China’s “Guam killer” missile enters service with PLA | MBDA seeks partnerships to enter US missile market | DARPA cancels XV-24A program

Americas

• Aviation Week reports that the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, or DARPA, has cancelled its XV-24A LightingStrike hybrid-electric, high-speed vertical-takeoff-and-landing (VTOL) X-plane. Developed by Boeing subsidiary Aurora Flight Sciences, the firm received a $89 million contract for Phases 2 and 3 of the VTOL X-Plane program in March 2016, however, issues developing the 1-megawatt generator needed for the plane, as well as a lack of a service partner and commercial interest have caused DARPA to cancel the project. Prior to being ditched, the XV-24A was widely viewed as a trailblazer for aircraft electrification as it involved not only a hybrid-electric power train and distributed-electric propulsion layout, but an eVTOL configuration of the type being pursued for urban air mobility.

• As part of efforts to boost the competitiveness of its arms manufacturers internationally, the US government is planning to drop its administrative surcharge on foreign arms exports. As of June, the surcharge will drop from 3.5 to 3.2 percent, Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) director US Lieutenant General Charles Hooper said during an interview at last week’s ILA Berlin Air Show. Attached to the State Department, the DSCA is the agency who facilitates and clears all potential foreign military sales. “This rate reduction will immediately reduce the cost of new business for our international partners,” said Hooper. “We think this rate reduction will allow the US to become more competitive in the global defense market.”

• General Atomics has received a US Air Force (USAF) contract modification for spare engines used on the MQ-9 Reaper drones. According to the Pentagon statement released Thursday, April 26, the order calls for the production of an undefined number of spare engines and engine shipping containers at a cost of $36.6 million. Work will be performed in Poway, California, and is expected to be complete by May 31, 2020.

Middle East & Africa

• The US Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) has approved the possible foreign military sale of 12 AH-1Z Viper attack helicopters to the kingdom of Bahrain. According to the agency’s press release, the fleet will be armed with 14 AGM-114 Hellfires, and 56 Advance Precision Kill Weapon System II. The estimated cost of the acquisition is set at $911.4 million. The Viper’s manufacturer Bell, alongside Textron and General Electric have been listed as principal contractors on the sale.

Europe

• European missile consortium MBDA—jointly owned by Airbus, BAE Systems, and Leonardo—is looking to tie-up with US defense firms in order to increase its chances of tapping the US arms market. Speaking to Reuters, Chief Executive Antoine Bouvier said that instead of implementing a takeover of an American defense firm, the group would instead pursue cooperation partnerships, noting that MBDA was already doing such work with Lockheed Martin on Germany’s multibillion-euro missile defense system called TLVS. Bouvier said that cooperation could expand outside Germany in the future, given what he called the “huge potential for export” of the TLVS system. “When the German customer confirms TLVS then we will have a number of opportunities outside Germany with Lockheed Martin,” he said, citing current Patriot operators outside Europe as possible buyers. MDBA has faced stiff challenges in selling its Brimstone missiles and other equipment in the US market, which constitutes about 40 percent of the world missile market, excluding Russia and China, he said.

• Flight testing of the modernized Tu-22M3M supersonic bomber will commence in August, the CEO of manufacturer Tupolev has said. Speaking to the Russian TASS news agency, Alexander Konyukhov said the twin-engine bomber will make its first flight from the Kazan aircraft plant. The Kazan plant will also be tasked with modernizing Moscow’s existing fleet to the M3M standard, however, the Defense Ministry will not upgrade the entirety of its Tu-22 fleet, Konyukhov added.

Asia-Pacific

• Jane’s reports that the US Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) has issued a request for information (RFI) for the upgrade of seven Royal Thai Navy (RTN) Dornier 228s. Posted on April 23, the modernization of the will be carried out under the US funded Building Partner Capacity program. Goodies to be included in the package range from a new radar with 160 n mile range; an EO/IR five-axis stabilised multi-payload system; a communications package including beyond line of sight (X-band) and datalink; plus new avionics systems. The twin-turboprop aircraft is a popular platform for military operators in the maritime patrol role, and the upgraded Thai aircraft will help boost the kingdom’s capability to patrol its coastal territories and waters. US interest in boosting Thai capabilities comes as rival China looks to boost their own power and control in the region.

