Oshkosh To Modernize US Army Heavy Vehicles | Egypt Buys 30 Additional Rafales | Myanmar Helicopter Shot Down

Americas

Oshkosh Defense announced a three-year extension of its contract with the US Army on Monday to build heavy vehicles, valued at $146.8 million. The deal calls for modernization of vehicles in the US Army and US Army Reserve Family of Heavy Tactical Vehicle, also known as FHTV, fleets, which include 354 Heavy Expanded Mobility Tactical Trucks, or HEMTT, and Palletized Load System, or PLS, trucks, as well as the construction of new PLS trailers. The FHTV fleet is designed to accommodate many mission packages, allowing it to support multi-domain operations as the battlefield continues to evolve, according to the company.

Lockheed Martin Rotary and Mission Systems won a $15.6 million contract modification for the implementation of configuration management changes on select Freedom-variant Littoral Combat Ships (LCS). The LCS new construction contract provides for the design, construction, integration, and testing of the Littoral Combat Ship, which operates with focused-mission packages that deploy manned and unmanned vehicles to execute a variety of missions, including anti-submarine warfare, surface warfare, and mine countermeasures. Work will take place in Marinette, Wisconsin. Estimated completion will be by May 2022.

Middle East & Africa

The US Army Corps of Engineers, Europe District has completed a Hardened Hangar project in Israel to support the latter’s F-35 fleet. A ribbon-cutting ceremony was held on March 10 to mark the handover. US Army Corps of Engineers, Europe District Commander Col. Patrick Dagon said the hardened hangars and operations facilities will house a squadron of F-35s. Work is already underway for multiple additional similar facilities to be constructed in the coming years, says the news release.

Egypt has confirmed that it will buy another 30 Rafale fighters from France, after the deal was disclosed by investigative website Disclose on May 3. Disclose had said that the deal is worth $4.5 billion. Egypt revealed that it will take a 10-year loan for the purchase.

Europe

The F-35Bs assigned to the Royal Air Force’s 617 Squadron will carry out airstrikes in Iraq and Syria during the maiden deployment of the UK Carrier Strike Group (CSG21). There are eight F-35Bs from 617 Squadron. They are joined by 10 F-35Bs from the U.S. Marine Corp’s VMFA-211.

Asia-Pacific

A man portable air defence system (MANPADS) fired by the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) shot down a Myanmar military helicopter on May 3. Military tensions have been running high between Myanmar’s military junta and the ethnic Kachin armed group in Momauk since April 11, with the former using aircraft to bomb KIA outposts.

Today’s Video

Watch: Here’s How We Build a Littoral Combat Ship

US Military Adds Heavy Trucks Under FHTV-III

In 2009, with its bridge buy of FMTV medium trucks in place, and initial awards for the potential JLTV Hummer replacement designs underway, the next order of business on the US Army’s agenda was a new Family of Heavy Tactical Vehicles multi-year contract: FHTV-III. That multi-billion dollar FHTV-III contract has been awarded – not as a re-compete like FMTV, but as a single-source solicitation.

Oshkosh has provided the core of this capability for over 20 yeas now. Its Heavy Expanded Mobility Tactical Trucks (HEMTT) and their 13-ton payloads are the mainstay of the FHTV fleet, serving in variants that include M977/985 Cargo, M978 Fueler, M982/983 Tractors, and M984 Wrecker/Tow; they also serve as heavy transporters for Patriot and THAAD air defense systems. M1074/75 Palletized Load Systems (PLS) and PLS trailers (PLST) are best known for their automated container/pallet loading arms, and for their Universal Power Interface Kit (UPIK) that can add modules for firefighting, construction, cranes, cement mixing, etc. The M1000/1070 Heavy Equipment Transporters (HET) are flatbeds that can transport a 70-ton Abrams tank – or anything less – in order to save wear and tear on expensive armored vehicles and on the roads. A specialized FHTV truck called the M1977 CBT can even lay bridges. This article details the FHTV-III trucks, and related developments and contracts:

• FHTV: Upgrades, LTAS, and RECAP [updated]
  
• 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.