9/21/2013 Strategy Page

PACIFIC OCEAN (Sept. 18, 2013) An SM-3 Block 1B interceptor is launched from the guided-missile cruiser USS Lake Erie (CG 70) during a Missile Defense Agency test and successfully intercepted a complex short-range ballistic missile target off the coast of Kauai, Hawaii. (U.S. Department of Defense photo)

19/09/2013 by Paul Fiddian - Armed Forces International's Lead Reporter

The US Navy has carried out a first-time paired SM-3 Block 1B missile launch against a short-range ballistic missile in a test conducted in September 2013.

The Standard Missile-3s were launched one after the other from the USS Lake Erie Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruiser. Conforming to pre-mission requirements, the first missile took out the airborne target. It wasn't planned that the second missile would engage with the target but, as anticipated, the launch yielded valuable data on multiple weapons deployments.

The trial represented the 25th time that Standard Missiles-3s have been launched and the fourth consecutive launch involving the new-generation SM-3 Block 1B version.

Standard Missile-3 Block 1B

The Standard Missile-3 Block 1B is an upgrade of the SM-3 Block 1A, which is in widespread military service. It boasts an augmented dual-colour infrared seeker and another new feature - the Throttleable Divert and Attitude Control System.

Between them, the US Navy and the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force are equipped with over 155 SM-3 missiles. The SM-3 Block 1B follow-up is both land and sea-deployable and initial system deliveries will take place in 2015, according to current scheduling.

The missile is produced by Raytheon, which employs more than 68,000 people and, last year, achieved a sales total of $24 billion.

SM-3 Block 1B Test Launch

"Confidence in the SM-3 Block IB's defensive capability continues to grow with each flight test", Raytheon Missile Systems president, Doctor Taylor Lawrence, explained in the firm's SM-3 Block 1B test launch press release. "When this weapon deploys in 2015, the US and our allies will have a tremendously reliable, capable defensive asset on their side."

"We're gaining a tremendous amount of information about what this missile can do, and in many instances it is far surpassing design requirements", added Raytheon Missile Systems' SM-3 programme director, Doctor Mitch Stevison. "The SM-3 Block IB is proving it can take on increasingly sophisticated scenarios, and that kind of confidence sets the stage for a production decision."

MOSCOW, September 19 (RIA Novosti)

Russia’s Strategic Missile Forces will use a new-generation automated command and control system from 2016, the Defense Ministry said Thursday.

The new system, based on the digital transmission of operations orders bypassing intermediary levels straight to the launch pad, allows the prompt targeting and retargeting of missiles and ensures the effective command and control of all units and subunits, Defense Ministry spokesman Dmitry Andreyev said.

The fifth-generation system will use wire, radio and satellite communication channels that are well protected from jamming and other forms of interference, he added.

The system is compact and reliable and boasts low energy consumption, secure information transmission and imperviousness to external impacts, the spokesman said.

18.09.2013 par P. CHAPLEAU Lignes de Défense

On ne trouvera (presque) personne, dans les armées, pour affirmer que des postes de tir de missiles Milan (standard F1, c'est important) ont été "réquisitionnés" dans différentes unités. Au mieux, sera confirmée l'existence d'une note de service précisant que des postes de tir (une dizaine au moins) devaient être rassemblés et destinés aux troupes françaises en opex.

Que ces armes aient pu prendre une route tortueuse et atterrir en Syrie sera donc ausii catégoriquement qu'officiellement démenti.

Pourtant, les rebelles syriens qui ont capturé des missiles Milan (88, par exemple, en avril, dans une caserne d'Alep) mais pas leurs postes de tirs, auraient bien besoin de ce coup de pouce. Ils disposent certes déjà de quelques postes de tir (des F1 pris sur l'armée du régime et des F2 livrés par le Qatar, que l'on ne peut pas confondre avec le système chinois HJ-8), mais pas en nombre suffisant.

Dommage que l'on ait donc envoyé vers le Mali et l'Afghanistan des matériels anciens destinés à nos troupes dont l'activité opérationnelle nécessite de moins en moins l'usage de telles armes.

Sep 17, 2013 ASDNews Source : Alliant Tech Systems, Inc

In August, ATK’s Defense Electronic Systems hosted a ceremony commemorating the delivery of the 100th production AARGM missile to the U.S. Navy. The event was held in ATK’s Ridgecrest, CA facility and was attended by approximately 70 distinguished guests including elected officials, community leaders, employees and industry partners, with Gordon Turner, Vice President Strike Weapons, emceeing the event.

Speakers included Bill Kasting, Vice President and General Manager of DES, Scott O’Neil, Naval Air Warfare Center-Weapons Division Executive Director,  Rear Admiral Mathias Winter, Program Executive Officer for Unmanned Aviation and Strike Weapons, and 23rd Congressional District U.S. Representative Kevin McCarthy, the House Majority Whip.

Read more

TUCSON, Ariz., Sept. 17, 2013 /PRNewswire

The U.S. Air Force awarded Raytheon Company (NYSE: RTN) a $14 million Lot 2 contract to continue full rate production of High-Speed Anti-Radiation Missile (HARM) Control Section Modification (HCSM) upgrade units.

The modification adds a GPS receiver and an improved inertial measurement unit (IMU) for precision navigation to the existing HARM. HCSM also features a digital flight computer that merges targeting solutions from navigation and seeker systems.

"HCSM upgrades to the HARM allow the enhanced weapon to precisely engage the target set," said Jack Roosa, HARM program director for Raytheon Missile Systems. "These upgrades negate many counter tactics of sophisticated radar-directed defenses and add a stand-off, high-speed strike capability against time critical targets of known location."

Raytheon began modification of existing HARMs early this year. Delivery of HCSM units is scheduled for the fourth quarter of 2013. Raytheon has teamed with Honeywell, Rockwell Collins and others for the HCSM program.

The contract was awarded in Raytheon's second quarter of 2013.

About HARM and HCSM

The AGM-88 High-Speed Anti-Radiation Missile is a key battlespace element to suppress or destroy surface-to-air missile radars, early warning radars and radar-directed air defense artillery systems. HARMs have made hostile airspaces worldwide safer for U.S. and allied warfighters. The missile resides in the inventories of eight countries.

    More than 4,000 HARMs have been employed in combat.

    HCSM adds GPS/IMU navigation accuracy, giving HARM the ability to engage time-critical targets.

    HCSM has new features that degrade counter-HARM tactics, while reducing the risk of fratricide or collateral damage.

About Raytheon

Raytheon Company, with 2012 sales of $24 billion and 68,000 employees worldwide, is a technology and innovation leader specializing in defense, security and civil markets throughout the world. With a history of innovation spanning 91 years, Raytheon provides state-of-the-art electronics, mission systems integration and other capabilities in the areas of sensing; effects; and command, control, communications and intelligence systems; as well as a broad range of mission support services. Raytheon is headquartered in Waltham, Mass. For more about Raytheon, visit us at www.raytheon.com and follow us on Twitter @Raytheon.

ThNDR and Lightning: Northrop's ThNDR system is designed to protect the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter from enemy missiles. (Northrop)

Sep. 16, 2013 - By AARON MEHTA – Defense News

WASHINGTON — Northrop Grumman on Thursday unveiled a new anti-missile laser protection system designed for the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter in Washington.

The Threat Nullification Defensive Resource — ThNDR for short, to compliment the F-35’s “Lightning” designation — is a progression from Northrop’s directional infrared countermeasures (DIRCM) family of systems.

DIRCM works by sensing by intercepting an incoming missile with a laser that confuses the seeker head on the weapon, causing it to lose track of the aircraft. The system has been highly successful, with installation on over 50 different platforms, but had yet to be mounted on a fighter jet in large part due to the challenge of getting a system to work with the tight turns and high speeds that pilots would be required to make in a combat situation.

Although not yet part of the F-35 program, Northrop is confident the Pentagon wants to incorporate some form of missile-protection into its fifth-generation fighter.

“We know that requirement does exist and it is on its way,” said Jeffrey Palombo, Northrop’s sector vice president and general manager for the Land and Self-Protection Systems Division. In an attempt to get ahead of potential competition, the company self-funded the research and design of ThNDR.

ThNDR was designed to meet specific size limitations for the F-35. It will be nestled next to the distributed aperture system (DAS), also designed by Northrop, and tap into the cooling system already in the fighter. Each jet will get a pair of systems, one on the top of the plane and one on the bottom, to create 360-degree coverage against threats.

A major feature of the F-35 is its low-observable design, vital to its stealth capabilities. Anything sticking off the plane could threaten those stealth characteristics, so ThNDR will be installed inside the jet, with a window cut out to allow the lasers to operate.

The company expects the requirement for a missile defense system to be included in the Block 5 upgrade, in the 2017 time frame, and be available for all domestic and international customers. “There’s no reason at all that it can’t be retrofitted” into an already-produced F-35, Palombo said, although he declined to go into details on what that might look like.

The system still has a way to go before completion, with testing planned in Northrop’s laboratories before the end of the year. While no requirement has been issued, Carl Smith, vice president of Infrared Countermeasures, said the company is keeping in touch with the F-35 Joint Program Office.

“We go talk with them periodically,” Smith said. “We share what our progress is. There’s obviously dialogue with Lockheed Martin. We keep everybody abreast of where we are and what’s happening. “

While designed for the F-35, Palombo said the company expects other fighters, such as the F-15, to eventually include a requirement for a DIRCM system.

“It’s really a fast jet capability,” Palombo said. “Look at the fact there aren’t going to be many new starts for airplanes. We’re going to be flying F-22s, F-16s, F-15s for a very long time, and they’re going to have to be protected, as well.”

The system could be mounted into the bottom of the airplane, or reconfigured to fit into a self-contained pod that can be attached to the bottom of a jet. It would also have the option to be liquid or air-cooled.

“We believe [the F-35 is] probably the first actual requirement proposal that will be coming down the pike,” Palombo reiterated. “It is very likely there will be others, either in parallel with that or immediately following that.”

Northrop executives describe ThNDR as a “sixth-generation” system, and the company is keeping an eye on what a seventh-gen system might look like. Smith, at least, believes that would likely involve higher-powered lasers in the “tens of kilowatts of energy.”

Sep 13, 2013 ASDNews Source : US Navy

The Naval Surface Warfare Center (NSWC) Corona delivered its first quick-look analysis Sept. 13 of the Missile Defense Agency's (MDA) test earlier this week, kicking off the collaborative assessment process for the first operational test of the nation's Ballistic Missile Defense System (BMDS).

The test, named Flight Test Operational-01 (FTO-01), took place near the Army Kwajalein Atoll/Reagan Test Site and surrounding areas in the western Pacific and marked the first time combatants in different regions defended against near-simultaneous ballistic missile launches.

During the test, MDA successfully integrated Navy destroyer USS Decatur (DDG 73) with the Army's Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system and a space-based infrared detection system.

"This was a great feat for our Navy and the nation as we move toward an operational ballistic missile defense system," said Capt. Eric Ver Hage, commanding officer of NSWC Corona, a Naval Sea Systems Command field activity based in Norco. His command served as the lead analysis and assessment agent of the Navy's system in the test - Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense (BMD) - providing missile telemetry and combat system data collection.

To conduct the test, MDA launched two medium-range ballistic missile targets in close sequence toward Kwajalein.

An Army-Navy/Transportable Radar Surveillance and Control (AN/TPY-2) radar detected the target and relayed track information to the Command and Control, Battle Management and Communications (C2BMC) system, which integrated, analyzed and synchronized combatants to formulate a real-time threat response among participating units.

The crew of Arleigh Burke-class destroyer Decatur provided the Navy's operational element, tracking and intercepting the first target missile with a missile of its own - a Standard Missile-3 (SM-3) Block IA. Soldiers from the Alpha Battery, 2nd Air Defense Artillery Regiment provided the Army's operational element, using the THAAD system to intercept the second target.

Aboard Decatur, NSWC Port Hueneme's Aegis BMD personnel extracted data from the ship's system, which subsequently traveled on Corona's innovative mini-Ku band satellite back to shore. The mini-Ku system cuts data transmission time by more than 95 percent from earlier versions, sending all missile telemetry and Aegis combat system data to the warfare center's Joint Warfare Assessment Laboratory (JWAL) where analysts from gathered to provide live monitoring of test data.

Initial data indicated the test elements performed as designed, but MDA officials have ongoing evaluations using the test data, starting with Corona's quick-look analysis.

"NSWC Corona will collaborate with the MDA Joint Analysis Team and Commander, Operational Test and Evaluation Force to provide an overall assessment of the BMDS from both an engineering and an operational perspective," said Tony Jones, NSWC Corona's Aegis BMD assessment lead.

As a core mission for the Navy, Aegis BMD capability defeats short- to intermediate-range ballistic missile threats with SM-3, as well as short-range ballistic missiles in the terminal phase with the Standard Missile-2 (SM-2).

Since the 1970s, Corona's sister division at NSWC Dahlgren has been intimately involved in the development, test, certification and fielding of almost every new baseline of the Aegis Weapon System (AWS), providing an integrated system that supports warfare on several fronts - air, surface, subsurface and strike.

At sea, the Navy has 28 Aegis BMD combatants - five Ticonderoga Class Cruisers and 23 Arleigh Burke-Class Destroyers - with 16 assigned to the Pacific Fleet and 12 to the Atlantic Fleet. MDA and the Navy plan to increase the number of BMD-capable ships to 30 by the end of 2013.

"As a former ship's captain, I'm excited by the positive results we're seeing," Ver Hage said. "Corona has been providing independent assessment of guided missile systems for nearly 50 years, and the progress our military is making toward building a comprehensive ballistic missile defense system is truly remarkable. It's an awesome capability we absolutely need."

As part of the Navy's Science and Engineering Enterprise, NSWC Corona leads the Navy in independent assessment, measurement and calibration standards and range systems engineering. The warfare center is home to three premier laboratories and assessment centers - the JWAL, the Measurement Science and Technology Lab, and the Daugherty Memorial Assessment Center -and employs approximately 2,000 scientists, engineers, technicians, and support personnel at its headquarters in Norco and at its detachment at Seal Beach, Calif.

NEW DELHI, 15 septembre - RIA Novosti

L'Inde a mené dimanche matin un deuxième test réussi de son missile balistique Agni-V d'une portée de 5.000 km, rapporte la chaîne de télévision NDTV.

Le tir d'essai a été effectué à 4h13 UTC depuis  l'île de Wheeler, dans le golfe du Bengal, au large de l'Etat indien d'Orissa.

Le premier test de ce missile capable de porter une charge nucléaire a eu lieu en avril 2012.

La presse indienne souligne que le missile en question est capable d'atteindre Pékin, la Chine étant souvent considérée en Inde comme un ennemi militaire potentiel.

La conception du missile en question a débuté en 1983. Conçu pour emporter une ogive nucléaire de 1,5 tonne, Agni-V est un missile de trois étages de 17 mètres de long pesant près de 50 tonnes. 

Selon les sources auxquelles se réfère la chaîne NDTV, le missile doit subir encore plusieurs tests avant d'équiper l'armée indienne.

Les forces armées indiennes ont à l'heure actuelle à leur disposition des vecteurs terrestres (missiles de type Agni et Prithvi) et aériens (avions Dassault Mirage-2000 et SEPECAT Jaguar). New Delhi espère en outre acquérir la troisième composante de la triade nucléaire – posséder des sous-marins lanceurs  d'engins. En août dernier, le réacteur du sous-marin Arihant, le premier à avoir été construit en Inde, a été mis en service.  Les tests de ce dernier devraient prochainement débuter.

Sep 13, 2013 ASDNews Source : MBDA

MBDA and Lockheed Martin demonstrated the first launch of a Common Anti-air Modular Missile (CAMM) from Lockheed Martin’s MK 41 Vertical Launching System (VLS) launcher using the host variant of the Extensible Launching System (ExLS).

This is the first test by MBDA and Lockheed Martin since the May 2013 announcement of cooperation between the two companies to offer MBDA missile systems for use with the MK 41 and ExLS family of launchers. The test used MBDA’s soft vertical launch technology to eject the CAMM from its canister and position the missile for main motor ignition. The trial is the first in a series to demonstrate that the CAMM can be installed using ExLS in vessels that use the MK 41 launcher or on the 3-cell stand-alone ExLS CAMM launcher.

Announcing the result of the trial, Paul Mead, Business Development Director for MBDA said, “This first CAMM trial is an example of how MBDA and Lockheed Martin are offering the global MK 41 customer base a real choice in which missile they use. The missile offers a wide range of benefits, not least its active seeker, as well as low impact of installation on-board due to the soft vertical launch method. This is the start of what we hope will be a wider range of MBDA missile systems available to Lockheed Martin vertical launcher users.”

“The multi-missile MK 41 VLS has fundamentally changed the way world navies think about sea-launched weapons by providing the flexibility to respond to numerous threats," said George Barton, vice president of business development of Ship & Aviation Systems for Lockheed Martin's Mission System and Training business. "Our partnership with MBDA allows us to grow the MK 41 multi-missile capability and offer our customers an outstanding VLS launcher alternative.”

Lockheed Martin, in collaboration with MBDA, is developing a 3-cell stand-alone ExLS CAMM launcher for those navies whose ships cannot accommodate the larger MK 41 VLS but desire the superior missile packing density, survivability and reliability that the 8-cell MK 41 launcher has been offering for over 30 years to 13 navies worldwide.

The trial was carried out on the 10th of September near Bedford, England, using a MK 41 launcher outfitted with a host ExLS.

Sep 12, 2013 ASDNews Source : Lockheed Martin Corporation

Lockheed Martin’s [NYSE: LMT] Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) Weapon System and the Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense System (BMDS) successfully conducted a complex missile defense flight test resulting in the intercept of two medium-range ballistic missile targets in an operationally realistic environment.

The test was conducted at U.S. Army Kwajalein Atoll/Reagan Test Site and surrounding areas in the western Pacific. The test stressed the ability of the Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense and THAAD Weapon Systems to defeat a raid of two near-simultaneous medium-range ballistic missile targets. Preliminary data indicate all test objectives were achieved.

“Today’s successful intercepts proved once again that the capability and maturity of the Aegis and THAAD systems are unequaled,” said Mathew Joyce, vice president and program manager for THAAD at Lockheed Martin. “This test demonstrated the benefits of a layered, interoperable approach that can help protect nations from increasing global security threats.”

“The sailors and soldiers manning Aegis BMD and THAAD performed as they would in an operational or tactical scenario,” said Nick Bucci, director for Aegis BMD Programs at Lockheed Martin. “This test showed that sailors and soldiers can plan and execute a complex engagement against multiple targets in an integrated and layered defense architecture that mimics a regional missile defense operation.”

An Army-Navy/Transportable Radar Surveillance and Control (AN/TPY-2) radar in Forward Based Mode (FBM) detected the target and relayed track information to the Command Control Battle Management and Communications (C2BMC) system to cue defending BMDS assets.

The USS Decatur detected and tracked the missile with its onboard AN/SPY-1 radar. The ship, equipped with the Aegis BMD weapon system, developed a fire control solution, launched a Standard Missile-3, Block IA missile and successfully intercepted the target.

The FBM radar acquired the target and sent tracking information to the C2BMC system. The THAAD system, using a second AN/TPY-2 radar, tracked the target. THAAD developed a fire control solution, launched a THAAD interceptor missile and successfully intercepted the medium-range ballistic missile. THAAD was operated by soldiers from the Alpha Battery, 2nd Air Defense Artillery Regiment.

Today’s event, designated Flight Test Operational-01, demonstrated integrated, layered, regional missile defense capabilities in a combined live-fire operational test. Soldiers, sailors and airmen from multiple Combatant Commands operated the systems and were provided a unique opportunity to refine operational doctrine and tactics while increasing confidence in the execution of integrated air and missile defense plans.

Ballistic Missile Defense System programs have completed 62 successful hit-to-kill intercepts in 78 flight test attempts since 2001.

Sep 12, 2013 ASDNews Source : MBDA

In 2010, MBDA launched CWSP (Compact Warfare System Package) to provide fast patrol boats and logistics ships with an integrated combat system for both self-defence and the means to secure sensitive coastal zones. In this respect, CWSP’s common architecture has up to now incorporated MBDA’s automated, twin turret Mistral missile SIMBAD-RC air defence system and a twin launcher Marte Mk2/N missile system for the anti-ship role. However, in recognition of the growing complexity of operations in the littoral, MBDA is now offering CWSP with an additional capability, namely that provided by Brimstone to counter agile high speed craft operating in potentially large numbers often in well  co-ordinated formations. These Fast Inshore Attack Craft (FIAC), when operating together, can overwhelm the defences of well armed naval craft equipped with medium calibre gun systems.

In May 2013, MBDA successfully carried out a surface-to-surface, rapid salvo firing of three Brimstone missiles in a trial scenario representing just such a FIAC attack. Each of the missiles hit its intended target. This trial followed on from two previous Brimstone successes against FIAC targets. With its all-weather, fire-and-forget, single button push salvo firing capability, Brimstone is therefore both a logical and significant addition to the capability already offered by CWSP.

Brimstone, in its air launched version, has proven its unerring accuracy during UK RAF combat operations in Libya and Afghanistan. This level of accuracy is now being offered in a surface-to-surface version in which Brimstone is deployed within sealed canisters in a modular launcher (single to six pack configurations are possible) housed on a vessel’s weather deck. In its maritime version, Brimstone’s on-deck footprint is minimal making it suitable for installation on a wide range of craft.

CWSP, which has been self-funded by MBDA, benefits from the company’s extensive experience in air defence C2 systems as well as in air defence and anti-ship guided weapons. This experience has enabled MBDA to offer its customers a turnkey combat system solution providing the high fire power of missiles and guns combined within a modular architecture incorporating radar and EO sensors, user friendly C2 as well as air and surface engagement and mission planning modules.