Defence`s Feeds

Russian 2S34 Hosta 120-mm Mortar System

Americas

• The Navy is reportedly considering reducing the number of F-35C fighters it plans to procure, alluding to budgetary concerns. The Navy is also less enthused by the Joint Strike Fighter compared to the Marines and Air Force because of the Service operating more modern aircraft, including new and upgraded Super Hornets

• The Air Force has alluded to future development of a replacement for the A-10 as the Service’s primary Close Air Support platform, according to the Air Combat Strategy 2015 report released earlier this week, citing a requirement to ‘explore opportunities for a future CAS platform’. With the Air Force pushing the line that the A-10 has no place in future combat, as well as making a dubious financial case for the aircraft’s retirement, the report’s call for a new CAS platform appears to run counter to the Air Force’s plan to use the F-35 for tactical CAS operations, despite embarrassing setbacks.

• On Thursday the Navy handed M. C. Dean Inc and Honeywell Technology Solutions two multiple-award contracts totalling $1.66 billion for the installation and certification of C4ISR systems, while Rockwell Collins-ESA Vision Systems was handed a $20.9 million contract for 120 Joint Helmet Mounted Cueing System (JHMCS) Night Vision Cueing and Display (NVCD) systems.

• Meanwhile Boeing was awarded a $9.8 million contract by the Missile Defense Agency for the development of the Multi-Object Kill Vehicle, following similar contracts awarded to Raytheon and Lockheed Martin earlier this week totalling $9.8 million and $9.6 million respectively. The MDA is reportedly planning a move to proof-of-concept prototype development by the end of the decade.

Europe

• Belarus is buying four more Yak-130 combat jet trainers, according to local press reports [Russian]. The country ordered the first four aircraft in December 2012, with deliveries beginning this April.

• Portugal is planning to upgrade the targeting and navigation pods equipping its fleet of F-16s. The Northrop Grumman-manufactured Litening Advanced Targeting pods will be upgraded to the G4 standard, with this $22.7 million contract reportedly scheduled for completion by 2022. Denmark ordered this variant in June 2012, with India also a major operator of the G4 variant.

• The Polish Defense Ministry has responded to claims that its selection of the Airbus H225M Caracal helicopter in April broke procurement law. Accusations in the Polish media that the selection of the Airbus bid over AgustaWestland’s AW149 and Sikorsky’s S-70i Black Hawk/S-70B Seahawk saw a legal challenge from AgustaWestland subsidiary PZL Swidnik in June, with negotiations over the final contract between the defense ministry and Airbus ongoing. The Polish opposition Law and Justice Party has also criticized the incumbent Civic Platform administration for selecting a foreign bid over a domestic supplier.

• US and British military trainers in Ukraine are learning lessons from their students, with their experience of the highly kinetic fighting in Eastern Ukraine providing a useful insight into the type of ‘hybrid’ war for which the Pentagon is now practising.

• The Royal Navy’s third Astute-class submarine has begun sea trials. HMS Artful is the third of seven Astute-class boats, with HMS Astute and HMS Ambush, the first two subs in class already in service with the Royal Navy. Artful is slated to join the fleet toward the end of this year.

Asia

• India is planning to dry-dock its INS Vikramaditya carrier next year, with the ship’s maintenance and repair operation set to be the largest of its type to have taken place in India. The vessel reportedly requires dry-docking every eighteen months, recently departing from Karwar in July after being fitted with new ship defense equipment, including the Barak-1 missile system.

• The Indian Defense Ministry is considering excluding private firms undergoing corporate debt restructuring from tendering for defense contracts. The proposal would bar these companies from competing for projects under the “Make in India” procurement category, which sees the Indian government fund the majority of prototype development (80%) and the company filling the remaining 20%, with some of the country’s most expensive projects falling into this category.

• Australia’s Defence Science and Technology Organisation (DSTO) has completed testing of scramjet engines in Norway as part of the joint Hypersonic International Flight Research Experimentation (HIFiRE) program, in collaboration with the US Air Force Research Laboratory, Boeing and the University of Queensland. Dating back to 2009, the project is seeking to develop understanding of hypersonic flight, with the Air Force recently restarting development of a hypersonic test vehicle, with a view to field the new vehicle for testing by 2023.

Today’s Video

• HMS Artful’s first dive in October:

Astute, pre-launch
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Britain retired its nuclear-powered 4,900t SSN Swiftsure Class fast attack boats in 2010, and has begun phasing out its follow-on 5,300t SSN Trafalgar Class, before the effects of the ocean’s constant squeezing and release start making them dangerous to use. The last Trafalgar Class boat is expected to retire by 2022, and replacements were required. Submarines are considered to be a strategic industry in Britain, which remains committed to nuclear-powered submarines for their entire fleet. As such, there was never any question of whether they’d design their own. The new SSN Astute Class were designed to be stealthier than the Trafalgars, despite having 39% more displacement at 7,400t submerged.

Britain’s 6 Swiftsure and 7 Trafalgar Class boats will eventually find themselves replaced by 7 of the new Astute Class. The new submarine class has had its share of delays and difficulties, but the program continues to move forward with GBP 2.75 billion in contracts over the past week.

The New Astute Class SSNs Astute Class concept
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Nuclear weapons are reserved for Britain’s 4 SSBN Vanguard Class boats, but the Royal Navy’s SSNs have a unique role of their own in their fleet. They’re the only platforms used to launch long-range UGM-109 Tomahawk cruise missiles, in order to deliver conventional strikes against land targets. Other navies also use surface ships for this role, but Britain chose not to.

The Astute Class will offer the novel feature of a bunk for each submariner, at the cost of more cramped layouts, and is the 1st British submarine to use an optronic day/night periscope that doesn’t pierce the hull. That periscope may allow the British to move the attack center control room in later boats of class from the top level Deck 1, to a roomier section in Deck 2 and a bit aft. In either case, they’ll be using a common base computing environment for critical systems. The attack center will have more to control, too. Torpedo tubes go from 5 to 6, and a larger weapons room roughly doubles capacity to 36-38 UGM-109 Tomahawk Block IV cruise missiles and Spearfish heavyweight torpedoes. Another weapon will be launched from the large lockout chamber aft of the fin, which allows SBS commandos to exit the sub underwater into a dry deck shelter. A mini-submarine can be mated to the DDS for added mobility.

Astute Class boats have worked to add stealth enhancements via rafted sections throughout, plus new coatings, exterior tiles, and paints. On the listening end, a new 2076 Stage 5 sonar system combines arrays all over the submarine, and it reportedly surprised the US Navy during qualification exercises against a Viginia Class boat. As usual for modern submarines, the Astute Class will also carry advanced electronic eavesdropping gear for quiet above-water snooping. High-bandwidth communications round out key electronics improvements, and allow fast transmission of intercepted signals to Royal Navy vessels or agencies like GCHQ.

A new reactor design won’t require refueling during the submarine’s operating life, which saves hundreds of millions of pounds. It’s mated to a new control system that includes independent diving plane controls handled by a new, complex autopilot system. The control system has been praised by its commanders, but the submarine won’t be able to reach its advertised top speed.

Building the SSNs
click for video

The first 3 Astute Class boats cost about GBP 1.22 billion each (about $2.4 billion in 2008), a price tag that’s very similar to the USA’s new 7,300t Virginia Class.

After HMS Astute has come S120 Ambush, with S121 Artful, S122 Audacious, S123 Anson, S124 Agamemnon, and S125 Ajax in various stages of planning, construction, and testing. All Astute Class submarines will be based at HM Naval Base Clyde, where a GBP 150 million state-of-the-art jetty was built for them.

Contracts & Key Events, 2007 – Present 2015

August 14/15: The Royal Navy’s third Astute-class submarine has begun sea trials. HMS Artful is the third of seven Astute-class boats, with HMS Astute and HMS Ambush, the first two subs in class already in service with the Royal Navy. Artful is slated to join the fleet toward the end of this year.

2014

Control room
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Nov 24/14: Basing. Britain moves a step closer to making HMNB Clyde home to all of its submarines. The Trafalgar Class fast attack boats HMS Torbay and HMS Trenchant will be decommissioned at their current base in Devonport in 2017 and 2019, respectively, since it makes no financial sense to move them now. By 2020, HMS Talent and HMS Triumph will have moved from HMNB Devonport to Scotland, and that will be the end of HMNB Devonport as a submarine base.

This single-base approach offers financial efficiencies, but there’s a real price in terms of strategic vulnerability. Sources: UK MoD, “Ministry of Defence confirms future submarine basing plan”.

Nov 18/14: Sub-contractors. Cohort plc subsidiary SEA Communications receives a GBP 23 million (about $37.5 million) contract from BAE Systems to deliver their “Project Aurora” external communications systems (ECS) for integration into the UK Royal Navy’s submarine fleet, including the Astute Class. It builds on their Coherency for Submarines (CCSM) system, which already serves on upgraded Trafalgar Class SSNs.

ECS’ biggest selling feature is that it works to make the hardware an independent consideration, allowing a simpler and cheaper approach to upgrades. This is Phase 1 of a 2-phase program, and SEA expects another significant order in 2015. Sources: SEA, “Case Study: Submarine External Communication System (ECS) ‘Project Aurora'” [PDF] | SEA, “SEA secures £23m deal to enhance submarine communications”.

Oct 10/14: #2. HMS Ambush returns to HMNB Clyde after a successful maiden mission that lasted about 4 months. The boat left Falsane on July 4/14 to visit Rio de Janeiro in Brazil, before heading for the North Atlantic and the United States. Sources: Royal Navy, “HMS Ambush returns to Clyde after international deployment”.

Oct 7/14: #1: HMS Astute returns to HMNB Clyde after an 8-month deployment. The submarine’s Lady Sponsor, Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Rothesay (The Duchess of Cornwall), joins senior naval officers and over 150 friends and family to welcome her return at a special ceremony at Faslane.

That’s the kind of sponsor you want for your vessel! Sources: Royal Navy, “Happy Homecoming for HMS Astute”.

May 19/14: #3. The 97m long Artful is launched into the water at Barrow-in-Furness. She is scheduled to begin sea trials in 2015. Sources: Royal Navy, “Artful enters the water as latest hunter killer submarine is launched”.

March 26/14: Recognition. Northrop Grumman announces that they’ve received the Customer Focus Award from BAE Systems Maritime-Submarines, in recognition of the role Sperry Marine has played in supplying the Astute Class platform management system (PMS) for the U.K. Ministry of Defence’s (MOD) Astute nuclear-powered submarine program. Sources: NGC, “Northrop Grumman Wins Supplier Award for Role in Royal Navy’s Astute Submarine Programme”.

March 23/14: Mini-sub. British media spot HMS Astute moored off of Gibraltar with a new mini-sub attached to the dry-deck shelter (q.v. Dec 3/12). The mini-sub can reportedly carry 8 Special Boat Service Commandos in full assault gear:

“Before it was mounted to the top of the HMS Astute, the miniature submarine had to be airlifted by helicopter to seas near its destination…. The miniature submarine, codenamed ‘Project Chalfont’, has been tested since it was installed in 2012, but this is the first time it will reach active service…. The miniature submarine’s main duties are for counter intelligence, as it allows for incredibly covert ops from discreet locations, and will now be able to deploy while hidden underwater, rather than having to travel by helicopter, which runs the risk of revealing its position.”

The dry-deck shelter can also be used in simple swim-out mode, without a mini-submarine. Sources: Daily Mail, “Britain’s super-sub: Navy unveils James Bond-style mini submarine carried on board HMS Astute which can launch from under water”.

2013

NAO Report; Failure at Devonport dockyard raises concern over nuclear responsibility; Radiation leak highlights aging submarines issue; Sub-contracts for boats #6-7. HMS Astute &
HMS Dauntless
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Oct 6/13: Not good. The Independent newspaper reports that a 90-minute breakdown of all reactor coolant supply at Devonport dockyard’s Tidal X-Berths in Plymouth, UK nearly led to a major nuclear incident. Based on a heavily redacted report from the Ministry of Defence’s Site Event Report Committee (SERC), both the electrical power for coolant supply to docked nuclear submarines, and the diesel back-up generators, failed at the dockyard on July 29/12. That failure followed a similar failure involving HMS Talent in 2009, and a partial failure involving HMS Trafalgar in 2011.

The newspaper adds that an internal Babcock investigation blamed the incident on the central nuclear switchboard, but added a note of concern about “inability to learn from previous incidents and to implement the recommendations from previous event reports.” This will not help existing uneasiness over the next generation of nuclear submarines, and “Nuclear scare at Navy submarine base after ‘unbelievable’ failures” adds that:

“Its own “stress test” on Devonport safety, launched after the Fukushima disaster, said that in the event of the failure of both power supplies, heat levels in reactors could be controlled by emergency portable water pumps, and added that such a failure had occurred a “number of times” previously.”

Dockyard failure

Sept 20/13: #3 named. The 3rd Astute Class submarine is formally named “Artful” in a ceremony. The ship’s crew also picks a mascot, in keeping with the ship crest chosen in 1945 by the Admiralty Advisor on Heraldry. “Artful” is a ten-month-old baby ring-tailed lemur at South Lakes Wild Animal Park. While it isn’t a monkey, it is a prosimian primate, and lemurs are generally threatened or endangered throughout their homes in Madagascar. No word on whether the ship’s motto will change to the Latin translation of “We like to move it!” Sources: UK MoD release, Sept 20/13 | Royal Navy release, Sept 20/13.

Sept 10/13: Sub-contractors. DCNS signs their latest contract with BAE Systems for high-efficiency heat exchangers. This one covers 4 sets, for Astute Class boats 6 and 7. The last one will be delivered in mid-2016. Sources: DCNS, Sept 10/13 release.

Sept 10/13: Sub-contractors. Northrop Grumman’s Sperry subsidiary has supplied the final batch of Platform Management System hardware for the S123 Anson (#5), and remains under contract for submarines 4, 6, and 7. The systems do pretty much what you’d expect: control and monitor most of the submarine’s machinery and onboard systems. Sources: NGC, Sept 10/13 release.

July 18/13: #6. Keel laid for Agamemnon at BAE’s Barrow-in-Furness facility. Sources: Royal Navy, July 18/13 release.

May 28/13: SSOP. Thales UK signs a 10-year, GBP 600 million Sensor Support Optimisation Project (SSOP) with the Ministry of Defence. It extends the 2003 Contractor Logistics Support deal that covered electronic warfare/ ESM and sonar system support on an array of submarines and surface ships. Coverage on the Astute Class includes all electronic warfare and ESM sensors, the sonar, and the optronic mast. Read “SSOP: Britain Extends Contracting Innovations into Naval Sensors” for full coverage.

May 25/13: Sub-contractors. Applied Integration in Stokesley, North Yorkshire wins a “multi-million pound” deal to design “visual mechanisms allowing Royal Navy operators and sailors to manage conditions” on S124 Agamemnon and S125 Ajax. Sounds like they’re building touch displays that integrate with platform management and other systems.

This is the firm’s 3rd nuclear submarine contract, and the small firm has consistently delivered beyond its contracts while winning business against larger firms. Co-founder Lee Raywood says something we don’t see often enough in releases and reports: “Our senior engineers are truly exceptional and our staff deserve great credit for our success.” That attitude might have something to do with the fact that their teams win. Sources: The Northern Echo, “Applied Integration, in Stokesley, North Yorkshire, wins contract to supply control systems for HMS Agamemnon and HMS Ajax”.

May 20/13: Bernard Gray, the UK MoD’s Chief of Defence Materiel, talks about the Astute program experience during a Public Accounts Committee hearing concerning carrier strike. Excerpts:

“While I appreciate that the defence industry will quite often say that it wishes to be left alone, thank you very much, my experience is that that is not on the whole a good idea. It is fair to say that on most occasions when I have pushed on specific issues, they are not as well covered off as they should be. If I just let a contract and walked away and invited defence contractor A to get on with it and “Do just please drop by and deliver the equipment at the end of it and I’ll write you a cheque”, I am unlikely to get that equipment.

….If I can take you back to the most salient example of this, in the Astute programme we did what you suggested. It was a disaster. From 1996 to 2003 we let them get on with it. We had a contract and that is what we cared about. In 2003, it almost broke BAE Systems. It cost them hundreds of millions of pounds. We then had to step back in, reformulate the programme and effectively recuperate the whole of our submarine-building activity, which is something that is only beginning to come right some 10 years after that disaster…. My point is that the happy-go-lucky world of us writing out a contract and then allowing industry to get on with it is not one that I live in.”

Sources: HC 113 Public Accounts Committee Session 2013-14, “Public Accounts Committee – Minutes of Evidence.”

May 8/13: HMS Ambush. Without mentioning its April breakdown, the Royal Navy describes its “raft up” exercise to moor alongside RFA Diligence at sea, “assisted by a cluster of tugs”. RFA Diligence is the Royal Navy’s sole vessel for submarine support. They’re still talking about “early 2014″ as the submarine’s operational date. Sources: Royal Navy, May 8/13 release.

HMS Ambush sea trials

April 11/13: Schedule. Without ever mentioning HMS Ambush’s breakdown the previous day, the Royal Navy puts out a press release that says HMS Astute will be operational in 2013, after hot weather trials and operational sea training. S119 Astute was commissioned on Aug 27/10.

HMS Ambush [S120] will go through the same trials and training and “be ready to deploy in early 2014.” It remains to be seen what effect yesterday’s breakdown will have on that schedule. Royal Navy.

April 10/13: HMS Ambush. HMS Ambush is towed back to the Faslane naval base after coming to an unexpected halt in the middle of Gare Loch. Crew members are seen by local anti-nuclear protesters standing on top of the vessel, which was venting steam and surrounded by 3 tugs. The exact problem still isn’t clear, as the MoD would say only that:

“Following HMS Ambush’s maintenance period, undertaken at HM’s Naval Base Clyde, an issue with a non-nuclear system was identified. A decision was taken to return it to the base to allow remedial action to take place.”

See: Herald Scotland | The Scotsman.

HMS Ambush breaks down

March 10/13: Aging fleet. Britain’s Daily Express says that Britain’s submarine fleet is now finding it difficult to maintain patrols around the Falkland Islands, even as Argentina becomes more aggressive:

“THE Navy is finding it “increasingly difficult” to deploy a nuclear hunter-killer submarine to patrol British waters around the Falkland Islands. Senior sources made the warning last night, three weeks after the Sunday Express reported exclusively that the forced return of HMS Tireless [due to a reactor leak] means that just one of Britain’s five Trafalgar-class submarines is fully operational and even that is about to undergo a brief period of maintenance after duties in the Middle East…. HMS Torbay is undergoing maintenance, HMS Trenchant will need servicing after its deployment in the Middle East, HMS Talent is awaiting decommissioning and HMS Triumph, which should have been decommissioned last year, is being used for training.

HMS Astute, the first of our new £1.2billion Astute class submarines, is still not fully operational.”

Aging fleet

March 1/13: S120. A formal commissioning ceremony takes place at Naval Base Clyde for the 2nd boat in the class, though its sea trials aren’t finished yet. There ceremony comes fully 2 1/2 years after the commissioning of HMS Astute.

In January 2013, BAE Systems was granted a Certificate of Acceptance for Ambush, formalizing the transfer from the builder to the Ministry. UK MoD

HMS Ambush commissioned

Feb 25/13: Sub-contractors. Thales announces a contract from BAE for the last 2 Sonar 2076 systems in the Astute program, to equip Agammemnon and Ajax as long-lead buys. Those are the last submarines in the program.

A complete sonar system includes both inboard and outboard of the bow, fin, intercept and flank arrays, and the associated inboard processing. The cost of this contract isn’t announced, but based on past contracts, it’s more than GBP 60 million.

Feb 22/13: BAE’s overall results were down in 2012, but the submarine yard in Barrow is one of the bright spots, thanks to work on the Astute SSN program and the Successor Class next-generation SSBN. North-West Evening Mail.

Feb 17/13: Radiation Leak. The Trafalgar Class fast attack boat HMS Tireless experiences a small reactor coolant leak. It’s contained within the sealed reactor compartment, but the submarine will be out of action for 10 months in drydock. The boat was launched in 1984, had experienced a previous radiation leak off of Gibraltar in 2000, and was due for decommissioning in 2013. The only reason this wasn’t the end of her career is the Astute program’s delays, which led to Navy to extend her planned service to 2017.

The incident underscores the issues involved in operating submarines beyond their expected lifetimes. It also underscores issues with British force structure. Right now, the Royal Navy has 7 SSNs, but HMS Tireless is out of action, HMS Astute still isn’t fully operational after running aground in 2010, and a 3rd boat is in maintenance. That leaves just 4 operational submarines, instead of the recommended 7 + 1 spare. Scottish Express.

Feb 13/13: Reactors. The UK MoD signs a 10-year, GBP 800 million (then about $1.2 billion) contract with Rolls Royce, financing the Submarines Enterprise Performance Programme (SEPP) envisioned in the 2010 SDSR. The goal is to consolidate costs under one contract with consistent incentives, and improve operational efficiency in the infrastructure that delivers and supports the UK’s naval nuclear propulsion systems. They’re hoping for a GBP 200 million saving over this 10 years. Time will tell.

SEPP isn’t technically part of any one program. Contracts for products and services to deliver and support the submarine programs themselves will continue in parallel. Royal Navy | Rolls Royce.

Feb 1/13: Sub-contractors. Babcock announces a contract to supply its weapon handling and launch system (WHLS) for the 6th and 7th Astute class submarines, with a total value around GBP 55 million.

The WHLS and its combat system interfaces were developed to handle the complicated task of loading, moving, and readying large weapons like heavy torpedoes, missiles, mines, etc. within the confined space of a submarine. Babcock’s Weapons Handling Equipment (WHE) sub-system uses a semi-automated and modular approach to maximize storage, and a “unique” method of shock mounting that offers adaptable protection according to the number of weapons stored on each stowage tier. Babcock’s programmable firing valve (PFV) technology allows the system to match the launch requirements precisely to a range of variables including weapon type, boat speed and depth, using less air and making less noise.

Babcock WHLS systems are used in Britain’s Astute Class, and a variant will also be featured in Spain’s diesel-electric S-80 boats.

Jan 13/13: NAO Report. Britain’s National Audit Office releases their 2012 Major Projects Report [PDF]. The Astute Class is featured, and the table of planned vs. actual cost, time, and performance for various milestones on pg. 39 is interesting, but most of the program’s major dislocations lie in the past. They do offer a quick update regarding the fleet’s progress.

The Astute Class Training Service (ACTS) has provided training for the ships companies of both HMS Astute and Ambush, and delivered its 1st Submariner Qualification course for the Royal Navy.

S120 Ambush, launched in January 2011, has finished fitting out and is in trials and testing, following her first test dive in the shipyard’s basin in early October 2011.

S121 Arful continues construction in the Devonshire Dock Hall at Barrow, and “is making good progress”. Diesel Generator Trials successfully completed in August 2011.

S122 Audacious has had all hull and casing units moved to the Devonshire Dock Hall.

S123 Anson recently got underway with manufacturing, following her October 2011 keel-laying.

2011 – 2012

Main contract for boat #4 Audacious; Grouped long-lead work for boats #5-7; Common Combat System coming for boats #3-7; Various sub-contracts; #2 Ambush goes to trials; #5 Ansom keel-laying. Ambush, pre-trials
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Dec 10/12: #5-7 lead ins. The UK Ministry of Defence awards BAE a GBP 1.5 billion contract to begin early build work on S123 Anson, and begin long-lead time buys of supplies like nuclear reactors for boats #6 Agamemnon & #7 Ajax. The Ministry of Defence touts these contracts as safeguarding 3,000 skilled jobs at Barrow-in-Furness in Cumbria.

Anson is named after after Admiral of the Fleet George Anson, who died in 1762 at the age of 65. Agamemnon & Ajax are 2 famous Greek heroes of the Trojan War. UK MoD.

Long-lead items and work on S123 – S125

Dec 10/12: #4. The UK Ministry of Defence awards BAE a GBP 1.2 billion contract to finish building S122 Audacious, the 4th of 7 planned Astute Class attack submarines. This brings total announced contracts to GBP 1.4 billion (q.v. May 21/07 entry), which is around $2.25 billion at current conversions. The boat is about half way through its build process, and subsequent NAO reports estimate her commissioning in January 2018. The Guardian is less than impressed, pointing out that:

“HMS Astute cannot reach the top speed the MoD boasted it could, sprang a leak that required it to perform an emergency surfacing, and was fitted with electrical circuit boards that failed the navy’s safety standards. A lead-lined water jacket, which surrounds the submarine’s nuclear reactor, was also constructed with metal of the wrong quality. And the living quarters for the 98-strong crew are also more cramped than those on submarines made more than 50 years ago… However, the navy is adamant the vessel can overcome the difficulties.”

Despite its launch in 2007 and commissioning in 2010, HMS Astute is still undergoing sea trials. These have included deep dive trials, and the successful firing of Tomahawk land attack missiles and Spearfish torpedoes. The 2nd submarine, Ambush, is also in sea trials that have tested diving, propulsion, and torpedoes. The 3rd boat, Artful, is reaching the final stages of her construction at Barrow shipyard. UK MoD | BAE Systems | The Guardian.

S122 Audacious main contract

Dec 6/12: Common Combat System. Britain’s Ministry of Defence issues BAE Systems Maritime – Submarines a GBP 46 million contract to create a common combat & navigation system baseline for use in all of the Royal Navy’s nuclear submarines.

“The Royal Navy operates three classes of submarine, totalling 10 vessels, which are used to safeguard the UK’s interests around the world. Currently, different combat systems are used across the fleet. This new contract will help drive adoption of a common combat system across all current and future Royal Navy submarines, with considerable benefits to training, maintenance and updating costs.”

S122 Audacious will introduce a shared computing environment for the combat, navigation, and sonar systems, mounted in common consoles and cabinets, and using “commercial off the shelf” computing electronics. These changes are due to be implemented on the remaining submarines in the class, and have been back-fitted to S121 Artful. The eventual aim is to back-fit the “Common Combat System” to HMS Astute and Ambush, and progressively to the remaining SSN Trafalgar Class and SSBN Vanguard Class boats. The CCS would also implicitly cover Britain’s SSBN Successor submarines, currently in the initial design stages at BAE. UK MoD | BAE.

Dec 3/12: Mini-Sub. HMS Astute has been fitted with an underwater dry-deck shelter (q.v. Dec 5/11) from which Special Boat Service (SBS) commandos could launch a midget submarine designed and built under Project Chalfont. From Strategic Defence Intelligence, “INSIGHT – Astute submarines fitted with Special Forces mini-sub dock”:

“According to a report in The Sunday Times, HMS Astute has sailed from Faslane naval base on the River Clyde with the dock, known as a Special Forces payload bay, fitted behind the conning tower to carry out trials…. the dock is a portable fixture that can be fitted to whichever of the Astute fleet is heading towards a crisis zone…. The SBS currently launch their midget submarines from surface warships or helicopters, risking discovery.”

Nov 15/12: Submarine problems. The Guardian publishes a report concerning issues with the Astute Class. A number can be described as teething problems, but a couple are potentially serious. The “teething problems” category includes a recent episode of leakage during a dive, computer circuit boards that didn’t meet safety standards, questions about the quality of installation of some equipment, and lack of trust in the boat’s new optronic periscope.

More serious problems include corrosion in a new boat, “…the instruments monitoring the nuclear reactor because the wrong type of lead was used [in the shielding]”, and an apparent mismatch between the nuclear reactor and the steam turbine sets:

“At the moment, the boat, heralded as the most sophisticated submarine ever built for the navy, cannot sprint to emergencies or away from an attack – an essential requirement for a hunter-killer boat. It would also be incapable of keeping pace with the Royal Navy’s new aircraft carriers, which will be able to travel at more than 30 knots and need the submarines to protect them.”

Sources: The Guardian, “Slow, leaky, rusty: Britain’s £10bn submarine beset by design flaws”.

Sept 14/12: #2 trials. The Royal Navy announces that S120 Ambush is ready to depart the shipyard and begin sea trials, 9 years after she was laid down and 18 months since she was launched.

June 18/12: Reactors. Britain’s Ministry of Defense signs a GBP 1.1 billion contract with Rolls Royce for submarine nuclear reactor cores, (GBP 600 million) and industrial investment in the Raynesway plant that manufactures them (GBP 500 million). The contracts will secure 300 jobs at Rolls-Royce.

The nuclear reactor cores will be used to power the 7th and final SSN Astute Class fast attack submarine, and the 1st of the Royal Navy’s next generation of SSBN nuclear deterrent submarines, currently known as the Successor Class.

Rolls Royce is the sole Technical Authority for the UK Nuclear Steam Raising Plant, whose reactors have powered British nuclear-powered submarines for the past 50 years. The GBP 500 million infrastructure contract aims extend the operating life of the Rayneway plant in Derby, UK, by more than 40 years. Rolls-Royce will continue to maintain and operate its existing reactor core manufacturing facility, while undertaking a parallel phased rebuild and modernization of buildings on site. UK MoD | Rolls Royce | The Telegraph.

Feb 6/12: Sub-contractors. Thales UK announces a GBP 30+ million sub-contract from BAE Systems Submarine Solutions, to supply S123 Anson’s full Sonar 2076 Phase 5 system. Deliverables will include arrays both inboard and outboard of the bow, plus fin, intercept and flank arrays, and the associated inboard processing.

Thales UK is a major sub-contractor for the program as a whole. Beyond the sonar system, they also supply each Astute Class submarine with its 2 non-hull penetrating CM010 optronic masts, the mast’s UAP4 electronic support measures (ESM) system for gathering, classifying, and locating communications and radar emissions, the ECB680 communications and SEEPIRB emergency beacon buoys, and the UHF satellite communications antenna. Thales.

Dec 5/11: An interview with HMS Astute’s commander highlights some of its features. Among other things:

[HMS Astute commanding officer Cmdr. Iain] Breckenridge ticked off a list of new features aboard the sub…. features a large lockout chamber aft of the fin, or sail, and can carry a drydeck shelter…. “That was a real design driver for the boat, and that’s why we’ve got a big sail,” he explained. “The shapes and curves [of the hull] help the dry deck shelter sit in the right place”…. The captain was especially proud of the sub’s maneuvering and hovering capabilities…. In my situation, I’ve got a much wider operating envelope because, if the stern plane does fail to dive, it’s probably only going to be one of them, and I can immediately correct it by slowing down and putting the noncasualty plane to rise. It gives us a much broader operating envelope.”

Sources: Defense News, “‘Trail-blazing’ U.K. Attack Sub Proves Itself in U.S.”

Oct 13/11: #5. S123 Anson’s keel is formally laid – vertically. The submarine’s “keel” is actually an 11m long x 7m diameter, 190t hull ring that will house the control center for Anson’s propulsion plants, and the diesel generator module. It’s also one of the most sophisticated and technically-challenging parts of the boat, and it’s laid vertically because that position makes the work easier. Royal Navy.

S123 Anson keel laying

Sept 15/11: #5. Astute submarine #5 will take the name HMS Anson when she is commissioned. The 2012 NAO report suggests that this will be in August 2020. BFBS.

Feb 16/11: #4. BAE Systems delivers S122 Audacious’ final hull segment by public road through the town of Barrow-in-Furness, to the huge the Devonshire Dock Hall (DDH). It’s the 270 tonne forward dome.

The boat is still a long way from done. The process of installing all of the machinery in these framework units, and then beginning to join hull pieces, is quite long and exacting. BAE Systems.

Jan 6/11: #2 launched. S120 Ambush is launched. The submarine will still have a fitting-out period before it can even start contractor trials. Royal Navy.

2007 – 2010

1st of class HMS Astute commissioned; Sonar upgrades for S119 – S121. S119 control room
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Aug 27/10: HMS Astute. The 1st-of-class submarine S119 Astute is commissioned into the Royal Navy, and becomes “Her Majesty’s Ship Astute.” UK MoD.

HMS Astute

Feb 12/10: Sonar 2076 upgrade. Thales UK announces the ‘Stage 5 Inboard Replacement’ (Stage 5 IR) contract from BAE Systems. They’ll upgrade 3 Trafalgar Class boats, and the first 3 Astute Class submarines, to Sonar 2076 Stage 5 system. Once all of the work is completed, 2076 Stage 5 will be fully deployed across the Royal Navy’s (RN’s) nuclear-powered attack (SSN) submarine fleet.

Thales’ Sonar 2076 is said to have 13,000 hydrophones spread between its inboard and outboard bow, flank, fin, and towed arrays. Stage 5 IR adds new hardware, new software functionality and new algorithms, while moving the sonar system to open architecture electronics. The UK MoD’s long term vision involves the evolution of a common sonar and combat system across their entire submarine flotilla, and an open architecture sonar system is an important milestone along that path. Thales | Aviation Week.

May 21/07: #4 lead-in. The UK MoD has announces a GBP 200 million contract (about $395 million) to begin preparing for construction of the 4th boat at the BAE Systems shipyard at Barrow-in-Furness in Cumbria.

This initial contract for S122 runs to March 2008, and covers initial build work only. The MoD aims to contract for the whole boat by late 2008, and detailed terms and conditions will be agreed over the intervening period.

Additional Readings The Astute Class

• Royal Navy – Astute Class

• BAE Systems – Astute Class

• BAE Systems, via WayBack – The Astute Launch

• Naval Technology – SSN Astute Class Nuclear Submarine, United Kingdom

• Royal Navy Info – Astute-class Submarine. Unofficial site.

Ancillaries

• RUSI (October 2008) – Evolutionary Trends In UK Sonar [PDF]

• Royal Navy – Spearfish Torpedo. Range is just 14-30 miles, significantly below peers like Atlas Elektronik’s new Seahakes. British SSNs are a bit unusual in the modern era, in that they don’t carry anti-ship missiles as an option to accompany their torpedoes.

• DID – Tomahawk’s Chops: xGM-109 Block IV Cruise Missiles

• DID – New Nukes: Britain’s Next-Gen Missile Submarines. The SSBN Successor project, which would carry Britain’s future nuclear deterrent.

News & Views

• The Guardian (Nov 15/12) – Slow, leaky, rusty: Britain’s £10bn submarine beset by design flaws.

• Dougie Coull Photography (Sept 29/12) – HMS Astute – Departing Faslane Naval Base. Note the mounted Dry Deck Shelter.

• Defence Management (March 6/12) – US ‘taken aback’ by HMS Astute. At least the Virginia Class boat USS New Mexico [SSN 779] was.

• Defense News (Dec 5/11) – ‘Trail-blazing’ U.K. Attack Sub Proves Itself in U.S. The captain discusses several features of the boat, while pointing out its first-of-class status.

FAP’s F-16AMs
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Portugal currently owns 45 F-16s as the backbone of its air force: 20-25 fly with 201 Sqn as F-16A/B Block 15s, while another 20 were upgraded via the Mid-Life Upgrade program to F-16AM status for 301 Sqn. The F-16AMs add considerable air-ground capabilities via improved radars, and compatibility with modern laser and GPS-guided precision weapons. In order to use any of those weapons, however, targets must still be found and marked.

These days, many countries are buying small surveillance and targeting pods, as a bolt-on addition that gives their fighters full surveillance, designation, and precision strike capabilities. At present, the 2 main competitors in the global market are Lockheed Martin’s Sniper ATP, and Northrop Grumman/RAFAEL’s LITENING.

On July 31/08, the Portuguese Air Force announced a program to buy 12 LITENING AT pods from Northrop Grumman Corporation, as the winning candidate in their F-16 Advanced Targeting Pod upgrade program. Deliveries will begin in 2008, and finish in 2009. Note that the LITENING has been integrated on F-16 Block 15 aircraft, widening the number of Portuguese aircraft that might be given access to its surveillance and strike-enhancing capabilities. NGC release.

Update

August 13/15 Portugal is planning to upgrade the targeting and navigation pods equipping its fleet of F-16s. The Northrop Grumman-manufactured Litening Advanced Targeting pods will be upgraded to the G4 standard, with this $22.7 million contract reportedly scheduled for completion by 2022. Denmark ordered this variant in June 2012, with India also a major operator of the G4 variant.

Yak-130
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Russia’s air force (VVS) aged badly in the wake of the Cold War, and the recapitalization drought soon made itself felt in all areas. One of those areas involved advanced jet trainers, which form the last rung on the ladder before assignment to fighters. Russia’s Czech-made L-29 and L-39 trainers were left with questionable access to spare parts, and a competition that began in the 1990s finally saw Yakolev’s Yak-130 collaboration with Italy’s Finmeccanica beat the MiG-AT in 2002. Unfortunately, Russian budget realities allowed orders for just a dozen early production Yak-130s, even as the VVS’s L-39 fleet dwindled drastically.

The Yak-130’s multi-mission capabilities in training, air policing, and counterinsurgency make it an attractive option for some customers beyond Russia. Initial export successes helped keep Yak-130 production going in those early years, mostly via a confirmed order from Algeria (16). In December 2011, however, Russia finally placed a significant order that got production started in earnest. Russia continues to promote the aircraft abroad, and now that the plane’s future is secure, interest and orders are picking up…

The Yak-130 Yak-130

The Czech L-39 is the world’s most widely sold jet trainer, but many of those Soviet-era aircraft will need replacement soon. With Aero Vodochody barely hanging on in the modern jet trainer market, Russia’s Yak has an opportunity. MiG dropped the MiG-AT project in 2009, but that still leaves competition from Alenia Aermacchi’s M-346 counterpart from the “AEM-130″ program, China’s similar L-15 (developed with help from Yakolev), BAE’s ubiquitous Hawk family of trainers and light attack jets, and Korean Aerospace’s supersonic T-50 family of trainers and lightweight fighters.

Yak-130 customers currently include Russia (67), Algeria (16), Bangladesh (24), Belarus (4), and Syria (36). A deal with Libya (6) was canceled by the regime’s fall, and the planes may have been sold to Kazakhstan. There are unconfirmed rumors of sales to Vietnam (8) and Mongolia (?).

Yak-130, MAKS 2009
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Design: Compared to the Yak-130D developmental prototypes, the Yak-130 production aircraft reportedly features lower weight, a more rounded nose to accommodate a radar, a shorter fuselage length, and a lower wing area. Kevlar armor protection is fitted to the engines, cockpit and avionics compartment. In typical Russian fashion, the Yak-130 is built to operate from unpaved runways and unprepared airfields, as long as they’re 1,000 meters in size or larger.

The plane is designed for flight at high nose-up angles of attack, which is a common feature of many modern fighters, and of Russian designs in particular. The layout of its forward wing extensions and air intakes layout reportedly enables steady controllable flight at up to 40 degrees AoA. The sustained maneuvering limit at 15,000 feet is 5.2g, while its recommended limits are +8g/ -3g for immediate maneuvers. Note that these maneuvering G-force limits may not be true at full weapon loads.

Refueling in the air isn’t an option yet, but the Yakolev bureau is reportedly working to add a refueling probe.

Thrust & Weight: The Yak-130 is powered by a pair of 2,500 kg thrust Progress AI-222-25s, or 2,200 kg thrust Slovakian Povazske Strojarne DV-2SM turbofans. The AI-222s are the standard fit, and generate about a total of about 5,000 kg/ 11,000 pounds thrust.

Normal aircraft takeoff weight is around 5,700 kg, with a maximum of 1,750 kg of fuel in its internal tanks. Weapons etc. can push maximum takeoff weight to 9,000 kg.

Yak-130
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Electronics: The production Yak-130 is the first Russian aircraft with an all-digital avionics suite. The suite is night-vision compatible, uses GLONASS/NAVSTAR positioning for navigation, and includes 3 multifunction 6″ x 8″ LCD color displays. A Hemlet Mounted Display can also be used.

The Yak is a fly-by-wire aircraft, though this aspect gave the project a lot of trouble during development. Avionica’s fly-by-wire flight control system can reportedly be used to adjust the plane’s flying characteristics, in order to simulate different aircraft.

The open architecture avionics suite includes 2 computers and a 3-channel multiplexer, and the plane is reportedly MIL-STD-1553 compatible if a customer wants to integrate Western equipment like AIM-9 air-air missiles, or the AGM-65 Maverick short range strike missile.

Its NIIP Zhukovsky Osa radar offers adequate performance, with an effective range out to about 65 km. Some reports cite an alternative fit using Phazotron’s Kopyo radar, which has been used in some MiG-21 upgrades. Yakolev is reportedly considering a radar modernization that would either switch in a new nose radar to add targeting-grade ground scans, or add an externally-mounted radar targeting pod.

Weapons: Standard integration involves Russian weapons. Wing stores can include unguided bombs and rockets, plus KAB-500Kr TV-guided bombs, and R-73/AA-11 short range air-to-air missiles. Gun options involve a podded GSh-23 twin-barrel 23mm cannon (probably the 30 degree traversable SPPU-22), or a step up to the heavier single-barrel 9A4273 pod with a 30mm GSh-301 cannon. A Yekaterinburg UOMZ Platan electro-optical guidance pod can reportedly be installed under the fuselage to add onboard TV and laser designation.

Weapons mentioned in conjunction with the Yak-130 but not yet confirmed here include 9A4172/ AT-16 Vikhr laser-guided anti-armor missiles, and Kh-25ML/ AS-10 laser-guided strike missiles. More progress may follow on these fronts, once the Platan pod is integrated. If a ground-capable radar is added, options will expand again. Irkut VP Komstantin Popovich has said that the Yak-130 design is stable and powerful enough to carry even a supersonic Kh-31/ AS-17 cruise missile, which would make the Yak-130 a far more dangerous plane.

Contracts & Key Events 2015

August 14/15: Belarus is buying four more Yak-130 combat jet trainers, according to local press reports [Russian]. The country ordered the first four aircraft in December 2012, with deliveries beginning this April.

2014

Official vid [in Russian]

May 5/14: Syria. Russian media report that Russia plans to send an initial batch of 9 Yak-130 jet trainers to Syria by the end of 2014, then finish the order by delivering 12 in 2015 and 15 in 2016. Kommersant reportedly cited “a source close to Russian arms exporter Rosoboronexport,” and says that the decision follows a $100 million advance payment in June 2013, covering the first 6.

The fact that Assad’s regime and Hezbollah are widely seen as winning the civil war probably helps some, and Russia seems a lot less interested in what America or Europe think of them. Sources: RIA Novosti, “Russia to Provide Syria with First Batch of Jet Trainers until End of Year”.

Jan 28/14: Bangladesh. Kommersant reports that Bangladesh ordered 24 Russian Yak-130 light fighter jets in the final quarter of 2013. Rosoboronexport’s director reports that the deal was financed with a Russian loan (q.v. Nov 15/12, March 27/13), but the $800 million purchase price comes from unnamed defense industry sources.

The planes will reportedly be fitted with English-language cockpits. They will replace the existing Chinese FT-6 (MiG-19 trainer) and Czech L-39s, provide a lead-in to the air force’s handful of Chinese J-7 (MiG-21) and Russian MiG-29 aircraft, and offer light attack counterinsurgency capabilities that are better than anything currently in inventory. Sources: RIA Novosti, “Bangladesh Buys Russian Combat Training Jets Worth $800M”.

Bangladesh: 24

2012 – 2013

Syrian contract?; Interest from Bangladesh, Malaysia, Vietnam; Flight at Farnborough; New ordnance loads for the Yak. Yak-130, Farnborough
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Dec 25/13: Russia. Russian Air Force Commander in Chief Lieutenant General Viktor Bondarev praises Irkut for being ahead of schedule in its Yak-130 deliveries, including 2 aircraft from the 2014 orders that are almost ready for shipment. They’d be added to the 18 Yak-130s delivered to the VVS’ Borisoglesk Aviation Training Center in 2013. Bondarev adds that new contracts for Su-30SM (Su-30MKM) fighters and Yak-130 trainers are expected soon, and says that:

“We just came from Domna [Su-30SM base, 14 delivered in 2013]… Observed the assimilation of new aircraft. I want to note: great aircraft – pilots are glad. And it is very pleasing…. After all, for many years we have blamed the industry for late deliveries and poor quality products. On the example of Irkut it is clear that the situation is changing for the better: the industry provides high quality products and what is very important not by the end of the year, but quarterly. Whereby pilots are constantly flying and training. The job of Irkutsk Aviation Plant is a good example for other enterprises”.

Russia ordered 55 Yak-130s on Dec 12/11, out of 65 that had been envisioned in the 2011-2020 armaments plan. Another 10 orders wouldn’t keep production going for even 1 year at current rates, so it’s safe to assume that the next contract will be larger than that. Sources: Irkut, “Russian Air Force Commander In Chief Viktor Bondarev Highly Appreciated Aircraft Of Irkut Corporation” | RIA Novosti, “Russian Military Plans to Order More Yak-130 Combat Trainers”.

Dec 12/13: Marketing. Domestic marketing got a nice boost as of April 2013, and the Aviation Press Club gave the First National Aviation Video Award for Best Full Length InfoVideo to Russia 2 TV, for their “Polygon” show covering the Yak-130. American readers in particular know how these shows go, but the use of advanced CGI plus real-life experience with a weapon is a new thing in Russia, and the show was quite well done. In this case, Yakolev Design Bureau Chief test pilot and Hero of Russia Oleg Kononenko was personally at the controls for the filmed flight, and footage included the Irkutsk Aviation Plant and Zhukovsky Flight Test complex.

Viewer and social media response was very positive. Now, isn’t that better than executing people who try to tell others about your gear? Russia 2 TV’s Polygon Episode [incl. video] | Irkut, “Movie About Yak-130 By The Russia 2 Tv Channel Announced Winner Of The First National Aviation Video Award”.

Aug 26-31/13: Syria. It’s a Rashomon-style global improv performance, as Syrian President Bashar Assad and various Russian sources talk about their arms exports. On Aug 26/13, Assad tells Izvestia that all military contracts with Russia are being implemented “meticulously”, contradicting reports that the Yak-130s are delayed pending a political decision (q.v. Feb 13/13 entry). On Aug 30/13, Rosoboronexport Deputy CEO Viktor Komardin adds to the uncertainty by saying that they’re implementing Syrian contracts “signed prior to 2011,” which would exclude the 2011 deal for advanced S-300 air defense missiles, as well as the 2012 Yak-130 deal.

Finally, toward the end of the week, Russia’s Kommersant newspaper gives failure to pay as the reason for delivery delays involving 12 MiG-29M2 fighters (just 30% paid, now 2016-17 delivery), that “S-300 are out of question until we see real money” (otherwise delivery slips from July 2014 to 2015-16), and that only 6 Yak-130s will be shipped because that’s all Syria has paid for. This is a curious excuse, because it’s common global practice to make just a partial down-payment, with the rest paid only on delivery/ acceptance. Payment in advance would represent very unusual terms. What is clear, amidst all this murk, is that Russia isn’t interested in delivering these weapons any time soon. Sources: RIA Novosti, “All Contracts with Russia ‘on Track’ – Syria’s Assad” | “Kremlin Unaware of Syrian S-300 Missile Contract Payment – Aide” | “Russia Delays Arms Supplies to Syria over Money – Paper”.

April 2013: Russia’s VVS begins to use Yak-130s for preparatory and solo flights of cadet pilots in the Borisoglebvsk training Center, located in central Russia. Deliveries to Borisoglebvsk began in Fall 2012. Source: Yakolev DB, “Russian Air Force starts operation of Yak-130″.

Operational in Russia

Aug 27/13: What’s next. AS Yakolev Design Bureau hails the operational status of their Yak-130s in the Russian VVS (q.v. April 2013), and offers confirmation regarding some past upgrade reports (q.v. July 17/12):

“Dr. Oleg Demchenko, President of IRKUT Corp, believes that the main focus in the further development of the Yak-130 Program will be on increasing of its combat performances….. integrate an opto-electronic system into the plane’s avionics, which provides targets’ detection and their effective homing for guided weaponry at night. A next phase of the Yak’s development is related to installation of on-board radar in a stationary version as well as one of container type [in the nose and as a Leninets pod]…. Besides, it is being considered to use Yak-130 for carrying on its board Kh-31 and Kh-38 air-to-surface missiles…. IRKUT representatives opine that the augmented combat performances of Yak-130 will its market perspectives much better…. Among potential buyers are being mentioned the Philippines, Malaysia, Vietnam as well a few CIS countries. There were in news that the Yak-130’s proposals were formed up for India…. Russia is certain to promote Yak-130 in Brazil…”

Finally, a Russian aerobatic team will be formed using a dedicated Yak-130 variant. Aerobatic modifications tend to strip unneeded items and weight in order to maximize performance, while adding attachments and systems for things like cameras, smoke generators, etc. Sources: Yakolev DB, “Russian Air Force starts operation of Yak-130″.

March 27/13: Bangladesh. Rosoboronexport Deputy Chief Viktor Komardin tells RIA Novosti that:

“Bangladesh has a whole list of arms it wants [under a $1 billion credit agreement with Russia], but so far that is a state secret. I will reveal one little secret: The purchase of Yak-130 warplanes is a very significant subject of negotiations between Russia and Bangladesh.”

Bangladesh currently flies 7 L-39s in the training role. Its fighter inventory of Chinese designs is aging out, but a 2010 stopgap buy of 16 J-7BGIs (improved MiG-21 copies) will be around for a while. A small fleet of 8 Russian MiG-29s are being upgraded, which makes the Yak-130 a better lead-in than China’s J-15. Their interest has reportedly risen to 24 Yak-130s, which could serve as multi-role trainers with secondary attack and air policing capabilities.

Feb 13/13: Syria. Anatoly Isaikin, the director of Rosoboronexport, tells Associated Press that no new Russian combat planes or helicopters have been delivered to Syria, and confirmed that they hadn’t yet shipped any of the Yak-130 jets Syria had ordered.

Syria’s remaining L-39 Albatros fleet of advanced jet trainer/ light strike aircraft have seen considerable use during that country’s civil war, which began in April 2011. Russia has not embargoed Syria, but shipments of weapons have been slow.

Dec 18/12: Belarus. Irkut Corp.:

“In accordance with the Agreement on the development of military-technical cooperation between the Russian Federation and the Republic of Belarus dated December 10, 2009, today in Minsk the contract on 4 Yak-130 combat-trainers delivery in 2015 was signed by the Belarusian Defence Ministry and IRKUT Corporation (a part of United Aircraft Corporation).”

See Irkut | RIA Novosti.

Belarus: 4

Late 2012: Exports. Moscow Defence Brief takes an in-depth look at the Yak-130 program, and says that the sale to Syria hasn’t gone through. Meanwhile, it has this to say about potential international sales:

“It has been reported that Rosoboronexport, the Russian arms exports near-monopoly, and Irkut’s parent company, OAK, are negotiating possible Yak 130 contracts with several new foreign customers, including Poland, Venezuela, Uruguay, the Philippines, Bangladesh and Malaysia. In late 2011 it was reported that a 550m-dollar contract for 36 Yak 130s had been signed with Syria – but according to the latest available information, the contract has not yet entered into force because the Russian government has yet to give the final go-ahead. Finally, it has been reported that Belarus also plans to buy several Yak 130s.”

Russia may have talked to Poland, but they aren’t going to buy a Russian trainer, period. As for the Philippines, their choice became official in August 2012: South Korea’s supersonic TA-50. It’s questionable whether the Yak-130 was ever a serious contender.

Nov 15/12: Bangladesh. Rosoboronexport’s Sergey Kornev is interviewed by Voice of Russia at the Zhuhai Airshow 2012:

“Kornev added that Russia will grant a loan to Bangladesh to buy 12 Yak-130 planes and Su-27 jet fighters. He did not mention the sum of the loan. “As far as I know the loan has been approved. Within its amount Bangladesh can choose the number of planes it will buy and their modifications”, he said.”

The cheaper Yaks make far more sense as a replacement to the BBB’s FT-6 (MiG-19) and L-39 trainers, and a ground attack companion to its Chinese J-7 (MiG-21) and Russian MiG-29 fighters. In contrast, buying just 4-6 SU-27s just creates maintenance headaches. Still, one should never underestimate the role of ego in these decisions.

Nov 14/12: Exports. RIA Novosti quotes “a source in the Russian delegation at the Air China aerospace show”, who says that reports that Malaysia and Vietnam are interested in buying Yak-130s. Vietnam is something of an uncertain case, with some reports that a contract for 8 was signed in April 2010, and others saying there has been no final contract. Beyond Vietnam, Malaysia operates SU-30MKMs, and:

“Malaysia will need new combat trainers in the near future to replace the outdated Italian-made M-339 aircraft,” the source said.”

Malaysia also has a good relationship with the British, however, and their neighbors in Indonesia fly a lot of Hawk aircraft.

July 18/12: Syria. Irkut head Alexei Fedorov tells RIA Novosti that they’re willing to deliver Syria’s contract for 36 planes, “when we get an indication from the government.” The paper continues:

“Last week, on the sidelines of the Farnborough Air Show in Britain, the deputy head of Russia’s military-technicial cooperation commission, Vyacheslav Dzirkaln, said Russia had decided to suspend the Yak-130 contract to Syria while the country was in a state of internal conflict. “Until the situation stabilizes, we will not deliver any new weapons [to Syria],” he said.”

First Libya, then Syria. This is certainly a new behavior for the Russians.

July 17/12: Irkut arming Yak-130s. the Russian military may not be interested in developing a Yak-131 light attack version, but Irkut thinks there’s a market for the existing Yak-130, and is working to give it a full strike fighter’s array. At present, the Yak-130’s 3,000 kg/ 6,600 pounds of payload can includes AA-11/R-73 short range air-to-air missiles for defense, and KAB-500 guided bombs, in addition to unguided bombs, rockets and 23mm gun pods.

Irkut VP Komstantin Popovich told Aviation Week that work on in-flight refueling capability, and efforts to add an optronic surveillance and targeting pod, are expected to be complete in 2013. That would give the Yak-130 the ability to laser-designate its own targets, which is especially useful in counterinsurgency operations. It may also help in designating targets for TV, infrared, and laser guided versions of the Kh-38 family of short-medium range strike missiles, and Kh-29 (AS-14 Kedge) short-range heavy strike missile.

The next step would involve a radar capable of ground scans and targeting. This would let the plane work with radar-guided missiles like the Kh-29MP, or even heavy strike missiles like the supersonic Kh-31 (AS-17 Krypton). The VVS hasn’t requested precision strike missiles, but Popovich says that the aircraft’s inherent stability allows the plane to carry even heavy loads like the Kh-31. A Yak-130 that could fire such missiles would become a much more dangerous threat to defended targets, and greatly expand the plane’s versatility beyond counter-insurgency.

The enabling radar could come from Phazotron-NIIR (“FK-130″) or their competitor Tikhomirov-NIIP, or it could even arrive as a radar pod from St. Petersburg’s Leninetz. Irkut expects to pick a design by the end of 2012, with development continuing into 2014. Aviation Week.

July 4/12: Farnborough. The Yak-130 will fly at Farnborough 2012, as part of the Russian exhibit. It’s the 1st time the trainer has taken part in the #1 international air show. RIA Novosti.

May 21/12: No armed Yak-131. The Yak-130 can be armed, and its combination of visibility, speed, and good handling characteristics could make it an attractive light attack aircraft. There was even said to be some consideration of making it a substitute for the heavily-armored SU-25 close support jet, which may need to start some production lines to keep its upgraded variants in good shape. Unfortunately, Flight International reports that the Russian air force won’t be fielding it in that role:

“The Russian military has abandoned plans to develop a light attack aircraft based on the Yak-130, as Zelin says a prototype dubbed the Yak-131 did not demonstrate a high enough level of protection for its pilot.”

The VVS will continue to use modernized SU-25 SM close air support planes for this role, and eventually plans to order a total of 80 upgrades. They’re also talking about designing and fielding a successor aircraft to the heavily-armored SU-25 fleet, but that’s a project for 2020 at the earliest.

Jan 23/12: Syria. Russian media are reporting that Syria has signed a $550-million contract with Russia’s state-owned Rosoboronexport arms export agency, involving 36 Yak-130 trainer and light attack jets. The deal was reportedly struck in December 2011, with the Yakolev Design Bureau as the type owner, Irkut as the builder, and jets to be supplied once Syria makes a pre-payment.

That could be very useful to the Assad regime, which is receiving open Russian support against strong domestic unrest – if, and only if, the regime survives long enough to take delivery.

Neighboring Turkey has quietly but firmly placed itself on the other side of that bet, partly as a form of payback for Syria’s long support of Kurdish PKK insurgents. Russian analyst Ruslan Pukhov is correct that this situation introduces a strong element of risk for Russia, but he is less correct when he says that counterinsurgency (COIN) support is a job for cheaper planes. In terms of sellers willing to deal with Syria, the Yak-130 is the low-budget, low-risk fixed-wing COIN alternative, which also patches a potentially serious training hole that could deliver a coup de grace to the existing Syrian Air Force. See also: Russia’s RIA Novosti | Saudi Arabia’s Arab News | Israel’s Arutz Sheva | Bloomberg | CNN | Turkey’s Zaman.

Syria: 36

2010 – 2011

Big Russian order; Libya makes deal, then falls; Libyan Yaks to Kazakhstan?; Losses in Indonesia, India; Guided weapon tests; Crash stalls program for a year. Yak-130
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Dec 12/11: Russia. Irkut announces a big order from Russia: 55 aircraft by 2015, out of 65 Yak-130s envisaged in the current 2011-2020 armaments plans. This is a big deal for Irkut, whose customers for the last 2 decades have been export clients.

Other reports suggest that Russia may eventually place orders for as many as 300 of the planes, which can also become heavily-armed counter-insurgency and light attack planes. ITAR-TASS | Irkut Corp..

Russia: 55

Nov 8/11: JSC Irkut announces that Russian Air Force Commander-in-Chief Col. Gen. Alexander Zelin has promised a contract for full production of Yak-130 trainers, during a visit to its Irkutsk aviation plant. The visit was apparently something of an inspection, and Col. Gen. Zelin is quoted as saying that (per Irkut’s translation):

“There is no problem with the fulfillment of state defense order. We understand that there is no other company that could produce Yak-130 with such level of quality. It’s encouraging that the company entered the foreign market with the product. I think IRKUT has good prospects…. Yak-130 contracting is currently being finalized. Price terms were basically approved.”

Irkut has been delivering a very limited number of Yak-130s to the VVS since February 2010, and estimates an overall market for about 250 of the aircraft by 2015. Most of those will be Russian orders, which will apparently include a new aerobatic group to fly alongside the Russian Knights’ Su-27s and the Swifts’ MiG-29s.

Autumn 2011: Russia begins guided weapon tests with the Yak-130. Source.

Sept 1/11: Yak-130. Algerian pilots training at the Irkutsk Aviation Plant’s airfield perform their 1st first solo flights, following 3 months of training and over 100 flights with Irkut crews. Irkut says they’ve also been training Algerian engineers and technicians on the Yak-130 aircraft, as Algeria prepared to induct the planes. JSC Irkut.

Aug 5/11: Kazakhstan? China Daily reports that Russia is looking to redirect Libya’s order for 6 Yak-130 trainer and light attack aircraft:

“Another deal will be for six Yak-130 light attack aircraft originally intended for Libya before the United Nations imposed an arms embargo on Tripoli, cutting Moscow off from $2 billion in signed deals and another $2 billion in potential contracts. The top customer for the light attack aircraft is Kazakhstan which is trying to boost its regional clout, [CAST think-tank director] Pukhov said, citing defense industry sources.”

May 5/11: Indonesia. The Yak-130 is out of the picture, as Indonesia signs a deal with South Korea for 16 T-50i armed trainers. The Yak-130 was actually eliminated on April 12/11, when Indonesia designated the T-50 as its preferred plane.

Read “Indonesia’s New Trainer & Attack Aircraft” for full coverage.

Indonesia loss

2010: Vietnam. Sketchy reports have Vietnam signing a contract for 8 Yak-130s. Source.

Confirmation is weak. Subsequent reports talk about Vietnam considering the aircraft, but don’t make it clear whether or not the initial buy has gone through. Flight International’s World Air Forces 2013 doesn’t list any serving Yak-130s in the VPAF, just 26 L-39Cs in stock. Scramble’s Orbat states that “[8] Yak-130UBS trainers are expected to replace the L-39 in the 2015-2025 timeframe, although no order has been signed yet.”

Vietnam: 8???

Aug 9/10: Indonesia. Air Forces Monthly reports that Indonesia’s Defense Acquisition Program Administration has narrowed its 16 plane advanced jet trainer and light attack aircraft order to the Czech Aero L-159B, South Korea’s T-50 Golden Eagle, and Russia’s Yak-130.

That leaves both Alenia’s M346 Master and China’s JL-9/FTC-2000 out in the cold. Interestingly, the common denominator for the 2 eliminated types is poor secondary ground attack capabilities.

July 28/10: India. BAE Systems announces a new GBP 500 million (about $773 million) order to supply India with another 57 Hawk Advanced Jet Trainer (AJT) aircraft, to be built under licence in India for the Indian Air Force (40) and Indian Navy (17).

It isn’t clear if their international competition really was serious. Read “Hawks Fly Away With India’s Jet Trainer v2 Competition” for more.

India loss

May 29/10: Crash. One of the Yak-130s from Russia’s initial production order for 12 (q.v. Late 2002) crashes near Lipetsk. The crew survive, but fly-by-wire system is reportedly a problem again.

The Yak-130s fleet is grounded for a year, and deliveries are suspended. Source.

Crash grounds fleet, suspends deliveries

Feb 15/10: Libya. Russia’s Yakovlev Design Bureau offers initial specifics concerning the deal with Libya. Note that the language becomes much vaguer once it moves away from Yakovlev’s jets, and an order for tanks, which suggests that the SU-30 family and air defense purchases are still under discussion:

“Tripoli signed a $1.8-billion purchase agreement that includes acquisition of six YAK-130 advanced jet trainers for delivery in 2011-12, in addition to tanks. Libya has also expressed interest in acquiring 12 Su-35s, the latest Sukhoi fighter in production; four Su-30MK2s, as well as the advanced S-300PMU2 air-defense system.”

Yak-130s can serve as advanced trainers, or light attack aircraft. Yakovlev DB via defense aerospace | VITINFO [in Vietnamese].

Jan 30/10: Libya. Reports surface that Russia has signed a $2 billion arms deal with Libya. There is no official release, and details are largely absent, except for a quote from Vladimir Putin, who said the deal was “not only for small arms and light weapons.”

The regime falls before the deal can go through. Moscow Times | CNN.

Libya: 6

1998 – 2009

From requirement to selection; Joint venture with Italy’s Aermacchi; Russia orders 12, finishes testing; Algeria orders 16; Irkut rips production from Sokol; Crash delays program for 2 years. Yak-130, early design
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Dec 25/09: The Yak-130 successfully completes all Russian tests under the development contract. Source.

Development testing complete

Dec 22/09: Algeria. Irkut Corporation announces in passing that “The Irkut Corporation concluded the contract with Algeria on delivery of Yak-130 and carrying out its contractual obligations.”

March 17/09: India. The Press Trust of India reports that supply delays to Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), which is supposed to assemble a number of the Hawks in India, have resulted in an international competition for India’s follow-on order of up to 57 Lead-In Fighter Trainers.

The RFP was reportedly sent to the Czech Republic’s Aero Vodochody (L-159), Italy’s Alenia (M-346), BAE (Hawk, but it would be a more advanced variant), Korea’s KAI (T-50s), and Russia (either the YAK-130 variant of the M346 joint project, or the MiG AT). PTI News | Indian Express | Flight International.

2008: Irkut manages to lobby all Yak-130 production into its facilities. They were originally slated to produce the export versions, while Sokol in Nizhniy Novgorod was supposed to make the Russian planes. The move ends Sokol’s production after just 16 units, including prototypes. Source.

Irkut-only

June 26/06: The 3rd Yak-130 prototype off the line is lost in a crash at the Zhukovskiy airfield, and the causes are traced to the fly-by-wire system’s software. Nobody is killed.

Work to correct the problem reportedly delays the program by almost 2 years. The 4th prototype doesn’t fly until mid-2008. Source.

Crash delays program

March 14/06: Algeria. Russia and Algeria sign a deal that includes 16 Yak-130s, for a total of $200 million. That number of planes is later confirmed by Air International News at Farnborough in July 2006. Moscow Defense Brief added that there’s an option for 14-16 more Yak-130 trainers.

The Yak-130s will complement/ replace Algeria’s older L-39 ZA Albatros aircraft from Czechoslovakia.

Algeria: 16

May 30/04: First Yak-130 production prototype is rolled out at the Sokol plant. Source.

Late 2002: Initial Russian contract for 12 Yak-130s. Source.

Russia: 12

April 10/02: Russia officially picks the Yak-130 over the MiG-AT as its future trainer, following a flyoff. The Yak’s more polished engine design is reportedly a factor in its selection.

Under the contract, the Yak-130 was supposed to reach completed state testing by 2006. It actually takes until Dec 25/09. Source.

Russia picks Yak-130

April 25/96: 1st flight of a Yak-130D prototype. Source.

October 1993: Yakolev signs an agreement with Italy’s Aermacchi to jointly develop the Yak/AEM-130 advanced trainer. The Soviet Union has collapsed by this point, and defense funding is in a deep freeze, so Italian financing becomes critical to the program. Source.

JV with Alenia

1988: The Soviet Air Force announces a competition for a future trainer jet to replace the (Czech) Aero Vodochody L-39 Albatros.

Yakolev’s design faced off against RAC MiG’s MiG-AT, Sukhoi’s S-54, and the Myasishchev bureau’s M-200. The S-54 and M-200 are eliminated in the 1st downselect. Source.

Additional Readings

• A.S. Yakolev Design Bureau – Yak-130

• Airforce Technology – Yak-130 Combat Trainer, Russian Federation

• Moscow Defence Brief (#3, 2012) – Yak-130: New Russia’s Most Successful Aircraft. It adds: “Another “blood relative” of the Yak 130 is the Chinese L-15 trainer developed by Hongdu Aviation Industries Group. The Yakovlev design bureau helped the Chinese with the design; as a result the L-15 is essentially a version of the Yak 130. The aircraft also uses the Ukrainian-made AI 222 25 engines.”

• AIN (Dec 7/12) – L-15, Yak-130 Jet Trainers Compete for Asian Buyers

• News.MN – Report [in Mongolian]. Reportedly involves a limited Yak-130 purchase, but DID cannot translate it.

Key Competitors

• BAE – Hawk Advanced Jet Training System. The world’s leading in-production jet trainer.

• Wikipedia – BAE Systems Hawk. Shows the full breadth of the Hawk family.

• Airforce Technology – JL-9 (JianLian-9 ) Trainer / Light Attack Aircraft, China. Derived at long remove from the JJ-7 MiG-21 trainer.

• Airforce Technology – Hongdu L-15 Supersonic Trainer / Attack Aircraft, China.

• Sinodefence – L-15 Advanced Jet Trainer. N.B. Not certain how a plane with a very similar design to the Yak-130, the same engines, and a slightly heavier takeoff weight is supposed to be so much faster, and hit Mach 1.4.

• DID – Czech L-159s: Cheap to Good Home

• DID FOCUS – Finmeccanica’s M-346 AJT: Who’s the Master Now?

• DID FOCUS – Korea’s T-50 Family Spreads Its Wings

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In the 1970s, fighter aircraft began to appear with Head-Up Displays (HUD) that projected key information, targeting crosshairs etc. onto a seemingly clear piece of glass. HUDs allowed pilots to keep their eyes in the sky, instead of looking down at their instruments. In the 1990s, another innovation appeared: helmet-mounted displays (HMDs) put the HUD inside the pilot’s helmet, providing this information even when the pilot wasn’t looking straight ahead. The Israelis were already pioneering a system called DASH (Display And Sight Helmet) when a set of former East German MiG-29s, equipped with Soviet HMDs, slaughtered USAF F-16s in NATO exercises. Suddenly, helmet-mounted displays became must-haves for modern fighters – and a key partnership positioned Elbit to take DASH to the next level.

This DID Spotlight article offers insights into the rocky past, successful present, and competitive future of a program that has experienced its share of snags and controversy – but went on to become the #1 helmet-mounted sight in the world. It also details the game-changing effects of Joint Helmet Mounted Cueing Systems on air combat, its production sets and known customers, and all contracts since full-rate production began.

JHMCS: A Combat Multiplier The HMD Revolution Wir haben euch
ge-pwn-t
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Early infrared-guided air-air missiles had poor kill probabilities because they had to be launched from the rear, where the enemy engine’s heat source provided a clear enough target. Subsequent improvements allowed SRAAMs to be launched head-on, as improved sensors and computer processing allowed the missiles to detect and target the heat created by air friction. The AIM-9L Sidewinder’s new capabilities gave British Harriers a clear combat advantage over the Falklands in 1982, and arguably kept Britain from losing that war.

Computer processing and seekers have continued to improve. A number of the most modern SRAAMs use a form of infrared imaging that sees pictures rather than just heat sources, and can ignore many flares and other countermeasures. At the missile’s other end, improvements to maneuverability and motors enable a missile to make several maneuvers at g-force levels that manned fighters can’t even approach. As a result, close-in combat has become a much deadlier enterprise, where the winner may well be the aircraft that shoots first.

In that environment, improvements designed to make that “shoot first” outcome more likely become very valuable.

One way to improve one’s odds is to fly a plane with excellent pitch and slew capabilities, allowing the pilot to point at enemy aircraft and quickly get off a shot without having to engage in lengthy maneuvering. The forward canard & delta designs of 4+ generation European fighters, and Sukhoi’s advanced SU-30 family aircraft, are no accident. Neither is the F-22A Raptor’s thrust vectoring capability, a trait shared by Russian SU-30MKI/M, SU-35, and MiG-35 fighters.

Another approach is to add a helmet-mounted display (HMD). If the missile seeker has a wide enough cone, the pilot can simply use his head for the point maneuver, confirming lock-on and firing a SRAAM even at angles that would seem to be outside any threat range based on the position of his aircraft. While aircraft with excellent ‘slew and point’ capabilities + HMDs offer the best combination, older aircraft with HMDs and better missiles can also become extremely effective.

Air combat exercises held shortly after the fall of the Soviet Union, in which German MiG-29s with helmet-mounted displays and AA-11 missiles slaughtered American F-16s by the dozens, drove that point home with brutal clarity.

JHMCS High Off-Boresight
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It shouldn’t be surprising that Israel had also been working on helmet-mounted displays for some time, and was already flying a system from Elbit called DASH (Display And Sight Helmet). Vision Systems International, LLC is a joint venture between Elbit Systems Ltd. Subsidiary EFW Inc. and Rockwell Collins; when the USA went looking for a “Joint Helmet Mounted Cueing System” of its own, VSI won the contract in 1996.

JHMCS projects visual targeting and aircraft performance information on the back of the helmet’s visor, including aircraft altitude, airspeed, gravitational pull, angle of attack, and weapons sighting, enabling the pilot to monitor this information without interrupting the field of view through the cockpit canopy. The system uses a magnetic transmitter unit fixed to the pilot’s seat and a magnetic field probe mounted on the helmet to define helmet pointing positioning. A Helmet Vehicle Interface (HVI) interacts with the aircraft system bus to provide signal generation for the helmet display. This offers significant improvements to close combat targeting and engagement.

A 1998 Air Power International article explains:

“Unlike the embedded DASH, the JHMCS is a clip-on package, which can be latched into position with one hand in flight, on a modified HGU-55/P, HGU-56/P or HGU-68/P helmet. The JHMCS is a much more advanced design than the DASH, and builds on the collective technology base of Elbit and Kaiser. It employs a newer, much faster digital processing package, but retains the same style of electromagnetic position sensing as the older DASH does. The CRT package is more capable, but remains limited to monochrome presentation of calligraphic symbology. While the manufacturers have declined to comment, it would appear that the JHMCS will provide support for raster scanned imagery to display FLIR/IRS&T pictures for operations in poor visibility or at night. The photograph of the helmet separated from the Display Unit clearly illustrates the high voltage coaxial and discrete/serial connections via the umbilical, which is embedded in the helmet. Unlike the DASH series, the high voltage supply is not embedded in the helmet and feeds up via the umbilical, through a quick disconnect inline high voltage rated connector. An attachment is provided to allow a NVG package to be clipped on during flight. The JHMCS will provide a 20 degree FoV (Field of view) for the right eye, with an 18 mm exit pupil.”

As a nice additional feature, the helmet has a camera that records the JHMCS targeting display on videocassette for post-mission debriefing.

Precision air to ground weapons can’t be fired with JHMCS targeting alone, because the system’s accuracy requirements weren’t set that high. That hasn’t stopped the helmet from becoming extremely useful for ground engagements, however, due to its ability to point the aircraft’s more precise FLIR or targeting systems toward any target the pilot is looking at. This eliminates the long and difficult “soda straw view sync-up” process with the pilot’s view out the window, which can easily take 30 seconds or more, and tends to result in predictably targetable flight patterns. Instead, JHMCS-equipped planes can fly much more freely as they run through a quicker “look, sharpen, shoot” process.

Doing all of this without killing the pilot would be nice, and so the JHMCS helmet system has been ejection-tested using full sled tests. This was one of the system’s most challenging design requirements, but their success ensures that the extra weight on top of the pilot’s head won’t create neck injuries during the violent, rocket-assisted blast-out that characterizes modern ejection seats.

JHMCS helmets have become the de facto global standard for fighter helmet-mounted displays. They currently equip US F-15 Eagle family, F-16, and F/A-18 Hornet Family aircraft, and have become popular export items for countries buying these American “teen series” fighters.

After a long period with limited competition beyond Russia’s Shchel-3UM and Elbit’s own DASH, other modern fighters and manufacturers are beginning to catch up. BAE is offering an HMSS/Striker helmet for Eurofighter Typhoon customers, and its Q-Sight has become part of a backup HMD option for the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter program if VSI’s own next-gen HMDS system fails. Saab/BAE’s Cobra helmet has begun equipping JAS-39 Gripen customers. The French Rafale still has no serving HMD, which is a real weakness, but Thales’ TopSight is qualified on French Mirage 2000-5s, and on India’s new MiG-29K carrier-borne fighters.

JHMCS Improvements & Upgrades JHMCS-II/h
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No system remains static, and JHMCS has continued to improve since its introduction.

NVCD: The night vision package now offers JHMCS 40-degree night vision cueing and display (NVCD) units, which give pilots JHMCS symbology in their night vision goggles. These 2-tube or 4-tube options offer a lower weight display option that nonetheless depends on a JHMCS helmet to make it work. The US Navy has chosen the 40 x 40 degree field of view 2-tube option at the moment, rather than the 100 x 40 degree QuadEye.

JHMCS-II: In October 2011, VSI unveiled a new JHMCS-II system, based on Elbit Systems’ new Targo helmet. The formal product debut was June 2013, offering a lighter and simpler, night-vision capable, all-digital HMD, which replaces the current bulky connecting wire with a much thinner tether. The daytime display offers a full color LCD that highlights friendly and enemy forces. For night operations, the visor is replaced with a modular, snap-on night vision goggle (NVG) that preserves the full-color symbology.

A Digital JHMCS (D-JHMCS) version still uses the standard JHMCS magnetic helmet tracker, and the same gear hooked into the plane, but adds the thinner tether, color symbology and improved day/night capabilities. D-JHMCS is designed as a drop-in upgrade to fighters that already have the original system.

The full JHMCS II is for new platforms like the F-15SE Silent Eagle, and can also be added to existing qualified platforms as a new installation or full replacement. It uses Targo’s new optical-inertial tracker, moves more processing to the helmet, and replaces the standard JHMCS aircraft integration with a lightweight Aircraft Interface Unit (ACIU) that doesn’t need cooling, a mounting tray or cockpit mapping. That makes for a lighter overall system, and faster initial integration with the pilot’s fighter.

JHMCS: The Program to Date

The total value of all JHMCS production contracts since the beginning of low-rate production is over $550 million – a figure that excludes minor contract modifications and unannounced sales. As of June 2013, JHMCS had 26 customers, but it seems likely that VSI counts the US Air Force, Air National Guard, and Navy as separate customers. Customers that DID has been able to verify include:

F-15s: USAF, US Air National Guard, South Korea (F-15K).
F-16s: USAF, Belgium, Chile, Denmark, Greece, Iraq (F-16IQ block 52), The Netherlands, Norway, Oman, Pakistan, Poland, Taiwan, Turkey. UAE (F-16E/F) confirmed via a social media search.
F/A-18 A-D: Australia, Canada, Finland, Switzerland. USMC and USN presumed.
F/A-18 E/F: US Navy; Australia likely.

Foreign Military Sale requests that haven’t yet turned into verified customers include:

F-15s: Singapore (F-15SG, possible but could also use DASH), Saudi Arabia (F-15SA, not delivered yet).
F-16s: Morocco (F-16C/D block 52).
F/A-18s: Kuwait (F/A-18C), Malaysia (F/A-18D, modifications underway).

In addition, note that VSI partner Elbit Systems is an Israeli company. Sales to Israel might not need to be announced by the Pentagon if Israel were to buy JHMCS systems direct from Elbit, to supplement the DASH (Display And Sight Helmet) on Israeli Air Force F-16s and F-15s.

Announced production stages, amounts, and customers include:

Back in 2007, Boeing predicted that the final number of JHMCS units produced will exceed 2,800 for all customers, including those produced during their 4 Low-Rate Initial Production runs. By June 2013, Elbit was touting 6,000 customer units sold.

JHMCS: FRP Contracts & Key Events

Unless otherwise stated, all contracts are issued by the Headquarters Air Force Materiel Command at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, OH, to Boeing in St. Louis, MO. While the system itself is from the Rockwell Collins/Elbit joint venture Vision Systems International, Boeing is the prime contractor for the JHMCS program. VSI then receives sub-contracts from Boeing. Note that this list presently includes only contracts and events since the beginning of Full Rate Production; the Low Rate Initial Production phase had some bumpy moments, which are detailed in Appendix A.

FY 2015

First Generation III HMDS delivered to F-35 Joint Program Office; Rockwell Collins-ESA Vision Systems gets $20.9 contract for 120 units

August 14/15: On Thursday the Navy handed M. C. Dean Inc and Honeywell Technology Solutions two multiple-award contracts totalling $1.66 billion for the installation and certification of C4ISR systems, while Rockwell Collins-ESA Vision Systems was handed a $20.9 million contract for 120 Joint Helmet Mounted Cueing System (JHMCS) Night Vision Cueing and Display (NVCD) systems.

August 13/15: Rockwell Collins has delivered the first Generation III helmet-mounted display system to the F-35 Joint Program Office. Use of a Distributed Aperture System (DAS) will allow pilots using the HMDS to see through the aircraft’s airframe, with the helmet system scheduled to enter the F-35 fleet during low rate initial production lot 7, timetabled for next year.

FY 2013

Orders – USA, Finland, Iraq; JHMCS-II/ D-JHMCS product launch; Eurofighter playing HMD catch-up. JHMCS-II display
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June 13/13: JHMCS II. Elbit Systems formally announces the JHMCS II’s product launch availability to purchase, beginning at the 50th Paris Air Show on June 17/13. The helmet comes in 2 versions.

Digital JHMCS (D-JHMCS) still uses the magnetic helmet tracker, and the same gear hooked into the plane, but adds the same color symbology and improved day/night capabilities. D-JHMCS is designed as a drop-in upgrade to JHMCS-equipped fighters.

JHMCS II is for new platforms like the F-15SE Silent Eagle, and can also be added to existing qualified platforms as a new installation or full replacement. It uses the new optical-inertial tracker and replaces the JHMCS aircraft system with a lightweight Aircraft Interface Unit (ACIU) that doesn’t need cooling, a mounting tray or cockpit mapping. Elbit Systems | JHMCS II site.

JHMCS-II/ D-JHMCS launched

May 17/13: Support. Vision Systems International LLC in Fort Worth, TX receives a maximum $31.1 million firm fixed price, sole source contract for various aircraft spare parts, new aircraft installs, and support equipment.

Work will be performed in Texas, Oregon, and Israel, and is scheduled to be complete by Jan 31/15. The contract covers the US Navy, USAF, Belgium (F-16 MLU), Iraq (F-16IQ), Kuwait (F/A-18C/D), Taiwan (F-16+), and Chile (F-16 var). FY 2014 through 2015 Foreign Military Sales funds will be used, alongside USAF and US Navy budgets. The contracting will be managed by the Defense Logistics Agency Aviation at Robins AFB, GA (SPRWA1-11-D-0007-0005).

Dec 19/12: F-18 Retrofits. Boeing in St. Louis, MO receives an $8.9 million firm-fixed-price delivery order against a previously issued Basic Ordering Agreement for 285 Joint Helmet Mounted Cueing System (JHMCS) retrofit kits in support of F/A-18C and F/A-18F aircraft.

Work will be performed in St. Louis, MO (56%); Meza, AZ (37%); and El Paso, TX (7%), and is expected to be complete in June 2015. All contract funds are committed immediately, of which $1.35 million will expire at the end of the current fiscal year, on Sept 30/13. US NAVAIR in Patuxent River, MD manages the contract.

May 17/13: Support. Vision Systems International LLC, Fort Worth, TX receives a maximum $31.1 million firm fixed price, sole source contract for various aircraft spare parts, new aircraft installs, and support equipment.

Work will be performed in Texas, Oregon, and Israel, and is scheduled to be complete by Jan 31/15. The contract covers the US Navy, USAF, Belgium (F-16 MLU), Iraq (F-16IQ), Kuwait (F/A-18C/D), Taiwan (F-16+), and Chile (F-16 var). FY 2014 through 2015 Foreign Military Sales funds will be used, alongside USAF and US Navy budgets. The contracting will be managed by the Defense Logistics Agency Aviation at Robins AFB, GA (SPRWA1-11-D-0007-0005).

Nov 1/12: FRP-9 – USN, Finland, Iraq. Vision Systems International LLC in Fort Worth, TX receives a sole source, maximum $111 million, firm fixed price contract for new aircraft installs, spares and support equipment for the US Navy, Iraq, and Finland.

Work will be performed in Texas, Oregon and Israel, and funded via FY 2013 – 2014 US Navy funds and Foreign Military Sales. The contract runs until Dec 31/14, and is managed by the Defense Logistics Agency Aviation at Robins AFB, GA (SPRWA1-11-D-0007-0004).

FRP-9 order

Oct 16/12: Typhoon HMSS. Eurofighter GmbH touts the new “Head Equipment Assembly (HEA), developed by BAE Systems’ Electronic Systems, [which] comprises the aircrew helmet and all the sub-system elements needed to display a real world overlaid picture on the helmet visor.” The accompanying video has a Typhoon pilot explaining why this is so powerful, and expressing his belief that it’s impossible to beat an enemy if they have a system like this and you don’t.

“Once you’ve had this helmet on, you don’t ever want to be without it.”

All well and good. The fact is, American fighters have had these capabilities for almost a decade now, via JHMCS. Something they’ve used to their advantage in international competitions against the Typhoon, and against other fighters like the French Rafale that lack an accompanying HMD.

FY 2012

VSI is split; Orders – USA, Australia, Belgium, Canada, Finland, Pakistan, Switzerland; Requests/Prep – Kuwait, Malaysia; JHMCS-II will equip F-15SE Silent Eagle; How to kill a Raptor. Equipped.
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Summer 2012: Split. The VSI joint venture is restructured to create 2 product centers. Elbit Systems of America leads the group in Fort Worth, TX, responsible for JHMCS and NVCD.

Rockwell Collins leads the group in Cedar Rapids, IA, which is responsible for the F-35’s challenging (and, to date, problematic) HMDS. Source: Elbit Systems of America.

VSI split in 2

July 30/12: F-15SE. Boeing announces that they’ve validated the integration of the next-generation JHMCS II/h on the company’s F-15SE Silent Eagle demonstrator aircraft. The new HMD is designed to be lighter, easier to maintain, and more self-sufficient, making it easier to integrate into new aircraft. Integrating this enhanced system onto the Silent Eagle took less than 3 months between ‘go-ahead’ and first flight.

All this is important to Boeing, because its F-15SE with JHMCS-II is the offer on the table for South Korea’s F-XIII competition, against EADS Eurofighter and Lockheed Martin’s F-35.

June 28/12: Kuwait. The US DSCA announces [PDF] Kuwait’s Foreign Military Sale request for 43 JHMCS Cockpit Units, along with their accompanying Single Seat Electronic Units and Helmet Display Units for the pilots of its F/A-18C Hornet fighters. It complements their February 2012 DSCA request [PDF] for an initial batch of 80 operational AIM-9X-2 short range air-air missiles, whose wide seeker cones make them the perfect complement to JHMCS’ look and launch capabilities.

Kuwait will also be buying related spare and repair parts, support equipment, tool and test equipment, personnel training and training equipment, publications and technical data, and other U.S. Government and contractor support. The latter will include some travel to Kuwait on a temporary basis for program and technical support, and management oversight.

The estimated cost if a contract is negotiated is up to $51 million, and the principal contractor will be the fighter’s manufacturer, Boeing Aerospace in St. Louis, MO. VSI in San Jose, CA will, of course, supply the JHMCS equipment.

March 1/12: FRP-8 A $31.7 million firm-fixed-price contract for JHMCS full rate production: 111 systems for the U.S. Navy and, under the Foreign Military Sales Program, Pakistan, Belgium, Australia, Canada, Switzerland, and Finland. Work will be performed in San Jose, CA until Dec 31/13 (F33657-01-D-0026).

FRP-8 order

Feb 28/12: How to Kill an F-22. USAF Lt. General Herbert “Hawk” Carlisle explains how JHMCS can help a Boeing F-15 Eagle shoot down an F-22, at a breakfast event sponsored by the Air Force Association in Rosslyn, Virginia.

“They always start defensive as you might imagine because anything else is kind of a waste of gas. So the F-22 always start defensive. On rare occasions the F-22 guy — first of all, the Eagle guy, you have to fly a perfect lag fight. You have to have AIM-9X and JHMCS to get an off-boresight IR(infrared) capability. And the F-22 guy has to put up his power a nanosecond too early and not use his countermeasures and you may get a fleeting, one nanosecond AIM-9X shot, and that’s about it.”

Good luck with that, but at least it’s a chance. Or, it’s disinformation designed to get opposing pilots to try a low-odds shot. You decide. Flight International.

How to kill an F-22 Raptor

Feb 14/12: NVCD. A $19.8 million firm-fixed-price contract for NVCD standard field night vision devices for the US Air Force and Navy. Work is expected to be complete by September 2013 (FA8607-11-C-2795, P00002).

Dec 12/11: Iraq. The US DSCA announces Iraq’s request for what amounts to a 2nd operational squadron of F-16IQs, plus weapons. The request for 18 more fighters would bring Iraq’s total to 36, but unlike their initial December 2010 request, the figure given is up to $2.3 billion, instead of $4.2 billion; 1st-time sales are always more expensive.

The most attention-grabbing item in the request, however, is 120 JHMCS helmets. Looks like Iraq is planning on buying a lot more American planes.

Nov 28/11: Malaysia. Boeing in St. Louis, MO receives a $17.3 million firm-fixed-price order for the design, development, and installation of engineering change proposal (ECP 618) retrofit kits for Malaysia’s 8 F/A-18D Hornet fighters, under the Foreign Military Sales Program. This contract action also includes installation of systems that are part of the Malaysian upgrade, and training for ECP 618 and ECP 624. Conversations with Boeing explain that:

“The majority of work to be performed under this contract is within the scope defined in the baseline Foreign Military Sales case and not the May 2011 Defense Security Cooperation Agency announcement for the Advanced Targeting Forward Looking Infrared [targeting pods, see DID coverage] which itself was an amendment to the existing baseline FMS case.”

That scope includes GPS improvements, a colored moving-map cockpit display, changes to IFF, and the addition of the JHMCS helmet-mounted sight. Work will be performed in St. Louis, MO (70%), and Butterworth, Malaysia (30%), and is expected to be complete in April 2015. US Naval Air Systems Command in Patuxent River, MD will manage the sale on behalf of its FMS client. See also Boeing.

Oct 21/11: JHMCS-II. VSI unveils the upgraded JHMCS-II, which would equip the stealth-enhanced F-15SE they’re offering in South Korea’s FX-III fighter competition. JHMCS-II is later revealed to be based on Elbit systems’ new Targo helmet. It offers a lighter and simpler, night-vision capable, all-digital HMD, with color LCD for the daytime display. Flight International | Aviation Week

JHMCS-II

FY 2010 – 2011

Customers – USA, Belgium, and ??? (FRP-7); Requests – Oman, Saudi Arabia. NCVD night vision into production. Helmet & JHMCS
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Aug 25/11: Vision System International, LLC in San Jose, CA receives a maximum $36.1 million, firm-fixed-price contract for various A/24A-56 JHMCS spares and support equipment. Work will be performed in San Jose, CA and in Oregon, on behalf of the US Navy, USAF, and the US Defense Logistics Agency, until Dec 31/15. The Defense Logistics Agency Aviation, Warner Robins at Robbins AFB, GA manages this contract (SPRWA1-11-D-0007).

Aug 25/11: Vision System International, LLC in San Jose, CA in San Jose, CA receives a maximum $10.6 million, firm-fixed-price contract for JHMCS cable assemblies and transmitter subassemblies. Work will be performed in San Jose, CA and in Oregon, on behalf of the USAF, until March 26/13. The Defense Logistics Agency Aviation, Warner Robins at Robbins AFB, GA manages this contract (SPRWA1-11-D-0007, PO 001).

Nov 18/10: FRP-7. A $59.7 million contract, covering JHMCS Full Rate Production Lot 7 buys for the USAF “and foreign military sales.” At this time, the entire amount has been committed (F33657-01-D-0026).

FRP-7 order

Oct 20/10: Saudi Arabia request. Saudi Arabia includes 338 JHMCS and 462 JHMCS Helmets in a DSCA request, as part of a drive to upgrade its 71 F-15S 2-seat Strike Eagles, and buy another 84 even more advanced F-15SA Strike Eagles. Read “A 2010 Saudi Shopping Spree” for full coverage.

Aug 3/10: Oman request. Oman submits a DSCA request for 40 Joint Helmet Mounted Cueing Systems, as part of a drive to upgrade its 12 F-16C/D fighters, and buy 18 more. Read “Oman Looks to Replace Its Jaguar Jets” for full coverage.

April 29/10: NCVD. Vision Systems International, LLC in San Jose, CA received a $22.6 million modification to a previously awarded firm-fixed-price contract (N00019-10-C-0007) for 100 JHMCS 40-degree night vision cueing and display (NVCD) unit hardware and associated support equipment for the US Navy (53) and the US Air Force (47); 500 step-in visors for the Navy (359) and the Air Force (141); 25 aviation night vision (ANV-126) night vision goggles test set adapter kits for the Navy; and associated engineering services for the Navy and Air Force. This contract combines purchases for the Navy ($12.3 million; 54%) and the Air Force ($10.3 million; 46%).

Work will be performed in San Jose, CA, and is expected to be complete in January 2012. The Naval Air Systems Command in Patuxent River, MD manages the contract.

March 19/10: FRP-6. A $14.4 million contract which will provide JHMCS full rate production systems for the US Air Force, US Navy and Foreign Military Sales for Belgium. Belgium flies F-16A/B MLU fighters, which were upgraded part-way through their service life. At this time, all funds have been committed (F33657-01-D-0026).

Feb 08/10: A FedBizOpps solicitation pinpoints a JHMCS component supplier:

“This requirement is for the purchase of 7 each cable assemblies applicable to the F-15C/D/E Joint Helmet Mounted Cueing System. NSN 6150-01-504-5576FX P/N 178-6384-2. Note 22 applies. The proposed contract action is for supplies or services for which the Government intends to solicit and negotiate with only one source, Teledyne Reynolds (CAGE 99747), under authority of FAR 6.302.”

Dec 16/09: FRP-6. Boeing in St. Louis, MO received a $39.7 million contract which will provide 85 JHMCS systems under Full Rate Production Lot 6 for the USAF’s F-15s and F-16s, the US Navy’s F/A-18 platforms, and Foreign Military Sales countries, later discovered to include Belgium (vid. March 19/10). At this time, the entire amount has been committed (F33657-01-D-0026).

If Lot 6 seems smaller than other lots, that’s no accident. Lot 5 got pumped up via a Lot 5+ supplemental buy, in order to buy in quantity and lower prices. VSI expects more orders to follow, whether in 2010 or later. See also Boeing release.

FRP-6 order

Oct 26/09: NCVD. Vision Systems International, LLC in San Jose, CA received a $6.8 million firm-fixed-price contract for 20 US Navy JHMCS 40-degree night vision cueing and display (NVCD) units, including hardware and associated support equipment. The NVCD units will give pilots JHMCS symbology in their night vision goggles (2 or 4-tube options), offering a lower weight display option that nonetheless depends on a JHMCS helmet to make it work. The US Navy has chosen the 40 x 40 degree field of view 2-tube option at the moment, rather than the 100 x 40 degree QuadEye.

This initial contract is mostly about getting support items in place, and other preparation for a new program. NVCD is a separate contract from JHMCS, and production has just started. If customers like the US Navy, USAF, et. al. want these upgrades, they will place additional contracts, and this order will become the thin edge of a much larger wedge.

Work will be performed in San Jose, CA and is expected to be complete in April 2011. Contract funds in the amount of $4.6 million will expire at the end of the current fiscal year, on Sept 30/10. This contract was not competitively procured by the Naval Air Systems Command in Patuxent River, MD (N00019-10-C-0007).

FY 2008 – 2009

Orders- USA, Australia, Belgium, Turkey; Requests – Finland, Morocco; JHMCS comes to the rear seat; Don’t forget those neck exercises! JHMCS
(click to view full)

Sept 30/09: Vision Systems International of San Jose, CA received a $7 million contract for the repair of A/A24A-56 joint helmet mounted cueing systems, 24 repair contract line items, and one contract line item for data. At this time, no money has been obligated; orders will be issued as needed. The WR-ALC/PKHCB at Robins AFB, GA manages the contract (FA8522-09-D-0012)

July 20/09: Vision Systems International, LLC in San Jose, CA received a $17.3 million indefinite-delivery/ indefinite-quantity contract to provide Fast Characterization Tool (FACT) hardware, integration, and validation and software upgrades for the F/A-18 JHMCS systems used by the U.S. Navy ($11 million, 58%) and the Governments of Australia ($2.8 million, 15%), Canada ($1.2 million, 9%), Finland ($1.2 million, 9%), and Switzerland ($1.2 million, 9%).

Work will be performed in San Jose, CA and is expected to be complete in October 2014. Contract funds in the amount of $8 million will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was not competitively procured by the Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division in Lakehurst, NJ (N68335-09-D-0106).

April 29/09: FRP-5. VSI announces “several new contracts with a total value of more than $120 million,” as Boeing awards VSI a contract for more than 550 more JHMCS systems under Production Lot 5. VSI also received direct contracts from the U.S. Navy and U.S. Air Force for spares and Ground Support Equipment (GSE) in support of the JHMCS program.

Under the production contract, VSI will provide JHMCS hardware, including spares, technical support and GSE for the Full Rate Production – Lot 5 (FRP-5) acquisition. This procurement fills U.S. government domestic requirements, and foreign orders from Australia, Belgium, Turkey, and “other countries.” Deliveries under FRP-5 will commence in 2009, and continue through 2010.

FRP-5 order

Sept 9/08: Finland request. The US DSCA announces Finland’s official request for the 3rd phase of the Mid-Life Upgrade Program for its 63 F/A-18C/D Hornet fighters. The request includes 1 Lot of JHMCS Spares, and 70 JHMCS Laser Helmet Shields – presumably a protective addition, as Finland is already a JHMCS customer.

See “Finland Requests 3rd Upgrade Phase for its F-18s” for more.

Aug 2/08: Elbit Systems announces that VSI has received a $17 million contract from Boeing to supply helmets and visors. The Reuters report cites “145 F-15E Strike Eagle fighter jet pilots,” but each F-15E has 2 pilots.

It is possible that the deal is for 145 aircraft per the Globes Israel report, which would be 280 pilots. In any event, the contract definitely includes the new dual-seat capable JHMCS hardware and pilot equipment. Initial deliveries have already commenced and will continue through mid-2009. Reuters UK | Globes Israel.

July 8/08: Neck exercises needed. StrategyPage reports that an investigation concluded that the crash of a U.S. F-16, during a March 2007 air combat training exercise, was due to the pilot blacking out from the high g-forces generated by tight turns.

Since a 4.3 pound JHMCS feels like 30.1 pounds at 7g, vs. about half that weight for a regular helmet, the growing use of helmet mounted sight systems is seen as a contributing factor to these kinds of accidents. In response, the publication reports that the USAF has introduced a new neck muscle exercise machine in some air force gyms.

May 12/08: Small business qualifier Vision Systems International in San Jose, CA received a $6.2 million firm-fixed-price, definitive-contract. They will set up of a JHMCS repair depot at Naval Surface Warfare Center (NSWC) Crane that allows in-house repair of failed Display Units.

Work will be performed in Crane, IN and is expected to be complete by April 2013. This contract was not competitively procured, though a solicitation was posted on Federal Business Opportunities website and the NSWC Crane website. NSWC Crane in Crane, IN received only 1 offer (N00164-08-C-JQ41).

Feb 29/08: FRP-4. Boeing received a contract for $23.9 million for JHMCS Full Rate Production lot four (FRP 4) for USAF F-15E Strike Eagles. At this time $25 million has been committed (F33657-01-D-0026, Delivery Order 006604).

A March 24/08 Boeing release refers to a $49.5 million U.S. Air Force contract to integrate the Joint Helmet-Mounted Cueing System (JHMCS) into 145 F-15E aircraft, including hardware and installation services on the aircraft, as well as initial pilot equipment, such as helmets and visors. Installation in the first F-15E is expected in October 2008, with contract completion in December 2010.

Feb 7/08: Vision Systems International of San Jose, CA received a firm fixed-price contract modification for $9 million for JHMCS equipment. At this time all funds have been obligated. The 752nd CBSSS/GBKAB at Robins Air Force Base, GA issued the contract (FA8522-08-C-0003).

Dec 19/07: Morocco. The US DSCA announces Morocco’s formal request for 24 F-16C/D Block 50/52 aircraft as well as associated equipment and services. 6 JHMCS helmets are included.

Oct 9/07: Rear crew JHMCS. Boeing delivers the first factory-installed, dual-cockpit F/A-18F Super Hornet JHMCS to the U.S. Navy. The 2-seat variant places a JHMCS helmet on both crew members, giving each the capability to aim weapons and sensors, as well as a visual indication of where each crew member is looking. The inclusion of JHMCS in the aft seat of 2-seat aircraft gives the weapons system officer the same weapons management capabilities as the pilot, vastly reducing the amount of required verbal discussion and improving the ability to react rapidly to targets and/or threats. Phil King, Boeing JHMCS program manager, said that: “The extension of the JHMCS capability into the aft cockpits of F/A-18 Hornets and Super Hornets has been eagerly awaited for several years.”

Boeing delivered the enhanced aircraft to the VX-9 Vampires of Naval Air Weapons Station, China Lake, CA, and is scheduled to deliver 77 of the two-seat JHMCS-equipped aircraft to the U.S. Navy over the next 3 years. As of this date, Boeing’s release says that it has contracted for more than 2,500 systems since 2000 from Vision Systems International, based in San Jose, CA.

Rear crew, too

FY 2006 – 2007

Orders – USA, Australia, Belgium, Canada, Greece, Netherlands, Pakistan, Poland, Switzerland; Requests – Australia, Finland, Pakistan, Switzerland, Turkey; R&D for rear crew JHMCS; 1,000th JHMCS shipped. Adjusting
(click to view full)

Sept 12/07: FRP-4. A contract for $16.1 million, covering Full Rate Production 4 (FRP4) F-15E Strike Eagle retrofit kits and Group B Hardware for the F-15E Strike Eagle. At this time, all funds have been obligated (F33657-01-D-0026, Delivery Order 0066).

April 4/07: FRP-4. A $68.8 million indefinite-delivery/ indefinite-quantity, firm-fixed-price contract for Full Rate Production Lot 4 (FRP 4) of 321 JHMCS systems. The systems will be used on USAF F-15s and F-16s, MACH Brooks, the USN’s F/A-18 platforms, and foreign military sales to Poland (F-16s), Belgium (F-16s), Pakistan (F-16s), Greece (F-16s), Royal Australian Air Force (F/A-18s), Switzerland (F/A-18s), and Canada (F/A-18s). At this time, total funds have been obligated. Work will be complete December 2009 (F33657-01-D-0026/Delivery Order 0058).

Boeing release. See also Rockwell Collins Oct 23/07 release, announcing the sub-contract award from Boeing. Drew Brugal, president of VSI, says that: “With the addition of Belgium and other air forces, VSI now has a total of 19 customers for JHMCS.”

FRP-4 order

Feb 3/07: “New helmet gives pilots the edge” describes the JHMCS’ induction at Eiselson AFB, Alaska with the 18th Fighter Squadron (F-16s):

“The upgrade, which runs at around $1,000 per helmet, also holsters a camera and a projector that assist pilots with air operations. The camera is embedded in the helmet and sits over the left eye, allowing American servicemembers on the ground to see exactly what the pilot sees, said Staff Sgt. Jeremy Burton, an 18th FS aircrew life support technician. The projector at the top of the helmet displays information on the inside of the visor over the right eye… Another feature that will soon be implemented in these new helmets is the capability to employ high off-bore sight with air-to-air missiles, said the captain, who has four years experience flying F-16s.”

DID presumes that this means the induction of new AIM-9X Sidewinder missile to the squadron, rather than a new capability for the helmet.

Jan 3/07: Hill AFB’s “Life support section works to keep pilots safe” describes a successful program that helped the USAF improve training for the fitters and technicians who work on gear like JHMCS. As part of the successful effort described, Senior Airman Mark Fredrickson, 4 FS life support technician, spent 2 months developing a guide for the Joint Helmet Mounting Cuing System that is fitted to F-16 CCIP (Common Configuration Implementation Program) jets. “The guide is like a ‘JHMCS for dummies. It is an easy way to teach the technicians how to perform the new duties with the new helmets.”

Airman Fredrickson also explained this program was taken back with the inspectors to be implemented for other Air Force bases in USAF Air Combat Command.

“The reactions of the inspectors were very positive,” said Sergeant Freeman. “They were surprised at the vast improvements in the program over the past six months. Two of the three inspectors have been to the 388 FW in the past year and were very pleased at the improvements in the equipment, morale and the program in general.”

Sept 29/06: Vision Systems International, San Jose, CA receives a $10 million firm-fixed-price contract for replenishment spare parts and organic depot stand-up equipment applicable to the Joint Helmet Mounted Cueing System (JHMCS). “Specific components and pricing are set forth by attachment hereto.” At this time, total funds have been obligated. The Headquarters 542nd Combat Sustainment Wing at Robins Air Force Base, GA issued the contract. (FA8522-06-C-0029)

Sept 28/06: Turkey request. Turkey requests 36 JHMCS to go with its proposed $1.8 billion order for 30 new F-16C/D aircraft. See: “Turkey Orders 30 F-16C Block 50s et. al. for $2.9B”

Sept 28/06: Teledyne Wireless Inc., Rancho Cordova, CA is being awarded a $370 million firm-fixed-price, time and materials and cost-reimbursable without fee contract. This action provides for spare (nine items), remanufacture/ modernization/ repairs (57 output items), associated Engineering Services, and Logistics Sustainment/Modification Services and Data which are sole source to Teledyne within the authority of the approved SAF/AQ Class J&A #06-JA-013 (11 July 2006).

The Class J&A covered supplies and services supporting Communications and Electronics items for the ALQ-131, ALQ-161, ALQ-135, ALQ-172 and the Joint Helmet Mounted Cuing Systems. At this time, no funds have been obligated. This work will be complete October 2017. The Headquarters Warner Robins Air Logistics Center at Robins Air Force Base, GA issued the contract (FA8536-06-D-0002).

June 28/06: Pakistan request. Pakistan requests 36 JHMCS as part of a $3 billion, 36-plane order for F-16 C/D aircraft, plus up to 60 more as part of an F-16 mid-life upgrade kit deal for their existing fleet worth another $1.3 billion. See: “$5.1B Proposed in Sales, Upgrades, Weapons for Pakistan’s F-16s”

June 16/06: An $8.2 million cost-plus-fixed-fee and firm-fixed-price contract modification, finalizing the JHMCS’ CPU/IO (Computer Processing Unit, Input/Output) Obsolescence Redesign Alternate Display Implementation, as placed on delivery order modification F33657-01-D-0026-003505. This acquisition benefits the F-15, F-16, and F-18 Platforms.

This contract action also incorporates an additional 14 each, fight test modules. At this time, $600,000 has been obligated. Solicitations began September 2005, and negotiations were complete May 2006 (F33657-01-D-0026/003513)

June 2-7/06: Finland. First flights of the JHMCS system take place in Finnish F/A-18C/D Hornets. Finland operates 63 Hornet fighters. The delivery brings the number of international JHMCS customers to 10, and first flights in Canadian F/A-18s are scheduled for September 2006. Source.

May 30/06: Switzerland. The first flight of a JHMCS system in a Swiss Hornet (F/A-18C) takes place. Switzerland operates 35 F/A-18 C/D Hornet fighters. Source.

May 23/06: Australia. The first fleet aircraft delivery of JHMCS to the Royal Australian Air Force occurs in Williamtown, New South Wales, Australia. Boeing Australia and the Hornet Industry Coalition (a collaborative arrangement between Boeing, BAE Systems and L-3 Communications of Canada) will equip 71 Australian F/A-18s with JHMCS by 2008. Boeing release.

Feb 17/06: FRP-3. A $97 million indefinite-delivery/ indefinite-quantity, firm-fixed-price contract for “more than 400″ JHMCS systems as Full Rate Production Lot 3. They will equip the USAF’s F-15s and F-16s, the US Navy’s F/A-18 platforms, and foreign military sales including the Netherlands (F-16), Poland (F-16), Turkey (F-16C), the Royal Australian Air Force (F/A-18 C-D under HUG), Canada (F/A-18 A-B+), and Switzerland (F/A-18 C-D). Work will be complete by December 2008 (F33657-01-D-0026).

See also Boeing release | VSI’s related May 17/06 release, which gives a value of “over $80 million” and adds that “VSI also received direct contracts from the United States Navy and Air Force for spares and test equipment in support of the JHMCS program.”

FRP-3 order

Jan 18/06: Canada. Boeing announces a C$ 39 million contract from Canada’s Department of National Defence for installation of the 2nd and final phase the CF-18 Modernization Project. The upgrade will add JHMCS, a Link 16 system, new cockpit displays and a new flare-dispensing electronic warfare system to 78 CF-18 Hornet fighter aircraft. Two additional aircraft will be modified for the essential validation and verification of the planned upgrade, bringing the total to 80.

For full details re: the upgrade, its other subcontracts to L-3, et. al., see “Boeing Wins $39M for Phase 2 Upgrade of 80 CF-18 Fighters”

Canada

Nov 03/05: Rear crew, too. Boeing announces that tests have begun at Naval Air Warfare Center China Lake, CA as part of the Joint Helmet Mounted Cueing System (JHMCS) integration into the aft cockpits of the U.S. Navy’s F/A-18F Super Hornet. The testing marks the first time both the pilot and weapon systems officer have used the helmet in an F/A-18F during flight. Flight testing of the helmet in the aft cockpit of the 2-seat F/A-18D Hornet began in January 2005 (see Jan 31/05 entry).

This flight test coincides with the Navy awarding Boeing a $4.4 million addition to the current F/A-18E/F Super Hornet multi-year contract to provide aft-cockpit helmets in F/A-18F and EA-18G aircraft, scheduled for delivery beginning in October 2007 (q.v. Oct 9/07 entry, above). F/A-18F aircraft to be used for validation and verification testing will be retrofit with the aft-cockpit capability beginning in late summer 2006.

Nov 2/05: #1,000. Vision Systems International, LLC (VSI) announces that they have delivered the 1,000th Joint Helmet Mounted Cueing System (JHMCS), 2 years ahead of schedule.

1,000 delivered

Oct 31/05: FRP-2. Vision Systems International, LLC announces several new contracts with a total value of more than $100 million: a request from Boeing for more than 500 additional JHMCS systems under Full Rate Production Lot 2 (FRP-2, see June 3/05 entry), and direct contracts from the United States Navy and Air Force for spares and test equipment in support of the JHMCS program.

FRP-2 order

Oct 25/05: Greece request. Greece requests 42 more JHMCS helmets for its F-16 C/D fleet, as part of a larger $3.1 billion DSCA request. See: “Greek F-16 & Weapons Sale Taking Off”

FY 2004 – 2005

Orders – Australia, Finland, Greece, Oman, Poland, Switzerland; Requests – Turkey and others; JHMCS into Full Rate Production; R&D into NVCD night vision option; JHMCS for simulators. HAF Maj. Mikos
“Mach”
Machalias

Sept 22/05: Boeing in St. Louis, MO has received a $7.6 million firm fixed price contract modification to redesign the electronic unit central processor unit input/output for use on the Joint Helmet Mounted Cueing System (JHMCS) for F-15, F-16, and F/A-18 platforms. This action definitizes Phase 1a and 1b ($3,773,900 not-to-exceed) and incorporates Phase 2.

For this modification, the Central Processing Unit & Input-Output (CPU/IO) Module within the JHMCS Electronics Unit (EU) is being redesigned to eliminate obsolete parts. Boeing will be able to produce the current system’s EU (with current CPU/IO Module) for another 2.5 years. After that, they will need to have a new EU design and qualification for the JHMCS system.

Solicitation began in January 2005, negotiations were complete in September 2005, and work will be complete by December 2006 (F33657-01-D-0026/P003506). Foreign military sales countries will also benefit from this effort.

Sept 7/05: NVCD. The first dual-seat flight of their Night Vision Cueing and Display (NVCD) was completed earlier this month in a demonstration at the Naval Air Warfare Center, China Lake, CA. For this demonstration, an F/A-18F Super Hornet was equipped with JHMCS in both cockpits, and the pilot’s and weapons systems officer’s independent lines of sight were integrated into the aircraft weapons and sensors. VSI’s release adds that:

“The JHMCS with the NVCD modules allowed both pilots an unprecedented wide field of view night visual scene and the ability to cue the Super Hornet’s weapons/sensors via the JHMCS interface… The NVCD capability allows both crew members to independently and simultaneously survey the battlefield, designate ground or airborne targets of opportunity and exchange information during historically high work-load night operations. This is made possible through the automatic transfer of data to the aircraft’s forward-looking infrared (FLIR) pod.”

July 27/05: NVCD. VSI announces that its Night Vision Cueing and Display (NVCD, see May 3/05 entry) has made a successful first flight on board an F/A-18F Super Hornet.

“The mission profile included two sorties of an F/A-18 two-ship formation. As part of the familiarization process, the pilots performed various air-to-ground, air-to-air, low level and formation maneuvers. The system provides added cueing and display capabilities and an expanded 100-degree field of view over the current 40-degree NVGs. Additional flights are scheduled to take place over the next few months.”

June 3/05: FRP-2. An $81.9 million contract modification to provide 401 JHMCS systems under Full Rate Production, Lot 2. These systems will be produced for the USAF F-15 and F-16, the Navy F/A-18 platforms, and Oman (F-16 E/F), Poland (F-16 C/D), Australia (F/A-18 A/B+), Finland (F/A-18 C/D), and Switzerland (F/A-18 C/D).

“The following period of FY 2005, FY06 and FY07, Matrix Prices were negotiated and will be placed on the contract via medication. Total funds have been obligated. This work will be complete December 2007″ (F33657-01-D-0026, 0028). See also Boeing release.

FRP-1 order

May 3/05: NVCD. VSI announces a $3.3 million contract from the U.S. Navy for the development of the Night Vision Cueing and Display system (NVCD). VSI says that ” The history of U.S. Naval Air operations in recent theaters of conflict has demonstrated that a majority of naval air combat missions were, and continue to be, night missions.” The NVCD is based on a proprietary Night Vision system known as QuadEye; it provides the much needed JHMCS capability at night by leveraging existing technology, without modification to the aircraft’s installed JHMCS hardware.

The goal is to provide war fighters with image-intensified night vision, integrated with standard HMD symbology and Line of Sight (LOS). Projected information includes weapons status and aiming, target cueing and aircraft state parameters embedded in the night vision scene. VSI’s NVCD QuadEye is fully a lightweight, well-balanced, modular package that provides a 40- by 40-degree night field-of-view (FOV) in standard configuration, or optionally can be easily expanded to 100- by 40-degree FOV. As JHMCS is a modular “day” system, the current Display Unit can be quickly exchanged with NVCD’s QuadEye Night Vision Display Unit to support round-the-clock missions.

April 26/05: Turkey request. Turkey requests an indeterminate number of JHMCS systems as part of $1.1-billion Letter of Acceptance for the modernization of 117 Turkish Air Force F-16s to a common avionics configuration. See “$1.1B to Upgrade Turkish F-16 fleet.”

March 30/05: Greece. Vision Systems International (VSI) announces that the Hellenic Air Force has added the JHMCS capability to its new fleet of F-16D block 52 aircraft as part of the Peace Xenia 3 order.

The first JHMCS flights on an Hellenic F-16D were performed by Major Machalias “Mach” and Major Tolis. The JHMCS flights are the highlight of a multi-disciplinary fielding effort involving avionics, software, life support and pilot training. During the flights, JHMCS operation and functionality were evaluated both in air-to-air and air-to-ground profiles. JHMCS reportedly performed beyond specification in all areas including display symbology, precise sensor slaving and target cueing.

Jan 31/05: Testing. Boeing starts flight tests at Naval Air Warfare Center China Lake, CA as part of the integration of the Joint Helmet Mounted Cueing System (JHMCS) into the aft cockpits of the U.S. Navy’s F/A-18D Hornet.

While the helmet has been used extensively for F-15, F-16, and F/A-18 pilots in the forward cockpit, today’s flight marks the first time both the pilot and weapon systems officer have used the helmet during flight. This flight is a first step in a flight test program that will include integration tests for F/A-18D Hornet and F/A-18F Super Hornet aircraft. Boeing release.

July 20/04: JHMCS for simulators, too. Boeing announces that it has added JHMCS capability to simulators. The F-15C Mission Training Center at Elmendorf Air Force Base, Alaska, was the first training center to receive this capability and began using it for training operations in late May 2004.

In addition to the F-15C Mission Training Center at Elmendorf AFB, the JHMCS capability will also be added to the Boeing-operated F-15C facility at Eglin AFB, FL. Each mission training center includes 4-ship sets of F-15C full-mission trainers with high-fidelity, 360-degreee visual integrated display systems. They also include a virtual environment of simulated threats as well as friendly and neutral forces. These training centers, as well as the facility at Langley AFB, VA are part of the Air Force Distributed Mission Operations concept, allowing pilots and aircrews in one location to train with others at locations hundreds, even thousands of miles away.

The Air Force and Boeing have applied an innovative acquisition approach to these Mission Training Centers, using a commercial-fee-for-service contracting method that pays for training time received and avoids large up-front investments in simulators. Boeing also is responsible for ensuring that the training devices are concurrent with the latest upgrades being made to the actual aircraft, hence the JHMCS modifications. Using the same DMO technology and acquisition approach, Boeing is establishing additional F-15C facilities are for Kadena AFB in Okinawa, Japan and at RAF Lakenheath. F-15E Strike Eagle mission training centers will be placed at Mountain Home AFB, ID; Seymour-Johnson AFB, NC; Elmendorf AFB, AK; and Royal Air Force Base Lakenheath in the United Kingdom. Boeing release.

June 11/04: FRP-1. Boeing announces an $86 million contract for the 1st full-rate production lot of Joint Helmet-Mounted Cueing Systems (JHMCS). Under this contract, Boeing will produce the JHMCS for U.S. Air Force and Air National Guard F-15 Eagles, USAF F-16 Fighting Falcons, U.S. Navy F/A-18E/F Super Hornets, and Australia (F/A-18), Finland (F/A-18), Poland (F-16), Greece (F-16) and Switzerland (F/A-18).

The program anticipates that the U.S. military and international customers will order a total of more than 2,000 JHMCS, with initial delivery of the 300+ systems on this contract scheduled for March 2005. Boeing release | VSI Aug 10/04 release re: its $75.6 million sub-contract. Under the contract, VSI will provide JHMCS display systems, spares, technical support and support equipment for the Full Rate Production (FRP) lot 1 acquisition. This award is the first Full Rate Production (FRP) of JHMCS following 4 Low Rate Initial Production (LRIP) lot deliveries.

FRP-1 order

Footnotes

fn1.

• = German translation of the L337 slang phrase “we pwned you” [‘L337′ = Leet, or Elite, a hacker/gamer text messaging slang set; ‘pwn’ = lit. to own, alt. dominate or crush, esp. in a competition]. Thanks to DID’s readers for the German translation help.

Appendix A: JHMCS History & Challenges Ready!?!
(click to view full)

The JHMCS program has evolved over the years, and confronted a number of issues. GlobalSecurity.org notes that:

“…several years ago, an operational assessment of the systems for the F/A-18C/D and F-15C found the JHMCS potentially effective, but potentially not suitable due to numerous breaks in the helmet vehicle interface. Initial F-15C flight tests revealed that the legacy computer was slow in providing necessary data to JHMCS. This slow data input to the helmet, coupled with normal aircraft buffet during air combat maneuvering, made it difficult for the pilot to designate the target.”

Those initial tests kicked off several rounds of modifications, but they did not improved reliability to a certifiably acceptable level:

“Based on MOT&E data collected from June 2001 to June 2002, DOT&E and the commanders of AFOTEC and OPTEVFOR determined that JHMCS was operationally effective, but not operationally suitable. Both the Navy and Air Force recommended delaying full-rate production until deficient areas are fixed and verified. DOT&E delayed its assessment to allow the Services time to fix the deficiencies.”

Yet GlobalSecurity.org’s account essentially ends there. In September 2005, the original version of this article was able to fill in some of the missing details, thanks to some additional research and Boeing’s help.

In September 2002, the Pentagon’s chief tester upped the ante with a memo to then Secretary of the Navy (and current acting Deputy Secretary of Defense) Gordon England. Thomas Christie, Director of Operational Test and Evaluation for the Department of Defense, wrote:

“I am concerned about an apparent trend by the Navy to deploy an increasing number of combat systems into harm’s way that have not demonstrated acceptable performance,” he wrote. The JHMCS was not specifically mentioned by name, but the seriousness was clear. Chris Haddox of Boeing noted that:

“…The “Not Operationally Suitable” rating was also partially based on some internal service issues like training and technical publications. The Air Force and Navy aggressively addressed these issues during 2003, and has since eliminated the concerns in these areas that were raised during operational testing.”

With respect to Boeing’s own activities during that period, he adds:

“During 2003, JHMCS embarked on a number of reliability and maintainability improvements to the system, correcting both hardware and software shortfalls. These R&M improvements were identified by performing Highly Accelerated Life Testing (HALT) on the JHMCS EU, forcing many failures to occur through thermal and vibration stress, and then incorporating improvements to eliminate these failures.

