Embraer Threatens Delivery Slow-Down to Late-Paying Brazil | SecDef to Push Scorpions to India | Slovakia Executes (smaller) Black Hawk Deal

Americas

• Canada is planning a major mid-life extension program for its fleet of Victoria-class subs. Various options are being considered, with a report expected by June. The project is expected to be worth between $1.2 and $2.5 billion, with the aim of extending the boats’ life by six to eighteen years. Lacking an indigenous submarine industry, the Canadians will have to look to foreign suppliers in order to fulfill modernization requirements.

• Huntington Ingalls christened DDG-113 on Saturday, with the new Arleigh Burke-class ship named after the Pearl Harbor Medal of Honor recipient John Finn. The 29th ship of the class, the Navy recently told Congress that it would pursue a ten-ship multiyear contract for the Flight III Arleigh Burke-class in 2018, as part of its thirty-year shipbuilding plan.

• The Air Force awarded a $51.9 million contract to Ohio-based Sawdey Solution Services Inc. Friday for advisory and assistance services to the Agile Combat Support Directorate, while the Navy awarded a $16 million contract for legacy data processing subsystems for Ohio-class subs.

• Embraer is contemplating slowing the KC-390 production line in response to the Brazilian government’s lethargic payment schedule, a result of attempts to firm the country’s federal budget. The Brazilian manufacturer posted a $58.9 million first quarter loss on Thursday, with a falling real.

Europe

• European firm Airbus is reportedly making a formal complaint against the German intelligence services over alleged industrial espionage after reports surfaced that German intelligence helped the US in gathering technical information that was later reported to be used by the US to spy on the firm.

• Slovakia is buying nine UH-60M Black Hawk helicopters from the US for $261 million, significantly less than the $450 million deal previously slated by the DSCA. This is the latest in a flurry of Black Hawk contracts, with Mexico and Tunisian recently the same variant of the UH-60. Bahrain became the first international customer for the M model in 2010.

Asia

• Vietnam is buying fifty submarine-launched 3M-14E Klub land attack missiles. The missiles will equip Vietnam’s fleet of Kilo-class subs, with Russia having already handed the Vietnamese twenty-eight of the missiles in the last two years, according to recent SIPRI database updates. This is likely to alter Chinese strategic planning, given the significant capability jump such missiles provide.

• China’s J-11D fighter has completed its maiden flight. The upgraded D model also reportedly includes the Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) radar system developed for the J-16, which the PLAAF received last year. The new aircraft is also purported to boast composite materials and improved air to air capabilities. However, reports have detailed how the PLAAF may require both the J-11D and the Russian Su-35, in order to fill a capability gap before China’s fifth-generation fighters enter service.

• The Indian-manufactured INS Arihant nuclear SSBN is progressing well with sea trials, according to the Chief of the Indian Navy. Launched in 2009, the sub’s reactor went critical in August 2013 and is thought to have begun shakedown voyages from March last year. Based on the Russian Akula-1 design, the INS Arihant is India’s first indigenously-manufactured nuclear sub and a critical component of the country’s pursuit of a nuclear triad capability. In related news, the Indian MoD has restricted all future shipbuilding to domestic yards, with private shipyards having a potential workload of $3.2 billion over the next fifteen years.

• Two Indian firms are reportedly moving to sell 108 new MLRS systems to the Indian Army. The TATA Group and Larson & Toubro are primary manufacturers of the Pinaka MLRS and are set to take the lion’s share of the $306.6 million contract, which is yet to be signed off by the Defence Ministry.

• US Secretary of Defense Carter is expected to offer the Textron AirLand Scorpion light attack/trainer aircraft to India through a joint technology development program known as the Defense Trade and Technology Initiative (DTTI) when he visits the country in June. The Scorpion will be one of a host of agenda items Carter is expected to discuss on his visit. Nigeria and the UAE have also expressed interest in the cheap aircraft, which boasts low production costs through a high portion of commercial components, pushing the aircraft’s per-unit price to less than $20 million.

Today’s Video

• Chinese media on the J-11D:

Victoria Class Submarine Fleet Creating Canadian Controversies

HMCS Victoria

Canada’s aging fleet of Oberon class submarines had become simply too old to put in the water. In July 2000, their de facto retirement became official. The question was: what, if anything, would replace them? With long coastlines, and a significant portion of its iced-in northern seas used as running grounds for foreign submarines, Canada’s military believed that giving up its submarine capability was not a viable option for a country that wished to maintain its sovereignty.

Unfortunately, the country’s purchase of 4 second-hand diesel-electric Upholder Class submarines from Britain ran into controversy almost from its inception. In early 2008, controversy flared again as the submarines’ C$ 1.5 billion Victoria Class In-Service Support Contract (VISSC) became an issue. Subsequent revelations concerning spiraling costs, boats in poor condition, and few to no actual submarines in service have kept the fleet controversial to the present day.