Building a Better LANTIRN

F-16 with twin LANTIRNs

Targeting pods are a very affordable way to upgrade existing aircraft with precision strike and surveillance capabilities. As such, their popularity in the modern age is likely to remain very strong for the foreseeable future. At present, the top offerings on the market include the Northrop-Grumman/ RAFAEL LITENING series (vid. the recent Dutch order), Lockheed’s Sniper XR/Pantera, and Raytheon’s ATFLIR. All are 3rd generation offerings, successors to the early 2nd generation LITENING all-in-one pods and the first-generation LANTIRN (Low Altitude Navigation and Targeting Infrared for Night) twin-pod set.

LANTIRN pods may be first-generation technology, but they still fly with a number of air forces and were included as the pods specified for Greece’s new F-16Ds. As such, Lockheed’s announcement that it is selling upgraded LANTIRNs to Denmark offers an interesting look at potential opportunities at the lower end of the global market.

First Flight of Boeing-Saab T-X Trainer Due Before 2017 | NG Completes Design Review for Tern UAS | Iraqis to Buy HQ-9 Surface to Air Missiles from China

Americas

• Following the completion of afterburner engine runs last week, Boeing has announced that the first flight of the Boeing-Saab T-X trainer will take place before the end of the year. However, several tests remain to be carried out prior to the full flight, including low, medium, and high-speed taxi tests, as well as takoff, climb, and landing. The Boeing-Saab offering is one of the two clean sheet designs being offered to the USAF, the other being Northrop Grumman, as part of the T-X competition. Meanwhile, Lockheed Martin has partnered with KAI to offer the T-50A, a version of the Korean company’s T-50 trainer, while Raytheon has joined with Leonardo and CAE on the T-100, which uses Alenia Aermacchi M-346 as the basis.

• Northrop Grumman has announced the completion of two critical design reviews for the Tern UAS that it is designing alongside the Office of Naval Research, and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency. Mid-October saw the NG team complete a critical design review for the vehicle’s General Electric engine, while the latest review covered its vehicle management system. The Tern program has been undertaken in order to develop a new UAS system that can be deployed from maritime platforms for surveillance and strike missions. It is also being designed to fly in vertical and horizontal modes.

• Norwegian UAS maker Prox Dynamics has been acquired by sensor developer FLIR Systems in a cash deal worth $134 million. Once finalized, FLIR will have access to the company’s product line, and will continue to develop new devices to support military and para-military intelligence operations. A specialist in covert surveillance systems, products offered include the pocket-sized Black Hornet aerial sensor, which can be hand-launched by soldiers on the battlefield to collect intelligence and support surveillance operations.

Middle East & North Africa

• The Iraqi government is reportedly set to finalize a deal to buy the HQ-9 long-range surface-to-air missile system from China. Valued at $2.5 billion, Baghdad is expected to finance the acquisition using credit from China, and paid for in installments of $833 million. The deal may also include Type 99 tanks and other Chinese military equipment.

Europe

• In response to the current missile testing by the Ukrainian military near Crimea, Russian warships have taken up position off the peninsula in order to improve their air defenses. The two-day exercises, which began yesterday, have angered Moscow, as their forces remain on high alert and fearful that international flights may be delayed. Ukrainian officials have dismissed the fears, saying the testing is being carried out in accordance with international law and does not threaten Crimean air space.

• A consortium led by state-run PGZ will provide six batteries of the PSR-A Pilica system to the Polish Ministry of Defense. Delivery of the anti-aircraft platforms will take place between 2019 and 2022, and will cost Warsaw $180 million. Plans to beef up all forms of air-defense capabilities has $9.5 billion earmarked for middle-range air and anti-missile defense systems, and a further $4.7 million available for short-range air-defense procurements.

Asia Pacific

• Australia’s government has issued a request for tender to three shortlisted designers for the production of their multibillion dollar Offshore Patrol Vessel program, with officials telling designers Damen, Fassmer and Luerssen that they must focus on local shipbuilding enterprises to support the project. Prospective contracts will cover 12 vessels and are slated to replace Australia’s Armidale-class patrol boats. The project is part of the Australian government’s $89 billion investment in naval ships and submarines over the next 20 years.

• Contracts have been signed between India and the US subsidiary of BAE Systems for the provision of of 145 M777A2 LW155 ultralight howitzers. The $737 million deal will see BAE partner with Indian private sector defense company Mahindra Defence Systems to assemble 120 ultralight howitzers, while the remaining 25 guns will be supplied over the next three years. Meanwhile, neighboring Pakistan’s own self-propelled howitzer competition is shaping up, with South Africa’s Denel and Serbia’s Yugoimport-SDPR offering their T5-52 and NORA B-52 guns respectively.

Today’s Video

Overview video of Northrop Grumman’s Tern UAS:

China Gearing up to Export HQ-9 Anti-Air Missiles

HQ-9 launcher

Kanwa Asian Defense reports that the China Precision Machinery Import-Export Corporation has put CASIC’s HQ-9 surface-to-air missile on the export market, under the name FD-2000. “Brochures advertising China’s latest missile appeared at the most recent African Ground Force Equipment Exhibition in Cape Town, South Africa and also at the Defense Exhibition in Karachi, Pakistan last November.”

The Chinese Air Force has already deployed the HQ-9 at its bases in the north-central provinces of Xi’an and Lanzhou. A brigade reportedly contains a command vehicle, six control vehicles, 6 targeting radar vehicles, 6 search-radar vehicles, 48 missile-launch vehicles, and 192 missiles; plus a positioning vehicle, a communications vehicle, a power supply vehicle and a support vehicle. A battalion reportedly contains 8 missile launch vehicles.

The HongQi-9/FD-2000 reportedly combines elements “borrowed” from Russia’s S-300 and America’s MIM-104 Patriot…

Russia Protests Ukraine Plan to Test Fire Near Crimea | US State Dept Clears Sale of JASSM-ER to Poland | USAF Contracts Raytheon in $22M FMS to Taiwan

Americas

• Defense officials from Bolivia are exploring the possibility of purchasing A-29 Super Tucanos from Brazil. The Embraer-made light attack aircraft will be used to clamp down on illegal activity, namely drug and mineral trafficking, along both nation’s 3,423 km shared border. According to Brazil’s defense ministry, Bolivian interest in the counter-insurgency plane was raised during a meeting to deepen bilateral relations.

• Saab will provide further training and simulation systems under a contract awarded by the US Army. According to the company, the contract falls under the service’s Program Executive Office of Simulation, Training and Instrumentation (PEO STRI), and will provide OSAG 2.0 interoperability upgrades for the 7th Army Training Command’s Deployable Instrumentation System, Europe (DISE) and Combat Vehicle Tactical Engagement Simulation System (CVTESS). The new capability will allow the US, who use the MILES Communicaton Code (MCC), to train seamlessly with the European partners, who mostly utilize the OSAG 2.0 standard.

Middle East & North Africa

• Tunisia’s government has admitted that US drones are patrolling its border with Libya, to help fend off attacks from the Islamic State. Speaking on television, President Beji Caid Essebsi maintained that the UAV’s were unarmed and denied that they took off from Tunisian air bases. Essebsi also stated that the surveillance drones would be given to Tunisia after training conducted by 70 US soldiers, although exact numbers remain unclear.

Africa

• The Nigerian Air Force has announced that they have refurbished 13 aircraft, some of which have returned to active duty putting down an insurgency led by the jihadist group, Boko Haram. In addition, ten more aircraft will be added to their fleet, including four new Mi-35N attack helicopters, at least three ex-Brazilian Air Force Super Tucanos, and three JF-17 Thunders from Pakistan. This will add to a recent order of Super Mushshak trainers and a soon to be completed refurbishment program of older helicopters and light aircraft to carry out surveillance and counter-insurgency missions.

Europe

• Plans by Ukraine to test fire missiles near Crimea have been met with protest from Russia. Having annexed the peninsula in 2014, Moscow is regarding the planned tests as violating “Russia’s sovereign air space,” summoning the Ukrainian defense attache to hand over a protest note ahead of the December 1 & 2 launches. Meanwhile, Russian military buildup in Crimea continues.

• The US State Department has cleared the potential sale of Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missiles – Extended Range (JASSM-ER) to Poland. Estimated at $200 million, if passed Warsaw will receive 70 AGM-158B JASSM-ER missiles, 2 AGM-158B Flight Test Vehicles, 2 AGM-158 Mass Simulant vehicles, and 1 Captive Carry variant of the AGM-158B Flight Test Vehicle. F-16 C & D upgrades, along with training services, and additional supporting equipment are also included in the deal.

• In the wake of Brexit and Trump, the European Union unveiled its biggest defense funding and research plan in more than a decade as part of a broader push to revitalize defense cooperation within the bloc. Also included is the European Commission’s proposed plan for a 5 billion-euro ($5.3 billion) fund to let governments club together to buy new helicopters and planes to lower costs. Another plan, according to EU officials, to let the EU’s common budget and its development bank invest in military research, would open the door to new drones, cyber warfare systems and other hi-tech gear.

Asia Pacific

• Raytheon has been contracted by the USAF to provide upgraded missile warning radar centers to Taiwan in a $22 million foreign military sale. Under the deal, the company will upgrade Taiwan’s Early Warning Radar Surveillance Radar Program Missile Warning Center to address obsolescence concerns. The new system will warn operators of incoming ballistic missile attacks, as well as track threats, and provide accurate determination of threat versus non-threat objects.

Today’s Video

Aster 30 SAMP T: