Defence`s Feeds

Key Points Isolated armed maritime incidents between Russian and Ukrainian navy forces and coastguards in the northwestern Black Sea are likely to increase, especially during the court hearing. A Russian military invasion of Ukrainian mainland from Crimea is unlikely, as is an open armed

The Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF) will conduct joint naval exercises with the US Navy Carl Vinson Carrier Strike Group (CSG) as the latter heads to waters near the Korean Peninsula, according to media reports. "Japan wants to despatch several destroyers as the Carl Vinson [CSG]

Key Points Recent riots in Parisian suburbs triggered by allegations of police brutality indicated a continued risk of larger uprisings across France. Anarchist and far-left activists have issued calls to support, join, or repeat such riots in city centres. Further instances of banlieue

Three more countries will meet NATO's target for defence spending, Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said on 12 April. Stoltenberg was speaking at a joint press conference with US president Donald Trump held at the White House. "Last year there were five allies spending 2%," Stoltenberg

North Korea will allocate nearly 16% of its total national expenditure to defence during 2017, the Rodong Sinmun newspaper, a daily of the Workers' Party of Korea, reported on 12 April following the fifth session of the 13th Supreme People's Assembly. "In order to handle the critical situation

In an apparent attempt to position itself centre-stage in future peace talks, the dominant Malay-Muslim separatist faction in southern Thailand, the Barisan Revolusi Nasional (BRN), issued a rare communiqué on 10 April setting out conditions for negotiations with the government in Bangkok. The

Key Points Using commercial satellite imagery and information released in a declassified US intelligence report, Jane's has geolocated two facilities associated with Pakistan's nuclear programme: a suspected centrifuge plant at Sihala in Islamabad Capital Territory and a uranium enrichment site at

Americas

• Lockheed Martin has won a $372 million contract modification in order to address several issues with the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter. The US Navy contract did not specify any particular work that needed to be undertaken under the agreement, however it facilitates deficiency corrections for US operators as well as the country’s foreign military customers. Work will be carried out in Texas, California, New Hampshire, Japan and Britain, and is expected to be complete by March 2020.

• Future US Navy frigates may come with added air defense capabilities as a new study group is being commissioned to examine adding such a platform to the requirements. At present, service specifications call for a vessel to have enough surface-to-air missiles to protect itself. The new idea is to double the RIM-162 Evolved SeaSparrow Missile (ESSM) load from 8 to 16 or having a Mark 41 Vertical Launching System loaded with eight Standard Missile-2 (SM-2). Upgunning the frigates will change the Navy designation for the ships from FF, meaning frigate, to FFG — guided missile frigates able to provide area air defense.

• General Dynamics has proven that Raytheon’s ALR-69A Radar Warning Receiver (RWR) can work on an MQ-9 UAV. The demonstration used a company-owned Predator B with the RWR stored within GA-ASI’s standard payload pod against a series of various ground-based radars. A company statement said that the new radar provided enhanced situational awareness by identifying potential radar threats to ground-based crew, and that more test demonstrations are planned that will include the aircraft flying with an integrated Link 16 data link.

• An MQ-8C Fire Scout UAV has been tested onboard a littoral combat ship (LCS) for the first time. 37 recovery evolutions were conducted onboard the USS Montgomery over the course of seven days in order to verify the MQ-8C launch and recovery procedures and test interoperability between the unmanned helicopter and the ship. A larger version of the MQ-8B, the “C” variant was given Milestone C status by the Navy earlier this month and will begin initial operational test and evaluation this fall.

Middle East & North Africa

• United Aircraft Corporation (UAC) President Yuri Slyusar has confirmed that the Egyptian government has bought a number of MiG-29M/M2 aircraft, with the first batch of deliveries expected for this year. As part of the $2 billion sale, Cairo will receive as many as 50 of the fighters by 2020 as well as receiving pilot training and associated equipment. Improvements on the legacy MiG-29 aircraft include design changes to the airframe, improved turbofans in the RD-33MK (which is similar in weight to the RD-33, but benefits from a higher thrust rating and full-authority digital engine control), fly-by-wire flight control system, updated avionics and Zhuk-ME pulse-Doppler radar.

Europe

• The NATO Eurofighter 2000 and Tornado Management Agency (NETMA) has contracted Saab to deliver 29 units of the latest version of its BOZ-101 electronic warfare self-protection and countermeasures system for the German Air Force. The wing-mounted pod has been in use on Tornados for many years and provides pilots with early warning and missile detection capabilities while in flight. Saab’s work will be performed at its facilities in Järfälla, Sweden and Centurion, South Africa. German authorities expect deliveries to take place between 2017 and 2020.

• Leonardo believes its AW139M helicopter will suit all the requirements for the Czech Republic’s new fleet of multi-role helicopters, as Prague prepares for the release of a request for proposal (RFP). The company stated that the AW139M is “fully compliant with the [defence ministry’s] request for information and subsequent request for additional data,” which includes requirements such as being capable of carrying troops and air-to-surface weapons; including anti-tank missiles as well as being capable of flying in all weather conditions and at night. Leonardo will not disclose details of the proposed aircraft configuration ahead of RFP release, but the AW139M is also likely to feature defensive aids system equipment and countermeasures dispensers. The company has released an image of a notional fire-support-roled aircraft carrying air-to-surface missiles, guided/unguided rocket pods, a pod-housed gun and an electro-optical/infrared sensor payload.

Asia Pacific

• India is looking to secure long-term ammunition supply contracts with local private industry worth $3 billion over ten years. The initiative aims to encourage capital investments by private sector companies in ammunition manufacturing facilities as India struggles with critical ammunition shortages — of the total 170 types of ammunition, there is a shortage in 125 types. Various types of ammunition wanted by New Delhi include: 500,000 rounds of 30mm high-explosive grenades (VOG-17) for automatic grenade launchers; 125mm APFSDS-T (Armor-piercing fin-stabilized discarding sabot — tracer) ammo for T-90 and T-72 tanks; 122mm extended-range multiple rocket launcher ammo for the BM GRAD; 23mm HEI/APIT (high-explosive incendiary/armor-piercing incendiary tracer) ammo for ZU-23 air defense guns; 30mm HEI/T (high-explosive incendiary — tracer) ammo for BMP-2 infantry combat vehicles; 40mm MGL/UBGL (multiple grenade launcher/underbarrel grenade launcher) ammo; and electronic fuzes for artillery guns.

Today’s Video

• Sikorsky-Boeing Future Vertical Lift (FVL) concept:

RIM-162: sections
(click to view full)

The RIM-162 Evolved Sea Sparrow Missile (ESSM) is used to protect ships from attacking missiles and aircraft, and is designed to counter supersonic maneuvering anti-ship missiles. Compared to the RIM-7 Sea Sparrow, ESSM is effectively a new missile with a larger, more powerful rocket motor for increased range, a different aerodynamic layout for improved agility, and the latest missile guidance technology. Testing has even shown the ESSM to be effective against fast surface craft, an option that greatly expands the missile’s utility. As a further bonus, the RIM-162 ESSM has the ability to be “quad-packed” in the Mk 41 vertical launching system, allowing 4 missiles to be carried per launch cell instead of loading one larger SM-2 Standard missile or similar equipment.

This is DID’s FOCUS article for the program, containing details about the RIM-162 Evolved Sea Sparrow missile family, and contracts placed under this program since 1999. The Sea Sparrow was widely used aboard NATO warships, so it isn’t surprising that the ESSM is an international program. The NATO Sea Sparrow Consortium includes Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Germany, Greece, The Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Turkey, and the USA – as well as non-NATO Australia. Foreign Military Sales ESSM customers outside this consortium include Japan, Thailand, and the United Arab Emirates.

ESSM: The Missiles More Than An Upgrade

RIM-7 Sea Sparrow Launch
(click to view full)

The RIM-162 is based on the RIM-7P, but it’s a new missile in almost all respects. The ESSM is a tail-controlled missile with strakes instead of the RIM-7 Sea Sparrow’s wings and fins, using thrust vectoring to achieve a 50g maneuvering capability. ESSM also features a larger and completely new boost-only solid rocket motor (25.4 cm, 10 in diameter), a new autopilot, and a new insensitive-munition blast-fragmentation warhead. Effective range is significantly bigger than that of the RIM-7P, making ESSM a short to medium-range surface-to-air missile that fits in between “zone defense” options like the SM-2/3 and short-range point defenses like Mistral, RBS-70, RIM-116 SeaRAM, et. al.

ESSM Block I is a semi-active radar homing missile that depends on reflected radiation from the ship’s radar to see its target. Within that approach, the missile proceeds through various modes and phases. Generally speaking, there are 3 fundamentally different guidance modes used by ESSM Block I: Home All the Way (HAW), S-Band Midcourse Guidance (SB MCG), and X-Band Midcourse Guidance (XB MCG).

During Home All the Way operation, ESSM receives target illumination and rear reference for the entire flight from launch to intercept. This limits the number of missiles the ship can guide against multi-path saturation attacks, because on ships that must use HAW, limited shipboard radar resources must focus completely on one target if they focus at all. The only way to get around this limitation of the launching ship is to use missiles with active seeker heads of their own, sacrificing radar power and hence accuracy against difficult targets. ESSM Block II will begin to offer that option.

The RIM-162 missile always begins in the transition guidance mode where the missile safely exits the launcher, clears the ship’s structures, and then completes the pitch-over maneuver. At this time, the Thrust Vector Control (TVC) unit is jettisoned, and midcourse guidance begins unless it’s operating in HAW mode. For ships whose systems are advanced enough to use it, midcourse guidance allows search radars to keep track of multiple incoming missiles, offering navigation updates to each ESSM missile in the air. This lets them all remain roughly on target as they close in. SB MCG is the mode used when operating with the S-band AEGIS radar & combat system. XB MCG is the mode used with combat systems with X-band Multi-Function Radars (MFRs) like APAR, SPY-3 and CEAFAR/CEAMOUNT.

ESSM flies an energy efficient profile during midcourse guidance, switching to proportional navigation and full homing guidance from the ship during the last moments before intercept. This gives the missile maximum accuracy, while minimizing the use of limited shipboard radar resources.

ESSM Variants

ESSM stages
(click to view full)

The RIM-162A. Has an S-band uplink for SB MCG use with AEGIS-equipped ships, and is the most frequently produced version. It equips some American Arleigh Burke Class destroyers, and some Ticondergoa Class cruisers are also being modified to carry it. Foreign AEGIS ships that are slated to carry it include Japan’s Kongo Class destroyers, Norway’s Fridjhof Nansen Class frigates, Spain’s F100 Alvaro de Bazan Class frigates, and Australia’s derivative Hobart Class destroyers.

RIM-162B. A version for use on non-AEGIS ships equipped with the MK 41 Vertical Launch System; as such, it lacks the AEGIS S-band uplink. It’s used with on ships like Germany’s F124 Sachsen Class frigates and their Dutch De Zeven Provincien Class counterparts, which use advanced Thales APAR X-band radars. Australia ANZAC Class frigates being upgraded to add new CEAFAR/CEAMOUNT radars, which allow XB MCG.

The RIM-162C and RIM-162D. These are derivatives of the RIM-162B, for use with the MK 48/56 VLS and MK 29 box launchers, respectively. The UAE’s Baynunah Class corvettes, for instance, will pack the RIM-162C, fired from the MK56 8-cell vertical launchers.

US Carriers and LHD/LHA amphibious assault aviation ships pack the RIM-162D in 8-box launchers, as the USA replaces RIM-7 missiles on those platforms and builds new ships with RIM-162 ESSM.

RIM-162 Block II. This program is just beginning. Right now, it aims to define the changes needed in order to address emerging aerial threats, and assess their cost, technical risks, and potential development time. The biggest goal for Block 2 is to give the missile an active seeker option that allows independent guidance. That would make ESSM much more effective against saturation attacks, though ESSM would also retain the ability to home in on reflected radiation from the ship’s much larger and more powerful radar. The bottom line is simple: as more competitors are fielded with independent guidance (Raytheon SM-6, Eurosam Aster-15, MBDA Sea Ceptor, etc.), ESSM needs to keep up.

Older ships will find active guidance especially useful, but even some newer ships could benefit in certain scenarios. So can a wholly different class of equipment…

Go to Ground. A different change involves work to make the RIM-162 a ground-based air defense option. Norway’s Kongsberg is leading the way integrating ESSM missiles into both its AMRAAM-based NASAMS system, and into older MIM-23 Hawk missile systems that are still used by 17 countries. Raytheon is even working with Poland’s WZU to convert old Russian-built SA-6 systems into modern ESSM launchers, with the addition of new missile canisters, radars, etc. If they succeed at that, it could open up a big market.

ESSM Block II’s active guidance will be especially helpful to land-based air defense systems, which are constantly under threat from enemy missiles, rockets, etc. Air defense systems can foil some radar-killing missiles by intermittently shutting off their radars. They can also use transmitted results from other search radars, while depending on their own active seeker missiles to handle target tracking once they get close.

Countries that already deploy naval ESSM and ground-based NASAMS systems include the Netherlands, Norway, and Spain. Countries that already deploy both naval ESSM and ground-based Hawk missiles in their militaries include Greece, Spain, Turkey, and the UAE. Countries like Morocco, which deploys advanced Hawk missiles, or Finland, which adopted an AMRAAM based system as its main air defense option, may also find diversification into ESSM appealing.

ESSM Program: The USA, and Beyond

Under the NATO Sea Sparrow Consortium, Raytheon’s Missile Systems business unit is leading a team of 18 companies from 10 countries (as of late 2002) in developing and producing various aspects of the Evolved Sea Sparrow Missile system. Different launch platforms and configurations mean that only some of these components are common for all customers. One aspect that makes the ESSM program unusual is that the design responsibility for each sub-system is vested in the industrial partner producing it, rather than at the prime contractor level.

The average cost per missile varies slightly with annual production, but seems to be consistently in the $1.3 – 1.5 million range.

Note that Mitsubishi Electric Corporation also has a final assembly line, under a 2012 license-production agreement with Raytheon. The international program’s full timeline follows:

ESSM-Related Contracts & Key Events

Related systems
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Unless otherwise noted, contracts are issued by the US Navy’s Naval Sea Systems Command in Washington, DC to Raytheon Co. in Tucson, AZ. Fiscal years are by US fiscal year, which ends on September 30th.

Note that ORDALT stands for ORDnance ALTeration. It usually means that a ship which had been configured to carry RIM-7 Sea Sparrow missiles is having those launch systems swapped out for the RIM-162 ESSM package.

FY 2016-2017

Fired
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April 12/17: Future US Navy frigates may come with added air defense capabilities as a new study group is being commissioned to examine adding such a platform to the requirements. At present, service specifications call for a vessel to have enough surface-to-air missiles to protect itself. The new idea is to double the RIM-162 Evolved SeaSparrow Missile (ESSM) load from 8 to 16 or having a Mark 41 Vertical Launching System loaded with eight Standard Missile-2 (SM-2). Upgunning the frigates will change the Navy designation for the ships from FF, meaning frigate, to FFG — guided missile frigates able to provide area air defense.

May 13/16: Raytheon Missile Systems has been awarded a $76 million contract from the US Navy for long lead support for the production of the Evolved Sea Sparrow Missiles (ESSM) Block I. The procurement will last for fiscal years 2016, 2017 and 2018. The ESSM program is an international cooperative effort to design, develop, test, and procure ESSM missiles for the US Navy and the governments of Australia, Denmark, Germany, Netherlands, and Norway as part of the NATO Sea Sparrow Consortium.

November 2/15: November 2/15: Thailand has been cleared by the State Department to buy RIM-162 Evolved Sea Sparrow Missiles. The potential deal is estimated to value $26.9 million, including canisters and other auxiliary equipment. The Royal Thai Navy became the thirteenth ESSM customer in January 2013, with the country signing a letter of acceptance with prime contractor Raytheon following a DSCA request in August 2012.

FY 2014 – 2015

Nov 14/14: Support. BAE Systems Technology Solutions & Services Inc. in Rockville, MD receives an $8.5 million cost-plus-fixed-fee contract modification, exercising Option Year 1 for a NATO Seasparrow Consortium support contract. It covers the RIM-162 ESSMs, RIM-7P NATO Seasparrows, the Stalker long range electro-optical sensor suite, and day-to-day office operation in support of the 12 nation consortium. $4 million in FY 2015 US Navy and international funds is committed immediately.

Work will be performed in Arlington, VA (90%), and Chesapeake, A (10%), and is expected to be complete by October 2015 (N00024-14-C-5404).

Sept 30/14: Support. Raytheon Missile Systems in Tucson, AZ, receives a $10.7 million firm-fixed-price contract modification for FY 2014 ESSM spares, on behalf of the United States (94.75%), and the governments of the United Arab Emirates (2.77%), and Japan (2.48%), under the Foreign Military Sales program. $9.5 million in FY 2014 US Navy and international funds is committed immediately.

Work will be performed in Grand Rapids, MI (16%); Mississauga, ON, Canada (14%); Canton, NY (13%); Elmadag, Turkey (11%); McKinney, TX (8%); Ottobrunn, Germany (7%); Koropi Attica, Greece (7%); Raufoss, Norway (6%); Tucson, AZ (5%); Salem, NH (4%); Cincinnati, OH (3%); Melville, NY (2%); Brockton, MA (1%); Andover, MA (1%); Greensboro, NC (1%); and Richmond, VA (1%), and is expected to be complete by October 2016 (N00024-13-C-5409).

Sept 26/14: Launchers. Raytheon IDS in Portsmouth, RI receives a $12.1 million contract modification for FY 2014 NATO Seasparrow Surface Missile Systems (NSSMS) MK 57 MOD 13 and Guided Missile Launching System (GMLS) MK 29 MOD 4/5. The upgraded MK57 NSSMS integrates commercial off-the-shelf hardware for processing and displays, state-of-the-art microprocessors for signal processing, and new solid-state transmitter technology. The result is an open system that integrates seamlessly with the SSDS combat system, optimizing the detect-to-engage capabilities with the advanced ESSM. The MK 29 is also a valid launch platform. All funds are committed immediately, using FY 2014 US Navy budgets.

Work will be performed in Portsmouth, RI, and is expected to be complete by July 2016 (N00024-13-G-5413).

May 9/14: Raytheon Missile Systems in Tucson, AZ receives a $30.9 million contract modification to previously awarded contract for MK 698 Guided Missile Test Sets with Evolved Seasparrow Missile and Standard Missile test capability, upgrade kits, installation kits, repair tool kits, associated spares and technical support. This contract includes Foreign Military Sales to Australia and the Netherlands (100%).

The MK 698 GMTS is common to the RIM-162 ESSM and RIM-67 SM-2 Standard, and has also been used with the RAM missile.

$22.5 million in FY 2013 Navy procurement, foreign funding, and NATO Seasparrow Consortium funding is committed immediately. Work will be performed in Tucson, AZ (86%), Australia (10%), and the Netherlands (4%), and is expected to be complete by December 2016. NAVSEA in Washington, DC manages the contract (N00024 13 C-5409).

March 4-11/14: FY15 Budget. The US military slowly files its budget documents, detailing planned spending from FY 2014 – 2019. ESSM buys are dropping slightly each year vs. the FY 2014 plan, in parallel with a steady rise in R&D spending as work begins on ESSM Block II with its active seeker head. Average cost per missile remains in the $1.4 – 1.5 million range through 2019.

See the chart above for full figures.

Oct 31/13: BAE Systems Technology Solutions and Services in Rockville, MD receives a $21.7 million cost-plus-fixed fee contract for major production and in-service efforts such as the Evolved Sea Sparrow Missile, NATO Sea Sparrow Surface Missile System, Stalker Long Range Electro-Optical Sensor Suite and day-to-day office operation in support of the 12 nations that comprise the NATO Sea Sparrow Consortium. This is a follow-on, continuing efforts that were performed under contract N00024-08-C-5404. $2.7 million are committed immediately.

This contract was not competitively procured based upon International Agreement IAW 10 U.S.C. 2304(c)(4). US Naval Sea Systems Command in Washington DC manages the contract (N00024-14-C-5404).

FY 2013

Multi-year contract; 1st Thai order.

HTMS Naresuan
(click to view full)

May 14/13: Testing. Raytheon announces that an ESSM missile successfully destroyed a high-diving, supersonic threat during a recent firing from the U.S. Navy’s Self-Defense Test Ship.

The short warning time from low-altitude flight, and violent maneuvering at the end, make this a challenging target profile. That challenge, and the added damage done by blasting through lightly-armored decks toward the ship’s keel, is why a number of supersonic anti-ship missiles use this approach. Sources: Raytheon, “ESSM intercept of high-diving threat proves expanded defensive capability”.

Jan 14/13: Thailand. Initial order, as Raytheon announces a Letter of Offer and Acceptance with the U.S. government for 9 ESSMs, making them the 13th country to order the missile.

Per the Aug 8/12 DSCA request, below, these ESSMs are destined for the 8-cell MK.41 vertical launchers on Thailand’s 2 Naresuan Class frigates, which are currently undergoing overhauls and upgrades. By using the MK 25 Quad Pack canisters, each ship could carry up to 32 RIM-162s, but Thailand’s initial order looks set to fit only 1 VLS cell on each ship, plus 1 spare. Raytheon.

Thai order

Jan 17/13: DOT&E testing. The Pentagon releases the FY 2012 Annual Report from its Office of the Director, Operational Test & Evaluation (DOT&E). The ESSM is included tangentially, under the SSDS combat system:

“The CVN-68 ship class [DID: Nimitz Class aircraft carriers] combat system continues to have several problems that hinder it from successfully completing the ship self-defense mission. Specific problems include deficiencies in weapon employment timelines, sensor coverage, system track management, and NATO ESSM performance [emphasis DID’s], as well as deficiencies with the recommended engagement tactics for use against multiple ASCM [DID: Anti-Ship Cruise Missile] threat classes.”

They aren’t more specific, for understandable reasons, but DOT&E’s recommendations include: “Develop combat system improvements to increase the likelihood that ESSM and RAM [DID: RIM-116 short-range air defense missile] will home on their intended targets.”

Dec 27/12: Production. Raytheon in Tucson, AZ receives a $226.8 million firm-fixed-price, multi-year contract, covering FY 2013 – 2015 ESSM production, with options that could raise it to $259.9 million. $45.2 million is committed immediately, and just $139,772 will expire on Sept 30/13. The contract total appears to support an initial plan of about 250-260 missiles.

This contract combines purchases for the US Navy (83.47%); NATO Sea Sparrow consortium members Australia (1.13%); Denmark (1.42%); Canada (2.87%); Germany (2.36%); Norway (0.60%); Greece (1.37%); Netherlands (2.29%); Spain (0.04%); and Turkey (0.84%); plus foreign sales to Japan (0.08%); and Thailand (3.53%).

Work will be performed in Tucson, AZ (19%); Norway (13%); Germany (11%); Australia (10%); Canada (9%); Andover, MA (7%); The Netherlands (6%); San Jose, CA (4%); Spain (4%); Greece (3%); Camden, AR (3%); McKinney, TX (3%); Turkey (2%); Beverly, MA (1%); Minneapolis, MN (1%); Reston, VA (1%); Cincinnati, OH (1%); Cheshire, CT (1%); and Denmark (1%) and is expected to be complete by September 2016. This contract was not competitively procured in accordance with 10 U.S.C. 2304 (c)(1), by US Naval Sea Systems Command in Washington, DC (N00024-13-C-5409). See also Arizona Daily Star.

2013-2015 production

Dec 27/12: 2013 support. Raytheon in Tucson, AZ receives a $140 million cost-plus-fixed-fee contract for calendar year 2013 work as ESSM’s Design Agent, plus in-service support, technical engineering support services, and work on RIM-162 Block 2 risk reduction. Options could raise this contract to $237 million. This contract combines:

• Evolved Sea Sparrow Design Agent Services for the US Navy (77%), Australia (19%), and Denmark (4%).
  
• ESSM Block II Risk Reduction Support for the USS Navy (25%), Australia (33%), Canada (22%), and Norway (20%).
  
• In-Service Support and Technical Engineering Support Services for the US Navy (32%), Australia (17%), Canada (15%), Germany (11%), The Netherlands (6%), Norway (5%), Turkey (5%), Denmark (3%), Greece (4%), and Spain (2%).

Work will be performed in Tucson, AZ (90.65%); Germany (2.55%); Norway (2.11%); Australia (1.53%); The Netherlands (1.36%); Canada (0.68%); Spain (0.42%); Turkey (0.30%); Denmark (0.28%); and Greece (0.12%) and is expected to be complete by December 2013. $13 million is committed immediately, with the rest to follow as required. This contract was not competitively procured in accordance with 10 U.S.C. 2304 (c)(1), by US Naval Sea Systems Command in Washington, DC (N00024-13-C-5410).

2013 support

FY 2012

Japanese license; Thai request; Land SAM test.

ESSM from NASAMS
click for video

Sept 4/12: ESSM swap on SA-6s? The MSPO 2012 show has an interesting display, courtesy of Raytheon and Poland WZU: a 2K12 Kub/ SA-6 “Gainful” launcher, modified to incorporate 4 RIM-162 ESSM launch canisters instead of the Russian missiles. Raytheon is building upon on the successful May 2012 Norwegian tests, involving a NASAMS launcher and the HAWK XXI High-Power Illuminator (HPI) radar. The modified “Pelican” launch vehicle is a useful step, but the team will have to either let the ESSM work with the system’s Russian radars, or (more likely) create a mobile radar system refit that uses a modern system like NASAMS’ AN/AMPQ-64F1 Improved Sentinel.

Poland is looking to modernize its national air defense system at all levels, and Raytheon hopes to offer a unique, low-cost solution for mid-tier air defense. If the team succeeds, Poland isn’t the only NATO country with Soviet equipment and an interest in air defense modernization. The SA-6 was widely deployed beyond the Warsaw Pact, which could create a very interesting market niche for Raytheon’s SL-AMRAAM/ ESSM solutions. Army Recognition.

Aug 8/12: Thai request. The US DSCA announces [PDF] Thailand’s request to buy an initial lot of 9 RIM-162 ESSM missiles, 3 MK25 Quad Pack canisters to fit into a Mk41 Vertical Launch System, 4 MK783 shipping containers; plus spare and repair parts; support and test equipment; publications and technical documentation; personnel training and training equipment; and other forms of U.S. Government and contractor support.

The prime contractors will be Raytheon Missile Systems in Tucson, AZ and BAE Systems in Aberdeen, SD. The estimated cost is up to $18 million.

The proposed FMS case includes support equipment, training and technical assistance required for the Royal Thai Navy to effectively incorporate the ESSM into its fleet. Which is a very interesting story all by itself. After a poor initial experience buying Chinese Type 053H2 Jianghu-III frigates, improved Thai familiarity and Chinese processes led Thailand to place a follow-on order for 2 stretched Type 053 frigates later in the decade. HTMS Naresuan and HTMS Taksin were very different, however, in that they had western systems on board. Recent upgrades give them an array not seen on any other Chinese ships: Thales radars, Saab’s 9LV combat system and datalinks, BAE’s 127mm naval gun, Boeing’s RGM-84 Harpoon missiles, and an American 8-cell Mk41 vertical launch system intended to host 32 ESSM missiles. The missiles and packs noted above appear to be test articles, and once the upgrades are all tested, the 3,000t Naresuan Class will become the Royal Thai Navy’s most advanced ships.

Thai request

Aug 2/12: #2,000. Raytheon announces that they’ve delivered the 2,000th Evolved SeaSparrow Missile to the NATO SeaSparrow Consortium, and expect continued production past 2017. Sources: Raytheon, “Raytheon Evolved SeaSparrow program delivers 2,000th missile”.

#2,000

July 9/12: NASAMS firing. Raytheon announces that the Royal Norwegian Air Force has successfully fired ESSM from a Norwegian NASAMS (National Advanced Surface-to-Air-Missile System) launcher, which usually fired AIM-120 AMRAAM missiles. The risk-reduction firing event used the NASAMS Fire Distribution Center (FDC) and launcher, but ESSM Block I also needs a radar to illuminate the target for guidance. Kongsberg and Raytheon used the Hawk air defense system’s High-Power Illuminator radar (q.v. May 2012) for that purpose.

During the test at the Andoya Rocket Range in Northern Norway, the ESSM intercepted and destroyed its aerial target. NASAMS has now fired AIM-120 AMRAAMs with active seeker heads, shorter-range infrared guided AIM-9X missiles, and ESSM Block I with its semi-active seeker head. ESSM Block I, in turn, has now demonstrated compatibility with Hawk XXI and NASAMS. Sources: Raytheon, “Norway fires first ground-based Evolved Sea Sparrow Missile from NASAMS launcher”.

Land firing: NASAMS

May 2012: Onto land. The United States Security Assistance Management Directorate, Royal Norwegian Air Force (RNoAF), Raytheon, and Kongsberg co-operate to test-fire a RIM-162 ESSM missile from a Hawk XXI air defense system. The missile successfully engaged its air target at the Andoya Rocket Range in Norway. Kongsberg makes the point that:

“…HAWK system is deployed by 17 nations worldwide. The ESSM ground launched missile will enhance HAWK’s capability and provide operators with an in-production replacement missile.”

That’s an attractive offer, but the Hawk version required for that level of compatibility is fielded only by Morocco, South Korea, Romania & Turkey. Other Hawk customers could choose to perform a similar upgrade, of course, which involves an almost complete switch of radar and control systems. The selling point would be continued use of their MIM-23 Hawk missiles, with new electronics that are easier to maintain and replace, combined with “future-proofed” options to launch AIM-9X Sidewinder, AIM-120 AMRAAM and RIM-162 missiles. For existing NASAMS customers, it’s a much more straightforward upgrade that lets them mix and match AIM-120 AMRAAM missiles with shorter range Sidewinders and longer-range RIM-162 ESSMs. Kongsberg | Raytheon | Raytheon Technology Today | Video. See also June 22/11 entry.

Land firing: Hawk XXI

Jan 10/12: Japan. Raytheon announces a 2-year Direct Commercial Sale contract to provide Japan’s Mitsubishi Electric Corporation (MELCO) the components and assemblies necessary to license-build ESSMs for the Japanese Ministry of Defense. Licensed production will take place at MELCO’s facility in Japan.

They announce it as part of a pair of orders totaling $212.8 million, and the numbers and dates strongly suggest that the other contract is the Sept 30/11 entry, below. That would value the MELCO license-production contract at $68.9 million.

License production

Dec 22/11: A $26.7 million contract modification for calendar year 2012 Evolved Sea Sparrow Missile (ESSM) production support. That includes missile improvement, support equipment improvement, software engineering and improvement, reliability monitoring, system safety monitoring, quality assurance, risk management, test equipment, parts control, obsolete materials, manufacturing qualification, logistics impacts, and other activities needed to support the engineering of an effective ESSM for the NATO Sea Sparrow Consortium.

The United States, Australia, Canada, Denmark, Germany, Greece, Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Turkey, and the United Arab Emirates will fund the effort under this contract modification. Work will be performed in Tucson, AZ (45%); Australia (11%); Andover, Mass. (10%); Germany (8%); Canada (7%); the Netherlands (6%); Norway (5%); Spain (3%); Camden, Ark. (2%); Denmark (1%); Greece (1%); and Turkey (1%); and is expected to be complete by December 2012 (N00024-07-C-5432).

FY 2011

Annual order & support; Block 2 studies.

RIM-162D, loading
(click to view full)

Sept 30/11: The FY 2011 order for ESSMs commits just $15.6 million, but the core contract modification has a maximum of $143.9 million, and options could bring the cumulative value to $177 million. This includes RIM-162 missiles, associated shipping containers, and spares. This contract action combines purchases for the US Navy (27.9%, $40.1M), and the governments of Australia (32.2% $46.3M), Denmark (29.8%, $42.9M), Germany (4.2%, $6.0M), Norway (3.4%, $4.9M), Greece (0.8%, $1.2M) and Canada (0.6%, $863k) under the NATO Sea Sparrow Consortium, plus Foreign Military Sales to Japan (1.1%, $1.6M).

Work will be performed in Tucson, AZ (45%); Australia (11%); Andover, MA (10%); Germany (8%); Canada (7%); Netherlands (6%); Norway (5%); Spain (3%); Camden, Ark. (2%); Denmark (1%); Greece (1%); and Turkey (1%); and is expected to be complete by August 2014. US Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, DC, is the contracting activity (N00024-07-C-5431).

2011 order

Aug 30/11: Australia’s government gives both 1st pass and 2nd pass approval to an Evolved Sea Sparrow Missile Upgrade program, also known as SEA 1352 Phase 1A. It will begin with an A$20 million to the NATO Sea Sparrow Project Office, to conduct the study to develop an upgraded ESSM, the “RIM-162 Block 2,” that can replace the current production “Block 1” missiles currently serving on Australia’s upgraded FFG-7 Adelaide Class, and on its ANZAC Class frigates.

Australia’s DoD says that this multinational study is meant to look at emerging aerial threats, and figure out what kind of performance, and hence cost and risk, might be needed to counter them. The NATO Sea Sparrow Consortium would then have to consider cost targets and associated performance tradeoffs, before finalizing a design, and paying for system development. Once that’s complete, Australia can choose to order upgrades, or new missiles, depending on what makes the most sense.

From an operational point of view, it will be some time before this new weapon is deployed to sea. When it does, the Royal Australian Navy plans to begin by installing the RIM-162 Block 2 as the primary air defense weapon aboard its (probably-upgraded) ANZAC frigates, and as the second-tier air defense weapon on its Hobart Class air defense ships, behind the SM-2/SM-6. The total cost of Project SEA 1352 Phase 1 is cost capped between A$ 1-2 billion in current the Public Defence Capability Plan.

RIM-162
Block 2 study

June 22/11: Onto land. At the 2011 Paris Air Show, Raytheon announces that the ESSM will follow its larger SM-3 counterpart onto dry land as an air defense option. It won’t take on ballistic missiles like the SM-3, but it becomes a serious medium range competitor against options like SLAMRAAM and even Patriot, while offering more commonality for countries already using the ESSM at sea.

April 11/11: Industrial. Raytheon announcesthat the firm delivered 366 ESSM missiles in 2010, more than doubling 2009’s total, while still using an international manufacturing base.

Feb 21/11: UAE. UAE’s The National reports on Raytheon’s industrial offset commitments, which are attached to the UAE’s 2008 Patriot missile buy (vid. Dec 17/08 entry). The firm is waiting for the UAE’s Offset Program Bureau to approve 2 new facilities:

• A joint venture with Abu Dhabi Ship Building to build an intermediate level maintenance facility for missiles used by the UAE Navy, incl. Raytheon’s RIM-116 RAM and RIM-162 ESSM ship defense missiles.

• A 3 way joint-partnership with Lockheed Martin and Emirates Advanced Investment’s Global Aerospace Logistics, to build a consolidated maintenance facility for Patriot missiles. Since The UAE ordered both PAC-2 GEM and PAC-3 missiles, both Lockheed and Raytheon need to participate.

Feb 18/11: A $57.2 million contract modification for Evolved Sea Sparrow Missile (ESSM) production support and technical engineering tasks needed to support missile production, but which are not directly associated with the manufacture of missile hardware for the NATO Sea Sparrow consortium and the United Arab Emirates. These tasks include missile improvement, support equipment improvement, software engineering and improvement, reliability monitoring, system safety monitoring, quality assurance, risk management, test equipment, parts control, obsolete materials, manufacturing qualification, logistics impacts, and other activities.

The NATO Sea Sparrow consortium will fund the effort. Work will be performed in Tucson, AZ (45%), Australia (11%), Andover, MA (10%), Germany (8%), Canada (7%), The Netherlands (6%), Norway (5%), Spain (3%), Camden, AR (2%), Denmark (1%), Greece (1%), and Turkey (1%).

FY 2010

2010 order; Support contracts.

ESSM from Mk.29
(click to view full)

Aug 11/10: Raytheon Integrated Defense Systems in Tewksbury, MA 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, which use the new Dual Band Radar.

Raytheon will also conduct follow-on operation test and evaluation efforts for the Evolved Sea Sparrow Missile (RIM-162 ESSM) and Surface Electronic Warfare Improvement Program (SEWIP).

May 26/10: A $36.7 million cost-plus fixed fee modification to the existing contract (N00024-07-C-5432) establishes a contract line item (CLI) ceiling covering ESSM production support and technical engineering from May 2010 through December 2010.

Work will be performed in Tucson, AZ (45%); Camden, AR (2%); Andover, MA (10%); Australia (11%); Canada (7%); Denmark (1%); Greece (1%); Germany (8%); The Netherlands (6%); Norway (5%); Spain (3%); and Turkey (1%). Work is expected to be complete by December 2010, and $936,401 will expire at the end of the current fiscal year, on Sept 30/10.

March 26/10: A $7 million modification to a previously awarded contract (N00024-07-C-5431) for funding for savings on value engineering change proposals for warhead fairing, dual band antenna, telemetric data transmitting set, rear receiver, Unit 10 front microwave receiver, power converter, 2-piece Marmon clamp, and control section component parts of the Evolved Sea Sparrow Missile.

Value Engineering Change Proposals allow contracts to submit proposals for reducing system costs, and keep a specified percentage of those savings. It resembles a number of successful industrial programs, including the supplier model that sparked Chrysler’s 2nd big turnaround in the late 1980s to early 1990s.

Work will be performed in Tucson, AZ (45%), Camden, AR (2%), Andover, MA (10%), Australia (11%), Canada (7%), Denmark (1%), Greece (1%), Germany (8%), The Netherlands (6%), Norway (5%), Spain (3%), and Turkey (1%), and is expected to be complete by August 2013.

Feb 1/10: The Pentagon releases its budget request for FY 2011. American RIM-162 orders tailing off somewhat, from budgeted totals of $84.6 million for 50 missiles in FY 2009, to $51.2 million for 43 missiles in FY 2010, to $48.2 million for 33 missiles requested in FY 2011.

Dec 30/09: Establishment of a contract line item (CLI) ceiling worth $13.2 million, to offer ESSM production support for January through April of calendar year 2010. Production support includes tasks needed to support missile production that are not directly associated with the manufacture of missile hardware, and this modification to a previously awarded cost-plus-fixed fee contract combines purchases of the NATO Sea Sparrow Consortium for the US Navy and the governments of Australia, Canada, Denmark, Germany, Greece, The Netherlands, Norway, Spain and Turkey.

Work will be performed in Tucson, AZ (45%); Camden, AR (2%); Andover, MA (10%); Australia (11%); Canada (7%); Denmark (1%); Greece (1%); Germany (8%); The Netherlands (6%); Norway (5%); Spain (3%); and Turkey (1%). Work is expected to be complete by April 2010 (N00024-07-C-5432, #P00025).

Dec 18/09: Raytheon in Tucson, AZ receives a $200.9 million modification to a previously awarded contract from the NATO Sea Sparrow consortium, covering 241 missiles and 47 shipping containers.

Work will be performed in Tucson, AZ (45%); Andover, MA (10%); Camden, AR (2%); Australia (11%); Germany (8%); Canada (7%); The Netherlands (6%); Norway (5%); Spain (3%); Denmark (1%); Greece (1%); and Turkey (1%), and is expected to be complete by August 2013 (N00024-07-C-5431).

2010 order

Dec 10/09: A $9.8 million modification exercising options for MK 56 tactical missiles and shipping containers, ESSM inert operational missiles and shipping containers, and auxiliary equipment to accompany them. Work will be performed in Tucson, AZ (45%); Camden, AR (2%); Andover, MA (10%), Australia (11%), Canada (7%), Denmark (1%), Greece (1%), Germany (8%), The Netherlands (6%); Norway (5%); Spain (3%); and Turkey (1%), and is expected to be complete by August 2012 (N00024-07-C-5431).

The Mk56 [data sheet, PDF] is a compact vertical launch system, specifically designed for the ESSM. It is well suited to smaller ships like corvettes, or ship upgrades that face severe space constraints.

FY 2009

2009 order; Support contracts; What’s an EVCP?

ESSM from VLS
(click to view full)

Aug 20/09: A $151.6 million modification to previously awarded contract (N00024-07-C-5431), buying 186 Evolved Sea Sparrow Missiles, 77 shipping containers, and spares for the NATO Sea Sparrow Consortium and the United Arab Emirates. The UAE will use them on its new Baynunah class corvettes. The contract includes a $210.3 million option to produce an additional 255 missiles, which would bring the total to $361.9 million and 441 missiles.

Work will be performed in Tucson, AZ (45%); Camden, AR (2%); Andover, MA (10%), Australia (11%), Canada (7%), Denmark (1%), Greece (1%), Germany (8%), The Netherlands (6%); Norway (5%); Spain (3%); and Turkey (1%), and is expected to be complete by August 2012. See also Raytheon release.

2009 order

April 9/09: A $15.4 million modification to previously awarded contract N00024-07-C-5432 for production support and technical engineering support for the Evolved Sea Sparrow Missile (ESSM). This involves tasks needed to support missile production, which are not directly associated with the manufacture of missile hardware. These activities can include missile improvements, support equipment improvements, software engineering, reliability monitoring, system safety monitoring, quality assurance, risk management, test equipment, parts control, obsolete materials, configuration management, production verification inspection, and manufacturing qualification.

Work will be performed in Tucson, AZ (45%); Andover, MA (10%); Camden, AK (2%); Australia, (11%); Germany (8%); Canada (7%); The Netherlands (6%); Norway (5%); Spain (3%); Denmark (1%); Greece (1%); and Turkey (1%), and is expected to be complete in April 2010.

March 12/09: A $9.7 million modification to a previously awarded contract (N00024-07-C-5431), to incorporate something called a “Value Engineering Change Proposal (VECP).” VECPs are cost-saving ideas from industry, which may also enhance performance as a side-benefit. In an arrangement that mirrors Chrysler’s successful initiatives with its supply chain in the 1990s, contractors are rewarded by being allowed to share in some of the savings created by their accepted VECPs. This contract modification incorporates VECPs to the Evolved Sea Sparrow Missiles for Australia, Canada, Germany, Greece, Norway, Spain, Turkey, United Arab Emirates and the United States.

The NATO Sea Sparrow consortium, which includes the United States and 10 other countries, will fund the effort. Work will be performed in Tucson, AZ (45%); Camden, AR (2%); Andover, MA (10%); Australia (11%); Canada (7%); Denmark (1%); Greece (1%); Germany (8%); The Netherlands (6%); Norway (5%); Spain (3%); and Turkey (1%), and is expected to be complete by December 2011.

Dec 12/08: An $11.8 million modification to previously awarded contract (N00024-06-C-5422), exercising the NATO Sea Sparrow Program Office’s FY 2009 options. This modification is a follow-on effort, which was previously performed under contract N00024-02-C-5421. The NATO Sea Sparrow consortium, which includes the United States and 12 other countries, will fund all of the effort under this modification.

Under this order, the USS Theodore Roosevelt [CVN 71] will receive 2 MK29 MOD 4 ESSM ORDALT Kits, and 4 Solid State Transmitter (SSTX) MK73 MOD 3 ORDALT Kits. That effort is part of the ship’s multi-billion dollar mid-life RCOH overhaul. This order also includes 2 more MK29 MOD 4 ESSM ORDALT Kits for use on LHD ships. Work will be performed in Portsmouth, RI and is expected to be complete by October 2010.

Nov 24/08: An $11.3 million modification to previously awarded contract N00024-07-C-5432 for ESSM technical engineering support. Work will be performed in Tucson, AZ (45%); Camden, AR (2%); Andover, MA (10%); Australia (11%); Canada (7%); Denmark (1%); Greece (1%); Germany (8%); The Netherlands (6%); Norway (5%); Spain (3%); and Turkey (1%), and is expected to be complete by November 2010. Contract funds in the amount of $349,968 will expire at the end of FY 2009.

FY 2008

2008 order; Support contracts; ORDALT.

ESSM loading into VLS
(click to view full)

June 3/08: A $16.5 million modification to previously awarded contract N00024-07-C-5432 for ESSM production support. This contract action will fulfill required production support activities for FY 2008 for multiple production contracts. Work will be performed in Tucson, AZ (55%), Camden, AZ (2%), Australia (11%), Canada (7%), Denmark (1%), Greece (1%), Germany (8%), The Netherlands (6%), Norway (5%), Spain (3%), and Turkey (1%), and is expected to be complete by May 2010.

This contract modification procures production support for the ESSMs for the NATO Sea Sparrow Consortium. Tasks under this contract include maintaining the integrity of the missile requirement and design, maintaining missile reliability, monitoring parts obsolescence, maintaining data package configuration, system safety monitoring, quality assurance, risk management, test equipment, configuration management, performance verification testing, manufacturing qualification, logistics impacts, and other activities needed to support the production of an effective ESSM missile.

May 12/08: A $21.2 million modification to previously awarded contract (N00024-06-C-5435) for 68 MK 20 MOD 1 Canisters and 156 MK 20 MOD 1 Frangible Covers in support of the EESSM. The MK 20 MOD 1 Canisters are for Canada. The MK 20 MOD 1 Frangible Covers are designed to keep seawater out of the canister, then break harmlessly when the missile is fired and begins rocketing out. The covers are being ordered for Canada, Netherlands and Belgium. The NATO Sea Sparrow consortium will fund this modification. Work will be performed in Hooveveen, the Netherlands, and is expected to be complete by December 2010.

May 9/08: BAE Systems Applied Technologies, Inc. in Rockville, MD received a $10 million sole source, cost-plus-fixed-fee contract for engineering and technical services to the to support the NATO Sea Sparrow Program Office (NSPO) “in support of the NATO Sea Sparrow surface missile system, target acquisition system, MK48 guided missile vertical launching system, and the Evolved Sea Sparrow Missile (ESSM) and any improvements thereto.” The contract includes 4 options which would bring the cumulative value of this contract to $46.3 million, if exercised.

Work will be performed in Arlington, VA (72%); Silver Spring, MD(12%); and Chesapeake, VA (16%), and is expected to be complete by April 2013. Contract funds in the amount of $311,845 will expire at the end of the current fiscal year (N00024-08-C-5404). This contract is actually a follow-on effort, which was previously performed under contract (N00024-01-C-5402). The NATO Sea Sparrow Consortium, which includes the United States and 12 other countries, will fund most of the effort under this contract. A small amount of effort may be funded by Japan and Korea under Foreign Military Sales program cases.

May 9/08: Raytheon Co. in Tucson, AZ received a $10.8 million modification to previously awarded contract (N00024-07-C-5432), covering technical engineering support for the Evolved Sea Sparrow Missile for the NATO Sea Sparrow Consortium and for the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Foreign Military Sales case funding will provide the funding for the UAE portion, while the NSSC will fund the remaining effort under this contract modification. Work will be performed in Tucson, AZ (55%); Camden, AK (2% – could they mean, Camden, AR?); Australia (11%); Canada (7%); Denmark (1%); Greece (1%); Germany (8%); The Netherlands (6%); Norway (5%); Spain (3%); and Turkey (1%), and is expected to be complete by May 2010. Contract funds in the amount of $1.2 million will expire at the end of the current fiscal year.

April 7/08: A $245.5 million firm-fixed-price modification under previously awarded contract (N00024-07-C-5431) to procure 307 Evolved Sea Sparrow Missiles (ESSM), 163 shipping containers, and spares for the NATO Sea Sparrow Consortium and the United Arab Emirates.

Work will be performed in Tucson, AZ (45%), Andover, MA (10%), Camden, AR, (2%), Australia (11%), Germany (8%), Canada (7%), The Netherlands (6%), Norway (5%), Spain (3%), Denmark (1%), Greece (1%), and Turkey (1%); and is expected to be complete by December 2010. This contract was not competitively procured.

2008 order

Feb 22/08: A $17.8 million modification to previously awarded contract (N00024-06-C-5422) to procure Mk 57 MOD 12/13 NATO Sea Sparrow Surface Missile System (NSSMS) Ordnance Alteration (ORDALT) Kits, MK 73 Solid State Transmitter (SSTx) ORDALT Kits, MK 29 Guided Missile Launcher System (GMLS) Evolved Sea Sparrow Missile (ESSM) ORDALT Kits, and related spares for U.S. Navy Aircraft Carrier (CVN), Amphibious Assault (LHA/LHD), and consortium ship installations. These kits will convert existing launchers for RIM-7 Sea Sparrow missiles to RIM-162 ESSM launchers. Raytheon release.

The upgraded MK57 NSSMS integrates commercial off-the-shelf hardware for processing and displays, state-of-the-art microprocessors for signal processing, and new solid-state transmitter technology. The result is an open system that integrates seamlessly with IDS’ Ship Self Defense System, optimizing the detect-to-engage capabilities with the advanced ESSM. Work will be performed in Portsmouth, RI (23%); Andover, MA (22%); Waterloo, Canada (14%); Windber, PA (13%); Long Island, NY (15%); Dallas, TX (13%), and is expected to be complete by February 2010.

FY 2007

2007 Order; UAE 1st order; ESSM boat killer; Japanese industrial agreement.

ESSM from HMAS Sydney
(click to view full)

Sept 18/07: A $9.6 million cost-plus-fixed-fee modification to previously awarded contract (N00024-07-C-5432) for ESSM technical engineering support, including tasks needed to support missile production. These tasks include missile improvement, support equipment improvement, software engineering and improvement, reliability monitoring, system safety monitoring, quality assurance, risk management, test equipment, parts control, obsolete materials, logistics impacts, and other activities or the NATO Sea Sparrow Consortium.

Work will be performed in Tucson, AZ (45%); Andover, MA (10%); Camden, AR (2%); Australia (11%); Germany (8%); Canada (7%); The Netherlands (6%); Norway (5%); Spain (3%); Denmark (1%); Greece (1%); and Turkey (1%). This modification combines support for the U.S. Navy/NATO Sea Sparrow Consortium (99%), and the United Arab Emirates (1%) under the Foreign Military Sales program.

Sept 11/07: Raytheon Missile Systems in Tucson, AZ receives a $22.5 million firm-fixed-price modification to procure 32 Evolved Sea Sparrow Missiles (ESSM) and 40 shipping containers, under a Foreign Military Sales case with the United Arab Emirates and for the NATO Sea Sparrow Consortium. This modification procures ESSMs for the United Arab Emirates’ Baynunah Class corvettes, and containers for the NATO Sea Sparrow Consortium.

FMS Work will be performed in Tucson, AZ (45%); Andover, MA (10%); Camden, AR (2%); Australia (11%); Germany (8%); Canada (7%); The Netherlands (6%); Norway (5%); Spain (3%); Denmark (1%); Greece (1%); and Turkey (1%), and is expected to be completed by February 2010 (N00024-07-C-5431).

UAE initial buy

Aug 20/07: Australia. The Australian Oliver Hazard Perry Class frigate HMAS Sydney fires an ESSM against a Kalkara unmanned airborne target, destroying it. The missile was launched from a new Vertical Launch System, which was recently installed in HMAS Sydney as part of Australia’s FFG Upgrade Program. The firing was supported by the Australian Distributed Architecture Combat System (ADACS) software, developed and delivered by Thales Australia. The FFG Upgrade Project is scheduled for completion in December 2009.

This Evolved Sea Sparrow Missile firing is the first from an FFG-7 class frigate, which presumably uses the RIM-162B missile and homing all the way guidance. Australian DoD announcement & photos.

June 27/07: A $223 million firm-fixed-price modification to previously awarded contract (N00024-07-C-5431) to procure 294 Evolved Sea Sparrow Missiles (RIM-162 ESSM), 68 shipping containers, and spares for the NATO Sea Sparrow Consortium.

Work will be performed in Tucson, AZ (45%); Andover, MA (10%); Camden, AK (2%); Australia (11%); Germany (8%); Canada (7%); The Netherlands (6%); Norway (5%); Spain (3%); Denmark (1%); Greece (1%); Turkey (1%), and is expected to be complete by February 2010. The contract was not competitively procured.

2007 order

May 30/07: Raytheon announces that it has worked with the U.S. Navy and successfully completed the first test of Evolved Sea Sparrow Missile’s improved surface-to-surface capability against surface threats. It was also an at-sea firing of the ESSM using the MK 57 MOD 12 fire control system that marked the first Evolved Sea Sparrow Missile firing from the MK 29 MOD 4, 8-cell trainable launcher that is being installed on U. S. Navy aircraft carriers and select L-Class ships, and the first at-sea demonstration of the MK 57 MOD 12/13 and its MK 73 MOD 3 solid-state transmitter to support Evolved Sea Sparrow.

The surface-to-surface improvements to Evolved Sea Sparrow Missile’s capability were implemented completely through changes to the missile’s software. This software improvement was co-developed by the Naval Air Warfare Center Weapons Division in China Lake, CA, and Raytheon Missile Systems in Tucson, AZ. Additional surface-to-surface firings are scheduled later this year from the Navy’s Self Defense Test Ship (formerly USS Paul F. Foster [DD 964]) and from a Dutch frigate. Raytheon release | SpaceWar.

Boat killer

May 25/07: Japan. Raytheon announces an agreement with representatives of Mitsubishi Electric Company (MELCO) that will allow both companies to cooperatively explore global market opportunities in naval radars and combat systems. The release adds that:

“The agreement extends a relationship into new markets that has existed for more than 40 years between the two businesses. MELCO is already the licensed producer for some Raytheon systems, including HAWK, Sea Sparrow, ESSM, and Patriot.”

March 5/07: A $23.7 million, cost-reimbursement contract for long lead material in support of FY 2007 Evolved Sea Sparrow Missile (ESSM) production. The components will be used in production for some NATO Sea Sparrow Consortium countries (Australia, Canada, Germany, Greece, Norway, Spain, USA) and Foreign Military Sales customers (the United Arab Emirates).

Work will be performed in Australia (26%); The Netherlands (25%); Spain (19%); Tucson, AZ, USA (12%); Norway (6%); Greece (4%); Germany (4%); Canada (2%); Denmark (1%); and Turkey (1%), and is expected to be completed by Feb. 2010. This contract (N00024-07-C-5431) was not competitively procured.

FY 2006

2006 order; ORDALT explained; ESSM for Spain’s F100 frigates.

RIM-162 ESSM launch
(click to view full)

July 6/06: Lockheed Martin, Maritime Systems & Sensors (MS2) in Moorestown, NJ recveived a $30.3 million cost-plus-award-fee/cost-plus-fixed-fee contract for combat system engineering, computer program support, system integration and test, ship integration and test, staging, FMS program management, and integrated logistics support to include training and technical manuals, for the upgrade of the AEGIS Weapon System on Spanish F-100 Frigates (F101 through F104) in support of the Foreign Military Sales Case SP-P-LFZ. This effort is a follow on to NAVSEA Contract N00024-97-C-5171 which procured the AEGIS computer program and support for the Spanish F-100 AEGIS Combat System program.

The new effort described herein is the upgrade to the AEGIS Computer Program to include the addition of Evolved Sea Sparrow Missile (ESSM) and SM-2 BLK IIIB functionalities. Work will be performed in Moorestown, NJ (85%), and Spain (15%), and is expected to be complete by December 2008. This contract was not competitively procured (N00024-06-C-5113).

April 28/06: ORDALT. A $21.5 million letter contract to procure Mk 57 Mod 12/13 NATO Sea Sparrow Surface Missile System (NSSMS) ordnance alteration (ORDALT) kits, MK 73 solid state radar transmitter ORDALT kits, MK 29 guided missile launcher system Evolved Sea Sparrow Missile (ESSM) ORDALT kits, and related spares for Navy aircraft carrier and amphibious assault ship installations.

Work will be performed in Portsmouth, RI (60%); Long Island, NY (20%); and Waterloo, Canada (20%), and is expected to be complete by June 2008. This contract was not competitively procured (N00024-06-C-5422).

These upgrades appear to improve capabilities on these ships, allowing Ship Self Defense System Mk 2 combat systems and Mk 57 NSSMS on-board hardware to be capable of mounting and fully using ESSM missiles. The core of the NSSMS consists of the Mk 91 Guided Missile Fire Control System (GMFCS), and the Mk 29 Guided Missile Launching System (GMLS).

The Mk 73 is the focus of the US navy’s Solid State Continuous Wave Illuminator Transmitter upgrade program. This will allow the solid state Mk73 radar to illuminate targets for the Standard Missile family (SM1-3), the RIM-7 Sea Sparrow Missile, and the RIM-162 Evolved Sea Sparrow Missile (ESSM).

The GMFCS Mk 91 is a computer-operated fire control system that provides automatic acquisition and tracking of a designated target, and generates launcher and missile orders. In automatic mode, it can initiate firing as soon as a target can be engaged, albeit with operator intervention and override at any time.

The GMLS Mk 29 is a swiveling, lightweight 8-box launching system, and associated electronics. On many ships, it still contains the old RIM-7 Sparrow series, which is much less capable than ESSM.

Feb 9/06: A $21.4 million firm-fixed-price modification under a previously awarded contract (N00024-05-C-5482) to exercise options for additional missiles and shipping containers to satisfy FY 2006 requirements. Budgeted quantities for FY 2006 are 116 missiles for a total of $98.5 million. The modification will provide 31 (ea) RIM-162 Evolved Sea Sparrow Missiles and 22 shipping containers to satisfy FY 06 requirements for The United States.

ESSM has been a multi-national program from the start, and work will be performed in Tucson, Ariz. (38%), Andover, MA (10%); Camden, AZ (5%), Minneapolis, MN (1%), Australia (13%), Canada (7%), Germany (7%), Norway (7%), The Netherlands (6%), Spain (3%), Denmark (1%), Greece (1%), and Turkey (1%), and is expected to be completed by October 2008. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Sea Systems Command in Washington, DC issued the contract.

Dec 22/05: a $152.5 million firm fixed price modification to previously awarded contract N00024-05-C-5482, to procure 198 (ea) RIM-162 Evolved Sea Sparrow Missiles (ESSM), 59 (ea) shipping containers and spares for the NATO Sea Sparrow Consortium. This modification procures ESSMs for Germany, Greece, Norway, Spain, The Netherlands, Norway, and the United States. The NATO Sea Sparrow consortium will fund the effort.

Work will be performed in Tucson, AZ (38%); Andover, MA (10%); Camden, AR (5%); Minneapolis, MN (1%); Australia (13%); Canada (7%); Germany (7%); Norway (7%); The Netherlands (6%); Spain (3%); Denmark (1%); Greece (1%); and Turkey (1%), and is expected to be completed by October 2008. Raytheon release.

2006 order

FY 2002 – 2005

Full-Rate Production approved; 2005 order; Australia’s ANZAC frigates add ESSM.

RIM-162D-1 launch
(click to view full)

May 5/05: A $162.8 million firm-fixed-price modification to previously awarded contract (N00024-05-C-5482) to procure 251 Evolved Sea Sparrow Missiles (ESSM), 38 shipping containers and spares for the NATO Sea Sparrow consortium.

Work will be performed in Tucson, AZ (38%); Andover, MA (10%); Camden, AR (5%); Minneapolis, MN (1%); and the countries of Australia (13%); Canada (7%); Norway (7%); Germany (7%); The Netherlands (6%); Spain (3%); Denmark (1%); Greece (1%); and Turkey (1%), and is expected to be completed by October 2007. Raytheon release.

2005 order

March 4/05: Japan ORDALT. A $12.7 million firm fixed price contract upgrades to modify existing Japanese MK 48 vertical launch units to launch more modern Evolved Sea Sparrow Missiles (ESSM). The contract provides for Ordnance Alteration (ORDALT) support and test equipment, updated technical documentation, training, and associated material, in support of the Government of Japan under the Foreign Military Sales program.

Work will be performed in Portsmouth, RI (60%) and Sudbury, MA (40%), and is expected to be completed by July 2007. It was not competitively procured (N00024-05-C-5483).

Aug 5/04: Sub-contractors. Raytheon Australia announces that it is recognizing Australian radar technology company CEA Technologies for outstanding achievement in the NATO Sea Sparrow Program. The focus is CEA’s G710386-1 Waveform Synthesizer, a Stable Master Oscillator providing the main reference signal for Raytheon’s Mk 73 Solid State Continuous Wave Illuminator Transmitter upgrade program. This allows the solid state Mk73 radar to illuminate targets for the Standard Missile family (SM-1/2), the RIM-7 Sea Sparrow Missile, and the RIM-162 Evolved Sea Sparrow Missile (ESSM).

CEA has produced over 90 Waveform Synthesizer units for Raytheon as of this release, with further orders in the pipeline.

July 6/04: Advanced Technology & Research Corp. in Burtonsville, MD received a $15 million ceiling cost-plus fixed-fee completion, indefinite-delivery/ indefinite-quantity contract for research & development technical, engineering and analytical support services in the program areas of Continuous Rod Warhead, Assault Breaching Systems, Thermobaric Warhead and Evolved Sea Sparrow. The task areas include the following: weapon shipboard systems, weapons effects tests, submarine and surfaces survivability, warheads, energetic-material devices and delivery systems, design/analyze and optimize projectiles, evaluate performance of explosives and other energetic materials.

Work will be performed in Carderock, MD, Dalhgren, VA, and Indian Head, MD, and is expected to be complete by July 2009. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The contract was competitively procured and advertised on the Internet, with 1 offer received by the Naval Sea Systems Command, Indian Head Division in Indian Head, MD (N00174-04-D-0012).

April 20/04: A $6.5 million cost-plus-fixed-fee modification under previously awarded contract (N00024-99-C-5473), exercising an option for FY 2004 ESSM production support. Raytheon and a consortium of European participating companies were funded for the Low-Rate Initial Production of the ESSM and associated production support.

Work will be performed in Tucson, AZ (35.7%); Andover, MA (8.9%); Camden, AR (2.9%); Minneapolis, MN (1.5%); Australia (12%); Germany (10%); The Netherlands (9%); Toronto, Canada (7%); Norway (4%); Spain (3%); Denmark (2%); Greece (2%) and Turkey (2%), and is expected to be complete by December 2004.

March 17/04: A $5.5 million cost-plus-incentive-fee contract for final development, qualification, and shock and vibration testing of the MK 29 Guided Missile Launching System (GMLS) Evolved Sea Sparrow Missile (ESSM) Ordnance Alteration (ORDALT).

Work will be performed in Sudbury, MA (51%) and Portsmouth, RI (49%), and is expected to be complete by May 2005. This contract was not competitively procured (N00024-04-C-5455).

NSSC
(click to visit)

Jan 12/04: The Honorable John J. Young, Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Research and Development, approves the Evolved Sea Sparrow Missile (ESSM) to enter into full rate production. The USS Chaffee (DDG-90) is the first ship to receive tactical rounds in February 2007.

Full Rate Production

Oct 28/03: A $6.4 million modification to previously awarded contract (N00024-99-C-5473), exercising an option to fund FY 2004 ESSM production support.

Work will be performed in Tucson, AZ (35.7%); Andover, MA (8.9%); Camden, AR (2.9%); Minneapolis, MN (1.5%); Australia (12%); Germany (10%); The Netherlands (9%); Toronto, Canada (7%); Norway (4%); Spain (3%); Denmark (2%); Greece (2%) and Turkey (2%), and is expected to be complete by January 2005.

May 2/03: A $6.6 million modification to a previously awarded contract (N00024-99-C-5473), exercising an option to fund FY 2003 production support for the ESSM program. This procurement supports the funding for the countries of Australia (24%), Germany (19%), The Netherlands (18%), Canada (14%), Norway (7%), Spain (6%), Denmark (5%), Turkey (4%) and Greece (3%) under the Foreign Military Sales Program.

Work will be performed in Tucson, AZ (35.7%); Andover, MA (8.9%); Camden, AR (2.9%); Minneapolis, MN (1.5%); Australia (12%); Germany (10%); The Netherlands (9%); Toronto, Canada (7%); Norway (4%); Spain (3%); Denmark (2%); Greece (2%); and Turkey (2%) and is expected to be complete by January 2004.

Jan 30/03: Australia test. Managing Director of Raytheon Australia Mr Ron Fisher today congratulated the Royal Australian Navy on its landmark firing of an Evolved Sea Sparrow Missile (ESSM) from HMAS Warramunga. In the Raytheon Australia release, Mr Fisher said: “This missile launch from an ANZAC Class frigate was a first-of-class firing for the RAN and follows the first ever firing from a surface combatant, USS SHOUP (DDG 86) in July last year.”

Oct 31/02: A $6.4 million cost-plus-fixed-fee modification under previously awarded contract (N00024-99-C-5473), exercising an option for FY 2003 production support for the ESSM. Raytheon Co. and a consortium of Canadian, Australian and European participating companies were funded under this contract for the Low-Rate Initial Production (LRIP) of the ESSM. This procurement funds the U.S. Navy’s share of the FY 2003 production support effort associated with the production of the ESSM.

Work will be performed in Tucson, AZ (35.7%); Andover, MA (8.9%); Camden, AR (2.9%); Minneapolis, MN (1.5%); Australia (12%); Germany (10%); The Netherlands (9%); Toronto, Canada (7%); Norway (4%); Spain (3%); Denmark (2%); Greece (2%) and Turkey (2%) and is to be completed by January 2004.

Dec 3/02: Raytheon announces a $118.7 million contract from the U.S. Navy for the second year of low-rate initial production of the Evolved Sea Sparrow Missile (ESSM). This award includes funding for 163 all-up-round missiles. Raytheon also has been awarded a $6 million contract for ESSM radome production. Raytheon release.

FY 2002 and earlier

1st production order; 1st production missile delivered; 1st USN firing from VLS.

Multinational ESSM

Sept 4/02: 1st delivery. Raytheon delivers the first production Evolved Sea Sparrow Missile (ESSM) to the U.S. Navy.

July 23/02: 1st VLS launch. A Raytheon ESSM is successfully launched for the first time from a Mk41 Vertical Launch System aboard the Arleigh Burke Class AEGIS destroyer USS Shoup [DDG 86], destroying the incoming target at the Naval Air Warfare Center Weapons Division sea range near Point Mugu, CA. The closure rate between the missile and the target, a BQM-74, approached Mach 3. In Raytheon’s release, Capt. Ken Graber, the NATO Sea Sparrow program manager, said:

“This was the first ESSM firing from an AEGIS destroyer, first firing from a Mk41 at sea, first firing using a U.S. Navy crew, first ESSM firing using AEGIS Baseline-6 Phase III, and demonstrates ESSM is ready for the OPEVAL firings planned for the second quarter of next year from this same ship…”

Gary Hagedon, Raytheon’s ESSM program manager, added that:

“This test, in conjunction with the successful firings over the last six months from the Self Defense Test Ship, demonstrates ESSM is the right choice…”

July 11/02: a $6.75 million cost-plus-fixed-fee modification under previously awarded contract (N00024-99-C-5473), exercising an option for FY 2002 production support of the Evolved Sea Sparrow Missile (ESSM).

Work will be performed in Tucson, AZ (35.7%); Andover, MA (8.9%); Camden, AR (2.9%); Minneapolis, MN (1.5%); Australia (12%); Germany (10%); The Netherlands (9%); Toronto, Canada (7%); Norway (4%); Spain (3%); Denmark (2%); Greece (2%) and Turkey (2%), and is to be complete by January 2004.

Nov 5/01: a $6.6 million modification to previously awarded contract (N00024-99-C-5473) to fund the U.S. Navy’s share of FY 2002 production support for the Evolved Sea Sparrow Missile.

Work will be performed in Tucson, AZ (35.7%); Andover, MA (8.9%); Camden, AR (2.9%); Minneapolis, MN (1.5%); Australia (12%); Germany (10%); The Netherlands (9%); Toronto, Canada (7%); Norway (4%); Spain (3%); Denmark (2%); Greece (2%); and Turkey (2%), and is expected to be complete in January 2004.

Aug 30/01: A $212.6 million modification to previously awarded fixed-price-incentive and cost-plus-fixed-fee contract. This modification is for 255 NATO Evolved Sea Sparrow (ESSM) Missiles including production support and technical engineering services.

Work will be performed in Tucson, AZ (35.7%); Andover, MA (8.9%); Camden, AR (2.9%); Minneapolis, MN (1.5%); Australia (12%); Germany (10%); The Netherlands (9%); Toronto, Canada (7%); Norway (4%); Spain (3%); Denmark (2%); Greece (2%); and Turkey (2%), and is expected to be complete by January 2004. This contract was not competitively awarded (N00024-99-C-5473).

Into production

March 29/01: A $7.3 million modification to previously awarded cost reimbursable contract (N00024-99-C-5473) for the procurement of the Phase III Evolved Sea Sparrow Missile (ESSM).

Work will be performed in Tucson, AZ (48%) and Camden, AR (1%), and within NATO consortium countries Australia (12%), Denmark (9%), Greece (9%), Norway (7%), Germany (5%), The Netherlands (3%), Canada (2%), Spain (2%), and Turkey (2%), and is expected to be complete by March 2003. The Naval Sea Systems Command in Arlington, VA issued the contract.

Oct 28/99: A $25.5 million modification to previously awarded contract N00024-99-C-5473 for the fabrication of ESSM long lead material (LLM) Phase #2. This contract is a NATO Sea Sparrow Consortium involving the countries of: Australia (69.18%); Denmark (12.25%); United States (10.78%); Germany (2.09%); The Netherlands (1.98%); Canada (1.56%); Norway (0.78%); Spain (0.62%); Turkey (0.40%); and Greece (0.36%).

Work will be performed Adelaide, Australia (68.5%); Schrobenhausen, Germany (14%); Tucson, AZ (7%); Rocket City, WVA (6.1%); and Ankara, Turkey (4.4%), and is expected to be completed by October 2000. The Naval Sea Systems Command in Arlington, VA issued the contract.

Sept 16/99: A $9.2 million cost-reimbursable contract for the fabrication of ESSM Long Lead Material Phase #1 which includes the thrust vector control and warhead components. This contract is a Royal Australian Navy (83%) and Royal Danish Navy (17%) requirement, as both nations are participants in the NATO Sea Sparrow Consortium. Funding obligated at contract award will be $6.7 million for Australia and Denmark. Work will be performed in Adelaide, Australia (68.5%); Schrobenhausen, Germany (14%); Tucson, AZ (7%); Rocket City, WVA (6.1%) and Ankara, Turkey (4.4%), and is expected to be complete by May 2002. The Naval Sea Systems Command in Arlington, VA issued the contract (N00024-99-C-5473).

Additional Readings & Sources

• Raytheon – Products & Services: ESSM.

• Designation Systems – Raytheon RIM-162 ESSM.

• GlobalSecurity.org – RIM-162 Evolved Sea Sparrow Missile (ESSM).

• Designation Systems –RIM-7 Sparrow series.

• NATO Sea Sparrow Consortium.

• Common Defence Quarterly – Origins of a Four Decade Success Story: NATO SeaSparrow’s founders got it right [PDF].

German / Italian / US MEADS Medium-Range Air Defense Missile System

On 3 May, Members of AFET and SEDE will hold an exchange of views with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg. The debate will primarily focus on the strategic cooperation between the EU and NATO-EU, including the implementation of the 2016 Joint Declaration, and on how the two organisations can jointly face complex security threats emerging globally and in our neighbourhood.
Source : © European Union, 2017 - EP

will take place on Wednesday 3 May, 15:00-18:30 and Thursday 4 May 2017, 9.00-12:30 in Brussels.

Organisations or interest groups who wish to apply for access to the European Parliament will find the relevant information below.

Further information
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Source : © European Union, 2017 - EP

Length of video : 167'
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Disclaimer : The interpretation of debates serves to facilitate communication and does not constitute an authentic record of proceedings. Only the original speech or the revised written translation is authentic.
Source : © European Union, 2017 - EP

Length of video : 116'
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Disclaimer : The interpretation of debates serves to facilitate communication and does not constitute an authentic record of proceedings. Only the original speech or the revised written translation is authentic.
Source : © European Union, 2017 - EP

Americas

• The US Navy has continued the grounding of T-38 Talon aircraft for another week, after the service’s instructor-pilots reported that crew were experiencing physiological episodes. A three-day grounding was initially called last Wednesday in order for an investigation to take place into what was causing the issues. Finding the cause or causes of the problem, however, has been difficult with several investigations taking place, including the aircraft’s oxygen system. A statement by Vice Adm. Mike Shoemaker, Commander, Naval Air Forces said that the service is taking “an ‘unconstrained resources’ approach to the problem, meaning we have not been nor will we be limited by money or manpower as we diligently work toward solutions.”

• Orbital ATK has been contracted $92 million for the supply of small caliber ammunition to the US Army. The 5.56mm and 7.62mm rounds will be produced at the company’s Lake City Army Ammunition Plant in Independence, Mo. The largest manufacturer of small-caliber ammunition for the US DoD, Orbital has produced more than 17 billion rounds of small-caliber ammunition at Lake City to support US and allied troops.

• Negotiations on the next batch of F-35 Joint Strike Fighters could see savings of at least 5% as the unit cost per fighter looks to dip below $80 million. Current talks between the Pentagon and lead contractor Lockheed Martin are said to be for a batch of about 130 planes, 100 of which are likely to be the A-model configuration. It is on these 100 aircraft that between 5-7 percent, or $660 million, could be shaved off the total price in potential savings. This follows comments made by the program’s head Lieutenant General Chris Bogdan last month who said that the government hoped that by 2020 the F-35 would cost less than $80 million, a 16 percent drop from its current price.

Middle East & North Africa

• Thirty mostly Democratic Party lawmakers have expressed their concerns to US Secretary of State, Rex Tillerson and Secretary of Defense, James Mattis, over the potential sale of precision-guided munitions to Saudi Arabia. The signed letter comes after an earlier attempt to sell the missiles to Riyadh last December was put on hold due to concerns raised over the increased reports of civilian casualties as a result of sorties from the Royal Saudi Air Force’s campaign in Yemen. Congressional aides told Reuters the Trump administration was on the verge of sending a formal notification to Congress about the sale, which would trigger the formal 30-day review to allow members of Congress to attempt to pass legislation to stop any sale.

• Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI) Hurkus aircraft has completed its first missile launch with a Roketsan L-UMTAS laser-guided long-range air-to-surface anti-tank missile. The March 7 test was conducted at the Firing Test and Evaluation Group Command test range near the central Anatolian town of Konya-Karapinar. Alongside the L-UMTAS, the Hurkus will be armed with Roketsan UMTAS infrared-guided anti-tank missiles, Cirit laser-guided 70 mm rockets as well as bombs upgraded with Teber precision guidance kits; has five stores pylons and will be able to carry a payload of 1,500 kg. As well as operating as a basic trainer, the aircraft will be used for light assault and armed reconnaissance missions in the counter-insurgency role. The type is planned to enter into service in 2018.

Africa

• The Trump administration is moving ahead with a plan to sell as much as $600 million worth of A-29 Super Tucano aircraft and related equipment to help the Nigerian Air Force in their fight against the jihadist group Boko Haram. Initial permission had been granted under the previous Obama administration but was put on hold following Nigeria’s bombing of a refugee camp in January. Congress is expected to receive notification on the sale of 12 Super Tucanos and sophisticated targeting gear within weeks, and Trump plans to go ahead with other foreign defense sales delayed under Obama by human rights concerns.

Europe

• Rauma Marine Constructions has been contracted by the Finnish government to design new vessels for the Squadron 2020 project. The announcement of the $7.9 million award came without any specifics of what the design will entail. The Finnish Navy’s Squadron 2020 project is to replace seven Navy corvettes that have been, or will be, decommissioned. Contracts for the construction of the new vessels will be signed in 2018.

Asia Pacific

• Taiwan is in need of five types of submarine technology for their domestic submarine program, according to local defense analysts. Modern torpedo tubes and periscopes are believed to be some of the tech missing by Taipei, as well as the possible need for air-independent propulsion technology or an equivalent to allow the submarine to be practically silent when operating in a submerged environment. The government has allocated spending of $94.81 million for the program’s design phase, due to run until December 2020, and have already dispatched delegations to find foreign suppliers of the technology it requires. While several nations have established submarine programs, most may shy away from selling such tech to Taiwan for fear of upsetting relations with China.

Today’s Video

• Langkawi International Maritime & Aerospace Exhibition (LIMA) 2017:

Super Tucano

Embraer’s EMB-314 Super Tucano trainer and light attack turboprop continues to rack up global orders, solidifying its position as the globe’s pre-eminent manned counter-insurgency aircraft. The latest order set of about $180 million expands the plane’s footprint into 3 African states: Angola, Burkina Faso, and Mauritania. They join Brazil, Chile, Colombia, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, and Indonesia as customers for this aircraft.

The Super Tucano is known as the A-29 or ALX in Brazil, but abroad, it’s the EMB 314 successor to Embraer’s widely-used EMB 312 Tucano trainer. A-29 is better for marketing, though, and Embraer is trying to shift the designation. The Super Tucano offers better flight performance than the EMB 312 Tucano, plus armoring and wing-mounted machine guns, weapons integration with advanced surveillance and targeting pods, precision-guided bombs, and even air-to-air missiles. This makes it an excellent territorial defense and close support plane for low-budget air forces, as well as a surveillance asset with armed attack capability. Brazil uses it this way, for instance, alongside very advanced EMB-145 airborne radar and maritime patrol jet platforms. Meanwhile, in Africa…

Contracts & Key Events

(click to view full)

In March 2012, Embraer announced that the total value of all 3 contracts to Angola, Burkina Faso, and Mauritania comes to “more than $180 million” for around 10 planes. This includes “extensive” support, training, and replacement parts packages.

In April 2013, they announced a 4th customer: Senegal, and Ghana joined that list in 2014.

In January 2015, the United Arab Emirates committed UAE to procure a couple dozen Super Tucanos on behalf of Iraq in a deal that is not quite settled.

Angola

Angolan EMB-314
(click to view full)

Angola sits far down Africa’s southwestern coast. The regime maintains a sizable and advanced fighter force by African standards, at least on paper. Questions abound as to how many of the of those Soviet and Russian fighters are still operational. They have ordered 6 Super Tucanos for counter-insurgency roles, which will join 6 ex-Peruvian EMB-312 Tucanos that were bought in 2002.

Angola is an authoritarian regime, and the country’s economy would be in desperate shape if not for recent oil drilling activity off of its coasts. A 2010 report by the conservative US Heritage Foundation tabbed Angola as China’s #1 supplier of oil, passing Saudi Arabia. As is so often true in Africa, the next question involves how much of that oil wealth is ever seen by the population at large. The country went through a long civil war that lasted from the 1980s to 2002, and the northern enclave of Cabinda is still a focus of separatist activity.

Jan 31/13: The first 3 Super Tucanos are formally handed over to the National Air Force of Angloa, at a ceremony held in Embraer’s Gaviao Peixoto facility near Sao Paulo, Brazil.

These first 3 aircraft were to be delivered in 2012, so they’re a bit late. Angola is far from Mali’s headline making war, but as noted above, the country has its own problems. Embraer.

Burkina Faso

This landlocked country in West Africa had already received their 3 Super Tucanos by the time the arch 2012 announcement was made, and were using them on border patrol missions. Adding the Super Tucanos gives the country operational fixed-wing combat aircraft again, though they’re also an AT-802 Air Tractor customer. The AT-802U variant can easily be reconfigured for armed roles, or act as the locust sprayer the country’s AT-802 was purchased to be. In that part of the world, the locusts are a security risk that can easily measure up to any regional turmoil.

Burkina Faso has a good record of free and fair elections by African standards, and dealt with widespread spring 2011 protests through the political process. Its neighbors are Benin, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Mali, Niger, and Togo.

In March 2012, we wrote that “some of [these neighbors] harbor regional turmoil that risks spilling over. The Super Tucanos should help to keep an eye on things, and provide a low-key deterrent to trouble.” Things certainly have spilled over in Mali, and the conflict is not confined to that country’s borders. Burkina Faso is a member of the USA’s Trans-Sahara Counterterrorism Partnership (TSCTP), and its Super Tucanos are probably fairly busy at the moment.

Ghana

Ghana sits directly south of Burkina Faso, between the Ivory Coast and Togo. Until recently lauded as a model of development among its sub-Saharan peers, the country has been facing rising inflation and public deficits as of late. A mounting backlog of unpaid wages to defense and security contractors has been piling up. Piracy has also been booming in the Gulf of Guinea, with an oil tanker gone missing for a week off the coast of Ghana in June 2014.

Mark Owen Woyongo, at the time Minister of Defense, first said in March 2014 that the acquisition of 6 Super Tucanos was under consideration, for use at a flying school to be built in Tamale, Ghana’s 3rd city. President John Dramani Mahama then confirmed in November 2014 that the country would buy an unspecified quantity of Super Tucanos, along with Chinese Z-9 helicopters, more M-17 Russian helos, and an additional C-295 tactical transport. The Z-9s are expected to be delivered in June 2015 at the forthcoming Tamale training base. The Super Tucanos are meant to be used for training and attack.

Confirmation came on 18 February from President John Dramani Mahama, indicating that five Super Tucanos will be purchased, along with the Z-9s and other equipment.

December 14/15: Ghana is set to increase it’s fleet of Embraer Super Tucanos in 2016. The order of four more of the aircraft will see a previous contract increase to nine in total. The acquisition is also to include logisitical support and training for pilots as well as maintenance training for mechanics. The announcement comes as the Ghanaian government has been improving the capabilities of its air force to support troops participating in UN peace keeping missions in the region.

Mauritania

Mauritanian EMB-314
(click to view full)

This country, which sits on Africa’s northwest coasts, is simply mentioned as a customer that “chose the A-29 Super Tucano to carry out counter-insurgency missions.” The country has a very small air force, and its 3-4 ex-French EMB 312 Tucano aircraft are old. Given the overall order total given, and generally understood costs for the Super Tucano, they may have bought just 1 aircraft.

The country is active in the US-led Operation Enduring Freedom – Trans Sahara (OEF-TS), including operations across borders in cooperation with its neighbor Mali, and has fought a number of skirmishes in Mauritania with al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb. This has been a balancing act for the USA, which has also issued reports citing Mauritania’s Arab rulers for organized repression of its black population, up to and including slavery and human trafficking. That’s a very old pattern for the area, but it’s even more distressing to current sensibilities.

It wasn’t distressing enough to block sales, however, even in a racially mixed country like Brazil.

Oct 22/12: Embraer hands over “the first light attack and advanced training A-29 Super Tucano turboprops to the Air Force of Mauritania”, for use in “border surveillance missions.” The handover ceremony takes place at Embraer’s Sao Paulo facility, and their use of the plural form is interesting. Embraer.

Nigeria

April 11/17: The Trump administration is moving ahead with a plan to sell as much as $600 million worth of A-29 Super Tucano aircraft and related equipment to help the Nigerian Air Force in their fight against the jihadist group Boko Haram. Initial permission had been granted under the previous Obama administration but was put on hold following Nigeria’s bombing of a refugee camp in January. Congress is expected to receive notification on the sale of 12 Super Tucanos and sophisticated targeting gear within weeks, and Trump plans to go ahead with other foreign defense sales delayed under Obama by human rights concerns.

May 9/16: Approval is being sought by the Pentagon for the sale of up to 12 A-29 Super Tucano light attack aircraft to Nigeria in order to increase military support for the West African nation’s fight against Boko Haram militants. Congress, which needs to approve the sale, has not yet been notified of the foreign military sale. Increased support from Washington comes as new Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari moves to reform a government and military notorious for graft and corruption.

Senegal

April 10/13: The Senegalese Air Force signs a contract for 3 A-29 Super Tucano light attack/ advanced training turboprops. The order includes operation and the installation of a training system for pilots and mechanics (TOSS) within Senegal, which will create an independent national training capability – and possibly even a regional capability, if other A-29 customers nearby make arrangements. The cost isn’t revealed, but financing will be handled by Brazil’s BNDES National Economic and Social Development Bank (Banco Nacional de Desenvolvimento Economico e Social).

Embraer’s release states that the planes will be deployed on “border surveillance and internal security missions.” Senegal is a former french colony that sits just below A-29 operator Mauritania, on Africa’s west coast. Its other neighbor is Mali, which was recently the subject of a multinational fight against salafist Islamists, led by the French. If you cross southern Mali, you immediately reach another A-29 customer in Burkina Faso. Embraer.

Additional Readings

• DID – Africa: The Next Defense Market Opportunity?

Source : © European Union, 2017 - EP

French / Italian SAMP/T Medium-Range Air Defense Missile System

Americas

• The Navy’s USS America has successfully shot down a UAV with the Rolling Airframe Missile (RAM), during live-fire exercises designed to verify the new amphibious assault ship’s defense capabilities. During the test, the UAV posed as an anti-ship missile threat while the RAM utilized its quick-reaction fire-and-forget capabilities to down the drone. The USS America is the first vessel of its class and is designed to accommodate modern fighters such as the F-35B, alongside other vertical and/or short take-off and landing (V/STOL) aircraft and helicopters. It will support US Marine Corps aviation requirements, from small-scale contingency operations of an expeditionary strike group, to forcible entry missions in major theaters of war.

• USAF brass are looking for a next-generation ejector seat to be integrated on existing fighters and bombers, according to a notice posted on the Federal Business Opportunities website. A draft request for proposals is expected for the end of FY 2017 and the service will select two qualified sources and award contracts at the beginning of FY19. A production decision would come in the middle of FY20. The contract could open the door for production of a domestic ejection seat, namely United Technologies Aerospace Systems (UTAS) Advanced Concept Ejection Seat 5 (ACES), and line up a potential competitor to the UK-based Martin-Baker.

• URS Federal Services has received a $3.6 billion USAF contract to deliver various support services for the branch’s UAVs. The deal will see the company provide testing, tactical development, advanced training and operational need missions at several testing grounds in Nevada up until the end of March 2034. The USAF did not disclose which remotely piloted aircraft would be involved with the agreement.

Middle East & North Africa

• The US State Department has given approval to Kuwait to upgrade its Al Mubarak Airbase with US support. Work will be carried out by the US Army Corps of Engineers and its contractors, and will cover the areas of design, construction, procurement of key airfield operations, command and control, readiness, sustainment, and life-support facilities. An operations center, hangars, training facilities, barracks, warehouses, and support facilities will all be built at the airbase, with the estimated total cost expected to reach $319 million.

Asia Pacific

• Bangladesh has been offered a $4.5 billion credit line by neighboring India in order to help it pay for various priority projects, and includes having $500 million earmarked for defense procurements. The announcement was made by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi following a meeting with his Bangladeshi counterpart, Sheikh Hasina, who is on a state visit to India. Modi said that the following cooperation “would include working in the fields of electronics, information technology, cyber security, space exploration, civil nuclear energy, and other areas,” and a government statement added that both nation’s armed forces would be cooperating closely in future.

• Tuo Chiang-class stealth corvettes operated by Taiwan’s navy are to be redesigned in order to give them an anti-air capability. All 11 vessels planned for production will receive the new capability which will see the current design lengthened by 4.6 meters with width to increase from 14 meters to 15 meters. The ships will be armed with the indigenous Tien Chien 2 (TC-2) air defense missile, guided by a 3D radar. Crew size per ship will increase from 41 to 53 personnel. Taipei believes the upgrade to the vessels with a Tien Chien anti-air capability will compliment the current model’s Hsiung Feng II and Hsiung Feng III (“Brave Wind”) anti-ship missiles, allowing for the missile systems to be combined in whatever configuration the mission calls for.

• It’s been discovered that Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) has delivered at least 18 Su-30MKI fighters to the Indian Air Force that have been fitted with second-hand engines. A report seen by the Deccan Chronicle stated that “it was noticed while checking the records…that AL 31FP engines fitted in certain aircraft was in Cat B condition at the time of inspection / delivery to Indian Air Force (IAF).” While the Su-30MKI is powered by a pair of AL-31FP turbofan engines, the report found that some of the aircraft were installed with new and old engines. The Indian Defense Ministry has claimed that the second-hand engines were installed by by HAL without its knowledge.

• Raytheon has been selected by the Australian government to deliver a $1.5 billion ground-based air defense system. The new system will replace the country’s 30-year-old short-range capability, which is due to be retired by early next decade, and will be based on the Raytheon/Kongsberg Gruppen ASA National Advanced Surface to Air Missile System (NASAMS) currently operated by the US, Norway, Finland, Spain and the Netherlands. Raytheon Australia will receive a single supplier limited request for tender (RFT) from the government for the ground-based air defense system by the end of June, 2017.

Today’s Video

• USS Gerald R. Ford begins builders trials:

This year’s Nawruz, the Persian New Year on 21 March 2017, also heralded the beginning of the positioning for Afghanistan’s next presidential election, although due only in two years’ time. Atta Muhammad Nur, the powerful governor of Balkh province, used the popular holiday to announce that he will run in 2019. He kept open, however, whether that will be for president or vice-president. Atta also revived the struggle for the leadership of the Jamiat-e Islami party, thereby challenging its most senior representative in the current government, Chief Executive Dr Abdullah Abdullah. He is already facing severe headwind from within the party. AAN’s Thomas Ruttig looks at how Atta’s campaign has so far unfolded and the hurdles that stand in his way, even within his own party (with input by Obaid Ali and Ali Yawar Adili.)

On the first day of the Persian new year, Atta Muhammad Nur, the powerful governor of Balkh province and head of Jamiat-e Islami’s Executive Council (shura-ye ejra’iya), went public on his future political intensions. The key point of his statement that was widely covered by the Afghan media (see for example here) was: “In the near future, after consultation with political allies and [the] people, I will make a decision on my resignation [as governor of Balkh province] in order to participate in the upcoming elections.” As early as December 2016, he had already indicated that he might leave his gubernatorial position, stating “I have been in Balkh for a long time. It is natural that I should open the way for others to take the seat.”

His Nawruz speech was not the first time that Atta (1) has hinted that he might run in the next presidential election. Earlier this year, but less prominently (at least for an international audience), he announced in an interview with BBC Persian on 3 January 2017: “I will [either] be a candidate [on my own] or I will go with one of the tickets [as a vice-presidential candidate]” (watch the video here, in Dari). The latter could indicate that he might be considering joining forces with incumbent President Ashraf Ghani, who, as many Afghan and international observers in Kabul believe, will probably run for a second term.

There were similar rumours of Atta’s presidential ambitions prior to the 2014 election (see this AAN analysis). But Atta eventually decided to support president Ghani’s main opponent, Dr Abdullah Abdullah, and assuming the role of a kingmaker. With his considerable riches and control over large stretches of the populous northern Afghan provinces, Atta was an important contributor to Abdullah’s campaigns in 2009 and 2014, both in terms of campaign funds and voter mobilisation. In 2009, his support for Abdullah led to a crisis in his relations with the then president, Hamed Karzai. This almost cost him his Balkh governorship, as the president was unhappy about someone he had appointed supporting his main rival in the upcoming election. Relations only improved after Atta paid a ‘reconciliation’ visit to the presidential palace in Kabul.

To be (a governor) or not to be

Atta’s announcement that he intends to run in 2019 came after a major political success: a month earlier, on 20 February 2017, he had finally succeeded in persuading president Ghani to renew his appointment as governor of Balkh province (see media report here), with its capital and economic boomtown Mazar-e Sharif. Up to that point, Atta had served in an ‘acting’ capacity, after the president had decreed, immediately after taking office in 2014, that all provincial governors would be replaced (more AAN analysis here). The deal allows Atta to resign as a ‘full-fledged’ governor – if, indeed, he does run in 2019.

The agreement to keep Atta as Balkh governor highlights his importance and specific role in Afghanistan’s power-play, which made trying to replace him so difficult for Ghani. Atta is not a ‘normal’ governor in the sense that, as an appointee of the centre, he is expected to act as the transmission belt of the central government and its policies, as is the case with most new governors appointed under Ghani. Atta became governor of Balkh in 2004, after a protracted struggle with General Abdurrashid Dostum and his Jombesh party for dominance in this key northern province, which he won. (2) He has since cemented his position – both politically, economically (AAN analysis here) and even culturally. He has had monuments of historical figures from northern Afghanistan built all over Mazar-e Sharif – from Zarathustra and Rumi, to Ahmad Shah Massud – and is sponsoring cultural projects, placing himself in the context of Balkh’s long history and artistic tradition (more AAN analysis here). His entrenched position makes him the last of the de facto autonomous former warlords or commanders, who used to rule over key provinces in the early years after 2001 without much interference from the centre – from Ismail Khan in Herat to Sher Muhammad Akhundzada in Helmand, Gul Agha Sherzai in Kandahar and Haji Din Muhammad in Nangrahar.

It is of similar importance as his governorship that Atta belongs to Jamiat-e Islami’s core leadership. Jamiat is not only one of Afghanistan’s oldest and largest political parties (and, based on a wide network of commanders, still one of its most powerful military factions), but also Ghani’s de facto main coalition partner in the National Unity Government (NUG) that came into being after the botched 2014 presidential election and, in contrast to its name, is marred by almost constant infighting. Now also Abdullah, who was the runner-up and Jamiat’s de facto candidate (3) and became the new government’s chief executive (CE), has come under intense criticism from his own camp (see AAN analysis here) for not delivering on the power-sharing deal included in the NUG agreement (full text here) between its two formerly opposed camps.

It cannot have been an easy decision for Ghani keep Atta in Balkh. Not only had Atta openly supported his fiercest rival during the elections, using strong language against Ghani (including personal accusations of mass electoral fraud), but he also initially refused to recognise him as the elected president and had even threatened to unleash mass protests and to form a “parallel government” (quoted here). Atta, on his part, is well aware of his twofold position of strength, as he confidently expressed in the January 2017 BBC interview: “I remain in my position as governor because of my ability to better serve the people, and because of my political position within Jamiat.”

A look back: Atta’s move toward the Jamiat leadership

Atta’s political offensive has a second dimension. On 13 March 2017, about a week before his Nawruz statement, he sharply and publicly criticised his erstwhile political ally, fellow Jamiat-e Islami party member and NUG chief executive, Dr Abdullah. While addressing a gathering marking the third anniversary of the death of former Vice President Marshal Muhammad Qasim Fahim, another former Jamiat leader, Atta called his decision to support Abdullah in the 2014 presidential race “the biggest mistake [of] his political career” (Afghan media reporting here). He was quoted accusing Abdullah of selfishness, saying that “Abdullah’s huge[st] achievement is getting a salary and appointing advisors [for himself]” and of not achieving a fair share in the government, because he gives in to the president too often on top appointments. Atta even claimed that Abdullah had been removed from his positions in Jamiat:

After two years and a few months [in the CE office], we separated him from the decision making within the party. (…) We moved his responsibilities to other capable people.

This was not the first time Atta had expressed his disapproval of Abdullah, accusing him of dropping the ball on key Jamiati policy aims. These included strengthening the role of parliament, breaking the president’s institutional grip on the election-related institutions and convening the Loya Jirga, which, according to the NUG agreement was supposed to decide on whether Abdullah’s extra-constitutional position as government chief executive should be abolished or turned into a constitutionally-sanctioned permanent prime ministerial post. In a speech to Jamiat commanders and other supporters in Kapisa province on 30 January 2017, Atta had already spoken about his motives for backing Abdullah in 2014: “I invested in [Abdullah] because he served with Amer Saheb [the late Ahmad Shah Massud] and I thought he might approach the people in the way Amer Saheb did. Unfortunately, that did not happen.”

Over the last few months Atta has sought to re-negotiate the NUG deal with the president on Jamiat’s behalf. That he has now publicly opened up the front against Abdullah suggests that he firmly intends to become Jamiat-e Islami’s new leader.

The position of Jamiat leader has been in a transitional state for almost six years now. Since the Taleban assassinated the party’s founding father and long-standing leader, Borhanuddin Rabbani in 2011, Jamiat has been led by his son, Salahuddin Rabbani. When Salahuddin took the position on 4 October 2011, three weeks after his father’s violent death, it was supposed to only be for two months, after which, according to the party’s constitution, a regular congress was to be convened to choose its permanent leadership. The congress did not take place as planned. It was re-scheduled in 2013 for “after the 2014 presidential election” (more background here), but has yet to take place – which means he is overdue for another 30 months, since then.

Atta has been strengthening his inner-party position, with the aim of becoming the party’s leader for many years. After the power struggle over Mazar-e Sharif fell in his favour in 2004, he built an extensive network of followers from this stronghold to cover the northern provinces. He went public for the first time in 2011 on the very day that Salahuddin Rabbani was appointed interim party leader after his father’s death. He was quoted by the media (4) as saying that he was ready to take the lead of the party to prevent it from splitting and that“[t]here has been a lot of support [for me] from senior party members and if that continues I will take the lead” (see more detail here). In 2013 he was appointed chairman of the party’s Executive Council, which runs the party’s everyday affairs on behalf of the larger leadership council (he replaced Ahmad Zia Massud who became one of the two deputies to the party chairman, a position that is officially higher, but of less practical influence than the Executive Council chair; see more AAN analysis here).

Today, the field of contenders for Jamiat’s top leadership position has thinned, which works in Atta’s favour. Abdullah’s position as the highest-ranking Jamiati in government has been weakened, in the eyes of many party influentials because of his failure – in the eyes of many party influentials – to place the expected number of party members in the NUG. Former defence minister and vice president, Muhammad Qassim Fahim – Ahmad Shah Massud’s anointed successor at the top of Jamiat’s armed wing, Shura-ye Nazar – passed away in March 2014. Ismail Khan, although an influential and indeed now Jamiat’s most senior leader (he is a decade or more older than Qanuni, Abdullah or Atta), is too much of an outsider given his base in Herat. And former interior minister Yunus Qanuni has kept a relatively low profile for a long time, without any indications of ambitions for the party leadership. Recently, however, he has moved more to the forefront again, speaking out about one of Jamiat’s key demands: the shift from the current presidential to a parliamentary system. He also participated in the formation of jihadi councils such as the one led by Ustad Sayyaf (see AAN analysis here). (5)

Atta’s current mobilisation

Atta has been working on his campaign for months. He began negotiating with president Ghani in the last quarter of 2016 in the context of the threat he felt to his gubernatorial position in Balkh, in an attempt to strengthen Jamiat in the NUG and to capitalise on a possible success for the competition about the Jamiat leadership (see AAN analysis here and here). He went the extra mile to disperse any impressions that these efforts might be mainly self-serving. In his speech in Kapisa province in January 2017, for example, he stated that he “received promises to serve as the first vice president and to get millions of dollars” (6) but that he “rejected all this” (see also here). Instead, he said he was trying to ensure Jamiat and its allies were better included in “decision-making on national, international and strategic issues.”

Although Atta claimed he had entered into negotiations with Ghani with the consent of the party’s leadership, a close aide, Farhad Azimi, was quoted by Afghan media in early January 2017, saying “talks are progressing slowly because of disagreements between the party members” (or rather party leaders) – singling out Ismail Khan and Ahmad Zia Massud. Ismail Khan, for example, raised concerns about a “lack of trust” between Abdullah and Atta that would jeopardise Jamiat’s unity. Indeed, public backing for Atta’s talks by the Jamiat leadership council only came a month later, in early February 2017. As it came with a two-month timeline, it put Atta under pressure to deliver on his own promises with regard to government positions. (7) This could be difficult, however, as the president’s camp insists that the talks are about Jamiat’s increased political participation in the government, rather than specific government positions (see for instance the statement made by the president’s deputy spokesman, Shah Hussain Murtazawi, on 1 February 2017).

Headwind for Atta from within Jamiat

Although Jamiat came out in support of Atta’s re-negotiation activities, there remains stiff resistance to his ambitions towards the Jamiat leadership within the party’s leadership council (that, according to the party’s constitution, includes its founders, the leader and the heads of its committees). The leadership council has the authority to convene the party congress, where the new leader will be chosen, but members have told AAN that a majority in its ranks is sceptical of Atta and therefore opposed to convening the congress. Unless the party congress is convened, Salahuddin Rabbani will remain at the party’s head.

Another reason for resistance to Atta, according to the Kabul-based daily Hasht-e Sobh, is that some in the party’s leadership council fear that the tensions between Atta and Abdullah, or any other contenders, could lead to a permanent split of within Jamiat.

There are already various factions and sub-factions within the party that are vying for power, some of them with ‘historical’ claims to the party’s leadership. To bring them under one hat will be a difficult task for whoever who wants to become the new, permanent leader of Jamiat.

If Atta does become head of Jamiat, the lead over the party will, for the first time, in the hands of a northerner. Politically, Jamiat has been led so far by the Rabbani family from Badakhshan in the northeast, a distinct region from Balkh that is culturally and historically part of Afghan Turkestan. His son Salahuddin may be considered too young by those still alive in the older leaders’ generation, although they might not say so publicly. (8) There is no other obvious candidate from Rabbani’s province. The important military wing of the party, Shura-ye Nazari, is in the hands of the Panjshiris. Although officially disbanded, it is still a powerful network linked to the memory of resistance hero Ahmad Shah Massud, to which Massud’s brothers as well as Fahim, Abdullah, Qanuni and former defence and interior minister, Bismillah Muhammadi, belong. The surviving Massud brothers, Ahmad Zia and Ahmad Wali, both lack Ahmad Shah Massud’s charisma or are too intellectual for Jamiat’s membership base. Neither do they have his strong credentials as a fighter and commander. And Fahim did not name anyone who would take his place. This factionalism is another major factor for resistance against Atta’s ambitions for the leadership post.

Another 2009 election poster showing Abdullah and Atta – the one that enraged then president Karzai so much. Photo: Thomas Ruttig.

Conclusion: a step-by-step campaign with hurdles

Atta’s push for Jamiat’s leadership appears to be a first step towards a higher goal: the presidency, an ambition that he has long harboured. Now, as laid out above, the conditions to create a platform with and within Jamiat, seem to be aligning. He can play on the hurt pride of many Jamiatis and Tajiks now that, under Ghani and for the first time since 2001, there is no vice-president from their ethno-political group. He alluded to this in a videotaped message released on 28 October 2016, when he stated that Tajiks in Afghanistan had “suffered most” as the main drivers of the resistance, both against the 1980s Soviet occupation and in the struggle against the Taleban regime. He said they now have “the least representation at the top of the power pyramid and in the leadership of the government” (watch the video here).

Atta has been upfront about his ambitions, while keeping it ambiguous how he will proceed. He left the door open for two options: running on his own, as the Tajik and Jamiat’s candidate or running as a vice-presidential candidate on someone else’s ticket. Such an approach is not uncommon in a political environment, where all sides keep their options open until the last possible moment, in preparation for last-minute manoeuvres. In his statements, however, Atta clearly signalled that although he respects the claims of the older Jamiati generation for a leading position both in the party and the government, Abdullah has squandered his chances, and now it is his [Atta’s] turn.

Although he may feel that his chances had never been better, there are still a number of significant obstacles to overcome on his way to the top. The first is Jamiat’s notorious factionalism and the readiness of its leaders to be co-opted by other contenders, as Karzai capably demonstrated in the 2009 elections (when, with Fahim, he had a Tajik/Jamiati running mate, while running against a Tajik/Jamiati contender, Abdullah, thus splitting their vote bank). The second obstacle is the difficulty of building a broader coalition around Jamiat, as Tajik votes alone will not suffice to win the presidency. Given the unreliability of the Uzbek voter base, still controlled by Dostum (who twice, in 2009 and 2014, switched sides from a pre-election opposition alliance to the camp of the later – Pashtun – winner) will make this goal particularly difficult. Thus, success for Atta is all but certain.

Last but not least, the fact that the Balkh governor has opened launched his campaign for the leadership not only of Jamiat, but also for the presidency in 2019, could have another negative side effect: it could well overshadow matters that are more important to most Afghans, namely the country’s socio-economic situation and prevailing insecurity.

 

(1) Although Nur is the governor’s takhallus – the Afghan equivalent of a surname (that can, however, be changed and is not usually passed on to children) – most Afghans refer to him as “Atta.” This is his given or first name, but its use is not deemed as casual as it would be in the West.

(2) Before his appointment as governor, Atta was commander of the (then-) 7tharmy corps of the pre-Taleban and Jamiat-dominated Islamic State of Afghanistan. These so-called “Afghan militia forces” were partly disbanded and partly reorganised and incorporated into the army and police in the years after 2001.

(3) Officially, Abdullah ran for his multi-party alliance, the National Coalition of Afghanistan (Etelaf-e Melli-ye Afghanistan) of which Jamiat was one member. More detail on this coalition and its relationship with Jamiat in this AAN analysis.

(4) Source: “Balkh Governor Eager to Lead Afghanistan’s Jamiat-e-Islami Party“,
 Tolo News, 3 October 2011 (not online, in the author’s archive).

(5) During a seminar on the political discourse in Afghanistan on 19 January 2017, Qanuni said that the presidential system did not meet “the people’s needs, and in some cases added to the problems” (as summarised by 1TV on Twitter here and here) and that he was “against the centralised presidential system and will continue to call for a parliamentary system in the country.”

In 2014, after Fahim’s death and during president Karzai’s last months in office, Qanuni had also accepted the ‘Tajik’ vice-presidential post that had been held by the late Fahim before. Indirectly, this made him the most senior Jamiati in government at that point.

(6) This alleged offer came against the backdrop of the affair surrounding Uzbek leader and First Vice President Abdulrashid Dostum, who stands accused of having his guards rape a political rival and amidst debates of whether that would cost him his job (a media report here). These accusations emerged publicly in December 2016 (media report here).

(8) Salahuddin Rabbani, however, does not seem to have given up. On 22 February 2017, in a speech at Jamiat’s youth organisation, Sazman-e Jawanan Jamiat-e Islami-ye Afghanistan, he spoke in favour of a parliamentary system “as the best method of governance,” and criticised the fact that no seats had been allocated to political parties in the coming parliamentary election, and promised that Jamiat “will come forward on the scene more coherently in the next Wolesi Jirga elections” and that “we will focus more on the internal cohesion of Jamiat in the year ahead.” (It was unclear whether this “we” was a pluralis majestatis, actually meaning himself, or whether he meant the full Jamiat leadership in general.) His speech can be watched in this video.