US Army orders more JLTVs in a $1.7b deal | Qatar requests NASAMS purchase | Tokyo plans to buy 100 additional F-35s

Americas

The US Army is ordering another batch of Joint Light Tactical Vehicles from Oshkosh. Oshkosh will deliver 6,017 JLTVs at a cost of $1,7 billion. The JLTV program started in 2006, with the aim to develop a successor platform to the Humvee. The new platform provides more survivability from insurgent attacks such as road-side bombings and boasts a greater payload capacity and modularity. The agreement also includes the delivery 22,166 kits, which include installation and packaging kits. Work will take place in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, and is expected to be completed by September 2019.

Raytheon is receiving additional funding to support the Navy’s stockpiles of SM-2 and SM-6 Standard surface-to-air missiles. Awarded by the Naval Sea Systems Command, the $37,3 million cost-plus-fixed-fee modification provides for intermediate-level repair and maintenance work. The SM-2 Standard is a series of surface-to-air missiles deployed on guided-missile destroyers and cruisers, designed to engage enemy missiles and aircraft to ranges of up to 100 miles. The SM-6 IA ERAM is supersonic missile designed as a supplement to the SM-2. It is designed to target a variety of targets ranging from aircraft to ballistic missiles in their terminal phase of descent. Work will be split between Raytheon’s facilities in Tucson, Arizona; Camden, Arkansas and Huntsville, Alabama. Performance of the contract is set to run through November, 2019.

Middle East & Africa

Qatar is requesting the purchase of a National Advanced Surface to Air Missile System (NASAMS) from the US. The $215 million deal has been approved by the State Department and pending approval by Congress. If approved the deal will see for the procurement of 40 AIM 120C-7 AMRAAM missiles, one spare missile guidance section, one spare control section and eight captive air training missiles. NASAMS is a medium-range, network-centric air defence system that can be deployed to identify and engage enemy aircraft, and to protect high-value assets and mass population centres against air-to-surface threats. The AIM 120C-7 is the most advanced AMRAAM approved for export beyond the USA. It features an improved seeker head, greater jamming resistance, and a slightly longer range than other versions. Other items including in the contract are missile containers, software for the AN/MPQ-64F1 Sentinel Radar, spares and other equipment and services. Main contractor will be Raytheon.

The US State Department is determined to approve a Foreign Military Sale to Egypt. Priced at $201 million the potential deal calls for the delivery of 46,000 M831A1 and M865 rounds and 10,000 APFSDS-T rounds. The 46,000 120mm Target Practice – Tracer (M831A1) and 120 mm Target Practice, Cone Stabilized, Discarding Sabot – (M865) rounds; and the 10,000 120mm 4th-Generation Kinetic Energy-Tungsten (KE-W) A4 Armor-Piercing Fin-Stabilized Discarding Sabot with Tracer (APFSDS-T) rounds, will replace older round models in the Egypt’s M1A1 Abrams ammunition inventory. Egypt will use those rounds to arm the tanks that are currently fighting the Islamic State in the Sinai peninsula. The training rounds will be used to ready M1A1 tank crews for operational deployments. This announcement supersedes another FMS request delivered to Congress on September 17, 2018. Work will be performed at General Dynamics-OTS’ St. Petersburg, Florida facility

Europe

The UK Army Air Corps’ Apache AH1 salvaging program is nearing its end. The last two of 14 Army attack helicopters will be delivered to the US where they will be dismantled; recovered material and components will then bye refused on newly build AH-64E Guardians. This effort is part of the UK MoD’s Apache Capability Sustainment Programme (CSP) which calls for the delivery of 50 new-build Apache Guardians at a price of $488 million. The FMS contract with Boeing was inked in May 2017 and includes the remanufacture of 38 Apache AH1s and a further 12 entirely new build Apache Guardians. The Apache Guardian attack helicopter is the latest version of the AH-64. It has a number of improvements and upgrades, including more powerful engines, upgraded transmission, a new fire control radar, new sensors, avionics and has improved night operation capabilities.

Asia-Pacific

Japanese media suggest that Tokyo is preparing to order another 100 F-35 Joint Strike Fighters. The country’s MoD says that it needs more F-35s as replacement for its ageing F-15s, and government plans to approve the acquisition in its upcoming National Defense Program Guidelines. Japan currently has 42 F-35s on order which will succeed its fleet of 91 upgraded F-4 “Phantom Kai” fighters. by 2024.The additional 100 planes will replace half of Japan’s 213 F-15J Eagle air superiority fighters, this order will likely be mix of the A and B variants. To accommodate the F-35 B STOVL variant, Tokyo plans to overhaul and revamp one of its JS Izumo helicopter carrier to host the fighters. The total contract value is estimated to be around $9 billion.

South Korean aerospace and defense firm KAI is expected to unveil a prototype of its new light armed helicopter next month. Developed in a partnership with Airbus, the LCH-LAH will replace the ageing MD500s and 70 AH-1S Cobras flown by the South Korean Army. Based on the Eurocopter EC 155 helicopter, the LAH is designed to fly at a speed of upward of 324 kilometers per hour and have a range of some 905 km. Its maximum take-off load is 4.9 tons with the chopper to be equipped with a 20-mm gun and anti-armor guided missiles made locally. “Following the rollout of the LAH’s prototype next month, an engine test is scheduled in March next year and a maiden flight in May,” a KAI official told Korean media. The first operational LCH-LAH is expected to be delivered by the end of 2022.

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