Italy & Israel: A Billion-Dollar Offer They Didn’t Refuse

The Israeli Air Force has known since December 2008 that its fleet of A-4 Skyhawk jet trainers and light attack aircraft would leave service. It took until July 2012 to sign a contract for the Skyhawk’s successor, despite justifiable complaints from South Korea that the process lacked full professional formality. The first M-346 Master trainers should begin arriving in Israel around mid-2014, where they will be operated by the IAI/Elbit “TOR” joint venture as a public-private partnership service to the IAF.

Italy’s M-346 eventually beat KAI’s supersonic T-50, thanks to a combination of air force evaluations, geo-political considerations, and countervailing industrial offers. For most countries, “industrial offsets” mean sub-contracting work in their country, sometimes even in sectors of their economy outside of the defense industry. Israel’s weapons industry is far more developed, however, and so their advanced trainer competition saw “industrial offsets” as the purchase of full-fledged Israeli weapons systems. South Korea was already a customer for Israeli radars, UAVs, and missiles, and was seen as the favorite thanks to their relationships and their jet. Italy was a much smaller customer, but relations between Silvio Berlusconi and the Jewish state had been good for a long time. By October 2011, reports surfaced that Italy had made Israel a very impressive offer – one that would make Italy a major export customer for strategic systems, even as it equalized purchases on both sides. In the end, it was an offer the Israelis couldn’t, and didn’t, refuse.

The deal’s components are as follows:

More Mi-17s for Sri Lanka

In mid-July 2012, Russia’s Rosoboronexport announced an order from Sri Lanka for another 14 Mi-171 helicopters, to be built at the Ulan-Ude plant. The SLAF started operating Mi-17s in 1993, and the current fleet of 13-18 machines equips No. 6 Helicopter Squadron at Anuradhapura, in north-central Sri Lanka.

The additional buy is part of a $300 million, 10-year loan to buy equipment for Sri Lanka’s military, which was signed during a 2012 state visit to Russia. Why buy more helicopters? SLAF spokesman Group Captain Andrew Wijesuriya told Reuters they were buying them for civilian tourism. Oddly enough, that’s probably at least partly true…

Rapid Fire July 20, 2012: Cooperation in the Pacific – Or Not

• The Australian and US navies signed a deal to work on biofuels together. This follows talks back in February between the US Navy’s Director for Operational Energy and the Australian Institute for Bioengineering and Nanotechnology. The US Navy’s efforts in that domain have met some opposition in Congress and elsewhere.

• CSIS’ PacNet explains [PDF] why the ASEAN meeting last week didn’t end with a joint statement for the first time ever in the 45 years since the Association of Southeast Asian Nations was created. The substance, put bluntly: Chinese heft and hubris. This hints at continued territorial bullying in the South China Sea.

• A US Navy CENTCOM MH-53E Sea Dragon crashed yesterday in Oman with a crew of 5 onboard. Three have been safely recovered while search is ongoing for the two still missing.

Rapid Fire July 19, 2012: Access Denied

• Lt. Gen. Charles Davis, recently promoted as the US Air Force’s acquisition deputy chief (the chief position has been vacant for a few months), said the focus was shifting to fielding “capabilities to fight in a contested environment again” – i.e. against a nation state (obviously not China) with decent anti-access capabilities rather than the COIN operations of past years. That includes making a new stealth bomber. He reckons the RDT&E budget should remain stable, at least in the short term.

• Britain receives its first F-35B today. Defence Secretary Hammond joked that he wouldn’t get to fly it home and, more seriously, brushed aside concerns raised in a recent US GAO report by saying: “If you ever buy a house and you get a surveyor to do a structural survey, you will never, ever buy the house if you read the structural survey.” Meanwhile the Pentagon is reportedly finalizing its next JSF production batch with Lockheed Martin.

• Speaking of Lockheed Martin, they sent a letter to all their US employees that confirms their stance on WARN Act notices, in line with statements made by CEO Robert Stevens at yesterday’s HASC hearing:

“Our very rough estimate of the number of employees who could be affected, based on the limited information available to us from the government, is about 10,000. We’d prefer to give you more clarity and details, and we will, just as soon as we get specific guidance from the government.”

This is no doubt distressing for the employees caught in the political firestorm and employment number battles. Sequestration will continue to drown out everything else until it either is resolved or actually comes to pass – a pretty idiotic outcome that nonetheless no longer seems impossible. The sequester is meant as a deterrence mechanism rather than actual policy but the “did you just blink” standstill in Congress has lasted longer than many expected. It looks like these tired late night reruns will stay stuck on the schedule for a few more months.

• Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez would like to buy Sukhoi Su-35s. First, he needs to be reelected in October.

• Saab announced [PDF] earlier this month the opening of a multi-country Gripen flight school at AFB Overberg in South Africa. The SA National Defence Force denied yesterday they had even discussed such a plan with the manufacturer. Gripen responded that talks were still underway with the government, presumably at a higher level. Not the greatest way to start establishing a relationship with the base…

• Two recent additions in the DAU’s ACQuipedia explain solicitations and pre-award surveys.

• Changes of command at the US Army Network Enterprise Technology Command (NETCOM) and Joint Attack Munition Systems Project Office (JAMS).

• According to Reuters, United Technologies Corp is in final discussions to sell Rocketdyne to GenCorp. UTC told investors back in March that they intended to sell 3 businesses including Rocketdyne.

Rapid Fire July 18, 2012: Stuck in a Rut

• The Aerospace Industries Association (AIA) outdid its previous report on the effect of sequestration on jobs with a new one [PDF] that predicts even uglier outcomes for the whole US economy. The scary numbers are conveniently laid out by state for maximum political impact. An interesting new twist to try and broaden opposition to sequestration beyond defense: “Non-DOD cutbacks would have a much greater direct impact on federal employment than DOD budget reductions due to the respective differences in procurement and payroll distributions.” At this rate a 3rd report threatening a loss of 3 million jobs should be made available just in time for the lame duck session in November.

• That very same topic is on the agenda of the House Armed Services Committee with a hearing today where the bosses of Lockheed Martin, EADS NA, Pratt and Whitney, and Williams-Pyro (to bring a small business perspective) testify.

• An interesting question is what would happen to contracts funded between the start of FY13 (i.e. Oct. 1, 2012) and the beginning of sequestration (Jan. 2013). According to Press Secretary George Little:

Rapid Fire July 17, 2012: Veterans and the Psyche Wars

• In Sight, which covers organized crime in the Americas, offers additional context to help make sense of the recent Super Tucano (“Drakos”) loss in Colombia, and explains what’s at stake if FARC’s claim of a shoot-down is correct.

• The recent series of intelligence leaks from the Obama administration has created bipartisan concern on Capitol Hill, and is sparking a wider backlash among Special Operations veterans. SpecialOperationsSpeaks.com is an organizing platform with a petition, and a demand for investigation and prosecutions as appropriate. Meanwhile, the House in now moving ahead with a probe of its own, to mirror the Senate’s.

ROVER Sics TacAir on Enemies

Start with this…

“ROVER” (Remote Operational Video Enhanced Receiver) is an unimpressive piece of equipment. Mostly, it looks like a ruggedized laptop with antennas. But SpaceWar.com quotes Lt. Col. Gregory E. Harbin, of the 609th Combat Operations Squadron at Shaw Air Force Base, SC, who says “…the ROVER is bringing a phenomenal capability to our people on the ground.” ROVER is the Remotely Operated Video Enhanced Receiver, which receives camera images from nearby aircraft and UAVs (somewhat like Israel’s wrist-mounted V-RAMBO), then integrates them with other US positioning and targeting software.

Staff Sgt. Justin Cry, a Shaw Joint Tactical Air Controller (JTAC), has a job that’s an art form at the best of times. Describing features from the ground to a pilot looking down while flying at high speed is no easy task. According to a Dec 16/05 USAF article, he used the system in Iraq and in New Orleans, and says simply: “I can circle an area on my screen, drawing arrows for emphasis, and what I’m drawing appears on (the pilots’) screens as well.”

ROVER continues to evolve, and is becoming an unheralded but critical piece of equipment in America’s arsenal. This is DID’s FOCUS Article covering the system and its ongoing developments.

Rapid Fire July 16, 2012: Droning On

• The American FAA has released thousands of pages of certification documents for UAV flights in civil airspace. They establish which organizations have sought permission, their specific drone models, where they fly, how often, and for how long. Hat tip: reader Jason Attas.

• Kurt Albaugh from the US Naval Academy marvels at the 9 million lines of code helping fly the F-35 and wonders whether this could lead to unmanned JSFs. This is a rather fast shortcut. Modern cars that cost less than the seat in a fighter jet often run as much or more code, but this has led to reliability issues. Quantity in code has an adverse quality of its own, that is, more code makes things more complicated to troubleshoot. There’s probably a lot that aircraft makers, car manufacturers, and software companies like Google (working on driverless cars) can learn from one another – Even the more so with increased civilian UAV use.

• Colombia’s air force releases an official statement that says their downed Super Tucano was not hit by FARC anti-aircraft fire. Brazil also had a crash recently, and Colombian crash pictures didn’t show bullet holes in the wing. The front section, where a missile would hit or AA fire could take out the pilot/engine, was destroyed in the crash.

• Iraq has set money aside to field air defense systems. It currently has none, but the April 30/12 SIGIR report [PDF] said that a formal request for mobile Avenger systems was coming.

• BAE has begun simulator tests to modify the Eurofighter’s cockpit for the new long-range Meteor air-to-air missile. Britain’s Prime Minister recently announced an agreement to integrate the Meteor, but this test’s timing shows why it’s expected to take until 2015.

• Canada’s 1st “CH-147F” heavy-lift helicopter makes its 1st flight at Boeing’s facility.

• Pro tip for the PLAAN: When you’re trying to be a bully in disputed waters around the Spratlys, try not to run your frigate aground on a reef.

• A look at current and future prospects for defense contractors based in Indiana.

• The Committees on Arms Export Controls (CAEC) in the British parliament issued a report scrutinizing arms exports, stating that “the Government should apply significantly more cautious judgements when considering arms export licence applications for goods to authoritarian regimes which might be used to facilitate internal repression.” They acknowledge that the executive provided them plenty of information though these answers were delayed, an issue raised last year in Germany as well.

Ascent’s Long-Term UKMFTS Contract for Military Flight Training

Hawk LIFT

Back in October 2006, an $840 million contract for BAE’s Hawk LIFT trainers aimed to provide advanced jet training for both Royal Air Force and Royal Navy pilots, as part of the consolidated UK Military Flying Training System (UKMFTS). In November 2006, the Ascent team of VT Group plc and Lockheed Martin announced their status as Preferred Bidder to provide military flying training to the Royal Navy, Royal Air Force and Army Air Corps for the next 25 years.

In June 2008, they secured the contract. That began a combination of infrastructure build-out, aircraft modification, and managed competition, aimed at fulfilling a contract estimated at up to GBP 6 billion (about $11.7 billion)… when it was signed. It’s hard to evaluate that number until Britain finally buys its training aircraft and associated training service, and as of 2012, they haven’t even put out the RFP.

Rapid Fire July 13, 2012: Birds With Clipped Wings

• HawkerBeechcraft has begun low-rate production of its own AT-6C FAC turboprop, “in response to significant indications of interest around the world.”

• Unlucky day yesterday for 2 Colombian EMB-314 Drakos (Super Tucano) pilots, whose light attack/ FAC(Forward Air Control) turboprop was shot down during an operation against FARC narco-terrorists. If FARC used a missile, tensions between Venezuela and Colombia will spike.

• Luckier days for Embraer lately, which just had Boeing sign on to add new weapons to its EMB-314 Super Tucano (A-29 to Brazil’s FAB).