• China has entered its Dong-Feng 26 (DF-26) intermediate-range ballistic missile into service with the People’s Liberation Army Rocket Force. A statement by the Ministry of National Defense said the missile is capable of nuclear, conventional and anti-ship roles. Dubbed the “Guam-killer” by US military officials for its ability to potentially reach the island chain, is is thought to have a range of around 4,000 kilometers and is capable of delivering both nuclear and conventional payloads. Video footage carried in Chinese state media showed at least 22 integrated six-axle DF-26 transporter-erector-launchers along with their crews.

Today’s Video

• An Indian Navy IL-38 makes an emergency landing at Zhukovsky airport, Russia:

Dassault, Airbus, sign agreement on Future Air Combat System | Greek Spartans to get guns | Boeing throws in Growler to German fighter competition

Americas

• Northrop Grumman received Wednesday, April 26, a $7.2 million contract from the US Navy. The agreement tasks the firm with machine learning algorithms (MLAs) for the Reactive Electronic Attack Measures (REAM) program. According to the Pentagon statement, the REAM program is a future naval capabilitiesenabling capability with the objective of transitioning MLAs to the EA-18G airborne electronic attack suite to achieve capabilities against agile, adaptive, and unknown hostile radars or radar modes. Work will take place at Bethpage, New York, wrapping up in December 2019.

• Two US Navy contracts awarded to Lockheed Martin this week, covers addition software sustainment and additional long-lead parts for the F-35. The first, a contract modification announced by the Pentagon Tuesday, provides additional funding resources worth $10.8 million to enable Lockheed Martin to support sustainment efforts on flight test software tailored for the F-35 Lightning II joint strike fighter, and covers aircraft being procured by the Air Force, Marine Corps, Navy and non-Department of Defense (DoD) participants. Work will take place across several sites in the US, as well as in the UK, with a completion date set for April 2018. The second contract, which awarded $38.4 million on Wednesday, covers additional low-rate initial production of long lead materials, parts, components, and effort for economic order quantity increases for the Navy (Lot) 12; and the government of Italy (Lots 13 and 14). Work will take place in the US, UK, and Japan, wrapping up in December 2019.

Middle East & Africa

• Canada and El Slavador are to combine helicopter assets once both nations take over from Germany’s current deployment to the UN Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission Mali (MINUSMA). While Germany currently has four NH90 helicopters for transport roles and four Tiger utility helicopters for protecting ground troops, Canada plans to bring just two CH-47 Chinooks for transport missions and four armed CH-146 Griffon helicopters. As the Griffon isn’t well suited for full-scale ground attack like the Tiger, it will be resigned to providing escort to the Chinook. The role of protecting troops therefore will fall to El Salvador, who is also due to deploy six MD500 helicopters—or two helicopter units of three rotorcraft. One of the units has been operating out of Timbuktu in the country’s north since 2015. Another trio will deploy in July and is expected to work alongside Canada at the UN mission’s base in Gao, in northeast Mali. The UN would also like Canada to allow the Griffons to do double-duty as light transport helicopters, with El Salvador providing the escort.

Europe

• Greek media reports that the country’s Governmental Council for Foreign Affairs and Defense decided on Monday, April 23, to weaponize its fleet of C-27J Spartan aircraft. While Athens operates eight vanilla versions of the Leonardo-manufactured transporter, other specialized variants in use by various militaries have been developed for maritime patrol, search and rescue, C3 ISR (command, control, communications, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance), fire support and electronic warfare and ground-attack missions. No details were given on what the Syriza-led government plansto arm its own Spartans with. Despite news of the armament sub-program, the government did not make any final decisions on its F-16 modernization program—for which $1.1 billion has been earmarked—or on the planned lease of two FREMM frigates from France this summer.

• Boeing has used its appearance at this year’s ILA Airshow in Berlin to offer its EA-18G Growler in conjunction with the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet as a solution to Germany’s Tornado replacement program. Speaking to Jane’s on the floor of the trade show, Boeing director for global sales for strike, surveillance, and mobility, Bryan Crutchfield said that the Growler—which is the specialized electronic warfare variant of the Super Hornet—”is the only platform now available that can replace the Electronic Combat Reconnaissance (ECR)-variant Tornados that are due to be retired in about 2030, at the same time as the service’s wider Interdiction Strike (IDS) fleet.” While the German government stated that its preferred choice is to procure additional Eurofighter Typhoons, the Super Hornet is on the list of preferred alternatives along with Boeing’s F-15 Advanced Eagle and Lockheed Martin’s F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter (JSF). Whoever is chosen, the winning manufacturer will provide replacements for the Luftwaffe’s fleet of 90 Tornado IDS and ECR aircraft from about 2025 to enable a smooth transition into the retirement of the Tornado in about 2030.

• Airbus and Dassault signed an initial agreement for cooperation on Europe’s Future Air Combat System (FCAS) Wednesday, as both firms await further details from the French and German governments on exact program requirements. “It’s a really important moment to stabilize the European defense industry and work together in a structured manner,” Airbus Defense and Space CEO Dirk Hoke told reporters at the Berlin air show. Adding to Hoke’s comments, Dassault CEO Eric Trappier said the program ensures that Europe retains sovereignty over its future weapons systems, warning what buying off the shelf American weapons does nothing to contribute to strategic autonomy. The Franco-German program aims to develop a next-generation fighter system that will include a fighter jet, unmanned aerial vehicles, connectivity and secure communications.

Asia-Pacific

• In preparation for a ramp up in domestic missile production, Taiwan’s National Chung-Shan Institute of Science and Technology—the island’s weapons research institute—is seeking to import at least 600 ring laser gyroscopes (RLG) from the United States. The technology is believed to be used in Taipei’s Hsiung Feng IIE cruise missile and Yun Feng ballistic missile. RLGs and their imbedded GPS capability are used to improve the accuracy of RLG Inertial Navigation Systems (INS)s on military aircraft and missiles. News that the RLGs will be exported to Taiwan indicates that a previous US reluctance to export such weapons key components and materials for fear of upsetting China may be loosening.

Today’s Video

• Airbus’ 5th generation fighter concept:

EA-18G Program: The USA’s Electronic Growler

The USA’s electronic attack fighters are a unique, overworked, and nearly obsolete capability. With the retirement of the US Air Force’s long-range EF-111 Raven “Spark ‘Vark,” the aging 4-seat EA-6B Prowlers became the USA’s only remaining fighter for radar jamming, communications jamming and information operations like signals interception [1]. Despite their age and performance limits, they’ve been predictably busy on the front lines, used for everything from escorting strike aircraft against heavily defended targets, to disrupting enemy IED land mine attacks by jamming all radio signals in an area.

All airframes have lifespan limits, however, and the EA-6B is no exception. The USA’s new electronic warfare aircraft will be based on Boeing’s 2-seat F/A-18F Super Hornet multi-role fighter, and has 90% commonality with its counterpart. That will give it decent self-defense capabilities, as well as electronic attack potential. At present, however, the EA-18G is slated to be the only dedicated electronic warfare aircraft in the USA’s future force. Since the USA is currently the only western country with such aircraft, the US Navy’s EA-18G fleet would become the sole source of tactical jamming support for NATO and allied air forces as well.

DID’s FOCUS articles offer in-depth, updated looks at significant military programs of record. This article describes the EA-18G aircraft and its key systems, outlining the program, and keeping track of ongoing developments, contracts, etc. that affect the program.

The C-27J Spartan Joint Cargo Aircraft

When the WALRUS super-heavy cargo airship was canceled, combat commanders complained that front-line airfields were often too short for the C-130 Hercules that make up the USAF’s tactical transport fleet. Delays in buying a small cargo aircraft to fill that role were making that problem worse. Starved of useful help due to USAF-sponsored delays, and the lack of appropriate aircraft in the USAF, the Army carried on with its aging C-23 Sherpas, and repurposed aircraft like the unprotected C-12 Hurons, in order to ferry troops, supplies, and/or very small vehicles within its theaters of operations.

The Joint Cargo Aircraft (JCA) could have been worth up to $6 billion before all was said and done, and the finalists were a familiar duo. After EADS-CASA’s CN-235 and a shortened version of Lockheed Martin’s C-130J were disqualified for failing to meet requirements, JCA became yet another international competition between EADS-CASA’s C-295M & Alenia’s C-27J. The C-27J team eventually won the delayed decision in June 2007, and prevailed in the subsequent contract protests from their rivals. What remained unclear was exactly what they had won. The joint-service decision and contract announcement didn’t end the inter-service and Congressional politicking, and the contractor side was equally fractious. This FOCUS article covers the JCA competition, and subsequent developments – including the Pentagon’s 2012 push to end the program, and sell its planes.

Crowded market scrambles in Franco-German MPA comp | Osprey VARS testing to start this fall | Russia to send more S-300s to Syria “in the near future”

Americas

• The US Naval Air Systems Command has confirmed that the V-22 Aerial Refueling System (VARS) will start testing this fall. According to a US Marine Corps statement published by the Marine Corps Times, VARS-equipped Ospreys will be capable of providing an additional 10,000 pounds of fuel to aircraft forward deployed with Marine Expeditionary Units, extending the range of aircraft such as the F-35B and other V-22s. The Corps expects its new refueling system to be operational by fiscal year 2019 and will be welcomed by the Corps as troops are being shifted across the Pacific—nearly nine thousand Marines are being moved off Okinawa, Japan, where they will be disbursed to other locations like Guam and Hawaii. Furthermore, the USMC is kicking off its largest deployment yet to Darwin Australia, at nearly 1,587 Marines as part of its annual six-month rotation.

• Raytheon received Tuesday, April 24, a $12.1 million contract modification for the AIM-120 Advanced Medium Range Air to Air Missile (AMRAAM). Awarded by the US Air Force, the agreement calls for production Lot 32 field spares and initial depot spares for foreign military sales (FMS) going to the governments of Australia, South Korea, Qatar, Romania, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, and Turkey. Work will take place at Raytheon’s Tucson, Arizona facility and is expected to be complete by January 31, 2021.

Middle East & Africa

• Sergey Shoygu, Russia’s Minister of Defense, told the RIA news agency Wednesday that additional air defense systems will be delivered to Syria in the near future. The ministry also said that a US Tomahawk cruise missile captured in Washington’s recent airstrikes against Syrian chemical weapons facilities will be studied in order to improve its own missiles. While Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Monday that Russia had not yet decided whether it would deliver advanced S-300 missile systems to Syria, senior Russian officials told the Kommersant newspaper that Russia is expected to provide the Bashar Assad regime with S-300 anti-aircraft defense systems soon. If Israel attacks the new air defense systems, then it will suffer “catastrophic consequences,” the officials said. In response, Israel’s Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman said that Israel may strike the Russian-made S-300 anti-aircraft defense systems in Syria if they are used against Israel.

Europe

• A week after Lockheed Martin announced its industrial team that will enter into Germany’s upcoming heavy-lift helicopter competition, Boeing has come out with its list of German collaborators who would help maintain a potential sale of CH-47F Chinooks. Speaking at the Berlin ILA air show, Michael Hostetter, director, Vertical Lift Programs in Germany said that if selected, the local companies will offer maintenance and training to the German military. The German companies —or German units of foreign companies —that Boeing has partnered with are AERO-Bildungs GmbH, Aircraft Philipp, CAE Elektronik GmbH, COTESA, Diehl Defence, Honeywell, Liebherr-Aerospace, Reiser Simulation and Training GmbH, Rockwell Collins, and Rolls-Royce. “The customer has made it very clear that they are looking for low-risk off the shelf solution,” Hostetter said, adding Boeing was able to produce a Chinook every five days at its production site in Philadelphia. He said Boeing could offer either the Foxtrot model or an extended range version, with both offering the air-to-air refueling requirement that Germany is likely to seek.

• The Dutch government has had two foreign military sales (FMS) packages from the United States approved, statements released by the State Department’s Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) said Tuesday. The first deal, valued at an estimated $110 million, covers defense articles and services in support of continuation of a Continental United States (CONUS) based Royal Netherlands Air Force F-16 Formal Training Unit at Tucson Air National Guard Base, Arizona. Equipment and services to be provided include up to 27 GBU-12 Inert Paveway IIs, PGU-27 Inert training rounds, Impulse Cartridges, MJU-7/B Flares, RR-188 Chaff, BDU-33/B and BDU-50/B training munitions, fuel and air refueling support, airlift services, base operating support, facilities, publications and technical documentation, pilot training, personnel training and training equipment, weapon system and software support, US Government and contractor technical, engineering, and logistics personnel services, and other related elements of logistics and program support. The second FMS package, valued at $70 million, covers the potential sale of 3,500 M1156 Precision Guided Kits—a sale that will supply the Dutch with a precision guided, or smart, capability for its 155mm artillery projectiles and improve its capability to meet current and future enemy threats. Orbital ATK will act as principal contractor in the sale.

Asia-Pacific

• Japan is looking to export its P-1 submarine hunter aircraft as part of a Franco-German program to develop a marine surveillance aircraft. If successful, it would be Tokyo’s first major foreign arms sale since World War II. Speaking to two Japanese officials, Reuters report that the three governments began discussions last year, with the P-1’s manufacturer, Kawasaki Heavy Industries, asked to discuss possible partnerships with France’s Dassault Aviation and Thales SA. “If they try and build it from scratch it will cost a lot and their potential market is small, even if Spain or other European countries buy it,” one of the sources said of the European project. However, Japan and Kawasaki will face some stiff competition with the report suggesting that Airbus is already looking into adapting its A320neo passenger jet family for military use—including a maritime patrol version—while Dassault themselves may look to offer a variant of its Falcon 8X business jet for such purposes. Boeing, with its new P-8 Poseidon, is also likely to enter. A spokesman for the German defense ministry declined to comment on discussions, adding, “Germany and France are considering many possibilities to expand the existing good cooperation between the two countries’ militaries.”

• Russian news agency Interfax reports that India is on course to sign a deal with Russia later this year for the purchase of the S-400 Triumf air defense system and corresponding missiles. Quoting Russia’s Federal Service for Military-Technical Cooperation, the report said that all the technical aspects of the contract had been agreed and a price just needed to be decided. “I think that in the current year we will sign the corresponding contract document,” said Dmitry Shugaev, head of the FSMTC.

Today’s Video

• Russian Su-57 prepares for Victory Day parade:

Workers strike at Leonardo’s F-35 FACO | Aero Vodochody team with IAI to export L-159 | Berlin receives different visions for Tornado replacement

Americas

• The US Army has contracted AeroVironment to provide upgraded hardware and parts for the Switchblade precision strike munition. Valued at $44.6 million, the agreement will task the firm, based out of Simi Valley, California, with providing Block10C inert training vehicles and Block10C all up rounds, multi pack launchers and modular battery payloads to the service, with a scheduled completion date set for September 19, 2019. AeroVironment first rolled out its Block 10C upgrades—which give soldiers more stable and secure encrypted communications—on the Switchblade tactical missile system after the Army awarded the company a $22.8 million contract in September 2016. Capable of being stored and carried in a soldier’s backpack, the system has a strike range of more than six miles with a flight endurance of around 15 minutes, and can strike targets beyond line of sight, meaning the munition can maneuver on targets beyond covered positions or around mountain ridges.

Middle East & Africa

• Chasing fresh exports after its sale of four L-159 aircraft to the government of Senegal earlier this month, the Czech Republic’s Aero Vodochody will team with Israeli Aerospace Industries (IAI) to improve and market the light attack and trainer aircraft. According to the technical and marketing cooperation agreement announced Tuesday, the team will integrate new avionics and other solutions on the L-159 platform as well as jointly market the aircraft. They will also integrate IAI’s virtual training solutions as part of the L-39NG training system. Financial details were not disclosed.

Europe

• Workers at the Leonardo-run F-35 assembly facility in Italy have gone on strike Tuesday, April 24, in protest against their working conditions. Reasons posed by the 600 members of staff for the one-day work stoppage was due to the fact that many were currently hired by Leonardo through agency contracts instead of as full time employees, and had previously imposed a ban on working overtime last weekend prior to the escalation. In response, Leonardo said full time staff positions will be offered from this year and put the number of agency staff at 520. Located at Cameri Air Base, the final assembly and checking out (FACO) facility is owned by the Italian government and operated by state defense firm Leonardo in partnership with Lockheed Martin. Cameri has delivered nine F-35As to the Italian Air Force.

