Growler crew have lucky escape from the cold | Iraqi lawmaker wants the S-400 Triumf | Former DM now investigated in Austria’s Eurofighter probe

Americas

• A US Navy EA-18G Growler crew had a lucky escape after the electronic warfare aircraft’s environmental control system (ECS) failed during a flight from NAS Whidbey Island to NWS China Lake on January 29. During the flight, the temperature inside the cockpit dropped to -30 degrees and a layer of ice engulfed the canopy and instrument panels. Flying blind, the crew used their Garmin watch for navigation back to Whidbey Island while breathing on oxygen from emergency equipment. The crew suffered from frostbite with “severe blistering and burns on hands,” and one crew member is already back in flight status after treatment while the other is expected to make a complete recovery.

• The Pentagon announced Monday, February 26, the award of a $48.06 million US Navy contract to Raytheon for work on the Phalanx close-in-weapon system (CIWS). The agreement tasks Raytheon with providing performance-based logistics support for the Phalanx in managing the systems by furnishing repaired and new units for 1041 line items under prescribed performance metrics in response to Fleet requisitions. Work will take place in Louisville, Kentucky, and and is scheduled to be completed by August 2019.

• AM General will provide 60 M1167 High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicles (HMMWVs) to the Army National Guard, a Pentagon statement said Friday. Valued at $11.8 million, work on the US Army contract will occur in Mishawaka, Ind., and is expected to be complete by December 2018. The total amount of the contract will be obligated to AM General from Army fiscal 2017 other procurement funds.

• The US Navy has christened its latest Spearhead-class expeditionary fast transport, the USNS Burlington, during a ceremony in Mobile, Alabama, on Saturday. It is the tenth of 12 Expeditionary Fast Transports being built for the Navy at a cost of $1.9 billion. Overseeing the event were the ship’s primary sponsors US Senator Patrick Leahy and his wife Marcelle Pomerleau. Marcelle Leahy said naming the ship after the Vermont city of Burlington was “fitting because Vermonters have long heeded the nation’s call to service.” Built by Austal USA, the vessel is designed to transport troops and equipment at high-speeds and in shallow waters for rapid deployment. The Navy says it can “carry 600 short tons of military cargo for 1,200 nautical miles, at an average speed of 35 knots.” This equates to the Burlington being able to carry 1,200,000 pounds for 1,380 miles at an average speed of 40 mph. It also has a flight deck for helicopter operations and an off-loading ramp for disembarkment missions.

Middle East & Africa

• Iraqi MP Hakim Al-Zamili, head of the Iraqi parliament’s security and defense committee, has suggested that Iraq procures the S-400 Triumf air-defense system from Russia. “Iraq has the right to own cutting-edge weapons to defend its territory and air space from air attacks,” he said. “Terrorism targets our country abundant in places sacred for every Iraqi. There are signs andwarnings that extremists might use aircraft for attacks on those shrines, which cause lots of worries and anxiety in the country, as it was after an attack on Samarra’s holy places.” Al-Zamili added that the US “is unwilling to equip Iraq with arms and to supply it with systems that will ensure comprehensive protection in its territory and air space,” but wants Iraq “to be an open arena for realization of [US] plans.”

Europe

• A former Austrian defense minister is being investigated for breach of trust, as part of a widening of a probe by Vienna prosecutors into 2003’s $2 billion Eurofighter Typhoon jet purchase. Norbert Darabos, who served as Defense Minister from 2007-2013, oversaw a settlement with Eurofighter in 2007 to reduce the order from 18 jets to 15, as well as the volume of so-called offset deals meant to provide business for the local economy to 3.5 billion euros ($4.2 billion) from 4 billion. He is the first known former cabinet member to formally be targeted by prosecutors. While an earlier parliemnatray enquiry found no indications of bribery or that Airbus and its partners illegally influenced Austrian politicians, the committee’s final report assessed that Darabos did not liaise sufficiently with other ministries and agencies while negotiating the settlement and was not transparent enough to allow a court audit of the deal.

Asia-Pacific

• South Korea’s Hanwha Systems will team with the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) to jointly research artificial intelligence (AI) technologies that can be employed on weapons. Four objectives will be pursued under the program: The first is to come up with an AI-based command system; followed by an AI algorithm for navigating an unmanned submarine; third is the development of an AI-base aviation training system; with an AI-based object-tracking technique the final priority. Chang Si-kweon, CEO of Hanwha Systems, said his company is well-prepared to lead the development of defense technologies of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, based on its advanced skills and achievements it has made so far in the area of defense electronics. Members of its defense arm will join 25 researchers from KAIST in accordance to subjects from the research.

Today’s Video

• India tests its Rustom-2 medium-altitude long-endurance unmanned aerial vehicle:

The USA’s Spearhead-class, expeditionary fast transports

When moving whole units, shipping is always the cheaper, higher-capacity option. Slow speed and port access are the big issues, but what if ship transit times could be cut sharply, and full-service ports weren’t necessary? After Australia led the way by using what amounted to fast car ferries for military operations, the US Army and Navy decided to give it a go. Both services leased Incat TSV/HSV wave-piercing catamaran ship designs, while the Marines’ charged ahead with very successful use of Austal’s Westpac Express high-speed catamaran. These Australian-designed ships all give commanders the ability to roll on a company with full gear and equipment (or roll on a full infantry battalion if used only as a troop transport), haul it intra-theater distances at 38 knots, then move their shallow draft safely into austere ports to roll them off.

Their successful use, and continued success on operations, attracted favorable comment and notice from all services. So favorable that the experiments have led to a $3+ billion program called the Joint High Speed Vessel. These designs may even have uses beyond simple ferrying and transport.

Boeing makes Canada’s CF-18 successor list | Saab unveils GlobalEye for UAE, is an offer to NATO on the way? | India sends LoR for more Apaches

Americas

• Canada has named five firms that will be considered to supply fighters to replace its fleet of CF-18s. Three European firms—Dassault, Saab, and Airbus—and two US—Boeing and Lockheed Martin—have all made the official fighter jet supplier list, which allows them to receive information about plans to buy 88 jets and ultimately bid on the program, estimated to cost CA$19 billion (U.S. $15 billion). The aircraft expected to be offered to Ottawa include Lockheed Martin’s F-35, Boeing’s Super Hornet, the Eurofighter Typhoon, the Dassault Rafale and Saab’s Gripen.

• Northrop Grumman received Thursday February 22, 2018, two contracts for the US Navy’s E-2D Advanced Hawkeye program. The first, valued in excess of $99.7 million, covers long-lead parts and support associated with the full rate production Lot 7 aircraft, while the second is a $50.6 million agreement for non-recurring engineering, product support, engineering investigations, engine and software support activity efforts for the full rate production Lot 6. Work on the tactical airborne early warning aircraft will take place at several locations across the United States, with Lot 6 work expected to be complete in March 2019 and Lot 7 work expected to be completed by December 2022.

• The US Defense Logistics Agency has awarded United Technologies a $2.5 billion contract for a sole-source acquisition for aviation-related spare parts and related services. All branches of the armed forces will benefit from the deal, as will the US Coast Guard, which falls under the authority of the Department of Homeland Security. The deal will run for five years, expiring in April 30, 2028, with work to take place in Connecticut, Ohio, California, North Carolina, Arizona, New York, Minnesota, Vermont and Iowa.

