• USA DOE drawing up a strategic plan to deal with China’s dominance of key “rare-earth” mineral supplies.

• People as policy: Northrop Grumman appoints new head for X-47B N-UCAS stealth UAV program – but that’s just one piece of a bigger picture.

• Littoral Combat Ship Freedom (LCS 1) performs drug busts, but sharp debate escalates over the class’ lack of armament and suitability for its missions.

• Rocky Mountain Instrument (RMI) in Lafayette, CO fined $1 million for exporting defense-related optics to China, Russia and other nations without a license. US Justice Department release | RMI release | Denver Business Journal | Associated Press

• Low tech IEDs in Afghanistan vs. high-tech US counter IED devices: number of attacks double.

• Raytheon sets up new missile defense product line, gets $11.9 million order to support Patriot missile field surveillance program.

• UK MoD, Defence Industries Council offer tech exhibition at Yeomanry House.

• Can you hear me now? B-2 bomber gets EHF SATCOM hardware; system has been 3 years in development.

• Canadian Association of Defence and Security Industries issues its Report on Military Procurement; recommendations include 1 minister to oversee it, rather than the current 3.

• F/A-18 E/F Super Hornet fighter rumored to have beaten the F-35A and JAS-39DK Gripen NG in Denmark.

• Indian interceptor missile test misses a Prithvi II target missile. RIA Novosti | Indian Express | Jakarta Post

• How The Hurt Locker’s bomb suit works.

• US Army fast-tracking GPS-guided 120mm mortar round to Afghanistan.

• Venezuela receives first 6 of 18 Chinese K-8 Karakorum trainer/ light attack jets.

• EADS aims to sell 210 A400M military transport planes to US Department of Defense. Good luck with that.

• Qatar’s C-17s flying aid missions to Haiti, and Chile.

• Lockheed Martin delivers 1st Hawk-T Mk.2 simulator to the winning Ascent consortium, for future use with the UK’s new Hawk Mk.128 LIFT jet trainers.

• DARPA looks to tap quantum mechanics for military application.

• Frost & Sullivan: Aging land military equipment in Asia Pacific countries fuels growth in upgrades and replacements.

B-2 drops JDAM
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$46.3 million to Kaman for 12,994 JPF fuzes for JDAMs. (March 15/10)

DID’s FOCUS articles offer in-depth, updated looks at significant military programs of record. This DID FOCUS Article looks at the transformational history of the JDAM GPS-guided bomb program, the ongoing efforts to bring its capabilities up to and beyond the level of weapons like Israel’s Spice and Raytheon’s Enhanced Paveway, and the contracts issued under the JDAM program and its derivatives.

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.

• JDAM: A History of Transformation
• JDAM: Program & Variants [updated]
• JDAM: Contracts and Key Events, 1996 – Present [updated]
• Additional Readings & Sources
  
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FRES-U finalists:
There can be… none?
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FRES-SV weapon agreement; Shake, rattle & roll testing; BAE shifts course in bid to win FRES-SV contract. (March 12/10)

Many of Britain’s army vehicles are old and worn, and the necessities of hard service on the battlefield are only accelerating that wear. The multi-billion pound “Future Rapid Effects System” (FRES) aims to recapitalize the core of Britain’s armored vehicle fleet over the next decade or more, filling many of the same medium armor roles as the Stryker Family of armored wheeled vehicles and/or the Future Combat Systems’ Manned Ground Vehicle family. Current estimates indicate a potential requirement for over 3,700 FRES vehicles, including utility and reconnaissance variants. Even so, one should be cautioned that actual numbers bought usually fall short of intended figures for early-stage defense programs.

