Defence`s Feeds

Key Points The Indonesian Navy is reorganising its surface assets to prepare for the establishment of a third fleet The service will undergo a significant reshuffling of surface combatants and change in commands over the next few months The Indonesian Navy’s (Tentara Nasional Indonesia

Key Points A Japanese Oosumi-class ship landing tank has conducted its first-ever operations with a US Wasp-class amphibious assault ship The operations, which included aircraft cross-deck landing exercises, are meant to boost amphibious interoperability between the two services A Japan Maritime

Nammo has reported that it achieved revenue growth for the second consecutive year in 2017, which will help it facilitate further investment in its European and US core markets. NOK367 million (USD47.2 million) in profit was achieved in 2017, representing an 8% increase year-on-year (y/y), and the

The US Navy (USN) plans to install laser weapon components on the amphibious transport dock ship USS Portland (LPD 27) during the second or third quarter of 2019, Captain Brian Metcalf, programme manager for LPD 17 and LX(R) Shipbuilding, said on 11 April during a Naval Sea Systems Command briefing

The United States and two international customers have refused to accept any new Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) combat aircraft due to a contractual dispute with the manufacturer. The dispute, which reportedly centres around who should pay the costs of repair to an

Russia is pitching its Ilyushin Il-112V airlifter to India to fulfil that country’s Medium Transport Aircraft (MTA) requirement. Ilyushin said on 12 April that a proposal has been drawn up by Russia for the sale of the twin-turboprop to India, as that country looks to replace its ageing Avro

India’s Tata group has confirmed plans to consolidate its various businesses across aerospace and defence under a single entity. The new firm will be named Tata Aerospace & Defence (Tata A&D). In a press release on 11 April, Tata Sons – the holding entity for the Tata group

Turkey’s state-owned Machines and Chemical Industries Board (MKEK) successfully test-fired 120 mm high-explosive tracer (HE-T) tank gun ammunition, Turkish Defence Minister Nurettin Canikli tweeted on 8 April. Serial production will start in the second half of 2018 and 3,000 HE-T rounds will

Ukraine has taken delivery of an unspecified number of BMP-1AK infantry fighting vehicles from Polish company Wtorplast, Jane’s has learned. The BMP-1AK is a bespoke vehicle for the Ukrainian ground forces, with AK standing for Anti Kumulyativnaya or anti-cumulative attacks. The primary

The US Army is continuing its Airbus Helicopters UH-72A Lakota procurement spree, with the disclosure that it is to buy a further 35 rotorcraft to add to the 51 already signed for this year. A notification issued by the service on 11 April said the additional helicopters are being purchased to

EDA Chief Executive Jorge Domecq arrived in Berne on 10 April for a two days working visit. During the visit, Mr Domecq has met with Nathalie Falcone-Goumaz, Secretary-General of the Federal Department of Defence, Civil Protection and Sport, Martin Sonderegger, the National Armaments Director, as well as other high-level representatives of the national administration, defence industry and universities. Discussions focused on Switzerland’s current and potential future contributions to EDA projects and programmes as well as on the latest defence initiatives on EU level. This was a follow up to Mr Domecq's meeting with the Swiss Minister of Defence that took place in the margins of the Munich Security Conference on 16 February 2018. 

Switzerland concluded a framework for cooperation with the European Defence Agency (EDA) in 2012 enabling it to participate in EDA projects and programmes on a case by case basis. Mr Domecq welcomed the opportunity to discuss EDA initiatives with representatives from the Federal Department of Defence, Civil Protection and Sport, Armasuisse as well as the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs. Further discussions were held with representatives of the Swiss defence industry, research institutes and universities. 

The meeting with Secretary-General Falcone-Goumaz included discussions on the general state of play of the Implementation Plan on Security and Defence of the EU Global Strategy including the Coordinated Annual Review on Defence (CARD), the Permanent Structured Cooperation on security and defence (PESCO) and the European Defence Fund, with focus of the discussions on EDA's role in all three initiatives. 

National Armaments Director Martin Sonderegger and Jorge Domecq further conferred over Switzerland’s contributions to EDA work. Recently, Switzerland joined an innovative research & technology project in the land domain (PASEI - Protection of Autonomous Systems Against Enemy Interference). An additional project in the area of CBRN and Human Factors is under consideration. Switzerland has also demonstrated interest in participating in EDA's Capability Technolgy Groups as well as on activities where EDA acts as a military interface to EU policies such as on chemicals (REACH), Single European Sky or energy topics. Other possible areas for cooperation investigated were on cyber as well as opportunities in the land sector. 

 

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Americas

• Lockheed Martin has unveiled its industry team that, if selected by the US Navy, would develop the MQ-25 Stingray unmanned aerial tanker, company execs released Monday. Suppliers of equipment intended to be used include General Electric’s F404 turbofan engine—used on the F/A-18 Super Hornet—United Technologies—who supply the landing gear found on the F-35C—while Triumph Aerostructures will manufacture the internal structure of the drone. While Lockheed seems to be relying on equipment used on legacy airframes, it may have taken the most risk in its design, putting out a tanker drone concept that doesn’t look much like its competitors. When the Navy rejigged its requirements from a drone that could take on the ISR and strike missions to that of just an unmanned mission tanker, Lockheed threw out is previous design while competitors such as General Atomics and Boeing heavily reused theirs. Furthermore, since Northrop’s retirement from the competition last year, Lockheed is also the only competitor offering a flying wing aircraft as both General Atomics and Boeing have notably put forward wing-body-tail aircraft. The Navy plans to pick an MQ-25 vendor this summer, and will award a contract for the four engineering and manufacturing development aircraft, with an option for three more test assets.

• The Colombian government has been offered second-hand F-16A/BC/Ds from Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) and Elbit Systems. According to Jane’s, both firms have offered to refurbish the former Israel Air Force (IAF) warplanes with new structural components and upgrade them to what has been described as “close to Block 50 standard.” Bogota’s requirement calls for the procurement of between 12 and 18 advanced combat aircraft that will replace its current fleet of IAI Kfirs.

• Advanced adversary air services provider Draken International has tapped Paramount Aerospace Systems to refurbish the 22 ex-Spanish Air Force Mirage F1M aircraft it recently purchased from Madrid. Draken purchased the aircraft in order to improve its adversary services to the US Department of Defense and allied nation customers. Paramount Aerospace was ticked to carry out the work due to its expertise in the modernization of fixed wing platforms and had previously carried out the modernization of the Mirage F1M while still in Spanish Air Force military service. Work on the acquired aircraft will take place at Draken’s Lakeland, Florida maintenance facility.

Middle East & Africa

• Qatar has been cleared by the US State Department to proceed with the purchase of Advanced Precision Kill Weapon Systems (APKWS) II to arm its AH-64E Apache attack helicopters. A Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) statement released Monday, said the foreign military sale (FMS) package contains requests for 5,000 Advanced Precision Kill Weapon Systems (APKWS) II Guidance Sections, 5,000 MK66-4 2.75 inch rocket motors, 5,000 high explosive warheads for airborne 2.75 inch rockets, inert MK66-4 2.75 inch rocket motors, inert high explosive warhead for airborne 2.75 inch rockets. Also included are any spares, training and support associated with the program. Estimated total cost is set at $300 million with BAE tapped as the FMS’ principal contractor. According to the DSCA, the APKWS “will provide Qatar with a low-cost precision strike capability, decreasing collateral damage and expanding its options for counterterrorism operations.”

• Two US Air Force contracts awarded Friday, April 6, have tapped Boeing and Sierra Nevada Corp. to provide services to the Royal Saudi Air Force (RSAF). The first, valued at $49.5 million, is a modification that gives Boeing a one-year extension to an existing contract for original equipment manufacturer (OEM) training on the F-15SA Strike Eagle. The modification brings the total cumulative face value to $305 million. Work will take place in Khamis, Saudi Arabia, with a scheduled completion date of August 6, 2019. The second gives Sierra Nevada a not-to-exceed $14.02 million ceiling increase modification for Riyadh’s Saudi King Air 350 program. Under the deal, the firm will provide for the modification of two King Air 350 extended range aircraft with intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance/synthetic aperture radar capability, one transportable ground station, one fixed ground station, and one mission system trainer. Work will be performed in Hagerstown, Maryland, and is expected to be complete by April 2020.

Europe

• Serbia has entered talks with Russia for the purchase of new transport and attack helicopters. The rotorcraft in question are four Mil Mi-17 transport helicopters and the same number of Mi-35 attack helicopters. News of the potential buy came from the Serbian Defense Ministr, Aleksandar Vulin, after talks with his Russian counterpart and is a change from previous Serbian indications that Belgrade was just looking to purchase up to six Mi-17s. The Mi-35s will give Serbia’s attack helicopter capability a new lease of life as the nation’s sole attack helicopter inventory comprises a pair of Mi-24Vs that are in a non-flyable condition.

Asia-Pacific

• Defense News reports that the US State Department has given the green light to American defense firms to market their wares to help Taiwan develop its own submarines. The okaying was confirmed by Taiwan Ministry of National Defense spokesman Maj. Gen. Chen Chung-chi and presidential office spokesman Sidney Lin, with Lin saying that the granting of a marketing license is a significant step for Taiwan’s domestic submarine program, adding that the decision would upgrade Taiwan’s self-defense capabilities, as well as benefit the safety and security of the region. While neither of the two confirmed what sort of submarine technology was covered by the license, local analysts say it covers a submarine combat management system (CMS) along with a separate technical assistance agreement, as well as sonar systems, modern periscopes and weapons systems. However, Taiwan will need to seek additional assistance in acquiring propulsion technology for its diesel-electric engine as US subs are all nuclear-powered.

Today’s Video

• Lockheed Martin on its yet-to-be-made MQ-25 unmanned tanker program:

The Italian Air Force (Aeronautica Militare Italiana: AMI) has finalised the operational evaluation and testing (OT&E) of its AGM-88E Advanced Anti-Radiation Guided Missile (AARGM) Block 1 supersonic air-to-surface missile system with a live fire campaign at the US Naval Air Weapons Station

Tthe US Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) in 2021 will launch the first space vehicle capable of approaching, inspecting, and grabbing a disabled satellite and either repairing or upgrading it. The NRL effort is part of a 15-year-old US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency programme called

Researchers with the US Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) expect to have a quadruped robot balancing on its own and taking its first steps by mid-2018. The goal of the Meso-scale Robotic Locomotion Initiative (MERLIN) is to develop a small robot that a marine could carry in a backpack and deploy to

Work on Leonardo’s naval Kronos dual X-band and C-band active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar programme is progressing, with testing and production timelines for the Italian Navy’s new 6,270 tonne Pattugliatore Polivalente d'Altura (PPA) multipurpose offshore patrol vessels

Thanks to early testing involving AN/SPY-6(V) Air and Missile Defense Radar (AMDR) components and the Aegis combat system, the US Navy (USN) is seeing risks being reduced for the programme, said Captain Casey Moton, programme manager for guided-missile destroyer (DDG) 51 ships. “The back end

China is making greater inroads in the Pacific with “chequebook diplomacy” and other means of influence – in some cases effectively locking the United States out of certain countries when it comes to matters of transnational crime tracking or enforcement, said US Navy Captain

As the US Marine Corps (USMC) distributes its forces more widely throughout the Pacific, the moves are creating more challenges for logistics needed to maintain readiness and related resources, said Gayle Von Eckartsberg, director of the Pacific Division at the Headquarters Marine Corps for policy,