Middle East & Africa

• Saab unveiled at its Linkoping site on 23 February, the first GlobalEye surveillance platform destined for the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The aircraft is a heavily-modified Bombardier Global 6000 business jet with adaptations including Saab’s Erieye ER airborne early warning and control radar, as well as a search radar and electro-optical/infrared sensor which the firm says will give “extended detection range, endurance and the ability to perform multiple roles with one solution, including search and rescue, border surveillance and military operations.” Back in 2015, the UAE inked contracts for two GlobalEye platforms, adding a third to the backlog last year. Saab also plans to offer the GlobalEye to NATO as a possible future successor to the Boeing E-3A Airborne Warning and Control System (AWACS) currently fielded by the alliance.

Europe

• Defense News reports that French shipbuilder Naval Group is seeking to informally offer two Scorpene attack submarines to Italy, in an attempt to tempt Rome away from a deal with German rival ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems. At present, Italy has already taken delivery of four U212A submarines, built by Italian shipyard Fincantieri under license from TKMS, and funding to the tune of $1.2 billion is believed to have been made available for two additional subs to be purchased in 2018. However, with an election due on March 4, a change of government could give Naval Group an opportunity to usurp the potential sale. Furthermore, both Naval Group and Fincantieri are in the midst of negotiations over an industrial agreement, expected for June, with one of the planned cooperation moves includes Naval Group adopting the Italian design for a fleet auxiliary tanker and adapting the vessels to meet French Navy requirements. Both firms declined to comment.

• Russian engineers have completed the development of an airborne anti-satellite laser weapon that is capable of targeting satellites. Developed with the help of information supplied by the Beriev A-60 airborne laser laboratory, the next step is to integrate it on a new airborne platform. Earlier this month, US Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats published his 2018 ‘Worldwide Threat Assessment’, in which he cited Russian and Chinese pursuit of anti-satellite weapons “as a means to reduce US and allied military effectiveness.”

Asia-Pacific

• The Indian government has issued a Letter of Request (LoR) to the US government for six additional AH-64E Apache helicopters. Funding for the purchase had been cleared in August 2017 as an option to a 2015 contract for 22 Apache helicopters and 15 CH-47 Chinook heavy-lift helicopters for its air force, however, the LoR officially kicks off the formal foreign military sales request with this batch of helicopters destined for the Indian Army. The first of the choppers are expected to be delivered in 2019 and will replace the mainly Russian-made platforms currently in its inventory.

• British shipbuilder Babcock International has announced plans to expand its operation in South Korea with a new facility to open soon in the port city of Busan. The facility will help support the construction of the Republic of Korea Navy’s (RoKN) third KSS-III-class diesel-electric submarines, with Babcock tasked with producing and delivering weapons handling and launch equipment for the subs. Babcock said its new office facility in Busan was an “ideal location” to support the KSS-III submarines and also “new business within the wider defence industry”. Babcock will also look to boost its commercial marine sector business and international supply chains through the new facility.

Today’s Video

• Saab’s GlobalEye :

Canada Preparing to Replace its CF-18 Hornets, Announces new Competition

Canada’s 138 “CF-18s” were delivered between 1982-1988, but accidents and retirements have reduced the fleet to about 103, with only 79 upgraded F/A-18 AM/BM Hornets still operational. The CF-18s are expected to be phased out between 2017 – 2023. Maintenance and upgrades will remain necessary until then, and possibly beyond.

Canada has been an active Tier 3 partner in the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter program, participating in both the Concept Demonstration Phase ($10 million) and the System Development and Demonstration Phase ($150 million). This USD $160 million has included funding from both the Department of National Defence, and from Technology Partnerships Canada (TPC). In the Production, Sustainment and Follow-on Development Phase of the F-35 program, it is estimated that Canada’s contribution will exceed C$ 550 million (about the same in USD) over 44 years. As of September 2011, the government had disbursed about C$ 335 million toward participation in the JSF Program, and related support to Canadian industry.

Now, 65 new CF-35As are Canada’s official choice to replace its Hornets – and estimates of the cost range from $17 billion to $45.8 billion. This article covers efforts to keep existing CF-18s fit for service, as well as Canada’s replacement fighter buy. As timelines continue to slip, these 2 programs have become more interdependent – and the F-35’s selection less certain.

