The US Air Force published a new B-21 Raider artist rendering graphic with an accompanying fact sheet on July 6. The rendering is based on the actual aircraft, and an artist’s interpretation of the B-21 design, with Edwards Air Force Base, California in the background. The aircraft will undergo testing there.
The US Defense Department canceled a $10 billion cloud computing contract that’s been the subject of ongoing legal battles, saying it “no longer meets” requirements. A Pentagon representative told reporters that instead, the department will be soliciting new proposals from cloud service providers.
Middle East & Africa
Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid has called on the government to sell the “Wing of Zion” Boeing 767 VVIP jet just months before it is set to enter operational service. The cost of modifying the jet has grown fifty percent from the original $115 million budget. Prime Minister Naftali Bennett will decide on the fate of the aircraft later with input from President-elect Isaac Herzog.
Europe
MBDA announced it will for the first time pair a CAMM (Common Anti-Air Modular Missile) missile with an upgraded Sea Viper command and control (C2) system on board the Royal Nay’s Type 45 destroyers. CAMM offers both close-in and local-area air defence, and will complement Aster 30, strengthening the anti-air defence capability of the Royal Navy.
Details were published about how the new UK ‘National Flagship’ will operate. According to a ‘Prior Information Notice’ regarding the upcoming tendering process to design and build the vessel, the vessel will be used to host high level trade negotiations and trade shows and will sail all over the world promoting British interests. The British Prime Minister announced a new National Flagship for the UK in May.
Asia-Pacific
Royal Australian Navy Anzac Class frigate HMAS Perth returned to the water on July 1 after being lowered out of the dry dock at the Australian Marine Complex in Henderson, Western Australia. The move followed the completion of upgrades to the frigate’s radar capabilities, communications systems, and crew-habitable areas, which are a major part of the Anzac Midlife Capability Assurance Programme (AMCAP), according to a statement by the Department of Defense.
Today’s Video
Watch: UK Navy power !! Royal Navy’s Type 45 Destroyers To Get £500m Firepower Upgrade
Latest updates[?]: MBDA announced it will for the first time pair a CAMM (Common Anti-Air Modular Missile) missile with an upgraded Sea Viper command and control (C2) system on board the Royal Nay’s Type 45 destroyers. CAMM offers both close-in and local-area air defence, and will complement Aster 30, strengthening the anti-air defence capability of the Royal Navy.
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Daring Class
The 5,200t Type 42 Sheffield Class destroyers were designed in the late 1960s to provide fleet area air-defense for Britain’s Royal Navy, after the proposed Type 82 air defense cruisers were canceled by the Labour Government in 1966. Britain built 14 of the Type 42s, but these old ships are reaching the limits of their operational lives and effectiveness.
To replace them, the Royal Navy planned to induct 12 Type 45 Daring Class destroyers. The Daring class would be built to deal with a new age of threats. Saturation attacks with supersonic ship-killing missiles, that fly from the ship’s radar horizon to ship impact in under 45 seconds. The reality of future threats from ballistic missiles, and WMD proliferation. Plus a proliferation of possible threats involving smaller, hard to detect enemies like UAVs. Overall, the Type 45s promise to be one of the world’s most capable air defense ships – but design choices have left the cost-to-value ratio uncertain, and limited the Type 45s in other key roles. A reduced 6-ship program moved forward.
The US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency chose 3 teams of researchers led by Raytheon, BAE Systems, and Northrop Grumman. They have been selected to develop event-based infrared (IR) camera technologies. The project was awarded under the agency’s Fast Event-based Neuromorphic Camera and Electronics program. Event-based cameras are an emerging class of sensors with demonstrated advantages relative to traditional imagers. These advanced models operate asynchronously and only transmit information about pixels that have changed. This means they produce significantly less data and operate with much lower latency and power.
The US Army’s new Infantry Squad Vehicle (ISV) recently carried out its airdrop certification testing over Fort Bragg. The ISV was delivered by standard low-velocity from US Air Force C-130 and C-17 aircraft. Standard dual row airdrop system from the C-17 was tested as well.
Middle East & Africa
Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) is integrating offensive and defensive systems including MF-STAR (Magen Adir) radar onto the Navy’s Sa’ar 6 corvettes. The company, together with the Administration for the Development of Weapons and Technological Infrastructure (part of IMoD) and the Israeli Navy, completed the first phase of installing the MF-STAR (Magen Adir) radars on the Israeli Navy’s Sa’ar 6 corvettes and will continue to integrate the BARAK MX Air Defense System (Ra’am Adir) on the vessels. The radars will serve to locate and classify air and surface targets and help to build an advanced and detailed maritime picture of the surveillance area.
Israel-based BIRD Aerosystems said that it delivered a complete ASIO Maritime Task Force Solution to an undisclosed African government. The ASIO Maritime Task Force Solution includes multiple Cessna Citation CJ3 aircraft that the company converted into Maritime Patrol Aircraft, together with BIRD’s advanced mission management system (MSIS) which was also installed on a number of vessels as well as at the naval HQ command.
Europe
Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) Aviation Group will also establish a passenger to freighter conversion site to convert the Boeing 737-700/800 in partnership with Atitech company, at Atitech’s leading MRO center in Naples, Italy. The cargo conversion site in Italy will join two existing cargo conversion sites in China.
Asia-Pacific
A JGSDF Type 12 Surface-to-Ship missile launch vehicle from the 5th Surface-to-Ship Missile Regiment caught fire 468 meters inside the Kumamoto airport underground tunnel on July 4. The vehicle was returning to base from the JGSDF Hijyu-dai Proving ground and it was not carrying any live weapons at that time. The incident forced the tunnel to be closed to traffic for three hours. Two people onboard the vehicle were unhurt.
Today’s Video
Watch: IAI Integrates Naval Combat Suite on Sa’ar 6 Corvettes
Northrop Grumman won a $12.9 million contract modification, which exercises an option to provide continued support for integrated test team operations in executing advanced development experimentation flights and development testing in support of future delta system software builds for the Navy E-2D Advanced Hawkeye aircraft. The E-2D Advanced Hawkeye (AHE) is the newest variant of the E-2 aircraft platform. It features a state-of-the-art radar with a two-generation leap in capability and upgraded aircraft systems that will improve supportability and increase readiness. Work will take place in Patuxent River, Maryland. Estimated completion will be in July 2022.
The US Marine Corps announced last week that its 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing’s Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 314 (VMFA-314) declared full operational capability (FOC) for the F-35C Lightning II. FOC is significant in its confirmation that VMFA-314 is fully prepared and equipped successfully deploy aboard United States Navy aircraft carriers, marking the first FOC declaration for Marine Corps. This inaugural event is met after VMFA-314 received their first F-35C on January 21, 2020 when their first jet arrived at Marine Corps Air Station (MCAS) Miramar from Naval Air Station Lemoore.
Middle East & Africa
The US State Department approved a contract to Kuwait for heavy tactical vehicles. The contract, estimated to be worth $445 million, will cover 517 total Heavy Tactical Vehicles consisting of Heavy Expanded Mobility Tactical Trucks (HEMTT) and Heavy Equipment Transporters (HET). These items include: 31 HEMTT Wrecker Trucks (M984A4 ten-ton with crane and winch); 100 HEMTT Fuel Tanker Trucks (M978A4, ten-ton, 2,500?gallon); 188 Guided Missile Transporter Trucks (M985A4, ten-ton with winch); 50 Heavy Equipment Transporter (HET) Trucks (M1070A1); 50 635NL Commercial Trailers for use with HET prime movers; 49 Palletized Load System (PLS) Trailers (M1076A0); PLS Flat Rack (M1077 with sides); and related equipment and support, Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) said in a release today.
VSE Corp. won a $31.6 million delivery order for an in-country technical assistance team (ICTAT) to the Egyptian Navy for follow-on technical support. This contract involves Foreign Military Sales (FMS) to the government of Egypt under FMS Case EG-P-GKB. The contractor shall provide ICTAT to include technical, logistics, training, and facilities and administration support to the Egyptian Navy for work on multiple ship platforms. Work will take place in Egypt and Virginia. Estimated completion will be by June 2023.
Europe
BAE Systems said it received the first contract from the Space and Missile Systems Center’s Space Production Corps to deliver M-Code Military Global Positioning System User Equipment to Germany. Under a Foreign Military Sales contract, BAE Systems will deliver advanced M-Code GPS technology to Germany, enabling precise, resilient, and secure geolocation and positioning capabilities that improve the effectiveness of allied operations.
Asia-Pacific
The US Army has deployed a PAC-3 air defense missile battery from Okinawa to Amami for the first time as part of Orient Shield 21-2. The unit carried out joint training with the 8th Anti-Aircraft Artillery Battalion from the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force.
The Long Range Stand Off Weapon (LRSO) has entered the engineering and manufacturing development (EMD) phase with the award of $2 billion to Raytheon Missiles and Defense. The LRSO is a new air-launched cruise missile to replace the AGM-86. The missile will have a nuclear-armed capability and Raytheon will have to complete the development work by February 2027.
Lockheed Martin won a $28.2 million contract modification, which exercises an option to procure mission computers (MC) and flight management computers (FMC) retrofit kits to upgrade the MH-60R/S aircraft. The quantities are as follows: 205 Generation 3i/5i MCs to upgrade from Generation III/V/VI, to include 187 for the Navy, nine for the government of Australia, five for the government of Saudi Arabia and four for the government of Denmark; 200 Generation 3i/5i FMCs to upgrade from Generation III/V FMCs, to include 182 for the Navy, nine for the government of Australia, five for the government of Saudi Arabia and four for the government of Denmark. Additionally, this modification procures 153 wiring kits to include 136 for the Navy, nine for the government of Australia, four for the government of Denmark, and four for the government of Saudi Arabia. Work will take place in New York and Florida. Estimated completion will be in March 2024.
Middle East & Africa
Jane’s reports that Israel Aerospace Industries through its ELTA Systems group is delivering dozens of its ‘Drone Guard’ Counter-UAS (CUAS) systems to a country in South Asia in a deal, worth tens of millions of dollars. IAI develops and manufactures the Drone-Gard System from start to finish including the advanced Radar capabilities. The Drone Guard system handles hundreds of targets simultaneously and provides a solution to multiple evolving threats Worldwide. The system’s advantage derives from the multi-layer implementation concept using a high-resolution 3D X-Band radar a key for drone-detection, an integrated COMIN ESM, multi-channel jamming and high resolution EO/IR with integrated AI capabilities.
Europe
The British government has given $4.8 million to the Defence Science Technology Laboratory (Dstl) for the Co-operative Strike Weapons Technology Demonstrator (CSWTD) program. The aim of the program is similar to the U.S. Air Force’s Golden Horde Vanguard, which will allow weapons to collaborate amongst themselves. Scientists will investigate how inter-missile communication and cooperative behaviors can be technically achieved over the next two years.
A court in Paris has ordered a probe by the National Financial Prosecutors’ Office into a 2016 deal to sell 36 Rafale figher jets to India by Dassualt Aviation. French investigative news website Mediapart reported: “as confirmed to us by the National Financial Prosecutor’s Office (French acronym-PNF), the Paris court on June 14 opened a judicial investigation, entrusted to an examining magistrate, on the sale by France to India of 36 Rafale fighters.”
Asia-Pacific
Asahi reports that Japan has decided that it will develop the engine for the F-X fighter with help from Britain. Britain’s Rolls-Royce will partner with Japan’s IHI Corporation. Both will also offer the engine for the export market. Anonymous Japanese officials told the news outlet that Japanese Prime Minister Suga spoke on the issue with British Prime Minister Johnson during the G7 summit last month. At the end of June, officials from Japan’s Defense Ministry traveled to Britain for talks on the issue.
Today’s Video
Watch: French Judge Tasked With Probing Rafale Jet Sale To India
Latest updates[?]: Asahi reports that Japan has decided that it will develop the engine for the F-X fighter with help from Britain. Britain’s Rolls-Royce will partner with Japan’s IHI Corporation. Both will also offer the engine for the export market. Anonymous Japanese officials told the news outlet that Japanese Prime Minister Suga spoke on the issue with British Prime Minister Johnson during the G7 summit last month. At the end of June, officials from Japan’s Defense Ministry traveled to Britain for talks on the issue.
F-35A
In December 2011, Japan picked Lockheed Martin’s new F-35A stealth fighter as its next fighter aircraft, to replace its aging F-4 “Kai” Phantom fleet. The F-35 was actually their 2nd choice.
Back in February 2006, Inside The Air Force (ITAF) reported that momentum was building within the USAF to sell the ultra-advanced F-22A Raptor abroad to trusted US allies, as a way of increasing numbers and production. Japan clearly wanted them, and the Raptor was a topic of diplomatic discussions in several venues, including a 2007 summit meeting. In the end, however, US politics denied export permission for downgraded export variants of the F-22, and its production line was terminated. That left Japan looking at other foreign “F-X” fighter options in the short term, while they considered a domestic stealth fighter design as their long-term project.
In the ensuing F-X competition, the F-35 Lightning II beat BAE’s Eurofighter Typhoon, as well as an upgraded F/A-18E Super Hornet from Boeing. Now Lockheed Martin has to deliver, and so will its Japanese partners. Will the F-35A’s price and program delays create problems in Japan? This article looks at the JASDF’s current force, its future options, and ongoing F-X developments.
Lockheed Martin won a $1.8 billion undefinitized contract action, which provides for the procurement of recurring logistics services for delivered F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter air systems in support of the Air Force, Marine Corps, Navy, non-US Department of Defense (DOD) participants and Foreign Military Sales (FMS) customers. Services to be provided include ground maintenance activities, action request resolution, depot activation activities, automatic logistics information system operations and maintenance, reliability, maintainability and health management implementation and support, supply chain management and activities to provide and support pilot and maintainer initial training. Work will take place in Texas, Florida, South Carolina, the UK and California. Estimated completion will be in December 2021.
The Next Generation Jammer Mid-Band (NGJ-MB) will enter Low Rate Initial Production (LRIP) after obtaining Milestone C approval on June 28. The NGJ-MB will replace the ALQ-99 Tactical Jamming System on the EA-18G, it has flown for more than 145 hours. The US Navy is working with the Royal Australian Air Force to develop the NGJ-MB.
Middle East & Africa
Earlier this year, it was reported that the Sri Lankan Air Force was in talks with Israel to overhaul five Kfir fighters. Now Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) has confirmed that a deal worth $50 million was signed recently with Sri Lanka. The Israeli defense company says the Kfirs will be getting new advanced radars, sensors, communication systems, and new helmets to bring them to advanced 4+ generation. The upgrade process will also include transfer of knowledge and skills for refurbishment to Sri Lankan Air Force personnel.
Europe
The Swiss Federal Council announced that it is set to propose that Parliament approve the procurement of 36 F-35A fighter aircraft from US manufacturer Lockheed Martin and five Patriot fire units from US manufacturer Raytheon together worth 8 billion CHF ($ 8.64 billon). The Federal Council based its decision on a comprehensive technical evaluation of four new fighter aircraft candidates (Eurofighter by Airbus, Germany; F/A-18 Super Hornet by Boeing, USA; F-35A by Lockheed Martin, USA; Rafale by Dassault, France) and two candidates for a longer-range GBAD system (SAMP/T by Eurosam, France; Patriot by Raytheon, USA), a council statement said.
The Dutch government has entered into a contract to sell 12 F-16 jets belonging to the Royal Netherlands Air Force (RNAF) to a private US company, Draken International as it makes way for F-35 aircraft which it is gradually inducting. Draken International offers contracted air support to air forces around the world during exercises. The company earlier bought F-16 Fighting Falcons which were retired from the Israeli Air Force.
Asia-Pacific
The Republic of China (RoC) Coast Guard received the second of a planned fleet of 12 Anping Class missile-capable patrol boats on June 25. Named Cheng Kung, the vessel was handed over in a ceremony held at the facilities of the Jong Shyn Shipbuilding Group in the southern port city of Kaohsiung, according to a statement by Taiwan’s Coast Guard Administration.
Today’s Video
Watch: F-35 & Patriot SAM Power to Victory in Swiss Contest (Defence News)
Latest updates[?]: The Next Generation Jammer Mid-Band (NGJ-MB) will enter Low Rate Initial Production (LRIP) after obtaining Milestone C approval on June 28. The NGJ-MB will replace the ALQ-99 Tactical Jamming System on the EA-18G, it has flown for more than 145 hours. The US Navy is working with the Royal Australian Air Force to develop the NGJ-MB.
EA-18G Growler
The US Navy owns the only operational tactical jamming fighters in the world, but the AN/ALQ-99 pods they depend on use analog technologies, are hard to maintain, and have reliability issues. All-digital technologies and modern transmit/receive electronics offer huge leaps ahead in capability and availability, which is why the US military is working on a Next-Generation Jammer (NGJ) replacement for the pods on its tactical strike aircraft.
The EA-18G Growler will be the NGJ’s first platform, but the flexibility of modern technologies mean that it may not be the last.
Lockheed Martin won a $129 million contract modification, which increases the scope for the production and delivery of three MH-60R aircraft as replacement-in-kind for the Navy. MH-60R Seahawk is a multi-mission helicopter manufactured by Sikorsky Aircraft. The rotorcraft replaces the SH-60B and SH-60F helicopters in the US Navy’s fleet and combines the capabilities of these aircraft. Work will take place in New York, Connecticut and Alabama. Estimated completion date is in May 2025.
Honeywell International won a $10 million delivery order for V-22 spare parts. The deal was a sole-source acquisition using justification 10 US. Code 2304 (c)(1), as stated in Federal Acquisition Regulation 6.302-1. The V-22 Osprey is a joint-service, medium-lift, multimission tilt-rotor aircraft developed by Boeing and Bell Helicopters. Work will take place in Arizona. Estimated completion date is December 31, 2021.
Middle East & Africa
Textron Aviation Defense won a $7.6 million deal for support and sustainment of the Iraq Peace Dragon Program. Operation Peace Dragon is a US Air Force program in support of the IqAF for Iraqi border patrol utilizing King Air 350 ER intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance aircraft. The contract provides support of the field service representatives, program management, core/field engineering and repair-and-return. Work will take place in Kansas and Iraq. Estimated completion date is September 30, 2021.
Europe
German Bundeswehr signed an agreement with Rheinmetall to upgrade the first lot of their Puma infantry fighting vehicles, bringing them up to a uniform enhanced design status. The deal worth over half a billion euros was issued through the joint venture company PSM GmbH. PSM GmbH is co-owned by Rheinmetall and Krauss-Maffei Wegmann, each of which holds a 50 percent share in the company.
Trials of the British Army’s new Ajax armoured vehicles have been halted for a second time after concerns were again raised over noise. New light tanks that have so far cost the army £3.2 billion have been withdrawn for a second time after more troops reported suffering hearing loss during trials. Earlier in the month we reported that trials of Ajax armoured vehicles were halted at the end of last year to March this year due to excessive vibration and noise, leaving crews suffering from nausea, swollen joints and tinnitus.
Asia-Pacific
British military bridge manufacturer WFEL will supply a number of its Dry Support Bridges to the Philippine Army under the Horizon 2 phase of the revised AFP Modernization Programme. The DSB systems can be deployed in around 90 minutes to provide temporary infrastructure and will be supplied with pedestrian walkways, for use in disaster relief operational situations, as well as other military scenarios.
Today’s Video
Watch: The Puma Infantry Fighting Vehicle – Overview and Opinion
