Americas
* The Air Force is moving ahead with its F-16 service life extension program. Cherokee Nation Aerospace and Defense is being awarded a $403 million firm-fixed-price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract that sees for the procurement of F-16 service life extension program (SLEP) kits in support of the fleet. The F-16 SLEP will keep the jets flying until nearly 2050. The program combines a dozen structural modifications into one repeatable package – from bulkheads to wings and canopy. The jets, which became operational in 1979, and were originally deemed air worthy for up to 8,000 flight hours, will have their life extended up to 12,000 flying hours. Work will be performed in Stilwell, Oklahoma, and is expected to be complete by May 2029.
* Raytheon is being tapped by the Office of Naval Research for the development of Low-Cost UAV Swarming Technology (LOCUST). The $29,6 million cost-plus-fixed-fee contract provides for research, testing and evaluation of a LOCUST Innovative Naval Prototype (INP). LOCUST can launch swarming UAVs to autonomously overwhelm an adversary. The deployment of UAV swarms will provide Sailors and Marines a decisive tactical advantage. The LOCUST program includes a tube-based launcher that can send UAVs into the air in rapid succession. The breakthrough technology then utilizes information-sharing between the UAVs, enabling autonomous collaborative behavior in either defensive or offensive missions. Raytheon’s Coyote UAS platform already demonstrated its ability to deliver varying payloads as part of a swarm that accomplished completely autonomous synchronization and formation flight. Work will be performed in Tucson, Arizona, and work is expected to be completed by January 2020.
* Armtec Countermeasures is set to provide the Marine Corps and the Navy with countermeasures for their aircraft. The firm-fixed-price job order is valued at $9 million and sees for the production of airborne expendable infrared countermeasures. The evolution of the IR seeker and its ability to reject flares continually drives the development of expendable countermeasures and their tactical use. As a result of the evolving threat, the expendable countermeasure has also seen significant improvements in the type of material used, spectral coverage, kinematic behavior and deployment tactics. Airborne expendable infrared countermeasures are designed with this kind of evolving threat in mind. They provide spectrally-tailored infrared signatures to defeat the discrimination logic of advanced missile seekers. Work will be performed in Camden, Arkansas, and is expected to be completed by June 2019.
* The Space and Naval Warfare Systems Center is procuring a multi-million information warfare research project. Advanced Technology International (ATI) is being awarded a $100 million expenditure-based other transaction agreement that provides for work on a variety of technology areas that are of interest to the Navy’s warfighting capabilities. Those areas include Cyber Warfare, which focuses on defensive and offensive technologies used to operate, configure, control, secure, maintain, and restore the infrastructures and resident data; and Battlespace Awareness, which focuses on advanced means to rapidly sense, collect, process, analyze and evaluate information content to exploit the warfighting operating environment. ATI will build a consortium of premier traditional and non-traditional government contractors, small and large businesses, for-profit and not-for-profit entities, and academic organizations to perform R&D prototyping efforts in support of the Navy. Work will be performed in Summerville, South Carolina, and other various places depending on the award of prototype project awards. Work on this contract has an expiration date of June 2021.
Middle East & Africa
* The government of Lebanon is set to receive 120mm high explosive rounds as part of a US foreign military sale. Medico Industries is being awarded a $35 million contract modification that sees for the production of 85,251 120mm high explosive rounds, 184,519 120mm full range practice charges, 23,187 120mm smoke shell bodies and relevant fuse adapters to be integrated into the shell bodies. This contract also includes FMS sales to Bosnia and Herzegovina. Work will be performed in Wilkes Barre, Pennsylvania, with an estimated completion date of July 2020.
* Jane’s reports that, the Israel Defense Forces is currently deploying a new type of torpedo on its submarine fleet. In a statement the IDF said, that “the torpedo systems possess advanced capabilities and characteristics, including increased precision and range.” The Kaved is a newly developed quieter, faster and more intelligent kind of torpedo. It has been described as a very high-speed weapon that could hit both surface and sub-surface targets, including those at depths of hundreds of meters. Unlike the Navy’s previous type, the new torpedo has a digital sonar guidance system that allows for upgrades without the need to change the hardware. The torpedoes will equip Israel’s three older Dolphin submarines as well as the new three new-generation boats, the last of which is expected to be delivered by the German company TKMS in 2019. The Israeli military so far did not disclose the name of the weapons manufacturer.
Europe
* The government of Spain is looking into purchasing five Aegis Weapon Systems from the US. The DSCA announced that it has made a determination to approve the requested foreign military sale valued at $860,4 million. Aegis, named after the legendary protective shield of Zeus, is deployed on over 80 serving naval ships around the globe. It equips Spain’s fleet of F100 Alvaro de Bazan Class frigates. Its radar system can perform search, track and missile guidance functions simultaneously, with the ability to track over 100 targets at over 100 miles. The Aegis combat system software takes input from a number of systems in order to create a unified picture of the threat environment. The proposed deal also includes the purchase of MK 54 torpedoes, SM-2 Block IIIB missiles and countermeasure systems. Spain currently operates five Aegis frigates and is proficient at using the AEGIS system to its fullest capability. The prime contractors will be Lockheed Martin, Raytheon and General Dynamics.
Asia-Pacific
* The Royal Thai Army (RTA) is currently adding four Hermes 450 drones to its inventory. The long-endurance tactical unmanned aerial vehicles are produced by Israel’s Elbit System. The Hermes 450 is a common medium surveillance UAV, with a 10 m wingspan and a maximum take-off weight of 1,212 lb. The 450 offers about 17-20 hours endurance at up to 18,000 feet altitude, and about 396 lb. of payload capacity via up to 2 body mountings and optional wing pylons. The UAVs will be used for operations including target designation; intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR), and mapping. The system is also expected to be used to track insurgency movements and drugs smuggling. The procurement of the Hermes 450 drones was finalized in 2017 at a total cost of $30 million.
Today’s Video
* HMS Queen Elizabeth returns to Portsmouth after completing a series of helicopter flying trials
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3-HOQMkqNvk