Deal done on Air Force One? | Boeing announce new wing for QA-tari F-15s | Multi-billion Patriot deal cleared for Sweden

Americas

• Boeing CEO Dennis Muilenburg met with President Trump last week, as the men hammered out a new deal on a contract for two new Air Force One aircraft. While an agreement has yet to be finalized, the US Air Force (USAF) is seeking that Boeing agrees to a fixed-price contract that will see them absorb any cost overruns on the conversion of two 747 jumbo airliners that the service bought last summer. According to the USAF’s 2019 Fiscal Year funding proposal released last week, $4 billion has been requested for the project, an estimate that Trump had described last year as too expensive—even though only $170 million had been awarded to Boeing at the time for preliminary designs—later boasting that he had managed to knock $1 billion off that $4 billion estimate. Time will tell how much savings were made, if any.

• Raytheon and Lockheed Martin’s Javelin JV operation landed a $94.8 million foreign military sales (FMS) contract from the US Army on Thursday, February 22, tasked with providing the customers with its anti-tank Javelin weapon system. The agreement will see France, Taiwan, Jordan, Qatar, Turkey, and Lithuania receive the systems, which also include rounds, command launch systems and battery coolant unit spares. Work will take place in Tucson, Arizona, and is expected to be completed by August 2020.

• Issues concerning the 30mm GAU-23/A cannon on the AC-130J Ghostrider gunship have been put down to software issues, after testers identified problems such as recentering the cannon after being fired last month. Speaking to reporters, the head of US Air Force Special Operations Command, Lt. Gen. Brad Webb, said he was confident that the problems could be fixed with software patches. “Do we have software issues we need to address? Sure, but the testing continues forward,” he said, adding that news surrounding the snafu has been largely overblown.

Middle East & Africa

• F-15QA fighter aircraft being produced for Qatar will come with a newly designed wing, as manufacturer Boeing prepares to offer the design option for any future structural upgrades ordered for the US Air Force’s F-15Cs. Speaking to Flight Global, Steve Parker, Boeing’s vice-president of F-15 programs said the QA variant introduces a number of previously-announced features, including an advanced cockpit system with a large format display, and that the redesigned wing will strengthen the internal structure of the fighter without changing its aerodynamics. If the USAF decide to keep its F-15Cs flying for another two decades, the new features will be offered as part of any service life extension work ordered, and could also be offered to any other operators of F-15 aircraft, such as Japan.

Europe

• Sweden joins Romania and Poland as the latest government to purchase the Patriot Configuration-3+ air defense system, after the potential sale was cleared by the US State Department last week. Valued at an estimated $3.2 billion, the package includes four Patriot Configuration-3+ Modernized Fire Units consisting of: four AN/MPQ-65 radar sets, four AN/MSQ-132 engagement control stations, nine antenna mast groups, 12 M903 launching stations, 100 Patriot MIM-104E Guidance Enhanced Missile-TBM (GEM-T) missiles, 200 Patriot Advanced Capabilty-3 (PAC-3) Missile Segment Enhancement (MSE) missiles, and four Electrical Power Plants (EPP) III. Also included are communications equipment and technical publications, along with training equipment. Lockheed Martin and Raytheon have been listed as prime contractors, and 24 US Government and 32 contractor representatives will be sent to Sweden for an extended period for equipment de-processing/fielding, system checkout, training, and technical and logistics support.

• A British Royal Navy Sea King helicopter has been deployed to Europe for the last time, recently completing a two-week deployment to the Netherlands. During its stint, the Mk7 “eyes in the sky” early warning helicopter from 849 Naval Air Squadron took part in Exercise Skinners’ Gold 4, directing Dutch F-16s over the North Sea and northern Holland for mock intercepts of enemy aircraft. The helicopter is being phased out in September, being replaced by the crowsnest system which will be fitted on Merlin Mk2 helicopters.

