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Archives by category > L3 Communications (RSS)

JAGM: Joint Air-Ground Missile Again

Jun 15, 2022 04:58 UTC

Latest updates[?]: Defense News reports that Lockheed Martin is evaluating how its Joint Air-to-Ground Missile can be configured for mobile, short-range air defense. “It’s a concept we have. We think it will have applicability to a number of platforms,” Rita Flaherty, the company’s vice president for strategy and business operations within its Missiles and Fire Control sector was quoted as saying.

Raytheon/Boeing on JAGM

JAGM infographic

The AGM-114 Hellfire missile remains a mainstay for the US military and its allies around the world, and efforts to replace it have repeatedly stalled. The Joint Common Missile (JCM) was meant to offer new guidance options, and use on fast jets as well as helicopters and UAVs. It performed well, but was canceled. It returned from the procurement dead as JAGM, a program that has undergone several major changes within itself. While other air forces field fast-jet solutions like MBDA’s Brimstone, JAGM will initially be limited to helicopters and UAVs, as a dual-mode guidance upgrade to current model Hellfire missiles.

Continue Reading… »

E-2D Hawkeye: The Navy’s New AWACS

May 25, 2022 04:58 UTC DII

Latest updates[?]: Lockheed Martin won a $13.3 million deal, which provides for engineering, development and production of Operational Test Program Sets (OTPS) to support AN/APY-9 Radar Avionics Line Replaceable Modules (LRMs). These OTPSs will provide support for the E-2D Advanced Hawkeye program and will be used at the depot level to provide test and repair capabilities for the LRMs. Work will take place in New York. Expected completion date will be in September 2025.

E-2D Collage

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, 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.

Continue Reading… »

UH-72 Lakota Light Helicopter Lands Airbus in US Defense Market

May 24, 2022 04:58 UTC DII

Latest updates[?]: Airbus US Space & Defense won a $14.3 million deal for UH-72 Lakota helicopter contractor logistics support and engineering services. The UH-72 Lakota is the US Army's multi-mission helicopter, which acts as the key platform for the US Army, Navy and National Guard in their mission of protecting and serving communities across America. It combines operational capability, reliability and affordability, fulfilling all the Army's requirements for speed, range, endurance and overall performance. Work will take place in Texas. Estimated completion date is December 31, 2026.
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UH-72As MEDEVAC

UH-72As: MEDEVAC

DID’s FOCUS articles offer in-depth, updated looks at significant military programs of record. This is DID’s FOCUS Article regarding the US Army’s Light Utility Helicopter program, covering the program and its objectives, the winning bid team and industrial arrangements, and contracts.

The US Army’s LUH program will finish as a 325 helicopter acquisition program that will be worth about $2.3 billion when all is said and done. It aimed to replace existing UH-1 Hueys and OH-58 Kiowa utility variants in non-combat roles, freeing up larger and more expensive UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters for front-line duty. In June 2006, a variant of Eurocopter’s EC145 beat AgustaWestland’s AB139, Bell-Textron’s 412EP Twin Huey, and MD Helicopters’ 902 Explorer NOTAR (No Tail Rotor) design. The win marked EADS’ 1st serious military win in the American market, and their “UH-145” became the “UH-72A Lakota” at an official December 2006 naming ceremony.

Eurocopter has continued to field new mission kits and deliver helicopters from its Mississippi production line, while trying to build on their LUH breakthrough. A training helicopter win will keep the line going for a couple more years…

Continue Reading… »

Snakes and Rotors: The H-1 Helicopter Program

Apr 25, 2022 04:56 UTC DII

Latest updates[?]: HMLA-367 was deactivated at MCAS Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii on April 22. All 27 AH-1Z and UH-1Y helicopters will be relocated to California and the squadron will be reactivated by end of the year at MCAS Camp Pendleton.

Neville Dawson: UH-1Y & AH-1Z

UH-1Y and AH-1Z
by Neville Dawson

The US Marines’ helicopter force is aging at all levels, from banana-shaped CH-46 Sea Knight transports that are 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 tilt-rotor V-22 Osprey 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 older helicopters into new and improved UH-1Y utility and AH-1Z attack helicopters. 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. It seemed simple, but hasn’t quite worked out that way. The H-1 program has encountered its share of delays and issues, but the program survived its review, and continued on into production and deployment.

DID’s FOCUS articles offer in-depth, updated looks at significant military programs of record. This article covers the H-1 helicopter programs’ rationales and changes, the upgrades involved in each model, program developments and annual budgets, the full timeline of contracts and key program developments, and related research sources.

