Eurocopter’s EC665 Tiger HAD Helicopters

Eurocopter’s Tiger had always had a very odd setup in that it came in two seemingly incomplete versions (HAP scout and HAC/UHT anti-tank), whose respective deficiencies severely limited multi-role flexibility and hence exports. The new Tiger HAD (Helicoptere Appui Destruction) variant fixes those deficiencies, and looks set to become the default version for new-build EC665 Tiger exports.

The HAD project began in December 2005, as the EU’s OCCAR organization for armament cooperation signed a formal contract in Bonn, Germany and set out initial procurement numbers for Spain. This was followed by the French DGA’s announcing the restructuring of its own 80-helicopter order, and each customer has made its own choices as the new variant has gone from concept to initial delivery.

South Africa’s Denel Forced Into Strategic Shift – Now Paying Off

Base, Bleeding Out?

Back in July 2005 it was apparent India’s sanctions against Denel and possible disqualification from a $2 billion artillery contract could have a major effect on the South African defense firm as a whole. In August 2005, those sanctions came to pass, barring Denel from a contract it was likely to win and accelerating efforts already underway to radically restructure the firm.

CEO Shaun Liebenberg launched that shift in late 2005 with some frank discussion of the global defense market, and the position of small-medium players like Denel in it. At DSEI 2005 in London, UK, the outline of this new strategy was already apparent. Many of the products Denel is known for will no longer define the firm. But could it find a way to stanch the bleeding and survive in a globalized market?

And how has it done since?

• Denel’s Position
  
• Denel’s New Strategy
  
• Updates and Key Events [updated]
  

Next-Gen Naval Gunfire Support: The USA’s AGS & LRLAP

AGS fires LRLAP

It’s easy to forget that the original rationale for the DDG-1000 Zumwalt Class centered around naval gunfire support for troops ashore, as the ship’s estimated costs have risen and its missions have proliferated. Heavily armored US battleships with massive 16-inch (406 mm) guns once performed extremely well in this role, as their volkswagen-weight shells gave enemies pause. USS Iowa was brought back into service during the Reagan era, but she was decommissioned again in 1990. That left America with a floating museum in Los Angeles, and a gap in its options.

While European manufacturers are fielding guided, long range adaptations of existing 127mm/54 and 76mm shells, the Zumwalt Class will be getting an entirely new Advanced Gun System that fires the same 155mm shells used by field artillery ashore. The goal was to combine the wide range of available 155mm shell options with extra-long range, GPS precision guidance, and rapid fire.

New Frontiers for Raytheon’s Excalibur GPS Guided Shells

Excalibur 155mm

Sometimes, a basic improvement opens up entirely new opportunities. Raytheon’s one-piece M982 Excalibur rocket-boosted, GPS-guided shells are costly, but they offer the kind of accuracy that has made artillery relevant again on Small Wars battlefields. Overall accuracy is currently touted as being within 4 meters 90% of the time (3m or less CEP), and the US military recently began buying Block Ib shells. At the same time, the firm is starting to face competition from less accurate but cheaper drop-in solutions like ATK’s PGK, and the wars that propelled Excalibur sales are winding down. What to do?

Part of Raytheon’s response involves a self-funded program to create a new dual-mode GPS/ Semi-Active Laser guidance and navigation unit (GNU) for the Block Ib. Adding the ability to attack moved or moving land targets adds a lot of flexibility on the battlefield, and retains Excalibur’s unique positioning. It also creates entirely new opportunities for Raytheon at sea.

ATK Remains USA’s Main Small Arms Ammo Supplier: FY 2013-2022

A single plant, dating from World War 2, still provides almost all of the US military’s small arms ammunition (up to 12.7mm). The Lake City Army Ammunition Plant in Missouri has been operated by ATK for a long time, and was the USA’s only facility until recently. Ammunition shortages forced the Army to add General Dynamics Ordnance and Tactical Systems in St Petersburg, FL as a limited 2nd supplier in 2005. That effort went hand-in-hand with modernization at Lake City, however, and even if orders escalated to 2 billion rounds per year, GD-OTS would provide only 300-500 million of those rounds.

In 2012, the US Army competed the management contract for Lake City, and Alliant Techsystem Operations LLC in Independence, MO won the contract again. The totals really add up.

Uncle Sam’s Sale: M1 Tanks for Morocco

M1A1 Abrams

In June 2012, the US DSCA announced Morocco’s formal request for upgrades and refurbishment of 200 M1A1 Abrams tanks, which are being provided as Excess Defense Articles from US stocks. Used tanks have become very popular around the world, and Germany’s Leopard 2 has become ubiquitous as a direct result of sell-offs by Germany and the Netherlands. American M1s haven’t been part of that dynamic so far, but the US Army does have a significant backlog of armored vehicles needing reset and repairs after hard use in theater.

Having allies pay for that work, in exchange for the tanks, does 3 important things. It removes some of that maintenance overhang from American budgets. Second, it helps keep the Lima, OH busy until American M1 modernization work is set to begin in 2017. Finally, it keeps the tanks “useful” to the USA in a geo-strategic sense. This proposed sale is a classic example.

• Morocco’s M1s: Benefits All Around
  
• Was the Chinese Tank Rumor an Information Op? [NEW]
  
• Contracts & Key Events
  
• Additional Readings
  

Afghan Ammo Orders

Policeman, Sabari

Readers may recall “AEY’s Ammunition: Ain’t An April Fools, Alas“, which detailed a $300 million contract to a Miami company, who delivered ammunition that was not up to standard and is charged with sourcing its stock illegally. Now, more established firms like ATK and General Dynamics are stepping into the breach.

They are not the only firm receiving contracts for “non-standard” ammunition. By “nonstandard,” the military means non-NATO standard, such as the 7.62 x 39mm caliber used by rifles like the AK-47 and its copies around the world. Other common options include the 7.62 x 54mm (used in Dragunov sniper rifles and PKM machine guns), and 12.7 x 108mm (as opposed to NATO’s .50 BMG 12.7 x 99mm). Even RPG-7 panzerfaust rounds and aviation rockets have been specified in these contracts, which include:

Next-Gen 120mm Tank Killer: ATK’s M829E4 AKE

APFSDS in flight

ATK recently announced a $77 million, 3-year contract, exercising an option to develop and qualify the USA’s new 120mm tank-killing round for use in the U.S. Army’s M1A2 SEP Abrams tanks. The M829E4 is called the Advanced Kinetic Energy round, and belongs to a class known as APFSDS-T: Armor Piercing, Fin Stabilized, Discarding Sabot with Tracer. As the picture shows, the shell casing releases a penetrator sabot dart, which flies at extreme velocity to punch through enemy tank armor. The tracer element makes it easy to see the round in flight.

While manufacturers like Rheinmetall use tungsten alloys for the APFSDS dart, American rounds use alloys of similarly-dense depleted uranium (DU)…

Elbit Turns Initial Mikal Stake Into Targeted Acquisitions

Latest updates[?]: African sale for ATMOS howitzers.

In June 2009, Elbit Systems in Haifa, Israel, agreed to pay $18 million for a 19% stake in fellow Israeli defense firm Mikal Ltd., the country’s 2nd largest privately owned defense conglomerate. The Mikal group operates through 3 main divisions: Soltam Systems, which supplies artillery, mortars, and ammunition; Saymar, which supplies armored fighting vehicles; and ITL Optronics, which supplies sensors for soldiers, unmanned aerial vehicles, military vehicles and battle management systems.

By August 2010, however, the acquisition had shifted to a targeted buy of several Mikal properties. The move will consolidate Elbit’s position in a number of sectors, offering the prospect of close links between its sensors, targeting systems, UAVs, and front-line battlefield platforms.

Ammo Imperative: Australia Modernizes Mulwala Facility

Mulwala plant

Although single base propellants have been around for over 100 years, production of this type of propellant only began in Australia during World War 2, when appropriate equipment and know-how were provided under the USA’s Lend Lease Scheme. Prior to this date, all propellants had been of the British double base type. The Mulwala gun propellant facility in New South Wales was set up to produce these commodities, and remains the sole supplier of military-grade propellants and high explosives to the Benalla ammunition plant in northern Victoria. These plants are deemed to be strategic national assets, and produce ammunition for Australia’s Defence Forces; Mulwala also produces low-grade explosives and propellants for a few other customers, including America’s NASA.

Australia isn’t the only country looking to modernize single-source ammunition facilities from World War 2 or earlier. The USA is in the same boat. The Mulwala redevelopment project has finally received full approval, and work is underway – with the assistance of the same firm that owns the USA’s prime (and until recently, only) small caliber military ammunition production facility. Now, Thales will have the assistance of America’s 2nd supplier as well.