1st Super Hornet To Undergo SLM At FRCSW | Paramount Sells Mwari Aircraft | US To Send More Weapons To Ukraine

Americas

Sikorsky Aircraft won a $27 million contract modification, which adds scope for the initial and final technical directive to install the data transfer unit and Defensive Electronic Countermeasure System Replacement Phase III ARC-210 components into the CH-53K aircraft, support flight planning and testing of the components and supportability products for the US Navy. Work will take place in Connecticut, Maryland and New York. Estimated completion will be in April 2025.

F/A-18F BuNo 166460 is the first Super Hornet to undergo the Service Life Modification (SLM) at the Fleet Readiness Center Southwest (FRCSW), the US Navy has announced. The aircraft’s service life will be extended from 6,000 to 7,5000 hours. Currently, 166460 has already clocked 6,200 hours when it arrived at FRCSW. Eventually, FRCSW will carry out Block III upgrades for the Super Hornet program. Improvements under Block III include a new cockpit display and enhanced networking for the avionics.

Middle East & Africa

South African company Paramount Group has sold nine short-takeoff-and-landing Mwari aircraft to multiple air forces, the company announced Wednesday during the Africa Aerospace and Defence Expo. “Mwari addresses a key global security requirement from air forces around the world, of any size, for advanced ISR and precision strike capabilities,” the company said in a news release. “It integrates design concepts from helicopters, surveillance platforms and reconnaissance aircraft with the ability to carry multiple systems, such as surveillance radar and electro optic sensor systems.”

Europe

The US has committed another four advanced rocket systems from its own inventory to Ukraine in a $625 million arms package announced Tuesday. This is the first commitment of the High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS) from current US stock since July. President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris informed Ukrainian President Zelensky of the aid in a phone call, according to a readout provided by the White House.

Asia-Pacific

The United States and South Korea launched four missiles off the east coast of the Korean Peninsula on Wednesday morning local time, according to South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff. The test was the allies’ second exercise in under 24 hours, following a provocative test-launch Tuesday morning by neighboring North Korea, which fired a ballistic missile without warning over Japan in a significant escalation of its weapons testing program.

The US Space Force and the Australian Department of Defense have announced the initial operational capability of the Space Surveillance Telescope. The achievement follows extensive tests and assessments since 2020 when the telescope was relocated from New Mexico to Australia. When fully operational, the US and Australia will obtain improved space domain awareness by providing “ground-based, broad-area search, detection and tracking of faint objects in deep space.”

Today’s Video

WATCH: The US Marine CH-53K King Stallion Helicopter is Worthy of Its Name

GD Wins Virginia Class Support Deal | Israel Shipyards Launched S-45 | Morocco Procured Drones From China

Americas

General Dynamics won a $533 million deal for Lead Yard Support and Development Studies and Design efforts related to Virginia-class submarines. The deal includes options which, if exercised, would bring the cumulative value of the modification to $813,720,300. The Virginia-Class new attack submarine is an advanced stealth multimission nuclear-powered submarine for deep ocean anti-submarine warfare and littoral (shallow water) operations. Work will take place in Connecticut and Virginia. Expected completion will be by October 2023.

Thomas Instrument won a $13.6 million deal for depot-level overhaul services of the C-5 dual-powered winch, National Stock Number 1680-01-593-5680/Part Number 200413780-20. Work will be performed at Brookshire, Texas, and is expected to be completed by September 29, 2027.

Middle East & Africa

Shipbuilder Israel Shipyards has launched its new multi-mission offshore patrol vessel (OPV) S-45 for enhanced coastal protection by the Israeli Navy. The company launched the tailored-made ship at its headquarters in the port city of Haifa on September 29. Israel Shipyards said the S-45 is a cost-effective watercraft designed for coastal protection, drilling rigs, and offshore facilities protection.

The Royal Moroccan Army has procured advanced military drones from China as part of its continuing effort to bolster its air defense capabilities. Among the systems reportedly purchased was the Wing Loong II medium-altitude, long-endurance unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV). Developed by Chengdu Aircraft Design & Research Institute, the Wing Loong II is originally intended to support surveillance and reconnaissance missions.

Europe

The Irish Defense Forces will be getting at least three new primary search radars, after Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform confirmed that part of the defense budget has been allocated for such a purchase. The need for primary search radars was highlighted in a report by the Commission on the Defence Forces in February of this year. A number of anonymous sources told The Journal that the primary radar should have the equivalent capability of the Lockheed Martin TPY-4. Ireland currently relies on secondary radars and this will not work if the aircraft is not using a transponder.

Asia-Pacific

The Philippine military has sent eight Autonomous Truck Mounted Howitzer System (ATMOS 2000) 155mm self-propelled guns to Mindanao to support counter-terrorism operations in the southern region. According to Defense Undersecretary Jose Faustino, Jr., the Israeli-made artillery systems are game-changing assets “that will bolster the military’s territorial defense capabilities as well as internal security operations.”

Today’s Video

WATCH: Elbit Systems / ATMOS

Saving the Galaxy: The C-5 AMP/RERP Program

When it was introduced, back in 1970, the C-5 Galaxy was the largest plane in the world. It also has the highest operating cost of any US Air Force weapon system, owing to extremely high maintenance demands as well as poor fuel economy. Worse, availability rates routinely hover near 50%. To add insult to injury, the Russians not only built a bigger plane (the AN-124), they sold it off at the end of the Cold War to semi-private operators, turning it into a commercial success whose customer list now includes… NATO.

Meanwhile, the USA still needs long-range, heavy load airlift. The AN-124’s commercial success may get its production line restarted, but the C-5 has no such hope. Boeing’s smaller C-17s cost more than $200 million per plane. That’s about the cost of a 747-8 freighter, for much higher availability rates than the C-5, and a longer lifespan.

What’s the right balance between new C-17s and existing C-5s? The US Air Force believes that the right balance involves keeping some of the larger C-5s, and thought they could save money by upgrading and renewing their avionics (AMP) and engines (RERP). Their hope was that this would eliminate the problems that keep so many C-5s in the hangar, cut down on future maintenance costs, and grow airlift capacity, without adding new planes. Unfortunately, the program experienced major cost growth. In response, the C-5M program wound up being both cut in size, and cut in 2. The C-5A and C-5B/C fleets are now slated for different treatment, which will deliver fewer of the hoped-for benefits, in exchange for lower costs and lower risk.

Raytheon Wins AIM-9X Deal | Time-on-Target Harpoon Attack Exercised During SINKEX | New Amphibious Warship For Taiwan

Americas

The US Navy awarded Raytheon Technologies a $232.8 million deal to procure material and support equipment for depot maintenance facilities and unit level support equipment, as well as to provide program administrative support for non-recurring sustainment activities and supplies, services, and planning for depot standup and expansion in support of the for the F-35 Lightning II Program. Work will take place in Connecticut, Florida, Oklahoma. Japan, Norway, Australia, Indiana, Netherlands, North Carolina and Arizona. Expected completion will be by September 2025.

The Navy awarded Raytheon a $225.7 million deal for AIM-9X Block II and Block II+ System Improvement Program Increment IV to include hardware and software development to the AIM-9X system as well as test and integration of developed hardware and capabilities. More specifically the hardware development will include updates to the AIM-9X sensor, electronics unit, and guidance unit and the software efforts include the development of the operational flight software versions 10.5 and 11.5 and integrated flight software. Additionally, this contract provides program protection, cyber security, information assurance and training for the AIM-9X system. Work will take place in Arizona, California, Pennsylvania and Utah. Estimated completion will be in September 2027.

Middle East & Africa

Turkey said on Sunday it had “neutralized,” the term its defense ministry usually employs for killed, some 30 members of the banned Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) in separate cross-border operations in Iraq and Syria. Turkey regularly carries out cross-border air strikes, often with armed drones, in neighboring Iraq and Syria as part of its offensive against PKK militants based there.

Europe

The recently concluded sinking exercise (SINKEX) called Atlantic Thunder 22 allowed Combat Air Crew Six (CAC-6) from VP-9 to execute a coordinated time-on-target using Harpoon anti-ship missiles with the British Royal Navy’s HMS Westminster. The target was decommissioned Oliver Hazard Perry Class frigate ex-USS Boone. A time-on-target strike is when all munitions arrived on the target nearly at the same time. Using Naval Integrated Fires (NIFE), the target coordinates were transmitted to HMS Westminster for the warship to launch two Harpoons passively. That was the first time NIFE has been used to carry out an attack on a real target in a multinational environment.

Asia-Pacific

The Taiwanese Navy has inducted a new, indigenously-made amphibious warship to transport troops and military supplies to vulnerable islands. The development is part of the country’s push for self-sufficiency in defense and its continuing modernization efforts amid increasing pressure from China. Named after Taipei’s tallest mountain, the 10,000-ton Yu Shan is equipped with a forward cannon for air and surface targets.

Hyundai Rotem has entered into a collaborative agreement with Norway’s Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace to develop unmanned turrets for next-generation military vehicles. The South Korean firm said a memorandum of understanding was signed by the two companies during the DX Korea 2022 defense exhibition in Goyang.

Today’s Video

WATCH: Just How Powerful is America’s AIM-9X Sidewinder Missile

Raytheon’s Lot-12 AIM-9X Missile Orders

Raytheon’s AIM-9X Block II would have made Top Gun a very short movie. It’s the USA’s most advanced short range air-air missile, capable of using its datalink, thrust vectoring maneuverability, and advanced imaging infrared seeker to hit targets behind the launching fighter. Unlike previous AIM-9 models, the AIM-9X can even be used against targets on the ground. The 2-way datalink is the most significant single Block II change, as it allows the missile to fly toward targets its seeker can’t yet see, using target position tracking from its fighter. The Block II also has improved seeker lock-on-after-launch vs. the original AIM-9X, a ‘lofting’ fly-out profile the boosts its range, and better all weather laser fusing against small targets.

These changes will help keep it competitive against foreign missiles like MBDA UK’s AIM-132 ASRAAM, RAFAEL of Israel’s Python 5, the multinational German-led IRIS-T, and Russia’s R73/ AA-11 Archer. The end of September 2011 saw the first significant order from the US military for AIM-9X Block II missiles, shortly after successful live fire tests at China Lake, CA. The Lot 12 order followed very soon after, and is no longer an all-USA order.

Raytheon Wins AN/SPY-6(V) Support Deal | Kuwait Gets Two More Eurofighters | US Sends More Aid To Ukraine

Americas

Rolls Royce won a $20 million delivery order for the procurement of four spare AE 2100D3 engines used on the KC-130J aircraft. All work will be performed in Indianapolis, Indiana and work is expected to be completed by March 2024. The KC-130J is a multi-role tanker aircraft designed and developed by Lockheed Martin to replace the KC-130F/R/T aircraft. Work will take place in Indiana. Expected completion will be by March 2024.

The Navy awarded Raytheon a $16 million contract modification for sustainment material and support for the AN/SPY-6(V) family of radars. The solid state, fixed-face and rotating SPY-6 variants provide integrated air and missile defense capabilities. Work will take place ein California, Arizona, Massachusetts and Virginia. Expected completion will be by September 2023.

Middle East & Africa

Kuwait now has six Eurofighters in the country after Leonardo delivered another two aircraft to Ali Al-Salem Al-Sabah Air Base. This is the third batch of delivery and the Kuwait News Agency said in a statement that the Eurofighters in the country have accumulated 100 flight hours.

The US State Department Approved a Foreign Military Sale of M1A2K tank operational and training ammunition and related equipment to Kuwait for an estimated cost of $250 million. The Pentagon said the Kuwaiti government had requested to buy the ammunition and related equipment, and the proposed sale would improve Kuwait’s ability to meet current and future regional threats. The equipment would provide Kuwait with the ability to deter and defend against land-based threats, and help protect border regions and key land-based infrastructure, the Pentagon said in a statement.

Europe

The US Senate approved $12 billion in new economic and military aid for Ukraine on Thursday as part of a stopgap extension of the federal budget into December. The measure, agreed by senators of both parties, includes $3 billion for arms, supplies, and salaries for Ukraine’s military, and authorizes President Joe Biden to direct the US Defense Department to take $3.7 billion worth of its own weapons and materiel and send them to Ukraine.

Asia-Pacific

Swedish defense firm Saab announced last week that it would set up a new production facility for the Carl-Gustaf M4 rifle in India. The initiative seeks to bolster arms production in the country and provide the necessary support to the Indian Army and other military customers worldwide. According to the company, the new facility will employ complex technologies and advanced manufacturing techniques for the state-of-the-art Carl-Gustaf system.

Today’s Video

WATCH: Carl-Gustaf M4 | The most feared weapons system to be made in India | WION Originals

AMDR: Raytheon Wins Dual-Band Radar, Pending Protest

The US Navy’s Dual-Band Radar that equips its forthcoming Gerald R. Ford class super-carriers replaces several different radars with a single back-end. Merging Raytheon’s X-band SPY-3 with Lockheed Martin’s S-band VSR allows fewer radar antennas, faster response time, faster adaptation to new situations, one-step upgrades to the radar suite as a whole, and better utilization of the ship’s power, electronics, and bandwidth.

Rather than using that existing Dual-Band Radar design in new surface combatant ships, however, the “Air and Missile Defense Radar” (AMDR) aims to fulfill DG-51 Flight III destroyer needs through a new competition for a similar dual-band radar. It could end up being a big deal for the winning radar manufacturer, and for the fleet. If, and only if, the technical, power, and weight challenges can be mastered at an affordable price.