YRH-70 test, 2005

AAS budget realities; Article updates. (Jan 30/12)

The US Army’s ARH (Armed Reconnaissance Helicopter) program aimed to replace around 375 Bell Textron OH-58D Kiowa Warrior helicopters, after the $14.6 billion RAH-66 Comanche program, was canceled in 2004. Instead, the Army would buy a larger number of less expensive platforms, with reduced capabilities. Bell Helicopter Textron initially won the ARH competition with a militarized version of its highly successful 407 single-engine commercial helicopter, but despite significant private investment after Army funding stopped in March 2007, spiraling costs killed the ARH-70 in October 2008.

What hasn’t changed is the battlefield need for on-call, front-line aerial surveillance and fire support. With its existing OH-58D stock wither wearing down, or shot down, the Army needs to do something. But what? This will serve as DID’s FOCUS Article for the ARH program, and its potential successor the Armed Aerial Scout. It includes updated background, coverage of contracts and key events, and additional research materials:

• The ARH Program: What Happened? [updated]
• ARH: Now What? [updated]
• The ARH Program: Contracts & Events [updated]
• Appendix A: Weary Warriors – The Army’s OH-58D Kiowa Warrior Fleet [updated]
• Appendix B: Initial Winner – Bell’s ARH-70
• Appendix C: Additional Readings & Sources
  Continue Reading… »

M2HB: “Aroint thee!”

2010 Top 10 invention; 600 more M2HBs. (Nov 15/11)

Built since the 1920s, the reliable, powerful, air-cooled .50 caliber (12.7 mm) M2 Browning Machine Gun (aka. “Ma Deuce”) is still one of the world’s most effective heavy machine guns. It can be carried by a team of soldiers, or mounted on vehicles and aircraft. Despite its age, its combination of reliability, durability, and kick-butt firepower has made it one of the most requested weapons on America’s front lines, and it remains popular around the world. Modern alternatives like FN’s M3M/GAU-21 have been introduced, and the XM307/312 remains a future possibility, but the M2 remains, as one of our correspondents put it, “the mounted lance of the US cavalry.” The USA has even had to ramp up .50 cal ammunition production, in order to keep up.

This article covers the venerable, and valuable, M2 machine gun, and associated contracts. The US government is still buying more, and has issued both a multi-year contract, and a small business secondary supplier contract…

• Ma Deuce: the M2 Heavy Machine Gun
• Contracts [updated]
  Continue Reading… »

Spanish M109A5,
Brite Star 2001

Clarity from BAE. (Oct 4/11)

In June 2009, Chile’s formal request to buy a variety of artillery-related systems and equip a new mechanized artillery battalion was cleared by the US state Department, and allowed to go forward. The request centered on BAE’s M109 tracked self-propelled howitzer, but it also includes necessities like shells, tracking radars, and accompanying personnel carriers. Chile already operates the M109 self-propelled howitzer, and this order could double its available fleet, to a total of 48.

Chile’s current stock of 24 M109s are the KAWEST version, which were upgraded by Switzerland’s RUAG and sold to Chile at the end of 2004 (Cooperativa.cl, in Spanish). The Swiss upgrades included an L47 gun with 27 km/ 36 km assisted range and 3-round burst capability over 15 seconds, 6 crew members instead of 8, carriage of 40 rounds and 64 charges, improved electrical systems, an integrated inertial navigation and positioning system, day and night capability, and added protection against fire, nuclear EMP (Electro-Magnetic Pulse radiation), and NBC (Nuclear, Biological, Chemical) threats…

RGS for V-22

Option exercised for 12 more. (March 10/11)

In the past specific and detailed allegations were made concerning the V-22 Osprey’s performance, testing flaws, and survivability issues in anything beyond low-threat situations like the Anbar deployment in Iraq. Despite direct offers, US NAVAIR chose not to respond or address any of those allegations. One of the flaws that appeared headed for correction, however, was the issue of 360 degree covering fire. This capability is useful for fire support. It is especially helpful when entering or covering landing zones, where rotary aircraft are most vulnerable.

The Osprey’s huge propellers and the positioning of its engines had created obstruction issues for normal machine gun mounting locations, but AUSA 2007 saw BAE Systems promoting a retractable belly turret solution based on a 3-barrel 7.62mm GAU-17 minigun. Special Operations Command has ordered some, and now the US Marines have deployed with them.

Somewhere, over
the rainbow…

Nuclear reactors save a lot of diesel fuel for huge ships like aircraft carriers, but until the new Gerald R. Ford-class carriers arrive, there’s a catch. Mid-way through the ships’ 50-year life, the nuclear reactor needs to be refueled. The resulting “Refueling and Complex OverHaul” (RCOH) is a long, complex, potentially hazardous, and very expensive process, which also includes widespread upgrades throughout the ship. Anyone who has ever done home renovations knows that the opportunity to make upgrades can be nearly irresistible in these situations, and in truth, this stage in the carrier’s life is an excellent time for that kind of work.

The USS Abraham Lincoln [CVN 72] was built by Northrop Grumman’s Newport News sector. Commissioned on Nov 11/1989 and homeported in Everett, WA, CVN 72 is expected to remain in service until 2039. As it approaches its mid-life stage, however, its mid-life upgrade and reactor refueling approaches. Its counterparts USS Carl Vinson [CVN 70] completed its RCOH at the end of 2009, and USS Theodore Roosevelt’s [CVN 71] is underway. In early February 2011, CVN 72 wrapped up air operations supporting the war in Afghanistan, but in a few years she will become the 6th American carrier to undergo this procedure…

M113A1 & M1A1s, 1AR
(click to expand)

$14M to BAE for track assemblies. (Oct 7/10)

The M113A1 family of vehicles was introduced into service in Australia in the mid 1960s, and arrived in time to see service in Vietnam. Additional vehicle variants were added until 1979, and there are 766 M113A1 vehicles currently in the Australian Army fleet. By February 2005, however, only 520 remained in service.

A number of upgrades have been suggested for Australia’s APCs over the years, with a number of different reviews and upgrade proposals submitted. Many of Australia’s M113s remain in M113A1 configuration, with some having undergone repair and overhaul at 25,000 km. Bushmaster wheeled mine-resistant vehicles have replaced some M113s, but the M113’s lightweight, tracked, off-road mobility remains important to Australian mechanized formations, and to troops deployed in combat zones. A plan approved in the late 1990s involved a “minimum upgrade” of 537 vehicles from 1996-1998, at a cost of about A$ 40 million in 1993 dollars, with a major upgrade to follow….

• The New Vehicles
• The Program
• Contracts and Key Events [updated]
• Aditional Readings
  Continue Reading… »

• Storm Warning: Cyber Storm III [PDF], being held this week, tests preparedness of cybersecurity personnel in the Pentagon, other US federal and state agencies, US industry, and foreign governments.

• The Supremes: US Supreme Court to hear appeal by Boeing and General Dynamics over the Pentagon’s 1991 cancellation of the $4.8 billion US Navy A-12 II Avenger attack plane.

• Deloitte: New report [PDF] identifies 5 growth areas in the aerospace and defense market: ISR, cybersecurity, government services and IT, business process improvements, and globalization and international markets.

• Azeri Rifle: Azerbaijan’s IST 12.7-caliber, 14.5-mm sniper rifle attracts interest at South African aerospace and defense conference.

• Shower a Day: GTEC snags a $26 million contract to provide shower water recycling systems for US Army in Afghanistan, the second contract this month.

• Up to $14 million to BAE Systems to provide technical services for the Tomahawk cruise missile weapon control system.

Avenger

Chile presents interesting challenges for an air defense network. Its geography is long, thin, and extremely mountainous, which greatly complicates attempts at full coverage. Tensions over the last couple of decades have been centered on the relatively narrow border with Peru, which represents a simpler problem, but mountainous areas will still introduce “shadows” into radar coverage. Mobile systems are extremely desirable, and to date, Chilean missile defenses have consisted of Blowpipe and Mistral shoulder-fired missiles, and short-range MIM-72 Chaparral tracked systems based on AIM-9 Sidewinder missiles.

In November 2009, Chile submitted a pair of purchase requests to the US DSCA whose net effect would be to create a mobile short-range air defense system for its army. Chile’s Ejercito currently relies on MBDA’s shoulder-fired Mistral missiles for this role, but the addition of Avenger fire units and Sentinel radars would offer big steps forward in mobile battlefield awareness and defense. In June 2010, reports emerged that this would be followed by a purchase of longer-range AMRAAM-based systems…

• Sentinels, Avengers, Stingers, and SLAMRAAM [updated]
• Contracts & Key Events [updated]
• Appendix A: Chile’s Military Funding Laws [updated]
• Appendix B: Additional Readings [NEW]
  Continue Reading… »

Ma Deuce, raising demand…

In July 2005, “Pass The Ammunition: Army Taking Action on Small-Cal Shortages” began covering some of the steps the US Defense Department was taking to address this issue. Few reserves, a low production rate, and some of the oldest assembly-line machines on the supply side, coupled with skyrocketing demand, had made for a difficult situation. The Us military went on the invest substantial funds, in order to help modernize the World War 2 era Lake City ammunition plant, which had become the USA’s sole source of small caliber military ammunition.

Even so, the situation was creating both front line shortages, and strategic risk. In 2005, therefore, the Army took steps to move General Dynamics into an important second source supply role, and awarded GD OTS a substantial contract….

• US defense secretary Gates calls for military to focus on reducing overhead costs, which are over 40% of the budget. TRICARE medical costs are one element of that.

• South Korea finds RDX, a chemical substance used in torpedoes, on sunken ROKS Cheonan (PCC-772), a Pohang-class patrol combat corvette.

• Was Greece wrestled into buying German submarines, French FREMM frigates, and other equipment, as a quiet condition of its bailout package?

• Pakistan test fires 2 nuclear-capable missiles – the Ghaznavi with a range of 180 miles and the Shaheen with a range of 400 miles.

• IISS study: Iran makes “robust strides” in developing nuclear-capable ballistic missiles.

• Meet Inbal Kreis, the woman in charge of Israel’s Arrow-3 anti-ballistic missile development program.

• Remaining B-61 American nuclear bombs in Europe stirring controversy, security concerns at Belgium’s Kleine Brogel air base, Dutch Volkel, Germany’s Buechel, Italy’s Ghedi Torre and Aviano, and Incirlik in Turkey.

• Afghan National Army soldiers get NATO training on the M-9 pistol, M-16 rifle, M203 grenade launcher, M-249 squad automatic weapon, M-240B machine gun, and .50-caliber machine gun.

• Sock it to them: Swiss defense ministry tests high-tech sweat-absorbing socks for soldiers.

• STG gets $19 million order to help with the BRAC-mandated relocation of US Army’s TRADOC headquarters from Fort Monroe to Fort Eustis, both in Virginia.