Lockheed wins Support Contract for FFG(X) | Russia to Purchase two Yasen Class Subs | USS Montgomery Deploys to Pacific

Americas

The US Navy tapped Lockheed Martin with a $7 million contract for Combat System Ship Integration and testing on the next generation of Guided Missile Frigate or FFG(X). The work includes integration engineering support and test planning as well as waterfront ship integration and testing, post-delivery engineering support to government test teams, engineering services for ship integration, and test and developing test program documents for FFG(X) ships. The FFG(X) Class of multimission guided-missile frigates for the Navy, are to be contracted from 2020, as a follow-on to the modular Littoral Combat Ship. The Pentagon is in the process of selecting the prime contractor for the new class of ships. Each ship would have at least 32 vertical launching system cells and an AEGIS-based combat system. On June 20, the Navy released a Request for Proposals for companies to bid on the design and construction of FFG(X). Lockheed had already said in May that it would not submit its own bid for the competition. Under the new contract Lockheed will perform at the FFG(X) ship builder location as well as Moorestown, New Jersey. Scheduled completion date is in June, 2025.

Boeing will supply Trailing Edge Flaps for the US Navy’s Super Hornets. The company will provide 48 Trailing Edge Flaps under a $42.9 million contract. A Trailing Edge is the rear edge of an aircraft’s wing flap, where the airflow separated by the Leading Edge rejoins. Trailing Edge Flaps are used for extra lift on takeoff. Flaps also cause an increase in drag during mid-flight, so they are retracted when not needed. The US Navy F/A-18 E and F Super Hornet maritime strike attack aircraft, manufactured by Boeing, flew for the first time on 29 November 1995. Boeing will perform work within the US, and Switzerland. Work will approximately be finished in June 2021.

Middle East & Africa

According to local reports, the Royal Air Force of Oman performed two medical evacuations in Al Batinah and Dhofar. The first evacuation was for a citizen, who died after falling off a cliff in the mountains. The second medevac was for five Yemenis whose vehicle was damaged in Maqash in Dhofar. This comes within the framework of the humanitarian services provided by the Ministry of Defense and the Sultan’s Armed Forces to citizens and residents jointly with other government institutions.

Europe

The Russian Ministry of Defense (MoD) has reportedly inked a contract with shipbuilding company Sevmash for two Project 885-M Yasen M-class multipurpose nuclear-powered attack/cruise missile submarines (SSN/SSGN). The MoD signed a contract at the “Army-2019” military and technical forum, which took place last week near Moscow. “Today we have signed a number of large-scale deals. These deals also cover two new Yasen Class submarines. These are substantial volumes and a very significant contract”, Deputy Russian Defense Minister, Alexei Krivoruchko said. The new boat, the second overall Yasen Class SSN launched by Sevmash and the first upgraded Yasen M Class submarine, conducted its first set of factory and underwater sea trials in September 2018. Notably, the sub is not expected to enter service until the end of 2020 or possibly even later due to technical problems that emerged during dockside trials. The improved Yasen M Class SSN is reportedly quieter than the lead Yasen Class boat. It is built with low magnetic steel to reduce its magnetic signature.

Jane’s reports that Portugal received eight AeroVironment RQ-11B Raven Digital Data Link lightweight hand-launched tactical Unmanned Aircraft Systems. The Ravens were delivered on June 27, and will be delivered to Artillery Regiment No 5’s Surveillance Systems Company. The NATO Support and Procurement Agency purchased the drones under a $5.9 million multiyear contract awarded on August 20, 2018. The Raven B is a lightweight and low-altitude, remote-controlled, man-portable UAV system designed and developed for the US Armed Forces. It performs intelligence, surveillance, target acquisition and reconnaissance operations. The Raven is hand-launched. It lands safely through auto-piloting without the need for landing gear and prepared landing strips. Portugal’s purchase includes 36 drones, 36 electro-optical/infrared payloads, 12 ground control stations, 36 EO payloads for training purposes, 12 initial spare parts kits, and 18 remote video terminals with radio systems, as well as a comprehensive training package.

Asia-Pacific

The USS Montgomery or LCS-8 arrived in the Philippines last Saturday as part of her deployment to the Pacific. The Navy has resumed overseas deployments of the Littoral Combat Ships after an 18-month long hiatus. Repeated technical problems on both classes, the Freedom and the Independence Class, led the Navy to stand down all LCS crews in August 2016 – the first-ever stand down for a full class of vessels at once. All LCS personnel with a role in engineering were retrained, and the first four ships procured – two from each class, worth a combined $1.6 billion – were permanently restricted to testing duty. The stand down was soon lifted, but it has been more than a year and a half since an LCS deployed. The visit to Davao was the first indicator of the resumption of the LCS deployments. The USS Montgomery is a Independence Class Ship.

Today’s Video

Watch: US Air Force deployed F-22 Raptors Fighter Jets to Middle-East for the first time

Serious Dollars for AEGIS Ballistic Missile Defense (BMD)

The AEGIS Ballistic Missile Defense System seamlessly integrates the SPY-1 radar, the MK 41 Vertical Launching System for missiles, the SM-3 Standard missile, and the ship’s command and control system, in order to give ships the ability to defend against enemy ballistic missiles. Like its less-capable AEGIS counterpart, AEGIS BMD can also work with other radars on land and sea via Cooperative Engagement Capability (CEC). That lets it receive cues from other platforms and provide information to them, in order to create a more detailed battle picture than any one radar could produce alone.

AEGIS has become a widely-deployed top-tier air defense system, with customers in the USA, Australia, Japan, South Korea, Norway, and Spain. In a dawning age of rogue states and proliferation of mass-destruction weapons, the US Navy is being pushed toward a “shield of the nation” role as the USA’s most flexible and most numerous option for missile defense. AEGIS BMD modifications are the keystone of that effort – in the USA, and beyond.

Super Hornet Fighter Family MYP-III: 2010-2018 Contracts

The US Navy flies the F/A-18 E/F Super Hornet fighters, and has begun operating the EA-18G Growler electronic warfare & strike aircraft. Many of these buys have been managed out of common multi-year procurement (MYP) contracts, which aim to reduce overall costs by offering longer-term production commitments, so contractors can negotiate better deals with their suppliers.

The MYP-II contract ran from 2005-2009, and was not renewed because the Pentagon intended to focus on the F-35 fighter program. When it became clear that the F-35 program was going to be late, and had serious program and budgetary issues, pressure built to abandon year-by-year contracting, and negotiate another multi-year deal for the current Super Hornet family. That deal is now final. This entry covers the program as a whole, with a focus on 2010-2015 Super Hornet family purchases. It has been updated to include all announced contracts and events connected with MYP-III, including engines and other separate “government-furnished equipment” that figures prominently in the final price.

Digital Raven: Hand-Launched UAV Goes Binary

The RQ-11 Raven is a 4.2-pound, backpackable, hand-launched UAV that provides day and night, real-time video imagery for “over the hill” and “around the corner” reconnaissance, surveillance and target acquisition.

Each Raven system typically consists of 3 aircraft, 2 ground control stations, system spares, and related services. The digital upgrades are still designated RQ-11Bs, but they enable a given area to include more Ravens, with improved capabilities. The secret? Using L-band spectrum more efficiently.

• Ravin’ bout Ravens: Current Models, and Proposed Upgrades
  
• Contracts and Key Events [updated]
  
• Additional Readings
  

LCS: The USA’s Littoral Combat Ships

Exploit simplicity, numbers, the pace of technology development in electronics and robotics, and fast reconfiguration. That was the US Navy’s idea for the low-end backbone of its future surface combatant fleet. Inspired by successful experiments like Denmark’s Standard Flex ships, the US Navy’s $35+ billion “Littoral Combat Ship” program was intended to create a new generation of affordable surface combatants that could operate in dangerous shallow and near-shore environments, while remaining affordable and capable throughout their lifetimes.

It hasn’t worked that way. In practice, the Navy hasn’t been able to reconcile what they wanted with the capabilities needed to perform primary naval missions, or with what could be delivered for the sums available. The LCS program has changed its fundamental acquisition plan 4 times since 2005, and canceled contracts with both competing teams during this period, without escaping any of its fundamental issues. Now, the program looks set to end early. This public-access FOCUS article offer a wealth of research material, alongside looks at the LCS program’s designs, industry teams procurement plans, military controversies, budgets and contracts.