Continue Reading… »

Trident II D5 Missile: Keeping Up with Changing Times

Apr 21, 2022 04:56 UTC DII

Latest updates[?]: Lockheed Martin Space won a $396.7 million contract modification for Trident II (D5) missile production and deployed systems support. The Trident II D5 is the latest generation of the US Navy's submarine-launched fleet ballistic missiles, following the highly successful Polaris, Poseidon, and Trident I C4 programs. First deployed in 1990, the Trident II D5 missile is currently aboard OHIO-class and British VANGUARD-class submarines.Work will take place in Utah, Colorado, Florida, California, Arkansas, Tennessee, Massachusetts, Georgia, Illinois, Main, Maryland, New York and various other locations. Estimated completion date is September 30, 2026.

Trident II D-5 Test Launch

Trident II D5 Test Launch

Nuclear tipped missiles were first deployed on board US submarines at the height of the Cold War in the 1960s, to deter a Soviet first strike. The deterrence theorists argued that, unlike their land-based cousins, submarine-based nuclear weapons couldn’t be taken out by a surprise first strike, because the submarines were nearly impossible to locate and target. Which meant that Soviet leaders could not hope to destroy all of America’s nuclear weapons before they could be launched against Soviet territory. SLBM/FBM (Submarine Launched Ballistic Missile/ Fleet Ballistic Missile) offered shorter ranges and less accuracy than their land-based ICBM (Inter-Continental Ballistic Missile) counterparts, but the advent of Trident C4 missiles began extending those ranges, and offering other improvements. The C4s were succeeded by larger Trident II D5 missiles, which added precision accuracy and more payload.

The year that the Trident II D5 ballistic missile was first deployed, 1990, saw the beginning of the end of the missile’s primary mission. Even as the Soviet Union began to implode, the D5’s performance improvements were making the Trident submarine force the new backbone of the USA’s nuclear deterrent – and of Britain’s as well. To ensure that this capability was maintained at peak readiness and safety, the US Navy undertook a program in 2002 to replace aging components of the Trident II D5 missile called the D5 Life Extension (LE) Program. This article covers D5 LE, as well as support and production contracts associated with the American and British Trident missile fleets.

Continue Reading… »

Nightwatch: The USA’s E-4B NAOC “Doomsday” Fleet

Apr 20, 2022 04:58 UTC

Latest updates[?]: MilSup LLC won a $10.5 million contract modification for the RC/OC/WC-135 and E-4B Aircrew Training and Courseware Development Contract. This modification exercises Option Year One. Work will take place in Nebraska. Expected completion date is in April 30, 2023.

E-4B picture

E-4B NAOC

In December 2005, the U.S. Air Force awarded Boeing a contract as Product Support Integrator (PSI) for the USAF’s E-4 National Airborne Operations Center fleet. These 4 modified 747-200s were introduced in 1974, and serve as complete flying command posts for national and military authorities. As one might imagine, they are hardened to resist the side-effects of nuclear attack, such as electro-magnetic pulse effects.

The 2005 contract was a 5-year, indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity contract vehicle, with one 5-year option and a $2 billion cost cap. That’s a lot of money for a small fleet, but the E-4’s plays a military and civil role that gives the program enough leverage to justify it. A long history of support from Boeing includes a number of modernizations, and those continue for various systems within the fleet. DID looks at the aircraft, the program, and ongoing awards.

Continue Reading… »

JLTV: Oshkosh Wins, Lockheed Protests

Feb 28, 2022 04:58 UTC DII

Latest updates[?]: Oshkosh Defense won an $11.6 million contract modification for regional field service representatives to support fielding of the Joint Light Tactical Vehicle. The Oshkosh Defense Joint Light Tactical Vehicle (JLTV) is designed for never-before-achieved speed, power and protected mobility outside the wire. Work will take place in Wisconsin. Estimated completion date is February 28, 2023.

Ultra APV

Ultra APV demonstrator

In an age of non-linear warfare, where front lines are nebulous at best and non-existent at worst, one of the biggest casualties is… the concept of unprotected rear echelon vehicles, designed with the idea that they’d never see serious combat. That imperative is being driven home on 2 fronts. One front is operational. The other front is buying trends.

These trends, and their design imperatives, found their way into the USA’s Joint Light Tactical Vehicle (JLTV) program, which aims to replace many of the US military’s 120,000 or so Humvees. The US military’s goal is a 7-10 ton vehicle that’s lighter than its MRAPs and easier to transport aboard ship, while offering substantially better protection ad durability than existing up-armored Humvees. They’d also like a vehicle that can address front-line issues like power generation, in order to recharge all of the batteries troops require for electronic gadgets like night sights, GPS devices, etc.

