P-8 Poseidon MMA: Long-Range Maritime Patrol, and More

Oct 18, 2018 04:58 UTC

Latest updates[?]: The Navy is modifying a support agreement with Boeing. The $136.9 million contract modification extends depot level maintenance and repair services for the P-8A's engines. The contract is supporting Poseidon aircraft that are flown by the Navy and the Royal Australian Air Force. Boeing will also be responsible to conduct field assessments and provide technical assistance during engine changes. The P-8A Poseidon is a heavily militarized derivative of the globally deployed, commercially supported Boeing 737-800 airframe and commercial CFM56-7B27A/3 and CFM56-7B27AE series engines. The high-bypass turbofan engines, are each rated at 120kN. The engine has logged more than 30 million flight hours and maintains a proven high-reliability figure of merit of 0.003% in-flight shut down rate for every 1,000 hours of flight. Work will be performed at Boeing facilities in Atlanta, Georgia and Seattle, Washington. The contract is expected to run through October 2019.

P-8A Poseidon

Maritime surveillance and patrol is becoming more and more important, but the USA’s P-3 Orion turboprop fleet is falling apart. The P-7 Long Range Air ASW (Anti-Submarine Warfare) Capable Aircraft program to create an improved P-3 began in 1988, but cost overruns, slow progress, and interest in opening the competition to commercial designs led to the P-7’s cancellation for default in 1990. The successor MMA program was begun in March 2000, and Boeing beat Lockheed’s “Orion 21” with a P-8 design based on their ubiquitous 737 passenger jet. US Navy squadrons finally began taking P-8A Poseidon deliveries in 2012, but the long delays haven’t done their existing P-3 fleet any favors.

Filling the P-3 Orion’s shoes is no easy task. What missions will the new P-8A Poseidon face? What do we know about the platform, the project team, and ongoing developments? Will the P-3’s wide global adoption give its successor a comparable level of export opportunities? Australia and India have already signed on, but has the larger market shifted in the interim?

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MQ-9 Reaper: Unfettered for Export

Oct 18, 2018 04:52 UTC

Latest updates[?]: Taiwan is suspending a potential MQ-9 FMS request to the US and opts to wait for its domestically produced Tengyun UAV. The Taiwanese Air Force is currently in the process of creating a UAV Reconnaissance Squadron. A deal for the delivery of MQ-8B Fire Scout drones is currently under consideration. Until now it was believed that the Scout will be supplemented with the MQ-9, however the government will now wait for the completion of the Tengyun as it is expected under the country's national defense autonomy policy. The Tengyun development program is led by the Chinese Academy of Sciences and already cost $490 million. The Air Force plans to make a final decision on the purchase after it evaluated and assessed the UAVs in coming trials.

Reaper, ready…

The MQ-9 Reaper UAV, once called “Predator B,” is somewhat similar to the famous Predator. Until you look at the tail. Or its size. Or its weapons. It’s called “Reaper” for a reason: while it packs the same surveillance gear, it’s much more of a hunter-killer design. Some have called it the first fielded Unmanned Combat Air Vehicle (UCAV).

The Reaper UCAV will play a significant role in the future USAF, even though its capability set makes the MQ-9 considerably more expensive than MQ-1 Predators. Given these high-end capabilities and expenses, one may not have expected the MQ-9 to enjoy better export success than its famous cousin. Nevertheless, that’s what appears to be happening. MQ-9 operators currently include the USA and Britain, who use it in hunter-killer mode, and Italy. Several other countries are expressing interest, and the steady addition of new payloads are expanding the Reaper’s advantage over competitors…

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MQ-8 Fire Scout VTUAV Program: By Land or By Sea

Oct 16, 2018 10:58 UTC

Latest updates[?]: Taiwan's department of defense and the navy are currently evaluating the MQ-8B Fire Scout. Taiwan's acquisition of the Fire Scout is part of a larger agreement with the US that includes more than ten individual military procurement projects. They include the acquisition of M777 155mm precision guided munitions, P-3C ASW aircraft and improved C-130s. Taiwan's navy will soon need to retire its ageing fleet of MD500 anti-submarine helicopters that have been in service for over 40 years, the Fire Scout together with some MH-60Rs could be chosen as a replacement. The country's navy needs a UAS that can operate at sea and start from a narrow ship deck. The MQ-8B could be used as a multi-functional weapon system that undertakes maritime patrol reconnaissance missions, and acts as an anti-ship and anti-mine warfare platform. If Taiwan will opt for the Fire Scout is still unclear because some essential steps in the formal procurement process have not been made. Taiwan plans to spend $646 million on its navy in the coming years.

