F-22 Maintenance Improving, But Retrofits Slip | Su-24s Join MiG-29s on Grounded List | Crash Stats Grow for India’s HAL Licensed Manufactured Aircraft

Americas

• AM General was handed a $372.9 million Foreign Military Sales contract on Monday to deliver Humvees to Afghanistan, Iraq, Kenya, Lebanon, Ukraine and Tunisia. The contract details options for up to 2,082 of the vehicles, with a scheduled completion date of 2016. Afghanistan previously ordered 808 of the vehicles in 2010, with these delivered in 2012.

• The F-22 Raptor is reportedly improving its maintenance and servicing record through the ongoing Reliability and Maintainability Maturation Program (RAMMP). However, efforts to retrofit the Air Force’s Raptors with upgrades (through the Structural Retrofit Program) are now timetabled to slip by a year, owing to competing depot line work priorities.

Europe

• The German Navy is reportedly planning a $626.4 million, ten-year upgrade for its fleet of eight P-3C Orion maritime patrol aircraft. The program will extend the in-service life of the aircraft to 2035. Portugal has also invested in P-3C upgrades, with the German aircraft set to receive new wings, care of a Lockheed Martin production line opened in 2005.

• The Royal Air Force has received a third Airbus A400M, with the delivery delayed from earlier in the year following the crash of a Turkish-bound A400M in early May. The RAF lifted its grounding of the fleet in mid-June, with the cause of the crash currently being attributed to software installation faults. The UK has ordered twenty-two of the transport aircraft.

• The Su-24 has become the latest Russian Air Force model to be grounded, with flights suspended following a deadly crash in the Eastern Khabarovsk region on Monday. This follows news that the MiG-29 fighter and Tu-95 heavy bomber fleets have also been grounded, also following recent crashes.

Middle East

• An Iraqi Member of Parliament has claimed that US officials have been pushing for the country to base its F-16s in Jordan, rather than in the south of Iraq. The US has been delaying the delivery of the aircraft since November – ostensibly over security concerns – instead diverting them to Arizona for training. The country signed a deal for the warplanes in September 2011, with a follow-on order in April 2013 bringing the total number of Iraqi-bound F-16s to thirty-six.

Africa

• An East African country has placed an order for an undisclosed number of DCD Protected Mobility Springbuck armored vehicles, with deliveries timetabled for later this year. The Nigerian Police purchased eight Springbucks in 2012.

Asia

• Iranian media has reported that the country has officially deployed a second Ghadir long-range 3D radar system, with the system first unveiled in June last year. Iran also operates the Sepehr radar system in the country’s north-west, as well as a first Ghadir system located in the northern Semnan province. The new Ghadir system is located in near the southern city of Ahvaz and bears resemblance to the Russian Rezonans-NE system. The country has been putting significant efforts into developing a long-range early warning capability, with this latest system reportedly capable of detecting ballistic missiles at a range of 1,100km.

• India’s Dhanush artillery guns have entered production phase following the completion of trials in April. The Ordnance Factory Board was handed a $252 million contract for the guns in May, which officials hope will plug operational gaps left as a result of messy procurement programs and the residual effects of the Bofors scandal. The Dhanush is an upgraded version of the Bofors artillery piece and is around 80% Indian-developed and manufactured.

• After a HAL-manufactured Hawk Advanced Jet Trainer crashed in early June, the Indian aerospace company is now having its quality assurance measures examined. Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) is license-building 99 out of 123 Hawk AJTs, after BAE Systems manufactured the first 24 aircraft. HAL is also manufacturing SU-30MKIs, which recently earned a safety audit in response to a high crash attrition rate.

• The Indian Air Force has been criticized for using a F-18 Hornet as part of a recruitment ad, despite the fact that the country does not operate the fighter as part of its fleet.

Today’s Video

• Iranian media covering the unveiling of the new Ghadir radar system:

Marines Plug Away at F-35 Capabilities | Russia Encourages Arms Sales to Both Sides of Armenian Conflict | MiG 29s Grounded

Americas

• The Marine Corps conducted its first successful live ordnance drops from a F-35B in late June, the USMC announced on Friday. The Joint Strike Fighters dropped both inert and live ordnance, which consisted of JDAM GPS-guided munitions in both GBU-12 and GBU-32 configurations. The Marine Corps decided in May to push on towards the F-35B’s Initial Operating Capability (IOC) objective timetabled for 1 July, despite the unearthing of software problems. While it appears that the 1 July objective IOC date has now been missed, the jet has until December to achieve this milestone, with the dropping of live ordnance reportedly one of the last remaining items on a checklist of required capability tests required for IOC.

Europe

• Slovakia is buying thirty Rosomak-based armored personnel carriers from Poland over the next three years in a deal worth approximately $32 million, the Polish Prime Minister announced on Friday The armored vehicle – licensed-produced by Polish Armaments Group from Finland’s Patria – could also be equipped with a Remote Weapon Station manufactured by Slovak firm Elektrotechnicky Vyskumny a Projektovy Ustav Nova Dubnica.

• Armenia is set to receive a $200 million loan from the Russian government to buy weapons and other hardware from Russian manufacturers. The thirteen-year, 3% loan comes after Russia handed regional rival Azerbaijan a $1 billion arms package in 2013, with Armenia and Azerbaijan locked in a frozen conflict over the Nagorny Karabakh region.

• Russia is reportedly nearing completion testing of extended range missiles for its S-400 Triumf anti-air system, which recently was exported to China and potentially Belarus.

• Russia has grounded its fleet of MiG-29 fighters, following the loss of a fourth aircraft of the type over the last year. The Russian Defense Ministry purchased carrier-capable MiG-29K models for naval use, with these delivered in 2013. The Russians operate approximately 200 of the aircraft, with the Russian Air Force also recently grounding its fleet of Tu-95 heavy bombers following a crash in June.

• Russian Helicopters may restart the production of the nuclear-capable, anti submarine warfare Mil Mi-14, cancelled in 1986, following significant demand from Russia’s Black Sea and Northern Fleets.

Asia

• Singapore’s Ministry of Defense (MINDEF) has released more information on its plans to upgrade the RSAF’s fleet of F-16C/D fighters. The upgrades will take place in phases from 2016 onward, with various capability enhancements planned. These include laser-designated JDAM munitions, air-to-air weapons, datalink capability and helmet mounted displays, as well as an Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) radar system, as per a previous DSCA request. The AESA system is thought to be the Northrop Grumman AN/APG-83 Scalable Agile Beam Radar (SABR) system. Singapore announced its intention to upgrade its F-16s in 2013, with Lockheed Martin seemingly tipped to win the upgrade contract.

• With the launch of its first Littoral Combat Vessel on Friday, the Republic of Singapore Navy has also reportedly confirmed that it has selected the MBDA Vertical Launch Mica air defense system for the eight LCVs due for full operational delivery by 2020. The LCVs were contracted for in January 2013, with domestic firm ST Marine jointly designing the vessels with Saab Kockums AB. Singapore operates the MBDA Long Range Aster 30 air defense system both on land and aboard its Formidable-class frigates.

• China may look to export its J-10B fighter to Pakistan, with the Pakistanis previously expressing interest in the J-10 several years ago. Manufacturer Chengdu Aerospace Corporation began mass production of the J-10B last year, which uses Russian-produced AL31FN-S3 engines. The Chinese firm is looking to develop its own turbofan engine, the Shenyang WS 10B, in order to sidestep Russian objections to international exports. Pakistan and China jointly developed the JF-17 Thunder fighter, with this recently gaining its first export customer, likely Myanmar.

• European firm Airbus and India’s Mahindra Defence have announced plans to establish a joint venture in order to produce helicopters for the Indian military. The joint venture will act as a prime contractor in future contracts to produce the helicopters for three procurement programs, including India’s Naval Utility, Reconnaissance and Surveillance, and Naval Multi-role helicopter requirements. The two companies are currently finalizing the joint venture’s details.

Today’s Video

• The Rosomak APC: