14.01.2012 par P. CHAPLEAU Lignes de Défense

Le Pentagone a modifié en fin d'année dernière deux contrats précédemment attribués  à la firme AAI Corporation. Ces contrats concernent les drones RQ-7 Shadow que l'USMC souhaite armer.

La première modification, annoncée le 23 décembre,  porte sur un montant de 10 millions de dollars. Elle concerne des modifications du Shadow pour lui permettre d'emporter une (ou plusieurs) bombe(s) guidée(s) d'une douzaine de kilos. Selon l'USMC, ces munitions ont été développées en secret. AAI dispose de douze mois pour mettre au point 8 RQ-7 en vue de leur déploiement en Afghanistan.

AAI Corp., Hunt Valley, Md., was awarded a $10,099,792 cost-plus-fixed-fee contract. The award will provide for the modification of an existing contract to option for weapons integration for the Shadow 200 unmanned aircraft system. Work will be performed in Hunt Valley, Md., with an estimated completion date of Dec.12, 2012. One bid was solicited, with one bid received. The U.S. Army Contracting Command, Redstone Arsenal, Ala., is the contracting activity (W58RGZ-11-C-0103).

La seconde modification a été  annoncée le 30 décembre dernier et concerne un autre contrat attribué à AAI Corp. Elle ajoute 54 millions de dollars au budget alloué pour  intégrer un désignateur laser léger qui permettra au RQ-7 de marquer des cibles au profit  des hélicoptères armés de missiles Hellfire, de roquettes de 70 mm guidées par laser ou de bombes Paveway. Ce travail est déjà en cours et AAI doit livrer les premiers désignateurs laser en début d'année.

AAI Corp., Hunt Valley, Md., was awarded a $54,795,517 firm-fixed-price contract. The award will provide for the modification of an existing contract to procure laser designator retrofit kits for the Shadow unmanned aircraft system. Work will be performed in Hunt Valley, Md., with an estimated completion date of March 31, 2014. One bid was solicited, with one bid received. The U.S. Army Contracting Command, Redstone Arsenal, Ala., is the contracting activity (W58RGZ-08-C-0023).

The U.S. Navy's top acquisition official said Jan. 12 that shipbuilding remains a “priority.” The new littoral combat ship Coronado (LCS 4) is shown Jan. 9 just before being launched. (U.S. Navy photo via Austal USA)

13 Jan 2012 By CHRISTOPHER P. CAVAS Defensenews

The general state of the U.S. Navy's shipbuilding programs is good, two senior service officials claimed, and construction programs apparently will not be slashed to meet an expected Pentagon-wide $263 billion reduction in spending.

"We've placed a priority on shipbuilding," Sean Stackley, the Navy's top acquisition official, told reporters Jan. 12. "You can see a lot of alignment between the defense strategy and what the Navy does."

The Obama administration's fiscal 2013 budget request, scheduled to be sent Feb. 6 to Congress, will show "various impacts," Stackley said, "but we've been careful to hold to the core capabilities we need in our shipbuilding program. It's not just platforms, it's the capability we need in terms of weapon systems to be able to meet the defense strategy."

Speaking at the Surface Navy Association's symposium in Washington, Stackley commented on the progress of the Air Missile Defense Radar (AMDR), a program to develop a primary sensor to go with the Aegis weapon system. Raytheon, Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman are competing under-development contracts for the radar, which will be installed on Arleigh Burke-class destroyers beginning with those bought in 2016.

A downselect on the AMDR is expected to take place later this year.

"The AMDR program is going great. And I'm not blowing smoke," Stackley adamantly declared.

"I spent a very concerted couple-week period this past fall, because I've got to see for myself. So I went up to Raytheon, I went to Lockheed Martin, I went to Northrop Grumman.

"I spent a day at each going through not just the data, but looking at the hardware, sitting down and talking with the engineers individually. Getting as much information as I could to corroborate what I'm seeing inside the Navy.

"That program is going very well."

He noted that the AMDR effort is building on existing technology.

"The maturity of the technology is far beyond where folks in the building believed it could be. And the costs that we are seeing are much better than we had estimated just a couple of years ago," he said.

"And the performance - we're at the upper end of the estimated performance range. I'm bullish on AMDR."

With the AMDR installed, the new destroyers will become Flight III of the Arleigh Burke class, supplanting current Flight IIA ships.

Stackley reminded a lunch audience that the Navy would seek a multiyear procurement (MYP) in the new budget for destroyers from 2013 through 2017. Congressional MYP authorization, however, is normally based on design maturity and consistency.

Navy Undersecretary Bob Work, speaking with reporters at the symposium, explained that, for a brief time, the service plans to order both Flight IIAs and IIIs.

"There's an overlap date between the IIAs and the Flight IIIs," he said, with another block buy planned separately for the AMDR ships.

Details will arrive on Jan. 26, when DoD officials preview the 2013 budget request.
7 Cruisers To Be Cut?

Earlier, Work, speaking to a symposium audience, laid out the capabilities of the fleet being built through 2022 - and might have inadvertently let slip one of the secret numbers about future ship cuts.

"We're going to wind up with 72 Burkes, and 15 - uh excuse me, I'm not going to tell you any numbers. Rewind the tape," he said, to sympathetic laughter from the professional audience.

The Burke number would reflect the total number of Flight I, II and IIA ships, but the Navy currently operates 22 Ticonderoga-class Aegis cruisers. Speculation has been rampant that some of the cruisers, which range in age from 25 years old to 17, might be decommissioned in line with budget reductions. No officials have commented for the record, but most guesses range between six and nine ships.

Work may have let slip that seven Ticos will be put down early.

But he also exuberantly extolled the virtues of the forces the Navy will have in the future.

"Everyone focuses in on: it's going to be 313 ships, 310," he said. "What the hell do we care? I have BAMS," the Broad-Area Maritime Surveillance aircraft based on the Global Hawk unmanned aircraft.

"Those numbers don't care," Work said. "How many ships would it take to provide the same maritime domain awareness as those BAMS? It's a lot bigger than a [Reagan-era] 600-ship Navy, I guarantee you that."

With the new fleet, "we span the globe. We can concentrate because we can get there in a hurry on 35 knots on the JHSV [Joint High Speed Vessel], 40-plus knots on the LCS [Littoral Combat Ship]. Yeah, it burns a lot of fuel," he said, referring to the LCS. "Yeah, we have refuelers. We get there quickly. We can configure for what we need. We have enormous payload capacity in our big boys.

"This is a different fleet. This is a more powerful fleet. I will take this fleet over a 600-ship Navy … in a heartbeat," Work said, his voice booming.

"One thing I would regret, quite frankly, is I would rather have 100 SSNs [nuclear-propelled attack submarines]. But in almost every other case, I'll take this," he said."

"And if you aren't excited" about the new fleet, he concluded, "you don't have a pulse."

photo US Navy

January 13, 2012 By David Axe DANGEROOM

Flattening budgets could scuttle the Navy’s plan to boost its combat fleet from today’s 285 warships to 313. But don’t panic. Far from resulting in a “hollowing” of the Navy, as GOP presidential frontrunner Mitt Romney has claimed, the funding cuts will most likely produce a future Navy that’s about the same size as today’s.

In other words, the U.S. Navy will still be the biggest and most powerful maritime force in the world.

Multi-year ship buys already in place should bring around 10 new ships annually into the fleet for years to come. Even after some cuts, that’s enough to maintain the size of the force for decades.

There is a downside to the steady-state fleet, however. After a very busy decade that has taken its toll on the Navy’s frigates, destroyers, cruisers and other vessels, it’s possible the Navy could scale back its operations in the less volatile parts of the world such as Europe and Latin America. Deployments to the Indian Ocean and the Pacific will probably remain at their current level.

To be fair, the Navy has only telegraphed changes to the future fleet plan; nothing’s official yet. The service will “will have to re-look” the 313-ship plan that was originally released in 2006, Adm. Mark Ferguson, the Vice Chief of Naval Operations, said at a recent conference. “I think all of us recognize that under those [2006] assumptions and that financial picture that was a great force structure to do what was needed,” he said, according to Carlo Munoz of AOL Defense. “We are going to go back and take a look and see what direction that is [now].”

Funding cuts aside, a shifting strategy alone  could justify a fleet smaller than 313 vessels. The 2006 plan, written at the height of the Pentagon’s obsession with counter-insurgency, emphasized maritime security operations against smugglers, pirates, seaborne insurgents and other low-tech enemies. Maritime security operations tend to favor large numbers of inexpensive ships spread over a large area, constantly alert for bad guys. As opposed to, say, full-scale war with China. That kind of major combat is the purview of less numerous, high-tech warships sailing in tightly-packed battle groups.

The Obama administration’s new Defense Strategic Guidance, announced last week, calls for a “global presence emphasizing the Asia-Pacific and the Middle East.” The flipside is that U.S. military will likely invest fewer resources in Latin America and Europe. “The world has changed,” explained Adm. James Winnefeld, the Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

The “Pacific pivot” means greater focus on high-end warfare. That in turn could see the Navy spending more of its dwindling budget on large, sophisticated vessels such as Virginia-class submarines, Arleigh Burke-class destroyers and Ford-class aircraft carriers. There have even been rumors the Navy could expand the truncated DDG-1000 stealth battleship program.

The pivot’s big losers could be the smaller, cheaper ships optimized for low-intensity operations: the Littoral Combat Ship and the Joint High-Speed Vessel catamaran, for instance. Cutting the troubled LCS program in half, from 55 ships down to the 24 already on order, alone could reduce the future fleet from 313 to today’s level. “We say we’re going to build 55 LCSs,” shipbuilding expert Norman Polmar said. “Well, I’ll bet anyone here a whole dollar bill we’re not going to build 55.”

The steady-state fleet will still be overwhelmingly huge and powerful. At a combined 3 million tons displacement, today’s U.S. Navy outweighs the next dozen biggest navies, combined. The U.S. enjoys similar advantages in missile capacity and naval aviation. While China struggles to operate just one aircraft carrier, the U.S. Navy possesses 11 big flattops and nine small ones. After a brief period during which China built more submarines than America, U.S. sub production now equals Beijing’s — and American subs are bigger, better and last longer.

Slicing 30 ships from future plans will not significantly affect this calculus. And if the new Navy plan favors high-end warships over less-capable, smaller vessels, when it comes to major warfare the American advantage could actually increase. Even if the overall number of warships doesn’t.

January 14, 2012: STRATEGY PAGE

A recent Canadian study found that military pilots are suffering from sore necks, and sometimes permanent damage, because of the increased weight of their helmets. Helicopter pilots appear to suffer most of all, because their helmets are heaviest of all (up to 3.6 kg/7.9 pounds) when using night vision goggles. In addition, helicopter pilots are moving their heads around more, both to the sides and down (to look at flight instruments.) The vibrations and constant maneuvers of low level helicopter flight don't help either.

Looking back, one could have seen this coming. It all began after World War II, when solid, and heavier, helmets replaced the old (but much lighter) leather ones. This did not go unnoticed. Five years ago, the U.S. Air Force introduced a new neck muscle exercise machine in air force gyms frequented by fighter pilots. This was because the new fighter pilot helmets (the JHMCS, or Joint Helmet Mounted Cueing System) weighed nearly two kilograms (4.3 pounds), which was about fifty percent more than a plain old helmet. That extra weight may not seem like much, but when making a tight turn, the gravitational pull (or "Gs") makes the helmet feel like it weighs 17.3 kg (38 pounds). You need strong neck muscles to deal with that. For decades now, fighter pilots have had to spend a lot of time building upper body strength in the gym, in order to be able to handle the G forces. Otherwise, pilots can get groggy, or even pass out in flight, as well as land with strained muscles. All this gym time is one reason fighter pilots are such chick magnets. It's unknown if the thick necks, required to handle the JHMCS, will change this.

The JHMCS allows a pilot to see displayed on his visor, critical flight and navigation information. Sort of like a see-through computer monitor or Head Up Display. Most importantly, the pilot can turn their head towards a target, get an enemy aircraft into the crosshairs displayed on the visor, and fire a missile that will promptly go after target the pilot was looking at. There is an additional advantage in letting the pilot look around more often without having to look down at cockpit displays, or straight ahead at a HUD (Head Up Display.) This kind of freedom gives an experienced pilot an extra edge in finding enemy aircraft or targets, and maneuvering to get into a better position for attacks. JHMCS is also useful for air to ground attacks.

Older pilots, especially long retired ones, remember incidents of some pilots doing exercises to strengthen neck muscles, and feeling less pain and discomfort because of it. But the Canadian study implies that the heavy helicopter pilot helmets may have exceeded even the benefits of bulked up neck muscles. Flight surgeons (doctors who specialize in the health problems of flight crew) are monitoring the situation, and have noted the higher incidence of older, often retired, pilots having permanent neck damage. This is the sort of thing that develops with older athletes, who suffer damage during short professional careers that shows up decades later as permanent damage. Thus some flight surgeons are suggesting that investing in lighter helmets (and helmet accessories) might be the best long-term solution.

13 January 2012 -  by the Shephard News Team

Sikorsky has finalised its supplier team selection for assembly of two prototype S-97 Raider helicopters for evaluation by the US military. Thirty five companies were named in the team during the Association of the United States Army's ILW Aviation Symposium and Exposition, National Harbor, Md.

Structures will be provided by Aurora (Va., Miss.); Cytec (Calif., N.Y.); East/West Industries (N.Y.); Fischer (Germany); Hexcel (Conn., Utah); PPG (Calif.); Triumph Group (Wash.).

Avionics will be provided by Avionics Instruments (N.J.); BAE Systems (N.Y.); Eaton (Miss.); Esterline Control Systems (Calif., Ill., Wash.); Garmin (Kan.); Goodrich (Fla., Minn.); Hamilton Sundstrand (Conn.); Honeywell (Ariz.); Lockheed Martin (N.Y.); Northrop Grumman (Calif.).

Propulsion will be provided by Ametek (N.Y.); Ducommun (N.Y.); Eaton (Mich.); General Electric (Mass.); Honeywell (Ariz.); Liquid Measurement Systems (Vt.); Meggitt-USA (Ga., Calif.); Spectrum (Conn.); TIGHITCO (Conn.).

Rotors and transmission will be provided by Emerson-McGill (Ind.); Fatigue Technology (Wash.); FAG Canada; Goodrich (N.Y.); Hamilton Sundstrand (Conn., Ill.); Kamatics (Conn.); LORD Corp. (Pa.); Pankl Aerospace (Calif.); Parker Aerospace (Calif., Ga.); Schultz (Calif.); SIFCO (Ohio); Triumph Group (Utah, Mich.).

Blades will be provided by Cytec (Calif., N.Y.);Eagle Aviation Technologies (Va.); Hexcel (Conn., Utah); Rotating Composites (Conn.).

The Raider aircraft program follows Sikorsky's successful X2 Technology demonstrator helicopter, which in September 2010 achieved more than 250 knots (287 mph) flight speed, or twice the average cruise speed of a conventional helicopter. Like the X2 demonstrator aircraft, the single engine S-97 Raider helicopter will feature coaxial counter-rotating main rotors and a pusher propeller to provide cruise speeds up to 220 knots (253 mph) with dash speeds up to 240 knots (276 mph) or higher.

Jan. 12, 2012 defense-aerospace.com

(Source: US Office of Naval Research; issued Jan. 12, 2012)

ARLINGTON, Va. --- Office of Naval Research announced Jan. 10, it is seeking researchers who will develop threat- and obstacle-detection and avoidance systems, as well as autonomous landing capabilities that can operate across different types of aircraft as part of a new program.

The Autonomous Aerial Cargo Utility System (AACUS) is a five-year, $98 million effort to develop sensors and control technologies for robotic vertical take-off and landing aircraft.

ONR expects teams from industry and academia to join forces to compete for the contracts. Proposals are due Feb. 22, and officials plan to award up to two contracts in April.

"AACUS is a leap-ahead technology that allows the Navy and the Marine Corps to move beyond having a highly trained operator fly an unmanned aircraft," said Rear Adm. Matthew Klunder, chief of naval research. "The program will let us leverage advanced autonomy, but still maintain the central and critical role of the human operator as the supervisor."

Marines based at outposts or in the field will be able to request the autonomous cargo helicopters for rapid resupply of combat essentials.

"We want to turn any helicopter into a logistics machine," said Dr. Mary Cummings, program officer for AACUS, ONR's newest innovative naval prototype. "In the near term, we want to succeed in fully-autonomous landings in austere locations, so Marines can get whatever they need on demand. In the long term, this could be a real life saver and revolutionize first response."

While rapid resupply is the immediate focus for AACUS, long-term applications could include critical medical missions such as casualty evacuation.

The effort follows the Marine Corps Warfighting Laboratory's successful program to develop an unmanned system capable of hauling cargo semi-autonomously to landing zones at bases. The prototype, called K-MAX, flew its first combat mission in Afghanistan in mid-December, resupplying Marines with cargo carried in a sling-load.

AACUS, on the other hand, is aimed at internal load-carrying capacity. It will be a major leap ahead in autonomy, said Cummings. While K-MAX requires a trained operator within line-of-sight to fly, any operator will be able to call for AACUS from any location.

"It's going to be designed to work with people who have no flight experience," Cummings said. "An operator will pick up his iPad or Android and make an emergency supply request. He'll request that the helicopter come to him and land as close to him as possible."

The helicopter not only will take off by itself, but will plan its own flight path and navigate its way through the airspace, requiring little to no input from an operator other than to verify its proposed landing site. The concept will require improvement in data processing.

"How you take the data from sensors and integrate them to make these decisions; that's one of the big leaps," said Cummings. "It's like putting a frontal lobe on the helicopter."

ONR provides the science and technology necessary to maintain the Navy and Marine Corps' technological advantage. Through its affiliates, ONR is a leader in science and technology with engagement in 50 states, 70 countries, 1,035 institutions of higher learning and 914 industry partners. ONR employs approximately 1,400 people, comprising uniformed, civilian and contract personnel, with additional employees at the Naval Research Lab in Washington, D.C.

----

Argon ST is the sole contractor for the design, development

and manufacturing of the passive, electro-acoustic decoy system,

which is used as a countermeasure against acoustic homing torpedoes.

Jan 13, 2012 Spacewar.com (SPX)

Fairfax VA - Boeing subsidiary Argon ST has received a $14.8 million follow-on award under its contract for the U.S. Navy's Surface Ship Torpedo Defense (SSTD) program. The firm, fixed-price agreement provides continuous production and delivery of new SSTD systems, as well as optional cost-plus-fixed-fee enhancements to existing SSTD systems, over a period of five years.

"The Navy has relied on Argon ST for advanced signals intelligence and countermeasure systems for almost a decade," said Joe Carlin, Argon ST vice president.

"We are committed to upgrading current systems and developing the next generation of SSTD in order to protect sailors and Marines and help them complete their missions."

Argon ST won its original contract for the AN/SLQ-25C system - commonly called "Nixie" - from the U.S. Naval Sea Systems Command in 2006.

Argon ST is the sole contractor for the design, development and manufacturing of the passive, electro-acoustic decoy system, which is used as a countermeasure against acoustic homing torpedoes.

Work on the new systems and the enhancements will be done primarily at Argon ST's facilities in Lemont Furnace and Smithfield, Pa.

photo ministère de la Défense

January 12, 2012. David Pugliese - Defence Watch

Defence Watch has been told that Nexter is hoping to bring together Canadian suppliers in the near future for its Close Combat Vehicle bid. Having as many Canadian suppliers on board a project/bid obviously helps a firm’s chances of winning the contract. The supplier’s day is set for Jan. 31 in Ottawa at this point.

In this case, the suppliers would be looking at supplying Nexter on its other projects since the wheeled VBCI vehicle that it is offering in the CCV program is an off-the-shelf system and it is likely too late to bring on new firms to contribute substantial components.

photo Ministère de la Défense

The VBCI combat vehicle has been deployed in Lebanon by the French Army since September and they have noted they are happy with its performance. Thirteen VBCI armored infantry fighting vehicles were sent there. The VBCI has also been deployed since June 2010 in Afghanistan.

The Canadian Forces want to acquire 108 CCVs with an option for up to 30 more. The contract was scheduled to be awarded by the summer 2011 with initial operational capability (IOC) declared one in July 2012, according to DND. Those milestones are now redundant.

The Canadian Forces sees the CCV as bridging the gap between light armoured vehicles (five to 20 tonnes) and heavy armoured vehicles (more than 45 tonnes), coming in between 25 and 45 tonnes. The CCV will allow infantry to operate in support of the Leopard 2 tanks, providing the Army with a more balanced and integrated fleet, the Canadian Forces has stated in a background information sheet on the project.

Lancement du LCS 4, futur USS Coronado
crédits : AUSTAL

13/01/2012 MER et MARINE

Le chantier Austal de Mobile, dans l'Alabama, a procédé le 9 janvier au lacement du LCS 4, futur USS Coronado. Il s'agit du quatrième Littoral Combat Ship de l'US Navy et du second modèle adoptant le design développé par General Dynamics et Austal. Le premier de cette série, l'USS Independence (LCS 2), a été livré à la marine américaine en décembre 2009.

Les LCS 2 et LCS 4 sont des trimarans en aluminium de 127.2 mètres de long affichant un déplacement de 3500 tonnes en charge. Pouvant atteindre la vitesse de 50 noeuds, ils disposent d'un hangar pour deux hélicoptères, un canon de 57mm et un système surface-air RAM. Pour le moment, 11 bâtiments de ce type ont été commandés.
Un autre concept de LCS, développé par Lockheed Martin et réalisé aux chantiers FMG de Marinette, dans le Wisconsin, a également été commandé à 11 exemplaires. Le premier, l'USS Freedom (LCS 1) a été livré en 2009 et le second, l'USS Fort Worth (LCS 3) est actuellement en essais.

En tout, la marine américaine compte se doter de 55 LCS, tous modèles confondus.


Le LCS 4 (© : AUSTAL)


Le LCS 2 (© : GENERAL DYNAMICS)

January 12th, 2012 DEFENSETECH

Sikorsky executives today explained their strategy for moving their S-97 Raider coaxial rotor design forward in the Army’s armed aerial scout contest despite the fact that their design isn’t flying yet.

“We’re developing two prototype aircraft with the purpose of demonstrating this type of capability with the target of hitting the armed aerial scout,” said Doug Shidler, Sikorsky’s Raider program manager, when I asked him today how the company planned to effectively bid on the armed aerial scout contest with their unbuilt chopper at a press conference where Shidler was announcing the Raider’s 35 supplier companies.

“There aren’t any requirements out there yet for the armed aerial scout but what we’re trying to do is demonstrate that with new technology you can provide a great deal more capability to the Army versus extending the current fleet that has capabilities that have existed for many, many years,” said Shidler.

Keep in mind that the Army seems to largely be interested in developing an existing airframe into a new scout chopper.

Steve Engebretson, Sikorsky’s man in charge of winning the scout contest then added his two cents when I asked how the company can compete for the scout contract if it doesn’t have a prototype that can fly in this spring’s scout chopper demo.

“We have been told that everyone who was considered in the [Army’s analysis of alternatives for replacing the Kiowa Warrior chopper fleet] will have the opportunity to respond to the RfI we were one of the products included in the AoA,” said Engebretson. “The airplanes that fly [in the demo], and this is my understanding of what the Army is looking for, will be evaluated to see whether there is an existing capability good enough to meet the next AAS requirement. The other products, like ours, that were also evaluated in the AoA will get to come in and show off where our technology is, what we’re gonna cost, what our timeline looks like and how viable we are. We’ve got a ton of data, we’ve got 35 companies building hardware, we think we’re gonna be in a very good position to demonstrate the fact that we’ll provide a capability that will outdo anything that exists today at a timeline that will still meet the Army’s requirements.”

The S-97 is designed to be able to fly at 250 knots and turn in half the radius of current helos. The first flight of the Sikorsky’s demonstrator choppers is set for 2014. If the company is awarded a contract to build scout helos, it can begin production around 2021 and start fielding the choppers around 2025.

Engebretson went on to say that the coaxial technology upon which the Raider is based has already been proven, by Sikorsky’s record breaking X2 chopper and a number of existing tech that is being designed for use on the Raider.

“This is a fairly mature level of technology, it’s a new design, it’s next generation capability but it’s not a high-risk type of approach,” said Engebretson. “We’re going to demonstrate it to show that it’s an achievable in the timeline that’s there for the military requirements and that it’s going to be affordable as well.”

He also revealed that the Raider is one of the four technologies Sikorsky is considering offering up for the Pentagon’s next generation Joint Multirole Helo effort. He wouldn’t say what the other three technologies are.

DULLES, Va., Jan. 12, 2012 /PRNewswire

Raytheon to perform on-site operations, maintenance and training support for U-2 sensors, data links and Air Force DCGS

Raytheon Company  has been awarded a $179.5 million follow-on contract by the U.S. Air Force to provide Contractor Field Service (CFS) support for U-2 sensors, data links and the Air Force Distributed Common Ground System (DCGS). Raytheon has been prime on the CFS program providing support to the warfighter since the original contract was awarded in 1999.

"This contract allows us to provide more than 500 field engineers, supporting around-the-clock worldwide operations across 27 locations," said Raymond Kolibaba, vice president of Defense and Civil Mission Solutions for Raytheon's Intelligence and Information Systems business. "The program includes pre-flight system checks, mission support during flight and post-mission problem analysis."

Under the terms of the contract, Raytheon will provide support at the Air National Guard and Predator Operations Center, Air Force Flight Test Facility, Consolidated Remote Operations-Facility Airborne and DGS-X Test-bed Facility. The U-2 CFS contract also calls for Raytheon engineers and technicians to perform other services, such as training.

Raytheon is also the prime contractor for the Air Force DCGS contract. DCGS is a worldwide distributed, network centric, system-of-systems architecture that conducts collaborative intelligence operations. DCGS provides both physical and electronic distribution of intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance data.

Carried by a self-propelled transporter, the fourth Littoral Combat Ship

emerges from its final assembly building before being lowered into a

drydock for its “launch.” (Austal photo)

Jan. 12, 2012 defense-aerospace.com
 Source: Austal; issued January 12, 2012)

On January 10, 2012, Austal’s Mobile, Alabama shipyard completed the launch of the second 127-metre Independence-Variant Littoral Combat Ship, “Coronado” (LCS 4).

The roll-out marked Austal’s second use of an innovative self-propelled modular transporter system to transfer the ship from the yard’s final assembly bay onto a drydock for launch. This system was first used a few months ago, in September 2011, to successfully launch USNS “Spearhead” (JHSV 1).

Austal and the US Navy collaborated in the design of a new set of keel stands to support the ship during construction and facilitate the transition from the assembly bay. Austal’s own self-propelled modular transporters (SPMTs) supplemented those of Berard Transportation of New Iberia, LA, to provide a total of 3,800 tons lift capacity, on some 104 axle lines.

In a three-step process, SPMTs lifted the entire ship and keel stands lifted the Coronado almost three feet and moved the Littoral Combat Ship into the moored dry dock. Supporting close to 2,000 tons, the SPMT operators; aided by tug captains; the dock master and the Austal launch master manoeuvred “Coronado” aboard the dry dock in an incident-free operation.

A major improvement in safety and efficiency, the new roll-out method has shaved hours off the transfer process, and serves as a capstone in Austal’s effort to reduce cost and time required in future LCS deliveries.

The LCS and dry dock were then transported down river by tug to BAE Systems Southeast Shipyard, Mobile, where the ship was ultimately floated free of the keel stands, and was manoeuvred from the drydock. The vessel was then towed back upriver to Austal’s facility, where it will undergo final outfitting and activation before sea trials and delivery to the US Navy.

The 127-metre Austal trimaran seaframe is the platform for the LCS’s mission and weapon systems. This seaframe provides superior seakeeping and aviation as a result of its long, slender central hull and smaller side hulls (“amahs”). The trimaran hullform provides a large internal mission deck with a high payload carrying capacity. Located above the mission bay is the enormous flight deck capable of conducting dual H-60 helicopter operations. The vertical location of the flight deck on the trimaran hull form provides the highest flight deck elevation on a combatant ship other than a major amphibious vessel or aircraft carrier.

The launch of “Coronado” (LCS 4) closely follows the christening of the 103-metre USNS “Spearhead” (JHSV 1) and the celebration of the keel laying ceremony for “Choctaw County” (JHSV 2). Modular construction has also begun on JHSV 3 and “Jackson” (LCS 6) – the first of the 10-ship US Navy contract awarded to Austal, as the prime contractor, a year ago - in Austal’s 65,000 square metre Module Manufacturing Facility (MMF). Austal also has “Montgomery” (LCS 8) and JHSV 3 through JHSV 7 under contract.

For the LCS and JHSV programs, Austal is working in a partnership with General Dynamics Advanced Information Systems, a business unit of General Dynamics. As the ship systems integrator, General Dynamics is responsible for the design, integration and testing of the ship’s electronic systems including the combat system, networks, and seaframe control. General Dynamics’ proven open architecture approach provides affordable capabilities to the fleet quickly and efficiently.

Austal employs over 2,100 highly qualified shipbuilders, engineers and support staff in the United States and is steadily growing towards 4,000 employees.

January 12th, 2012 By Army News Service, DEFENCE TALK

The Missouri National Guard's 1-135th Attack Reconnaissance Battalion began the new year last week with a roll-out ceremony that officially transitioned the battalion to an AH-64D Apache Longbow unit.

The battalion, overseen by the 35th Combat Aviation Brigade, or CAB, in Sedalia, has a rich history as an Army Aviation Battalion within the Missouri National Guard. The battalion has flown the UH-1 "Huey" Iroquois, OH-58A/C Kiowa Warrior and the AH-1 Cobra.

In 1999, the battalion was designated as one of eight National Guard battalions to receive the AH-64A Apache. In 2002, the first AH-64A helicopter arrived at Whiteman Air Force Base. In August 2009, the National Guard Bureau designated the battalion as the sixth Army National Guard Longbow battalion and began fielding it with aircraft in October 2011.

"What a great day for the Attack Battalion and for the CAB as a whole," said Maj. Gen. Stephen L. Danner, adjutant general of the Missouri National Guard. He continued that he looks forward to a great long history with the Longbow aircraft in a great new building on a premiere Active Duty base.

Col. Shane Openshaw, U.S. Army Apache Program manager, said it was hard to believe that three years ago, this battalion had no plan, no money and no direction where it was going from the A Model Apaches.

"Team Apache is strong today, but it's getting stronger tomorrow," Openshaw said.

Mike Burke, director of business development for Boeing's Attack Helicopter Program, echoed Danner and Openshaw on how important the day was for both Boeing in Mesa, Ariz., and for the Missouri National Guard.

During the ceremony, the tradition of exchanging the AH-64D logbook signifies the transfer of the aircraft. David Koopersmith, vice president of Boeing's Attack Helicopter Program, presented Openshaw with the logbook. Openshaw passed it onto Danner. Danner passed it onto the 35th Combat Aviation Brigade's Commander Col. Mark McLemore with the logbook ending in the hands of Lt. Col. James Schreffler, 1-135th Attack Reconnaissance Battalion commander.

Schreffler then tossed the key to Lt. Col. Thomas Burson, Army Aviation Support Facility commander, as the manager of the flying hour program and maintenance of the aircraft.

"We have kicked off this year by breaking in our new aircraft, and beginning the progression program for our aircrews," Schreffler said.

Schreffler told Brig. Gen. Scott Vanderhamm, Whiteman Air Force Base commander, "I'm sure you have appreciated the sound of helicopter rotors over Whiteman again after somewhat of a lull in activity as we turned in our dated Alpha model aircraft."

The last A Model Apache aircraft left Whiteman Air Force Base Jan. 10. The battalion is on schedule to receive the remainder of the new D Model aircraft by this spring.

Boeing presented Danner with an Apache model and Schreffler with a framed photo of the first three Apache Longbows delivered to Boeing in Mesa, Ariz., prior to coming to Whiteman Air Force Base.

Concluding the ceremony, the spouses of current and former 1-135th Attack Reconnaissance commanders christened the first Longbow, a tradition continued by the aviation community to protect their aviators as they bravely meet the challenges faced daily in the unforgiving sky.