March 18, 2015: Strategy Page

 It was recently revealed (during the American trial of an al Qaeda leader) that the CIA provided 20 percent of the $5 million ransom paid for an Afghan diplomat kidnapped by al Qaeda in Pakistan in 2008. This was not intentional. The American money was part of cash provided to the Afghan president each month to keep him in a cooperative mood (in other words, a bribe). The use of bribes in Afghanistan is not news as it was admitted during late 2001 that cash bribes were paid to persuade some tribal leaders to rise up against the Taliban in support of a quick campaign to overthrow the Taliban government by the end of 2001. That use of bribes was not a surprise in 2001 because during the 1980s when the U.S. supported the Afghan tribesmen fighting the Russian troops in Afghanistan it became widely known that cash (for tribal leaders) as well as weapons were required to keep  the anti-Russian resistance going. That was not a surprise in the 1980s because anyone who has even had dealings with the Pushtun tribes (going back to Alexander The Great some 2,500 years ago) reported the same thing. Outsiders consider this rampant use of bribery a major problem but so far no one has come up with a cure.

18 mars 2015 par Bastien Duhamel - 45eNord.ca
 

Le Pentagone retarde son programme d’entrainement des soldats ukrainiens par crainte de donner un prétexte à Moscou pour saboter les récents accords de paix passés avec les autorités ukrainiennes.

Le 11 février dernier, Kiev et les rebelles indépendantistes de l’est de l’Ukraine soutenus par Moscou étaient parvenus aux accords «Minsk 2». Bien que déjà largement fragilisés et violés, Washington semble mettre un point d’honneur à défendre et appliquer ces accords qui posaient essentiellement les termes d’un cessez le feu entre les belligérants.

C’est dans ce but que le lieutenant-général américain Ben Hodges, commandant de l’armée américaine en Europe a annoncé le report du programme d’entrainement des soldats ukrainiens: «Le début de la formation a été retardé pour laisser du temps afin de voir si le cessez-le feu et l’accord de Minsk pourraient être mise en œuvre avec succès».

Celui-ci a poursuivi en affirmant que «nous ne voulons pas donner aux russes la possibilité de dire: regarder, les américains amènent tous ces soldats. Ils ne peuvent pas être dignes de confiance».

«L’administration est très prudente, elle ne veut pas faire s’effondrer les accords de Minsk» confie pour sa part Steven Pifer, l’ancien ambassadeur américain en Ukraine désormais chez Brookings Institution.

L’entrainement des forces ukrainiennes était censé avec lieu dans l’ouest du pays soit très loin des lignes de front actuelles. Il était prévu que les unités ukrainiennes soient jumelées avec les bataillons de l’armée américaine pour apprendre notamment à améliorer leurs techniques de premier soin en combat,  comment lutter contre le brouillage radio de l’ennemi ou encore comment survivre à des tirs d’artillerie lourde.

La présence supposée des soutiens militaires occidentaux au sein des forces ukrainiennes est un thème de propagande récurent dans les discours de Vladimir Poutine. En janvier, le Président russe n’avait d’ailleurs pas hésité à utiliser l’appellation de «légion étrangère de l’OTAN» pour qualifier les forces de l’armée ukrainienne.

Mais le dilemme entre soutenir l’armée ukrainienne et éviter de provoquer Moscou est-il  vraiment pertinent étant donné la prédominance de l’agressivité dans la stratégie russe en Ukraine ?

C’est ce que souligne le lieutenant-général Hodges: «Il y a des gens qui sont très préoccupés par ce que nous faisons en Ukraine et qui craignent que cela ne provoque les russes. Ils n’ont clairement besoin d’aucune provocation quand vous regardez ce qu’ils font»

Mentionnons à cet effet, la récente interview télévisée où le Président russe, Vladimir Poutine a dévoilé qu’il avait mis les forces nucléaires russes en alerte lors de l’annexion de la Crimée un an auparavant.

Le 27 février dernier, le Canada avait eu cette même crainte d’ébranler les accords de paix récemment conclu en Ukraine et avait également pris la décision de suspendre temporairement son programme de formation des policiers militaires ukrainiens dirigé par les Forces armées canadiennes.