DID’s FOCUS articles offer in-depth, updated looks at significant military programs of record. JLTV certainly qualifies, and recent budget planning endorsements have solidifed a future that was looking shaky. Now, can the Army’s program deliver?

Continue Reading… »

US Carrier Pilots’ T-45 Training System

Jan 24, 2022 04:56 UTC DII

Latest updates[?]: Boeing won a $21 million contract modification by the US Navy, which increases the contract ceiling to provide post-production engineering and logistics support for the T- 45 aircraft. The T-45A/C Goshawk is the US Navy’s two-seat advanced jet trainer. The aircraft is jointly manufactured by Boeing and BAE Systems. Work will take place ein Missouri, the UK and Georgia. Estimated completion will be in January 2025.

T-45s on Carrier

Do you feel lucky…?

The T-45 Training System includes T-45 Goshawk aircraft, advanced flight simulators, computer-assisted instructional programs, a computerized training integration system, and a contractor logistics support package. The integration of all 5 elements is designed to produce a superior pilot in less time and at lower cost than previous training systems.

The US Navy uses the Hawk-based T-45TS system to train its pilots for the transition from T-6A Texan II/ JPATS aircraft to modern jet fighters – and carrier landings. This is not a risk-free assignment, by any means. Nevertheless, it is a critical link in the naval aviation chain. This DID FOCUS article covers the T-45TS, and associated contracts to buy and maintain these systems, from 2006 to the end of FY 2014.

Continue Reading… »

P-3 Orion’s SMIP Program Keeps on Rolling

Dec 22, 2021 04:52 UTC

Latest updates[?]: Lockheed Martin won a $21.7 million deal for P3-C aircraft mission system hardware, as well as obsolescence studies and technical support to maintain the P3-C mission systems for the government of Taiwan. The P-3C Orion land-based maritime patrol and anti-submarine warfare aircraft is operational in the airforces of ten countries. Work will take place in New York and Florida. Estimated completion will be by December 2026.

P-3 Harpoons Torpedo Sidewinder

P-3 Orion, armed –
note Sidewinder

The P-3 Orion remains the USA’s main maritime patrol aircraft, and is also finding use in overland surveillance roles despite the fleet’s age. Earlier DID articles have noted the extra effort required to preserve the USA’s P-3C Orion maritime surveillance & patrol aircraft, along with radar and weapons upgrades to improve the fleet. Lockheed has even opened a new production line, to deal with planes whose wings that are so aged and worn that they need a full replacement.

The SMIP (Sustainment, Modification, and Installation Program) is intensive depot-level inspection and repair process that includes P-3 airframe and component inspection, identification of problems, and corrective maintenance. The idea is to ensure safe and reliable P-3 use, while trying to get more hours out of each airframe in order to sustain dwindling global fleets. More intensive “MIP” efforts may be launched once inspection results become clear, such as the USA’s P-3 recovery plan and full “ASLEP” re-winging efforts underway in Norway and Canada.

Continue Reading… »

Canada’s CH-148 Cyclones: 4th Time Lucky?

Dec 07, 2021 04:58 UTC

Latest updates[?]: Cracks have been found on the tails of Canada’s CH-148 fleet, the problem affects 19 out of the 23 helicopters. The issue surfaced on November 26 when one of the helicopter underwent scheduled maintenance and the cracks were discovered. Subsequent checks on three more rotorcraft also found cracks on those aircraft. So far only two were unaffected and two more are yet to be inspected.

H-92/ CH-148

CH-148 Cyclone

Canada’s Maritime Helicopter Replacement Program has been a textbook military procurement program over its long history. Unfortunately, it has been a textbook example of what not to do. While Canada’s 50-year old Sea King fleet aged and deteriorated to potentially dangerous levels, political pettiness and lack of concern turned a straightforward off-the-shelf buy into a 25+ year long odyssey of cancellations, lawsuits, rebids, and more. Eventually, the Canadian military settled on Sikorsky’s H-92 Superhawk as the basis of its new CH-148 Cyclone Maritime Helicopter, which will serve from the decks of Canada’s naval ships and bases.

The civilian S-92 has gone on to some commercial success. To date, however, Canada has been the H-92’s only military customer – with all of the associated systems integration and naval conversion burdens that one would expect. After a long series of badly missed milestones and delivery delays, there are also deeper questions being raised concerning both the machines’ fitness, and DND’s conduct of the program as a whole. This article covers the rationale for, history of, and developments within Canada’s Maritime Helicopter Program.

Continue Reading… »
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