Last updated: Wednesday Jan 20, 2021 - 05:00 UTC ()
MQ-9 Reaper: Unfettered for Export
THAAD: Reach Out and Touch Ballistic Missiles
Super Hornet Fighter Family MYP-III: Contracts
Rapid Fire | Wednesday, January 20, 2021, 05:00 UTC ()
Leonardo And GD To Install Seaspray on MQ-9B | Nevskoe Design Bureau Crafting Russian Aircraft Carrier | New Minesweepers For RN
Americas
Leonardo announced that it is working with General Atomics Aeronautical Systems to install the former’s Seaspray 7500E V2 radar on the MQ-9B SeaGuardian. To be mounted into the centerline radar pod, this radar will be made available to international customers. It replaces the GA-ASI Lynx Multi-mode Radar. According to Leonardo, the Seaspray 7500E V2 is well-suited to the SeaGuardian mission set, using Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) technology to detect, track and classify hundreds of maritime contacts.
Acting Defense Secretary Christopher Miller said the thousands of National Guard troops who will provide security in Washington, DC, for the inauguration of President-elect Joe Biden will be vetted for insider threats following the arrests of former and active duty military personnel who participated in the Capitol siege earlier this month. In a statement Miller said the Pentagon with the FBI will vet the approximately 25,000 troops who will be deployed to the nation’s capital for Wednesday’s inauguration event.
Middle East & Africa
Israel’s Elbit Systems announced that it recently completed a series of demonstrations of its HattoriX innovative fire support system for eight Western European countries. Operational with the IDF since 2019, HattoriX is a passive/active target acquisition system that uses artificial intelligence to enable forward observers and similarly tasked tactical teams to close sensor-to-shooter loops with three intuitive touches on a screen: one to acquire the target, one to issue the precise coordinates, and one to send all of the target information to the firing systems.
Europe
Russia’s Nevskoe design bureau has unveiled a new aircraft carrier concept dubbed Varan. The ship has a displacement of 45,000 tons and can go up to 26 knots. It can carry up to 24 fixed-wing aircraft, six helicopters and up to 20 unmanned aerial vehicles. The company says that its primary mission is to create a universal floating airfield for combat aircraft. As noted, floating airfields can be used to support the actions of transport, rescue and military aviation in the Arctic, develop new gas fields in the northern seas, ensure the safety of navigation of the Northern Sea Route and perform the functions of the Ministry of Defense in the Arctic zone.
Thanks to a $34 million contract, three world-class autonomous minesweeping systems will detect and destroy sea mines on dangerous naval operations for the Royal Navy. The system will allow personnel to neutralize mines from a remote and safe distance. “This next-generation autonomous technology will be instrumental to our goal of protecting the safety and security of our personnel, while also reaffirming the UK’s unwavering commitment to improve the safety of international waters“, Defense Minister Jeremy Quin said. The first system will be delivered in late 2022 and will enter operational evaluation before service at a later date.
Asia-Pacific
The Indian Air Force will deploy its Rafale, Sukhoi and Mirage 2000 combat jets besides other key assets in a five-day mega air exercise with French air and space force that begins near Jodhpur on Wednesday. The Indian Air Force said its deployment at the ‘Ex-Desert Knight 21’ will also include IL-78 flight refueling aircraft as well as airborne warning and control system (AWACS). The drill is taking place at a time the IAF has been keeping all its frontline bases across the country in a high state of operational readiness in view of the Sino-India border row in eastern Ladakh.
Today’s Video
Watch: MQ-9B SEA-GUARDIAN | Multi Mission RPA
More In-depth Contract News & Updates
American AH-64D Apache: War Replacement Contracts
| Canberra selected the Boeing AH-64E Apache Guardian attack helicopter to replace the Australian Army’s fleet of 22 Airbus Tiger Armed Reconnaissance Helicopters (ARHs), Australian Defense Minister Linda Reynolds said. The first of 29 Apaches equipped with improved sensors, communications suites, attack capabilities, and improved survivability is expected to be delivered in 2025, said the minister. While formal approval by the US State Department for the acquisition has yet to be announced by the US Defense Security Cooperation Agency, the cost of the 29 Apaches together with spares, sensors, communications, training, and facilities is expected to be around $3.1 billion, sources said. More »
CH-53K: The U.S. Marines’ HLR Helicopter Program
| General Electric won a $101.5 million contract modification, which procures 21 T408-GE-400 turboshaft engines and associated engine, programmatic and logistics services in support of CH-53K King Stallion Lot Five low rate initial production aircraft. The King Stallion is the premier heavy-lift helicopter ever built by the United States government. It is an all-new heavy-lift helicopter that will expand the fleet’s ability to move more material more rapidly. That power comes from three new General Electric T-408 engines, which are more powerful and more fuel efficient than the T-64 engines currently outfitted on the CH-53E. The T408 gives the CH-53K helicopter the power to carry a 27,000-pound external load over a mission radius of 110 nautical miles in hot weather conditions, nearly triple the external load carrying capacity of current aircraft. Work will take place in Massachusetts. Estimated completion is in December 2024. More »
Adding Arleigh Burkes: H.I.I. Steps Forward for DDG-51 Restart
| The US Navy has moved one step closer towards integrating the High Energy Laser with Integrated Optical-dazzler and Surveillance (HELIOS) laser weapon system on an Arleigh Burke destroyer by taking delivery of the first system. A recent demonstration by Lockheed Martin and the Navy showed that the laser power achieved was in excess of the 60 kW requirement. Lockheed Martin completed the Critical Design Review and Navy Factory Qualification Test milestones in 2020, demonstrating the value of system engineering rigor and proven Aegis system integration and test processes on the way to delivering operationally effective and suitable laser weapon system that meets the Navy’s mission requirements. More »
LCA Tejas: An Indian Fighter – With Foreign Help
| India’s Cabinet Committee on Security approved the procurement of 83 indigenously designed Tejas Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) for the Indian Air Force (IAF), including 73 Mk 1A fighters and 10 Mk 1 dual-seat trainers. The Indian government’s Press Information Bureau (PIB) announced that same day that the CCS, which is headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, cleared the acquisition of the aircraft for $6.2 billion along with work on the design and construction of related infrastructure for $164.3 million. The LCA Mk 1A, which was designed by the government-run Aeronautical Development Agency and will be built by state-owned Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) in Bangalore, is still under development. More »
KC-46A Pegasus Aerial Tanker Completes Firsts
| Boeing won a $1.7 billion contract modification for Lot Six production of KC-46 aircraft, subscriptions and licenses, and G081 flat file. The contract modification provides for the exercise of an option for an additional quantity of 12 KC-46 aircraft, data, subscriptions and licenses, and G081 flat file being produced under the basic contract. According to Boeing, this is the sixth production lot of the tankers and is designed to bring new capabilities and operational flexibility to the Air Force and other customers. The KC-46 is a multirole tanker, designed to refuel allied and coalition military aircraft compatible with international aerial refueling procedures. It is also equipped to carry passengers, cargo and patients. Work will take place in Seattle, Washington. Estimated completion is in April 30, 2023. More »
