies on a small force of Russia’s popular Mi-8/17 and refurbished Bell “Huey II” helicopters. While the Russian helicopters can be armed, their status as Iraq’s only medium utility helicopters makes them a poor fit for an ARH role. Instead, Iraq looks set to choose between 2 competitors. One is the Bell 407, whose derivative ARH-70A won the competition in America but has run into trouble. The other is Boeing’s AH-6 “Little Bird” light attack helicopters used by US Special Forces, which provided critical fire support during the 1991 “Backhawk Down” incident.

The complete request also includes mortars for land use, but also adds airborne weapons – something the nascent post-Saddam IqAf has not really had to this point. The entire request, which could be worth up to $2.4 billion, includes:

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USMC LAV-25
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July 30/08: The US DSCA announced [PDF] Iraq’s formal request for LAV the same kind of amphibious wheeled armored personnel carriers used by the US Marines, as well as associated services and some replacement equipment. When coupled with the recent M1117 armored car, helicopter, and infrastructure requests, the DSCA has announced over $7 billion in contract requests from Iraq’s military over the past week. The volume of these announcements, and their content, strongly suggests an Iraqi military that is making significant strides in organization and responsibilities, and is beginning to order the equipment to match. Time will tell.

The estimated cost, if contracts are concluded for all items, is up to $3 billion. The principal contractors will include General Dynamics in Warren, MI; Armatec in London, Ontario, Canada; BAE Systems in London, United Kingdom; Force Protection in Ladson, SC; Oshkosh Trucks in Oshkosh, WI; and Raytheon in Waltham, MA. Implementation of this proposed sale will require the assignment of 24 contractor representatives to Iraq for a period of 2 years.

The exact request involves:

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Convoy lead, Tikrit
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Textron Marine and Land Systems’ M1117 Guardian Armored Security Vehicle (ASV) provide better mine and ballistics protection than the Hummer, coupled with with an armored turret that offers both mounts for advanced sensors, and firepower overmatch via a .50 cal machine gun and 40mm grenade machine gun combination in its turret. It’s a classic revival of the armored car segment, which had fallen into disuse but has begun to attract interest again.

The vehicle has traveled a lot of difficult roads, both inside and outside of combat. The US military was backing away from the project, until Iraq came along and military police adopted the 3-man vehicle. Textron had to undo production line shutdowns and rehire skilled talent, and they were just hitting their stride when Hurricane Katrina flooded their only factory in New Orleans. Heroic efforts were required to get it up and running again. When the US military finally got serious and began buying MRAP vehicles, however, the stretched M1117 ICV failed the tests and was removed. This was actually the vehicle’s second competition loss, following Iraq’s selection of the Cougar-based ILAV Badger as its mine-resistant vehicle. American MPs continued to order the vehicle, however, and an artillery-spotting variant known as the M707 Armored Knight also picked up a few contracts. A small order came in from the Bulgaria, but the USA remains the vehicle’s sole customer of note.

That may be about to change, however, due to a formal request from… Iraq.

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Javelin, firing
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After a series of disastrous experiences in Vietnam trying to use 66mm M72 LAW rockets against old Soviet tanks, the US military developed a renewed seriousness about giving its soldiers shoulder-fired weapons that packed enough punch to face down enemy armor. A number of options like the Mk 153 SMAW and the AT4/M136 spun out of that effort in the 1980s, but it wasn’t until electronics had miniaturized for several more cycles that it became possible to solve the next big problem: the need for soldiers to remain exposed to enemy fire while guiding anti-tank missiles to their targets.

Javelin solves both of those problems at once, offering a heavy fire-and-forget missile that will reliably destroy any enemy armored vehicle, and many fortifications as well. While armored threats are less pressing these days, the need to destroy fortified outposts and rooms in buildings remains. Indeed, one of the lessons of the 2006 war in Lebanon was the use of guided missiles as a form of precision artillery fire by front-line combatants on both sides.

Javelin is not an ideal candidate for the latter role due to its high cost-per-unit; nevertheless, its performance in Iraq has revealed a clear niche on both low and high intensity battlefields, and led to rising popularity with international and American clients. This DID FOCUS Article covers the Javelin anti-armor missile system, and associated contracts and key events. The latest is a $100+ million pair of foreign contracts…

• The Javelin Anti-Tank Guided Missile System
• Javelin ATGM: Reports from the Front
• Javelin ATGM: The Program [updated]
• Javelin: Contracts & Key Events (2004 – Present) [updated]
• Additional Readings
  
  Continue Reading… »

Militaries tend to reflect their national cultures in various ways, and Americans have always been inveterate tinkerers and inventors. It’s a streak that runs deep in the culture, as even a casual glance at America’s late night TV will confirm. DID features offer a number of cases in point on the military side of things, including the Chavis turret, Hummer mine-rollers, door-ripping Rat Claws, et. al.

The American political-military-industrial complex has a mixed record when it comes to putting these kinds of innovations in the hands of people on the front lines. On the other hand, the current war has offered an illuminating side by side comparison of the American system vs. other militaries. Despite its size, the American system compares well, thanks in part to agencies like the Army’s Rapid Equipping Force. Another source of encouragement is the Army’s annual “Top 10 inventions” recognition program, which began in 2002.

DID has covered this programs winners over the past 2 years [2005 | 2006], which ranged from modified M113 APCs to wound dressings with built-in blood clotting agents. In June 2008, a new set of winners were announced. Presenting, the US Army’s Top 10 inventions of 2007…

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Canberra concept
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In May of 2006, “Australia Issues Official Tender for A$ 2.0B Large Amphibious Ships Program” covered Australia’s decision to expand its naval expeditionary capabilities. HMAS Manoora and Kanimbla would be replaced with substantially larger and more capable modern designs, featuring strong air support. Navantia and Tenix offered a 27,000t LHD design that resembled the Strategic Projection Ship (Buque de Proyeccion Estrategica) under construction for the Spanish Navy. The DCNS-Thales Australia team, meanwhile, proposed a variation of the 21,300t Mistral Class that is serving successfully with the French Navy.

Navantia’s larger design eventually won, giving the Spanish firm an A$11 billion clean sweep of Australia’s “Air Warfare Destroyer” and LHD programs. These 5 ships will be the core of Australia’s future surface navy. The LHDs will be able to serve as amphibious landing ships, helicopter carriers, floating HQs and medical facilities for humanitarian assistance, and launching pads for UAVs or even short/vertical takeoff fighters.

The latest inclusions involve a contract for ships’ engines, giving the RAN an engine class that equips every one of its major surface combatants…

• Winner: The Navantia-Tenix LHD
• Construction and Program
• Contracts and Key Events
• Additional Readings
  
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B-2 drops JDAM
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Precision bombing has been a significant military goal since the invention of the Norden bomb sight in the 1920s, but its application remained elusive. Over 30 years later, in Vietnam, the destruction of a single target could require 300 bombs, which meant sending an appropriate number of fighters or bombers into harm’s way to deliver them. Even the 1991 Desert Storm war with Iraq featured unguided munitions for the most part; the US Air Force did use some laser and TV-guided weapons like Paveway bombs and Maverick missiles, but they were very expensive and only effective in good weather. If precision bombing was finally to become a reality throughout the Air Force, a new approach would be needed.

The Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM) became that alternative, an engine of military transformation that was also a model of procurement transformation. The DID FOCUS Article looks at the transformational history of the JDAM program, the ongoing efforts to bring its capabilities up to the level of weapons like Israel’s Spice, and the contracts issued under the JDAM program and its derivatives. The latest news is a new international customer for laser JDAM…

• JDAM: A History of Transformation (i.e. Continue reading…)
• JDAM: Program & Variants [updated]
• JDAM: Contracts and Key Events [updated]
• Additional Readings & Sources

M777: dragon’s breath
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The M777 ultra-lightweight towed 155mm howitzer has an integrated digital fire control system, and can fire all existing 155mm projectiles. Nothing new there. What is new is the fact that this 9,700 pound howitzer saves over 6,000 pounds of weight by making extensive use of titanium and advanced aluminum alloys, allowing it to be carried by Marine Corps MV-22 tilt-rotor aircraft or medium helicopters, and/or airdropped by C-130 aircraft. The new gun is a joint program between the US Army and Marine Corps to replace existing 155mm M198s, and will perform fire support for U.S. Marine Air Ground Task Forces and U.S. Army Stryker Brigade Combat Teams.

Britain is also an M777 LWH development partner, but Canada became the first country to field it in combat via an emergency buy before their 2006 “Operation Archer” deployment to Afghanistan. This is is DID’s new FOCUS article covering the M777 program. The latest news is a request from Australia…

• M777: Capabilities and Upgrades
• M777: Program
• M777: Contracts and Key Events [updated]
• Additional Readings & Sources
  
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