Asia-Pacific

• An anonymous source in the Indonesian Navy has said the service will receive four ScanEagle unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) this summer, Jane’s reports. The UAVs along with their support equipment are being procured by a grant provided by the US government under a capacity building program for allied Southeast Asian navies and coastguards known as the Maritime Security Initiative (MSI), with Vietnam, the Philippines, and Malaysia also involved. The scheme aims to help boost these nation’s capabilities to defend and survey their maritime territories and economic resources, as well as allowing them to better contribute to regional maritime security.

• More anonymous naval sources—this time retired and from Japan—have told the Japanese daily, Asahi Shimbun, that Tokyo’s Izumo-class helicopter destroyers have already been designed to operate short take-off and vertical landing (STOVL) fighters. One person quoted said during the design phase of the ship, consideration was given to have the F-35B operate from the vessels someday, while another added that a ski-jump was to be added when the ship is required to operate the F-35B. While Japanese defense officials have expressed their desire to procure the F-35B, funding has yet to be allocated as the government focuses on upping numbers of the conventional take-off A-variant.

Today’s Video

• The future Ford-class nuclear-powered aircraft carrier John F. Kennedy (CVN 79):

South Africa’s Paramount enters the US market with Bronco II | Erdogan wants unmanned tank | Raytheon announce Canada’s Phalanx CWIS upgrade

Americas

• Raytheon Canada will overhaul and provide in-service support for the Royal Canadian Navy’s Phalanx Close-In Weapon Systems. Valued at CAD$330 million (USD$260.1 million), the deal tasks Raytheon with providing “maintenance, fleet technical support, repair and overhaul services on the Phalanx mounts which will ensure the systems are ready to address current and emerging threats.” Work will take place at Raytheon Canada’s Calgary facility. The deal follows an award reported earlier this month for Raytheon to upgrade the radars used on the RCN’s Phalanx CIWS.

• Two firms—Capco and Design West Technologies—will provide M205 lightweight tripods to the US Army. The split contract is valued at $38.9 million and work locations and funding will be determined with each order, with an estimated completion date of February 19, 2023. First entering use with the service in November 2013, the tripod support weapons such as the M2 Browning .50 caliber machine gun and the Mk 19 grenade launcher. It offers a stronger tripod than its predecessor—the M3—while reducing its weight by a third, and its integrated Traverse & Elevation (T&E) mechanism allows for deployment with one hand for faster and more accurate engagement.

• UTC Aerospace Systems announced Wednesday, February 21, the receipt from the US Air Force of an initial ceiling $22.9 million contract for the DB-110 Airborne Reconnaissance System. The sensor, which is electro-optical and infrared, offers a high-endIntelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (ISR) capability to operators with a stand-off range of 80-plus nautical miles along with the ability to collect more than 10,000 square miles of high-resolution imagery per hour. The reconnaissance pod is in use with more than 14 nations and is in use on a variety of platforms including the F-16, F-15, P-3, MQ-9, and Tornado. This recent contract supports requests for the DB-110 system from multiple countries via the Foreign Military Sales (FMS) program, and is the single largest acquisition of the pod through the FMS process.

• A new enterprise, Bronco Combat Systems, is looking to enter the US military market with a new observation/light attack platform—the Bronco II. The aircraft is based on South Africa’s first indigenous turboprop aircraft designed AHRLAC (Advanced High-performance Reconnaissance and Surveillance Aircraft), developed by a joint venture between the Paramount Group and Aerosud. The US-based subsidiary has been set up by Paramount in conjunction with the original AHRLAC supplier Aerospace Development Corp, and Virginia-based mission systems integrator Fulcrum Concepts to form Bronco Combat Systems. According to the BCS press release, the Bronco II is “capable of carrying a wide range of weapons, sensors and systems in extended airborne mission operations. It is a unique platform that is built for purpose; uses a pusher propeller and has an open system architecture allowing for the rapid incorporation of current and emerging systems, setting a new standard for mission flexibility and adaptability.

