Northrop Grumman Tapped For E-2D Support | Raytheon Wins FMS To Kuwait For PATRIOT Training | Taiwan To Retire UH-1H in October

Americas

Meggitt Defense Systems won a $22.2 million firm-fixed-price contract in support of the Apache AH-64. The deal is for magazine assemblies. Boeing’s Apache is a twin-turboshaft attack helicopter with a tailwheel-type landing gear arrangement and a tandem cockpit. The helicopter is used by the US Army and an increasing number of international defense forces. The AH-64E is the latest version of the AH-64 gunship, equipped with new sensors, avionics and improved night operation capabilities. The Apache can carry up to 16 Hellfire laser designated missiles. With a range of over 8,000 meters, the Hellfire is used primarily for the destruction of tanks, armored vehicles and other hard material targets. The award is a one-time procurement contract, which includes a quantity option, exercised at time of award. Location of performance is California, with an April 15, 2021, performance completion date.

The US Navy awarded Northrop Grumman a $68.9 million contract modification for non-recurring engineering and obsolescence management to support delivery of 24 E-2D Advanced Hawkeye full-rate production Lot 7 – 11 aircraft. Hawkeye is an airborne, all-weather, tactical, early-warning aircraft used by the US Navy. E-2D is the fourth version of the E-2 Hawkeye. The technology and gadgets fitted in this aircraft increase its visibility on targets far away. Notably, the E-2D Advanced Hawkeye has a structurally distinctive design — a rotating rotodome and four vertical stabilizer tail configurations — that provide 360-degree surveillance at all times. In April, the Navy awarded Northrop Grumman a $3.2 billion five-year contract modification to buy 24 E-2D Advanced Hawkeye airborne surveillance aircraft. Work will take place in Florida, New York, Virginia, California, Indiana, Ohio, Italy and France as well as various other locations within the continental US. Estimated completion date is in January 2023.

Middle East & Africa

Raytheon won a $10.8 million FMS contract to Kuwait for technical assistance planning, training, maintenance and sustainment of the Kuwait Phased Array Tracking Radar to Intercept on Target (PATRIOT) missile weapon systems, associated PATRIOT equipment, and PATRIOT logistics support elements. The company will offer technical assistance, planning, training, maintenance and sustainment to Kuwait, in addition to pertinent equipment and logistics support. Kuwait is equipped with an unknown number of land-based PAC-2 medium range Patriot air defense missiles and PAC-3 ground-based/mobile Patriot missiles. The USA’s MIM-104 Phased Array Tracking Radar Intercept On Target anti-air missile system offers an advanced backbone for medium-range air defense, and short-range ballistic missile defense, to America and its allies. Work will take place in Massachusetts. Estimated completion date is December 31, 2020.

Europe

The DoS approved a possible Foreign Military Sale to Hungary of 180 AIM-120C-7 Advanced Medium Range Air-to-Air Missiles (AMRAAM) with support for an estimated cost of $500 million. The European country requested to buy one 180 AIM-120C-7 Advanced Medium Range Air-to-Air Missiles (AMRAAM), and four spare AIM-120C-7 AMRAAM guidance sections. The proposed sale will also include cryptographic and communication security devices, precision navigation equipment, weapons system equipment, common munitions and test equipment, training, integration and logistics support.

The State Department also approved a FMS to Denmark for nine AN/AQS-22 Airborne Low Frequency Sonar (ALFS) systems and six hundred AN/SSQ-36/53/62 Sonobuoys with support for an estimated cost of $200 million. The AN/AQS-22 ALFS dipping sonar and sonobuoy processing system is the primary anti-submarine warfare sensor of US Navy’s MH-60R multi-mission helicopter. It provides mission-critical capabilities, including submarine detection, tracking, localization, classification, acoustic intercept, underwater communication and environmental data collection. The AQS-22 dipping sonar features 4-time greater area coverage than current systems, active or passive sonar modes, active or passive sonobuoys, enhanced shallow water capability, generate high power waveforms and many other advanced characteristics.

Asia-Pacific

Taiwan will retire its UH-1H fleet on October 30. The UH-1 has been in service on the island for 50 years. It will be replaced by the UH-60. According to local reports, the Army officially confirmed that it will decommission the UH-1H on October 30. The Ministry of Defense will hold decommissioning ceremony. The UH-60 is a four-blade twin-engine medium lift utility helicopter. In 2017, Sikorsky won a $135.4 million Foreign Military Sales (FMS) contract by the Republic of China Army for the manufacture of 24 Sikorsky UH-60M Black Hawk utility helicopters. Taiwan is a mountainous island surrounded by ocean. This helicopter is perfect for rescue mission in the mountains at the altitudes above 2,000 meters or out at sea in nighttime. Its best feature is nighttime reconnaissance.

Today’s Video

Watch: U.S NAVY GHOST FLEET WILL BE HAVE LARGE UNMANNED SURFACE VESSELS (LUSV) !!

E-2D Hawkeye: The Navy’s New AWACS

Northrop Grumman’s E-2C Hawkeye is a carrier-capable “mini-AWACS” aircraft, designed to give long-range warning of incoming aerial threats. Secondary roles include strike command and control, land and maritime surveillance, search and rescue, communications relay, and even civil air traffic control during emergencies. E-2C Hawkeyes began replacing previous Hawkeye versions in 1973. They fly from USN and French carriers, from land bases in the militaries of Egypt, Japan, Mexico, and Taiwan; and in a drug interdiction role for the US Naval Reserve. Over 200 Hawkeyes have been produced.

The $17.5 billion E-2D Advanced Hawkeye program aims to build 75 new aircraft with significant radar, engine, and electronics upgrades in order to deal with a world of stealthier cruise missiles, saturation attacks, and a growing need for ground surveillance as well as aerial scans. It looks a lot like the last generation E-2C Hawkeye 2000 upgrade on the outside – but inside, and even outside to some extent, it’s a whole new aircraft.

Timely Defenders: Keeping Patriots in Shape

The USA’s MIM-104 Phased Array Tracking Radar Intercept On Target (PATRIOT) anti-air missile system offers an advanced backbone for medium-range air defense, and short-range ballistic missile defense, to America and its allies. This article covers domestic and foreign purchase requests and contracts for Patriot systems. It also compiles information about the engineering service contracts that upgrade these systems, ensure that they continue to work, and integrate them with wider command and defense systems.

The Patriot missile franchise’s future appears assured. At present, 12 nations have chosen it as a key component of their air and missile defense systems: the USA, Germany, Greece, Japan, Israel, Kuwait, The Netherlands, Saudi Arabia, South Korea, Spain, Taiwan and the UAE. Poland, Qatar, and Turkey have all indicated varying levels of interest, and some existing customers are looking to upgrade their systems.

Fly and Listen: The AN/AQS-22 ALFS Sonar System

The AN/AQS-22 Airborne Low-Frequency Sonar (ALFS) will equip the US Nay’s new MH-60R multi-mission helicopters, serving as their primary anti-submarine sensor. The new FLASH sonar operates using lower frequencies and higher-power waveforms than existing dipping sonars, improving long-range detection. The AQS-22 dipping sonar claims 4x the area coverage of current systems, and includes both active or passive sonar modes to help track, localize, and classify submarines. A winching system with up to 2,500 feet of cable raises and lowers the sonar.

The ALFS system complements the MH-60R’s radar, and works in concert with other equipment including active or passive sonobuoys, signal processing improvements that are especially helpful in shallow water. This Spotlight article highlights ALFS-related contracts from 2002 to the present.