Boeing won a $2.6 billion contract modification for Lot 5 production KC-46 aircraft, initial spares, and support equipment. The deal provides for the exercise of an option for an additional quantity of 15 KC-46 aircraft, data, two spare engines, five wing refueling pod kits, initial spares, support equipment, subscriptions and licenses, and G081 flat file being produced under the basic contract. The KC-46A Pegasus is a widebody, multirole tanker that can refuel all US, allied and coalition military aircraft compatible with international aerial refueling procedures. The aircraft is capable of carrying 212,299 pounds of fuel and 61,000 pounds of cargo, 10 percent more than the KC-135 can hold. The KC-46A is equipped with a refueling boom driven by a fly-by-wire control system, and is capable of fuel offload rates required for large aircraft. Its hose and drogue system adds additional mission capability that is independently operable from the refueling boom system. Work will take place in Seattle, Washington, and is expected to be completed by March 2023.
Northrop Grumman Systems won a $495 million contract for the E-8C Joint Surveillance Target Attack Radar System (JSTARS) aircraft. This contract provides for modernization and sustainment of 16 mission and one trainer aircraft. The deal will support the current JSTARS Program Office and Air Combat Command projections of improvements to increase or maintain E-8C performance, capability, reliability, and maintainability. The JSTARS is an airborne battle management, command and control, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance platform. Its primary mission is to provide theater ground and air commanders with situational awareness to support military operations. In 2015, team JSTARS set a major milestone when they surpassed 100,000-combat flying hours in support of the US Central Command while flying the E-8C Joint STARS out of Al Udeid Air Base, Qatar. Northrop will perform work at Robins Air Force Base, Georgia; and Melbourne, Florida, and is expected to be completed by Sept. 26, 2024.
Middle East & Africa
United Technologies doing business as Pratt & Whitney Military Engines won a $78.1 million deal for engine module remanufacture. The contract provides for F100-PW-220/-220E engine module remanufacture for Foreign Military Sales partner country of Jordan. It involves 100% Foreign Military Sales to Jordan. The Pratt & Whitney F100 is an afterburning turbofan engine that powers the F-15 Eagle and F-16 Fighting Falcon. Work will take place at East Hartford, Connecticut; Midland, Georgia; and Midwest City, Oklahoma, and is expected to be finished by September 30, 2024
The US State Department approved a possible Foreign Military Sale to Qatar of two AN/AAQ-24(V)N Large Aircraft Infrared Countermeasures (LAIRCM) systems and related equipment for an estimated cost of $86 million. The procurement of the LAIRCM systems will provide enhanced capability to Qatar to deter regional threats. Northrop Grumman has been named as the principal contractor for the AN/AAQ-24(V)N LAIRCM. LAIRCM offers protection to aircraft from infrared-guided missiles. Qatar intends to use the LAIRCM systems for installation on a pair of 747-800s.
Europe
The Ukrainian Forces received their first Bars-8MMK (mobile mortar complex) vehicles from Ukroboronservice, Jane’s reports. The defense conglomerate said Ukroboronservice had successfully completed acceptance tests with the vehicle, covering tactical and technical characteristics, as well as firing trials, with a Ukrainian military unit. The BARS-8MMK is a new mobile self-propelled mortar vehicle using the chassis of the BARS-8 4×4 wheeled armored vehicle. It carries a 120 mortar which can be deployed automatically at the rear of the vehicle to perform firing operations. It takes only 30 seconds to bring this artillery system in firing condition, and the vehicle is able to leave the firing position in less than 20 seconds. The BARS-8 is a 4×4 armored vehicle designed and manufactured by the Ukrainian Company Bogdan. The vehicle is built on the Dodge Ram pick-up truck’s 4×4 wheeled chassis. It has a gross vehicle weight of 10,000 kg and a payload capacity of 2,000 kg.
Asia-Pacific
The DoS approved a possible Foreign Military Sale to Thailand of eight AH-6i light attack reconnaissance helicopters and related equipment for an estimated cost of $400 million. Boeing’s AH-6i gunship is a light attack/reconnaissance helicopter based on the storied Hughes OH-6 Cayuse – better known as the Little Bird – that first flew in 1963. The commercial version was named the Hughes 500, later renamed the MD 500 after McDonnell Douglas purchased Hughes Helicopters in 1984. Following Boeing’s later merger with McDonnell Douglas, MD Helicopters purchased the MD 500 line, and produces aircraft – including military variants – based on the platform.
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Latest updates[?]: Northrop Grumman Systems won a $495 million contract for the E-8C Joint Surveillance Target Attack Radar System (JSTARS) aircraft. This contract provides for modernization and sustainment of 16 mission and one trainer aircraft. The deal will support the current JSTARS Program Office and Air Combat Command projections of improvements to increase or maintain E-8C performance, capability, reliability, and maintainability. The JSTARS is an airborne battle management, command and control, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance platform. Its primary mission is to provide theater ground and air commanders with situational awareness to support military operations. In 2015, team JSTARS set a major milestone when they surpassed 100,000-combat flying hours in support of the US Central Command while flying the E-8C Joint STARS out of Al Udeid Air Base, Qatar. Northrop will perform work at Robins Air Force Base, Georgia; and Melbourne, Florida, and is expected to be completed by Sept. 26, 2024.
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E-8C JSTARS: Before
The USA’s E-8 JSTARS is a Boeing 707-300 derivative that provides a picture of the ground situation analogous to the E-3 AWACS’ picture of the air situation. JSTARS aircraft use their radars to determine the direction, speed and patterns of military activity of ground vehicles, helicopters, and even groups of people. They then send this information via secure data links with air force command posts, army mobile ground stations and centers of military analysis around the world.
These surveillance and communications relay capabilities are somewhat unique, and have proven extremely useful in a series of conflicts from Desert Storm in 1991 to the present day. Europe originally intended to field a similar, smaller AGS aircraft based on the Airbus A321, but that project has now been cut to a small fleet of RQ-4 Global Hawk UAVs. With the Global Hawk limited by its payload capacity, and the USA’s E-10A program canceled, the USA’s 17-aircraft operational JSTARS fleet is likely to remain very popular for some time to come. The question is how to keep that fleet relevant, flying, and allocated among all of the units clamoring for their attention.
Latest updates[?]: The US State Department approved a possible Foreign Military Sale to Qatar of two AN/AAQ-24(V)N Large Aircraft Infrared Countermeasures (LAIRCM) systems and related equipment for an estimated cost of $86 million. The procurement of the LAIRCM systems will provide enhanced capability to Qatar to deter regional threats. Northrop Grumman has been named as the principal contractor for the AN/AAQ-24(V)N LAIRCM. LAIRCM offers protection to aircraft from infrared-guided missiles. Qatar intends to use the LAIRCM systems for installation on a pair of 747-800s.
LAIRCM Concept
Defense Support Services (DS2), a Greenville, SC-based venture between Lockheed Martin and Day & Zimmermann, received a $96 million contract to provide support for the Large Aircraft Infrared Countermeasure (LAIRCM) System.
Northrop Grumman’s LAIRCM is a laser-based countermeasures system that is designed to defend C-17 and C-130 transport aircraft and other large, slow-moving aircraft from an infrared missile attack by automatically detecting a missile launch, determining if it is a threat, and activating a high-intensity system of pulsed lasers to track and defeat the threat by confusing its guidance head…
BAE Systems won a $2.7 billion firm-fixed-price contract to procure the Advanced Precision Kill Weapon System (APKWS) II full rate production Lots 8-12. The deal procures WGU-59/B units to upgrade the current 2.75-inch rocket system to a semi-active laser guided precision weapon to support the US Navy, Army, Air Force, and Foreign Military Sales requirements to include the governments of Iraq, Lebanon, Netherlands, Jordan, Afghanistan, United Kingdom, Tunisia, Philippines and Australia. The Advanced Precision Kill Weapon System is a combat-proven, laser-guided 70mm rocket system designed and manufactured by BAE Systems in collaboration with the US Government. The lethal weapon system can be launched from rotary-wing and fixed-wing aircraft and unmanned platforms to strike ground-, air- and sea-based targets, and also supports close air support operations. APKWS uses semi-active laser guidance technology to strike soft and lightly armored targets in confined areas, it has provided the US Marine Corps with a 93 percent hit rate. BAE Systems will perform work in Hudson, New Hampshire and Austin, Texas. Estimated completion will be in December 2025.
EMS Development Corp. won a $10.3 million deal for supplies relating to the maintenance and repair of the Advanced Degaussing Systems onboard T-AKE Lewis and Clark Class vessels. The ships, which are not armed and are classified as non-combatant ships, are capable of operating independently for extended periods at sea while providing underway replenishment services and contribute to the US Navy’s ability to maintain a forward presence. The ships provide services with logistic lift from sources of supply in port or at sea and the transfer of cargo including ammunition, food, fuel, spares, potable water and expendable supplies and materiel to battle groups, station ships, shuttle ships and other naval ships at sea. Work under the contract will take place in Yapbank, New York and is expected to be complete by September 2024.
Middle East & Africa
DynCorp International won a $10 million Foreign Military Sales contract to Iraq for technical services, logistics, maintenance training and repairs. DynCorp International is a leading global service provider. According to the Department of Defense, one bid for the contract was solicited via the internet with one bid received. The company will perform work in Fort Worth, Texas with an estimated completion date of September 25, 2020.
Europe
The Strategic Systems Program awarded BAE Systems a $50.4 million contract modification to provide services for the US as well as the United Kingdom Trident II D5 strategic weapon system programs, US SSGN (guided missile submarine) attack weapon systems, nuclear weapon surety, and future concepts. The Trident II D5 SLBM is a three-stage, solid-fuel, inertially-guided missile with a range of 4,000 nautical miles capable of carrying multiple W76-Mk4/Mk4A or W88-Mk5 reentry bodies. The missile is launched by the pressure of expanding gas within the launch tube. When the missile broaches the waterline, it enters the boost phase, expending its first, second, and third-stage rocket motors. Following third-stage motor separation, the missile deploys the reentry bodies. The Trident II (D5) strategic weapon system, originally designed with a life span to 2024, recently underwent a life extension that will keep it operational through the late 2040s. The life-extended missiles will serve for the remaining service life of US Ohio Class and United Kingdom Vanguard Class SSBNs, and as the initial loadout for the US Columbia Class and UK Dreadnought Class SSBNs. Estimated completion date is September 30, 2020.
Boeing won a $16.1 million modification that provides for the Lots 6-8 retrofit of optical sensor capability A-kits, aircraft updates, remote interface unit wiring and the Dry Bay Fire Protection System as well as the Lots 9-10 production and delivery of the optical sensor capability and the Dry Bay Fire Protection System for the Navy and the governments of Australia, the United Kingdom and Norway in support of P-8A aircraft retrofits and production. The P-8, based on Boeing’s 737-800 airframe, conducts anti-submarine warfare, anti-surface warfare and shipping interdiction, and also carries electronic support measures, torpedoes, Harpoon anti-ship missiles and other weapons. The first P-8A Poseidon for the UK took its inaugural flight on July 12, 2019. Estimated completion will be in February 2024.
Asia-Pacific
The US Army Contracting Command awarded Dyncrop International a $18.9 million Foreign Military Sales contract to Taiwan for aviation field maintenance services. The company provides aviation, logistics, training, intelligence and operational solutions. According to the DoD, bids were solicited via the internet with three received. Work will take place in Germany, Honduras, and Kuwait. Estimated completion date is December 31 this year. Fiscal 2010 and 2019 Foreign Military Sales; and operations and maintenance, Army funds in the combined amount of $18,881,501 were obligated at the time of the award.
Woodward HRT Inc. won a $20.6 million delivery order for the repair of 402 hydraulic drive units in support of the V-22 aircraft. The Bell/Boeing V-22 Osprey is the first production aircraft in the world utilizing tilt-rotor technology. The tilt-rotor allows the V-22 to takeoff and land vertically, much like a helicopter, and once airborne, transition into horizontal high-speed, high-altitude flight by tilting the wing-tip mounted engine nacelles forward 90 degrees so that the rotors function as conventional propellers. Woodward will perform work under the hydraulic drive unit delivery order in Santa Clarita, California. Estimated completion will be in November 2020.
The US Air Force awarded Boeing a $22.7 million modification for F-15C and F-15E Mission Training Center. The contract modification is for the implementation of Suite 9.1/Eagle Passive Active Warning Survivability System (EPAWSS) into F-15C and F-15E MTCs in order to update F-15 MTCs with Suite 9.1 and add EPAWSS capabilities to the F-15E MTC simulators. The Eagle Passive Active Warning Survivability System provides the US Air Force F-15 fleet with advanced electronic warfare technology to maximize mission effectiveness and survivability. The F-15 is an all-weather, day and night, tactical fighter aircraft designed to gain and maintain control over the battlefield. The F-15C aircraft perform air-to-air missions and are part of the Air Superiority portfolio. The purpose of the Air Superiority portfolio is to gain and maintain air dominance across all military operations and threat environments. The F-15 electronic warfare system used 1970s technology which has limited capability to detect, locate, deny, degrade, and disrupt modern and advanced enemy threats. Using the F-15C aircraft without Eagle Passive Active Warning Survivability System will limit the warfighter’s ability to detect and identify air and ground threats, employ counter-measures, and jam enemy radar signals. Boeing will perform work at Seymour Johnson Air Force Base, Mountain Home Air Force Base and Nellis Air Force Base as well as Bases in the UK and Japan. Work will be finished by September 23, 2021.
Middle East & Africa
Honeywell International won $21.2 million FMS contract for engine parts for the Advanced Gas Turbine-1500 tank engine rebuild in support of Kuwait and Saudi Arabia. The Honeywell AGT1500 is the main powerplant of the M1 Abrams series of tanks. Engine output peaks at 1,500 hp (1,120 kW), with 2,750 lb-ft (3,754 N-m) of torque at that peak, which occurs at 3,000 rpm. For the deal, one bid was solicited with one bid received. Honeywell will perform work in Phoenix, Arizona and estimated completion is on February 28, 2022.
Europe
Airbus Defence and Space (DS) has performed the first air-to-air refueling (AAR) contacts between the A400M tanker-transport aircraft and a helicopter, the company announced in a press release. The tests, which occurred over four flights, saw 51 ‘dry‘, which means no fuel passed, contacts between an A400M tanker and an Airbus Helicopter H225M Caracal helicopter over southern France. The contacts were made between 1,000 ft and 10,000 ft altitude and at speeds as low as 105 kt. The tests also included the first proximity trials between the A400M and an Airbus Helicopters H160 helicopter. The A400M is certified to be quickly configured as a tanker, not requiring a dedicated aircraft version. The A400M carries up to 111,600 lb of fuel in its wings and center wing box, without compromising any cargo hold area.
Asia-Pacific
Japan’s air defense systems failed to track some of North Korea’s new ballistic missile launches in recent months, according to a local news report. Most of those missiles flew below 60km in altitude and had irregular trajectories. To counter the problem, Tokyo may deploy more Aegis destroyers to cover the lower regions of airspace and improve the coverage of existing radars. „Japan’s inability to detect missiles that could land in the country at an early stage would make it difficult to intercept them and to take necessary steps swiftly enough such as issuing evacuation warnings“, the report says. In missile launches from May to September, North Korea reportedly fired off projectiles with different shapes and capabilities from previous ones on 10 occasions. Some of them flew below an altitude of 60 kilometers, which is lower than that of usual missiles.
The Indian Navy has launched a global tender to buy short-range air defense missiles for its Kamorta Class corvettes. Bidders have until October 17 to submit their bids to supply around 150 missiles. Foreign companies, including European defense major MBDA and Swedish firm SAAB, are set to submit their proposals to the Indian Navy. Each SRSAM system will have a command and control system, a fire control system, a command link radar and a launcher for a particular number of missiles. The Kamorta Class corvettes or Project 28 are a class of anti-submarine warfare corvettes currently in service with the Indian Navy.
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Raytheon Integrated Defense Systems won a $500.6 million contract modification in order to perform research and development support for the Army Navy Transportable Radar Surveillance Control Model-2 and Sea-Based X-Band radar. Raytheon’s nine-story-high X-band Radar is the world’s largest X-band radar. The sea-based X-band platform that it sits on stands more than 250 feet high and displaces more than 50,000 tons. It consists of a semi-submersible oil production platform topped with the XBR. The AN/TPY-2 is a missile defense radar that can detect, classify and track ballistic missiles. It operates in the X-band of the electromagnetic spectrum, which enables it to see targets more clearly, and it has two modes – one to detect ballistic missiles as they rise, and another that can guide interceptors toward a descending warhead. The modification also includes continued product improvement, warfighter support, engineering services, Ballistic Missile Defense System test subject matter experts support, modeling and simulation SME support, and cybersecurity. Work will take place in Woburn, Massachusetts. Period of performance is from November 1, 2017 through October 31, 2022.
Northrop Grumman won a $375.8 million firm-fixed-price delivery order for Multi Function Active Sensor Radar Systems for the MQ-4C Triton Unmanned Aircraft System. The MQ-4C Triton is an autonomously operated system that provides a persistent maritime ISR capability using multiple maritime sensors. The MQ-4C Triton air vehicle is based upon the United States Air Force RQ-4B Global Hawk, while its sensors are based upon components of already fielded in the DoD inventory. In May, the Government Accountability Office said that Triton UAV development cost has grown by 2% from last year. Northrop Grumman will perform work in California. Estimated completion date is December 31, 2025.
Middle East & Africa
Science and Engineering Services won a $54.9 million contract modification to an Afghanistan Foreign Military Sale. The deal is for maintenance on UH-60 helicopters. The Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk is a four-blade, twin-engine, medium-lift utility helicopter manufactured by Sikorsky Aircraft. The US has been transitioning Afghanistan’s Air Force from a fleet of Soviet-era Mi-17 helicopters to the US-made UH-60 Black Hawks since 2017. The Black Hawk shipments are part of the Afghan Air Force’s modernization initiative. Work will take place in Kandahar, Afghanistan with an estimated completion date of December 31, 2020.
Europe
Germany’s new Defense Minister Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer has said that she will decide on the aircraft to replace the country’s Tornado fighter as soon as possible next year, Reuters reports. She also explained to US Defense Secretary Mark Esper why the F-35 was dropped out from the competition, which now has the Eurofighter and F/A-18 in the running. However neither the F/A-18 nor the Eurofighter is currently certified to carry US nuclear weapons, as required under Germany’s obligations to NATO. Germany is asking Washington to spell out what it will take to get those aircraft certified.
The French Armed Forces Ministry ordered 56 Nerva and Caméléon Unmanned Ground Vehicles from Nexter, associated with ECA, on August 26, 2019 for the Army’s Scorpion program, the Direction Générale de l’Armement (DGA) – the French armament procurement agency – announced. The agency said the light UGVs would contribute to the protection of dismounted soldiers in all kinds of environments, allowing them to counter potential threats at greater ranges. Equipped with different mission modules, the UGVs will allow engineers and infantry to gather intelligence regularly, the DGA added. The order is for three types of UGVs, all equipped with day/night cameras and a microphone: the 3 kg Nerva S reconnaissance, 5 kg Nerva LG extended reconnaissance, and 12 kg Nerva XX/Caméléon LG engineering UGV.
Asia-Pacific
The US Navy awarded Robertson Fuel Systems a $31.1 million contract to manufacture and deliver eight V-22 mission auxiliary tank systems for extended range of flight requirements in support of V-22 aircraft for the US Navy, Marine Corps and Air Force as well as the government of Japan. The V-22 Osprey is a joint service multirole combat aircraft utilizing tiltrotor technology to combine the vertical performance of a helicopter with the speed and range of a fixed-wing aircraft. Japan ordered the first five Ospreys for the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force in July 2015 for $332 million. Work will take place in Tempe, Arizona and expected completion date will be in November 2021.
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Latest updates[?]: The French Armed Forces Ministry ordered 56 Nerva and Caméléon Unmanned Ground Vehicles from Nexter, associated with ECA, on August 26, 2019 for the Army's Scorpion program, the Direction Générale de l'Armement (DGA) - the French armament procurement agency - announced. The agency said the light UGVs would contribute to the protection of dismounted soldiers in all kinds of environments, allowing them to counter potential threats at greater ranges. Equipped with different mission modules, the UGVs will allow engineers and infantry to gather intelligence regularly, the DGA added. The order is for three types of UGVs, all equipped with day/night cameras and a microphone: the 3 kg Nerva S reconnaissance, 5 kg Nerva LG extended reconnaissance, and 12 kg Nerva XX/Caméléon LG engineering UGV.
Griffon
In 2009 France was planning to start delivering by 2015 new multirole armored vehicles to replace a variety of aging infantry vehicles starting, within a large modernization program called Scorpion. But the 2010-14 multiyear budget relied on a number of rosy assumptions that were soon disproved by reality, and the Scorpion program was one of the mismatch’s casualties, along with plans to start working on a second aircraft carrier.
Promises were made again in the next 5-year budget plan, while maintenance costs kept increasing to sustain vehicles offering an underwhelming mix of limited protection, autonomy, and mobility. French defense manufacturers also started to sound the alarm as Scorpion became increasingly vital to prevent factory closures. The French DGA defense procurement agency paid heed to their plea and issued a tender limited to national manufacturers. By the end of 2014 the ministry of defense finally initiated the 1st procurement tranche of a program expected to last beyond 2025.
On one hand, the expected turnaround from prototype to delivery in 4 to 6 years is tight and will put pressure on contractors, though they started some early conceptual work in 2010. On the other hand this still amounts to a late and light production schedule for the rest of the decade.
Communications & Power Industries won a $20.5 million contract for the procurement of evaluations, repairs, rebuilds, and production of the Simplified Driver Traveling Wave Tubes (SDR TWTs). According to the Department of Defense, Communications & Power Industries is the only known source, which has the capability to evaluate, produce, repair, and rebuild the SDR TWT within the required schedule. SDR TWTs are microwave tubes installed in the AN/SPY-1D(V) Radar System on board the DDG 51 Class AEGIS destroyers, AEGIS Ashore, and Foreign Military Sales DDG ships. The SPY-1 radar is a key component of the Aegis Weapon System, the heart of the Aegis Combat System. Arleigh Burke destroyers are warships that provide multi-mission offensive and defensive capabilities. Destroyers can operate independently or as part of carrier strike groups, surface action groups, amphibious ready groups, and underway replenishment groups. The ships use the Aegis Combat System and the SPY-1D multifunction radar array. The procurement is in support of Navy new ship construction, AEGIS Ashore, Navy ship sustainment, and FMS cases. Work will take place in Palo Alto, California. Estimated completion will be in June 2025.
Raytheon Missile Systems won a $13.6 million contract modification to exercise options for Mk 15 Close-In Weapon System (CIWS) sensor kits. CIWS is a fast-reaction terminal defense against low- and high-flying, high-speed maneuvering anti-ship missile threats that have penetrated all other defenses. CIWS are a shipboard necessity for detecting and engaging missiles and aircraft at short range. The CIWS is an integral element of the Fleet Defense In-Depth concept and the Ship Self-Defense Program. Operating either autonomously or integrated with a combat system, it is an automatic terminal defense weapon system designed to detect, track, engage and destroy anti-ship missile threats penetrating outer defense envelopes. CIWS consists of three variants: Phalanx, which utilizes a six barrel Gatling gun; Land-based Phalanx Weapon System (LPWS) and SeaRAM, which replaces the gun with an 11-round Rolling Airframe Missile (RAM) guide. The Phalanx CIWS is a close-in weapon system for defense against airborne threats such as anti-ship missiles and helicopters. It was designed and manufactured by the General Dynamics Corporation. Raytheon will perform work under the CIWS contract in El Segundo, California and expected completion will be by December 2022.
Middle East & Africa
Marvin Engineering won a $42.4 million firm-fixed-price contract for 770 F/A-18E/F LAU-127 E/A guided missile launchers for the US Navy as well as the governments of Kuwait and Switzerland. The Marvin LAU-127 missile rail launcher enables the F/A-18 carrier-based strike fighter to carry and launch the radar-guided AIM-120 Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missile (AMRAAM) and the AIM-9X Sidewinder heat-seeking missile. Navy officials are ordering 567 LAU-127 launchers for the Navy and 185 for the government of Kuwait. This contract involves LAU-127E/A, which has a slight weight variation from the Marvin LAU-127A/A, LAU-127B/A, LAU-127C/A, LAU-127D/A, and LAU-127F/A versions. The LAU-127 provides the electrical and mechanical interface between the AMRAAM and AIM-9X air-to-air missile systems and the F/A-18 aircraft, as well as the two-way data transfer between the missile and the aircraft’s cockpit controls and displays. Work will be performed in Inglewood, California, and is expected to be completed in May 2024.
Boeing won a $156.9 million contract modification for the Foreign Military Sales Royal Saudi Air Force F-15SA Original Equipment Manufacturer Training Program. Saudi Arabia’s F-15SA Advanced Eagle includes Raytheon’s APG-63(V)3 AESA radar, fly-by-wire control systems and two additional underwing weapons stations, bringing the total to 11. It also features upgraded avionics, more powerful engines, and the BAE Systems Digital Electronic Warfare System/Common Missile Warning System (DEWS/CMWS). The first of the Kingdom’s 152 new and remanufactured F-15SA aircraft arrived at King Khalid Air Base in December 2016. Work will take place at King Khalid Air Base, Khamis Mushayt; King Faisal Air Base, Tabuk; and King Abdul Aziz Air Base, Dhahran, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and is expected to be completed by December 31, 2021.
Europe
BAE System Technology Solution and Services won a $19.9 million modification to provide logistics engineering and integration support of the US Ohio Class and UK Vanguard Class Strategic Weapon System (SWS) platforms, including support of future concepts. The Vanguard class is a class of nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarines (SSBNs) in service with the UK Royal Navy. The Ohio class of nuclear-powered subs is the sole class of SSBNs currently in service with the USN. Work will take place within the US and estimated complete date is September 30, 2020. UK funds in the amount of $3,652,728, are being obligated on this award.
Asia-Pacific
Northrop Grumman won a $11 million firm-fixed-priced delivery order for electronic surveillance in support of the P-8 aircraft program. Based at RAAF Base Edinburgh, the P-8A Poseidon is an important part of Australia’s future maritime patrol and response strategy. The P-8A Poseidon has advanced sensors and mission systems, including a state-of-the-art multi-role radar, high definition cameras, and an acoustic system with four times the processing capacity of the AP-3C Orions. Location of performance is Maryland, with a December 1, 2021, performance completion date.
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Boeing won a $51.6 million contract to procure 136 Advanced Capability Mission Computers in support of the F/A-18 aircraft. The Advanced Capability Mission Computer is an integrated information processing system, providing complete hardware and software solutions. It is built on a well-defined open systems architecture allowing for rapid insertion of emerging technologies. The ACMC is a set of digital computer hardware and software that performs general purpose, I/O, video, voice, and graphics processing. The F/A-18 Hornet is a single- and two-seat, twin engine, multi-mission fighter/attack aircraft that can operate from either aircraft carriers or land bases. The F/A-18 fills a variety of roles: air superiority, fighter escort, suppression of enemy air defenses, reconnaissance, forward air control, close and deep air support, and day and night strike missions. The F/A-18 Hornet replaced the F-4 Phantom II fighter and A-7 Corsair II light attack jet, and also replaced the A-6 Intruder as these aircraft were retired during the 1990s. Work will take place in St. Louis, Missouri. Estimated completion will be in February 2022.
The US Navy awarded Lockheed Martin a $24.7 million cost-plus-fixed-fee contract to develop the first production unit fabrication and qualification of the TB-37X Multi-Function Towed Array (MFTA) System. The legacy TB-37/U MFTA is an integral part of the AN/SQQ-89A(V)15 Undersea Warfare Combat System Improvement Program for the Arleigh Burke Class guided missile destroyers (DDG-51), Ticonderoga Class missile cruisers (CG-47) and Zumwalt Class destroyers. The TB-37X MFTA shall incorporate next-generation telemetry to mitigate reliability and obsolescence issues experienced with the legacy TB-37/U MFTA. The TB-37X will be deployed on additional platforms, including Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) and Next Generation Guided Missile Frigates (FFG(X)). Lockheed will perform work in Liverpool, New York; Millersville, Maryland; Marion, Massachusetts; Cleveland, Ohio; and Albuquerque, New Mexico, and is expected to be completed by October 2026.
Middle East & Africa
General Dynamics won a $36 million contract for 21 forging sets and 660 warhead housings to support the production of guided missile warhead sections for the weapon system for the government of Saudi Arabia. The AGM-84H/K SLAM-ER is an advanced stand off precision-guided, air-launched cruise missile produced by Boeing Defense, Space and Security for the US Armed Forces and their allies. The SLAM-ER can be remotely controlled while in flight, and it can be redirected to another target after launch if the original target has already been destroyed, or is no longer considered to be dangerous (command guidance). The SLAM-ER is a very accurate weapon; as of 2009 it had the best circular error probable of any missile used by the US Navy. Work will take place in Anniston, Alabama, and is expected to be completed in March 2028.
Europe
Lockheed Martin announced that it delivered the first of two KC-130J Super Hercules aerial refuelers to representatives from France’s Armée de l’Air’s 62st Transport Wing at Orléans-Bricy Air Base. France will receive a total of four Super Hercules aircraft — two C-130J-30 combat delivery airlifters and two KC-130J aerial refuelers — through a Foreign Military Sale with the US government. The two C-130J-30 airlifters were delivered in 2017 and 2018, and a second KC-130J will deliver in 2020. All of these Super Hercules are operated in conjunction with France’s existing C-130H fleet. “The KC-130J provides Armée de l’Air crews with a proven solution that delivers much-needed fuel in any environment, at any time,” said Rod McLean, vice president and general manager, Air Mobility & Maritime Missions at Lockheed Martin. France is the 17th country to choose the C-130J for its airlift needs. The C-130J Super Hercules is the most advanced tactical airlifter in operation today, offering superior performance and enhanced capabilities with the range and versatility for every theater of operations and evolving requirements.
The Finnish government has approved long-delayed contract awards to Rauma Marine Constructions Oy and Saab for the delivery of the Finnish Navy’s $1.5 billion Squadron 2020 corvette program. Squadron 2020 covers the procurement of four new Pohjanmaa Class corvettes, capable of operating in ice conditions, to replace the seven existing surface combatants in Finnish Navy service. RMC will build the new ships at its shipyard in Rauma, while Saab will take responsibility for the supply and integration of the combat system, plus the integration of government-furnished weapons and equipment. The decision was made at the outset of the Squadron 2020 program to build the new corvettes in Finland to assure security of supply and sustain national shipbuilding capability. A letter of intent and design contract was awarded to RMC in 2016.
Asia-Pacific
India’s Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Limited (MDL) has delivered another license-built Kalvari or Scorpène Class diesel-electric submarine to the Indian Navy. The vessel, which will be in service as INS Khanderi once commissioned, was handed over on September 19 at a delivery ceremony in Mumbai. Khanderi is the second of six boats ordered under an $3.2 billion contract signed with Naval Group (then known as DCNS) in October 2005 under India’s Project 75 submarine program. The program’s first-of-class, INS Kalvari , was commissioned in December 2017.
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Latest updates[?]: The US Navy awarded Lockheed Martin a $24.7 million cost-plus-fixed-fee contract to develop the first production unit fabrication and qualification of the TB-37X Multi-Function Towed Array (MFTA) System. The legacy TB-37/U MFTA is an integral part of the AN/SQQ-89A(V)15 Undersea Warfare Combat System Improvement Program for the Arleigh Burke Class guided missile destroyers (DDG-51), Ticonderoga Class missile cruisers (CG-47) and Zumwalt Class destroyers. The TB-37X MFTA shall incorporate next-generation telemetry to mitigate reliability and obsolescence issues experienced with the legacy TB-37/U MFTA. The TB-37X will be deployed on additional platforms, including Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) and Next Generation Guided Missile Frigates (FFG(X)). Lockheed will perform work in Liverpool, New York; Millersville, Maryland; Marion, Massachusetts; Cleveland, Ohio; and Albuquerque, New Mexico, and is expected to be completed by October 2026.
Naval technologies have advanced on many fronts, but one of the most significant is the growing roster of diesel-electric submarines that boast exceptional quietness. Some of the newer AIP (Air-Independent Propulsion) models even have the ability to operate without surfacing for a week or two at a time. In exercises against the US Navy, diesel-electric submarines have successfully ‘killed’ their nuclear counterparts, and in 2006, a Chinese submarine reportedly surprised a US carrier battlegroup by surfacing within it.
The US Navy is slowly moving to beef up anti-submarine capabilities that had been neglected since the end of the Cold War, and other navies are also beginning to adjust. One of the first areas that requires attention is improved detection. That means wider coverage areas, longer baselines, better sonar and other detection systems, and greater use of small unmanned platforms on the surface and underwater. With UUV/USV platforms still maturing, and almost every advanced navy except the Chinese getting smaller due to the cost of new warships, towed systems are a natural place to start.
