Defence`s Feeds

THREE people were killed and eight others wounded during an attack on a police station by five Taliban militants in the Shahr-e-Naw area in Police District 10 in Afghanistan's capital Kabul on 9 May, Pajhwok reported. A suicide bomber detonated his explosives at the station's entrance to allow four

The UK Ministry of Defence (MoD)“simply does not have enough money to buy all the equipment it says it needs”, a report by the parliamentary public accounts committee (PAC) has found. The 9 May report, which was released on 11 May, says the MoD’s Equipment Plan 2017–2027

THE Said Afandi Chirkeyskiy Sufi shrine in the village of Chirkey in Buynaksk district in Russia's North Caucasus Republic of Dagestan was targeted in an attack using explosives on 9 May, BBC Monitoring and TASS reported. No casualties were reported. The Islamic State's Wilayat al-Qawqaz claimed

FOUR people - including two police officers - were killed and nine others wounded when two Wilayat Khorasan suicide attackers launched an attack on the in the Dasht-e-Barchi area of Police District 13 in Afghanistan's capital Kabul on 9 May, Pajhwok and Tolo News reported. The Islamic State claimed

Key Points Malaysia’s newly elected prime minister may reconsider allowing the presence of Chinese vessels in the country Move could herald a wider shift in defence relations between Putrajaya and Beijing, both of whom are claimants to the South China Sea disputes Hours after securing an

A detachment of the Russian Naval Aviation Sukhoi Su-30SM ‘Flanker-H’ combat aircraft has deployed to the Khmeimim Air Base in Syria in the first overseas mission for the service’s newest air supremacy fighter. Two of the jets were first photographed during a media visit to the

Americas

• The Rotary and Mission Systems branch of Lockheed Martin is being tapped to provide services in support of the DDG-51 New Construction Ship program. The contract is valued at over $11 million and sees for the production of common Machinery Control Systems (MCS). The MCS provides control and monitoring capability of the ship’s auxiliary, damage control, electrical, and propulsion systems. As part of its electrical capability, MCS interfaces with the ship’s power generation and electrical distribution system. The US Navy’s DDG-51 Arleigh Burke Class destroyers are the backbone of America’s present and future fleet. With the DDG-1000 Zumwalt Class order ended at 3 ships, the DDG-51 Arleigh Burke Class ships will become more important to the future Navy. The award brings the total cumulative face value to $194.3 million. Work will be mainly performed in Baltimore, Maryland and expected to be completed by May 2019.

• The Air Force is currently conducting flight tests at its Holloman Air Force Base in New Mexico. The second phase of its light attack experiment take a closer look at Textron’s AT-6 and the A-29 Super Tucano manufactured by Sierra Nevada Corp. and Embraer. The flight tests will be conducted over the next three months and will take a closer look at associated logistics and some of the aircraft’s weapons integration capability, such as integrating precision guided weaponry. The pilots also hope to get a better understanding of how the Air Force can operate light attack aircraft in austere and high-paced combat environments. Officials hope that the acquisition of light attack aircraft will provide a cheaper alternative to more advanced fighter jets often tasked with low-end counterterrorism missions. Future steps are taken for establishing a common network architecture that will connect the aircraft to other US assets and with a wide array of US partners.

• The Naval Air Systems Command has awarded a $19.3 million contract modification to IAP Worldwide Services. The additional funding provides for spare parts, and spare inventory support of the E-6B Take Charge and Move Out (TACAMO) aircraft program. The US’s E-6B TACAMO, “survivable airborne communication system” airplanes support the Navy’s SSBN ballistic missile submarine force and overall strategic forces. With the advent of the new “Tactical Trident” their unique capabilities become even more useful. The E-6B version also has a secondary role as a “Looking Glass” Airborne National Command Post, and in recent years they have seen use as communications relay stations over the front lines of combat. The US Navy has a total fleet of 16 E-6B aircraft deployed from Tinker AFB in Oklahoma. Work will be performed at Air Force Bases in Oklahoma, Nebraska, California and Maryland, it is expected to be completed by November 2020.

Middle East & Africa

• Jane’s reports that the Royal Jordanian Air Force has shown its CH-4B armed UAV for the first time. The CH-4B is manufactured by China Academy of Aerospace Aerodynamics, a subsidiary of China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation. The drone belongs to the family of ‘Cai Hong’ designated aircraft. The magazine Foreign Policy has called the drone, the “Kalashnikovs of the drone world”. Their cheap price and the US’s reluctance to sell armed UAV’s to their regional allies has made vehicles very popular with countries like Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Iraq. They are currently deployed to operations in Yemen and in the fight against ISIS in Iraq. The CH-4B broadly resembles General Atomics MQ-1 Predator and can carry a variety of arms, including AR-1 and AR-2 missiles (the Chinese equivalent to the US AGM-114 Hellfire), as well as a range of small precision-guided bombs.

Europe

• The French government will buy a fifth Barracuda class nuclear attack submarine. A spokesperson for the Armed Forces Ministry confirmed in a statement that the Defense Minister Florence Parly made the decision on May 2nd. The draft multiyear budget that is set to run from 2019-2025 includes the funding for six Barracuda class submarines, delivery of which is scheduled for 2025. The Barracuda SSN program started in 2006 when France’s Defense Ministry awarded a contract for nuclear-propelled fast attack submarines to state-owned warship builder DCN and nuclear energy group Areva-TA. The Barracuda program will meet the French Navy’s operational mission needs by providing replacements for its 6 current Rubis Amethyste class nuclear attack submarines. The Barracuda’s are roughly the same size as the Royal Navy’s existing SSN Trafalgar Class boats, and twice the size of the current vessels. The program’s total value was initially set at then $11.13 billion but has since risen to over $12.32 billion.

• Reports suggest that Switzerland could achieve a breakthrough in the field of passive radar. The still-dormant radar technique has the potential to track stealthy aircraft. The research is part of the Swiss multibillion-dollar “Air 2030” program that seeks to upgrade the countries air defense system. Passive radar technology promises the advantage that it cannot be detected, meaning pilots entering a monitored area may be unaware they are being tracked. That could even be the case for pilots flying stealthy aircraft like the F-35. Swiss experiments with the technology go back to 2010, with field-tested demos held in 2015 and 2016. Many defense companies are believed to have passive radar developments in the works. Leonardo currently markets the AULOS Passive Covert Radar, and the German defense company Hensoldt recently unveiled its TwInvis system.

Asia-Pacific

• Turkmenistan recently unveiled its Alenia’s M-346 Master advanced jet trainer and C-27J Spartan tactical airlifter. Alenia’s Aermacchi’s M-346 advanced jet trainer began life in 1993, as a collaboration with Russia. It was also something of a breakthrough for Alenia Aermacchi, confirming that the Finmeccanica subsidiary could design and manufacture advanced aircraft with full authority quadriplex fly-by-wire controls. The C-27J, also named “Baby Herc” due to its profile, engine, and avionics commonality with the C-130J Hercules, is produced in a partnership between Alenia, L-3 Communications and Boeing. Turkmenistan currently has a broad inventory of Soviet-era aircraft, but also boosts some Italian products such as the Selex Falco UAV and the Augusta AW-109 helicopter.

Today’s Video

• US Navy orders more than 7.000 APKWS produced by BAE.

SSN Barracuda cutaway

In December 2006, France’s Defense Ministry awarded a contract for nuclear-propelled fast attack submarines to state-owned warship builder DCN and nuclear energy group Areva-TA. The contract’s total value could be as high as EUR 8.6 billion, and it is set up as an initial EUR 1.0-1.4 billion contract (reports vary), followed by 6 options (tranches conditionnelles) to cover development expenses, the production of more submarines, and through-life support during their first years of operational service.

All ships wear out over time, and the repeated squeezing and relaxing experienced by submarine hulls make their replacement times less negotiable. The USA began introducing their new-generation NSSN Virginia Class fast attack boats in 2004, and Britain’s problem-plagued SSN Astute Class followed in 2010. Now, it’s France’s turn to renew its SSN fleet, as DCNS works to supply 6 Barracuda Class submarines between 2016-2027.

The Barracuda SSN Program

The program’s total value was initially set at EUR 7.9 billion (then $11.13 billion), but has since risen to EUR 8.6 billion ($12.32 billion in 2011). The contract was set up as an initial EUR 1.0-1.4 billion contract (reports vary), followed by 6 options (tranches conditionnelles) to cover production of the other boats, development, and support during their first years of operational service. Subsequent orders have not revealed costs per boat, however, just inferences about creeping overall program costs.

The first Barracuda Class submarine is still expected to enter service in 2017, with the other 4 following every two years (2019, 2021, 2023, 2025) and then the 6th and last boat due to be commissioned in 2026-2027.

Within the DCNS/Areva TA consortium, DCNS will act as the submarine prime contractor, including responsibilities as overall architect, platform and propulsion system prime contractor, systems integrator, nuclear safety studies coordinator and through-life support prime contractor. The Barracuda Class will be built at DCNS’ Cherbourg shipyard.

Areva TA will act as prime contractor for the nuclear powerplant, and NucAreva will take around 15% of the contract’s value. The nuclear propulsion unit, derived from that developed for the “Le Terrible” SSBN nuclear missile submarine, will be supplied by Areva TA under the prime contractorship of the French atomic energy commission (CEA). Other contractors include:

• Colfax-Imo Pompes (oil pumps & fluid handling)
  
• EADS Astrium (life support)
  
• GE Oil & Gas subsidiary Thermodyn (turbo-generators and propulsion turbines)
  
• Sagem subsidiary Safran (surface detection system – radar & optronic masts)

Per the planned dates above, the team has yet to launch a submarine, let alone deliver one. Submarines under construction or on order include:

• Suffren
  
• Duguay-Trouin
  
• Tourville

Other named submarines of class include:

• Duquesne
  
• Dupetit-Thouars
  
• De Grasse

Replacing the Rubis: The Barracuda Class SSN

Rubis Class SSN
(click to view full)

The Barracuda program will meet the French Navy’s operational mission needs by providing replacements for its 6 current-generation nuclear attack submarines. Displacing 5,100-5,300 tonnes submerged, at 99m long and 8.8m in diameter, the new Barracuda Class will be about twice as large as the Rubis Amethyste Class boats they will replace. Indeed, they are roughly the same size as the Royal Navy’s existing SSN Trafalgar Class boats. They are designed to remain smaller than the USA’s new 7,300t Virginia Class SSNs, however, or the new and slightly larger British Astute Class SSNs.

Despite their relatively modest size, the Barracudas will have sharp teeth. A set of 4 x 533mm launch tubes will be able to fire its stored armament of up to 20 heavy weapons, in whatever combination of new short range F21/Artemis heavyweight torpedoes, medium-range SM39 Exocet anti-ship missiles, A3SM (Mica) anti-aircraft missiles, and stealthy long range MdCN Scalp Naval cruise missiles is on hand. The class will also be able to accommodate mines or carry 12 commandos, whose equipment can be carried in a mobile pod attached aft of the sail. One key unanswered question will be the type’s ability to launch and retrieve UUV robots, beyond options that can be launched and recovered via torpedo tube.

A3SM MICA

A diving depth of over 350 meters (about 1,150 feet) and a top speed of over 25 knots are both forecast by DCNS. The Barracuda Class’ regular crew level will be 60, and the boats will be designed for operational cruises of up to 70 days, in contrast to the current Rubis Amethyste Class’ 45 days.

As a final advantage, Barracuda’s K15-based nuclear propulsion is designed to offer 2 substantial advantages over existing French boats. The first advantage is that instead of requiring refueling once every 7 years, the new design will extend its time between RCOHs (refuelling and complex overhauls) to 10 years. This translates into higher at-sea availability over the life of each ship. The USA’s Virginia Class, whose reactors aren’t forecast to need refueling over the boat’s expected 30-year life, are significantly ahead in this respect. Nevertheless, the Barracuda’s propulsion will have a second advantage that Virginia Class boats won’t share: it plans to use same nuclear fuel that powers French civilian nuclear power stations. Given France’s significant use of nuclear power, this commonality is expected to drive fuel costs down sharply.

SMX Ocean: A Conventional Export Derivative

SMX Ocean

At EuroNaval 2014, DCNS unveiled their 4,750t SMX Ocean diesel-electric attack submarine concept. It’s much closer to operational reality than past concepts, as it’s based on the basic Barracuda layout, masts, and combat system.

Switching out the nuclear reactor does create a bit more space, even with 2nd generation fuel cell technology added to give the submarine submerged endurance of 3 weeks. A cable-and-collar “saddle” system can be added for deployment and retrieval of UUVs from a mid-body chamber, and a detachable mobile pod aft of the sail can carry a special forces swimmer delivery vehicle. Behind the UUV bay, a 6-shooter for vertically-launched cruise missiles like MBDA’s MdCN/ Scalp Naval is complemented by internal frontal space for 28 weapons in any combination of heavyweight torpedoes, Exocet anti-ship missiles, A3SM anti-aircraft missiles, or mine packages. Items like the Vipere tethered communications and surveillance buoy round out the package.

Sub advances

The submarine is touted as a complement for carrier battle groups, but the truth is that their speed requirements tend to stretch the SMX Ocean’s capabilities, which top out at 20 knots and lose efficiency well before that. It would fare rather better as a companion to slower amphibious assault groups, but its real markets may be more specific.

Australia is looking for a long-range fleet of modern submarines, and their push to negotiate directly with the Japanese for the 4,000t+ Soryu Class may be forced toward competitive bids for political reasons. Meanwhile, India has just approved a “Project 75i” program to add 6 locally-built submarines beyond their forthcoming Scorpene fleet. A relationship extension based around Barracuda hulls would build on already-proven industrial relationships and training, and allow for excellent weapons commonality with the Scorpene fleet. It would also complement both the scope of India’s maritime interests, and local work fielding and refining their own nuclear submarine design.

Contracts & Key Events 2011 – 2018

Order for submarine #3; Cruise missile test; Progress reports; 4,750t conventional derivative.

SSN Barracuda concept
(click to view full)

May 10/18: One more for Paris The French government will buy a fifth Barracuda class nuclear attack submarine. A spokesperson for the Armed Forces Ministry confirmed in a statement that the Defense Minister Florence Parly made the decision on May 2nd. The draft multiyear budget that is set to run from 2019-2025 includes the funding for six Barracuda class submarines, delivery of which is scheduled for 2025. The Barracuda SSN program started in 2006 when France’s Defense Ministry awarded a contract for nuclear-propelled fast attack submarines to state-owned warship builder DCN and nuclear energy group Areva-TA. The Barracuda program will meet the French Navy’s operational mission needs by providing replacements for its 6 current Rubis Amethyste class nuclear attack submarines. The Barracuda’s are roughly the same size as the Royal Navy’s existing SSN Trafalgar Class boats, and twice the size of the current vessels. The program’s total value was initially set at then $11.13 billion but has since risen to over $12.32 billion.

Feb 11/15: Interview with program manager.
Navy Recognition managed to get the Barracuda product manager to answer a few questions in a brief interview. Expected improvements anticipated over the Rubis class: maneuverability, stealth, detection capabilities.

Oct 28/14: SSK Ocean. DCNS unveils its 4,750t SMX Ocean concept design at EuroNaval 2014. This diesel-electric attack submarine design is much closer to reality than past SMX concepts, because it’s based on the basic Barracuda layout, masts, and combat system. Meanwhile, shifts in the global market toward the Pacific and Indian oceans are tilting requirements in favor of larger conventional submarines, with more range and endurance. See above for details. Sources: DCNS, “DCNS unveils SMX-Ocean, a new blue-water SSK with expanded capabilities”.

Nov 6/12: #3: The DCNS Cherbourg centre has completed the 1st pressure hull ring (Ring #7) for the Tourville, France’s 3rd Barracuda Class SSN. The milestone comes almost 1 month ahead of schedule. DCNS.

Dec 19/11: #2. DCNS mates hull sections 12 & 13 for Duguay-Trouin, the 2nd Barracuda Class submarine, using butt-welds along their entire circumference. A new controlled-atmosphere technology cut 15% from weld time, while improving quality, allowing the 30t sections to be welded in less than 2 months.

These hull sections will house the ops room, including the boat’s main command, navigation and operations systems. Of Duguay-Trouin’s 21 hull rings, 2 have been completed and joined, 10 have been completed, and 8 are under construction. Hull ring mating work will continue until early 2013.

June 28/11: #3 ordered. The DGA formally orders the 3rd Barracuda class submarine and its nuclear reactor from DCNS and AREVA. This is the Tourville.

Costs are not described in releases or subsequent reports, though the total program cost now lists at EUR 8.6 billion. Hull assemblies for the Suffren and Duguay-Trouin continue at Cherbourg. French DGA [in French] | DCNS.

3rd SSN ordered

June 8/11: Weapons. The DGA holds a test launch of the SCALP Naval / MdCN (Missile de Croisière Naval) at its Ile du Levant missile test center in the Mediterranean, using an underwater platform simulating the launch conditions on the future Barracuda SSN. The change from water to air, and subsequent launch/flight, is one of the most difficult and important steps for any such missile. When fully operational, the Storm Shadow’s MdCN cousin is expected to offer a stealthy sub-sonic strike missile with long reach: over 1,000 km/ 540 nautical miles.

When combined with a successful 2010 vertical-launch test from an above-water platform, MBDA believes that its SCALP/MdCN program is now synchronized with the planned entry into service of the FREMM frigate (2014) and Barracuda submarine (2017) platforms. French DGA [in French, incl. test video] | MBDA.

March 18/11: #2. DCNS announces that the 1st hull section of the 2nd boat of class has left the prefabrication hall at Cherbourg on schedule. Duguay-Trouin’s aft section #7 is just 1 of about 20 hull sections and 4 “interface points.” The 40t hull section is made of steel alloy, and measures about 9 meters in diameter by 4 meters. It will sit immediately behind the nuclear reactor compartment, and will eventually contain the submarine’s electrical distribution plant.

DCNS adds that construction of the 1st-in-class Suffren in also on schedule in Cherbourg, with the first equipment integration phases set to begin in the next few months.

2007 – 2010

Development & orders for 2 submarines; Sub-contractors picked.

Scalp Naval

Oct 27/09: Colfax Corp. announces that its Colfax-Imo Pompes Business Unit in France will provide oil pumps and other fluid-handling systems for France’s Barracuda class nuclear submarines. They will deliver the first pumping systems to DCNS in late 2010 – early 2011. Colfax will continue to provide service, training, parts and documentation for its systems during the service life of the vessels. Daniel Joslin, managing director of Colfax’s business in Tours, France:

“Submarines need to operate as quietly as possible to avoid detection, and the French Navy accordingly specified its pumps should produce low noise levels and vibrations… Our Colfax Defense Centre of Excellence in Tours [DID: one of 3, located in Tours, Mumbai, and Warren, MA] has the staff and equipment capable of meeting those demanding requirements to ensure the pumps provide years of quiet, reliable service.”

June 26/09: #2 ordered. The French DGA procurement agency orders the 2nd Barracuda class boat Duguay-Trouin from DCNS and Areva-TA. At present, the DGA is forecasting EUR 7.9 billion for the total Barracuda program, and 2028 as the program’s finish date.

The same day saw assembly of the lead boat, Suffren, begin, with the welding of the first 2 aft hull sections. DGA release [in French].

2nd SSN ordered

April 3/08: Sub-contractors. What does the International Space Station have in common with a nuclear submarine? Both are enclosed environments that must provide breathable air, which includes removing carbon dioxide as well as replacing used oxygen. Both also have very tight space limitations, and power limitations as well since the life support systems must be the last system to fail.

EADS Astrium in Friedrichshafen, Germany developed a binding carbon dioxide (CO2) regenerative process for the International Space Station’s European Columbus lab module, which was docked on Feb 10/08. Now DCNS in Cherbourg, France has ended a 4-year competition among established naval firms by awarding the life support contract to… the space firm EADS Astrium. EADS release.

Jan 25/08: Sub-contractors. GE Oil & Gas announces that their Thermodyn subsidiary in Le Creusot has been selected to provide the turbo-generators and propulsion turbines for the French Navy’s 6 new Barracuda Class nuclear fast attack submarines. The DCNS award continues Termodyn’s history if supplying such systems for France’s nuclear submarines, and for the nuclear-powered Charles de Gaulle aircraft carrier as well.

The contract covers 2 turbo-generators and 1 propulsion turbine for the first-of-class FNS Suffren, which is scheduled to enter service in 2016, as well as for each of the other 5 boats ordered under optional contracts. GE’s propulsion turbine drives the propeller, and supplies the required mechanical power to the submarine when at top speed. The 2 turbo-generator-rectifiers supply electric power to the propulsion and auxiliary systems, keeping the sub’s electronics powered and allowing quieter slower speed movement. GE’s project partner Jeumont Electric is supplying the generator-rectifier equipment for the turbo-generators, and this first set of turbo-generators and propulsion turbine is scheduled for delivery between October 2010 – February 2011.

As noted above, Areva TA is the prime contractor for the shipboard nuclear power plant, which powers Thermodyn’s systems and thus the submarine. A submarine’s need for stealth means that these Thermodyn condensing-type turbines are highly customized to fit a submarine’s small space, while ensuring very low noise and vibration levels. The Le Creusot facility even operates a special anechoic chamber to test the equipment’s noise levels prior to delivery. GE also will provide assistance in the packaging of its equipment within the propulsion main frame, and in site tests. GE release.

Sept 6/07: Sub-contractors. SAFRAN Group subsidiary Sagem Defense Securite has won a competitively-bid contract from DCNS as prime contractor for the surface detection system (DAS) on France’s future Barracuda class nuclear submarines. The surface detection system for Barracuda class submarines comprises a radar mast and two optronic masts, which integrate a passive electromagnetic detection sensor. The optronic sensors of the system will provide day/night surveillance, detection, tracking and sighting functions.

A value was not announced, but the contract does includes a firm order for the first submarine in the series (FNS Suffren), as well as conditional orders for following vessels. Sagem will deliver the first system to DCNS in 2010. Sagem Defense Securite release.

June 1/07: Named. The ships of the Barracuda Class has been officially named by the French Ministry of Defence. The first-of-class will be the Suffren. It will be followed by the Duguay-Troin, Dupetit-Thouars, Duquesne, Tourville and finally the De Grasse.

Construction will begin in the summer of 2007. French Navy release [en Francais].

Namings

Dec 22/07: Development. DCN announces the contract for the new nuclear-powered attack submarines of the Barracuda Class. The contract’s total value could be as high as EUR 8.6 billion, and it is set up as an initial EUR 1.0-1.4 billion contract (reports vary), followed by 6 options (tranches conditionnelles) to cover development expenses, the production of more submarines, and through-life support during their first years of operational service. Sources: DCN, “Barracuda contract awarded” | Associated Press, “France awards submarine deal to DCN, Areva”.

Core Contract

Additional Readings & Sources

• French DGA – Le sous-marin d’attaque futur Barracuda [in French].

• French Marine Nationale – Sous-marins nucleaires d’attaque.

• Naval Technology – SSN Barracuda Nuclear-Powered Attack Submarine, France.

• DCNS – SNA Barracuda. 2011 snapshot. See also their accompanying English language success story feature: “Stealthy, far, fast and for long.” They seem to have left out “full of seamen”.

• Naval Technology – SSN Rubis Amethyste Class Attack Submarine, France. The class it’s replacing.

Ancillary Equipment

• DCNS – Subtics: Submarine Tactical Integrated Combat System.

• DCNS – F21 Torpedo: The French Navy’s new heavyweight torpedo.

• MBDA – Exocet SM39.

• MissileThreat – SM39 Exocet.

• MBDA – Scalp Naval.

• DCNS – Contralto S. Torpedo countermeasures.

• DCNS – Nuclear propulsion.

News & Views

• Foxtrot Alpha (Nov 3/14) – Is This Jumbo Diesel Electric Submarine A True Nuclear Alternative?

• Atomic Insights (Feb 24/06) – Ask Atomic: What limits reactor fuel burnup?

Americas

• Bell Helicopter will receive a contract modification valued at $21.7 million. The modification relates to a contract that provides the US Navy with airframes in support of its MQ-8 Fire Scout program, including the delivery of Bell 407 variant commercial airframes, as well as associated Bell 407 unique components, and preservation and storage associated with the system. Developed by Northrop Grumman, the newer MQ-8C Fire Scout variant is the latest unmanned autonomous helicopter being developed for the Navy for reconnaissance, aerial fire support and other naval missions. It is larger than its predecessors, using the Bell 407 airframe rather than the Sikorsky 330 and 330 airframes used on previous variants. The modification brings the total cumulative face value of the order close to $31.5 million. Work will be performed in Ozark, Alabama, and is expected to be completed in December 2020.

• The US Army Contracting Command is procuring several M88A2 Heavy Equipment Recovery Combat Utility Lift and Evacuation System vehicles. Produced by BAE Systems Land & Armaments the HERCULES addresses a long-standing US Army need to upgrade its recovery vehicles to safely tow and recover battle-damaged, mired or inoperative 70-ton M1 Abrams tanks. Its hull is modified to specification by Anniston Army Depot and includes upgrades to the basic M88 chassis as means to meet the increased demands of towing, winching, and lifting the M1, M1A1, and M1A2 tanks and lighter vehicles like the LAVs, M1133 Strykers, M2/M3 Bradleys. The contract is valued at $120.4 million. Work will be performed in York, Pennsylvania and scheduled for completion by January 2021.

• Rolls Royce is being awarded a $25.9 million contract that sees for the provision of turbofan engines to be used on the Navy’s Triton platform. The MQ-4C Triton or BAMS UAV program is run by NAVAIR’s PMA-263 program management office, it has been devised to work in conjunction with the P-8 Poseidon. Tritons work with the P-8 Poseidon maritime surveillance aircraft on missions that include maritime surveillance, collection of enemy order of battle information, battle damage assessment, port surveillance, communication relay; plus, support for maritime interdiction, surface warfare, battlespace management, and targeting for maritime and strike missions. Work will be performed in Indianapolis, Indiana, and is expected to be completed by December 2021.

• UAV manufacturer Insitu has been awarded a firm-fixed-price delivery order against a previously issued basic ordering agreement. The $11 million contract provides for the procurement of spare and sustainment parts to maintain the RQ-21A Blackjack unmanned aircraft system in support of the Marine Corps. The RQ-21A is the internal competitor to Insitu’s flagship product, the ScanEagle. The RQ-21A Integrator is the company’s next-generation UAV platform. It boosts endurance to over 24 hours and raises maximum payload to about 50 pounds. Its wingspan rises to 15.8 feet and body length rises to 7 feet. Its sensor package will be a bit more versatile, too, with TV zoom and mid-wave infrared cameras, plus an infrared marker and a laser rangefinder, all in a single package instead of the original ScanEagle’s swap-in options. Launch and recovery methods are the same on both platforms. Work will be performed in Bingen, Washington, and is expected to be completed in January 2019.

Middle East & Africa

• The Kingdom of Morocco will receive an upgrade to its tank fleet as part of US foreign military sales. This $9.4 million deal contracts Northrop Grumman for the provision of eye safe laser range finders for Morocco’s M1A2S tank. Morocco has purchased 220 Abrams tank refurbished for the Kingdom through the US Army’s Excess Defense Articles (EDA) program. An eye safe laser rangefinder improves the tank’s day/night target engagement over a longer range. And is compatible with all current battlefield information systems. Work will be performed in Apopka, Florida, with an estimated completion date of May 1, 2020. The upgrade enhances the combat capabilities of Morocco, a country that is currently facing a variety of security challenges, including the presence of Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb and several groups affiliated with ISIS.

Europe

• Jane’s reports that the UK Royal Navy has taken delivery of an autonomous minesweeping demonstrator system. This marks a significant milestone for the United Kingdom’s Mine Countermeasures and Hydrographic Capability (MHC) program. The minesweeper, designated ARCIMS USV is produced by Atlas Elektronik UK. The company developed the platform under a $17 million, three-year contract with the Ministry of Defense’s Defense Equipment and Support organization. The ARCIMS unmanned surface vessel has a length of 36 feet and has a top speed of 40+ knots. It is designed to fulfill a multitude of naval roles, including minesweeping, mine hunting, mine disposal, force protection and diver support. The USV, named RNMB Hussar, is configured with a power generation module and towed magnetic, acoustic, and electrical influences, including up to three coil auxiliary boats.

Asia-Pacific

• The Russian deputy Defense Minister Yuri Borisov has confirmed that work on the heavy unmanned aerial vehicle ‘Altius’ will be completed by the end of this year. The ‘Altius’ is Russia’s prestige drone project that tries to fill an important gap in its UAV capabilities. Russia is considered to be seriously behind UAV technology. This problem stems from a weakened defense sector that is still recuperating from devastating budget cutbacks in the 1990s, and a poor track record in miniaturizing machines, producing lightweight components and reliable electronics. The drone was jointly developed by the Kazan enterprise and the St. Petersburg company, which received a $35 million contract, after they won a competition of the Russian Defense Ministry. The ‘Altius’ is a high-winged aircraft with slab-sided rear fuselage and a V-shaped tail and is made of composite materials. Its two V12 diesel engines provide a takeoff power of about 500hp. Its operational range is supposed to be about 6,200 miles with a flight duration of up to 48 hours. The long-endurance UAV is designed to perform a variety of tasks, such as conducting strike missions.

Today’s Video

• Taiwan’s Army looking for new short-range air defense system

UNAMA and Human Rights Watch have each released blistering reports on the killing and wounding of civilians in the Afghan conflict. UNAMA presents the results of its investigation into the Afghan Air Force’s bombing of an open-air graduation ceremony at a madrassa in Dasht-e Archi in Kunduz province in April. It concludes that, even if the air force had a military target, no care was taken to spare the many civilians present, including the dozens of children who were killed or injured. It is the voices of the civilian victims and survivors of insurgent attacks in urban areas, which are at the heart of the Human Rights Watch publication. Both reports, says AAN’s Kate Clark, make important reading.

UNAMA ‘Special Report Airstrikes in Dasht-e-Archi district, Kunduz Province, 2 April 2018.’

In Laghmani village, Dasht-e Archi district of Kunduz province at about 12.30 on 2 April 2018, Afghan Air Force helicopters fired multiple rockets and heavy machine guns during an open-air ‘dastar bandi’  (turban-tying, ie a graduation) ceremony next to a madrassa where hundreds of men and boys had gathered.

The government said the attack had targeted senior Taleban leaders, including members of the Quetta Shura, foreign commanders and members of Taleban ‘special forces’, the Red Unit, whom it said had gathered to plan a military campaign to attack Kunduz city. It had had the area under surveillance, it said, for a week.

UNAMA said it could not verify the civilian status of each person killed or injured, but found that the crowd gathered for the ceremony “was primarily civilian.” Among them was a large number of children, “many under the age of ten.” UNAMA notes that people had come to attend a ceremony that was “religious in nature” and which had been “widely advertised.” The attack was launched when lunch was about to be served. The crowd, it said, “included members of the community, including children,” who had come to observe the ceremony or eat the meal.

UNAMA’s methodology requires three independent sources to confirm civilian status. It said it had verified 107 civilian casualties (36 killed and 71 injured). They included 81 children (30 killed and 51 injured). The civilian status of a further 15 casualties (2 killed and 13 injured, including six children) was partially verified, ie by two independent sources. (In total, it received more than 200 allegations of civilian casualties.) UNAMA acknowledges that the figures presented in its report may “not be exhaustive” be because of “these stringent verification standards and the challenges of obtaining information.”

UNAMA said it is not in a position to judge whether Taleban were present or not (some locals reported to it that there had been unarmed Taleban in the crowd and a number of armed Taleban taking care of security). However, it said that even if the government had a legitimate military target, “[t]he high numbers of child casualties resulting from this attack, which took place in a civilian area during a religious ceremony, combined with the use of imprecise weapons in this context, raise questions as to the respect by the government of the rules of precaution and proportionality.” It was “reasonably foreseeable” UNAMA said, that “an attack against this area, using imprecise weapons, during a religious ceremony would have caused a large number of civilian casualties, with lethal indiscriminate effects.”

Reading UNAMA’s account, it is hard to see how, at the very least, the Afghan Air Force pilots could have failed to see the many children present, sitting separately at the rear of the ceremony. It seems they must have seen them, but gone ahead with the attack anyway. Indeed, according to the victims and witnesses interviewed by UNAMA, the helicopters struck the children first.

Local residents told UNAMA they believed the government authorities “viewed civilian populations in areas under Taliban control, such as Dasht-e-Archi, with suspicion. They expressed concern that this may be resulting in their differential treatment.”

Despite UNAMA’s use of careful, sober language, the gravity of what it is saying is clear. The Afghan Air Force did not protect, or even mitigate the harm it did to civilians. It failed to discriminate between civilians and combatants. Finally, the suspicion from the population is that the government considers anyone who lives in a Taleban-controlled area as an enemy. UNAMA reminds the government that civilians remain civilians wherever they live and must be spared.

Human Rights Watch report ‘“No Safe Place”: Insurgent Attacks on Civilians in Afghanistan.’

Human Rights Watch’s report on the experiences of civilians killed and wounded by Taleban and the Islamic State in Khorasan Province (ISKP) is excoriating. Here, it is the stories of survivors and relatives of victims told in their own words that are so compelling. HRW has heard from people in Kabul, Jalalabad and Herat who were “walking down the street, working in a shop, preparing food at home, or worshipping in a mosque” when they experienced “sudden and terrifying violence.” They were victims of attacks which intentionally targeted civilians – in mosques, schools and hospitals – or failed to discriminate between civilians and combatants or to mitigate the harm done while attacking a military target, causing disproportionate harm.

Civilian casualties often end up as statistics: the numbers are important, but so are the individuals. To take just one example from the many victims featured in HRW’s report, M Ahmadi, a property dealer, was in his shop on 24 July 2017 when the Taleban carried out a suicide bombing against a staff shuttle bus from the Ministry of Mines. The Taleban claimed they had hit an NDS bus. Even if that had been true, the attack in a busy area of Kabul was bound to kill and injure civilians like M Ahmadi. 38 civilians were killed in the attack and he was among the dozens injured.

I was in my shop…. I heard a very loud sound and I did not know what happened…. I was not hearing well, and somebody pushed me and said, “Get out!” The staff shuttle bus for the Ministry of Mines that had been bombed had crashed into my shop. I walked out with bare feet and the broken glass cut into my feet. My shop was on fire. There were fires on both sides of the street.

Out on the street a car stopped in front of him and the driver told him to get in: He took me to Mawla Hospital and he called my family to let them know. Then my sons brought me to Emergency Hospital. I do not remember how long I was there. My head, my belly, and my arm were injured—there are still shell fragments in my arm…. During the night I scream in my sleep. The doctors told me I need to see a psychiatrist. But I cannot because of the money.

 My family asks me not to go to work, but what can I do? This shop is mine, and I had to borrow a lot of money to repair it. I am the only breadwinner in the family. Due to our financial problems, my children can’t go to school now. Why doesn’t the government give some money to help the injured people in this area? Aren’t we from this land, from this country?

M Ahmadi’s account is typical in many ways, describing how the consequences of an attack are not just immediate and physical, but also psychological, financial and long-lasting, with the devastation rippling through many lives. Some of the victims telling their stories have been left with permanent disabilities or are the orphans or widows of those killed.

Human Rights Watch says that, although no statistics are available, its research suggests “a large proportion of those killed and injured have been the very poor.” That poor people may be more at risk from attacks could be anticipated. The very rich use armoured cars and live behind concrete walls. Even the somewhat well off may be able to afford the choice of not working in or near places of high risk, although they may still be caught up in attacks as passers-by. Who, but the poorest with no economic alternative would spend large amounts of their working days near a high-risk location like the old Ministry of Interior? It was attacked by the Taleban with an ambulance rigged with explosives on 27 January 2017. More than 100 people were killed and 200 injured, including, said HRW, street children, peddlers and kiosk vendors. HRW makes the point that such victims and their families are also the least able to cope with the severe financial hardship of losing a breadwinner, or permanent disability or of losing what little in the way of the tools of their trade they might have had.

The government has a laudable policy of providing assistance to victims of the conflict regardless of who the perpetrator was. The sums are small, but many victims told HRW help had not been forthcoming. Others described the process for obtaining the assistance as “prohibitively onerous, or was tainted by corruption, with some receiving assistance and others not.” There is rarely the necessary assistance for complex medical needs and scarcely any provision for psycho-social support.Nongovernmental services, HRW said, were overwhelmed. “Whatever animosity they felt toward those who had carried out the attack,” HRW said, victims also described “feeling abandoned by the government and the international community.” Every person interviewed for the report, it said, described “living with fear that other loved ones would die or be injured in the next catastrophic attack.”

Conclusion

 In 2017, one third of the civilians killed and injured by insurgents were victims of suicide attacks. Such attacks in urban areas, which inevitably or intentionally cause mass civilian casualties, have been have part of the Taleban’s ‘portfolio of operations’ since the mid-2000s. Last year saw a dramatic increase in the number and magnitude of such attacks, as ISKP has increasingly and intentionally targeted civilian city dwellers, particularly Shia Muslims.

This trend has come “in tandem,” HRW said, with “increased military operations by Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF) and United States forces in provinces where the Taliban have made significant territorial gains.” That increase has included air attacks – the subject of Human Rights Watch’s next report. While still only causing six per cent of overall civilian casualties, the total number of civilians killed and injured in air strikes is rising, with 2017 the worst year since UNAMA systematically started compiling statistics in 2009. (1)

In October 2017, we wrote that every single previous Afghan government or armed group with access to airpower since 1978 had deliberately targeted civilians. What makes the Dasht-e Archi bombing so disturbing is the possibility that the current Afghan Air Force may have crossed that line. When and if any Afghan party to the conflict ceases to see all Afghan civilians as ‘their people’, whether that is city-dwellers for the Taleban or those living in rural Taleban-controlled areas for government forces, the door is opened to indiscriminate violence.

 

 

 

(1) Conclusions on the impact of air strikes are complex. The increased United States and Afghan government air cover may be one reason why civilians casualties from insurgent ground offensives fell last year, pushing an overall slight fall in numbers: the risk of air strikes made it riskier for the Taleban to gather in large numbers to launch offensives. (For numbers, see UNAMA’s 2017 Protection of Civilians report, with AAN analysis here.

Increased air operations also resulted in a record number of civilians killed and injured in air strikes in 2017. However, the increase in sorties flown and weapons dropped in 2017 was far higher than the increase in civilian casualties, indicating that the quality of safeguards was not falling. As UNAMA put it, “the reduced harm ratio suggests improvements in targeting and civilian protection procedures.” Even so, it also said:

…as civilian casualties from aerial operations reached record high levels in 2017, UNAMA once again recommends that both the Afghan Air Force and international military forces review targeting criteria and pre-engagement precautionary measures, including considering the high likelihood of civilian presence in populated areas and starting from a position of considering all persons to be civilians unless determined otherwise.  

 

 

 

HOT BLADE 2018, the 12th helicopter exercise organised under the umbrella of the European Defence Agency’s (EDA) Helicopter Exercise Programme (HEP), kicked off yesterday 7th May at Beja airbase in Portugal. It will run until 24 May and involve a total of 29 air assets and crews from six countries: Portugal, Belgium, Germany, Hungary, Slovenia and the Netherlands. Representatives from Austria, the Czech Republic and Italy will also take part as observers. A Distinguished Visitors Day (DVD) will take place on 22 May.

HOT BLADE 2018 will allow crews from 21 helicopters and 8 fixed wing assets (including 6 Portuguese F-16 fighters), ground troops, EW simulator/emulators operators and Joint Terminal Attack Controllers (JTACs) to practice operations in a hot, high and dusty environment replicating the challenging conditions that participants’ forces are expected to encounter when deploying to a theatre of operation. 

The exercise’s main focus is on enhancing interoperability at the tactical level between helicopter units by using the Composite Air Operations (COMAO) concept in a combined, joint, realistic and challenging environment.

It is the 4th time that the exercise is hosted by the Portuguese Air Force, under EDA’s Helicopter Exercise Programme (HEP), following three earlier successful editions that took place between 2012 and 2014. This year, the Hot Blade 2018 exercise will be carried out in the area surrounding Beja Air Force Base, located in the Southern part of Portugal.

The use of EDA HEP Standard Operating Procedures (SOP), the application of best practices gathered during the 11 previous helicopter exercises led by the EDA and the availability on location of a Mentor Team will support the standardisation of planning processes and helicopter tactical procedures amongst participating crews.

This year’s training is focussed on missions in a dusty, hot and mountainous environment. To ensure the maximum levels of flight safety, scheduled activities will follow a progressive approach. Tactical training (e.g. formation flights, NVG, tactical formation) will be performed during the first days, while national training requirements enabling the performance of demanding day and night Composite Air Operation (COMAO) missions will be addressed during the last days of the exercise.
 

More information:

• EDA Helicopter Initiatives Project Page
• Factsheet Exercice HOT BLADE 2018

Americas

• Boeing’s KC-46 Tanker program hit another bump. Due to continuous cost overruns and schedule delays, the company has racked up more than $3 billion worth of pretax charges. Just last week Boeing disclosed another $81 million-pretax penalty on the program in its financial report for the first quarter of 2018. According to the terms of Boeing’s fixed-price development contract with the US Air Force, the company is responsible for any costs over the $4.9 billion award. Air Force Secretary Heather Wilson has been publicly dismissive of the company’s progress, telling lawmakers that the company has perhaps been too focused on its lucrative commercial business to give the tanker program the attention it deserves. In total, Boeing has 34 KC-46s in some stage of production, and the first four aircraft planned for delivery have already flown and are in storage. Despite company officials reassuring that all ‘required assets available’ obligations can be met, it is yet unclear if Boeing will be able to deliver all of the 18 certified KC-46s and nine refueling pods this year.

• Jane’s reports that the first US Navy F/A-18 Super Hornet has entered its Service-Life Modification (SLM) process ahead of the planes’ Block 3 enhancement program. Super Hornets are flown by the US Navy, replacing the service’s retired F-14 Tomcat fighters. The F/A-18 E/F Super Hornets have been enlarged in all dimensions and fitted with 2 extra weapons pylons. The new design created pylon vibration problems early on, which explains the new “dogtooth” design on the wings’ leading edge. The Navy currently has a program-of-record of 573 Super Hornets, 300 of which will undergo a comprehensive refurbishment ahead of the fitting of additional improvements under the Block 3 upgrade. Block 3 is the Navy’s answer to keeping the jets in service to 2030 and beyond. The upgrades introduce a better performing AN/APG-79 active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar, a ‘shoulder-mounted’ conformal fuel tanks (CFTs), new General Electric F-414-400 enhanced engines as well as a new cockpit based on large touch-screen technology and a more advanced computers is designed to bring the Super Hornets closer to sensor fusion parity with the F-35, without relying on a helmet-mounted-display. All in all, F/A-18 Super Hornets outfitted with Block 3 upgrades will boost better performance, an increased operational radius, a smaller radar cross-section and better electronics. Work on the up to 14 years old fighter jets is being performed at the company’s St. Louis production facility in Missouri.

Middle East & Africa

• Turkish-US relations continue to face strenuous conditions as the Turkish Prime Minister (PM) Mevlut Cavusoglu warned that the country would retaliate if a bill being pushed by House Republicans becomes law. The bill in question is the US National Defense Authorizations Act valued at $717 billion. It includes a provision to temporarily halt weapons sales to Turkey, until a report on the relationship between the US and Turkey is completed by the Pentagon. The implied target of the bill would be the 116 F-35 Lightning II fighters that Washington has promised to sell Ankara, of which 100 are almost ready to be delivered. During an interview PM Cavusoglu criticized the measure, saying it was wrong to impose such a restriction on a military ally, alluding to the fact that Turkey has graciously allowed the US to use its Incirlik air base to launch its air strikes against ISIS. The bill, which still is many steps away from becoming law, is in many ways a response to Turkey’s recent purchase of S-400 air defense systems from Russia. The move to buy S-400s, which are incompatible with the NATO systems, has unnerved NATO member countries, which are already wary of Moscow’s military presence in the Middle East, prompting NATO officials to warn Turkey of unspecified consequences. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo told PM Cavusoglu last month that the US was “seriously concerned” about Turkey’s buying of the S-400s. Last year, both countries temporarily curtailed embassy processing of visas after Turkey arrested an employee of the Turkish consulate in Istanbul as tensions flared.

Europe

• Europe’s largest defense contractor, BAE Systems, is currently collaborating with a small British firm on developing a solar-powered UAV. The joint project between BAE Systems and Prismatic seeks to further the develop the company’s product field of solar electric-powered vehicles. The PHASA-35 is a high-altitude, long-endurance UAV that is able to operate on the margins of space for months at a time. It could potentially provide surveillance, beyond line-of-sight communications and other services to military and civil users far cheaper than the cost of satellites, hence they are also referred to as high-altitude pseudo-satellites, or HAPS. PHASA-35 is expected to fly at up to 70,000 feet and carry a payload of about 15 kilograms. The two companies said the machine has the “potential” to fly for 12 months without returning to the ground. Another company in the business of developing high-altitude, long-endurance UAV’s is Airbus Defense and Space. Its solar-powered Zephyr currently holds the endurance record, having flown for 14 days non-stop.

• Excalibur Army, a subsidiary of the defense conglomerate Czechoslovak Group has unveiled its new Medium Armored Tactical Multi-Mission Vehicle (MATMMV). The Tatra T815 Patriot is based on the 4×4 Tatra Force chassis, which features adjustable ground clearance, a central backbone tube, independent swinging air suspended half axles designed to improve cross-country mobility and ride comfort. The vehicle is powered by a Cummins ISB 6-cylinder diesel engine, developing 210 kW coupled to an Allison 3200SP automatic transmission with six forward and one reverse gears coupled to a Tatra two-speed transfer case. This provides a maximum road speed and range of up to 130 km/h and 500 km respectively. The vehicle will be able to carry up to four soldiers in addition to the commander and driver. The T815 comes with a roof-mounted weapon station. Depending on the types of operations performed the weapon station that can be fitted with a 7.62 mm, a 12.7 mm machine gun or a 40mm automatic grenade launcher. The Tatra T815 Patriot is a welcome addition to the family of MATMMV’s that currently includes Steyr’s MMV and Navistar Defence’s Husky.

Asia-Pacific

• China reportedly is increasingly strengthening its grip in the disputed South China Sea. Reports indicate that China has deployed long-range missiles to its artificial islands as means to enhance Beijing’s physical control over the region and potentially further complicating the movement of America military assets through the area. Collin Koh, research fellow at the Maritime Security Program at Singapore’s S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies, said he expects to see future rotational deployment of high-powered assets, like fighter jets ad bombers to the air bases there. Arming the islands is part of China’s long-term strategy of creeping control in the strategic waters. The recent missile deployment can be an indication for China ramping up its activities on the disputed Spratly Islands. The Chinese-built HQ-9 is based on the Russian S-300 air defense system. It is used for long-range air defense of strategic targets, and the deployment of this system in the Spratly Islands potentially gives China the ability to target aircraft over the whole island group. By stationing missiles onto its outposts in the South China Sea, China de-facto builds a defensive barrier around its mainland. Its aggressive actions are not just a problem for countries such as Indonesia and the Philippines but is also a direct challenge to the US and its influence on the Pacific region by extending China’s anti-access, are denial “bubble”. The newly appointed commander of U.S. Pacific Command Adm. Philip Davidson acknowledged in a press conference that advances in Chinese military means Pacific Command needs to invest in increased resiliency in its forward-deployed force posture.

Today’s Video

• The Blue Angels takeoff at Myrtle Beach 360

American AIM-9 Sidewinder Short-Range Air-to-Air Missile

Americas

• The Department of Defense (DoD) is upgrading its IT-infrastructure and will introduce various cloud-services across its branches. On May 4th the Space and Naval Warfare Systems Center Pacific announced that it is contracting Insight Public Sector Inc., Chantilly, Virginia for the provision of Microsoft brand-name software licenses, software assurance, and cloud offerings to the Department of the Navy. The United States military has long relied on its superior ability to obtain, process, access and share data within the US Joint Forces and with allies as an “offset” to the capabilities of other states. Moving to the ‘cloud’ is the next step towards maintaining this superiority. In December 2017 the Defense Department senior leaders have directed DoD to adopt cloud computing to support the warfighter, a direction that will become a pillar of the department’s strength and security. “Accelerating DoD’s adoption of cloud computing technologies is critical to maintaining our military’s technological advantage,” Deputy Defense Secretary Patrick M. Shanahan said in a memo. The Cloud boosts several military benefits. An increased access to large amounts of connected data allows for better organized warfighting, it has the benefit of fiscal savings by using virtual equipment and hiring contractors to do the computing at a cheaper, at-scale rate, and in virtual space information can be moved around the network which better insulates it from attacks. A perk that may come in handy, considering that China stole about 50GB of data about the F-35 program back in 2016. The contract is a firm-fixed-price blanket purchase with an estimated value of $653 million and an ordering period of three years that runs from May 2018 to May 2021.

• Sikorsky has announced that its fleet of VH-92A helicopters, that are replacing the President’s Marine One, are on schedule and slightly below previous cost estimates by 2.4%, or about $123 million. Cost reductions came from a small number of design changes, stable requirements and efficiencies from cost saving initiatives. The Marine Corps currently operates 11 VH-3D Sea Kings, and 8 smaller VH-60N Black Hawk helicopters. The VH-3Ds were originally placed in service in 1974 and 1975, and the VH-60s entered service in the 1980s. They’re safe and reliable due to low and careful use, but they no longer had the growth capability to incorporate the equipment in a post 9/11 environment. The US Navy plans to acquire a fleet of 23 VH-92A helicopters to replace the Marine Corps’ existing fleet of VH-3D and VH-60N helicopters at a total cost of $5.1 billion, and with an initial delivery scheduled by FY 2020 through FY 2023. The new “Marine One” helicopters are expected to be in service for up to 4 decades.

• The US Navy has awarded General Dynamics Mission Systems, Fairfax, Virginia a contract for services in support of the Navy’s Surface Electronic Warfare Program (SEWIP) at a cost of $9.7 million. The program is an evolutionary acquisition and incremental development program to upgrade the existing AN/SLQ-32(V) electronic warfare system to Block 1B3. This system provides enhanced shipboard electronic warfare for early detection, analysis, threat warning, and protection from anti-ship missiles. The US Navy’s AN/SLQ-32 system uses radar warning receivers, and in some cases active jamming, as the part of ships’ self-defense system. The ’Slick 32s’ provides warning of incoming attacks and is integrated with the ships’ defenses to trigger Rapid Blooming Offboard Chaff (RBOC) and other decoys, which can fire either semi-automatically or on manual direction from a ship’s ECM operators. The “Slick 32” variants are based on modular building blocks, and each variant is suited to a different type of ship. Work will be performed at various locations, including Pittsfield, Massachusetts; Thousand Oaks, California and Fairfax, Virginia and is scheduled for completion by May 2020.

Middle East & Africa

• The US Government has contracted ContiTech USA Inc. in support of its strategic partners Saudi Arabia and Kuwait. The contract has a value of $23.9 million and provides for the procurement of complete rolls of shoe track assemblies for the M1A2 Abrams. The M1 Abrams comes in different variants designed for different combat scenarios. Both Saudi Arabia and Kuwait currently have a the M1A2 variant in service. The tanks are designed by the US Army, in response to their experiences in Iraq. Its upgrades add a set of advanced sensors and machine gun operated from inside the vehicle, a loader’s armored gun shield, explosive-reactive armor tiles, a remote thermal sight, and an improved power distribution box, as well as other key modifications that enhance its warfighting capabilities. Work will be performed in Fairlawn, Ohio, with an estimated completion date of April 2020.

Europe

• The Defense Security Cooperation Agency announced that Germany is set to buy six planes of the Type C-130. The deal provides for the acquisition of three C-130J-30 and three KC-130J aircraft for an estimated cost of $1.4 billion. The aircraft will be equipped with Rolls Royce AE-2100D turboprop engines, a Link-16 MIDS Terminal, an AN/ALE 47 Electronic Countermeasure Dispenser, an AN/AAR-47A(V)2 Missile Warning System and several other packages allowing for Friend or Foe identification and secure communications, among others. The delivery of the aircrafts will increase the airlift, air refueling, and air drop capabilities of the German Air Force. Providing these capabilities to the German Air Force will greatly increase interoperability between the U.S. Air Force and the German Air Force as well as other NATO allies. The German Air Force will use these aircraft to conduct airlift, air refueling, and air drop missions as part of a French-German allied squadron based in Evreux, France. The approval comes as the aircraft’s larger European competitor, Airbus Defense & Space’s A400M transport aircraft, has struggled with production issues and has ramped down its delivery rate. The deal is part of the US government foreign policy and national security strategy that helps to improve the security of a NATO ally and therefore strengthening the alliance and the region as a whole. The prime contractor will be Lockheed Martin, Ft Worth, TX.

Asia-Pacific

• The Indonesian Defense Minister Ryamirzard Ryacudu recently confirmed that Indonesia and South Korea will continue to cooperate on the manufacture of their next-generation fighter jets. The KF-X and IF-X respectively are 4.5 generation aircraft. South Korea has been thinking seriously about designing its own fighter jet since 2008. KF-X has progressed in fits and starts, and became a multinational program when Indonesia joined in June 2010. The development project was once delayed in 2009 but again gained traction after Indonesia and South Korea signed a cost share agreement in 2016. The total cost of the KF-X/IF-X program amounts to an estimated $6.5 billion. South Korea bores 80 percent, or $5.2 billion of the total cost, with Indonesia paying $1.3 billion to cover the remaining 20 percent. It is currently planned that the fighter het will be ready for manufacture by 2020 and fully operational by 2025. If all necessary program milestones can be met within this timeframe remains to be seen.

Today’s Video

• Embraer’s KC-390 is covered up after its crash

“Slick 32”
(click to view full)

The US Navy’s AN/SLQ-32 ECM (Electronic Countermeasures) system uses radar warning receivers, and in some cases active jamming, as the part of ships’ self-defense system. The “Slick 32s” provides warning of incoming attacks, and is integrated with the ships’ defenses to trigger Rapid Blooming Offboard Chaff (RBOC) and other decoys, which can fire either semi-automatically or on manual direction from a ship’s ECM operators.

The “Slick 32” variants are based on modular building blocks, and each variant is suited to a different type of ship. Most of these systems were designed in the 1970s, however, and are based on 1960s-era technology. Unfortunately, the SLQ-32 was notable for its failure when the USS Stark was hit by Iraqi Exocet missiles in 1987. The systems have been modernized somewhat, but in an era that features more and more supersonic ship-killing missiles, with better radars and advanced electronics, SLQ-32’s fundamental electronic hardware architecture is inadequate. Hence the Surface Electronic Warfare Improvement Program (SEWIP).

SEWIP Blocks

“Slick 32” screen on
USS Iowa, 1984
(click to view full)

Overall, SEWIP is a $5.297 billion program, with spending ramping up sharply as of FY 2014.

Though SLQ-32 is a Raytheon system, SEWIP began in 2003 with General Dynamics as the lead integrator. Blocks 1A, 1B2, and 1B3 all use the improved control and display (ICAD) console, which is a GD-AIS upgrade based on the commonly used Lockheed Martin AN/ULQ-70 computing and display console.

SEWIP Block 1A adds the improved displays and a modern interface noted above, along with some hardware switchouts that add modern commercial-off-the-shelf hardware to drive the new display, and handle some signal processing (Electronic Surveillance Enhancements, or ESE).

SWEIP Block 1B1 made more changes to replace obsolete SLQ-32 electronics, some of which aren’t even manufactured any more, and improved the system’s ability to locate the source of incoming radar signals. SEWIP Block 1B1 provides a AN/SSX-1 stand-alone specific emitter identification (SEI) subsystem to ships with the active AN/SLQ-32(V) variant. For small ships, the Small Ship Electronic Support Measures System (SSESM) provides Specific Emitter Identification (SEI) capability in a stand-alone configuration.

SEWIP Block 1B2. For those ships which already have 1B1, this adds federated Specific Emitter Identification, and fully integrates SEI with Block 1A’s ICAD/Q-70 console.

SEWIP Block 1B3 adds additional display upgrades, and a High Gain High Sensitivity (HGHS) subsystem, to help ships deal with modern missiles that announce their presence less boldly and offer less warning time. It received its Milestone C/Low-Rate Initial Production (LRIP) go ahead in summer 2012, and is expected to hit Full Rate Production (FRP) in spring 2014.

SEWIP-2 concept
(click to view full)

Those low-cost, low-risk inserts deal with some of the SLQ-32 system’s issues, but not all. Over the longer term, the system’s fundamental receiver/emitter electronics need to be updated to modern technologies. Its software needs improvements that let ships take better advantage of the new hardware’s capabilities, make it easier to share SEWIP information with their own ship’s combat system, and allow sharing with other ships.

SEWIP Block 2 is described as an upgrade, but it’s more like a major home renovation. It replaces the old SLQ-32 receivers and antennas with modern digital technologies, adding new capability, flexibility, and signal processing muscle. Block 2 also modifies the software, creating a single, unified interface to the combat system in place of multiple interfaces to individual components of the combat system. This makes future upgrades simpler, and may also have the effect of improving performance. Lockheed Martin’s ICEWS materials touted under 200ms end-to-end latency, a low false alarm rate, and good high-pulse throughput for cluttered environments.

The Block 2 contract was awarded to a Lockheed Martin/ ITT partnership at the very end of FY 2009. June 2010 was the next key milestone, and a July 2010 contract continues development. The system passed its Critical Design Review in early 2011, and the partnership was scheduled to deliver 2 prototypes in 2012. This ACAT II program achieved Milestone C approval in January 2013, with approval to begin Low Rate Initial Production, and the contract was restructured to begin LRIP in March 2013. Contracts for production and installation are now underway.

SEWIP Block 3 and beyond could look very different. Block 3 looks to add improvements to SEWIP’s Electronic Attack (EA, or jamming) capability. The goal is a common EA capability to all surface combatants (CVN, CG, DDG, LHA) outfitted with the active V3/v4 variants of the AN/SLQ-32, mainly the (V)3 and (V)4, as well as “select new-construction platforms.” It builds on ESM improvements in Blocks 1 and 2, but isn’t expected to hit its Milestone C Low-Rate Initial Production approval until early 2017. Initial Operational Test & Evaluation isn’t scheduled until summer 2018.

A US Navy program called “Integrated Topside” aims to take all of the little bolt-ons and antennas used for communications, basic radar functions, and electronic warfare, and make them all part of 1 unified architecture. That could help improve ships’ anti-radar profiles, increase their communications bandwidth, and resolve electromagnetic interference and compatibility issues between different devices. New-generation AESA radars have already demonstrated communications and electronic jamming potential, and current research is focused on that technology as the way forward.

SEWIP Block 3T will provide “an initial interim capability of a focused application of the Naval Research Laboratory Transportable EW Module (TEWM) to meet an urgent operational needs statement.”

Contracts and Key Events FY 2015 – 2018

LM awarded $153.9M; NG awarded $91.7M

May 7/18: More upgrades incoming The US Navy has awarded General Dynamics Mission Systems, Fairfax, Virginia a contract for services in support of the Navy’s Surface Electronic Warfare Program (SEWIP) at a cost of $9.7 million. The program is an evolutionary acquisition and incremental development program to upgrade the existing AN/SLQ-32(V) electronic warfare system to Block 1B3. This system provides enhanced shipboard electronic warfare for early detection, analysis, threat warning, and protection from anti-ship missiles. The US Navy’s AN/SLQ-32 system uses radar warning receivers, and in some cases active jamming, as the part of ships’ self-defense system. The ’Slick 32s’ provides warning of incoming attacks and is integrated with the ships’ defenses to trigger Rapid Blooming Offboard Chaff (RBOC) and other decoys, which can fire either semi-automatically or on manual direction from a ship’s ECM operators. The “Slick 32” variants are based on modular building blocks, and each variant is suited to a different type of ship. Work will be performed at various locations, including Pittsfield, Massachusetts; Thousand Oaks, California and Fairfax, Virginia and is scheduled for completion by May 2020.

December 13/17: Report-Wasting of Funds A report released Monday by the Department of Defense (DoD) Inspector General into the US Navy’s Surface Electronic Warfare Improvement Program has found that the service did not effectively develop and manage electronic warfare capabilities for upgrades to the AN/SLQ-32 Electronic Warfare Suite. The mismanagement resulted in the waste of almost $2 million and lengthened the acquisition process by about two years with inadequate results. Managed by the Program Executive Office Integrated Warfare Systems under Naval Sea Systems Command, the Inspector General found that Navy officials waived a step of the development process—details of which were redacted from the report—in order to stay on schedule instead of correcting problems before entering initial operational test and evaluation. This skipping resulted in additional costs of $1.8 million to conduct a second phase of initial operational test and evaluation on Block 2, delaying the acquisition schedule by almost two years. Program Executive Office Integrated Warfare Systems said it will continue to work with the commander for operational test and evaluation force to close the remaining deficiencies, according to the declassified report.

March 20/17: Lockheed Martin has won a $98 million US Navy contract to produce and deliver the service’s Surface Electronic Warfare Improvement Program systems. The modification covers work for the program’s Block 2 subsystems, which aim to expand upon the receiver and antenna groups necessary to support threat detection and improved system integration. Work will be completed by July 2019.

October 7/15: Northrop Grumman has been handed a $91.7 million contract modification for the SEWIP Block 3’s engineering and manufacturing development phase. The Surface Electronic Warfare Improvement Program (SEWIP)’s Block 3 increment is intended to provide a scalable electronic warfare and electronic attack capability, building on out-of-production AN/SLQ-32(V) electronic warfare systems. Block 2 is already in low rate initial production, following a $147.5 million contract to Lockheed Martin in September 2014.

July 13/15: Lockheed Martin has been awarded a $153.9 million contract modification to supply components for the out-of-production AN/SLQ-32(V) ship electronic warfare system as part of the Surface Electronic Warfare Improvement Program (SEWIP) Block 2 acquisition program. This follows a $147.5 million contract in September 2014 for SEWIP Block 2 low rate initial production and fielding, also awarded to Lockheed Martin. SEWIP Block 2 replaces the old SLQ-32 receivers and antennas with modern digital technologies and modifies the software, creating a single, unified interface to the combat system in place of multiple interfaces to individual components of the combat system.

FY 2013 – 2014

SEWIP 2 restructured to fixed-price components; LRIP orders for Block 1B3 and Block 2; EW simulator shortage could affect Block 2 testing.

Sept 11/14: Block 2. Lockheed Martin Mission Systems and Training in Liverpool, NY receives a maximum $147.5 million firm-fixed-price, cost-plus-fixed fee, and cost-type-letter contract for SEWIP Block 2 low rate initial production and fielding of 14 upgrade sets.

This would be the LRIP-2 order, with $76.75 million committed immediately from FY 2013 Navy shipbuilding and FY 2014 Navy RDT&E budgets. Options could increase LRIP-2 to $158.8 million. LRIP-1 involved 10 upgrade sets, and in July 2014, the Navy installed SEWIP Block 2 system on USS Bainbridge [DDG-96] for operational testing.

Work will be performed in Syracuse, NY (69%); Lansdale, PA (19%); and Chelmsford, MA (12%), and is expected to be complete by September 2017. This contract was not competitively procured in accordance with 10 U.S.C. 2304(c)(1) – only one responsible source and no other suppliers or services will satisfy agency requirements. US Navy NAVSEA at Washington Navy Yard, Washington, DC manages the contract (N00024 14-C-5340). See also Lockheed Martin, “Lockheed Martin Receives Additional Electronic Warfare Contract To Protect The Navy’s Fleet”.

Block 2: LRIP-2 order

Aug 18/14: Block 1B3. General Dynamics AIS in Fairfax, VA receives a not-to-exceed $19.5 million firm-fixed-price contract for 15 SEWIP Block 1B3 sets; FY 2014 orders are still Low-Rate Initial Production (LRIP) units, instead of hitting Full Rate Production as expected. $8.1 million is committed immediately, using US Navy FY 2011, 2013, and 2014 budget lines.

Work will be performed in Pittsfield, MA (50%): Fairfax, VA (18%); Thousand Oaks, CA (17%); and San Diego, CA (15%), and is expected to be complete by September 2016. This contract was not competitively procured pursuant to 10 U.S.C. 2304(c)(1) and FAR 6.302-1 by US Naval Sea Systems Command in Washington, DC (N00024-14-C-5341).

Block 1B3, FY 2014

Jan 14/14: Block 2. Lockheed Martin has been doing land based testing of SEWIP Block 2 since the January 2014 Milestone C decision, and they have now completed shore-based tests of full system operation in multiple scenarios.

Work on the SEWIP program is performed at the company’s Syracuse, N.Y. facility, which houses a new electronic warfare system test facility. Low-rate production is underway, and the program’s next steps involve ship installation, via upgrades of existing AN/SLQ-32(V)2 systems. Sources: Lockheed Martin, “Lockheed Martin Completes Critical Milestone To Upgrade The Navy’s Electronic Warfare Defenses”.

May 31/13: Block 1B3. General Dynamics, Advanced Information Systems in Fairfax, VA receives a $15 million contract modification to previously awarded contract for 9 high-gain, high-sensitivity antenna systems in support of SEWIP Block 1B3 low-rate initial production requirements. The new antennas give SEWIP the ability to detect and identify additional enemies.

Work will be performed in Fairfax, VA, and is expected to be complete by March 2015. All funds are committed immediately, using FY 2012 and 2013 funds. The Naval Sea Systems Command is the contracting activity (N00024-09-C-5396).

Block 1B3 into production

May 29/13: Block 2, LRIP-1. Lockheed Martin in Liverpool, NY receives a $39.1 million firm-fixed-price option for SEWIP Block 2 System low-rate initial production units. Lockheed Martin had originally announced it as a $57 million contract (vid. March 26/13), but if this is the same production year, the LRIP Lot 1 total appears to be $70 million instead.

Work will be performed in Syracuse, NY (68%), and in Lansdale, PA (32%), and is expected to be complete by September 2014. All funding is committed immediately by US Naval Sea Systems Command in Washington, DC (N00024-09-C-5300).

April 29/13: Block 1B3. General Dynamics Advanced Information Systems announces a $15 million contract modification to continue SEWIP Block 1B3 development and production.

Since 2003, GD-AIS has partnered with the Navy on the continued evolution of SEWIP through Blocks 1A, 1B1, 1B2 and now 1B3 as the systems integrator. For the 1B3 system, Lockheed Martin MST is supporting GD-AIS as a major subcontractor. Sources: GD-AIS, “General Dynamics Awarded $15 Million to Continue Work on U.S. Navy’s Surface Electronic Warfare Improvement Program”.

April 10/13: FY 2014 Budget. The President releases a proposed budget at last, the latest in modern memory. The Senate and House were already working on budgets in his absence, but the Pentagon’s submission is actually important to proceedings going forward. See ongoing DID coverage.

This budget is an important inflection point for SEWIP, as critical production approvals are now in place. The procurement budget request jumps from $92.3 million in FY 2013 to $203.4 million, and is set to increase further in the coming years, reaching $372.1 million in FY 2018. The overall procurement program is $5.297 billion.

March 26/13: Block 2, LRIP-1. Lockheed Martin Corp. in Liverpool, NY receives a $30.6 million contract modification, exercising firm-fixed-price options for low-rate initial production SEWIP Block 2 units.

Work will be performed in Syracuse, NY (68%), and Lansdale, PA (32%), and is expected to be complete by September 2014. All funding is committed immediately, and will be managed by US Naval Sea Systems Command in Washington, DC (N00024-09-C-5300). See also Lockheed Martin, who values it at $57 million, but subsequent orders (q.v. May 29/13) appear to sum to $70 million instead.

March 22/13: Lockheed Martin Corp. in Liverpool, NY received a $27.4 million modification and restructuring of the SEWIP Block 2 contract. The restructuring converts fixed-price with incentive-options for Block 2’s System long-lead time pre-production material to firm-fixed-price options. All funds are committed immediately.

Work will be performed in Syracuse, NY, and is expected to be complete by March 2014. US Naval Sea Systems Command in Washington, DC manages the contract (N00024-09-C-5300).

Block 2 contract restructured, 1st LRIP order

Jan 17/13: DOT&E Testing Report. The Pentagon releases the FY 2012 Annual Report from its Office of the Director, Operational Test & Evaluation (DOT&E). SEWIP Block 2 is included only in passing:

“At present, there exists only one each of the Kappa, Uniform, and Gamma EW simulators. These simulators are flown on Lear Jets against shipboard EW systems. SEWIP Block 2 is the latest EW system under development. Two of these simulators are needed (one for each Lear Jet) so that threat-realistic stream raid profiles can be used to adequately test the SEWIP Block 2 in FY14. An estimated development/procurement cost is $5 Million.”

FY 2011 – 2012

Block 1B1 and 1B2 production; Block 2 full SDD contract and CDR; Budget documents provide some updates; Vendors thinking about Block 3.

Aug 1/12: Block 3. Lockheed Martin and Raytheon demonstrate their proposed SEWIP 3 solution during the multinational Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) maritime exercise near Hawaii. It went to sea aboard Lockheed Martin’s mobile Integrated Common Electronic Warfare System (ICEWS) test bed. Lockheed Martin.

Feb 13/12: The USA’s FY 2013 budget documents include documents that don’t break SEWIP spending out specifically, but do discuss some past SEWIP activities and future plans, as part of a larger suite of research:

“[2011] Continued the Enhanced Surface Electronic Warfare Improvement Program (SEWIP) Transmitter FNC effort by starting system architecture design and Low Voltage Gallium Arsenide (GaAs) High Power Amplifier (HPA) Monolithic Microwave Integrated Circuit (MMIC) purchases. This effort develops affordable and reliable solid state transmitter technologies to engage anti-ship cruise and ballistic missile RF seekers.

[2013] Complete Enhanced SEWIP Transmitter – Conduct a final test of the enhanced Surface Electronic Warfare Improvement Program (SEWIP) transmit array in the anechoic chamber…. Complete Enhanced Surface Electronic Warfare Improvement Program (SEWIP) Transmitter – Demonstrate full enhanced SEWIP array performance in a relevant field environment.”

Jan 31/12: Block 3. Lockheed Martin (SEWIP Block 2) and Raytheon (original SLQ-32) announce that they’re teaming to compete for SEWIP Block 3, whose details aren’t clear yet. Lockheed Martin | Model of their proposed solution [JPG graphic, 2.3 MB].

July 18/11: Block 1. General Dynamics Advance Information Systems (GD-AIS), Inc.in Fairfax, VA receives cost-plus-fixed fee job orders estimated at $9.9 million to continue systems engineering and system software/firmware support for SEWIP Blocks 1A, 1B1, 1B2, and 1B3.

Work will be performed in Fairfax, VA, and is expected to be complete by January 2015. The basic ordering agreement was not competitively procured because the US Naval Surface Warfare Center, Crane Division in Crane, IN determined there was only one responsible source, and no other suppliers will satisfy the agency requirements (N00164-11-G-PM04).

March 16/11: FY 2011 Block 1. General Dynamics Advanced Information Systems in Fairfax, VA receives a $7 million contract modification, exercising firm-fixed-price options for FY 2011 SEWIP Block 1B1 and 1B2 full-rate production and spares.

Work will be performed in Fairfax, VA, and is expected to be complete by July 2012. US Naval Sea Systems Command in Washington Navy Yard, DC manages the contract (N00024-09-C-5396).

March 15/11: Block 2. Lockheed Martin announces a successful critical design review (CDR) for SEWIP Block 2. Lockheed Martin’s SEWIP program director, Joe Ottaviano, notes that the CDR’s success serves as the contractual go-ahead to produce 2 system prototypes by 2012.

Block 2 CDR

FY 2010 – 2011

Block 1B3 development; Block 2 development contract & PDR.

Aug 11/10: Testing. Raytheon Integrated Defense Systems in Tewksbury, MaA receives a $36.1 million contract modification (N00024-05-C-5346) for mission systems equipment (MSE) that will be used on the US Navy’s Self Defense Test Ship, in support of the Anti-Air Warfare Self Defense Enterprise Test and Evaluation Master Plan. The equipment will support the DDG 1000 and CVN 78 classes of ships, 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).

July 28/10: Block 2. Lockheed Martin announces that the U.S. Navy has approved their SEWIP Block 2 upgrade design, in a Preliminary Design Review. This is a significant milestone under the initial design contract (vid. Sept 30/09 entry).

Block 2 PDR

July 8/10: Lockheed Martin Corp. in Liverpool, NY received a $51.1 million modification to a previously awarded contract (N00024-09-C-5300), exercising the cost-plus-incentive-fee option for SEWIP Block 2 system development and demonstration.

Work will be performed in Syracuse, NY (74.5%); Lansdale, PA (13.7%); and Morgan Hill, CA (11.8%). Work is expected to be complete by January 2013. US Naval Sea Systems Command in Washington Navy Yard, DC manages the contract (N00024-09-C-5300).

Block 2 SDD

March 25/10: Block 1. General Dynamics Advanced Information Systems, Inc. in Fairfax, VA received a $12.4 million modification to a previously awarded contract (N00024-09-C-5396), exercising a cost-plus-fixed-fee option for FY 2010 SEWIP Block 1B engineering services. It also exercises firm-fixed-price options for FY 2010 SEWIP Block 1B1 production units and spares, and for Block 1B2 production units, modification kits, and spares.

Work will be performed in Fairfax, VA (65%), and Annapolis Junction, MD (35%), and is expected to be complete by December 2012. The Naval Sea Systems Command in Washington, DC manages this contract.

Sept 30/09: Block 2. Lockheed Martin Corp. in Liverpool, NY receives a $9.9 million cost plus incentive fee contract for the Preliminary Design of the Surface Electronic Warfare Improvement Program (SEWIP) Block 2.

Lockheed Martin’s Nov 2/09 release says that their team will provide a modular solution based on the Integrated Common Electronics Warfare System that was demonstrated at sea in summer 2008, using commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) electronics. The company confirmed that it remains partnered with ITT, and their team will produce a preliminary design by June 2010. If development is successful, there will be no re-compete, and production options could total $166.9 million.

Work will be performed in Liverpool, N.Y. (76%); Lansdale, PA (13%), and Morgan Hill, CA (11%). This contract was competitively procured under full and open competition, and 3 offers were received (Lockheed/ITT, GD/BAE, and Northrop Grumman) by the Naval Sea Systems Command in Washington Navy Yard, D.C. (N00024-09-C-5300). See also Lockheed Martin.

Team Lockheed wins SEWIP Block 2 development

March 31/09: Block 1. General Dynamics Advanced Information Systems, Inc. in Fairfax, VA received a $40 million not-to-exceed contract for Surface Electronic Warfare Improvement Program (SEWIP) Block 1B research and development, and production requirements. This contract includes the continued design and development of SEWIP Block 1B3, with a specialized HGHS (High Gain High Sensitivity) subsystem, to enhance the SLQ-32’s detection capabilities against emerging threats, and full rate production of SEWIP Block 1B2 units.

GD-AIS has been the SEWIP program’s lead integrator since 2003. Work will be performed in Fairfax, VA (60%) and Syracuse, NY (40%), and is expected to be complete by July 2011. This contract was not competitively procured by the Naval Sea Systems Command in Washington, DC (N00024-09-C-5396).

Dec 3/08: Block 2 competition. Defense Daily offers a roundup of the SEWIP Block 2 program competition between GD/BAE, Lockheed/ITT, and Northrop Grumman, who’s thinking about adapting the system it’s developing for the Navy’s DDG-1000 Zumwalt Class destroyers. Read: “Industry Readying For Navy’s Release of SEWIP Block 2 RFP.”

Dec 1/08: Block 1. Lockheed Martin Maritime Systems and Sensors wins a contract from General Dynamics Advanced Information Systems, Inc., to develop and produce SEWIP Block 1B3’s High Gain, High Sensitivity (HGHS) sub-system. The contract includes the topside antenna systems, the below decks signal processor, and the processing algorithms that accompany the processor. It is valued at up to $36 million including options, and was awarded after a competitive bidding process. GD-AIS.

Dec 1/08: Block 2 competition. Lockheed Martin and ITT announce that they’ve teamed up to compete for the SEWIP Block 2 contract. Lockheed Martin.

October 23/08: Block 2 competition. General Dynamics and BAE Systems announce that they’ve teamed up to compete for the SEWIP Block 2 contract. Their solution is called “Sea Lightning.” BAE Systems.

Additional Readings

• DID – InTop: Sorting out Ships’ Topside Mess. Northrop Grumman has explicitly said that these efforts will lay the hardware and controller foundations for SEWIP 3.

• US Navy – Surface Electronic Warfare Improvement Program (SEWIP).

• General Dynamics AIS – Surface Electronic Warfare Improvement Program (SEWIP).

• Lockheed Martin – Electronic Warfare. Naval EW page, includes SEWIP.

• Lockheed Martin – Integrated Common Electronic Warfare System (ICEWS) Brochure [PDF]. ICEWS forms the basis for SEWIP Block 2.

• Raytheon – AN/SLQ-32 (V).

• Global Security – AN/SLQ-32 Electronic Warfare (EW) system.

• Harold Lee Wise – Inside the Danger Zone: The U.S. Military in the Persian Gulf, 1987-1988. Includes what is very probably the best public account of the attack on the USS Stark.

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