• Portugal has decided to cancel plans to upgrade its fleet of five C-130H transport aircraft through a foreign military sale from the United States. Approximately 29 million euro ($36 million) had been budgeted by the defense ministry in June 2016 for the upgrades, and the sale had already received approval by the US State department—although the Pentagon is known to approve some FMS packages ahead of official approval by the customer’s government. Instead, the aircraft will receive upgrades worth up to 19 million euro with the support of the Single European Sky Air Traffic Management Research (SESAR) project, while a further 2.8 million euro will be set aside for maintenance. Portugal plans to replace the Hercules aircraft with up to six new KC-390 tanker-transports from Brazilian air-framer Embraer, a program Lisbon has been involved in the development and production of though its state-owned aerospace company, OGMA, investing some 30 million euro into the program between 2012-2015.

• The German Defense Ministry has received bids from Airbus and the US government to replace its fleet of 90 ageing Tornado fighter aircraft. Airbus, pitching the Eurofighter Typhoon on behalf of the Eurofighter consortium, said its platform could start replacing the Tornado mission by 2025, and as Germany already operates a fleet of 130 Eurofighters, Berlin would benefit from a streamlining of maintenance costs. However, US officials, legally required to represent the interests of Lockheed Martin and Boeing, say the Eurofighter would need to be certified to carry a nuclear bomb—a process that could take until 2030 or longer, and might force Germany to extend the life of some Tornado jets at great cost. While Airbus assured that the Eurofighter would be certified by 2035, it did say that if Germany was to purchase an existing nuclear-capable aircraft such as Lockheed Martin’s F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, the decision would essentially kill plans by France and Germany to develop a new European fighter.

Asia-Pacific

• In addition to Lockheed Martin’s rumored offer to build them a fifth-generation hybrid stealth fighter, the Japanese government may restart the flight test program of the X-2—its stealth technology demonstrator aircraft. The possibility was mentioned by an anonymous official speaking to Flight Global, who said that while nothing was certain about the future of the X-2, “We may do more testing.” Originally designed ATD-X, the X-2 formed part of Tokyo’s efforts to jump start its industrial base and explore technologies necessary for stealthy fifth- or sixth-generation aircraft. An technology demonstrator aircraft is currently based at Gifu Airbase after completing a run of 34 test flights. 50 had been originally planned. While the official declined to comment on an earlier story from Reuters that Lockheed Martin wants to offer a hybrid of its F-22 and F-35 for the long-term Japanese requirement, they did say that a number of proposals are being weighed, noting that Japan and Great Britain also have a joint study to look at “potential opportunities for the future fighter program.”

• Kongsberg has secured a $153 million export order for its Naval Strike Missile (NSM). The missiles will arm the six new Littoral Combat Ships being built for the Malaysian government, with contracts signed for the NSM at the recent Defence Services Asia 2018 (DSA 2018) in Kuala Lumpur. Based on Naval Group’s Gowind Class design, the vessel will have the NSM deck mounted and integrated to the SETIS combat management system provided by the Naval Group. Designed for use by the Norwegian Navy in the anti-ship and land-attack role, a Joint Strike Missile (JSM) is currently in development that will be integrated with the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter.

• Rheinmetall Group has received an order to deliver its Skyshield air defense system to an undisclosed Asia Pacific nation, the company has said. Skyshield is a short range, ground-based air defense that consists of two 35 mm revolver cannons that can sustain a rate of fire of 1,000 rounds per minute—and also includes a fire control system with sensor unit, and two surface-to-air missile modules for a total of 16 missiles. Valued at $122 million, Rheinmetall say work on the contract has already begun, but that delivery will occur over the next three years.

Today’s Video

• DefenseWeb coverage at DSA 2018| Kongsberg’s Naval Strike Missile:

Lockheed & Mitsubishi’s F-2 Fighter may be replaced with ATD-X (X-2)

Japan already produces F-15J Eagle aircraft under license from Boeing, and in 1987 they selected Lockheed Martin F-16 fighter jet as the basis for a “local” design that would replace its 1970s era F-1s. The aim was to produce a less expensive fighter that would complement its F-15s, provide a bridge for key aerospace technology transfers, and give Japan’s aerospace industry experience with cutting-edge manufacturing and component technologies.

