Defense Industry Daily

Americas

Boeing won $5.7 billion for Pegasus Combat Capability (PC2) enhancements. According to the DoD, work will include a broad range of post-production related non-recurring and recurring requirements centered on KC-46 air vehicle needs. The Pegasus KC-46 is a refueling tanker that was developed from the Boeing 767 jet. Boeing was first contracted to build four KC-46A aircraft under the $3.9 billion KC-X contract awarded by the USAF in 2011. The Air Force took delivery of the first two Pegasus aircraft in January this year. However, in March debris issues occurred and acceptance was stopped. Deliveries were resumed last week. Boeing will perform PC2 work in Seattle and the scheduled completion date is April 28, 2029.

The Navy tapped Lockheed Martin with a $1.1 billion contract in support of the F-35 Lightning II. The deal is a cost-plus-incentive-fee, cost-plus-fixed-fee, firm-fixed-price, cost share contract that includes ground maintenance activities, action request resolution, depot activation activities, Automatic Logistics Information System operation and maintenance, reliability, maintainability and health management implementation and support, supply chain management, and activities to provide and support pilot and maintainer initial training. The contract is in support of the F-35 Lightning II for the Air Force, Navy, non-US DoD participants and Foreign Military Sales customers. FMS partners are Israel, Japan and the Republic of Korea. Work will take place within the US and the UK and is expected to be finished in December 2022.

Northrop Grumman will provide product support and software support activity efforts for the E-2D Advanced Hawkeye. The Navy awarded the company a $38.8 million contract modification. Earlier this month Northrop won a $3.2 billion deal to buy 24 E-2D Advanced Hawkeye surveillance aircraft. The twin-turboprop airborne early warning aircraft had its first flight in August 2007. The Advanced Hawkeye features the new AN/APY-9 radar, radio suite, mission computer, integrated satellite communications, flight management system, improved T56-A-427A engines, and a glass cockpit. Northrop will perform work under the modification within the US and is expecting completion in April 2020.

Middle East & Africa

Boeing was tapped for post-production system support including product support of the Apache aircraft for the Saudi Arabia National Guard. The Foreign Military Sales contract modification awarded by the US Army is worth $39.5 million. In 2008, the US approved the purchase of 12 AH-64Ds requested by Saudi Arabia. In October 2010, Saudi Arabia requested a further 70 AH-64Ds to improve its ability to effectively protect its borders. Boeing will perform work under the modification in the US and Saudi Arabia. Work is expected to be finished by April 29, 2020.

PAE Government Systems won an $8.2 million Foreign Military Sales modification for the National Maintenance Strategy Ground Vehicle Support effort for Afghanistan. In 2017, the company won a National Maintenance Strategy contract to support the US Army’s mission in Afghanistan. The contract was slated to run five-and-a-half years with a base value of $142 million. Work under the current modification will take place in Kabul, Afghanistan and is scheduled to be finished by the end of August, 2022.

Europe

Rheinmetall won a contract from the Dutch Armed Forces to modernize their Bergepanzer 3 Büffel armored recovery vehicles. The BPz3 was jointly developed by the Bundeswehr and the Netherlands based on the Leopard 2. „Starting immediately, Rheinmetall will completely overhaul the Royal Netherlands Army’s Bergepanzer 3 Büffel ARVs, bringing them up to the latest technological and tactical standard. This will extend the service life of these tried-and-tested combat support vehicles through the year 2040“, Rheinmetall stated. The exact value of the contract, signed on April 18, was not disclosed. In a first phase, four vehicles will get a combat performance upgrade. The first vehicles are scheduled to be delivered to the Netherland in the beginning of 2021.

Asia-Pacific

According to Jane’s, Russia donated two Mil Mi-8MT „Hip-H“ multirole medium helicopters and nine upgraded BRDM-2M 4×4 reconnaissance vehicles to Kyrgyzstan. The choppers are supposed to increase transport and search-and-rescue capabilities of the military in Kyrgyzstan. The reconnaissance vehicles, which are reportedly of the same configuration as those delivered to Laos in January, are to enhance maneuverability of ground troops. According to the Russian government, the donated equipment has an estimated value of $5.9 million.

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Americas

Lockheed Martin won a $13.9 million contract modification for AEGIS Speed to Capability Development. Lockheed Martin’s Aegis Speed to Capability (ASToC) initiative provides quick solutions to problems based on US Navy feedback. The ASToC team works together from kickoff to identify possible design changes, prototype new solutions, and recommend performance improvements. The ASToC process accelerates the pace of development maintaining the high engineering standards that are the hallmark of the Aegis Combat System. The modified contract provides for systems engineering, modeling and simulation, and design for AEGIS Speed to Capability cycles as well as the completion of the development and fielding of the AEGIS Baseline 9 AEGIS Weapon System and integrated AEGIS Combat System on AEGIS Technical Insertion (TI) 12 configured destroyers as well as TI 12 and TI 08 configured cruisers. Lockheed will perform work, which is expected to be finished by May 2020, in New Jersey and Pennsylvania.

The Air Force awarded Raytheon a $94.3 million modification to manufacture DAS-4 targeting systems. The company will provide an additional 54 new AN/DAS?4 Model B Multi?Spectral Targeting System turrets and convert one turret unit into the DAS?1A configuration. The AN/DAS-4 is the third generation of the Multi-Spectral Targeting System incorporating greater fire control and Target Location Accuracy technology for precise coordinates. The DAS-4 includes four high definition cameras covering five spectral bands, a three-color diode pump laser designator/rangefinder, laser spot search and track capability, automated sensor and laser bore sight alignment, three mode target tracker, and built in provisions for future growth. Raytheon will manufacture the systems for the US Air Force as well as the Netherlands. Work will take place in Texas and is scheduled to be complete by January 31, 2021.

Middle East & Africa

According to Russian reports, Turkey is interested in buying other weapons apart from the S-400. Aleksander Mikheev, the Head of Russian company Rosoboronexport, stated that Turkey was also looking into other Russian air defenses and anti-tank weaponry as well as other weapon stations. The two countries also have joint ventures aimed at developing jets and helicopters, modules for armored vehicles and maintenance for the equipment, previously sold to Turkey. Earlier this month it was reported that the US had halted component deliveries for the F-35 to Turkey due to Turkey’s plan to purchase the Russian S-400.

Europe

The US Navy tapped Lockheed Martin, Rotary and Mission Systems with a $9.1 million contract modification for the AEGIS Ashore Support and Ship Integration and engineering of the AEGIS Weapon System as well as on-site support in Romania an Poland. The modification also includes technical data package and test package/procedure development, technical documentation, feasibility studies, configuration management support, lifecycle and system engineering, environmental qualification testing, topside analysis, Ballistic Missile Defense engineering, combat system alignment and integration of Advanced Naval Weapon Systems on DDG 51 Class ships. Just recently it was reported that the Aegis Ashore in Romania was undergoing updates. During the updates the USA will temporarily deploy the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system to Deveselu in Romania. The Polish AEGIS Ashore system has been hit with delays due to construction issues at Redzikowo military base that are unrelated to the system’s performance. It won’t be operational until 2020. Work under the current contract modification will take place in Deveselu and Redzikowo as well as various sites within the US. Scheduled completion date is in September this year.

Belarus will showcase two different military systems at the defense technology expo MILEX 2019 in Minsk, which starts on May 15. One of them is the Buk-MB3K system by OKB TSP. It is the company’s latest surface-to-air system and features a self-propelled firing unit equipped with a newly developed S-range solid state phased array AESA radar capable of detecting air targets at ranges up to 130 km. The radar can perform automatic target detection and tracking, measuring the primary data of an aerial target, including azimuth and range, and the radial speed in both active and passive modes. The Buk-MB3K system can detect and intercept all types of maneuvering aerodynamic targets ranging from unmanned aerial vehicles to cruise missiles. The other innovation showcased at the expo will be the Groza-P2 mobile Counter Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (C-UAVs) jammer by Belarusian defense industrial group KB Radar. The portable rifle-style jammer is designed to prevent unauthorized access of small UAVs into the territory by location and neutralizing aerial threats.

Asia-Pacific

The Royal Australian Air Force will equip an additional five of its C-130J Hercules airlifters with an upgraded satellite communications (satcom) suite, following a successful trial. The first Hercules aircraft was fitted with SATCOM in 2017. The system uses the Inmarsat Global Xpress Network to provide broadband internet connectivity for high-definition video and is able to support complex mission planning whilst in flight. The new system is in addition to the L-Band SATCOM voice and data system fitted to all 12 C-130Js. Installation of the Honeywell JetWave Ka-Band SATCOM antennas and associated systems will be completed during scheduled maintenance periods by Airbus and all five aircraft are expected to be completed by 2022.

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Americas

Lockheed Martin won a $723.5 million contract modification to procure a variety of Hellfire II missiles for the US Army as well as three allies. The air-to-surface missiles will be produced for Lebanon, the Netherlands and France as part of Foreign Military Sales. All Hellfire II variants have been used successfully in Operation Iraqi Freedom, with more than 1,000 missiles fired to date. With more than 22,000 rounds delivered since production began in 1994, Hellfire II has been successfully integrated with a wide array of platforms, including the US Army’s Apache and Kiowa Warrior helicopters, the US Marine Corps’ Cobra, the US Navy’s Seahawk helicopter, the UK’s Apache attack helicopter, the Eurocopter Tiger and the US Air Force’s Predator and Reaper unmanned aerial vehicles. Lockheed Martin will perform work in Florida, with an estimated completion date of September 30, 2022.

The US Navy awarded Boeing an $89 million contract to integrate various external stores and alternative mission equipment onto the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet and EA-18G Growler aircraft. The Super Hornet is a twin-engine, carrier-capable, multi-role fighter. The F/A-18E single-seat and F/A-18F tandem-seat variants are larger and more advanced derivatives of the F/A-18C and D Hornet. Last month, Boeing won a $4 billion multi-year contract modification to build 78 F/A-18E/F Super Hornet fighters. The Super Hornets would be the first new-build examples of the Block III variant of the F/A-18E/F. The Block III flies farther and carries more weapons than an older F/A-18E/F can and is stealthier than earlier Super Hornet models are. The Growler is a variant of the F/A-18F Super Hornet. Work under the current contract will take place within the US and is expected to be complete in December 2022.

Middle East & Africa

The Israeli Air Force is authorized to issue a Letter of Request for two Boeing KC-46 refueling tankers, IsraelDefense reports. After a new government has been established and the next Minister of Defense has been appointed, the Israeli Air Force will likely face some changes. The most pressing decision to make is what heavy-lift helicopter will replace the CH-53 Yas’ur. In the matter of choosing a new refueling tanker, it is very likely that IAF will decide on the KC-46 as it already has reviewed the aircraft and flown in it. The KC-46 Pegasus was developed by Boeing from its 767 jet airliner.

Europe

Poland signed for AugustaWestland AW101 helicopters. The European country signed an agreement worth $428 million with Leonardo on Friday to to satisfy its anti-submarine warfare and combat search-and-rescue requirement. Part of the production will take place in Poland, which will help boost the country’s economy and technological sector. In Poland, work on the helicopters will be carried out at the Leonardo unit PZL-Swidnik. While the order announced is for four helicopters, there may be a follow-on order for a further four at a later date. As noted by Leonardo, the AW101 is well suited to the overwater ASW and CSAR roles in that it benefits from three-engine safety: a full ice protection system for flight in known icing conditions, long range and endurance, a range of 1,300 km, and a proven 30-minute ‘run dry’ gearbox as well as multiple redundancy features in the avionic and mission systems.

Asia-Pacific

The Indian Air Force plans to testfire the air-launched version of the supersonic cruise missile BrahMos from a Su-30MKI next week. BrahMos or PJ-10 is a short-range, ramjet powered, single warhead anti-ship land attack missile. It was jointly developed and manufactured by India and Russia. The missile has a reported supersonic speed of between Mach 2.0-2.8, depending on the cruising altitude used. The BrahMos has a range of between 300-500 km depending on which variant and launch platform is used. It was first flight tested in July 2018 from a Su-30MKI. Sources in the IAF said they are very keen for a fast track development of the air-launched missile, which can be used for Balakot-type air strikes where the planes won’t have to cross enemy borders for the hit.

The Royal Australian Air Force received the first of three Falcon 7X trijets. The RAAF will use the jets for government VIP service. According to Dassault Aviation, the Falcon 7X was destined to be a revolutionary aircraft, introducing business aviation to the industry’s first Digital Flight Control System. Today, over 270 Falcon 7X aircraft are in service in 41 countries. In all, more than 120 Falcon jets—of which more than 50 are 7Xs—are operated in Australia and other Asia-Pacific countries.

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Latest updates: New 2011-2014 contract; Long-lead buy for AGM-114Rs under previous contract.

Hellfire II cutaway
(click to view full)

Hellfire I/II missiles are the USA’s preferred aerial anti-armor missile, and are widely deployed with America’s allies. All use semi-active laser guidance as their base mode. They equip its helicopter fleets (AH-64, AH-1, OH-58D, MH-60S/R), AH-64 and S-70 helicopters flown by its allies, and even Australia and France’s Eurocopter Tiger attack helicopters. Range is officially listed as 9,000 meters, or about 5.6 miles.

While Hellfires lack the fast-jet launch capabilities – and correspondingly extended maximum range – of the UK’s MBDA Brimstone missiles, Lockheed Martin’s missile has carved out unique niches as tripod-launched coastal defense assets in Norway and Sweden, and as the guided missile integrated into American UAVs like the MQ-1 Predator family. This article covers the current set of contracts, which began in 2008:

• Lockheed Martin’s Hellfires
  
• Contracts and Key Events [updated]
  
• Appendix A: A Sticky Situation – Lockheed’s 2008 (I)TAR Baby
  
• Appendix B: Additional Readings
  

Lockheed Martin’s Hellfires

AGM-114K-A warhead
(click to view full)

Hellfire II missiles come in several variants. The AGM-114K is the basic Hellfire II missile; it uses a shaped-charge HEAT(High Explosive Anti-Tank) warhead that can destroy armored vehicles, or punch into buildings.

The recently-introduced AGM-114K-A variant adds a blast fragmentation sleeve to the HEAT warhead’s anti-tank capability, giving it added versatility against unarmored targets in the open.

The AM-114M version was originally developed for the Navy; its warhead is solely blast fragmentation, which is effective against boats, lightly armored vehicles, etc.

The AGM-114N variant uses a thermobaric (“metal augmented charge”) warhead that can suck the air out of a cave, collapse a building, or produce an astoundingly large blast radius out in the open.

AGM-114P onto MQ-9
(click to view full)

A new AGM-114R “multi-purpose” Hellfire II is headed into production/ conversion. It adds some guidance and navigation improvements, and goes one step further than the K-A variant: it’s intended to work well against all 3 target types: armored vehicles, fortified positions, or soft/open targets. The “Romeo” will become the mainstay of the future Hellfire fleet, used from helicopters and UAVs, until and unless Hellfire itself is supplanted by the JAGM program. Hellfire systems product manager US Army Lt. Col. Mike Brown:

“One of the most noticeable operational enhancements in the AGM-114R missile is that the pilot can now select the [blast type] while on the move and without having to have a pre-set mission load prior to departure… This is a big deal in insurgency warfare, as witnessed in Afghanistan where the Taliban are fighting in the open and simultaneously planning their next attacks in amongst the local populace using fixed structure facilities to screen their presence.”

Two more Hellfire variants feature key changes that aren’t related to their warheads.

The AGM-114L “Longbow Hellfire” adds a millimeter-wave radar seeker, which makes it a “fire-and-forget” missile. It’s integrated with the mast-mounted radar on AH-64D Apache helicopters, and AH-1 Cobra family attack helicopters have been tested with different add-ons that would give them similar capabilities.

The AGM-114P variant is modified for use from UAVs flying at altitude. That requires greater environmental tolerances, as the difference between temperature at launch altitude and near the target can be well over 100 degrees Fahrenheit. The AGM-114P’s 3-axis inertial measuring unit (IMU) gives it a 360-degree targeting capability, making it easier to fire from UAVs that lack a helicopter’s swivel and point maneuverability. Its unique features will also be present in the new AGM-114R, which will succeed it.

Contracts and Key Events

Hellfire II tripod
(click to view full)

The common denominator in this article is the contract: W31P4Q-08-C-0361.

Hellfire Systems LLC in Orlando, FL is a Lockheed Martin/ Boeing joint venture, and is the only source of Hellfire missiles. The US Army Aviation & Missile Command in Redstone Arsenal, AL manages these contracts, unless otherwise noted.

April 29/19: New Procurement Lockheed Martin won a $723.5 million contract modification to procure a variety of Hellfire II missiles for the US Army as well as three allies. The air-to-surface missiles will be produced for Lebanon, the Netherlands and France as part of Foreign Military Sales. All Hellfire II variants have been used successfully in Operation Iraqi Freedom, with more than 1,000 missiles fired to date. With more than 22,000 rounds delivered since production began in 1994, Hellfire II has been successfully integrated with a wide array of platforms, including the US Army’s Apache and Kiowa Warrior helicopters, the US Marine Corps’ Cobra, the US Navy’s Seahawk helicopter, the UK’s Apache attack helicopter, the Eurocopter Tiger and the US Air Force’s Predator and Reaper unmanned aerial vehicles. Lockheed Martin will perform work in Florida, with an estimated completion date of September 30, 2022.

April 9/12: An $8.75 million firm-fixed-price contract to buy long lead parts for the Hellfire II Romeo RX. Work will be performed in Orlando, FL, with an estimated completion date of March 31/14. The bid was solicited through the Internet, with 1 bid received by U.S. Army Contracting Command in Redstone Arsenal, AL (W31P4Q-08-C-0361).

Aug 1/11: A $159 million firm-fixed-price, unfinalized contract begins the 2011-2014 buy of up to 24,000 AGM-114N/P/Q/R Hellfire II missiles (W31P4Q-11-C-0242). Read “US Hellfire Missile Orders, FY 2011-2014” for full coverage.

March 28/11: Lockheed Martin announces the 6th and final proof-of-principle test for the new AGM 114R HELLFIRE II successfully concludes at Eglin AFB, FL, using ground launch in lock-on after launch mode from 2.5 km away. The missile penetrated the brick-over-block target, and successfully detonated with the specified fuze delay. U.S. Army Lt. Col. Mike Brown, HELLFIRE Systems product manager at the Army’s Joint Attack Munition Systems project office:

“The AGM-114R baseline design is now defined and allows us to go into system qualification… The R model remains on cost and on schedule, and meets all performance objectives.”

March 14: A $38.6 million firm-fixed-price contract covers an in-line production configuration change of 2,600 Hellfire II AGM-114P2 missiles, for use from UAVs. Work will be performed in Orlando, FL, until the end of FY 2013: Sept 30/13. One sole-source bid was solicited with one bid received (W31P4Q-08-C-0361).

Sept 10/10: A $20.1 million firm-fixed-price contract to transition the new air-to-ground AGM-114R Hellfire II Romeo missile into the current Hellfire II missile production line.

Work will performed in Orlando, FL with an estimated completion date of Sept 30/13. One sole-source bid was solicited and 1 bid was received (W31P4Q-08-C-0361).
Aug 30/10: An AGM-114R hits and “destroys” a stationary M-60 tank target 6.4 km down range, in the missile’s 3rd proof-of-principle flight test. The missile was ground launched, with a flight profile designed to simulate airborne launch from a UAV. The missile was launched in lock-on-after-launch mode, with a high trajectory. It used its inertial guidance to fly to the approximate location of the target before beginning its search, and struck the target within inches of the laser aimpoint. Lockheed Martin.

Aug 26/10: A 3-year, $14.4 million firm-fixed-price, indefinite-delivery/ indefinite-quantity contract for Romeo Phase 3 engineering, which will re-configure existing Army AGM-114K2 and AGM-114N missiles to the AGM-114R configuration.

Work is to be performed in Columbia, SC with an estimated completion date of Sept 30/13. One bid was solicited with one received (W31P4Q-08-C-0361; Serial No. 1765).

July 26/10: The Longbow, LLC joint venture in Orlando, FL received a $39.5 million cost-plus-fixed-fee contract for engineering services supporting the Hellfire and Hellfire Longbow missiles. Work is to be performed in Orlando, FL (50%); Baltimore, MD (25%); United Arab Emirates (10%); and Taiwan (15%), and will run to Sept 30/12. One bid was solicited with one bid received by the U.S. Army Aviation and Missile Command, AMSAM-AC-TM-H in Redstone Arsenal, AL (W31P4Q-10-C-0256).

This contract is not in the same series as the other entries; it is offered as a one-time reminder that all equipment buys come with associated engineering service support contracts, as part of their operations and maintenance costs. Taiwan and the UAE are already Hellfire customers; the UAE uses them on its AH-64 attack helicopters, while Taiwan became a customer in 2005.

June 23/10: A $22 million firm-fixed-price contract, exercising a FY 2010 option for 331 Hellfire II missiles. Work is to be performed in Orlando, FL, with an estimated completion date of Sept 30/13. One bid was solicited with one bid received (W31P4Q-08-C-0361).

May 10/10: An $84.5 million firm-fixed-price contract, exercising a FY 2010 option for 1,253 Hellfire II missiles. See also March 26/10 entry. Work is to be performed in Orlando, FL, with an estimated completion date of Sept 30/13. One bid was solicited with one bid received (W31P4Q-08-C-0361).

May 6/10: A $15.8 million firm-fixed-price contract to add the new AGM-114R Hellfire II Romeo missile into the current missile production line. As noted above, this variant is designed to offer a “tri-mode” warhead that can be effective against armored vehicles, fortifications, and targets in the open.

Work is to be performed in Orlando, FL, with an estimated completion date of Sept 30/13. There’s only one maker of Hellfire missiles; 1 bid was solicited by the U.S. Army’s AMCOM Contracting Center at Redstone Arsenal, AL, with 1 bid received (W31P4Q-08-C-0361).

April 29/10: Alliant Techsystems announces $32 million in follow-on production sub-contracts from Lockheed Martin for about 7,100 Hellfire II missile rocket motors, and 2,200 AGM-114N metal augmented charge (thermobaric) warheads. The motors and warheads will be built at its manufacturing facility in Rocket Center, WVA.

ATK was awarded the HELLFIRE II baseline sub-contract in November 2008 to produce and deliver rocket motors and warheads. This represents the first option, with deliveries scheduled to run from April 2011 – July 2012. A second option could be awarded in late 2010. Dating back to HELLFIRE I in the 1980s, ATK has produced nearly 80,000 HELLFIRE rocket motors and over 6,400 MAC warheads. In addition, ATK manufactures the copper liner for the AGM-114K’s main shaped-charge high-explosive anti-tank (HEAT) warhead.

April 8/10: Lockheed Martin announces success in its 1st live warhead proof-of-principle (POP) flight test, conducted at Eglin Air Force Base, FL. The test featured a lock-on-after-launch engagement of a stationary target board at 1.6 miles/ 2.5 km, launched with a low trajectory suitable for a military operation in urban terrain. The multi-purpose, multi-stage warhead was set with a delayed fuze that allows the missile to penetrate the target before detonating.

The AGM-114R’s multi-purpose warhead and electronic safe, arm and fire, or (ESAF) module were the critical technologies being tested.

March 26/10: Hellfire Systems in Orlando, FL received a $268.75 million firm-fixed-price contract modification, exercising FY 2010 options for 3,955 Hellfire II missiles. Work is to be performed in Orlando, FL, with an estimated completion date of Sept 30/13. US Army Contracting Command, AMCOM Contracting Center, Redstone Arsenal, AL manages the contract (W31P4Q-08-C-0361).

Feb 18/10: The US Army announces that its MQ-1C ER/MP UAV has successfully completed a series of tests with a HELLFIRE II UAS missile variant, whose 360-degree targeting ability allows UAVs that lack a helicopter’s instant maneuverability to put missiles on target faster. Testing began on Nov 22/09, and took place at Naval Air Weapons Station, China Lake, CA, following cooperation from General Atomics-Aeronautical Systems, Inc.’s Software Integration Laboratory, the company’s El Mirage Flight Test Facility in El Mirage, CA, and Edwards Air Force Base, CA.

The tests began with dry runs and an inert test missile, followed by a successful “cold” pass using a live missile to verify lock-on, followed by “hot pass” firing. November and December involved testing in various conditions, from varying altitudes, against stationary or moving targets. Tests recorded 9 successful shots, which helped pave the way for the MQ-1C UAV’s February 2010 Milestone C production approval.

Iraq performance,
25ID’s 25 CAB, 2006-2007

Aug 18/08: Hellfire Systems in Orlando, FL received a $356.7 million firm-fixed price contract for Hellfire II High-Energy Anti-Tank missiles. Work will be performed in Orlando, FL, and is expected to be complete by Oct 31/11. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The US Army Aviation & Missile Command, Redstone Arsenal, AL manages the contract (W31P4Q-08-C-0361).

The DefenseLINK release is almost certainly referring to the AGM-114K Hellfire II missile, but Lockheed Martin spokespeople add that the contract also includes options for up to 200 training missiles, for additional orders in FY 2009 and 2010, for Foreign Military Sales buyers, and for up to 1,200 variant conversions. If exercised, those options could increase the contract’s value to over $1 billion, and secure Hellfire missile production until 2013.

To date, American forces have fired more than 6,800 Hellfires in Iraq and Afghanistan, and Lockheed Martin has delivered more than 22,000 rounds since Hellfire II production began in 1994. Lockheed Martin release.

Appendix A: A Sticky Situation: Lockheed’s 2008 (I)TAR Baby

US AH-64A
(click to view full)

The Hellfire missile also made the news in a different capacity. Lockheed Martin discovered that efforts to sell 460 more Hellfire missiles to the UAE in 2003-2004 had crossed the line, by failing to get proper ITAR approvals beforehand for certain discussions, and by divulging classified missile-related information to a UAE Air Force officer in response to questions.

The UAE was already a Hellfire customer at that time for its AH-64A Apache helicopters, but that does not remove the procedural requirements, and weapon export requirements are taken very seriously by all concerned.

Lockheed Martin discovered the mistakes itself, and informed the US Department of State, which manages ITAR. The final settlement involves a $4 million fine, with $1 million of that suspended if Lockheed Martin meets certain criteria for improved internal compliance measures. Reuters | NY Times’ International Herald-Tribune

Appendix B: Additional Readings

• Lockheed Martin – Hellfire II Missile

• Boeing – History: Rockwell International AGM-114 Hellfire

• Global Security – AGM-114 Hellfire Modular Missile System (HMMS)

• Designation Systems – Boeing/Lockheed Martin AGM-114 Hellfire

• DID – JAGM: Joint Common Missile Program Fired – But Not Forgotten. JAGM will replace AGM-114 Hellfire, *GM-71 TOW, and AGM-65 Maverick missile variants on Army and Navy helicopters, UAVs, and fighter aircraft.

Americas

Vigor Marine won a $14.3 million contract in support of the USNS Wally Schirra or T-AKE 8. The Lewis and Clark Class cargo ship has a length of 689 feet and was launched on March 8, 2009. The mission of Lewis and Clark Class ships is to deliver ammunition, provisions, stores, spare parts, potable water and petroleum products to carrier battle groups and other naval forces, serving as a shuttle ship or station ship. The deal provides for regular overhaul and dry docking. Work will take place in Portland, Oregon and the estimated completion date is August 25, 2019.

The Navy awarded Lockheed Martin a $117.1 million contract modification for air vehicle initial spares to include a deployment spares package, afloat spares package, and associated consumables to support air vehicle delivery schedules for the F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter aircraft. This contract comes after it was reported that the estimated total price for research and procurement in the F-35 program has increased by $22 billion in current dollars adjusted for inflation. The increase reflects for the first time the current cost estimates for a major set of upgrades planned in coming “Block 4” modifications. Pentagon acquisition chief Ellen Lord and Acting Defense Secretary Pat Shanahan have been pushing the program office and Lockheed to reduce projected operations and support costs. Work for the initial spares contract will take place within the US, the UK and the Netherland and is expected to be finished in August 2023.

Lockheed Martin announced in a press release that it had won a $362 million contract to recapitalize 50 of the US Army’s Multiple Launch Rocket System (MLRS) launchers. The US Army’s MLRS recapitalization effort will eventually upgrade its existing fleet of 225 MLRS M270A1 launchers, and 160 decommissioned M270A0’s slated for de-militarization, to M270A2s. The M270 is a 227mm Multiple Launch Rocket System designed to be used against troops and light equipment, air defense systems and command centers. In 1983, the first MLRS units entered service with the US Army. The MLRS M270 self-propelled launcher vehicle is a stretched version of the American M2 Bradley infantry fighting vehicle. The Launcher Loader Module, mounted on the rear of the vehicle hull consists of a base, turret and cage.

Middle East & Africa

Raytheon won a $399.4 million contract from the US Missile Defense Agency to provide long lead hardware procurement and manufacturing, systems engineering and program management, obsolescence and reliability updates, maintenance planning, facility design support, country support and common software development to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Foreign Military Sales funds in the full amount will be used to fund the effort. Work will take place in Woburn, Massachusetts.

Europe

According to a leaked Russian government document, a Russian MiG-31 supersonic interceptor aircraft was mistakenly shot down by “friendly fire” during a training flight near the Telemba proving ground in Siberia almost two years ago. The incident in question had happened on April 26, 2017. At the time, the Kremlin said that the plane had been on a training exercise, but offered no additional details about the mishap. Both of the Foxhound’s crew survived the incident. In the leaked report, investigators concluded that the crew in the plane that got shot down had improperly followed procedures, allowing them to stray into the potential line of fire during the live-fire exercise. It also faulted aviators flying the other Foxhound for turning on their Zaslon-AM’s fire control function at the wrong time, cueing an R-33 missile right at their wingman.

Rheinmetall’s Rapid Obscuring System (ROSY) will protect armored vehicles of the Portuguese and Belgian Armed Forces. Deliveries of 126 systems to Spanish defense contractor URO Vehículos Especiales (UROVESA) will start this month and will run through March 2020. Rheinmetall, acting as subcontractor for Jankel, will also begin pre-series delivery of the system for the Belgian Army’s Light Troop Transport Vehicle (LTTV). All 199 vehicles are being prepared for integration of the system, in addition to the supply of control units and launchers for 167 vehicles. According to Rheinmetall, ROSY offers light military and civilian vehicles protection from unexpected attacks, for example during patrols or when traveling in convoys. Unlike the conventional smoke protection systems in use, ROSY is able to generate dynamic smoke screens as well as spontaneous, large-area and multispectral interruption of the line of sight.

Asia-Pacific

Australia deployed its Airbus Tiger Armed Reconnaissance Helicopter, Jane’s reports. On April 21, four Australian Army Tiger helicopters were airlifted to the Royal Malaysian Air Force Air Base at Subang on a Royal Australian Air Force Boeing C-17A Globemaster III strategic airlifter for joint training exercises with Malaysia. The Tiger is designed to perform armed reconnaissance, air or ground escort, air-to-air combat, ground fire support, destruction and anti-tank warfare, day or night and in adverse conditions. The exercises mark a major milestone for the helicopter given that until very recently Australian auditors were recommending that it not be operated aboard ships due to performance limitations.

Today’s Video

Watch: RAF F-35B Jets Flying into RAF Marham Airbase

Americas

The Navy awarded Raytheon a $28 million contract modification for integration and production support for the Air and Missile Defense Radar AN/SPY-6(V). The AN/SPY-6(V) next-generation integrated radar will be featured on the Flight III Arleigh Burke Guided Missiles Destroyers. According to Raytheon, the SPY-6 is built with so called Radar Modular Assemblies, each of them a self-contained radar in a 2’x2’x2’ box. They can stack together to form any size array to fit the mission requirements of any ship, which would make the SPY-6 the Navy’s first truly scalable radar. In January, the radar completed an important milestone when it successfully tracked a ballistic missile target in the system’s final development test. The radar is on schedule for delivery to the Navy in 2020, replacing the SPY-1 radar. The contract includes support for continued combat system integration and testing, engineering, training, software and depot maintenance as well as field engineering services. Raytheon will perform work at various locations within the US. The estimated completion date is in December this year.

Raytheon successfully completed a static test of its new DeepStrike missile rocket motor. The next-generation, long-range, surface-to-surface precision strike missile will replace the Army Tactical Missile System. Raytheon won the $116.4 million contract to build the missile in June 2017 under the technology up-gradation and risk trimming phase of the Long-Range Precision Fires (LRPF) program. The missile will be compatible with two launch systems of the US Army, the M270 multiple launch rocket system (MLRS) and the M142 high-mobility artillery rocket system (HIMARS). The rocket motor test brought the weapon one step closer to its maiden flight test, scheduled for this year. A previous milestone for the DeepStrike was the successful preliminary design review, in which the Army evaluated every aspect of the new missile’s design, from its advanced propulsion system and innovative lethality package to its guidance system.

Middle East & Africa

Israeli company Rafael dropped out of Switzerland’s $8 billion air defense tender. Rafael had initially offered its David’s Sling system. David’s Sling is an Israeli system developed with the United States that is designed to defend against short-range and theater ballistic missiles, large-caliber rockets, and cruise missiles. However, the Israeli Department of Defense did not give the company the necessary permit to go further in the tender. Reasons for this decision are unclear. Companies still participating in the tender are Raytheon with the Patriot system and Eurosam with the SAMP/T.

Europe

Contributing to NATO’s increased presence in the Baltic states, the UK deployed five Boeing AH-64 Apache attack helicopters to the Amari Air Base in Estonia. The AH-64s are expected to participate in upcoming NATO military exercises and provide defense coverage for a military base near the Russian border. Defense Secretary Gavin Williamson commented on the deployment: “It’s a very credible threat that we see from Russia and part of the reason that we’re deploying five Apache attack helicopters is making sure that we’re constantly adapting to a changing situation.“ According to the British Army, the Apaches will be working in tandem with the Wildcat battlefield reconnaissance helicopters to provide valuable training opportunities to NATO allies on Estonia’s annual Exercise Spring Storm and to the UK-led battlegroup deployed on NATO’s enhanced Forward Presence.

Asia-Pacific

The US and the Sri Lankan Navy ended the Cooperation Afloat and Readiness Training (CARAT) exercise four days earlier than scheduled due to the recent attacks in the Asian country. “All US personnel involved in CARAT are accounted for and redeployment is in progress,” it says in an updated news release. Several bombers carried out six coordinated attacks at churches and hotels on Sunday, killing at least 290 people. The government declared a state of emergency to take effect at midnight Monday. The declaration allows police and military forces to detain and interrogate potential suspects without a court order. The US-Sri Lanka CARAT exercise was slated to take place for a week and was based off the southern port city of Hambantota. Hambantota was not targeted in Sunday’s attacks, but the suspension of exercises will allow Sri Lanka to reallocate military resources should they become necessary in the aftermath. The CARAT is the US Navy’s oldest and longest continually-running regional exercise in South and Southeast Asia. Participants conduct partnered training focused on building interoperability and strengthening relationships.

According to reports, China’s Gas Turbine Research Institute designed and tested a prototype of a new turbofan engine for fighter aircraft within 18 months. The team of young engine designers will be given an award during China’s Youth Day on May 4. It took the development team only a year to design the engine, and just six months to finish testing the first prototype. No details of the engine, including its designation, have been revealed, but official statements claimed that the new engine would “rival advanced foreign fighter jets and represents China’s highest technical level in aero engines”. Until now, long-standing difficulties that have hampered China’s production of military aircraft engines forced it to import Russian-made engines for several of its major aircraft projects.

Today’s Video

Watch: New Advanced Version of its F 15 Eagle for the US Air Force, Next Super Fighter Electronic Warfare

Americas

Boeing won a $605 million modification for the production of the Air Force’s 11th Wideband Global Satellite (WGS) Communication Space Vehicle. The DoD uses the WGS system to communicate with warfighters across the globe. Ten Ka-band and 8 X-band beam can be positioned anywhere in the field of view of each satellite. WGS combines unique commercial spacecraft capabilities that Boeing has developed, including phased array antennas and digital signal processing technology, into a powerful, flexible architecture. United Launch Alliance ULA is scheduled to launch the 11th satellite aboard a Delta IV rocket in November 2023. Since 2001, Boeing has been the prime contractor of the WGS, which was first launched in 2008. GS 4, which was launched off in 2012, was the first Block II series. WGS-10 was meant to be the last of the constellation. But in March 2018, Congress added $600 million for the procurement of WGS-11 and WGS-12. Boeing will perform work under the modification in El Segundo, California and expects completion by November 20, 2023.

The US Army contracted General Atomics with $99 million in support of the MQ-1C Gray Eagle UAS. The deal provides performance based logistics support services for the Unmanned Aircraft System. The Gray Eagle UAS addresses the need for a long-endurance, armed, unmanned aircraft system that offers greater range, altitude and payload flexibility over earlier systems. US Army Special Operations Forces and Intelligence and Security Command have two Gray Eagle Extended Range (ER) systems, which include 12 unmanned aircraft, six Universal Ground Control Stations, nine Ground Data Terminals, three Mobile Ground Control Stations, one Satellite Ground Data Terminal, an automated takeoff and landing system, LMTVs, and other ground-support equipment operated and maintained by a company of 165 Soldiers. Work will take place in Poway, California and is scheduled to be completed on April 23, 2024.

Middle East & Africa

According to defensenews.com, Turkey’s homemade drones have the potential to boost local industry by raising export numbers. The combat proven Turkish drones don’t need foreign export licenses unlike other military platforms such as helicopters and tanks. The Turkish military has used unmanned systems in its fight against Kurdish militants in the country’s southeast and in counterinsurgency operations in neighboring Syria and Iraq. Currently the Turkish military operates 75 TB2 drones. The Bayraktar TB2 is a medium-altitude, long-range, tactical UAV system. It was developed by Kale-Baykar, a joint venture of Baykar Makina and the Kale Group. The UAV operates as a platform for conducting reconnaissance and intelligence missions. In January, Baykar Makina, a privately owned Turkish drone maker, won a contract to sell a batch of 12 of its Bayraktar TB2 UAVs to the Ukraine. Back in November, two Turkish companies – Tusas Engine Industries and Turkish Aerospace Industries – announced they had made significant progress toward building indigenous engines that would power locally made drones and armored vehicles. This would further independency from foreign engine suppliers. In February, it was reported that Tusas Engine Industries produced the first national UAV engine PD-170.

Europe

General Dynamics won a $269.3 million contract modification from the US Navy in support of the UK Dreadnought fleet and the US Navy’s Columbia Class fleet ballistic missile submarine (SSBN). The modification includes the manufacturing of 42 missile tubes as well as missile tube outfitting material. The Dreadnought Class submarines, the future replacement for the Vanguard Class, will like their predecessors carry the Trident II D-5 missiles. The upcoming Columbia Class of nuclear submarines will replace the UGM-133 Trident II-armed Ohio Class. Work will take place in Rhode Island and Pennsylvania and is expected to be finished by May 2028.

Asia-Pacific

According to local reports, India’s Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Limited (MDL) has launched the country’s third Project 15B guided-missile destroyer. Imphal, the third ship under Project 15B was launched on 20 April at MDL’s facilities in Mumbai. The Project 15B warships are also referred to as the Visakhapatnam Class. 15 ships are to be build under this class. The first Project 15B ship, Visakhapatnam, was launched in April 2015, while the second ship of the type, Mormugao , took to the water in September 2016. The warships are propelled by four gas turbines to achieve speeds in excess of 30 knots. They are 163 meters long and have a displacement of 7.300 tonnes.

Local media reported that Elbit Systems has won a tender to deliver its ATHOS (Autonomous Towed Howitzer Ordnance System) 2052 to the Indian Army, in a deal estimated at over $1 Billion. The bid by Israeli defense manufacturer Elbit Systems and its Indian partner Bharat Forge has emerged as the winner in the Indian Army’s 155 mm, 52 calibre towed artillery gun competition. The price point at which the Elbit-Bharat Forge gun is being offered is even lower than the indigenously developed Dhanush 155 mm, 42 calibre gun, which is being manufactured by the Ordnance Factory Board. According to Elbit Systems, ATHOS is capable of a range of more than 40km and utilizes a self-propelling capability and automatic laying mode. It is integrated with fully-computerized systems, achieving automatic control, accurate navigation, and target acquisition. The company has yet to command on the outcome of the Indian Tender.

Today’s Video

Watch: U S Navy Has a Serious Problem Now Too Few Ships

FH-77Bs, Kargil War
(click to view full)

India has marked over $4 billion worth of artillery projects to purchase several hundred new 155mm howitzers. They are intended to supplement India’s dwindling artillery stocks, while out-ranging and out-shooting Pakistan’s self-propelled M109 155mm guns. It seemed simple enough, and in the main towed artillery competition, BAE Systems Bofors had been competing against systems from Israel’s Soltam and Denel of South Africa.

Unfortunately, India’s 2 towed howitzer competitions, and its 2 self-propelled artillery procurements, have mostly served as cautionary tales. If the stakes weren’t so high, they’d qualify as farce. The simple process of buying off-the-shelf artillery guns has become a decades-long affair filled with legal drama, accusations of corruption, and multiple re-starts – but not one new gun. Competitions are declared, and canceled, again and again. One is on its 5th iteration. Another is on its 3rd. Meanwhile, India’s stock of operational 155mm FH77 howitzers has dwindled to around 200, and their last successful artillery buy was over 2 decades ago. Is there an end in sight to any of these competitions? Or a potential winner?

Towed Artillery Competition Saga

Soltam Rascal
(click to view full)

US-India Defense and Strategic Affairs reported on the competition in 2004, and noted that this was expected to be one of the first large defense procurement decisions made by India’s new United Progressive Alliance government. The question became whether a decision could be made within that government’s term(s) of office. The answer: no.

The saga is illustrative of the problems India’s defense bureaucracy is creating across all of its artillery competitions, as it attempts to field working products before its existing artillery systems expire.

After multiple firing trials and several years, India’s towed artillery competition managed to end up without any competitors left standing. All 3 competitors (Bofors FH-77 B05, Soltam TIG 2002, Denel G5/2000) failed to meet India’s accuracy specifications in 2003 trials. Which might lead one to question the specifications, but all 3 improved their guns to compete again in 2004. There are reports that Soltam fell out of the race entirely, after a barrel burst during field trials. Then South Africa’s Denel was sidelined in 2004 and eliminated in 2005, after the Indian government accused the manufacturer of corruption in another defense deal.

That created problems on 2 fronts. One front involved a key competitor. Denel’s financial situation was deteriorating, and The Times of India reported that the contract may have been critical to the firm’s financial survival. In hindsight, that concern was valid, but Denel managed to survive the loss. A win certainly would have made a significant difference, and might have allowed Denel to delay its major corporate restructuring and associated strategic rethinking for several years.

Bofors’ FH-77B05:
Winner by default?
(click to view full)

The other problem involved India’s Ministry of Defence. India’s defense procurement establishment has shown an extreme risk-averse behavior and Defense India observes that when a competition devolves to a single-vendor solution, the practice is often to re-tender. Soltam and Denel’s exit left just BAE Bofors, until they, too were eliminated by allegations that Bofors had paid INR 640 million (about $16 million) in bribes, trying to secure the order.

The net effect of corporate blacklists, plus single-vendor prohibitions, is a process that can’t field equipment to India’s military when it’s needed – and sometimes ever. Unfortunately for India’s front-line soldiers, their need for working artillery hasn’t changed.

Indian history suggests that this is a long-standing problem. Bofors Defence AB had been blacklisted by India before, after allegations of kickbacks in a 1987 deal during Rajiv Gandhi’s regime. That scandal had derailed a planned 1,500 gun buy, reducing it to 410 FH-77 B02 howitzers. Fortunately for India, those guns arrived in time to become an iconic feature of the 1999 Kargil War with Pakistan. On the civil front, meanwhile, those accused in the Bofors case eventually had their day in court, and won. Leaving behind a number of questions that India’s political class would rather leave unasked.

In April 2007, India re-opened its towed howitzer competition again, and the passage of time had created a number of changes in its requirements and options. By November 2009, however, it was the same old dynamic. The mere allegation of bribery had frozen the competition again, by leaving just 1 eligible contender. Would the January 2011 re-start fare any better?

Meanwhile, the support contract with Bofors for India’s in-service howitzers expired in 2001. As of January 2009, India’s stock was believed to sit at just 200 operational 155/39 caliber guns. They are accompanied by existing stocks of Soviet-era 130mm artillery, and 105mm light guns. A contract with Soltam (now Elbit) of Israel has converted some of those 130mm howitzers to 155mm/45 caliber weapons, raising the guns’ range from 26 km to 39 km/ 24 miles.

India’s Howitzer Competitions

Zuzana SPH
(click to view larger)

The competition for Indian artillery is actually several competitions.

Towed Howitzers

The competition covered in the previous section involves about $1.8 billion for 400 towed 155/52 artillery guns, to be followed by production of up to 1,180 in India.

Current Status: 5th RFP is now out. Winter and summer trials planned in 2010, now in limbo. BAE Bofors’ FH77 was competing against ST Engineering’s FH-2000, but BAE pulled out, and ST Kinetics is barred by a 10-year blacklist. France’s Nexter is now partnered with India’s Larsen & Toubro to offer the purpose built Trajan gun, while Israel’s Elbit Systems is partnered with The Kalyani Group to offer its ATHOS 2052.

On the sidelines, India’s DRDO has used the blockage to start a design project of its own. It also turned out that India’s incompetent Ordnance Factory Board has been sitting on the plans it was given for the 155/39 caliber Bofors FH77B02, as the tech transfer piece of the 1990s buy that allowed licensed production in India. An October 2011 decision directed the OFB to begin manufacturing 155/39 and 155/45 caliber “Dhanush” versions of these guns for trials, for delivery beginning in December 2012, but there have been issues with the guns, and they’re still tied up in testing. India’s government has approved a potential contract for 114, but plans could add another 400.

Farther into the future, some private Indian firms are collaborating with the DRDO’s Armament Research and Development Establishment in Pune to design a 155 mm/52-caliber Advanced Towed Artillery Gun System (ATAGS) with a 50 km strike range by 2016. Maybe they can field a gun with substantially longer range than existing global offerings. Maybe they can’t. Maybe the unfulfilled chase will end up derailing the purchase of actual working weapons, which is the usual pattern in India.

Ultra-Light Howitzers

A 2nd competition involves about $700 million for the ultra-light 155/39 howitzer competition, covering about 145 pieces. These would be portable, towed guns.

Current status: India’s government may be doing a government-to-government deal, as an emergency end-run to buy BAE’s M777, and bolster its dwindling artillery.

Singapore’s Pegasus was picked in 2009, but ST Kinetics’ 10-year blacklisting has derailed them, pending a legal fight. The reasons for the M777’s holdup are a combination of the Indian bureaucracy’s inability to conduct the required trials in over 2 years since the DSCA request, reports that legal advisors were worried about a decision in the ST Kinetics’ legal case entangling any M777 buy, and unwillingness to pay the $4.48 million per gun cost for a unique product with lots of titanium in it.

In May 2012, India’s MoD was reportedly cleared to negotiation an M777 contract worth around $550 million. As of November 2014, they haven’t managed to get anything done. Meanwhile, India has been pushed off high-altitude territory on the Chinese border, where air-transportable M777 guns would have strengthened its position considerably.

Self-Propelled Tracked Howitzers

A 3rd competition would spend about $800 million for about 100 155mm self-propelled tracked guns. The BHIM (Denel G-6 gun on Arjun tank chassis) winner was terminated in 2006, when Denel was barred following a corruption case. Partner Bharat Earth Movers was the big loser. Another RFP in 2007 failed, as all of the firms with products to offer were barred from India.

Current contenders include Samsung-Techwin’s K-9 Thunder, in partnership with India’s Larsen & Toubro. A Russian tie-up with India’s state-run Ordnance Factory Board offers a modified 155mm/52 caliber MSTA-S system on a T72 main battle tank chassis.

Current status: After a period of limbo, India gave indications that some kind of process was underway in 2013, with 3 Indian firms participating. In the mean time, India has ordered 40 locally-designed Catapault Mk.IIs, which mount a Russian 130mm gun on an Arjun tank chassis. They’ll replace aging Catapult Mk.Is, which mount the same gun on license-built Vijayanta (T-72) chassis, but neither system can match the range of a 155mm gun.

As a point of comparison, India’s rival Pakistan began its own process in 2005, and bought 115 tracked M109A5 155mm self-propelled howitzers from the USA at a very cheap price. The M109s have greater range than the Catapults, and the last one was delivered to Pakistan in 2010.

Self-Propelled Wheeled Howitzers (Mobile Gun System)

A 4th competition involves about $900 million – $1 billion for 180 self-propelled wheeled guns.

Current status: Canceled November 2011. RFP responses were reported to pit Slovakia’s 155/45 Zuzana system against Germany’s Rheinmetall and their RWG-52 155/52 system, which uses the PzH-2000 turret. Samsung Technwin’s entry, which is no longer listed in their product line, was eliminated from competition in 2009.

Indian firm Ashok Leyland has partnered with France’s Nexter, and will offer the Caesar 155/52 caliber artillery system mounted on their Super Stallion 6×6 truck.

Contracts and Key Events 2018-2019

April 23/19: ATHOS 2052 to India Local media reported that Elbit Systems has won a tender to deliver its ATHOS (Autonomous Towed Howitzer Ordnance System) 2052 to the Indian Army, in a deal estimated at over $1 Billion. The bid by Israeli defense manufacturer Elbit Systems and its Indian partner Bharat Forge has emerged as the winner in the Indian Army’s 155 mm, 52 calibre towed artillery gun competition. The price point at which the Elbit-Bharat Forge gun is being offered is even lower than the indigenously developed Dhanush 155 mm, 42 calibre gun, which is being manufactured by the Ordnance Factory Board. According to Elbit Systems, ATHOS is capable of a range of more than 40km and utilizes a self-propelling capability and automatic laying mode. It is integrated with fully-computerized systems, achieving automatic control, accurate navigation, and target acquisition. The company has yet to command on the outcome of the Indian Tender.

2015-2016

FARP modernization plan overview; Conditional order for 114 guns from the geniuses at OFB; 40 Catapult Mk.II SPHs; DAC clears mounted gun program; Major shortages in artillery charges & fuses; Denel & IMI Blacklistings rolled back for lack of evidence; Elbit signs Indian joint venture; JV for Nexter.

M777: Chinook pick-up
(click to view full)

March 24/16: India has received a tender from French state-owned weapons manufacturer Nexter to supply its army with 1,400 155mm towed cannons. Nexter’s participation in the $1.1 billion bid was made when its chairman, Stéphane Mayer, informed the National Assembly defense committee that it would be “the contract of the century for artillery.” The company has teamed with local partner Larsen & Toubro to offer its Trajan 155mm/52 caliber gun and faces competition from Elbit Systems, partnered with Bharat Forge.

February 23/16: BAE Systems UK is to cooperate with India’s Mahindra Group to produce 145 light howitzer guns for the Indian Army. The arrangement follows the 2015 proposal by BAE’s US subsidiary to sell 145 M777A2 LW155 howitzers at a cost of $700 million, and are dependent on BAE commitments to set up assembly, integration and test (AIT) facilities in India. Mahindra Group won out against other domestic defense companies including India’s state-owned Ordnance Factory Board and private sector companies Larsen & Toubro, Tata Power (Strategic Engineering Division), Punj Lloyd and the Kalyani Group.

October 9/15: The Indian Defence Ministry has shortlisted the Samsung Techwin K-9 Thunder howitzer for the country’s self-propelled tracked gun requirement, a much-delayed competition thought to value approximately $800 million. One hundred guns are required for the Indian Army, with local firm Larson & Toubro partnering with the South Korean firm to offer manufacturing in India. The Thunder beat the Russian-designed MSTA-SP 2S19 howitzer mounted on a T-72 tank chassis, with the Russian bid partnering with the Indian state-run Ordnance Factory Board to satisfy offset requirements.

2013 – 2014

Nov 23/14: India’s Defence Acquisition Council, with new defense minister Manohar Parrikar, clears the INR 157 billion (about $2.56 billion) proposal to buy 814 mounted 155mm artillery guns. A fresh RFP will be issued, with “Buy and Make India” terms that allow foreign partnerships, but force the systems to be manufactured in India. Larsen & Toubro, TATA, and Bharat Forge are expected to bid.

At the same time, the DAC approved an INR 71.6 billion integrated Air Command and Control System, but left programs for 56 light aerial transports and 106 basic-intermediate trainer turboprops in limbo. Note that programs approved by the DAC still need top-level approval from the Cabinet Committee on Security, which includes the Prime Minister. Sources: NDTV, “A Hurdle for ‘Make in India’ Push in Defence: Why Air Force Plane Deal Was Put on Hold” | dna India, “Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar clears proposal to acquire 814 artillery guns for Rs 15,750 crore” | Times of India, “Govt clears proposal to acquire 814 artillery guns for Rs 15,570 crore”.

Nov 18/14: IMI. India quietly lifts a ban on Israel Military Industries (q.v. Nov 12/09, July 7/10, March 5/12), in the face of a situation where its state-owned Ordnance Factory Board is manifestly failing to deliver key fuses, precision-guided shells, and artillery firing charges. The result is a critical set of shortages (q.v. Sept 15/14). IMI offers a full line of shells and charges, plus the GMM 120 laser/GPS-guided 120mm mortar shell, and tank design and manufacturing experience from its Merkava family.

The ban is actually lifted on the grounds that India’s CBI hasn’t substantiated its charges that IMI bribed OFB officials, which may touch off some interesting conversations with other blacklisted firms like Singapore’s ST Kinetics (q.v. March 5/12). Sources: Defense News, “India Removes IMI From Blacklist”.

Sept 15/14: Update. After a 5th set of towed howitzer trials, featuring Nexter’s Trajan and Elbit’s ATHOS 2052, India’s MoD is readying its report. That report will supposedly arrive in the Ministry of Defence by the end of 2014. Domestically, license-built “Dhanush” variants of Bofors’ FH77B (q.v. April 29/13) are conducting their own final round of trials, following a burst barrel in summer 2013. Meanwhile:

“The [Army’s Field Artillery Rationalisation Plan] envisages inducting a perplexing mix of 1,580 TGS, 814 mounted platforms and the outright purchase of 145 BAE Systems M777 155 mm/39-caliber ultra-light howitzers; that too is mired in unnecessary red tape and confusion. Also included is the outright purchase of 100 SPT howitzers and 180 self-propelled wheeled howitzers with another 120 to be built locally under a technology transfer agreement. The critical howitzer shortage and obsolescence of existing platforms is possibly the worst of the Army’s innumerable deficiencies…. Proposals are also afoot to privatise ordnance manufacture to meet shortages. The Army faces a shortfall of some 50,000 155 mm precision-guided munitions rounds, more than 21,200 bi-modular charge systems, and around one million electronic fuses which the OFB is incapable of fulfilling.”

Lovely. Sources: The Hindu, “Feeble fire in the big guns”.

Aug 29/14: SPH. India’s high-level Defence Acquisition Council clears an INR 8.2 billion (about $137 million) purchase of 40 Catapult Mk.II tracked artillery systems from DRDO’s Combat Vehicle Research and Development Establishment (CVRDE) in Avadhi. The new system uses the same aging, short-range Russian D-30 130mm guns as the 1980s-era Catapult Mk.I, but it substitutes an indigenous Arjun tank chassis for a license-built “Vijayanta” (modified Vickers Mk.1) chassis. The result is a tracked, self-propelled system with good mobility and much improved access to spares and maintenance, but a firing range of just 24 km.

Clearance must still come from the CCS, but this purchase is effectively done. An Indian officer points out that this works out to $3.75 million per system for a small handful of units, which can’t reach critical high-altitude contested areas like Kashmir or the Chinese border. Meanwhile, helicopter-transportable M777 155mm guns that can fire GPS-guided shells 40km remain in limbo, because India is balking at a price of $4.48 million per gun. That works out to about $650 million for the desired 145, or $179 million as an equivalent emergency buy of 40.

As an even more invidious comparison, neighboring Pakistan bought 115 used M109A5 self-propelled 155mm howitzers from the USA in 2005 – and paid just $56 million. They outrange the Catapults, of course, and all of them were fielded by 2010. To add injury to insult, Pakistan is also working with China’s North Industries Corp. to upgrade 400 of its own D-30 towed guns to 155mm caliber. Sources: Defense News, “Indian Analysts Rap Plan To Buy Homemade 130mm Artillery Gun”.

SPH: 40 Catapult Mk.II

Aug 19/14: Denel. The new BJP government quietly lifts its 9-year ban on Denel in an Aug 12/14 letter, judging that India’s CBI had failed to substantiate corruption charges stemming from the NTW-20 anti-material rifle competition. Those charges cancelled the NTW-20 contract, led to Indian design of the suspiciously similar Vidhwansak anti-materiel rifle, and sank the 155mm BHIM (G-6 gun on Arjun chassis) self-propelled howitzer contract in 2005.

The G-6 is an outstanding 155mm gun, and fielded options could become strong competitors in the towed competition (if that is re-opened), or the wheeled Mobile Gun System requirement. The Catapult Mk.II’s small production run could also insert the G-6 back into the self-propelled howitzer competition, re-launching BHIM as as Catapult Mk.III. Sources: South Africa’s defenseWeb, “Huge Indian market to become available to Denel as blacklisting resolves” | South Africa’s Engineering News, “India ends ban on Denel” | Defense World, “India Clears Denel Of Corruption Charges, De-Blacklists Company”.

Feb 25/14: M777. With elections looming, India’s Ministry of Defence clears a whole series of defense projects: upgrades for 37 airbases, modernization of 5 ordnance depots, 4,000 hand-held thermal imagers for soldiers, 5,000 thermal imaging sights for tanks and infantry combat vehicles, 44,000 light-machine guns, 702 light armoured multi-purpose vehicles, and 250 RAFAEL Spice IIR/GPS guided smart bombs. The M777 isn’t among them:

“The M-777 howitzer contract, which is a direct government-to-government deal under the US foreign military sales programme, has been hanging fire since January 2010. Due to the long delay, the American Defence Security Cooperation Agency has hiked the cost of the M-777 deal from the earlier $ 647 million to $885 million now. The Army wants these 155mm/39-calibre howitzers since they can be swiftly deployed in high-altitude areas in Arunachal Pradesh and Ladakh by helicopters and aircraft to counter China.”

China has been seizing Indian territory again in this high-altitude region, but apparently that isn’t urgent enough to prompt action. Thermal imagers and light machine guns are useful, but they aren’t going to change the situation anywhere. Sources: Times of India, “Decision on four key defence deals put off”.

February 2014: MGS. Indian truck firm Ashok Leyland, whose trucks have a huge presence in the Indian military, announces a number of new vehicles for their product line. these include a brand-new 2.5t “Garuda” 4×4, a new Mine Protected Vehicle (MPV), and variants of the new Super Stallion heavy truck. The latter include a 10×10 configuration, an 8×8 configuration that will be integrated with Saab’s BAMSE missile system for India’s SR-SAM air defense competition, and a partnership with France’s Nexter to mount the Caesar 155mm artillery system on its 6×6 Super Stallion truck.

Larsen & Toubro is Nexter’s other Indian partner, and an example of their offering is later unveiled at DefExpo 2014 in June. Sources: Ahok Leyland, “Ashok Leyland unveils a two-pronged strategy for Defence” | The Hindu Business Line, “Nexter Systems, L&T and Ashok Leyland to develop artillery system”.

Feb 12/14: Towed. Ordnance Factories Board (OFB) of India displays its 155/45mm Dhanush towed howitzer at India’s Defexpo 2014. They’ve manufactured 6 prototypes so far, and the most recent prototype includes several changes.

OFB is aiming to improve range over the base FH77 from 27 km – 38 km, and the added a modern computerized fire control system. Mechanical redesigns have had to include the gun cradle, muzzle brake, and of course the higher-caliber gun. According to the presenter, they’re hoping to reach the approval stage in India within 6-8 months, and to triple manufacturing capacity to 3 guns/ month. Cold weather and desert testing has been conducted (+45C to -15C), and Dhanush will be sent to Sikkim firing range for another round of trial tests to check its accuracy and range. Sources: Army Recognition, “OFP Dhanush 155mm howitzer at Defexpo 2014”.

Aug 7/13: M777. The US DSCA publishes [PDF] an official follow-on export request from India for 145 M777 guns, under modified terms compared to the Jan 26/10 request, which is superseded by this one.

The Indian guns will use the same Laser Inertial Artillery Pointing Systems (LINAPS) equipment as Canada’s M777s, and the estimated cost for the guns plus warranty, spare and repair parts, support and test equipment, publications and technical documentation, training, and other US government and contractor support has risen from $647 – $885 million.

The other item that has changed is the acknowledgement of a 30% industrial offsets contract, in conformance to India’s official Defense Procurement Procedure (DPP). That has to be part of a negotiated contract, which can be signed within 30 days of this notice.

The principal contractors haven’t changed: BAE of Hattiesburg, MS; Watervliet Arsenal of Watervliet, NY; Seiler Instrument Company of St Louis, MO; Triumph Actuation Systems of Bloomfield, CT; Taylor Devices of North Tonawanda, NY; Hutchinson Industries of Trenton, NJ; and Selex in Edinburgh, United Kingdom. Likewise, implementation of this proposed sale will still require annual trips to India involving up to 8 U.S. Government and contractor representatives for technical reviews/support, training, and in-country trials, over a period of approximately 2 years.

DSCA: M777 Request, Revised

Aug 3/13: M777. Negotiations are still underway in India. So what’s new? According to the Business Standard, the expected price is now INR 40 billion due to the falling rupee, and the industrial offsets issue is almost resolved. If India can manage to finalize the sale, the Mountain Strike Corps that they announced in July 2013 would receive the 145 guns.

The key seems to be offsets. The initial DSCA announcement (q.v. Jan 26/10) didn’t include offsets, but BAE sees the potential to equip artillery regiments in up to 7 more Indian corps, given deployment patterns and India’s mountainous borders. As such, they’ve accepted a standard 30% offset liability of about $195 million. About $58.5 million can be discharged by transferring technology, as India badly needs to field bi-modular charge systems (BMCS) for artillery. If they hadn’t blacklisted Denel and Israel Military Industries, they’d have it already. The rest will reportedly be discharged by manufacturing some components in India, including work for its “future artillery gun” and “future naval gun” programs.

India’s challenge is to break with its general practice and place a timely order. BAE’s Mississippi plant is being kept active in anticipation of an Indian order, but if India dithers much, the price will rise sharply to pay production line restart costs. On the other hand, early execution could see India field the new gun by early 2014. India’s Business Standard.

June 25/13: SPH. A draft document [PDF] available on the Indian Army’s website confirms renewed activity to procure vehicle-mounted 155mm / 52 calibre systems. The Request for Information is still labeled as a draft, though it stipulates answers by September 1st, which leaves little time for both the Army to finalize it then vendors to send their replies. The RFI is explicitly addressed exclusively to Indian firms. However, joint ventures with foreign partners seem acceptable. Among the technical questions, the Army inquires whether the vendors’ sighting system will use a GPS-based inertial navigation system.

May 6/13: SPH. A Parliamentary reply indicates that India is pursuing another avenue for new self-propelled guns, in the wake of the 2007 RFP’s failure:

“A case for procurement of Qty.100 x 155mm/52 Calibre Tracked (self-propelled) Guns is in progress wherein three Indian vendors, including two private sector companies, have been selected for trials of their equipment. The recent amendments to the DPP-2011 which have been accepted by the Defence Acquisition Council aim to give higher preference to indigenous capacity in the Defence Sector.”

It will be interesting to see which companies are involved, and what they’re offering. Bharat Forge’s partnership with Elbit (q.v. Feb 7/13 entry) would allow them to offer the Rascal system, for instance.

April 29/13: 114 from OFB. Minister of state for Defence Shri Jitendra Singh confirms the contract details with India’s Ordnance Factory Board (OFB), who discovered that they had been sitting on blueprints to license-produce the 155/39 FH77 howitzer for over 20 years (vid. Oct 15/11), even as OFB personnel destroyed previous competitions by soliciting bribes.

OFB have carried out several firings of their derivative 155mm x 45 calibre gun, but it hasn’t been submitted for user testing yet, and hasn’t received production clearance. Once they get that clearance, there’s a contract for 114 towed guns. The first 6 will be delivered within 8 months of clearance, and another 6 over the next 4 months. Year 2 will produce 36 guns, and the last 60 will be manufactured in year 3. Indian government.

OFB contract for 114 license-built FH77/45s

April 29/13: What, me worry? Defense Minister AK Antony offers the usual non-response to a Parliamentary question that asks about the delays in getting India’s Army new artillery. We’ll save you the verbiage. Summary: “Nothing’s happening, and we’re not doing much about it, either.”

Feb 7/13: Elbit/Bharat JV. Israel’s Elbit Systems is forming a joint venture with the Kalyani Group’s Bharat Forge, to market advanced artillery and mortar systems in India.

Elbit products in this field include their Athos towed and Atmos wheeled self-propelled artillery, and their 120mm vehicle-mounted Cardom mortar. They also upgrade Soviet caliber artillery systems. Defense Update | Economic Times.

Feb 6/13: M777, FH-77. India Strategic quotes Chief of the Army Staff Gen Bikram Singh as saying that “whatever the reasons earlier [for delaying the M777 purchase], there would be no delay now.” India has held its firing trials, asked for some changes, and verified that BAE has made them. The Maintainability Evaluation is done, and negotiations are now focused on the price of 145 of the 155mm/ 39 caliber guns, plus a support package.

India’s 2004 buy of counter-fire artillery radars in 2004 reportedly omitted support considerations, and they don’t want to have to go through that problem again.

On another front, trials of the state-run OFB’s license-built Bofors FH-77Bs are now slated for the summer of 2013. The original guns and plans are 155 mm/ 39 caliber, but OFB’s version will be 155/45 caliber instead. Many standard towed 155mm guns these days are 155/52 caliber or more, and if India’s towed guns solicitation ever goes ahead, it will probably be to that specification. India Strategic writes:

“Senior officers of the Army are confident that the acquisition of M-777 will not go beyond 2013, and if there is a delay, it would not be beyond the coming fiscal year April 2013-March 2014. That is, a delay of not more than three months beyond 2013.”

2011 – 2012

M777 buy cleared; Wheeled tender canceled; 5th towed RFP – but not for BAE; DRDO launches indigenous 155mm development; OFB had India’s solution the whole time!?!

US M777A2
fires Excalibur
(click to view full)

May 16/12: License-build. A written reply by Minister of State for Defence Dr MM Pallam Rajuin sets out India’s initial plans to license-build FH-77B02 155mm guns for initial trials, and confirms that India has a standing license agreement with M/s AB Bofors to produce the FH-77B02 155/39 caliber gun and its ammunition. If trials go well, full-scale production may begin.

Meanwhile, India’s state-owned Ordnance Factory Board will produce 2 FH77 155mm /39 caliber prototypes by December 2012. This is the same gun India is currently using. By June 2013, the OFB will also produce 2 upgraded FH77 155/45 caliber guns, with electronic and mechanical upgrades, and apply the same upgrades to 1 existing 155/39 gun. India’s MoD says that the Technology Transfer Agreement allows those changes. India MoD.

May 11/12: M777 approved. CNN-IBN reports that India’s MoD has cleared a Rs 3000 crore deal to buy 145 of BAE’s M777 ultra-light 155mm howitzers, as a government-to-government deal through US Foreign Military Sale channels.

They’re careful to note that this isn’t a contract yet, which may explain the absence of any announcement from BAE. At current conversion rates, the deal would be worth around $557 million, but exchange rates may change when and if negotiations produce an actual contract. CNN-IBN | India Defence.

March 5/12: 10-Year Blacklist. India’s MoD debars Singapore’s ST Kinetics, Israel Military Industries Ltd., Rheinmetall Air Defence, Corporation Defence Russia (CDR), and Indian firms TS Kisan & Co. Pvt. Ltd. and RK Machine Tools Ltd. The firms are prohibited “from further business dealings with the Ordnance Factory Board, Department of Defence Production, MoD, for a period of ten years.”

India’s MoD says that the debarments took place based on CBI evidence re: former Director General of Ordnance Factories Shri Sudipto Ghosh’s bribery case, and after the firms were issued notice to show cause. IMI and Rheinmetall have made no public comment yet, but ST Kinetics is angry, and says more or less that India’s MoD is lying:

“Since 2009, we have offered the authorities full cooperation and assistance as appropriate to clear our name. We had even offered on several occasions to open our account books for inspection by the Indian authorities but these offers were never taken up by them… To seek clarification on the alleged blacklisting and to protest against the arbitrary suspension of ST Kinetics’ defence business activities, we have filed three petitions with the Delhi High Court. The petitions were accepted by the Delhi High Court in March 2011. In all the court hearings and its affidavits filed, the MoD repeatedly stated that ST Kinetics is not blacklisted, and that the “putting on hold” of ST Kinetics’ defence business activities is but an interim arrangement only.

With this latest ruling by the MoD, we will seek legal advice and we intend to vigorously take appropriate actions to clear our name and defend our reputation… As a responsible public listed company, we abide by all laws and regulations stipulated by the local government and we engage fully in good corporate governance practices.”

MoD blacklists – but on what grounds?

January 2012: India Strategic sums things up, by quoting Chief of Army Staff Gen VK Singh:

“The procurement game is a version of snakes and ladders where there is no ladder but only snakes, and if the snakes bite you somewhere, the whole thing comes back to zero,” he said adding that he was hopeful of some guns to be cleared for acquisition shortly. It was 25 years ago that the Indian Army had acquired Bofors guns from Sweden… The gun had come with designs for production in India, with the much-needed Transfer of Technology, but its production was never undertaken by the designated public sector body, the Ordnance Factory Board… Bofors has since been sold several times to US and British companies. There has also been a proposal to acquire 145 ultra light howitzers M777 from the BAE Systems’s US arm. But it is also stuck somewhere.”

As the Hindustan Times notes, at least 3 of the few foreign vendors that make artillery systems are on the MoD’s blacklist, over allegations that don’t seem to get resolved in any timely way. This is true, but Israel’s IMI makes rocket artillery and shell charges. