S&K Aerospace Tapped For Poseidon Work | Delivery Of First A330 MRTTs For NATO To Proceed Next Month | Saab Secures Erieye Order

Americas

S&K Aerospace won a $30.9 million deal for the repair, overhaul and upgrade of 361 commercial common items used on the P-8A Poseidon. The Poseidon is a maritime aircraft, which has an active multi-static and passive acoustic sensor system, inverse synthetic aperture radar, new electronic support measures system, new electro-optical/infrared sensor and a digital magnetic anomaly detector. Boeing delivered its 100th P-8A to the US Navy in mid may. The P-8 is a proven long-range multi-mission maritime patrol aircraft capable of broad-area, maritime and coastal operations. A military derivative of the Boeing 737 Next-Generation airplane, the P-8 combines superior performance and reliability with an advanced mission system that ensures maximum interoperability in the battle space. S&K Aerospace will perform work in various contractor supplier locations and Byron, Georgia. Estimated completion will be by May 2025.

Boeing won a $13.2 million deal for the AN/USQ-82(V) Program in support of DDG-51 Class new construction, DDG-51 Class modernization and Foreign Military Sales cases. The AN/USQ-82(V) delivers data networking to enable critical and real-time control system communications throughout the Arleigh Burke Class destroyer. The AN/USQ-82(V) family of shipboard networking systems consists of the Data Multiplex System (DMS), the Fiber Optic Data Multiplex System (FODMS), and Gigabit Ethernet Data Multiplex System (GEDMS). It transfers inputs and outputs for the Burke-class destroyer’s machinery control systems, damage-control system, steering control system, Aegis combat system, navigation displays, and interior communications alarms and indicators. The contract combines purchased for the Navy and the governments of Japan and Australia. Work will take place in Smithfield, Pennsylvania and is expected to be finished by August 2021.

Middle East & Africa

NATO’s Multinational MRTT Fleet will take delivery of its first two A330 MRTT aircraft next month. The handover is at the Main Operating Base in Eindhoven. The third and fourth aircraft are currently under conversion at the Airbus Defense facilities in Getafe, Madrid. The fifth A330 was flown from Toulouse to Getafe earlier this month. Six countries have signed up for the program to operate 8 aircraft. The contract includes options for 3 more tankers.

Europe

An undisclosed customer contracted Saab to deliver an unspecified number of Erieye airborne early warning and control (AEW&C). The systems, which will be hosted aboard a Saab 2000 twin-turboprop aircraft, are valued at $160 million and will be delivered between 2020 and 2023. While Saab declined to provide further details, the nature of the system, the contract value, and the delivery timelines all indicate that the order is likely to be for between two and three systems. Given that Saab’s primary AEW&C offering is the Bombardier 6000/6500-based GlobalEye, utilizing the Erieye Extended-Range (ER) radar, it is likely that the Saab 2000-based platforms are for a follow-on customer looking to augment their existing fleet, rather than a new customer looking to acquire the latest solution.

Asia-Pacific

Raytheon Missiles and Defense won a $17.4 million modification for the Advanced Medium Range Air-to-Air Missile program. This modification provides for procurement of two new final assembly test sets and upgrade of two existing final assembly test sets. The AMRAAM system is designed to function as a baseline weapon for the NASAMS missile launcher and engage in air-to-air as well as surface-launch combat. Thirty-seven countries have adopted the weapon to date. Work will take place in Tucson, Arizona. Expected completion date is May 21, 2023.

The Philippine Navy’s future BRP José Rizal multirole frigate left the facilities of South Korean shipbuilder Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI) in the southeastern coastal city of Ulsan en route for the Philippines, according to a statement by the Republic of Korea Navy (RoKN). The 107.5 m long frigate, which was launched on May 23, 2019 and is the first of two warships of the class built by HHI, is expected to arrive in the Philippine province of Zambales five days later on the first anniversary of the ship’s launch, after which an official acceptance ceremony is set to be held.

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Watch: RAYTHEON TO DEVELOP RAMJET POWERED LONG RANGE SHELL FOR US MILITARY’s 155 MM CANNONS !

Britain’s A330 Voyager FSTA: An Aerial Tanker Program – With a Difference

Back in 2005, Great Britain was considering a public-private partnership to buy, equip, and operate the RAF’s future aerial tanker fleet. The RAF would fly the 14 Airbus A330-MRTT aircraft on operational missions, and receive absolute preferential access to the planes. A private contractor would handle maintenance, receive payment from the RAF on a per-use basis – and operate them as passenger charter or transport aircraft when the RAF didn’t need them.

The deal became politically controversial, and negotiations on the 27-year, multi-billion pound deal charted new territory for both the government, and for private industry. Which may help to explain why a contract to move ahead on a “Private Financing Initiative” basis had yet to be issued, and procurement had yet to begin, over 7 years after the program began. In March 2008, however, Britain issued the world’s largest-ever Defence Private Finance Initiative (PFI) contract. This FOCUS Article describes the current British fleet, the aircraft they chose to replace them, how the new fleet will compare, the innovative deal structure they’ve chosen, and ongoing FSTA developments.

UAE Buys Saab’s Erieye AEW&C Aircraft

In November 2009, Saab announced a 1.5 billion SEK (about $220 million) contract from the United Arab Emirates for 2 of its Saab 340 regional turboprops, equipped with Erieye active-array radars that can scan large airspace volumes, and with related command and control systems. The Saab 340 AEW contract also includes ground equipment, initial spares, and support services.

The UAE is just the latest buyer of Saab’s Erieye system.

AMRAAM: Deploying & Developing America’s Medium-Range Air-Air Missile

Raytheon’s AIM-120 Advanced, Medium-Range Air to Air Missile (AMRAAM) has become the world market leader for medium range air-to-air missiles, and is also beginning to make inroads within land-based defense systems. It was designed with the lessons of Vietnam in mind, and of local air combat exercises like ACEVAL and Red Flag. This DID FOCUS article covers successive generations of AMRAAM missiles, international contracts and key events from 2006 onward, and even some of its emerging competitors.

One of the key lessons learned from Vietnam was that a fighter would be likely to encounter multiple enemies, and would need to launch and guide several missiles at once in order to ensure its survival. This had not been possible with the AIM-7 Sparrow, a “semi-active radar homing” missile that required a constant radar lock on one target. To make matters worse, enemy fighters were capable of launching missiles of their own. Pilots who weren’t free to maneuver after launch would often be forced to “break lock,” or be killed – sometimes even by a short-range missile fired during the last phases of their enemy’s approach. Since fighters that could carry radar-guided missiles like the AIM-7 tended to be larger and more expensive, and the Soviets were known to have far more fighters overall, this was not a good trade.