The F-2’s increased range is very useful to Japan, given their need to cover large land and maritime areas. Nevertheless, a combination of design decisions and meddling from Washington ensured that these fighters ended up costing almost as much as a twin-engine F-15J Eagle, without delivering the same performance. As a result, production ended early, and the 2011 tsunami made Japan’s fleet even smaller. The remaining fleet will continue to receive upgrades, in order to keep them combat capable for many years to come.

Czech L-159s: Cheap to Good Home

Czechoslovakia originally ordered 72 of Aero Vodochody’s sub-sonic L-159A single-seat light attack jets. Their preceding L-39/59 Albatros trainer and light attack aircraft family became the world’s most popular jet trainers during the Cold War, and the L-159A Advanced Light Combat Aircraft was positioned as a modern derivative, offering full combat capability and compatibility with western weapons. The resulting aircraft filled a useful niche for the Czechs, but its overall success always depended on exports.

Unfortunately, the Soviet Union’s demise lost the Albatros family its global market niche, and killed the military aid subsidies that had helped promote it. Worse, the L-159’s program cost grew from CZK 20-30 billion to over 51 billion Koruna. That left the Czech government in a bind. In response, they kept 24-35 jets for operational use, and have been trying to sell off 36-47 of the L-159As (one aircraft has been lost) since 2002. They also moved to privatize state-owned Aero Vodochody, which took place in November 2006.

A few 2-seat L-159T conversions have been performed with CzAF funding, as a demonstration of their potential to become dual-role trainer/attack aircraft. That has helped Aero tout the planes to Afghanistan, Bolivia, Colombia, Georgia, Indonesia, Iraq, and Nigeria. Their breakthrough, such as it is, came elsewhere.

US Military Bringing a Switchblade to A Gun Fight

In late June 2011, the US Army gave Aerovironment a contract to begin fielding Switchblade UAV. Aerovironment’s new tube-launched, man-portable UAV will work for surveillance, and transmits live color video. It also functions as a kamikaze missile, however, which can be armed and locked on target by operator control. This makes it extremely useful against dug-in or fortified infantry positions, enemy missile teams, mortars, etc. After a set of 2011 trials, the US Marines added a contract of their own, even as the US Army moved to deploy the system to Afghanistan by summer 2012.

The US military’s interest is understandable. One of the key lessons of Israel’s 2006 war in Lebanon involved infantry use of guided anti-tank weapons as immediately-available precision artillery fire. Iran’s Hezbollah legionnaires frequently used Russia’s 1960s era 9K11/AT-3 missile designs for this purpose, while Israeli forces used the higher-tech Spike. Similar trends have been observed among American and British forces in Afghanistan, who use expensive $75,000 – 100,000 per shot Javelin missiles. With Switchblade, the US military has taken a step toward fielding a lower cost platoon level surveillance/strike weapon. The economics involved, and the clear global trend at work, mean that the US Army won’t be alone.

White House wheels out new arms export policy | After West’s salvo, Russia’s Lavrov murky on S-300 deployment to Syria | Germany’s shopping spree

Americas

• The Trump administration has rolled out a new weapons export policy keeping in mind that “economic security is national security.” While some in the defense industry will be disappointed that the reforms did not go far enough—particularly when it comes to the export of military drones—the new rules “create broad new language emphasizing the need to consider economic benefits when looking at potential weapon exports to partner nations,” Defense News reports. Speaking on the new rules, Peter Navarro, White House National Trade Council head, said this change will allow allies and partners “to more easily obtain” American security goods, which in turn improves the security of the Untied States while “reducing” the need for them to buy Chinese and Russian systems, while Tina Kaidanow, principal deputy assistant secretary for political-military affairs, said the change represents “efforts to do things a little bit more strategically. We need to do, the US government, a better job of strategic advocacy for some of our companies. We need to think about those areas where we can really enable sales oversea.” However, both failed to offer many hard details about what would change for conventional arms transfers, and Navarro declined to say what economic impact could potentially be in terms of jobs or dollar figures.

• Boeing will take care of additional Super Hornet and Growler sensor upgrade work after receiving an $18.7 million award from the US Navy last Thursday. Awarded by the Naval Air Warfare Center Training Systems Division, out of Orlando, Florida, the agreement enables Boeing to integrate advanced software to the Tactical Operational Flight Trainer sensor models on F/A/-18E/F Super Hornet and the EA-18G Growler. Work will take place across the United States with some work to take place in Japan. Contract completion is expected in July 2021.

