Rolls-Royce has completed two key milestone deliveries for the F-35 Lightning II programme, as production matures for the LiftSystem, the only technology in the world capable of providing vertical-lift for 5th-generation fighter aircraft.
Rolls-Royce recently delivered the 50th 3-Bearing Swivel Module (3BSM) and 40th LiftFan for F-35B aircraft manufactured by Lockheed Martin, and is on schedule for LiftSystem deliveries.
Additionally, field support from Rolls-Royce for the F-35B’s LiftSystem has expanded, with technical representatives now providing services at Marine Corps Air Station Yuma, Arizona; Eglin Air Force Base, Florida; Edwards Air Force Base, California; Fort Worth, Texas; and Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Maryland. Rolls-Royce is also supporting the US Marine Corps in preparation for upcoming sea trials with the F-35B aircraft, as well as the process moving toward Initial Operational Capability in 2015.
Tom Bell, Rolls-Royce, president - defence, said: “These key milestone deliveries demonstrate maturity in both production and in the world-class technology of the LiftSystem itself, as Rolls-Royce continues to focus on innovation and customer service. Our expanding field services team means that anywhere an F-35B is flying, Rolls-Royce is there to support the mission.”
The unique 3BSM is a swivelling exhaust capable of redirecting the rear thrust from the horizontal to the vertical position, tilting downward 95 degrees in only 2.5 seconds. The LiftFan is a two-stage, counter-rotating, blisked fan installed just behind the cockpit of the F-35B, providing 20,000 lbs. of downward thrust. The 3BSM and LiftFan are connected to the powerful F135 engine from Pratt & Whitney.
Lockheed Martin has delivered 26 F-35Bs and the fleet has surpassed 3,000 flight hours, with approximately 750 short takeoffs and more than 400 vertical landings using the Rolls-Royce LiftSystem.
In May 2013, an F-35B test aircraft completed the first vertical takeoff in programme history.
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As New Delhi becomes pickier, Russia is facing an uphill battle to maintain leadership in India’s transport aviation market.
Last week, The Telegraph, Calcutta reported that the Indian Air Force bought its first Boeing-made C-17 Globemaster III. “We have looked forward to this day. The C-17 will equip the Indian Air Force (IAF) with the world’s most advanced humanitarian and strategic capabilities,” the assistant chief of IAF air staff operations was quoted as saying in an official Boeing press release.
The IAF is expected to use the C-17 to haul heavy cargo from the United States to Iraq, Afghanistan, and other countries. Four more С-17 will be delivered to India this year, and five in 2014.
The Asia-Pacific region is the biggest market for Russian arms, accounting for 43 percent of all deliveries in 2012. “The Near and Middle East accounted for 23 percent, Latin America for 18 percent, CIS countries for 12 percent, and Sub-Saharan Africa for 1 percent,” Rosoboronexport chief Anatoliy Isaikin said earlier.
India and Vietnam have traditionally been large importers of Russian arms, followed by China and Venezuela. According to Isaikin, Russia is seeking to expand military and technical cooperation with Indonesia, Malaysia and Brazil. But Russia has lost a number of military contracts in India over the past two years.
For example, the MiG-35 lost a tender to the French fighter Dassault Rafale. France managed to one-up the Russian manufacturer thanks to its offset programme, where a portion of proceeds from the contract is invested in the economy of the importing country. The value of the contract grew to $17 billion in the process (the original 126 Russian-made aircraft would have cost $10 billion).
The Mi-28NE Night Hunter combat helicopter lost to the AH-64D Apache (a $1.4 billion contract); the heavy cargo helicopter Mi-26T2 lost to the American CH-47F Chinook (a $1 billion contract); the Ilyushin-78MKI-90 aerial refuelling tanker failed to win a tender from the Airbus-made A330MRTT (a contract valued at around $1 billion).
Experts believe that the reasons for Russia’s setbacks in Indian tenders are both political and technical. The demands of the Indian military are growing, both in terms of technical sophistication and the scale of technology transfers, and Russia is finding it increasingly difficult to meet those demands.
“The general background of constant delays and prices of certain projects spiralling out of control has damaged Russia’s image and can be used as an argument by opponents of military and technical cooperation with Russia,” said Ruslan Aliev, editor of the trade web portal Periscope.2 of the Centre for Analysis of Strategies and Technologies (CAST).
Selecting arms suppliers also involves the pragmatic principle of “not putting all your eggs in one basket,” Andrei Fomin, editor-in-chief of the trade journal Vzlyot, explained earlier. “This is totally understandable and by no means a disaster, particularly given the scope of cooperation between Russia and India on a number of different programmes,” he said.
India also has its own global strategic priorities, Aliev added. The Indians are concerned with China’s rising economic and military might, and a slew of large defence orders from the United States are linked to their desire to strengthen military and political partnership with Washington, he added.
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A Russian state high-tech corporation will roll out more than 100 new military and civilian developments at the Paris Air Show, a Russian Technologies (Rostec) top executive said on Monday. These include the advanced Ka-52 Alligator attack helicopter and a modernized Mi-171A2 civil helicopter, as well as military and civilian avionics, Rostec deputy head Vladimir Artyakov told RIA Novosti at the show, which opened Monday and runs through Sunday at Le Bourget Airport in France.
The Ka-52 is due to be certified in 2014 and go into production from 2015, he said.
Radioelectronic Technologies holding, part of Rostec, said it would use the air show to unveil its multirole Sukhoi Su-35S fighter equipped with the latest SINS-SP2 strapdown inertial navigation system.
The system, which determines the location of an aircraft in the absence of satellite navigation and communication links with ground-based services, will be used in the fifth-generation T-50 fighter as part of the PAK-FA (future tactical fighter aircraft) program.
Artyakov also said Monday that Russian aircraft engine makers Salyut and Saturn have completed second-stage development of a fifth-generation aircraft engine, though he offered no indication of when the development of the new engine would be finalized. T-50 aircraft are currently flying with what is known as a 4++ generation engine.
T-50 fighter jets are due to enter service with the country’s armed forces in 2016, and not 2015 as was previously announced, President Vladimir Putin said at a live Q&A session with the Russian public in April.
The T-50 made its first flight in January 2010 and was presented to the public at the Moscow Air Show in 2011. The T-50, which will be the core of Russia's future fighter fleet, features elements of stealth technology, super-maneuverability, super-cruise capability (supersonic flight without use of afterburner), and an advanced avionics suite including an X-band active phased-array radar.
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The Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman joint venture Longbow has secured a contract to supply fire-control radars (FCRs) for installation on the Royal Saudi Land Forces Aviation Command's AH-64 Apache attack helicopter.
As well as FCRs, spares and support services for RSAF Apaches, the $90.6m contract also covers delivery of FCRs for the Saudi Arabia National Guard and Longbow mast mounted assemblies for the US Army. Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire-Control Longbow programmes director and president Mike Taylor said Saudi Arabia was emerging as one of the largest foreign users of the Longbow systems.
Northrop Grumman Land and Self Protection Systems Division Tactical Sensor Solutions-Aviation business unit director Mike Galletti said: "The Longbow FCR team values our ability to provide Saudi Arabia with a product that will promote greater regional security while providing warfighters with the highest level of protection."
Under full-rate production since 1996, Longbow FCR is designed to provide Apache aircrews with detection, location, classification and prioritisation of multiple moving and stationary targets on land, water and in the air in all weather conditions from standoff ranges.
Powered by two GE T700-701D engines, AH-64 Apache is primarily used for distributed operations, deep precision strikes against relocatable targets, and also for providing armed reconnaissance when required in day, night, obscured battlefield and adverse weather conditions.
The Boeing-built helicopters are also in-service with several nations worldwide, including the UK, Israel, Japan, Netherlands, Singapore, Greece, Kuwait, Egypt and UAE. The number of units ordered and delivery schedule have not been disclosed by the company.
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Japan’s Defense Ministry is considering creating a special island assault unit to help it deal with Tokyo’s ongoing standoff with China over the Diaoyu/Senkaku Islands.
In a meeting of the ruling-Liberal Democracy Party (LDP) this week, defense officials said the new unit would be trained to fortify islands and, if necessary, recapture ones that were lost, a number of Japanese media outlets reported. The new special assault unit would supplement the Self-Defense Force Western Army Infantry Regiment, which is made up of Special Forces modeled off the U.S. Marine Corps who are located in Nagasaki Prefecture and responsible for protecting remote islands like the Senkakus.
The proposed special assault unit was part of a larger LDP effort to strengthen Japan’s Self Defense Force’s (SDF) capabilities for dealing with challenges to remote islands. Tokyo previously announced plans to expand the size of the Western Army Infantry Regiment during the current fiscal year ending in March, the Japan Times reported.
This week the LDP also announced it was considering equipping the SDF with commercial vessels and aircraft to more quickly respond to intrusions by China on Japanese waters surrounding the islands. Chinese maritime and occasional military assets regularly patrol near the disputed islands.
There have also been discussions about equipping Japanese troops with U.S.-built MV-22 Osprey transport aircraft, despite concerns about the aircraft’s safety among some Japanese. U.S. Marines currently operate Ospreys from bases in Okinawa, Japan.
Perhaps most controversial, earlier this week Japan’s Prime Minister, Shinzo Abe, announced that his government would “need to study” the possibility of giving the SDF the authority to mount offensive attacks on enemy bases. Defense Minister Itsunori Onodera refuted suggestions that this type of operation would violate the SDF’s constitutionally-mandated pacifist mission.
“It will not pose any legal problems if Japan has the capability to attack an enemy base,” Defense Minister Itsunori Onodera said.
He added that “various discussions” will need to take place before the mission is approved in an apparent reference to talking with allies and partners about the proposed changes.
Japanese military personnel are current participating in Dawn Blitz 2013, a U.S.-led multinational military exercise in California that will also include New Zealand and Canada this year. This is the first time Japan’s military forces are participating in Dawn Blitz, which began on Tuesday and lasts through June 26. One USMC officer called this year’s drill “historic.”
China opposed the decision to include Japan in the Dawn Blitz 2013 exercises, owing to drills where the U.S. Marines and the SDF will practice amphibious assaults like the ones that would be used to invade islands.
Japan was expected to send about a 1,000 military personnel from the Air, Maritime, and Ground Forces to participate in the exercise, along with three warships including two amphibious assault ships.
It’s unclear how the U.S. will respond to Prime Minister Abe’s desire to authorize the SDF’s to attack adversary’s bases. Although Washington insists it doesn’t take sides in sovereignty issues, it has repeatedly stated that the Japanese-administered Senkakus fall under the U.S.-Japan Defense Treaty, obliging the U.S. to respond to any attack on the islands.
On the other hand, the Obama administration is reportedly frustrated by Prime Minister Abe and LDP officials’ comments about Japan’s conduct during WWII, especially suggestions that Tokyo’s past apologies for its WWII behavior would be “reviewed.”
On Wednesday, Jeffrey Bader, who formerly served in the Obama administration as Director of Asian Affairs on the U.S. National Security Council, said the U.S. could become “vocal” should the LDP follow through on its threats to review Japan’s past apologies.
“The handling of historical issues in the last couple of months by Japanese leaders has not been adroit, to put it mildly,” Bader said at the Center for a New American Security’s (CNAS) annual conference in Washington.
By Zachary Keck
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Insitu Inc.'s RQ-21A small tactical unmanned aircraft system for the U.S. military has entered a new phase of development testing.
Earlier this week Insitu, the U.S. Navy and the U.S. Marine Corps conducted the first flight operation test of the aircraft on the East Coast in preparation for integrated operational test and evaluation in the fall.
During the flight operators launched the RQ-21A using a pneumatic launcher, flew it for nearly two hours and then recovered it with a special system that eliminates the need for a runway.
"This test period brings us closer to providing our warfighter with a unique capability -- an indigenous UAS capable of operations from both land and sea," said U.S. Marine Corps Col. Jim Rector, PMA-263 program manager. "The expeditionary nature of the RQ-21A makes it possible to deploy a multi-intelligence capable UAS with minimal footprint."
The RQ-21A is designed for use by Marine Expeditionary Forces, Navy L-Class ships, and Naval Special Warfare units. It is slated for initial deployment next year and will provide users with reconnaissance, surveillance, and target acquisition data.
According to the Navy, the tests now being conducted in Maryland are to validate updates to the system, which include software, fuselage and camera enhancements.
The conditions at Webster Field at Naval Air Station Patuxent River also "allow the team to test aircraft performance points at lower density altitudes."
The small unmanned aircraft completed land-based testing in China Lake, Calif., and ship-based developmental tests aboard USS Mesa Verde in February.
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Russia’s state arms exporter Rosoboronexport is planning to sign a number of export contracts on the delivery of advanced Su-35S fighter aircraft as well as Ka-52 helicopter gunships and Yak-130 combat trainers at the Paris Air Show, the company said.
“We are holding negotiations on all three aircraft and hoping to sign contracts at the show,” Rosoboronexport cited head of the company’s delegation at Le Bourget show, Sergei Kornev, as saying. Kornev did not provide the details of the future contracts or specify the potential buyers.
The 50th Paris Air Show will take place at Le Bourget exhibition center on June 17-23. The world’s largest and oldest aviation exhibition puts together 2,113 leading players of the global aviation industry from 45 countries this year.
Rosoboronexport will promote over 100 types of military products, including aircraft, air defense systems, on-board equipment and munitions at the show. The Su-35 Flanker-E multirole fighter, powered by two 117S engines with thrust vectoring, combines high maneuverability and the capability to engage several air targets simultaneously using both guided and unguided missiles and weapon systems.
The aircraft has been touted as "4++ generation using fifth-generation technology." The Russian Air Force is due to receive 50 Su-35s by 2015, according to various reports. The Ka-52 Hokum-B is a modification of the basic Ka-50 Hokum model. It is armed with a 30-mm cannon, Vikhr (Whirlwind) laser guided missiles, rockets and bombs. The helicopter is also equipped with two radars, one for ground targets and another for aerial targets, as well as a Samshite nighttime-daytime thermal sighting system.
It has a maximum speed of 350 kph, a flight ceiling of 5,500 meters, and a range of over 1,000 kilometers.
The Yak-130 Mitten is a highly maneuverable aircraft with an extended range of about 2,000 kilometers (1,250 miles) and a maximum speed of 1,060 kilometers per hour (600 miles per hour) in level flight. It can carry a combat payload of up to 3,000 kilograms (6,600 pounds).
The Yak-130 has been chosen as a basic aircraft for Russian Air Force pilot training. The Irkut aircraft maker and the Russian Defense Ministry signed in December 2011 a contract for the delivery of 55 Yak-130 jets by 2015.
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Over at The National Interest last month, the Naval Diplomat reviewed the debate over the U.S. Navy's new Littoral Combat Ship (LCS). My goal was less to rehash the ship's design than to puzzle out why the LCS debate — a debate, after all, over a mere hunk of machinery — is not just fiercely contested on the merits but often venomous.
I traced the confusion in part to Sir Julian Corbett, who a century ago bemoaned the technological revolution that rendered the old vocabulary for discussing the components of fleets suspect if not entirely moot. With the advent of the torpedo and the sea mine, small, unsexy craft like submarines and patrol craft could land heavy blows against the battle fleet, the mistress of the seas. Tacticians found themselves inhabiting a bizarro world where battleships had to go to elaborate lengths to shield themselves from vessels they were accustomed to swatting aside.
Perversely, then, technological progress impoverished our vocabulary for designing and wielding fleets. With no common lexicon for shaping tactics, doctrine, and operations, the LCS debate quickly degenerates into claims and counter-claims about whether newfangled bits of hardware will perform as advertised. It takes on the "uh-uh!" and "uh-huh!" quality familiar to all ex-schoolboys.
Yet such craft are joining the fleet. Fitting them into U.S. maritime strategy is imperative. In passing I portrayed the LCS as a "skirmisher" for U.S. Navy fleets operating off enemy coastlines. It acts as an advance guard for the main force, venturing into coastal waters to clear mines, detect and target submarines, and pummel speedboats and other small craft fielded by the likes of Iran and China. Once the littoral combatants do their work, the battle fleet can approach enemy shores to project power ashore, evacuate noncombatants, or what have you.
There's little new under the sun. The skirmisher concept is a throwback to land warfare. It dates at least to classical antiquity; it's probably as old as warfare itself. We might define skirmishing loosely as the practice of dispatching bodies of independent, lightly armed troops around the army's periphery for such purposes as concealing the main force's whereabouts, finding and harrying the enemy main force, or chasing off enemy skirmishers. Scattered across the battlefield or beyond, skirmishers were largely on their own. If not outright expendable, they could expect little succor from the main army if they found themselves in trouble. What general would risk his victory to rescue an auxiliary force?
Light combatants have accomplished great things over the centuries. Sometimes they've contributed the margin of superiority in a close-fought contest. Occasionally they've scored decisive results in their own right. Think about Athenian skirmishers armed with rudimentary missile weapons overwhelming vaunted Spartan infantrymen on the island of Sphacteria during the Peloponnesian War. The Athenian force turned the world upside down, prompting one of the superpowers of the Greek world to sue for peace.
Depicting the LCS as a latter-day skirmisher in the brown water, then, in no way denigrates its value to American naval operations. Trouble is, the skirmishing concept makes an awkward fit with the U.S. Navy's big-ship traditions of sea combat. Nor is the LCS an exceptionally promising candidate for this function.
Expendability is one of the chief reasons why. The idea that ships and crews might be earmarked for one-way missions cuts against the grain of U.S. Navy culture, and perhaps against American strategic culture writ large. That's why the grand old man of naval tactics, Captain Wayne Hughes has made little headway over the years with proposals to disperse firepower among large numbers of smaller combatants rather than nestle all of its eggs in a few vulnerable baskets.
But what if these vessels aren't considered expendable? Skirmishers that have to be defended from air or missile assault while executing their functions would put the main fleet in danger. Sending carriers, cruisers, or destroyers into harm's way for the sake of supposedly low-value units like the LCS would upend the logic of naval warfare, by which picket ships protect the high-value unit — the carrier, amphibious assault ship, or Tomahawk shooter — from attack.
Expense is another reason behind the navy's aversion to declaring ships expendable. An ideal maritime skirmisher would be small, cheap, and numerous, and crewed by devil-may-care officers and sailors. The LCS, by contrast, is a 3,000-ton man-of-war whose price tag will exceed half a billion dollars per copy, factoring in both the hull and its mission modules. (The latter are interchangeable armaments packages that allow the ship to shift from surface to antisubmarine to mine-clearance operations.) How prepared naval leaders will be to hazard such a vessel in independent combat remains to be seen.
If history is any guide, navy culture will bias commanders toward attaching the LCS contingent to the task force as a fleet auxiliary rather than turning it loose. Both the aircraft carrier and the submarine underwent such an interval before tacticians figured out how to unlock their full potential. They ultimately placed the flattop, the repository of a modern blue-water navy's striking power, at the heart of the fleet. They set the submarine free to prey on enemy shipping, a mission at which the silent service excels.
The habit of making new platforms an adjunct to familiar formations and methods is worth fighting as the navy experiments with its new craft. Let's make that mental leap. A true force of skirmishers could prove invaluable.
By James R. Holmes
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Canada has selected the German Navy’s Berlin-class design for its new fleet of supply ships, setting in motion the eventual construction of two vessels that are critical to maritime operations. But the timing of the ships’ delivery to the fleet is still in question, since the shipbuilder is also on the hook to build icebreakers for the Coast Guard and can’t build both ships at the same time.
The selection of the German design comes after more than 14 years of attempts to replace the Royal Canadian Navy’s aging fleet of vessels that resupply warships at sea. “Now we have a picture of what the ship will look like,” said Rear Adm. Pat Finn, chief of staff for the Defence Department’s Materiel Group. “This is really a clear step forward to provide a key capability for our Navy.”
The Royal Canadian Navy had been examining two designs for its Joint Support Ship (JSS) program. One was an original design from BMT Fleet Technology of Ottawa, while the second was of the Berlin class from ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems Canada, also of Ottawa. Finn said the final selection was based on operating capability, affordability, cost and risk. “Across those areas, the Berlin-class came out ahead,” he said.
Canadian government officials noted that the Berlin-class design is proven, which reduces the risk of unexpected problems that comes with a new design. The JSS procurement is estimated to cost at least CAN $2.6 billion (US $2.5 billion). The JSS is considered essential for the Navy since the ships will be used to supply a maritime task group at sea with fuel, ammunition and food. The service operates two vessels, Protecteur and Preserver, to do those roles, but they are more than 40 years old.
The Berlin-class ships are 20,200 tons and are almost 600 feet long. The Canadian versions would carry two helicopters and be equipped with medical facilities. The German Navy has three of the ships in service, with the last delivered in 2012.
A contract will be negotiated with ThyssenKrupp for the design, which will then be turned over to Seaspan/Vancouver Shipyards of Vancouver, British Columbia. Seaspan will build the two Canadian vessels, and Finn said he expects a contract for that to be in place by 2015. He said once construction begins, it will take about 36 months to build the first ship.
But the selection of the JSS design doesn’t solve the problem Seaspan faces with competing building schedules for both the JSS and the Canadian Coast Guard’s planned Polar-class icebreaker. Both are to be built at the yard, but construction of one of the vessels will be delayed since Seaspan doesn’t have the capability to build both at the same time.
The new icebreaker was expected to enter full Arctic service in 2017, in time for the decommissioning of the Coast Guard’s largest and most capable icebreaker, the Louis S. St. Laurent. The first of the joint support ships was supposed to be delivered by 2018. The Canadian government has acknowledged that one of those ship projects will be delayed.
Vice Adm. Paul Maddison, head of the Royal Canadian Navy, acknowledged the urgent need to replace both the icebreaker and the supply ships. He said he preferred that the JSS be built first but the decision has yet to be made by the Canadian government.
Maddison also said, however, that he did not see the current supply ships lasting beyond 2020. He did not provide details on what the Royal Canadian Navy might do to deal with such a situation but did say he was confident the Defence Department would “find a way to innovatively mitigate any capability gap that opens.”
Finn said officials from the Defence Department, the Coast Guard and Public Works, the government department that oversees procurements, will meet to decide on the “sequencing decision” of which ship would be built first.
He said he expects the officials to “come to a collective recommendation for the government of Canada in the next few months.” Brian Carter, president of Seaspan Shipyards, said the company is waiting for the government to decide which of the projects will go first.
“It’s a purely operational thing for the government, so we have no preference one way or another,” he said. “We’re ready to support whatever they send our way.” He said whichever ship is designated first, the company would be ready to start cutting steel in mid-2016.
The JSS procurement has had its share of difficulties over the years. The project was derailed in August 2008 after the Canadian government determined that various bids from shipyards did not meet the requirements of the new fleet.
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India has officially received its first Boeing C-17 strategic transport, becoming the eighth operator of the type. After taking delivery of the aircraft at Edwards AFB in California, the Indian air force crew departed for India, with the airlifter expected to touch down at Hindon air base near New Delhi on 17 June.
New Delhi will receive four more C-17s this year, and five in 2014, says Boeing. This will make the Indian air force the operator of the second largest fleet of C-17s, after the US Air Force's current 218-strong inventory. The UK currently holds this status, with its Royal Air Force operating eight of the type. Other current users include Australia, Canada, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, plus a multinational Strategic Airlift Consortium of 12 NATO and Partnership for Peace nations.
India finalised its almost $1.8 billion Foreign Military Sales deal for 10 C-17s in June 2012.
"Congratulations to the Indian air force on this milestone as India joins the worldwide community of C-17 operators," says Tommy Dunehew, Boeing vic- president of business development for Mobility, Surveillance and Engagement.
"Nations turn to the C-17 for the capability to perform a wide range of operations, from peacekeeping and disaster relief to troop movements from semi-prepared airfields. This aircraft will provide the Indian air force with the versatility to augment airlift capability," Dunehew says.
In addition to the 10 C-17s on order, New Delhi has options for another six. It is also likely to buy six additional Lockheed Martin C-130J tactical transports, in a move which would double its fleet numbers of the type to 12.
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Taking advantage of its century-long expertise in the design, development and manufacture of combat-proven machine guns, FN Herstal started to integrate 7.62x51mm NATO and .50 cal machine guns onto various platforms several decades ago. This has resulted in numerous rotary-wing and subsonic fixed-wing aircraft being qualified with FN integrated airborne weapon systems to total more than 3,000 units in service around the globe today.
FN airborne podded systems are fitted with a .50 cal FN M3P™ machine gun and are operated by the pilot using an armament management system. Various configurations are on sale – featuring a 250- or 400-round ammunition box and a Links (LC) or Links and Cases Collector (LCC). For the first time in its booth at the Paris Air Show in Le Bourget from 17 to 23 June 2013, FN Herstal will display a pod variant called FN RMP™/Cirit combining a .50 cal FN M3P™ machine gun and a three tube 2.75” laser guided missile launcher from the Turkish company Roketsan.
FN airborne pod weapon systems will be displayed with OEMs also to include: Aerotec Group, Beechcraft, Eurocopter, and Iomax.
FN airborne pintle mounted systems – equipped with either a 7.62x51mm FN MAG® 58M or .50 cal FN M3M™ machine gun – are designed to be window-, door- or ramppositioned. FN Herstal and the helicopter companies AgustaWestland and Eurocopter will display FN pintle weapon systems in Paris.
In addition to airborne solutions, FN Herstal also offers integrated weapon systems for land and sea applications, including the deFNder® family of remote weapon stations fitted with FN machine guns ranging from 5.56x45mm NATO up to .50 cal.
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AM General is preparing its blast resistant vehicle-off road (BRV-O), which is being offered for the US Army and Marine Corps' joint light tactical vehicle (JLTV) programme for government testing at its light tactical vehicle assembly line (LTVAL) in Indiana, US.
Around 22 BRV-O vehicle prototypes are currently being manufactured by the company as part of a 24-month $64.5m JLTV engineering, manufacturing and development (EMD) phase contract awarded by the army in August 2012.
The vehicles are being developed in two versions: a four-seat combat tactical vehicle designed to support three different mission package configurations, and a two-seat combat support vehicle for supporting a utility mission package configuration for different roles across the full spectrum of military operations.
AM General business development and programme management vice-president Chris Vanslager said: "We are setting the pace on integrating components, meeting timelines and other requirements and working closely with our military customer representatives daily."
Following the departure of BRV-O vehicles from LTVAL plant, the company will also receive additional mission packages for conversion into a specific mission package configuration, such as the heavy guns carrier.
Each vehicle will undergo the company's break-in and shake-down testing prior to delivery to the US military. Already proven effective in government-supervised blast testing, the multi-role BRV-O is designed to meet or exceed 100% of the JLTV EMD phase evaluation criteria in terms of protection, performance, payload, transportability, reliability and affordability.
Readily deployable by air, land and sea with a 3,500lb payload, the vehicle is equipped with a C4ISR backbone with open-standard networked architecture and clustered super-computing power, and can also adapt to future changes in US military mission requirements, tactics and evolving threats.
Other two JLTV EMD contract recipients include Lockheed martin and Oshkosh Defence.
JLTV programme is aimed at replacing the US Army and Marine Corps' fleet of rapidly ageing high-mobility multipurpose wheeled vehicles (HMMWVs), which have been in active service for more than 25 years.
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China’s first jet-powered stealth unmanned combat aerial vehicle (UCAV), the Lijian or “Sharp Sword,” was recently spotted undergoing taxiing tests in that country. Analysts interpreted the sighting as indicating that the Lijian’s maiden flight is imminent.
The Lijian prototype rolled off the assembly line late last year after three years’ joint development by Hongdu Aviation Industry and Shenyang Aircraft , subsidiaries of the state-owned China Aviation Industry (Avic). Photos of prototype 001 taxiing on the runway of an unidentified air base, likely located in Jiangxi Province where Hongdu Aviation is based, became available on Chinese websites on May 6.
The timing was possibly related to the U.S. Department of Defense’s release of its annual report on China’s military strength. That report singles out China’s development of unmanned aircraft as one of the highlights.
The Lijian is said to have a wingspan of 46 feet (14 meters), smaller than the 62-foot wingspan of the U.S. Navy’s X-47B demonstrator, which China considers an equivalent. It is powered by a single jet engine, presumed to be the Shenyang WP7 used for the J-7 fighter. With the WP7 engine, the Lijian’s ordnance payload might not exceed the 2,000-kg (4,400-pound) capacity of the Northrop Grumman X-47B. The Chinese CM-506 small-diameter bomb, showcased at Airshow China 2012, is one of the weapons being recommended for the Lijian. It has a range of 130 km (80 miles) against land or maritime targets.
The stealth aircraft has a flying-wing shape shared by the U.S. aircraft, and composite materials for its airframe. But the photos recently made public indicate the Lijian’s engine nozzle is exposed, while that of the X-47B is concealed.
The US Army has taken delivery of the first modernised day sensor assembly (M-DSA) laser range finder designator (LRFD) system from Lockheed Martin for installation onboard its AH-64D/E Apache attack helicopter.
Representing the first phase of upgrades for the M-DSA programme, the modernised LRFD delivery is designed to mitigate obsolescence and also boost performance of the modernised target acquisition designation sight/pilot night-vision sensor (M-TADS/PNVS) system.
Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control M-TADS/PNVS programmes director Matt Hoffman said the delivery represented a successful team effort that offers significant benefit to the Apache pilot through system reliability, maintainability and performance.
"With more than 685 modernised LRFD kits on contract, this milestone signifies Lockheed Martin's ability to deliver on its commitment to supporting the soldier," Hoffman added.
US Army Apache sensors product manager lieutenant colonel Steve Van Riper said: "The US Army looks forward to a lasting relationship with the Lockheed Martin and Selex team; we anticipate continued success as we quickly ramp-up to our planned production rate and begin fielding."
Capable of designating an aim point by means of a laser for the Hellfire II missiles, M-DSA M-LRFD kits are designed to serve as the chief targeting aid for the Apache helicopter by establishing the range to target for accurate weapon aiming.
Second phase M-DSA upgrades are expected to add colour to the Apache cockpit display, in addition to enhancing situational awareness and communications with ground forces.
Also known as Arrowhead, M-TADS/PNVS is an advanced electro-optical fire control system designed to provide pilots with long-range, electro-optical precision engagement and flying targeting capabilities for conducting day, night and adverse-weather missions.
Operational with the army since 2005, the system also proved its capabilities during operations in Afghanistan and Iraq.
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The UK could use its Raytheon Systems Sentinel R1 battlefield reconnaissance aircraft as a national adjunct to NATO's alliance ground surveillance (AGS) fleet of unmanned air vehicles, says Royal Air Force chief of the air staff Air Chief Marshal Sir Stephen Dalton.
Using NATO's Boeing E-3-equipped airborne early warning and control system force and the RAF's contribution of E-3D Sentry aircraft as an example of such an arrangement, Dalton says: "Sentinel could form part of NATO AGS, along with [Northrop Grumman] Global Hawk UAVs."
The UK coalition government's Strategic Defence and Security Review (SDSR) of September 2010 proposed retiring the RAF's relatively new fleet of five Bombardier Global Express-derived Sentinels, once the type was no longer needed to support NATO-led activities in Afghanistan. However, the Ministry of Defence in May 2012 indicated its intention to provide a "contribution in kind" to the multinational AGS programme, with the manned surveillance aircraft being its most applicable solution.
Speaking at a Royal Aeronautical Society lecture in London on 10 June, Dalton said the at-risk Sentinel system has proven its ability to deliver "timely, and fully releasable intelligence products" through operations performed over Afghanistan, Libya and Mali.
The RAF deployed one of its Sentinels and supporting personnel to Dakar in Senegal between January 2013 and late May, following a request from the French government for product from its dual synthetic aperture radar and ground moving target indication sensor during its Serval operation.
"Sentinel enabled France to understand the behaviour of the militants, and supported the movement of its troops on the ground," he says. Offering such a system to support future multinational operations via the AGS programme framework would benefit the UK, he believes, as it could be "flexed from NATO to national operations, as required".
A formal decision on whether to retain the Sentinel capability will be made as part of the UK's next SDSR process, which is due to report its findings in 2015.
Approved late last year, the AGS programme's scope was reduced over several years, due to cost constraints, eventually settling on a deal for five radar-equipped Block 40 Global Hawks, to achieve initial operating capability during 2016.
Meanwhile, Dalton says the UK needs to invest in technologies to enable its future remotely piloted air systems to be capable of operating in contested airspace. He also notes that such equipment - as with the RAF's General Atomics Aeronautical Systems Reapers now used in Afghanistan - will be operated following "the same legal and ethical framework" as its manned combat aircraft.
The U.S. military has notified Congress of a possible Foreign Military Sale of technical and logistics support to Kuwait.
The deal would support the country's fleet of F/A-18 C/D aircraft and carries an estimated value of $200 million.
According to the Defense Security Cooperation Agency, the package would include avionics software upgrades, engine component improvements, ground support equipment, spare and repair parts, publications and technical documentation, and engineering change proposals.
The principal contractor would be General Dynamics, Boeing and Wyle Laboratories.
The assignment of 90 U.S. government and contractor representatives to Kuwait for three years to establish and maintain operational capability would be required, the agency said.
"The proposed sale will contribute to the foreign policy and national security of the United States by helping to improve the security of a friendly country which has been, and continues to be, an important force for political stability and economic progress in the Middle East," DSCA said in its notification. "The proposed sale of this support will not alter the basic military balance in the region."
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Israel's air force is getting ready to absorb its first squadron of Lockheed Martin F-35 Joint Strike Fighters, the combat jet that will assure the country's aerial supremacy for years to come.
But it's getting other U.S. aircraft as well as part of the $100 billion Middle Eastern arms deal announced by the Pentagon in February.
These include Boeing KC-135 aerial tankers that will greatly extend Israel's strategic reach.
No number has been specified, but expanding Israel's in-flight refueling capacity, potentially doubling it, greatly enhances its prospects in mounting preventive airstrikes against Iran's nuclear facilities.
The air force is also getting as many as 30 Italian-built M-346 Master advanced jet trainers as part of a $1 billion contract signed in early 2012 with Alenia Aermacchi.
These will replace the air force's venerable Vietnam-era Douglas A-4 Skyhawks. At one time the air force had 200 of the agile jets that saw combat in several Middle Eastern wars.
The first nine M-346s are slated to arrive in mid-2014, with all delivered by 2015. The jets will be based at the Hazerim flying school near Beersheba in the southern Negev Desert.
The first of 20 multirole, single-engine F-35s ordered by Israel in October 2010 at a cost of $2.75 billion are scheduled to arrive in 2016 at the earliest, but the air force is already setting up a new infrastructure to absorb the stealth jets.
The first F-35 squadron is expected to be deployed at the sprawling Nevatim airbase in the Negev, which already holds two F-16 squadrons and one operating Lockheed C-130 Hercules transports.
Israel's military plans to move "significant resources into southern Israel," The Jerusalem Post recently reported in what is seen as a strategic dispersal blueprint amid concerns of a sustained missile bombardment by Iran and its Middle Eastern allies in a future conflict.
The Israeli business daily Globes recently reported new bomb-proof underground pens for the fifth-generation jets are being built to accommodate the F-35s along with special testing installations that minimize the noise of the jets' Pratt & Whitney F125 engines.
The Israeli government has approved the acquisition of a second batch of 20 F-35s despite the plethora of problems and setbacks that continue to plague Lockheed Martin's development program.
Ultimately, the Israeli air force wants 75 F-35s. These will replace Lockheed Martin's F-16I Sufas and Boeing's F-15 Ra'ams as the air force's strategic strike force.
The air force currently has 100 Sufas and 25 Ra'ams, backed by about 185 lower performance F-16 Fighting Falcons and F-15 Eagles.
If all goes according to plan, the air force will have 40 F-35s operational by the end of the decade.
The F-35 acquisition is critical for the Israelis if they are to maintain their long-held technological military advantage in the Middle East.
"A substantial portion of Israel's air power is based on an array of aircraft that will become obsolete in the next few years," Globes defense expert Yuval Azulai observed.
"Many of the F-16s and F-15s have served the air force for more than three decades."
The U.S. arms package announced in February, which also includes advanced weapons for Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates to counter the Iranian threat, will extend the Israeli air force's acquisition of U.S.-produced weapons systems and complement the F-35 purchases.
"The arms deal is particularly interesting in light of what is appropriated for Israel: aerial refueling tankers," the U.S. global security consulting firm Stratfor observed.
To hit multiple nuclear targets in Iran, Israeli strike jets would need to fly more than 1,550 miles, which would require in-flight refueling.
The 10 Boeing KC-707 tankers -- converted airliners -- and Lockheed 130Hs, which are converted Hercules transports, Israel currently possesses would not support the number of strike jets required.
That would mean the Israelis "would be operating at the margins in terms of risk and reserve capacity," Stratfor noted.
The KC-135 Stratotankers "will enable Israel to deploy more fighter aircraft in any strike against Iran. ... Broadly speaking, a single KC135 could theoretically support anywhere from four to eight Israeli aircraft in a strike against Iran."
But, like the F-35s, it may take a few years for Israel to get these aircraft, and it's possible Israel will have to deal with the Iranian threat much sooner than that.
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X-47B is a computer-controlled drone that takes off, flies a pre-programmed mission, then returns to base. All in response to mouse clicks from its mission operator.
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A third Borey-class nuclear-powered submarine will soon begin trials in the White Sea, and a Russian Orthodox priest has blessed the sub and its crew, the Sevmash shipyard said Monday.
The Vladimir Monomakh is due to enter service in 2014. “Today a prayer was conducted on board the guided missile submarine to evoke the Holy Spirit to serve a good cause,” the spokesman said, adding that the priest had also blessed the shipyard personnel.
The spokesman declined to say exactly when the submarine would go to sea. The first Borey-class submarine, the Yury Dolgoruky, was commissioned into the Northern Fleet in January, and the second, the Alexander Nevsky, will be handed over to the Russian Navy by the end of the year.
The Alexander Nevsky has been undergoing trials at the Sevmash shipyard since 2012. There will be three sea trials this year, and a Bulava ballistic missile will be test-launched from the submarine in the summer, the official said.
The first three vessels in the Borey series, also known as Project 955, are capable of carrying 16 Bulava submarine-launched ballistic missiles. A total of eight Borey-class submarines are to be built for the Russian Navy by 2020.
Sevmash will start construction this year of two upgraded Borey-class submarines under Project 955A – the Alexander Suvorov and the Mikhail Kutuzov – capable of carrying 20 ballistic missiles each.
Borey class submarines are to become the mainstay of the navy's strategic nuclear deterrent, replacing the aging Project 941 (NATO Typhoon class) and Project 667 class (Delta-3 and Delta-4) boats.
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US Army soldiers from B Battery, 2nd Battalion, 44th Air Defense Artillery (ADA) have conducted a counter-rocket, artillery and mortar (C-RAM) live-fire exercise at Thompson Hill Range at Fort Sill in Oklahoma, US.
Supervised by instructors and contractors from D Battery, 2nd Battalion, 6th ADA, the exercise forms part of a six-week pre-deployment certification aimed at preparing soldiers for C-RAM missions that are expected during their forthcoming deployment in Afghanistan.
An incoming C-RAM threat was successfully tracked and intercepted by a four-second burst from the Gatling-type gun during the exercise, which involved participation of around 60 44th ADA personnel, who are a mix of Avenger missile crewmembers, air defence battle management system operators, as well as radar repairers.
Culminating with a ten day live-fire training, the certification process trained 44th ADA personnel in operation of the C-RAM weapon system.
Commenting on the certification programme, B/2-44th, air and missile defense crewmembers team chief sergeant Orlando Rodriguez said the process made smooth progress as the soldiers were able to intercept every target that came toward them.
A major difference from the Avenger system is the different procedures used by the C-RAM weapon system, Rodriguez added.
D/2-6th ADA academics section trainer sergeant 1st class Kleber Soriano said establishment of communication between the gun crew and the engagement operations cell proved to be one of the most challenging aspects of the certification process.
"They need to learn how to work together and know what each other does," Soriano added.
In addition to firing 75 20mm high explosives rounds per second with more than 80% kill probability of mortar round, the C-RAM system enables soldiers to perform pattern analysis of the threats, and relay the information to forward operating base's commander for subsequent action, Soriano stated.
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