Defense Industry Daily

3BCT-101st, Iraq-
no Chavis turrets?
(click to view full)

Navistar subsidiary International Military and Government LLC (IMG) in, Warrenville, IL has won billions of dollars in MRAP program contracts, to produce several variants of its blast-resistant vehicles. The Category I MRUV vehicle’s role is similar to a Hummer’s, albeit with more carrying capacity and much more protection. That has become a staple for IMG’s entry, dubbed the “MaxxPro” by its manufacturer. Their collaboration with an Israeli firm who provides up-armored vehicles for the Marines successfully overcame lukewarm initial interest, but even successful survivors of Aberdeen’s tests where challenged to offer enough protection against the ERP class of land mines that began to appear in Iraq.

Nevertheless, the MRAP program became a production race – and Navistar did very well under those competitive terms. In the end the military’s desire for standardization of its fleets exerted something of a gravitation pull on the competition. A July 2007 order vaulted Navistar into 1st place for initial MRAP Program vehicles ordered, but the US Army is divesting many of its vehicles – creating opportunities for foreign buyers…

MRAP Competitors, Navistar Totals

Dash Ambulance
(click to view full)

Navistar ended up leading the initial MRAP competition, with the highest share of any competitor at 38.3%. Additional orders for Afghan-adapted vehicles ensure that this total has crept higher vis-a-vis their original competitors, but They’re still just one competitor among many, and beyond the MRAP competition, trucking rival Oshkosh’s M-ATV has now achieved very close production figures in the follow-on, single-award M-ATV program.

To date, Navistar has produced 7 MaxxPro variants under contract: the original MaxxPro, MaxxPro Air Force, the MaxxPro Plus with improved protection, MaxxPro ambulance (production orders were for the Dash variant), MaxxPro MEAP, the MaxxPro Dash for Afghan operations, and the MaxxPro Recovery Vehicle (MRV), for towing out stuck vehicles. The firm has also developed Cargo flatbed and Tractor (18-wheeler truck’s front end, but mine-protected) variants.

A number of these MaxxPro vehicles have also received independent suspension upgrades, in order to improve their off-road performance. The MaxxPro DXM upgrade kits are delivered through Boler’s Hendrickson subsidiary, and marry Hendrickson’s advanced engineered sub-frames, sway-bars, coil springs and shocks with GD AxleTech’s 5000 Series Independent Suspension Axle System.

Participants in the MRAP and related programs, and their vehicles, have included:

Manufacturer CAT I CAT II Notes Navistar MaxxPro
MaxxPro AF
MaxxPro Dash/ DXM
MaxxPro Plus
MaxxPro ambulance (Dash) MaxxPro
MaxxPro MRV recovery Top finisher in number of MRAP orders. BAE Systems RG-33
RG-33 SOCOM
Caiman
Caiman MTV RG-33L
RG-33 HAGA (ambulance)
Caiman
Caiman MTV-ambulance

Won MMPV with RG-33L derivative.

General Dynamics RG-31 Mk.5/ RG-31A2 RG-31 Mk.5E Partnered with BAE OMC, Canadian government CCC. Also received orders
before MRAP began. Force Protection (now GDLS) Cougar 4×4
Cougar ISS Cougar 6×6 Also received orders before MRAP began. Its Buffalo MRAP CAT-III is unique, and sole-source. Oskkosh Alpha
(w. PVI) Bushmaster
(w. Thales) No MRAP orders, but sole winner of related M-ATV program with its own
design. PVI Alpha
serve w. US Border Patrol Golan
(w. RAFAEL) Alpha failed MRAP testing; 2008 firm bankruptcy & fire-sale acquisition Textron M1117 ICV M1117 ICV Failed MRAP testing; no MRAP orders, but ASV variant widely ordered by Military Police and fire targeting units.        

Based on awarded contracts, MaxxPro’s price per base vehicle is around $520,000 – $550,000. The vehicles must then be fitted with electronics, IED jammers, and other equipment. That can add hundreds of thousands of dollars to that base price, before they’re sent to the front lines. Announced production orders to date include:

• #001: 4 initial testing vehicles
  
• #002: 1,200 MRAP CAT I vehicles
  
• #003: 16 larger MRAP CAT II vehicles
  
• #004: 754 CAT I
  
• #005: 1,000 CAT I
  
• #006: 1,500 CAT I
  
• #007: 743 CAT I
  
• #008: 4 CAT I – not publicly announced
  
• #009: 822 CAT I MaxxPro Dash
  
• #010: 400 CAT I MaxxPro Dash
  
• #014: 1,050 CAT I MaxxPro Dash DXM with improved suspensions. Modification added 1,222 DXM retrofits.
  
• #015: 250 MaxxPro MRV recovery/tow variants
  
• #016: 175 CAT I MaxxPro Dash DXM with ECP I/II
  
• #018: 250 MaxxPro Dash Ambulance with DXM and ECP IV
  
• #019?: 471 MaxxPro Dash DXM with ECPs
  
• #020: ISS retrofit kits: 650 DXM Plus
  
• #021: 140 MaxxPro MRV recovery/tow variants
  
• #023: Full “rolling chassis” retrofits: 2,717

Total production is currently 8,779 vehicles. Beyond American buys, Navistar informs DID that their production totals include a 2009 order from Singapore for 15 MaxxPro Dash vehicles, and they have also announced a May 2010 order for a pool of 80 MaxxPro Dash vehicles to support “coalition forces” in Afghanistan, which has reportedly included Albania, Croatia, Estonia, Greece, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Solvakia, and South Korea.

As the USA withdrew from Iraq and Afghanistan, they decided not to keep many of their MRAP vehicles. Quite a few Oshkosh M-ATVs and Navistar MaxxPros will still remain in the force, but many MRAPs of all types won’t remain. The question is where they end up. Some have been destroyed outright, in order to avoid paying to ship them home. A number of MRAPs, including MaxxPros, have been diverted to local government organizations in the USA. Giving mine-protected, heavily armored vehicles to entities like school districts and non-violent towns of under 10,000 people has caused no small amount of controversy, and citizen protests have even forced a small handful of local governments to cancel these “1033 program” giveaways, which are not centrally tracked or accounted for. Other MRAPs have been given or sold to foreign operators, reportedly including:

• Croatia: 40
  
• Hungary: 42
  
• Jordan: 100
  
• Pakistan: 22 deployed, 160 requested
  
• Slovakia: ??
  
• UAE: 3,375 requested
  

 

A Note on MRAPs

DID refers to the MaxxPro as the top finisher in the MRAP competition, despite greater sales by Oshkosh’s M-ATV (MRAP All-Terrain Vehicle).

That’s because the M-ATV wasn’t part of the initial MRAP program; instead, it’s a follow-on competition that aimed to bridge the gap to the future JLTV winner. Navistar’s MaxxPro competed, but Oshkosh won, and their M-ATV was also very popular. In June 2010, its order totals narrowly surpassed the Navistar MaxxPro’s. DID defines “MRAP orders” as orders placed under the original MRAP multi-vendor contracts, however, and considers the single-vendor M-ATV competition to be a separate but related effort.

MaxxPro Contracts & Key Events

MaxxPro MRV
(click to view full)

Unless otherwise specified, all contracts are issued to Navistar subsidiary International Military and Government LLC (now Navistar Defense LLC) in Warrenville, IL. Unless otherwise noted, the Marine Corps Systems Command in Quantico, VA buys MRAP vehicles on behalf of 2008 requests from the US Army (12,000 by 2008), USMC (2,225), Air Force (558), Navy (544), SOCOM (344), and production verification testing (100). Those numbers rose further, via additional awards in 2010 and 2011, but the US military

2015 – 2017

Afghan National Security Forces Contract

March 12/17: Navistar has been contracted more than $475 million by the US Contracting Command in order to produce and support 40 armored vehicles for Pakistan and to upgrade 1,085 armored vehicles for the United Arab Emirates. The vehicles destined for Pakistan later this year are the company’s MaxxPro Dash DXM Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) vehicle which features an armored wheeled vehicle with a V-shaped hull to deflect mine blasts. For the UAE, Navistar will provide the long wheel base MaxxPro MRAPs which are being acquired by the UAE under the US Excess Articles program and will be delivered in 2018.

February 19/17: Navistar Defense has been contracted $35 million by the US DoD to provide 40 Mine Resistant Ambush Protected MaxxPro Dash DXM vehicles. The deal supports foreign military sales for the government of Pakistan and work is expected to be complete by the end of October 2018. MaxxPro Dash DXM vehicles feature a V-shaped hull to deflect IED explosions away from the vehicle and are built to withstand ballistic arms fire and mine blasts. Pakistan will use the vehicles to protect troops against attacks from jihadist militants and other insurgents operating between Pakistan and Afghanistan.

September 11/15: US firm Navistar Defense has been contracted to supply the Afghan National Security Forces with nearly 2,300 mine resistant, ambush protected (MRAP) vehicles, based on the company’s 7000-MV platform, according to a company press release. The US Army Contracting Command handed the company a $369 million contract for the vehicles, which will bring the total number of Navistar vehicles sent to the Afghan government to nearly 9,000. The company has also exported the 7000-MV platform to Iraq. The new MRAPs will reportedly serve in a variety of roles, including ammunition, fuel and troop transport.

FY 2013 – 2014

Export requests: UAE (3,375), Pakistan (160); Support and upgrade contracts.

MaxxPro & Lonestar
(click to view full)

Sept 26/14: UAE. The US DSCA announces the United Arab Emirates’ official export request for the refurbishment and modification of 4,569 used Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) Vehicles:

• 729 Navistar MaxxPro Base
  
• 283 MaxxPro MRAP Expedient Armor Program (MEAP) without armor
  
• 264 MaxxPro Base/MEAP capsules without armor
  
• 29 MaxxPro Long Wheel Base (LWB)
  
• 1,085 MaxxPro LWB chassis
  
• 970 MaxxPro Plus
  
• 15 MaxxPro MRVs (MRAP Recovery Vehicles)
  
• 1,150 BAE Caiman Multi-Terrain Vehicles “without armor,” which are based on the FMTV truck chassis. Note that the V-hull is not “armor,” it’s an intrinsic part of the vehicle.
  
• 44 Oshkosh M-ATVs; they would be added to the UAE’s existing order for 750.
  
• Plus Underbody Improvement Kits, spare and repair parts, support equipment, personnel training and training equipment, publications and technical documentation, Field Service Representatives’ support, and other US Government and contractor support.

They’re being sold as Excess Defense Articles (EDA) from US Army stock, pursuant to section 21 of the Arms Export Control Act, as amended. Notification for the sale from stock of the MRAP vehicles referenced above has been provided separately, pursuant to the requirements of section 7016 of the 2014 Consolidated Appropriations Act, and section 516 of the 1961 Foreign Assistance Act. The estimated cost is up to $2.5 billion, which isn’t all that far from the cost of buying new.

To date, the UAE’s biggest patrol vehicle fleets have been its own Nimr design (1,700 total), which has also been exported within the region. Its Oshkosh M-ATV fleet (750) was second. This request would completely change the force’s configuration by adding 3,375 MaxxPros and 1,150 Caimans, giving the UAE a patrol vehicle fleet that is overwhelmingly protected against mines as well as weapons of urban unrest.

The principal contractors will be Navistar Defense in Lisle, IL (MaxxPro); BAE Systems in Sealy, TX (Caiman); and Oshkosh Defense in Oshkosh, WI (M-ATV). If the sales are concluded, implementation will require multiple trips to the UAE involving “many” US Government and contractor representatives for 3+ years to provide program support and training. Sources: US DSCA #14-26, “UAE – Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) Vehicles”.

DSCA request: UAE (3,375 MaxxPros of 4,569 MRAP vehicles)

Sept 19/14: Pakistan. The US DSCA announces Pakistan’s official export request for 160 Navistar Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) vehicles. That would certainly be an easy delivery from Afghanistan, for Excess Defense Article vehicles that the US Army was prepared to blow up rather than paying to ship them home:

• 30 MaxxPro Base DXM
  
• 110 MaxxPro Dash DXM
  
• 10 MaxxPro Dash DXM Ambulances
  
• 10 MaxxPro Recovery Vehicles with protection kits
  
• spare and repair parts, support and test equipment, publications and technical documentation, personnel training and equipment training, U.S. Government and contractor engineering, technical and logistics support services, and other related elements of logistical and program support.

The estimated cost is $198 million. These vehicles would be added to 22 MaxxPros (incl. 2 MRV recovery vehicles) that were already transferred under the Pakistan Counterinsurgency Capability Fund. The country’s years-long civil war involving the Pakistani Taliban will certainly provide Pakistan with opportunities to use these vehicles.

The principal contractor will be Navistar Defense Corporation in Madison Heights, MI. The proposed sale will require about 2 US Government and 24 Navistar contractor representatives in Pakistan for a period of approximately 18 months. They’ll perform inspections and deprocessing of vehicles upon delivery; provide assistance in installation of vehicle accessory kits; provide fault diagnosis and repairs; perform corrective maintenance, to include accident and battle damage assessment and repairs; conduct operator and maintainer training; and conduct inventories and maintain accountability of USG provided material. Sources: US DSCA #14-32, “Pakistan – Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) Vehicles” | Gannet Military Times, “Source: Pakistan already has U.S.-made MRAPs, new deal in works” (April 2014).

DSCA request: Pakistan (160 MaxxPros)

Sept 12/14: Ambulance upgrades. Navistar Defense LLC in Lisle, IL receives a $44 million contract modification to buy MaxxPro Long Wheeled Base Ambulance Medical Equipment Set A-Kits, MaxxPro Survivability Upgrade Kits, and Spring Suspension System Kits. All funds are committed immediately, using FY 2012 and FY 2014 US Army budgets.

Work is expected to finish by Aug 31/15, and will be performed in Lisle, IL. The US Army Contracting Command in Warren, MI manages the contract (W56HZV-12-G-0006, PO 0002).

July 25/14: Survivability upgrades. Navistar Defense LLC in Lisle, IL receives a $27.6 million contract modification for kits to upgrade MaxxPro Dash and long-wheel base ambulances to their final configuration. $21.7 million in FY 2012 and FY 2014 US Army budgets are committed immediately.

Work is expected to finish by May 30/15, and will be performed in Lisle, IL. The US Army Contracting Command in Warren, MI manages the contract (W56HZV-12-G-0006, PO 001).

Dec 23/13: Support. Navistar Defense LLC in Lisle, IL receives a $6.9 million contract modification for MaxxPro field service support in the continental United States and overseas. All funds are committed immediately, using FY 2014 US Army O&M budgets.

Work is expected to finish by Dec 31/14, and will be performed in Lisle, IL and Afghanistan. Bids were solicited via the Internet, with 1 received by US Army Contracting Command in Warren, MI (W56HZV-10-C-0011, PO 0086).

Nov 4/13: Support. Navistar Defense LLC in Lisle, IL receives a $7.3 million cost-plus-fixed-fee contract, covering MaxxPro M1235A3 Dash MSU (MaxxPro Survivability Upgrade) engineering, logistic and travel support for the acquisition of the contract data requirements list, and program and logistics support. The contractor shall include MSU content as well as variation in vehicle content for both the objective gunner protection kit manned turret and M153 CROWS remote-controlled weapon turret. All funds are committed immediately, using FY 2013 US Army budgets.

Work will be performed in Lisle, IL, with an expected completion date of December 2014. One bid was solicited, with 1 received by the US Army TACOM in Warren, MI (W56HZV-10-C-0011). Note that the exact same award was announced on Oct 31/13.

October 24/13: AUSA. At AUSA, DRS and Navistar are showing off their privately-funded MaxxPro MCOTM (Mission Command on The Move) conversion for unit commanders and staff, which was built in partnership with DRS and Allison. That partnership’s OBVP Transmission Integral Generator has given the vehicle tremendous electrical generation capability from its Allison 3000 series transmission, with 60kW+ available to power carefully arranged command stations and screens within. That kind of on-board power removes the need for an additional generator vehicle, and drastically cuts set-up time.

A similar MaxxPro MICP is also built for communications, but it’s more of a rolling server closet. It would replace the current semi-mobile command post that’s deployed in a HMMWV shelter, plus a trailer with generator when taken outside the wire. Putting that into 1 MaxxPro that looks totally “normal” from the outside, and needs no trailer, makes the target a lot less obvious to enemies. In places like Afghanistan, where 7 gallons of fuel are needed to deliver 1 gallon for front-line use, eliminating vehicles also cuts fuel costs substantially. Beyond MCOTM and MICP:

“The Navistar Defense team is already exploring uses for the MaxxPro as a maintenance truck to weld and fix vehicles in the field; adding mortars to the back of the vehicle to produce an Offensive Weapon System; providing the vehicle architecture to support an Intelligence Surveillance and Reconnaissance control; and adding a water reservoir body for use as a Non-Lethal Water Cannon for controlling large thermal incidents, like forest fires.”

Obviously, the goal of these efforts is to promote both exports, and possible upgrade/ conversion contracts from the US military. An “MRAP 3 study” done in fall/winter 2012 has reportedly left M-ATV and MaxxPro blast-resistant vehicles in the enduring fleet, with about 2,633 MaxxPro Dash DXM troop carriers and 301 MaxxPro DXM ambulances kept. Adding MICP and MCOTM vehicles to appropriate units would provide both short-term conversion contracts, and more vehicles in service as targets for ongoing support contracts. Sources: AUSA interviews; NAvistar, “Navistar Defense Encourages Customers to Think Beyond the Standard Vehicle at AUSA” | DRS “U.S. Army to Test DRS Technologies’ On-Board Vehicle Power System for Consistent Equipment Power on the Battlefield”.

AUSA 2013: MCOTM, MICP, and other interesting variant ideas

June 18/13: Survivability upgrades. Navistar Defense LLC in Lisle, IL receives an $18.2 million firm-fixed-price contract modification, increasing the funds available for the MaxxPro Survivability Upgrade to $152.3 million. FY 2011 & 2012 Procurement funds are being used by Army Contracting Command in Warren, MI (W56HZV-12-C-0404, PO 0013).

June 3/13: Report. Navistar Defense LLC in Lisle, IL receives an $8.9 million cost-plus-fixed-fee, multi-year contract modification, for MaxxPro field services representatives. The cumulative total face value of this contract is now $49.8 million. Army Contracting Command in Warren, MI manages the contract (W56HZV-10-C-0011, PO 0071).

Jan 7/13: Survivability upgrades. Navistar Defense LLC in Lisle, IL receives a $10.6 million cost-plus-fixed-fee contract modification for MaxxPro maintenance services.

Work will be performed in Lisle, IL; Yuma, AZ; Aberdeen, MD; and Afghanistan; with an estimated completion date of March 25/13. One bid was solicited, with one bid received by US Army Contracting Command in Warren, MI (W56HZV-10-C-0011).

FY 2012

MRV problems. Survavibility upgrades.

MaxxPro, Farah PRT
(click to view full)

Sept 24/12: Survivability upgrades. Navistar Defense LLC in Lisle, IL receives a $138.2 million firm-fixed-price contract modification to buy MaxxPro Survivability Upgrade Kits, Vehicle Emergency Egress Windows, and MaxxPro support services.

Work will be performed in Lisle and Springfield, OH, with an estimated completion date of Sept 13/13. One bid was solicited, with one bid received by US Army Contracting Command in Warren, MI (W56HZV-12-C-0404).

Sept 19/12: Survivability upgrades. Navistar Defense, LLC announces a maximum $282 million delivery order to provide more than 2,300 survivability upgrade retrofit kits for their MaxxPro Dash MRAP vehicles, plus parts and service. Work for the survivability upgrade will be done in Afghanistan beginning in December 2012, and is scheduled to be complete by July 2013.

Navistar says they have now delivered nearly 9,000 MaxxPro units in 9 major variants to all customers.

July 30/12: Spares. Navistar Defense in Lisle, IL receives a maximum $8.6 million fixed-price with economic price adjustment contract from the US Army for MaxxPro spares. Work will be performed in Illinois and Kentucky, using FY 2012 Army Working Capital Funds. There was 1 proposal with 3 responses. The date of performance completion is July 29/13. The Defense Logistics Agency Land and Maritime in Columbus, OH (SPM7LX-12-D-9007).

July 13/12: RPG nets. Navistar Defense in Lisle, IL receives a $59.4 million firm-fixed-price contract for 1,357 rocket propelled grenade net kits, which means QinetiQ’s Q-Net. Work will be performed in Springfield, OH, with an estimated completion date of Oct 31/12. One bid was solicited, with 1 bid received by US Army Contracting Command in Warren, MI (W56HZV-12-C-0201).

March 13/12: A $21.3 million firm-fixed-price contract for “the long wheel rolling chassis upgrade with independent suspension on the MaxxPro [MRAP] and transportation fixtures.” Vid. Jan 9/12 entry for the full explanation; this the installation work associated with its January order to upgrade 2,717 vehicles.

Work will be performed in West Point, MS, with an estimated completion date of May 20/12. One bid was solicited, with one bid received, by US Army Contracting Command in Warren, MI (W56HZV-12-C-0130).

Feb 20/12: Sub-contract. Boler subsidiary Hendrickson in Kendallville, IN and GD subsidiary AxleTech International in Oshkosh, WI get a sub-contract from Navistar Defense, LLC, to equip 2,717 MaxxPro Long Wheel Base (LWB) MRAP vehicles with independent suspension systems, per the $900 million Jan 9/12 contract.

Deliveries began in January 2012, and will be completed in October 2013. GD release.

Jan 24/12: A $109.5 million firm-fixed-priced delivery order for 650 MaxxPro DXM Plus kits. Orders #002-008 add up to 5,217 vehicles. These kits, plus the “rolling chassis” order, add up to 3,367 retrofits.

Work will be performed at the MRAP Sustainment Facility in Kuwait, and is expected to be complete by the end of October 2012. All contract funds will expire at the end of the current fiscal year, on Sept 30/12 (M67854-07-D-5032, #0020).

Jan 17/12: DOT&E – MRV issues. The Pentagon releases the FY2011 Annual Report from its Office of the Director, Operational Test & Evaluation (DOT&E). The MaxxPro Dash ISS and MaxxPro MRV are both included, but get very different grades. While the MRV towing and recovery vehicle passed blast and live fire testing:

“…the Navistar MRV is not operationally effective and not operationally suitable for recovery operations on cross-country terrain. The Navistar MRV has poor mobility and poor combat towing to recover damaged MRAP vehicles in Afghanistan. The vehicle could not maneuver in soft sandy soil and had difficulty accelerating on hilly terrain. The Navistar MRV demonstrated 271 MMBOMF [Mean Miles Between Operational Mission Failure] versus its operational requirement of 600 MMBOMF. These problems should have been resolved… prior to the [Limited User Test]. The Navistar MRV is [only] capable of recovering and towing damaged MRAP vehicles on flat improved roads.”

The MaxxPro Dash ISS, on the other hand, is declared to be both operationally effective and reliable. Its figure of 1,259 MMBOMF was way above its operational requirement of 600.

Jan 9/12: An $879.9 million firm-fixed-priced delivery order for the procurement of 2,717 MaxxPro “rolling chassis”; 10 engineering change proposals; and 25 contract data requirements lists, for MaxxPro MRAPs.

This is the 3rd step in commonizing the MaxxPro fleet. The first step was the addition of DXM independent suspension in February 2009, which has appeared on all orders after #0014. It was followed in March 2010 by 1,222 DXM retrofit kits. Now, the rolling chassis is the 3rd step, which upgrades most of the earlier MaxxPros with the latest vehicle capabilities. We asked Navistar, who explained that “rolling chassis” replaces the chassis base, adding the DXM independent suspension, a new MaxxForce 9.3 engine, and a 570 amp alternator and driveline. The crew cab is essentially lifted off the old chassis, and bolted on to a new one.

Work will be performed in West Point, MS, and is expected to be complete by the end of October 2013. All funds will expire at the end of the current fiscal year, on Sept 30/12 (M67854-07-D-5032, DO #0023).

Jan 9/11: Oshkosh control fight. Icahn’s proxy skirmish at Oshkosh turns into a war, with hard-hitting submissions to shareholders from both Icahn’s group and Board slate, and from Oshkosh’s existing management and Board. If Icahn gets his Board slate elected, spinoffs and a merger of Oshkosh Defense with Navistar become far more likely.

In that scenario, it’s likely that the Maxxpro would take a back seat to the M-ATV in the future firm’s lineup. Oshkosh 8-K | Oshkosh management’s SEC DEFA14A filing (see esp. pp. 38-44) | Icahn Group DFAN14A arguments.

Dec 20/11: A $133.7 million firm-fixed-priced delivery order under a previously awarded contract for 514 field service representatives to support Navistar’s MRAPs. Queries to Navistar confirmed the contract’s size, and their response noted that it included supplies as well as personnel.

Work will be performed in Afghanistan and Kuwait (94%) and the United States (6%), and is expected to be complete by Dec 31/12. FY 2012 operations and maintenance appropriation funds will expire at the end of the current fiscal year, on Sept 30/11 (M67854-07-D-5032, #0022).

Dec 19/11: $9.6 million firm-fixed-priced delivery order for MaxxPro MRV recovery vehicle contractor support, esp. re: the contract data requirements list (CDRLs).

Work will be performed in Warrenville, IL, and is expected to be complete by the end of February 2014, but all funds will expire at the end of the current fiscal year, on Sept 30/12. The original contract was competitively procured (M67854-07-D-5032, Delivery Order 0015 under Modification 16).

Dec 6/11: Navistar/Oshkosh merger? Billionaire Carl Icahn owns 10% of Navistar, and 9.51% of Oshkosh, so his comments that the 2 companies should merge draws a lot of attention. He tells CNBC:

“I definitely think it would be a good merger. I think there would be a lot of synergy. I own stock in both and I think shareholders of both companies would benefit.”

Both Boards of Directors are maneuvering defensively around Icahn. Navistar agreed to put its Board up for election each year, but agreed not to propose his own slate of directors at the annual meeting. Things are a bit more open at Oshkosh, where Icahn is proposing Board slates, and has been increasingly critical of existing management.

FY 2011

Independent suspension systems.

MaxxPro Dash DXM
(click to view full)

July 15/11: A $142 million firm-fixed-priced delivery order for 140 MaxxPro Recovery Vehicles (MRVs), plus sustainment, spares and support. That brings total MRV orders to 315. Work will be performed in West Point, MS, and is expected to be complete by the end of November 2011 (M67854-07-D-5032, #0021). See also Navistar release.

July 14/11: Boler subsidiary Hendrickson, and General Dynamics’ AxleTech International, announce 2 contracts from Navistar Defense, LLC to equip 471 MaxxPro blast-resistant vehicles (vid. June 13/11 entry), and 250 MaxxPro Dash ambulances (vid. May 4/11 entry), with independent suspension systems. Their DXM solution uses AxleTech’s 5000 Series Independent Suspension Axle System, and Hendrickson’s engineered sub-frame.

Production work began in June 2011 at Hendrickson in Kendallville, IN, and AxleTech in Oshkosh, WI. Deliveries will be complete in September 2011. GD-ATP.

June 13/11: Navistar Defense:

“Navistar Defense, LLC today announced that it received a $357 million delivery order for an additional 471 International MaxxPro Dash vehicles with DXM independent suspension. The order from the U.S. Marine Corps Systems Command follows last month’s delivery order for 250 MaxxPro Dash Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) ambulances.”

Subsequent events indicate that this is probably delivery order #0019.

May 16/11: An $18.6 million delivery order modification for installation of ambulance engineering change proposals (ECP) and Dash Phase IV ECPs on the recent order of 250 ambulances. Work will be performed in Afghanistan, and is expected to be complete by the end of September 2011 (M67854-07-D-5032, #0018, mod #0001).

May 4/11: A $183.3 million firm-fixed-priced delivery order for 250 MaxxPro Dash Ambulance vehicles, with improved DXM independent suspensions. Work will be performed in West Point, MS, and is expected to be complete by the end of September 2011. All contract funds will expire at the end of the current fiscal year, on Sept 30/11 (M67854-07-D-5032, #0018).

This is the 1st order for the ambulance variant, which was unveiled in October 2010 at AUSA (vid. Oct 25/10 entry). These Maxxpros will serve alongside the similar Oshkosh M-ATV ambulances in theater, and will be supplemented by BAE’s heavier 6×6 RG-33 HAGA MRAP. These vehicles are a component in the Pentagon’s broad ‘Golden Hour’ initiative, which aims to begin providing life-saving care within the critical 1st hour of major trauma. See also Navistar Defense release.

April 28/11: Navistar Defense, LLC in Warrenville, IL received a $13.2 million firm-fixed-priced delivery order for field service representatives (FSR) in Kuwait, to sustain operation of the MaxxPro Dash MRAPs in Afghanistan.

Work is expected to be completed by the end of November 2011, but all contracted funds will expire at the end of the current fiscal year, on Sept 30/11 (M67854-07-D-5032, #0017).

March 4/11: Navistar Defense, LLC in Warrenville, IL receives a $32.5 million firm-fixed-priced delivery order to buy MRAP Recovery Vehicle contractor logistics support for spare parts, basic initial issue tool kits and training support. Work will be performed in Louisville, KY (96%), and Warrenville, IL (4%), and is expected to be complete by the end of September 2011 (M67854-07-D-5032, #0015 Mod 005).

Dec 9/10: A $123.4 million firm-fixed-priced delivery order for 175 CAT I MaxxPro Dash vehicles with improved DXM suspensions, plus MaxxPro Dash Engineer Change Proposal (ECP) Phase I & II kits; and support items including associated unique base issue items for the fleet; and independent suspension system deprocessing parts kits. The order raises Navistar’s total orders for the MaxxPro family to 8,014.

Work will be performed in West Point, MS, and is expected to be complete by the end of June 2011. All contract funds will expire at the end of the current fiscal year, on Sept 31/10 (M67854-07-D-5032, #0016). See also Navistar release.

Nov 19/10: A $252.8 million firm-fixed-price delivery order for 250 Mine Resistant Ambush Protected recovery vehicles (MRV) and contractor logistics support (CLS). Work will be performed in West Point, MS, and is expected to be complete by the end of September 2011. All contract funds will expire at the end of the fiscal year on Sept 30/11 (M67854-07-D-5032, #0015).

A blast-protected recovery vehicle makes a great deal of sense, in an environment where a leading cause of disabled vehicles is IED land mine explosions. Navistar originally unveiled the MRV/ wrecker variant in February 2009, and had competition in this area from BAE’s RG-33 MRRMV. See also Navistar release.

Oct 25/10: Navistar Defense, LLC announces 2 new variants at the Association of the United States Army (AUSA) Annual Meeting and Exposition: the MaxxPro ambulance kit, and the MaxxPro Tractor variant.

The ambulance kit will fit into any MaxxPro variant, and include a litter assist system that helps load stretchers. The MaxxPro tractor, meanwhile, is not a farm implement. It’s the truck half of a blast resistant tractor-trailer rig.

Oct 7/10: The Romanian Ministry of National Defence announces that the first 8 MRAPs have just been supplied to the 811th “Dragonii Transilvani” Maneuver Battalion and the 812th “Soimii Carpatilor” Maneuver Battalion, deployed in Zabul Province, Afghanistan.

These are the first of 60 vehicles provided by the USA, and the lot reportedly consists of 20 new and 40 refurbished MaxxPro Dash vehicles, with improved DXM suspensions. Romanian MND | defpro | Jane’s.

FY 2010

Too many MRAP options? IP issues among contractors.

MaxxPro Dash
(click to view full)

Sept 23/10: A $9.9 million firm-fixed-priced delivery order modification (M67854-07-D-5032, #0011) for field service representatives (FSRs)/instructors/mechanic services outside the continental United States (OCONUS) to sustain operation of the Dash vehicles in Afghanistan, and FSR/instructors inside the continental United States for replacement center training in Fort Benning, GA.

Work is expected to be complete by the end of September 2011, and all contract funds will expire at the end of the current fiscal year, on Sept 30/10.

Sept 23/10: A $13 million firm-fixed-priced delivery order modification (M67854-07-D-5032, #0014) that pays federal retail excise tax on 148 MaxxPro Dash vehicles being used in the continental United States for training purposes. Work will be performed in Warrenville, IL, and is expected to be complete by the end of September 2011. All contract funds will expire at the end of the current fiscal year, on Sept 30/10.

Sept 17/10: A $25.2 million firm-fixed-priced delivery order modification for instructor and field service representative (FSR) support in the United States (CONUS), outside the continental United States (OCONUS); The objective of the FSRs/instructors is to sustain operation of the Dash vehicles in support of Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan. Navistar will also send more FSRs and instructors to Mine Resistant Ambush Protected University and CONUS Replacement Center Training.

Work will be performed in West Point, MS, and is expected to be complete by the end of September 2011 (M67854-07-D-5032, #0011).

Aug 24/10: The US Congressional Research Service releases the latest version [PDF] of its report “Mine-Resistant, Ambush-Protected (MRAP) Vehicles: Background and Issues for Congress. Excerpts:

“As of June 28, 2010, more than 8,500 MRAPs had reportedly been shipped to Afghanistan, with over 3,500 of those being the newer M-ATVs. The Army has recently said that it will begin development of yet another MRAP version – the “Ultra-Lite MRAP” – which raises questions about possible vehicle redundancies. The Marines, although voicing support for the M-ATV program, have retrofitted a number of MRAPs with new suspension systems and reportedly are satisfied with the results. This apparent success calls into question not only if the Marines need all of the M-ATVs allocated to them by DOD but also if the Marines’ retrofitted suspension system might be a more cost-effective alternative for the other services… Among potential issues for congressional consideration are the status of almost 5,000 MRAPS in Afghanistan that are reportedly not being used because of their size and weight.”

In terms of overall budgets:

“Through FY2010, Congress appropriated $34.95 billion for all versions of the MRAP. In March 2010, DOD reprogrammed an additional $3.9 billion from the Overseas Contingency Operations fund to MRAP procurement. Congress approved an additional $1.2 billion for MRAP procurement, included in the FY2010 Supplemental Appropriations Act (P.L. 111-212). The full FY2011 DOD budget request of $3.4 billion for the MRAP Vehicle Fund has been authorized by the House (H.R. 5136).”

June 29/10: A $13.4 million firm-fixed-priced delivery order, modification #03 under a previously awarded contract (M67854-07-D-5032, #0014) to buy spare parts related to the order for 1,050 improved suspension MaxxPros. These include suspension system authorized stockage list parts, prescribed load list parts, battle damage assessment repair, and deprocessing; the DASH engineering change proposal (ECP) Phase III upgrade; the remote weapon station system upgrade; and unique collateral material/BII. Work will be performed in West Point, MS, and is expected to be complete by the end of January 2011.

June 14/10: A $60 million firm-fixed-priced delivery order for spare parts to maintain the DXM off-road independent suspension system that is being retrofitted to the entire fleet of 1,222 MaxxPro DASH vehicles. The new DXM systems are provided by Hendrickson Truck Suspension Systems and AxleTech International.

Work will be performed in Warrenville, IL, and is expected to be complete by the end of March 2011. All contract funds will expire at the end of the current fiscal year, on Sept 30/10 (M67854-07-D-5032, #0013).

June 14/10: A $17.2 million firm-fixed-priced delivery order for Navistar field service representatives in the Central Command area of responsibility. Work will be performed in Kuwait, Afghanistan and Iraq, and is expected to be complete by the end of June 2011.

May 28/10: Stolen IP? ATS litigation controversy. Armor Technologies, Inc. of South Africa launches the “MRAP Ripoff” web site, and issues a statement, after 3 years of litigation with Navistar. The ancillary web site details the company’s claims, which are summed up via these chosen excerpts from its statement:

“ATS believes it was tricked into transferring unique knowledge, technology and IP about mine-protected vehicles (MPVs) to Chicago-based Navistar Defense, during their relationship from March 2005 to January 2007… At issue is ATS’ belief that it has been hoodwinked into providing critical knowledge and technology on MPVs to Navistar, which before the start of its relationship with ATS in March 2005 had no such expertise… Navistar later claimed in the International Court of Arbitration that Plasan Sasa was the origin of the MaxxPro vehicle, but its own staff admitted to the court that the same team that worked with ATS on the ATS Oryx design, had secretly worked on MaxxPro simultaneously. Navistar can’t have it both ways: either the company illegally shared ATS’ knowledge with Plasan Sasa, which also had no previous MPV expertise, or it acted in exceedingly bad faith in terms of its agreements with ATS – which it then [summarily] broke once it had what it needed: the wherewithal to build a world-class mine-resistant troop carrier… In the meantime, Navistar has won U.S. Government tenders and funding… awarded tens of millions of dollars in U.S. Taxpayers’ money, and it is receiving lucrative foreign orders… none of which would have happened had the U.S. Government heeded its own policy not to do business with defense companies involved in related litigation… ATS’ matter has been taken up by the South African government, which in March [2010] formally requested an explanation from the U.S. Government on the matter.”

May 3/10: A $102.3 million firm-fixed- priced delivery order modification under a previously contract will buy various MaxxPro kits and parts to support operations in Afghanistan. Work will be performed in West Point, MS, and is expected to be complete by the end of October 2010. All contract funds will expire at the end of the current fiscal year, on Sept 30/10 (M67854-07-D-5032, #0013). Parts include:

• 937 gunner restraints
  
• 3,251 120V wiring harnesses
  
• 5,722 rear ramp hydraulics, rear ramp hydraulic – non-reoccurring equipment (NRE)
  
• 3,251 rear ramp storage
  
• 2,630 fire support systems kits, fire support systems kits – NRE
  
• 5,716 air conditioning circulation switches
  
• 822 heating, ventilation, and air conditioning kits

March 15/10: A $178.3 million modification to delivery order #0013 under previously awarded firm-fixed priced contract (M67854-07-D-5032) for 1,222 independent suspension system kits and aluminum catcher plates for MaxxPro vehicles. MaxxPros use the DXM independent suspension solution provided by Hendrickson Truck Suspension Systems and AxleTech International.

Work will be performed in West Point, MS, and is expected to be complete by the end of March 2011. Navistar release

Feb 16/10: Looks like the new suspension system worked. Navistar Defense, LLC in Warrenville, IL receives a $751.5 million firm-fixed-priced delivery order #0014. This order will also be used to buy 1,050 MaxxPro Dash vehicles for Afghanistan, with the new DXM independent suspension solution provided by Hendrickson Truck Suspension Systems and AxleTech International.

Other improvements reportedly include door and insulation upgrades, as well as the addition of an inclinometer to act as a level and measures side slope during vehicle operation. The higher center of gravity involved with V-hull vehicles can make them tippy, so that’s definitely something for the driver to watch.

Work will be performed in WestPoint, MS and the contract is expected to be complete by the end of August 2010. The work is expected to add back 400 jobs at the company’s West Point, MS facility, following multiple layoffs in 2009 that had cut staffing to 120. All procurement funds will expire on Sept 30/12. This contract was competitively procured (M67854-07-D-5032 / D.O.0009). Since May 2007, Navistar says it has received orders for a total of 7,494 MaxxPro MRAPs. Navistar release | Daily Times Leader | Aviation Week Ares.

Dec 29/09: A $7 million firm-fixed-priced contract for “CAT III technical labor hour” work to support for the design and development of “the Maxxpro Dash vehicle independent suspension system,” later revelaed to be the Hendrickson/Axletech DXM. Work will be performed in Warrenville, IL, and is expected to be completed by the April 30/10 (M67854-07-D-5032).

The MaxxPro isn’t alone here. Oshkosh’s TAK-4 off-road independent suspension system has recently been used to retrofit MRAP vehicles from BAE Systems and Force Protection, in order to improve their mobility in Afghanistan’s rough terrain.

Nov 9/09: Navistar announces a 4-year System Technical Support (STS) contract worth up to $78 million to provide engineering support for its MaxxPro MRAP. Navistar’s STS award includes work to improve vehicle reliability, support combat issues encountered in theater, add new kits and hardware, as well as provide new vehicle enhancements. The STS award includes up to 143,000 annual labor hours, as well as parts, to be used within 12 months, with the option to renew the contract for 3 additional years.

FY 2009

MaxxPro variants. M-ATV loss.

MaxxPros: Tawillah, Iraq
(click to view full)

Sept 09/09: A $48 million firm-fixed-priced modification to a previous delivery order (M67854-07-D-5032, #0004) for procurement of MRAP OCONUS field service representatives (FSRs), OCONUS senior instructors, FSR instructor/mechanics, and various contract data requirements lists.

Work will be performed in the United States and Iraq and will be completed in September 2010. Contract funds in the amount of $48 million will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The base contract was competitively awarded, and the new requirements are sole source additions to the contract.

Aug 10/09: A $7 million firm-fixed-priced modification under contract (M67854-07-D-5032, #0010) for the procurement of engineering change proposals and tire chains in support of MRAP MaxxPro Dash vehicles. Work will be performed in West Point, MS and is expected to be complete by the end of December 2009. The base contract was competitively awarded, and the new requirements are sole source additions to the contract.

Aug 7/09: A $7.8 million firm-fixed-priced modification to a previous delivery order (M67854-07-D-5032, #0006). It adds vehicle modifications (engineering change proposals), ambulance sustainment parts, and ambulance head clearance retrofit kits for Category I MRAP vehicles.

Work will be performed in West Point, MS and is expected to be complete by the end of December 2009. The base contract was competitively awarded, and the new requirements are sole source additions to the contract.

Aug 6/09: An $8.6 million firm-fixed-priced modification to a previous delivery order (M67854-07-D-5032, #0004) for MRAP OCONUS (Outside the CONtinental US) field service representatives (FSRs), new equipment training instructors, CONUS FSR instructors, and senior FSRs.

Work will be performed in the United States and Iraq, and will end at the end of September 2010. All contract funds will expire at the end of the current fiscal year, at the end of September 2009. The base contract was competitively awarded, and the new requirements are sole source additions to the contract.

July 16/09: A $21 million firm fixed priced delivery order under a previously awarded contract (M67854-07-D-5032, #009) for additional initial sustainment items in support of 882 MaxxPro Dash vehicles.

Work will be performed at the Red River Army Depot in Texarkana, TX, and deliveries are expected to be complete by Nov 30/09. Contract funds in the amount of $687,470 will expire at the end of the current fiscal year.

July 10/09: A $71.1 million firm-fixed- priced delivery order modification under previously awarded contract (M67854-07-D-5032, #006) for the procurement of battle damage assessment and repair (BDAR) kits for its MaxxPro Base and MaxxPro Plus vehicle variants.

Work will be performed at the Red River Army Depot in Texarkana, TX and deliveries are expected to be completed by Aug 1/09. All contract funds will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The new requirements are sole source additions to the original contract.

June 30/09: Navistar announces its disappointment at their M-ATV loss, while reiterating their firms’ strong points for investors. The firm did not enter a MaxxPro variant, choosing a derivative of the MXT Husky instead.

June 19/09: A $6.4 million modification to a previous delivery order (M67854-07-D-5032, #004) for the procurement of MRAP field service representative mechanics, back ramp retrofit kits, and several contract data requirement lists outside the USA. Despite the order’s size, the Pentagon release states that: “Contract funds in the amount of $7,291,171 will expire at the end of the current fiscal year.”

Work will be performed in West Point, MS and in Iraq, and work is expected to be complete in August 2010. The base contract was competitively awarded, and the new requirements are sole source additions to the contract.

June 18/09: A maximum $42.9 million firm-fixed-price, sole-source contract for sustainment spare parts in support of Army MRAP vehicles. Contract funds will expire at the end of the current fiscal year, on Sept 30/09, but the contract will run until Nov 9/09. The Defense Logistics Agency Warren (DSCC-ZG) in Warren, MI manages this contract (SPRDL1-09-C-0088).

June 1/09: A $44.7 million firm-fixed-priced modification to a previously awarded delivery order (M67854-07-D-5032, #0004) for the renewal of Field Service Representative services in the Iraqi and Afghan theaters of war.

Work will be performed in Iraq and Afghanistan, and the final deliveries associated with this delivery order are expected to be completed by Sept 30/10. The Basic contract was competitively awarded and the new requirements were sole source additions to the contract.

April 27/09: A $16.5 million firm-fixed-priced modification to a previously awarded contract (M67854-07-D-5032, #004), for field service representatives for the Mine Resistance Ambush Protected vehicles in theater, Contract Data Requirement Lists (CDRLs), and ECP vehicle modifications.

Work will be performed in Iraq and Afghanistan, and the final deliveries associated with this delivery order are expected to be complete by Aug 16/10.

Feb 25/09: Navistar Defense, LLC unveils 3 new MaxxPro variants at the Association of the United States Army (AUSA) Winter Symposium and Exposition. The MaxxPro Wrecker MRAP vehicle is designed to retrieve damaged or mission-disabled MRAPs, winching them out of trouble and towing them away. Since breakdowns usually involve mined areas, a high level of blast protection is very important.

Navistar also added the MaxxPro Cargo, and the MaxxPro Tractor for towing trailers under full protection. All 3 utility vehicles are built on the company’s International WorkStar platform, with a MaxxPro Dash cab and MaxxForce D 9.3L I6 engine.

Dec 17/08: Navistar Defense LLC in Warrenville, IL received an $8.9 million modification under a previously awarded contract (M67854-07-D-5032, #009) Engineering Change Proposal (ECP) upgrades for Enhanced Maneuverability and associated Non-Recurring Engineering (NRE) costs.

In English, it buys initial spare parts support packages for MaxxPro Dash vehicles, which have been modified for use in Afghanistan. Work will be performed in West Point, MS and is expected to be complete by the end of May 2009.

Dec 10/08: Navistar continues to pull away from its MRAP competitors, via a $362.3 million firm-fixed-priced delivery order for 400 more MaxxPro Dash vehicles, which have been modified for service in Afghanistan. Manufacturing under this previously awarded indefinite-delivery/ indefinite-quantity contract (M67854-07-D-5032, #0010) will be performed in WestPoint, MS and work is expected to be complete by the end of May 2009. Navistar will complete delivery of all 400 units while the testing and evaluation of vehicles for the MRAP All-Terrain Vehicle (M-ATV) program is underway.

Navistar’s release adds that delivery of the September 2008 order for 822 MaxxPro Dash vehicles is set to finish at the end of January 2009, a full month ahead of schedule.

Dec 4/08: A $53.6 million firm fixed priced modification to delivery order under a previously awarded contract (M67854-07-D-5032, #0004: 754 CAT I MRAPS for $413.9 million) for spares and equipment items needed to support Category I MRAP vehicles in theater. This order will also be used to support the renewal of Field Service Representative contracts within the CENTCOM area of responsibility. Work will be managed in WestPoint, MS, and is expected to be complete in November 2009.

Nov 14/08: The US government issues a pre-solicitation notice for a subsidiary competition called M-ATV, essentially an “MRAP Lite” bridge buy to the JLTV. FBO pre-solicitation #W56HZV-09-R-0115. The MaxxPro Dash is likely to be a prime contender for the buy(s), which begins an expected order of just over 2,000 vehicles but could reach up to 10,000.

A subsequent Defense News article places M-ATV’s top weight at 12.5 tons empty, adding that the RFP still demands significant protection against conventional and EFP land mines. That’s likely to help the heavier MaxxPro Dash, while putting competitors like Force Protection’s 7-8 ton Cheetah at a disadvantage.

The RFP was issued in December 2008. A draft issued on Nov 25/08 stated that M-ATV would receive the same top-priority DX production rating employed by the original MRAP program, adding that the first vehicles are expected to be fielded in the fall of 2009.

UPDATE: By Q2 2009, Navistar had submitted its choice – but it wasn’t their Dash, it was a variant of their MXT light truck.

Nov 7/08: Another $24.8 million for 2 firm-fixed-priced delivery order modifications under previously awarded contract (M67854-07-D-5032) The modifications would add gunner restraints, and cover funding costs associated with accelerated MRAP Category I production. Work will be performed in WestPoint, MS.

See Sept 4/08 entry for the $752 million order for 822 of Navistar’s lighter MaxxPro Dash vehicles, whose design has been lightened and modified for the Afghan front. On Nov 6/08, Navistar announced that by working around the clock, they were able to meet the military’s request to deliver all vehicles one month ahead of schedule. Originally scheduled to be completed by the end of February 2009, the company has leveraged its extensive relationships with its supply base to provide deliver all units by the end of January 2009. The firm delivered 70 vehicles on Nov 4/08 – 2 weeks in advance of its already aggressive delivery schedule.

That extra commitment isn’t free; the MRAP contract is structured to compensate manufacturers for their extra costs if the government needs vehicles faster.

Oct 29/08: Navistar Defense LLC (ND) in Warrenville, IL received a $56.4 million firm fixed priced delivery order under a previously awarded contract (M67854-07-D-5032, #0007) for engineering changes and spares to support MRAP Category I vehicles currently in theater. Delivery order #0007 covered 743 MRAP CAT I vehicles.

Work will be performed in WestPoint, MS, and is expected to be complete by the end of November 2008. This contract was competitively procured.

Oct 29/08: Navistar Defense LLC (ND) in Warrenville, IL received $8.3 million for a firm-fixed-priced delivery order under a previously awarded contract (M67854-07-D-5032, #0006) to fund additional Maintenance Workshop Blocks to support MRAP Category I vehicles currently in theater. Work will be performed in WestPoint, MS and is expected to be complete by the end of February 2009. This contract was competitively procured.

See also Dec 18/07, June 19/08, and Oct 7/08 entries re: delivery order #0006, which was for 1,500 vehicles.

Oct 24/08: Defense News reports that more mine-resistant vehicles could be in the order pipeline. The U.S. Army and Marine Corps reportedly plan to rapidly develop and buy a fleet of lighter 7-10 ton vehicles that offer better mine resistance than Hummers, but better off-road mobility than MRAPs. Afghanistan is seen as an especial focus for these vehicles.

Oshkosh’s Sandcat and Force Protection’s Cheetah vehicle are mentioned as potential candidates for that bridge buy. Other competitors are likely, and Navistar’s MaxxPro Dash must also be placed in this category given recent the MRAP orders for deployment of this lightened variant to Afghanistan (vid. Sept 4/08 entry).

Defense News places potential military demand at 2,000- 5,000 bridge buy vehicles – assuming that issues with JLTV issues don’t lead to the bridge becoming the road. Navistar may be covered either way, however; its partnership with BAE won one of the 3 JLTV development contracts.

Oct 7/08: A $35.9 million firm-fixed-priced modification to delivery order #0006 under a previously awarded contract (M67854-07-D-5032) for sustainment items needed to support Category I MRAP vehicles in theater. This order will also be used to support several engineering change proposals to increase the vehicles’ capabilities. Work will be performed in West Point, MS and is expected to be complete in April 2009.

See also Dec 18/07 and June 19/08 entries re: delivery order #0006, which was for 1,500 vehicles.

FY 2008

DynCorp support. MaxxPro Dash.

Tire Kicker
(click to view full)

Sept 4/08: A $752 million firm-fixed-priced delivery order for 822 MaxxPro Dash MRAP CAT I vehicles, under a previously awarded contract (M67854-07-D-5032, #0009). Work will be performed in WestPoint, MS and is expected to be complete in February 2009.

Pentagon references to “production vehicles with engineering change proposal upgrades for enhanced maneuverability” refer to the MaxxPro Dash, a new variant which is optimized for Afghan operations. The Dash variant is 16” shorter and has an 8″ smaller wheel base, giving it a smaller turning radius of 54 feet. It’s also up to 5,000 pounds lighter, but can accept add-on armoring that will increase its weight. These changes, and the use of Navistar’s MaxxForce D engine, also give it a higher torque to weight ratio for better off-road operations. See also Navistar release.

Navistar already had a strong presence in Afghanistan, as the main truck supplier to the Afghan National Army. Despite earlier Pentagon comments that tagged the BAE OMC/ General Dynamics RG-31 as the favorite for Afghanistan, all vehicles in this MaxxPro order are tagged for Operation Enduring Freedom, and as yet there are no corresponding orders for other MRAPs. DID’s spreadsheet also shows that the 15,771 vehicle program ceiling is now maxed out.

July 4/08: An $84.8 million firm-fixed-priced modification to a delivery order under a previously awarded contract (M67854-07-D-5032, #0004) for sustainment items needed to support Category I MRAP vehicles in theater. This order will also be used to support several Engineering Change Proposals to increase the vehicles’ capabilities. Work will be performed in West Point, MS and is expected to be complete in April 2009.

Aug 1/08: A $29.3 million firm-fixed-priced modification to a delivery order under a previously awarded contract (M67854-07-D-5032, #0007) for sustainment items needed to support Category I MRAP vehicles in theater. This order will also be used to support several Engineering Change Proposals to increase the vehicles’ capabilities. Work will be performed in West Point, MS and is expected to be complete in April 2009. Deliver order #0007 involved 743 MaxxPros.

Aug 1/08: A $27.4 million firm-fixed-priced modification to a delivery order under a previously awarded contract (M67854-07-D-5032, #0002) for sustainment items needed to support Category I MRAP vehicles in theater. This order will also be used to support several Engineering Change Proposals to increase the vehicles’ capabilities. Work will be performed in West Point, MS and is expected to be complete in April 2009.

July 8/08: A $27.7 million firm-fixed price contract for MRAP spare parts. Work will be performed primarily in Springfield, OH and Springfield, MO as well as locations across the USA, and is expected to be complete by Jan 29/10. One bid was solicited on June 26/08 from the manufacturer (W56HZV-08-C-0522). Read Navistar’s “Army Awards Navistar Defense Seven Contracts For Parts And Support:
Contracts Total $125 Million for MRAP Support,” which adds:

“Navistar has shipped more than 185,000 parts pieces to the military for use in Iraq and Afghanistan and has more than 100 field service representatives in theater.”

July 7/08: A $56.9 million firm-fixed price contract for an assortment of automotive parts, including wheels, axles, air conditioners, engines, compressors, generators, and transmissions. Work will be performed primarily in Springfield, OH, with limited production in various cities across the nation, and is expected to be complete by May 4/09. One bid was solicited on April 2/08 (W56HZV-08-C-0494).

July 7/08: A $21.4 million firm-fixed price contract for wheels and pneumatic tires. Work will be performed in Trenton, NJ and is expected to be complete by Jan 30/09. One bid was solicited on June 25/08 (W56HZV-08-C-0520).

MaxxPro CAT I
(click to view full)

June 27/08: A $15.1 million firm fixed price contract for 1,426 air conditioner compressors [NSN 4120-01-555-5459] option priced at $556.11 each; 1,500 condensers for refrigeration [NSN 4130-01-562-3925] option priced at $1,653 each; and air conditioner blowers [NSN 6105-01-562-3922] option priced at $4,378 each. Riding in an enclosed vehicle through 100/40 degree plus heat, while wearing layers of heavy equipment, requires air conditioning as a matter of necessity. At present, 59% of the total condenser and blower options are being exercised, and are considered part of the base award when calculating the contract totals above.

Work will be performed at Dallastown, PA with an expected completion date of Aug 29/08. One bid was solicited with one bid received by the U.S. Army Tank & Automotive Command (TACOM) Life Cycle Management Command in Warren, MI (W56HZV-08-C-0483).

June 27/08: Navistar Defence, LLC in Warrenville, IL received a $6.8 million firm fixed price contract for 2,000 pneumatic tire wheels [NSN 2530-01-555-5456, PN 2596798C91L]; 18 electric engine starters [NSN 2920-01-555-5458, PN 3610516C92[]; and 16 AC generators [NSN 6115-01-555-5460, PN 3819829C91].

Work will be performed in Trenton, NJ, and Belvidere, IL with an expected completion date of Aug 29/08. One bid was solicited with one bid received by the U.S. Army Tank & Automotive Command (TACOM) Life Cycle Management Command (W56HZV-08-C-0500).

June 19/08: International Military and Government LLC in Warrenville, IL is awarded a series of contracts amounting to about $707 million.

The modifications cover both MaxxPro Category I MRAP support and spares, and also “engineering change proposals to increase the vehicles’ capabilities.” Work will be performed in WestPoint, MS under contract M67854-07-D-5032, and are expected to be complete August 2008. The contract modifications include:

• To delivery order #0002 (1,200 for $632.1 M), adds $29.5 million
  
• To delivery order #0004 (754 for $413.9 M), adds $84.8 million
  
• To delivery order #0005 (1,000 for $537.2 M), adds $146.8 million
  
• To delivery order #0006 (1,500 for $1.18 B), adds $211.6 million
  
• To delivery order #0007 (743 for $405.9 M), adds $234.3 million

June 10/08: A $28 million firm-fixed-priced modification to delivery order #0005 under previously awarded contract (M67854-07-D-5032) for the accelerated production of 1,000 MRAP Low Rate Initial Production vehicles.

Delivery order #0005 was for $509.2 million (now $537.2 million), and ordered 1,000 vehicles in October 2007. This is an infusion of funds to speed up production by covering added expenses like overtime et. al., rather than an order for another 1,000 vehicles. Work will be performed in WestPoint, MS and “work is expected to be completed by the end of April 2008.”

May 29/08: The Aug 14/07 entry notes that DynCorp had become Navistar’s in-theater MRAP support network. Now, a DynCorp International release confirms the figures involved:

“Navistar Defense LLC, a division of Navistar International, Inc., awarded DynCorp International (NYSE:DCP) a five year indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity Logistics Support Contract to provide field service support and training for its recently awarded Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) vehicle production contracts. DynCorp International’s Logistics Support Contract has a potential value of up to $500 million over five years with an initial award of $60 million to support deployments to Iraq.”

April 16/08: A $261.3 million for firm-fixed-priced contract modification under previously awarded contract (M67854-07-D-5032) for engineering change proposals to upgrade its MRAP low rate initial production vehicles. The government will procure several engineering changes to provide additional armor protection to increase the survivability of the MRAP Category I (CAT I) vehicles. The order also includes ambulance kits for the vehicles.

Work will be performed in WestPoint, MS and is expected to be complete in November 2008. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was competitively procured. The Marine Corps Systems Command, Quantico, Va., is the contracting activity.

March 14/08: A $405.9 million firm-fixed-priced delivery order (M67854-07-D-5032, #0007) for 743 Category I vehicles. Work will be performed in WestPoint, MS and is expected to be complete November 2008. To date, they have received 5,214 orders under the MRAP program (5,198 CAT-I, 16 CAT-2), 36.9% of the vehicles ordered.

N.B. Amount corrected by DefenseLINK on March 18/08.

Jan 19/08: The NY Times reports that “a gunner was killed and three crew members were wounded” on this day in an IED land mine attack. The soldiers were riding in a MaxxPro MRAP. Read “Hopes for NY Times Reporting Questioned After MRAP Story” for more details.

Jan 10/08: Israeli firm Plasan Sasa announces a $200+ million order to supply Navistar’s International Military and Government, LLC with armoring systems for an additional 1,500 armored MRAP blast-resistant vehicles, to be delivered by the end of July 2008. The Plasan Sasa release says that this armor contract continues and builds on the US military’s June 2007 order for 1,200 MaxxPro vehicles, and notes their investment in US manufacturing facilities.

MaxxPro CAT-I, Iraq
(click to view full)

Dec 18/07: IMG had submitted a variant of its MaxxPro for the MRAP-II competition. It aims to field vehicles that can protect against EFP(Explosively formed Penetrator) land mines, which are more akin to instant tank shells being fired into your vehicle than they are to a conventional explosion. After initial tests, however, only 2 vendors received contracts for additional testing at Aberdeen: BAE Systems (RG-33) and the team of Ideal Innovations, Ceradyne, and Oshkosh (The Bull).

Dec 18/07: A $1.18 billion firm-fixed-priced delivery order under a previously awarded contract (M67854-07-D-5032, #0006) to purchase an additional 1,500 MaxxPro CAT-I MRAP Low Rate Initial Production (LRIP) vehicles. This order also includes sustainment items needed to support the vehicles in theater, as well as several Engineering Change Proposals to increase the vehicles’ capabilities. Work will be performed in WestPoint, MS and is expected to be complete by the end of July 2008. This contract was competitively procured. Navistar release.

As this accompanying DoD release notes, the Marine Corps issued a number of MRAP orders on this day. Navistar’s IMG remains on top, and even widened its lead slightly. To date, they have received 4,471 orders under the MRAP program (4,455 CAT-I, 16 CAT-2), for 37.6% of 11,862 vehicles ordered.

Dec 7/07: The Rakkasans of the 3rd BCT, 101st Airborne Division in Iraq received 18 MaxxPro CATR-I vehicles. Sgt. Rian Terry, a welder in Co. B, 626th BSB, from Clarksville, TN:

“I like it. It feels safe with all the additional armor. It’s much roomier and easier to access equipment, especially with all your gear on.”

Pfc. Cedric Miller, a grenadier in Co. A, 1-187th Inf., from Blakely, GA, was more direct: “It’s an all-around good truck. We need more.”

American units preparing to receive MRAP vehicles send their maintenance Soldiers attend a 5-day, 40-hour course. During the course, drivers and vehicle commanders participate in both day and night, on- and off-road driving exercises, and obstacle course-like exercises where they maneuver through jersey barriers. Soldiers who complete the 40-hour training are operationally familiar with the equipment. It is up to the unit to make them tactically familiar.

Meanwhile, each battalion is assigned a field support representative and a team of mechanics to continue training the Soldiers. Having civilian representatives and mechanics at the battalion level gives the Soldiers subject-matter experts who are available during maintenance, but will allow the Soldiers to do the hands-on work. US Army

Dec 7/07: A $152 million firm-fixed-priced modification under previously awarded contract (M67854-07-D-5032) for Maxxpro “sustainment items” (spares) under the MRAP program. Work will be performed in WestPoint, MS and is expected to be complete in February 2008.

Nov 28/07: A $24 million firm-fixed-priced modification to delivery order #0004 under previously awarded contract (M67854-07-D-5032) for procure field service representatives to provide support for the Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) vehicles in theater. Work will be performed in Iraq, and work is expected to be completed November 2008. Note our Aug 14/07 entry – this work will be done by Dyncorp.

Oct 30/07: $68.8 million attached to firm-fixed-priced delivery order #0005 under previously contract (M67854-07-D-5032) for Mine Resistant and Ambush Protected (MRAP) Vehicle sustainment items. The Government shall purchase MRAP University requirements including field service representative-instructors, instructional material, course outlines, and special tooling, and additional sustainment items. Work will be performed at Red River Army Depot in Texarkana, TX, and is expected to be complete by the end of October 2008.

Oct 18/07: $509.2 million for firm-fixed-priced delivery order #0005 under previously awarded contract (M67854-07-D-5032) for 1,000 MaxxPro MRAP CAT I Low Rate Initial Production vehicles. Work will be performed in West Point, MS, and is expected to be complete April 2008. This contract was competitively procured.

Navistar remains in the lead for MRAP orders to date, with 2,971 vehicles (2,955 CAT-I, 16 CAT-II) contracted to date, or 33.8% of the 8,746 MRAP CAT I/II vehicles ordered so far. Force Protection is currently in 2nd place with 30.9%, and BAE/Armor Holdings come in 3rd with 26.3%.

FY 2007

LRIP.

MaxxPro concept
(click to view full)

Sept 21/07: International Military and Government LLC in Warrenville, Ill. received $7.2 million firm-fixed-priced modification to delivery order #0002 under previously awarded contract (M67854-07-D-5032) for field service representatives (FSRs) to serve in theater. The FSRs will provide support for MRAP Category I MaxxPro vehicles in Iraq. Work will be performed in Camp Liberty, Iraq, and is expected to be complete in September 2008.

Sept 13/07: International Military and Government LLC in Warrenville, Ill. received a $71.5 million firm-fixed-priced modification to Delivery Order #0002 under previously awarded contract (M67854-07-D-5032) for sustainment items and data requirements for the Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) vehicles in theater.

The US government is buying 1-Year Forward Deployment Blocks, 1-Year Maintenance Work Blocks, training, training materials, and several contract data requirement lists for International’s MaxxPro MRAP CAT I vehicles. Work will be performed in West Point, Miss., and the deliveries are expected to be complete in October 2007.

Aug 14/07: DynCorp International LLC announces that they have been selected by International Military and Government LLC to provide field-service support and training for its MRAP vehicles. This effectively makes them Navistar’s in-theater support network.

July 20/07: $413.9 million for firm-fixed-priced, delivery order #0004 under previously awarded contract (M67854-07-D-5032), covering an additional 755 Category I (CAT I) Mine Resistance Ambush Protected (MRAP) Low Rate Initial Production (LRIP) patrol vehicles. Work will be performed in WestPoint, Miss., and is expected to be complete by February 2008. Navistar release.

This contract places Navistar in the lead for MRAP orders to date, with 1,971 vehicles (1,955 CAT-I, 16 CAT-II) contracted to date, or 34.8% of the 5,621 vehicles ordered so far under the 7,774 vehicle MRAP program. Force Protection is currently in 2nd place with 31.7%, and BAE/Armor Holdings come in 3rd with 30.3%

MaxxPro CAT-I,
earlier version
(click to view full)

June 18/07: An $8.5 million firm-fixed-priced delivery order #0003 under previously awarded contract (M67854-07-D-5032) for an additional 16 of the larger Category II MRAP JERRV squad vehicles. Note that this works out to about $530,000 per vehicle. Work will be performed in WestPoint, Miss., and work is expected to be complete by February 2008. The DoD release adds, mysteriously, that “Contract funds in the amount of $9,547,248 will expire at the end of the current fiscal year.”

May 31/07: A $623.1 million indefinite-delivery/ indefinite-quantity contract (M67854-07-D-5032, #002) for 1,200 additional Category I (CAT I) Mine Resistance Ambush Protected (MRAP) Low Rate Initial Production vehicles. Work on the MaxxPro MPV contract will be performed in West Point, MS, and is expected to be complete by February 2008. All contract funds will expire at the end of the current fiscal year.

Which leads us to the next question… will existing MRAP vehicles be enough? They may not, and ironically, International may have declined to submit an offering of its own that could have survived in the new environment.

Footnotes

fn1. A shaped charge ‘squishes’ and detonates when it hits, focusing the blast into a cone with a point that’s like a plasma torch – with a wallop behind it. The immense focused energy converges right on the armor, cutting through the steel and/or blowing chunks off the back in a spray of molten metal of fragments, killing the occupants and/or damaging machinery.

Cage armor can prevent some types of warheads from detonating, especially those with a piezo-electric ‘crush’ fuze. Those of you thinking that metal screens are not 100% certain to prevent warhead detonation, depending on the angle at which the piezo-electric crush fuze hit, and other warhead characteristics, are correct. In general, one can expect cage armor of any sort to turn only about 50-60% of rounds into duds.

The other option “cage armor” provides is to start that process away from the armor, so the shaped charge cone’s focal point is moved out in front of the armor it’s designed to penetrate. Instead of a precisely focused cutting/blasting point, you get an less focused blast. Depending on how big the warhead is, how far away the detonation is, and how strong the vehicle’s armor protection is, its occupants may or may not be saved.

Additional Readings & Sources

• Thanks to Navistar for working with DID to help verify vehicle totals.

• Navistar – MaxxPro Dash DXM.

• DID (Dec 16/13) – High Afghan Exit Costs Force US Military to Contemplate End of Era. Which includes getting rid of many MRAPs.

• DID (Oct 23/13) – Choices, Changes & Opportunities: Corporate Lessons from the Afghan R4D Exit. Understanding the difficulty helps to explain some aspects of subsequent decisions about the MRAP fleet.

• US Army (May 5/11) – ‘Golden hour’ initiative pays off in Afghanistan. Aeromedical units play a big role – but so does having nearby vehicles that can travel in dangerous areas, and carry initial medical facilities with them.

• Plasan Sasa (June 3/07) – Plasan Sasa Will Supply International Military and Government, LLC with Critical MRAP Vehicle Protection for the US Marines [PDF format]

• Navistar (May 31/07) – U.S. Marine Corps Awards $623 Million Contract for Mine-Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) Vehicles to International Military and Government, LLC

• Reuters (June 21/07) – U.S. Gen.: Iranian Weapons Still Flowing into Iraq. Maj. Gen. Rick Lynch: “What I try to do is stick to the facts. And I know that inside of my battle space, there are munitions clearly marked with Iranian markings, and I am losing many of my soldiers to EFPs… It is clear that the EFP technology and munitions is coming from Iran. We have to stop that.”

• USA Today (May 31/07) – MRAPs can’t stop newest weapon

• DID (Oct 6/06) – Dispatches from Afghanistan: Armored vs. Blast Resistant

• DID (July 21/06) – GD-RAFAEL’s Reactive Armor Equips US Military (updated)

Appendix A: The MRAP Story, and the MaxxPro Story

Dingo 2 (via CASR)

In 2005, military manufacturers began to plan for the end of the US military’s Hummer orders, and the associated battle to replace it with a new vehicle. By this time, land mines had already been the #1 killer in Iraq for some time, and a few manufacturers were also looking to break into the American market with solutions to this problem. The technology was not new; indeed, it had been in use for over 40 years. The US military had just been very slow to adopt it, aside from some limited orders the 101st Airborne had placed for South African RG-31 vehicles, limited purchases of Force Protection’s Cougar and Buffalo vehicles for Explosive Ordnance Disposal teams, and M1117 Guardian ASV armored cars for US military police units. Worse, the ASVs were produced in New Orleans. Hurricane Katrina interrupted production just as it was ramping up.

By 2006, 3 years into the war in Iraq, realization began to dawn that the Hummers and their blast-catching flat bottoms needed a supplement in theater now, rather than waiting for the Humvee’s successor. The US Army and Marines began taking a closer look at mine-resistant vehicles on the market, and key manufacturers began maneuvering for position.

The new Mine Resistant, Ambush Protected (MRAP) program would include a smaller Category I MRUV patrol vehicles that seated at least 6 people in total, including the driver and front seat. Category II JERRV vehicles would seat at least 10, and would be large enough to hold bomb-disposal robots and other useful gear.

The expected MRAP requirement quickly began to mushroom in size, as IED land mine attacks intensified on the front lines. A large July 2007 order came hot on the heels of US Secretary of Defense Gates’ request to Congress for an extra $1.2 billion in FY 2007 to fund an additional 2,650 MRAP vehicles, on the grounds that manufacturers were ramping up production more quickly than original forecasts. Meanwhile, key inputs such as steel and tires which might have become production bottlenecks were expedited under a DX rating that give the MRAP program priority over almost all other military programs. Sen. and VP-elect Biden [D-DE], who often heard responses re: lack of industrial capacity when he began asking why more MRAP vehicles weren’t in theater, found that his “put the money together, issue the contracts, and let’s find out” speech [MS Word], embodied in Amendment #739 to the FY 2007 military budget, became the US military’s go-forward plan.

Cougar at Aberdeen
(click to view full)

By the time the competition began Force Protection, whose v-hulled Cougar vehicles had catalyzed this realization with their performance in Iraq, was set with their Cougars for MRAP CAT I/II.

General Dynamics was already partnered with BAE OMC of South Africa and the Canadian government to offer the RG-31, which was already in service with airborne and SOCOM customers. Then they signed another deal with Force Protection to share production of Cougar vehicles.

BAE Systems was busy developing their RG-33 family, an update of their proven RG-31s that incorporated new technologies and lessons learned. Meanwhile, Armor Holdings, who supplied the US military’s FMTV medium trucks and up-armoring for its Hummers, worked on an up-armored design based on the FMTV. They would eventually be acquired by BAE in a multi-billion dollar deal, after establishing an MRAP order foothold for their “Caiman” vehicles.

Lacking ready designs or American plants, others chose partnerships as their path to market. Navistar’s truck-building competitor Oshkosh entered the fray with a pair of Partnerships, signing a deal with PVI for their new Alpha MRUV vehicle, and Thales Australia for the larger Bushmaster vehicle that was already serving with Australian forces in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Protected Vehicles, Inc. (PVI) also submitted the Golan, designed in partnership with RAFAEL and the Israeli military.

German firm KMW’s Dingo had also demonstrated front-line performance with German forces in Afghanistan, but their American partner Textron elected to offer their own M1117 instead, eliminating KMW before the competition had even started.

That left Navistar considering what to do.

MV 7000 as tanker
(click to view full)

Navistar subsidiary International Military and Government LLC (IMG, now Navistar Defense) didn’t have expertise in armored vehicles, but they did know trucks. The firm is used to substantial production numbers, and has a field maintenance network on the front lines. In addition to to being one of North America’s largest producers of civilian commercial trucks and mid-range diesel engines (161,000 vehicles in 2006), it is producing and supporting 2,781 vehicles for the Afghan National Army, and claims 9 additional contracts with the U.S. government for more than 1,000 units each. These contracts encompass include service trucks and buses that have been used in the Iraq reconstruction effort. Production facilities include Garland, TX; Springfield, OH; West Point, MS; Melrose Park, IL (diesel engines); and Tulsa, OK (buses).

The key for Navistar would be finding the right partner, with the aim of developing an armored MRAP-candidate vehicle based around IMG’s WorkStar 7000 truck chassis. In 2005, the firm contracted with South Africa’s Armour Technology Systems (ATS), which has design rights to several mine-resistant vehicles used in South Africa, and had also developed blast-resistant SAMIL armored cab solutions for South Africa’s trucks.

MTVR + PS armor
(click to view full)

During the course of that relationship with ATS, Navistar also opened relations with the Israeli firm Plasan Sasa, who had been designing and manufacturing up-armoring kits for the Marine Corps’ MTVR trucks for several years. That gave them a solid relationship with the MRAP competition’s key client. The Kibbutz Sasa firm also had experience developing full vehicles; its own light protected vehicle called the Caracal was under review by the US Marines for a different role. Navistar decided that they had found their partner – and in January 2007, they summarily canceled their agreement with South Africa’s ATS.

The question of what ATS knowledge may have been transferred or used by Navistar remains in the hands of lawyers, and also a PR campaign by ATS that publicizes its specific allegations of bad faith and unethical dealings.

The key characteristics of Navistar’s final vehicle contender are clearer. Unlike the HMMWV‘s auto-derived frame, IMG’s heavy-duty truck chassis would have the load capacity required to handle the weight of additional armor etc., without wearing out early. The final design positions a v-shaped crew compartment on top of that truck chassis, allowing maximum production commonality while using the compartment’s armoring and shape to channel blasts around the crew area. Extensive use of components from IMG’s trucks, including predictive maintenance features, would ensure that their entry was both producible in large numbers and maintainable in the field.

In return for this positioning, Navistar’s IMG received a test vehicle production contract for their vehicle – and nothing more. IMG/Plasan Sasa’s MPV was not featured among the early-stage orders [1st set | 2nd set] from the US military for low-risk designs, which went to rivals Force Protection (Cougar), BAE (RG-33, RG-33L), General Dynamics (RG-31), Oshkosh/PVI (Alpha CAT I), and PVI (Golan CAT II).

MaxxPro Dash & Plus
(click to view full)

Yet Navistar went on to become the winner in the initial MRAP competition, with the highest share of any competitor. So why was Navistar initially shut out?

One logical conclusion is doubts about its performance. The biggest downside to capsule-mounting a blast-resistant hull on top of a frame is the danger that a mine blast will separate the capsule from the frame, or (more likely) destroy the chassis and immobilize the vehicle in an ambush zone. Moving a v-shaped blast pan beneath the chassis reduces that danger, but that solution creates issues with ground clearance; and – since it offers less of a gap from the blast – with crew survivability.

What changed? Two things.

One was the Biden Amendment in the Senate, which accelerated funding for MRAPs, even as the desired number of vehicles for the FY 2007-2008 program rose again from 4,100 to 7,774 vehicles. At that volume, existing vehicle manufacturers would be very hard-pressed to deliver the required quantity in time. Which in turn lent a higher value to producibility, as long as the vehicles offered substantially better protection than a Humvee. Especially with the US Army reportedly looking for 17,000 blast-resistant vehicles of its own by 2010 – a number that would be borne out, and more, by subsequent events.

The second thing that happened was the testing at Aberdeen Proving Ground, which appears to have quieted doubts concerning IMG/Plasan Sasa’s design. Navistar received just the 2nd post-testing order to emerge from Marine Corps Systems Command, behind Force Protection’s early 1,000 vehicle order in April 2007. A May 31, 2007 report from Defense News claims that Navistar officials heard about their win from the offices of minority leader Sen. Trent Lott [R-MS] and Rep. Roger Wicker [R-MS], and Navistar spokesman Roy Wiley added at the time that “We did extremely well during the tests [at Aberdeen], and we are extremely pleased.”

Plasan Sasa does make composite armors for vehicles, and whatever it used apparently survived the trials at Aberdeen. Navistar would go on to produce its MaxxPro for MRAP orders, as well as the MaxxPro Air Force, the MaxxPro Plus with improved protection, a MaxxPro ambulance (production orders were for the Dash variant), the MaxxPro MEAP, the MaxxPro Dash for Afghan operations, and the MaxxPro Recovery Vehicle (MRV) for towing other vehicles out of danger zones.

In contrast, Navistar’s trucking competitor Oshkosh failed with both of its purpose-designed vehicles. The firm received 100 advance low-risk orders for the Alpha vehicle, which then failed testing and was removed from the competition. Despite its successful service on the front lines, the v-hulled Australian Bushmaster design never saw a single production order during the MRAP program. It would join Textron’s M1117 on the sidelines, until Oshkosh’s big win in the subsequent MRAP All Terrain Vehicle (M-ATV) competition.

Appendix B: MPV or APC to Face EFPs? (June 2007)

HMMWV, IEDed
(click to view full)

A May 31/07 USA Today article titled “MRAPs can’t stop newest weapon” explains the dilemma:

“The military plans to spend as much as $25 billion for up to 22,000 Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) vehicles by 2009. Last month, Defense Secretary Robert Gates declared that buying the new vehicles should be the Pentagon’s top procurement priority.

But the armor on those vehicles cannot stop the newest bomb to emerge, known as an explosively formed penetrator (EFP).”

Stryker ICV with
Anti-RPG Slat Armor
(click to view full)

An EFP is just another type of land mine, where the explosives are arranged to shape a metal disk into a kind of instant high-caliber tank round as they detonate, launching it at nearby objects. This is not a new approach; the USA’s Sensor-Fuzed Weapon, a.k.a. “cans of whup-ass,” uses this exact approach but is dropped from an airplane so it can attack through the top, where armor is usually weakest. An EFP’s mode of operation when used as a land mine is a ballistic side attack rather than a conventional land mine’s explosion, which means a v-hull won’t necessarily offer much protection.

These weapons have also been among the land mines causing problems for heavier Stryker/LAV-III wheeled armored personnel carriers in Diyala Province. The Strykers lack the level of underbelly protection found in MRAP vehicles, and their “steel cage” armor designed to defeat [1] the shaped-charge warheads on anti-tank rockets will not stop large-caliber shells – or a reasonable imitation created by an EFP land-mine.

Iran has been heavily involved in shipping these weapons into Iraq for some time now, and training both Shi’ites and Sunnis to make them. A January 13, 2007 document from the USMC says that as the USA fields vehicles with MRAP-class protection against buried mines, Iraqi insurgents’ use of EFPs “can be expected to increase significantly.”

While the US has been testing new armor compositions designed to break up EFP slugs, there is a commonly-available solution on the market. It’s called “reactive armor,” and already equips American Bradley fighting vehicles, M1 tanks, and other armored platforms.

In a sense, it’s the reverse of the EFP concept – instead of using an explosion to create a killing weapon, it reacts with an outward explosion when hit. This either blows the rocket/ tank round/ or EFP projectile completely off-course, or tips it into an easily-absorbed ‘slap hit’ rather than the precise, focused strike required to penetrate steel.

The armor is manufactured in a cooperative venture between Israel’s RAFAEL and General Dynamics, and already has a strong production base. The only counter to it would be a anti-tank missiles that use a dual-warhead charge, like Russia’s AT-13 Metis or AT-14 Kornet. Some of these weapons even have remote-firing capability. That kind of equipment can only come from a state sponsor, however – a fact that sharply ups the ante on its use as a definitive act of war in theaters like Iraq or Afghanistan.

PVI/RAFAEL Golan
(click to view full)

There is already an MRAP contender designed from the outset to use this kind of armor to its maximum effectiveness. Protected Vehicles Inc. MRAP CAT II Golan vehicle was designed in conjunction with RAFAEL and the Israeli MoD’s Merkava tank project office. Unsurprisingly, it was also designed from the outset to carry reactive armor as an option, without changing its outward appearance. The result of this design feature is that the enemy can’t tell if reactive armor is present or not, and must therefore assume “yes” for all vehicles of its type.

The US military ordered 60 Golan vehicles for immediate deployment to the front lines back in March 2007, in addition to its order for test vehicles.

IMG APC Concept
(click to view full)

The interesting thing is, IMG had its own vehicle designed from the outset to use reactive armor. The “International APC” was a definite CAT II sized vehicle at 30,000 pounds curb weight. Based on an International MV-7000 heavy truck cab, the APC promised a vehicle equipped with explosive reactive armor from the get-go.

For whatever reason, IMG chose not to enter this vehicle in the MRAP competition. Their APC could never have won a CAT I MRUV order, of course, as the MaxxPro just did. What it might have offered is an additional purchase option for the US military, when EFP land mines begin taking their toll on MRAP vehicles fielded in theater.

Postscript: DID predicted that a number of MRAP vehicle manufacturers were about to start showing much more interest in reactive armor solutions for their vehicles. It’s always more difficult to integrate later, of course, rather than as a design-in option. Still, it was immediately available – and better than nothing. That prediction proved false, as the Army began development of anti-EFP metal armor/add-on kits instead.

Americas

• The Brazilian Army has ordered an additional procurement of RBS 70 surface-to-air missile systems from Saab in a deal worth $11.7 million. In addition to the systems, the contract includes launchers, night vision equipment, training simulators and other equipment for operators and maintainers of the RBS 70. Deliveries will commence later this year and continue into 2018. A popular system, Saab has sold more than 1,600 RBS 70 units to over 19 countries.

• Northrop Grumman’s RQ-4B Global Hawk UAV has commenced flight testing with the UTC Aerospace Systems MS-177 long-range multispectral sensor. The February 8 maiden flight with the MS-177 is the initial step in a six-month integration, test and qualification phase that will mostly take place at Edwards AFB, close to Northrop’s facility in Palmdale, California, where the aircraft is built. Northrop’s RQ-4 is the second UAV to demonstrate compatibility with the sensor after General Atomics’ “Predator C” Avenger, which performed a series of flight tests in January and February 2016. Integration with the MS-177 will enable the Global Hawk to establish compliance with the USAF’s new Open Mission System standards, which allow different sensors and payloads to be rapidly installed and qualified.

• FAAC Inc has been contracted by the USAF to upgrade weapon systems for the F-16 Fighting Falcon aircraft. Valued at $9.5 million, the contract calls for FAAC to update various F-16 weapon system components including software capabilities, multi-mission computers, and mid-life updates for F-16 Block 16 jets. Work will be completed by March, 2023. The most recent variant of the jet, the F-16V, is equipped with an Active Electronically Scanned Array radar system and weapons include one M-61A1 20mm multi-barrel cannon in addition to air-to-air and air-to-ground missiles.

Middle East & North Africa

• Turkey is expected to bring up Turkish interest in the S-400 surface-to-air missile system when President Recep Tayyip Erdogan visits Russia. Officials in Ankara have been touting the S-400 as an off-the-shelf solution to their long-range air-defense requirements, and it is noted that there is an interest in procuring Russian technical assistance for their own long-range SAM program, which was initiated following the collapse of an HQ-9 purchase from China. Turkey’s own efforts to develop an indigenous SAM system has progressed as of late with Roketsan successfully test-firing the medium-range HiSAR-O missile in December, and industry now focusing on validating the design and adapting the HiSAR-series to commercially-standard vertical-launch systems (VLS), which could prepare them for naval use in Turkey and abroad.

Europe

• The European Defense Agency (EDA) has completed a project aimed at improving the accuracy for artillery munitions. Known as the Course Correcting Fuze (CCF), the program is designed to provide near-precision capabilities for conventional munitions by placing fins in the fuze body that can then be used along with GPS technologies to make strikes with 155mm and 105mm munitions more accurate. Work was carried out by munition experts from EDA member states Belgium, Poland, Sweden and Britain participating in the project with additional support from Norway. The agency concluded it would be beneficial for EDA member states to develop common munitions and artillery systems, allowing CCF solutions to be integrated more easily.

• Russia is expanding their military support fleet with a focus on long-range vessels as they looks to increase the capability to ship military hardware and equipment to far-flung battlefields. Since the start of their military intervention in Syria in September 2015, Moscow has been sending supplies via the “Syrian Express” sea route through the Black Sea, however, this has put immense strain on their naval auxiliary fleet and has resulted in buying of Turkish cargo ships as well using an arctic ice breaker to help fill the void. In response to the shortfall, Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu said on Tuesday that “our main efforts must be directed into building large-tonnage ships and other universal and multi-functional ships capable of meeting the needs of the armed forces in distant maritime areas,” and that Russia would build more than 60 such new ships before 2020.

Asia Pacific

• Iran tested two ballistic anti-ship missiles based on the Fateh-110 over the weekend. One missile successfully hit its target — a floating barge — over 155 miles away, while the second is believed to have landed in the vicinity of the target. Alongside the test, Iranian vessels forced a US Navy surveillance ship — the USNS Invincible — and three Royal British Navy vessels to change course in the Strait of Hormuz last week, and were also met with an earlier attempt by an Iranian vessel to position itself between the Invincible and a British ship. The launch comes less than a week after Tehran tested their new S-300 air-defense system for the first time.

• The US military has begun to deploy the first elements of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) anti-missile system in South Korea. Speaking on the commencement of the deployment, US Pacific Commander Admiral Harry Harris said that the “continued provocative actions by North Korea, to include yesterday’s launch of multiple missiles, only confirm the prudence of our alliance decision last year to deploy THAAD to South Korea.” Meanwhile China has asked Pyongyang to cease their ongoing ballistic missile testing, and for South Korea and the US to stop joint military drills and seek talks instead.

Today’s Video

RBS-70 w. night sight
(click to view full)

Vladimir Putin liked the Winter Olympics so much, he decided his army needed its own event. Brazil isn’t eyeing its neighbors’ territories, so they’re more focused on defensive preparations as they prepare for soccer’s World Cup in 2014, and a 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio. Air defense is part of standard security preparations, and Brazil’s array needed an update anyway. Early reports had Brazil looking to Russia, and that may still happen, but the 2014 World Cup will see Brazil deploy a new system from Sweden…

RBS 70

March 8/17: The Brazilian Army has ordered an additional procurement of RBS 70 surface-to-air missile systems from Saab in a deal worth $11.7 million. In addition to the systems, the contract includes launchers, night vision equipment, training simulators and other equipment for operators and maintainers of the RBS 70. Deliveries will commence later this year and continue into 2018. A popular system, Saab has sold more than 1,600 RBS 70 units to over 19 countries.

March 3/14: Saab announces an SEK 80 million / $12.2 million contract with Brazil for RBS-70 soldier-portable anti-aircraft missile systems:

“The deal comprises an undisclosed number of RBS 70 man-portable launchers, Mk II type missiles, simulators, night vision equipment, a test set, maintenance tools, spares, associated equipment, and training for the weapon’s operators and maintainers. The systems are among others intended to protect Brazil’s strategic infrastructure, and would be employed in protection of major incoming events, including the 2014 FIFA World Cup, and the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.”

This small order (likely 12-16 systems) makes Brazil the RBS-70’s 19th customer. Unlike the Army’s more widespread Russian SA-18/24 Igla system, which depends on a seeker, the RBS-70 is a laser beamrider that homes in only on manually designated targets. That makes it essentially unjammable. It also makes the RBS 70 an excellent choice for very public venues that are likely to have a number of legitimate flying machines crowding the airspace at any given time.

The Mk.II is the most advanced form of the standard RBS-70 missile, with a speed of Mach 1.6 and a 7 km range. Saab’s release appears to make deliberate distinctions between Brazil’s buy and the most modern RBS-70 NG core system, and also between the standard Mk II missile and the top-tier Mach 2.0, 8 km Bolide. Sources: Saab, “Saab signs contract for RBS 70 with Brazilian Army”.

Brazil buying RBS-70s

Dec 17/13: Testing. Brazil’s Army confirms the BRL 4.5 million/ $1.9 million purchase of 1 RBS-70 MK2 BOLIDE system and firing rounds for tests. The announcement clearly specifies testing only, but it also recommends the system’s adoption for the 2014 World Cup. Sources: Tecnologia & Defesa, “Defesa antiaérea da Copa FIFA 2014: Brasil vai de RBS-70 MK2 Bolide”.

Brazil buying RBS-70s

Additional Readings

• DID – F-X2: Brazil Picks Saab’s JAS-39 Gripen-NG over Rafale, Super Hornet. New fighters for Brazil, but they won’t come in time for the World Cup or Olympics.

• DID – Rio 2016: Brazil Looks to Russia for Air Defense Systems. SA-24 Igla-S portable missiles and vehicle-mounted Pantsir-S1 systems.

Americas

• The US Army is planning to issue contracts this year for the development of next-generation laser-guided mortar systems. This new precision high explosive guided mortar (HEGM) will replace the current systems in place, and will eliminate the need to typically fire several rounds to adjust fire for accurate strikes and incorporate threat counter-measures and enhanced mobility. Speaking on the new system, Lt. Col. Anthony Gibbs, of Product Manager Guided Precision Munitions and Mortar Systems at Picatinny Arsenal said the new capability will allow troops to be “able to quickly come in, establish, fire and with one round you’re able to get effects.” Companies that receive contracts will then create and deliver potential HEGM solutions for the US government to test, and a full and open competition will be conducted in 2018 to select the final solution.

• Rheinmetall has been contracted by the USAF to supply several ten thousand round lots of their new 25mm x 137 Frangible Armour Piercing (FAP) round for the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter. Valued at $6.5 million, the contract will see the company manufacture the rounds in four lots at Rheinmetall Switzerland and delivery will commence in December, 2017. Rheinmetall is marketing the ammunition as only not just for air-to-air superiority fights, but capable of destroying Infantry Fighting Vehicles (IFVs) at extreme slant ranges as well.

Middle East & North Africa

• Boeing received a contract-modification of $46 million to perform interim contractor support for Saudi Arabia’s recently purchased F-15s. The above support refers to an agreement wherein a service will defer an investment due to a lack of technological capabilities, such as equipment spares or technical data. Boeing is expected to complete this service for Saudi Arabia by the end of March. The contract is comprised entirely of foreign military sales to Saudi Arabia and supports the recent commissioning of F-15SA fighters by the kingdom.

Europe

• The Germany defense ministry has delayed the signing of contracts with MBDA for the multi-billion Medium Extended Air Defense System (MEADS). The deal will instead move into the spring of 2018 as Berlin reaffirms its commitment to the project while maintaining that there was still work to do on the MBDA proposal, as well as on how the overall project would be managed. In the meantime, the ministry plans to spend several hundred million euros to modernise the software and hardware of the German military’s existing Patriot system, the system MEADS will eventually replace.

• Germany did confirm plans to purchase the high-altitude MQ-4C Triton surveillance UAV from Northrop Grumman as a replacement to 2013’s abandoned Euro Hawk program. While the defense ministry failed to mention how many MQ-4Cs it was intending to buy, the Euro Hawk requirement had initially called for five systems to be delivered with $1.26 billion earmarked for the procurement. However the deal was scrapped when it became known that gaining aviation approval would cost in the hundreds of millions of euros. Ministry sources said the aviation approval for Triton would be less costly because it was baked in from the start of the program.

• Leonardo and Polish Armaments Group have signed a cooperation agreement on helicopter production for the Polish armed forces. The deal will facilitate further industrial collaboration on production, servicing and maintenance for various military rotorcraft. Leonardo is currently offering the AW139, AW101 and W-3PL models to Warsaw as part of several helicopter requirements by the defense ministry and if selected, PGZ will assist with producing components and other supporting systems in Poland.

Asia Pacific

• The US is to step up deployment of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) anti-missile system and could have it operational by April as North Korean missile testing continues to provoke all of its neighbors. Pyongyang’s latest provocation on Monday saw Kim Jong-un supervise the launch of four ballistic missiles by an army unit that is positioned to strike US bases in Japan, stepping up threats against Washington as US troops conduct joint military exercises with South Korea. Speaking after the launches, North Korea’s state-run KCNA said “In the hearts of artillerymen … there was burning desire to mercilessly retaliate against the warmongers going ahead with their joint war exercises.”

• Iran successfully tested its S-300 air defense system at a recent military exercise, according to Iran’s IRNA news agency. Conducted in Iran’s Central Desert, the system was operated from the back of trucks and targeted various flying objects including missiles. Russia delivered the S-300 system to Iran in 2016, nearly 10 years after the initial contract had been signed. Iran signed the $800 million contract to buy the S-300 missile system in 2007, but Russia suspended their delivery three years later because of strong objections from the United States and Israel.

Today’s Video

Americas

• Boeing has won a $678 million DoD contract to supply seven Lot 40 EA-18G Growlers and five F/A-18E Super Hornets to the US Navy. Delivery of the aircraft is expected to be completed by February 2019 after production and assembly at various US locations. The EA-18s will come with airborne electronic attack kits which support the Growler’s communication jamming capabilities.

• Firearms manufacturer Glock has lodged a protest with the US government against an award given to Sig Sauer to fill the Army’s new pistol requirement. As a result, planned testing by the Army of its XM17 Modular Handgun System has been put on hold. A modified version of Sig Sauer’s P320 was chosen by the Army in January to replace the service’s legacy M9 Beretta, beating competition from Glock and Smith & Wesson. The Army has until June to respond to Glock’s complaint.

Middle East & North Africa

• Houthi forces fighting against a Saudi-led coalition in Yemen have unveiled four indigenously designed and manufactured UAVs. The Qasef-1 is a combat drone that has a flight endurance of two hours and is capable of carrying a payload of 30 kilograms. Three other drones, the Hudhud-1, the Raqib, and the Rased are various types of reconnaissance UAVs with flight endurance ranging between 90 minutes and 2 hours, and an operational range of between 15-35 kilometres. The Houthi’s have also used their own home-made ballistic missiles against Saudi targets.

Europe

• Airbus will start retrofitting 23 CH-53 helicopters for the German military this year, extending the fleet’s lifespan up to 2030. The company will replace obsolete parts with new components on the heavy transport helicopters and the whole project will be completed by 2022. Airbus Helicopters is currently responsible for supporting the air force’s fleet of 66 VFW-Sikorsky CH-53G/GS/GA Stallions at its site in Donauworth, southern Germany. However, with the German government looking to replace the older CH-53s with either Boeing’s CH-47F Chinook or Sikorsky’s CH-53K King Stallion, Airbus has been looking for ways to get involved with work share agreements with the two pitching firms.

• The UK MoD and Leonardo will enter phase 2 of the Rotary Wing Unmanned Air System Demonstrator program. Known as RWUAS CCD Phase 2, the two-year agreement will task the company to identify, develop and explore plans to integrate rotary-wing capabilities with military unmanned aircraft, and will build on the research and development facilitated under the first phase of the program, which took place between 2013 and 2015. Funding for the second phase is valued at $9.8 million.

Asia Pacific

• China’s Wing-Loong II UAV has made its maiden flight. Developed by Chengdu Aircraft Design and Research Institute, the aircraft, with a wingspan of 65.6 feet, flew Monday in western China for 31 minutes. Speaking to the Xinhua news agency Li Yidong, chief designer of the Wing-Loong UAS series said that the new aircraft “can rapidly identify then strike against time-critical and fleeting targets. The capability is not possessed by previous unmanned aircraft, even manned aircraft,” and that China was following the US as “another country capable of developing such new generation large reconnaissance and strike UAS.”

• Textron AirLand has marked the Asia-Pacific market as an opportunity to promote its developmental Scorpion light attack aircraft. The company believes that Australia will soon release a request for proposals for an electronic warfare training jet that could see a small order for about three aircraft. Discussions have occurred with some Southeast Asian nations, who see an opportunity to use the Scorpion as an armed reconnaissance platform to monitor exclusive economic zones, or as an intermediate jet trainer. Textron hopes to bring Scorpion to the Singapore air show in early 2018.

• Saab has expressed interest in New Zealand’s P-3C Orion replacement program, saying its Swordfish maritime patrol aircraft (MPA) system integrated with a Bombardier Global 6000 business aircraft would fit Wellington’s requirement. While details of the replacement plan have yet to be fully released, several companies have expressed interest in the procurement including Kawasaki’s P-1 platform and Boeing with its P-8 Poseidon. Saab claim their system would be a more cost effective solution to its competitors and are willing to share technology and work with local industry.

Today’s Video

• Saab’s Swordfish MPA system:

EA-18G at Pax

The USA’s electronic attack fighters are a unique, overworked, and nearly obsolete capability. With the retirement of the US Air Force’s long-range EF-111 Raven “Spark ‘Vark,” the aging 4-seat EA-6B Prowlers became the USA’s only remaining fighter for radar jamming, communications jamming and information operations like signals interception [1]. Despite their age and performance limits, they’ve been predictably busy on the front lines, used for everything from escorting strike aircraft against heavily defended targets, to disrupting enemy IED land mine attacks by jamming all radio signals in an area.

EA-6B Prowler
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All airframes have lifespan limits, however, and the EA-6B is no exception. The USA’s new electronic warfare aircraft will be based on Boeing’s 2-seat F/A-18F Super Hornet multi-role fighter, and has 90% commonality with its counterpart. That will give it decent self-defense capabilities, as well as electronic attack potential. At present, however, the EA-18G is slated to be the only dedicated electronic warfare aircraft in the USA’s future force. Since the USA is currently the only western country with such aircraft, the US Navy’s EA-18G fleet would become the sole source of tactical jamming support for NATO and allied air forces as well.

DID’s FOCUS articles offer in-depth, updated looks at significant military programs of record. This article describes the EA-18G aircraft and its key systems, outlining the program, and keeping track of ongoing developments, contracts, etc. that affect the program.

Growler: The EA-18G Program

EA-18G: The Platform

EF-111 “Spark ‘Vark”
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While other electronic warfare platforms like the EC-130H Compass Call exist, their slow speed makes their use as tactical jamming aircraft during airstrikes problematic. The most common tactical option for electronic attack, therefore, takes an existing fighter such as the A-6 Intruder (EA-6B Prowler) or F-111 Aardvark (the recently-retired EF-111 Raven, aka. “Spark Vark”), then modifies it via new wiring, changes to the airframe, and additional pods. The price has typically been reduced performance, reduced weapons capability, and sometimes even a larger basic radar signature for the airframe.

The current EA-6B is an excellent example. The good news? Since it’s based on Grumman’s robust A-6 Intruder attack aircraft, it offers excellent range, ample carrying capacity, and efficient subsonic performance. The bad news? Poor self-defense against aerial opponents, a large radar signature, and difficulty keeping up with friendly aircraft traveling at high subsonic cruise speeds.

EA-18G primer

The EA-18G Growler/ Grizzly has avoided many, but not all, of these typical tradeoffs.

The EA-18 is more than 90% common with the standard F/A-18F Super Hornet, sharing its airframe, AN/APG-79 AESA radar, AN/AYK-22 stores management system, and weapons options. The exception is the Super Hornet’s 20mm Vulcan gatling gun, which has been removed from the nose in favor of electrical equipment.

EA-18G: key systems
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Additional electrical equipment is added throughout the airframe, and Raytheon’s internally-mounted AN/ALQ-227 communication countermeasures system uses a dedicated, omni-directional antenna for signals detection, analysis, and recording. That system works with the plane’s AN/ALQ-99 high and low-band jamming pods, in order to perform complex jamming tasks. Northrop Grumman’s ALQ-218v2 is a digital wideband radio frequency receiver, with selective jamming and geo-location capabilities. It currently equips the EA-18G’s wingtip pods.

The use of pods comes with certain penalties. The increased drag of the external pods, coupled with the shorter range of the F/A-18 E/F base platform vis-a-vis the A-6 it replaces, means that external fuel tanks will be needed. The presence of those fuel tanks on the aircraft’s “wet” pylons, and of the pods on its wingtips and underwing pylons, doesn’t leave much space for other weapons. Despite these limitations, Growlers will be more capable of aerial self-defense than their predecessors. EA-18Gs will typically be armed with a pair of AIM-120 AMRAAM medium range air-air missiles mounted under the engine intakes, and another pair of AGM-88 HARM (High Speed Anti-Radiation) or AGM-88E AARGM (Advanced Anti-Radiation Guided) missiles on underwing stations for destroying enemy radar sites.

EA-18: Looking Beyond

NGJ early promo

Boeing has also surveyed future users of the EA-18G “Growlers” to find out what upgrades they might like to see after the US Navy starts fielding the EA-18G. While the AN/ALQ-99 radar jamming pod has received positive reviews, and will be a critical component of the EA-18G’s initial kit, reports consistently cite it as a maintenance and reliability problem. The US Navy’s EA-18G program manager has said that it might eventually have to be replaced, and the USA’s Next-Generation Jammer program is already in motion to do just that.

The EA-18 program would receive tremendous benefits from Advanced Super Hornet design improvements, from the large displays and upgraded computing to the nearly dragless conformal fuel tanks. The program is also exploring adding more weapon types and replacing the satellite communications receiver, as part of the budget planning process.

RAAF EA-18G
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Meanwhile, exports beckon. That would be something of a departure, as the USA has traditionally been the only country to field tactical electronic attack aircraft. As anti-aircraft missiles on the global market become more and more sophisticated, however, serious players are going to need this kind of capability.

Australia has already stepped up, becoming the 1st EA-18G export customer. Their F/A-18F contract specified that 12 of its 24 new planes would have all of the internal modifications required to become an EA-18, if the right equipment is added. August 2012 saw Australia take that next step, at a cost of about $1.56 billion (around $130 million more per plane).

A less expensive “EA-18 Lite” export version could reply on the ALQ-218 wingtip pods, and the internally-mounted ALQ-227 system. The APG-79 AESA radar that equips all EA-18Gs could also be used as a jammer, if future software development is forthcoming along those lines. The resulting “EA-18 Lite” combination would be a stronger SEAD (suppression of enemy air defenses) option than the F/A-18F, with more range and available weapons than a full EA-18G, but less jamming than the full EA-18G, and less stealth than the F-35A. EA-18 Lites would be able to identify and geo-locate enemy radars, for instance, and immediately target them with GPS-enabled anti-radar missiles like AARGM. Jamming in low-intensity environments, such as the use of EA-6B Prowlers in Iraq to jam enemy land mine detonation frequencies over key convoys, would also be possible. Even so, the removal of the expensive and fragile ALQ-99 pod would remove the plane’s most advanced jamming, unless ECM pods from other global sources could be integrated instead.

As the Super Hornet production line heads to a close around 2015, the availability of this unique conversion option is an important argument for Boeing, as it tries to sell prospective customers on the F/A-18 Super Hornet as their future fighter.

EA-18G: Industrial Program

Rollout ceremony
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Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) PMA-265 is the U.S. Navy acquisition office for the EA-18G. Boeing is the prime contractor, building the forward fuselage and wings and conducting final assembly. Northrop Grumman, who designed the YF-17 lightweight fighter that became the F/A-18 family, is the principal subcontractor. They supply the center and aft fuselage and act as the airborne electronic attack subsystem integrator. The Hornet Industry Team will divide key EA-18G component production across Boeing, Northrop Grumman, General Electric (F414 engine) and Raytheon (AN/APG-79 AESA radar) manufacturing facilities.

The EA-18G has faced its share of normal development challenges. A $7 million supplemental contract was required, in order to make its wingtip-mounted AN/ALQ-218 (V)2 radio-frequency receiver systems durable enough to withstand harsh weather. Managing the human interface complexities of going from 4 crew in the EA-6B to just 2 crew in the EA-18G is also an ongoing focus. The EA-18Gs were set to receive their production software and hardware build in July 2007, which is the last major challenge through the end of test and evaluation. Software build 2.0 will fix deficiencies discovered in the first software tape, add 36% more software functionality, and roll in capabilities for communications jamming and Multi-mission Advanced Tactical Terminal systems hardware. The pace of testing provided the team an extra 2 months to incorporate fixes into that software push.

The Growler’s level of commonality with its Super Hornet predecessor helps to keep development costs down, but complex integration is still required for the various electronic components, and testing is still necessary. At the moment, however, the program is slightly under expected cost, as it nears the end of a 5-year system design & development contract.

EA-18G flight testing and Operational Evaluation is taking place at the Navy’s Patuxent River, MD and China Lake, CA test sites, and on Navy carriers, through 2008 and 2009. Fielding is also beginning at NAS Whidbey Island, WA.

At present, industrial partners include:

• Boeing (F/A-18, EA-18G prime contractor)
  
• GE (F414 engines)
  
• Northrop Grumman in Bethpage, NY; El Segundo, CA; St Augustine, FL, Baltimore, MD (F/A-18 structures, EW systems and software incl. ALQ-218 and wingtip pods, EW support)
  
• ITT in Thousand Oaks, CA (ALQ-99 jamming pods, INCANS interference canceling)
  
• Raytheon in El Segundo, CA; Ft. Wayne, IN; and Largo, FL (APG-79 AESA radar, ALQ-227 CCS)
  
• Alion Science and Technology Inc. in Annapolis, MD (EM analysis)
  
• Ball Aerospace, Westminster, CO (MATT antenna)
  
• Cobham’s Sensor and Antenna Systems division in Landsdale, PA (low band antennas)
  
• GKN Inc. in St. Louis, MO (complex parts fabrication)
  
• Harris Corp in Melbourne, FL (data storage devices)
  
• Nurad in Baltimore, MD (wingtip pod radome)
  
• Times Microwave in Wallingford, CT (RF/IF coaxial cables)

EA-18G: Numbers & Budgets

INCANS: RDT&E…
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The current plan for the EA-18G program is up to 114 planes, and the FY 2015 budget could push that to 137. The number has risen steadily from the original 90, after growing awareness of this mission’s importance reversed a slight decline to 88 earlier in the program.

The EA-18G received DoD approval to enter Full Rate Production on Nov 23/09. Initial early deliveries to Fleet Replacement Squadron VAQ-129 have begun, which allows the Navy to begin general aircrew training and develop standard operating procedures. Initial EA-18G Operational Capability was achieved in September 2009 with the US Navy electronic attack squadron VAQ-132 located at Whidbey Island, WA where the Navy’s current EA-6B squadrons are based. The US Navy expects a complete transition of all production Growlers to the fleet by 2015.

