May 29, 2013 ASDNews Source : Lockheed Martin Corporation

The Lockheed Martin Skunk Works® facility in Palmdale, Calif., performed maintenance on one of just two C-5C Galaxy aircraft in the world in May 2013.  The C-5C features more cargo capacity than A & and B models due to removal of the entire passenger compartment. Each of the two C-5C aircraft is assigned to Travis Air Force Base, Calif., and will eventually be modernized to become the C-5M Super Galaxy.

28 May 2013 Ministry of Defence

The contract to maintain the eyes and ears of the Navy's ships and submarines will sustain 530 defence jobs across the UK.

May 28, 2013 by Think Defence

With FRES Specialist Vehicle news rather thing on the ground a recent visit to the CTA International factory in France from the Chief of the General Staff, General Sir Peter Wall will have to do.

As we know, the CTA 40mm cased telescopic cannon is the preferred option for both the FRES and Warrior Capability Sustainment Programme, in addition to a number of French programmes.

After awarding the FRES Specialist Vehicle contract to General Dynamics, the MoD entered discussions only with Lockheed Martin for the Warrior Capability Sustainment Programme. The idea of course being to maximise commonality between both vehicles as Lockheed Martin are under contract to General Dynamics for the FRES Scout turret.

In the earlier Warrior upgrade programme contest BAE had proposed a new turret with the CTA 40 called MTIP2, Lockheed Martin proposed an ATK Mk 44 Bushmaster 30mm in the same Warrior turret and Finmeccanica with the Hitfist turret, also mounting a 30mm weapon. The Bushmaster is the same as that used by the Royal Navy in its DSM30 ASCG systems.

The Capability Sustainment Programme has 4 main components that are planned to see Warrior out to 2040;

    WFLIP (Warrior Fightability Lethality Improvement Programme)

    WMPS (Warrior Modular Protection System)

    WEEA (Warrior Enhanced Electronic Architecture)

    ABSV (Armoured Battlefield Support Vehicle)

Not much news around on the last one but the WFLIP will involve upgrading the turrets with the 40mm CTA, amongst other improvements. When you consider the £500m price tag for just the development phase of Recce Block 1 (not all of them by a long way) the £1b cost of around 350-400 upgraded Warriors seems like money well spent.

Defense Industry Daily has a concise summary of the Warrior upgrade programmes, click here to read and RUSI also have a good summary, click here

Production is scheduled for 2016 with initial operating capability a couple of years later.

The history of the CTA 40mm goes way back to the TRACER programme and started with the creation of CTA International in 1994, a joint venture between BAE Systems and Nexter, although when first created it was Giat and Royal Ordnance. It has been continued to be developed since then, despite TRACER being cancelled, integrated onto a US Bradley (click here for an evaluation report) in 1999 and the various changes in both FRES and the French EBRC and VBCI programmes.

CTAI Brochure

CTAS Maturity Briefing

If the 2016 production target is met, it will have taken nearly a quarter of a century to get the CTA 40 into service with the British Army.

Read more at the CTA website

Joining the unproven, expensive and technically risky CTA 40 will be the existing L94A1 7.62mm chain gun, apparently the Army’s most unloved weapon and putting it into an existing turret design will be a company that has never designed a turret, sub contracting to another company that is not the design authority for the vehicle.

When in service we will have zero logistics commonality on joint operations with anyone but the French, the other nations will of course be enjoying those commonality advantages and also have the advantage of drawing ammunition natures from a wider and thus less expensive development pool

What could possibly go wrong?

Meanwhile, the British Army will be using a Recce vehicle that has pretty much the same size, weight and general characteristics as a Warrior and we still haven’t decided what the lighter end of the recce vehicle will be, unless that is an open topped jackal, which it actually seems to be.

Our new Best Friends Forever, the French, have taken the spirit of commonality one step further by developing yet another 2 man turret for the CT40 called the Nexter T40

The T40 is shown in the video below fitted to an AMX10RCR and being climbed over and in by General Sir Peter Wall.

There was also some talk of a CT40 equipped Leclerc a few years ago, called the Leclerc T40, proposed for the  Engin Blindé de Reconnaissance à Chenille (EBRC) programme. Nexter are in competition with Panhard and their Sphinx vehicle, fitted with yet another turret for the CT40 that has drawn on expertise from Lockheed Martin UK.

28 May 2013 by Abdul Wali Arian - tolonews.com

The United Sates has committed that it will buy 20 fighter jets for the Afghan Air Force, the International Security Assistance Force (Isaf) Spokesman, Brigadier General Gunter Katz told TOLOnews on Tuesday.

The Isaf spokesman said that all Isaf member countries including the US are trying hard to equip and empower the Afghan Air Force.

The Afghan Government is also putting extra effort to own an equipped and powerful air and land forces in order to provide security for the country. The Afghan forces are currently facing lot of challenges and shortfalls.

"We know that the Afghan people are concerned about the equipment for the Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF). And yes indeed, we already provided lot of equipments for the ANSF. But we have to acknowledge that there are still some shortfalls and we always said that individual nations sit together, discuss with representatives from the Government and the army how to overcome those shortfalls. And one example of those negotiations is the recent announcement of the US Air Force that declared that they are willing to buy 20 fighter air planes for the Afghan Air force," Isaf Spokesman, Brigadier General Gunter Katz told TOLOnews.

It is said that the Afghan security forces are facing lot of challenges even in the transportation section and it will take some more time, when the Afghan Air Force will independently lead air operations.

But, the Afghan Ministry of Defence (MoD) believes that some of the challenges will be dealt with when the Afghan forces receive these fighter planes.

"The US has committed that 20 fighter planes will be given in the current year (2013). The fighter planes will be used for two operations: bombardment missions and discovery missions," MoD Spokesman, General Zahir Azimi told TOLOnews.

The shortfalls and inabilities of the Afghan security forces have cost them heavily. Because of the shortfalls it hasn't been able to carry out air operations independently. The MoD also accepted the shortfalls.

"Isaf in coordination with us is carrying out several operations within Afghanistan and we hope to become competent soon," General Zahir Azimi told TOLOnews.

MoD expects that Afghan military forces will be equipped with fighter planes, transport planes and drones within few years.

May. 28, 2013 - By ANDREW CHUTER – Defense News

LONDON — BAE Systems has struck a teaming deal with state-owned Polish Defense Holding to compete for the Central European country’s upcoming tracked fighting vehicle program.

The companies are expected to formally join forces Wednesday, when the deal is to be officially signed to offer a family of 25-ton-plus tracked fighting vehicles to meet the Polish military’s Universal Tracked Platform requirement.

With an eventual requirement for more than 600 vehicles, the competition for heavy tracked machines is set to be Europe’s biggest upcoming export competition in the sector.

Poland is one of the few European nations still increasing defense spending. It has a number of significant capability improvements in its defense spending plans, including implementation of a national armor program that encompasses the heavy requirement being addressed by BAE and Polish Defense Holding and a light armored vehicle requirement.

No mention is made of the platform to be offered by the new team but it almost certainly will draw on BAE’s CV-90 vehicle technology, particularly the chassis.

Technology from the unsuccessful Anders armored vehicle program previously developed by Polish Defense Holding will also likely find its way onto the machine.

Polish Defense Holding was formerly known as the Bumar Group.

With the first production vehicle required for delivery to the Polish Army in 2018, the winning contender likely will be largely an off-the-shelf solution.

Requirements for the multibillion zloty program are expected to be released by the Polish Defense Ministry later this year. The program is scheduled for completion by 2022.

“Polish Defense Holding’s experience as an in-country prime contractor will be instrumental in developing solutions for this new family of armored fighting vehicles that will meet the military’s requirements and facilitate production in Poland,” said Erwin Bieber, president of BAE’s Land & Armaments sector.

Second Airbus Military A400M for French Air Force runs engines (c) Airbus Military

Madrid,  24 May 2013 EADS group

The second production Airbus Military A400M has successfully completed its first engine runs as it begins final preparation for its maiden flight later this month. The aircraft, known as MSN8, is now undergoing taxying trials outside the A400M Final Assembly Line in Seville, Spain.

Airbus Military expects to complete four A400M aircraft in 2013 and will deliver MSN8 to the French Air Force in the third quarter of the year.

HYDERABAD, May 28, 2013 Y. Mallikarjun - thehindu.com

Weapon system to be fitted with Multiple Independently Targetable Re-entry Vehicles

The configuration of Agni-V, India’s long-range nuclear weapons capable ballistic missile, is set to be changed to make the 5,000-km weapon system deadlier and capable of attacking multiple targets.

The modification is to enable fitting Agni-V with Multiple Independently Targetable Re-entry Vehicles (MIRVs), V.K. Saraswat, Director-General of the Defence Research and Development Organisation and Scientific Advisor to the Defence Minister, told The Hindu . Another test in the present configuration of the three-stage missile would be conducted later this year.

Besides imparting canister-launch capability, Agni-V would be equipped with MIRVs. “Work on that is going on and it is at design stage.”

The resounding success of the maiden flight test of Agni-V in April 2012 catapulted India into a select league of nations having the technological prowess to develop Inter-Continental Ballistic Missiles, he said.

The Agni series will form the bulwark of land version of India’s nuclear deterrence triad.

Meanwhile, the reactor on board the indigenously-built nuclear powered submarine, INS Arihant, is expected to go critical in a few weeks. The powering of the system should happen in a week or two, Dr. Saraswat said.

(Once that happens, the 80-MWt (thermal) reactor would be in a position to deliver power to the platform and sea trials of Arihant would begin subsequently when the submarine is expected to move at the designed speed, go to the diving depth, attain maximum speed and perform all safety and emergency operations).

New interceptor missile

Referring to the home-grown Ballistic Missile Defence programme, he said the next interceptor missile test to be conducted at a higher altitude of 100-150 km in July would be the most important one. “We have developed a new interceptor missile for it.”

Another crucial DRDO missile test this year would be a “repeat launch” of ‘Nirbhay’. During the maiden trial of the subsonic cruise missile, the flight had to be terminated midway after it strayed from its trajectory. Dr. Saraswat attributed the problem to a manufacturing defect in the navigation sensor. Flight tests of air-to-air Astra and anti-tank Nag missiles would be also conducted.

28 May 2013 army-technology.com

A request for information (RFI) has been issued by the Danish Defence Acquisition and Logistics Organization (DALO) seeking a new 155mm self-propelled gun for replacement of the national army's ageing M109A3 155mm self-propelled howitzer fleet.

Primarily aimed at replacing the army's remaining 32 M109A3 howitzers, the RFI is seeking 15 new weapons that can either be wheeled or tracked, and should support installation of a self-defence weapon, as reported by Shephard.

Capable of carrying a crew of five, the weapons should be able to achieve a range of at least 40km firing extended range ammunition, and a burst rate of six rounds per minute.

The RFI seeks submission of bids for between nine and 21 systems by 17 June, while evaluation of the responses resulting in selection of three or four manufacturers is scheduled to take place throughout July.

Short-listed candidates will proceed to a comprehensive evaluation programme that will complete in late 2013 or early 2014, followed by the signing of the procurement contract in the middle of the same year.

The contract will also feature a ten-year support, spare parts and maintenance package.

Likely contenders include BAE Systems Bofors' 155/52calibre wheeled Archer, Krauss-Maffei Wegmann-built 155/52calibre tracked Panzerhaubitze 2000 (PzH 2000), and Nexter 155/52-calibre wheeled CAmion Equipé d'un Système d'ARtillerie (CAESAR), amongst others.

DALO reportedly discussed the production and acquisition of Archer with Norway and Sweden, but withdrew in 2007 before signing a co-operation agreement.

Around 48 Archer systems, including 24 units each for Sweden and Norway, are currently being manufactured by BAE Systems Bofors.

The Danish Artillery Regiment features one artillery battalion and an ISTAR battalion, which is also responsible for training recuits.

In addition, the regiment deployed M/10 120mm towed mortars in support of the Danish troops serving with the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in Afghanistan.

May 28, 2013: Strategy Page

In April 2013 DARPA (the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency) awarded a million dollar prize to a three man design team (Team Ground Systems) for proposing the most promising concept for the new Marine Corps Amphibious Combat vehicle (ACV).  The winner beat out a thousand other proposals. DARPA is offering another million dollar prize for the best drive train (propulsion system) design and then a two million dollar prize for a complete vehicle design. This approach may sound either very innovative or very desperate and in reality it is both. In part because the marines recently blew three billion dollars in an unsuccessful attempt to design and develop a high-speed ACV and partly because that failure made it clear that some original thinking was required.  

For over a decade now DARPA has used this competitive (or “crowdsourcing”) approach, especially in several competitions to develop UGVs (unmanned ground vehicles.) DARPA has been using this crowdsourcing approach successfully so the marines saw it as a possible solution to their ACV problem. The basic problem is that the marines insist that the new ACV be able move towards shore at twice the speed of the older AAV7. The inability of the previous EFV design to accomplish that cost the marines three billion dollars and over a decade of development effort.

Two years ago the marines cancelled their EFV (Expeditionary Fighting Vehicle) and have been hustling to come up with a replacement ACV design. Meanwhile they must extend the life of their current 1,057 AAV7 amphibious armored vehicles. These entered service three decades ago and are falling apart. Moreover, some two thirds of the AAV7s saw service in Iraq, where they got as much use in two months as they normally did in two years of peacetime operations. Most AAV7s are already scheduled for refurbishing, so they can still be used until the end of the decade, or whenever a permanent replacement can be found.

The marines how have two replacement vehicle projects going. The MPC (Marine Personnel Carrier) is a $4.5 million wheeled, amphibious armored vehicle. This would be similar to the Stryker, but a bit larger and modified for amphibious operations. This project is proceeding because it is low-risk (in the technology department) and the marines need some kind of armored vehicle to replace AAV7s that are dying of old age. The $12 million ACV is the EFV without most of the expensive stuff that didn't work. In effect, the ACV will be a 21st century version of the AAV7, optimized to pass all its development tests and get into service as quickly as possible. The marines do not want to be reminded of the EFV.

The cancelled EFV ended up costing over ten times as much as the $2.5 million AAV7 (taking inflation into account). The marines apparently felt they could get by with half as many amphibious armored vehicles because future wars are likely to be more dependent on delivering troops by air, or moving them around in armored hummers. While there was some thought of dispensing entirely with vehicles like this, which were first used in 1943, more traditionalist minds prevailed. That may change, especially since the cheaper MPC is more likely to survive the budget battles than the ACV.

The EFV had been threatened with cancellation for several years, mainly because the vehicle was too expensive and didn't work. Well, parts of it worked. Three years ago, tests revealed that the EFV had similar survivability characteristics to MRAPs, when hit with roadside bombs or anti-vehicle mines. The EFV needed all the good news it could get, but marines were already using MRAPs in Afghanistan, and are quite happy with them.

The EFV was previously called the AAAV (Advanced Amphibious Assault Vehicle). Weighing nearly 36 tons, the EFV was 3.4 meters (10.5 feet) tall, 3.9 meters (12 feet) wide and just under 10 meters (30 feet) long. It was armed with a 30mm automatic cannon (MK34 Bushmaster) and a 7.62 mm co-axial machine gun. The EFV also had better armor protection and electronics than the AAV7. The EFV was about 25 percent heavier than the AAV7, and somewhat larger.

The EFV had been in development for over a decade and delays were mostly because of a complex water-jet propulsion system which, when it worked, allowed it to travel at 60 kilometers an hour while in the water. This capability was specified to reduce the danger (from enemy fire) when the EFVs were moving from their transports to shore, a distance of 30-50 kilometers. The additional gear required for the water jet system made the vehicle less robust and reliable, and fixing those problems took too much time. Otherwise, the EFV was basically a truly amphibious Infantry Fighting Vehicle (IFV), similar to the army's smaller M-2 Bradley. The EFV had a crew of three, and carried 18 passengers.

In retrospect, the marines could have just built the ACV, using mature technologies and staying away from the high speed (and high tech) water jet system that provided a capability that was not really critical. But that's hindsight. Lesson, hopefully, learned. But with much tighter budgets looming, the marines may run out of money, not patience, this time around. The proposed ACV is also very expensive, and the MPC is not as capable (for amphibious operations) as the current AAV7. All they may end up with is some refurbished AAV7s, and maybe not many of those either. The budget situation is grim, leaving the usually unstoppable Marine Corps running into an immovable object.

May 24, 2013 defense-aerospace.com

(Source: Deutsche Welle German radio; published May 24, 2013)

NATO Drone Project Set to Continue

Pulling the plug on Germany's Euro Hawk project won't have consequences for NATO's surveillance program using "Global Hawk" models. But critics argue a joint European drone project would have been better.

The canceled German Euro Hawk drone project will most likely not have consequences on a similar project by NATO. The alliance plans to use five drones of the Global Hawk Block 40 type for its "Alliance Ground Surveillance" (AGS) system.

According to NATO, plans will not be affected by the German decision. The Global Hawk drone built by US company Northrop Grumman is basically the version the system's based on - the Euro Hawk drone Germany ordered is a modified version of the Global Hawk 20 model, an earlier version of the Global Hawk 40 which NATO now plans to use.

Exact images from far away

At the May 2012 summit in Chicago, the allies had agreed on aquiring unarmed surveillance drones. They are scheduled to be used by 2017 and to be stationed in Sicily. Estimates put the cost for the five drones at around 1 billion euros ($1.3 billion).

Fourteen NATO states are involved: Bulgaria, Germany, Denmark, Estonia, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Norway, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, the Czech Republic and the US. The Global Hawk drone could fly as high as 20 kilometers (12 miles) and is able to take clear pictures of the ground even from such heights - precise enough to still spot individuals.

No European project?

The NATO project is going to continue despite the German decision to halt its program. But the situation in Germany has been met with criticism in Brussels. Michael Gahler, security spokesman of the conservative European People's Party (EPP) in the EU parliament, told DW that Germany should rather have pushed for a European solution than trying to go it alone.

After all, European countries were facing the same security threats, and every state had too little money to develop a system on its own.

"Such projects are very good examples of how such things can be done in a joint effort - especially when something new is being developed. I hope that everybody will learn from that mistake," he said.

Gahler believes a European project would have made more sense from an economic perspective as well.

"You can't see this simply as a military issue. Those drones are first and foremost not a means of fighting." In about 90 percent of the cases, they would "be used in a civilian manner for surveillance," for instance in agriculture or forestry in order to spot pollution or fires. With that many areas of use, "it really makes sense to bundle civilian and military resources."

Northrop Grumman dismisses criticism

The US company producing the drones has come forward to defend itself against German complaints. Berlin had criticized an allegedly missing feature to avoid collisions and lacking documentation needed for getting the drones approved for European airspace.

A Northrop Grumman spokesperson told German weekly "Die Zeit" that Germany had in fact never specified what kind of papers were needed for approval and that it was only a prototype that operated without collision protection. That feature would have been implemented in the four other drones Germany had ordered, the company said.

May 27, 2013 ASDNews Source : US Navy

The Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS George H.W. Bush (CVN 77) returned to its homeport of Norfolk after a successful completion of new defense testing during a two-week underway period, May 24.

The ship tested a new torpedo self defense system, completed more than 115 launches and landings in assessing a precision landing system, all while launching the first carrier based unmanned aircraft in naval aviation history.

The X-47B Unmanned Combat Air System Demonstrator (UCAS-D) was launched from the ship in conjuction with the Navy/Northrop Grumman team, May 14. The unmanned aircraft flew over Maryland's Eastern Shore before landing safely at Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Md.

"We saw a small, but significant pixel in the future picture of our Navy as we begin integration of unmanned systems into arguably the most complex warfighting environment that exists today: the flight deck of a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier," said Vice Adm. David Buss, commander, Naval Air Forces.

The X-47B returned to the ship three days later to conduct its first touch-and-go landing on an aircraft carrier. Capt. Jaime Engdahl, the Unmanned Combat Air Systems program manager, took time to thank the crew during an all-hands call May 23, the night before the ship arrived into port.

"I hope all of you are proud of where you're standing," said Engdahl. "It's a changed world now. We launched a few naval aviation firsts and you were all there."

USS George H.W. Bush is in port conducting training operations in preparation for the upcoming underway schedule.