Last updated: Tuesday Oct 15, 2019 - 05:00 UTC ()
Pave Hawks – New Combat Rescue Helicopter
P-8 Poseidon MMA: Long-Range Maritime Patrol, and More
Rapid Fire | Tuesday, October 15, 2019, 05:00 UTC ()
Sikorsky Showcases New Combat Rescue Helicopter| Turkey Launches Offensive Into Northeastern Syria | South Korean Army Cuts Back on Personnel
Americas
Sikorsky showcased its next generation Combat Rescue Helicopter during a ceremony at its Development Flight Center in West Palm Beach, Florida last week. The HH-60W is manufactured by Sikorsky, a unit of Lockheed Martin, and is designed to replace Air Force’s aging fleet of HH-60G Pave Hawks. During the event, United States Air Force General James M. Holmes, Commander, Air Combat Command, Joint Base Langley-Eustis, Virginia described the HH-60W helicopter as a critical tool for the warfighter. The US Air Force program of record calls for 113 helicopters to replace the HH-60G Pave Hawk, which perform critical combat search and rescue and personnel recovery operations for all US military services.
A new UNIPAC III Search and Rescue (SAR) kit for the US Navy’s P-8A is now undergoing testing. The kit can provide 100 people with food, water and communications for an extended time. The testing, which is performed at PAX, but funded by the Royal Australian Air Force ensures those rescued are found and sustained with food, water and communications for an extended time. “The test program is a perfect example of the benefits reaped when two international partners join as part of a cooperative partnership“, said Squadron Leader Nathan Mula, an Australian P-8A Flight Test Tactical officer stationed at Naval Air Station Patuxent River (PAX) in Maryland. Operated by US Navy, Australia and India, the P-8 is performing maritime patrol and reconnaissance operations around the globe. Additionally, the United Kingdom, Norway, New Zealand and South Korea have ordered the aircraft with deliveries expected through the middle of the next decade.
Middle East & Africa
The Turkish military and allied Syrian rebels launched their long-threatened offensive into northeastern Syria on October 9 with the stated objective of establishing a safe zone that has been cleared of Kurdish forces and can be used to resettle Syrian refugees. “A 30 km safe zone is okay for us. We do not have a plan to go beyond that,” said Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavu?o?lu. “First we have to enter 120 km deep to clean the terrorists completely from this area. It will continue gradually until the safe zone is completed.” The offensive began with howitzers shelling suspected YPG positions across the border and airstrikes. Airstrikes were also carried out against the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) in northern Iraq under Operation ‘Claw’.
Europe
Thales and Nexter Systems teamed up to develop a new multi-role weapon system, called RAPIDFireNaval, to meet potential French Navy requirements, Jane’s reports They are eyeing DGA funding in the first half of 2020, according to Sylvain Richy, managing director of CTAI,a joint venture between Nexter and BAE Systems. RAPIDFireNaval consists of a remote-controlled turret armed with the stabilized CTAI 40 mm Cased Telescoped Armament System (CTAS) that has been qualified by France and the UK for land-based applications and has been in production since early 2016.
Asia-Pacific
The Philippine Air Force (PAF) will take delivery of six A-29 light attack aircraft by February 2020. The aircraft will supplement and not replace the existing OV-10 fleet. The Super Tucanos are expected to beef up the remaining North American Rockwell OV-10 Bronco attack aircraft being used by the PAF in strike missions. The turboprop aircraft is designed for light attack, counter-insurgency, close air support, aerial reconnaissance missions in low threat environments, as well as providing pilot training.
The Republic of Korea Army (RoKA) confirmed in a report presented to South Korea’s National Assembly on October 11 that it plans to reduce the number of active military personnel by about 100,000 to 365,000 by 2022 as part of defense reforms aimed at creating a smaller and more technologically advanced military. Seoul, a key Washington ally, conscripts men for two years of service to defend the country from the nuclear-armed North and its much larger army, which invaded the South in 1950 backed by communist allies China and the Soviet Union. The war ended three years later in an armistice, not a peace treaty, leaving the South and North technically at war and the peninsula divided along the Demilitarized Zone. Citing forecast data from Statistics Korea, the Yonhap News Agency reported on the same day that one of the reasons behind the move is that South Korea’s low birth-rate is likely to lead to a decrease in the number of male citizens in their 20s to less than 250,000 after 2022, compared with about 350,000 in 2018.
Today’s Video
Watch: Latest military equipment Special Forces Operations units unveiled during SOF Symposium in Belgium
More In-depth Contract News & Updates
Virginia Block III: The Revised Bow
| Electric Boat Corp. won a 434.4 million deal for lead yard support and development studies and design efforts regarding the Virginia Class submarines. The Virginia Class replaces Los Angeles Class submarines as they retire. The Virginia Class has several innovations that significantly enhance its warfighting capabilities, including in littoral operations. Virginia Class SSNs have a fly-by-wire ship control system that provides improved shallow-water ship handling. The class has special features to support SOF, including a reconfigurable torpedo room which can accommodate a large number of SOF and all their equipment for prolonged deployments and future off-board payloads. The class also has a large lock-in/lock-out chamber for divers. In Virginia Class SSNs, traditional periscopes have been supplanted by two photonics masts that host visible and infrared digital cameras atop telescoping arms. Work under the contract will take place in Connecticut, Virginia and Rhode Island. Estimated completion will be by September 2020. The contract provides lead yard support for Virginia class submarines that will maintain, update and support the Virginia class design and related drawings and data for each Virginia class submarine, including technology insertion, throughout its construction and post-shakedown availability period. The contractor will also provide all engineering and related lead yard support necessary for direct maintenance and support of Virginia class ship specifications. More »
Global F/A-18 Hornet Fleets: Keeping ‘Em Flying
| Northrop Grumman Systems won a maximum $24.3 million firm-fixed-priced delivery order for rudders in support of the F/A-18 aircraft platform. The F/A-18 Hornet is a single- and two-seat, twin engine, multi-mission fighter/attack aircraft that can operate from either aircraft carriers or land bases. The F/A-18 fills a variety of roles: air superiority, fighter escort, suppression of enemy air defenses, reconnaissance, forward air control, close and deep air support, and day and night strike missions. The F/A-18 Hornet replaced the F-4 Phantom II fighter and A-7 Corsair II light attack jet, and also replaced the A-6 Intruder as these aircraft were retired during the 1990s. The multi-mission F/A-18E/F Super Hornet strike fighter is an upgrade of the combat-proven night strike F/A-18C/D. The Super Hornet will provide the battle group commander with a platform that has range, endurance, and ordnance carriage capabilities comparable to the A-6 which have been retired. The F/A-18E/F aircraft are 4.2 feet longer than earlier Hornets, have a 25% larger wing area, and carry 33% more internal fuel which will effectively increase mission range by 41% and endurance by 50%. The Super Hornet also incorporates two additional weapon stations. This allows for increased payload flexibility by mixing and matching air-to-air and/or air-to-ground ordnance. The aircraft can also carry the complete complement of "smart" weapons, including the newest joint weapons such as JDAM and JSOW. Work for the rudders will take place in California with an August 31, 2026 expected completion date. More »
Raytheon’s APG-79 AESA Radars
| Raytheon won an $11.9 million delivery order for the procurement of 101 spare part units across nine assemblies used in support of the F-18 APG-79 Active Electronically Scanned Array radar system. The AN/APG-79 AESA radar is an airborne radar made for F/A-18 E/F aircrafts. It is comprised of numerous solid-state transmit and receive modules to practically eliminate the possibility of mechanical breakdown. With a range of 150 km, the AN/APG-79 provides instantaneous track updates and multi-target tracking capabilities. Its X-band radar allows for higher resolution imaging, helping with target identification and discrimination. The AN/APG-79 is the replacement radar for the AN/APG-73. Work will take place in Forest, Mississippi. Estimated completion date will be by December 2022. More »
USAF New Bomber – B-21 – Gets a Base
| The US Air Force reactivated the 420th Flight Test Squadron at Edwards Air Force Base for flight and ground testing of the next-generation bomber, the B-21 Raider. The squadron was organized under the 412th Test Wing at the base, and a ceremony marking the occasion was held on October 4, the Air Force announced on Wednesday. The first B-21 Raider bomber, the next-generation replacement for the B-1 and B-2 aircraft, is under development at Lockheed Martin facilities in nearby Palmdale, California. The B-21 is expected to enter service by 2025, and will replace the B-1 Lancer and B-2 Spirit over time. More »
The US Army’s Bradley Remanufacture Program
| The US Army awarded BAE Systems a contract modification worth up to $269 million for continued production of the Bradley Fighting Vehicle, the company announced in a press release. The deal for additional 168 Bradley A4 Infantry Fighting Vehicles is part of the Army’s combat vehicle modernization strategy and will help ensure force readiness of the Armored Brigade Combat Teams. The Bradley Fighting Vehicle or BFV is an armored personnel carrier. The development of the Bradley dates back to the pre-Vietnam era. The early plans of an advanced armor personnel vehicle were being discussed in the early 1960s, even as the M113 Armored Personnel Carrier was just entering service. The Bradley Fighting Vehicle entered production in 1981 and became a replacement for the M113. The Bradley is considered to be a more powerful and faster vehicle than the M113, and its better suspension increases speed on off-road terrain. The Bradley A4 is equipped with an enhanced powertrain that maximizes mobility and increases engine horsepower, providing rapid movement in reaction to combat or other adverse situations. Wide angle Driver’s Vision Enhancer, improved Force XXI Battle Command Bridge and Below (FBCB2) software integration improves friendly and enemy vehicle identification, enhancing situational awareness. More »
