RAM (Rolling Airframe Missile) Systems: Contracts & Events

Sep 30, 2020 04:52 UTC

Latest updates[?]: The US State Department approved the potential Foreign Military Sales of rolling airframe missile (RAM) Block 2 tactical missiles to Japan. The US State Department has approved the potential foreign military sale (FMS) of rolling airframe missile (RAM) Block 2 tactical missiles to Japan. Under the estimated $55.311 million sale, Japan has requested for up to 51 Rolling Airframe Missiles (RAM) Block 2 Tactical Missiles, RIM-116C, and related equipment. Japan has also sought for RAM Guided Missile Round Pack Tri-Pack shipping and storage containers, as well as operator manuals and technical documentation.

Mk-44 firing RAM

The Rolling Airframe Missile (RAM) MK-31 guided missile weapon system is co-developed and co-produced under a NATO cooperative program between the United States and German governments to provide a small, all-weather, low-cost self-defense system against aircraft and cruise missiles. The RIM-116 was later called RAM (Rolling Airframe Missile), because it spins during flight. To save costs, Designation Systems notes that the RAM was designed to use several existing components, including the rocket motor of the MIM-72 Chaparral, the warhead of the AIM-9 Sidewinder, and the Infrared seeker of the FIM-92 Stinger. Cueing is provided by the ship’s radar, or by its ESM signal tracing suite.

RAM is currently installed, or planned for installation, on 78 U.S. Navy and 30 German Navy ships, including American LSD, LHD, LPD and CVN ship types. This number will grow as vessels of the LPD-17 San Antonio Class and Littoral Combat Ships enter the US Navy, and the LCS will sport an upgraded SeaRAM system that will include its own integrated radar and IR sensors. Abroad, the South Korean Navy has adopted RAM for its KDX-II and KDX-III destroyers, and its LPX Dokdo Class amphibious assault ships; other navies using or buying RAM include Egypt, Greece, Japan, South Korea, Turkey, and the UAE/Dubai.

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Have Guns, Will Upgrade: The M109A7 Paladin PIM Self-Propelled Howitzer

May 12, 2020 04:54 UTC

Latest updates[?]: Tokyo will procure seven more Type-19 155 mm/52 calibre wheeled self-propelled howitzers (SPHs) and an additional 33 Type-16 Mobile Combat Vehicles (MCVs) this fiscal year as part on ongoing efforts to enhance the capabilities of the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force (JGSDF). The new long-range Type-19 SPH, which is integrated into an 8×8 MAN tactical military truck and has a crew of five, is being gradually rolled out to the JGSDF to replace the service’s aging fleet of FH-70 towed artillery systems, said the Ministry of Defense in Tokyo in its latest ‘Defense Programs and Budget of Japan’ report, the English-language version of which was released in late March.

Before: M109 & M992

The USA’s 155mm M109 self-propelled howitzers (SPH) were first introduced in 1962, as a form of armored mobile artillery that could stand up to the massed fire tactics of Soviet heavy artillery and rockets. They and their companion M992 Armored Ammunition Resupply Vehicles (AARV) have been rebuilt and upgraded several times, most recently via the M109A6 Paladin upgrade.

In the meantime, the Army has re-learned a few home truths. Artillery arrives in seconds rather than minutes or hours, is never unavailable due to bad weather, and cheaply delivers a volume of explosive destruction that would otherwise require hundreds of millions of dollars worth of bombers and precision weapons. Most combat casualties in the gunpowder age have come from artillery fire, and the US Army will need its mobile fleet for some time to come. So, too, will the many countries that have bought the M109 and still use it, unless BAE wishes to cede that market to South Korea’s modern K9/K10 system, or new concept candidates like the KMW/GDLS DONAR. What to do? Enter the Paladin PIM program.

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Korea’s New Coastal Frigates: the FFX Incheon Class

May 01, 2020 04:56 UTC

Latest updates[?]: South Korean shipbuilder Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI) has launched the fourth of eight Daegu (FFX-II) Class guided-missile frigates on order for the Republic of Korea Navy. Named Donghae, the 122.1 m-long warship entered the water during a ceremony held on April 29 at HHI's facilities in the southeastern coastal city of Ulsan, and is expected to be handed over to the service in late 2021. The Daegu class is a larger variant of South Korea's six Incheon (FFX-I) Class ships, the first of which entered service in 2013. The class has an overall beam of 14 m, a standard displacement of 2,800 tonnes, and a full-loaded displacement of 3,650 tonnes. Each FFX-II ship is powered by one Rolls-Royce MT30 gas turbine engine and two Leonardo DRS permanent magnet motors driven by MTU 12 V 4000 diesel-generator sets in a combined diesel-electric or gas (CODLOG) configuration. Each of the ships can attain a maximum speed of 30 kt.

FFX: Jeonbuk launch

South Korea currently owns some of the world’s best and most advanced shipyards. That civilian strength is beginning to create military leverage, and recent years have seen the ROK take several steps toward fielding a true open-ocean, blue water navy. Their new KDX-II destroyers, KDX-III AEGIS destroyers, LPX amphibious assault ships, and KSS-I/KSS-II (U209/U214) submarines will give the nation more clout on the international stage, but what about the home front? North Korea’s gunboats have launched surprise attacks on the ROK Navy twice in the last decade, while its submarines continue to insert commandos in South Korean territory, and committed acts of war by sinking ROKN ships. To the west, Chinese fishing rights are a contentious issue that has led to the murder of a Korean Coast Guard official on the high seas.

Hence the Future Frigate Experimental (FFX) program. It aims to build upon lessons learned from ROK naval shipbuilding programs in the 1980s and 1990s, and replace 37 existing ships with a modern class of upgunned inshore patrol frigates. A contract to build the lead FFX frigate Incheon was issued in December 2008, and South Korea continues to work to define the program, including the forthcoming Batch II design.

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US Hellfire Missile Orders, FY 2011-2020

Jan 20, 2020 04:56 UTC

Latest updates[?]: Lockheed Martin won a $9.8 million contract modification for engineering services in support of the Hellfire Missile and Joint Air-to-Ground Missile. The Hellfire is an air-to-ground, laser guided, subsonic missile with significant anti-tank capacity. It can also be used as an air-to-air weapon against helicopters or slow-moving fixed-wing aircraft. Hellfire can be used as an air-to-air or an air-to-ground missile. The Air-to-Ground (AGM)-114 provides precision striking power against tanks, structures, bunkers and helicopters. The Hellfire missile is capable of defeating any known tank in the world today. It can be guided to the target either from inside the aircraft or by lasers outside the aircraft. Work will take place in Orlando, Florida. Estimated completion date is January 15, 2021.

USN MH-60S test

Hellfire I/II missiles are the USA’s preferred aerial anti-armor missile, and are widely deployed with America’s allies. They equip America’s helicopter fleets (AH-64, AH-1, OH-58D, MH-60S/R), AH-64 and S-70 helicopters flown by its allies, and even Australia and France’s Eurocopter Tiger attack helicopters. Range is officially listed as 9 km/ 5.6 miles.

While Hellfires lack the fast-jet launch capabilities – and correspondingly extended maximum range – of the UK’s MBDA Brimstone missiles, Lockheed Martin’s missile has made big inroads as the world’s high-end helicopter-launched missile. It has also carved out unique niches as tripod-launched coastal defense assets, as the guided missile integrated into American UAVs like the MQ-1 Predator family, and even as a missile option for transport aircraft like the AC-208B Combat Caravan and C-130J/W Hercules.

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KF-X Fighter: Korea’s Future Homegrown Jet

Dec 10, 2019 04:56 UTC

Latest updates[?]: South Korea’s Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) signed a contract with Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) to update the Link 16 tactical datalink system for the Republic of Korea Air Force’s (RoKAF’s) fleet of FA-50 light attack aircraft, according to Jane’s. The FA-50 Link 16 Performance Improvement Project aims to enhance security in the encryption system and harden it against interference. DAPA has also plans to sign contracts in the first half of 2020 for similar updates to be performed on nine other platform types, including E-737 airborne early warning and control aircraft, F-15K fighters and KDX-III Aegis-equipped destroyers.

KODEF ’11 slide

South Korea has been thinking seriously about designing its own fighter jet since 2008. The ROK defense sector has made impressive progress, and has become a notable exporter of aerospace, land, and naval equipment. The idea of a plane that helps advance their aerospace industry, while making it easy to add new Korean-designed weapons, is very appealing. On the flip side, a new jet fighter is a massive endeavor at the best of times, and wildly unrealistic technical expectations didn’t help the project. KF-X has progressed in fits and starts, and became a multinational program when Indonesia joined in June 2010. As of March 2013, however, South Korea has decided to put the KF-X program on hold for 18 months, while the government and Parliament decide whether it’s worth continuing.

Indonesia has reportedly contributed IDR 1.6 trillion since they joined in July 2010 – but that’s just $165 million of the DAPA’s estimated WON 6 billion (about $5.5 billion) development cost, and there’s good reason to believe that even this development budget is too low. This article discusses the KFX/IFX fighter’s proposed designs and features, and chronicles the project’s progress and setbacks since 2008…

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The Wonders of Link 16 For Less: MIDS-LVTs

Aug 09, 2019 04:58 UTC

Latest updates[?]: The US Navy contracted Data Link Solutions with a $75 million modification for the Block Upgrade II retrofit of Multifunctional Information Distribution System (MIDS) low volume terminals (LVTs). The MIDS LVT is a low-cost fighter terminal with flexible, open-architecture designs. It provides the critical airborne, ground, and maritime link that allows for simultaneous coordination of forces and situational awareness in battlefield operations. The MIDS program was inaugurated via a Memorandum of Understanding amongst the founding MIDS nations, namely Germany, Italy, Spain, France, and the United States. The terminals provide secure, high-capacity, jam-resistant, digital data and voice communications capability for Navy, Air Force and Army platforms, and for Foreign Military Sales customers. Work will take place in Wayne, New Jersey and Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Estimated completion date is in December 2026.

Link 16 Display
(click to see situation)

What one sees, all see. Jam-resistant Link-16 radios automatically exchange battlefield information – particularly locations of friendly and enemy aircraft, ships and ground forces – among themselves in a long-range, line-of-sight network. For example, air surveillance tracking data from an Airborne Warning and Control System (AWACS) aircraft can be instantly shared with fighter aircraft and air defense units. More than a dozen countries have installed Link 16 terminals on over 19 different land, sea, and air platforms, making it an interoperability success story.

While recent advancements may make AESA radars the future transmitters of choice, Link 16 is the current standard. The Multifunctional Information Distribution System-Low Volume Terminals (MIDS LVTs) were developed by a multinational consortium to provide Link 16 capability at a lower weight, volume, and cost than the Joint Tactical Information Distribution System (JTIDS). This free-to-view DID Spotlight article throws a spotlight on the program, explaining Link 16, and covering associated contracts around the world.

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JDAM: A GPS-INS Add-on Adds Accuracy to Airstrikes

Jun 17, 2019 04:56 UTC

Latest updates[?]: The US Air Force Life Cycle Management Center in Utah awarded Boeing a five-year-extension to an earlier contract for JDAM guided bomb tailkits, spares, repairs and technical services. This deal increases the contract ceiling by over $6.5 billion. The Joint Direct Attack Munition guidance kit features a GPS-aided inertial navigational system that essentially converts “dumb” gravity bombs into accurate, guided “smart bombs“, improving their accuracy. Once released, the JDAM autonomously navigates to the designated coordinates. In April, Boeing won a $250 million, 10-year contract for Joint Direct Attack Munition guidance kit services. The extension includes Foreign Military Sales funds. Work will take place in St. Louis, Missouri, and will be completed by February 28, 2025.

B-2 drops JDAM

Precision bombing has been a significant military goal since the invention of the Norden bomb sight in the 1920s, but its application remained elusive. Over 30 years later, in Vietnam, the destruction of a single target could require 300 bombs, which meant sending an appropriate number of fighters or bombers into harm’s way to deliver them. Even the 1991 Desert Storm war with Iraq featured unguided munitions for the most part. The USAF some laser and TV-guided weapons like Paveway bombs and Maverick missiles, but they were very expensive, and only effective in good weather. If precision bombing was finally to become a reality throughout the Air Force, a new approach would be needed. The Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM) became that alternative, an engine of military transformation that was also a model of procurement transformation.

DID’s FOCUS articles offer in-depth, updated looks at significant military programs of record. This DID FOCUS Article looks at the transformational history of the JDAM GPS-guided bomb program, the ongoing efforts to bring its capabilities up to and beyond the level of dual-mode guidance kits like Israel’s Spice and Raytheon’s Enhanced Paveway, and the contracts issued under the JDAM program since its inception.[updated]

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Submarines for Indonesia

Apr 15, 2019 04:50 UTC

Latest updates[?]: Indonesia signed a $1.02 billion contract with South Korean shipbuilder Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering (DSME) for three Type 209/1400 diesel-electric submarines. The vessels will be a follow-on to the country’s Nagapasa class. The submarine will accommodate 40 crewmembers and include eight launchers capable of shooting torpedoes, mines and missiles. For the first vessel under the new contract, which will be the fourth-in-class overall, two of the SSK’s six modules will be constructed by PT PAL in Surabaya, while DSME will build the remaining four in South Korea. The Indonesian-built modules will be shipped to Okpo for assembly. For the second submarine, PT PAL will construct four of the six modules in Surabaya, with DSME constructing the remaining two in Okpo. As with the first vessel, modules that have been constructed in Surabaya by PT PAL will be shipped to South Korea for final assembly. For the third vessel in the contract, PT PAL initially proposed to build the entire submarine.

KRI Cakra
(click to view larger)

Indonesia sites astride one of the world’s most critical submarine chokepoints. A large share of global trade must pass through the critical Straits of Malacca, and the shallow littoral waters around the Indonesian archipelago. That makes for excellent submarine hunting grounds, but Indonesia has only 2 “Cakra Class”/ U209 submarines in its own fleet, relying instead on frigates, corvettes, and fast attack craft.

South Korea’s Daewoo, which has experience building U209s for South Korea, has been contracted for Cakra Class submarine upgrades. Even so, submarine pressure hulls have inflexible limits on their safe lifetime, due to repeated hydraulic squeezing from ascending and descending. The Indonesians have expressed serious interest in buying 3-6 replacement submarines since 2007, with French, German, Russian, South Korean, and even Turkish shipyards in the rumored mix. Other priorities shoved the sub purchase aside, but a growing economy and military interest finally revived it. South Korea was the beneficiary, but further orders may be in store.

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Korean Air Refueling: Airbus Wins

Apr 02, 2019 04:50 UTC

Latest updates[?]: South Korea reportedly received the second Airbus Defense and Space A330-200 Multi Role Tanker Transport aircraft. The country had ordered four MRTTs in 2015. The A-330-200 is designed as a dual-role air-to-air refueling and transport aircraft. The A330 MRTT has a maximum fuel capacity of 111,000 kg (245,000 lb) without the use of additional fuel tanks, which leaves space for the carriage of 45,000 kg (99,000 lb) of additional cargo. In the South Korean Air Force the tanker is known as the KC-330 Cygnus. The aircraft is expected to extend the reach of the Air Force’s strike aircraft into North Korea and improve strategic operations beyond the Korean Peninsula. The MRTT is expected to become operational within a month and the two remaining platforms are scheduled to be delivered in November and December this year.

KAL A330-200

South Korea is moving to buy 4 long-range aerial refueling tankers with secondary transport capabilities, with a budget of WON 2 billion (about $1.8 billion). That capability isn’t a huge priority on the Korean peninsula itself, but it’s very useful for international operations. It’s useful as a way of projecting regional power, as territorial disputes flare with China.

As Asian economies grow and militaries modernize, these factors have made long-range aerial refueling a growing regional priority. China, India, Pakistan and China deploy the Russian IL-78. Japan fields 4 Boeing KC-767As, and may raise that to 8 under recent plans. Similar American KC-46As will join them in the region after 2017. Elsewhere in the region, Australia (5) and Singapore (4) picked Airbus Defense & Space’s larger A330 MRTT instead, and India looks set to buy 6 at some point. What will the ROKAF do?

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Turkey & South Korea’s Altay Tank Project

Jan 17, 2019 04:54 UTC

Latest updates[?]: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced the establishment of a BMC production and technology base in the northwestern province of Sakarya. The $180 million facility is set to become the country’s biggest defense investment in recent years. Once all phases are completed, it is supposed to employ 10.000 people. BMC is one of Turkey’s commercial and defense vehicle producers. Qatar owns a significant stake in the company. The new site will produce Altay main battle tanks (MBTs), military and commercial vehicles, and engines of various platforms. Altay is Turkey’s third generation main battle tank, developed under the Altay National Tank project in 2005. Turkey intends to build 250 Altay MBTs and ultimately produce 1,000 new tanks in four separate lots of 250 units. The Altay tank uses an advanced computerized Volkan-III modular fire-control system and is equipped with a 120mm L/55 smoothbore gun.

South Korea’s XK2

Turkey’s tank fleet is currently made up of American M-48s and M-60s, some of which have been modernized with Israeli cooperation into M-60 Sabra tanks, plus a large contingent of German Leopard 1s and Leopard 2s. That is hardy surprising. America and Germany are Turkey’s 2 most important geopolitical relationships, and this is reflected in Turkey’s choice of defense industry partners. The country’s industrial offset requirements ensure that these manufacturers have a long history of local partnerships to draw upon.

In recent years, however, a pair of new players have begun to make an impact on the Turkish defense scene. One was Israel, whose firms specialized in sub-systems, upgrades, and UAVs. The other is the Republic of [South] Korea, who has made inroads in the Turkish market with turboprop training aircraft, mobile howitzers… and now, main battle tanks.

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