The FRES program was spawned by the UK’s withdrawal from the German-Dutch-UK Boxer MRAV modular wheeled APC program, in order to develop a more deployable vehicle that fit Britain’s exact requirements. Those initial requirements were challenging, however, and experience in Iraq and Afghanistan led to decisions that changed a number of requirements. In the end, GD MOWAG’s Piranha V won the utility vehicle competition. FRES-U is not the end of the competition, however, or the contracts. In fact, FRES-U had the winning bidder’s preferred status revoked; that entire phase will now take a back seat to the FRS-SV scout version…

• FRES: The Program
• FRES: Contracts & Key Events [updated]
• Additional Readings [updated]
• Appendix 1 – The British Army’s Armored Vehicle Fleet, late 2006
• Appendix 2 – A New Procurement Approach: System House Challenges
• Appendix 3 – FRES: Key Challenges for the Contractors
• Appendix 4 – FRES Experiments: Electronic Architecture Contracts
• Appendix 5 – FRES Experiments: Vehicle-Related Contracts
  
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F-35A: incoming…
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Denmark picks Super Hornet?; New program head nominated; Landing gear contract; new flight decks wanted. (March 18/10)

The $300+ billion F-35 Joint Strike fighter may well be the largest single global defense program in history. This major multinational program is intended to produce an “affordably stealthy” multi-role fighter that will have 3 variants: the F-35A conventional version for the US Air Force et. al.; the F-35B Short Take-Off, Vertical Landing for the US Marines, British Royal Navy, et. al.; and the F-35C conventional carrier-launched version for the US Navy. The aircraft is named after Lockheed’s famous WW2 P-38 Lightning, and the Mach 2, stacked-engine English Electric (now BAE) Lightning jet. Lightning II system development partners included The USA & Britain (Tier 1), Italy and the Netherlands (Tier 2), and Australia, Canada, Denmark, Norway and Turkey (Tier 3), with Singapore and Israel as “Security Cooperation Partners.” Now the challenge is agreeing on production phase membership and arrangements, to be followed by initial purchase commitments in 2009-2010.

This updated article has expanded to feature more detail regarding the F-35 program, including contracts, sub-contracts, and notable events and reports.

• The F-35 Family of Aircraft
• F-35 Program: Production Timelines & Structure
• F-35 Program: Controversies and Competitions
• F-35 Program: Events & Developments, CY 2009-2010 [updated]
• F-35 Program: System Development & Production Contracts, FY 2009-2010
• F-35 Program: Ancillary and Sub-contracts, FY 2009 – 2010 [updated]
• Additional Readings & Sources [updated]
• Video Viewing [NEW]
  
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Adm. Gorshkov: Before.
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New Gorshkov, MiG-29K contracts; first MiG-29Ks inducted. (March 11/10)

This free-to-view DID Spotlight article offers an in-depth look at India’s troubled attempt to convert and field a full-size aircraft carrier, before time and wear force it to retire its existing naval aviation and ships.

Right now, there are 2 major concerns in India. One is slipping timelines. The other concern involves Vikramaditya’s 3-fold cost increase, including worries that Russia will raise it rates yet again once India is deeper into the commitment trap. The carrier purchase has now become the subject of high level diplomacy, involving a shipyard that can’t even execute on commercial contracts. An agreement in principle reportedly exists, but negotiations that began in 2007 have yet to lead to a revised contract. Recent Russian demands continued to raise the price, even as deliveries of India’s new MiG-29K naval fighters got underway. March 12/10 should see the signing of a new contract, which India hopes the Russians will honor.

• Waiting for Gorshkov – A History
• Gorshkov-Vikramaditya: Aerial Complement
• INS Vikramaditya: Updates & Contracts [updated]
• Appendix A: Additional Readings – Equipment Profiles
• Appendix B: Additional Readings – Related Developments
  
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Sachsen, sending SM-2
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Greek deal adds submarine construction capabilities. (March 1/10)

ThyseenKrupp Marine Systems (TKMS) recently announced a “close strategic partnership” and Memorandum of Understanding with the Abu Dhabi MAR group in the United Arab Emirates, but the move is much closer to a sale of key assets. The MoU stipulates a 50/50 joint venture to build naval surface ships, with TKMS retaining a lead role and know-how in all projects with the German Navy and NATO partners. Similarly, Abu Dhabi MAR Group will be responsible for the Middle East and North Africa. At the same time, however, Abu Dhabi MAR is acquiring 80% of TKMS’ key surface ship firms: Blohm + Voss Shipyards, Blohm + Voss Repair, and Blohm + Voss Industries.

The proposed sale follows other recent purchases in Germany by Abu Dhabi MAR, and other recent shipyard sales by TKMS. The net effect is a restructuring of Germany’s naval shipbuilding industry…

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Chartered Mi-8, ISAF
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British commander foresaw own death; Major deal for US State Department; credit-worthy Czechs; drop gone wrong; contracts to Evergreen, CHC, and Presidential Airways. (March 9/10)

Afghanistan is shaping up as a test of the NATO alliance. Thus far, the report is mixed. While a number of allied countries have committed troops, very few of the NATO countries’ available helicopters have been committed, despite promises made and commanders’ requests from the field. At the moment, Britain, the Netherlands, and the USA still contribute most of the combat helicopter support in theater, alongside some CH-47s from non-NATO partner Australia. They are supplemented by helicopters from some east bloc countries like Poland and the Czech Republic (Mi-8/17s), and the very recent addition of a few CH-47D Chinooks and Bell 412ERs from Canada. The sizable helicopter fleets belonging to NATO members like France, Germany, Italy, and Spain have seen some use in Afghanistan, but the bulk of their use has been in areas away from the serious fighting in the south.

That is creating political tensions within the alliance, especially when set against the backdrop of European shortfalls in meeting NATO ISAF commitments. At one point, the USA was forced to extend the deployment of 20 CH-47 helicopters by 6 months, in order to try and make up the shortfall. Over the longer, term, however, a 2-track solution has emerged. Track one involves keeping up the pressure, and some members of NATO have responded. Track 2 has involved stanching the wound by chartering private helicopter support that can take care of more routine missions in theater, freeing the military helicopters for other tasks.

• Contracts and Key Events [updated]
• Additional Readings
  
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MEADS: air view
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MEADS gets NSA approval to use Italian crypto/IFF, and German T/R modules pass testing, but US Army reportedly doesn’t want it any more. (March 10/10)

The Medium Extended Air Defense System (MEADS program aims to replace Patriot missiles in the United States, the older Hawk system in Germany, and Italy’s even older Nike Hercules missiles. MEADS will be designed to kill enemy aircraft, cruise missiles and UAVs within its reach, while providing next-generation point defense capabilities against ballistic missiles. MBDA’s SAMP/T project would be its main competitor, but MEADS aims to offer improved mobility and wider compatibility with other air defense systems, in order to create a linchpin for its customers’ next-generation air defense arrays.

The German government finally gave their clearance in April 2005, and in June 2005 MEADS International (MI) formally signed a contract worth approximately $3.4 billion to design and develop the tri-national MEADS system. This DID FOCUS Article covers that program…

• MEADS: The System
• MEADS: Mobility and Employment
• MEADS: The Program [updated]
• Contracts & Key Events, 2004 – Present [updated]
• Additional Readings
  
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Upgraded F-5BR
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Paper reports bid pricing; government denies, says no decision yet. (March 9/10)

Could the words “Brazilian fighter” begin evoking images unrelated to the Gracies? A proposed 50% boost to Brazil’s defense budget could be on its way to accomplishing that, and more. While the Navy and Army are also in line for funds to replace broken-down equipment, the fighters will be a critical centerpiece of the Forca Aerea Brasileira’s efforts. The 36+ aircraft buys under consideration are mostly the same set of 4+ generation fighters that were considered last time: Boeing’s F/A-18 E/F Super Hornet, Dassault’s Rafale, EADS’ Eurofighter, Lockheed Martin’s F-16 Block 60, Saab’s JAS-39 Gripen NG, and Sukhoi’s SU-35. The Gripen, Rafale, and Super Hornet were picked as finalists, and along the way, the Brazilian competition became much more important to at least one of that trio.

This free-to-view DID Spotlight article covers Brazil’s reborn F-X competition, adds its assessment of their offers’ relative strengths and weaknesses, and covers ongoing events. Before the competition was done, the Brazilian government anointed Dassault’s Rafale as its preferred choice. Then an Air Force evaluation appears to have ranked it dead last. Which has now led to an amended report…

• A Stirring Giant?
• F-X2: The Competition
• Analysis: F-X2, The Competitors
• Updates and Key Events [updated]
• Additional Readings
  
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