Defense`s Feeds

Artificial intelligence (AI) has been around for a long time since the first, if crude, modern calculating machines were created more than a century ago. However, it is only in the past ten years or so with the advent of deep-learning techniques that AI has started to come into its own, with profound implications for the defence world.

This article has first been published in EDA's 'European Defence Matters' magazine N° 19 published in June 2020. 

The European Defence Agency aims to marshal its Member States’ research and development (R&D) in this sector in important ways, from creating a common set of AI references and terminology to pinpointing logical areas for their cross-border collaboration to framing the most important areas of AI for Europe’s strategic autonomy. 

“AI is not new for the defence world. There have been a lot of expectations pinned to it since the end of the Second World War: many trends and crazy predictions that have promised so much, only to fade away,” said Panagiotis Kikiras, EDA’s head of unit for technology and innovation. 

“We have avoided jumping on these trends by taking a very cautious approach. That said, this latest wave in AI’s evolution has been different. Enablers that were not around in the 1980s and ‘90s such as massive processing power and huge databases of near-real time information are accelerating. This wave of innovation stands in sharp contrast to previous advances in AI capability and makes possible new deployable solutions,” he said. “That is what we want to capitalise on as we look ahead.”
 

Taking stock

To do so first requires getting a solid idea of how military AI is being researched across the EU, what it has to offer Europe’s militaries – including its limitations – and, just as important, a common technical language for analysing it.

“In our discussions with Member State experts over the past few years, we saw a lot of discrepancies or divergent interpretations about what AI and ‘deep learning’ actually mean,” said Ignacio Montiel Sanchez, EDA’s project officer for information technologies research. 

Thus, the Agency decided three years ago to launch a preliminary blueprint to promote and coordinate AI innovation across its Member States. This was approved by its board in February 2019, and has been unfolding in phases since then. 

A first phase was to develop a common understanding of AI related to defence. “Everyone needs to read from the same ‘sheet of music’ so that all refer to and use AI terms and definitions the same way,” observed Montiel Sanchez. “This domain is really extensive, so we decided to demystify which AI elements are relevant for defence and which were not. That meant putting together a common definition, a technology taxonomy relevant to defence, and a glossary of terms in order to produce a clear vocabulary for everyone within EDA.”
 

Common definition, taxonomy, glossary

For instance, a first task was to set out the limits to AI and then converge on a common definition of it. “We saw too many divergent concepts, so the common denominator we settled on was, in brief: the capability of algorithms to select optimal or quasi-optimal choices to achieve specific goals,” he said.

With that done, EDA could then begin framing its AI taxonomy. “As we built the taxonomy, for example, we did not find a comprehensive taxonomy anywhere else. The Finnish Ministry of Defence is doing some work in that area, but it has not been completed yet to the best of our knowledge,” he said. 

The goal was not, however, to create a full taxonomy but instead “to do what was feasible within the EDA framework by focusing on what areas of activity could be clustered to help us further develop AI-related projects and programmes,” said Kikiras. In the end, EDA’s taxonomy was structured along three lines: algorithms, functions carried out by algorithms, and support or related areas such as ethics, hardware implementation or learning techniques. 

EDA’s AI definition, glossary and taxonomy were completed in December 2019. Since then these touchstones have been proving their worth, particularly regarding the AI taxonomy. The latter’s utility is such that other EU entities such as the European Commission’s research policy department, known as DG RTD, have expressed their appreciation and interest in following the evolution of this work.

Moreover, the taxonomy will be a living document. “We will soon have a dedicated place on our website for the taxonomy where it can be regularly updated,” said Kikiras.
 

Identifying defence applications

The second phase has been to identify and analyse applications within the scope of EDA’s research work that are relevant to the military and which can be affected by AI. 

“This is less about identifying technology and more about addressing the lack of awareness of knowledge about AI at all levels of defence planners,” said Kikiras. “They are trying to use it to incrementally improve their current systems and scenarios, something that is desirable and increases operational capacities. However, AI will transform the future battlefield far beyond that. For example, to survey the Arctic, ships are used supported by satellites. But this could be done more nimbly with unmanned systems. We need a new generation of planners who understand the optimisations AI can induce to their systems, and who think differently.”
 

Looking for synergies

The blueprint’s third phase is also its most strategic: to get an overview of the AI’s military status and strategies across the Member States, and to propose ideas where more AI synergies between them might be possible.

“We know from the recent study that EDA commissioned on the subject that not many Member States have a dedicated AI strategy for defence: most have a more general reference to defence in their national AI strategies. The important thing is that the study identified the gaps and patterns of potential collaboration such as data management, the ethical dimensions, certification of AI applications and systems or standardisation,” he said.  “We now need to get our CapTech groups of national experts to identify how AI can be folded into their work, and to ensure they have a better understanding of what other Member States – and third countries such as the USA, Singapore and China – are doing in the sector.”

Ultimately, the challenge will be to tackle all these things the right way, top-down as well as bottom-up. “There are different levels of AI maturity across the Member States, and that is a concern for us. While the experts within our CapTechs are eager to find solutions – and there are a lot of projects possible – once you move to the strategic level, it becomes more difficult,” said Kikiras. 

Montiel Sanchez added: “At the tactical level, AI is more about the intelligent automation of functions, like those on platforms aiming for autonomous systems. But at the strategic level, this goes straight to (AI-enabled) intelligence and support to decision-making, which immediately gets more complicated for cooperation, given the sensitivities from the different parties.”
 

AI Action Plan

This third phase includes a new EDA draft AI action plan, based on the Member States’ requirements and identifying how they could collaborate to develop AI for their militaries. National capitals had until May to comment on the action plans, after which it will be formally validated by end-2020. 

Virtual testing for real-life military AI solutions

AI products and services need standardisation and certification if they are going to be readily accepted into the military sector. One idea EDA has proposed to its members is to create a repository, or ‘data lake’, of less sensitive but anonymous military operational data on vehicles, air platforms and so on. By giving research and technology organisations, SMEs and large industry access to it, these players could devise new AI solutions such as platform-specific smart software.

“Let’s say you have a company working on predictive maintenance for a helicopter type and it has developed a great algorithm. How to test it? Traditionally, they would have to go to the manufacturer or military user, where it can be difficult or slow to get the right data sets for testing and validation,” said Kikiras. 

With the repository, however, a company could go to EDA as the trusted third-party to link the innovator with the Member State that controls and owns the operational data needed. “This would create a one-stop shop for testing AI products. But first we have to see whether our militaries will be willing to do this. France is already moving in that direction with its own repository, for example,” he said.
 

Artificial intelligence vs. machine learning: what are the differences?

The commingling is found everywhere, whether in articles for the layman or scientific texts. The terms ‘artificial intelligence’ (AI) and ‘machine learning’ (ML) are used so interchangeably that it suggests a complete synonymity between them, and thus the same concept. But this is certainly not the case, and it is important to understand the differences between them to avoid confusion. 

Artificial intelligence is the broad and overarching term. It encompasses various algorithms and techniques which exploit the huge power of computers (in their widest sense) to quickly make an immense number of calculations to solve specific goals. This capability can provide useful responses that can be construed as or equivalent to those coming from an intelligent human being. However, that is not a very precise or useful definition. 

Many AI definitions refer to human intelligence (itself not a well-defined term), reasoning (not clearly described either), concepts such as perception, cognition, intelligence or vague allusions to applications such as ‘computer vision’, ‘natural language understanding’ or ‘problem solving’.

To avoid confusion and establish a common reference, EDA has settled on a ‘minimum common denominator’ definition of the functional perspective of AI. For example, AI is very good at proposing the best option among a range of choices regarding a decision needed. The Agency has thus adopted the following definition: 

AI is the capability provided by algorithms of selecting, optimal or sub-optimal choices from a wide possibility space, in order to achieve specific goals by applying different strategies including adaptivity to the surrounding dynamical conditions and learning from own experience, externally supplied or self-generated data. 

This definition helps clear the way for EDA to support European defence cooperation in AI. 

As for machine learning, this can be understood in two ways related to the AI domain. One is that ML represents the ability of certain algorithms to learn without being explicitly programmed to do so. The other way refers not to their learning ability but to the algorithms themselves.  

For EDA, machine learning means the ability of algorithms “to model systems by learning from the data these systems produce”. These models identify and extract patterns, thus acquiring their own knowledge and inferring from the data how to predict the outcome of new inputs not previously seen. 

An exemplary illustration of ML would be so-called deep learning algorithms such as ‘Convolutional Neural Networks’ or ‘Recurrent Neural Networks’. These have produced spectacular results and are behind the explosion of AI in the last ten years regarding image- and voice-identification (Google, Facebook, Apple, etc.). They are also the reason why ML is erroneously taken as the whole body of AI when, in fact, it is only a part of it. Why? ML is a subset of AI because many AI algorithms do not have ML’s self-learning ability. 

 

Americas

General Atomics Aeronautical Systems won a $15.5 million contract modification, that adds performance for site relocation activities and exercises an option to extend intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance services utilizing contractor-owned/contractor-operated MQ-9 unmanned air systems. The Reaper is a UAV capable of remotely controlled or autonomous flight operations. The MQ-9 Reaper has an operational ceiling of 50,000ft, a maximum internal payload of 800lb and external payload over 3,000lb. It can carry up to four Hellfire II anti-armor missiles and two laser-guided bombs (GBU-12 or EGBU-12) and 500lb GBU-38 JDAM (joint direct attack munition). In May 2008, a USAF Reaper successfully test dropped four Raytheon GBU-49 Enhanced Paveway II 500lb bombs, which have laser and GPS guidance. Work will take place in Arizona, California and other locations outside the continental US. Expected completion is in December 2020.

Areté Associated von a $9.7 million contract for integration services supporting incremental upgrades, block upgrades and future generations of MK 18 Family of Systems unmanned underwater vehicles (UUVs), additional UUVs and remotely operated vehicles. This 17-month contract includes no options.The Mk 18 Mod 1 Swordfish UUV is capable of performing low-visible exploration and reconnaissance in support of amphibious landing; mine countermeasures operations such as search, classification, mapping, reacquire, and identification; hydrographic mapping at depths from 10 to 40 feet. Work will take place in Arizona and Florida. Estimated completion is August 24, 2020-

Middle East & Africa

Turkey and Qatar will help restructure forces loyal to Libya’s Government of National Accord (GNA) into a regular army based on the model that Turkey used to train the military of Azerbaijan after it became an independent country, turkish media reported. The three-way agreement was announced after talks in Tripoli between GNA Deputy Defense Minister Salah al-Namroush, Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar, and Qatari Defense Minister Khalid bin Muhammad al-Attiyah.

Europe

According to Rheinmetall, Hungary has embarked on a massive program worth over two billion euros (2.4 billion dollars) to modernize the country’s defense industry and military capabilities. Rheinmetall will be cooperating with Hungary to create a joint venture and production facility in Hungary to manufacture the most modern Lynx infantry fighting vehicle. Hungary is the first NATO and EU member state to choose the Düsseldorf-based Group’s innovative new IFV.

A giant Antonov AN-124 cargo aircraft touched down at Glasgow Prestwick Airport to make an oversized delivery of a new Operational Flight Trainer (OFT) heading to RAF Lossiemouth, according to the UK Ministry of Defense. The simulator is one of two that will be installed in the new £100-million strategic facility built by Boeing Defence UK. From Autumn 2020, RAF Lossiemouth will be the headquarters of the UK’s submarine-hunting Poseidon MRA Mk1 Maritime Patrol Aircraft fleet.

Asia-Pacific

According to Indian media, the United States and India seem to be finally ready to sign an agreement to share geospatial defense intelligence. The two countries might sign the Basic Exchange and Cooperation Agreement (BECA) during a virtual “2+2” foreign and defense ministers/secretaries’ dialogue in September. BECA is the last of the four “foundational” agreements that underpin deepening defense cooperation between the two countries. When signed, BECA will allow the United States to share satellite and other sensor data with India in order to improve the Indian military’s targeting and navigation capabilities.

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Americas

BAE Systems Surface Ships won a $19.9 million contract for Archerfish Destructor full rate production, maintenance and associated technical services.  The work to be performed under this contract will include maintenance, spare and repair parts and evolution of the Archerfish Destructors. BAE Systems will manage the destructor configuration as well as integrate new or upgraded capability and assess the destructor configuration for application to in-service upgrade efforts. Flown on board the MH-60S, Archerfish is a remotely-controlled underwater vehicle equipped with an explosive warhead to destroy sea mines. Work will take place in the UK, France and West Virginie. Expected completion will be by January 2023.

Lt. Col. Luke Sustman, commander of the newly-activated 249th Special Operations Squadron, is the first US Air Force pilot to clock more than 3,000 hours on the tiltrotor. He is a 19-year veteran who has flown the CV-22 since 2006. Sustman’s milestone achievement precedes the squadron’s historic activation, which is scheduled for later this month. “Nothing really compares to a CV-22. Going from 230 knots to a hover to landing in the middle of nowhere without a runway is amazing,” he said. “The flying is great but I find that the experiences and people I’ve had the opportunity to work with have made it the most rewarding“, says Sustman

Middle East & Africa

In mid-August, a Turkish and a Greek warship collided in the Eastern Mediterranean, raising tensions in the most combustible naval stand-off the region has witnessed in 20 years. The crisis had started two days before, when Turkey deployed an energy exploration ship along with its naval escort to search for oil and natural gas in waters near the Greek island of Kastellorizo—waters Athens claims as its own maritime territory. The Turkish geological survey vessel Oruç Reis continued to chart an area in the eastern Mediterranean claimed by both Greece and Turkey following the collision of frigates from the two countries. AIS tracking of the survey vessel showed it continuing its movement pattern on August 13-20. Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis’s national security advisor, Rear Admiral Alexandros Diakopoulos, resigned on August 19 after he pointed out the day before that the Oruç Reis was continuing its research activities. For decades, Eastern Mediterranean maritime boundary disputes were a local affair, confined to sovereignty claims and counterclaims among Cyprus, Greece, and Turkey. But over the past five years, the region’s offshore natural gas resources have turned the Eastern Mediterranean into a key strategic arena through which larger geopolitical fault-lines involving the EU and the MENA region converge.

Europe

A report on Russia’s military doctrine indicates a shift away from reliance on nuclear capability and emphasis on the military as only one element of strategy. The report by the Congressional Research Service on Thursday, notes Russia’s “new generation warfare.” It points out that Russia has expanded its military capabilities in the past decade, noting the Russian invasion of Crimea and its standing army in Syria. However, it acknowledges the military as a single component of an overall approach to warfare.

Asia-Pacific

Lockheed Martin Rotary and Mission Systems won an $18.8 million contract modification under previously awarded Aegis Combat Weapon System development contract HQ0276-10-C-0001. Under this modification, the contractor will continue performing engineering design support and analysis of alternative services necessary for continuation of planning efforts and risk reduction efforts required to support the Aegis Ashore Japan analysis of alternatives and Foreign Military Sales. Japanese Defense Minister Taro Kono had cancelled plans to build two Aegis Ashore sites, citing cost and concerns that falling booster stages from the interceptor missiles could drop on residents. Japan, however, has reportedly not cancelled the $1 billion contract for the defense system’s radars, built by Lockheed Martin. Work will take place in Moorestown, New Jersey. Estimated completion date is December 31, 2020.

An aviation brigade of China’s People’s Liberation Army Ground Force (PLAGF) conducted an exercise at sea showing its ability to utilize a commercial semi-submersible heavy-lift ship as a flight deck. Video footage released on August 19 on the js7tv.cn website of the state-owned China Central Television 7 (CCTV 7) channel, shows Z-19 and Z-8 helicopters landing on and taking off from the vessel’s deck, which was marked with three operating spots. From the video it is clear that the exercise included serials for aircraft refueling, using conventional fuel bowser lorries embarked on the ship, and re-arming the attack helicopters with missiles.

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Americas

Honeywell International won a $20.8 million deal for the repair of the advanced display core processor (ADCP) and digital mapping service (DMS) in F-15Es. The Boeing F-15E dual-role fighter is an advanced long-range interdiction fighter and tactical aircraft. The F-15E is the latest version of the Eagle, a Mach 2.5-class twin-engine fighter. More than 1,500 F-15s are in service worldwide with the US Air Force, US Air National Guard and the air forces of Israel, Japan and Saudi Arabia, including over 220 F-15E fighters. Work will take place in Phoenix, Arizona. Estimated completion date is August 19, 2025.

Lockheed Martin won a $8 million cost-share order, which is to consolidate Lots 12-14 known issues, funding and requirements on a single contract vehicle to ensure the most fiscally responsible business deals for customers. This supports concurrency related modification and retrofit activities for delivered air systems for the F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter aircraft for non-Department of Defense (DOD) participants and Foreign Military Sales (FMS) customers. The F-35 is a stealthy, supersonic multirole fighter. It is being built in three variants: a conventional take-off and landing aircraft (CTOL) for the US Air Force; a carrier variant (CV) for the US Navy; and a short take-off and vertical landing (STOVL) aircraft for the US Marine Corps and the Royal Navy. A 70%-90% commonality is required for all variants. Work will take place in Fort Worth, Texas. Expected completion date is in December 2025.

Middle East & Africa

KBR Wyle Services won an $8.7 million cost contract to provide technical assistance, program management, engineering, financial and logistics support for the integrated product teams that acquire and sustain F-18 series aircraft for Foreign Military Sales customers and the governments of Finland and Kuwait. Delivery of the very first F-18s to Finland happened between November 1995 and ended in August 2000. Kuwait had ordered its first 32 F/A-18C and eight F/A-18D Hornets i 1988. Delivery took place between 1991 and 1993. Work will take place in Maryland, Pennsylvania, Kuwait, California, California and ist expected to be finished by August 2025.

Europe

Six US Air Force B-52 bombers from the 5th Bomb Wing, Minot Air Force Base, North Dakota, arrived on August 22, 2020, at RAF Fairford, England for a long planned training mission, US Air Forces in Europe and Air Forces Africa Public Affairs has announced. “B-52s are back at RAF Fairford, and will be operating across the theater in what will be a very active deployment. Our ability to quickly respond and assure allies and partners rests upon the fact that we are able to deploy our B-52s at a moment’s notice,” said Gen. Jeff Harrigian, US Air Forces in Europe and Air Forces Africa commander. “Their presence here helps build trust with our NATO allies and partner nations and affords us new opportunities to train together through a variety of scenarios.” According to local spotters, the bombers landed at around 7:30 a.m. local time.

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is deploying four of its F-16 fighters to Souda Air Base to Crete, Greece. The jets will be there to train with the Hellenic Air Force over the eastern Mediterranean. In the next days, these aircraft and their crews will carry out joint training with the Greek Armed Forces over the Eastern Mediterranean. The F-16 crews will be joined by support staff – engineers and ground personnel.

Asia-Pacific

Chinese state-owned media released video footage showing what appears to be a new tracked amphibious ferry and bridging system for use by the People’s Liberation Army Ground Force (PLAGF). The footage, which was released on August 20 on the Weibo social media page of the js7tv.cn website, shows two of the tracked vehicles deploying their pontoons before entering the water. It appears that the platform can provide both a ferry and bridging capability across rivers and other water obstacles. However, the video provided no further details about the system, including its designation and whether it is already in PLA service.

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Americas

The US Missile Defense Agency (MDA) is on course to conduct the first ever intercept of a intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) target using a SM-3 Block IIA interceptor this year. Vice Adm. Jon A. Hill, director of MDA, says this will be executed under Flight Test Maritime 44 (FTM-44). It will be conducted in a “defense of Hawaii” scenario, with a ship and the SM-3 Block IIA, Hill added. Hill was speaking at a August 18 webinar sponsored by the Heritage Foundation, he said his agency is evaluating the feasibility of using the Aegis Combat System together with the SM-3 Block IIA interceptor as a layer in the missile defense of the US homeland.

The US Air Force’s Air Education and Training Command confirmed that it intends to scale down the T-1 Jayhawk fleet and students on the air mobility track will spend more time on the simulator instead. Pilots at Laughlin Air Force Base, Texas, and Columbus Air Force Base, Mississippi, will reportedly continue with the normal T-1 program but students assigned to Randolph Air Force Base will not fly the T-1 aircraft. Those at Vance Air Force Base will be exposed to a modified T-1 training syllabus. Senior leaders will make a decision whether to expand the program after gathering feedback from the two courses at Vance and Randolph. Maj. Gen. Craig Wills, 19th Air Force commander, said that this will lead to a reduction of T-1 aircraft if the program is successful. The T-1 fleet at NAS Pensacola will be retained to train combat systems officers.

Middle East & Africa

According to Jane’s Israeli company Rafael Defense is partnering with Pratt Miller and Oshkosh Defense in order to win a contract to provide 30 mm cannons for US Army Stryker vehicles. After a two-and-a-half-month deadline extension, all Medium Calibre Weapons System (MCWS) program proposals and bid samples are due on August 24. Although many vendors are remaining tight lipped over whether they are still competing, Janes confirmed with multiple, wholly separate, sources that Pratt Miller is no longer teaming up with CMI Defence and is now saddled up with Rafael and Oshkosh for its bid. Under the competition, the army wants to select a team to outfit Stryker vehicles with 30 mm cannons. Service plans called for a two-phased, concurrent approach involving a design integration study phase to help inform requirements development and the acquisition strategy, and a separate Stryker MCWS request for proposal.

Europe

British Army and German Bundeswehr Joint Terminal Attack Controllers (JTACs) trained together at Kazlu Ruda training ranges in Lithuania on Exercise FURIOUS WOLF, alongside Typhoon aircraft from No. 6 Squadron Royal Air Force. The British and German troops have been training alongside other NATO JTAC partners across the Baltic States to hone their skills in accordance with NATO standardized practices. According to the British Army, all NATO JTACs use the same procedure when working with alliance aircraft. According to NATO, JTACs from Estonia, Denmark, Germany, Lithuania, Norway, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands and the United States all worked together with air crews from the Estonian Air Force, the Royal Air Force as well as the Spanish Air Force.

Ukraine’s NATO-funded disposal of old and obsolete ammunition resumed this week after the project was interrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic, the alliance said. Ukraine acquired vast amounts of weapons and ammunition after the Soviet Union withdrew from Warsaw Pact countries in the 1990s. NATO’s Trust Fund Demilitarization Project has been working since 2005, at the request of Ukraine’s government in order of reducing the accumulation of unstable and potentially dangerous munitions. A second phase of the project, which will dispose of 29,600 tons of ammunition, 2.4 million antipersonnel mines and 1,500 tons of other unserviceable ordnance by the end of the year, began in 2011 but was halted to deal with the pandemic, NATO reported on Tuesday.

Asia-Pacific

Indonesia’s National Board for Disaster Management (BNPB) has leased a CH-47D helicopter from Billings Flying Service of the United States for forest fire fighting and COVID-19 relief operations. The large rotorcraft is on a one month trial and will assist in the distribution of test kits to remote regions. It arrived in Sumatra on August 18 and is already painted in BNPB colors. The board says it will also lease a Black Hawk helicopter for similar duties.

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When seven EDA Member States established a Working Group in 2013 to improve collaboration and information-sharing in what was then a small and totally fragmented European Medium Altitude, Long Endurance, Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems (MALE RPAS) domain, they instantly realised that cooperation on education and training offered the biggest potential for tangible results. Seven years on, there is a very tangible outcome: a joint RPAS Training Technology Demonstrator deployed to ten Member States.

This article has first been published in EDA's 'European Defence Matters' magazine N° 19 published in June 2020. 

The Working Group started with an in-depth analysis of the varying national approaches to RPAS crew training. It revealed that the paths into the RPAS aircrew pipeline varied significantly from country to country with disparate entry standards, methodologies and qualifications everywhere. Aligning the various approaches did not seem to offer any obvious immediate operational benefits to the fielded capability of the front line crews involved, a problem further compounded due to the remote and segregated nature of their daily tasks (often highly classified) which offered very few opportunities for multinational interaction. 

Against this backdrop, in late 2015, the Working Group reached a consensus that the only viable way forward was to construct a generic common MALE RPAS training platform that would be independent of bilateral obligation and not directly challenge national approaches. Instead, the common training platform would serve as a catalyst for slower convergence of training approaches, as a tool for improved interoperability as well as a framework for structured sharing of lessons, improved procedures and for general capacity development. The quest for improved interoperability was not unique to EDA, nor the Working Group itself, and, in early 2016, the European Air Group (EAG) was invited to contribute to the workstream as they had a strong interest in practical operator level improvements to interoperability, doctrine and procedures.  
 

RPAS Training Technology Demonstrator (RTTD)

The joint approach proved fruitful, and with funding support from EDA’s operational budget, a plan was developed to build a RPAS Training Technology Demonstrator (RTTD), the results of which would be shared across all EDA participating Member States.
 
Practically speaking, the RTTD project would equip each of the national training establishments with a desktop MALE RPAS simulator comprised of separate pilot, sensor operator and instructor consoles – all of them connected over a virtual private network that would enable both local and distributed training and the opportunity to test how interoperability could be improved through regular joint exercises and an annual face-to-face meeting of operators and instructors. 

EDA took care of the provision of the equipment and initial systems training, whereas the EAG focused on structured exercise collaboration and the tactical procedural dimensions to author a dedicated training manual through a parallel effort to be called the Interoperable MALE RPAS ISR Trainer (IMRIT) project. EDA rapidly progressed with the writing of a technical specification for the RTTD and opened a contract call in late 2016 for a four-year framework contract to provide the hardware, software and associated support services. The contract was awarded in February 2017 to DCI and DIGINEXT, a French consortium, who specialised in military simulation and had already developed a stand-alone system for the French Air Force.
 

First deployments to France, Italy, Spain

After several operator led design review and acceptance meetings, the first console was deployed in December 2017 at the French Air Force, Drone Centre of Excellence at Salon de Provence, followed quickly by deployments to the Italian Drone Centre in Amendola and the Spanish RPAS Training School, in Salamanca, Spain. The system immediately proved popular for local training and inter site communication, file transfer, debrief and replay functions were tested. 

The remaining deliveries to Belgium, the Czech Republic, Germany, Greece, the Netherlands, Poland and the United Kingdom (prior to Brexit) were conducted as soon as possible between March 2018 and February 2019. Issues were resolved as they came to light and Full Operational Capability was declared in March 2019. 
 

Desert, maritime and Middle East scenarios

Aside from the equipment deployment, the first MALE RPAS symposium was held at High Wycombe in the UK in November 2018 and the Member States and the EAG began work on designing three operational scenarios covering desert, maritime and Middle East based urban storyboards to form the framework for increasingly complex operational challenges.  

Each scenario was developed over three levels of difficulty: basic, advanced and advanced plus. Member States were each allocated a scenario in groups of three and four with the objective of refining the scenarios and further improving operational procedures. The EAG offered a vision of running a large collaborative personnel recovery exercise in late 2020 called VOLCANEX, but planning is currently held up due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
 

Unique training network for MALE RPAS operators 

Results from the RTTD/IMRIT project will be made available to all EDA participating Member States in late 2021 with a view to reviewing the membership and scope of the Working Group and to perhaps continue the Demonstrator project as a longer lasting endeavour. 

Initial impressions of the joint project have highlighted several significant benefits including the value of mentoring in terms of capability development, language and cultural context as drivers for change, the value of low cost simulation employing commercial off-the-shelf gaming technologies and the very high degree of fidelity achievable using common locally shared environments and synchronisation tools. 

Although Covid-19 has enforced a regrettable operational pause to further system development, the demonstrator has already proved its worth enhancing both local and networked training but, perhaps more importantly, establishing an ongoing and trust based dialogue between European MALE RPAS operators. 

Training together in peacetime should be the normal approach to delivering success on deployed operations and in that respect the RTTD/IMRIT has already broken down several cultural barriers that in time will improve deployed operational capability. 

 

Americas

Teledyne Defense Electronics won a $23.6 million deal for the repair of the electron tubes associated with the ALQ-99 system in support of the F/A-18G aircraft. This contract includes a five-year base period with no options. The AN/ALQ-99 is an airborne electronic warfare system, found on EA-6B and EA-18G military aircraft. Receiver equipment and antennas are mounted in a fin-tip pod while jamming transmitters and exciter equipment are located in under-wing pods. Work will take place in Rancho Cordova, California. Expected completion will be by August 2025.

The Army has reportedly developed a new system for land mine identification that it says will greatly reduce false alarm rates. Vadum, Inc., North Carolina State University, the Georgia Institute of Technology and the Army Research Office all collaborated to develop the Vibration-Enhanced Underground Sensing system called Venus. Instead of detecting the electromagnetic signature of the mine, which can be confused with other buried metal objects or with wet or magnetic patches of soil, the Venus system uses a pulsed magnetic field to stimulate the metal parts inside a landmine to vibrate. The Army has awarded the research team an additional two-year Phase II STTR contract to mature the technology and make it ready for outdoor testing at the Army’s range.

Middle East & Africa

Iran unveiled the upgrade it appears to be implementing for its T-72M1 main battle tanks (MBTs) when Minister of Defense Amir Hatami inaugurated the production line at the Bani-Hashem Armour Industrial Complex near Dorud in the mid-August. General Hatami reportedly expressed hope that the experts of the defense ministry will be able to upgrade all the operational main battle tanks of the Armed Forces, saying that Iran is currently capable of manufacturing tanks equipped with an electro-optical fire control system, laser rangefinder system, ballistic computer, and a system to fire at fixed and moving targets, day or night.

Europe

A new Russian medium-altitude long-endurance (MALE) Unmanned Aerial Vehicle was reportedly unveiled to the public during a visit by the Minister of Industry and Trade to Kronstadt Group on August 18. The UAV is named Helios and is likely a mock-up at this stage. At the production site, the head of the Ministry of Industry and Trade of Russia was shown the diversification of technologies developed for civilian use, technologies for creating parts of UAVs

The US military lost two MQ-9 UAV over Syria when both aircraft collided with each other in mid-air. A defense official told the Air Force Times that while there were indications that both drones collided, whether it was due to enemy fire is still unclear at the moment. Locals had photographed the drones flying over north of Idlib just before the incident. The Reaper has also been reportedly deploying a “flying Ginsu” weapon. The weapon has been in use for some time, while its existence has been kept under wraps by the Central Intelligence Agency and the Pentagon, according to the Wall Street Journal.

Asia-Pacific

The Japanese government may reportedly cancel the acquisition of three RQ-4 Global Hawk surveillance drones from the United States, slated for procurement through Washington’s Foreign Military Sales (FMS) system. The government is apparently reconsidering the plan and will soon make a decision, which could be the cancellation of the purchase, according to informed sources. It is the second time for Japan to review a procurement deal under Washington’s Foreign Military Sales program, following the recent decision to scrap the plan to deploy the US-made Aegis Ashore land-based missile defense system.

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Americas

According to Boeing, the 20th US Navy F/A-18 Super Hornet entered Boeing’s Service Life Modification program for upgrades and extension of use. The SLM program adds a Block III conversion to the plane, in use since 1999, with features including enhanced network capability, added fuel tanks, an advanced cockpit system, signature improvements and an enhanced communication system. Each plane’s life is extended from 6,000 flight hours to 7,500 flight hours, with the intent of keeping the F/A-18 in active service for decades to come.

The submarine tender USS Emory S. Land arrived in California Monday for maintenance after a nearly eight-month deployment with the US 7th Fleet. The ship will spend 150 days in port at Mare Island Dry Dock in Vallejo, Calif., for a regular overhaul through an awarded contract of $33.5 million, the Navy said. The ship departed Guam, and completed a 14-day sequester period to guard against the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic, before arriving in California. The USS Emory S. Land is one of two submarine tenders in the Navy.

Middle East & Africa

The United States and the United Arab Emirates concluded a joint live fire exercise in the Arabian Gulf last week, the Navy Central Command said on Monday. The four-day exercise involved the UAE’s Joint Aviation Command and the US Naval Forces Central Command, US Air Forces Central Command and US Special Operations Central Command in air operations supporting maritime surface warfare, the Navy said. US and Emirati pilots also participated in live fire exercises, which officials said offers an opportunity to practice strike capabilities against simulated surface targets.

Europe

For the first time, the air forces of Israel and Germany began a two-week joint exercise over Germany on August 17. Six IAF F-16C/D “Barak” fighter planes of the Israel Air Force, two “Re’em” Boeing 707 aircraft known as “Re’em,” and two Gulfstream G-550 surveillance planes known as “Nachshon-Eitam” arrived at Germany’s Norvenich base, marking the first time that IAF aircraft landed on German soil, Israeli officials said. “The flights will be carried out using NATO’s combat doctrine as opposed to ours, which creates a challenge for the pilot and weapons systems operator in the cockpit,” Lt. Col. A said.

According to the Royal Navy, it has has “shown its commitment” to using autonomous and robot systems for underwater survey work. The Royal Navy, the Defense Science and Technology Laboratory (DSTL) and the National Oceanography Center have expanded their Memorandum of Understanding for the underwater environment. The first iteration of the memorandum, signed in 2014, focused on the joint development and trials of unmanned underwater vehicles. Potential projects coming up include further testing of gliders and autonomous surface and underwater vehicles as well as the development of robotics systems and their possible military use.

Asia-Pacific

Australian Defense reports that the Boeing Australia’s Loyal Wingman prototype unmanned aircraft has been spotted out in the open and is being prepared for taxi trials. While the actual location was not disclosed, it is likely to be in Amberley. A Boeing spokesperson confirmed that the first flight will take place this year. Australia is spending $40 million for three prototypes under Project 6014.

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Americas

Kaman Precision won a $57.3 million contract for joint programmable fuze-152. The deal provides a cockpit-selectable bomb fuze employed in MK-80 series warheads (both guided and unguided variations). The Mk 80 series of bombs are a group of heavy, high-explosive weapons, weighing between 500lbs and 2,000lbs. The largest in this family is the Guided Bomb Unit-10 (GBU-10). The GBU-10 consists of an Mk 84 bomb fitted with a Paveway II laser guidance system. Work will take place in Orlando, Florida. Expected completion will be by July 2024.

The US Air Force Global Strike Command announced on August 14 that military construction activities to support the initial beddown of the Ground Based Strategic Deterrent (GBSD) will start as early as 2023. F.E. Warren AFB, Wyoming is the first site followed by Malmstrom AFB, Montana in 2026 and Minot AFB, North Dakota, beginning in 2029. The GBSD will replace the aging Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile.

Middle East & Africa

Israel’s Elbit Systems announced that its THOR multi-rotor Vertical Take-off and Landing (VTOL) mini Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) successfully completed a series of environmental durability tests ahead of the delivery of more than 1,000 units to an army in Southeast Asia. As announced on October 6, 2019, the company was awarded a $153 million contract to provide a networked multi-layered UAS array to a Southeast Asian army, including more than 1,000 THOR drones. The tests measured the operational durability of the THOR VTOL mini-UAS under a range of extreme environmental conditions and its capability to withstand the physical stress requirements under the MIL-STD-810, a US Department of Defense equipment testing standard.

Europe

Hungary says it intents to conclude a multi-part deal to purchase the National/Norwegian Advanced Surface to Air Missile System (NASAMS). The purchase is worth approximately $1 billion and is a mixture of Foreign Military Sales and Direct Commercial Sale packages. The systems’s Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missiles (AMRAAM) will be bought under the Foreign Military Sales route with the United States.

A chartered Ukrainian An-124 airlifter delivered British Army Foxhound armored patrol vehicles to the Bosnian capital, Sarajevo, ahead of the start of the annual reinforcement exercise by the EU Force (EUFOR) peacekeeping force in the Balkan country, dubbed ‘Quick Response 2020’. The deployment, based on A Company, The Parachute Regiment, is the first time British Army troops will have participated in the event since the United Kingdom left the EU earlier this year.

Asia-Pacific

Elbit Systems announced that it won a $27 million deal to supply air-to-air combat training systems for the Navy of a South Asian Country. The contract will be performed over a two-year period, to be followed by three years of availability-based maintenance. The contract calls for the supply of EHUD Air Combat Maneuvering Instrumentation (“EHUD ACMI”) systems, to be operated from the Navy’s shore bases as well as onboard aircraft carriers. According to the company, EHUD ACMI offers advanced air-to-air combat training capabilities, including features such as real-time hit notification and removal, real-time electronic warfare and air-to-air weapons delivery, simulation and advanced debriefing.

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Watch: This Is America’s Deadly AC-130 Gunship on Steroids

Americas

BAE Systems won a $103.6 million contract to prepare for and accomplish repair and alteration requirements for USS Preble (DDG 88) Chief of Naval Operations scheduled depot maintenance period. This contract includes options, which, if exercised, would bring the cumulative value of this contract to $117,754,630. The purpose is to maintain, modernize, and repair the USS Preble. The USS Preble will receive comprehensive modernization for DDG 51 Class ships to ensure a mission relevant service life. This is a “long-term” availability and was solicited on a coast-wide (West Coast) basis without limiting the place of performance to the vessel’s homeport. BAE Systems will provide the facilities and human resources capable of completing, coordinating, and integrating multiple areas of ship maintenance, repair, and modernization for USS Preble. Work will take place in San Diego, California. Expected completion will be by February 2022.

J.F Taylor won a $23.2 million deal, which provides for the production and delivery of a maximum quantity of six first article test external quick-disconnect umbilical cable assemblies and a maximum quantity of 2,500 external quick-disconnect umbilical cable assemblies in support of advanced anti-radiation guided missile production. Additionally, this contract procures a maximum quantity of six first article test external quick-disconnect umbilical cable assemblies and a maximum quantity of 5,000 production representative external quick-disconnect umbilical cable assemblies for various military standard 1760 compliant weapons for the F/A-18 series and EA-18G aircraft. The F/A-18 “Hornet” is a single- and two-seat, twin engine, multi-mission fighter/attack aircraft that can operate from either aircraft carriers or land bases. The Growler is a derivative of the F/A-18 Hornet. The Growler was developed as a replacement for the US Navy EA-6B Prowler aircraft that entered service in 1971 and retired in March 2019. Work will take place Maryland. Expected completion will be in July 2025.

Middle East & Africa

The Pentagon contracted Lockheed Martin with $62 billion to build 90 F-16 fighters for Foreign Military Sale customers. Twenty-four of those fighters will be for Morocco while the rest is for Taiwan. Assembly will be carried out at the new F-16 plant at Greenville, South Carolina and all aircraft will be delivered by 2026. Work will take place in Greenville, South Carolina; and Fort Worth, Texas, and is expected to be completed December 31, 2026. The contract involves 100% FMS to FMS partner nations and is the result of a sole-source acquisition.

Europe

General Atomics von a $188.9 million contract action for Belgium MQ-9B SkyGuardian procurement. This contract provides for four MQ-9B unmanned air vehicles, two Certifiable Ground Control Stations, spares and support equipment. The MQ-9 Reaper is the primary offensive strike unmanned aerial vehicle for the US Air Force. Given its significant loiter time, wide-range sensors, multi-mode communications suite, and precision weapons, it provides a unique capability to perform strike, coordination, and reconnaissance against high-value, fleeting, and time-sensitive targets. Work will take place in Poway, California. Estimated completion is March 31, 2024.

Lufthansa Technik has placed an order with Airbus Corporate Jets (ACJ) for two A321LR airliners that will be operated by the Luftwaffe. The A321LRs will be able to fly up to 163 passengers, up to 6 intensive care patients and up to 12 medium care patients, depending on the installed configuration, with a maximum range of 4,200nm/7,800km or 9.5 flight hours, said the press release. Lufthansa Technik is the launch customer for the ACJ variant of the A321LR.

Asia-Pacific

India will ban the imports of 101 items of military equipment in an effort to boost local production and improve self-reliance in weapons manufacturing. Defense Minister Rajnath Singh said the government is planning to progressively implement the embargo on select military imports between 2020 and 2024. The military equipment includes some high technology weapon systems and range from assault rifles and artillery to transport aircraft and light combat helicopters, the Defense Ministry said in a statement.

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Americas

Boeing won a $15.6 million order, which provides for the production and delivery of 25 Harpoon Block II+ captive air training missiles and 24 tactical missiles. Harpoon Block II is an over-the-horizon, anti-ship missile manufactured by Boeing Defence, Space & Security. It is the world’s superior anti-ship missile capable of performing land-strike and anti-ship missions. The all-weather missile can engage a wide variety of land-based targets, including coastal defense sites, surface-to-air missile sites, aircraft, port or industrial facilities, and naval ships anchored in ports. Work will take place in Missouri, Kansas, Pennsylvania, Oklahoma, Alabama, Minnesota, Arizona and Iowa. Estimated completion will be in August 2023.

Capco won a $13.3 million contract for the manufacture of M943 impulse cartridges used on B-1B and B-52H aircraft during the ejection sequence. The deal includes a five-year ordering period with no options. The B-52H is the US Air Force’s long-range, large-payload multirole bomber and is known as the Stratofortress or the Buff. It is the USAF’s principal strategic nuclear and conventional weapons platform that supports the US Navy in anti-surface and submarine warfare missions. Work will take place in Colorado. Estimated completion will be by August 2025.

Middle East & Africa

An attempted cyberattack on Israeli defense companies was stopped, the country’s Defense Ministry announced on Wednesday. Government officials said the attack came from an “international cyber group called ‘Lazarus,'” which used fake profiles on the social media platform LinkedIn in an attempt to gain access to computer systems. The scheme aimed to send corrupt computer files hidden in job offers from impersonated CEOs and human resources offices at Israeli high-tech firm in order to eventually gather sensitive information, officials said. Israel did not identify a foreign country as the attacker. The cyberattacks were discovered in real time, with no interruption to the work of the defense companies, the Defense Ministry said.

Europe

According to the British Ministry of Defense, a Royal Air Force P-8 Poseidon patrol aircraft has flown from its base at Kinloss Barracks this morning to support Border Force Operations in the English Channel. The Poseidon made its operational debut last week tracking a Russian warship near the UK coast, it is now looking for dinghies. The task was previously performed by an A400M Atlas transport aircraft. The P-8 Poseidon is designed to conduct anti-submarine warfare (ASW), anti-surface warfare (ASUW), and shipping interdiction, along with an electronic signals intelligence (ELINT) role. This involves carrying torpedoes, anti-ship missiles and other weapons.

The fourth remotely piloted aircraft of NATO’s Alliance Ground Surveillance (AGS) Force has arrived at the Italian Air Force Base in Sigonella, Italy. NATO say that the aircraft took off from Edwards Air Force Base in California, USA, at 18:33 local time on July 25th and landed at Sigonella at 16:20 local time the following day, almost 22 hours later. The arrival of the fourth aircraft represents another successful step for NATO’s Alliance Ground Surveillance Force. Less than two weeks after the landing of the third RQ-4D remotely piloted aircraft, also called ‘Phoenix’, the NATO AGS Force’s fleet of five total aircraft is near completion.

Asia-Pacific

The Japanese Ministry of Defense revealed plans to build a Japan Self-Defense Forces (JSDF) base, as well as a training site for US carrier-based aircraft on Mage Island off Kagoshima Prefecture. Reportedly, the new base, where between 150 and 200 JSDF personnel are set to be stationed, will enable field carrier landing practice (FCLP) for the US Navy (USN) once or twice a year. At the base, the JSDF will practice take-offs and landings with its future shipborne F-35B Lightning II Joint Strike Fighters, as well as to carry out drills with several other aircraft, including its recently acquired MV-22B Osprey tiltrotor aircraft.

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Americas

Sikorsky won a $25.1 million delivery order, which provides non-recurring engineering for the development of logistics support products for the Maintenance Task Analysis Phase II, a provisioning database of technical information to include 2D drawings that supports all operational, intermediate, and depot level maintenance for the CH-53K helicopter. The CH-53K Super Stallion can be fielded from amphibious assault ships for the transportation of personnel and equipment. It will also be used to carry external cargo loads. The aircraft can be operated from austere and remote forward operating bases. Work will take place in Connecticut, Florida, Missouri, France, Georgia, England, New York, New Jersey and Ohio. Expected completion will be in August 2024.

DigiFlight won a $15.3 million contract modification for logistic support services for the Apache Attack Helicopter Project Manager’s Office. The Apache Program Office is responsible for all duties and functions associated with being the Army’s central point of contact for all materiel system matters pertaining to the AH-64. The Apache attack helicopter was developed by McDonnell Douglas for the US Armed Forces. It entered service with the US Army in 1984. The Apache is a twin-engined army attack helicopter. It was first used in combat in 1989 in the US military action in Panama. Work will take place in Columbia, Maryland an estimated completion date is August 10, 2020.

Middle East & Africa

The 968th Expeditionary Airborne Air Control Squadron broke its previous record on August 3 when it generated its 34th consecutive combat mission while deployed to Al Dhafra Air Base, UAE. “The squadron embraced the challenge to provide critical combat air power across three areas of responsibility for coalition forces,” said Lt. Col. Terry “Val” Hjerpe, 968 EAACS commander. “We exceeded all expectations.” The 968 EAACS’s aircraft, the E-3G Airborne Warning and Control System, is the newest model of the E-3 Sentry that includes a modernized computer system and software that vastly enhances mission capability. The unit was tasked last month to increase its operations tempo to deliver significantly increased airborne command and control in theater, above their historic operational pace.

Europe

The Royal Netherlands Air Force resumed flights with its NH90 helicopters after they were grounded following the crash of one into the Caribbean Sea on July 19, Dutch Defense Minister Ank Bijleveld-Schouten told parliament. Meanwhile, the wreck of the crashed RNLAF NH90 has been found. “Based on the first investigation results it seems unlikely that a technical or mechanical failure of the helicopter was the cause of a crash with an NH-90 helicopter on July 19 in the Caribbean Sea whereby two crew members died,” it was stated in a press release.

Asia-Pacific

The Indian government has approved a purchase of 106 HTT-40 basic trainers made by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL). The aircraft will be ordered in two batches, the first order is for 70 aircraft followed by another 36 after the type is declared operational. With Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) having successfully developed Basic Trainer Aircraft (HTT-40) Prototypes and certification process underway, the DAC approved procurement of 106 Basic Trainer Aircraft from HAL to address the basic training requirements of the IAF.

A Indonesian Air Force T-50I advanced jet trainer was significantly damaged when the jet veered off the runway during take off at Iswahjudi Air Force Base on August 10. Air Force spokesperson Air Commodore Fajar Adriyanto said a student pilot and instructor were aboard the aircraft and both were able to walk away without scratches.

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Americas

The Next Generation Jammer Mid-Band (NGJ-MB) flew for the first time on August 7 under the right wing of a EA-18G from VX-23. Lt. Jonathan Williams, VX-23 test pilot, says the new pod imposed negligible handling issues with the Growler. The first flight, conducted by Air Test and Evaluation Squadron (VX) 23, is a Safety of Flight (SOF) checkout that ensures the pods can be safely flown on the EA-18G aircraft for follow-on test flights.

The HH-60W Jolly Green II helicopter reportedly carried out its first aerial refueling on August 5 by connecting with a HC-130J tanker over southern Alabama. This connection marked the start of two weeks of developmental testing of the aircraft’s aerial refueling abilities by 413th Flight Test Squadron testers and their mission partners, says the press release. John Biscaino, Sikorsky’s test pilot, and Maj. Andrew Fama, 413th FLTS, were at the controls during the milestone test flight.

Middle East & Africa

The Pentagon said on August 11 it is investigating a pair of attacks on US-supported military convoys in Iraq. According to officials, the military is investigating one attack Monday night on a convoy carrying equipment near the Iraq-Kuwait border, south of Basra. Shiite group Ashab Al Kahf claimed responsibility, saying it destroyed “equipment and vehicles belonging to the American enemy.” The Pentagon uses foreign contractors to provide security in the area, which is a key transportation site.

