Oman’s Air Force Upgrades: From Jaguars to F-16s & Eurofighters

RAFO F-16Cs w. CFTs

Oman is located on the eastern Arabian peninsula next to the UAE and Saudi Arabia, and across from Persia. It remains a very strategic country, controlling the Strait of Hormuz’ western bank, and providing an overwatch position for both the entrance to the Persian Gulf and the Indian Ocean near Africa. The Royal Air Force of Oman (al-Quwwat al-Jawwiya al-Sultanat Oman) currently flies F-16 Block 50 fighters, which complement the RAFO’s 18 Jaguar strike aircraft.

Sultan Qaboos’ air force was looking to replace its aging Jaguars, and made inquiries about buying 4+ generation fighters like Eurofighters or even JAS-39 Gripens for this purpose. A formal August 2010 export request for 18 more F-16s raised the possibility of a different approach, but it was actually a both-and strategy. After an F-16 contract was inked, BAE received an RFP for its Eurofighter, which also turned into a contract. With these buys, plus a handful of new jet trainers, the RAFO’s fighter modernization looks to be complete.

Oman Upgrading its Air Defenses

SL-AMRAAM from FMTV

Oman is located on the eastern Arabian peninsula, controlling the Strait of Hormuz’s western bank, and providing an overwatch position for both the entrance to the Persian Gulf and the Indian Ocean near Africa. The frequent effects of postings to one notoriously hot and bleak island off of its coast were the origin for the British expression “driven around the bend.”

Oman has traditionally had strong defense and foreign policy relationships with Britain, and its military equipment reflects this. In recent years, Oman has been considering its options, as it moves to modernize its fighter force of Jaguars and F-16s. It’s also taking wide-ranging, complementary steps to modernize its air defense systems, and an October 2011 DSCA request seems to place American equipment at the center of that effort.

Australia Ordered CH-47F Chinooks Contract Fulfilled; Housing Under Construction

Australian CH-47D:
Afghanistan, 2006

In December 2005, Australia decided to upgrade its CH-47D Chinook fleet, in preparation for use on the front lines. Afghanistan’s high altitudes and sometimes-scorching temperatures reduce rotor lift. That made the Chinooks a far better choice than upgrading the ADF’s S-70 Black Hawk helicopters, whose reduced carrying capacity would limit their tactical uses. Those CH-47D Chinooks have gone on to play an important role in Afghanistan, amidst a general shortage of useful helicopters. Now, Australia seems determined to supplement its older CH-47D fleet with new and improved CH-47F models, which feature more modern electronics, uprated engines, and numerous other improvements.

The question was when the DSCA request would become an actual contract. That question has just been answered.

Light Air Transports for Ghana

C295, delivered

In September 2009, a US DSCA request for 4 C-27J aircraft plus ancillaries and support, at a price of up to $680 million, sparked considerable controversy in Ghana. As we noted at the time, a DSCA request is not a contract. It’s a legal notice under American export laws, and if Congress does not block the sale within 30 days, negotiations may begin.

Ghana is a West African country located on the Gulf of Guinea. Its parliament was chosen to host President Obama’s 2009 Africa speech, and the DSCA describes the country and the sale as “…a U.S. Government partner which has been, and continues to be, an important force for political stability and democracy in Africa.” As of 2011, however, Ghana is not listed or cited among the C-27J’s buyers or operators. On the other hand, it has become a confirmed buyer of Airbus Military’s rival C-295.

Skynet 5: UK MoD’s Innovative SATCOM Solution

Skynet 5 satellite model

When militaries around the world have wanted to expand their satellite communication (SATCOM) capacity, they traditionally have had 2 choices – either pay a satellite manufacturer billions of dollars to build a satellite constellation and then own and operate the constellation themselves or lease capacity on commercial satellites, with all the attendant concerns about availability and security.

The UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) came up with an innovative approach to expanding its SATCOM capacity called Skynet 5.

Through a GBP 3.6 billion UK MoD private finance initiative (PFI), EADS Astrium manufactures the Skynet 5 satellites and Paradigm owns, manages, and operates the Skynet constellation. The satellites are built to UK military specifications and the UK is committed to purchasing satellite capacity from Paradigm, an EADS Astrium subsidiary.

$29M from USN for 56 MUOS-Capable Digital Modular Radios

General Dynamics C4 Systems in Scottsdale, AZ received a $53.9 million firm-fixed-price contract for 81 AN/USC-61C digital modular radios (DMR), DMR 100 and 200 watt power amplifiers, and other ancillary hardware. Currently approximately 300 software-defined radios, each with four channels, have been shipped to the Navy to be installed on ships, submarines, shore sites, and test facilities. Based on DID’s research, the U.S. Navy has now spent approximately $175 million all told on DMR radios and software, including this contract.

This software-controlled and re-configurable digital radio system currently features some JTRS capabilities such as expanded frequency range, multiple software-defined waveforms, multiple independent level security, advanced software, etc. The system can be used to replace multiple existing radios with a single, easy-to-use system which communicates seamlessly with different armed services as well as the U.S. Coast Guard and NATO allies. More specifically…

Aegis Program Adds SM-6 to Mix for More Ships

Back in 2008, the Navy signaled its desire to its desire to incorporate the “far term sea-based terminal defense” capacity of the SM-6 into its Aegis system, with one hurdle being some ships’ radars being capable of handling the sensor data requirements. They then hoped for operational capability in 2015. Yesterday, Raytheon announced in a widely-parroted release that the Navy had indeed approved the SM-6 for additional Aegis systems, to include those Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyers from the 1994-keel-laid The Sullivans (DDG-68) onward.

This appears to put to rest concerns that the Zumwalt-class (DDG-1000) program wouldn’t be able to employ (see “Weapons” section) the standard family of missiles, although confirmation is being from both Raytheon and the Navy.

Saudi Shopping Spree: A Hardened, Networked National Guard

Latest updates[?]: SANG becomes 1st AH-6i armed scout helicopter customer, with an initial buy of 24.

LAV-25 in combat

The Saudi Arabian National Guard is receiving a lot of investment. In July 2006, the Saudis formally tabled a multi-billion dollar request to buy LAV wheeled APCs and related equipment for its National Guard. October 2010 added a slew of added requests, covering a wide range of transport, scout, and attack helicopters. Other contracts in between and since have involved missiles, communications, and training. It all adds up to a fairly comprehensive modernization.

Who is the SANG, and why are they a globally significant institution? A must-read article in the Tribune-Libanaise explains:

M1 Abrams Tanks for Iraq

Iraqi M1A1

Tanks often decide battles, unless aircraft are around. Iraq had a lot of unfriendly visits by the USAF from 1991-2003, which left the largest armored force in the region looking to rebuild their armored corps from zero. Early donations and salvage fielded a small set of Soviet-era weapons, but after tangling with the Americans one too many times, the Iraqis knew what they really wanted. They wanted what their opponents had.

On July 31/08, the US Defense Security Cooperation Agency announced Iraq’s formal request to buy M1 Abrams tanks, well as the associated vehicles, equipment and services required to keep them in the field. The tanks will apparently be new-build, not transferred from American stocks. With this purchase, Iraq became the 4th M1 Abrams operator in the region, joining Egypt (M1A1s), Kuwait (M1A2), and Saudi Arabia (M1A2-SEP variant). A similar December 2008 request was confirmed to be additive, and deliveries have now finished on the initial order. So, what’s next?

Nimrod Was Actually a Fine Hunter: The End of RAF Aerial Maritime Patrol

Nimrod MR2 at work

British naval theorist Sir Julian Corbett saw the navy’s proper role as “directly or indirectly either to secure the command of the sea or to prevent the enemy from securing it.” Airpower plays a prominent role in both of those missions. In 1996, Britain began a program to rebuild their existing Nimrod MR2 maritime patrol planes to the MRA4 standard with new wings, new engines, and new internal technologies and mission systems.

Unfortunately, that program has faced a series of budget cuts, stalls, and conditions that have reduced the program from 21 aircraft, to 12, to 9 – and then to 0. In 2010, Britain decided to give up fixed-wing maritime patrol and anti-submarine aircraft entirely, then scrapped all of its Nimrod MR2s. Its MR1 electronic eavesdropping planes followed, in June 2011. Leaving the burning question: now what? Periodic “reminders” from Russia and other entities have kept that question very current, indeed.