MQ-8B Fire Scout

A helicopter UAV is very handy for naval ships, and for armies who can’t always depend on runways. The USA’s RQ/MQ-8 Fire Scout Unmanned Aerial Vehicle has blazed a trail of firsts in this area, but its history is best described as “colorful.” The program was begun by the US Navy, canceled, adopted by the US Army, revived by the Navy, then canceled by the Army. Leaving it back in the hands of the US Navy. Though the Army is thinking about joining again, and the base platform is changing.

The question is, can the MQ-8 leverage its size, first-mover contract opportunity, and “good enough” performance into a secure future with the US Navy – and beyond? DID describes these new VTUAV platforms, clarifies the program’s structure and colorful history, lists all related contracts and events, and offers related research materials.

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MH-60R/S: The USA’s New Naval Workhorse Helicopters

Oct 15, 2018 04:56 UTC

Latest updates[?]: Lockheed Martin and Rheinmetall are teaming up in an attempt to land a tender to supply new heavy-lift helicopters to the German military. Together they will make a joint bid to supply the German navy and air force with a number of MH-60s. The navy is currently in the process of replacing its fleet of 21 Westland Sea Lynx ASW helicopters, which will be retired in 2025. The air force also plans to replace its current fleet of heavy-lift helicopters, a process that will likely cost about $4.6 billion. Competitors for this tender will likely include Airbus with its NH90 and AgustaWestland.

USN Heli Plan

The US Army’s UH-60 Black Hawks have always had a naval counterpart. SH-60B/F Seahawk/ LAMPS helicopters were outfitted with maritime radar, sonobuoys, and other specialized equipment that let them perform a wide variety of roles, from supply and transport, to anti-submarine warfare, search and rescue, medical evacuation, and even surface attack with torpedoes or Kongsberg’s AGM-119 Penguin missiles. Like their land-based counterparts, however, the Seahawks are getting older. The Reagan defense build-up is receding into history, and its products are wearing out.

European countries chose to build new designs like the medium-heavy EH101 and the NH90 medium helicopter. They’re larger than the H-60s, make heavy use of corrosion-proof composites, and add new features like rear ramps. The USA, in contrast, decided to upgrade existing H-60 designs for the Army and Navy. Hence the MH-60R Multi-Mission Helicopter (aka. “Romeo”) and MH-60S (aka. “Sierra”) Seahawks. MH-60Rs and MH-60Ss will eventually replace all SH-60B/F & HH-60H Seahawks, HH-1N Hueys, UH-3H Sea Kings, and CH-46D Sea Knight helicopters currently in the US Navy’s inventory. Both programs are underway, and will be covered in this DID FOCUS Article.

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Raytheon’s Standard Missile Naval Defense Family (SM-1 to SM-6)

Oct 15, 2018 04:52 UTC

Latest updates[?]: The South Korean military is opting for Raytheon's Standard Missile family to thwart potential missile attacks from North Korea. Maj. Gen. Kim Sun-ho, the head of Joint Chiefs of Staff’s force buildup planning bureau recently confirmed that the military will procure the naval-based SM-3 interceptor. The SM-3 will be part of the Korea Air and Missile Defense network (KAMD) and serve along the US Army's Terminal High Altitude Area Defense system. The SM-3 is designed to destroy short- to intermediate-range ballistic missiles, and its Block IB variant allows for defense against medium range missiles fielded by countries like North Korea and Iran, and some Intermediate Range Ballistic Missiles developed by those regimes. No details about the timetable for adopting the SM-3 have been given so far.

SM-2 Launch, DDG-77
(click to view larger)

Variants of the SM-2 Standard missile are the USA’s primary fleet defense anti-air weapon, and serve with 13 navies worldwide. The most common variant is the RIM-66K-L/ SM-2 Standard Block IIIB, which entered service in 1998. The Standard family extends far beyond the SM-2 missile, however; several nations still use the SM-1, the SM-3 is rising to international prominence as a missile defense weapon, and the SM-6 program is on track to supplement the SM-2. These missiles are designed to be paired with the AEGIS radar and combat system, but can be employed independently by ships with older or newer radar systems.

This article covers each variant in the Standard missile family, plus several years worth of American and Foreign Military Sales requests and contracts and key events; and offers the budgetary, technical, and geopolitical background that can help put all that in context.

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THAAD: Reach Out and Touch Ballistic Missiles

Oct 12, 2018 04:56 UTC

Latest updates[?]: Lockheed Martin is receiving a contract modification to a previously awarded Terminal High Altitude Area Defense Field Support Contract (TFSC). The modification is valued at $164 million which raises the contract's total ceiling value to $725 million. Lockheed will continue to provide logistics, in theatre support, software support, missile support and security and engineering services. THAAD is designed to intercept incoming enemy ballistic missiles as they begin their terminal descent phase in low space and the upper atmosphere. This modification also incorporates activities in support of the the International Engineering Services program and Field Surveillance program. Work will be performed at Lockheed's factories in Huntsville, Alabama; Sunnyvale, California; Grand Prairie, Texas and Troy, Alabama. The ordering period remains from March 25, 2010, through March 31, 2019.

THAAD: In flight

The Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system is a long-range, land-based theater defense weapon that acts as the upper tier of a basic 2-tiered defense against ballistic missiles. It’s designed to intercept missiles during late mid-course or final stage flight, flying at high altitudes within and even outside the atmosphere. This allows it to provide broad area coverage against threats to critical assets such as population centers and industrial resources as well as military forces, hence its previous “theater (of operations) high altitude area defense” designation.

This capability makes THAAD different from a Patriot PAC-3 or the future MEADS system, which are point defense options with limited range that are designed to hit a missile or warhead just before impact. The SM-3 Standard missile is a far better comparison, and land-based SM-3 programs will make it a direct THAAD competitor. So far, both programs remain underway.

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Raytheon Continues to Produce, Maintain TOW Missiles

Oct 10, 2018 04:58 UTC

Latest updates[?]: Raytheon is being contracted to develop a new propulsion system for the US Army's TOW missile. The contract is valued at $21 million and covers three years of research and development necessary to make required performance improvements to the tube-launched, optically tracked TOW missile. "Improving TOW's propulsion system will increase range and deliver enhanced protection for ground troops while providing them with more capability," said Kim Ernzen, Raytheon Land Warfare Systems vice president. The wire-guided, operator-controlled BGM-71 TOW missile family external link remains a mainstay thanks to modernization, specialization, improved sighting systems, and pre-existing compatibility with a wide range of ground vehicles. The new propulsion system will be integrated into all TOW missile variants, including the top and direct attack 2B, direct attack 2A and Bunker Buster missiles. The TOW weapon system is scheduled to remain in the US Army's inventory until the 2050s.

TOW family

Despite modernization that has led to advanced anti-armor weapons like the Javelin and Hellfire fire and forget guided missiles, the wire-guided, operator-controlled BGM-71 TOW missile family remains a mainstay thanks to modernization, specialization, improved sighting systems, and pre-existing compatibility with a wide range of ground vehicles. TOW remains the US Army and Marine Corps’ primary heavy anti-tank/ precision assault weapon deployed on more than 4,000 TOW launch platforms including HMMWV jeeps, the Army’s M1134 Stryker ATGM variant and M2/M3 Bradley IFVs; the Marines’ LAV-AT wheeled APC and SuperCobra attack helicopters; and numerous foreign vehicles. Designation Systems notes that more than 620,000 BGM-71 missiles of all versions had been built for all customers by 2001.

Raytheon Co. in Tucson, AZ was recently awarded a pair of contracts that illustrate its continued production and maintenance work on these missiles.

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Taiwan’s Force Modernization: The American Side

Oct 05, 2018 04:52 UTC

Latest updates[?]: The Taiwanese Air Force will soon be able to fly the first batch of upgraded F-16s. The first four planes to be delivered are currently undergoing ground-testing at Taiwan's state-owned Aerospace Industrial Development Corp. Taiwan is currently in the process of upgrading its fleet of 144 F-16 A/B jets to the Viper configuration. The $3.64 billion program is considered the most important modernization program ever undertaken by the Air Force and significantly enhances its war fighting capabilities. Upgrades in the V-variant include new mission computers, navigation equipment, large color multifunction displays, Advanced Identification Friend or Foe (AIFF) transponders, updated electronic warfare suite, and the Link-16 tactical data link, as well as an AN/APG-83 Scalable Agile Beam Radar (SABR).

Despite China’s ominous military buildup across the strait, key weapons sales of P-3 maritime patrol aircraft, Patriot PAC-3 missiles, and diesel-electric submarines to Taiwan had been sabotaged by Taiwanese politics for years – in some cases, since 1997. The KMT party’s flip-flops and determined stalling tactics eventually created a crisis in US-Taiwan relations, which finally soured to the point that the USA refused a Taiwanese request for F-16C/D aircraft.

That seems to have brought things to a head. Most of the budget and political issues were eventually sorted out, and after a long delay, some major elements of Taiwan’s requested modernization program appear to be moving forward: P-3 maritime patrol aircraft, UH-60M helicopters, Patriot missile upgrades; and requests for AH-64D attack helicopters, E-2 Hawkeye AWACS planes, minehunting ships, and missiles for defense against aircraft, ships, and tanks. These are must-have capabilities when facing a Chinese government that has vowed to take the country by force, and which is building an extensive submarine fleet, a large array of ballistic missiles, an upgraded fighter fleet, and a number of amphibious-capable divisions. Chinese pressure continues to stall some of Taiwan’s most important upgrades, including diesel-electric submarines, and new American fighter jets. Meanwhile, other purchases from abroad continue.

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Australia’s Troubled E-7A “Wedgetail” AWACS Program

Oct 04, 2018 04:54 UTC

Latest updates[?]: Britain’s defense minister confirms that the government is looking into the purchase of a fleet of Wedgetail E-7 AWACS aircraft. In a recent interview, Gavin Williamson said that following an initial market analysis and a series of discussions, the Ministry of Defence can now conclude "that the potential procurement of the E-7 represents the best value for money option for the UK against need". The UK is also currently in talks with Australia regarding a potential cooperation and collaboration on the Wedgetail program. Australia already operates a fleet of Wedgetails, and a small number of British Royal Air Force personnel have been training on the aircraft since mid-year. Williamson did not specify the timeframe, quantity and cost of the planned procurement, nevertheless it is likely that up to six E-7s will replace the ageing E-3Ds. The program will likely cost more than $2.6 billion, putting more pressure on an already exhausted British defense budget.

E-7A Wedgetail
over New South Wales

The island continent of Australia faces a number of unique security challenges that stem from its geography. The continent may be separated from its neighbors by large expanses of ocean, but it also resides within a potential arc of instability, and has a number of important offshore resource sites to protect. Full awareness of what is going on around them, and the ability to push that awareness well offshore, are critical security requirements.

“Project Wedgetail” had 3 finalists, and the winner was a new variant of Boeing’s 737-700, fitted with an MESA (multirole electronically scanned array) radar from Northrop Grumman. That radar exchanges the traditional AWACS rotating dome for the E-7A’s “top hat” stationary antenna. That design, and the project as a whole, have run into severe turbulence, creating problems for Boeing earnings, the ADF, and other export orders for the type. DID’s FOCUS articles offer in-depth, updated looks at significant military programs of record. This one covers contracts, events, and key milestones within Australia’s E-7A program, from inception to the current day.

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Trident II D5 Missile: Keeping Up with Changing Times

Oct 03, 2018 04:58 UTC

Latest updates[?]: Boeing is being contracted to maintain and rebuild stockpiles of US and UK submarine launched ballistic missiles. The awarded cost-plus-fixed-fee contract is valued at at $26.6 million and provides for all necessary work needed to support the navigation subsystem of the Trident II (D5) missile. Trident II D-5 is the sixth generation member of the US Navy's Fleet Ballistic Missile (FBM) program. The missile is a three-stage, solid propellant, inertially guided FBM with a range of more than 4,000 nautical miles. The navigation subsystem of the Trident II D5 has been redesigned to achieve accuracy and maintain an extended fix interval. Inertial navigation is achieved with with an electrostatically-supported gyro navigator and with a navigation sonar system that measures velocity. Another addition is a GPS unit and a digital interface with the FBBM weapon system. Work will be performed at Boeing facilities in Huntington Beach, California and Heath, Ohio; with an expected completion date of September 30, 2020.

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.

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