Europe

According to BAE Systems, engineers from Australia and the UK have successfully completed a rigorous structural testing programme that has seen a Hawk airframe achieve the equivalent of 50,000 flying hours. The Mk127 Hawk operated by the Royal Australian Air Force has a safety clearance to fly 10,000 hours and is the most advanced standard of the aircraft. The firm also say that air forces in the United Kingdom, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and Oman operate similar standards of aircraft in their Hawk fleets with the Qatar Emiri Air Force due to become the latest to operate this most advanced standard of aircraft.

Asia-Pacific

Thailand will spend $30 million to upgrade 12 C-130H cargo planes instead of purchasing new aircraft. The cabinet approved the project on August 4. Royal Thai Air Force commander ACM Maanat Wongwat explained that the budget to finance the upgrade will come from tie-over funds over the next two fiscal year. Earlier this year, the Royal Thai Air Force published a white paper that calls for the replacement of the C-130H by 2030. It said that the aircraft was commissioned in 1980 with 40 years in service and is nearing the end of its lifespan. It wishes to buy new replacement aircraft from 2022 in three batches of four aircraft.

A clear rendering of South Korea’s light aircraft carrier has been distributed to the local media and the ship’s main features can be seen. The overall shape is similar to the America-class with 9 spots on the flight deck for helicopters to take-off and land. The island is longer with two smoke funnels and two octagonal masts that are similar to those on the San Antonio-class amphibious transport dock. Two phase-array panels could be seen on the the forward mast. The port side aircraft elevator is in the same spot as American-class but the starboard side elevator has been brought forward closer to the island.

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Americas

PoleZero Acquisitions won an $8.9 million modification, which increases the ceiling of the contract to provide for the production and delivery of up to 12 additional Ultra High Frequency (UHF) Antenna Interface Units (AIUs); 22 Very/Ultra High Frequency (V/UHF) AIUs; 12 UHF AIU Communications Tray (COMM-Tray); and 18 V/UHF AIU COMM-Tray assemblies and subassemblies in support of the P-8A aircraft. The P-8A Poseidon is designed for long-range anti-submarine warfare; anti-surface warfare; and intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance missions. It is capable of broad-area maritime and littoral operations. It is also effective for humanitarian and search and rescue missions. Work will take place in West Chester, Ohio. Estimated completion will be in March 2023.

The number of COVID-19-cases in the US military passed the 30,000 threshold this week, the Pentagon reported. The Department of Defense now has recorded 30,392 cases of the coronavirus among military personnel, with civilian, contractor and dependent cases bringing DoD’s total case count to 43,634 as of Friday afternoon. The Army had 10,245 total cases last week. The Marines reported 3,746, the Navy had 7,166, the Air Force had 4,789, the National Guard had 4,151 and other Defense Department agencies had 295. The Army’s increase in cases, from Monday’s Pentagon report to Friday’s, was 548 cases, with the Marines up by 301, the Navy up by 278 and the Air Force up by 194. The National Guard, which has troops activated around the country to assist in COVID-19 response, reported 294 cases this week.

Middle East & Africa

A US Air Force C-17 delivered pallets of food and water to Beirut, Lebanon after the explosions at a local warehouse that lead to at least 220 deaths and 7,000 injuries. Personnel from the 379th Air Expeditionary Win, Air Mobility Command’s 8th Expeditionary Air Mobility Squadron and 816th Expeditionary Airlift Squadron on Al Udeid Air Base, and the Area Support Group Qatar from Camp As Sayliyah worked to palletize food, water and medical supplies delivered to Beirut later that day.

Europe

Snipers assigned to 3rd Battalion, 15th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Infantry Division completed helicopter sniper training with the assistance of 5th Battalion, 101st Combat Aviation Brigade, 101st Airborne Division at Smârdan, Romania. The team fired at targets while hovering from a Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk on August 6th, 2020, at Smârdan, Romania. 3rd Battalion was the home of one of a small number of Special Reconnaissance Platoons created to better bridge the gap between conventional forces and Special Forces. The 15th United States Infantry Regiment is a parent regiment in the United States Army.

Leonardo announced that it was part of a new team launched to support the UK Ministry of Defence’s (MoD’s) Mission Data for Information Advantage (MD4IA) program. Known as Team NOVUS, the group includes Leonardo, Thales, BAE Systems, Sigma, Meta Mission Data, and MASS. The company said in a statement that “the founding members are committed to a transformative MD4IA enterprise approach that is built on outcome-based relationships and an agile delivery culture. Discussions are continuing with like-minded companies to enhance the Team NOVUS response to the MD4IA challenge.”

Asia-Pacific

Taiwan’s Lungteh Shipbuilding launched the first of four fast minelaying ships being built for the Republic of China Navy (RoCN). The 41 m-long vessel, which bears the designation FMLB-I (Fast Mine Laying Boat-I) on its hull, entered the water in a ceremony held at the company’s facilities in Yilan County. Work on the ship, which is expected to be handed over to the RoCN by the end of 2020, began on May 24, 2019, with the keel being laid on November 14. The first mine laying vessel is expected to be delivered this year, according to plans.

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Americas

Northrop Grumman Systems won a $21.9 million task order for the Minuteman III Fast Rising B-Plug service life extension. The LGM-30G Minuteman intercontinental ballistic missile, or ICBM, is an element of the nation’s strategic deterrent forces under the control of the Air Force Global Strike Command. The Minuteman is a strategic weapon system using a ballistic missile of intercontinental range. Missiles are dispersed in hardened silos to protect against attack and connected to an underground launch control center through a system of hardened cables. Launch crews, consisting of two officers, perform around-the-clock alert in the launch control center. Work will take place in Layton, Utah. Expected completion date is November 17, 2022.

Lockheed Martin won a $77.4 million contract modification, which provides for the development and installation of flight test instrumentation on one F-35B Lot 14 aircraft and one F-35C Lot 14 aircraft for government testing in support of the F-35 program. The F-35 Lightning II joint strike fighter (JSF), is being developed by Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Company for the US Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps and the UK Royal Navy. The stealthy, supersonic multirole fighter was designated the F-35 Lightning II in July 2006. The JSF is being built in three variants: a conventional take-off and landing aircraft (CTOL) for the US Air Force; a carrier variant (CV) for the US Navy; and a short take-off and vertical landing (STOVL) aircraft for the US Marine Corps and the Royal Navy. Work will take place in Texas, California, Denmark and the Netherlands. Estimated completion will be in June 2023.

Middle East & Africa

Turkey will ultimately train around a third of the Somali National Army, according to Mehmet Y?lmaz, the Turkish ambassador to the East African country. Y?lmaz told the state-controlled Anadolu Agency that Turkey had pledged to train 5,000 soldiers for the SNA, which is projected to have a force strength of 15,000–16,000. He said the battalions that have graduated from Turkish training are currently taking part in operations and include officers and non-commissioned officers who are forming the “backbone” of the SNA. The training of a fifth battalion has continued despite the coronavirus pandemic, albeit with strict precautions, bringing the total number of SNA soldiers trained by the Turks to 2,500, he added.

Europe

Lockheed Martin won a $65.3 million deal for fiscal 2020 Aegis modernization, new construction of guided missile destroyers and Foreign Military Sales (FMS) production requirements. This contract combines purchases for the Navy; the Kingdom of Spain; and the government of Japan, under the FMS program. The Aegis Weapon System is a centralized, automated, command-and-control and weapons control system that was designed as a total weapon system, from detection to kill. The heart of the system is the AN/SPY-1, an advanced, automatic detect and track, multi-function phased-array radar. This high-powered (four megawatt) radar is able to perform search, track, and missile guidance functions simultaneously, with a track capacity of more than 100 targets. The first Engineering Development Model (EDM-1) was installed in the test ship, USS Norton Sound (AVM 1) in 1973. Work will take place in Moorestown, New Jersey; Clearwater, Florida; and Owego, New York. This procurement covers the production and delivery of multi-mission signal processor equipment sets; Aegis Combat System support equipment; and electronic equipment fluid coolers and kill assessment system 5.1 equipment. This contract action also provides MK 6 Mod 0 equipment for the government of Japan and the Kingdom of Spain FMS requirements. Expected completion will be by November 2024.

A Royal Air Force P-8 has completed the first tracking of a Russian warship on August 3. The maritime patrol aircraft monitored Russian warship, Vasily Bykov, as it transits the North Sea. It was accompanied by Eurofighters from RAF Lossiemouth and A330 Voyager from RAF Brize Norton. The P-8 offers a potent blend of tracking options and associated weapons able to find surface and sub-surface vessels, once more allowing the RAF to complete effective joint maritime operations with the Royal Navy.

Asia-Pacific

South Korea has unveiled an indigenous active electronically scanned-array (AESA) radar prototype for use by the Republic of Korea Air Force’s (RoKAF’s) next-generation multirole fighter aircraft, which is being developed under the Korean Fighter eXperimental (KF-X) program. The radar, which has been under development since 2016 by South Korean company Hanwha Systems and the country’s Agency for Defense Development (ADD), was unveiled in a ceremony on August 7, according to the Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA).

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The detection and identification of chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear and explosive (CBRNe) threats has traditionally been a costly and painstaking endeavour for the military and for other civilian actors such as protection forces (border police, fire brigades etc.). Aside from the obvious risk of exposure for counter-CBRNe personnel, neutralising the threats demands complex sampling and analysis procedures, particularly in the bio- and chemical areas, to avert or mitigate their effects. 

This article has first been published in EDA's 'European Defence Matters' magazine N° 19 published in June 2020. 

If the time, expense and personnel required to carry out such tasks could be telescoped, the world would be a far more secure place. Indeed, new technologies – and new combinations of existing technologies – hold great promise in that regard. 

The European Defence Agency (EDA) and the European Space Agency (ESA) aim to do just that with their novel approach to the CBRNe sector, one that promises high levels of deployability, safety, speed, accuracy and reliability for detecting and identifying threats. The two Agencies have supported European industry in developing a concept, which is only a step or two away from the industrial production stage, meaning it could be rolling out to Europe’s defence and civil first-responder communities in just a few years.

Welcome to AUDROS (‘Autonomous Drone Services in the CBRNe operations’), the joint EDA/ESA project that combines satellite-based services with Remotely Piloted Aircraft System (RPAS) technologies. The resulting capability would have a wide range of applications for many different users, ranging from defence forces to first responders (police, emergency response, firefighters, etc.) to industry (transport, energy, critical infrastructure security, etc.).
 

Joint call for proposals

AUDROS has evolved over several stages and is now poised to tackle the core of its development work. Its two sponsoring partners laid down the project’s initial groundwork with a preceding Implementing Arrangement, signed in March 2017. This was followed by a workshop open to defence and civil stakeholders and subsequent interactions in order to assess the requirements of all the interested Member States. EDA’s CBRN research and technology expert network played a central role in capturing defence specific needs and requirements. 

That, in turn, saw the definition of a joint call for proposals to study the design and function of a prototype system. “We received a solid number of proposals, matching our requirements for new CBRNe detection-identification-monitoring capabilities and services, making it a genuine success,” said Shahzad Ali, EDA moderator for CapTech CBRN & Human Factors1. 

AUDROS was one of the awarded teams of the one-year feasibility study contract worth €350,000. The Consortium was made up of four partners: the two Czech companies BizGarden (as prime) and GINA Software, the Polish company Cervi Robotics, and the Czech Ministry of Defence research institution known as VTU. “The main purpose of the study was to look at AUDROS’s technical analysis, economic viability, the added value brought by the space-based data, new possible applications and, of course, the crucial ability to deal with CBRNe threats,” observed Ali. 
 

RPAS hangar system

Starting in early 2018, the joint EDA/ESA team analysed the solutions proposed by industry to meet user needs for CBRNe countermeasures, with the study’s results assessed in December of that year. It laid out the definition of an RPAS hangar system. The ultimate goal? To enable fully autonomous beyond-visual-line-of-sight drone operations equipped to carry out day or night-time detection of persons and equipment, and search and map radiation sources, chemical warfare agents or toxic industrial pollution. 

The joint team then witnessed in late 2018 the successful demonstration of a proof-of-concept system for AUDROS. This comprised a modified off-the-shelf quadcopter RPAS with a maximum take-off weight of 25 kg (including payload of up to 9 kg) and a hangar. Equipped with lightweight sensors for radiation and gas detection, AUDROS’ test scenario focused on detecting a chemical near a large industrial site by sending the drone to ‘sniff out’ the agent’s molecules and location. This was demonstrated during the prototype system’s outdoor flights around the facilities of project partner VVU. 

“Space technologies are a crucial component of AUDROS”, said Beatrice Barresi, ESA’s Project Officer. “Satellite Navigation allows us to command the RPAS and to monitor the position of the rescue team in the field. That is not all: satellite imagery are needed to visualise the situation and to provide best available data to command the RPAS. Last but not least, satellite communication protects data transfer towards remote dispatch/command.” 

Just as important was the study’s recommendations for the design and construction of AUDROS’s drone hangar. The prototype’s portable hangar, which was connected to a fixed power source, was designed to enable the drone to autonomously re-charge its battery. Expanding on this design in future to enable auto-switching of detection suites, for example, would significantly increase the flexibility and duration of AUDROS-based missions, particularly if several drones and hangars were deployed at the same time. 
  

Towards deployment

That, however, is for the project’s next and crucial phase, namely the deployment of AUDROS in a fully operational scenario. The payload will be modular in design and industrially scalable for commercial production. 

The Czech-Polish consortium is expected to receive a new contract to build the pre-operational service, which will be financially supported by EDA and ESA.

“The Covid-19 pandemic has fortunately not adversely impacted the rolling out of the project, namely because AUDROS’s demonstration budget had been earmarked,” said Ali. “Thus, this 18-month contract will go ahead as planned, with the idea of signing off on it by the summer.” 

“Engaging projects swiftly is a critical means at our disposal to respond to the pandemic’s adverse effect on the economy at large and the space industry in particular. ESA, with its partner EDA, is therefore fully engaged to proceed as soon as possible with agreed projects in order to channel much needed resources to protect Europe’s essential industrial base in these unprecedented times”, added Florent Mazurelle, ESA’s Principal Security Strategy Officer.

The demonstration project will expand the prototype’s technical design by incorporating drone payloads for the mapping and visual day/night detection of persons, as well as situational awareness from integrated satellite services. Its hangar will be able to either recharge a drone’s battery or swap it out for a newly recharged one. Doing so would mean that a fleet of drones, combined with one or more hangars, could carry out 24/7 execution of CBRNe-missions across a relatively wide operational area. 

“Indeed, the combination of sophisticated detection-identification and monitoring suites with the diverse array of satellite services promises to produce a powerful dual-use CBRN-protection capability for Europe’s military and civil users. And it would have many cross-over links to other EDA research goals in the areas of counter-terrorism, harbour protection, protection of critical infrastructure, logistics and in-theatre medical surveillance, to name just a few. The spill over benefits, in other words, could radiate out in many directions”, concluded Ali. 
 

Fruitful cooperation

EDA’s research collaboration with ESA got off the ground in June 2011 when the two organisations signed their Administrative Arrangement on cooperation, which, above a tightly knit policy dialogue, has now given birth to cooperative projects in countless domains such as cyber defence, critical technologies for European non-dependence, Earth observation, secured satellite communications, to name but a few. 

AUDROS was a logical outgrowth of the EDA’s Joint Investment Programme on CBRN Protection, which it launched in 2012 to stimulate R&T work in the defence sector among its Member States and their industries. 

 

1 The European Defence Agency’s work in the Research & Technology domain is in line with the Agency’s mission to support Member States in their efforts to improve defence capabilities. EDA organises its R&T priorities in different Capability Technology Areas (CapTechs), which are networking fora for experts from government, industry, small and medium enterprises (SME) and academia, moderated by EDA.

Americas

Testers from the US Air Force’s 40th Flight Test Squadron and the 85th Test and Evaluation Squadron carried out the first four-ship F-16 formation test of the new APG-83 AESA radar on July 2. The mission objective was to determine if the jets experience interference when all four radars are active at the same time and to determine if there is signal improvement or degradation during the flight. According to the press release from Egline Air Force Base, the APG-83 is powerful enough that it allows the pilot to target a corner of a small building or the cockpit of an aircraft from beyond line-of-sight.

An Argentine Air Force A-4AR pilot was killed on August 5 when his fighter crashed south of the city of Cordoba during a training flight. Captain Gonzalo Fabian Britos Venturini ejected from his aircraft but did not survive. The A-4AR is an upgrade of the A-4M carried out by Lockheed Martin in the 1990s. The jets were modernized with new Douglas Escapac 1-G3 ejection seats, AN/APG-66V2 radars and HOTAS controls with CRT color displays.

Middle East & Africa

Kellogg Brown an Root Services son a $75 million job order contract for construction projects at Camp Lemonnier and Chabelley Air Field, Djibouti. No task orders are being issued at this time. The work to be performed provides for various renovations, repairs, maintenance, replacements, alterations, demolition and construction projects for Camp Lemonnier and Chabelley Air Field, Djibouti. The construction may include minor alteration, repair of real property (industrial and commercial) and utilities. The term of the contract is not to exceed 60 months. Work will take place in Djibouti, Africa. Estimated completion date will be by September 2025.

Europe

Reactivation of the US Army’s fabled V Corps establishes a forward command post in Poland, following announced plans to reduce US troop strength in Germany. The V Corps flag was unfurled on Tuesday in ceremonies in Krakow, Poland, with the promotion of commanding officer Maj. Gen. John Kolasheski to the rank of lieutenant general. About 200 Army personnel will form the post, beginning in Fiscal Year 2021, the US Embassy in Warsaw said. A new forward command post is part of an Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement between Poland and the United States, finalized on July 31.

The Belarus Air Force carried out an exercise on the M1 Minsk-Brest motorway on August 5. MiG-29, Su-25, Yak-130 and L-39 landed on a pre-prepared strip of the motorway before taking off to carry out ground attacks at the Ruzhany air range. The section was defended by Tor-M2 air defense system and Mi-24 and Mi-8MTV-5 helicopters patrolled the area. Su-30SM fighters flew overhead as well.

Asia-Pacific

According to Jane’s, Saab reaffirmed its intention to offer its GlobalEye platform for South Korea’s recently announced program to acquire additional airborne early warning and control aircraft for the Republic of Korea Air Force. Saab reportedly told Jane’s that it expects the procurement to feature an initial two aircraft acquired through either an open tender or a direct acquisition. South Korea’s Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) is expected to confirm the procurement method later this year. GlobalEye is Saab’s new airborne early warning and control solution. It provides air, maritime and ground surveillance in a single solution. GlobalEye combines Saab’s new Erieye Extended Range Radar and a range of additional advanced sensors with the ultra-long range Global 6000 aircraft from Bombardier.

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Americas

Bell Textron won a $30.4 million order, which provides non-recurring engineering and integrated logistics support to produce and qualify the structural improvement and electrical power upgrade solution for the UH-1Y Venom and AH-1Z Viper aircraft. This order provides for the integration of structural improvements and power upgrades, as well as the development of technical data and supporting documentation as it pertains to reliability, maintainability, damage limits and tolerances.  Additionally, this order provides for the manufacture and delivery of two drives system accessory power quills, one modified combining gearbox, one test stand upgrade, as well as associated component qualification testing. The UH-1Y utility helicopter provides command & control and assault support under day/night and adverse weather conditions. The AH-1Z attack helicopter provides rotary wing close air support, anti-armor, armed escort, armed/visual reconnaissance and fire support coordination capabilities under day/night and adverse weather conditions. Work will take place in Texas, Michigan and Arizona. Estimated completion will be in December 2022.

The Navy and Marine Corps have found the amphibious assault vehicle that sank off the coast of California last week as well as the remains of those killed in the incident. The services used a remotely operated search and rescue system to find the vehicle, which sank July 30 during a training exercise, killing eight Marines and a Sailor. According to the Marine, According to the Marines, the Navy, Marine Corps and Coast Guard ships and aircraft had been working together to find the vessel. The AAV sank to a depth of 385 feet during a shore-to-ship maneuver about 1,500 meters off the coast of San Clemente Island.

Middle East & Africa

F-35As from the US Air Force have participated in the second joint exercise with Israeli F-35s on August 2. The training between the 421st Expeditionary Fighter Squadron and Israel’s 140th Squadron took place over southern Israel. The fighters were supported by a KC-10 from the 908th Expeditionary Air Refueling Squadron and a G550 from Israeli Air Force 122 Squadron.

Europe

Martin Baker won a maximum $150 million contract for T-6 and T-38 Sustainment. This contract provides for T-6 and T-38 replenishment spares. The T-6A Texan II is a single-engine, two-seat primary trainer designed to train Joint Primary Pilot Training, or JPPT, students in basic flying skills common to US Air Force and Navy pilots.The T-38 Talon is a twin-engine, high-altitude, supersonic jet trainer used in a variety of roles because of its design, economy of operations, ease of maintenance, high performance and exceptional safety record. Work will take place in Uxbridge, UK and is expected to be finished by December 31, 2026.

The first ever Luftwaffe Eurofighter training detachment while embedded with a Royal Air Force (RAF) contingent that is deployed to Lithuania as part of the NATO Baltic Air Policing Mission has concluded. Pilots from RAF Lossiemouth-based 6 Sqn RAF flew with pilots from the German Tactical Fighter Wing 71 Richthofen to practice air intercepts and basic fighter maneuvers together as a pair. Both sides will reverse roles in September when the British will embed with a German detachment in Amari, Estonia.

Asia-Pacific

Lockheed Martin won an $181.7 million contract modification, which provides for the production, delivery and integration of 24 Airborne Low Frequency Sonars (ALFS) for the government of India; eight ALFS for the Navy and seven ALFS for the government of Denmark, into MH-60R Seahawk aircraft. The ALFS is the primary undersea warfare sensor of the MH-60R multi-mission helicopter. This integrated dipping sonar system enables the MH-60R to accomplish the assigned ASW missions of submarine detection, tracking, localization and classification. It also performs missions relating to acoustic intercept, underwater communications and environmental data acquisition. Work will take place in Rhode Island and New York. Estimated completion will be by December 2024.

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Americas

Northrop Grumman won a $34.7 million ordering agreement, which provides non-recurring engineering for requirements development and systems engineering technical reviews and certification planning; initial requirements change requests; procurement strategy source selection package; performance based navigation certification plan; initial system safety; cyber; program protection and exportability analysis; integrated master schedule; and other associated technical deliverables in support of the E-2D Advanced Hawkeye cockpit redesign. Operating from an altitude more than 25,000ft high, the Hawkeye alerts the naval task force to approaching air threats, while also providing threat identification and positional data to fighter aircraft such as F-14 Tomcats. The next-generation E-2D Advanced Hawkeye has a new radar system, theatre missile defense capabilities, multi-sensor integration and a Northrop Grumman Navigation Systems tactical glass cockpit. Work will take place in Melbourne, Florida and Patuxent River, Maryland. Expected completion will be in January, 2022.

Testers from the US Air Force’s 40th Flight Test Squadron and the 85th Test and Evaluation Squadron carried out the first four-ship F-16 formation test of the new APG-83 AESA radar on July 2. The mission objective was to determine if the jets experience interference when all four radars are active at the same time and to determine if there is signal improvement or degradation during the flight. According to the press release from Egline Air Force Base, the APG-83 is powerful enough that it allows the pilot to target a corner of a small building or the cockpit of an aircraft from beyond line-of-sight.

Middle East & Africa

Raytheon won a $33.7 million contract modification for National Advanced Surface to Air Missile System (NASAMS) integration and alternate Air Defense Operations Center (ADOC) installation. The contract modification is for the procurement, installation, integration and testing of NASAMS into the ADOC and alternate ADOC. The modification involves Foreign Military Sales (FMS) to Qatar. Work will take place Tewksbury, Massachusetts. Expected completion will be in October 2021.

Europe

Reuters reports that Serbia has bought the FK-3 air defense missile system from China, the FK-3 is the export variant of the HQ-22. The information was disclosed by state-run arms company Jugoimport SDPR’s annual report, submitted to the state Business Registers Agency last week and seen by Reuters. This is the first time that such type of Chinese air defense missile system has been exported to Europe.

The British Army has ordered 589 AJAX vehicles, including the Ares variant, which will be delivered between now and the end of 2024. According to a press release, the first six vehicles were delivered to the Household Cavalry Regiment at Bulford, Wiltshire. Ares, and the other variants in the Ajax family of armored vehicles, will replace the Army’s Combat Vehicle Reconnaissance (Tracked) (CVR(T)) vehicles which have been the mainstay of armored reconnaissance for almost fifty years.

Asia-Pacific

The Pakistan Army officially inducted into service its first batch of Al-Khalid-I main battle tanks in a ceremony at the facilities of state-owned defense manufacturer Heavy Industries Taxila in the Rawalpindi District of the Pakistan’s Punjab Province. Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the media wing of the Pakistani military, said that several units of the tank, which is an improved variant of the in-service Al-Khalid MBT, were handed over to the PA’s Armoured Corps. The Al-Khalid-I is part of a joint venture between Pakistan, China, and Ukraine, and is believed to be intended to replace approximately 300 Type 85 and 320 T-80UD MBTs.

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Americas

USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78) had its first Air Intercept Control (AIC) event on July 30 and the aircraft carrier’s crew directed F/A-18s from VFA-103 and VFA-213 to protect high value asset against enemy threats. Two separate AIC events took place during the exercise and Ford’s Air Intercept Controller, Operations Specialist 1st Class David Geary, controlled two Super Hornets from Jolly Rogers and four F/A-18Fs from Black Lions to “intercept, escort and if necessary kill the inbound threat aircraft.”

The US Air Force may replace its 218 F-15Es with F-15EXs, which could expand the new program to over 400 aircraft, according to service documents justifying the sole-source contract to Boeing. In its F-15EX Justification and Approval (J&A) document, which was dated March 2018 but only published this month, the flying branch said while the F-15EX acquisition program is “initially” intended to refresh the aging F-15C/D, a decision to similarly replace the F-15E Strike Eagle fleet with the EX “has not been made, but remains an option.” The documents also disclosed that Boeing will most likely build 144 F-15EX fighters to replace the 234 F-15C/Ds that are currently in USAF service. It also quoted the F-15 system program office as saying the EX will enjoy “90-95 percent commonality” with the F-15QA that Qatar has ordered. Deliveries of the F-15QA will commence soon. It further justified the purchase by stating that it takes approximately “six months or less to transition from the F-15C/D to the F-15EX.” And transitioning from “F-15s to the F-35 (or any other airframe) will take approximately 18 months for an Active-duty squadron and 36 months for an Air National Guard squadron.”

Middle East & Africa

METIS Solutions won a $27 million contract modification for counter threat finance. The contract modification exercises Option Year One. Fiscal 2019 operations and maintenance funds in the amount of $23,455,736 are being obligated at the time of award. Work will take place in Afghanistan, National Capital Region as well as Florida. Expected completion date is September 27, 2024.

Europe

The Hungarian army received four refurbished Leopard 2 tanks from its German manufacturer. The country awaits delivery of 44 upgraded tanks starting in 2023. While the tanks were handed over by maker Kraus-Maffei Wegmann on Thursday at an army base in Tata, Hungary, eight older versions of the Leopard 2A4HU variant will be provided for training purposes. Hungary will receive 44 of the newest Leopard 2 variant, called the 2A7+, to replace Soviet-made T-72 tanks. Germany and Denmark currently use the upgraded tanks, and the purchase suggests some interoperability between the German, Danish and Hungarian armies. All of them are NATO members. The sale is part of a $2 billion purchase by Hungary of German tanks, howitzers and other battlefield support equipment. At least momentarily, Hungary is Germany’s largest arms customer.

The Boeing-Saab T-7A Red Hawk is one of the options that Serbia is considering as a replacement for its existing jet trainer and light attack fleets. A senior government official said on TV, that aircraft could replace both the SOKO G-4 Super Galeb (Super Seagull) advance trainer and light attack platform and the SOKO J-22 Orao (Eagle) ground attack jets that, despite ongoing modernization efforts, are due for retirement. Serbia has expressed interest for the acquisition of 20 T-7A jets, the acting assistant minister for material resources in the Serbian defense ministry, Nenad Miloradovi?, said. He added that the T-7A, which is being developed as a trainer for the US Air Force (USAF) and marketed as a potential light fighter/attack solution for the international market, possesses “excellent characteristics and capabilities”.

Asia-Pacific

China said that long-range bombers were among the aircraft that took part in recent aerial drills over the South China Sea amid rising tensions between Washington and Beijing over the strategic waterway. The exercises included nighttime takeoffs and landings and simulated long-range attacks, Defense Ministry spokesperson Ren Guoqiang said. Among the planes were H-6G and H-6K bombers, upgraded versions of planes long in use with the People’s Liberation Army Air Force and the People’s Liberation Army Navy Air Force, Ren said.

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