Rapid Fire 2011-01-12: Illegal Infrared

• The Pentagon must buy American-made solar panels, according to the FY 2011 defense authorization law; many of Nellis Air Force Base solar panels are Chinese made.

• Doling out justice: US DoJ charges former NASA employee with illegally exporting military infrared technology to South Korea without an export license; Army staff sergeant gets 7.5 years for aiding a government contractor in stealing $1.5 million in fuel from FOB Shank in eastern Afghanistan.

• South Korea installing underwater sensors near its border with North Korea. Better late than never, we suppose.

Cheap, Fast, Deadly: NETFIRES “Missiles in a Box” (NLOS-LS)

NETFIRES concept
(click to view larger)

The basic concept of NETFIRES is to develop a family of artillery-like precision attack missiles based upon a vertical launcher design. Yet the idea goes far beyond that simple description. The NETFIRES CLU box launcher is intended to be be fully autonomous, meaning it can be dropped off anywhere and operate on its own without a support vehicle. The launch unit includes power generation and control systems as well as a total of 15 missiles, each with a warhead similar in size and capability to a 155mm artillery shell.

The system is also known as XM501 Non Line-Of-Sight, Launch System, or NLOS-LS. At one time, it was one of Future Combat systems’ most promising programs, slated for early fielding to the Army and even for integration with US naval forces. It has been canceled in both areas, and its absence threatens to leave a serious hole in both the Army’s and Navy’s modernization plans.

• The NETFIRES Concept
  
• NETFIRES Missiles
  
• Contracts and Key Events [updated]
  
• Appendix A: Lockheed’s Successful Design Improvement Workshops
  
• Appendix B: Additional Readings & Sources