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RN CVF Concept
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In 1998, Britain’s Strategic Defence review (SDR) announced plans to replace the current set of 3 Invincible Class 22,000t escort carriers with 2 larger, more capable Future Aircraft Carrier (CVF) ships that could operate a more powerful force. These new carriers would be joint-service platforms, operating aircraft and UAVs from all 3 services (Navy, RAF, Army) in roles that could include ISR (Intelligence, Surveillance & Reconnaissance), force projection and logistics support, close air support, anti-submarine/ anti-surface naval warfare, and land attack.

Once the new ships of the Queen Elizabeth Class are complete, Britain will possess a full-size carrier force for the first time in several decades. The 65,000t CVF carriers will be equipped with Harrier GR9 and F-35B Lightning II STOVL fighters, along with AEW aircraft and helicopters; but the ships will be upgradeable to handle conventional fixed-wing aircraft and/or unmanned UCAVs during their expected 40-50 year life span.

CVF, De Gaulle, and
Invincible Class
(click to add Nimitz)

The scale of the CVF effort relative to Britain’s past experiences means that the program structure is rather complex. It has passed through several stages already, and is being run and conducted within an industrial alliance framework. There is also a parallel international framework, involving cooperation with France on its PA2 carrier as a larger derivative of the CVF design.

This DID FOCUS article covers that structure and framework, ongoing developments, and the ships themselves as they round toward final design, construction, and fielding. Recent updates include a new volume search radar project for use on the CVF carriers, and over 50 million pounds sterling in other sub-systems contracts…

• The CVF Queen Elizabeth Class (“continue reading…”) [updated]
• Program Team: The Aircraft Carrier Alliance
• CVF Program Management
• The CVF Program: Contracts and Key Events
• CVF-Related Contracts and Events [updated]
• Additional Readings & Sources: The Program
• Additional Readings & Sources: The Ships
  
  Continue Reading… »

Canberra concept
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In May of 2006, “Australia Issues Official Tender for A$ 2.0B Large Amphibious Ships Program” covered Australia’s decision to expand its naval expeditionary capabilities. HMAS Manoora and Kanimbla would be replaced with substantially larger and more capable modern designs, featuring strong air support. Navantia and Tenix offered a 27,000t LHD design that resembled the Strategic Projection Ship (Buque de Proyeccion Estrategica) under construction for the Spanish Navy. The DCNS-Thales Australia team, meanwhile, proposed a variation of the 21,300t Mistral Class that is serving successfully with the French Navy.

Navantia’s larger design eventually won, giving the Spanish firm an A$11 billion clean sweep of Australia’s “Air Warfare Destroyer” and LHD programs. These 5 ships will be the core of Australia’s future surface navy. The LHDs will be able to serve as amphibious landing ships, helicopter carriers, floating HQs and medical facilities for humanitarian assistance, and launching pads for UAVs or even short/vertical takeoff fighters.

The latest inclusions involve navigation systems for the ships…

• Winner: The Navantia-Tenix LHD
• Construction and Program
• Contracts and Key Events
• Additional Readings
  
  Continue Reading… »

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T-90, backside ollie
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India’s main battle tanks had one been relatively advanced by world standards, but long delays in fielding the indigenous “Arjun” MBT, combined with a successful Pakistani/Ukrainian program for its T-80UD “Al-Khalid” tanks, eroded India’s local advantage. The poor performance of T-72s in combat against modern main battle tanks could not have been comforting, either. In early October 2006, India Defence and Indian papers reported that the Indian Army intended to produce nearly 1,000 T90S ‘Bhishma’ main battle tanks in India by 2020. These would be bought in addition to the 310 T90 MBTs already under contract from Russia. Later that month, news reports noted a follow-on contract for another 330 T-90S tank kits from Russia that would assembled in India. Taken together those 2 firm production agreements reportedly exceed $1 billion.

The modernized T-72 now known as the T-90 has reportedly encountered serious problems in Indian service, from issues with its Thales thermal imaging systems, to difficulties in hot weather, to low readiness rates. Meanwhile, negotiations with Russia over technology transfer issues had shelved the 1,000 tank indigenous production goal, leaving only the 2 firm production agreements. The Arjun project has continued to fade, however, with the Indian Army announcing in July 2008 that production would be capped at just 124 tanks. As the final act in the battle for the core of India’s future tank force, recent reports indicate that the Russians have removed their technology transfer roadblocks, clearing the way for fully indigenous T-90S production in India…

• The T-90 in India: Directions and Delays
• Updates and Key Events
  
  Continue Reading… »

UH-1Y and AH-1Z
by Neville Dawson
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The US Marines’ helicopter force is aging on all levels, from CH-46 Sea Knights far older than their pilots to the 1980s era UH-1N Hueys and AH-1W Cobra attack helicopters that make up the Corps’ helicopter assault force. While the V-22 program has staggered along for almost 2 decades under accidents, technical delays, and cost issues, replacement of the USMC’s backbone helicopter assets has languished. Given the high-demand scenarios inherent in the current war, other efforts are clearly required.

Enter the H-1 program, the USMC’s plan to remanufacture 100 of the Marines’ old UH-1N Hueys and 180 of its AH-1W Super Cobra attack helicopters into advanced variants. The new versions would discard the signature 2-bladed rotors for modern 4-bladed improvements, redo the aircraft’s electronics, and add improved engines and weapons to offer a new level of performance. At least, that was the idea. It hasn’t quite worked out that way, and the H-1 program has encountered its own share of delays and issues. Nevertheless, the program survived a recent review, and continues on into the low-rate initial production stage and OpEval Phase II.

This is DID’s FOCUS Article regarding the H-1 program; it will be updated and backfilled as events and opportunity dictate. Recent developments include an IOC declaration for the UH-1Y, which paves the way for its upcoming deployment to the front lines. Unfortunately, the AH-1Z will be very delayed…

• The H-1 Helicopters
• The H-1 Program
• Contracts and Key Events (1999-Present) [updated]
• Additional Readings & Sources
  
  Continue Reading… »

MBITR on 101st in Iraq
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Tactical radios are one of the quiet lifelines of the battlefield. They can also be be a very quiet pain in the nether regions. After-action reviews by US troops in Iraq have cited lack of compatibility among available communications systems, creating pressure to modernize. Yet the Joint Tactical Radio System (JTRS) program that was intended to ensure this modernization has been plagued by inflated requirements, system delays, cost issues, and restructuring. What to do?

Fortunately, industry is providing interim answers that offer a bridge from the previous SINCGARS systems to the next-generation JTRS. Thales Communications’ AN/PRC-148 MBITR hand-held is the hand-held radio for USSOCOM, the most widely fielded multi-band portable radio in the US armed services, and is in use by many NATO Special Forces thanks to its small size, software-based structure, and excellent interoperability. The PRC-148 JEM version is JTRS-certified, and a vehicle-mounted VRC-111 component is also available as one of the radio’s expansion options. A recently-purchased JEM version even adds initial JTRS compatibility and software-based upgradeability. Rival Harris Corp. has not been idle; its larger Falcon III PRC-152-C/ VRC-110 system sports similar software-based JTRS upgradeability and ceritifications, and has received orders of its own.

In response, the US military is moving to consolidate its tactical radio purchases across participating services, in order to reduce unit costs. These 2 firms will now compete for delivery orders under the Consolidated Interim Single Channel Handheld Radio (CISCHR) program – orders that could total over $9 billion if all options are exercised.

In recent news, the 2 competitors just received over $100 million in contracts for maritime handheld radios, via the US Navy…

• The Radio Systems (i.e. Continue reading…)
• Contracts & Key Events [updated]
• Additional Readings & Sources
  
  Continue Reading… »

ADF Bushmaster, Afghanistan
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In an Aug 8/08 release, Australian Parliamentary Secretary for Defence Procurement Greg Combet congratulated Thales Australia on recent orders for the Bushmaster blast-resistant patrol vehicle. The vehicles currently serve with Australia and the Netherlands, and have been deployed successfully in East Timor, Iraq, and Afghanistan.

The Dutch order is nothing new; DID reported the replacement order on June 15/08. What was new was Combet’s statement that “The United Kingdom has also recently ordered 24 of the vehicles.”

To date, the UK’s blast-resistant vehicles have all been variants of Force Protection’s Cougar: around 430 Mastiff 6×6s and Ridgeback 4×4 models. The Bushmaster fills a very similar niche, though it is more suited to patrol vehicle duties than the UK-adapted Mastiffs and Ridgebacks, whose modifications sacrifice visibility for protection. Even so, the purchase of a new vehicle type in a similar niche is unusual for a country like Britain, given the additional supply chain and maintenance issues that follow. Questions would arise concerning the purchase’s rationale, and the MoD’s relationship with their current prime vendor Force Protection.

On the other hand, it’s also possible that the announcement was in error. Neither Thales Australia nor the UK MoD has made any announcement to this point concerning a UK Bushmaster order.

Paveway-IV components
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In 2003, Raytheon UK operation won the GBP 120 million pound contract to develop and produce Paveway IV, beating Boeing’s INS/GPS guided JDAM. The GPS/INS and laser-guided 500-pound bombs are a British project, and will add a number of other enhancements including longer range than previous Paveway versions.

The British military had wanted to deploy Raytheon’s latest Paveway IV bombs in Afghanistan by September 2007, on board its newly-upgraded Harrier GR9 aircraft. Unfortunately, testing problems with the Thales UK’s Aurora fuze removed that option.

The MoD found a way to deploy the smart bombs with lesser capabilities by December 2007, and now reports that the full Paveway IV is ready to go – while clarifying the fuzing capabilities that were the heart of the problem…

• Paveway IV: Capabilities and Challenges [updated]
• Paveway IV: Updates [updated]
• Additional Readings
  
  Continue Reading… »

Over at Moscow Defence Review, Sergey Denisentsev’s “Thales Group in Russia” notes that:

“Few Western companies can boast of the same experience of broad and productive cooperation with Russian aerospace and defense enterprises as the Thales Group of France.”

Denisentsev outlines the scope of this cooperation, which encompasses the Ka-52 attack helicopter, MiG-AT trainer, Sukhoi’s SU-30 fighters, T-90 tanks, civil/military satellite platforms, the Superjet 100 regional jet, and possibly the MC-21 short-medium range airliner.

He adds the Russian Ministry of Defense, and Thales are now negotiating technology transfer agreements and full localization of Damocles surveillance and targeting pod production in Russia. The Damocles pod is comparable to offerings like Lockheed Martin’s Sniper ATP and Northrop Grumman/ RAFAEL’s LITENING; it is set to enter service with France’s high-end Rafale fighters soon, and has been ordered by Malaysia for its advanced Sukhoi SU-30-MKMs. Under these proposed arrangements, Damocles would also equip Russia’s modernized Su-27SM Flanker fighters, Su-24M2 Fencer swing-wing strike aircraft, and their Sukhoi-built successors the Su-35-1 Flanker and the Su-34 Fullback.

FSTA Concept
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Back in March 2005, “British AirTanker Deal May Go Private” discussed the deal for a potential public-private partnership to buy, equip, and operate the RAF’s future aerial tanker fleet, and noted the selection of a preferred consortium. The RAF would fly the 14 Airbus A330-MRTT aircraft on operational missions and receive absolute preferential access to the planes, while the contractor handled maintenance, received payment from the RAF on a per-use basis, and operated them as passenger or transport aircraft when the RAF didn’t need them. The deal became politically controversial; though it was based on a practice that has been successful in Britain, it had surface similarities with the USA’s controversial and canceled KC-767 lease deal. Negotiations on the multi-billion pound, 27-year deal, meanwhile, charted new territory for both the government and private industry.

Which may help to explain why the final decision to move ahead on a “Private Financing Initiative” basis had yet to be issued, and procurement had yet to begin, over 2 years after a preferred bidder was selected. That hurdle is now clear, and Britain has just issued the world’s largest-ever Defence Private Finance Initiative (PFI) contract. This FOCUS Article describes the current British fleet, the aircraft they chose and how the new fleet will compare, the innovative deal structure they’ve chosen, and the project’s key events. The most recent events include a contract for LAIRCM self-protection systems…

• RAF Tankers: The Current Fleet
• A330-200 MRTT: The RAF’s Future Strategic Tanker Aircraft [updated]
• FSTA Program Details [updated]
• PFI: The Art of the Deal
• UK FSTA: Contracts & Key Events [updated]
• Additional Readings
  
  Continue Reading… »

PA2 Concept, June 2006
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Throughout most of the Cold War period, France maintained two aircraft carriers. That changed when the FNS Foch, the last Clemenceau Class carrier, was retired in November 2000 (it will now serve the Brazilian Navy as the Sao Paolo). As Strategis notes, France has lacked the capacity to ensure long-distance air coverage during the FNS Charles de Gaulle’s maintenance cycles or during other periods when the carrier is not available for active duty (approximately 35% of the time). In 2015, the ship will be taken out of service for an extensive maintenance overhaul. Despite a slippage in initial construction dates from 2005 to 2007-2008, the French still hope to take delivery by 2014 so the the new ship can be operational by the time their sole operational aircraft carrier goes off line for repairs.

The project has been awarded to the “MPOA2” (Maitrise d’Oeuvre Porte Avions No 2) consortium composed of DCN and Thales, and is now proceeding in cooperation with the UK. The design was originally though to be for a ship of about 58,000t, but detailed design work has pushed it up into the 74,000t range, fully 72% larger than the FNS Charles de Gaulle. Unlike the problematic nuclear-powered de Gaulle, however, the PA2 will be a conventionally-powered ship with an all-electric power system driven by Rolls Royce gas turbines.

The latest developments once again cast doubt on the PA2’s future. A future likely to be decided by French President Sarkozy himself – but not until 2011. Meanwhile France is re-considering nuclear propulsion in light of contemporary fuel prices…

• PA2: The Design & Acquisition Program
• PA2: Developments and Updates [updated]
• Additional Readings & Sources
  
  Continue Reading… »