Middle East & Africa

• The possible foreign military sale (FMS) of four King Air 350ER Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (ISR) aircraft has been cleared by the Trump administration to the government of Kuwait. An announcement posted by the US State Department’s Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) estimate the sale at $259 million, with the package to include enhanced PT6A-67A engines, AN/AAQ-35 WESCAM MX-15HDi Electro-Optical & Infrared Imaging Sensor Turrets, Selex Seaspray 7500E Active Electronically Scanned Array Radars (AESA), AN/AAR-47 Missile Warning Systems (MWS), AN/ALE-47 Countermeasure Dispenser Systems, as well as other systems, training and support. Furthermore, one of the four aircraft will be further modified to accommodate VIP/senior leadership personnel for transport and Med Evac capability or command and control,and other related elements of logistical support. Sierra Nevada Corp will act as lead contractor on the sale.

• Turkey wants to develop unmanned tanks, its strongman President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced Wednesday during a conference on the state’s five-year development plans. “We need to be able to manufacture unmanned tanks, and we will do this,” he said. “We are becoming a country that is catching this technology,” adding that the driverless tanks would minimize the risks to soldiers. The news comes as Turkish troops and its backed militias entered northern Syria in January, as part of efforts to clear an area along its border that is occupied by US-backed Syrian Kurds. Ankara claims these groups the are in cahoots with militants of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK)—a group originating in Turkey that is deemed a terrorist organization by Turkey, the US, and EU. Footage of German-made Leopard tanks and their shelling of Kurdish positions have been circulated widely on social media, as have footage of clashes showing them being destroyed by Kurdish anti-tank fire.

Europe

• Romania’s National Defence Minister Mihai Fifor, announced Tuesday, his country’s ambition to acquire four more F-16 fighter jets in order to complete a full squadron. The Romanian Air Force currently operates 12 F-16s purchased second-hand from Portugal. Fifor added that the eventual goal is to add a further 36 F-16s to its inventory and the ministry has already contacted the US on availability and is awaiting a response from Washington. As with several other former-Communist bloc governments in the region, Bucharest also operates a fleet of ageing MiG-21 fighter aircraft, which they are gradually replacing with NATO-compatible fighter aircraft as the alliance moves east.

Asia-Pacific

• Rockwell Collins ESA Vision Systems (RCEVS), a joint venture between Israel’s Elbit Systems and Rockwell Collins, will incorporate the Joint Helmet Mounted Cueing System II (JHMCS II) helmet-mounted display into the Republic of Korea Air Force’s F-16 fighter aircraft. The value of the contract was not disclosed. In a statement announcing the deal, Elbit said the new system will give South Korea’s F-16 operators with “enhanced situational awareness during day and night missions with immediate and accurate visor-projected display of friendly, threat, and unknown targets. The JHMCS II Night Vision Goggle (NVG) and Digital Eyepiece (DEP) solution allows pilots to easily convert from day to night operations by using one hand while airborne and without removing the helmet. With the JHMCS II NVG/DEP night solution, pilots are able to fly with HMD symbology during both day and night missions.” RCEVS will also supply the F-35 Helmet Mounted Display System. In 2016, it was announced that 35 of Seoul’s Block 32 fighters were successfully upgraded to include new AESA radar and the ability to launch more advanced munitions.

Today’s Video

• Royal Norwegian Air Force F-35A deploys drag chute in the country for the first time:

Modernizing Canada’s Halifax Class Frigates

Launched between 1988-1995, and commissioned between 1992-1996, Canada’s 12 City Class (now Halifax Class) frigates currently form the high end of its naval capabilities. The Canadian Navy has declined drastically from its post-WWII status as the world’s 4th largest navy, and the Halifax Class itself is finding that its open-ocean design is not suited to cope with modern littoral threats and improving anti-ship missiles. Replacement vessels are still many years away, which means that the 4,750t frigates will need to be modernized within the limits of their design if they are to remain effective.