Excel
download

Budgetary figures below are based on Pentagon documents. All figures are in millions, and deliveries tend to occur 2 fiscal years after orders are placed:

As of November 2012, NAS Whidbey Island had 79 EA-18Gs: 41 in the VAQ-129 Fleet Replacement (training) squadron, plus 6 operational and 1 transitioning squadron of 5 planes each (35), and then 3 more planes. The desired total is 11 operational squadrons, and if 22 more planes are bought in FY 2015, each operational squadron will rise to 7 planes. The USN’s 6 EA-6B squadrons will all transition to EA-18Gs by 2016, but the USMC will keep its EA-6Bs in service until 2019, when F-35Bs are expected to replace USMC electronic warfare capabilities with stealth.

EA-18G: Contracts & Other Developments

EA-18G and F/A-18F
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In general, this FOCUS article will only cover purchases that refer exclusively to the EA-18G, unless the EA-18G items are specifically broken out, or their inclusion helps make later EA-18 program buys more comprehensible.

As noted above, many procurement items will be shared between the EA-18G and the F/A-18 E/F Super Hornets, on which the platform is based. DID’s Spotlights on the MYP-II (FY 2005-2009) and MYP-III (FY 2010-2014) multi-year Super Hornet contracts cover all airframes and integration from 2005-2014. Fleet support costs are also part of the F/A-18E/F contracts, due to aircraft commonality; while common “Government-Furnished Equipment” items like APG-79 radars, GE’s F414 engines, etc. are bought through separate contracts of their own.

“Airborne Electronic Attack” (AEA) Kits include the AN/ALQ-218 wingtip pods, and AN/ALQ-227 Communication Countermeasures Set/Electronic Attack Unit, as well as other unique internal electronics and gear that make the plane an EA-18G instead of an F/A-18F. What they do not include, is the AN/ALQ-99 pods carried underneath the Growlers. Those are simply moved over from retiring EA-6B Prowlers, following minor hardware and software compatibility modifications.

Unless otherwise specified, all awards are made to Boeing subsidiary McDonnell Douglas Corp. in St. Louis, MO, and/or are awarded by the Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) in Patuxent River, MD.

FY 2016 – 2017

Boeing gets $897M contract modification.

EA-18G landing
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March 1/17: Boeing has won a $678 million DoD contract to supply seven Lot 40 EA-18G Growlers and five F/A-18E Super Hornets to the US Navy. Delivery of the aircraft is expected to be completed by February 2019 after production and assembly at various US locations. The EA-18s will come with airborne electronic attack kits which support the Growler’s communication jamming capabilities.

October 28/15: The Navy has handed Boeing a $897.5 million contract modification for the production of fifteen EA-18G Growler aircraft and electronic attack kits. The order is part of the program’s Lot 38 production, with the head of the Navy’s Chief of Naval Operations stating last November that the service requires more Growlers to fulfil its Electronic Attack requirements. The aircraft received additional funds as part of a list of unfunded priorities, with the Senate approving the funding increase in June.

FY 2015

Environmental Impact Statement for 36 more EA-18Gs, as Navy considers asking for some in FY 2016; Australia to get their own TOFT; US Navy’s EA-6Bs all retire.

July 30/15: Boeing has revealed the first Australian EA-18G Growler electronic attack aircraft, with this the first of twelve Growlers ordered through a Foreign Military Sale contract in June 2014. The Australian government requested a F/A-18E/F Super Hornet and EA-18G Growler sustainment program in April 2015, estimated to value $1.5 billion. A second Growler is scheduled to complete testing in August, with the pair of aircraft then set for delivery to Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake for RAAF pilot training, before delivery to Australia in 2017.

Boeing was also awarded a $20.5 million delivery order on Thursday for intermediate-level support service for the twelve Australian EA-18G Growlers, as well as for the provision of support equipment for the US Navy’s new squadron of Growlers, set for stand-up in 2017. $15.2 million of the contract total has been allocated for the US Navy and the remaining $5.3 million for the Royal Australian Air Force.

April 15/15: The Navy’s EA-18G Growlers could use their electronic warfare capabilities to locate insurgents for targeting through the triangulation of intercepted signals, with three aircraft working as a team. However, before this can happen, the aircraft need new, faster data links in order to corroborate intercepts and locate the source of the tracked signals. A USN study recently argued that the Navy needs more of the aircraft to meet future operational demand. A Pentagon Electronic Warfare Committee was also stood up in March, highlighting the continued relevance of these non-stealthy workhorses despite uncertainty over the aircraft’s future production line.

Nov 19/14: AEA kits. A $194.8 million contract modification to a previously awarded fixed-price-incentive contract for 21 Full Rate Production Lot 38 EA-18G airborne electronic attack kits. All funds are committed immediately, using FY 2014 US Navy aircraft budgets.

Work will be performed in Baltimore, MD (51%); Bethpage, NY (33%); St. Louis, MO (12%); and Fort Wayne, IN (4%), and is expected to be complete in December 2016 (N00019-14-C-0032).

21 AEA kits

Nov 16/14: The US Navy is reportedly looking at buying a few more EA-18Gs in 2016, to go with the 12 they’re likely to get as an “unfunded priority” item in FY 2015. Chief of Naval Operations Admiral Jonathan Greenert:

“Before we close the books and call it quits on Growlers, we want to make sure we’ve got the electronic attack right…”

Especially given recent realizations that F-35s will probably need EA-18G support of some kind (q.v. April 7/14, April 25/14). On the other hand, the USMC’s distributed EW approach (q.v. Nov 3/14) suggests a different path the Navy could pursue to supplement its force. Sources: MarineLink, “U.S. Navy Expects Further Orders of Boeing Jets” | St. Louis Post-Dispatch, “Navy mulls over more EA-18G Growlers in 2016 budget”.

EA-6B
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Nov 15/14: EA-6Bs. The VAQ-134 Garudas have returned from the US Navy’s last EA-6B deployment. the squadron will now begin its transition to the EA-18G, which is expected to finish early in 2015. Whidbey News-Times, “Saluting an old workhorse, the EA-6B Prowler” | Foxtrot Alpha, “The Navy’s EA-6B Prowler Completes Its Final Carrier Cruise”.

USN EA-6Bs retiring

Nov 3/14: USMC Plan. The USMC’s Aviation Plan to 2030 deals with jamming as well. Their 4 EA-6B squadrons will begin retiring in 2016, and leave service at the end of FY 2019. The F-35B has been discussed as a replacement plan, but the inability to put a 2nd crew member in makes a full EA-35B questionable.

Instead of turning toward EA-18Gs, the Marines are moving toward a more distributed, platform-agnostic approach that wouldn’t depend on any 1 aircraft type. The EW Services Architecture (EWSA) will serve as a common back end, while ALQ-231 Intrepid Tiger II EW payloads would deploy on AV-8B and F/A-18C/D fighters, and on future UAVs. F-35Bs will also receive software updates to use the AN/APG-81’s radar jamming capabilities at some point, and payload additions are also a possibility. If the Navy wants to buy more EA-18Gs in the meantime, of course, the Marines won’t object to having a few more on call. Sources: USMC, Marine Aviation Plan 2015 [PDF].

Oct 25/14: EA-6Bs. The USS Carl Vinson [CVN 70] strike group, which is conducting strikes in Syria and Iraq, will be the last deployment of the EA-6B by the US Navy. Navy VAQ-134 will transition to EA-18Gs upon its return, though the USMC will still be operating EA-6B squadrons. Sources: Whidbey News-Times, “NAS Whidbey Prowlers returning from final mission”.

Local objections

Oct 11/14: Politics. The Navy says it is revising its Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) on the EA-18G Growlers to base up to 36 additional EA-18Gs at NAS Whidbey Island, WA. The EIS is looking at Growler operations at both Ault Field at NAS Whidbey and Outlying Field Coupeville, where most Growler touch-and-go training takes place. An additional scoping period through Nov 24/14, will push the completion of the draft EIS from 2015 to spring 2016, with a published decision planned for spring 2017.

The environmental impact process is now tied to the receipt of extra EA-18Gs in VAQ-143 and VAQ-144, with a local paper reporting that the request for additional Growlers has been “placed on hold pending the results of the EIS.” Note that even planes ordered in 2015 won’t be delivered before 2017, so the timing isn’t a problem yet. Nor is this a commitment from the Navy to 36 planes – but if you’re going to have extra planes tied up in red tape, you might as well ask for more than you expect, so you only have to run the process once. Sources: Whidbey News-Times, “Navy Environmental Impact Statement to include up to 36 Growlers at Whidbey Island Naval Air Station” | SeaPower Magazine, “Navy Delays Formation of Expeditionary EA-18G Squadron”.

Oct 9/14: Australia. L-3 Communications Corp. in Arlington, TX receives a $12.1 million firm-fixed-price delivery order for 2 EA-18G Tactical Operational Flight Trainers (TOFT), 1 brief/debrief Station, 2 F/A-18 retrofit kits, spares, and associated technical documentation for the government of Australia under the foreign military sales program.

Work will be performed in Arlington, Texas, and is expected to be completed in November 2015. Foreign military sales funds in the amount of $12,086,117 will be obligated at time of award, none of which will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Air Warfare Center Training Systems Division, Orlando, FL, is the contracting activity (N61340-12-G-0001, PO 0004).

Oct 8/14: Australia. A $7.5 million delivery order for peculiar support equipment and spares, to outfit emerging squadron stand-ups for extended Australian deployment of F/A-18F and EA-18G aircraft. In addition, this order includes a support equipment integrated logistics support package. All funds are committed immediately.

Australian F/A-18Fs are currently based at Al Minhad AB in the UAE, where they are conducting strikes in Iraq against The Islamic State.

Work will be performed in St. Louis, MO, and is expected to be complete in October 2016. US Navy Naval Air Systems Command in Lakehurst, NJ acts as Australia’s FMS agent (N68335-10-G-0012, DO 0057).

FY 2014

Battle in Washington over Navy request for another 22 EA-18Gs; 100th EA-18G delivered; 100th jamming set delivered; Various contracts for EA-18G equipment beyond the core multi-year aircraft contract.

EA-18G
(click to view full)

Aug 28/14: HARM computers. Raytheon in Tucson, AZ receives $24.6 million for a firm-fixed-price delivery order to provide 158 High Speed Anti-Radiation Command Launch Computers for the U.S. Navy (121) and the government of Australia (37) for F/A-18 E/F and EA-18G aircraft. These CLCs work with AGM-88 HARM and AARGM missiles, which are designed to destroy enemy air defense radars. All funds are committed immediately, using FY 2012 – 2013 US Navy ($20.5M / 83.5%) and Australian ($4.1M / 16.5%) budgets.

Work will be performed in Tucson, AZ, and is expected to be complete in February 2018. US NAVAIR in Patuxent River, MD manages the contract (N00019-10-G-0006, DO 0060).

Aug 24/14: Infrastructure. Korte Construction Company in St. Louis, MO wins a $23.8 million firm-fixed-price contract to design and build EA-18G Facility Upgrades at NAS Whidbey Island, WA. The contract also contains 3 unexercised options, which could raise the contract’s value as high as $26.6 million. All funds are committed immediately, using FY 2014 US Navy construction budgets.

Work will be performed in Oak Harbor, WA, and is expected to be complete by May 2017. This contract was competitively procured via Navy Electronic Commerce Online, with 12 proposals received by US NAVFAC Northwest in Silverdale, WA (N44255-14-C-5004).

Aug 18/14: EA-18s. General Dynamics Advanced Information Systems in Minneapolis, MN receives a $16.3 million firm-fixed-price contract for the full-rate Lot 38 production of 60 Advanced Mission Computer Type 3s for EA-18Gs ordered by the US Navy (48 AMCs / $9.8 million / 60%) and the government of Australia (12 AMCs / $6.5 million / 40%). All funds are committed immediately, using FY 2014 US Navy aircraft budgets and Australian FMS funds.

Work will be performed in Bloomington, MN and is expected to be complete in August 2016. This contract was not competitively procured pursuant to 10 USC 2304 (c)(1) by US Naval Air Systems Command in Patuxent River, MD (N00019-14-C-0068).

Aug 11/14: Engines. General Electric Co. in Lynn, MA receives a $311.5 million firm-fixed-price contract modification for 75 F414-GE-400 engines and associated devices: 48 production installs for the US Navy ($194.9 million / 63% / all production installs), and 27 for Australia ($116.6 million / 37% / 24 EA-18G production installs and 3 spares), under Production Lot 14. In addition, this modification provides for spare after burner modules, fan modules, high pressure combustor modules, combustor modules, and high and low pressure turbine modules for the US Navy and the government of Australia. All funds are committed immediately, using FY 2013-14 US Navy aircraft budgets, and Australian funds.

Work will be performed in Lynn, MA (59%); Hooksett, NH (18%); Rutland, VT (12%); and Madisonville, KY (11%), and is expected to be complete in September 2016. US Naval Air Systems Command in Patuxent River, MD manages the contracts (N00019-11-C-0045).

July 18/14: Testing. Commander Jeannie Groeneveld, who is the spokeswoman for the US Pacific Fleet’s naval air force, says that May and June tests with extra EA-18Gs on deck went well. It would be surprising if she had said anything else, under the circumstances. Sources: Reuters, “AIRSHOW-Carrier test with extra EA-18G jets went well U.S. Navy”.

July 17/14: Politics. The US Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense approves 12 additional E/A-18G Growler aircraft during the markup of the FY 2015 defense spending bill. The full House Appropriations Committee has also approved 12 EA-18Gs, so this move improves the odds that 12 planes will be the final buy after reconciliation. Sources: Bloomberg, “Senate Panel Rejects Pentagon Cuts in Spending Bill”.

July 16/14: Industrial. Super Hornet program manager Capt. Frank Morley says that the U.S. Navy might agree to accept slower deliveries than 2 planes per month to help extend the company’s production line by a year to the end of 2017. On the other hand, “my marching orders are not to do that at any additional cost to us.”

He adds that Boeing has already used some of its own funds to pay for early procurement for another 12 EA-18G jets, which does seem to be the way things are working out in Congress. Sources: Reuters, “AIRSHOW-U.S. open to slower Boeing deliveries, but no extra cost”.

July 11/14: AEA support. Northrop Grumman Aerospace Systems in Bethpage, NY receives a 5-year, $198.9 million indefinite-delivery/ indefinite-quantity, cost-plus-fixed-fee contract to provide Airborne Electronic Attack software configuration set upgrades and ancillary hardware. They’ll support EA-6B and EA-18G aircraft owned by the United States ($179.0 million / 90%) and the government of Australia ($19.9 million / 10%). $675,697 is committed immediately from FY 2014 US Navy O&M funds.

Work will be performed in Point Mugu, CA, and is expected to be complete in July 2019. This contract was not competitively procured pursuant to FAR 6.302-1 by the US Naval Air Warfare Center Weapons Division in China Lake, CA (N68936-14-D-0018).

June 30/14: EA-18Gs. Boeing in St. Louis, MO receives a $1.939 billion fixed-price-incentive-fee contract for full rate production of 11 FRP Lot 38 F/A-18E aircraft for the US Navy, and 33 EA-18G aircraft for the US Navy (21) and the government of Australia (12 for $533.4 million, which is 27.3% of the total). The USN’s total is $1.406 billion, using USN FY 2013 (F/A-18E) and 2014 (EA-18G) aircraft budgets (72.7%).

The extra F/A-18Es come from a $605 million Congressional markup in FY 2013. Which is why FY 2014 may not be the very last Super Hornet family order, if Congressional mark-ups of the 2015 National Defense Authorization bill or defense appropriations bill survive the budget process. The House Armed Services Committee has approved 5 Growlers, and the House Appropriations Committee has approved funds for 12 Growlers.

Work will be performed in El Segundo, CA (46%); St. Louis, MO (30%); Fort Worth, TX (2%); East Aurora, NY (1.5%); Irvine, CA (1percent); Ajax, Ontario, Canada (1%), and various locations within the United States (18.5%), and is expected to be complete in December 2016. This contract was not competitively procured pursuant to 10 USC. 2304(c)(1). US NAVAIR in Patuxent River, MD manages the contracts for the US Navy, and acts as Australia’s agent (N00019-14-C-0032). See also US NAVAIR, “Contract awarded to produce F/A-18 Super Hornets, EA-18G Growlers” | Seapower, “Boeing Awarded to $1.94 Billion Contract for F/A-18 Super Hornets, EA-18G Growlers”.

44 bought: 11 F/A-18Es, 33 EA-18Gs

June 27/14: ALQ-99. Exelis Inc. in Clifton, NJ receives a sole-source, $15.3 million cost-plus-fixed-fee contract for the design, engineering analysis, program, manufacture and test of the AN/ALQ-99 tactical jamming system’s universal exciter upgrade’s shop replaceable assembly redesign. ALQ-99s are the EA-6B Prowler and EA-18G aircraft. This procurement is to design and manufacture three components of the universal exciter: the modulation direct digital synthesizer, the direct digital synthesizer and the oscillator switch to eliminate the use of obsolete parts. This contract combines purchases for the U.S. Navy (10%), and the government of Australia (90%), under the Foreign Military Sales program. All funds are committed immediately.

Work will be performed in Amityville, New York (97%), and Clifton, New Jersey (3%), and is expected to be complete by June 2017. This contract was not competitively procured pursuant to the authority of 10 U.S.C. 2304(c)(1), by the US Naval Surface Warfare Center in Crane, IN (N00164-13-G-WM01).

May 6/14: Politics. House Armed Services Committee (HASC) chair Buck McKeon [R-CA] is proposing to add $450 million to fund 5 EA-18Gs and their equipment in the FY 2015 budget, instead of the 22 on the unfunded priorities list. The committee’s proposed changes would also preserve all F-35 funding, while cutting the Navy’s unmanned UCLASS R&D budget in half to $200 million.

Meanwhile, Missouri Lawmakers say that they’ve already gathered over 80 signatures from Republicans and Democrats in the House of Representatives, and the International Association of Machinists will be weighing in. The HASC markup will make their lobbying job more challenging, and they’ll need to more than triple that number of allies in order to get the full 22 planes. As the saying goes – show me. Sources: Flightglobal, “House bill promotes EA-18G and U-2S, but hits UCLASS” | Reuters, “Boeing, backers to fight for funding for 22 Boeing jets”.

May 5/14: #100. Boeing [NYSE: BA] delivers the 100th EA-18G Growler to the US Navy, and the ceremony was turned into one more element of Boeing’s push to increase the Navy’s buy from 114 to 136. Sources: US Navy, “Navy’s Newest Electronic Attack Aircraft Reaches Centennial Milestone” | Boeing, “Boeing Delivers 100th EA-18G Growler to US Navy” | Reuters, “Boeing, backers to fight for funding for 22 Boeing jets”.

100th EA-18G

April 25/14: The US Navy has decided to add 22 EA-18Gs to its FY 2015 unfunded priorities list, and its plan to cut FY 2015 – 2019 buys of the stealthy F-35C from 69 to 36 fighters has led to questions about its longer-term priorities. The truth is, the F-35C won’t be fully tested and ready until the end of this period anyway. Every deleted fighter is just 1 less plane to fix later. CNO Adm. Greenert has said to Congress that:

“[Stealth] is needed for what we have in the future for at least 10 years out there and there is nothing magic about that decade… But I think we need to look beyond that. So to me, I think it’s a combination of having aircraft that have stealth but also aircraft that can suppress other forms of radio frequency electromagnetic emissions so that we can get in.”

It’s unwise to pair a non-stealthy Growler with F-35s, because that just gives away everybody’s position. On the other hand, a strike package of EA-18Gs, F/A-18E/Fs, and F-35s could be an interesting “watch my right hand” option for future commanders. Ultimately, if the F-35s are deemed to need jamming of their own 15+ years down the road, they’re likely to get a rearranged version of the Next-Generation Jammer that’s designed to fit internally, with some possible external carriage in external structures that could fit like like Terma’s multi-role gun pod. Sources: Military.com, “Boeing Builds the Navy an F-35C Exit Strategy”.

April 24/14: The US Navy’s Carl Vinson [CVN 70] Carrier Strike Group will conduct a 3-day exercise in May, in order to test paper analysis that says raising the number of EA-18Gs Growlers on an aircraft carrier from 5 to 7-8 would be more effective overall. If the results confirm the paper analysis, an added buy in FY 2015 becomes a lot more likely. Sources: St. Louis Post-Dispatch, “New Growler construction may depend on upcoming Navy exercise”.

April 7/14: Boeing continues to lobby for inclusion of 22 EA-18Gs in the Pentagon’s final FY 2015 budget. They’re stressing the Growler’s effectiveness across the electro-magnetic spectrum, vs. the F-35’s stealth optimization in limited bands. They add that “Increasing computing power, advanced sensors and evolving aircraft detection methods are degrading the benefits of stealth.” Meanwhile, the USAF is planning to mothball half of its 14 quad-turboprop EC-130 electronic attack aircraft.

All of these points are valid, and it helps that Advanced Super Hornet tests hit their marks regarding radar signature reduction and flying quality. It’s also true that stealth aircraft work earlier in the detect – track – reach – kill chain, preventing coordinated responses rather than having to defeat them. Sources: Aviation Week, “Growler Advocates Outline Stealth Vulnerabilities” | Breaking Defense, “F-35?s Stealth, EW Not Enough, So JSF And Navy Need Growlers; Boeing Says 50-100 More” | Flight Global, “Navy pleased with “Advanced” Super Hornet tests, wants more Growlers” | Military.com, “Boeing: Growler Eclipses F-35’s Stealth Advantage”.

March 11/14: Budgets. CNO Adm. Jonathan Greenert has confirmed that the Navy has placed 22 more EA-18Gs on their FY15 unfunded request submission. The Pentagon’s FY14 budget already contains a $75 million option for advance procurement, as a result of Congressional additions. If the Navy’s FY15 suggestion is approved for inclusion by the Secretary of Defense and Joint Chiefs of Staff, the $2.14 billion request would receive more momentum toward a possible Congressional insert in FY15.

It’s important not to make too much of this yet. First of all, inclusion is a big “if.” Second, the unfunded requests list has a number of items on it. If Congress does decide to fund 22 EA-18Gs above and beyond the proposed budget, the US Navy would use it to raise some squadron rosters to 7 jets, while Boeing would extend the Super Hornet production line by a year or more. Sources: Reuters, “UPDATE 1-U.S. Navy confirms Boeing jets on ‘unfunded’ priority list”.

March 4/14: FY15 Budget. The Navy unveils a preliminary budget request briefing. It doesn’t break down individual programs into dollars, but it does offer planned purchase numbers for the Navy’s biggest programs from FY 2014 – 2019. Short answer: no plans to buy any more Super Hornets or EA-18Gs, but that doesn’t mean that Congress couldn’t add some later. Source: US Dept. of the Navy, PB15 Press Briefing [PDF].

Jan 24/14: NGJ. The US Navy reaffirms Raytheon’s Next-Generation Jammer contract award, after carrying out a new cost and technical analysis of all 3 original bids. Technology development efforts resume after a 6-month delay, but it moves the entire program back. A Milestone C/ Low-Rate Initial Production decision won’t happen until winter 2019 at the earliest. That means the 2020 fielding goal for the mid-band NGJ Increment 1, which would replace the EA-18G’s underwing AN/ALQ-99 pods, is already under strain. Read DID’s “The USA’s NGJ Strike Jammers” for full coverage.

Nov 26/13: AEA #100. Northrop Grumman delivers the 100th EA-18G Airborne Electronic Attack kit to Boeing. Sources: NGC, “Northrop Grumman Delivers 100th EA-18G Airborne Electronic Attack Kit”.

FY 2013

Instead of ending production, FY 2014 USN budget orders 21; Australia import request for 12 more EA-18Gs; EA-18 mechanic shortage.

EA-18G on CVN 73
(click to view full)

September 2013: Land Basing. The USNI’s Proceedings magazine has an article by VAQ-132 squadron Commander Dave Kurtz, whose EA-18Gs deployed widely across a series of Pacific land bases in 2012–13. The lessons from this experience, he says, argue for a dual carrier/ land-based role that more closely resembles past employment of the US Navy’s P-3 sea control aircraft, rather than its F/A-18 hornets.

Fleets would still have their designated carrier-borne squadrons, such as the Pacific theater designated squadron aboard USS George Washington [CVN 73]. The ability to fly new squadrons in or carry them on ship lets the Navy add planes to theater as needed, and gives airborne electronic attack a maneuvering element within the theater that has more options, and isn’t tied to the carrier’s primary missions. On the other hand, if the carrier needs to re-embark them, or add their it can. Sources: USNI Proceedings, Sept 2013 [subscription req’d].

Sept 25/13: Testing. A $41.8 million cost-plus-fixed-fee delivery order for 10 pre-production Operational Test Program Sets in support of the EA-18G. All funds are committed immediately.

Work will be performed in St. Louis, MO, and is expected to be complete in August 2018. The US Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division in Lakehurst, NJ manages this contract (N68335-10-G-0012, 0046).

Sept 23/13: ECP. A $38.2 million fixed-price, incentive-fee delivery order for F/A-18E/F and EA-18G trailing edge flap retrofit kits. The flaps were redesigned as part of an engineering change proposal, and the order includes 48 trailing edge flap kits, 48 left hand units, and 48 right hand units. All funds are committed immediately.

Work will be performed in St. Louis, MO, and is expected to be completed in July 2017 (N00019-11-G-0001, 0073).

Sept 20/13: Testing. Northrop Grumman Systems Corp. in Bethpage, NY receives a $10.9 million firm-fixed-price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract related to work on the EA-18G’s core avionics program (known as the “Operational Flight Program”), avionics subsystem emulation, and some of its electronic attack units. The plane’s avionics and jammers need to work well together, or the plane will be in trouble. Northrop Grumman will provide up to 3 EA-18G systems emulation laboratory systems; up to 2 electronic attack unit/communication countermeasures sets/ALQ-99 integration test systems for the plane’s main jammer pods; 1 electronic attack unit/ALQ-99 integration test system; and one ALQ-218(V)2 integration test system for the plane’s signals interception and geo-location pods.

Just under $1 million is committed immediately, Work will be performed in Bethpage, NY (65%); Baltimore, MD (33%); and Camarillo, CA (2%), and is expected to be completed in January 2017. This contract was not competitively procured pursuant to FAR 6.302-1, since Northrop Grumman makes the plane’s jamming equipment. The US Naval Air Warfare Center Weapons Division at China Lake, CA manages the contract (N68936-13-D-0036).

Aug 8/13: TTNT. Boeing touts July 15-19/13 flights of an EA-18G Growler equipped with “sensor system upgrades and its newest data network.” Subsequent conversations with Boeing reveal that the network is Rockwell Collins’ TTNT (Tactical Targeting Network Technology), which has been in development since 2001.

TTNT creates high-bandwidth, on-the-fly networks by using an IP-based wireless waveform for mesh networking, with real-time bandwidth allocation and ad hoc security authentication. Latency is low enough that it can be used for safety-of-flight applications like positioning and controlling the carrier-based X-47B UCAS-D drone. Individual weapons like missiles can also join, mesh participants can be moving at up to Mach 8, and range is reportedly over 300 nmi. Slower Time Division Multiple Access waveforms like Link 16 will still be used, and will continue to receive improvements, but TTNT looks like the long-term future foundation.

EA-18G operational deployment of TTNT is expected in 2018, making it just the 2nd plane in the fleet to receive TTNT as a production capability, after the E-2D Hawkeye AWACS plane. TTNT will also be retrofitted into existing EA-18Gs, and will eventually become ubiquitous within the US military. Boeing and the Navy will work closely with supplier partners Northrop Grumman, Harris Corporation, L-3 Communications and Rockwell Collins to upgrade the EA-18G fleet. Sources: Boeing Aug 8/13 release & inquiries; see “Additional Readings and Sources” for more on TTNT.

July 17/13: EA-18G mods. Boeing in St. Louis, MO receives a $17 million cost-plus-incentive-fee, cost-plus-fixed-fee delivery order for phase I of the NGJ pod’s EA-18G hardware integration. $10 million is committed immediately. According to the July 10/12 RFP, the EA-18G will need a number of minor changes in order to work with the new pods. NAVAIR acknowledges possibilities that include improved fiber networks and switches on board; plus modifications to NGC’s ALQ-218 onboard tactical jamming receiver, mission computer and stores management system, digital memory devices, mission planning software, and specialized onboard jamming equipment including the EIBU, EAU, and Jammer Technique Library.

Work will be performed in St. Louis, MO, and is expected to be complete in October 2014. US Naval Air Systems Command in Patuxent River, MD manages the contract (N00019-11-G-0001, #2049).

May 10/13: ALQ-99. L-3 Communications Corp. in San Carlos, CA receives an $8.4 million indefinite-delivery/ indefinite-quantity contract, in order to establish a depot for repair of the AN/ALQ-99 (V) Band 4 pod’s L8003 output traveling wave tube. $1.9 million is committed immediately.

Work will be performed in San Carlos, CA, and is expected to be complete in April 2018. This contract was not competitively procured in accordance with FAR 6.302-1 by the Naval Surface Warfare Center in Crane, IN (N00164-13-D-WS59).

May 9/13: F414. General Electric Co. in Lynn, MA receives a $22.2 million firm-fixed-price contract modification, exercising an option for 6 F414-GE-400 engines, pre-installed in 3 EA-18Gs. Most F414 contracts are shared between EA-18s and F/A-18E/Fs.

Work will be performed in Lynn, MA (59%); Hooksett, NH (18%); Rutland, VT (12%); and Madisonville, KY (11%), and is expected to be complete by in March 2015. $22.2 million will be obligated at time of award, none of which will expire at the end of the current fiscal year (N00019-11-C-0045).

April 10/13: FY 2014 budget. The Obama administration finally releases its budget proposals, including the Pentagon’s FY 2014 requests. One of the most notable changes in the Navy’s “Procurement by Weapon” file is the addition of 21 more EA-18Gs, with a $2 billion budget. At the same time, plans to buy 13 F/A-18E/F fighters for around $1.14 billion were canceled. The $274 million in FY 2014 involves spares, and shared costs related to the EA-18G. In effect, the Super Hornet order was transmuted into Growlers, raised pro rata by about $375 million total for that switch, then had 8 more planes added to it.

The shift into an all-Growler buy was helped by the Australian purchase of 12 Airborne Electronic Attack kits, which lowered costs for added US orders. Strike while the iron is hot, and all that. The other story associated with this shift involves the F-35B/C. The F-35 program is improving, but it has basically stood still or even gone backwards over the last 5 years. That means late introduction, and even later Initial Operating Capability. Especially given the poor progress of software development, and the additional progress required to create a combat-ready F-35. Not having stealth-enhanced F-35s is more than a fighter gap – it’s also a strike gap against improving air defenses. The most obvious way to close that gap is to add to the EA-18G fleet, in order to help existing naval fighters get through enemy defenses before F-35s start contributing some time in the early 2020s. Even after F-35s arrive, EA-18Gs will remain invaluable to coalition warfare for a long time, and have real utility in small wars that feature remotely-detonated bombs.

FY 2014 is expected to end Super Hornet family orders, barring exports outside the USA. That leaves the USN’s Super Hornet program finishing with 552 fighters bought (though DID’s records show 549), and the EA-18G program finishing with a higher-than-expected 135 planes. Recall that at one time, the planned buy of EA-18Gs was just 80.

Feb 28/13: Australia. The US DSCA announces [PDF] Australia’s official request to buy another 24 Super Hornet family planes and associated equipment, which could be worth up to USD $3.7 billion. The split includes 12 more EA-18Gs, but its special equipment is missing from the request: the AN/ALQ-99F-V jamming pods, ALQ-218 jamming pods, CN-1717/A INCANS to prevent the plane from jamming itself, and equipment associated with radar-killing HARMN/AARGM missiles.

Without those things, Australia would be left with another 12 pre-wired F/A-18Fs, though they can always share the items bought under the May 22/12 special equipment DSCA request throughout the fleet. Or place a follow-on order for the AEA kit and pods, just as they did with their first 12. Read “Australia’s 2nd Fighter Fleet: Super Hornets & Growlers” for full coverage.

Australia requests 12 more

Dec 28/12: F414. General Electric Co., Lynn, MA receives a $67.1 million firm-fixed-price contract modification, exercising an option for 18 F414-GE-400 Production Lot 17 install engines, and 24 “devices”. They’ll be used in EA-18Gs.

Work will be performed in Lynn, MA (59%); Hooksett, NH (18%); Rutland, VT (12%); and Madisonville, KY (11%), and is expected to be complete in March 2015. Contract funds in the amount of $67,141,518 will be obligated on this award, none of which will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, MD manages the contract (N00019-11-C-0045).

Dec 20/12: Boeing in St. Louis, MO receives a $164 million firm-fixed-price contract, exercising an option to begin procurement of 12 Airborne Electronic Attack Group B-Kits and 4 Equivalent Ship-sets of spares for the Royal Australian Air Force.

Work will be performed in Baltimore, MD (41.1%); St. Louis, MO (36.3%); Bethpage, NY (19%); and Fort Wayne, Ind. (3.6%), and is expected to be complete in March 2015. All contract funds are committed immediately. US Naval Air Systems Command in Patuxent River, MD manage the contract on behalf of its Foreign Military Sale client (N00019-09-C-0086). Note that the entire conversion of 12 aircraft is expected to cost about $1.5 billion (vid. Aug 23/12).

Australian orders begin

Dec 4/12: Training. Under a new 5-year, $56 million contract, Boeing will maintain U.S. Navy aircrew training devices for the P-8A, its P-3C predecessor, EP-3 Aries electronic eavesdropping planes, EA-6B Prowler and EA-18G Growler electronic warfare jets, and older SH-60B Seahawk helicopters.

Mark McGraw, Boeing’s VP for Training Systems and Government Services, says the firm is looking to offer these services internationally. It’s a somewhat natural extension for its own products, like the EA-18G. It’s less natural for Lockheed Martin’s P-3s, Northrop Grumman’s EA-6s, and Sikorsky’s SH-60s.

The training devices are located at Naval Air Station (NAS) Jacksonville, FL; Marine Corps Air Station Kaneohe Bay, HI; NAS Whidbey Island, WA; and Kadena Air Base, Japan. Boeing.

Nov 15/12: AOL Defense reports that the US Navy’s buildup of EA-18G fighters reflects a distrust of stealth. Given ongoing advances in technologies like passive radars, mistrust might be justified, but we don’t see it. The Navy’s commitment to F-35 variants is huge, and efforts like UCAS-D and UCLASS require stealth in order to make much sense. Verbal hemming and hawing doesn’t mean much until it’s embodied in budgets, and Ockham’s Razor suggests that the urgency around more EA-18Gs and Super Hornets traces to F-35 delays rather than distrust.

With respect to the EA-18Gs, the fleet’s biggest shortage is mechanics and support technicians. They’re pulling them from EA-6B squadrons so quickly, that the Navy has had to hire over 200 contractors from L-3 to keep the 6 Prowler squadrons running. Why not just hire them for the EA-18G? Because you can find civilians who were former EA-6B techs, but none who were EA-18G techs.

FY 2012

Australia goes ahead with 12 Growler kits; GAO report says ALQ-99 pods have poor reliability, won’t be as effective beyond 2018; DOT&E says EA-18G reliability is improved; Structural changes continue.

EA-18G refuels
(click to view full)

Aug 23/12: Australia. Minister for Defence Stephen Smith and Minister for Defence Materiel Jason Clare announce their decision to proceed with the conversion of 12 Super Hornets into Growlers for about A$ 1.5 billion (about $1.557 billion), with availability expected for 2018.

