Britain’s Royal Navy currently uses Seawolf missiles as the primary air defense system for its Type 23 frigates. They’re updated versions of a missile that was used during the 1981 Falklands War, but modern threats demand more. Britain also needs to equip its Type 26/27 Global Combat Ship frigate replacements, and could use an option that raises the number of air defense missiles carried by its Type 45 air defense destroyers.

The answer to all of these problems is being developed as one component of Britain’s GBP 4 billion, 10-year “Team Complex Weapons” partnership with MBDA. It’s a quad-packable, intermediate-range air defense missile with its own active radar guidance, which re-uses a number of features and technologies from British fighter jets’ AIM-132 ASRAAM short-range air-to-air missile. Not only will it serve on British ships, but it’s set to field as an Army air defense missile, and may even fly on future British fighters…. (more…)

• The GAO finds DOD’s reporting of the costs involved in operating and supporting major programs to be lacking with a number of inconsistencies and under-reported amounts.

• DARPA is organizing a Proposers’ Day on Feb. 21 in Arlington, VA, to present its High-Assurance Cyber Military Systems (HACMS) whose goal is to secure embedded computer system software.

• A&P and Thales Australia are partnered to bid on long-term support of HMAS Choules, the RAN’s newest amphibious ship.

• 1st French Army NH90 TTH “Caiman” unveiled [in French].

• Fighting base realignment is guaranteed work for lobbyists. What’s less guaranteed are the chances that a bill introduced by Senate Republicans to partially undo sequestration gets traction with Democrats.

• CACI International’s revenue grew by 12% to $973M for its second FY12 quarter. Funded backlog at the end of 2011 was stable at $2.19B out of an $8B total. Meanwhile Harris Corporation had a flat second quarter at $1.45B in sales, with an increase in exports to compensate for lower US sales.

Contract for 10 C-17s; Initial engine contract; Initial maintenance contract; Program cost. (Feb 2/12)

In November 2009, reports surfaced that India was negotiating to buy 10 C-17A Globemaster III heavy transports for its air force. A Defense News article added that:

“The C-17’s advantages include its easier handling (compared with the IL-76) and ability to operate from short and rough airstrips, added the sources…. The Indian military needs to do three things: augment its ability to quickly lift larger numbers of troops as it views possible threats on its border with China; strengthen its presence on the Pakistani border; and fight terrorism and low-intensity warfare, said a senior Defence Ministry official. India needs to triple its lift capacity, said the official.”

New jets with 77.5 tonnes of lift capacity, instead of the IL-76’s 50 tonnes, will help India get there. The government was serious enough to file a formal DSCA request in April 2010, worth up to $5.8 billion. Now, that has taken the next steps, and become the largest-ever foreign sale of C-17s – with the potential to grow further… (more…)

In February 2012, the USAF has issued a 6-year, multiple-award contract worth up to $985 million, to support the USAF Medical Service. Winners will have the chance to bid on delivery orders under the mixed indefinite-delivery/ indefinite quantity, firm-fixed-price, cost-plus-fixed-fee contract. Services will include management and professional support services, engineering and technical services, and studies, analyses and evaluations over the 6-year period, to Feb 1/18.

Air Force Medical Services includes all 5 USAF medical corps (Biomedical sciences, Dental, Medical, Medical service, Nurse) and enlisted medical technicians, and is led by a Surgeon General. They’re likely to find themselves rather busy over the next few years. In addition to this services contract, a separate multiple-vendor program is getting ready to devote up to $900 million over the next 5 years, for the AFMS Healthcare Facilities Modernization Program. The USAF’s 773th ESS/PKJ manages the services contract, and eligible bidders for task orders include: (more…)

Just 5 in 2013? (Feb 1/12)

Northrop Grumman’s E-2C Hawkeye is a carrier-capable “mini-AWACS” aircraft, designed to give long-range warning of incoming aerial threats. Secondary roles include strike command and control, land and maritime surveillance, search and rescue, communications relay, and even civil air traffic control during emergencies. E-2C Hawkeyes began replacing previous Hawkeye versions in 1973; they fly from USN and French carriers, from land bases in the militaries of Egypt, Japan, Mexico, Singapore, and Taiwan; and in a drug interdiction role for the US Naval Reserve. Over 200 Hawkeyes have been produced.

The $17.5 billion E-2D Advanced Hawkeye program aims to build 75 new aircraft with significant radar, engine, and electronics upgrades in order to deal with a world of stealthier cruise missiles, saturation attacks, and a growing need for ground surveillance as well as aerial scans. It looks a lot like the last generation E-2C Hawkeye 2000 upgrade on the outside – but inside, and even outside to some extent, it’s a whole new aircraft.

• From E-2A Hawkeye to the E-2D
• E-2D Advanced Hawkeye: Program
  • American Budgets
  • Industrial Partners
• E-2D Advanced Hawkeye: Contracts & Key Events, Full History [updated]
• Additional Readings (more…) ]]> http://www.defenseindustrydaily.com/e-2d-hawkeye-the-navys-new-awacs-03443/feed/ http://www.defenseindustrydaily.com/ea18g-program-the-usas-electronic-growler-02427/ http://www.defenseindustrydaily.com/ea18g-program-the-usas-electronic-growler-02427/#comments Thu, 02 Feb 2012 15:07:21 +0000 Joe Katzman http://www.defenseindustrydaily.com/ea18g-program-the-usas-electronic-growler-02427/
  EA-6B Prowler
  (click to view full)
  

  Contract for Electronic Attack kits. (Feb 2/12)

  The USA’s electronic attack fighters are a unique, overworked, and nearly obsolete capability. With the retirement of the US Air Force’s long-range EF-111 Raven “Spark ‘Vark,” the aging 4-seat EA-6B Prowlers became the USA’s only remaining fighter for radar jamming, communications jamming and information operations like signals interception [1]. Despite their age and performance limits, they’ve been predictably busy on the front lines, used for everything from escorting strike aircraft against heavily defended targets, to disrupting enemy IED land mine attacks by jamming all radio signals in an area.

  

  EA-18G at Pax
  (click to view full)

  All airframes have lifespan limits, however, and the EA-6B is no exception. The USA’s new electronic warfare aircraft will be based on Boeing’s 2-seat F/A-18F Super Hornet multi-role fighter, and has 90% commonality with its counterpart. That will give it decent self-defense capabilities, as well as electronic attack potential. At present, however, the EA-18G is slated to be the only dedicated electronic warfare aircraft in the USA’s future force. Since the USA is currently the only western country with such aircraft, the US Navy’s EA-18G fleet would become the sole source of tactical jamming support for NATO and allied air forces as well.

  DID’s FOCUS articles offer in-depth, updated looks at significant military programs of record. This article describes the EA-18G aircraft and its key systems, outlining the program, and keeping track of ongoing developments, contracts, etc. that affect the program.

  • EA-18G: The Platform
  • EA-18G: Industrial Program
  • EA-18G: Numbers & Budgets
  • EA-18G: Contracts & Other Key Developments [updated]
  • Appendix A: The EA-18G and the Future Force Mix
  • Appendix B: Additional Readings and Sources (more…) ]]> http://www.defenseindustrydaily.com/ea18g-program-the-usas-electronic-growler-02427/feed/ http://www.defenseindustrydaily.com/Hawaiian-SuperFerry-Files-for-Bankruptcy-05472/ http://www.defenseindustrydaily.com/Hawaiian-SuperFerry-Files-for-Bankruptcy-05472/#comments Thu, 02 Feb 2012 14:04:54 +0000 Joe Katzman http://www.defenseindustrydaily.com/Hawaiian-SuperFerry-Files-for-Bankruptcy-05472/
    Hawaii Superferry
    (click to view full)

    Cost actually $70M; Handover to Navy; Financial details. (Jan 29/12)

    In his April 6/09 discussion of the FY 2010 budget, Secretary of Defense Robert M. Gates said that the US military wanted to charter another 2 “JHSV-like” fast catamaran ships from 2009-2011, until the JHSV ships begin arriving. That meant JHSV-winner Austal would find its products competing once more with Incat, which has had 4 of its wave-piercing catamarans chartered by various American services. Their Swift wave-piercing catamaran is currently chartered by the Navy as HSV-2, just as the Austal-built Westpac Express is chartered by US Military Sealift Command for the Marines.

    One obvious stopgap option is the Hawaiian Superferry catamarans, a larger pair of Austal-built ships that resemble the Westpac Express. They were even pressed into service when Haiti’s disaster struck, but the actual sale of the ships by US MARAD has been a much slower process… (more…)

    ]]> http://www.defenseindustrydaily.com/Hawaiian-SuperFerry-Files-for-Bankruptcy-05472/feed/ http://www.defenseindustrydaily.com/49M-for-Boeing-to-Advance-UAV-Aeral-Refueling-05168/ http://www.defenseindustrydaily.com/49M-for-Boeing-to-Advance-UAV-Aeral-Refueling-05168/#comments Thu, 02 Feb 2012 12:48:07 +0000 Joe Katzman http://www.defenseindustrydaily.com/49M-for-Boeing-to-Advance-UAV-Aeral-Refueling-05168/
    2007 AAR experiment
    (click to view full)

    Initial flight tests taking 1st steps. (Jan 26/12)

    Quick question: what’s the biggest limiting factor in today’s aircraft? Answer: the pilot. Fortunately for pilots, they’re also an aircraft’s greatest advantage, which will keep them in the mix, and in the cockpit, for some time to come. Those limitations are bringing unmanned aircraft into the combat picture, however, especially when it comes to the greatest limitation a pilot places on an aircraft: aerial endurance. Remaining awake, active, and effective in a manned fighter aircraft for 72 hours straight is simply not within the realm of possibility. On the other hand, a UAV with that endurance level, flown by pilots on the ground or at sea who can hand the aircraft off to a colleague while they depart for a coffee, bathroom break, or sleep, could easily remain aloft that long. All it needs is an appropriate level of mechanical reliability – and, of course, the ability to take on fuel from an aerial tanker aircraft.

    That simple concept has profound implications for the ways in which airpower might be used:

    • Implications
    • Program Goals: Phase II [updated]
    • Contracts and Key Events [updated]
    • Additional Readings (more…) ]]> http://www.defenseindustrydaily.com/49M-for-Boeing-to-Advance-UAV-Aeral-Refueling-05168/feed/ http://www.defenseindustrydaily.com/Rapid-Fire-2012-02-02-07290/ http://www.defenseindustrydaily.com/Rapid-Fire-2012-02-02-07290/#comments Thu, 02 Feb 2012 07:45:41 +0000 Joe Katzman http://www.defenseindustrydaily.com/Rapid-Fire-2012-02-02-07290/
    • US Secretary of the Air Force Michael Donley and Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Norton Schwartz released a short whitepaper [PDF] outlining its priorities and choices within forthcoming budget constraints. It states: “More than 280 aircraft have been identified [...] for elimination [...] over the next five years. This includes 123 fighters (102 A-10s and 21 older F-16s), 133 mobility aircraft (27 C-5As, 65 C-130s, 20 KC-135s, and 21 C-27s), and 30 select ISR systems (18 RQ-4 Block 30s, 11 RC-26s, and one E-8 damaged beyond repair)”
    • The US-China Economic and Security Review Commission had hearings last week on what China’s quest for global resources – water, fossil fuel, mineral, fish – means for the United States. Transcripts | Video.
    • Andrew Davies from the Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI) thinks it is unlikely that the Australian Defence Force (ADF) will make a big rebasing effort to the country’s north. ASPI also released an economic and strategic analysis [PDF] pondering whether Australia should build warships.
    • The Canadian Forces updated their casualty statistics covering their presence in Afghanistan from April 2002 to December 31, 2011.
    • The US House Committee on Foreign Affairs will have its second hearing on “Export Controls, Arms Sales, and Reform: Balancing U.S. Interests” next Tuesday, Feb. 7, 10am. Marion Blakey, President & CEO of the Aerospace Industries Association (AIA) and Mikel Williams, CEO if DDi, will testify. The ADS trade association in the UK is concerned about the potential impact of ITAR changes on its members.
    • US $1.3B military aid to Egypt is in jeopardy.
    • India’s DRDO: We liked the Bollywood movie ‘3 Idiots’ so much, we bought its Netra UAV...
    • Skills you didn’t know you needed as an helicopter maintenance engineer: black widow live capture.
    ]]> http://www.defenseindustrydaily.com/Rapid-Fire-2012-02-02-07290/feed/ http://www.defenseindustrydaily.com/mirage-2000s-withdrawn-as-indias-mrca-fighter-competition-changes-01989/ http://www.defenseindustrydaily.com/mirage-2000s-withdrawn-as-indias-mrca-fighter-competition-changes-01989/#comments Wed, 01 Feb 2012 20:15:22 +0000 Joe Katzman http://www.defenseindustrydaily.com/mirage-2000s-withdrawn-as-indias-mrca-fighter-competition-changes-01989/
    IAF: Jaguar, Mirage 2000
    SU-30K, MiG-27, MiG-21BiS
    (click to view full)

    Rafale is the “L-1” preferred bidder. (Jan 31/12)

    “It’s the biggest fighter aircraft deal since the early 1990s,” said Boeing’s Mark Kronenberg, who runs the company’s Asia/Pacific business. India’s planned multi-billion dollar, 126+ plane jet fighter buy became a contest between Dassault, Saab, MiG, American competitors and EADS’ Eurofighter.

    What began as a lightweight fighter competition to replace India’s shrinking MiG-21 interceptor fleet appears to have bifurcated into 2 categories now, and 2 expense tiers. What’s going on? In a word, lots. The participants changed, India’s view of its own needs is changing, and the nature of the order may be changing as well. With the long-delayed release of the official $10 billion RFP, the competition began at last – and like all Indian decisions, it takes a very long time. DID offers an in-depth look at the Medium Multi-Role Combat Aircraft (MMRCA) competition’s changes, the RFP, and the competitors; and also offers an updated timeline regarding competitive moves since this article was first published in March 2006:

    • India’s MRCA: Changes
    • MMRCA: The RFP, Please…
    • The Competitors: Analysis [updated]
    • MMRCA: Updates and Developments [updated]
    • Appendix A – MMRCA: The Naval Angle
    • Appendix B – Dassault’s Move: Au Revoir, Mirage
    • Appendix C – Additional Readings (more…) ]]> http://www.defenseindustrydaily.com/mirage-2000s-withdrawn-as-indias-mrca-fighter-competition-changes-01989/feed/