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

Aug 20, 2018 04:54 UTC

Latest updates[?]: The Navy is funding research on its fleet of MH-60 Sierra Multi-Mission Helicopters. The aircraft's manufacturer Sikorsky is being awarded with a cost-plus-fixed-fee delivery order valued a $9.7 million. The company will be responsible to conduct engineering efforts necessary to conduct comprehensive fatigue life analysis to define the expected service life of the Knighthawk. The MH-60S entered service in 2002 as a replacement for the US Navy’s Boeing CH-46D Sea Knight, flown mostly in utility roles that involve moving cargo between ships. It is designed specifically for amphibious assault operations but it fulfills multi-role operational capabilities. The MH-60S functions as a heavy-lift capable helicopter for ship-to-ship and ship-to-shore transport. Work will be performed at Sikorsky's facility in Stratford, Connecticut and is expected to be completed in January 2022.

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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RIM-162 ESSM Missile: Naval Anti-Air in a Quad Pack

Aug 13, 2018 04:56 UTC

Latest updates[?]: The US State Department is determined to approve a foreign military sale to Mexico. The country want to purchase six Evolved Seasparrow tactical missiles (ESSM) and two Evolved Seasparrow telemetry missiles for an estimated cost of $41 million. The RIM-162 Evolved Sea Sparrow Missile (ESSM) is used to protect ships from attacking missiles and aircraft, and is designed to counter supersonic maneuvering anti-ship missiles. The potential deal would also include one MK56 VLS launcher (for RIM-162D) with eight launching cells and eight MK30 canisters, as well as services ranging from training to engineering support services. The Mexican Navy plans to equip its Sigma 10514 Class ship with the ESSM. The system allows the Navy to better protect critical sea lanes against potential foes while also increasing its maritime partnership potential.

RIM-162: sections

The RIM-162 Evolved Sea Sparrow Missile (ESSM) is used to protect ships from attacking missiles and aircraft, and is designed to counter supersonic maneuvering anti-ship missiles. Compared to the RIM-7 Sea Sparrow, ESSM is effectively a new missile with a larger, more powerful rocket motor for increased range, a different aerodynamic layout for improved agility, and the latest missile guidance technology. Testing has even shown the ESSM to be effective against fast surface craft, an option that greatly expands the missile’s utility. As a further bonus, the RIM-162 ESSM has the ability to be “quad-packed” in the Mk 41 vertical launching system, allowing 4 missiles to be carried per launch cell instead of loading one larger SM-2 Standard missile or similar equipment.

This is DID’s FOCUS article for the program, containing details about the RIM-162 Evolved Sea Sparrow missile family, and contracts placed under this program since 1999. The Sea Sparrow was widely used aboard NATO warships, so it isn’t surprising that the ESSM is an international program. The NATO Sea Sparrow Consortium includes Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Germany, Greece, The Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Turkey, and the USA – as well as non-NATO Australia. Foreign Military Sales ESSM customers outside this consortium include Japan, Thailand, and the United Arab Emirates.

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US Hellfire Missile Orders, FY 2011-2018

Aug 03, 2018 04:56 UTC

Latest updates[?]: The government of Kuwait could soon see a significant boost to its missile inventory. The US State Department is determined to approve a foreign military sale of 300 AGM-114R Hellfire missiles for an estimated cost of $30.4 million. The potential sale would also include missile containers, M261 launchers and spare parts. The Hellfire is the USA’s preferred aerial anti-armor missile. Hellfire II missiles comes in several variants. The AGM-114R is a “multi-purpose” missile that comes with guidance and navigation improvements. The 114R is designed to work well against all 3 target types: armored vehicles, fortified positions, or soft/open targets. The principal contractor will be Lockheed Martin.

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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France’s Rafale

Jul 31, 2018 04:56 UTC

Latest updates[?]: The French government is greenlighting the development of a new generation air-to-air missile. This program will renew the MICA of the Mirage 2000 and Rafale fighters in use by the Air Force and Navy. The MICA NG will be developed come in IR and electromagnetic variants and will replace the current MICA, whose withdrawal of service is expected between 2018 and 2013. The MICA NG is the first weapons program launched under France's 2019-2025 Military Program Law. A Rafale can carry up to six Mica missiles. A Rafale pilot can release the MICA when intercepting an aircraft beyond visual range and can also fire the weapon from its rails when locked in a dogfight. The Rafale will also carry the Meteor missile to hit aircraft beyond visual range. The new missiles are scheduled for delivery between 2026 and 2031.

Dassault Rafale
(click for cutaway view)

Will Dassault’s fighter become a fashionably late fighter platform that builds on its parent company’s past successes – or just “the late Rafale”? It all began as a 1985 break-away from the multinational consortium that went on to create EADS’ Eurofighter. The French needed a lighter aircraft that was suitable for carrier use, and were reportedly unwilling to cede design authority over the project. As is so often true of French defense procurement policy, the choice came down to paying additional costs for full independence and exact needs, or losing key industrial capabilities by partnering or buying abroad. France has generally opted for expensive but independent defense choices, and the Rafale was no exception.

Those costs, and associated delays triggered by the end of the Cold War and reduced funding, proved to be very costly indeed. Unlike previous French fighters, which relied on exports to lower their costs and keep production lines humming, the Rafale has yet to secure a single export contract – in part because initial versions were hampered by impaired capabilities in key roles. The Rafale may, at last, be ready to be what its vendors say: a true omnirole aircraft, ready for prime time on the global export stage. The question is whether it’s too late. Rivals like EADS’ Eurofighter, Russia’s Su-27/30 family, and the American “teen series” of F-15/16/18 variants are all well established. Meanwhile, Saab’s versatile and cheaper JAS-39 Gripen remains a stubborn foe in key export competitions, and the multinational F-35 juggernaut is bearing down on it.

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Pilum High: The Javelin Anti-Armor Missile

Jul 26, 2018 04:56 UTC

Latest updates[?]: Several US allies are set to receive a boost to their anti-tank capabilities as part of a US foreign military sale. Raytheon-Lockheed Martin Javelin JV is being awarded a contract modification that provides full-rate production of the Javelin system at a cost of $307.5 million. The FGM-148 Javelin missile system is a heavy fire-and-forget missile that will reliably destroy any enemy armored vehicle, and many fortifications as well. Javelin technically consists of 2 parts. The $80k Javelin missile that come in ready-to-fire tubes and the $125k Command Launch Unit that houses the weapons sensors, optics and electronics. In Iraq the weapon proved that it can fill the niche between high and low-intensity conflicts, which led to a rise in popularity with American and international customers. After work is completed at the company’s location in Tucson, Arizona, the Javelin will be delivered to Australia, Estonia, Lithuania, Turkey Taiwan and Ukraine by August 2021.

Javelin, firing

The FGM-148 Javelin missile system aimed to solve 2 key problems experienced by American forces. One was a series of disastrous experiences in Vietnam, trying to use 66mm M72 LAW rockets against old Soviet tanks. A number of replacement options like the Mk 153 SMAW and the AT4/M136 spun out of that effort in the 1980s, but it wasn’t until electronics had miniaturized for several more cycles that it became possible to solve the next big problem: the need for soldiers to remain exposed to enemy fire while guiding anti-tank missiles to their targets.

Javelin solves both of those problems at once, offering a heavy fire-and-forget missile that will reliably destroy any enemy armored vehicle, and many fortifications as well. While armored threats are less pressing these days, the need to destroy fortified outposts and rooms in buildings remains. Indeed, one of the lessons from both sides of the 2006 war in Lebanon has been the infantry’s use of guided missiles as a form of precision artillery fire. Javelin isn’t an ideal candidate for that latter role, due to its high cost-per-unit; nevertheless, it has often been used this way. Its performance in Iraq has revealed a clear niche on both low and high intensity battlefields, and led to rising popularity with American and international clients.

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THAAD: Reach Out and Touch Ballistic Missiles

Jul 24, 2018 04:58 UTC

Latest updates[?]: The Missile Defense Agency is contracting L-3 Communications in support of its Ballistic Missile Defense System (BMDS). The awarded contract modification is valued at $73.2 million and allows the company to procure three used aircraft required to modernize the High-Altitude Observatory (HALO) systems used to collect electro-optic and infrared imagery during tests of the BMDS. The HALO-I system platform is usually a Gulfstream IIB aircraft equipped with multiple sensors viewing through optical windows, used for data collection in the visible through long wave IR (LWIR) spectral regions. Three sensor stations accommodate the Infrared Imaging System (IRIS) primary sensor and a mix of user-defined sensors in the remaining two stations known as Alpha and Beta. HALO-II is also a Gulfstream IIB aircraft with a cupola mounted to the top of the fuselage that allows for open port viewing with a multiband sensor system to collect radiometric and photo documentation data in the visible through LWIR spectral regions. This modification brings the contract ceiling to a maximum amount of $637.3 million. The work will be performed in Tulsa, Oklahoma, by L-3 Aeromet. The performance period is from July 2018 to approximately June 2021.

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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RAM (Rolling Airframe Missile) Systems: Contracts & Events

Jul 24, 2018 04:56 UTC

Latest updates[?]: Raytheon Missile Systems is set to provide a number of support services for the Navy’s RAM Mk-31 system. The $64.4 million cost-plus-fixed-fee contract provides for design agent and engineering support services for the Mk-31 Guided Missile Weapon System Improvement Program. The 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 RAM weapon system consists of a 21-round missile launcher, below-deck electronics, and a guided missile round pack. This contract combines purchases for the Navy, Germany and Egypt. In addition, this contract also includes a number of options which, if exercised, would bring the cumulative value to $301.7 million. Work will be performed in Tucson, Arizona, and is expected to be completed September 2020.

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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The New Chinooks: Boeing’s Modern H-47 Heavy-Lift Helicopters

Jul 23, 2018 04:54 UTC

Latest updates[?]: The US Army is continuing to boost its heavy-lift capabilities. Boeing is being awarded with a firm-fixed-price contract valued at $181.2 million. The deal provides for the procurement of up to 156 Block I configured CH-47F Chinook helicopters. The CH-47F builds the backbone of the US Army Cargo Helicopter Modernization Program, it’s the latest variant of the helicopter platform that was introduced in 1962. The CH-47F has 4,868 shaft horsepower from each of its engines, increasing fuel efficiency and enhancing lift performance by approximately 3,900 pounds. The new engines will enable the CH-47F to reach speeds in excess of 175 mph and transport up to 21,016 pounds. Work locations and funding will be determined with each order, with an estimated completion expected by December 2022.

CH-47Fs take off

DII FOCUS articles offer in-depth, updated looks at significant military programs of record; this FOCUS Article covers the CH-47F/MH-47G Chinook helicopter programs, in the USA and abroad. These helicopters’ distinctive “flying banana” twin-rotor design stems from the brilliant work of aviation pioneer Frank Piasecki. It gives Chinooks the ability to adjust their positioning very precisely, while carrying a large airframe whose load capacity has made it the world’s most popular heavy-lift helicopter. The USA expects to be operating Chinooks in their heavy-lift role past 2030.

The CH-47F looks similar to earlier models, but offers a wide range of improvements in almost every aspect of design and performance. While the related HH-47’s $10-15 billion CSAR-X program win was terminated, delivery orders continue for CH-47Fs and for MH-47G Special Forces configuration helicopters. International orders or formal requests have also come in from Australia, Britain, Canada, Italy, the Netherlands, Turkey, and the UAE, with India and other countries expected to follow.

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Top Falcons: The UAE’s F-16 Block 60/61 Fighters

Jul 19, 2018 04:56 UTC

Latest updates[?]: BAE Systems is partnering with Raytheon to support the development of BAE’s Digital Light Engine (DLE) Head-Up Display (HUD). The new digital hub will be integrated on the United Arab Emirates’ fleet of F-16s. Raytheon will design, develop and manufacture the projector for the HUD. HUDs are located immediately in front of the pilot's line of sight and combine real-time mission critical information with the outside world view. The UAE flies the Block 60 variant of the F-16 which has been described as a lower-budget alternative to the F-35A Joint Strike Fighter. The initial order covers design, flight test and certification of the new computers, with a follow-on production order of 100 systems expected in 2020 and 2021. BAE expects a total of up to 315 units to be ordered through 2028.

F-16F “Desert Falcon”

The most advanced F-16s in the world aren’t American. That distinction belongs to the UAE, whose F-16 E/F Block 60s are a half-generation ahead of the F-16 C/D Block 50/52+ aircraft that form the backbone of the US Air Force, and of many other fleets around the world. The Block 60 has been described as a lower-budget alternative to the F-35A Joint Strike Fighter, and there’s a solid argument to be made that their performance figures and broad sensor array will even keep them ahead of pending F-16 modernizations in countries like Taiwan, South Korea, and Singapore.

The UAE invested in the “Desert Falcon’s” development, and the contract reportedly includes royalty fees if other countries buy it. Investment doesn’t end when the fighters are delivered, either. Money is still needed for ongoing training, fielding, and equipment needs – and the UAE has decided that they need more planes, too. This DID article showcases the F-16 Block 60/61, and offers a window into its associated costs and life cycle, including dedicated equipment purchases for this fighter fleet.

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AH-64E Apache Block III: Evolving Battlefield Roles

Jul 19, 2018 04:54 UTC

Latest updates[?]: Jane’s reports that the Taiwan Defense Forces have now a full air brigade of Boeing AH-64E Apache Guardian attack helicopters. The 29 helicopters are part of the 601st Air Cavalry Brigade, which operates out of Taoyuan’s Longtan District in northern Taiwan. The AH-64A/D Apache has become a dominant attack helicopter around the globe. The gunships are armed with a 30mm chain gun and can be equipped with AGM-114 Hellfire missiles, Hydra-70 2.75-inch rocket pods and AIM-92 Stinger air-to-air missiles. Taiwan purchased 30 Boeing Apache helicopters from the United States in 2008 for $1.94 billion and took delivery of the final batch in October 2014. One of the helicopters was badly damaged in a training accident in April 2014.

AH-64 in Afghanistan

The AH-64 Apache will remain the US Army’s primary armed helicopter for several more decades, thanks to the collapse of the RAH-66 Comanche program, and the retirement sans replacement of the US Army’s Armed Reconnaissance Helicopter (ARH). Apaches also serve with a number of American allies, some of whom have already expressed interest in upgrading or expanding their fleets.

The AH-64E Guardian Block III (AB3) is the helicopter’s next big step forward. It incorporates 26 key new-technology insertions that cover flight performance, maintenance costs, sensors & electronics, and even the ability to control UAVs as part of manned-unmanned teaming (MUT). In July 2006, Boeing and U.S. Army officials signed the initial development contract for Block III upgrades to the current and future Apache fleet, via a virtual signing ceremony. By November 2011, the 1st production helicopter had been delivered. So… how many helicopters will be modified under the AH-64 Block III program, what do these modifications include, how is the program structured, and what has been happening since that 2006 award? The short answer is: a lot, including export interest and sales.

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