• Libyan lessons learned have made new Airbus A330 MRTT aerial tankers a bigger priority for France, alongside their aging C-135FRs. An interim contract for 5-7 A330 MRTT planes is now expected in 2013.

• Rheinmetall Defence and ADS GmbH successfully demonstrate their AMAP Active Defense Systems against an RPG-7 rocket, protecting a Fuchs wheeled vehicle. This technology is growing in importance on modern battlefields, because tandem-warhead missiles can beat armor defenses.

• Ghana’s 1st C295 light transport plane arrives.

• Distributed AWACS? Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman have adopted the SABR AESA fighter radar into a Vigilance pod that can be carried on its future carriers’ AW101 Merlin Mk2 naval helicopters, and on RAF transport aircraft. Could more + cheaper + networked end up being better?

• Research nonprofit RAND investigates whether applying a rotational equipping strategy can help the US Army save money.

• The US Army War College updated its Information Operations (IO) primer [PDF], mostly to reflect the DoD’s latest strategic and organizational changes in the cyberspace realm. Recently US Army Lieutenant Colonel John A. Mowchan argued that maintaining ambiguity on the nature of the US military response in the digital domain would have benefits.

• US Marine Tactical Electronic Warfare Squadron 1 (VMAQ-1) received the Phoenix Maintenance Award from DoD. The unit reduced the annual cost in ordered components almost by half while it supported 590 combat missions totaling 2,293 combat flight hours so far this year.

• US Senate Budget Committee Ranking Member Jeff Sessions (R-AL) compared the effects of the sequester [PDF] on spending by category. It is worth noting that DoD’s budget would still grow by 2% over the period between 2012 and 2021, but that’s in nominal terms and would mean a decline of more than 20% in real terms (i.e. with inflation factored in).

• Sappers of the 3rd Brigade Special Troops Battalion show a Bobcat dubbed “Minotaur” modified to detect IEDs in the video below:
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Minehound VMR2

W.M. Robots, LLC in Colmar, PA already supplies their Vallon GmbH subsidiary’s hand-held mine detectors to the US military, and in September 2011 they added a $9.6 million firm-fixed-price, indefinite-delivery/ indefinite-quantity contract from the government of Afghanistan, plus options that could bring the cumulative value to $12.4 million. Afghanistan is clearly moving to beef up their mine-detection and removal capabilities; September also saw a buy of MMP-30 robots for these roles.

Work will be performed in Colmar, PA, and is expected to be complete by September 2012. $7.9 million will expire at the end of the current fiscal year, on Sept 30/11. As this is a Foreign Military Sales program buy, the US military is acting as Afghanistan’s agent. This contract was synopsized as a sole-source buy, therefore, and is managed by the US Naval Surface Warfare Center, Indian Head Division in Indian Head, MD (N00174-11-D-0015).

APOBS

The MK7 MOD 2 Anti-Personnel Obstacle Breaching System (APOBS) is used to clear mines or wire obstacles, and create a safe footpath for troops. APOBS can be carried by 2 people, takes 30 to 120 seconds to be set up, and fires a rocket from a 25-meter standoff position, sending a line charge with fragmentation grenades over the minefields or wire obstacles. The grenades clear the mines, and sever the wires. Developed by the US Army Armaments Engineering and Technology Center in Picatinny Arsenal, NJ, APOBS won a US Army top military inventions of the year award in 2004. It replaces the Bangalore Torpedo, which was heavier, took longer to set up, and required 4 times the number of people to carry.

In 2006, small business qualifier Ensign-Bickford Aerospace & Defense Co. in Simsbury, CT received a maximum $150.8 million, 5-year contract for up to 3,000 units. In 2011, however, the Army/USMC contract shifted to Chemring Ordnance, Inc. in Perry, FL…

Off you go

On August 12, 2011 Northrop Grumman was awarded $26,178,369 on a cost-plus-fixed-fee contract modification basis for Sand Dragon B Tier II UAVs. The goal is to develop and deploy a counter-IED unmanned aerial system. Northrop Grumman told DID that the product in question is the Bat-12 model within the company’s Bat family of medium altitude UAS’s.

The contracting activity is the Research Laboratory (AFRL) at the Wright-Patterson, OH Air Force Base (FA865011C7147).

CREW Duke V2 System

Contracts to date hit $278M; 40,000th delivered. (April 22/11)

The SRCTec CREW Duke system is a vehicle-mounted electronic jammer designed to prevent the remote detonation of land mines. The CREW Duke V2 is the US Army’s CREW 2.0 system, comparable to the Joint CREW (JCREW) 2.1, according to Lisa Mondello, a SRCTec spokesperson. The Duke V3 Upgrade improves the Duke’s capability to the level of the JCREW 3.2 system, she added.

The CREW Duke system was developed to provide US forces protection against a range of land mine threats. The field-deployable CREW Duke system uses jamming technology, and the design has been engineered to keep weight, size, and power requirements at a minimum. CREW Duke mounts into HMMWVs and other military vehicles…

• The liberal-centrist hybrid warfare specialists at the Center for a New American Security think-tank release “Crime Wars: Gangs, Cartels and U.S. National Security”, and “Security Through Partnership: Fighting Transnational Cartels in the Western Hemisphere.” They are entirely correct to recognize crime cartels as near-state-level security threats, and their reports are worth attention.

• European Defence Agency is calling on members to reduce or eliminate reliance on outside suppliers for key technologies. Translation: buy American less often. The EDA’s effort is independent of issues with US export controls, but America’s combination of actions and inaction have made the EU’s reception warmer, and their task much easier.

• Keith Hennessey on why the USA’s upcoming debt-limit increase fight will be different than budget battles.

• Pentagon figures out that the services and industry has gamed its requirements process. Proposes new process. Wonder who can adapt faster?

• The Jihadis’ “Worlds of Warcraft”, and the intrinsic logic of “gamified” interaction systems.

• Georgia annuls agreement with Russia allowing Russian troops to transport military equipment across the country to a base in Armenia. Something to do with Russia trying to annul Georgia…

• Thales picks up a $50 million sub-contract for rifled 120mm mortar ammunition, as part of the US Marines’ EFSS program. The system was recently deployed in Afghanistan.

• United Technologies’ LifePort gets 5-year contract worth up to $45.5 million to provide Stanchion Litter Systems (stretchers) for US military medical evacuation.

• ASFT founder Anjan Dutta-Gupta agrees to plead guilty in U.S. District Court in Providence, RI to bribery of a public official in connection with an alleged kickback scheme of more than $9 million in Navy defense technology contracts.

• General Dynamics gets $13 million in contracts to supply 22 M61A2 20mm Gatling gun systems for the US Navy’s F/A-18E/F fighters and GAU-19/A Gatling gun spare items for the US Army.

• Pentagon procures Kevlar underwear and titanium athletic supporters to provide protection for US troops in Afghanistan from IEDs. Now that’s what we call protection!

• Huntington Ingalls Industries begins trading on New York Stock Exchange after Northrop Grumman completes the $6.7 billion spinoff of shipbuilding subsidiary.

• UK military’s antiquated information systems for logistics supply chain management have resulted in delays of supplies to front-line troops, says UK National Audit Office.

• China’s National Defense in 2010 white paper stresses “defensive” nature of military buildup, criticizes US for selling weapons to Taiwan. Criticism of Chinese weapon sales to rogue regimes like Zimbabwe, Myanmar, Sudan, et. al. is mysteriously absent.

• House Armed Services Committee chairman warns that NATO might have to enforce a no-fly zone over Libya for a decade. Would it?

• The global military communications market reached $15.9 billion in 2010, according to Visiongain report.

• NATO plans to deploy mobile counter-IED labs by the end of year.

• AAR snags $27 million order to supply specialized shelters to the US Army’s Standard Automotive Tool Set program.

• Pratt & Whitney secures $6.8 million USAF contract extension to maintain the F100-PW-220E engines powering the Italian Air Force’s F-16 fighter jets. Intended as temporary gap-fillers, those F-16s are currently seeing action over Libya.

• Electromagnetic pulse gun developed by Swiss research institute EPFL could be used to explode IEDs remotely.

• Looks like Brazil won’t be buying any new fighters in 2011.

• Belgium’s defense spending is expected to grow at a modest 1.76% per year, reaching $3.7 billion by 2015. Also, the Wallonia regional government comes under fire for approving FN Herstal’s sale of EUR 6.9 million worth of rifles, machine guns and ammunition to Libya.

• US Drug Enforcement Agency sting nails a Taliban-linked drug and weapon smuggling ring, whose price list reportedly included Stinger anti-aircraft missiles and Javelin anti-armor missiles.

• Defense Intelligence Agency awards 2 task orders worth $350 million to BAE Systems for IT support under the agency’s $6.6 billion SITE contract vehicle.

• Telos said it received $265 million worth of IT task orders for FY 2010 under the $9 billion NETCENTS contract.

• Alcatel-Lucent’s LGS subsidiary receives a $22.2 million Army delivery order to upgrade the communications infrastructure at Redstone Arsenal in Alabama.

• CACI snags $44 million in task orders to support the DoD’s Joint Improvised Explosive Device Defeat Organization (JIEDDO) under its $494 million JIEDDO Comprehensive Support Services (CSS) contract.

• Aura gets order to provide power systems for the USCG’s Response Boat-Medium (RB-M) vessel, part of a contract awarded to Manitowoc Marine Group to provide 250 RB-M boats for $600 million.

• Thailand receives its 1st set of 6 JAS-39C/D Gripen fighters.

• Afghanistan’s 10th upgraded C-27A light transport plane lands in Kabul.

• Embraer unveils the 1st modified EMB-145 AEW&C airframe for use by the Indian DRDO in its indigenous Tier 2 AEW&C program.

• Israeli/American Arrow system test successfully intercepts ballistic missile.

• The Malaysia armed forces is reportedly planning to spend up to MYR 2.2 billion (about $720 million) for 3 multirole support ships, 2 of which would be built locally, according to BMI.

• Australia’s Department of Defence cancels A$ 40 million contract with Thales Australia to build 6 LCM2000 landing craft designed for use with Kanimbla Class LPAs, but which don’t seem to fit its ships.

• India is looking for up to 10 LCMs…

• Obama administration mulls switch of 95 megahertz in the 1755 to 1850 radio frequency band from military to commercial use; DoD currently uses the band for satellite, radio, surveillance, and aeronautical operations [PDF].

• US Navy thinks it has a solution to the peeling anechoic tiles on its Virginia Class submarines.

• Top Gunned: China’s J-10 fighter footage apparently made in America.

• Russian Navy to receive a new Yasen (Graney)-class nuclear-powered multipurpose attack submarine, which has been 18 years in construction, by year’s end.

• India’s Nilgiri Class frigate INS Vindhyagiri collides with the merchant ship MV Nordlake near the entrance of Mumbai harbor, catches fire, then sinks after it’s towed back to the dock. The crew was evacuated, and the Indian Navy is considering lawsuits and charges. The Nilgiri class is mostly used for training now, and is slated for decommissioning soon.

• Tier 2 Indian EMB-145 AWACS aircraft set to roll out of Embraer Feb 21/11, fly to India in August 2011 for installation of Indian designed radar & equipment, and hopefully pass testing by 2014. By which time Pakistan will have been flying its similar Saab Erieye AWACS planes for a few years.

• Canada about to begin shipborne tests of the MH-92 / CH-148 Cyclone maritime helicopter.

• Goodrich gets 5-year contract worth up to $47 million to supply AN/AVR-2A(V) laser warning system components for US Army helicopters.

• Boeing and iRobot deliver first 30 model 310 small unmanned ground vehicles (SUGVs) for the USAF’s Explosive Ordnance Disposal team under a 2-year, $3.84 million contract.

• “I Was a Rare Earths Day Trader.” Despite all of the alarm about this issue, it did not go well.

• After a bit of a panic, US immigration has extended a deadline for American companies to certify, under penalty of perjury, that they’re not improperly sharing “sensitive” information with foreign workers. The new deadline is Feb 20/11.

• Meanwhile, the Pentagon has issued new guidance re: organizational conflicts of interest and competition, such as performing a requirements study and then supplying the weapons system that the study addressed. Washington Post.

• Speaking of the Post, its piece on China’s military industry, while interesting and sometimes informative, would be more credible without basic factual mistakes (there is no IL-478, SU-35 not a carrier-based fighter...). See also Japan’s Asahi Shimbun for its interview with USN Pacific Command’s Adm. Robert Willard.

• The Washington Post did a better job reporting on the new “Gorgon Stare” pod, which is being deployed to Afghanistan. It has been tested with the MQ-9 Reaper UAV, but can also be carried by other aircraft.

• Allied forces target supply networks of IEDs in Afghanistan.

• US Army fields SPARKS II mine roller kit that attaches to the front of vehicles and detonates roadside bombs. Wonder if they’re related to these...

• Research and Markets: Ukraine’s defense expenditure is predicted to grow at a healthy 8.3% per year for the next five years, reaching $2.6 billion by 2015.

• The French DGA procurement agency signs EUR 160 million deal to buy 200 heavy trucks from Italy’s Iveco for the French Army.

• RAF getting set to introduce BAE’s HMSS helmet-mounted sight for its Eurofighters. Pilots of competing aircraft already use HMS systems like the Israeli/American JHMCS, but BAE’s system does have some up-to-date features.

• BAE Systems gets $34 million contract modification for updates to the Bradley fighting vehicle.

• Alion to develop GUARD DOG information processing technology for US troops on patrol.

• Colton’s Maritime Memos says that you might want to own Northrop Grumman Shipbuilding’s Newport News as a shareholder, but you really don’t want to own the Gulf Coast operation.