Mar 18, 2015 defense-aerospace.com

(Source: Defense Security Cooperation Agency; issued March 17, 2015)

Jordan - 35 Meter Coastal Patrol Boats

WASHINGTON --- The State Department has made a determination approving a possible Foreign Military Sale to Jordan for 35-meter Coastal Patrol Boats and associated equipment, parts, training and logistical support for an estimated cost of $80 million. The Defense Security Cooperation Agency delivered the required certification notifying Congress of this possible sale on March 16, 2015.

The Government of Jordan has requested a possible sale of two 35-meter Coastal Patrol Boats with two MSI Defence Systems LTD SEAHAWK A2 DS30M-30mm Gun Weapon Systems with MK44 Bushmaster Cannons, 1,140 rounds of 30mm Target-Practice-Tracer (TP-T) ammunition, 4,020 rounds of 30mm High Explosive Incendiary with Tracer (HEI-T) ammunition, 60 rounds of 30mm inert dummy ammunition and two chaff systems, spare and repair parts, support equipment, publications and technical documentation, personnel training and training equipment, U.S. Government and contractor engineering, technical and logistics support services, and other related elements of logistical and program support. The estimated cost is $80 million.

This proposed sale will contribute to the foreign policy and national security of the United States by helping to improve the security of a partner which has been, and continues to be, an important force for political stability and economic progress in the Middle East. It is vital to the U.S. national interest that Jordan develops and maintains a strong and ready self-defense capability and enhances its ability to protect its territorial waters.

Jordan will have no difficulty absorbing these boats into its armed forces.

The proposed sale of this equipment and support will not alter the basic military balance in the region.

The principal contractor is undetermined at this time and will be determined during negotiations. There are no known offset agreements proposed in connection with this potential sale.

Implementation of this proposed sale will require the temporary assignment of approximately two U.S. Government or contractor representatives in Jordan on an intermittent basis over the life of the case.

There will be no adverse impact on U.S. defense readiness as a result of this proposed sale.

This notice of a potential sale is required by law and does not mean the sale has been concluded.

Mar 18, 2015 defense-aerospace.com

(Source: U.S Department of Defense; issued March 17, 2015)

Destruction of WWII-Era Chemical Stockpile Set to Begin

WASHINGTON --- The process of destroying the chemical stockpile at the U.S. Army Pueblo Chemical Depot is set to begin today in Colorado, defense officials said.

Undersecretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics Frank Kendall granted final approval to begin destroying 2,611 tons of World War II-era mustard agent stored near Pueblo.

“After months of preparation, testing and scrutiny by oversight and regulatory agencies, the Pueblo team is ready to play its part in meeting our nation’s commitment to the 100 percent destruction of the U.S. chemical weapons stockpile,” Conrad F. Whyne said. Whyne is program executive officer for Assembled Chemical Weapons Alternatives, the responsible government agency.

Explosive Destruction System

An Army process called the Explosive Destruction System, located on the depot near the Pueblo Chemical Agent Destruction Pilot Plant was chosen to destroy an estimated 1,300 chemical munitions that can’t easily be processed by the main plant’s automated equipment.

The stockpile include munitions that have leaked in the past and are now packed in sealed containers, plus some from the pilot plant that have physically deteriorated and may not be easily processed through the main plant, officials said.

The problematic munitions account for about 0.2 percent of the total Pueblo chemical weapons stockpile.

The EDS works by using explosive cutting charges to access the mustard agent inside a munition. Neutralization chemicals are then added and heated to destroy the mustard.

Blast, Vapor and Fragments

Detonating the cutting charge also eliminates the explosive components of the munition. The blast, vapor and fragments from the process are contained inside a heavy, sealed stainless steel vessel, defense officials said.

Before the vessel is reopened, laboratory sampling of liquid and air from inside the vessel confirms the chemical agent’s destruction.

EDS has a documented history of safe, successful operations at sites across the United States, including the former Rocky Mountain Arsenal in Colorado. There, it was used to destroy several recovered non-stockpile chemical munitions.

The Army designed the EDS with Sandia National Laboratories to treat chemical warfare materiel on site in a safe, environmentally sound way.

This week’s destruction operations will begin with Department of Transportation bottles that contain chemical agent drained from munitions over the years to assess the condition of the stockpile.

The bottles are made of seamless stainless steel and are about 25 inches high with a 7-inch diameter. They were developed under federal guidelines to transport hazardous chemicals.

Safe, Smooth Destruction Operations

The Defense Department’s Assembled Chemical Weapons Alternatives program selected the Bechtel Pueblo Team to design, build, operate and close a plant to destroy the chemical weapons stockpile stored at the Pueblo Chemical Depot.

Bechtel, with headquarters in San Francisco, is a global engineering, project management and construction company.

The full-scale plant, built by the Bechtel Pueblo Team, is undergoing systemization, which encompasses all the planning, technical work, training and testing activities required to ensure that destruction operations run safely and smoothly.

Afterward, the plant will destroy the remaining stockpile of chemical weapons located at Pueblo, Colorado, beginning in late 2015 or early 2016, officials said

March 18, 2015 Defense News (AFP)

WASHINGTON — US warplanes have bombed a small drone used by Islamic State extremists in Iraq, marking the first time American-led forces had targeted an unmanned aircraft flown by the jihadists, officials said Wednesday.

The strike took place on Tuesday near the western city of Fallujah, destroying "a remotely piloted aircraft" and a vehicle with the IS forces, according to a statement from the US military command overseeing the campaign against the group.

The drone, used for battlefield surveillance, was "small-scale" and not a sophisticated aircraft equivalent to some US-made robotic planes that can fly at high altitudes or launch missiles, US defense officials said.

After flying the drone for a short period, Islamic State militants placed it on a vehicle. American aircraft then struck the vehicle near Fallujah, officials said.

The United States relies heavily on its own fleet of drones for air operations in Iraq and Syria, using them to bomb targets as well as provide intelligence on IS movements on the ground.

The Syrian regime said Tuesday it had shot down an American drone near the coastal province of Latakia and Pentagon officials acknowledged that a robotic aircraft had lost contact in the area.

The airstrike on the IS drone was among 11 carried out by US-led aircraft in Iraq and two conducted in Syria on Tuesday and Wednesday morning.

The strikes included five air raids near the western town of Ramadi in Iraq, with two IS-held bridges targeted along with a sniper position, an excavator and an IS "tactical unit," the military statement said.

18 Mars 2015 par Defens’Aero

Au mois de Février 2013, le Pentagone a confirmé son intention de se procurer vingt A-29 Super Tucano afin de former et de constituer une véritable force aérienne pour l'Afghanistan, qui voit le départ de plusieurs milliers de militaires de l'ISAF, mois après mois, et qui va devoir assumer, tant bien que mal, la sécurité de son pays.

Le contrat, remporté face à l'AT-6 Texan de l'avionneur Beechcraft, prévoit, en plus de la livraison des appareils légers d'attaque au sol, la vente d'un simulateur, un système informatique permettant le débriefing des missions, ainsi qu'un support logistique et un certain nombre de pièces qui seront utilisées pour les réparations et la maintenance, une fois que l'Afghanistan réceptionnera officiellement les Super Tucano sur son territoire.

Et cette réception devrait se faire vers la fin de l'année 2015, plus précisément au mois de Décembre, si tout se déroule comme prévu. En effet, selon John Campbell, Général au sein de l'US Army et commandant de la Force Internationale d'Assistance et de Sécurité, le premier A-29 Super Tucano devrait se poser sur le sol afghan à la fin de l'année.

Suite de l’article

March 18, 2015 todayonline.com

NEW YORK — The commander of the US Navy Seventh Fleet called on South-east Asian nations to form a combined maritime force to patrol areas of the South China Sea where territorial tensions flare with China.

Countries could streamline cooperation on maritime security while respecting sovereignty and coastal space, as in the case of counter-piracy efforts in the Gulf of Aden, Vice Admiral Robert Thomas said yesterday (March 17) at the Langkawi International Maritime and Aerospace Exhibition in Malaysia.

The US has reassured allies in the region it will back them against China’s assertions to about four-fifths of the sea. China has ratcheted up pressure on some Association of South-east Asian Nations (ASEAN) members, and has accelerated reclamation work on reefs in the waters criss-crossed by claims from Vietnam, Taiwan, Brunei, the Philippines and Malaysia.

“Perhaps easier said than done, from both a policy and organisation perspective, such an initiative could help crystallise the operational objectives in the training events that ASEAN navies want to pursue,” Vice Admr Thomas said at a panel session with navy chiefs. “If ASEAN members were to take the lead in organising something along those lines, trust me, the US 7th Fleet would be ready to support.”

Read more

Mar 17, 2015 ASDNews Source : AFPS

This year, the Defense Department will move aggressively to reverse the trend of chronic underinvestment in weapons and capabilities, the deputy defense secretary said here today.

Bob Work spoke this morning about defense modernization and the department’s proposed fiscal year 2016 budget before an audience attending the McAleese/Credit Suisse Defense Programs Conference.

The bottom line, he said in prepared remarks, is that “because of budget uncertainty and restrictions imposed by Congress, and because of our unrelenting focus on the readiness of forward deployed forces, we're chronically underinvesting in new weapons and capabilities.”

Work added, “That should give all of us pause because our technological dominance is no longer assured.”

Modernization = Technological Superiority

The U.S. military’s technological superiority is directly related to its modernization accounts, the deputy secretary said, so this year the department is moving to redress the long-deferred modernization to stay ahead of competitors and potential aggressor nations.

Work said the White House has helped by approving about $21 billion in added requirements over the Future Years Defense Program.

“This came with added funding, which has allowed us to make targeted investments in space control and launch capabilities, missile defense, cyber, and advanced sensors, communications, and munitions -– all of which are critical for power projection in contested environments,” he said.

The White House also added funding to help the department modernize its aging nuclear deterrent force, Work said.

Supporting Ongoing Operations

The department’s fiscal 2016 base budget request is $534 billion, or $36 billion above the FY16 sequestration caps, he said, adding that it’s “only the first year of a five-year Future Years Defense Program. When considering fiscal years 2016 through 2020, our planned program is approximately $154 billion over the sequestration caps.”

The department also is asking for $51 billion in overseas contingency operations funding, Work said, “to support our campaign against the extremist [Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant], ongoing operations in Afghanistan, and other operations in the Central Command area of responsibility.”

The global demand for U.S. forces remains high, particularly for deployable headquarters units, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance assets, missile defense, and naval and aerospace forces. The global operating tempo also remains high, he added.

Together, the deputy secretary said, these requests provide funding needed to recover readiness over the next several years, invest in long-deferred recapitalization and modernization, and meet global demands placed on the military by the National Security Strategy.

The Ragged Edge

 “The leaders of this department believe firmly that any significant reduction in funding below what is in the president's budget, or a broad denial of the reform initiatives that we have proposed to Congress, would mean the risks to our defense strategy would become unmanageable,” the deputy secretary said.

 “Quite frankly,” he added, “we’re at the ragged edge of what is manageable.”

Adding to the pressure on defense systems, potential competitors are developing capabilities that challenge the U.S. military in all domains that put space assets and the command and control system at risk, Work said.

 “We see several nations developing capabilities that threaten to erode our long-assured technological overmatch and our ability to project power,” he added.

These include new and advanced anti-ship and anti-air missiles, and new counter-space, cyber, electronic warfare, undersea and air attack capabilities, Work said.

Erosion of Technical Superiority

In some areas, he added, “we see levels of new weapons development that we haven’t seen since the mid-1980s, near the peak of the Soviet Union’s surge in Cold War defense spending.”

The department, Work said, is addressing the erosion of U.S. technological superiority through the Defense Innovation Initiative, a broad effort to improve business operations and find innovative ways to sustain and advance America’s military dominance for the 21st century.

 “The DII’s leading focus is to identify, develop and field breakthrough technologies and systems,” he said, “and to develop innovative operational concepts to help us use our current capabilities in new and creative ways.”

The ultimate aim is to help craft a third offset strategy, he added.

Third Offset Strategy

After World War II the United States used nuclear weapons development to offset Soviet numerical and geographic advantage in the central front, and again changed the game in the 1970s and 1980s with networked precision strike, stealth and surveillance for conventional forces, Work explained.

Now, he said, “we will seek to identify new technologies and concepts that will keep the operational advantage firmly in the hands of America’s conventional forces, today and in the future.”

Central to the effort is a new Long-Range Research & Development Planning Program, the deputy secretary said.

The LRRDP was created to identify weapons and systems in the force that can be used in more innovative ways, promising technologies that can be pulled forward and long-range science and technology investments that can be made now for a future payoff.

Invitation to the Table

Technologies that might be associated with a new offset strategy are being driven by the commercial sector, he said.

These include robotics; autonomous operating, guidance and control systems; visualization; biotechnology; miniaturization; advanced computing and big data; and additive manufacturing like 3-D printing.

 “The third offset strategy is an open invitation for everyone to come to the table … to creatively disrupt our defense ecosystem. Because we'll either creatively disrupt ourselves or be disrupted by someone else,” Work said.

Game-changing New Technologies

Funding dedicated to the effort includes the department’s annual $12 billion in science and technology accounts, and the FY 2016 budget request creates a reserve account to resource projects expected to emerge from the DII, he said.

 “The FY 2016 budget submission also invests in some fantastic, potentially game-changing new technologies that we can more quickly get into the force,” Work added, “as well as longer-range research efforts.”

Over the Future Years Defense Program, for example, the department is investing $149 million in unmanned undersea vehicles, $77 million in advanced sea mines, $473 million in high-speed strike weapons, $706 million in rail gun technology, and $239 million in high-energy lasers.

And, he said, a new Aerospace Innovation Initiative will bring people together to develop a wide range of advanced aeronautical capabilities to maintain U.S. military air dominance.

Solving Operational Challenges

Work said the department’s innovation must be “broad-based and rooted in realistic war gaming –- a big priority of mine -– more experimentation, and new concept and leadership development to enable our people to adapt to situations we can’t yet imagine.”

The third offset strategy is looking to solve specific operational challenges, the deputy secretary said, using the electromagnetic spectrum as an example.

“Electronic Warfare is often regarded as a combat enabler, but more and more it is at the actual forefront of any conflict,” he said. “To ensure we remain ahead in this increasingly important space, today I’m signing out a memo that establishes an Electronic Warfare, or EW, Programs Council.”

Electronic Warfare Programs Council

The senior-level oversight council will have the lead in establishing and coordinating DoD’s EW policy and will be co-chaired by Undersecretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics Frank Kendall and Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Navy Adm. James A. Winnefeld Jr., he said.

Compared to the platforms that carry EW suites, the deputy secretary added, it is a relatively small investment but has the potential for a very high payoff.

“Our potential competitors seek to contest the EW space, an area where we retain a decided lead,” Work said. “But that lead is tenuous, and we believe that there has been insufficient focus on EW across the department.”

Mar 17, 2015 ASDNews Source : Harris Corporation

Two unfurlable mesh antenna reflectors developed by Harris Corporation have successfully deployed onboard the third Mobile User Objective System (MUOS) satellite built by Lockheed Martin. This represents the fifth and sixth successful Harris reflector deployments in the planned 5-satellite MUOS system. The announcement was made during Satellite 2015 being held March 16-19 at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Washington, D.C.

The MUOS satellite constellation operates like a smart phone network in the sky, vastly improving current secure mobile satellite communications for warfighters on the move. Unlike previous systems, MUOS provides users and on-demand, beyond-line-of-sight capability to transmit and receive high-quality, prioritized voice and mission data, on a high-speed IP-based system. Once fully deployed, MUOS will be compatible with, but provide 16-times the capacity of the legacy UHF satellite system.

Read more

17 mars 2015 US Navy

17.03.2015 Par El Hadji Mamadou Gueye - yabiladi.com

Alors que les F-16 de l’armée marocaine participent actuellement aux combats menés contre Daesh, le royaume pourrait bénéficier de nouvelles armes américaines. Il figure en tout cas sur une liste très réduite de pays susceptibles d’être les premiers acheteurs de drones US types MQ-9 Reaper et Northrop Grumman RQ-4 Global Hawk.

L’armée marocaine a récemment déployé ses F-16 (de fabrication américaine) pour participer aux combats menés par un groupe de pays contre l’organisation "Etat Islamique" en Irak et en Syrie. Le Maroc et les Etats-Unis pourraient même franchir une nouveau cap dans leur coopération militaire puisque le Maroc est sur une liste très réduite de pays qui pourraient être les premiers bénéficiaires des drones américains.

En effet, selon le journal National Interest, le royaume serait parmi les cinq premiers pays au monde à recevoir des drones US types MQ-9 Reaper et le Northrop Grumman RQ-4 Global Hawk, fabriqués par General Atomics. Il figure dans cette liste avec l’Inde, le Brésil ou encore le Canada et Singapour.

Surveiller les groupes terroristes au Mali, Libye, Algérie

Ces drones, selon la même source, pourraient être utiles dans la surveillance des frontières maroco-algériennes, notamment dans les zones où s’activent des groupes extrémistes. National Interest explique que le royaume est situé dans une région qui est en proie à des mouvements fondamentalistes islamiques qui doivent être combattus, faisant ainsi référence au Mali, à la Libye et une partie de l’Algérie. 

Outre les Lockheed Martin F-16, l’armée marocaine exploite d’autres équipements américains tels que les drones non armés Predator XP et avait aussi acquis en 2014 de nouveaux lots de missiles pour les F-16. Mais si l’accord est conclu, il pourrait disposer de drones armés pour surveiller les mouvements de groupes terroristes.

En 2014, le Maroc avait également acheté trois drones au fabricant français Dassault. Il s'agit de drones Heron TP de fabrication israélienne (Israel Aerospace Industries), capables de « mener des missions de reconnaissance et de collecte d’informations à plus de 40 000 pieds, et dotés d'une autonomie de vol de 36 heures ». Compte tenu de sa taille, le Heron TP peut transporter différents équipements : radars, détecteurs, des caméras, missiles...

U.S., Japanese, and Indian officers during Malabar 2014. Credit: U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Apprentice Patrick Dionne

March 04, 2015 By Mina Pollmann – The Diplomat

From defense sales to joint exercises, Tokyo and New Delhi are expanding the scope of military cooperation.

March 16, 2015 By Joe Gould – Defense News

WASHINGTON — Picture a small team of US special operators racing quietly through the night on stealth motorcycles, cruising over rugged terrain to catch enemy fighters completely unawares.

That is the scenario Virginia-based Logos Technologies envisions as it develops its hybrid-electric motorcycle SilentHawk on behalf of a Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) project started in 2014. Logos, teamed with Alta Motors, is developing a prototype for their phase II Small Business Innovation Research award from DARPA.

Once the prototyping phase is complete, the next phase could see the military replace motorcycles in service, such as the Kawasaki M1030 M1. DARPA anticipates Marines, soldiers and special operations forces will buy it, and there could also be a substantial commercial market.

Logos' hybrid-electric propulsion system, originally designed for an unmanned aircraft, is integrated into Alta Motors' RedShift MX electric motocross bike. Logos is also known for its Kestrel wide-area persistent surveillance system, used by the US military in Afghanistan.

The quiet, all-wheel drive bike would run on an all-electric motor, gasoline or JP-8. Its total range is intended to be 120 miles on fuel and 50 miles on the battery or silent mode, and it would maintain speeds above 50 mph for long distances, on a flat dirt road.

Developers envision a small special operations team being dropped off by a small helicopter or V-22 Osprey, then closing with their target in the bike's silent mode. They might take the target and stealthily rendezvous at a second landing zone.

From an outpost in Afghanistan, for instance, the bikes could be used to avoid predictable routes and evade ambushes by traveling though woods or terrain that would be impassible in a four-wheel vehicle.

"You're trying to create uncertainty for the enemy about your location, and you make it difficult for them by being quiet, or by them being unable to determine where you are, especially when you operate at night," said Wade Pulliam, manager of advanced concepts for Logos Technologies.

The bike's combustion engine would be loud as 75 decibels, but in silent mode, would have to operate at 55 decibels — considered a stretch goal, Pulliam said.

Having an engine that is powerful, yet compact enough to fit on the bike, with a battery, was a challenge. The Alta battery pack itself is compact at 180 watt-hours per kilogram, which is comparable to a laptop battery, and still rugged.

The key to the design is that the bike's hybrid-electric unit fits under the seat and can be attached or detached from the rest of the bike in 30 minutes. That allows operators in the field to swap from a hybrid-electric version to electric-only version for short-range, all-silent missions.

The team tested regenerative braking, meaning it converts its kinetic energy to charge the battery, a boon on rough terrain, when braking is frequent. In the design phase, it was tested on the real wheel, but with an all-wheel drive prototype, Pulliam expects to see an improvement.

"In off-road conditions you see a real benefit," he said.