The JHMCS program also instituted an enhanced environmental stress screening process to screen units, thereby eliminating many infant mortality problems from reaching the fleet. We also added a system test process to catch EU failures that cannot be detected by the acceptance test procedure alone, further screening units that may be marginal and would have failures in a full-up system. The net result of these R&M and quality improvements has been a significant improvement in JHMCS reliability, and the system today is achieving its operational requirements for reliability, maintainability, and availability.”

When asked directly whether the U.S. government had ever formally certified the JHMCS as “operationally suitable and effective” in an official report following these improvements, however, Mr. Haddox responded:

“You will have to get that answer from the government.”

Additional Readings & Sources

• Boeing – Joint Helmet Mounted Cueing System (JHMCS)

• Elbit Systems – JHMCS II site

• Belgian Military – JHMCS – Joint Helmet Mounted Cueing System. Good overview.

• GlobalSecurity.org – USAF FY01 Annual Report: Joint Helmet Mounted Cueing System (JHMCS). Describes testing problems.

• Flight International (Oct 21/11) – SEOUL AIRSHOW: Is That a New F-15 Helmet? Yes, it’s JHMCS-II.

• DID (Aug 14/08) – Heavier Fighter Helmets Require Improved Ejection Research

• StrategyPage (July 8/08) – Fade to Black. Is the weight of helmet-mounted sights becoming a safety issue? Then again, being without these sights in combat is a different kid of safety issue.

• Crosstalk Journal of Defense Software Engineering (July 2003) – The JHMCS Operational Flight Program Is Usable on Three Tactical Aircraft.

• Boeing All Systems Go Magazine (Vol. 1 #6, 2003) – Boeing Wins Joint Helmet Mounted Cueing System Contract

• Military Aerospace Technology (Aug 1/02) – See and Destroy.

• Air Power International, via Air Power Australia site (August 1998) – Helmet Mounted Sights and Displays. A detailed look at the fundamentals of Helmet Mounted Sights and Displays, examining the operational issues and technology base, and looking at likely future directions and representative designs. At the time, Elbit’s DASH was the only game in town, aside from Russian equipment.

• Lockheed Martin Code One Magazine (July 1995) – Schlemming With the Fulcrum. A very good explanation of how HMDs and airframe/avionics limitations interact. Once pilots fly against HMD-equipped enemies, tactics to reduce the effectiveness of enemy HMDs are possible – but they’re specific to the opponent aircraft type.

• Elbit Systems of America – Helmet Mounted Systems Includes DASH and JHMCS.

• Australian Aviation (April 1997) – Fourth Generation AAMs – The Rafael Python 4. Excellent explanation of short-range air-air missile evolution, and the implications of advanced SRAAMs + HMDs on air combat and planning.

Category on Missiles is now Available

Blacktail, Military Expert and Author of Numerous Articles

Andrius Genys, Founder and Editor of Military-Today.com Website

About the Founder of Military-Today.com Website

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FFX: Jeonbuk launch
(click to view full)

South Korea currently owns some of the world’s best and most advanced shipyards. That civilian strength is beginning to create military leverage, and recent years have seen the ROK take several steps toward fielding a true open-ocean, blue water navy. Their new KDX-II destroyers, KDX-III AEGIS destroyers, LPX amphibious assault ships, and KSS-I/KSS-II (U209/U214) submarines will give the nation more clout on the international stage, but what about the home front? North Korea’s gunboats have launched surprise attacks on the ROK Navy twice in the last decade, while its submarines continue to insert commandos in South Korean territory, and committed acts of war by sinking ROKN ships. To the west, Chinese fishing rights are a contentious issue that has led to the murder of a Korean Coast Guard official on the high seas.

Hence the Future Frigate Experimental (FFX) program. It aims to build upon lessons learned from ROK naval shipbuilding programs in the 1980s and 1990s, and replace 37 existing ships with a modern class of upgunned inshore patrol frigates. A contract to build the lead FFX frigate Incheon was issued in December 2008, and South Korea continues to work to define the program, including the forthcoming Batch II design.

The FFX Class, and its Predecessors The ROKN’s Existing Fleet Ulsan Class
(click to view full)

It’s easier to understand and critique the thinking behind FFX, if you look at what it will replace.

The ROKN’s 9 small 2,200 – 2,300 ton Ulsan Class frigates were built in South Korea, and commissioned from 1981-1993. They’re not designed to operate alone in high-threat areas, or to provide general fleet defense on the open seas. Instead, they’re designed to serve as high-end coastal patrol vessels with a mix of anti-air (RIM-7 Sea Sparrow), anti-ship (guns, RGM-84 Harpoon), and anti-submarine capabilities. They carry a crew of 150.

The ROKN’s 24 Pohang Class 1,220 ton patrol corvettes were commissioned from 1984-1993, and have no anti-air missile capabilities. They mount 76mm, 40mm, and 30mm guns like the Ulsan Class, and are divided into 4 anti-surface warfare versions with MBDA’s Exocet ant-ship missiles, but no sonar or torpedoes; and 20 anti-submarine versions with sonar and torpedoes, but no missiles. They carry a crew of 95.

ROKS Cheonan, sunk by a North Korean torpedo in March 2010, was a Pohang Class ship.

Pohang Class
(click to view full)

The ROKN’s 4 low-end Dong Hae Class 1,000 ton patrol corvettes were commissioned from 1982-1983. they are armed with guns, sonar, and torpedoes, and also carry a crew of 95.

Bottom line? The Dong Hae Class are aging out of the water. The Pohang Class have shown that they can’t deal with North Korea’s subs, and have no air protection in waters that are more and more contested. The Ulsan Class can serve a while longer, but their equipment is outdated. Modern replacements are in order, and the threat’s challenges are pushing the ROKN toward an inshore corvette/frigate replacement that can carry higher-end equipment.

FFX: Batches and Key Improvements FFX combat system
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In contrast to the older classes described above, the new FFX frigates will follow the modern pattern of stealthier ship designs with far better radars, sonars, and communications equipment. The new class is said to have accepted less radar stealth in the design, however, in order to keep ship costs down. That’s an acceptable tradeoff for an non-expeditionary inshore frigate.

The new frigates were expected to begin service in 2011, with the first 6 all built and delivered by 2015, but those dates have slipped. The first-of-class Incheon was launched in April 2011, but formal delivery to the ROKN didn’t happen until late 2012, and the ship wasn’t commissioned until 2013. The ROK Navy still intends to replace all ships in the Ulsan, Pohang, and Dong Hae classes by 2020. Overall construction will take place in at least 2 batches, and possibly 3.

FFX Batch I: The Incheon Class ROKS Incheon
(click to view full)

The 1st batch of 6 FFX Incheon Class frigates measure about 114m long by 14m wide, with an empty weight of 2,300 tons and a crew of 145-170 sailors. Hyundai Heavy Industries claims a cruising range of about 8,000 km, though that would require a cruising speed well below the ship’s claimed 30-knot maximum.

Each FFX Batch I frigate is said to cost around WON 250 billion ($232 million), and the ROKN plans to have Hyundai Heavy Industries build 6 of them. Ships include:

• FFG-811, ROKS Incheon
  
• FFG-812, Gyeonggi (scheduled Oct. 2014)
  
• FFG-813, Jeonbuk (scheduled Dec. 2014)
  
• FFG-814, Gangwon (scheduled late 2015)

Even the FFX Batch I ships boast a number of significant improvements over the current Ulsan Class; their firepower and versatility will provide a very considerable upgrade over the ROKN’s existing corvettes.

Sensors. FFX ships’ use of improved modern sonars via a Thales/STX partnership has become a particular focus of attention, as post-Cheonan assessments questioned the adequacy of anti-submarine detection systems on earlier-model ships. The built-in sonar will eventually be complemented by a towed sonar, and the current plan is to produce that towed array in South Korea.

Other sensors include a Thales Smart-S Mk2 radar, and passive long range “electro-optical” day/night cameras. A SamsungThales combat system will integrate the ship’s sensors and weapons.

ROKN SL-300
(click to view full)

Weapons. FFX firepower improves sharply over past classes. The ships will carry BAE’s Mk45 MOD 4 5″/ 127mm gun for longer-range gunnery and amphibious support, RIM-116 RAM short-range missiles for killing missiles, aircraft and fast boats, and an embarked helicopter. Early reports also had the ships carrying a 30mm Thales Nederland “Goalkeeper” system like other South Korean combat vessels, to be used for last-ditch missile defense and small boat overkill. In the end, however, the FFX became the 1st Korean ship to carry Raytheon’s smaller and less structurally intrusive 20mm Phalanx Block 1B. Rheinmetall’s MASS decoy system and LiG Nex1’s SONATA electronic warfare system offer “soft kill” options.

Anti-ship missiles and light torpedoes will also be on board, as is the case with the current Ulsan Class. What’s new is that FFX’s Blue Shark (K745 Chungsangeo) torpedoes and 8 C-Star (Haeseong I) anti-ship missiles will both be Korean designs.

The ship’s hangar is large enough for smaller naval helicopters like South Korea’s Super Lynx 300s. A January 2013 contract indicates that the FFX frigates may eventually embark the next generation of Lynx helicopters: the AW159 Wildcat SCMR naval variant, with full anti-submarine capability that includes an advanced dipping sonar.

FFX Batch II SAAM concept
(click to view full)

Between 6-9 FFX Batch II ships are planned, to be built by Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering. These ships may be slightly larger, and will include almost all of the same core systems onboard Batch I ships.

One exception is the engine. Instead of using a CODOG system, Batch II ships will be powered by a single 36-40MW MT30 turbine, and propulsion will be all-electric. Finmeccanica’s newly-developed Permanent Magnetic Motor hybrid-electric drive will offer the ships weight, space and power advantages over standard AIM drive technologies, and all of those advantages are especially valued in a small ship.

The other changes are tied to a 16-cell K-VLS Korean Vertical Launch System that will broaden the ships’ weapon array, lengthen their reach, and add a lot of flexibility. K-VLS will let the frigate add locally-designed SAAM medium-range air defense missiles in place of the Batch I’s short-range RAM, along with vertically launched anti-submarine missiles like Korea’s own Red Shark, and longer-range Haeseong-II cruise missiles. There’s enough room to add another 16-32 cells in Batch III.

Finally, a larger hangar will allow Batch II frigate to handle larger 10-ton helicopters, like KAI’s own naval Surion helicopter.

Contracts and Key Events 2015

#6 launched with 20 scheduled to enter service by 2020.

August 13/15: #6 launched.The South Korean Navy has launched its sixth Incheon-class guided missile frigate. The Gwangju is the sixth vessel in a program of twenty new vessels scheduled to enter service by 2020. The new ship will undergo testing before deployment in 2016.

2013 – 2014

FFX #1 commissioned, #2-3 launched; FFX Batch II design unveiled; Long-term contract for Phalanx systems; AW159 helo picked for MH-X. Red Shark ASROC
(click to view larger)

Aug 12/14: #4 launched. The Gangwon Ham is launched at STX Offshore & Shipbuilding’s yard in Changwon, Gyeongsangnam-do. There’s a bit of numbering confusion somewhere, because photos show the number 815 painted on the side. That’s out of sequence, and the official MND release says:

“Rear Admiral Choi Yang-sun, the first deputy chief of staff for planning and management in the Navy Headquarters, named the next fourth frigate ‘Gangwon’ and assigned ‘814’ as the ship number through the denomination No.460.”

The ship is scheduled to be handed over to the ROKN in late 2015, and enter service in 2016. Sources: ROK MND: “The next FFG, ‘Gangwon Ham,’ a powerful ship for safer Korean territorial waters”.

June 9/14: Urgency rises. North Korea is showing movies of new anti-ship missiles mounted on and fired from its military ships, and has also placed the new missile “among the country’s closely guarded submarines, which were also featured for the first time.” The missile sure looks like the Russian SS-N-25/ Kh-35, or a copy, and South Korea is taking the reports seriously enough that:

“Military authorities here are reportedly trying to find out where the North bought the Kh-35 missiles, on the assumption that it was clandestinely imported from a third country like Burma.”

North Korea’s willingness to attack South Korea, including the deliberate sinking of the ROKS Cheonan, makes the use of more advanced and longer-range Kh-35 missiles a potential issue for ROKN ships operating near the border. The Pohang Class was already defenseless against the KPANF’s 1950s-era SS-N-2 Styx missiles, but Kh-35s would outclass the Ulsan Class’ RIM-7 Sea Sparrow missiles as well, while allowing North Korean ships greater standoff firing distance. That could create pressure for more FFX ships, and/or acceleration of the FFX Batch II program. The Incheon Class’ RAM missile systems are an adequate point defense countermeasure, but only FFX Batch II ships and larger ROKN destroyers will offer an air defense umbrella that lets other patrol vessels nearby operate with confidence.

The good news is that North Korea has few naval platforms that are suitable for these missiles, and with respect to submarines, there’s a reason the videos were limited to placing a missile nearby. The KPANF’s 370t Sang-O and 130t Yono boats are unlikely candidates as missile subs. Ditto the ancient Romeo Class boats in service, unless they’ve been given significant Chinese or Russian upgrades – but Kim Jong-Un recently executed the most senior individual pushing for closer ties with China. Sources: Chosun Ilbo, “New N.Korean Anti-Ship Missiles Threaten Older Patrol Boats”.

May 26/14: Weapons. South Korea has been working to resolve problems with its vertically-launched “Red Shark” (Hongsangeo) rocket-boosted torpedoes since a formal complaint was filed in July 2012. They’ve just finished their 3rd consecutive successful test, which has led DAPA to resume production.

The ASROC-type weapons have been deployed on ROKN destroyers thus far, but FFX Batch II ships are also expected to include them. Sources: Yonhap, “S. Korea to resume production of homegrown torpedo after quality improvement”.

March 19/14: Sub-contractors. DRS Technologies Inc. announces a $9 million sub-contract from Korea’s Hyosung Corporation to design and produce FFX Batch II’s Hybrid Electric Drive propulsion system based on permanent magnet synchronous motor (PMM) technology The first ship-set is supposed to be delivered in 2015.

The equipment in question has a naval lineage that traces back to the USA’s DD-X/ DDG-1000 Zumwalt Class destroyer, whose Integrated Power Systems were initially set to be powered by DRS’ PMM technology. When PMM development took longer than expected, the ships switched to Alstom’s maritime standard Advanced Induction Motors (AIM) to help stay on schedule. DRS continued to develop their PMM technology, which is lighter, smaller, and produces much more power than AIM. They wound up being too late for use in the Zumwalt Class, but FFX Batch II will also use the MT30 turbine, so DRS’ past work is still valuable. This export foothold is a promising step for DRS, if the technology performs reliably. Sources: Finmeccanica’s DRS, “DRS Technologies Awarded Contract to Supply Its Hybrid Electric Drive System to Korean Navy’s New Class of Frigates”.

Feb 24/14: Weapons. Raytheon announces a $123 million Direct Commercial Sale (DCS) contract to deliver 9 Phalanx Block 1B 20mm Close-In Weapon Systems for installation aboard the ROK Navy’s 6 FFX Batch IIs, and aboard the AOE II successors to their 3 Cheonji Class supply ships. Phalanx deliveries will begin in 2016, and are scheduled to be complete in 2022.

DCS contracts are subject to different announcement rules than Foreign Military Sale contracts, and are managed directly by the buyer instead of by a US military surrogate. This is Raytheon’s largest DCS contract for Phalanx systems, and it was actually signed in Summer 2013. Sources: Raytheon, “Raytheon awarded $123 million Phalanx contract from Republic of Korea”.

Nov 13/13: #3 launched. Hyundai Heavy Industries holds a launch ceremony for Jeonbuk, the 3rd Incheon Class frigate. Sources: Portnews, “Hyundai Heavy launches new frigate.”

Oct 19/13: Batch II. Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering unveils their FFX Batch II design, during a festival celebrating the 63rd anniversary festival of the Incheon amphibious landing that changed allied fortunes in the Korean War. Key changes include:

• 16 K-VLS vertical launch cells for Haeseong I/II cruise missiles and Red Shark ASROC torpedoes.
  
• The Batch I’s RAM short-range air defense missile launcher will be removed, in favor of a local medium-range SAAM system under development by LIG Nex1.
  
• A hangar big enough for a 10-ton helicopter like the Surion naval variant or MH-60 Seahawk.
  
• All-electric propulsion system to go with the ship’s extremely powerful (36-40MW) MT30 turbine, which replaces the previous CODOG arrangement.

FFX Batch II unveiled

March 3/13: Philippines. The Philippines has decided not to buy second-hand Italian Maestrale frigates from the 1980s, and will pursue 2 new frigates instead. That will be a major acquisition given their budgets, and they’re reportedly talking to South Korea about the Incheon Class as an option.

South Korea is building a broader defense relationship with the Philippines, and is in advanced stage negotiations to renew the PAF with KAI’s TA-50 light fighter. PNA via Defense Studies.

Jan 17/13: ROKS Incheon. The ROKN commissions ROKS Incheon [FFG-811], the first-of-class FFX Batch I frigate. Hyundai Heavy Industries will build 5 more FFX Batch I vessels under current plans, and the next 2 are scheduled to launch in mid-2013. Navy Recognition.

FFX #1 commissioned

Jan 16/13: AW159. South Korea picks AgustaWestland’s naval AW159 for its MH-X competition, with a planned initial buy of 8 helicopters. They will complement an existing fleet of 24 Super Lynx naval helicopters, and the ROKN’s new AW159s will have the full complement of dipping sonar, AESA radar, surveillance & targeting turret, rescue hoist, provision for anti-ship missiles and torpedoes, door gun, etc.

These helicopters will arrive from 2015-2016, and could serve aboard the new Incheon Class. As the FFX ships are built and fielded, follow-on buys become likely. Read “AW159 Wildcat: The Future Lynx Helicopter Program” for full coverage.

AW159 Helo picked

2010 – 2012

Contracts for Batch I ships 2-3; Initial ship launched; RAM/Phalanx picked; MT30 engine for FFX Batch II; Pohang Class ROKS Cheonan sunk. Incheon launch
(click to view larger)

June 26/12: MT30 for Batch II. Rolls-Royce announces that its MT30 gas turbine has been picked to power the FFX Batch II frigates, which Rolls Royce touts as the first frigate to feature the MT30.

The decision also includes a contract to supply an engine for the 1st Batch II ship. Rolls Royce will build and test the engine, then ship it to Korea, where Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI) will integrate it into the steel enclosure which also houses the air inlets, exhausts and ancillary equipment. Shipbuilder Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering (DSME) will install the enclosure in the ship.

The MT30 is the world’s most powerful marine gas turbine, delivering 36-40 MW, and The FFX Batch II frigates will use just 1 MT30, instead of carrying 2 turbines like most other frigates. This arrangement is similar to Lockheed Martin’s frigate-sized Littoral Combat Ship, but the MT30’s other platforms are revealing: the battlecruiser-sized DDG-1000 “destroyers,” and Britain’s CVF Queen Elizabeth Class aircraft carriers.

Sept 12/11: Weapons. Raytheon signs a $65.5 million Direct Commercial Sale contract to deliver 5 Phalanx Block 1B Close-In Weapon Systems to the Republic of Korea Navy for the new FFX Batch I ships. The contract calls for the systems to be installed starting in April 2013, and represents Phalanx’s largest sale to the ROK fleet. Raytheon.

April 29/11: FFX-1 launch. Shipbuilder builder Hyundai Heavy Industries Co. in Ulsan launches the 1st FFX Batch I frigate: the 2,300-ton (empty) FFG-811 Incheon. Hyundai HI | Korea Herald.

April 11/11: Weapons. Raytheon announces that it has delivered the 1st 20mm Phalanx Block 1B Close-In Weapon System to the Republic of Korea Navy, representing the Phalanx’s introduction into the ROK fleet. The direct commercial sale calls for the Phalanx Block 1B system to be installed on the lead FFX frigate in 2011.

Raytheon expects to sign another contract with South Korea for an additional 5 Phalanx systems in the near future. The Phalanx has some small-ship advantages over Thales 30mm Goalkeeper, as it can be installed as a simple bolt-on.

March 29/11: Unconfirmed report that the lead FFX ship will be named ROKS KyungGi, and is expected to be launched in late April 2011. The date turns out to be right, but not the name. World Armed Forces Forum.

Sept 29/10: Ships #2-3. A spokesman from the ROK’s Defence Acquisition Programme Administration (DAPA) tells Jane’s that Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI) has been selected to construct the 2nd and 3rd Ulsan-I class FFX frigates. A contract to build the 2 ships, estimated to be valued at around $600 million, is scheduled to be signed by the end of 2010, with deliveries from 2014. Jane’s.

Contract: ships #2-3

June 6/10: RAM & Phalanx picked. The Korea Times reports that Raytheon has beaten Thales Nederland and MBDA to supply the FFX frigates’ air defense weapons. Its RAM Rolling Airframe Missile reportedly beat MBDA’s VL-MICA (a surprise mention, as the Crotale NG/Mk3 is a closer analog, whose land variant is already in service with the ROK Army), while Raytheon’s 20mm Phalanx system was picked over the 30mm Goalkeeper system that equips other Korean ships.

A DAPA spokesman told the paper that the Phalanx CIWS contract was signed in May, while negotiations remained in progress for the RAM system. DAPA hopes to finalize that by July, and other DAPA sources are quoted as giving the Phalanx system an $11 million price tag, and the RAM system about $17 million.

March 26/10: ROKS Cheonan The Pohang Class corvette ROKS Cheonan is attacked and sinks, killing 46 of the 104 crew members. Subsequent investigation shows that it was sunk by a North Korean torpedo, fired from a submarine with what was apparently complete surprise.

The attack causes South Korea to re-evaluate its defense plans. The FFX project may end up receiving a boost, at the expense of high-end ships like the KDX-III AEGIS destroyers. Wikipedia re: Cheonan | Chosun Ilbo | JoongAng Daily | NY Times || ROK ambassador to US CSIS presentation [PDF] | Korea JoongAng Daily re: force rethink.

ROKS Cheonan attacked & sunk

2007 – 2009

Initial ship ordered.

Oct/Nov 2009: Sub-contractors. Marine Propulsion reports that:

“Degaussing systems from SAM Electronics of Germany are specified for the Korean Navy’s new FFX-class multi-purpose frigates, starting with the lead-ship due next year. The order maintains a 30-year relationship forged when one of SAM’s predecessors, AEG-Schiffbau, secured a contract to deliver such systems to the first-generation Ulsan-class light frigates built in Korea…”

Degaussing systems are used to help remove magnetism from a ship’s hull. Without them, the ship becomes a lot more vulnerable to weapons like naval mines.

July 20/09: The Korea Times reports that their Navy plans to establish a strategic mobile fleet of 2 destroyer-led squadrons by February 2010, in a bid to develop blue-water operational capability beyond coastal defense against a North Korean invasion.

Each mobile squadron would initially consist of a KDX-III Aegis destroyer, 3 4,500-ton KDX-II destroyers, and maritime aircraft. That would be augmented by submarines and smaller ships like the FFX frigates, once a forward naval base is finished on the southern island of Jeju, around 2014.

March 18/09: Jane’s reports that South Korea’s DAPA procurement agency has re-issued a tender for the FFX’s tactical air navigation (TACAN) systems, after just one potential vendor submitted a bid. That triggered a DAPA rule forcing the re-issue.

Dec 26/08: Ship #1. Hyundai Heavy Industries signs a WON 140 billion (about $106.5 million) contract to build the lead ship of the South Korean Navy’s new FFX frigate class. It is not clear whether this is a complete contract, a contract for the ship minus “government furnished equipment” like weapons, or a partial award.

Hyundai had been in charge of the basic FFX design. There had been rumors that Korea was considering the RIM-162 Evolved Sea Sparrow missile for medium-range air defense, to be mounted in a vertical launching system that could also host anti-submarine rockets and add new weapons over time. While the ships’ planned 4,550 nautical mile operating range might make that idea attractive, the South Korean Navy appears to have decided to contain costs, and stick to its original mission of coastal defense. Korea Times sources indicate that the new ships will not have vertical launchers. The Korea Times | Your Shipbuilding News.

Contract: Ship #1

Feb 5/07: Sensors. Thales Underwater Systems announces a contract from Korea’s STX Engine CO Ltd, for industrial cooperation aiming at the full scale development of a new Hull Mounted Sonar (HMS) for the FFX frigate program. The sonar will be based on current Thales off-the-shelf products, and final contract completion is expected in 2009.

Additional Readings FFX & Its Predecessors

• Global Security – FFK Ulsan class Frigate Korea (FFK)

• Naval Technology – Incheon Class Frigates / Future Frigate Experimental (FFX), South Korea

• Navy Recognition – Incheon Class Frigate – Republic of Korea Navy

• Naval Recognition (Oct 29/13) – DSME unveiled the FFX Incheon class Batch II, ROK Navy’s future multipurpose frigates

• Global Security – Pohang (PCC Patrol Combat Corvette)

• Global Security – Tonghae / Dong Hae (PCC Patrol Combat Corvette)

FFX: Ancillaries

• LiG Nex1 – Blue Shark. Lightweight torpedo used from ships, helicopters and aircraft.

• LiG Nex1 – Red Shark Anti-Submarine Guided Missile. Blue Shark + guided rocket + vertical launch.

• LiG Nex1 – C-Star Ship-to-Ship Missile. Haeseong I. Like the AGM-84 Harpoon missile it replaces, it uses its own fixed launchers.

• LiG Nex1 – Tactical Ship-to-Surface Missile Guided Missile. Also known as Haeseong II, “…converted from Haeseong to strike coastal and inland targets”. Reported to be a vertical launch weapon.

• The Korea Times (Sept 26/11) – Seoul develops supersonic cruise missile. “All I can say for now is that it will be able to fly faster than Mach 1,” [said a DAPA official]…. A ranking official of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MOFAT) confirmed that the latest cruise missile is named Haeseong II…”

• DRS – Electric and Hybrid Electric Ship Propulsion Systems. Their HED uses a Permanent Magnetic Motor, a superior base technology vs. standard AIM motors.

• L-3 MAPPS – Experience. Entries include the Integrated Platform Management System (IPMS) for the FFX, as well as South Korea’s other modern surface combatants. The IPMS provides integrated monitoring and control of all of the ship’s platform machinery and systems such as propulsion, steering, electrical generation & distribution, auxiliaries, fire/smoke/flood detection and damage control. It also features advanced capabilities such as on-board full mission team training, and equipment health monitoring.

• Rheinmetall Defence – Protection Systems Sea. Includes the MASS (Multi Ammunition Softkill System) rapid decoy launcher, used on FFX.

• BAE Systems – Mk45 MOD 4 Naval Gun System.

• Rolls Royce – MT30 Marine gas turbine engine.

• SamsungThales – NCMS for FFX. Combat system.

• DID – Phalanx CIWS: The Last Defense, On Ship and Ashore

• LiG Nex1 – SAAM: Surface-to-Air Anti-Missile. It appears to be aimed at the RIM-162 ESSM tier of medium range missiles.

• LiG Nex1 – SONATA Ship EW System.

• DID – AW159 Wildcat: The Future Lynx Helicopter Program.

News & Views

• ‘Manoeuvre’ in Maritime Asia (Feb 9/09) – PKX-A’s Contributions to the S. Korean Naval Community. Launch of the Yun Yeong-Ha Class of 500t patrol boats. Note the upgrade to include anti-ship missiles, even at this level.

Americas

• The Navy’s new Gerald R. Ford (CVN-78) carrier will undergo shock testing, despite this likely causing schedule delays of up to six months. Previously, Navy officials planned to carry out the tests – designed to replicate extreme combat stress – on the second carrier in class, the John F. Kennedy, due to enter service in the early 2020s, in order to accelerate the Gerald R. Ford’s entry into service. Pentagon procurement chief Frank Kendall reportedly ordered the Navy to conduct the tests, despite the inevitable delay such testing would produce.

• Boeing’s Compact Laser Weapon System (CLWS) successfully shot-down a UAV during the Army’s Black Dart exercise earlier this month. The 2kW laser engaged the UAV by focusing energy on the aircraft’s tail, inducing a loss of control. The system, capable of being transported by a squad of eight to twelve men, is thought to weight approximately 650lbs.

• Rockwell Collins has delivered the first Generation III helmet-mounted display system to the F-35 Joint Program Office. Use of a Distributed Aperture System (DAS) will allow pilots using the HMDS to see through the aircraft’s airframe, with the helmet system scheduled to enter the F-35 fleet during low rate initial production lot 7, timetabled for next year.

• The Brazilian Air Force has outlined what weapons it plans to procure to equip its new fleet of 36 Gripen E/F fighters, following the approval of a Swedish loan earlier this month for both the aircraft and weapons. The $4.6 billion deal will see the first Gripens delivered in 2019, with weapons including the A-Darter short-range air-to-air missile, the IRIS-T short-range air-to-air missile, SPICE bomb kits and targeting pods built by Israel’s Rafael Advanced Defense Systems Ltd.

Europe

• The Czech Republic has decided to equip its fourteen leased Gripen C/D fighters with air-to-ground weapons, according to local press reports. The country signed a renewed leasing agreement with Saab last year, with this extending a ten-year deal in 2004 to 2027, with a two-year option period. The Czechs are scheduled to pay approximately $70 million a year for the fourteen aircraft, with the new, unspecific ground-attack equipment timetabled to enter service by 2018. The Czech defense ministry announced its intention to release a tender for the new weapons in late July.

Asia

• The Indian Air Force has reportedly cut the its required number of PAK-FA/T-50 fighters by half to approximately 65 aircraft. The joint Russo-Indian project has had its fair share of problems, not least lack of cooperation between the two co-developer nations. India is now looking to sign a research and development contract worth approximately $11 billion, with this having been kept on ice since 2013. The IAF is pressing for an off-the-shelf procurement, which would allow for speedier delivery than under the proposed R&D contract route, which would see delivery take place in around eight years’ time. The defense ministry is now reportedly looking to undertake both options simultaneously, with a reduced number of aircraft procured to fulfil IAF demand whilst eyeing future manufacturing opportunities through the parallel R&D contract.

• Afghanistan’s armed MD-530 helicopters have been used in combat for the first time, reports indicated on Wednesday. The Afghan Security Forces announced in July that the helicopters would be equipped with rocket pods to complement .50 cal machine guns. MD Helicopters was awarded a contract in March 2011 for the first six helicopters, with an additional order for a further twelve announced in September 2014.

• Taiwan’s Chung-shan Institute of Science and Technology has unveiled [Chinese] new air defense systems and unmanned aircraft at the country’s 2015 Taipei Aerospace & Defense Technology Exhibition. These include the Sea Oryx, a short-range air defense missile system, the Tan An rocket system and a Reaper-lookalike MALE unmanned aircraft.

• The South Korean Navy has launched its sixth Incheon-class guided missile frigate. The Gwangju is the sixth vessel in a program of twenty new vessels scheduled to enter service by 2020. The new ship will undergo testing before deployment in 2016.

Today’s Video

• An example of a ship shock test:

USA’s Nimitz Class &
UK’s Invincible Class
(click to view full)

Some nations have aircraft carriers. The USA has super-carriers. The French Charles De Gaulle Class nuclear carriers displace about 43,000t. India’s new Vikramaditya/ Admiral Gorshkov Class will have a similar displacement. The future British CVF Queen Elizabeth Class and related French PA2 Project are expected to displace about 65,000t, while the British Invincible Class carriers that participated in the Falklands War weigh in at just 22,000t. Invincible actually compares well to Italy’s excellent new Cavour Class (27,000t), and Spain’s Principe de Asturias Class (17,000t). The USA’s Nimitz Class and CVN-21 Gerald R. Ford Class, in contrast, fall in the 90,000+ tonne range. Hence their unofficial designation: “super-carriers”. Just one of these ships packs a more potent air force than many nations.

Nimitz Class cutaway
(click to view full)

As the successor to the 102,000 ton Nimitz Class super-carriers, the CVN-21 program aimed to increase aircraft sortie generation rates by 20%, increase survivability to better handle future threats, require fewer sailors, and have depot maintenance requirements that could support an increase of up to 25% in operational availability. The combination of a new design nuclear propulsion plant and an improved electric plant are expected to provide 2-3 times the electrical generation capacity of previous carriers, which in turn enables systems like an Electromagnetic Aircraft Launching System (EMALS, replacing steam-driven catapults), Advanced Arresting Gear, and integrated combat electronics that will leverage advances in open systems architecture. Other CVN-21 features include an enhanced flight deck, improved weapons handling and aircraft servicing efficiency, and a flexible island arrangement allowing for future technology insertion. This graphic points out many of the key improvements.

DID’s CVN-21 FOCUS Article offers a detailed look at a number of the program’s key innovations, as well as a list of relevant contract awards and events.

The New Gerald R. Ford Class CVN-21: Improvements and Innovations CV 1: USS Langley
(click to enlarge)

The Nimitz Class was designed in the 1950s and 1960s, and despite a number of equipment changes since then, the basic design remains. Rear Adm. Dennis M. Dwyer, the Navy’s program executive officer for aircraft carriers, put it this way in a May 2003 National Defense Magazine article: “If you take the time period between Nimitz and CVN-21 [design], it’s the same time period between [the USS] Langley (CV 1) – the first carrier – and Nimitz.” The Langley was commissioned in 1922.

The technological jump is much shorter. Aircraft carriers are a mature technology, and CVN-21’s refinements are more about marginal improvements to effectiveness, cost-efficiency, and future upgradeability than any revolution in carrier design.

Even so, creating a new ship class isn’t cheap. According to NAVSEA, the cost of the initial design work to create the CVN-21 ship class and develop its new technologies is projected at $5.6 billion. By 2005, as advance construction began, the estimate for building the CVN 78 Gerald R Ford was $8.1 billion, plus about $5.4 billion in ancillary work related to the class as a whole. Newport News worked to test the design-build strategy before overall construction kick-off in 2007.

DID investigated the CVN-21’s exact build cost, and the future operating cost savings expected as a result of its design innovations. Essentially, CVN-21 carriers are expected to generate savings in 2 major ways.

One is through an array of design and automation changes to various areas of the ship that reduce the required number of sailors aboard.

The other is through reduction in the number of major maintenance overhauls required. NAVSEA expects these changes to save $5 billion per ship over the ships’ projected 50-year lifetime.

Meanwhile, measures are being taken aimed at improving the carriers’ effectiveness and survivability.

Ford Class: New Technologies CVN-21 Enhancements
(click to view full)

An electromagnetic aircraft launching system (EMALS) will replace the steam-powered system used on current ships. The current steam catapults are large, heavy, and operate without feedback control. They impart large loads to the airframe via sudden shock, and are difficult and time consuming to maintain. Additionally, the trend towards heavier, faster aircraft will soon result in energy requirements that exceed the capacity of steam catapults.

EMALS Components
(click to view full)

EMALS offers a 30% increase in launch energy potential, as well as substantial improvements via reduced weight, smaller volume, and more flexibility; plus increased control, availability, reliability, and efficiency. Self-diagnostics can be embedded in it, simplifying maintenance. The other thing that simplifies maintenance is the removal of the 614 kg of steam required for each aircraft launch, plus hydraulics and oils, water for braking, and associated pumps, motors, and control systems. A corresponding Advanced Arresting Gear (AAG) system will replace existing Mk7 hydraulic motors with a system based on electric motors, in order to handle the arresting wires used to catch aircraft tailhooks on landing.

The EMALS-based system will take up far less space, providing design flexibility. EMALS launchers can be moved far more easily, downsized and incorporated into a ramp to provide additional launchers for short take-off aircraft, etc. Finally, its steadier acceleration is expected to reduce launch strains on naval aircraft, which helps extend their airframe life. That isn’t calculated as part of cost savings for the ship, but it definitely adds up over time.

The bad news? EMALS is such a big change from existing steam-driven catapult systems that it’s a critical technology for the CVN-21 Class. Its progress and performance will have a substantial effect on the ships’ on-time delivery, and on their ability to fulfill their cost promises.

Advanced arresting gear. The Naval Air Systems Command, headquartered at Patuxent River Naval Air Station, is working on an improved system for trapping aircraft as they land and hook the arresting cables. This electrical-hydraulic combination will be designed to be able to handle emerging platforms, such as the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet and F-35C Joint Strike Fighter, which are heavier and able to return to the ship with more unexpended munitions than their predecessors.

A redesigned nuclear reactor is expected to supply 25% more power for propulsion, but require only 50% the maintenance costs and a 50% reduction in sailors required to operate it. Removing the steam catapults in favor of EMALS is synergistic, reducing work on the maintenance-heavy steam conduits and allowing the steam from the nuclear reactor to do other things – like make electricity. The CVN-21 Class is expected to have 3 times the electricity generating capacity of the Nimitz Class. If our personal experiences with power hungry electronics over the last 20 years are anything to go by, they may need it.

NAVSEA says that the Ford Class is planned to have a long-lived reactor, but an expensive mid-life refueling and complex overhaul (RCOH) is still planned after about 25 years of operation.

Rear Adm. Dwyer has estimated that these and other technical changes involving increased automation will enable the size of the CVN-21 ships’ crews to be reduced from about 3,000 – 2,500, and possibly as low as 2,100. Note that some 2,500 personnel are also carried in the air wing, and will not be subject to reductions from any of the methods described here.

DBR on CVN-21
(click to view full)

Dual-Band Radar. This was pioneered on the Zumwalt class DDG-1000 destroyers. Most warships carry 2 radars with very different functions. The volume search radar performs wide area scans over a large footprint, while the targeting and fire control radar guides missiles and other weapons fired by the ship. They are integrated at the combat system level, but each is a separate sub-system, operating in different bands with different detection strengths. The DBR approach integrates both a SPY-3 active-array X-band radar for excellent fire control against saturation attacks, and an active array S-band radar for wide area search and performance in clutter, in order to provide a single combat picture with fewer coverage gaps and better response. All in less space than existing systems, allowing designers to shrink the “island” tower on deck.

The use of active-array, digital beamforming radar technology will help DBR-equipped ships survive saturation attacks, since they can allocate emitters to track and guide against tens of incoming missiles simultaneously. Active array radars also feature better reliability than mechanically-scanned radars, and recent experiments suggest that they could have uses as very high-power electronic jammers, and/or high-bandwidth secure communications relays. Read “The US Navy’s Dual Band Radars” for full coverage.

Ford Class: Design Improvements CVN 79 Concept, 2009
(click for alternate view)

Electronic upgradeability. CVN 21 will also employ an integrated warfare system that allows its electronics to slot into a single, open-architecture, scalable weapons system, based on commercial, off-the-shelf technologies. Dwyer noted that the US Navy would like everything to “plug and play.” While technology never works quite that way, the process can be made easier – and doing so would improve long-term performance. As Rear Adm. Dwyer pointed out:

“Right now, the way we build aircraft carriers is to buy all the electronic equipment up front, then take seven years to build a ship and deliver it with obsolete electronics. It’s kind of crazy now that you think about it. We don’t want to do that any more… What we’d like to do is put the electronic equipment in separately from the actual shipbuilding process.”

Along similar lines, CVN-21 will feature a so-called smart deck, equipped with redundant and flexible fiber-optic cable that is easier to move and repair than hard copper wiring. It can be blown through the ship for installation – and more easily reeled out for replacement. Its capacity is also easier to upgrade, by clipping on terminating devices that allow for richer exploitation of different electromagnetic bandwidths of light.

A NASCAR flight deck philosophy. The “island” tower on the flight deck is being redesigned, reduced, and moved. As Rear Adm. Dwyer noted: “The people who actually handle aircraft said, ‘The island’s in the wrong place. It makes the aircraft all jam up. Why don’t you move it?'” So the island has shifted 100 feet aft, and the carrier’s elevators, deck et. al. are being shifted to a racetrack-like pattern of operations, complete with “pit stop” parking et. al.

It is this system that accounts for the expected 33% improvements in operational flights per day – a key measure of the carrier’s ability to both project power and defend itself. The US Navy’s goal is 160 sorties per day for the Ford Class, vs. the Nimitz Class’ 120 in a 12-hour fly day. Surge goal is 270 sorties on 24-hour fly days, vs. 240 sorties for the previous Nimitz Class.

Survivability also received attention. While the bridge and flight deck operations will remain on the island, the carrier’s command and decision centers are being moved from the island, to a “smart deck” down lower in the ship. This places them somewhere that’s both safer, and less in the way of aircraft operations. Meanwhile, the fuel tanks and bomb/ missile/ ammunition magazines are getting more armor, and the hull is being reinforced.

Transitional Carrier: CV 77, USS George H.W. Bush CVN 77: Men at work
(click to view full)

The improvements described above are large leaps. To help with this transition, the USS George H.W. Bush was designed as a transitional ship between the Nimitz Class and the Ford Class. As such, CVN 77 has been a candidate for development, evaluation, and incorporation of a range of advanced technologies and acquisition reform initiatives. The hope is that these initiatives would result in lower life cycle costs, and also set the standard by which further improvements in the CVN-21 Class will be measured.

Technology innovations fielded in CVN 77 are targeted to achieve a 15% reduction in Operation and Support Costs, and they will also be backfit as feasible in the other nine ships of the Nimitz Class through the Carrier Improvement Plan. The carriers’ mid-life refueling overhauls and refit are the most likely time, given the scale of effort required. Some cost-saving transitional features and improvements designated for this last ship of the Nimitz Class included:

• A new automated JP-5 jet fuel system with programmable consoles and an improved filtration system (for significant reduction in operational/maintenance workload)

• A new vacuum collection sewage system that utilizes fresh water instead of sea water for flushing. This creates fewer long term corrosion problems, and reduces the quantity of sewage from water closets and urinals by ratio of 10 to 1.

• Enhanced radio center automation, which involves integrating communications apertures and C4I systems within the radio room to enable an automated full service integrated network that operates at greater effectiveness and efficiency.

• A composite mast made from a lighter, composite material instead of steel that reduces topside weight (up to 20 tons) and reduces electromagnetic blockage. It also includes accelerated introduction of new antenna technology: mast clamp current probe antennas will eliminate numerous HF antennas.

• Some propulsion plant changes to reduce manpower and maintenance requirements, though this will not represent a full conversion to the new CVN-21 nuclear power plant.

The George H.W. Bush was originally scheduled to be finish construction in April 2008, but delays pushed the timeline back to about March 2009, and increased costs from $5.9 billion to $6.2 billion in appropriation-year dollars. The Newport News Daily Press reports that CVN 77 was commissioned on Jan 10/09 at NAS Norfolk, despite being approximately 3-4 months away from the point at which it would normally be considered ready. The ship was towed into place for the ceremony, whose date was set in order to commission the ship while its namesake’s son was still President. In practice, however, this meant that the Navy accepted the ship even though it had never tested its major operating systems or nuclear reactors at sea.

The carrier is now in service. She was officially delivered to the US Navy on May 11/09, and departed on her first mission on May 11/11.

The CVN-21 Carrier Replacement Program (click to view full)

The USA’s carrier replacement project has been underway at some level for many years now. Activity can easily trace back to 1994, and really kicked off in 1997 when the Naval Research Advisory Committee (NRAC) was asked to study technology opportunities that might be useful in “CVX.” From that moniker, the effort evolved to become the “CVN-21 Carrier Replacement Program.” As the ships are built and fielded, however, more and more references will be made to the CVN-78 Gerald R. Ford Class instead.

Long-lead appropriations for the Gerald R. Ford [CVN-78] began in 2001, and long-lead appropriations for the unnamed CVN 79 are already underway. Beyond that, construction of additional carriers becomes less certain. Current Pentagon plans call for a “drumbeat” of one new carrier every 5 years, which slows planned construction, raises per-ship costs by adding more fixed costs, and also imposes additional costs by requiring more re-designs for new electronics etc. with each new ship. The USA’s rapidly-deteriorating fiscal situation are throwing even that plan into difficulty, however, even as advances in ship-killing missiles are calling the large aircraft carrier’s pre-eminence into question.

Purchases of something as expensive as a super-carrier take time, and are spread over many annual budgets. First, finished items like engines, which must be present at early stages of construction, are bought as “long-lead” materials, along with some advance sub-assembly work. Then full construction funding is appropriated over several years. Recent budgets include:

(click to view full) 3-D Pump Room model
(click to view full)

The target date for CVN 78 commissioning was 2014, but current plans say it won’t be delivered before September 2015. Initial Operational Capability isn’t expected until FY 2017, with Full Operational Capability in FY 2018. When it does enter service, it will replace America’s first nuclear-powered aircraft carrier – the 50+ year old USS Enterprise (CVN 65), which retired in 2012. CVN 78 is also expected to serve for 50 years, from 2014-2064.

Newport News is designing the new ships using a 3-D product model tool called CATIA (Computer-Aided Three-Dimensional Interactive Application), a widespread standard for advanced design in the shipbuilding industry that is also in widespread use by the global auto industry. They’re also using CAVE, (Computer-Aided Virtual Environment), a 3D immersive environment tool used for viewing certain areas of the CATIA product model, and refining the construction strategy.

CVN-21 Class: Contract Awards & Key Events

Unless otherwise specified, the US Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA) in Washington Navy Yard, DC manages the contracts. Huntington Ingalls Industries, Inc., formerly Northrop-Grumman’s Newport News Shipbuilding and Drydock Co. in Newport News, VA, is the project lead and contract recipient.

FY 2013 – FY 2015

CVN 78 structural erection done. Cost inflation. CVN-21 Concept
(click for alternate view)

August 13/15: The Navy’s new Gerald R. Ford (CVN-78) carrier will undergo shock testing, despite this likely causing schedule delays of up to six months. Previously, Navy officials planned to carry out the tests – designed to replicate extreme combat stress – on the second carrier in class, the John F. Kennedy, due to enter service in the early 2020s, in order to accelerate the Gerald R. Ford’s entry into service. Pentagon procurement chief Frank Kendall reportedly ordered the Navy to conduct the tests, despite the inevitable delay such testing would produce.

June 8/15: Huntington Ingalls was awarded $4.3 billion through two contracts on Friday, with the shipyard handed a $3.35 billion detail design and construction contract for CVN-79, a member of the Navy’s new class of super-carriers. The subsidiary of Newport News Shipyard also received a $941.2 million modification to a previously awarded contract in support of CVN-79, also known as the USS John F. Kennedy. The new class of carriers was recently criticized for being too expensive, with Huntington Ingalls the sole manufacturer of nuclear-powered aircraft carriers. The John F. Kennedy is the second ship in the class, under construction with a cost-cap of $11.5 billion.

Mar 11/15: McCain complains about Ford-class costs.Former carrier pilot Sen. John McCain told Navy officials that the new Ford class of carriers is too expensive, coming in between $11 and $13 billion per copy. The first is being tested now before being delivered to the Navy. The second (JFK) and third (Enterprise) are in various states of construction. The Enterprise will be the ninth ship to take on the name. The eighth, CVN-65, was a carrier McCain served on in the 1960s, flying A-1 Skyraiders in a ground support role.

Mar 2/15: CVN-79 work moved up, but schedule stays put. The Navy tells Congress that it will move up work on the JFK, but not to launch the ship any sooner. To do so would create an impractical overlap of an extra carrier for a couple year prior to the retirement of CVN-68. Instead, they will delay the completion of the ship, waiting until the last minute to purchase and install the electronics, which presumably will be somewhat improved by the period just before launch in the summer of 2022.

Mar 2/15: CVN-73 will get its Refueling and Complex Overhaul in 2017, with preparation work moved up. The USS George Washington will come back to port in July 2017 for its RCOH. Work has been awarded to Newport News Shipbuilding for planning, design and procurement – a 30-month project leading up to the actual work.

May 8/13: Hearings. The US Senate Armed Forces Seapower subcommittee hears testimony from US Navy officials covering US Navy shipbuilding programs. The prepared statement says that a 2012 affordability review has led to noticeable changes in CVN 79, and lessons learned will lead to higher ship completion percentages at each build stage. An excerpt:

“Inarguably, this new class of aircraft carrier brings forward tremendous capability and life-cycle cost advantages compared to the NIMITZ-class it will replace. However, the design, development and construction efforts required to overcome the technical challenges…. have significantly impacted cost performance on the lead ship. [The detailed review and revised build plan for CVN 78]… will not recover costs to original targets… but should improve performance on the lead ship while fully benefitting CVN 79 and following ships of the class.”

See April 10/13 entry for expected costs per ship, which do decline in real terms for CVN 79-80. The question is whether practice will meet predictions. SASC prepared statement.

May 7/13: CVN 78. HII Newport News hoists the last of 162 primary structure “superlifts” onto CVN 78 Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78), a 75 foot long, 66 ton ship catapult forward section.

The lift ends 3 years of structural erection work, and 3 1/2 years since construction began in November 2009. There’s still a lot of work left before the ship is even floated out to begin finishing: hull painting, shafting work, completion of electrical systems, mooring equipment, and installation of radar arrays. HII.

May 6/13: CVN 79. A $60.8 million long lead-time material contract for CVN 79, which began attracting funding in 2009. HII has been working with their suppliers, and HII VP for CVN 79 Mike Shawcross says that this award will help them implement some of those buying initiatives for air conditioning systems, controllers and pumps, etc. Announced CVN 79 construction preparation contracts now stand at $1.865 billion, with the main construction contract expected later in 2013.

Work will be performed in Newport News, VA, and is expected to be complete by October 2015 (N00024-09-C-2116). See also HII.

April 10/13: FY 2014 Budget. The President releases a proposed budget at last, the latest in modern memory. The Senate and House were already working on budgets in his absence, but the Pentagon’s submission is actually important to proceedings going forward. See ongoing DID coverage. The program remains steady, with $1.68 billion requested to fund the 2nd year of construction for CVN 79 John F. Kennedy, and completion costs for CVN 78 Gerald R. Ford.

The FY 2014 budget submission places the $FY13 cost of CVN 78 at $12.829 billion, and the expected cost of CVN 79 at $11.338 billion. CVN 80 is pegged at $13.874 billion (+22.4% vs. CVN 79), but that’s in 2018. Math reminder: just 4.2% inflation, compounded over 2014-2018, is 22.8%.

Per ship costs

April 1/13: CVN 78. HII in Newport News, VA receives an $18.2 million contract modification for for CVN 78 special tooling, special test equipment, and supplier related vendor support services.

Work will be performed in Newport News, VA, and is expected to be complete in September 2015. All funds are committed immediately, using the FY 2011 Shipbuilding and Conversion budget (N00024-08-C-2110).

March 28/13: GAO Report. The US GAO tables its “Assessments of Selected Weapon Programs“. Which is actually a review for 2012, plus time to compile and publish. As of August 2012, CVN 78 was 51% complete, but its build costs have grown by 17% since the 2008 construction contract was issued. There’s enough blame to go around. A build contract awarded when the 3D model was incomplete and only 5/13 critical technologies were mature. Government-furnished equipment arriving late. Construction problems like warping and flexing of new steel decking, a shortage of new valves, and welding complications. The DBR radar decision that forced the CVN-21 program to take on a new immature technology, instead of receiving a mature technology from the DDG 1000 program.

The 3D model is complete now, and either 6 or 12 of the 13 critical technologies are mature, depending on whether you ask GAO (6) or OSD (12). Now the challenge is to have all of the required sub-components arrive in configurations that fit the design, and don’t reveal a need for constraint-breaking changes during testing. CVN 79 John F. Kennedy and CVN 80 Enterprise will change in response to all of the construction and testing issues found in CVN 78 Gerald R. Ford, which is normal. The hope is that required changes won’t be too difficult to fit into CVN 79. Meanwhile, retrofits of CVN 78 could be costly, driving its build price higher.

The US Navy plans to award the CVN 79 main contract in September 2013, take delivery of the USS Gerald R. Ford in September 2015, have the Ford ready for deployment by March 2017, and award CVN 80’s main build contract by the end of 2017.

March 21/13: CVN 79. A $407.4 million contract modification can be drawn on in order to extend construction preparation efforts, and provide the ability to procure additional long-lead material and advance construction activities for CVN 79 if required. If the funds aren’t needed, fine. If budget issues or political gridlock create a problem, this funding can help preserve the construction schedule.

This may be an expansion of the March 7/13 contract. Either way, DID’s records show that the total for all announced contracts involving CVN 79 is around $1.8 billion so far. Work will be performed in Newport News, VA and is expected to complete by October 2015 (N00024-09-C-2116).

March 11/13: CNAS – Carrier eclipse? The center-left CNAS think-tank publishes a new example of their “disruptive defense papers,” with USN Capt. Henry J. Hendrix’s “At What Cost a Carrier?” [PDF] He proposes slowly divesting from aircraft carriers, while canceling the F-35C and building a transition bridge of UCAVs to lengthen carrier strike range and lower operating costs. Precision strike would also shift toward undersea platforms. On the surface, fewer carrier battlegroups would enable investment in more “influence squadrons” of amphibious ships, patrol corvettes, riverines squadrons, etc., in order to make up the “presence deficit” complained of by the Navy. The core of his argument is summed up in these excerpts:

“Nimitz-class carriers can generate approximately 120 sorties a day. Ford-class carriers, with the new… EMALS… launch around 160 sorties per day, a 33 percent increase in launch capacity. This seems very impressive until one realizes that the USS George H.W. Bush, the last Nimitz carrier, cost $7 billion and the USS Gerald R. Ford is coming in at $13.5 billion. In the end, the nation is paying nearly 94 percent more for a carrier that can only do 33 percent more work. 13 Even factoring in projected savings from reduced manning and lower maintenance costs, this investment is still not a good use of U.S. taxpayer money…. The inefficiency of manned aviation, with its massive fiscal overhead of training, pilot currency and maintenance, is rapidly outpacing its utility. The idea that the United States needs a large sortie capability inexorably drives decisionmakers to large carriers. These maritime juggernauts are expensive and hence need to be defended by an ever-larger ring of exquisite technologies in order to launch a historically shrinking number of very expensive aircraft from ever-increasing distances that may or may not drop their bombs. This raises the question of who is shaping whom within the current strategic environment.

To continue to invest in aircraft carriers at this stage, to believe that the USS Ford, with a service life of 50 years, can see the carrier through to a 150-year life unchallenged upon the high seas smells of hubris. Advancements in surveillance, reconnaissance, global positioning, missiles and precision strike all signal a sea change in not only naval warfare, but all forms of warfare.”

See also Information Dissemination, which responds that the carrier isn’t becoming obsolete – its air wing is.

March 7/13: CVN 79. A $65 million contract will provide the ability to order additional long lead material and advance construction activities if required. Work will be performed in Newport News, VA, and is expected to be complete by October 2015. Additional funding is not being committed yet (N00024-09-C-2116).

Dec 1/12: CVN 80. Nearly 12,000 past and current crew members, family and friends attend the formal inactivation of the first nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, USS Enterprise, at Naval Station Norfolk, VA. It’s the last public ceremony, but there’s still a lot of work to do, and significant contracts to issue, before the ship is deactivated and safe.

US Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus doesn’t attend, but he plays a video message to announce that the 3rd Ford Class carrier, CVN-80, will become the next USS Enterprise when and if she is built. US Navy | USN CVN 65 site.

From one USS Enterprise to the Next

Jan 26/13: CVN 78. HII lowers the 555t “island” onto Gerald R. Ford’s deck. The island hosts the bridge, air traffic command center, etc. It’s the 452nd of about 500 modular “lifts” involved in assembling the carrier, which is almost 90% structurally complete right now. HII.

Jan 17/13: DOT&E Report. The Pentagon releases the FY 2012 Annual Report from its Office of the Director, Operational Test & Evaluation (DOT&E). The Gerald R. Ford is included, as the Navy plans for its service entry as the 1st ship of its class.

An operational assessment actually began in September 2012, trying to assess build progress and future test readiness. OT&E’s biggest concern is that the current Test and Evaluation Master Plan (TEMP) will test components, but doesn’t have enough testing involving all of the pieces working together. Their concern is that “platform-level” problems will start cropping up during Initial Operational Test & Evaluation, which can be hard to fix, and could delay either delivery or IOC.

The battle over Total Ship Survivability Trials (TSST) and the Full Ship Shock Trial (FSST) is still on. The Navy and OT&E are closer to agreement on TSST, but the budget isn’t there. They’re still at odds over moving FSST to CVN 79. The Navy wants to reduce the gap in available carriers. OT&E believes the 4-6 month delay is outweighed by having test data to affect the design of future carriers.

Other issues noted by the report involve various key technologies that will have a big say in whether the ship is ready on time, from the DBR radar (combat system integration an issue), to the EMALS (new armature, making progress), Advanced Arresting Gear (significant redesign of multiple components) and CANES onboard networking (testing in Q4 FY 2014). The Virtual Carrier model is a minor technology needed to test Sortie Generation Rate, which is supposed to represent a major improvement. It needs more refinement before it’s useful.

A final concern involves the F-35’s big engine, whose 10,000 “power module” is too heavy for current underway replenishment systems (the line and pulley system used with supply ships). The Ford Class carriers will have a system rated to 12,000 pounds, but plans to install that new system on the supply ships have slipped by 8 years.

Oct 4/12: Industrial. A 1,024-metric ton unit of CVN 78 is lifted into the drydock at the Huntington Ingalls Newport by the shipyard’s 1,050-metric ton crane. This superlift is their biggest to date, and contributed to assembling the gallery deck (i.e. O-3 level). HII | NAVSEA.

FY 2012

More work on CVN 78, 79. CVN 78: May 2012
(click for alternate view)

Sept 27/12: CVN 79. A $296.1 million contract modification for more CVN 79 John F. Kennedy long-lead-time materials, and continuation of construction preparation efforts in FY 2013. This will include necessary research studies; engineering; design; related development efforts; advanced planning; advanced procurement for detail design and procurement of long lead material; advance construction; life cycle support; logistics data and other data.

Work will be performed in Newport News, VA, and is expected to be complete by October 2015 (N00024-09-C-2116).

Aug 30/12: CVN 78. A $9.7 million modification to the Gerald R. Ford’s cost-plus-incentive-fee detail, design and construction contract, covering one-time engineering efforts to configure the Gerald R. Ford’s decision centers. Work will be performed in Newport News, VA, and is expected to complete by September 2015. The USN Supervisor of Shipbuilding Conversion and Repair in Newport News, VA manages this contract (N00024-08-C-2110).

Including the main build contract in FY 2008, the total for announced contracts that are specific to CVN 78 is around $6.63 billion so far. Billions of dollars in contracts aimed at “CVN-21″ also contributed to the ship’s design, and to early manufacturing experiments and efforts, but their benefits will be shared among all ships of class.

Aug 9/12: Testing tiff. The DOT&E disagrees with the Navy’s position that computer modeling is enough to evaluate the new carrier’s survivability, without using explosive underwater shock tests. In fact, they’ve revoked approval of the Navy’s test plan. BusinessWeek:

“The U.S. Navy is inappropriately delaying or scaling back $70 million in needed combat testing of the USS Gerald R. Ford, an aircraft carrier that may cost $14.2 billion, in the name of cutting costs, according to the Pentagon’s top weapons tester.

A test that would “rigorously evaluate the ship’s ability to withstand shock and survive in combat” would be postponed until a second carrier in the new Ford class is built and may not be completed for seven years, Michael Gilmore, the Defense Department’s director of operational test and evaluation, told Navy Secretary Ray Mabus in a July 12 memo obtained by Bloomberg News.”

July 18/12: CVN 79. A $43.4 million contract modification for more CVN 79 “long lead time material.” That category actually includes research studies, engineering, design, life cycle support, and advance planning; as well as long lead items and advance construction.

To date, announced long-lead contracts for CVN 79 have reached $1.0478 billion. Work will be performed in Newport News, VA, and is expected to be complete by October 2015 (N00024-09-C-2116).

July 16/12: CVN 78. A $7.6 million contract modification to buy previously planned materials to build CVN 78 Gerald R. Ford. This modification increases the effort under the existing cost-plus-fixed-fee provisioned items order. Work will be performed in Newport News, VA, and is expected to complete by September 2015. The Supervisor of Shipbuilding Conversion and Repair in Newport News, VA manages this contract (N00024-08-C-2110).

Dec 21/11: CVN 79. Huntington Ingalls, Inc. in Newport News, VA receives an $113.2 million contract modification, exercising options to continue construction preparation for CVN 79 John F. Kennedy, including engineering, detail design, and lead yard services. Work will be performed in Newport News, VA, and is expected to be complete by October 2012 (N00024-09-C-2116). See also HII release.

Oct 26/11: CVN 79. A $16.9 million contract modification exercising priced CVN 79 research, development, test and evaluation options. HII will provide all services and material in preparation for final detail design and construction of the John F. Kennedy, including research studies; engineering; design; related development efforts; advanced planning; advanced procurement for detailed design and procurement of long lead material; advance construction; life cycle support; logistics data; etc.

Work will be performed in Newport News, VA. All contract funds will expire at the end of the current fiscal year, on Sept 30/12 (N00024-09-C-2116).

FY 2011

Work on CVN 78, 79. CVN 78: Aug. 2011
(click to view full)

Sept 12/11: Industrial. HII’s Newport News Shipbuilding division places an 825-ton superlift section, completing the Gerald R. Ford’s stern. The final superlift of the ship’s aft end included the steering gear rooms, electrical power distribution room, store rooms and tanks. At 90 feet long, 120 feet wide and 30 feet deep, the superlift was among the largest of the 162 that comprise CVN 78, the future USS Gerald R. Ford. HII.

Sept 8/11: Future carrier options. James Hasik looks at future options for the American super-carrier fleet, and delivers a preliminary cost analysis for various scenarios – including a scenario that involves halting the new CVN-21s after the John F. Kennedy, mothballing 2 existing Nimitz Class boats, and dropping to 8 operational carriers.

July 29/11: CVN 78. A $504.1 million contract modification to complete one-time platform engineering support related to the CVN 78, the Gerald R. Ford. Work will be conducted in Newport News, VA, and ship delivery is expected to take place in September 2015. (N00024-08-C-2110).

July 14/11: Rumors are flying that the Navy is looking to delay further carrier build contracts, in order to save money. A WTKR Virginia report adds fuel:

“U.S. Rep. Randy Forbes asked two top-ranking Navy admirals about a rumor he’d heard: that the Navy was considering deferring the purchase of the Newport News-built John F. Kennedy aircraft carrier by two years. The answer he received in a subcommittee hearing Tuesday – a beat of silence followed by a deflection – left him and other members of Virginia’s congressional delegation unsettled.”

Some proposals would even cancel the Kennedy, and use the money to buy LHA/LHD amphibious ships instead. American LHA/LHDs can carry fighters, and the LHA-6 America Class is an escort carrier in all but name. See Aviation Week | The Hill | WTKR.

May 29/11: The US Navy announces that CVN 79, the 2nd ship of class, will be named the USS John F. Kennedy. It will continue the namesake legacy of the non-nuclear powered CV 67, which was retired in 2007.

CVN 79 named

May 21/11: Industrial. HII moves a 945-ton pre-assembled “superlift” section into place near the stern of the ship, using the shipyard’s 1050-metric ton crane. This is one of the heaviest of 162 superlift modules making up the Ford, and was itself assembled over 18 months from 18 smaller structural units. It contains a diesel generator room, a pump room, an oily water waste pump room, 16 complete tanks and 18 partial tanks that will be completed when the superlift is welded to the rest of the ship.

The Gerald R. Ford’s keel was laid Nov 14/09, and christening is planned for 2013, with delivery to the U.S. Navy in 2015.

Feb 25/11: Steel is cut to begin building CVN 79, the 2nd carrier in this class. If only budgets and funding could be as certain. The carrier isn’t due for delivery until 2020, and the yard has received almost $1 billion for the carrier, but more than $900 million is tied up in Congress, as it wrestles with the FY 2011 and FY 2012 budgets.

Funding for the CVN-79 and a planning contract for the mid-life nuclear refueling and overhaul of the Abraham Lincoln carrier are both in flux at the moment. Both are “long fuse, big bang” projects, where the ability to order materials and ramp up staffing in a timely manner are critical. If funding issues create schedule stoppages, they’ll make the program late, and raise overall costs. Northrop Grumman | Newport Daily Press

CVN 79 “steel cut”

Jan 21/11: CVN 78. Northrop Grumman Shipbuilding Inc. in Newport News, VA received an $11 million contract modification to previously awarded contract in support of the USS Gerald R. Ford’s [CVN 78] engineering detailed design work.

Work will be performed in Newport News, VA, and is expected to be complete in September 2015. The US Navy Supervisor of Shipbuilding Conversion and Repair in Newport News, VA (N00024-08-C-2110).

Dec 8/10: CVN 79. A $323.6 million contract modification to continue construction preparation efforts for CVN 79, the as-yet unnamed 2nd aircraft carrier of the Gerald R. Ford class. Work will include necessary research studies; engineering; design; related development efforts; advanced planning; advanced procurement for detailed design and procurement of long lead material; advance construction; life cycle support; logistics data, and other data to support the anticipated FY 2013 ship detail design and construction.

Work will be performed in Newport News, VA, and is expected to be complete by October 2012 (N00024-09-C-2116). This contract raises CVN 79’s specific announced advance contracts to $874.3 million over the last 4 years. See also Northrop Grumman release.

Nov 10/10: CVN 78. A $189.2 million contract modification is just part of the planned funding for detailed design engineering work supporting construction of the Gerald R. Ford [CVN 78].

Work includes engineering; integration; related development efforts including drawing and work package development; advanced planning; design weight estimate; lifecycle support products and related logistics data; production planning; test and evaluation; further definition of initiatives to reduce CVN 78 class total ownership costs; and other data necessary to support construction of CVN 78. Northrop Grumman’s Mike Shawcross, VP of Gerald R. Ford-class engineering adds that: “Now that the design is in the three-dimensional product model, our engineering and planning effort is focused on the production of instructions for the shops and ship assembly.”

Work will be conducted in Newport News, VA, and is expected to complete by September 2015. This contract was not competitively procured; there wouldn’t be any point (N00024-08-C-2110). See also Northrop Grumman.

Nov 5/10: CVN 79. A $55.1 million contract for additional materials and assemblies, as the shipyard gets ready for an expected CVN 79 ship detail design and construction contract in FY 2013.

Work includes necessary research studies; engineering; design; related development efforts; advanced planning; advanced procurement for detailed design and procurement of long lead material; logistics data; and other data. It will be performed in Sunnyvale, CA, and is expected to be complete by Aug 25/14 (N00024-09-C-2116).

FY 2010

Cost increases. CVN 78: July 2010
(click to view full)

Sept 30/10: CVN 79. A $37.8 million contract modification for additional long lead time materials as the shipyard prepares to start building CVN 79, the 2nd Ford class carrier. Work will be performed in Newport News, VA, and is expected to be complete by October 2016 (N00024-09-C-2116).

Sept 7/10: CVN 79. A $12 million cost-plus-fixed-fee contract modification for procurement of additional long-lead-time materials in support of CVN 79 construction, the 2nd carrier of this class. Work may include research studies, engineering, design, related development efforts, advance planning, advance procurement, logistics data, and other data to support an expected FY 2013 ship detail design and construction date for CVN 79.

While aircraft carriers of the same class are broadly the same, the multi-year gap in construction generally means that each is fielded with slightly different technologies. Lessons from earlier ships also lead to minor design changes, which must be planned out and accounted for.

Work will be performed in Newport News, VA, and is expected to be complete by October 2011. This contract was not competitively procured, as the ship’s contractor is already determined (N00024-09-C-2116).

July 28/10: CVN 78. Northrop Grumman Corporation lifts 2 diesel generators weighing over 195,000 pounds each into the aft section of the Gerald R. Ford [CVN 78], at the company’s Shipbuilding sector in Newport News, VA. The ship is now about 11% complete.

When underway, the carrier will generate its electricity through its nuclear power plant. the diesel generators serve as emergency backups. Northrop Grumman.

May 12/10: CVN 78. Northrop Grumman Shipbuilding, Inc. in Newport News, VA receives an $186.6 million contract modification, as part of the planned increments of detailed design engineering work supporting Gerald R. Ford [CVN 78] construction. Northrop Grumman Shipbuilding will complete the detail design and construction of CVN 78 including engineering; integration; related development efforts including drawing and work package development; advanced planning; design weight estimate; lifecycle support products and related logistics data; production planning; test and evaluation; further definition of initiatives to reduce CVN 78 class total ownership costs; and other data necessary to support construction.

These design efforts will continue to be performed in Newport News, VA, and is expected to be complete by September 2015 (N00024-08-C-2110).

May 3/10: Gates’ speech. US Secretary of Defense Robert M. Gates delivers a speech at the Navy League’s annual Sea-Air-Space Convention, in National Harbor, MD. It’s widely seen as casting doubt on the future of the USA’s Ford Class carriers. Excerpts:

“The U.S. operates 11 large carriers, all nuclear powered.  In terms of size and striking power, no other country has even one comparable ship… At the higher end of the access-denial spectrum, the virtual monopoly the U.S. has enjoyed with precision guided weapons is eroding – especially with long-range, accurate anti-ship cruise and ballistic missiles that can potentially strike from over the horizon.  This is a particular concern with aircraft carriers and other large, multi-billion-dollar blue-water surface combatants, where, for example, a Ford-class carrier plus its full complement of the latest aircraft would represent potentially a $15 to $20 billion set of hardware at risk. The U.S. will also face increasingly sophisticated underwater combat systems – including numbers of stealthy subs – all of which could end the operational sanctuary our Navy has enjoyed in the Western Pacific for the better part of six decades… Our current plan is to have eleven carrier strike groups through 2040 and it’s in the budget. And to be sure, the need to project power across the oceans will never go away. But, consider the massive over-match the U.S. already enjoys. Consider, too, the growing anti-ship capabilities of adversaries.  Do we really need eleven carrier strike groups for another 30 years when no other country has more than one?  Any future plans must address these realities.

And that bring me to the third and final issue:  the budget… Just a few years ago, the Congressional Budget Office projected that meeting the Navy’s shipbuilding plan would cost more than $20 billion a year – double the shipbuilding budget of recent years, and a projection that was underfunded by some 30 percent… I do not foresee any significant increases in top-line of the shipbuilding budget beyond current assumptions. At the end of the day, we have to ask whether the nation can really afford a Navy that relies on $3 to 6 billion destroyers, $7 billion submarines, and $11 billion carriers.”

April 20/10: CVN 79. Northrop Grumman Shipbuilding, Inc. in Newport News, VA received a $16.8 million modification to buy more long lead time materials, as part of construction preparation for CVN 79, the 2nd carrier of this class. Work will include necessary research studies; engineering; design; related development efforts; advanced planning; advanced procurement for detailed design and procurement of long lead material; logistics data; and other data to support the anticipated FY 2013 ship detail design and construction contract.

Work will be performed in Newport News, VA, and is expected to be complete by March 2012 (N00024-09-C-2116).

April 1/10: SAR – Congress costs us. The Pentagon releases its April 2010 Selected Acquisitions Report, covering major program changes up to December 2009. The new carriers experience large cost increases, but most of them are self-inflicted by Pentagon program scheduling. The exception is the EMALS catapult system:

“Program costs increased $5,426.4 million (+15.5%) from $35,119.1 million to $40,545.5 million, due primarily to the shift from a four-year to five-year build cycle (+$4,131.2 million), which placed the program on a more fiscally sustainable path while continuing to support a minimum of 11 aircraft carriers through fiscal 2040. Additional increases resulted from revised cost estimates for the Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch System (EMALS) (+$1,292.6 million), platform non-recurring engineering (+$350.0 million), and labor and material projections (+$311.7 million), a stretch-out of the procurement buy profile (+$520.6 million), and the application of revised escalation indices (+$301.8 million). These increases were partially offset by decreases resulting from inflation and other miscellaneous adjustments (-$933.1 million) and a shipbuilding reduction across the program (-$627.0 million).”

SAR increase

March 30/10: The US GAO audit office delivers its 8th annual “Defense Acquisitions: Assessments of Selected Weapon Programs report. With respect to the “CVN 21 Program,” it says:

“The CVN 21 program has consistently demonstrated the maturity of its critical technologies later than recommended by best practices… Three of these technologies – EMALS, advanced arresting gear, and dual band radar-present the greatest risk to the ship’s cost and schedule… Construction of approximately 50 percent of the ship’s units are complete. According to program officials, these units are low on the ship and only account for 9 percent of the ship’s production hours… the fiscal year 2010 President’s Budget recommends moving the carrier to a 5-year build cycle. If adopted, the fabrication start date for CVN 80 will be delayed by 2 years, which will increase the amount of shipyard overhead costs paid under the CVN 79 contract.”

Most of the GAO’s commentary concerns critical carrier sub-systems, however, and those comments are covered in that section, below.

Dec 23/09: CVN 79. A $31.8 million modification to a previously awarded contract, to buy more long lead time materials as the Navy prepares to begin construction on CVN 79. Work will be performed in Newport News, VA, and is expected to be complete by April 2013 (N00024-09-C-2116).

Nov 14/09: CVN 78. A 23-story, 1,050 metric ton capacity gantry crane lifts an 81-foot by 96-foot building block into place in Dry Dock 12, during a keel-laying ceremony for the Gerald R. Ford [CVN 78]. Under partial block construction, each module is pre-outfitted with pipes and fixtures that will make final assembly quicker and more efficient. This ship’s blocks are larger than past carriers, which forced a $40 million upgrade of the gantry crane. Local media report that yard workers have assembled about 540 of 1,200 blocks that will be welded together in dry dock from 2009-2012, to form the Ford’s skeleton. A new $37 million stadium-sized manufacturing facility with a retractable roof will allow work to continue in any weather, and the firm hopes this will help the Ford avoid some of the delays that have plagued other carriers.

NGC’s Newport News shipyard has been assembling the units since 2006, with about 1,500 waterfront workers and about 2,000 engineers and planners involved in the program at the end of 2009. When construction peaks in 2013, the number of construction workers is expected to hit 4,000. US Navy | Northrop Grumman | Newport News, VA Daily Press | Reuters.

CVN 78 “keel laying”

Oct 28/09: FY 2010 budget. President Obama signs the FY 2010 defense budget into law. The Pentagon’s FY 2010 budget request of $1,397.3 million included 1,223.7 million as the 3rd year of incremental funding for CVN 78, plus 173.6 million in RDT&E. The reconciled budget tables that came out of House-Senate conferences list $739.3 million for the program, but the release characterizes it as full funding of the Pentagon’s request. White House | House-
Senate Conference Report summary [PDF] & tables [PDF] | Pentagon AFPS article.

Oct 9/09: CVN 78. Northrop Grumman uses the foundry at its Newport News, VA shipyard to melt 35 tons of steel, in order to cast the strut arms needed to support the Gerald R. Ford’s propeller shafts. Their release quotes aircraft carrier construction program VP Mike Shawcross, who says that about 5% of the construction contact is complete at this point. The Nov 14/09 keel-laying is the next major milestone.

FY 2009

EMALS dependency. CVN 78, March 2009
(click for alternate view)

April 3/09: Tech crunch. Naval site Information Dissemination runs an article assessing EMALS’ current state, and the Navy’s contention that the system poses no schedule risks. The title: “Wal-Mart Called, They Want Their Yellow Smiley Face Back.”

Despite the title, the background is valuable, and the discussion is substantive. Is EMALS a technology too far? Or is it just a complex technology with more issues than expected, each of which is being dealt with but at a rate that creates some schedule concerns? What, if anything, does a realistic Plan B look like? Delay construction until EMALS is ready, given its promised operations costs savings? Extensively redesign CVN 78 for steam catapults? Buy another CVN 77 design ship instead, and store the pieces that have already been made?

March 30/09: GAO report. The US government’s GAO audit office issues GAO-09-326SP: “Defense Acquisitions: Assessments of Selected Weapon Programs.” With respect to EMALS and the CVN-21 program, it says that 10/14 technologies are either fully mature, including the nuclear propulsion and electrical plant, or approaching maturity. Of the remaining 4 immature technologies

“…the development and design of the electromagnetic aircraft launch system (EMALS), the advanced arresting gear, and the dual band radar (composed of the volume search and multifunction radars) present the greatest risk to the ship’s cost and schedule.”

Ominously, it adds:

“A February 2008 program assessment recommended a number of changes to the EMALS program to improve performance. The Navy re-planned the test program and changed the management approach. The CVN 21 program office is now responsible for overseeing EMALS production and ship integration, rather than the Naval Air Systems Command. In addition, EMALS will no longer be provided as government-purchased equipment. Instead, the shipbuilder will purchase EMALS, giving it a more direct role in managing the integration on CVN 78. The cost impact of this change has not been finalized.”

There are also schedule concerns:

“Problems during EMALS development have already resulted in cost growth and schedule delays. In order to meet CVN 78’s delivery date, the Navy adopted a strategy that will test, produce, and ultimately install EMALS with a high degree of concurrency. In September 2008, the contractor completed the first round of high- cycle testing, gaining confidence in the performance of the generator–a source of past problems. Contractor-led integrated land-based system testing will not be complete until the end of fiscal year 2011–2-years later than estimated in December 2007. Assuming no further delays, EMALS will not demonstrate full performance of a shipboard ready system until at least 7 months after installation on CVN 78 has begun…”

Jan 15/09: CVN 79. A $373.5 million cost plus fixed-fee contract covering construction preparations for CVN 79, the 2nd aircraft carrier of the Gerald R. Ford Class. Efforts will include engineering, detail design, test and evaluation, research and development with some suppliers, and purchases of long lead time items. Special performance incentives are also included under the contract.

Work will be performed in Newport News, VA, and is expected to be complete by October 2010. This contract was not competitively procured (N00024-09-C-2116). The full scale construction contract for CVN 79 is expected to begin in 2012. Northrop Grumman release.

FY 2008

Main CVN 78 contract. CVN 78 sub-assembly
(click to enlarge)

Sept 10/08: A $5.115 billion cost-plus-incentive-fee, cost-plus-fixed-fee, cost-plus-award-fee contract for the detail design and construction of USS Gerald R. Ford [CVN 78]. This contract includes a $30 million option which would bring the total contract value to $5.145 billion, if exercised.

The May 21/04 contract covered up to $2.7 billion in advance construction or purchase of sections and items that were not dependent on the detail design; Northrop Grumman says that about 1/3 of the ship’s 1,200 structural units are already under construction. This contract takes the next step, and begins full ship construction based on the detail design. The contract will include engineering; integration; related development efforts including drawing and work package development; advanced planning; design weight estimate; lifecycle support products and related logistics data; production planning; test and evaluation; further definition of initiatives to reduce CVN 78 class total ownership costs; and other data necessary to support construction of CVN 78.

Work will be performed in Newport News, VA. The ship’s keel will be laid in the fall of 2009 (Nov 14/09), and delivery to the Navy is scheduled for September 2015. This contract was not competitively procured (N00024-08-C-2110). See also NGC release.

Main CVN 78 contract

March 14/08: During US House Armed Services Seapower and Expeditionary Forces Subcommittee hearings about the proposed the FY 2009 budget, chairman Gene Taylor [D-MS] discusses on the state of the program:

“Another very risky program is the new aircraft carrier. Not that the Navy and Newport News Shipyard don’t know how to build aircraft carriers, they do. However, one of the major new technologies, the electro-magnetic launch system, or EMALS, has not even been tested in a shipboard configuration and the ship is already under construction. Just this last week the Navy requested an additional $40 million dollars for continued development of EMALS because, and I quote, ‘the contractor underestimated design and production cost.’ The cynic in me would say the contractor purposefully low-balled the bid to get the contract knowing full well the Navy would be forced to pay whatever the true costs of the system turned out to be. Perhaps we should have built another Nimitz class carrier until the research and design for EMALS was complete.”

Read “US Navy’s 313-Ship Plan Under Fire in Congress” for more.

Jan 31/08: CVN 79. A $16.3 million modification to previously awarded contract (N00024-07-C-2116), exercising an option to develop and refine the second-of-class CVN 79 design. The integrated product and process development contract funds research and development that aims to reduce the price, reduce lifetime ownership costs, and maintain weight/center of gravity service life allowance thresholds. All of which ties in to the ongoing systems development, engineering services, technology options studies, and feasibility studies underway for the as-yet unnamed CVN 79. Work will be performed in Newport News, VA and is expected to be complete by October 2008.

Jan 11/08: CVN 78. A $595.9 million modification to previously awarded contract (N00024-04-C-2118) to continue CVN 78 class design effort, long lead time material procurement; and non-nuclear advance construction for the lead ship of the class, Gerald R. Ford [CVN 78]. Work will be performed in Newport News, VA (92%) and Groton, CT (8%), and is expected to be complete by July 2008. See May 21/04 entry for more details.

Northrop Grumman Newport News “will provide all services and material in preparation for construction of CVN 78 including necessary research studies; engineering; design; related development efforts, including required engineering development models and prototypes for engineered components; advanced planning; advanced procurement for detailed design and procurement/fabrication of long lead material; advanced construction; system specifications; design weight estimate; logistics data; lists of government-furnished equipment; production planning; further definition of initiatives to reduce CVN 78 class total ownership costs; and other data to support an integrated product data environment for the CVN 21 program.”

FY 2007

Gerald R. Ford class.

Sept 24/07: Rep. Roscoe Bartlett [R-MD], the ranking minority member in the US House Armed Services subcommittee on Seapower & Expeditionary Forces, releases a statement re: the GAO’s August 2007 report, which he requested:

“At my request, the Congressional Research Service, the Congressional Budget Office previously and now the GAO have told Congress the Navy’s current shipbuilding program is unrealistic based upon the Navy’s past performance. The development of three critical technologies has been delayed to such an extent that this first-of-class ship must experience 100% success in order to come in on budget and on schedule eight years from now. The GAO report also reminds us that both the shipbuilder’s initial cost estimate and the DOD independent estimate were higher than the Navy’s budget. As far as comparisons to LCS go, what is most disturbing is that the cost for CVN 78 is orders of magnitude higher than LCS. If CVN 78 should experience just 10% cost growth – far less than LCS – in the eight years until its scheduled delivery, the Navy will request another billion dollars. In this budget environment, that’s going to be a difficult sell. It reminds me that VADM Cebrowski’s alternative fleet study suggested a larger number of smaller carriers might provide more value than the Navy’s strategy of a few Super Carrier platforms.”

Aug 23/07: GAO report expresses doubts re: project costs:

“While the Navy has mitigated the impact of some technologies, such as the nuclear propulsion and electric plant, three systems–the electromagnetic aircraft launch system (EMALS), the dual band radar, and the advanced arresting gear–have faced problems during development that may affect the ship’s construction costs… A structured design approach and a lengthy construction preparation contract have enabled the program to perform more work prior to construction than on previous carriers… Costs for CVN 78 will likely exceed the budget for several reasons. First, the Navy’s cost estimate, which underpins the budget, is optimistic… Second, the Navy’s target cost for ship construction may not be achievable… Third, the Navy’s ability to manage issues that affect cost suffers from insufficient cost surveillance. Without effective cost surveillance, the Navy will not be able to identify early signs of cost growth and take necessary corrective action.”

July 24/07: In a statement before the US House Armed Services Subcommittee on Seapower and Expeditionary Forces, Congressional Budget Office representatives testify that [PDF]:

“CBO believes that the Navy’s cost estimate for the first ship of the class, the Gerald R. Ford (CVN-78), is optimistic. In its budget submission to the Congress, the Navy estimates that the CVN-78 will cost about $10 billion in 2008 dollars, including about $2.2 billion for nonrecurring engineering and design.16 The Navy argues that actual construction time and cost for the CVN-78 will be less than for its predecessor ship, the George H.W. Bush (CVN-77). CBO, by contrast, estimates that the CVN-78 will cost about $11 billion, allowing for the cost growth that has affected past shipbuilding programs at the CVN-78’s stage of construction. If the CVN-78 experiences [cost growth] similar to that of other lead ships the Navy has purchased in the past 10 years, costs could be higher still.17 Moreover, Navy officials have told CBO that the confidence level associated with their estimate is below a 50 percent probability of meeting the cost target, which also suggests that costs could increase. In addition, a number of critical technologies for the CVN-78 are still under development, and difficulties could still arise in integrating the various new technologies associated with that class.”

Jan 19/07: Gerald R. Ford Class: It’s official. Secretary of the Navy Donald C. Winter announced that USS Gerald R. Ford would be the name of the first CVN-21 aircraft carrier, which would henceforth be designated the Gerald R. Ford Class. This selection honors the 38th President of the United States, and pays tribute to his lifetime of service in the Navy and the U.S. government. See official NAVSEA release.

“Gerald R. Ford” Class

Nov 30/06: CVN-21. A $754 million modification (cost type) to previously awarded contract #N00024-04-C-2118 for continuation of CVN-21 design effort; long lead time material and non-nuclear advance construction; and system development, engineering services, and feasibility studies for the Future Aircraft Carrier Program. Work will be performed in Newport News, VA (90%) and Groton, CT (10%), and is expected to be complete by December 2007. The contract includes an additional $106.7 million in options which would make this an $860.7 million award, and bring the total value of Northrop Grumman’s CVN-21 advance construction contracts so far to $2.1 billion.

See May 21/04 entry for more details. Under this contract modification, Newport News will provide all CVN-21 services and material in preparation for ship construction planned to commence in FY 2008, “including the necessary research studies; engineering; design; related development efforts including required Engineering Development Models and prototypes for engineered components; advanced planning; advanced procurement for detailed design and procurement/fabrication of long lead material; advanced construction, system specifications; design weight estimate; logistics data; lists of government-furnished equipment; production planning; further definition of initiatives to reduce CVN-21 total ownership costs; and other data to support an integrated product data environment for CVN-21.”

Mike Shawcross, vice president of the CVN 21 program for Northrop Grumman Newport News, said that they are “more than 50% complete with the overall design.” See also Northrop Grumman press release.

FY 2006 and earlier

Specs complete. CVN 79 early concept
(click to enlarge)

Nov 15/06: CVN 79. DefenseLINK announces a $7.4 million cost-plus-fixed-fee, level of effort contract for systems development, engineering services, and feasibility studies for CVN 79, the second ship of the class. Northrop Grumman, on the other hand, announces it as a $24.6 million total planning and design contract, including planning, feasibility studies, system development, engineering services and other design efforts. Work will be performed in Newport News, VA and is expected to be completed by October 2007. The contract was not competitively procured (N00024-07-C-2116).

“This is our first contract for the CVN 79 and an important step forward for the CVN 78 program,” said Mike Shawcross, the vice president responsible for CVN 79 at Northrop Grumman’s Newport News sector. “We’re focused on using the work we’ve accomplished on the first ship of the class, CVN 78, as the basis for a successful integration into the planning and design for CVN 79.” Construction on CVN 79 is slated to begin in 2012, with delivery to the US Navy in 2019.

Oct 17/06: Gerald Ford? President George W. Bush signs the John Warner National Defense Authorization Act for FY 2007. Section 1012 of the act declares that “[it] is the sense of Congress that the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier of the Navy designated as CVN-78 should be named the U.S.S. Gerald R. Ford.”

Sept 5/06: The Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA) and the Program Executive Officer (PEO) Aircraft Carriers held a signature and awards ceremony at the Washington Navy Yard to commemorate the certification of the ship specifications for the CVN 78 aircraft carrier, after 12 months of specification writing and 3 months of intense reading sessions. NAVSEA’s Ship Design, Integration and Engineering Directorate (SEA 05) and lead design shipyard Northrop Grumman Newport News led these efforts.

This certification marks a major milestone in the future aircraft carrier design process, and forms the basis of the technical data package used to prepare a ship construction contract. The CVN 78 Ship Specifications were signed by Rear Adm. David Architzel, PEO Aircraft Carriers, and Rear Adm. Kevin M. McCoy, NAVSEA’s deputy commander for SEA 05. NAVSEA release | PEO Carriers release.

Specifications done.

July 29/06: Leadership. Rear Adm. Dennis M. Dwyer is honored at the end of his tenure as PEO Carriers. He receives the Navy Distinguished Service medal for his “exceptionally meritorious service,” for his efforts in “Aircraft Carrier design and build, government and industry business modeling, and workforce restructuring methodologies… Dwyer’s ultimate contribution – the design and build of the U.S. Navy’s Next Generation Aircraft Carrier – CVN 21 – will decisively affect the Nation’s strategies, policies, and defensive posture for the next 50 years…” See NAVSEA release.

Nov 15/05: CVN-21. A $558.7 million cost-type modification exercises an option under previously awarded contract N00024-04-C-2118 for continuation of CVN-21 design effort; long lead time material procurement and non-nuclear advance construction; system development, engineering services, and feasibility studies for the future aircraft carrier program. See Oct 29/04 for further details.

Work will be performed at Newport News, VA (92%) and Groton, CT (8%), and is expected to be complete by December 2006, though it would be followed by other contracts in this vein in 2006 and 2007. This contract was not competitively procured. See also Northrop Grumman’s press release.

June 7/05: CVN-21. A $9.2 million cost-type modification for CVN-21 construction preparation, non-propulsion plant long lead-time material and advance construction. Work will be performed at Newport News, VA and is expected to be complete in December 2006. This contract was not competitively procured (N00024-04-C-2118).

April 1/05: CVN-21. A $50.6 million cost-type modification for continuation of CVN-21 engineering services and feasibility studies for the future aircraft carrier program. Work will be performed at Newport News, VA (85%) and Groton, CT (15%), and is expected to be complete by December 2006. This contract was not competitively procured (N00024-04-C-2118).

Oct 29/04: CVN-21. A $492.1 million cost-plus-fixed-fee and cost-plus-award-fee modification exercises an option for continuation of CVN-21 design effort; long lead time material and non-nuclear advance construction and system development, engineering services, and feasibility studies for future aircraft carrier programs. See May 21/04 entry for further details.

Newport News Shipbuilding will provide all CVN-21 services and material in preparation for ship construction planned to commence in FY 2007, including research studies; engineering; design; related development efforts including required engineering development models (EDMs) and prototypes for engineered components; advanced planning; advanced procurement for detailed design and procurement/ fabrication of long lead material; system specifications; design weight estimate; logistics data; lists of government-furnished equipment; production planning; further definition of initiatives to reduce CVN-21 total ownership costs; and other data to support an integrated product data environment for CVN-21.

As we have seen with programs like the LPD-17 San Antonio Class, changes at the design stage are far cheaper to execute than changes at the engineering stage. Work will be performed at Newport News, VA (87%) and Groton, CT (13%), and is expected to be complete by October 2005. This contract was not competitively procured (N00024-04-C-2118).

May 21/04: CVN-21. A $182.5 million cost-plus-fixed-fee contract with performance incentives for CVN-21 design effort; long lead time material and non-nuclear advance construction; and system development, engineering services, and feasibility studies for the Future Aircraft Carrier Program. Newport News Shipbuilding will provide all CVN-21 services and material in preparation for ship construction. Work will be performed at Newport News, VA (87%) and Groton, CT (13%), and is expected to be complete by December 2006. This contract was not competitively procured (N00024-04-C-2118).

Northrop Grumman would later describe this contract as having a potential total value of $2.7 billion, adding that this contract to build and buy key sub-assemblies and sectional pieces:

“…allowed shipbuilders to test the design-build strategy, exercise new processes, prototype new features used on this ship before the overall construction contract was awarded, and to build a sufficient backlog of ship units to support production, undocking and delivery.”

CVN-21: Other Related Contracts and Events

Coverage under this section includes 2 key technologies that are also broken out as independent, free-to-view articles: EMALS electro-magnetic aircraft catapults, and the accompanying AAG arrester gear system; and the carrier’s new AN/SPY-3 & AN/SPY-4 dual-band radar. Listings for those 2 programs will feature only major milestones.

FY 2012 – 2013 1st F-35C launch
(click for video)

May 29/13: JPALS. Raytheon in Fullerton, CA receives a $14.6 million cost-plus-incentive-fee contract modification for the Joint Precision Approach and Landing System (JPALS), maintenance Design Phase II. They want to change the design to allow for increased organizational level maintenance (i.e. on board ship) of JPALS Increment 1A ship systems.

Work will be performed in Fullerton, CA (60%); Cedar Rapids, IA (28%); and Indianapolis, IN (12%); and is expected to be complete in December 2013. $13.9 million is committed immediately, using FY 2012 – 2013 funds, and $5.3 million of those will expire at the end of the current fiscal year, on Sept 30/13. US Naval Air Systems Command in Patuxent River, MD manages the contract (N00019-08-C-0034).

JPALS
click for video

May 24/13: JPALS. The Pentagon finally releases its Dec 31/12 Selected Acquisitions Report [PDF]. For JPALS, which began development in 2008:

“Joint Precision Approach and Landing System (JPALS) Increment 1A – Program costs increased $106.8 million (+10.7%) from $996.0 million to $1,102.8 million, due primarily to additional engineering effort for algorithm refinement and development of an alternate configuration for the JPALS Inc 1A ship system variant, resulting in a smaller footprint for air capable ships (small combatants) (+$84.5 million). Additional increases were attributable to an extension of the procurement and installation profile from FY 2018 to FY 2020 (+$15.3 million) and a related increase in support costs (+$2.3 million), and a quantity increase of 1 system from 26 to 27 systems (+$7.5 million) and associated estimating allocation (-$1.4 million). These increases were offset by a decrease in initial spares requirements (-$1.5 million).”

The GPS-centric JPALS will be installed well beyond the Ford Class – indeed, beyond the US Navy. This technology may become a separate article, but for now we’re adding it here as a key CVN-21 technology, which will play a critical role in handling F-35 fighters and UAVs. A JPALS 1A Milestone C production decision is expected in Fall 2013.

JPALS landing system – cost increases

Nov 18/11: F-35C launches. The land-based EMALS at Lakehurst, NJ launches an F-35C Lightning II fighter for the 1st time. The EMALS launch of test aircraft CF-3 follows more than 50 steam catapult launches.

Both EMALS and the F-35C are currently in test and evaluation, but the F-35C is especially important to the new catapult, and the new carrier. The heavy fighter will be their most significant technology companion over the carrier’s life cycle, and its 70,000 pound/ 31,800 kg maximum takeoff weight places it very close to the F-14D Tomcat. EMALS and the F-35C need to demonstrate that they can help each other with maintenance costs, or the real price of EMALS will escalate significantly. US NAVAIR.

FY 2010 – 2011

May 9/11: EMALS Delivery. General Atomics delivers the 1st set of EMALS production components to US NAVAIR, for installation in the Gerald R. Ford. NAVAIR will convey the items on to Huntington Ingalls Industries, Inc., in Newport News, VA. General Atomics.

March 31/11: CVN 78 CEC. An $8.1 million contract modification for AN/USG-2B systems delivery and test aboard the Nimitz Class aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln [CVN 72, headed into deep refit] and the Gerald R. Ford. It’s a key component of the Navy’s Cooperative Engagement Capability, which allows equipped ships to share a common picture of threats around them, even if those threats are out of their own sensor range.

Work will be performed in Largo, FL (47%); St. Petersburg, FL (20%); Dallas, TX (18%); and McKinney, TX (15%), and is expected to be completed by May 2013 (N00024-08-C-5203).

1st EMALS launch: F/A-18E
(click to view full)

Dec 18/10: Launch! The EMALS test catapult at Naval Air Systems Command in Lakehurst, NJ successfully performs the 1st electro-magnetic aircraft catapult launch in history.

The F/A-18E Super Hornet from Air Test and Evaluation Squadron 23 (VX-23) was piloted by Lt. Daniel Radocaj. Chief Petty Officer Brandon Barr of NAWCAD’s Test Department was the “shooter,” assisted by Petty Officers 1st Class Hunsaker and Robinson, and Petty Officers 2nd Class Williams, Wong, and Simmons.

Engineers will continue system functional demonstration testing at NAVAIR Lakehurst, with test launches set to expand to C-2 Greyhound cargo aircraft and T-45 Goshawk trainers in 2011. The ALRE program manager at this time is Capt. James Donnelly, and Cmdr. Russ McCormack of PMA-251 is deputy program manager for future systems. US NAVAIR | USN Photo release | Gannett’s Navy Times.

1st EMALS Launch

Oct 12/10: AWE. Exlar Corporation announces an award from Federal Equipment Company in Cincinnati, OH to provide its GM30 linear actuators for the Gerald R. Ford’s Advanced Weapon Elevators. The AWEs can carry up to 24,000 pounds at speeds up to 150 feet per minute, a big improvement over previous designs.

Exlar’s GSM30 linear actuators are used to fire locking pins to keep the elevators in position at each deck level. They combine a brushless servo motor, an inverted roller screw and an encoder/resolver feedback source into a single compact assembly. The brushless servo design allows them to be used in state-of-the art closed loop servo systems, where electronic control of positioning and velocity is required.

Aug 11/10: SDTS tests. Raytheon Integrated Defense Systems in Tewksbury, MaA receives a $36.1 million contract modification (N00024-05-C-5346) for mission systems equipment (MSE) that will be used on the US Navy’s Self Defense Test Ship, in support of the Anti-Air Warfare Self Defense Enterprise Test and Evaluation Master Plan. The equipment will support the DDG 1000 and CVN 78 classes of ships, in addition to follow-on operation test and evaluation efforts for the Evolved Sea Sparrow Missile (RIM-162 ESSM) and Surface Electronic Warfare Improvement Program (SEWIP).

Work will be performed in Andover, MA (58.7%); Portsmouth, RI (32%); Sudbury, MA (5.4%); Tewksbury, MA (2.7%); and San Diego, CA (1.2%). Work is expected to be completed by March 2013. US Naval Sea Systems Command in Washington, DC manages this contract.

March 31/10: Power & cooling. Raytheon Integrated Defense Systems in Tewksbury, MA received a $9.8 million modification to previously awarded contract (N00024-05-C-5346) for CVN 78 dual-band radar common array power system and common array cooling system long-lead time materials and associated efforts. These materials, and associated engineering and management efforts, must be bought now, to ensure that critical production schedules are maintained for the CVN 78 program.

Work will be performed in Andover, MA (87.8%); Sudbury, MA (10.4%); Tewksbury, MA (0.9%); and Portsmouth, RI (0.9%), and is expected to be complete by September 2010. The Naval Sea Systems Command in Washington, DC manages these contracts.

March 30/10: GAO report. The US GAO audit office delivers its 8th annual “Defense Acquisitions: Assessments of Selected Weapon Programs report. With respect to key CVN-21 sub-systems, DID has divided the comments by system:

“While CVN 21 program officials stated that the EMALS program is on schedule to deliver material to the shipyard when it is needed for construction, concurrent EMALS testing and ship construction continue to present cost and schedule risks to the program… As a result of the [2009 EMALS] tests, the program identified design changes that are necessary to improve the performance of EMALS, but add cost and schedule risk to the program… The Navy plans to test EMALS with actual aircraft in summer 2010. The Navy awarded a not-to-exceed fixed-price production contract to General Atomics for EMALS and the advanced arresting gear in 2009. At the time of award, the contract price had not been finalized. The Navy expects to finalize the price of this contract in March 2010.”

“…The advanced arresting gear includes seven major subsystems. Programs officials expect that six of the subsystems will be mature after analyzing data from a recent reliability test. The remaining subsystem – control system software – will remain immature until integrated land-based testing with actual aircraft occurs in fiscal year 2012. This testing will overlap with the first arresting gear deliveries to the shipyard.”

“…Testing of carrier specific dual band radar functionality is scheduled to conclude in fiscal year 2012. Dual band radar equipment will be delivered incrementally from fiscal years 2012 through 2014… Given the recent decision to truncate the DDG 1000 program, CVN 21 program officials stated that the dual band radar production line may be idle for up to 4 years before production begins for CVN 79 [and so adding] costs associated with restarting the production line.”

March 12/10: Fiber optic cabling. As fiber optic cable replaces conventional cabling in large naval vessels, driving down component manufacturing and repair costs becomes especially appealing. The US Naval Surface Warfare Center Dahlgren Division in Dahlgren, VA issues the Kitco/kSARIA LLC limited partnership small business in Norfolk, VA a $9.8 million contract for the automated fiber optic manufacturing initiative (AFOMI). AFOMI seeks to drive lifetime fiber optic component manufacturing and repair costs down by miniaturizing and automating as many processes as possible. If the effort suceeds, it will have obvious benefts beyond CVN 78, or even the military sphere.

Kitco/kSARIA LLC is a limited partnership of KITCO Fiber Optics in Virginia Beach, VA (contract administration, 10%), and kSARIA Corp. in Lawrence, MA (technology development & manufacturing, 90%). kSARIA has worked with the US Navy for some time, and touts itself as “the only fiber cable manufacturer in the world with an end-to-end automated assembly process.” Work is expected to be complete in March 2015, but $1.5 million in contract funds will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was competitively procured via the Naval Electronics Commerce Online and Federal Business Opportunities Web sites, with 2 offers received (N00178-10-D-2003). See also Military & Aerospace Electronics magazine | Video overview.

Nov 9/09: AAG. General Atomics in San Diego, CA receives a $102.2 million modification to the unfinalized EMALS Ship-set contract (N68335-09-C-0573) to provide for the production of 1 counterpart advanced arresting gear system ship-set for CVN-78. While EMALS will serve as the Ford’s launch technology, the Advanced Arresting Gear will offer related improvements around carrier landings, using a system based on electric motors rather than the Mk7 hydraulic system used with current arrester wires. Unlike EMALS, AAG is also slated for refits to existing Nimitz class carriers.

Work will be performed in San Diego, CA (35%); Mt. Pleasant, PA (28%); Tupelo, MS (15%); Waltham, MA (12%); and Aston, PA (10%), and is expected to be complete in September 2015. The Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division in Lakehurst, NJ manages the contract.

AAG CVN 78

FY 2007 – 2009 EMALS motor, HCT-1
(click to view full)

June 30/09: EMALS. General Atomics in San Diego, CA received an unfinalized $573 million ceiling-priced contract to build the EMALS shipset for the Gerald R. Ford [CVN 78]. This is added to a $43 million long-lead contract (q.v. March 27/09), creating a total of $613 million.

Work will be performed in San Diego, CA (49%); Tupelo, MS (19%); Mankato, MN (12%); Waltham, MA (4%); and various locations across the United States (16%), and is expected to be complete in September 2015. This contract was not competitively procured, pursuant to FAR 602-1. The Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division in Lakehurst, NJ manages this contract (N68335-09-C-0573).

CVN 78 EMALS

April 23/09: DBR. Raytheon Integrated Defense Systems in Tewksbury, MA received a $217 million cost plus fixed fee modification to a previously awarded contract (N00024-05-C-5346) for 2 Volume Search Radars (VSR). Lockheed Martin makes the antennas for these radars, but Raytheon is the lead contractor, and also makes the radars’ common back-end electronics and software.

These S-band naval radars will be mounted on one of the new DDG-1000 Zumwalt Class destroyers, and on the inaugural CVN-21 carrier USS Gerald R. Ford [CVN 78]. Work will be performed in Moorestown, NJ (95%) and Sudbury, MA (5%), and is to be complete by March 2013. The Naval Sea Systems Command in Washington, D.C. manages this contract.

DBR radar for CVN 78

April 15/09: Review. Reuters reports that the U.S. Navy has completed a major review of EMALS that weighed possible technical, costs, and schedule risks. The Navy has decided to proceed, on the grounds that EMALS is the best option for keeping the program on schedule, vs. redesigning and building the ship for steam. The system’s potential cost savings are also listed as a factor by US Navy spokesman Lt. Cdr. Victor Chen.

The Navy is reportedly starting detailed, fixed-price contract negotiations with General Atomics. If that becomes the basis for a renegotiated contract, it would shift the risk of delays or additional work onto the contractor.

EMALS survives

April 7/09: DBR. Raytheon announces a successful initial “lightoff” test of the Dual Band Radar, which includes the X-band AN/SPY-3 Multi-Function Radar and S-band Volume Search Radar. Both radiated radiated at high power during lightoff at the Navy’s Engineering Test Center in Wallops Island, VA. Following this successful lightoff test, the radar suite will begin an extended period of operational performance testing.

March 31/09: EMALS. The Daily Press of Virginia reports:

“We’re still conducting a review to assess and mitigate risks in the program cost, schedule and performance of EMALS,” said Lt. Cmdr. Victor Chen, a Navy spokesman. “At this point, EMALS is still the launching system of record for (the Ford).

…If EMALS is scrapped for the Ford, the shipyard would have to re-engineer the carrier to support the old steam-driven catapults used on previous ships. That process, which includes running thousands of feet of new pipe to and from the Ford’s propulsion system, could extend the construction schedule by up to a year and is expected to cost several hundred million dollars.”

“At this point…” is perhaps not the ringing endorsement one had hoped for.

March 27/09: CVN 78. Northrop Grumman Shipbuilding, Inc. in Newport News, VA received $43 million, unfinalized modification to a previously awarded contract (N00024-08-C-2110). The contract covers long lead-time materials that must be ordered early, in order to ensure timely production of Gerald R. Ford’s [CVN 78] EMALS catapults. Materials bought will include Energy Storage Subsystem (ESS) Induction Motor Stator Assemblies, ESS Induction Motor Rotor Assemblies, ESS Exciter Stator Assemblies, ESS Exciter Rotor Assembly, ESS Rectifier Assemblies, ESS Main Rotor Assemblies and Power Conversion Subsystem Rectifier material components.

Work will be performed in North Mankato, MN (74%); Mt. Pleasant, PA (17%); and San Diego, CA (9%), and is expected to be complete by November 2012. The US The Naval Sea Systems Command in Washington Navy Yard, D.C. manages this contract.

EMALS CVN 78

Nov 3/08: Nuke plant. Curtiss-Wright Corporation announces a contract from Bechtel Plant Machinery, Inc. (BPMI), to provide critical valves for the nuclear propulsion systems in the U.S. Navy’s next 4 Virginia-Class submarines, and the 2nd Ford-Class Aircraft Carrier [CVN 79]. The contract contains options for up to 4 more sets: a submarine ship-set and an aircraft carrier ship-set funded in 2008, and 2 additional submarine ship-sets to be funded in 2009.

The value is over $83 million if all options are exercised, and the initial award is for an initial ship-set of submarine valves and long lead materials valued at approximately $15 million. Curtiss-Wright’s Flow Control segment will perform the work at its facility in East Farmingdale, NY. Delivery is scheduled to commence in 2009 and continue through 2017.

Variants of Curtiss-Wright’s Smart, Leakless Valves are already used in the commercial nuclear power industry. These fully automated, sealed solenoid valves can control the flow of liquids, gas, and steam, withstanding up to 2500 psi pressure and 670F temperatures while requiring little to no maintenance over long periods. The firm is now using the valve beyond nuclear power applications, and has a $62 million contract to retrofit all of the JP-5 jet fuel pumping station valves on the U.S. Navy’s Nimitz class aircraft carriers.

Oct 20/08: DBR. Raytheon announces a $23.5 million U.S. Navy contract to adapt the Dual Band Radar (DBR) it’s developing for the DDG-1000 Zumwalt Class destroyer, for installation on the future U.S.S. Gerald R. Ford [CVN 78]. Raytheon will deliver DBR supporting equipment hardware and software designs to meet the installation and integration requirements of the CVN 78 class of ships.

Sept 30/08: SSDS. An $8.3 million cost-plus fixed-fee letter contract to act as the SSDS Platform System Engineering Agent. The contractor will be responsible for the integration of complex war-fighting improvements into the modular SSDS, including components associated with the new Gerald R. Ford Class carrier’s Dual Band Radar (DBR), and with the popular Rolling Airframe Missile (RAM) Block 2.

Work will be performed in San Diego, CA (90%); Tewksbury, MA (2.5%); Portsmouth, RI (2.5%); St. Petersburg, FL (2.5%); and Tucson, AZ (2.5%), and is expected to be completed by April 2009. This contract was not competitively procured (N00024-08-C-5122).

Nov 28/07: General Atomics’ Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch System (EMALS) catapult recently passed its final critical design review (CDR), led by Mr. Dave Cohen of NAVAIR’s Systems Engineering competency. The team spent a week thoroughly reviewing the entire EMALS program, and determined that the design is technically compliant with requirements and properly documented, although “a few open action items remain.” As noted above, EMALS is one of the new technologies that will be critical to the CVN-21 Class’ ability to fulfil its cost-saving promises and enter service on time.

Capt. Stephen Rorke, Aircraft Launch & Recovery Equipment program manager thanked the team for open and honest dialog during the months leading up to the CDR as evidenced by the fact “the team knew about all open issues prior to the review and that no issues of major significance surfaced during the CDR.”

The next step in the process is to begin installing the full size, ship representative EMALS equipment in the recently completed EMALS test facilities at Naval Engineering Station Lakehurst, NJ. The EMALS equipment installation is scheduled to begin in mid 2008, with actual testing to begin in early 2009 and continue throughout 2009. The first components of the EMALS equipment is scheduled to be delivered to Northrop-Grumman Newport News Shipbuilding in Norfolk, VA for installation in the Gerald R. Ford [CVN-78] in 2011. The USS Gerald R. Ford is scheduled to be delivered to the US Navy in 2015. NAVAIR release.

EMALS CDR

FY 2004 – 2006 new weapons elevator
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Dec 13/05: Electronics. Raytheon Company passed the systems requirements review (SRR) for the CVN-21 Class’ electronics. They’re the industry lead for integration of all government furnished combat systems, C4ISR (command, control, communications, computers, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance) and aviation support systems.

Raytheon is working to leverage the open architecture and technology advancements achieved as the mission systems integrator on the DD (X) destroyer and LPD-17 San Antonio Class ship programs. The idea is to create common technologies and processes across multiple platforms in the U.S. Navy fleet. Raytheon.

Oct 20/05: AWE. Northrop-Grumman selects Federal Equipment Company and their technology partner, MagneMotion to design and build the advanced weapons elevator for CVN-21.

Newport News sector awarded the approximately $50 million contract following a year-long design competition, during which vendors refined their designs and built and tested a full-scale, one-quarter load elevator drive. The preliminary design competition concluded in early 2005, and a full-scale prototype elevator for land-based testing is the next step. Prototype testing will be completed by late 2007, after which Federal Equipment will begin to manufacture the production units. These units are scheduled for shipboard installation on CVN 78 in mid-2010.

AWE SDD

Oct 20/05: Nuke plant. The Naval Sea Systems Command in Washington, DC awards Bechtel Bettis Inc. at Bettis Atomic Power Laboratory in West Mifflin, PA a $480.7 million cost-plus-fixed-fee modification to previously awarded contract (N00024-98-C-4064) for naval nuclear propulsion work at the Bettis Atomic Power Laboratory. As DID notes in its coverage: “Bettis [Atomic Power Laboratory] is engaged solely in the design and development of naval nuclear propulsion plants. …A major new initiative for the Laboratory is design of the nuclear propulsion plants and electrical power systems for the next class of US Navy aircraft carriers.”

See “The US Navy’s Nuclear Propulsion Contracts” for coverage of all American naval nuclear propulsion work.

Aug 11/05: Infrastructure. On Aug. 11 Northrop Grumman Newport News hosted a ceremonial steel cut and grand opening ceremony for one of several new facilities that will support CVN-21 construction. The ceremony was held in the shipyard’s new Heavy Plate Bay.

April 18/05: SSDS. Raytheon Technical Services Company LLC will lead a group of companies working under the Navy’s direction to design, install and test a new version of their SSDS combat system, which will integrate all onboard weapons systems and electronics on the Navy’s first CVN-21 class aircraft carrier (CVN-78). These systems will protect CVN-78 from attack by cruise missiles and other weapons, and integration will be centered on Raytheon’s proven Total Ship System Engineering approach to a common enterprise computing environment. DID covers the contract, which could be worth up to $95 million over 12 years.

Feb 23/05: AAG pick. Reports indicate that the US Navy has selected a team led by General Atomics to perform the System Development and Demonstration (SDD) phase of the Advanced Arresting Gear (AAG) Program. The Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) down-selected from the 2 contractors performing the Component and Technology Development phase. Other team members are Curtiss-Wright Electro-Mechanical Corporation, Engineered Arresting Systems Corporation, Foster-Miller, Inc. (now QinetiQ North America), John J. McMullen Associates, Inc., and EDO Corporation.

In the 5-year, $95.8-million SDD phase, the GA-led Team will design, develop, manufacture, install, and demonstrate a production-representative AAG unit. System installation and demonstration will be at a NAVAIR test facility at Lakehurst, NJ. Defense West News.

AAG SDD

April 2/04: General Atomics is awarded a System Development and Demonstration (SDD) $145 million contract to design, build, integrate test and support a full scale, full length, shipboard representative Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch System (EMALS) for NAVAIR Lakehurst, at the Naval Air Engineering Station Lakehurst, NJ. The contract is the final step in a multi-phase research and development acquisition program to replace the current steam catapults used on aircraft carriers. According to the Navy release, “General Atomics, based in San Diego, will have its equipment installed at Lakehurst by 2006 and conduct testing in 2007-2008.”

The EMALS land based support facility is to be built by Hensel Phelps Construction Co., of Aurora, CO under a $20.5 million contract, and is expected to be complete by December 2005 [DID: the ribbon cutting would actually take place in November 2007, and construction will last to late 2008]. It will include building the infrastructure, supporting buildings and related utilities for the EMALS program. US Navy | General Atomics.

EMALS base SDD

July 30/03: Infrastructure. The US Navy opens its new CVN-21 Government Design Site in the Washington Navy Yard. The design site will have 60 workstations and allow more than 100 engineers to participate on an as-needed basis in the CVN-21 design effort. This will include engineers from NAVSEA, Naval Air Systems Command, Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command, Office of Naval Research, Northrop Grumman Newport News, as well as Naval Surface Warfare Center Dahlgren and Carderock Divisions. Although the CVN-21 design site is not the first at the Washington Navy Yard, it is the largest. Co-locating government engineering and technical expertise close to the aircraft carrier program office is designed to ensure critical and timely support throughout the design effort – a vital factor to the continued success of the program.

CVN-21 Class: Additional Readings and Sources

• Northrop-Grumman Newport News – CVN-21 team site

• US Department of the Navy Research, Development & Acquisition – CVN 21 Aircraft Carrier. Pretty bare-bones, but an authoritative source for the most basic specifications.

• Global Security.org – CVN-21 (formerly CVX)

• USNI Proceedings (September 2012) – A Leap Ahead for the 21st Century Navy. Describes the core characteristics and advantages of the class.

• DID (Dec 19/05) – Costing the CVN-21: A DID Primer. Sets the record straight on the CVN-21 Class’ cost per ship, and also goes into detail re: the lifetime operating cost savings expected as a result of design and technology innovations.

• Gannett’s Navy Times (Feb 22/12) – Navy looks to rein in carrier program costs

• GlobalSecurity.org – CVN-77 – George H.W. Bush

• Northrop-Grumman Newport News – George H.W. Bush (CVN 77) Home Page

• GlobalSecurity.org – CVN-68 Nimitz Class. See also accompanying links for more in-depth background, including their Ships List with its linked Strike Group information for each ship.

• Naval Technology – Nimitz Class Nuclear Powered Aircraft Carriers, USA

Official Reports

• US Government Accountability Office (GAO-07-866, Aug 23/07) – Navy Faces Challenges Constructing the Aircraft Carrier Gerald R. Ford within Budget. “The Navy requested authorization of CVN 78 in its fiscal year 2008 budget. GAO was asked to assess the Navy’s ability to meet its goals for developing the new carrier. Specifically, this report assesses (1) the extent to which technology development could affect the capability and construction of CVN 78, (2) the status of efforts to achieve design stability, and (3) the challenges to building CVN 78 within budget. To accomplish this, our work includes analysis of test reports, development schedules, and ship progress reviews; interviews with Navy and other officials; and examinations of cost estimates and our own past work.”

• US House Armed Services Subcommittee on Seapower and Expeditionary Forces (July 24/07) – Congressional Budget Office, Statement of J. Michael Gilmore, Assistant Director for National Security and Eric J. Labs, Senior Analyst: The Navy’s 2008 Shipbuilding Plan and Key Ship Programs [PDF format]

• Congressional Research Service Report for Congress (May 25/05) – Navy CVN-21 Aircraft Carrier Program: Background and Issues for Congress. The figures won’t match DID’s figures above. This DID article explains the differences.

• US DoD Office of Force Transformation – Alternative Fleet Architecture Design study [PDF format]. This is the study led by Vice-Adm. Cebrowski. See also this June 2005 Congressional Research Service Report that includes this study and 2 others [Google HTML cache | PDF Format].

• RAND Corporation (2002) – Refueling and Complex Overhaul of the USS Nimitz (CVN 68): Lessons for the Future

Ancillary Systems

• DID Spotlight – EMALS: Electro-Magnetic Launch for Carriers

• American Heritage (Spring 2006) – Shot Into the Air. Good look at the use of naval catapults from their earliest days to the forthcoming EMALS. Fine conceptual schematic of the modern steam catapult included.

• GlobalSecurity.org – Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch System – EMALS

• General Atomics – Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch System (EMALS)

• Smithsonian Air & Space Magazine (Dec 2007 – Jan 2008) – How Things Work: Electro-Magnetic Catapults

• Aviation Week (Jule 13/07) – Risk Areas In CVN 21 Cost, Development

• Defense Tech (April 5-7/07) – EMALS: Next-Generation Catapult and Building a New Ford. Latter includes some interesting background re: EMALS integration challenges and solutions.

• Electronics Design News (April 11/02) – Electronics poised to replace steam-powered aircraft launch. I like the references and linked diagrams.

• DID Spotlight – The US Navy’s Dual Band Radars

• Curtiss-Wright – Advanced Aircraft Arresting Gear. “The Advanced Arresting Gear (AAG) system incorporates turbo-electric power to capture tailhook-equipped aircraft landing on the deck of an aircraft carrier. This advanced technology will replace the current hydraulic arresting system…”

• Seapower Magazine (June 2003) – New Carrier Island Is At Heart Of Higher Sortie Rates For CVN 21

• National Defense Magazine (May 2003) – Navy Starts Work on Next Class of Carriers. Good overview of why many of the design changes were made, and how maladaptive some of the old approaches were – like putting new carriers to sea with obsolete electronics on day 1. Remember, however, that costs must be normalized to FY 2008 dollars.

• Seapower Magazine (June 2001) – Today’s Carrier Force — And Tomorrow’s: Being Transformed by “Leap-Ahead” Technology

The Carrier’s Future

• CNAS (March 2013) – At What Cost a Carrier? By Capt. Henry J. Hendrix, USN (Ph.D.)

• US DoD (May 3/10) – Navy League Sea-Air-Space Exposition: Remarks as Delivered by Secretary of Defense Robert M. Gates, Gaylord Convention Center, National Harbor, Maryland

• Information Dissemination (Aug 31/09) – Dropping the Carrier Requirement to 10, 9, and Potentially 8

• US Naval Institute Proceedings Magazine (April 2009) – Buy Fords not Ferraris

• Singapore MINDEF, Pointer Journal (V25, N1; March 1999) – Is the Super Carrier Going to be Obsolete? An interesting third-party look at the super-carrier and its alternatives. Singapore does not currently own a carrier of any description, and has no plans to do so.

• Popular Mechanics (October 1998) – 21st Century Carrier Force. Some of the ideas at first were a bit more radical. As it turned out, the Nimitz class would not mark the end of large carriers – nor would CVN-21 be a stealth ship, or non-nuclear.