Tejas LCA
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India’s fighter strength has been declining in recent years, as the MiG-21s that form the largest component of its fleet are lost in crashes, or retired due to age and wear. Some MiG-21s are being modernized to MiG-21bis ‘Bison’ configuration, while other current fighter types are undergoing modernization programs in order to maintain the fighter force until replacements can arrive. On which note, an ongoing tender has Russian, French, American, Swedish and European manufacturers dueling for a multi-billion dollar, 126+ plane light-medium fighter sale.

This still leaves India without a low-end solution to the twin problems besetting its overall fleet: numbers, and age. The MiG-21bis program adds years of life to those airframes, but that extended lifespan is still quite finite; by 2020, it is very unlikely that any MiG-21s will remain in service. As for the MMRCA program, it may replace some of India’s mid-range fighters – but that still leaves replacement of the MiG-21 fleet unfulfilled. In this environment, the status of the Tejas Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) project matters a great deal to the Indian Air Force’s future prospects, as their level of confidence in its longer-term success will affect their immediate buys. The choices made in the LCA’s design will also affect the lightweight fighter’s export potential, which in turn feeds back into the overall program’s costs and viability for India over its lifetime.

The latest additions to this article include a whirlwind of developments around the indigenous Kaveri engine. As some predicted, the project’s performance failures have finally killed Kaveri as a fighter engine. A foreign partnership to produce a replacement has reportedly been selected, and other vendors are reportedly canvassed to provide interim engines. Meanwhile, Kaveri engines may find an unexpected use within India’s military…

• LCA Tejas: India’s Lightweight Fighter, or Just a Lightweight?
• The Kaveri Engine: Keystone, or Killer? [updated]
• Updates and Events [updated]
• Appendix A: DID Analysis & Op/Ed (2006)
• Appendix B: Additional Readings & Sources
  
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F-35A AA-1
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The F-35 Lightning II is a major multinational program which is intended to produce an “affordably stealthy” multi-role strike fighter that will have three 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. System development partners included The USA & Britain (Tier 1), Italy and the Netherlands (Tier 2), and Australia, Canada, Denmark, Norway and Turkey (Tier 3). Now the challenge is agreeing on production phase membership and arrangements, to be followed by initial purchase commitments around 2008-2009.

This updated article has expanded to feature more detail regarding the $300 billion F-35 program, including other contracts as well as notable events. As a result of reader feedback, we’ll make the new material more visible by putting it in green type. Recent news includes over $1 billion released for the program, first flight of the F-35B, initial deliveries from foreign subcontractors, and a milestone for the GE/RR F136 engine…

• The F-35 Family of Aircraft (i.e. “Continue reading…”)
• F-35 Program: Production Timelines & Structure
• F-35 Program: Events & Developments FY 2007-08 [updated]
• F-35 Program: System Development & Production Contracts FY 2006-08 [updated]
• F-35 Program: Ancillary and Sub-contracts [updated]
• Additional Readings & Sources
  
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F/A-18F Super Hornet
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The US Navy flies the F/A-18 E/F Super Hornet, and has just taken delivery of its first operational EA-18G Growler electronic warfare & strike aircraft. These buys are actually managed out of a common multi-year procurement (MYP) contract, which also manages many of the EA-18G’s support costs since it’s derived from the Super Hornet and many of the required maintenance items are common to both planes. The contract covers 42 aircraft per year, split between Super Hornets and EA-18Gs, with a variation quantity clause permitting up to 6 additional aircraft per year under the same terms. FY 2008 marks year 4 of the 5-year MYP-II contract.

DID already has an EA-18G FOCUS Article; we will be using this entry to cover the Super Hornet MYP program’s budgets, and this article has been updated to include all announced contracts since MYP-II began. The latest entry is a $600+ million contract for 16 F/A-18F and EA-18G airframes…

• Hornet MYP: Aircraft Types & Budgets
• Contracts & Key Events [updated]
• Additional Readings
  
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The V-22 program has been beset by controversy throughout its 20-year development period, from crashes that have killed more than 20 Marines, to engine stalls, to issues with their AE1107C Liberty engines in Iraq that may lead to the end of Power By the Hour maintenance arrangements, or even replacement of the Liberty engines altogether. DID’s “V-22 Osprey: A Flying Shame?” offers a focused look at a number of specific allegations associated with the program, with material from Pentagon test reports, critical reviews, and the US military’s responses.

Despite these issues, the program continues to move forward. In March 2008, the Bell Boeing Joint Project Office in Amarillo, TX received a $10.4 billion modification that converted the previous advance acquisition contract (N00019-07-C-0001) to a fixed-price-incentive-fee, multi-year contract. The new contract will be used to buy 141 MV-22 (for USMC) and 26 CV-22 (Air Force Special Operations) Osprey aircraft, including associated manufacturing tooling in support of production rates.

This DID article will cover V-22 multi-year purchase contracts, developments that arise after this contract conversion, and associated contracts for key V-22 systems. The latest contract involves the next phase of the CV-22’s development, as testing and preparation for OpEval continues…

• Contracts & Key Events (June 2008 – Present) [updated]
• Additional Readings
  
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F/A-18F over CV-63
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DID has covered the recent controversies over Australia’s involvement in the F-35 Lightning II program, amid criticisms that the F-35A will be unable to compete with proliferating SU-30 family aircraft in the region, lacks the required range or response time, and will either be extremely expensive at $100+ million per aircraft in early (2013-2016) production, or will not be available until 2018 or later. The accelerated retirement of Australia’s 22 long-range F-111s in 2010 has sharpened the timing debate in particular, with a recently retired Air Vice-Marshal and the opposition (now governing) Labor Party both weighing in with criticisms and alternative force proposals.

In December 2006, The Australian reported that Defence Minister Brendan Nelson was discussing an A$ 3 billion (about $2.36 billion) purchase of 24 F/A-18F Block II Super Hornet aircraft around 2009-2010. A move that came as “a surprise to senior defence officials on Russell Hill”; but is now an official purchase as requests and contracts work their way through.

Australia’s new Labor government’s decided to keep the Super Hornet purchase, and has now issued a request for follow-on support worth over $1 billion…

• RAAF Super Hornets: Variants and Variances
• Contracts & Key Events
• Additional Readings
  
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Saudi F-15 refueling
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On Nov 14/06, a US Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) notice hinted that Saudi Arabia may be about to become the first F-15 operator to switch its Pratt & Whitney F100 jet engines for General Electric’s F110. The total contract could be worth up to $1.5 billion. There’s often a long delay between the DSCA announcement and a contract, however, let alone delivery.

The GE F110 was developed as an engine alternative to Pratt & Whitney’s original F100, and has since become very popular in F-16s due to its higher thrust. Most of the USAF’s current F-16 fleet currently flies with GE F110 engines, for instance. Despite extensive US F-15E trials in 1999, however, almost all F-15s worldwide use the P&W F100 engine. South Korea’s new F-15Ks and Singapore’s new F-15SG Strike Eagles will fly with the F110 as pre-installed equipment, becoming the first F-15 fleets to do so.

Saudi Arabia’s F-15S variant did become the first fleet to perform a re-engining switch… but don’t forget the training.

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F-22: Climbing Mt. Fuji?
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Back in February 2006, InsideDefense.com’s Inside The Air Force (ITAF) reported that momentum was building within the Air Force to sell the ultra-advanced F-22A Raptor abroad to trusted U.S. allies, as a way of plussing up numbers and production. The USAF originally initially intended to purchase 700-800 F-22 fighters, but that was cut to 442, then 381, and recently cut again to just over 180. These cuts have had obvious effects on the cost per aircraft, and on the ratio of aircraft to total R&D + production money spent. With F-22 production set to terminate around 2010, and increasing concern over the capability gap between other US fighters and global competitors like the SU-30 family, MiG-35, et. al., some USAF planners are becoming concerned. Extending the F-22 production line through exports is also a way of extending the USA’s decision options.

One of the most likely export prospects is Japan. The Japan Air Self-Defense Force (JASDF) currently has 3 fighter jet models in its fleet: F-15J/F-15DJ Eagles, its F-4EJ “Kai” and RF-4EJ reconnaissance Phantom IIs, the Mitsubishi F-2s (a larger, longer-range variant on the F-16C). The Mitsubishi F-1 entered service in 1978 and is still listed on the JASDF web site, but it has now been replaced by F-2s¹. The JASDF introduced the F-4EJ in 1973, and the RF-4EJ version is slated for replacement by F-15Js with special pods. Japan has indicated it will begin retiring the F-4 platform entirely early next decade., which gives the Japanese a number of choices to make – and the F-22 is currently at the top of their list.

While the Raptor was discussed at a 2007 summit meeting, there are reports that “Pro-China officials in the White House and Pentagon are quietly undermining Japan’s request.” Meanwhile, BAE Systems is looking to pounce if the US continues to be intransigent…

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C-27J Spartan
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Rolls-Royce has announced a 9-year, $900 million agreement with Alenia Aeronautica that makes them the exclusive provider of engine and propeller assemblies for these light transport aircraft. The C-27J uses Rolls Royce’s AE 2100D2 turboprop engine, and Dowty’s 6-bladed propellers. These 6,000 shp engines benefit from over 80% parts commonality with the Rolls Royce AE family of engines which includes the AE 2100D3 that equips the 4-engine C-130J Hercules, and the AE 1107C-Liberty that currently quips the USA’s V-22 Osprey tilt-rotors.

A 2006 contract between Alenia Aeronautica and Rolls Royce already covered 42 systems, which would be enough to equip 21 of the twin-engine C-27Js. The new contract raises that number, guaranteeing a new total of 155 systems. In addition, 78 C-27J aircraft and up to 180 engines were placed under contract by the US Armed Forces’ Joint Cargo Aircraft program, with potential volumes of up to 145 aircraft and a correspondingly higher number of engines. Rolls Royce release.

NH90: TTH & NFH
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The NH90 helicopter emerged from a NATO requirement that created NATO’s own helicopter development and procurement agency in 1992 and, at almost the same time, the consortium to build the hardware – NHIndustrie (62.5% EADS Eurocopter, 32.5% AugustaWestland, and 5% Stork Fokker). It was originally developed to fit between light naval helicopters like AW’s Lynx and Eurocopter’s Panther, and medium-heavy naval helicopters like the European EH101. A quick look at the NATO Frigate Helicopter design showed definite possibilities as a troop transport helicopter, however, and soon the NH90 project had branched into 2 versions, with more to follow. The nearest equivalent would be Sikorsky’s popular H-60 Seahawk/ Black Hawk family, but the NH90 includes a set of innovative features that give it some distinguishing selling points.

While battlefield damage to composite airframes can be more difficult to repair in the field, the combination of corrosion-proofing, lower maintenance, greater troop or load capacity, and the flexibility offered by that rear ramp have made the NH90 a popular global competitor. Orders currently stand at 507 machines, on behalf of 14 nations. This is DID’s FOCUS Article, offering an in-depth look at the multi-national NH90 program, its customers, and its chronology from 1995 to the present day.

During that time, the NH90 has become a sales success – but as many business people discover the hard way, success can be almost as dangerous as failure. NH Industries has had great difficulty ramping up production fast enough to meet promised deliveries, which has left several buyers upset at their lack of operational helicopters. The most recent announcement involves engine choices by 3 of the helicopter’s new orders…

• The NH90 Platform(s)
• The NH90 Production Program
• Contracts & Key Events, 1995-present [updated]
• Additional Readings & Sources
  
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Government contracting is a difficult field for businesses to enter. This is especially true if they lack the prior experience that can help them find and filter potential contracts, understand the cycle times and effort involved, secure the cash flow required as table stakes, and bid successfully. Within that arena of public sector contracting, defense is its own field, with its own characteristics and sets of relationships.

These obstacles have traditionally made it difficult for small and medium sized businesses that focus on the civilian sector to become involved in defense contracts. This is so despite federal targets for small business contracts, programs for service-disabled veterans, and other inducements. Those programs create opportunities, but don’t offer the services that help businesses bridge the gap.

The US Defense Logistics Agency’s Procurement Technical Assistance Center (PTAC) program relies on matching state funds, but states who invest in it can create a useful resource that helps bridge the gap in their states. One state that has invested in PTAC is Utah, under Gov. John Huntsman…

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