Canada’s government has decided to fund that modernization, much as Australia and New Zealand are modernizing the Halifax Class’ ANZAC Frigate contemporaries. Refits are scheduled to begin with HMCS Halifax in 2010, and that ship is scheduled to re-enter service about 18 months later in 2012. By 2017, all 12 frigates are scheduled to be upgraded as part of a C$ 3.1 billion (about $2.9 billion) program. This DII Spotlight article explains the scope of the upgrades, notes the current systems, and covers the contracts and developments involved.

The US Military’s King Air 350ER Aircraft: Quietly Effective

Despite all of the high-tech fighter hours flown in theater, Hawker Beechcraft’s twin-propeller King Air 350 continues to gain traction as an affordable, long-endurance option for light cargo delivery in remote areas – and effective manned battlefield surveillance and attack. Iraq’s Air Force was the first to order them, and an initial 6-plane UC-12W order from the US Marines/Navy followed in July 2008.

Former US Secretary of Defense Robert Gates pushed hard to improve ISR (Intelligence, Surveillance & Reconnaissance) capabilities on the front lines, and one of those planned purchases involved about 30 King Air 350/ C-12 aircraft for the Army. These “MC-12s” have proven to be very useful as a component of the Army’s Task Force ODIN, which has combined the respective advantages of UAVs and manned aircraft to improve aerial surveillance and response over Iraq. ODIN is credited with a number of successes on the ground, and the concept is being exported to Afghanistan. Part of that process involves buying new, updated aircraft, and the US military continues to buy KA350 turboprops for use in different configurations.

South Korea Launches KF-16 Fighter Upgrades Upended

In July 2009, The Korea Times reported that ROKAF was looking to upgrade its F-16C/D fleet’s radar and armament, as part of the 2010-2014 arms acquisition and management package submitted to President Lee Myung-bak for approval.

Under the Peace Bridge II and II deals, The ROKAF bought 140 “KF-16” Block 52 fighters, which were assembled in Korea between 1994-2004 under a $5.5 billion licensing agreement. Key upgrades to this fleet will include new radars to replace the existing APG-68v5/v7 systems, modern avionics and computers, and upgrades of the planes’ cabling and databuses to MIL-STD-1760. The centerpiece AESA radar competition has a winner now, and South Korea has picked its contractor for the overall upgrade program. Now the effort is turning that into binding contracts, and beginning the upgrade process. Other countries within the region and beyond are interested in similar high-value F-16 upgrade programs, so the ROk’s experiences will be watched carefully.

Third time lucky for Israel’s Arrow-3 testing | DSCA clears a series of FMS for Kuwait, Netherlands, & Finland | First HH-60W enters final assembly

Americas

• Lockheed Martin said Tuesday, that its helicopter subsidiary Sikorsky is beginning final assembly of the first HH-60W Combat Rescue Helicopter, the latest variant of the long-serving Pave Hawk. The assembly will include the installation of a Tactical Mission Kit (TMK) delivered from Lockheed Martin’s Owego, New York, facility, which integrates sensors, radar and multiple defense systems and other sources of intelligence information for use by combat rescue aircrews. A new fuel system will also be installed which features duel internal fuel tanks totaling 660-gallons, nearly doubling the capacity of the internal tank on a UH-60M Black Hawk. A total of nine aircraft will be built by Sikorsky in Connecticut during the Engineering Manufacturing Development (EMD) phase of the program—four EMD aircraft and five System Demonstration Test Articles (SDTA)—and the USAF is calling for 112 helicopters to replace its aging HH-60G Pave Hawk helicopters. For more on the USAF’s ageing G-model Pave Hawks, check out this recent article from Defense News