All 24 of Australia’s F/A-18F Block II Hornets have already been delivered. This conversion will take takes the 12 Australian F/A-18Fs that were pre-wired for EA-18G conversion (vid. Feb 27/09 entry), and adds the internal electronics and pods. Australia DoD.

Australia decides on EA-18G conversions

Aug 7/12: Australian costs. Australia’s Canberra Times gets some clarification on the difference between the Australian government’s A$ 300 million estimate to convert 12 F/A-18Fs into EA-18Gs, and the USD 1.7 billion mentioned in the May 22/12 DSCA request. Short answer: The difference is the $1.4 billion cost of the 34 AN/ALQ-99 jamming pods, if they are bought outright:

“Australia wasn’t planning to buy the ALQ-99 electronic warfare pods, just the systems and hardware to allow them to be fitted on an ”as required” basis… a Defence spokesman has explained. ”The initial proposal that underpinned the 2009 cost estimate would have provided a lesser capability than Defence now proposes to acquire”. The pods would have had to be obtained from the United States Navy whenever Australia wanted them, a source said.”

March 29/12: GAO Report. The US GAO releases “Airborne Electronic Attack: Achieving Mission Objectives Depends on Overcoming Acquisition Challenges. The EA-18G isn’t a problem, and the program gets high marks. GAO’s larger concerns involve an integrated electronic warfare plan that has had key planks removed at stand-off ranges (B-52 pod canceled), and in close against high end systems (no stealth UCAVs), even as plans to mount systems on UAVs are faltering because they’re too dangerous to the UAVs carrying them. The other problem is the AN/ALQ-99 pods that will be moved over from the EA-6Bs to the EA-18G, and accelerated wear among the EA-6Bs carrying them:

“By the end of fiscal year 2012, 32 EA-6Bs will be upgraded to the [most modern] ICAP III configuration. Navy officials told us that persistent operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, however, have degraded the condition of EA-6B aircraft… The Navy’s Low Band Transmitter upgrade to the AN/ALQ-99 system is intended to replace three aging legacy transmitters that suffer from obsolescence and reliability problems. According to Navy officials, persistent use of these transmitters in support of operations in Iraq and Afghanistan has exacerbated system shortfalls… However, Navy officials project that even with [maintenance & operations] improvements, system capabilities will be insufficient to counter anticipated evolutions in threat radars and missiles beginning in 2018. This shortfall is expected to be addressed by the new Next Generation Jammer.”

Feb 23/12: ALQ-99. Sensor and Antenna Systems, Inc. in Lansdale, PA receives a $39 million firm-fixed-price contract modification, exercising exercise an option for 48 low band transmitters, 13 vertical polarized antennas, and 28 horizontal polarized antennas associated with the AN/ALQ-99 low band transmitter. The ALQ-99 isn’t used exclusively on EA-18Gs, but they will all migrate to the Growler as the EA-6Bs are replaced.

Work will be performed in Lansdale, PA, and is expected to be complete in August 2014. US Naval Air Systems Command in Patuxent River, MD manages the contract (N00019-10-C-0047).

Feb 22/12: Australia. Adelaide’s The Advertiser reports that March 2012 will feature Defence Minister Stephen Smith announcing an A$ 200-300 million decision to upgrade 12 of Australia’s Super Hornets to EA-18 electronic warfare planes.

“News Limited understands that the first [EA-18] aircraft will be converted at the Boeing factory in St Louis and the remainder at Amberley RAAF base near Brisbane.”

It also reports that the Minister favors a September 2012 decision to buy another 12 F/A-18Fs, in order to make up for the F-35A’s expected lateness. The RAAF is reportedly against this, given expected defense reductions this year, and worries that the cost will eventually be paid for by fewer future F-35s. Which may be true. On the other hand, Australia needs to keep its fleet combat-capable while it waits.

Feb 1/12: A $132.8 million contract modification, exercising an option for 12 sets of EA-18G airborne electronic attack kits and the associated non-recurring engineering, as part of Lot 36 Full Rate Production. This figure is very much in line with last year’s order, vid. June 29/11. Note, too, the use of “Lot 36 FRP”. The EA-18G hasn’t had time for nearly that many production lots, but the Hornet airframe has. EA kits comprise the various specialized technologies that distinguish the EA-18G from the F/A-18F.

Work will be performed in Baltimore, MD (41.1%); St. Louis, MO (36.3%); Bethpage, NY (19%); and Fort Wayne, IN (3.6%). Work is expected to be complete in September 2014 (N00019-09-C-0086).

12 AEA kits

Jan 17/12: DOT&E mixed. The Pentagon releases the FY2011 Annual Report from its Office of the Director, Operational Test & Evaluation (DOT&E). The EA-18G is included, and the news is pretty good:

“Emerging 2011… results suggest the EA-18G remains operationally effective, while operational suitability has notably improved… the EA-18G system met the threshold for operational availability. The point value for reliability met the 14-hour threshold, but the 80% confidence level (lower bound) fell below the threshold. Maintainability did not meet the threshold level but only by a small measure, and built-in test performance was largely improved since IOT&E. Maintenance documentation was improved from IOT&E, but Navy personnel still rated the system as difficult to use and incomplete in some areas. DOT&E analysis of test data is still ongoing and a complete assessment will be published in early FY12.”

Nov 1/11: Spares. Northrop Grumman Systems Corp. in Bethpage, NY receives a sole source, firm-fixed-price, maximum $26 million contract from the US Navy for airborne electronic attack spares and radio frequency switches. Since much of this equipment is common to the EA-18G and EA-6B platforms, the Growler’s share isn’t entirely clear, but it will be growing over the performance period.

Work will be performed in Bethpage, NY and Linthicum, MD, running until July 31/14 and paid for by FY 2012-2014 Navy Working Capital funds. The US Defense Logistics Agency Aviation Strategic Acquisitions group in Philadelphia, PA manages the contract (SPM4AX-12-D-9401).

Oct 19/11: Australia. During an interview with Australia Broadcasting Corporation Radio, Labor government defense minister Stephen Smith discusses the possibility of turning 12 of Australia’s Super Hornets into EA-18G Growler electronic warfare fighters, whose conversion price tag is described by the interviewer as “upwards of A$ 300 million.” The EA-18G recently saw their its combat use over Libya, and:

“We’ve just started the process of making a judgment about whether acquiring [them] would be in our national interest or our national security interest… we took the sensible precaution of wiring up half of our Super Hornets for this potential. But it is a very expensive capability. We’re just going through the process… this possibility would come as no surprise to our friends and neighbours in the region. It’s been on the public record before and part of the [2009 Defence] White Paper.”

The minister does not contradict the price figure, and in a related ABC TV interview, he mentions costs of “hundreds of millions.” The minister also implied that further delays or issues with the F-35A could make an EA-18 conversion more likely, as a way to strengthen Australia’s air capability in the interim. ABC radio transcript | ABC24 TV news transcript.

Oct 3/11: Innovation. Boeing discusses recent changes to the Super Hornet family’s wing frame, which sharply reduced the number of parts, and the amount of assembly time. Modern manufacturing technologies let them replace a large number of components from different subcontractors, with a machined 1-piece component that makes up much of the wing frame. That reduces rework and labor assembly time, while improving the wing’s reliability. Boeing (incl. video).

FY 2011

1st combat deployments to Iraq & Libya; AARGM radar-killing missile test; DOT&E report says EA-18G is effective, but not reliable, esp. re: software; Next-generation jammers.

VAQ-132 returns
(click to view full)

July 29/11: Support. Northrop Grumman Systems Corp. in Bethpage, N.Y receives a $54.8 million, 3-year indefinite-delivery/ indefinite-quantity contract for engineering, technical and program support services for ongoing development & maintenance of EA-6B operational flight software, EA-6B “unique planning component,” and EA-18G operational flight software. Both aircraft types are handled by the Navy’s Airborne Electronic Attack Integrated Product Team.

Work will be performed in Point Mugu, CA (90%), and Bethpage, NY (10%), and is expected to be complete by July 2014. $200,000 will expire at the end of the current fiscal year, on Sept 30/11. This contract was not competitively procured pursuant to FAR 6.302-1 (N68936-11-D-0028).

July 9/11: Deployment returns. VAQ-132’s EA-18G Growlers all return to their home base at NAS Whidbey Island, WA, after completing an 8-month land-based deployment to Iraq and Libya. Deployed EA-18Gs now include VAQ-141 aboard the USS George H.W. Bush [CVN 77], marking the Growler’s first sea-based deployment. They’re part of Carrier Air Wing 8, operating in the Mediterranean and Persian Gulf. Boeing mentions that “a third electronic attack squadron, VAQ-138, recently deployed to a land-based location,” which could mean that they’ve replaced VAQ-132 over Libya.

By the end of 2015, 3 expeditionary squadrons and 10 carrier-based squadrons are scheduled to transition from the EA-6B Prowler to the EA-18G Growler. US NAVAIR | Boeing.

June 29/11: AEA FRP-2. A $130 million firm-fixed-price contract modification for 12 airborne electronic attack kits and associated engineering, as part of EA-18G orders in Super Hornet family full rate production Lot 35. Note that this isn’t ordering airframes, or radars, or engines – just the electronic attack equipment. Some simple division should help readers get a better sense of how much “government furnished equipment” can add to the price of a fully functional fighter, especially a very specialized plane like the EA-16G.

Work will be performed in Baltimore, MD (43.3%); St. Louis, MO (33.3%); Bethpage, NY (17.8%); and Fort Wayne, IN (5.6%), and is expected to be completed in July 2013 (N00019-09-C-0086).

AEA Kits

May 25/11: AARGM. The Navy’s new AGM-88E AARGM radar-killer missile successfully completes its 1st EA-18G Growler test, during a captive-carry flight at China Lake, CA. Growler work will continue, in parallel with the ongoing AARGM Integrated Test & Evaluation phase using FA-18C/D Hornets.

The test squadrons have also used Super Hornets, and Cmdr. Chad Reed, deputy program manager for Anti-Radiation Missiles within the Direct and Time Sensitive Strike program office (PMA-242), says that F/A-18E/F Super Hornet and EA-18G Growler testing since November 2010 totals 25 flight hours, compared to over 150 flight-hours on F/A-18C/D Hornets. US NAVAIR.

March 30/11: Support. A $40 million awarded fixed-price-incentive-fee contract modification for one-time engineering services in support of the F/A-18E/F and EA-18G’s next generation advanced mission computer system.

Work was performed in Bloomington, MN (53.7%), Baltimore, MD (33.3%), and St. Louis, MO (13%). This is a retroactive contract, with the Pentagon noting that “Work was completed in December 2010” (N00019-09-C-0019).

March 30/11: Support. Northrop Grumman Systems Corp. in Bethpage, NY receives an $8.6 million cost-plus-fixed-fee, indefinite-delivery/ indefinite-quantity contract modification to provide engineering and software services in support of EA-6B Prowler and EA-18G Growler aircraft. Services will include design, development, integration, test and distribution of the operational flight programs, flight test and aircraft integration support, and engineering support to transition the electronic attack mission from the EA-6B to the EA-18G.

Work will be performed at the Naval Air Warfare Center Weapons Division in Point Mugu, CA, and is expected to be complete in December 2011. The Naval Air Warfare Center Weapons Division at Point Mugu, CA manages the contract (N68936-08-D-0026).

March 20/11: Combat debut. The EA-18G makes its combat debut during opening strikes against Libyan air defenses, using the 5-plane Scorpions squadron that had been deployed to Al-Asad in Iraq (vid. Feb 1/11). They’re currently operating out of NAS Sigonella and Aviano Air Base, in Italy. US Navy | CNN.

Combat debut

Feb 3/11: DOT&E. A January 2011 report by the Pentagon’s Director of Operational Test and Evaluation (DOT&E) rates the EA-18G as “operationally effective,” (can perform its mission), but not “operationally suitable” (supportable in a sustainable way). Software stability in particular is seen as an ongoing issue.

The US Navy disagrees. They say it’s both effective and suitable, and argue that the DOT&E included items outside the scope of the program for its 2010 report. “None of the anomalies were showstoppers,” says the Navy, and scheduled testing in early 2011 should tell them how many of the remaining issues are still a problem. Aviation Week | See also past DOT&E 2009 report (2010 release, PDF).

Feb 1/11: 1st deployment. DLA Aviation discusses the challenges it has faced working to support the EA-18G’s 1st expeditionary deployment, at Al-Asad AB, Iraq. VAQ-132’s deployment began in mid-November 2010, but a 2009 change placed them on land, instead of on the USS Carl Vinson (CVN-70).

The removal of the carrier’s inherent support infrastructure was just the first of many issues as DLA planned for the land-based deployment. Another was an expected increase in flight hours from 30 hours per month, to over 100 hours. Having about 30,000 parts in common with the F/A-18F helps, as DLA also supports Super Hornets in theater. Even so, a delay in receiving Navy requirements forced DLA to do a lot of expediting, finding lateral support, and asking for spot buys, in order to ensure 100% inclusion of the items they believed they’d need to keep the lanes running. In the end, the pack up kit of consumable parts for the 5 EA-18Gs included about 900 of the most needed items.

Nov 29/10: Support. A $6.7 million firm-fixed-price delivery order under the basic ordering agreement. Boeing will provide operational level (front line, not depot-level) support equipment that’s specific to the EA-18G, and not common to other Super Hornet aircraft. This will help new EA-18G aircraft squadrons stand up with everything they need.

Work will be performed in St. Louis, MO, and is expected to be complete in November 2012. All contract funds will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division in Lakehurst, N.J. manages this contract (N68335-10-G-0012).

Nov 19/10: EW Trends. Aviation Week, “Directed Energy Weapons Attack Electronics” :

“The lightning rod for rapid fielding of directed energy (DE) weapons and advanced sensors will be the military’s next-generation jammer programs that exploit technologies like active electronically scanned arrays (AESAs) antennas and high-power microwave (HPM) capabilities, say senior U.S. government and industry officials at the 13th Directed Energy Conference.

Radars on the Lockheed Martin F-22 and F-35, and Boeing F/A-18F and EA-18G, already have the potential to fire focused beams of energy as soon as funding is available to develop the necessary advanced algorithms.”

FY 2010

SAR costs go up because EA-18G numbers do, in light of F-35 delays; Full-Rate Production approved; 2nd squadron declared ready for action; New facilities at NAS Whidbey Island, WA to serve as key hub for the Growler fleet; 1st new crew graduates for EA-18G;

EA-18G, carrier landing
(click to view full)

Aug 6/10: Spares. A $5.9 million ceiling priced delivery order for repairable support for advanced electronic attack components of the EA-18G aircraft.

Work will be performed in Baltimore, MD (84%); Bethpage, NY (8%); Whidbey Island, WA (3%); Melbourne, FL (2%); St. Augustine, FL (2%); and Fort Wayne, IN (1%). Work is expected to be complete by January 2011. The Naval Inventory Control Point in Philadelphia, PA manages this contract (N00383-06-G-006B, #0012).

May 28/10: Support. Raytheon Network Centric Systems in Fort Wayne, IN received an $8.7 million cost-plus-fixed-fee, indefinite-delivery/ indefinite-quantity contract to provide performance-based engineering services in support of the EA-18G’s AN/ALQ-227 communication countermeasure systems. Support services will include systems engineering, testing, product assurance, logistics, training, and production.

Work will be performed in Fort Wayne, IN, and is expected to be complete in May 2015. This contract was not competitively procured, pursuant to FAR 6.302-1, by the US Naval Air Warfare Center Weapons Division in China Lake, CA (N68936-10-D-0013).

May 24/10: Infrastructure. A ribbon-cutting ceremony marks Hangar 5’s recapitalization at Naval Air Station (NAS) Whidbey Island, WA. The $55.8 million design-build project began in January 2008. The improved facility will house 5 EA-18G Growler squadrons, the Electronic Attack Weapons School and Commander, Electronic Attack Wing, U.S. Pacific Fleet. US Navy photo release.

April 1/10: SAR. The Pentagon releases its April 2010 Selected Acquisitions Report, covering major program changes up to December 2009. The USA wants more EA-18Gs:

“EA-18G – Program costs increased $2,901.0 million (+33.5%) from $8,649.1 million to $11,550.1 million, due primarily to a quantity increase of 29 aircraft from 85 to 114 aircraft (+$2,342.5 million) and associated schedule and estimating allocations (+$7.8 million), and an increase in support costs for 26 expeditionary aircraft associated with the quantity increase (+$547.6 million).”

SAR – more EA-18Gs

March 5/10: 1st graduates. The US Navy’s EA-18G Fleet Replacement Squadron trainers in VAQ-129 graduate Class 09-08, the first class of 5 “Category 1” EA-18G aircrew that come straight from flight school. The squadron had previously trained veteran EA-6B pilots from VAQ-132 and VAQ-141, where the new “Cat 1s” will be assigned.

The 9-month course included a wide range of activities, from computer-based training, to lectures, simulators, and flights. Flights include day and night formation flying, basic radar mechanics, air-to-air fighter tactics, airborne electronic attack, in-flight refueling, and day and night carrier qualification. The Airborne Electronic Attack portion of the syllabus is new, and is being refined with each successive class.

Unlike the EA-6B, where student pilots carrier qualify with a veteran instructor in the right seat, the CAT 1’s must take the Growler to the boat as a “crew solo”: a student in the front, and a student in the back. US Navy.

Feb 12/10: 2nd squadron. The “Shadowhawks” of VAQ-141 are declared “Safe for Flight” in their new EA-18G Growlers at Naval Air Station (NAS) Whidbey Island, WA, following an 8-month training period under fleet replacment squadron VAQ-129. The Shadowhawks are the 2nd operational squadron to achieve this qualification, after the “Scorpions” of VAQ-132. Both squadrons had previously flown EA-6B Prowlers. US Navy.

Jan 12/09: Support. Wyle Laboratories, Inc. in Huntsville, AL received a $10.8 million cost-plus fixed-fee, indefinite-delivery/ indefinite-quantity contract to provide airborne electronic attack engineering support for the EA-6B, EA-18G, and other advanced electronic attack derivatives at the Naval Air Warfare Center Weapons Division (NAWCWD) in Point Mugu, CA.

Work will be performed at NAWCWD, Point Mugu, CA (85%); NAWCWD, China Lake, CA (5%); Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division, Patuxent River, MD (5%); and Naval Air Station, Whidbey Island, WA (5%). Work is expected to be complete in January 2015. This contract was not competitively procured pursuant to Federal Acquisition Regulations by NAWCWD in China Lake, CA (N68936-10-D-0014).

Feb 3/10: F-35 vs. F/A-18. Ranking House Armed Services Seapower subcommittee Rep. Todd Akin [R-MO] publicly supports building more Super Hornet family aircraft, and advocates a multi-year buy approach for the F/A-18E/F and EA-18G, similar to the 2005-2009 contract. In Rep. Arkin’s release, he says that:

“I remain concerned that the Department of Defense is not taking the Navy’s strike fighter shortfall seriously… The Super Hornet is an active production line, and is dramatically cheaper than the JSF, which may not deliver anywhere close to on time… In this case, a multi-year procurement could save hundreds of millions of dollars, but the DoD seems to have their head in the sand. Secretary Gates mentioned that he thinks we need to have a 10% savings before we use a multi-year agreement. However, the Congress already gave DoD the authority to use a multiyear in this situation, even if the savings is less than 10%… A multiyear procurement could save nearly half a billion dollars over the next few years. To not pursue that savings is just irresponsible.”

Jan 7/10: F-35 delay. Media reports surface that Defense Secretary Robert Gates has ordered a delay in the Lockheed Martin Corp. F-35 program, cutting planned purchases from 2011 – 2015 in order to fund research, development, testing & evaluation (RDT&E). In FY 2011-12, the US Navy will reportedly compensate for the implicit F-35C delays, by buying another 24 Boeing Super Hornet family planes for $2.4 billion.

A Bloomberg report confusingly mentions “F/A-18E/F planes that are capable of jamming enemy radar,” which could indicate the addition of 24 EA-18Gs. The Growlers would help to fill immediate gaps in airborne jamming, which is in high demand. They would also help maintain long-term fighter numbers with aircraft that would remain operationally viable farther into the future than standard Super Hornets. Bloomberg | Business Week | Fort Worth Star-Telegram.

Nov 30/09: AEA FRP-1. A $386 million modification to a previously awarded firm-fixed-price contract (N00019-09-C-0086) for the procurement of 22 EA-18G Lot 33 Full Rate Production (FRP) airborne electronic attack (AEA) kits, 22 EA-18G Lot 34 FRP AEA kits, and the associated non-recurring engineering.

Work will be performed in Baltimore, MD (46.5%); Bethpage, NY (22.7%); St. Louis, MO (13.5%); Melbourne, FL (5.5%); Fort Wayne, IN (3.7%); Thousand Oaks, CA (3.7%); Wallingford, CT (2.6%); Nashua, NH (1.1%); and Westminster, CO (0.7%), and is expected to be complete in December 2012.

AEA Kits

Nov 30/09: 22 conversions. A $9.4 million modification to a previously awarded firm-fixed-price contract (N00019-04-C-0014) to incorporate engineering change proposals 6251 and 6251R1 and convert 22 Lot 33 F/A-18F aircraft to EA-18G aircraft. Work will be performed in St. Louis, MO (62%); El Segundo, CA (36%); and Mesa, AZ (2%), and is expected to be complete in September 2011.

EA-18Gs start out as F/A-18F base airframes, then receive additional wiring and other changes, before the full airborne electronic attack set is integrated.

Nov 23/09: The US Department of Defense approves Full Rate Production (FRP) of the EA-18G Growler. The EA-18G program now can proceed from Low Rate Initial Production to quantities of 20+ aircraft per year, as budgeted in FY 2010.

The EA-18G achieved Initial Operational Capability in September 2009 with US Navy electronic attack squadron VAQ-132, based at Naval Air Station Whidbey Island in Washington State. Boeing release.

FRP approved

Oct 29/09: A maximum $51 million firm-fixed-price, sole source contract for 23 line items in support of the EA-18G’s FY 2010 program. There was originally 1 proposal solicited with 1 response, and the date of performance completion is Dec 31/12. The Defense Logistics Agency Philadelphia, in Philadelphia, PA manages this contract (N00383-06-D-001J-TH05).

Oct 28/09: FY 2010. President Obama signs the FY 2010 defense budget into law. That budget provides funding for 22 EA-18Gs, and Congress increased related F/A-18 E/F Super Hornet purchases from 9 to 18. White House | House-
Senate Conference Report summary [PDF] & tables [PDF].

FY 2009

OpEval has EA-18G declared operationally effective and suitable; Carrier moniker will be “Grizzly”; Australia pre-wires 12 F/A-18Fs for future conversion; EA-18 Growler Lite?; EA-35s?; F-22 Raptor killed by EA-18G.

EA-18G from below
(click to view full)

July 28/09: IOT&E. The US Department of Defense releases the EA-18G Growler’s initial operational test and evaluation (IOT&E) findings, which recommended it for use in the fleet and gave it the best rating of “operationally effective, operationally suitable.” Effectiveness refers to mission performance evaluations, while suitability focuses on maintainability and reliability.

The initial EA-18G combines 2 fielded systems, in the F/A-18F airframe and the same Improved Capability III (ICAP III) electronic warfare suite used on current EA-6B Prowlers. That lowers risk, but it’s still a new combination. As it happens, software anomalies were discovered during the IOT&E process. The EA-18G team is developing a software update release, to be implemented during the normal verification and correction of deficiencies (VCD) period later this year. US Navy NAVAIR.

July 1/09: A $27.9 million modification to a previously awarded firm-fixed-price contract (N00019-09-C-0086) for additional time-critical parts in support of EA-18G Full Rate Production.

Work will be performed in St. Louis, MO, and is expected to be complete in September 2009. The EA-18G has a set manufacturer, so this contract was not competitively procured.

June 8/09: EA-18G Grizzly. Gannett’s Navy Times reports that the EA-18G’s “Growler” moniker sounded too close to the EA-6B’s “Prowler”, so the EA-18G will now be known as the “Grizzly” in operational situations, in order to avoid any confusion or mistakes. Presumably, the standard NATO “G” phonetic alphabet call of “Golf” was seen as somewhat lacking. “Growler” will remain the EA-18G’s primary moniker outside of carrier decks.

The Navy does something similar with the F/A-18F, which is colloquially called the “Rhino”. F/A-18Fs were the first Super Hornets to get new and improved AN/APG-79 AESA radars in their nose cones.

“Grizzly” moniker

April 29/09: Support. Northrop Grumman Systems Corp. in Bethpage, NY received a $9.9 million cost plus fixed fee contract for various products, and 73,571 hours of engineering services, in support of the EA-18G Airborne Electronic Attack (AEA) Integrated Product Team. The firm will provide assistance with design, development, integration, test and distribution of Electronic Attack Unit software, technical evaluations, and testing of changes; and will support follow-on test and evaluation integration and test.

Work will be performed at Point Mugu, CA, (85%); Bethpage, NY, (10%); and China Lake, CA, (5%), and is expected to be completed in April 2012. This contract was not competitively procured pursuant to the FAR 6.302-1. The Naval Air Warfare Center, Weapons Division in China Lake, CA manages this contract (N68936-09-D-0026).

Feb 27/09: Australia. Australia is pre-wiring 12 of its planned 24 F/A-18F Super Hornets, in order to allow future conversions to EA-18 Lite status. The additional cost for the pre-wiring on the production line is A$ 35 million, out of an order now cited as A$ 6.6 billion. Completing that fit out to “Growler Lite” status is expected to involve an additional A$ 300 million, with the go/no-go decision set for 2012.

Characteristically, the new Labor Party government’s release ends with a shot at the procurement policies of the previous Liberal Party government:

“If the Howard Government had taken a more prudent approach in making the Super Hornet decision rather than rushing to fill their impending air combat capability gap, they may have realised that this was a more effective approach to take.”

Feb 25/09: EA-18L Growler Lite? Media reports indicate that an export variant will soon be offered. The ALQ-99 radar jamming pod is still considered top secret, even though some of its hardware is a generation or two behind, and the program to field its replacement Next Generation Jammer has already begun.

Instead, export versions would reply on 2 components. Northrop Grumman’s ALQ-218v2 is a digital wideband radio frequency receiver, with selective jamming and geo-location capabilities. It currently equips the EA-18G’s wingtip pods, and the US Navy’s EA-6B Prowlers. Raytheon’s internally-mounted ALQ-227 communication countermeasures system makes use of a dedicated, omni-directional antenna for signals detection, analysis, and recording; but the removal of the ALQ-99 pods would remove its complex jamming functions, unless a foreign-made pod could be integrated with it instead. The export EA-18 would also ship with Raytheon’s APG-79 AESA radar, which equips existing EA-18Gs and F/A-18E/F Block II aircraft, and could be used as a jammer with additional software development.

The combination would be a strong SEAD (suppression of enemy air defenses) option, albeit one with less stealth than the F-35A. It would allow EA-18 Lites to geo-locate identified radar emitters, for instance, then target them with GPS-enabled anti-radiation missiles like AARGM. These capabilities could also be supplemented by foreign radar jamming pods bought on the international market, in order to create an aircraft with capabilities comparable to the EA-18G. Flight
International | StrategyPage.

Feb 25/09: Raptor Killer. Stephen Trimble photographs a kill decal on EA-1, the 1st of 2 Lot 27 F/A-18Fs converted into flying EA-18G prototypes. Turns out, the kill decal is a F-22A Raptor, making EA-1 one of the few aircraft to ever achieve this feat:

“I did learn the EA-18G kill was courtesy of a well-timed AIM-120 AMRAAM shot. And I learned the simulated combat exercise took place at Nellis AFB. How the EA-18G escort jammer got the shot, and whether its jamming system played a role in the incident were not questions the pilot was prepared to answer.”

F-22 kill

Dec 23/08: AEA FRP-1. An unfinalized contract with a ceiling price of $50.3 million, to buy time critical parts (TCP) for 22 Full Rate Production (FRP) Airborne Electronic Attack systems. They will be fitted into the FY 2009 buy of 22 EA-18Gs. Work will be performed in St. Louis, MO and is expected to be complete in May 2009. This contract was not competitively procured (N00019-09-C-0086).

Dec 23/08: Support. A $21.2 million firm-fixed-price, cost plus fixed fee modification to a previously awarded delivery order contract (N00383-06-D-001J) for integrated contractor engineering, logistics, and equipment to support the EA-18G.

Work will be performed in Bethpage, NY (60%) and St. Louis, MO (40%), and is expected to be complete in December 2010, but $7.2 million will expire at the end of the current fiscal year.

Dec 1/08: Spares. A $95 million delivery order under a previously-awarded Performance Based Logistics contract for spares in support of the EA-18G Growler. Work will be performed in St. Louis, MO (40%), and El Segundo, CA (60%), and is expected to be complete by September 2011. The Naval Inventory Control Point manages this contract (N00383-06-D-001J-TH00).

Nov 30/08: EA-35s? Aviation Week reports that the USAF (F-35A) and US Marines (F-35B STOVL) are moving toward plans that would let them convert F-35s into electronic attack aircraft that would serve alongside the EA-18Gs. Plans aren’t yet firm, but officials apparently hope that the F-35’s extremely advanced electronics and sensors, combined with parallel efforts like the Next Generation Jammer program, will allow the planes to be used as “EA-35s” without requiring dedicated and modified airframes.

In a world where small pods that can clip onto any fighter in the fleet have completely replaced dedicated “RF-” reconaissance fighters, the idea of a parallel development for “EA-” fighters does not seem ridiculous. See DID’s October 2005 “Supersonic SIGINT…” for more. Nevertheless, any program to create a full EF-35 capability will face challenging technical questions. An EW specialist interviewed by Aviation Week explained some of them:

“…if it’s in an external pod, [the extra radar reflectivity] will give away the aircraft’s location. Yet, if you put the guts of an NGJ into the weapon bays of a single-engine single-generator aircraft in order to maintain all-aspect stealth, you are rapidly going to run out of available power to run it… [And] If the aircraft has to maintain all-aspect stealth, then how can you do the necessary jamming… [Plus,] electronic attack is one area where size does matter… an EB-52 carrying large-aperture, active electronically scanned array radar with the output of an electronic techniques generator routed through it can be a very long-range electronic weapon. [Large ilitary aircraft of many types] are also possible platforms for the Next-Generation Jammer. Finally, unmanned aircraft of the [RQ-4] Global Hawk and [MQ-9] Reaper size could have the necessary size, power and payload.”

Nov 21/08: Training. Boeing delivers its first EA-18G Growler maintenance trainer to Whidbey Island Naval Air Station, WA, 2 weeks ahead of schedule. Boeing delivered the first fleet EA-18G and an EA-18G aircrew trainer to VAQ-129 in June 2008.

The EA-18G Maintenance Trainer (EAMT) is a set of 3 devices. One is a hardware mockup that represents the gun bay and pallet, and the second represents a wingtip pod. The mockups are used to support training on installation and removal procedures for the Growler’s unique equipment. The third device is the Visual Environment Maintenance Trainer, where student interacts with the trainer via a fully replicated cockpit and displays to test and troubleshoot, while an instructor/operator station controls the simulations and 2 touch-screen displays provide graphical representations of the aircraft and support equipment. Boeing release.

Nov 4/08: OpEval. NAVAIR announces that the EA-18G Growler has moved to Operational Evaluation (OpEval), following initial sea trials on the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower [CVN-69] from July 31/08 through Aug 5/08.

Oct 30/08: Support. A $6.5 million modification/ delivery order under a previously awarded contract to purchase repair-of-repairables support for the E/A-18 G Growler. Work will be performed in St. Louis, MO and the contract will end when the fiscal year does on Sept 30/09. The Naval Inventory Control Point in Philadelphia, PA manages this contract (N00383-06-D-001J, #0004).

Oct 2/08: OpEval. The Kitsap Sun reports that Air Test and Evaluation Squadron 9 has been using the USS John C. Stennis [CVN 75] as part of the EA-18G’s Operation Evaluation (OpEval), which includes carrier night landings and tests of the new electronic components’ durability under the controlled crash conditions of carrier landings.

Cmdr. Al Bradford, the squadron’s electronic warfare branch head, described this effort as “the final exam for the aircraft.”

FY 2008

SAR cites rising costs due to more planes; 1st delivery to fleet training squadron; 1st HARM radar-killer missile test; Support center inaugurated.

EA-18G sea trials
(click to view full)

Sept 25/08: AEA LRIP-2. A $206.7 million modification to a previously awarded firm fixed price contract (N00019-07-C-0035) for 21 Airborne Electronic Attack Kits: 18 EA-18G low-rate initial production II kits, 3 EA-18G FY 2008 supplemental funding Kits, and associated non-recurring engineering. These kits are installed during conversion of the F/A-18F airframe to an EA-18G aircraft; see also June 13/08 entry.

Work will be performed in Baltimore, MD (45%); Bethpage, NY (22%); St. Louis, MO (13.5%); Melbourne, FL (5%); Fort Wayne, IN (4.7%); Thousand Oaks, CA (4.2%); Wallingford, CT (2.5%); Nashua, NH (2.4%); and Westminster, CO (0.7%), and is expected to be complete in November 2010.

AEA Kits

Sept 25/08: Trade studies. A $6.7 million modification to a previously awarded cost plus award fee contract for 13 EA-18G trade studies to delineate technical solutions for improved EA-18G functionality and/or correction of identified deficiencies.

Work will be performed in St. Louis, MO (60%); Bethpage, NY (30%); and Baltimore, MD (10%), and is expected to be complete in September 2009 (N00019-04-C-0005).

Sept 18/08: Spares. A $14.6 million ceiling-priced delivery order contract for spares in support of the EA-18G Growler aircraft. Work will be performed in St. Louis, MO and is expected to be complete by March 2011. The Naval Inventory Control Point manages this contract.

Sept 18/08: Support. A $13 million ceiling priced modification to delivery order under a previously awarded contract for support equipment and engineering support for the EA-18G Growler aircraft. Work will be performed in St. Louis, MO and is expected to be complete by April 2010. This contract was not competitively procured by The Naval Inventory Control Point (N00383-06-D-001J, #0004).

Aug 5/08: +3. A $659.2 million modification to a previously awarded firm-fixed-price contract (N00019-04-C-0014), exercising the option for 13 F/A-18Fs and 3 E/A-18G aircraft for the U.S. Navy. Note that these are just airframes, without key components like radar, engines, and other associated equipment. The full cost of the delivered aircraft is significantly higher.

Work will be performed in St. Louis, MO (28.7%); El Segundo, CA (25%); Goleta, CA (8.6%); Clearwater, FL (2.3%); Greenlawn, NY (2.1%); Burnsville, MN (2.1%); Johnson City, NY (2.1%); Brooklyn Heights, OH (2%); Vandalia, OH (2%); Grand Rapids, MI (2%); South Bend, IN (2%); Mesa, AZ (1.8%); Fort Worth, TX (1.8%); and at various locations across the United States (17.5%), and is expected to be complete in January 2012.

Aug 5/08: HARM. The EA-18G Test Team at NAWCWD China Lake conducts its first AGM-88 High-Speed Anti-Radiation Missile (HARM) test. HARM is designed to seek and destroy enemy air defense radars; it will be replaced by the AGM-88E AARGM beginning in 2010. Source.

July 31/08 – Aug 5/08: Initial sea trials on the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower [CVN-69] involve 319 approaches, 62 catapult shots and 62 arrested landings. They had originally been scheduled over 10 days, but that time was cut in half. VX-23 Sqn’s EA-18G department head, Cmdr. Jaime Engdahl describes some of their innovative responses in the NAVAIR release, and notes their combined use of developmental testers and operational testers in the cockpit at the same time. Engdahl:

“In OpEval, the operational testers already have hundreds of hours of flight testing, they know what the systems are like, they have input into design changes and potential problems. The real benefit is the Fleet gets a better product earlier.”

