Last updated: Thursday Apr 19, 2018 - 05:00 UTC ()

THAAD: Reach Out and Touch Ballistic Missiles

APKWS II: Laser-Guided Hydra Rockets in Production At Last

Rapid Fire | Thursday, April 19, 2018, 05:00 UTC ()

Raytheon wraps up JSOW testing on F-35C | Ukraine looks to muscle in on Russia’s mod work in India | Army releases THAAD-Patriot integration contract

Americas

• Raytheon has wrapped up development testing as part of efforts to integrate its Joint Standoff Weapon C (JSOW C) onto the F-35C Joint Strike Fighter. Speaking in a company press release, Raytheon said the low-cost, air-to-ground missile is on track for full deployment in 2019. The latest test took place at the US Navy’s China Lake ranges in California with participation from Raytheon, the F-35 Joint Program Office, and the F-35’s manufacturer Lockheed Martin. “With JSOW C in its internal weapons bay, the Navy’s F-35C can now eliminate the toughest ground targets from significant standoff ranges,” said Mike Jarrett, vice president of Raytheon Air Warfare Systems.

• After being delivered to the Marine Corps’ F/A-18 Super Hornet squadrons in February, fighters from VMFA-115 fired the Advanced Precision Kill Weapon System (APKWS) during recent training. The low-cost 2.75 rocket utilizes a laser guidance kit that gives it a precision-kill capability and allows the Super Hornet pilots to maintain a forward-firing, moving-target capability while increasing available ordnance per aircraft and provides a more efficient weapons match versus target sets currently seen in theater. Prior to the firing, the squadron’s crews completed ground training and in-flight training to ensure the weapon worked effectively. The F/A-18 is the second Navy fixed-wing platform to carry APKWS. It is also employed from the AV-8B as well as rotary-wing platforms including the UH-1Y, AH-1Z and MH-60S/R. The Navy and USMC have fired thousands of combined fixed- and rotary-wing shots and hundreds in combat scenarios.

• Lockheed Martin received Tuesday, April 17, a $200 million modification for continued Terminal High Altitude Air Defense (THAAD) and Patriot system integration work. According to the Pentagon statement, the order covers “Terminal High Altitude Area Defense, Phased Array Tracking to Intercept of Target (PATRIOT), Advanced Capability (PAC-3) missile segment enhancement integration and PATRIOT launch on remote development.” Work will take place at Grand Prairie, Texas with scheduled completion estimated for February 28, 2022. According to a tender published in October 2017, the contract aims to accomplish the development of capabilities in support of THAAD MSE Integration and PATRIOT Launch on Remote; design and implementation of an updated Fire Solution Computer software and architecture; Launcher Interface Network Kit software development activities; and a trade study to assess feasibility of launching a PAC-3 MSE from a THAAD launcher. Earlier this month, the Army announced that the two systems successfully talked in a test conducted by the Missile Defense Agency and the service at White Sands Missile Range, New Mexico. During the test, both THAAD and Patriot picked up a live short-range Lynx missile target suing their radars and tracked the target individually, but both systems “exchanged messages through tactical data links and verified interoperability between the weapons systems,” according to an MDA statement.

Middle East & Africa

• Nigeria’s Senate is seeking answers from the government as to why $462 million was released to pay for new military helicopters. The upper house of parliament announced Tuesday that it would invite the central bank governor alongside the ministers of finance and defence to answer for the funding , which Senator Sam Anyanwu claims was withdrawn from the federal account in March and paid to an American manufacturer without the approval of lawmakers. A tweet sent by the senate said “Senate Resolves to invite the CBN Governor and Ministers of Finance and Defense to shed more light on the release of the funds.”

• Two local firms have been selected by the Turkish government to upgrade its navy’s Barbaros-class frigates. The consortium involved—defense electronis specialist Aselsan and military software firm Havelsan—will perform half life-cycle full modernization work that will run to 2025. Anselsan announced that its share of the contract cost approximately $115 million. The Turkish Navy operates four Barbaros-class multipurpose frigates which feature anti surface warfare (ASuW), anti-submarine warfare (ASW) and anti-aircraft warfare (AAW) capabilities.

Europe

• Russian media reports that Azerbaijan is close to placing an order for ten sets of the Belarusian “Polonaise” multiple rocket launch system (MRLS). Based on the Chinese A-200 system, the Polonaise comes rigged on a Volat MZKT-793000-300 8×8 all-terrain chassis. While contracts for the deal have yet to be signed, the Kommersant report says legal documents are in their final stages with just the matter of financing to be concluded. Once finalized, it will be the first export of the Belarusian system. The sale is likely to be met with negative reaction in Armenia—with whom neighboring Azerbaijan has had strained relations—but should be consoled by the deterrent posed by its own Iskander short-range ballistic missile system purchased in 2016.

Asia-Pacific

• A comment piece in Defense News explores the growing relationship between Ukraine and India in the realm of defense co-operation at the expense of Russia. “India, which represents 12 percent of global arms purchases, is critical for both countries, and their rivalry will only intensify,” writes Pavlo B?rbul, CEO of Spets Techno Export, which is a subsidiary of Ukrainian defense company Ukroboronprom. As India looks to foster its growing strategic partnership with the United States, Ukraine has benefitted taking over much repair and modernization of India’s Soviet-era weapons, which constitute an essential part of all armaments of the Armed Forces of India. At present, there are over 400 contracts between India and Ukraine with growing areas including: the modernization of tanks and armored vehicles; modernization of radar and air defense assets; design and manufacture of various vessel classes; supply of components for Indian submarines; maintenance of Indian aircraft and helicopters; and the implementation of joint Ukrainian-Indian research projects. The loss of the Indian market may cause some issues for Russia, who is looking to drum up business in new markets as China increasingly pursues its own domestic defense production.

