PAF F-16A drops Mk.82s
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On June 28/06, the US DSCA notified Congress via a series of releases of its intention to provide Pakistan with a $5.1 billion Foreign Military Sales package to upgrade the F-16s that serve as the PAF’s top of the line fighters. Some of these items had been put on hold following the October 2005 earthquake in Pakistan & Kashmir, but the request for 36 new F-16 Block 50/52s is now going ahead following the required 30-day review period, along with new weapons, engine modifications, 60 F-16 upgrade kits that would cover Pakistan’s older F-16 A/Bs plus other aircraft it might buy second-hand, and related equipment.

These items are detailed below… along with controversies the proposed sales have created, and some of the conditions attached to the sale by the US government. Another piece of the contract has gone through via engineering change and support purchases.

• Item 1: 36 New F-16 Block 50/52s – $3 billion
• Item 2: Weapons for the New F-16s – $650 Million
• Item 3: F-16A/B Mid-Life Update Modification Kits – $1.3 billion
• Item 4: F-16A/B Engine Modifications & UP/STAR – $151 Million
• Deal Updates and Progress [updated]
• Potential Controversies (July 5, 2006)
  
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F-16F “Desert Falcon”
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Note: a technical issue in which this story’s database tag was mysteriously changed to a non-public setting may have affected viewing for some readers before it was reported and fixed. This is a problem we’ve had before with our back end, and we’re looking into more permanent fixes that will remove the problem entirely.

The F-16 has become what its designers intended it to be: a worthy successor to the legendary P-51 Mustang whose principles of visibility, agility, and pilot-friendliness informed its design. It is no exaggeration to call it the defining fighter of its age, the plane that many people around the world think of when they think “fighter.” The aircraft’s ability to handle future adversaries like the thrust-vectoring MiG-29OVT/35 and advanced surface-air missile systems is in question, but upgrades have kept F-16s popular and in production.

The most advanced F-16s in the world, however, are not American. That distinction belongs to the United Arab Emirates, whose F-16 E/F Block 60 are a generation ahead of the F-16 C/D Block 50/52+ aircraft that form the backbone of the US fleet and many others around the world. The Block 60 has been described as a lower-budget alternative to the forthcoming F-35A Joint Strike Fighter – and is being treated as such in countries like India and the Netherlands as they contemplate their future fighter needs. The UAE invested in the type’s development, and with that investment comes inevitable fielding, training, and equipping needs. This DID article showcases the F-16 E/F “Desert Falcon,” and offers a window into associated costs. The latest item is a significant weapons request to equip their fleet…

• The F-16E/F “Desert Falcon”
• Contracts and Key Events
• Additional Readings
  
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F-15E Strike Eagle
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Singapore’s decision to buy the F-15SG Strike Eagle as a replacement for its A-4SU Super Skyhawks has already sparked one weapons purchase to outfit the new aircraft. The August 2005 DSCA request mostly involved air-air weapons, plus ancillary equipment and a handful of JDAM and JSOW precision weapons. Now the DSCA reports that Singapore has submitted a request for another handful of precision strike weapons, and a lot of training assistance “to support its F-15 aircraft”.

The proposed sale is worth up to $200 million, and the principal contractors will be F-15 primes Boeing Integrated Defense Solutions of St. Louis, MO and General Electric Aircraft Engines Division of Cincinnati, OH. Components of the request include:

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F-15E: 5 targets
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On Aug 3/07, the US DSCA formally announced Israel’s request [PDF format] for various US bombs and precision guidance kits. Requested items include 10,000 live MK-84 2,000-lb. bombs; 1,500 live MK-82 500-lb. bombs; 2,000 live BLU-109 2,000-lb. bombs with penetrator warheads; JDAM tail kits that add GPS/INS guidance to bombs (10,000); Paveway II laser-guidance kits for the 500-lb. MK-82 (2,500), the 1,000-lb. MK-83 (500), and the 2,000 pound MK-84 (1,000) bombs; 10,000 FMU-139 live fuze components; 10,000 FMU-152 live fuze components; and 50 GBU-28 Enhanced Paveway III 5,000-lb. ‘bunker buster’ laser/GPS guided live bombs. The total value, if all options are exercised, could be as high as $465 million.

Israel already has all of these munitions in its inventory, which was depleted during its 2006 war against Hezbollah, Syria, and Iran. It also produces many similar devices domestically, but can allocate American foreign assistance dollars to pay American firms and so Israel always finds itself balancing domestic capabilities and spending against American industry purchases. Amidst rumors of a planned attack by Iran, Syria, and Hezbollah in late 2007, rapid replenishment may also be a consideration. The principal contractors will be:

• Boeing subsidiary McDonnell Douglas Corporation in St. Charles, MO (JDAM kits)
• Alliant Techsystems Incorporated in Janesville, WI (ATK makes fuzes and explosives)
• Alliant Techsystems Incorporated in Clearwater, FL
• Lockheed-Martin Aerospace Corporation in Fort Worth, TX (Paveway orders, note trademark dispute with Raytheon)
• Northrop Grumman Company in Los Angeles, CA
• Honeywell Corporation in Clearwater, FL
• General Dynamics in Garland, TX (Mk82 & Mk84 bomb bodies)

Mk81-84 bomb family
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The US Defense Security Cooperation Agency has notified Congress of Israel’s request for 3,500 MK-84 general purpose bomb units, which are 2,000 pound bomb bodies. The Mk84 versions Israel is requesting would carry about 945 pounds of tritonal (about 80% TNT/ 20% aluminum) explosives, as opposed to using H-6. Mk80 family weapons can be fitted with a number of kits to give them laser guidance, GPS/INS guidance, extended range, and/or other capabilities as required; the Israelis have created kits of their own for such purposes, including the Spice GPS/laser guided weapon. The total value of this contract, if all options are exercised, could be as high as $65 million.

The deal would also entail testing, support equipment, spares and repair parts, supply support, personnel training and training equipment, publications and technical data, U.S. Government and contractor technical assistance, and other related elements of logistics support. The prime contractor will be General Dynamics in Garland, TX; Israel has used Mk 84s for a long time, and there are no known offset agreements in connection with this proposed sale. See DSCA release [PDF format].

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Mk-80 Bomb Bodies

General Dynamics in Garland, TX received a delivery order amount of $44.9 million as part of a $104.5 million firm-fixed-price contract for MK80 series bomb bodies. Work will be performed in Garland, TX and is expected to be complete by Dec. 31, 2010. This was a sole source contract initiated on Feb. 16, 2006 by the U.S. Army Field Support Command in Rock Island, IL (W52P1J-06-D-0006).

General Dynamics Ordnance and Tactical Systems adds that delivery order covers a combination of 500 lb., 1,000 lb. and 2,000 lb. bomb bodies, totaling more than 25,000 units, for the U.S. Navy and Air Force. They say “bomb bodies” because bombs are produced in sections, with threaded holes at front and back for mixing and matching add-ons like different guidance sections, fuzes, tail fin kits to get different ranges and types of performance, et. al.

MK80 Bomb Structure

General Dynamics OTS is the world’s only manufacturer of MK80 Series Bomb Bodies that conform to the U.S. Dept. of Defense’s approved technical data packages. In this capacity, General Dynamics OTS is the U.S. Government’s restricted source of supply for all MK80 Series General Purpose Bomb Bodies, both tactical and inert training rounds.

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Existing GBU-28 Bomb

Oct 4/06: The Boeing Company in St Louis, MO received a $9 million indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity, cost-plus-fixed-fee contract modification. This effort will design and test “a large penetrating munition” in order to “demonstrate the weapon’s lethality against multi-story building with hardened bunkers and tunnel facilities,” and to reduce technology risk for future development. This program is funded by the US Defense Threat Reduction Agency, and work will be complete October 2009. The Air Force Research Laboratory at Eglin Air Force Base, FL issued the contract (FA8651-04-D-0427/P00002).

The USA already has the 5,000 pound GBU-28 “bunker-buster” bomb. Details regarding this new weapon were not released, though its statement of capabilities lead one to believe it is more of a weapon for situations similar to Hezbollah-Iran-Syria’s recent “Rocket War,” rather than a substitute for the nuclear RNEP.

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BSU-85/B
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General Dynamics in Garland, TX received an $18.7 million firm-fixed-price contract for BSU-85/B bomb retarder fin assemblies. These are especially useful for low-altitude work. Work will be performed in Garland, TX and is expected to be complete by Sept. 30, 2008. Bids were solicited via the World Wide Web on Nov. 18, 2005, and two bids were received by the Army Field Support Command, Rock Island, Ill., is the contracting activity (W52P1J-06-C-0027).

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Things that make you
go BOOM…

Thermobaric weapons are also known as “fuel-air explosives.” No longer confined to the bombs that were used to clear helicopter landing zones in Vietnam, or even the gargantuan 15,000-pound BLU-82 Commando Vault/”Daisy Cutter” [see Graphic | Flash] and 21,000-pound GBU-43B “MOAB” bombs, they’re now finding their way into portable rocket launchers like the SMAW, RPG, et. al. DID noted this very trend in our March 10, 2005 coverage of the LAW rocket’s return, and similar man-portable thermobaric rockets proved extremely effective during The Second Battle of Fallujah in November 2004. Fortified buildings used as strongholds by Islamist paramilitary death squads were sometimes caved in with a single shot from a US Marine Corps SMAW-NE (Shoulder-Mounted Antitank Weapon, New Explosive).

Defense Tech has a link-filled article noting that hand-held thermobaric rockets can be found in Russian and Chinese arsenals these days, among others. The article also addresses some of the implications these weapons present for issues like vehicle protection design, body armor protection, etc.

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BLU-109/B Penetrator:
Battery Kits Are Extra

Small business qualifier Ellwood National Forge Co. in Irvine, PA received a $6.9 million modification to a firm-fixed-price contract for BLU-109/B Empty Cases, and CNU-417 Containers for Multiple Air Force Weapons Platforms. The BLU-109/B (I-2000) is an improved 2,000-pound-class bomb designed as a penetrator without a forward fuze well. Its configuration is relatively slim in order to help it punch through concrete, and its skin is a single-piece, forged warhead casing of one-inch, high-grade steel that’s much harder than that of the standard MK-84 bomb. The BLU-109/B can be mated with a laser guidance kit to form a GBU-24/A penetrator bomb, or it can be fitted with a JDAM GPS/INS guidance kit.

Work on this contract will be performed in Irvine, PA and is expected to be complete by Dec. 31, 2006. This was a sole source contract initiated on Aug. 18, 2005 by the U.S. Army Field Support Command at Rock Island, IL (DAAA09-01-C-0049).

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