Military Transformation Uplink: September 2007

Militaries around the world are moving to modernize and transform themselves to meet the challenges of the 21st century. Our mission is to deliver a regular cross-section of relevant, on-target stories, news, and analysis that will help experts and interested laypeople alike stay up to speed on key military developments and issues. Stories are broken down by military category and presented as fast bullet points that orient you quickly, with accompanying links if you wish to pursue more in-depth treatments.

Some of This Month’s Targets of Opportunity Include: Aging aircraft; F-22; F-35; India’s big fighter contest; 2018 bomber; Next-gen gunships; Japan’s stealth aircraft; JCA – just confusing; Poseidon down under; Boeing’s invisibility man; Odd new satellite; unmanned fighters & swarms; Cell phones & Patriots; Huge IT contracts; DARPA’s Deep Green; Lots of MRAP; FCS spinouts; Fire Ball; Better body armor; Australia’s new fleet; Korea: us too!; Britain’s new carriers; US Navy’s new bills; Russia’s stealthy Stereguschiy; Remote firefighting; Coast Guard cutters; ADVENT of breakthrough jet engines; $1M wearable power prize; Sub-finding ‘shark’; UK’s Grand Challenge & flying saucers; Boeing’s new plane design; DARPA’s robot dog; New Russian nukes; Britain’s new maintenance concept works; Israel prepares; Counter-insurgency air needs; Export controls and their blowback; CSAR-X: rescue me!; And much, much more:

• Air & Space Sector
  
• C4SI Dimension
  
• Land Sector
  
• Maritime Sector
  
• R&D: Far Out Concepts
  
• Strategic Weapons & Missile Defense
  
• Supply & Support
  
• Policy & Doctrine

This briefing comes from a team that includes professional publications Defense Industry Daily and The Aviation Week Group, and covers events over the summer season.

Air & Space Sector

F-22A Raptor
(click to view full)

• Aging aircraft attracting attention. The pilots are still roughly the same ages – but their planes are not. This is becoming a global issue for military aircraft fleets, and the average age of America’s fleets will continue to rise even if the Pentagon gets everything they’re asking for. DID offers a round-up of links and resources.

Strike

• F-22: Afterburners lit. The F-22A Raptor super-fighter had a busy summer, racking up over $7 billion in contracts as part of a new multi-year deal. DID’s FOCUS Article covers the aircraft, the controversies, program developments, and those heavy-duty contracts.

• F-35 headed into production. The very first examples of the multinational Joint Strike Fighter are headed into production, thanks to $2.5 billion in contracts. Lockheed is a bit behind schedule, and heat is still an issue, as the naval F-35C version’s wings grow and the program prepares for something new: multi-aircraft training programs embedded in each plane. DID’s in-depth F-35 Focus Article, meanwhile, offers an overview of the 3 F-35 types, program developments, and related contracts.

• MMRCA Dogfight. America has been invited to MMRCA in a big way. Now they have to battle the Russians, French, Europeans, Swedes – and most fearsome of all, India’s bureaucracy – if they want American fighters to fly off with India’s $10.25 billion contract. DID steps up with an in-depth FOCUS Article covering the competition – and the competitors | AW: could a 2-stage F-16/F-35 offer be in the works?

• Sukhoi-35 Debuts. It’s baaack. AW covers the mysterious SU-35’s (re)appearance at Russia’s MAKS 2007, with a mockup of a long-range AWACS-killer weapon under its wing. Which may help explain why European missile giant MBDA is busy buying ramjet expertise.

• The 2018 Bomber. In our June briefing, AW reported that the USA was beginning to figure out what it wants in its new bomber. This month, DID adds a set of links and resources that cover the developing program.

Other

• Guns a Blazing. The U.S. Air Force’s AC-130H/U gunships continue to support operations in Afghanistan and Iraq [see video], but planners are already looking at what would be needed for a future gunship. It may look very different, and relate to other efforts like the new AJACS transport aircraft, or even future bombers. AW story | DID AJACS story.

• JCA: small cargo, big confusion. The JCA program is worth $6 billion. Or $2 billion. Or $1.75 billion, depending on who you ask. The US Army and Air Force finally got their act together (maybe), and a winner was just announced (maybe, because it’s being challenged). Meanwhile, the small, short-field airlift gap is being magnified by the needs of counterinsurgency campaigns.

• Japan’s aerospace industry is working on an ATD-X stealth fighter design with French help, and has rolled out flying prototypes of the new P-X maritime patrol aircraft and the C-X airlifter. No Gundam mecha on the horizon. That we know of.

• Europe’s Heavy-Lift Heli. France & Germany signed an agreement to develop it. Or will it be a competition of American vs. Russian helicopter designs? AW agreement coverage | DID looks into the emerging competition, and possible specifications.

• A New Hawkeye. US carriers are already suffering from shrinking strike range, and expanding ship-killer ranges. The new, improved E-2D Hawkeye AWACS aims to improve carrier group surveillance ranges and detect small, stealthy aerial and ground targets, and even ballistic missiles. AW first flight coverage

• Poseidon Down Under. The P-8A Poseidon maritime and ground surveillance aircraft program just went multinational, as Australia stepped up with an A$ 4 billion commitment. Meanwhile, Boeing and Gulfstream have entered the competition to develop its BAMS UAV companion.

Tech

• Boeing’s Invisible Man Strikes Again. Another step in stealth could pave the way to a new Super Hornet version: F/A-18 E/F, Block 3.

• New eyes for US fighters. They can bust radar stealth, and enable long-range missile attacks with no radar warning. Many new fighters have them, but most American planes don’t. Could the solution be… a fuel tank?

• Japan: scrap the fighters, buy the pods. Once, you needed modified fighter aircraft to do battlefield aerial reconnaissance. Once, you needed a free arm and shoulder, plus a backpack, if you wanted to take your music with you. Neither is true any more. For the same reasons.

Space

• Italy’s First Radar Satellite. Italy recently launched the 1st of 4 COSMO-SkyMed radar satellites for space-based ground surveillance. Bravo.

• Secret Sat Shuttered. A US National Reconnaissance Office imaging satellite program thought to be called Misty was recently canceled after drawing major criticism from key lawmakers

• Twinkle Twinkle Secret Sat. How we wonder what you’re at. New images of the US National Reconnaissance Office’s latest Lacrosse radar reconnaissance satellite show some interesting, almost puzzling features.

UAVs

• UCAS-D fighter swarms? As we noted in June, the US Navy is going ahead with a carrier-based unmanned stealth fighter. Since then, Northrop has unveiled more details about its X-47B, and work is also being done on “swarming” tech [NXTbook format,, high bandwidth] that would let the craft work together autonomously or be controlled as a group. Meanwhile, UCAS-D competition loser Boeing is told to chin up.

• Skat – A Preliminary Filleting. Unmanned Combat Air Vehicles are under development in the USA, Britain, Europe… and now Russia. MiG’s entry into the UCAV business has been hinted at for some time, and was recently unveiled. AW offers pictures, and some preliminary analysis.

• Big and small. Small UAVs can’t work with larger UAVs if they can’t share data, but datalinks have been too heavy. Is there a solution in the house?

C4SI Dimension

JOC, Afghanistan
(click to view full)

• Electronic Attack for the Infantry. AW says that upgrades to the EA-6B Prowler aircraft, and links to Marine Corps radio battalions, will give the infantry an on-call electronic attack capability.

• Notice to Pirates. In June 2007, Italy’s SELEX Sistemi Integrati achieved the first milestone of its EUR 20 million project to install an extensive, integrated, networked coastal security surveillance system in Yemen. Piracy and worse are serious problems near Somalia and Yemen, which flank the entrance to the Red Sea and Suez Canal; rumors of a behind the scenes American role in this deal are probably true.

• Building a Bridge to Bowman. The USA will be depending on the software-driven JTRS system for future radio interoperability across its forces. Britain & the Dutch Marines will depend on a system called Bowman, which is related to similar hardware-driven systems deployed in Canada and Australia. ITT’s Bowman VHF waveform software application hopes to bridge these radio solitudes.

• Hello? Hello? Patriot missile defense communication frequencies assigned to Japanese cell phone industry. New plan slow in coming. North Korean missiles fast in arriving.

• ITES-2: the $20B soap opera. This multi-year I.T. contract should be called “Yikes,” given all the legal challenges and hassles it has faced. DID looks at the contract, the participants, and some of the trends it suggests.

• GSA’s $50B Alliant Contract. The US General Services Administration acts as a one-stop buyer for many US federal departments. So the $50 billion, multi-year I.T. services contract it recently issued is a big deal in every sense of the term.

• iRobot Selected for FCS Controller. iRobot announced that the makers of those neat little Roombas had joined Lockheed’s Martin team designing and developing the single Centralized Controller device for unmanned systems, which is part of the Army’s Future Combat Systems program. No word re: a GameCube version, though an AW report says the iRobot’s controller already blurs the distinction…

• DARPA’s Deep Green. The folks who brought you the Internet are trying to create a system to support battlefield commanders that would fit smoothly into a Heinlein novel. DID looks at the system, and the odds of success.

Land Sector

MRAP testing…
(click to view full)

• MRAP-II. As the USA finally wakes up to the need for mine-resistant rides, it’s pushing the pedal to the medal with a second MRAP contract for up to 20,000 vehicles before the first is even done. The new contract has some new requirements, and will probably have some new competitors. AW coverage | DID coverage.

• Navistar’s MaxxPro MRAP. Truck maker Navistar has taken the pole position in the USA’s MRAP-I competition, using a vehicle designed with help from Israeli up-armoring firm Plasan Sasa. AW’s Defense Technology International takes a look under hood [NXTbook format, high bandwidth].

• BAE Back in MRAP. In 2003, BAE Systems was the recognized world leader in mine-protected land vehicles. But the firm stumbled badly as the USA’s MRAP competition ramped up. A jump in orders, a win for coopetitor General Dynamics, some new windows to lower Hummer/MRAP drowning deaths, and a new anti-rocket cage armor system for smaller vehicles have helped them salvage their pride. Next step: recovering their status.

• Oshkosh’s MRAP Blues. While other firms prosper, big truck maker Oshkosh has seen both of its MRAP partnerships crash and burn. But sometimes, when you get the horns, you respond by messing with the Bull.

• Blast Absorption. German-based Rheinmetall Landsysteme has “totally changed” the protective armor concept for its new 6×6 armored multi-role vehicle, the Yak, to meet the threat of IED land mines.

• Future Combat Systems announces Phase 1 spinouts. The $160 billion, 14 component land systems program is about to offer some immediate help for US forces. Meanwhile, AW-DTI offers an under-the-hood look at the vehicles’ future hybrid engine [NXTbook format, high bandwidth]. Driving a tank in California’s carpool lanes… they could sell that to civilians is Los Angeles, and pay for the whole program. Which may be headed for a name change…

• Urgently Wanted: Remote Controlled Weapon Stations. RWS that can be fired from inside the vehicle’s protective armor were pioneered by the Israelis – now they’re a hot, and competitive field. Hot enough for a $1.3 billion order from the US Army for smaller videogame-like CROWS systems, for a big German competition; for orders from the Dutch and Australians for the Raven RWS system. Even hot enough for larger systems with 30mm cannon and missiles to equip new Belgian, Czech and Slovenian wheeled APCs.

• Fire Ball. Mortars are a common and effective infantry support weapon, but they aren’t accurate – which means lots of civilian casualties in cities. New from Israel: a GPS-guided, laser-homing 120mm mortar bomb that can hit precise targets up to 15 km away. AW coverage | Defense Update profile.

• U.K. Unveils Next-Gen Armored Vehicles. The British army announced it has selected 3 wheeled vehicles as finalists for its next-generation FRES armored vehicle program. Some wonder if the lessons of Iraq and Afghanistan have really been learned – but the Minister has fired back at critics.

• MWMIK: a porcupine for Afghanistan. Britain is joining the MRAP trend, but it’s also fielding vehicles in Afghanistan based on a very different philosophy: light vehicles with low protection, but high firepower. Field commanders seem to like them, but the affection is not universal.

• Israel & India: Call me MR. Israel’s Barak anti-air missile is becoming the centerpiece of a large and lucrative defense relationship. Not only will future versions equip India’s Navy, but a land-based MR-SAM version may be the Army’s solution to India’s own failed development projects.

• Better body armor. While body armor controversies rage on Capitol Hill, the US Army is fielding a new and improved version of its Interceptor system.

Maritime Sector

Britain’s CVF
(click to view full)

• New Carriers for Britain. UK industry created a joint venture for future surface warship construction and support. With its conditions met, the British government kicked its defense budget up a GBP 7.7 billion notch, and gave the go-ahead to Britain’s new 65,00t Queen Elizabeth Class aircraft carrier.

• Navy Shares Blame on Rising Ship Costs. “The growing cost of warships in recent years has led the US Navy to reduce its orders, and the resulting loss of economies of scale has driven costs of individual warships even higher.” SecNav Winter was talking about this a year ago… and don’t forget the role of Congress.

• Australia’s New Fleet. A pair of big wins for Spanish firm Navantia will build the future core of Australia’s surface fleet: 3 Hobart Class AEGIS air/missile defense frigates, and 2 Canberra Class LHDs that can embark troops, helicopters – and even jets. AW report | DID Hobart Class in-depth | DID Canberra Class LHDs in-depth.

• ROK On. South Korea will see Australia its LHD and AEGIS Air Warfare Destoyer, and throw in a pair of its own locally-developed ships. Meet the KDX-III King Sejong Class AEGIS destroyer, and the new “LPX” Dokdo Class LHD.

• Stealthy Stereguschiy. The first stealthly corvette of Russia’s new Project 20380 class was displayed in public for the first time at the IMDS 2007 maritime defense show in St Petersburg. This could become a popular export item; AW-DTI’s Ares looks at the design, and what it signifies.

• Germany Orders F125 Frigates. In a marked departure, this EUR 2 billion program will create ships designed to support deployed troops and special forces, and remain on station for a long time. Plans to put a MONARC howitzer turret and MLRS rocket launcher on the ships have been shelved, however.

• Non-simulated stability. The sea moves. You move on it. Sometimes, that’s not so great. Could aircraft simulator technology, and an innovative idea from a Netherlands university, hold the key to fixing this?

• Remote firefighting. Imagine this horror scenario: a naval helicopter loses power on takeoff and crashes back onto the flight deck of a frigate — rupturing its fuel tanks and causing a blazing fuel fire on deck. Could the same kind of technology used for remote weapons system like CROWS hold the answer?

• T-AKE My supplies, please. A multi-billion agreement will expand the USA’s versatile and environmentally friendlier T-AKE cargo & ammunition supply ship fleet to 14. What’s up? Maybe better sustainment of the fleet at sea. Or maybe they’re looking at potential sea-basing applications [NXTbook format, high bandwidth].

• Deep water: The US Coast Guard’s National Security Cutters. They’re the size of a frigate, and at $300-400 million per ship, they cost about as much. The Bertholf Class is a centerpiece of the USCG’s $25 billion Deepwater program, but they’re mired in controversy. DID’s Focus Articles describes the cutters, the controversy, and the contracts.

R&D: Far Out Concepts

DARPA’s Dog
(click to view full)

• ADVENT of a new jet engine. What if your car came with a morphing engine that could offer compact car mileage, or sports car performance, with almost no compromise at either end? What if they could design jet engines that way? The ADVENT program just pledged over $500 million to find out. DID looks at the overall program | AW explains some of the technologies.

• Can Anyone Win the $1M Wearable Power Prize? All those electronic device soldiers carry need batteries. Batteries mean weight, and it’s a growing problem. The British are already doing research. Can the US DOD’s $1 million competition really reduce the battery weight soldiers have to carry by more than 75%?

• Submarine Shark. Responding to stealthier subs with louder sonar is creating problems. What if you tried detecting electrical anomalies in the water instead, like our sharp-toothed friends? A recent contract award indicates some success in that area.

• It Is The Walrus. Could a canceled DARPA project could be the answer to the USA’s strategic lift problems? A July 2007 Congressional Budget Office report on SeaBasing thinks so – but they had also said that before its cancellation, for all the good it did. See also DID’s WALRUS Focus Article.

• The U.K.’s Own Grand Challenge. Inspired by the US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency’s 2004-05 Grand Challenge, and the 2007 Urban Challenge for unmanned ground vehicles, the U.K. Ministry of Defense launched its own Grand Challenge last fall. This one may feature flying saucers.

• X-47B Flies. “Blended Wing Body” aircraft have the potential to radically improve aerodynamic efficiency, lifting capacity, and even aircraft noise, resulting in a new generation of cargo and passenger aircraft. Boeing’s X-48B test aircraft has now made its first flight.

• What if nanotech manufacturing could use the skills of our existing work force? Researchers at Duke University think they may have the answer.

• DARPA’s Robot Dog. It’s a lot bigger than Sony’s AIBO, and it’s designed to carry loads right alongside infantry troopers as they cross rough terrain. Next step: advanced leg-lifting algorithms.

• Robot Racecar Swims Upstream. It’s one thing to get a robot to fly through the air or crawl around on the ground. The air is mostly devoid of obstacles; on the ground, the obstacles are pretty numerous but at least you’re only moving on roughly one plane.

Strategic Weapons & Missile Defense

• Russia’s Bulava Missile Gets Production Go-Ahead. Russia’s navy chief Admiral Vladimir Marossin says the new Bulava-M intercontinental nuclear missile, with features designed to evade ABM defenses, has been given the serial production go-ahead.

• Tail of Confusion. NPO Mashinostroenia’s 3M-25 Meteorit made a belated debut at this year’s MAKS 2007 Moscow air show, a mere 15 years or so after the strategic nuclear cruise missile program was shelved.

• Chemical lasers are messy, bulky, and very toxic. If battlefield lasers are going to work for applications like space-based missile defense, powerful solid-state lasers need to be developed instead. Northrop Grumman is trying, and making some progress.

Supply & Support

Tornado maintenance
(click to view full)

• Thumbs up for UK’s new maintenance contracts. In our June briefing, we talked about Britain’s new approach of paying for available vehicles & aircraft, not parts and hours. The national auditor has taken a hard look – and says it’s working.

• DTCI. Take a system where hundreds of bases and depots contract locally for transportation and freight. Figure out how to turn it into a centralized system for 1/3 of military cargo shipments within the USA that will use corporate 3PL principles, save money, and improve service. Good luck to the US military, because they’re trying to do exactly that with this recent contract award. And the winner is…

• Support Your Local A400M. The 7 European nations buying the new 35-ton Airbus Military A400M airlifter could save approximately 15% of costs associated with in-service support if they agree to maximize common support activities. Looks like they’ve taken the first steps.

Policy & Doctrine

• Israel: Si vis pacem… With rumors of war from Iran and Syria on the horizon, Israel has issued a stream of formal requests to re-equip its Air Force with bombs and missiles. It has also considered the lessons of the last proxy wart in Lebanon, and laid its multi-year “Tefen” military procurement plan in response.

• The Taliban bombed a girl’s school being visited by Dutch troops on International Womens Day, then followed up with a full scale offensive. The Dutch military, still stung by their reputation after they abandoned Srebrenica to Serbian massacres, fought back and crushed them in several days of hard fighting. But political weakness always trumps military success – and this time was no exception.

• Counter-Insurgency Airlift. Counter-insurgency and stabilization fights have some unique characteristics that affect the kind of airlift support required. RAND explains, and looks at the current US transport fleet. Is it properly set up for this job?

• A COIN for Blackwater. The astronomical cost of operating high-end fighter jets as surveillance and light attack planes is starting to renew a niche for cheaper counter-insurgency aircraft. Private sector security forces have noticed.

• By their earmarks shall ye know them. Where would Congress be without the ability fund baseball stadium upgrades in the defense budget? Despite the recent gutting of early 2006 reforms, a US taxpayers group has assembled a database of Congressional defense add-ons “earmarked” for specific projects.

• Closer Alliance. U.S. State Department official John Rood announced that the United States and the United Kingdom are signing a defense trade treaty that would eliminate the need for export licenses for defense and counter-terrorism goods and services between the allies. In recent months, Canada and Australia have also signed export licensing related agreements.

• U.S. Technology? No Thanks. The only way to resolve technology access and U.S. government export restrictions imposed by ITAR is by “not including any U.S.-sourced technology into our products,” said the President of the Aerospace and Defense Industries Association of Europe (ASD). Hate to say we told you so…

• Meanwhile, US industry is pushing for major changes to America’s export control policy. How much is helpful, and how much is only self-interest?

• UK MoD’s bid for savings. Buying office supplies isn’t exciting. But when you buy them using the largest-ever Public Sector reverse auction, and achieve the greatest savings ever by using an auction process, that’s something.

• Sarkozy’s Defense Plans Stumble. France’s new President Sarkozy came into office promising a serious boost to French defense spending, but when an expected Parliamentary landslide fell short, he appears to have recalibrated his plans.

• CSAR-X: Rescue Me! America’s combat rescue helicopter program is in trouble. Beset by ongoing political and quasi-legal challenges, the USAF has tried to power its choice through against all opposition. Will they be shot down – and if so, who will come get them? DID coverage | AW on rotor downwash | a Project Sandblaster solution?