Today’s Video

• From 2017: AV-8B Harrier fires APKWS in Asia-Pacific region:

More In-depth Contract News & Updates

USA Issues JSOW Block III Production Contracts

| Raytheon has wrapped up development testing as part of efforts to integrate its Joint Standoff Weapon C (JSOW C) onto the F-35C Joint Strike Fighter. Speaking in a company press release, Raytheon said the the low-cost, air-to-ground missile is on track for full deployment in 2019. The latest test took place at the US Navy's China Lake ranges in California with participation from Raytheon, the F-35 Joint Program Office, and the F-35's manufacturer Lockheed Martin. "With JSOW C in its internal weapons bay, the Navy's F-35C can now eliminate the toughest ground targets from significant standoff ranges," said Mike Jarrett, vice president of Raytheon Air Warfare Systems. More »

AGM-158 JASSM: Lockheed’s Family of Stealthy Cruise Missiles

| The USAF has fired Lockheed Martin's AGM-158B Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile Extended Range (JASSM-ER) missile in combat for the first time. 19 such missiles were launched from two B-1B Lancer bombers during last weekend's sortie against Syrian chemical weapon research and storage facilities, and were joined by 57 Tomahawk missiles launched from US naval assets, as well as Storm Shadow and SCALP missiles from British and French warplanes. While Russian sources in Syria claim that Russian and Syrian air defenses managed to down 71 or the total 105 cruise missiles launched during the Friday night operation, a report on the mission by the Aviationist reckon the newer missiles—in particular the JASSM-ER, SCALP and Storm Shadow—would have been highly effective against their targets. Despite the geo-political posturing, the $1.3 million per unit JASSM-ER has now officially debuted with potential buyers ofthe missile like Japan getting a preview of its capabilities. More »

LCA Tejas: An Indian Fighter – With Foreign Help

| India’s indigenous LCA Tejas fighter has participated in its first major combat exercise—Gagan Shakti. The exercise is taking place between April 10 to 23 and will see the Indian Air Force will mobilise more than 1100 combat, transport and rotary wing (helicopter) aircraft in order to practice the real time scenario, to be conducted day and night, of Combat with the enemy encompassing along Pakistan border in the Western areas and along China border in the Northern areas. During the event, the Tejas is expected to take part in both offensive and defensive roles from a forwarding base and will be tested on its air-to-air and air-to-ground capabilities. More »

F-35 Lightning: The Joint Strike Fighter Program

| Breaking Defense reports that the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter could be capable of detecting and tracking ballistic missiles by 2025. The projection was made by Head of the US Missile Defense Agency (MDA), Lt. Gen. Samuel Greaves, when speaking to the Senate appropriations subcommittee on defense on April 11. He added that the stealth fighter could take down a ballistic missile by having a new “fast missile that’s hung on the bottom of” the fighter. “I’d say six to seven years to essentially work out the Concept of Operations (and) develop the capabilities — (whether) it’s sensor-based or a new fast missile that’s hung on the bottom of an F-35 for the BMDS (Ballistic Missile Defense) mission — integrate those capabilities, test them, and deliver them into a theater of operations,” Greaves said. While the military has tested out this concept in the past—in 2014, an F-35 infrared sensor installed on a surrogate aircraft successfully tracked a launch and transmitted tracking data over the military’s standard Link-16 network, while in in 2016, an actual Marine Corps F-35B detected and tracked a missile, then passed the data over the Navy’s NIFC-CA network to the Aegis missile defense system, which shot the threat down—this is the first time a senior official has given a timeline on incorporating a F-35 into missile defense. More »

I Think I CAMM: Britain’s Versatile Air Defense Missile

| Missile consortium MBDA is looking to sell its Sea Ceptor naval air defense system to Finland as part of efforts to help arm the latter's fleet of Squadron 2020 corvettes. The firm's offer is based on its Common Anti-air Modular Missile (CAMM), and is being made through the three companies—Atlas Elektronik, Lockheed Martin Canada and Saab—currently on the short list to supply the combat management system to the Finnish authorities. Speaking to Defense News, Paul Stanley, MBDA vice president for northern Europe, said that bidders for the CMS deal will propose an “air defense system as part of a package, with recommendations,” after which Finnish authorities will then “make a selection.” That indirect approach in the tender leaves the missile maker relying on the combat systems integrator, which is expected to offer Raytheon's Evolved Sea Sparrow Missile (ESSM) and Barak from Israel, he said. The Sea Ceptor system has already been certified and installed on three of the British Royal Navy's Type 23 frigates and will be installed on the service's next generation Type 26 and Type 31 frigates. Exports have also been secured for new Zealand, Chile, and Brazil, while Spain is also looking to conduct a study for its own Sea Ceptor package. MBDA has also teamed with Lockheed Martin to develop a lightweight version of the MK41 launcher for CAMM, known as the extensible lightweight launcher (ExLS), which is intended to fit on smaller naval vessels. More »

The JAS-39 Gripen: Sweden’s 4+ Generation Wild Card

| Israeli defense firm Rafael has offered a series of upgrades to South Africa that would upgrade its JAS-39 Gripens to the 4.5 generation standard. Working in conjunction with the warplane's manufacturer Saab, included are offers to swap the current Litening 3 targeting pod with the 4.1 version and install a IP Mobile Ad-hoc Network Software Defined Radio. Also included in the package are the provision of Python 5 and the I-Derby ER air-to-air missiles which offer a 100 km range. More »