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Archives by category > Contracts – Awards (RSS)

P-3 Orion’s SMIP Program Keeps on Rolling

Aug 04, 2023 04:58 UTC

Latest updates[?]: The United States Congress was notified in July of the potential transfer of crucial defense equipment to Argentina, in a move aimed at bolstering the South American nation’s military capabilities. The proposed arms package includes the sale of up to 38 F-16 fighter jets from Denmark and four P-3 maritime patrol aircraft from Norway. The notification from the Department of State to Congress highlights the strategic importance of this transfer, emphasizing the consideration of political, military, economic, human rights, and arms control factors. The deal, valued at approximately $338.7 million for the F-16s and $108.4 million for the P-3s, aims to address Argentina’s ongoing efforts to modernize its air force and navy.

P-3 Harpoons Torpedo Sidewinder

P-3 Orion, armed –
note Sidewinder

The P-3 Orion remains the USA’s main maritime patrol aircraft, and is also finding use in overland surveillance roles despite the fleet’s age. Earlier DID articles have noted the extra effort required to preserve the USA’s P-3C Orion maritime surveillance & patrol aircraft, along with radar and weapons upgrades to improve the fleet. Lockheed has even opened a new production line, to deal with planes whose wings that are so aged and worn that they need a full replacement.

The SMIP (Sustainment, Modification, and Installation Program) is intensive depot-level inspection and repair process that includes P-3 airframe and component inspection, identification of problems, and corrective maintenance. The idea is to ensure safe and reliable P-3 use, while trying to get more hours out of each airframe in order to sustain dwindling global fleets. More intensive “MIP” efforts may be launched once inspection results become clear, such as the USA’s P-3 recovery plan and full “ASLEP” re-winging efforts underway in Norway and Canada.

Continue Reading… »

Tomahawk’s Chops: xGM-109 Block IV Cruise Missiles

Aug 03, 2023 04:56 UTC

Latest updates[?]: Raytheon won a $124.3 million modification, which adds scope to procure 42 Maritime Strike Tomahawk Seeker (MST) suites for the Navy in support of MST Low Rate Production Three, to be installed into Tactical Tomahawk Missiles in the recertification effort. Work will be performed in Boulder, Colorado; Tucson, Arizona; North Logan, Utah; Dallas, Texas; Pontiac, Michigan; Huntsville, Arkansas; Minneapolis, Minnesota; Berryville, Arkansas; Elyria, Ohio; and various locations within the continental US, and is expected to be completed in November 2025.

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Block IV Cutaway

Block IV Tomahawk is the current generation of the Tomahawk family of cruise missiles. The BGM-109 Tomahawk family began life in the 1980s as sub-sonic, low-flying nuclear strike weapons, before being developed into long-range RGM/UGM-109 conventional attack missiles. They’re most frequently launched from submarines and surface ships, and have been the US Navy’s preferred option for initial air strikes in Iraq, Libya, et. al. Britain has also bought Tomahawk missiles, and launches them exclusively from submarines.

Block IV is the latest variant. It adds innovative technologies that improve combat flexibility, while dramatically reducing the costs to buy, operate, and support these missiles. That’s why the Block IV program, under US Navy PMA-280, has been one of the USA’s defense acquisition success stories over the last decade.

Continue Reading… »

The US Army’s Bradley Remanufacture Program

Aug 02, 2023 04:58 UTC DII

Latest updates[?]: RENK America won a $54.6 million modification by the US Army for for Bradley Fighting Vehicle System and Armored Multi-Purpose Vehicle System transmission and hardware production support. Work will be performed in Muskegon, Michigan, with an estimated completion date of July 31, 2025. The Bradley Fighting Vehicle’s role is to transport infantry on the battlefield, to provide fire cover to dismounted troops, and to suppress enemy tanks and fighting vehicles. The M2 carries a commander, gunner and driver, plus six fully equipped infantry men.
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M3A3 Bradley Charge

M3A3 Bradley CFV: Charge!

In the 1970s, middle eastern wars demonstrated that tanks without infantry screens were vulnerable to infantry with anti-tank missiles. Unfortunately, armored personnel carriers were easy prey for enemy tanks, and sometimes had trouble just keeping up with friendly tanks like America’s 60+ ton, 50+ mph M1 Abrams. In response, the Americans rethought the armored personnel carrier, taking a page from the Soviet book. They created a more heavily armored, faster “Infantry Fighting Vehicle” named after WW2 General Omar “the soldier’s general” Bradley, and gave it an offensive punch of its own. M2/M3 tracked, armored IFVs can carry infantry – but they also have 25mm Bushmaster cannons, networked targeting sensors, and even TOW anti-armor or Stinger anti-aircraft missiles at their disposal.

M2 Urban Range

Bradley puts on wear

Even well-serviced vehicles must suffer the pangs of age and wear, however, and the pace of electronics breakthroughs is far faster than the Army’s vehicle replacement cycle. The US Army plans to keep its Bradley fleet for some time to come, and new technologies have made it wise to upgrade part of that fleet while renewing the vehicles. Hence the remanufacture program, which complements the restore-only RESET programs.

This free-to-view DII Spotlight article explains the differences between the Bradley variants involved, details the re-manufacture process, offers additional research sources, and covers associated contracts from FY 1999 to the present.

Continue Reading… »

USA’s B-2 Bombers Leading the Way in Contracting for Availability

Jul 31, 2023 04:56 UTC

Latest updates[?]: Raytheon won a $175 million deal for the B-2 Advanced High Frequency Radar Components and end items. This contract provides for overhaul and repair of the B-2 Advanced High Frequency Radar Components and end items. Work will be performed in El Segundo, California, and is expected to be completed by July 31, 2033.

B-2 with Squadron Personnel

All together now…

Britain’s practice of “contracting for availability” for key equipment, rather than paying for spare parts and maintenance hours, may be its most significant defense procurement reform. In a world where older air, sea, and ground vehicle fleets are growing maintenance demands beyond countries’ available budgets, it’s an approach whose success could have global significance.

Across the pond, the USA is significantly behind in this area. Fortunately, they have not ignored the model entirely. Recent changes to the contracts covering their B-2 Spirit stealth bomber fleet demonstrate that some progress is being made, via a $9+ billion commitment from 1999-2014, and 2 parallel development programs that are changing key sub-systems.

Continue Reading… »

France’s Rafale

Jul 28, 2023 04:56 UTC DII

Latest updates[?]: France is exploring a new deal with Qatar for the supply of additional Dassault Rafale fighter jets, according to Reuters. Qatar has expressed its desire to acquire more Rafale fighter jets after purchasing 36 aircraft in 2015 and 2017. A source in the French defense ministry confirmed to Reuters that Qatar has shown interest in buying 24 additional Rafale jets. The French source stated that there was a feeling that Doha was satisfied with the purchase of Rafale jets, and their impression was that Qatar wanted to continue the partnership. This could imply the acquisition of new aircraft and upgrades to the existing fleet, potentially to the F4 standard.

Dassault Rafale

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.

Continue Reading… »

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

Jul 27, 2023 04:58 UTC DII

Latest updates[?]: Northrop Grumman won a $20 million order by the US Navy, which provides for non-recurring engineering, hardware qualification, systems integration, safety assessment, retrofit installation, and flight testing of the payload interface unit and vehicle management computer upgrades to include a cyber-intrusion protection system in support of the MQ-8C vertical takeoff and landing tactical unmanned air vehicle system. Work will be performed in San Diego, California; and Mojave, California, and is expected to be completed in May 2026.

MQ-8B Cutaway

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.

Continue Reading… »

From VH-71 to VXX: the Future of US Presidential Helicopters

Jul 26, 2023 04:58 UTC DII

Latest updates[?]: Connecticut-based aerospace company Sikorsky is nearing the formal unveiling of the next generation Marine One presidential helicopter, the VH-92A Patriot. Built as a replacement for the current fleet of VH-3D Sea King and VH-60N White Hawk helicopters, the VH-92A is on track to take over the esteemed Marine One mission. With the White House expecting a total fleet of 21 VH-92A helicopters, including two test aircraft, this transition marks a significant security measure in presidential transport. According to Paul Lemmo, President of Sikorsky, the VH-92A helicopters are already in service for some presidential missions, operating alongside the older VH-3D. However, over the next year or so, the VH-92A is expected to fully replace the previous models, Lemmo said during a Connecticut Business & Industry Association forum late last month.

VH-71 EH101 Concept

Aborted landing

In January 2005, the U.S. Navy selected the US101 as the new “Marine One” baseline helicopter, for use by the President of the United States. The US101 is an American variant of AgustaWestland’s successful AW101 multi-mission medium helicopter; it beat out Sikorsky’s S-92 Superhawk, which is already in use as a government VIP transport in countries like South Korea.

That $1.7 billion victory was first endangered, and then destroyed, by ongoing changes from the White House staff. In 2008, the program’s ballooning costs and requirements got a temporary reprieve when US Navy agreed to proceed with the VH-71, despite a cost per aircraft equal or greater than the President’s Air Force One 747s. By June 2009, however, the VH-71 program had shot itself down.

Another round of competition is on the way, and back in 2009 the Pentagon said it was considering buying 2 different helicopters in the VXX follow-on program. Faced with an initial Analysis of Alternatives deemed too expensive, the OSD accepted the Navy’s revised approach in May 2012, setting things in motion for a new program of record.

Continue Reading… »

The Fighter Still Remains… The Boxer MRAV APC Family

Jul 19, 2023 04:56 UTC

Latest updates[?]: The UK is set to trial its next-generation Boxer armored vehicle this month to determine if it possesses all the qualities to be named the new British Mechanized Infantry Vehicle (MIV). According to the service, the prototypes will undergo a series of special tests ahead of a separate customer trial to be initiated by the country’s procurement agency. If successful, the vehicles will join the army’s Armored Brigade Combat Teams and be deployed over long distances to support a wide variety of missions “from low intensity peacekeeping to warfighting.”

Boxer MRAV Snow

Boxer MRAV

Wheeled armored vehicles have become much more common, but the Dutch-German Boxer stands out from the crowd. Its English acronym is “Multi Role Armoured Vehicle” (MRAV), but rather than being a family of different vehicles, the Boxer will use a single chassis, with snap-in modules for different purposes from infantry carrier to command, cargo, ambulance, etc.

The base vehicle has a maximum road speed of 100 km/h (60 mp/h) and an operational range of 1,000 km (600 miles). In its troop carrying configuration, it has a crew of 2 and can carry 10 fully equipped troops. The MRAV is fighting for space in a crowded market, but its principal countries are beginning to give it the front-line credibility it needs to succeed.

Continue Reading… »

Eurofighter’s Future: Tranche 3, and Beyond

Jul 17, 2023 04:54 UTC DII

Latest updates[?]: Leonardo, the Italian aerospace and defense company, has unveiled the next phase of upgrades for the Eurofighter Typhoon’s Defensive Aids Sub-System (DASS). These upgrades, proposed for the Eurofighter four-nation Phase 4 Enhancement (P4E) package, are set to significantly enhance the aircraft’s survivability capabilities. Furthermore, these upgrades will also be made available for export customers, extending the reach of this cutting-edge technology.

Italian Eurofighters

Italian Eurofighters

The multi-national Eurofighter Typhoon has been described as the aerodynamic apotheosis of lessons learned from the twin engine “teen series” fighters that began with the F-14 and F-15, continued with the emergence of the F/A-18 Hornet, and extended through to the most recent F/A-18 Super Hornet variants. Aerodynamically, it’s a half generation ahead of all of these examples, and planned evolutions will place the Eurofighter near or beyond parity in electronic systems and weapons.

The 1998 production agreement among its 4 member countries involved 620 aircraft, built with progressively improved capabilities over 3 contract “tranches”. By the end of Tranche 2, however, welfare state programs and debt burdens had made it difficult to afford the 236 fighters remaining in the 4-nation Eurofighter agreement. A 2009 compromise was found in the EUR 9 billion “Tranche 3A” buy, and the program has renewed its efforts to secure serious export sales. Their success will affect the platform’s production line in the near term, and its modernization plans beyond that.

Continue Reading… »

ER/MP Gray Eagle: Enhanced MQ-1C Predators for the Army

Jul 03, 2023 04:58 UTC DII

Latest updates[?]: The US Army has awarded RTX, until recently known as Raytheon Technologies, a $118-million contract to deliver a Common Sensor Payload (CSP) for the MQ-1C Gray Eagle drone. The CSP is an “electro-optical/infrared/laser designator sensor,” providing “battlespace awareness, force protection, and net-centric operations.” The CSP version 3 will come equipped with a target location accuracy (TLA) capability.

MQ-1C Hellfires

ER/MP, armed

Its initial battles were fought within the Pentagon, but the US Army’s high-end UAV has made its transition to the battlefield.

The ER/MP program was part of the US Army’s reinvestment of dollars from the canceled RAH-66 Comanche helicopter program, and directly supports the Army’s Aviation Modernization Plan. The US Air Force saw this Predator derivative as a threat and tried to destroy it, but the program survived the first big “Key West” battle of the 21st century. Now, the MQ-1C “Gray Eagle” is in production as the US Army’s high-end UAV. As CENTCOM’s wars end, however, the Gray Eagle may find that staying in the fleet is as hard as getting there.

This FOCUS article offers a program history, key statistics and budget figures, and ongoing coverage of the program’s contracts and milestones.

Continue Reading… »
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