Middle East & Africa

• Russia’s Foreign Minister, Sergei Lavrov, said Monday that Moscow had not yet decided whether it would deliver advanced S-300 missile systems to Syria, but would not make a secret of the matter if it took such a decision, Reuters reports. Earlier in the day, the daily Kommersant newspaper, citing unnamed military sources, reported that Russia might start supplying the anti-aircraft missile systems to Syria in the near future—a suggestion the Kremlin declined to comment on. However, Lavrov had said on Friday that Western military strikes on Syria this month had removed any moral obligation Russia had to withhold the missile systems from its ally Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. A Russian diplomat, speaking on condition of anonymity to Reuters said Israel has asked Moscow not to supply the Syrian military with the S-300s. An Israeli government spokesman declined comment.

Europe

• A report in Germany’s Handelsblatt newspaper on Sunday discusses an upcoming German defense ministry shopping spree with plans for 18 arms contracts totalling 25 million euros to be shortly approved by the budget and defense committees. Aimed at filling growing deficiencies in the armed forces’ equipment and capabilities, other procurements include six C-130J transport aircraft from the United States, Heron TP UAVs from Israel, new rescue helicopters, as well as upgrades to its fleet of Puma armored personnel carriers and the radar found on its Eurofighters. However, Reuters says that the list is “preliminary” and would depend on the 2018 budget. The ministry was not immediately available for comment on the report.

• Serbia has received four additional MiG-29 fighter aircraft from Belarus bringing to 14 the fleet now available to Belgrade. Previous deliveries included six from Russia last October and the transferred aircraft will now undergo a three-stage period of modernization with between 180 million to 230 million euro earmarked for the purpose. According to the Russian news agency TASS,Russia’s assistance in addition to the MiGs will include 30 T-72 tanks and 30 BRDM-2 combat patrol vehicles. Also in discussion are surface-to-air gun and missile systems. Belarus had previously announced its plans to hand over to Serbia in 2018 eight MiG-29 fighter jets and two Buk missile systems on condition that Belgrade pays for their repairs.

• Lithuania wants the regular deployment of both long-range and short-range advanced anti-air and missile assets in its country to allow for more regular training with NATO, Defence Minister Raimundas Karoblis has said. “Yes, of course (we are asking the Americans)”, he told Reuters on Thursday. “We are talking not only about the Patriots but also other capabilities, such as short-range Avengers, and other systems to create a regional architecture of air defence, because we are not able to do that ourselves.” While Karoblis did not expect NATO to increase defences in the Baltics immediately, he does expect the alliance to show greater commitment at a NATO leaders summit in July to deterring any threat in the Baltics. “We would like to have the permanent deployment of ground missile systems and other capabilities, but we understand that a quite significant part of these capabilities were lost by NATO after the Cold War and it’s difficult to rebuild them fast”, he said. “We need to ensure that (air defences) could be deployed (in the Baltics) at any time necessary.” Formerly part of the Soviet Union, Lithuania—along with neighboring Estonia and Latvia—have since 1991 realigned themselves by joining NATO and the European Union. Anxious since Russia’s annexation of the Crimea from Ukraine in 2014, the nations have continued to ask for Western help despite growing defence budgets due to their small economies. Poland was equally alarmed by Moscow’s Crieman seizure, spending more than $5 billion on buying Patriot missiles from Raytheon after a deal in March.

Asia-Pacific

• A Pentagon award last Thursday, April 19, to Northrop Grumman has tasked the firm with supplying identifying friend or foe technology compatible with the E-2C Hawkeye for the government of Japan. Valued at $51.8 million, the US Navy contract is against a previously issued basic ordering agreement and calls for supplies and services required for the delivery, installation, and testing of one Japan E-2C compatible AN/APX-122A Mode 5/S interrogator and transponder unit and will include non-recurring engineering for the developmental laboratory work, integration laboratory testing, software modifications, technical data, training, and post installation ground and flight testing support, kits, and associated hardware for aircraft integration. Work will take place at several locations across the US and in Japan with a scheduled completion time set for December 2020.

Today’s Video

• China’s recent live-fire drills in the Taiwan Strait: