Navantia Wins $150M Contract for Spanish Frigates | Germany Buys ATGMs From Israel’s Rafael | Russia Delivers MiG-31 Interceptors to Syria

Americas

• The Littoral Combat Ship USS Coronado (LCS-4) has successfully conducted live-fire testing using the ship’s surface warfare mission module, firing the ship’s Mark 46 30mm cannon and Mark 110 57 mm gun, hitting surface targets off the West Coast. The BAE Systems Mk 110 gun equips the Navy’s LCS fleet as standard, with the Mark 46 forming part of the surface warfare (SuW) module.

Europe

• Spain has awarded a $150.3 million contract to develop its future fleet of F-110 frigates. Intended to replace the Spanish Navy’s six Santa Maria-class vessels, the Spanish Navy/Navantia-developed design will benefit from this latest R&D contract, looking into the integration of sensors, missile and combat systems. The new frigates are scheduled to enter service between 2022 and 2030, with the five new vessels forming part of a EUR10 billion investment program announced in October 2014.

• Turkish Aerospace Industries has completed delivery of a batch of nine TAI T129 attack helicopters, with 59 of the helicopters ultimately scheduled for delivery. First deliveries to the Turkish Army began in April 2014, with a further 51 scheduled for delivery, under a contract signed in September 2007. The company is looking to tender the T129 for Poland’s Kruk competition, as part of a broader export push for the helicopter; however the T129 lost out in South Korea to the AH-64E Apache in April 2013.

• The German Army is reportedly buying Spike-LR Anti-Tank Guided Missiles (ATGM) from Israel’s Rafael Defense Systems. The missile family has found export success with India, with the Bundeswehr planning to equip some Puma IFVs with the weapon. The German Defense Ministry has reportedly already purchased a number of the missiles, with the integration with Puma vehicles scheduled for completion by 2018.

• Photos have emerged of new components equipping a Rheinmetall developmental Leopard main battle tank. These are grouped into a modular upgrade package known as the MBT Revolution, including new sensors, a remote weapon station and an Active Defense System.

Middle East North Africa

• Russia has reportedly delivered six MiG-31 Foxhound interceptors to the Assad regime in Syria, with Turkish media first reporting the delivery. The two states are thought to have signed a contract for the aircraft in June 2007, with Russia previously supplying Syria with significant quantities of military hardware, including deals for Yak-130 light attack jets and MiG-29 fighters.

• Egypt has taken delivery [Arabic] of a Molnya missile corvette, donated from Russia under the two countries’ bilateral military cooperation agreement. The Egyptian Navy will reportedly send personnel to Russia to train on Russian Molnya vessels, as they are currently thought to be incapable of operating the new vessel. Egypt has been investing significantly in its naval capability, receiving a FREMM frigate from France in June, with Gowind corvettes also on order. The new Russian corvette is thought to come equipped with SS-N-22 Sunburn anti-ship missiles.

Africa

• South African firm Denel Dynamics will reportedly conduct flight testing of the company’s Marlin beyond-visual-range air-to-air missile later this year, as the firm looks to test technologies to integrate with the A-Darter missile, forming an advanced multi-role aerial weapon. With a guided flight test slated for next November, the missile is also intended to operate in a surface-to-air missile capability. The active radar missile has been ten years in the making, with the missile’s developmental seeker capable of tracking multiple airborne targets simultaneously.

Asia

• With Qatar bagging four of five remaining C-17 transport aircraft in June, Indian plans to procure three of the strategic airlifters appear to be scuppered. The Indian Air Force has finally cleared the acquisition of three of the aircraft, far too late given that Boeing has only one ‘white-tailed’ C-17 available for sale following the decision to close down production in September 2013, recently auctioning off equipment not required to sustain aircraft in service. With the IAF’s proposal to buy the three aircraft first announced in April, the Qatari order will now likely force India to look elsewhere for more strategic transports to supplement its existing C-17 fleet.

• US and Indian officials have begun discussions regarding potential collaboration on aircraft carrier technology. A joint working group was established in January, after the Pentagon stated that the US would be willing to sell technology such as the EMALS catapult to the Indian Navy in April, through the Defense Technology Transfer Initiative. India is eyeing US technology for its future INS Vishal, the second indigenous Vikrant-class carrier cleared for construction by the Indian government in May.

Today’s Video

• A MiG-31 GoPro:

New Options: Denel & Tawazun’s Precision Weapons Partnership

Al-Tariq

In September 2012, Denel Dynamics signed an important deal with the UAE’s Tawazun Holding. By creating a joint firm near Abu Dhabi to manufacture and develop guided weapons, the new Tawazun Dynamics partnership will be able to offer GPS-guided glide bombs and more to customers throughout the Middle East, and around the world. It’s another significant crack in a set of barriers that have given western countries a great deal of leverage with countries who buy their fighters.

Those cracks are appearing all around the world. New entrants like Brazil, Turkey, South Korea, and South Africa are introducing advanced systems for the global market. As alternatives proliferate, the environment that allowed America and European countries to use the continued supply of advanced weapons as a political bargaining chip is eroding quickly. Tawazun Dynamics has one barrier left to conquer, but their partnership has already chalked up 1 success in that area. Now, the question is how far they can take any export opportunities…

Syria’s Russian Weapon Buys

MiG-29SMT

In June 2007, Russian newspapers claimed that Russia had begun delivering 5 MiG-31E Foxhound aircraft to Syria, under a deal that was reportedly negotiated in autumn 2006. The Russian newspaper Kommersant added that part of the deal was being financed by Iran as a back-door purchase. A series of other deals have been announced since, for items that include advanced anti-ship missiles and air defense systems.

To call these deals opaque would be an understatement, and the lack of transparency exists in several layers. Russia has been Syria’s main arms supplier for decades, and both regimes are very secretive about their activities. Russia’s growing relationship with Israel, especially in the oil and gas fields, adds another layer of opacity to decisions, and appears to have delayed or canceled some sales. The third layer was created by Syria’s civil war, which has been raging since April 2011. This article covers public reports of new arms sales to Syria, though we also welcome any conclusive public IMINT or inside information readers wish to refer our way.