USS Gabrielle Giffords Deployed To Pacific Ocean | Saab To Exhibit Giraffe 1X at DSEI | IAF Expected To Reactivate 17 Squadron

Americas

BAE Systems Norfolk won a $11.9 million contract modification for additional growth requirements, including actions taken during Hurricane Florence, identified during the execution of the USS Tortuga Fiscal 2018 Modernization Period Chief of Naval Operations availability. USS Tortuga was originally commissioned in November 1990 and has been part of the US Navy’s LSD / CG-class modernization program since 2016. The keel on the vessel was initially laid on 23 March 1987. At the start of the Tortuga modernization process in May 2016, BAE Systems’ Norfolk shipyard was awarded a $17.7 million contract. The Tortuga or LSD 46 is a Whidbey Island Class dock landing ship. Work will take place in Norfolk, Virginia and estimated completion will be in November this year.

A US Navy Littoral Combat Ship, carrying the new Naval Strike Missile capable of sinking a ship, deployed to the Pacific Ocean last week. The USS Gabrielle Giffords left San Diego on Tuesday. The vessel is relatively small and built for shallow-water maneuverability. The USS Gabrielle is carrying missiles noted for precision, quick enemy detection and a range of over 100 nautical miles. Giffords is the second LCS to deploy this year. The LCS Montgomery also deployed from San Diego in June after a 19-month lapse in LCS deployments as the Navy reworked the way it mans and trains crews for the ships. Defense News reports that a Navy official speaking on condition of anonymity said the USS Gabrielle was deploying to the Indo-Pacific theater. The official did not elaborate on the ship’s schedule.

Middle East & Africa

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Monday that Iran had been developing nuclear weapons at a secret site near the city of Abadeh. At a brief news conference on Monday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu revealed the existence of a previously-unknown nuclear weapons development site in Iran. The prime minister’s address follows an announcement by the IAEA that Iran has violated the terms of the 2015 nuclear agreement by installing advanced centrifuges to enable it to increase the enrichment level of its uranium stocks. “A year and a half ago, we exposed Iran’s secret nuclear archive which revealed that Iran was developing five nuclear warheads as early as 2003,” Netanyahu said Monday. “Last year, we exposed Iran’s secret nuclear warehouse in Turquzabad, which Iran used for storing materials and equipment for its secret nuclear program.”

Europe

Saab announced that it will exhibit a serial production standard Giraffe 1X, at the DSEI exhibition for the first time. The Giraffe 1X 3D solid-state radar will reportedly be located at the East outdoor display area 23. According to the company, the Giraffe 1X will provide a live demonstration of its capabilities by viewing the airspace from its position at the show. Visitors will be able to talk to Saab experts about its unique features and see for themselves the high quality situational awareness users can expect. The Giraffe 1X is a compact, lightweight high-performing 3D radar perfect for the ground based air defense role as well as for civil applications such as airports and site protection as well as naval applications for all types of vessels. The system is designed to deliver key capabilities as part of short-range surveillance and Ground Based Air Defense (GBAD). Saab’s Giraffe 1X and Sea Giraffe 1X are two short-range radars. The Sea Giraffe AMB is installed on the US Independence Class Littoral Combat Ships.

Russia is reportedly developing two indigenous engines for Ka-62 and Ka-226. The chief designer from United Engine Corporation says two projects are underway to replace the existing French power-plants on the Ka-226 and Ka-62 helicopters. The engine for the Ka-226 is designated as VK-650V while the VK-1600V is destined for the Ka-62. “We have launched two other projects with the designers of these engines — UEC-Klimov. The first one is the VK-650V engine for Ka-226. Based on the solutions for this engine, a branch of power systems between 500 and 700 horsepower can be created. The second project is VK-1600V. This is the main engine that will be installed on Ka-62 helicopters,” Yuri Shmotin said. He is the company’s chief designer.

Asia-Pacific

The Indian Air Force is expected to reactivate 17 Squadron at Ambala Air Force Station. The unit is also expected to be the first to operate the Rafale. The ‘Golden Arrows’ 17 Squadron was commanded by Air Chief Marshal Dhanoa during the Kargil war in 1999. The squadron, which operated from Bhatinda Air Base, was disbanded in 2016 after the IAF started the gradual phasing out of Russian-origin MiG 21 jets. The IAF has already completed preparations, including readying required infrastructure and training of pilots, to welcome the fighter aircraft. The sources said the first squadron of the aircraft will be deployed at Ambala Air Force Station. It considered one of the most strategically located bases of the IAF. The border with Pakistan is around 220 km from there.

Today’s Video

Watch: US Military has sent 47.000 more troops and vehicles for Attention to Military Bases in Middle-East

Mid-Life Extensions for USN LSDs

The LSD MSMO was developed to provide extended dry docking, modernization, upgrades, and repairs to the LSD-41 Whidbey Island and related LSD-49 Harpers Ferry Classes of amphibious landing ships, which were commissioned between 1985-1998. The classes are highly similar, but the slightly larger Harpers Ferry Class reduces the number of onboard LCAC hovercraft from 4 to 2, in exchange for more cargo capacity. Two ships of these classes are being upgraded each year through 2013, and the last ship will be modernized in 2014. LSD MSMO aims to keep all 12 remaining ships of these classes in service and mission-capable to 2038.

These 186-190m, 14,460-14,850 tonne US Navy LSD ships are designed to carry Marines and equipment close to shore, then land them by launching onboard craft from their well decks. They’re similar in size to the earlier Austin/Cleveland Class LPDs, but are much smaller than either the new LPD-17 San Antonio Class, or the carrier-size LHA-1 Tarawa and LHD-1 Wasp Classes. Despite these characteristics, or perhaps because of them, their flexibility and numbers have made them among the US Navy’s most-used ships for several years running.

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.

France’s Rafale

Will Dassault’s fighter become a fashionably late fighter platform that builds on its parent company’s past successes – or just “the late Rafale”? It all began as a 1985 break-away from the multinational consortium that went on to create EADS’ Eurofighter. The French needed a lighter aircraft that was suitable for carrier use, and were reportedly unwilling to cede design authority over the project. As is so often true of French defense procurement policy, the choice came down to paying additional costs for full independence and exact needs, or losing key industrial capabilities by partnering or buying abroad. France has generally opted for expensive but independent defense choices, and the Rafale was no exception.

Those costs, and associated delays triggered by the end of the Cold War and reduced funding, proved to be very costly indeed. Unlike previous French fighters, which relied on exports to lower their costs and keep production lines humming, the Rafale has yet to secure a single export contract – in part because initial versions were hampered by impaired capabilities in key roles. The Rafale may, at last, be ready to be what its vendors say: a true omnirole aircraft, ready for prime time on the global export stage. The question is whether it’s too late. Rivals like EADS’ Eurofighter, Russia’s Su-27/30 family, and the American “teen series” of F-15/16/18 variants are all well established. Meanwhile, Saab’s versatile and cheaper JAS-39 Gripen remains a stubborn foe in key export competitions, and the multinational F-35 juggernaut is bearing down on it.