Ghostrider Radio Frequency System Tested At Edwards Air Force Base | Hungary To Buy 12 L-39NG Aircraft | India Tested BrahMos

Americas

An AC-130J Ghostrider assigned to the 1st Special Operations Wing recently underwent Benefield Anechoic Facility (BAF) testing at Edwards Air Force Base for its new radio frequency countermeasures system. Back in 2017, the US Air Force selected BAE Systems to provide new radio frequency countermeasures equipment for the AC/MC-130J fleet.

Raytheon won a $482.7 million deal for DDG 1000 Class Combat System activation, sustainment and modernization support for Mission Systems and Total Ship Computing Environment infrastructure (TSCEi) hardware/equipment, in addition to non-recurring engineering services supporting combat system installation, integration, development, testing, correction, maintenance, and modernization of Zumwalt Class Mission Systems and Mission System equipment. Work will take place in Massachusetts, Rhode Island, California, New Hampshire, Mississippi and Indiana. Estimated completion will be by April 2023.

Middle East & Africa

Palestinian militants fired volleys of rockets from Gaza into Israel. Israel responded with air strikes on April 21 in the biggest escalation since an 11 day war last year. According to police, a rocket from Gaza on Wednesday evening fell harmlessly in a garden in the southern Israeli city of Sderot. Israel struck back in central Gaza after midnight, witnesses and security sources said, prompting further launches of at least four rockets by militants in the besieged territory.

Europe

Hungary’s National Armament Director, Dr. Gáspár Maróth, announced that his country will buy 12 L-39NG aircraft. Four of those jets will be used for reconnaissance mission while the rest of the eight will be used to train pilots before they move on to the Gripen.

The Russian military said Wednesday it successfully performed the first test of a new intercontinental ballistic missile, a weapon President Vladimir Putin said would make the West “think twice” before harboring any aggressive intentions against Russia. The test launch of the Sarmat missile comes amid soaring tensions between Moscow and the West over the Russian military action in Ukraine and underlines the Kremlin’s emphasis on the country’s nuclear forces.

Asia-Pacific

India has test-fired the anti-ship variant of its BrahMos cruise missile, striking and creating a massive hole in an abandoned Indian Navy ship. Demonstrating its integrated Network-Centric strike capabilities, the cruise missile was fired without a warhead from the guided-missile destroyer INS Delhi.

Today’s Video

WATCH: AC-130J Ghostrider

The USA’s DDG-1000 Zumwalt Class Program: Dead Aim, Or Dead End?

DID’s FOCUS Article for the DDG-1000 Zumwalt Class “destroyer” program covers the new ships’ capabilities and technologies, key controversies, associated contracts and costs, and related background resources.

The ship’s prime missions are to provide naval gunfire support, and next-generation air defense, in near-shore areas where other large ships hesitate to tread. There has even been talk of using it as an anchor for action groups of stealthy Littoral Combat Ships and submarines, owing to its design for very low radar, infrared, and acoustic signatures. The estimated 14,500t (battlecruiser size) Zumwalt Class will be fully multi-role, however, with undersea warfare, anti-ship, and long-range attack roles. That makes the DDG-1000 suitable for another role – as a “hidden ace card,” using its overall stealth to create uncertainty for enemy forces.

At over $3 billion per ship for construction alone, however, the program faced significant obstacles if it wanted to avoid fulfilling former Secretary of the Navy Donald Winter’s fears for the fleet. From the outset, DID has noted that the Zumwalt Class might face the same fate as the ultra-sophisticated, ultra-expensive SSN-21 Seawolf Class submarines. That appears to have come true, with news of the program’s truncation to just 3 ships. Meanwhile, production continues.

India’s IGMP Missile Programs: Export contenders?

Back in November 2005, The Hindu newspaper reported that India’s government had given the go-ahead for exporting missiles, and that India’s Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) was looking to market several of its products internationally. The missile systems in question included several products from the decades-long Integrated Guided Missile Program (IGMP) set of development programs, and one new success that used a very different approach. DRDO has led the long, turbulent development histories of the Trishul (“trident”) short-range surface-air missile (SAM), the Akash (“sky”) medium-range SAM, and the Nag (“cobra”) vehicle-mounted anti-armor missile. In contrast, the Indo-Russian PJ-10 BrahMos medium-range supersonic cruise missile was developed very quickly, and performed as advertised.

As of August 2010, India has not made an export sale, or even formally decided which countries would be eligible to receive these missiles. The programs themselves have also seen changes and developments, with Trishul canceled, Akash finally ordered, BrahMos expanded, and ongoing IGMP work in other areas.