July 23/08: The EA-18G Test Team at NAWCWD China Lake conducts its first AIM-120 Advanced Medium Range Air-To-Air Missile (AMRAAM) live fire. While jamming threat systems located at Echo range, the Growler engaged and fired on the BQM-74E target drone. Airborne chase cameras as well as optical trackers on the target drone confirmed safe weapon separation, followed by a very close missile pass to the target drone. It was scored as a hit, since the AMRAAM warhead uses a proximity fuze.

This event marks the first release of any live weapons by an EA-18G. It also distinguishes the EA-18G by virtue of its air-air capability; other electronic warfare aircraft have traditionally relied on short range missiles like Sidewinders for self-protection. NAVAIR release.

June 24/08: Spares. Contract modification #0012 to a previously awarded contract for the purchase of initial spares in support of the E/A-18G Growler. Orders will be placed as needed, but this contract cannot exceed $45.7 million.

Work will be performed in St. Louis, MO, and will be complete July 2010. The Naval Inventory Control Point (NAVICP) in Philadelphia, PA manages the contract (N00383-06-D-001J, order number 0004).

June 13/08: 18 conversions. A $17.6 million modification to previously awarded firm-fixed-price contract N00019-04-C-0014 will incorporate engineering change Proposal 6251 and 6251R1. That proposal involves converting 18 of production Lot 32’s F/A-18F aircraft to EA-18G aircraft. Work will be performed in St. Louis, MO (70%), El Segundo, CA (29%), and Mesa, AZ (1%), and is expected to be complete in September 2010.

Boeing representatives confirm that this contract involves the routine process of converting basic F/A-18F production airframes into EA-18Gs, as part of the joint multi-year contract (Super Hornet MYP-II). This particular contract will install all of the required fittings et. al. that are necessary for the Growler’s specialized equipment. The actual contract for that equipment (wingtip pods, electronics “black boxes” etc.) and its installation will follow later, as another modification.

June 3/08: Delivery. Boeing delivers the first fleet EA-18G Growler airborne electronic attack (AEA) aircraft to the U.S. Navy’s VAQ-129 Vikings Electronic Attack Squadron at Naval Air Station Whidbey Island, WA ahead of schedule and within budget. The Vikings are a Fleet Readiness squadron, which means they’ll be the training squadron for all EA-18G pilots.

The delivery follows 5 test aircraft, and the Growler is scheduled to enter Operational Evaluation in September 2008. If OpEval goes well, the aircraft will be moved from Low-Rate Initial Production (LRIP) to full-rate production. Boeing release | US Navy.

1st delivery

May 14/08: Infrastructure. Boeing holds a grand opening for its new EA-18G Growler Support Center (GSC) at Naval Air Station Whidbey Island, WA. The center will provide technical and logistics support for the EA-18s once the Navy accepts the first fleet Growler at the aircraft’s NAS Whidbey Island home base in early June of 2008.

The GSC will house approximately 24 representatives from the Navy and the Hornet/Growler industry team of Boeing, Northrop Grumman, Raytheon and General Electric. The center, along with the base’s existing supply chain management facility, will ensure that logistics support for new Growlers is readily available, per the FIRST performance-based maintenance contract for the US Navy’s Super Hornet fleet. Boeing release.

March 14/08: AEA LRIP-2. A $28.2 million modification to a previously awarded firm-fixed-price contract (N00019-07-C-0035) for time-critical parts in support of the EA-18G’s Low Rate Initial Production II (LRIP II) Airborne Electronic Attack kits. Work will be performed in St. Louis, MO, and is expected to be complete in April 2008.

March 5/08: Infrastructure. Small business and native business qualifer Alutiiq International Solutions, LLC in Anchorage, AK received a $21.2 million firm-fixed-price design/build contract for facility improvements at the Naval Air Station, Whidbey Island. The firm will upgrade existing facilities, and undertake some new construction in order to support the EA-18G aircraft.

Work will be performed in Oak Harbor, WA, and is expected to be complete by April 2011. This contract was competitively procured via the Naval Facilities Engineering Command e-solicitation website, with 2 proposals received by the Naval Facilities Engineering Command, Northwest in Silverdale, WA (N44255-08-C-6009).

Nov 19/07: Re-baselined. The Pentagon releases their latest Selected Acquisition Report, and the EA-18G is on it:

“The SAR was submitted to rebaseline the report from a Development to a Production estimate following approval of Low Rate Initial Production (Milestone C) in July 2007. Program costs increased $321.5 million (+3.8%) from $8,368.0 million to $8,689.5 million, due primarily to a quantity increase of five aircraft from 80 to 85 aircraft.”

SAR

FY 2007

Low-rate production of EA-18G Airborne Electronic Attack kits begins; EA-18G system development tests done.

EA-18G takeoff
(click to view full)

Aug 31/07: AEA LRIP-1. A $122.3 million cost-plus-incentive-fee modification to a previously awarded firm-fixed-price contract for 8 of the EA-18G’s Low-Rate Initial Production I (LRIP I) Airborne Electronic Attack (AEA) Kits and associated non-recurring engineering. In addition, this modification includes an unfinalized contract action for one FY 2007 supplemental funding EA-18G LRIP I AEA Kit, which would bring the total to 9.

The AEA kits involve internal electronics that distinguish the EA-18G from an F/A-18F, plus the ALQ-218 wingtip jammer pods.

Work will be performed in Baltimore, MD (51.2%); St. Louis, MO (11.1%); Bethpage, NY (10.2%); Melbourne, FL (8.5%); Fort Wayne, IN (8.5%); Thousand Oaks, CA (4.4%); Wallingford, CT (2.6%); Nashua, NH (2.6%); and Westminster, CO (0.9%), and is expected to be complete in December 2009 (N00019-07-C-0035).

AEA Kits begin LRIP

Aug 31/07: Industrial. A $13 million modification to a previously awarded cost-plus-award-fee contract (N00019-04-C-0005) for the procurement of additional factory test equipment in support of the EA-18G aircraft. Work will be performed in Baltimore, MD (78.3%); St. Louis, MO (11.6%) and Bethpage, NY (10.1%), and is expected to be complete in April 2009.

Aug 22/07: Spares. $40 million for delivery order #0002 under previously awarded contract, to purchase initial spares in support of the E/A-18 G Growler. Work will be performed at St. Louis, MO and is to be complete by May 2009. The Naval Inventory Control Point in Philadelphia, PA issued the contract.

August 6/07: Radomes. A $10 million ceiling-priced modification to a previously awarded cost-plus-award-fee contract (N00019-04-C-0005) for the design, development, fabrication/assembly and qualification of up to 20 EA-18G Extended Low Band Radomes. Radomes are an interestingly tricky. They need to be tough enough to handle the buffeting at the front of the fighter, while being transparent to radar signals from the fighter. The EA-18G adds even more electro-magnetic challenges to that equation.

Work will be performed in St. Louis, MO (55%) and Mesa, AZ (45%), and is expected to be complete in September 2009 (N00383-06-D-001J).

July 2007: Milestone C. The EA-18G receives Milestone C approval, clearing it to move ahead into Low-Rate Initial production.

Milestone C

April 21/07: Testing. NAVAIR announces that the EA-18G Growler has finished an ambitious regimen of flight tests, concurrently completing both system developmental testing and an independent fleet operational assessment within the first 90 days of flight test. Feedback from operational testers is being immediately incorporated into development of the platform and its systems.

The EA-18G mission systems test team and aircrew from Flight Test and Evaluation Squadrons VX-23 at Pax River, VX-31 and VX-9 at NAWS China Lake, CA and Boeing contractor crews used EA-18G prototypes EA-1 and EA-2, logging over 100 hours of flight tests plus additional range testing as of late March 2007.

As one example of its success, the program schedule required the Growler to radiate ALQ-99 pods in a Pax River chamber by the end of February. As a result of early software delivery and solid system performance, the EA-18G test team was able to demonstrate this jamming capability in December 2006, radiate jammers in-flight by the end of January 2007, and ensure that jamming functions did not interfere with safe operation of any on-board systems across the entire ALQ-99 radiation spectrum. See full NAVAIR release: “Growler zaps through initial testing.”

Feb 16/07: AEA LRIP-1. A $6.5 million firm-fixed-price contract for time-critical parts in support of the EA-18G Low Rate Initial Production I Airborne Electronic Attack kits. Work will be performed in St. Louis, MO and is expected to be complete in April 2007. This contract was not competitively procured (N00019-07-C-0035).

FY 2005 – 2006

Formal rollout ceremony; 1st test aircraft delivered; 1st test flight with all jamming pods; 1st AEA kits ordered; INCANS verified – and what’s that;

EA-18G Growler
(click to view full)

Sept 22/06: Delivery. The first test aircraft EA-1 is delivered to Naval Air Station Patuxent River, MD. EA-2 is scheduled to follow it by the end of 2006.

Aug 3/06: Rollout. At the formal rollout ceremony for the EA-18G, Boeing presented the aircraft to a crowd of more than 750 U.S. Navy customers, industry partners and Boeing employees at its Integrated Defense Systems facilities in St. Louis, MO. U.S. Navy Adm. Michael G. Mullen, Chief of Naval Operations and guest speaker at the ceremony, said: “It is clear that the demand for electronic warfare is not only going to remain high, but is going to grow…”

Rollout & delivery

June 30/06: AEA kits. An $82.4 million cost-plus-award-fee modification to a previously awarded cost-plus-award-fee contract for the first production representative lot of airborne electronic attack (AEA) kits for the EA-18G aircraft. This modification provides for 4 AEA kits, spares, and support equipment.

Work will be performed in Baltimore, MD (42.5%); Bethpage, NY (28.2%); St. Louis, MO (18%); Fort Wayne, IN (4.8%); Nashua, NH (2%); Melbourne, FL (1.6%); Wallingford, CT (1.6%); and Westminster, CO (1.3%), and is expected to be complete in September 2008.

June 29/06: SDD. A $19 million firm-fixed price modification to the previously awarded firm-fixed-price with economic price adjustment F/A-18E/F airframes Multi-Year II (MYP II) contract. This modification provides for incorporation of Engineering Change Proposal 6251 to convert 4 of the Lot 30 F/A-18F aircraft to EA-18G system development and demonstration aircraft. Work will be performed in St. Louis, MO (55%); El Segundo, CA (42%); and Mesa, AZ (3%), and is expected to be complete in September 2008.

May 30/06: Testing. The Boeing EA-18G program test team flew a modified F/A-18F equipped with wingtip antenna and high- and low-band jamming pods for the first time, as part of ongoing flying qualities and carrier suitability testing to validate the EA-18G’s shipboard effectiveness. See Boeing release.

Feb 17/06: Displays. Honeywell International, Inc., Defense and Space Electronic Systems in Albuquerque, NM receives a $7.9 million modification to a previously awarded firm-fixed-price contract (N00019-05-C-0033) to exercise an option for the full rate production of five-inch-by five-inch (5″ x 5″) forward and aft advance multi-purpose displays (AMPDs) for forward fit in Lot 30 F/A-18E/F and EA-18G aircraft, and retrofit into Lots 22-24. This option provides for the procurement of 96 forward AMPDs (84 for forward fit into F/A-18E/F, 8 for forward fit into EA-18G, 8 for retrofit, and 9 spares) and 40 aft 5 x 5 AMPDs (26 for forward fit into F/A-18E/F, 8 for forward fit into E/A-18G, 4 for retrofit, and 2 spares). Work will be performed in Albuquerque, NM, and is expected to be complete in February 2008.

EG-18 FAST lab
(click to view full)

Feb 06/06: Testing. Boeing announces that the U.S. Navy has approved their test plans and processes for integrating several key subsystems into the EA-18G Growler. Successful completion of its first two test readiness reviews (TRR) in January 2005 and November 2005 allows Boeing to begin developing and integrating the systems at Boeing labs in St. Louis. The reviews focused on several key areas of the aircraft’s software: mission computer, electronic attack unit, the stores management system, interference blanking unit, the ALE-47 countermeasures system, EA-18G instrumentation system, mission planning and integration of the digital memory device.

Engineers will now focus on integration of EA-18G Build 1, the first of two builds of the airborne electronic attack aircraft software. The aircraft’s initial flight is scheduled for fall 2006 or early 2007, and EA-18G lab features like high-speed links and the Facility Automated Set-up and Test, or FAST architecture are designed to help engineers to meet the integration schedule. See Boeing release for further details.

Jan 31/06: Training. A $19.7 million modification to a previously awarded cost-plus-award-fee contract (N00019-04-C-0005) for modeling and simulation, design, and development of a training system for the EA-18G aircraft. Work will be performed in Arlington, TX (50%) and St. Louis, MO (50%), and is expected to be completed in June 2008.

Jan 24/06: Testing. The EA-18G completes Jammer Flight Testing at Naval Air Warfare Center (NAWC), Patuxent River, MD. EA-18G department head (VX-23) Cmdr. Jaime W. Engdahl notes that the tests exercised all available jamming types for Build 1.5 in Bands 7/8/9, with “no notable EMC issues” and “no surprises.”

Naval Surface Warfare Center, Crane, IN is the cognizant Technical Authority for the plane’s AN/ALQ-99 Tactical Jamming System (TJS) Pod, and is teamed with Boeing, Northrop Grumman, and NAWC Point Mugu, CA to integrate the pod onto the EA-18G.

The word “pod” implies a level of plug-and-play that isn’t there; this effort required major electrical and structural modifications to the ALQ-99, including the development of the Pod Interface Unit, followed by 2 years of extensive environmental, flight performance, and integration testing performed at Crane, IN; Boeing in St. Louis, MO; and at NAWC Point Mugu and NAWC Patuxent River. US Navy.

Nov 8/05: INCANS. Boeing completes the initial laboratory verification of the EA-18G tactical aircraft’s Interference Cancellation (INCANS) system, and demonstrates the system’s capabilities during aircraft ground testing at Naval Air Station Patuxent River, MD. The INCANS system will allow the EA-18G to conduct voice communications over UHF radio with friendly forces while simultaneously jamming enemy communications, a difficult trick. The current EA-6B Prowler, for example, can’t do this. See Boeing release.

INCANS verification

EA-18G Prototype
(click to view full)

Sept 1/05: Mission planning. An estimated value $6.4 million modification to a previously awarded cost-plus-award-fee contract to develop, integrate, test and deliver 13 mission planning interfaces for the EA-18G aircraft. Work will be performed in Melbourne, FL (79%) and St. Louis, MO (21%), and is expected to be complete in August 2008 (N00019-04-C-0005).

Aug 17/05: Training. An $8.3 million ceiling-priced modification to a previously awarded cost-plus-award-fee contract to provide modeling and simulation; design and development for a training system for the EA-18G aircraft. Work will be performed in St. Louis, MO (50%), and Arlington, TX (50%) and is expected to be completed in June 2008 (N00019-04-C-0005).

July 13/05: Training. A $500 million not-to-exceed indefinite-delivery/ indefinite-quantity contract for the procurement of new F/A-18 E/F and EA-18G Trainer and Training Systems, upgrading existing systems, and including a full range of analysis; modeling and simulation; design, development; production; modification; test and evaluation, delivery; refurbishment; relocation; and product support of all training systems for the U. S. Navy and U. S. Marine Corps’ aircraft platforms.

Work will be performed in St. Louis, MO, and is expected to be completed in July 2010. This contract was not competitively procured by the Naval Air Warfare Center Training Systems Division in Orlando, FL (N61339-05-D-0003).

Oct 21/04: Boeing Begins Work on First EA-18G Test Aircraft.

FY 2002 – 2004

ALQ-218 wingtip pods have issues; Milestone B approval; Initial flight demonstration.

EA-18G rollout
(click to view full)

Sept 27/04: ALQ-218 issues. A $7 million ceiling-priced modification to a previously awarded cost-plus-award-fee contract to provide additional fault isolation in the ALQ-218 (V)2 Tactical Jamming Receiver components in support of the EA-18G System Development and Demonstration. Work will be performed in Baltimore, MD (73%); St. Louis, MO (14%) and Bethpage, NY (13%); and is expected to be complete in September 2009 (N00019-04-C-0005).

Dec 29/03: A $979 million ceiling-priced cost-plus-award-fee contract for system development and demonstration (SDD) of the E/A-18G weapon system.

Work will be performed in St. Louis, MO (55%); Bethpage, NY (25%); Baltimore, MD (15%); El Segundo, CA (2%); St. Augustine, FL (1%); Hollywood, MD (1%); and Camarillo, CA (1%), and is expected to be complete in December 2009. This contract was not competitively procured (N00019-04-C-0005). The 5-year SDD program for the EA-18G runs from FY 2004 until early FY 2009 and encompasses all laboratory, ground test, and flight tests from component level testing through full-up EA-18G weapons system performance flight-testing. See also Boeing corporate release.

EA-18G system development

Dec 18/03: The US Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) receives Milestone B approval to proceed into EA-18G System Development and Demonstration (SD&D). Approval was granted by Michael Wynne, acting under secretary of defense, (Acquisition, Technology and Logistics).

The EA-18G contract team received its first pre-SD&D contract in September 2002 to support preparation efforts for the SD&D phase, and an SD&D contract is expected shortly. The 5-year SD&D program is expected to run from FY 2004 to mid FY 2009, and encompasses all laboratory, ground test, and flight tests from component level testing, through full-up EA-18G weapons system performance flight-testing. NAVAIR announcement.

Milestone B

Nov 15/01: Boeing Successfully Completes Initial EA-18 Flight Demonstration.

Appendix A: The EA-18G and the Future Force Mix

F-22A & F/A-18E
(click to view full)

The question of exactly where and how the new Growlers will fit into the future force remains a live issue. There has been a serious absence of integrated direction and planning in the Pentagon over the last decade re: the future of airborne electronic warfare platforms, and a relatively low priority assigned to dedicated “Wild Weasel” (anti-SAM) or electronic attack capabilities. This has arguably taken place in an environment where current capabilities remained “good enough.” The result, however, may be a lack of a clear niche in terms of establishing the EA-18G’s mission breadth and concept of operations (CONOPS).

At the moment, the assumption must be that the EA-18G will do it all for the US military as a tactical strike jammer. Despite the existence of the turboprop-driven EC-130H Compass Call, wavering interest in EB-52 SOJ long-range bomber jammers for the USAF, and the potential to create USAF and US Marine electronic attack F-35 Lightning IIs and F-22A Raptors by leveraging their vast installed capabilities, the EA-18G Growler is currently slated to be the only dedicated aircraft in this niche.

While EA-18Gs will fit in very well with the USAF’s F-16s and F-15 Strike Eagles, and with their Super Hornet counterparts, operational challenges arise in pairing them with the stealthier F-35 Lightning II fighters slated for use by the USAF, Marines, and Navy; or with “Global Strike” teams of stealthy F-22As and B-2 bombers. Long-range aircraft like the B-52 or B-1 also present potential operational challenges, due to the EA-18G’s range.

As effective AWACS aerial surveillance aircraft and ever more sophisticated anti-aircraft missile systems being exported around the world, the answers to such challenges will matter. The Growlers aren’t scheduled to enter service until 2009, and the F-35 Lightning II may be delayed to 2015. The EA-18Gs will be invaluable during that 6 year interim and beyond, as a key accompaniment to the legacy force. By 2010, however, with the F-22 production line coasting to a close, Reagan-era aircraft beginning to retire, and a new set of partner aircraft and threat capabilities on the horizon, deeper thinking about the US military’s long-term airborne electronic attack capabilities and composition will be required.

The Growler squadrons will undoubtedly be necessary – but will they be enough?

Footnotes

EC-130H Compass Call
(click to view full)

(1) This doesn’t make the EA-6Bs the USA’s only electronic warfare aicraft. The US also has 13 “Compass Call” EC-130H Hercules variants, and these 4-engine turboprops offer long-endurance coverage that extends over very wide areas. Unlike an EA-6B or EA-18G, they won’t accompany strike packages directly. They do train to support tactical aircraft as they cross behind the forward edge of the battlespace (FEBA), while remaining behind the FEBA line themselves and blanketing a wide area with bogus primary targets, secondary targets, and targets of opportunity for enemy missiles and aircraft. They are also very well suited to providing persistent coverage for key convoys and other missions in-theater during “small wars” campaigns, and monitoring cell phone frequencies over wide areas.

The pending growth in stealthy and/or supercruising opposing fighters, coupled with longer-range air-to-air and ground-launched anti-aircraft missiles, is going to push FEBAs back sharply during state-to-state conflicts. That’s likely to magnify the strategic EW fleet’s role, in order to provide a protective cloak of misdirection that lets key strategic assets like aerial tankers and AWACS planes remain close enough to support allied fighters. The future strategic EW fleet will involve a tension between follow-on EC-130Js or similar aircraft to replace the EC-130H fleet, vs. a more distributed capability based on the USA’s Next-Generation Jammer, or similar pods that might equip most strategic assets sent near harm’s way. [return to article]

Additional Readings and Sources

A quick note to readers. The aircraft’s official program name is the EA-18G Growler. On carrier decks, however, it’s called a “Grizzly,” just as its F/A-18F counterpart is a “Rhino” rather than a Super Hornet. This makes it impossible to confuse similar sounding names, amidst the thunderous cacophony of a carrier deck.

Background: Core Platform

• DID FOCUS Article – The USA’s 2005-2009 Multi-Year Hornet Procurement Contract. It covers F/A-18 E/F Super Hornets, and a number of common equipment sets shared with the EA-18G. See also the follow-on Super Hornet Fighter Family MYP-III: 2010-2013 Contracts.

• Boeing – EA-18G Airborne Electronic Attack Aircraft. See also Boeing’s quick platform overview [PDF format].

• US Navy NAVAIR – EA-18G Growler

• SoldierTech, via WayBack – ON THE PROWL: The EA-18G Growler.

Background: Ancillary Technologies Radar & Jamming Technologies

• DID Spotlight Article – New APG-79 AESA Radars for Super Hornets. AESA radars can and will become part of the reception and jamming array.

• Raytheon – AN/APG-79 AESA Radar.

• US NAVAIR – ALQ-99 Tactical Jamming System.

• GlobalSecurity.org – AN/ALQ-99 Tactical Jamming System (TJS).

• Northrop Grumman – AN/ALQ-218 RWR/ESM/ELINT Sensor System.

• Avionics Magazine, via WayBack (March 2008) – Teeth of the Growler.

• Australian Air Power (updated 2005) – Anatomy of the TacJammer.

Other Important Technologies

• GE Engines – Model F414.

• Rockwell Collins, via SLDINFO – Tactical Targeting Network Technology and Connectivity [PDF].

• Boeing – Wings of change for F/A-18, EA-18G Programs. Boeing redesigned the wing frame to reduce part numbers, rework, and costs.

• Boeing – Ramping up for delivery. A video feature that looks at the final stages of integration and delivery for EA-18G Growler and Super Hornet jets.

Official Reports

• US GAO (Mar 29/12, #GAO-12-175) – Airborne Electronic Attack: Achieving Mission Objectives Depends on Overcoming Acquisition Challenges.

• US Congressional Research Service – Navy F/A-18E/F Super Hornet and EA-18G Growler Aircraft: Background and Issues for Congress.

News and Views

• The Diplomat (Aug 21/14) – The F-35 vs. The VHF Threat. Includes lessons from the shootdown of an American F-117 stealth fighter over Serbia, and the importance of working with jamming aircraft under NIFC-CA doctrine.

• Aviation Week (April 29/14) – Opinion: Jamming Is Needed Against Agile Radar Threat.

• Daily Beast (April 28/14) – New U.S. Stealth Jet Can’t Hide From Russian Radar. Stealth isn’t invisibility. It’s small. The radars in question reduce stealth and claw back some detection range, but the headline implies that they negate it.

• Government Technology (March 17/14) – Advances in Electronic Warfare Fly Under the Public’s Radar. Ties the EA-18G and its future into cyber-attacks as well.

• WIRED Danger Room (July 14/09) – U.S. Boosts Secretive Jammer Fleet. “Last week, the small [EC-130H] Compass Call detachment at Bagram airbase, in Afghanistan, marked its 2,000th Afghanistan mission…”

• ELP Defenc(s)e Blog (June 16/09) – EA-35 – Fantasy meets more fantasy. “The electrical power budget is lacking, the number of aircrew are lacking and the whole thing depends on the next-gen surviving the budget axe yet again… The [F-35’s] APG-81 and its kind will only be able to have an effect on threats within its field of view – the forward cone of the aircraft. It will only be able to do electronic attack within its frequency band (X-band).”

• WWWP, via WayBack (May 6/08) – Not much Grrrrrr! for the Growler. The ALQ-99 is its biggest weakness: expensive to maintain or upgrade, won’t last forever, and sharply curtails aircraft range when carried.

• US Air Force Association Magazine, via WayBack (May 18/07) – Resurrecting the Standoff Jammer. The B-52 SOJ may fly despite a previous program cancellation, thanks in part to development work done on the EA-18G. Problem: the B-52 SOJ won’t fly until 2015, 3 years after the EA-6B Prowlers are retired… and Navy officials say the EA-18G is not the perfect solution to completely fill that gap. See also this March 27/07 short report.

• DID (Jan 26/06) – Electronic Warfare Systems a $28 Bn Market Over Next Decade.

• US Navy, Navy Enterprise magazine (Nov 1/06) – PBL Drives F/A-18 E/F and EA-18G Maintenance Efficiency

• DID (Nov 22/05) – More F-18 Super Hornets Possible for USA, Exports.

• Aviation Week’s Aerospace Daily (Nov 9/05) – U.S. Navy Eyes New Jammer, Other Upgrades For EA-18G [dead link].

• DID (Oct 28/05) – Jamming With the B-52s. Re the EB-52 SOJ proposal, which was cut.

• DID (Oct 22/05) – Supersonic SIGINT: Will F-35, F-22 Also Play EW Role?

• Winds of Change.NET (Jan 16/03) – Interview with a Weasel Pilot.

Heer CH-53G
(click to view full)

From 1971-1975, 110 “CH-53G Mittlerer Transporthubschrauber” derivatives of the CH-53D Sea Stallions were built in Germany. Though they share the CH-53E’s ability to lift medium-heavy loads, including up to 2 of Germany’s Wiesel armored infantry support vehicles, the CH-53Gs lack the 3rd engine and additional features of the improved CH-53E Super Stallions that have been operated by the US Marine Corps since 1981. A 2002 decision set a future force goal of 80 CH-53G and upgraded CH-53GS helicopters in the German Army, via modernization and life extension projects.

Which leads us to the current modernization project, even as Germany and France prepare their European Heavy-Lift Helicopter project for introduction around 2020. That effort is also surrounded by more urgent modifications, including one set that aims to create longer-range combat search and rescue capabilities:

• The Conversions [updated]
  
• Contracts & Key Events [updated]
  

The Conversions

CH-53G delivers VBL
(click to view full)

Eurocopter’s German Army Helicopter Assistance Center in Donauworth already has an order to retrofit a total of 82 CH-53G/GS aircraft. They will completely replace these helicopters’ 35 year old electrical systems, while addressing airframe fatigue and extending the helicopters’ design life from 6,000 to 10,000 flight hours.

Measures to maintain airworthiness for Instrument Flight Rules (IFR) flight are also underway, and on Feb 14/07, Germany’s Federal Office for military technology and procurement (BWB) awarded EADS Eurocopter a EUR 520 million (currently about $685 million) contract to modernize 40 more of the 80 CH-53G/GS medium-heavy transport helicopters left in the army fleet. See Defense Aerospace’s BWB release translation. In May 2008, another 6 helicopters were added to that program.

The CH-53GA improvement package includes:

• Airframe fatigue modifications as part of the larger program
  
• New communications and data transmission that will allow joint missions with NH90 transport and Tiger scout/attack helicopters, and Satellite communications capabilities
  
• Improved navigation and a civilian-standard (IFR) flight management system
  
• A new automatic flight control system with 4-axis-autopilot and automatic hovering
  
• Forward-looking infrared to improve night mission options
  
• A new EloKa electronic warfare system for self-protection, and
  
• An additional internal fuel tank to extend range to 1,200 km

The modernization work will be complete in 2013, and is designed to ensure that the upgraded CH-53GAs will remain able to carry out their missions until the helicopters are replaced around 2030. The refurbished CH-53Gs will be operationally compatible with Germany’s new NH90 TTH troop transport and Tiger UHT/HAC attack helicopters, which will form the core of Germany’s future helicopter capabilities.

The 25 CH-53GS combat search and rescue aircraft, with their external fuel tanks, night vision fittings, defensive systems, and upgraded wiring/airframes, will also remain in service, alongside the CH-53GAs.

Contracts & Key Events

CH-53GA, 1st flight
(click to view full)

March 1/17: Airbus will start retrofitting 23 CH-53 helicopters for the German military this year, extending the fleet’s lifespan up to 2030. The company will replace obsolete parts with new components on the heavy transport helicopters and the whole project will be completed by 2022. Airbus Helicopters is currently responsible for supporting the air force’s fleet of 66 VFW-Sikorsky CH-53G/GS/GA Stallions at its site in Donauworth, southern Germany. However, with the German government looking to replace the older CH-53s with either Boeing’s CH-47F Chinook or Sikorsky’s CH-53K King Stallion, Airbus has been looking for ways to get involved with work share agreements with the two pitching firms.

Feb 10/10: First flight of a CH-53GA helicopter at Eurocopter’s Donauworth facility. Training flights are slated for early 2011, with the first deliveries of the retrofitted helicopters later in the same year. Eurocopter.

June 18/09: EADS subsidiary Eurocopter Deutschland GmbH announces a EUR 24.9 million contract from the German BWB defense procurement agency, to retrofit 25 CH53 GS/GE transport helicopters for “personnel recovery missions,” also known as combat search-and-rescue (CSAR). The USA has used a related CH-53 variant for CSAR missions: the MH-53J Pave Low, which completed its final combat mission in October 2008.

The German helicopters will receive a personnel locator system, a broadband radio unit, a forward-looking infrared system (FLIR) and connections to the internal and satellite communications systems. A new, removable mission-tactical workstation will roll into the cargo bay, with the controls for operating the additional sensor systems. Feeds will show up on 2 workstation displays, and on a mobile display for the cockpit crew.

Retrofit work will be carried out by Eurocopter Deutschland at its Donauworth plant or on Army bases. The first retrofitted helicopter is scheduled for delivery in early 2010, and all modifications are expected to be complete by the end of 2011.

CH-53G
(click to view full)

May 28/08: At the ILA International Aerospace Exhibition, the German Federal Office for Defence Technology and Procurement (BWB) and Eurocopter Deutschland GmbH signed a EUR 24 million ($36 million) contract to retrofit 6 more CH-53G transport helicopters with ballistic self protection and specific mission equipment. Eurocopter Deutschland was chosen as the main contractor for this task. but much of this order will be spent with “medium-sized German equipment manufacturers.”

The American Eurocopter release says that the German Army will take delivery of the helicopters between May and November 2009. It adds that:

“The order aims to close some of the operational gaps that currently exist in part of the German Army’s fleet of CH53G helicopters, in particular to the defensive mission equipment for protecting the crews and helicopters while flying missions.”

Nov 19/07: Some of Germany’s CH-53Gs are currently serving in Afghanistan as the only helicopter assets available to ISAF’s Regional Command North, which encompasses 9 of the easier Afghan provinces and contains Provincial Reconstruction Teams from Germany, Hungary, Norway and Sweden. Because they are ISAF RCN’s only helicopter assets, the CH-53Gs normally fly as a pair for mutual support, further limiting their reach.

At present, the 2 door-mounted 7.62mm machine guns mounted in the CH-53Gs aren’t considered powerful enough to deliver effective suppressive fire in an ambush situation. The Afghan helicopters will be among the first to receive an armament upgrade in 2008, which begins by adding a .50 caliber/ 12.7mm M3M machine gun. It’s also mounted on American CH-53s, where it’s known as the GAU-21. Phase 2 of the upgrade will also see the CH-53Gs’ door guns replaced with FN Herstal’s M3Ms. It isn’t much, but it’s something – and more than they currently have available. Aviation Week Ares.

CH-47F CAAS
(click to view full)

Aug 27/07: A Rockwell Collins release announces a contract from Eurocopter Deutschland to develop a German Avionics Management System (GAMS) for the German Army CH-53G helicopter, with the first 2 qualification/ verification aircraft scheduled for delivery in mid-2009. A majority of GAMS development and production will take place at Rockwell Collins Deutschland located in Heidelberg, Germany.

The GAMS will be based on the Rockwell Collins’ Common Avionics Architecture System (CAAS) developed for US Special Operations Command, and integrated into new regular Army platforms like the CH-47F Chinook and the ARH-70A. This system will provide a modular open system architecture (OSA) cockpit with mission management system that includes a flight management system, new navigation sensors, 5 displays, and a communication suite tailored and adapted specifically to German Army requirements.

Americas

• Raytheon has been contracted $128 million to support the USAF’s Mobile Sensors program. The four-year deal will see the company operate and maintain forward-deployed radars including the Cobra King used aboard the USNS Howard O. Lorenzen and the Gray Star radar used aboard the USNS Invincible. Both vessels are US Navy Missile Range Instrumentation Ships, which are designed to monitor missile launches and collect data.

• US President Donald Trump has announced hopes for an “historic” increase in defense spending, with plans to add $54 billion, or 10%, to current funds. Trump said the funds would go toward rebuilding a depleted military, and officials familiar with the proposal say there will be a focus on shipbuilding, military aircraft, and establishing “a more robust presence in key international waterways and choke points” such as the Strait of Hormuz and South China Sea. In order to pay for the increase, cuts have been proposed to US foreign aid, environmental protection, and education, and have already been met with opposition from both Republican and Democratic lawmakers as well as warnings from military officials.

• Israel Aerospace Industries’ (IAI) Elta North America subsidiary will provide counter-unmanned air system equipment to the USAF in a $15.5 million deal. The contract calls for the production and delivery of 21 MANPADS kits and the provision of training to the service. Last year, IAI unveiled the Drone Guard system which integrates a 3D radar and electro-optical (EO) sensors for detection and identification of UAS vehicles, plus jamming technology to disrupt its flight by either using a “send to home” function or causing the UAS to crash.

Europe

• Finland’s government has blocked the use of direct lobbying for the HX Fighter Replacement Program (HX-FRP) in an effort to add transparency and fairness to the competition. All the manufacturers entering the competition: Boeing (F/A-18), BAE Systems (Eurofighter Typhoon), Saab (JAS Gripen), Dassault Aviation (Rafale) and Lockheed Martin (F-35), have recruited Finnish lobbying and public relations agencies to represent their special interests, as well as contracting former senior Finnish military officers to help them develop sales strategies and add energy to their separate marketing efforts. The HX-FRP is estimated to be worth between $15 and 20 billion.

Asia Pacific

• Chinese media has reacted angrily to the Lotte Group and South Korea’s agreement to a land-swap that will allow for the deployment of the US Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system. The influential state-run tabloid the Global Times called for a boycott of Lotte in China and proposed “that Chinese society should coordinate voluntarily in expanding restrictions on South Korean cultural goods and entertainment exports to China, and block them when necessary.” Tourism to South Korea has also been affected with South Korean central bank figures citing a drop in the number of Chinese tourists visiting the tourist island of Jeju by 6.7% over the Lunar New Year holiday from last year, partly because of Beijing’s “anti-South Korea measures due to the THAAD deployment decision.”

