“ROVER” (Remote Operational Video Enhanced Receiver) is an unimpressive piece of equipment. Mostly, it looks like a ruggedized laptop with antennas. But SpaceWar.com quotes Lt. Col. Gregory E. Harbin, of the 609th Combat Operations Squadron at Shaw Air Force Base, SC, who says “…the ROVER is bringing a phenomenal capability to our people on the ground.” ROVER is the Remotely Operated Video Enhanced Receiver, which receives camera images from nearby aircraft and UAVs (somewhat like Israel’s wrist-mounted V-RAMBO), then integrates them with other US positioning and targeting software.
Staff Sgt. Justin Cry, a Shaw Joint Tactical Air Controller (JTAC), has a job that’s an art form at the best of times. Describing features from the ground to a pilot looking down while flying at high speed is no easy task. According to a Dec 16/05 USAF article, he used the system in Iraq and in New Orleans, and says simply: “I can circle an area on my screen, drawing arrows for emphasis, and what I’m drawing appears on (the pilots’) screens as well.”
ROVER continues to evolve, and is becoming an unheralded but critical piece of equipment in America’s arsenal. This is DID’s FOCUS Article covering the system and its ongoing developments.
Ecuador’s FAE currently operates a variety of fighter aircraft. 14 Israeli Kfirs, (12 + 2 two-seat trainers) upgraded to the C10/CE standard, 12 upgraded French Mirage F1 fighters originally delivered in 1978-80, and about 20 A-37 Dragonflys form their fighter core. About 7 Jaguar strike aircraft are reportedly in storage, and unfit to fly. The Kfirs will last for a little while, but the Jaguars, Dragonflys, and Mirage F1s need replacement.
A deal is in the works for up to 18 of Brazil’s Super Tucanos, which are replacing the A-37 with a number of Latin America’s other air forces as well. They can’t replace the Jaguars and F1s, however, which triggered a search for replacements that could be bought on a small budget. After investigating a number of offers, a deal with South Africa was set, even as Venezuela stepped in with an offer of its own.
The Pentagon is considering updating Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement (DFARS) to incorporate a “proposal adequacy checklist” for proposals in response to solicitations that require submission of certified cost or pricing data. Comments should be sent to DoD in writing before January 31, 2012, to be considered in the formation of the final rule.
Switzerland’s largest socialist party (SPS) passes a resolution saying that they’ll try to stop the deal for 22 Swedish JAS-39 Gripen fighters. We aren’t surprised, either.
We wish there were more elected officials like Rep. Walter Jones [R-NC-3], who has spent 10 years trying to clear the names of 2 pilots involved in a fatal MV-22 Osprey crash. Why didn’t H.Res. 698 (111th) get out of committee?
RAND Corporation analyzed the root causes behind Nunn-McCurdy cost breaches for the following MDAPs: Zumwalt, JSF, Apache, and WGS. See also DOT&E’s presentation [PDF] from last August on the very same topic, and The Australian Strategic Policy Institute’s just-released report on managing risk in defense projects.
The Heritage Foundation, the Lowy Institute for International Policy, and the Observer Research Foundation think tanks jointly made the case for US-Australia-India cooperation defense cooperation.
First battalion of UH-72A Security & Support variant helicopters enter service with the US military.
The crew of the Taiwanese fishing vessel Chin Yi Wen takes back their boat from about 6 Somali pirates, then contacts the UKMTO naval task force. Seems some of the sailors were veterans of the Vietnam War. 3 sailors injured, and the pirates, uh, “fell into the sea” and haven’t been found. Last week German frigate FGS Köln sank 2 pirate fishing boats and captured several people.
3 soldiers of the Welsh Cavalry on a patrol in Nahr-e Saraj, Afghanistan got out of their recently-rehulled Scimitar Mk2 almost unfazed after an IED blast. The 1st video below shows what these tracked vehicles look like.
The 2nd video below shows the US Navy’s Deep Submergence Unit (DSU) using a pressurized rescue module to practice a submarine rescue with their Chilean peers:
In fall 2011, Raytheon Missile Systems in Tucson, AZ received a $26 million firm-fixed-price contract from Egypt and Turkey for 174 Stinger FIM-92H Block 1 missiles, 10 Electronic Component Assemblies, and spare parts. Work will be performed in Tucson, AZ with an estimated completion date of Dec 31/12. One bid was solicited, with one bid received by the US Army Contracting Command in Redstone Arsenal, AL (W31P4Q-09-C-0508).
A similar contract was issued in June 2009. Stinger is usually carried by soldiers as a shoulder-fired (MANPADS) missile, and that very portability has led to increased concern about keeping MANPADS weapons out of the hands of terrorists. Egypt recently revived the production line for HMMWV-mounted “Avenger” low-altitude air defense systems. They combine the Stinger missile with a .50 caliber machine gun, and advanced detection and tracking sensors. Turkey is also one of the missile’s many customers, and Roketsan handles license production of rocket motors within the European Common Stinger Production Consortium. They have their own Self-Propelled(Autonomous) Low Altitude Air Defence Missile System Project, which appears to use the M113 as their base platform.
June 24/11: The US DSCA announces [PDF] Morocco’s official request to buy 8 AN/MPQ-64F1 Improved Sentinel radars, 8 M1152 HMMWV Sentinel transports, 8 accompanying AN/VRC-92E SINCGARS Vehicular Dual Long-Range System Radios, plus Sentinel Software, HMMWV support equipment, spare and repair parts, personnel training and training equipment, publications and technical data, and U.S. Government and contractor support.
The DSCA says that “The Government of Morocco is modernizing its armed forces and expanding its air defense architecture.” They could certainly use that…
June 20/11: The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Middle East District in Winchester, VA awarded 14 multiple-award contracts, out of 43 bids received via FBO.gov for design-build and construction projects in U.S. Central Command’s area of responsibility.
The firm-fixed-price, indefinite-delivery /indefinite-quantity task orders could be worth up to $3.8 billion, and run until June 30/16. Each task order will be competed among these winners:
DJ Elliott is a retired USN Intelligence Specialist (22 years active duty) who has been analyzing and writing on Iraqi Security Forces developments since 2006. His Iraqi Security Forces Order of Battle is an open-source compilation that attempts to map and detail Iraqi units and equipment, as their military branches and internal security forces grow and mature. While “good enough for government use” is not usually uttered as a compliment, US Army TRADOC has maintained permission to use the ISF OOB for their unclassified handouts since 2008.
This compilation is reproduced here with full permission. It offers a set of updates highlighting recent changes in the ISF’s composition and development, followed by the full updated ISF OOBs in PDF format.
June 1 /11: Raytheon Co. in McKinney, TX receives a $24 million firm-fixed-price contract award to buy 2 used commercial Beechcraft airliners, then refurbish the airframes, add special mission equipment and components, and cover spare parts, accessories and other material and services for the Arab Republic of Egypt. Work will be performed in McKinney, TX, and Egypt, with an estimated completion date of July 31/12. One bid was solicited, with one bid received by the US Army’s AMCOM Contracting Center at Redstone Arsenal, AL (W58RGZ-11-C-0084).
Raytheon spinoff HawkerBeechcraft’s King Air twin-turboprops have found a niche as affordable, long endurance manned reconnaissance airplanes. Used commercial aircraft are likely to be the King Air B200/ 300, which have been bought and refurbished for Canadian use under the MARSS program, rather than the new King Air 350ERs in use by Iraq and the USA. Malta operates King Air B200s as maritime patrol craft, and private firms like ASSI (SkyEye 350) and Dynamic Aviation own King Air ISR(Intelligence, Surveillance & Reconnaissance) planes that are available for lease.
In all of these variants, a belly “canoe” fits the required surveillance gear, which can involve surface-viewing radars, surveillance and targeting turrets like Raytheon’s own MTS, and more. Inside, workstations in the plane receive the data; depending on the communications gear and available bandwidth, that information can be sent on to command sites. The net effect is similar to a Predator level UAV, but with more sensors and more flexibility, in exchange for less endurance in the air.
In mid-April, South Africa’s DefenceWeb reported an R 49.2 million ($7.3 million) in contracts to begin resupplying its MEKO-derived Valour Class frigates with Umkhonto Mk.2 short range air defense missiles, perform Umkhonto Mk.2 testing, and support existing South African missile stocks.
Umkhonto Mk.1 missiles are currently in service on South Africa’s new frigates, and the South African Army’s Project Protector uses Umkhonto as a land-based SAM system. They are not its only customers…
