TUCSON, May 30 (UPI)

Raytheon of the United States has received a $106 million contract for Paveway II bomb kits, which convert free-fall bombs into precision-guided munitions.

The order, the result of a direct commercial sale from an international customer who wasn't identified, includes Paveway kits for both GBU-12 bombs and GBU-58 bombs.

"Customers worldwide continue to select Raytheon's Paveway to protect their warfighters and citizens," said Harry Schulte, vice president of Raytheon Missile Systems' Air Warfare Systems. "This contract further demonstrates Raytheon's long-standing commitment to its international partners."

Raytheon said its Paveway family of products is compatible across a broad spectrum of warheads and that enhanced versions include capabilities such as Global Positioning System/Inertial Navigation System guidance capabilities for greater precision and flexibility than traditional laser-guided weapons.

The result is a "weapon that decreases the required sortie count and weapons inventory while simultaneously increasing the mission success rate."

HARLOW, England, May 24 (UPI)

Four additional radar sites of the Netherland's air force are being upgraded by Raytheon in Britain.

The upgrade will include improved technology such as WiMax interference filtering for discerning true from false targets caused by the blades of wind turbines at wind farms.

The award, the value of which wasn't disclosed follows Raytheon's successful implementation of the first Wind Farm Mitigation upgrade at Dutch air force's Woensdrecht Air Base.

"This program represents the culmination of nearly three years of research and development effort to upgrade the complete air traffic control radar system with technology to mitigate the adverse effects on radar performance caused by wind turbines," said Richard Daniel, managing director of Raytheon UK's Defense and Air Traffic Management business.

"We are delighted with the progress made so far, and look forward to working with the Royal Netherlands Air Force across their remaining sites."

Raytheon said the work should be completed within 12-15 months.

May 16, 2013 ASDNews Source : Raytheon Corporation

A Raytheon Company (NYSE: RTN) Standard Missile-3 Block IB fired from the USS Lake Erie destroyed a complex, separating short-range ballistic missile target with a sophisticated separating mock warhead.

Despite stressing conditions designed to challenge the missile's discrimination capabilities, the SM-3 successfully engaged the target using the sheer kinetic force of a massive collision in space.

"Combatant commanders around the globe echo the desire for more SM-3s in the fleet, because their confidence in the defensive capabilities of the missile is extraordinarily high," said Dr. Taylor Lawrence, Raytheon Missile Systems president. "Today was the third successful test of Raytheon's next-generation SM-3, and it should give us all great assurance in our nation's ability to take on a wide range of ballistic missile threats."

The test marks the 23rd successful intercept for the SM-3 program, a critical piece of the United States' Phased Adaptive Approach for missile defense. Assessment data gained during this test will be used to support an upcoming SM-3 Block IB production decision.

"Previous tests of the Raytheon SM-3 Block IB proved the weapon against a unitary target and a separating target with a complex debris scene," said Mitch Stevison, Raytheon Missile Systems' SM-3 program director. "This flight test continues to prove the robustness of the missile's discrimination capabilities against threats that are representative of what we'd see in wartime conditions."

The SM-3 is a defensive weapon used by the U.S. and Japan to destroy short- to intermediate-range ballistic missiles. Based on the highly successful SM-3 Block IA currently deployed around the world, the SM-3 Block IB incorporates an enhanced two-color infrared seeker and the Throttleable Divert and Attitude Control System, a mechanism that propels the missile toward incoming targets.

24 April 2013 airforce-technology.com

Raytheon has been awarded a contract to produce and deliver additional Miniature Air Launched Decoy-J (MALD-J) jammers to the US Air Force (USAF).

Valued at $81.7m, the firm-fixed-price option covers Lot 6 on the Lot 5 contract for supply of an additional 200 MALD-J jammers and containers, along with a ten-year warranty to the air force.

Raytheon Missile Systems Air Warfare Systems vice president Harry Schulte said: "MALD-J adds a jamming capability to the current decoy function of the MALD that disrupts enemy integrated air defence systems using jamming and radar signature technology.

He added: "This weapon will provide unprecedented capability and flexibility to the US Air Force and improve the survivability of our Airmen and their aircraft."

Weighing less than 300lb, the MALD-J is an expendable, close-in jammer designed to degrade and prevent an early warning or acquisition radar from establishing a track on a strike aircraft, while also maintaining the ability to fulfil the basic decoy mission.

Employed from the F-16 C/D Fighting Falcon and B-52 bomber, the unmanned MALD-J is capable of navigating and operating closer to hostile radars compared to the conventional electronic warfare (EW) systems, thus keeping aviators and aircraft away from enemy's path.

Designed to work with and use other EW platforms, the device can function either as a stand-alone system or in pairs, and is also able to loiter in the target area for an extended period of time, ensuring mission completion.

The ADM-160 MALD is an advanced, air-launched and programmable flight vehicle designed to confuse enemy integrated air defence systems, by accurately duplicating all combat flight profiles and radar signatures of the US and allied aircraft in the battlefield.

Manufacturing work will be primarily carried out at the company's facility in Tucson, Arizona, US, however the delivery schedule has remained undisclosed.

photo Israel Sun/Rex Features

TEL AVIV, Israel, Dec. 2 (UPI)

The U.S. Army will decide in the next few weeks whether it will buy Israel's Iron Dome anti-rocket defense system, developed by Rafael Advanced Defense Systems, to protect bases in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Rafael and the U.S. Raytheon Co., which produces the Patriot air-defense system, teamed in August to market Iron Dome, currently used to defend against Palestinian rockets, in the United States.

Iron Dome is designed to counter rockets and artillery shells with a range of 2-43 miles. It's the first system of its type to be used in combat.

Yossi Druker, head of Rafael's Air-to-Air Directorate, said Wednesday that the winner of the tender issued by the Pentagon is expected to be announced in January.

"Iron Dome is said to be compatible with the U.S. Army's Counter-Rocket and Artillery and Mortar system, or C-RAM, as part of layered defense for military bases," The Jerusalem Post observed.

Iron Dome made its combat debut in April in southern Israel against Palestinian rockets and the military says it has notched a success rate of 85 percent against Palestinian rockets it sought to intercept.

The system's computer can distinguish which rockets will hit populated areas and those that won't. It only fires on those that endanger Israeli lives.

The Israeli air force, which is responsible for air defense, has three Iron Dome batteries operational, primarily in the south to counter short-range rockets fired by militants from the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip.

But the military acknowledges that it needs 15-20 Iron Dome batteries to effectively provide protection from short-range missiles and rockets along the northern border with Lebanon and the southern frontier with Gaza.

So the Israelis may find themselves on the horns of a dilemma if the Americans decide they want Iron Dome: Who will get priority, homeland defense or developing a potentially lucrative export market for this unique system, the first operational short-range air-defense system in the world?

The Israelis say they face missile threats on several fronts, from Syria, Iran, Hezbollah in Lebanon and Hamas and its allies in Gaza.

These threats range from intermediate-range ballistic missiles from Iran and Syria, with shorter-range weapons from Hezbollah and the Palestinians.

The nightmare scenario is that if a new conflict erupts in the Middle East, every inch of the Jewish state will be exposed to a sustained and unprecedented bombardment by these foes.

Military planners say this could last for weeks, with up to 200 missiles and rockets a day hammering Israel, including the massive urban conurbation around Tel Aviv in the center of the country.

Every Iron Dome battery will be needed but Israel's defense industry, like those in the United States and Europe, is increasingly dependent on export sales to keep production lines rolling amid global cutbacks in defense spending.

Singapore has reportedly bought Iron Dome, although no details are available and the Israeli Defense Ministry hasn't confirmed the sale. India and South Korea have also shown interest.

The air force expects to take delivery of David's Sling, another anti-missile system developed by Rafael, within the next year, Brig. Gen. Doron Gavish, commander of the air force's Air Defense Division, said Thursday.

This system, also known as Magic Wand, is designed as the middle-tier of Israel's planned multilayer missile defense shield. It's designed to counter missiles and rockets with ranges of 25-185 miles.

Meantime, The Jerusalem Post reports that state-owned Israel Aerospace Industries is building a third battery of the Arrow-2 high-altitude, long-range missile interceptor to be deployed near Tel Aviv.

The Israeli air force has two Arrow batteries deployed in southern and northern Israel. The system is designed to counter Iran's Shehab-3b, Sejjil-2 and Soviet-designed Scud ballistic missiles. Syria also has Scuds.

Central Israel was chosen for the site of the new battery "because it provides the best protection for long-range threats which Israel faces from a number of directions," a military spokesman said.

IAI and Boeing in the United States are developing the Arrow-3, which will extend the range and altitude of the missile, which allows it to intercept ballistic missiles earlier in their trajectory and further from Israel.

The Arrow-3's first fly-out test is scheduled within the next few months. The United States contributed the bulk of the funds to develop the Arrow system.

March 25, 2011 by Tamir Eshel DEFENSE UPDATE

The Indian Army is planning to equip its ground forces with thousands of anti-tank missiles to be built in India. The Indian military considers two options, both of them exclusive – the FGM-148 Javelin, proposed under a Government-to-Government (G2G) program via U.S. Foreign Military Sale (FMS), and the Spike MR, proposed by Israel’s Rafael Advanced Defense Systems, being the only bidder in an international tender, which specified characteristics and specifications only the Israeli company could meet. The Indian Army plans to install the missiles on infantry combat vehicles currently carrying locally produced AT-5 or Milan missiles. The Indian Ministry of Defense plans to order 321 launchers, and 8,356 missiles, plus 15 training simulators in a multi-phase arms package worth over one billion US$. Two options are currently on the table – the U.S. Javelin and the Israeli Spike MR.