• China has received their largest foreign order for the indigenous next-generation Wing Loong II UAV. However, the report did not disclose the identity of the buyer or the size of the order. Beijing has been driving to increase their market share of the military drone market at the expense of US and Israeli products, by offering lower-cost technology to customers and a willingness to sell to governments to which Western states will not sell. The Wing Loong II’s predecessor is marketed for $1 million, while the General Atomics MQ-9 Reaper, to which it has sometimes been compared, is priced at around $30 million.

• Australian firm Austal has announced the successful completion of the detailed design review of its $243 million Pacific Patrol Boat Replacement Project. The contract has tasked Austal with designing, producing, and sustaining 19 steel vessels that will then be gifted to 12 Pacific island nations as part of efforts to bolster regional maritime security. Austal hopes to begin construction for the ships in April 2017, and expects to begin deliveries between 2018 and 2023.

• Australia and Indonesia are to resume defense ties following a short suspension in cooperation. In January, Indonesian Armed Forces’ head of communications, Major General Wuryantyo, announced that the service was halting all activities with their Australian counterparts in response to an Indonesian officer taking offense to allegedly insulting reading materials found at an Australian military training facility. In addition to military exercises, the agreement facilitates defense-related trade and cooperation on counter-terrorism and maritime strategies.

Today’s Video

• Wing Loong UAV strike capabilities:

PB Lata

Australia’s Pacific Patrol Boat program solves a regional problem. Australia needs stability, but many of its neighbors are island sets with vast territories to cover, small populations, and small economies. Australia’s regional Defence Cooperation Program eventually provided 22 Patrol Boats to 12 different Pacific nations from 1987 – 1997. This includes all ongoing maintenance, logistics support and training, as well as Royal Australian Navy (RAN) specialists in the countries where the PPBs are based. Pacific nations, in turn, use them to support their local military, police and fisheries agencies.

It hasn’t always gone well…

Australian patrol boats were used in Papua New Guinea’s blockade of Bougainville during their civil war, and in 2000, the Solomon Islands boat was co–opted by Malaitan militias and used against Guadalcanal villages. Even so, the program’s overall benefits led Australia to begin a life-extension program in 2000, designed to extend Australia’s involvement to at least 2017 at a cost of A$ 350 million.

In 2014, the Australian government made another major commitment to the program, with a $2 billion proposal to build new boats.

Contracts & Key Events

Honaira

February 28/17: Australian firm Austal has announced the successful completion of the detailed design review of its $243 million Pacific Patrol Boat Replacement Project. The contract has tasked Austal with designing, producing, and sustaining 19 steel vessels that will then be gifted to 12 Pacific island nations as part of efforts to bolster regional maritime security. Austal hopes to begin construction for the ships in April 2017, and expects to begin deliveries between 2018 and 2023.

Dec 9/14: Tending the tender. Frazer-Nash, a British engineering consultancy which opened offices in Australia in 2010, announces that it was recently contracted by the Australian government to review the PPB-R’s high level technical specifications. The AUS $186K award was for a consulting engagement from July to November 2014. Meanwhile Power Initiatives, another consulting firm, won an AUS $243K study on October 7 to support the acquisition. These are small awards but they show that the tender is moving along. The effort is known as SEA3036.

Oct 17/14: Tender. Australia’s DMO published a notice saying that they intend to “release a Request for Tender (RFT) in Quarter 3 2014/2015 seeking a prime contractor for both the acquisition and support of a replacement fleet of Pacific Patrol Boats with the possibility that the support contract will include the provision of training services to the Pacific Island Countries.”

June 17/14: Announcement. Australia announces an A$ 594 million program to build “more than 20” purpose-designed, all-steel patrol boats for 13 PPB member countries: Cook Islands, Fiji, Kiribati, Republic of Marshall Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu, Vanuatu, and new member Timor-Leste.

Exact numbers and allocations will be discussed with the member states, and the boats themselves will be built under a competitive tender. Given that the current program involved 22 boats, a final tally of 22-25 boats is reasonable. The major cost driver will actually be an estimated A$ 1.38 billion for 30 years of through-life sustainment and advisory personnel costs. Sources: Australian DoD, “Minister for Foreign Affairs and Minister for Defence – Maritime security strengthened through Pacific Patrol Boat Program” | Fiji Times Online, “$2b for Pacific patrol boat program”.

March 6/14: Maritime security cooperation talks between the Federated States of Micronesia and Australia. Micronesia’s Secretary of Foreign Affairs Lorin S. Robert singled out the Pacific Patrol Boat program:

“We cannot overemphasize its importance and its utility not only in ensuring maritime surveillance and law enforcement but also in addressing emergency relief operations, apprehending and preventing sea-borne security threats and delivering needed government services to outlying remote islands in the federation…”

Unsurprisingly, the program’s future was a subject of their talks. At the time, the report said only that “The dialogue ended on a clear direction of what to achieve for 2014 and the long-term plan for the patrol boats.” Sources: Islands Business, “Australia, FSM discuss Pacific patrol boat program”.

Additional Readings

• Nautilus Institute – Pacific patrol boat program. Useful background 2000 – 2009.

• Australian National University – Australian member committee of the Council for Security Cooperation in the Asia Pacific (Aus-CSCAP).

Americas

• Lockheed Martin subsidiary Sikorsky and their Polish affiliate PZL Mielec are in the final stages of planning a tour of the M28 Skytruck short takeoff and landing aircraft. The tour will involve a transatlantic flight from Poland to the Caribbean and Latin America, with key stops in Trinidad & Tobago and 12 other cities in Brazil, Argentina, Ecuador, Colombia, Mexico and Panama. Built for transporting passengers and cargo, the M28 is being marketed for both civilian and military applications as a platform that can operate in extreme weather conditions and fly very different mission profiles.

• The USAF is expected to green light a study into a potential low-cost, light-attack fighter fleet to augment the A-10 Warthog and other close-air support (CAS) platforms in Iraq and Syria. The service will abandon plans for a more long-term replacement of the Warthog, which is expected to keep flying well into the 2020s. $100 million has already been earmarked for the study, scheduled to start in the Spring, and will look at the capabilities of the existing commercial designs such as Textron’s Scorpion light-attack fighter before calling out to industry.

• Leonardo and its Team Spartan partners have mounted a legal challenge with the Public Services and Procurement Canada (PSPC) over the decision to award Airbus the Fixed-Wing Search-and-Rescue (FWSAR) program. Leonardo’s C-27J Spartan lost out to the C295W, however Team Spartan stated that “the C295W is a slower aircraft and will have difficulty covering the required search-and-rescue regions in a way that is compliant with the request for proposal [RfP]. The inclusion of a 5th Main Operating Base in the Airbus proposal would be the only way to be compliant, and that was not submitted. As it stands, this will significantly increase operating times in the north of Canada.” The team also criticised the C295W’s ability “to safely perform all missions without the presence of an auxiliary power unit [APU]” because it would not have the necessary Extended Range Twin Engine Operations rating.

Africa

• The UN has been notified that the German military’s Heron I UAV has achieved Full Operational Capability in Mali. Deployment of the UAV in Mali is planned to initially last until February 2018 when German operators will undergo intelligence gathering and surveillance missions after taking over from the Netherlands last July. The aircraft has been leased from Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) and has undergone maintenance and overhaul work by Airbus Defence and Space Airborne Solutions GmbH (ADAS).

Europe

• Germany’s Jenoptik has been contracted $13.8 million to provide components supporting the Patriot air and missile defense system. The manufacturer has been a long-term supplier for the Patriot program, offering power-supply units and sub-systems for the platform. The latest deal follows on earlier contracts in 2016 and will see the company deliver electrical generators, spare parts packages and testing equipment.

Asia Pacific

• Lotte Group has signed an agreement with the South Korean government to move ahead with a land swap that will see the deployment of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defence (THAAD) system on a golf course owned by the firm. Seoul said that the system will be in place by the end of the year with a South Korean military official indicating that the system could be in place as early as August. While the reasoning for the system making its way to the Korean peninsula comes amid North Korean ballistic missile testing, the deployment has received protests from China, concerned over THAADs powerful radar penetrating Chinese territory.

• India’s Ministry of Defense has rejected a plan to procure British Advanced Hawk trainer aircraft. The decision was made after revelations that British engine-maker Rolls-Royce bribed officials of India’s state-owned Hindustan Aeronautics Limited between 2005 and 2009 to secure orders for engines to power the Hawk 132 advanced jet trainers destined for the Indian Air Force. An IAF official stated, “this is because the MoD does not want [to] give additional orders for engines to tainted Rolls-Royce for the Advanced Hawk program.” New Delhi had initially contracted BAE for 123 Hawk Mk-132 advanced jet trainers for the IAF and the Navy.

• It’s been reported that a North Korean spy agency has been illegally selling defense equipment through a front company out of offices in Malaysia. Glocom sells battlefield radio equipment in violation of United Nations sanctions and advertises over 30 radio systems for “military and paramilitary” organizations. Last July, an air shipment of North Korean military communications equipment, sent from China and bound for Eritrea, was intercepted in an unnamed country. The seized equipment included 45 boxes of battlefield radios and accessories labeled “Glocom”, short for Global Communications Co. Malaysia is one of few in the international community with strong ties with Pyongyang, but these have been put under strain in recent weeks following the assassination of the older half-brother of dictator Kim Jong-un by North Korean agents in Kuala Lumpur Airport.

Today’s Video

• PZL M28 demo:

UH-60 Blackhawk

Helicopter-maker Sikorsky Aircraft Corp. has agreed to acquire aircraft and helicopter maker PZL Mielec from the Polish government. Under the agreement Sikorsky will acquire a 100% stake in the 1,500-employee Mielec, Poland firm; a Reuters report placed the deal at 250 million zlotys (currently about $84.3 million). Polskie Zaklady Lotnicze (Polish Aviation Factory) Mielec is a government holding company and manufacturer of fixed-wing aircraft under the Ministry of Treasury’s ARP (Industrial Development Agency); the transaction is subject to regulatory approval and pre-closing conditions. Sikorsky’s parent company UTC and its subsidiaries currently employ more than 7,000 people in Poland in the aerospace and building systems industries.

Janes Defense Industry observes that:

M28 Skytruck
(click to view full)

“The US group’s relationship with PZL was cemented in September 2006 when the Mielec site was selected as a strategic partner and assembly center for the International Black Hawk programme… Sikorsky has previously said, however, that it will look to maintaining production of the PZL M28 Skytruck [link added] passenger, transport and surveillance aircraft at the site, improving it with new technologies and creating a stable and efficient customer support network worldwide.”

Sikorsky’s release confirms:

“In 2006 Sikorsky announced plans to develop an International BLACK HAWK helicopter variant for global customers that would be manufactured using a global supply chain. Upon completion of this acquisition Sikorsky plans to aggressively modernize the factory and tooling at PZL Mielec to support International BLACK HAWK production and continue the current capability for aircraft design, manufacture, flight test and delivery… PZL Mielec will form the foundation of Sikorsky’s European operations.”

Sikorsky is currently facing serious challenges within its American operations, following an unusual Level 3 warning/CAR from the US government concerning the UH-60 Black Hawk program.

Update

February 27/17: Lockheed Martin subsidiary Sikorsky and their Polish affiliate PZL Mielec are in the final stages of planning a tour of the M28 Skytruck short takeoff and landing aircraft. The tour will involve a transatlantic flight from Poland to the Caribbean and Latin America, with key stops in Trinidad & Tobago and 12 other cities in Brazil, Argentina, Ecuador, Colombia, Mexico and Panama. Built for transporting passengers and cargo, the M28 is being marketed for both civilian and military applications as a platform that can operate in extreme weather conditions and fly very different mission profiles.

Americas

• Embraer has announced that their KC-390 tanker transport aircraft has completed its first dry refueling contact. The milestone test was conducted by a Brazilian Air Force F-5 Tiger which successfully plugged into both refueling hoses on one of the KC-390 prototypes during a sortie near Santa Cruz airbase, Rio de Janeiro, on Feb. 19. Embraer is currently assembling the first product model of the aircraft and believes the aircraft could be a good fit for air arms in the Middle East because of its multi-role capability. The company plans to bring the aircraft back to the Middle East next summer after it has been displayed at the Paris Airshow.

• Orbital ATK has received international orders worth $600 million in the past three months for their medium-caliber cannons and related munitions, the company has revealed. The orders from multiple customers were primarily for MK44 and M230 link-fed Bushmaster Chain Guns. Speaking on the orders, Dan Olson, vice president and general manager for the company’s Armament Systems Division lauded the cannon’s easy integration for land, air, and sea applications and added that the strong sales “reflects our core mission to work together with our integrator partners as well as our allies to create and deliver superior armaments and services for those who defend their nation’s security.”

• The Amphibious Combat Vehicle 1.1 by Science Applications International Corporation and BAE Systems for the USMC has been unveiled for the first time. Developed to replace an aging fleet of amphibious assault vehicles, the Marines will receive a total of 16 vehicles with deliveries to commence in March. The earlier stages of the ACV 1.1 production effort were stalled by a contract protest by General Dynamics after the company was defeated in the Marine Corps’ bidding process.

Middle East & North Africa

• The UAE is looking to have its Pantsyr-S mobile air defense system upgraded. Speaking at IDEX 2017, Russia’s Industry and Trade Minister Denis Manturo said talks will be held “on modernizing this type of combat hardware and I hope that colleagues will increase the volume of orders for new modifications. So far, we’re talking about modernization with an option of deliveries.” Officials from Russia and the UAE signed contracts back in 2000 for the delivery of 50 Pantsyr-S1 systems.

• Its been reported that investors are betting heavily on Israeli defense and cyber-security firms benefitting from US defense spending plans under President Donald Trump. Companies such as Elbit Systems, Magal Security Systems and Check Point Software Technologies have all seen their share prices soar since Trump’s election in November 2016, and could benefit further from having their American subsidiaries incorporated in the US. One contentious project- the border wall along the Mexican border- could see firms like Magal, whose sensors and command and control systems help to secure airports, borders, power plants, seaports and prisons, provide its technology for the wall.

Africa

• Germany’s Stemme AG has reached an agreement with South Africa’s S-Plane Automation to integrate S-Plane subsystems into the Ecarys ES15 aircraft to create an Optionally Piloted Vehicle (OPV). Ecarys, a Stemme subsidiary that specialises in providing platforms for aerial surveillance, reconnaissance and scientific research missions, will be powered by S-Plane avionics and ground control station, and will combine the benefits of a manned aircraft with those of an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), allowing for a greater variety of mission requirements.

Europe

• Poland’s Defense Ministry has begun negotiations with three bidders for various helicopter mission requirements. Eight are being sought to fill an urgent need for special forces missions, while eight more are required to fill a 2019 naval requirement for anti-submarine warfare and maritime search and rescue operations. The urgent nature of the acquisitions will allow Warsaw to bypass certain lengthy procurement procedures and they are believed to be talking to Airbus Helicopters, Leonardo Helicopters and Sikorsky. Despite the apparent urgency, however, the government is still insisting on offset requirements, which must be an “integral part of the contract.”

• Often reserved exclusively for border surveillance and protection, conceptual documentary photographer Richard Mosse has used advanced new thermographic weapons and border imaging technology in order to document the ongoing refugee crisis unfolding in the Aegean Sea, off the coast of Libya, in Syria, the Sahara, the Persian Gulf, and other locations. Capable of capturing images beyond 30km, registering a heat signature of relative temperature difference, the camera identified only temperature resulting in bodies being whiter where they’re hotter. The installation is now on show in London’s Barbican Centre until April 23.

Asia Pacific

• Pakistan has contracted Leonardo to provide an undisclosed number of additional AgustaWestland AW139 helicopters. Deliveries of the utility and transport helicopters will begin in the middle of this year. Leonardo said that the purchase will expand Pakistan’s existing AW139 fleet, adding the rotorcraft’s high performance capabilities under extreme weather conditions make it a good fit for the country’s operational environment.

Today’s Video

• The ACV 1.1:

Americas

• Lockheed Martin’s second T-50A jet trainer has made its maiden flight. The trainer, based on the T-50, has been designed to bridge the gap between 4th- and 5th-generation fighter jet technology, and is being entered into the USAF’s T-X trainer competition to replace the service’s fleet of aging Northrop Grumman T-38 Talon aircraft. Lockheed is also offering the T-50A Ground-Based Training System, a simulator designed to provide immersive instruction for pilots prior to taking flight. If selected, pilots will use the trainer to be able to fly F-22 Raptor and F-35 Joint Strike Fighter.

• Lockheed Martin has announced two successful rounds of testing of the modernized Tactical Missile System for the US Army’s TACMS Service Life Extension program. The missiles were launched using a High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) at the White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico last December and earlier this month. Updates to the missile include an improved guidance and control system, new software, and an upgraded fuze.

Middle East & North Africa

• The UAE will become the first Middle East operator of Raytheon’s RIM-116 Rolling Airframe Missile (RAM) Block 2 close-in weapon system. While the number of systems ordered remains unknown, the systems will be installed on the Emirate’s Baynunah-class corvettes, of which six vessels will be manufactured. Improvements made on the system’s predecessor include kinematic and sensor upgrades to expand the missile’s engagement envelope in order to defeat more maneuverable and higher speed anti-ship cruise missiles. Furthermore, the Block 2 upgrade significantly expands the missile’s effective engagement envelope by introducing a larger dual-thrust rocket motor and independent four-canard control actuator system to increase effective range by about 50% and deliver a three-fold improvement in maneuverability.

• Russian firm Rostec has revealed that they have signed an initial agreement with the UAE to develop a fifth-generation joint light fighter. The announcement was made at this week’s IDEX 2017 defense expo as Russian industry seeks to expand defense exports in the region. Rostec CEO Sergey Chemezov said that development work on the new fighter could begin as early as next year , and it is believed that will be a variation of the MiG-29 fighter jet. The UAE is also potentially looking at purchasing the Sukhoi Su-35.

Europe

• Russia’s latest variant of the T-90 main battle tank, the T-90MS, is now ready for export. Speaking at IDEX 2017, General of the Army Alexei Maslov said that low-rate production of the vehicle had been established, serial production processes has been fine-tuned, and they are now ready to begin taking orders. Maslov added that the tank features a high degree of process automation. It can conduct self-testing and self-diagnostics and can be integrated with foreign components, such as communication systems and air-cooling units. A number of Middle East nations are in discussions.

• Finland has concluded negotiations with South Korea to purchase 48 used K-9 Thunder self-propelled howitzers. Valued at $155 million, deliveries are scheduled to begin next year and will continue through to 2024. The 155mm howitzer was tested by the Finnish Army in the Lapland region and is part of a partnership with Estonia to bulk buy the system as both government’s phase out their older Soviet artillery pieces.

Asia Pacific

• China’s state-run Xinhua news agency has warned South Korea’s Lotte Group of grave consequences if the conglomerate allows the South Korean government to deploy the Terminal High Altitude Area Defence (THAAD) system on part of a golf course it owns. The words of warning come shortly after Lotte reported that Chinese authorities halted work at a multi-billion-dollar real estate project following a fire inspection, indicating that Beijing was finding ways to retaliate at Seoul for going ahead with THAAD’s deployment, and includes reports of discriminating against some of their companies and cancelling performances by K-Pop artists without explanation. Over the weekend, a meeting between both nation’s foreign ministers saw China’s Wang Yi say that China understands South Korea’s need to protect their security but Seoul still needs to respect Beijing’s concerns about the deployment of THAAD.

• Nextar has inked contracts with the Indonesian government for the provision of 18 CAESAR wheeled self-propelled howitzer systems. The undisclosed value sale adds to 36 CAESAR systems ordered by Jakarta in 2012 and will include Nextar’s FINDART firing control system and CAESAR simulators. More than 50 artillery battalion auxiliary vehicles will be assembled in Indonesia by Nexter partner PT Pindad. Indonesia has become the first customer for the V-200 UAV, developed by the joint venture of Saab and UMS Aero.

Today’s Video

• The V-200 maritime UAV:

Americas

• US President Donald Trump took the opportunity to suggest a further F/A-18 Super Hornet order while attending a ceremony for Boeing’s inaugural 787-10 Dreamliner in South Carolina. While Trump has made no clear indication or commitment to the numbers that would be ordered, he said “we are looking seriously at a big order. The problem is that [Boeing CEO] Dennis [Muilenberg] is a very tough negotiator, but I think we may get there.” Trump also had kind words for the aging, Boeing-made, Air Force One. “That plane, as beautiful as it looks is 30 years old. What can look so beautiful at 30? An aeroplane,” he said.

Africa

• The Paramount Group is to begin production of the Mwari reconnaissance and strike aircraft this April. Based on the firm’s Advanced, High Performance, Reconnaissance, Light Aircraft (AHRLAC), up to 24 base aircraft will be made per year at their new facility at Wonderboom Airport, with the Mwari military aircraft and customized mission systems being integrated in a separate facility. The Mwari has been developed as part of a partnership with Boeing, which is developing their own integrated mission system that supports intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) and light strike capabilities. Mwari will also be showcased at this week’s IDEX defence exhibition in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates (UAE).

Middle East & North Africa

• The Israeli Air Force is to change their procedures related to asymmetric flight toward landing, following the crash of an F-16I fighter last October. One pilot was killed and the second crew member injured following a crash during landing after a mission against Hamas targets in the Gaza Strip. The new procedure will require pilots to drop unused weapons into the sea in order to stabilize their aircraft before landing.

• A Houthi rebel boat which attacked a Saudi Arabian frigate off the coast of Yemen in January was unmanned. Initially believed to have been a suicide mission, a US Navy official has revealed that the attack was instead carried out by an unmanned, remote-controlled craft filled with explosives. Vice Adm. Kevin Donegan, commander of the Bahrain-based US Fifth Fleet and head of US Naval Forces Central Command said that the boat was likely to have been either supplied by Iran, or at least have had Iranian production help. In the last year, US and coalition partners have intercepted four weapons shipments destined for the Houthis.

Europe

• Representatives from Rheinmetall and Raytheon have signed an agreement to cooperate on future defense projects. The memorandum of understanding signed outlines that the pact will facilitate deepened ties on missile defense systems and rocket-based solutions and the firms will also work closely on combat vehicles, weapons, ammunition, cyber defense and simulations. Popular products made by the German firm include several types of armored vehicles, various caliber gun systems, and air-defense gun systems.

• Northrop Grumman and the British RAF have successfully demonstrated communication system interoperability between an F-35 and Eurofighter Typhoon jets. The test was carried out during an MoD-funded two week trial, called Babel Fish III, and saw a Lockheed Martin F-35B communicate with a Typhoon fighter by translating its Multifunction Advanced Data Link messages into a Link 16 format. It was the first time a non-U.S. 5th- and 4th-generation aircraft shared MADL-delivered data. Northrop claimed that the test integrated its Freedom 550 technology into the F-35’s Airborne Gateway, which translates information from various sources to enhance situational awareness and interoperability.

Asia Pacific

• The state-owned manufacturer Russian Helicopters has said that they will commence deliveries of the KA-226T helicopter to the Indian military next year. 60 units will be delivered in Russia while a further 140 will be manufactured and assembled in India under an agreement signed last October. Russia expects sales of the advanced medium multirole Mi-171A2 to increase by at least 15% in 2017 with interest received from China, as well as from the Iranian oil and gas sector.

• Sri Lankan media reports that Pakistan has offered an F-7 fighter for free in return for each JF-17 that Sri Lanka purchases from Islamabad. The report claims that in its efforts to push a deal for the fighter, Pakistan has hired a Singapore-based consultancy group to assist with the lobbying, and that attempts have been made to pay kickbacks to Sri Lankan defense ministry officials as well as high-ranking military personnel.

Today’s Video

• More on the upcoming production of the Ahrlac/Mwari:

Americas

• The US subsidy of Elbit Systems, Elbit Systems of America, has been contracted by the US Army to provide and maintain mortar fire control systems for the service. An indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity contract, the maximum value of the deal could amount to $102 million and will be carried out over five years. The company said the shipment of mortar fire control systems — both mounted and dismounted — along with a lightweight handheld mortar ballistic computer, will improve the accuracy of mortars.

• US Army engineers from Watervliet Arsenal have designed a 105mm low blast overpressure muzzle brake (LBOP) for the service’s M119 howitzer. This is the first time that a large-caliber device of this kind has been developed for an existing gun platform. Army engineers have said that the LBOP will greatly increase the howitzers battlefield performance by radically reducing the weapon’s recoil and will reduce its noise output from “between 13 percent to 48 percent at various quadrant elevations and crew locations.”

• Lockheed Martin has been contracted by the DoD for Trident II ballistic fleet missile production and deployed system support. The $540 million contract modification supports production efforts for the US.Navy and the British Royal Navy, who deploy the missile on their Ohio-class and Vanguard-class submarines respectively. Lockheed Martin received roughly $453 million in weapon procurement funds from the Navy, plus an additional $50.7 million from the Royal Navy. The company also received $36 million in fiscal 2017 operation and maintenance funds, which are set to expire at the end of the current fiscal year.

Africa

• A planned sale of 12 Air Tractor aircraft to Kenya may be halted while allegations of faulty contracting practices, fraud, and unfair treatment are investigated. The US Defence Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) notified Congress of the possible $418 million sale in January, with L-3 Communications acting as the prime contractor. However, US Representative Ted Budd has now introduced a resolution to halt the Foreign Military Sale of the Air Tractors to Kenya saying, “the proposed sale would reward a $13 billion company [L-3] that has never produced airplanes of this type and would cost $283 million dollars more than a small business in North Carolina [Iomax], which is currently producing the needed aircraft.” Citing credible allegations of faulty contracting practices, fraud, and unfair treatment surrounding this sale, Budd said that Iomax claims it can fulfil the contract for $180 million, and it has 48 weaponized border patrol aircraft in service, as opposed to zero for L-3.

Europe

• After four years of investigation, Austria has filed a lawsuit against Airbus and the Eurofighter consortium over alleged deception and fraud linked to the 2003 purchase of Eurofighter jets. The investigation into the $2.1 billion deal by the Defense Ministry found that the defense groups gave misleading information on the purchase price, deliverability, and equipment of the jets, and are seeking damages that could amount to $1.17 billion. Vienna’s purchase of 15 fighters has faced scrutiny since the outset of the deal, with allegations that money was pocketed by politicians, civil servants, and others via brokers for side deals accompanying the purchase.

• On his first trip to Europe as US Secretary of Defense, Jim Mattis warned NATO allies that they must honor military spending targets to ensure that Washington does not “moderate” support for the alliance. Speaking in Brussels, Mattis also took aim at some NATO members for ignoring security threats, including those posed by the Kremlin, but the main thrust of his words was that allies should spend the magic 2% of economic output on defense. While some of Europe’s wealthier economies are preferring to spend taxes on education and welfare rather than defense, the former Eastern Bloc nations of the alliance are all on course toward reaching that magic number.

Asia Pacific

• Saab is continuing a defense partnership with Indian industry, offering a sensor package for India’s s LCA Tejas fighter. Included in the technology transfer is the company’s Airborne Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) fighter radar integrated with a compact electronic warfare suite. The package will also have synergies with the systems developed for the Gripen fighter, currently being pitched to New Delhi to fill their Navy requirement for carrier-based fighters.

• India is also being offered United Engine Corporation’s (UEC) AL-41F turbofan engine as part of upgrades connected to the Su-30MKI modernization proposal. The power plant is currently being installed on Russian Su-35 and PAK FA fighters, and is being called significantly superior to its predecessors. India’s air force has a fleet of over 200 Russia-designed Su-30MK aircraft built under license by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited, and is looking to have them overhauled to the MKI standard, making them 4++ generation aircraft.

Today’s Video

• Tactical Robotic’s Instant Eye: Now in use with the USMC:

Americas

• Boeing’s F/A-18 Super Hornet Block 3 proposal will focus on adding firepower and an increased ability to network with other carrier-borne aircraft, such as the F-35C, in the US Navy. The new plan moves away from the company’s 2013 Advanced Super Hornet concept which focused on stealth, instead optimizing the Navy’s integrated network architecture. Under this proposal, Boeing believes the Navy could detail a plan to procure the Super Hornet Block 3 as soon as the fiscal 2018 budget proposal, and a fiscal 2019 buy would mean Boeing could have aircraft off the production line in the early 2020s.

• The USMC has completed their training with Instant Eye, a new hand-held UAV designed to support reconnaissance missions in heavily clustered areas. Up to 300 marines from Task Force Southwest took part in the testing, and will now go on to train, advise and assist troops in Afghanistan later this spring. Unlike most UAVs, which require either a runway or throwing for launch, the Instant Eye’s rotary wings make it capable of taking off and landing at 90-degree angles, and it has been praised for its stealth and maneuverability.

• Textron has announced that their G-CLAW precision-guided glide missile has been successfully tested. The October 2016 test saw the munition track and engage static and moving targets, confirming its lethality. Designed for anti-personnel and anti-materiel strikes, the missile can be integrated with various aircraft, including the company’s Cessna Caravan and Textron AirLand Scorpion jet. The company is currently participating in this year’s Aero India Expo.

Middle East & North Africa

• Turkey’s Undersecretariat for Defence Industries (SSM) has awarded TUSAŞ Engine Industries (TEI) a contract to develop and manufacture a new indigenous turboshaft engine. The engine will be used in Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI) new clean-sheet T-625 utility helicopter, as well as the TAI T-129 ATAK attack helicopter and TAI Hürkuş turboprop-powered trainer and light combat aircraft. At present, Ankara depends on foreign turboshaft designs, such as the General Electric T700, which require them to secure licenses and approval for exports.

Europe

• A report by the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS), claiming that the UK government failed to reach the NATO target to spend 2% of national income on defense, has been rejected by the government. The report stated that spending had fallen to 1.98% in 2016 as a result of the British economy growing faster than the defence budget. Also found in the report was that only Greece and Estonia spent 2% or more, with the UK falling short by about $471 million. A government spokesperson dismissed the figures as being “wrong.”

Asia Pacific

• India’s Defense Minister has announced intentions to start a second production line for the HAL Tejas fighter within the next three months. Valued at $203.47 million, Manohar Parrikar said the line will produce 16 Tejas fighters for the Indian Air Force. News of the second production line points to the Indian government’s commitment to weaning itself from foreign defense products and encouraging indigenous industry, also known as “techno-nationalism.” This, however, hasn’t come without its problems after the Indian Navy rejected the navalized version of the Tejas for being too heavy.

• India’s Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) has claimed to be close to a deal to sell their short range surface-to-air Akash missile to Vietnam. The sale would be the first of its kind between the two countries, following a steadily growing defensive relationship that has seen New Delhi already help the Vietnamese military with training and patrol vessels, as well as the granting of a $500 million credit line in order to buy defense equipment. A further deepening of ties manifested in the missile sale is expected to draw criticism from China, currently locked in a territorial dispute with Hanoi in the South China Sea, as well as their own border dispute with India.

• A joint venture will be launched by MBDA Missile Systems and Larsen & Toubro in order to develop missile-based solutions for India’s armed forces. Called L&T MBDA Missile Systems Ltd, the venture will collaborate with the Defense Research and Development Organization to supply 5th-generation anti-tank guided missiles for coastal batteries and high-speed target drones. The partnership will see L&T own 51% of the joint venture’s shares, while MBDA will own the remaining 49% in accordance with the country’s regulations.

Today’s Video

• 2015 flight tests of Textron’s G-CLAW:

India’s new surface-to-air missile, the Akash, successfully struck an airborne target towed from a remote control aircraft in late November. The weapon is designed to hit aircraft up to 25 km away with a 55 kg warhead. Reuters: India Test-Fires Akash Missile

Update

February 15/2017: India’s Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) has claimed to be close to a deal to sell their short range surface-to-air Akash missile to Vietnam. The sale would be the first of its kind between the two countries, following a steadily growing defensive relationship that has seen New Delhi already help the Vietnamese military with training and patrol vessels, as well as the granting of a $500 million credit line in order to buy defense equipment. A further deepening of ties manifested in the missile sale is expected to draw criticism from China, currently locked in a territorial dispute with Hanoi in the South China Sea, as well as their own border dispute with India.

January 11/2017: Discussions are underway between the governments of India and Vietnam over the potential sale of India’s indigenous Akash air defense missile system. Hanoi is keen for negotiations to include a possible technology transfer, while New Delhi is leaning toward promoting an initial off-the-shelf purchase of the system prior to any discussions over technology transfer and joint production. Vietnam represents a growing market for Indian training and gear, with India already set to provide training to Vietnamese Su-30MKI fighter pilots, and they have already trained sailors on operating Kilo-class submarines.

T129 ATAK
(click to view full)

Turkey has been looking to modernize its attack helicopter fleet since the mid-1990s, but the process has mostly served as an object lesson in how not to buy defense equipment. This competition faced many difficulties; after numerous snafus, technology transfer and production issues, and canceled competitions, all 3 invited American manufacturers had abandoned the competition entirely.

Even the “final” round seemed imperiled, following reports of the Turkish military’s deep dissatisfaction with the choices. Nevertheless, the competition survived long enough to pick a winner, and signed contracts with AgustaWestland. But Turkey didn’t just buy helicopters. They bought the A129 model – lock, stock, and rotor.

T129 Program Snapshot: Feb. 2014

T129 Prototypes
(click to view full)

The contract for 51 T129B ATAK helicopters (+41 options) was signed on Sept 7/07, with Turkey and TAI acquiring all design and future production rights for their derivative of AgustaWestland’s A129i scout/attack helicopter. The total value isn’t clear, but AgustaWestland placed its own share at around EUR 1.2 billion. Deterioration of Turkey’s existing attack helicopter fleet, coupled with pressure from Kurdish insurgents, forced an emergency purchase of 9 “Early Delivery Helicopter” configuration T129As on Nov 8/10.

The T129 was scheduled for official delivery and acceptance in 2013, complete with Roketsan’s Cirit laser-guided 70mm rockets, but that hasn’t happened yet. Cirit rocket deliveries have begun, and a January 2014 statement by Turkey’s defense minister said that Turkey’s UMTAS anti-tank missile had also completed qualification trials, so that isn’t what’s holding up the program. The Turkish SSM’s program page states that: “Currently, qualification phase is in progress and production of 6(six) helicopters has been completed.”

ATAK is an attack helicopter, but it’s smaller and lighter than classic competitors like Russia’s Mi-28 or the USA’s AH-64 Apache. Other competitors include Bell’s AH-1Z Viper, Denel of South Africa’s AH-2 Rooivalk, Eurocopter’s EC665 Tiger, and Russian Mi-35M /Ka-52 offerings. The T129 has started flying in foreign air shows, and is being marketed abroad, but doesn’t have any wins or contracts yet beyond Turkey.

Program and Finalists Beginning With An Own Goal in Mind

Rooivalk & Gripen
(click to view full)

At present, Turkey’s attack helicopter fleet is made of its 6 remaining AH-1W Super Cobra attack helicopters, and about 20-23 earlier model AH-1 Cobras. The earlier model Cobras lack some useful modern capabilities. Worse, low numbers and age-related availability issues are straining the fleet’s capacity, making operations in Turkey and Iraq’s Kurdish regions more difficult.

The new AH-1Z had come out on top in a previous Turkish competition, but 4 years of negotiations with Bell Helicopter to jointly produce the AH-1Z Super Cobra failed in 2004. Major price differences and licensing demands sank the deal.

The Turkish SSM responded by opening a fresh international competition in February 2005, but did so in a way that magnified the problems again rather than solving them. They were immediately confronted by serious objections from global manufacturers, which forced the SSM to change the RFP in May 2005. Even then, Bell Helicopter and Boeing looked at Turkish demands, and dropped out.