Middle East & Africa

• Kuwait will receive fast patrol boats from Kvichak Marine Industries (now called Vigor after a recent merger) in an estimated $100 million deal approved Tuesday by the US State Department. The deal will see the firm provide the Gulf nation with 15 vessels outfitted with 36 .50 caliber machine guns (30 installed, two per boat and six spares), as well as all other necessary equipment, training, logistics, and support. The sale will require multiple trips by US Government and contractor representatives to participate in program and technical reviews plus training and maintenance support in country, on a temporary basis, for a period of 24 months. It will also require three contractor representatives to reside in country for a period of two years to support this program.

• After two test cancellations, the US Missile Defense Agency (MDA) and Israel Missile Defense Organization successfully completed a flight test of the Arrow 3 weapons system. The test launch of the anti-ballistic missile system took place at a test site in central Israel on Monday, February 19, and was led by Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) in collaboration with the Israeli air force. The MDA, the system’s co-developer, also supported the test. Moshe Patel, the director of Israel’s Missile Defense Organization, said a more advanced test is scheduled to take place in Alaska later this year, and pictures of the launch were posted on Twitter by the Israeli Ministry of Defense.

Europe

• Finland has been cleared for the foreign military sale of Mk 41 Baseline VII Strike-Length Vertical Launching Systems by the US State Department. Valued at an estimated $70 million, the sale includes four vertical launching systems, spares, handling equipment, test equipment, operator manuals and technical documentation, US Government and contractor engineering, training, technical, and logistical support services, and other related elements of logistical support. Lockheed Martin will act as lead contractor. The systems will be integrated on Finland’s upcoming fleet of four new corvettes, and follows a series of FMS clearances earlier this month for naval weapons as part of an ambitious naval modernization program.

• A Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) statement released Tuesday announced the US State Department’s clearance of the possible foreign military sale in support of the upgrade/remanufacture of AH-64D Block II Apache Attack Helicopters to the AH-64E configuration for the Royal Netherlands Air Force. Worth and estimated $1.191 billion, the package will see 28 Apaches under the deal, as well as 51 T700-GE-701C engines to T700-GE-701D, 17 new AN/APG-78 Fire Control Radar and subcomponents, 28 AN/ASQ-170 Modernized Target Acquisition and Designation Sights, twenty-eight AN/APR-48B Modernized Radar Frequency 70 Embedded Global Positioning System/Inertial Navigation Systems, plus associated training support and equipment. Boeing and Lockheed Martin have been listed as the contract’s principal contractors.

Asia-Pacific

• A South Korean firm has secured two contracts to sell imagery and Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) images taken by its satellites, the Ministry of Science and ITC has said. Under the deal, local provider Satrec Initiative will provide the Philippines with both types of data for one year, with images taken from the Korea Multipurpose Satellite-3 (KOMPSAT-3), also known as the Arirang-3, and the KOMPSAT-5, referred to as the Arirang-5. Meanwhile, a $4 million deal will see India receive imagery data over a period of two years, with images taken by Arirang-3A and Arirang-3.

• Reuters reports that Japan plans to purchase around 25 additional conventional takeoff F-35A Joint Strike Fighters over the next six years. Sources, speaking under the condition of anonymity, added that the aircraft may be purchased directly from Lockheed Martin in the US rather than assembled locally—as is the case with most of the 42 F-35s already on order—which would save Tokyo approximately $30 million per airframe. Military planners are also looking into the purchase of the vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) F-35B, which would be capable of taking off from small islands skirting the East China Sea or from ships such as the Izumo-class helicopter carriers. However, when asked about additional purchases of either types of aircraft, Defense Minister Itsunori Onodera said no plans had been made and that evaluations are still ongoing ahead of the release of two defense reviews by the end of the year that will outline Japan’s security goals and military procurement plans for the five years beginning in April 2019.

Today’s Video

• News report and footage of the recent US/Israel Arrow-3 test: