Reap and Sow… The British RAF’s MQ-9 RPAS

Britain decided to stand up a full Reaper flight in late 2007, after positive early experience with 3 unarmed MQ-9s in Afghanistan. The British initially saw the MQ-9 only as a high-end surveillance drone to complement their mid-range , and short-range Desert Hawk and RQ-11 Raven mini-UAVs. That changed, as the RAF eventually bought 10 Reapers – and armed them…

Sniper Targeting Pods Hitting the Mark

In a recent address to Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control employees in Orlando, FL, USAF Aeronautical Systems Center Commander Lt. Gen. William R. Looney praised Lockheed Martin’s Sniper XR Advanced Targeting Pod (ATP) following the system’s recent successful deployment in Iraq. Ten of the U.S. Air Force Sniper pods were shipped to Lakenheath, England, and installed aboard Air Force F-15E Strike Eagles. These Sniper pods have now flown in more than 450 missions in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom.

Double-Jointed & Popular: The Bv Family of Infantry Support Vehicles

The BvS10 is the successor to the wildly popular Bv206, 11,000 of which have been sold to 40 countries around the world – including the USA (M978). Readers may have seen these vehicles elsewhere, too, as a number of Bv206s have post-military careers at ski resorts, in industries like mining and logging, etc. The new BvS-10 is larger and more heavily armored; it’s in use in Britain, France and the Netherlands as a key armored vehicle for their respective Marines, has been bought by Sweden, and is under evaluation elsewhere. International interest includes imitators: Singapore’s Bronco ATTC is a BVS10 competitor, and Finland and Norway have their own local Bv206 variants.

What makes this unusual-looking vehicle family and design so popular? They aren’t like Humvees or similar wheeled mainstays. They aren’t full armored personnel carriers, either – they’re armored, but Bv family vehicles can’t take the kind of punishment that a Bradley or LAV can absorb. Instead, the secret to their success lies in a remarkable all-terrain capability, and their ability to fill a rare and critical role: air-portable and amphibious infantry enhancement. These success factors are discussed below, along with contracts and key developments related to this vehicle family.

USA Fielding M110 7.62mm Semi-Auto Sniper Rifle

In this war, snipers matter in close-quarters urban fights. So does penetrating power. Accurate ranged lethality is equally important for squads in open areas, where engagement distances can easily make 5.56mm rounds ineffective. Bolt-action sniper rifles solve these problems, but can get your best people killed in close-up automatic firefights. Semi-automatic weapons have traditionally been less reliable and accurate, but offer the only reasonable approach that covers both extremes.

The result has been the emergence of a hybrid approach, on both a people level and a technical level. On the human end, militaries like the Americans and British are adopting “designated marksman” or “sharpshooter” roles in normal infantry squads, who aren’t full snipers but do have additional training and qualification. On the technical side, gun makers are fielding semi-automatic systems that offer nearly bolt-action accuracy out to 800-1000 meters, but can also be used in closer-quarters firefights. The British have hurried the L129A1 to their infantry squad sharpshooters, but the Americans have a longer running program, which is beginning to ramp up production and fielding…

Sikorsky Sets Up European Foothold with PZL Buy, Enters Fixed-Wing Business

UH-60 Blackhawk

Helicopter-maker Sikorsky Aircraft Corp. has agreed to acquire aircraft and helicopter maker PZL Mielec from the Polish government. Under the agreement Sikorsky will acquire a 100% stake in the 1,500-employee Mielec, Poland firm; a Reuters report placed the deal at 250 million zlotys (currently about $84.3 million). Polskie Zaklady Lotnicze (Polish Aviation Factory) Mielec is a government holding company and manufacturer of fixed-wing aircraft under the Ministry of Treasury’s ARP (Industrial Development Agency); the transaction is subject to regulatory approval and pre-closing conditions. Sikorsky’s parent company UTC and its subsidiaries currently employ more than 7,000 people in Poland in the aerospace and building systems industries.

Janes Defense Industry observes that:

Canada Crafting High-End UAV Requirements

Sperwer UAV

By the time 2005 drew to a close, Canada was pursuing UAV deployments on 3 fronts. The RQ-11 Raven’s early performance in Afghanistan led to purchases of soldier-portable mini-UAVs, which would be joined by older Sperwer tactical UAVs already in inventory. Canada’s Air Force was also crafting a multimillion-dollar plan to purchase the Joint Unmanned Surveillance Target Acquisition System (JUSTAS), for fielding around 2010.

Canada’s defense procurement system rivals India’s for inefficiency, so it isn’t completely surprising that nearly a decade of effort has produced essentially nothing.

Australia Chooses JASSM Missiles on F-18s for Long-Range Strike

F/A-18 with test JASSMs

In March 2005, Lockheed Martin’s AGM-158 Joint Air-to-Surface Stand-off Missile (or JASSM) cruise missile won the competition with Boeing’s SLAM-ER and the Taurus KEPD 350 for the AIR 5418 Follow-on Standoff Weapon (FOSOW) requirement. This marks the first international sale of this stealthy cruise missile, which was originally developed for the US Air Force and Navy. The contract includes production, integration and support, and was signed in September 2006. Total project cost was revealed as A$ 300 million (about USD$ 230 million), and production will be integrated into the existing line at the Lockheed Martin Pike County Operations facility in Troy, AL, USA.

The Australian government noted that “acquiring a long range air to surface missile has been publicly listed in Defence’s Capability Plan since 2001 and specific details were announced in August 2004,” and JASSMs were expected to be operational on Australia’s aircraft fleet by December 2009. Nevertheless, the purchase raised some controversy at home concerning its effect on the region, the reason it was chosen, and some of the choices that accompany its selection.

What’s the history behind this buy? Why did Australia make this particular choice, and choose the JASSM over the SLAM-ER? Is the regional destabilization controversy valid? And what happened?

JPADS: Making Precision Air-Drops a Reality

Strong’s JPADS,
Afghanistan

The dilemma for airdropping supplies has always been a stark one. High-altitude airdrops often go badly astray and become useless or even counter-productive. Low-level paradrops face significant dangers from enemy fire, and reduce delivery range. Can this dilemma be broken?

The US military believed that modern technologies could allow them to break the dilemma. The idea? Use the same GPS-guidance that enables precision strikes from JDAM bombs, coupled with software that acts as a flight control system for parachutes. JPADS (the Joint Precision Air-Drop System) has been combat-tested successfully in Iraq and Afghanistan, after moving beyond the test stage in the USA… and elsewhere.

Ravens, Mini-UAVs Winning Gold in Afghanistan’s “Commando Olympics”

RQ-11: higher, faster…

In 2005 the RQ-11 Raven mini-UAV was enjoying positive field reports from Iraq. In November 2005, StrategyPage reported that the RQ-11 Raven was also turning heads in what it calls “the commando Olympics” of Afghanistan:

“In addition to all the cooperation, there’s also a lot comparing notes. One thing everyone has noted is the large number of useful gadgets American Special Forces troops have. The most envied item is the American Raven UAV.”

It’s an apt phrase. This Spotlight article looks at Special Forces related mini-UAV buys from a number of countries, spurred by requests from special operations troops in theater.

New Eyes for the USA’s H-60 MEDEVAC Helicopters

UH-60Q, Baghdad

Sikorsky’s H-60 Hawk family has become the backbone of the US Army and Navy’s helicopter force, with a number of fielded variants. The USAF’s HH-60 is well known for its medical evacuation (MEDEVAC) role, as well as its combat search and rescue functions. The US Army also operates dedicated MEDEVAC models. The UH-60Qs include a 6 patient litter system, on-board oxygen generation, medical suction system, and other advanced medical capabilities. They are complemented by more recent HH-60Ls, and the entire fleet will eventually be recapitalized using new HH-60M MEDEVAC models.

The HH-60M’s higher power rating might make them somewhat more useful in hot and/or high altitude conditions like Afghanistan. In that theater, H-60 helicopters have taken a back seat to larger machines like Boeing’s H-47 Chinooks, the USMC’s CH-53E Super Stallions, and Eurocopter’s Super Puma/Cougar series. In the mountainous altitudes around Tora Bora, for instance, the California Army National Guard’s 126th Medical Co. (Air Ambulance) reportedly had to use its UH-60Ls stripped of their heavy litter carousels. One area where usefulness can receive quick improvements across the entire fleet, however, involves surveillance and visualization.