Defense Minister Gonul made the Turkish perspective clear long ago when he noted that “the goal is to co-produce the helicopters, not to buy them off the shelf.” The Houston Chronicle reported that bidding rules also included full access to the aircraft’s specific software codes, and a written guarantee from the provider’s government that there would be no political obstacles to Turkish exports of the licensed helicopters.

T129: The Program

A129 pair
(click to view full)

In July 2006, Turkish Defense Minister Vecdi Gonul announced that Turkey would continue talks with Denel of South Africa (AH-2A Rooivalk) and Agusta Aerospace of Italy (A129 International) for Turkey’s Land Forces Command’s Tactical Reconnaissance & Attack Helicopter (ATAK) Project. The Franco-German EADS Eurocopter (Tiger) and Kamov of Russia (Ka-50-2 Erdogan, with IAI) were eliminated.

Neither of the finalists had been exported before, and at the time, they were competing for co-production of 30 helicopters and options for 20 more. That projected $1.6 billion contract was still well short of the 91 attack helicopters originally called for when the program began, but it was progress. In the end, Turkey found a way to bridge the gap. A contract was signed in September 2007 for 51 “T129 ATAK” helicopters from AgustaWestland, plus another 41 on option under the same terms. Some of those options were exercised in 2010, when Turkey ordered 9 “Early Delivery Helicopter” T129s to reinforce its dwindling attack helicopter fleet.

The T129A EDH carries the nose-mounted 20mm cannon turret with 500 rounds, and 4 pylons for unguided rockets. The T129B version will add Roketsan’s MIZRAK (formerly UMTAS) missiles and CIRIT 70 mm Laser Guided Rockets, and Raytheon’s FIM-92 Stinger air-to-air missiles.

Turkish Aerospace Industries is the T129’s prime contractor. Aselsan and AgustaWestland will be the subcontractors, under a collaboration agreement in which TAI shares ownership of intellectual property rights for the new A129 configuration with AgustaWestland. TAI will also become the sole source for the production of the whole fuselage, including final assembly and flight operations, and will be responsible for marketing the “T-129 attack helicopters” to the world.

As of February 2014, initial inquiries have reportedly been received from Azerbaijan, Jordan, and Pakistan. There are less conclusive reports that Malaysia may be interested. Confirmed export losses include a public competition in South Korea, won by Boeing’s AH-64E Apache Guardian.

T129: The Winner

A129-I improvements
(click to view full)

The A129 Mangusta (trans. “Mongoose”) entered service with the Italian Army in 1989; AgustaWestland offered it as a base for the Franco-German Tiger partnership, but cooperation was declined in favor of a Franco-German R&D program. The current Italian service inventory is 60 machines, 15 of which are the more modern A129 International/AW129 standard with uprated engines (LHTEC replaced earlier Rolls Royce Gem) and rotors (5-bladed vs. 4), plus new weapons, avionics, and defensive systems. The other 45 Italian A129 CBT helicopters received rotor, transmission, weapon, defensive, and electronics upgrades under a multi-year contract signed in 2002.

This A129 family is notable for their low frontal profile, and offer a good mix of surveillance, gun and missile capabilities. A mast-mounted sight offers the potential for further improvements, but the type had not been successful in export competitions before the 2007 Turkish order. The A129 has seen service with Italian forces in Afghanistan, Angola, Macedonia, Somalia, and Iraq.

Like the A129I, the Turkish T129s are powered by 2 Rolls Royce/ Honeywell LHTEC CTS800-4A turboshafts, each generating 1,361 shp. They can drive the helicopter to speeds of 269 kph/ 145 kts, and allow hover out of ground effect to 10,000 feet. Endurance is about 3 hours, with a maximum range of 561 km/ 303 nm.

The Turkish ASELFLIR 300T will replace the AW129’s Honeywell surveillance and targeting systems. The helicopter always has its 3-barreled 20mm chin turret, and certified weapons for its 4 side pylons include its 12.7mm machine gun pods, 70mm unguided Hydra and guided Cirit rockets, anti-tank missiles (TOW, Spike-ER, Hellfire), and Air-to-Air Missiles (Stinger, Mistral). Turkey is also working to develop and then certify its own IIR-guided UMTAS anti-tank missile for the T129.

Contracts & Key Events 2013 – 2017

Possible interest in Brazil, Pakistan; Loss in South Korea.

T129 ATAK
(click to view full)

February 15/17: Turkey’s Undersecretariat for Defence Industries (SSM) has awarded TUSAŞ Engine Industries (TEI) a contract to develop and manufacture a new indigenous turboshaft engine. The engine will be used in Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI) new clean-sheet T-625 utility helicopter, as well as the TAI T-129 ATAK attack helicopter and TAI Hürkuş turboprop-powered trainer and light combat aircraft. At present, Ankara depends on foreign turboshaft designs, such as the General Electric T700, which require them to secure licenses and approval for exports.

June 8/16: The newly appointed defense minister of Turkey, Fikri Isik and his Pakistani counterpart met to discuss increasing bilateral defense ties. Among last Friday’s discussions was the potential sale of Turkish developed T129 attack helicopters. Other potential deals include the purchase by Turkey of the Pakistani-made Super Mushshak basic trainer aircraft.

April 23/14: Delivery. Turkey formally delivers the first 9 T129 basic configuration models (q.v. Nov 8/10) to the Turkish armed forces.

It’s Turkey’s National Sovereignty Day and Children’s Day, when children take seats in Parliament and symbolically govern the country for a day. Erm… perhaps delivering these toys the day after might be wise? Just a suggestion. Sources: TAI, “Ulusal Egemenlik Bayrami’nda Egemen Urunumuz T129 ATAK’i Teslim Ettik…” | AgustaWestland, “Turkish Armed Forces Takes Delivery of T129 ATAK Helicopter”.

T129 basic models delivered

Feb 18/14: Industrial. Turkey’s SSM procurement agency announces the launch of a Rotor Technology Center (DKTM) to perform R&D, and train Turkish personnel in this area of aerospace technology.

It’s part of a June 2013 contract with TAI to create the country’s first indigenous helicopter, a 5-tonne twin-engine replacement for Turkey’s existing UH-1 Huey fleet. Even so, its scope ensures that it will affect the T129 platform going forward. Sources: Hurriyet Daily News, “Turkey gears up efforts for indigenous rotor production”.

Jan 29/14: Budget. Turkey’s 2014 defense budget projects a 7% increase, and Defence Turkey reports on aspects related to the T129:

“National Defence Minister Ismet Yilmaz explained that within the scope of Attack Tactical Reconnaissance Helicopter Project /T129, out of 13 Early Delivery Helicopters (EDH) that are to be purchased within the context of urgent need, 4 of them were completely produced and stated that their acceptance procedure continued…. Yilmaz mentioned that final qualification phase of the missiles developed as one of the main ammunitions of T-129 helicopter within the scope of Long-Range Antitank Missile Project was reached and added that being the modern tanks’ nightmare around the World with its armour piercing cap, UMTAS would contribute greatly to TSK’s firepower.”

Sources: Defence Turkey, “Turkey’s Defence Budget of 2014”.

Jan 16/14: Marketing. The T129 has begun showing up at air shows and performing flight demonstrations. The Bahrain International Air Show 2014 (BIAS) featured a flight demonstration, with a clear focus on the Mideast market. Arab states remain somewhat wary of Turkey, and many of them (Egypt, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, UAE) have opted for the heavier AH-64 Apache instead, but opportunities remain. Bahrain, for example, operates older AI-1E/P Cobras, and GCC states Qatar and Oman don’t have any dedicated scout/attack helicopters in their force. These shows also reach beyond the Middle East, drawing interest and attendance from potential customers like Pakistan (q.v. Sept 16/13) and Malaysia (q.v. July 30/13). Sources: TAI, “TAI’s T129 ATAK Helicopter Performs Flight Demonstration at BIAS 2014”.

Sept 16/13: Pakistan. Pakistan is running short on AH-1Fs, in part because the money to maintain them has been funneled into various private pockets. A long-term improvement in corruption is unlikely under current leadership, and the Pakistani economy is weak, but the country needs attack helicopters.

Pakistan reportedly expressed interest in the T129 several years ago (q.v. Oct 1/09), but those talks have reportedly gained force. Any breakthrough would involve a Memorandum of Understanding, which would allow Pakistani officials and PAC engineers to discuss the mechanics and logistics of joint production.

Part of those mechanics may involve export clearance from the USA, as the T129’s LHTEC 800 engines are a joint product of Rolls Royce and Honeywell. The USA could use delays or even refusal as an underhanded tactic, and they do have a record of behaving this way in other competitions. On the other hand, angering both Turkey and Pakistan might be a higher diplomatic price than they’re prepared to pay, just to push Bell Helicopter’s AH-1Z. Rather than using export denial, the USA may have a better lever via military aid financing, which could be used to buy made-in-America AH-1Zs, but not T129s. If Turkey can offer good financing terms of its own, on the other hand, local anti-American sentiment and Turkey’s perceived political reliability may offer them some levers, too. Sources: Pakistan’s The National, “Pak-Turkish pact on combat copters on cards” | Defense News, “Turkey Pushes T-129 Gunships for Pakistan, but US Could Scupper Deal” | iHLS, “Turkey Angers the U.S. by Offering Helicopters to Pakistan”.

Aug 22/13: Brazil. Turkey and Brazil are forming a number of working groups on defense cooperation. Their release specifically mentions that the aeronautics working group will be studying the assembly of Turkish helicopters in Brazil. The T129 is the only candidate that fits. Note that Brazil already fields a handful of Russian Mi-35M attack helicopters, with a limited secondary capability as transports. On the other hand, they could definitely use more armed helicopters, and local production appeals. AgustaWestland just expanded its Brazilian facilities in Sao Paulo, with enough space to add a production line.

The flip side is that Turkey would be studying the assembly of Brazilian aircraft in Turkey. Embraer offers the Super Tucano, a number of military aircraft based on their ERJ 145 regional jetliner, and the KC-390 medium transport. Turkey is committed to buy 10 A400M medium transports, but they have 32 C160 and C-130 medium transports to replace, so a future KC-390 buy is possible. Other possibilities are more restricted, as Turkey already has projects or orders in those categories: KAI’s KT-1 for training, Boeing’s E-737 AWACS for aerial surveillance, and Airbus ATR-72s and CN-235s for maritime patrol. Sources: Brazil MdD [in Portuguese] | AgustaWestland Aug 14/13 release.

July 30/13: Malaysia. Malaysia hasn’t made a fighter decision as planned, and may even be backing away from a new fighter order altogether. During a press conference with French Prime Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault, Malaysia’s Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak referred to a recent incursion in Sabah, Borneo by Philippine terrorists. He was quoted in the Malaysia Star:

“We have other hardware being considered, including the attack helicopter, and weapons of that nature. We are looking at some of the requirements, not just the multi-role combat aircraft…”

April 17/13: South Korea loss. South Korea announces that the AH-64E Apache Guardian has beaten the AH-1Z Viper and T129 ATAK helicopters for a 1.8 trillion won ($1.6 billion), 36-machine order. The attack helicopter decision had been due in October 2012, but was put on hold until after the elections. The ROK hopes to have the helicopters between 2016 and 2018.

The AH-1Z would have represented continuity with the ROK’s existing AH-1S fleet, and a September 2012 DSCA export request was already approved. The T129 would have been a reciprocal deal with a major arms export customer (vid. Aug 9/10, but Turkey has also bought South Korea trainers, tanks & artillery). A DAPA official is quoted as saying that the AH-64E’s superior target acquisition capability, power, and weapons load gave it the edge, and so South Korea will begin the acquisition process. The Apache is certainly much more heavily armored than its counterparts, and its combination of modernized optics and MMW radar or UAV control does give it an edge in target acquisition. Sources: Korea Herald, “Seoul to purchase 36 Apache helicopters” | Reuters, “South Korea to buy $1.6 billion worth of Boeing helicopters”.

Loss in South Korea

2010 – 2012

9 “basic” T129s as interim buy; AH-1Ws as interim buy; TopOwl picked as HMD; Prototype crash; Competing in South Korea.

A129 International
(click to view larger)

Dec 11/12: South Korea. The ROK government’s decision to delay their attack helicopter decision until after the Dec 19/12 elections is seen as a positive development for the T129. Its problem is that the country’s military is widely believed to prefer the AH-64 Apache. If true, TAI’s challenge is to find other decision centers within the government who might be swayed toward their product. Turkish Daily.

July 10/12: Weapons. Hurriyet says that deliveries of Turkey’s 70mm laser-guided Cirit rocket have begun. The Cirit is expected to be an important part of the T129s arsenal:

“Turkey’s missile maker Roketsan has delivered 100 laser-guided 70 mm rocket systems to the Turkish military, a defense source has told the Hürriyet Daily News.”

May 2012: South Korea. The T129 is shortlisted alongside Bell Helicopter’s AH-1Z Viper and Boeing’s AH-64D Apache Block III for South Korea’s attack helicopter competition. A decision is expected by October 2012. Source.

March 27/12: Turkey’s SSM procurement agency has unveiled their new 5-year strategic plan, with timetables for key acquisitions. The plan commits to begin delivery of the T129 ATAK by 2013, and CIRIT laser-guided 70mm rockets for the ATAKs by 2016. Hurriyet Daily News.

Oct 31/11: AH-1W stopgap. With Turkey’s fleet of serviceable AH-1F/W Cobra attack helicopters dwindling, demands from the Army for helicopters to use against the Marxist Kurdish PKK in Turkey and Iraq, and no arrival of even base configuration T129s before mid-2012, Turkey launches an official request [PDF] for 3 AH-1W Super Cobra attack helicopters from US Marine Corps stocks. They’ll also get 7 T700-GE-401 engines (6 installed/ 1 spare), plus inspections and modifications, spare and repair parts, personnel training and training equipment, publications and technical documentation, and U.S. Government and contractor support.

The estimated cost is $111 million, and all sale proceeds will be reprogrammed into the USMC’s H-1 helicopter upgrade program to build UH-1Y Venom armed utility and AH-1Z Viper attack helicopters. Implementation of this proposed sale will require the assignment of approximately 5 contractor representatives to Turkey for a period of up to 90 days, for differences training between U.S. and Turkish AH-1Ws helicopters. See also Oct 26/09.

DSCA request: 3 AH-1W Super Cobras

Nov 8/10: AgustaWestland announces a EUR 150 million contract for 9 “basic configuration”/ “partially armed” T129 combat helicopters, plus spare parts. The releases do not say, but it’s reasonable to expect only base AW129 capabilities, without provisions for new Turkish weapons like UMTAS. The stopgap attack helicopters will be assembled by Turkish Aerospace Industries, Inc. (TAI) and delivered by mid 2012, one year earlier than the 51 T129s already on order.

AgustaWestland says that the T129 program remains on schedule with both the System Requirements Review and Preliminary Design Review completed in 2009. The Critical Design Review will be completed shortly. Prototypes are being assembled in both Italy and Turkey, and they expect to start the flight test program in January 2011. AgustaWestland | Hurriyet Daily News.

Emergency buy: 9 T129 “basic configuration”

Aug 9/10: Korean Quid Pro Quo? DAPA aircraft programs director Maj. Gen. Choi Cha-kyu says that Turkey is actively considering a partner role in the K-FX fighter program as their indigenous fighter design project. Turkey would bear the same 20% project share as Indonesia if they come on board, with South Korea responsible for 60%. There are reports that in return, Turkey wants South Korea to pick the T129 ATAK helicopter as their future AH-X heavy attack helicopter.

Turkey eventually seemed to go their own way on their indigenous future fighter, and T129 lost South Korea’s attack helicopter competition. Korea Times | Hurriyet.

June 16/10: A129 interim. Turkey has launched “urgent” talks with AgustaWestland for 9 A129 Mangusta attack helicopters, as a stopgap measure to keep their attack helicopter fleet viable until 2014, when the first T129s are supposed to become available. The parties are expected to meet over the next few weeks to negotiate a price and delivery schedule, but reports say that the Turks are looking for deliveries within the next 2 years.

The Kurdish separatist PKK has stepped up attacks on Turkish targets this spring, and the military is finding existing resources inadequate. With Israeli heavy UAV options in question, attack helicopters become a very important military options in the mountainous terrain of Kurdistan and Iraq. Unfortunately, Turkey’s byzantine and bare-knuckled procurement process has delayed their efforts, leading to the current gap. See also Oct 26/09 entry.

Similar delays continue to hold up Turkey’s Utility Helicopter replacement program, which is a competition between AgustaWestland (TUHP 149) and Sikorsky (S-70i). Hurriyet | Defense News.

April 14/10: TopOwl for HMD. Turkey’s SSM procurement agency picks Thales as its helmet mounted display system partner. Their TopOwl HMDS already equips the US Marines’ new UH-1Y Venom utility and AH-1Z Viper attack helicopters, Eurocopter’s Tiger scout/attack helicopter, and the NH90 medium utility helicopter. Like TopOwl, Turkey’s derivative Helmet Integrated Cueing System (HICS) will incorporate latest-generation image intensifier tubes for tactical night flight; plus a wide-field (40°) binocular cueing system visor that will display flight and targeting data, symbology, and images from other sensors.

More precisely, Turkey picked state-owned Aselsan, who then picked Thales. Thales’ main competitor is Israel’s Elbit Systems, whose offerings range from the comparable JEDEYE to the less sophisticated ANVIS/HUD and IHADDS for AH-64 Apaches. Thales Group’s release quotes Aselsan Director of Airborne and Naval Programmes Metin Sancar:

“After a competitive process with the major suppliers of helmet mounted sights for helicopters, Aselsan was selected in partnership with Thales… more than 700 [TopOwl] units have been delivered to date. Turkish pilots who evaluated the system in flight were impressed by the comfort of the helmet system and fully appreciated the benefits of visor projection technology, and this played a role in the procurement decision.”

March 19/10: Turkey’s T129 prototype crash-lands near Verbania in Italy. The 2 Italian pilots were injured, but their condition is not life-threatening. In a statement, TAI says that: “The accident is not expected to affect the ATAK program’s development timetable.” Defense News.

Crash

2006 – 2009

Competition finally ends, with T129 as the winner; 1st flight; Interest from Jordan & Pakistan; Turkey needs a stopgap.

AH-1W firing TOW
(click to view full)

Oct 26/09: Interim AH-1Ws. Turkey reportedly has just 6 of its original 12 AH-1W Super Cobra attack helicopters in service, to accompany an estimated 23 earlier-model AH-1F Cobras. An interim attack helicopter buy was deemed necessary until the T129s are operational. A Sunday Zaman report quotes US Ambassador to Turkey James Jeffrey, who said that the USA has agreed to sell Turkey an unannounced number of AH-1W attack helicopters from the US Marines’ inventory. It adds that:

“Early this year Turkey sought the purchase of about 10 Cobra helicopters estimated to cost about $1.5 billion from the US to meet its stop-gap measures in the fight against the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK). Upon the US decision to sell an unidentified number of Cobras to Turkey, Sunday’s Zaman learned that Turkey has abandoned talks with Russia on the purchase of several Mi-28 helicopters.”

Oct 1/09: Export interest & Dates. Flight International reports that Jordan and Pakistan have both asked about the T129.

Within the program, AgustaWestland’s CEO says the T129 is on time and on cost. Turkey Unique Configuration prototype kits are scheduled for delivery to TAI in April and August 2010 for assembly and trials. Critical Design Reviews are scheduled for spring 2010, and handover to Turkey is scheduled for fall 2013. Sources: Flight International, “ATAK team outlines progress of Turkey’s T129 project, after first flight success”.

Sept 28/09: 1st flight. AgustaWestland announces the maiden flight of the T129 P1 prototype, during an official ceremony held at AgustaWestland facilities in Vergiate, Italy.

1st flight

June 1/09: Arabian Aerospace points out the secondary commercial benefits of AgustaWestland’s deal with Turkey:

“AgustaWestland’s opening of a regional business headquarters in Turkey in 2008 signified its intention to increase its presence in the Middle East market. The Ankara base is seen as an ideal platform to build on the company’s growing share of the market in Turkey and will also manage the Tactical Reconnaissance and Attack (ATAK) programme… Elsewhere, the AW139 is enjoying success in the region.”

June 24/08: Formal effect. The agreement between AgustaWestland and TAI formally comes into effect. The program is expected to last for 114 months (9.5 years), and the 1st “T129” attack helicopter will be delivered to Turkey in June 2013. Other international orders may follow, if TAI can win them. AgustaWestland release:

“AgustaWestland is pleased to announce that the contracts of the Turkish Attack and Reconnaissance Helicopter (ATAK) Program have become effective and the program has officially started at the ceremony held at the facilities of the Turkish Aerospace Industries, Inc. (TAI) today… having the right to use and administer the intellectual property of the T129 ATAK Helicopter, TAI shall be the sole source for its work share under the ATAK program for all potential future worldwide sales of the T129 ATAK Helicopter. The Collaboration Agreement also provides TAI with the right to sell and market the T129 ATAK Helicopter worldwide.”

Sept 7/07: The Turkish SSM procurement agency announces the signing of industrial arrangements contracts with AgustaWestland:

“Within the framework of ATAK Program as per Defence Industry Executive Committee Decree dated 30th of March 2007, Contracts between SSM, TUSAS (TAI), AGUSTAWESTLAND and ASELSAN have been signed on 7th of September, 2007. Official signature ceremony will be held soon.”

Some unresolved questions remained, but both were cleared up by the Sept 17/07 TAI release. Defense-Aerospace reports that Turkey will take over the entire A129 Mangusta program, and transfer the production line to Turkish Aerospace Industries’ facility outside Ankara. This was confirmed.

The second question concerns the number of helicopters, which has now been resolved. Previous reports in the Turkish press gave figures of 30 helicopters + 20 optional, a far cry from the 91 originally desired. Finmeccanica’s Sept 11/07 announcement [PDF], set the number at 51 A129 helicopters, with an estimated value for AgustaWestland of around EUR 1.2 billion, and no mention of options. TAI’s Sept 17/07 release, however, clearly notes the deal’s structure of 51 helicopters + 41 options, for a total of 92.

T129 contract: 51 + 41 options

March 30/07: A129 picked. Finmeccanica subsidiary AgustaWestland anounces:

“The Turkish Executive Committee has announced today that it is to start contract negotiations with AgustaWestland, in partnership with Turkish Aviation Industry (TAI), for the Tactical Reconnaissance and Attack Helicopter – ATAK Project – for the Turkish Land Forces Command. The estimated value of this programme to AgustaWestland is in excess of 1.2 billion EURO based on the requirement for 51 A129 helicopters.” [DID: then about $1.6 billion]

“…The AgustaWestland proposal includes significant industrial benefits for Turkey. Several leading Turkish aerospace companies, such as TAI and Aselsan, will be involved in the programme. Final assembly, delivery and acceptance of the aircraft will also take place in Turkey. The A129 is a multi-role combat helicopter designed for day/night and adverse weather combat operations. The A129, powered by two LHTEC T800 turboshaft engines, has a state-of-the-art cockpit…”

Note that the release merely announces the beginning of negotiations. While “preferred source” negotiations usually have a strong record of success, this is the exact stage in the process where previous acquisition attempts have failed. The Turkish News quoted an industry source some time ago, who reminded onlookers that:

“Our procurement history is full of illusions of victory… When a bidder wins a contract it thinks the game is over. It may not be so.”

Dec 2/06: Turkish Daily News reports that the competition is stalled, and will either be formally canceled or simply frozen into immobility:

“Under pressure from the end-user, procurement authorities will likely cancel the existing competition, defense officials admit. “None of the short-listed solutions fully satisfies the end-user,” said one official. “We may renew the competition, or go for an off-the-shelf purchase. That’s unknown for the moment…”

“Turkey’s top governmental panel that oversees procurement decisions will convene on Dec. 12 to discuss the attack helicopter program along with others, most notably a decision to opt for the U.S.-led Joint Strike Fighter F-35 fighter aircraft… The attack helicopter program will be discussed, probably with no full agreement. “There may or may not be an official announcement for the cancellation of the current bidding process,” a procurement official familiar with the program said. “But in any case it would not be realistic to expect any progress, with the military deeply dissatisfied over the existing bids.” The Defense Industry Executive Committee is chaired by Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, and includes Defense Minister Vecdi Gonul, Chief of General Staff Gen. Yasar Buyukanıt and head of the [SSM] procurement office… Murad Bayar.”

Appendix A: “I Coulda Been A Contenda…”

Ka-50 “Black Shark”
(click to view full)

Boeing (AH-64 Apache), Bell Textron (AH-1Z Viper, who won the previous Turkish competition in 2004 until the deal fell through), and Sikorsky (S-70 Strikehawk variant of the Black Hawk utility helicopter in service with the Turkish Armed Forces) were uninterested in the production arrangement described above, and could not offer such guarantees under US export control arrangements; as such, none of them bid this round by the Dec. 5, 2005 bidding deadline.

EADS Eurocopter’s Tiger and Kamov/IAI’s KA-50/KA-52 were reportedly eliminated when the Turkish government chose the two lowest-cost bidders.

AH-2A Rooivalk
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The Denel Rooivalk (trans. “Red Hawk,” or more properly “Kestrel”) is a heavier attack helicopter, with fewer integrated weapons systems than the A129. One of its key features is that it has been designed to operate in very basic surroundings for prolonged periods without sophisticated support. At present, the only Rooivalks produced since the helicopter’s inauguration in 1999 have been 12 machines for the South African Defense Forces. The Malaysian Defence Force supposedly has plans to acquire Rooivalk helicopters “when funding is available,” and South Africa’s Port Elizabeth Herald quotes analysts who believe that a win in Turkey might also tip Pakistan toward the platform.

Middle Eastern Newsline offers a further report that South Africa has outlined plans to co-produce a range of platforms in Turkey as part of a defense partnership based on Ankara’s attack helicopter program. They said South Africa has offered one of the most generous offset deals as part of its offer of the Rooivalk attack helicopter to the Turkish Army. “Under the offer, Turkey and South Africa would create a strategic defense partnership that would rapidly develop out defense industries,” a Turkish official said.

On the flip side, the Turkish Daily News reported that Eurocopter who supplies the Rooivalk’s engines and some spare parts, has said that it would not guarantee a supply line for Turkey if Ankara chose the Rooivalk.

Note that both Agusta and Denel propose moving their production lines to Turkey.

Eurocopter Tiger HAC

The shortlist was something of a surprise to many observers; at the time, the Turkish Daily News reports that it may even lead to friction between the government and the military. Turkey’s military, which has a large political role as the de facto guarantor of Kemal Attaturk’s secularist vision, was reportedly split between the Eurocopter Tiger and Boeing Apache. The paper further noted that Land Forces Commander Gen. Yasar Buyukanit, the most critical military figure concerning the attack helicopter program and possibly the next Chief of Staff, was not present at the meeting.

Appendix B: Additional Readings & Sources

Readers with corrections or information to contribute are encouraged to Contact us. We understand the industry – you will only be publicly recognized if you tell us that it’s OK to do so. Thanks to reader Keith Campbell for his added precision in the translation of “Rooivalk”.

Background: ATAK Program

• Turkish SSM – Tactical Reconnaissance and Attack Helicopter (ATAK) Project.

• AgustaWestland – T129

• TAI – T129 Attack Helicopter

• Army Technology – A129 International Multi-Role Combat Helicopter, Italy

• Army Technology – Rooivalk Attack Helicopter, South Africa

• Turkish Daily News, via WayBack – How not to buy weapons systems. Offers a timeline of the program from 1995-2005.

Background: Ancillary Systems

• Aselsan – ASELFLIR 300T Aviyonik Termal Goruntuleme Sistemi.

• Roketsan – CIRIT | 2.75″ Laser Guided Missile. 70mm laser-guided rocket. T129B only.

• Roketsan – MIZRAK-U | Long Range Anti Tank Missile. Formerly UMTAS. Uses Imaging Infrared guidance, has an alternative laser seeker option. T129B only.

News & Views

• Defence Turkey (Jan 29/14) – Turkey’s Defence Budget of 2014. Includes the status of the T129 and UMTAS.

• Turkish Daily News (Dec 2/06) – Back to square one in attack helicopter plan: Ankara preparing to scrap bidding. Via NOSINT.

• The Herald Online (July 5/06) – Turkey shortlists Rooivalk attack chopper [dead link]

• Turkish Daily News, via WayBack (July 4/06) – Helicopter contest may divide government, military

• Middle Eastern Newsline, via WayBack (July 4/06) – S. Africa Offers Missile Projects To Turkey

• Turkish Press, via WayBack (July 4/06) – Defense Industry Executive Committee Meeting

• AP, via Houston Chronicle (June 30/06) – Turkey Shortlists Firms for Helicopter [dead link]

• DID (Sept 29/05) – Turkish Attack Heli Competition Stumbles Again

• DID – Turkey Sticks With Sikorsky: $3.5b for over 100 H-60 Family Helicopters. Some may also feature a weapons package.

Americas

• Northrop Grumman has announced the first successful flight of the UH-60V Black Hawk helicopter. An upgrade from the UH-60L model, the latest configuration includes a digital cockpit provided by Northrop, and fitted with the Future Airborne Capability Environment standard, allowing integration of new avionics equipment in the future. The modernization program will be carried out on the US Army’s UH-60L helicopter fleet, and based on the AH-1Z and E-2D Advanced Hawkeye upgrades performed for the USMC and Navy.

Middle East & North Africa

• An Israeli Defense Ministry report has revealed that Israeli manufacturers have earned about $1.03 billion since 2010 from projects related to Lockheed Martin’s F-35 Joint Strike Fighter program. Last year saw a total of $258 million in contracts, mostly for fighter helmets, representing a 33% increase in procurement over previous years. Big winners in 2016 were Elbit Systems and its US partner Rockwell Collins, which are jointly manufacturing the state-of-the-art helmet for the F-35.

Europe

• German initiatives to deepen defensive ties with its neighbors continues as it moves forward with a plan set up a joint fleet of Lockheed Martin Corp C-130J transport planes with France and join a Netherlands-led fleet of Airbus A330 tanker planes. The plans join other collaborative agreements with Norway, Romania and the Czech Republic, and come at a time when NATO members face increasing pressure from the United States to spend more for their own military and reach NATO’s target of devoting 2 percent of gross domestic product to defense spending.

• Airbus will breath a sigh of relief after an investigation into an oil leak that grounded a A400M transporter which was carrying a German government minister on board does not point to a fundamental new problem with the plane. Initial reports suggested that the leak appeared to be linked to the hydraulic system used to adjust the turbine blades in one of the four powerful A400M engines. However, it is now suggested that the leak had been found between the propellers and the nacelle, or engine housing, which are part of the power system but not components of the engine itself. Last week’s breakdown was on a trip that was meant to showcase the aircraft’s capabilities as Airbus seeks to win back confidence in the troubled A400M project.

• A subsidiary of the state-run Ukrainian defense manufacturer Ukroboronprom -Artem- has recently test-fired new missiles from MI-8MSB helicopters. Built for the Ukrainian Air Force, the 80mm weapons are designed to integrate with attack helicopters to engage ground targets as well as air platforms, including enemy rotorcraft. Testers fired new missiles individually using starter kits to hit pre-determined targets. The kits have a ripple-fire capability, which can discharge all units in half a second.

• Engine-maker Rolls Royce has posted a record headline loss of $5.8 billion on Tuesday, as a drop in Sterling after Brexit and a fine to settle corruption charges ended a rather difficult year. The company had already undergone restructuring following a series of profit warnings. Rolls said that the company will now need to make further cuts after stating that its underlying profit halved to $1.01 billion last year, which actually beat analysts expectations.

Asia Pacific

• The South Korean military is considering its own test of a precision-guided cruise missile in response to Pyongyang’s latest ballistic missile test, a military official confirmed on Monday. It has been suggested that Seoul may offer the public a behind-the-scenes look at the Hyeonmu missile, in order to demonstrate how North Korea would be punished for any further provocation. Seoul is also considering moving up the scheduled live-fire drill involving a long-range air-to-surface high precision guided missile in another show of force against the North.

• India’s Ministry of Defense has announced their successful interception of an incoming ballistic missile in the exo-atmosphere as they develop a two-layered ballistic missile defense system. The target mimicked a hostile incoming ballistic missile and was launched from a ship in the Bay of Bengal, with the interceptor launched from Kalam Island. Additional details of the test remained undisclosed.

Today’s Video

• Ukraine’s new 80mm air missiles:

Americas

• Despite not having a US-based partner and prime contractor, Leonardo is to go it alone in the USAF T-X trainer competition. Raytheon withdrew from the partnership last month. The Italian firm’s US-subsidary, Leonardo DRS, will now act as prime contractor, although it remains unclear where the T-100 advanced jet trainer will be assembled if the company secures the contract.

• Bell Helicopters will provide long-lead items and components for the US Navy’s AH-1Z aircraft. valued at $49 million, the agreement covers 27 Lot 15 AH-1Z Vipers operated by the USMC, and work is expected to be completed by March 2018. According to manufacturer Bell, the AH-1Z is the only helicopter in the world to feature air-to-air missile attack capabilities.

Middle East & North Africa

• Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) will supply signals and communication intelligence capabilities to various unnamed customers in contracts worth $30 million. IAI subsidiary ELTA Systems will deliver advanced communication intelligence system (COMINT) to an unidentified operator in Europe and a signal intelligence (SIGINT) suite to an undisclosed buyer in Asia. The COMINT system is designed to provide real-time intelligence and tactical information for military operators, as well as cooperate with existing defense communication networks, while the SIGINT is comprised of ELK 7071 COMINT and ELL-8385 ELINT systems, and can be integrated on military aircraft.

• An unnamed Asia-Pacific customer has contracted Elbit Systems to upgrade and maintain Mi-17 helicopters. The $110 million award will include work on dozens of helicopters and will take place over a five-year performance period. Some of the region’s operators of the aging Mi-17 include Afghanistan, Iraq, Indonesia, India, and Pakistan.

Europe

• A Greek publication has revealed that the country’s Defense Ministry plans to upgrade their fleets of 155 F-16C and F-16D aircraft to the V-variant. The cost of the modernization is expected to run between $1.7 and $2 billion. It was also revealed that the ministry wishes to lay the foundation with Washington for an eventual procurement of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, that would be paid over a period of time. In addition, Athens is looking to have maintenance work done on their S-300 air defense system, however information on a deal remains unclear.

Asia Pacific

• Indonesia and South Korea have opened a joint program office in Sacheon, South Korea, in order to collaborate on the KF-X/IF-X fighter program. 74 personnel from PT Dirgantara Indonesia have made the move to work on the program, and will work with staff from the Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) and Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI). The opening of the office comes just a year after both governments signed a $7.1 billion agreement to jointly develop the KF-X/IF-X 4.5-generation fighter. In exchange for their capital, Jakarta will receive 50 IF-X fighters as well as a certain amount of knowledge and technological transfer.

• Textron Systems has been tapped to provide contractor logistics support for the Cessna C-208B Caravans used by the Afghan air force. Valued at $9.35 million for the first year, the contract has the potential to reach a maximum of $50 million over the next five years, and will include transfer of capabilities in addition to maintenance training. Manufactured by Textron, Afghanistan operates about 26 C-208Bs for use on a wide variety of missions.

• Israel’s Rafael is ramping up efforts to offer their systems to India’s indigenous Tejas fighter. The Indian Air Force is currently evaluating the company’s Python 5 and 54nm (100km)-range I-Derby ER air-to-air missiles for the Tejas, while it is also promoting its Litening 5 targeting pod and BNET secure radio. Yuval Miller, executive vice-president and head of Rafael’s Air and C4I Systems division, stated that the wide cooperation involved on the Tejas’ development could make it easier to bring the Light Combat Aircraft to the 4.5-generation standard.

Today’s Video

• The US Navy’s Spike missile program: