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DID » Ordnance & Guns » Missiles - Precision Attack  

Germany Sells Israel More Dolphin Subs

Feb 06, 2012 12:34 EST

SHIP_SSK_Dolphin_In_Port.jpg
SSK Dolphin Class

Contract confirmed for 6th submarine, with AIP. (Feb 5/12)

In November 2005, reports surfaced that that Germany would sell Israel 2 AIP-equipped Dolphin submarines, to join its existing fleet of 3 conventional diesel-electric Dolphin Class boats. In 2006, the deal for 2 Dolphin AIP boats was finalized at a total of $1.27 billion, with the German government picking up 1/3 of the cost. The new boats are built at the Howaldtswerke-Deutche Werft AG (HDW) shipyard, in the Baltic Sea coastal city of Kiel, with deliveries originally scheduled to begin in 2010. Those have been delayed, and have not begun as of yet.

Reports that an additional sale may be in the offing have now been confirmed, but just absorbing these 3 new boats will be no small challenge for Israel’s “3rd service”...

Naval Swiss Army Knife: MK 41 Vertical Missile Launch Systems (VLS)

Jan 11, 2012 12:18 EST

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Vertical Missile Launches DDG 64-68-80 CG-69
MK 41s in action

Systems for new US destroyers. (Jan 10/12)

The naval MK 41 Vertical Launching System (VLS) hides missiles below decks in vertical slots, with key electronics and venting systems built in. A deck and hatch assembly at the top of the module protects the missile canisters from the elements, and from other hazards during storage. Once the firing sequence begins, the hatches open to permit missile launches of various types. It is also being adapted for land use, as part of the USA’s plan to forward-deploy ballistic missile defense in allied countries.

The Mk.41 is the most widely-used naval VLS in the world, in service with the US Navy and with many countries outside the United States. Lockheed Martin is the system’s prime contractor, and BAE Systems Land & Armaments also makes components and canisters for the MK 41 system. In September 2011, however, the US Navy assumed the role of final integrator…

Kongsberg’s New NSM/JSM Anti-Ship & Strike Missile

Dec 28, 2011 17:05 EST

NSM test
NSM test launch

Polish contract finalized. (Dec 28/11)

Kongsberg’s stealthy new Naval Strike Missile (Nytt SjomalsMissil), which continues its development and testing program, has already shown potential in the crowded market for long-range ship attack and shore defense weapons. NSM’s Joint Strike Missile counterpart may have even more potential, as a longer-range air-launched naval and land strike complement to Kongsberg’s popular Penguin short-range anti-ship missile.

The market for anti-ship missiles is a crowded one, and the distinction between anti-ship and precision land strike weapons is blurring fast. Aside from a bevy of Russian subsonic and supersonic offerings, naval buyers can choose Boeing’s GM-84 Harpoon, China’s YJ-82/C-802 Saccade, MBDA’s Exocet, Otomat, or Marte; IAI of Israel’s Gabriel/ANAM, Saab’s RBS15, and more. Despite an ongoing shift toward supersonic missiles, Kongsberg chose not to go that route. So, how do they expect to be competitive in a crowded market? The F-35 Lightning II may hold the key…

Raytheon Restarts Production of Laser Maverick Missiles

Dec 22, 2011 13:24 EST

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AGM-65E for F-18
AGM-65E onto F/A-18

Testing done, ready to go. (Jan 24/12)

Raytheon is restarting its production line to produce AGM-65E2/L laser-guided Maverick missiles, and will also upgrade existing stocks, in response to demand from the front lines. The AGM-65 rose to its greatest prominence during Desert Storm, when many of TV’s missile-eye views of air strikes came from Mavericks. In truth, it was produced in 3 versions: TV-guided, Imaging Infrared (IIR) guided, and laser-guided. Production continues for the TV and IIR variants, but the Marines’ AGM-65E laser-guided version had gone out of production.

The AGM-65 Maverick was the first general purpose fire-and-forget tactical air-to-ground missile in service with the U.S. Air Force. The JAGM program proposes to replace it, but until then, Maverick remains the default option for jet fighter precision-guided missile strikes. While IIR and TV guidance allow precision attacks, laser guidance generally offers the best accuracy of the 3 against ground targets. Likewise, there are circumstances in which a fully-powered missile is a better choice than an unpowered gliding bomb. The following story from Iraq illustrates…

USA Issues JSOW Block III Production Contracts

Dec 19, 2011 16:36 EST

JSOW-C, impact
AGM-154C, impact

FY 2012/ FRP-8 order for AGM-154C-1s. (Dec 19/11)

In March 2007, Raytheon received a contract to develop the AGM-154C-1 variant of the popular JSOW glide bomb family. This new version would add moving target capability via improved imaging infrared seekers, better seeker algorithms, and a 2-way Link-16 data link. That combination allows the missile to be used as a secondary weapon against enemy ships, with some capability against certain moving land targets. The 2-way link ensures that targeting commands can be received, and missile health, status and position transmitted back, right up to the moment of impact. Most of those options are currently found only at the high end of the cruise missile market, giving the AGM-154C-1 an interesting positioning as a cheaper short-range alternative.

That development effort was successful, and in late 2008, the US DoD gave the go-ahead for JSOW Block III, which will be integrated on US Navy F/A-18 E/F Super Hornets and on the F-35 Lightning II. Now, the JSOW Block III system is the default version under the US Navy’s full rate production contract…

Continue Reading… »

The USA’s New Littoral Combat Ships (LCS)

Dec 19, 2011 12:36 EST

Littoral Combat Ship (LCS)
General Dynamics Team
Trimaran LCS Design
(click to enlarge)

Class services from each builder; LCS 3 post-production support; Mine-hunting ancillaries. (Dec 19/11)

Exploit simplicity, numbers, the pace of technology development in electronics and robotics, and fast reconfiguration. That was the US Navy’s idea for the low-end backbone of its future surface combatant fleet. Inspired by successful experiments like Denmark’s Standard Flex ships, the US Navy’s $30+ billion “Littoral Combat Ship” program was intended to create a new generation of affordable surface combatants that could operate in dangerous shallow and near-shore environments, while remaining affordable and capable throughout their lifetimes.

It hasn’t worked that way. In practice, what the Navy wanted, the capabilities needed to perform primary naval missions, and what could be delivered for the sums available, have proven nearly irreconcilable. The LCS program has changed its fundamental acquisition plan several times since 2005, and canceled contracts with both competing teams, without escaping any of its fundamental issues. This public-access FOCUS article offer a wealth of research material, alongside looks at the LCS program’s designs, industry teams procurement plans, military controversies, and contracts.

Vietnam’s Russian Restocking

Dec 11, 2011 15:18 EST

SSK Kilo
Kilo Class cutaway

2 More Gepard class corvettes. (Dec 7/11)

In April 2009, reports surfaced that Vietnam had agreed in principle to a deal with Russia for 6 of its diesel-electric Kilo/ Project 636 Class fast attack submarines. There have been rumors that Vietnam owns 2 ex-Yugoslav mini-submarines for use in commando operations, but the Vietnamese People’s Navy doesn’t own any full size submarines that can take on enemy subs and ships. That’s about to change, thanks to a December 2009 contract.

Nor is that the only change in Vietnam’s military capabilities these days. China’s April 2009 display of naval might is only part of the mosaic influencing Vietnam’s decisions in these matters, as contracts for submarines – and far more – are being signed with its long-time Russian ally…

Rapid Fire 2011-12-06: Ramping Up USN Biofuel Tests

Dec 06, 2011 01:29 EST

  • Syria gets its shore batteries of 72 supersonic P-800/SS-N-26 Yakhont missiles, in the midst of a growing civil war with demonstrators and a Turkish-supported Free Syrian Army. Maybe introducing the missiles wasn’t the best idea right now? And maybe supporting the Kurdish PKK wasn’t Syria’s best idea ever?
  • Bangladesh inaugurates its new Chinese HQ-7/FM90 short range air defense missiles at Kurmitola Air Base. The MBDA Crotale knockoff is a first for Bangladesh. Not the first Chinese weapons, the 1st surface-to-air missiles.
  • The Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) signed a contract to purchase 450,000 gallons of biofuel made from used cooking oil and algae. The fuel will be used by the US Navy. next summer during the Rim of the Pacific Exercise (RIMPAC). The biofuel is “drop in”, which means engines can use it without modifications, and it will be mixed with aviation gas or marine diesel fuel.
  • Fuel is expensive not just to consume, but also to deliver. Up to $400 a gallon in Afghanistan says the WSJ, once you factor in airdrops and parachutes that don’t open.
  • Speaking of which, the Center for a New American Security (CNAS) think tank released a policy brief [PDF] advocating a change of mission in Afghanistan.
  • Cambridge Design Partnership and the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory’s (DSTL) Centre for Defence Enterprise (CDE) won this year’s Engineer Technology and Innovation Awards in the UK for an oxygen concentrator powered by a micro-diesel engine rather than a heavy battery. The idea is to produce a lighter device so that oxygen can more readily be administered to soldiers wounded in the field.
  • Lockheed Martin signs a mentor-protege agreement with Chicago’s Sciacky, in partnership with Morehouse College and the University of Texas at El Paso. Sciacky has a unique “Electron Beam Direct Manufacturing” (material printing) technology. Direct/Additive manufacturing can make parts to any configuration, with near-zero waste and little finishing; Lockheed thinks it may have a future for the F-35’s hard-to-make titanium parts. See the video after the jump:
    Continue Reading… »

Ships Ahoy! The Harpoon Missile Family

Dec 04, 2011 12:00 EST

Harpoon Missile
Harpoon in flight
DII

Multinational Harpoon/ SLAM-ER support contract; Korean test fail. (Dec 1/11)

The sub-sonic, wave-skimming *GM-84 Harpoon is the US Navy’s sole anti-shipping missile, with the minor exception of small AGM-119B Penguin missiles and anti-tank Hellfires carried on some H-60 helicopters. The Harpoon has been adapted into several variants, and exported to many navies around the world. At present, the Harpoon family includes air, sea/land, and submarine-launched versions of the GM-84. Variants such as the land attack SLAM variant and the modern AGM-84K Joint Standoff Land Attack Missiles-Expanded Response (SLAM-ER) will also be covered in this DID FOCUS Article, which describes the missiles themselves, and covers global contracts involving this family.

The Harpoon family’s best known competitor is the French/MBDA *M38/39/40 Exocet, but recent years have witnessed a growing competitive roster at both the subsonic (Israel’s Gabriel family, Russia’s SS-N-27 Klub family, Saab’s RBS15, Kongsberg’s stealthy NSM, China’s YJ-82/C-802 used by Hezbollah in Lebanon), and supersonic (Russia’s SS-N-22 Sunburn/Moskit, SS-N-26 Yakhont, and some SS-N-27 Klub variants, India’s SS-N-26 derived PJ-10 BrahMos) tiers.

Rapid Fire 2011-12-02: NAVAIR Procurement Management System

Dec 02, 2011 06:40 EST

  • JSF PEO Vice Admiral David J. Venlet said in an interview with AOL Defense that ramping up production quickly while completing tests was a “miscalculation” but he has to live with concurrency, though he questions the delivery pace.
  • South Korea unveils a tilt-rotor UAV. Reports say it’s the 1st of its kind, but sharp eyed readers will note that it bears a resemblance to Bell Helicopter’s larger HV911 Eagle Eye. That had been the Korea Aerospace Research Institute partnership until the US Coast Guard program ended in 2005, and Bell dropped out of the partnership. KARI has worked on the “Smart UAV” for 9 years now, and recently partnered with Sikorsky.
  • Dial-A-Boom: Lockheed Martin’s 227mm GMLRS+ rocket successfully tests its new variable effects warhead. The new GPS-guided rocket extends the firing range from 70km (GMLRS) to 120km (GMRLS+), and the new warhead allows the rockets to be used in a wider range of situations.
  • Meanwhile, Raytheon receives the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory’s 2011 Large Business Prime Contractor of the Year Award. Nice job.
  • Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) posted a video about their Procurement Management System.
  • The US Senate passed the FY12 defense authorization bill (S. 1867) after blinking in the face of White House veto threats and agreeing to an amendment on detainees accused of terrorism. Next step: conference with the lower chamber to agree on a common version of the bill. Don’t feel rushed, we’re only 2 months into the fiscal year. The House intends to adjourn on Dec. 16 so little will probably be done before early 2012 now.
  • Huntington under pressure to keep its Avondale, LA yard open reports Bloomberg.
  • The US House Committee on Transportation had a hearing about Coast Guard operations in the Arctic. Rep. Rick Larsen (D-WA), the Ranking Member of the House Subcommittee on Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation and also a member of the Armed Services Committee, objects to decommissioning the Coast Guard’s two heavy icebreakers. GAO also released its latest observations on the topic.
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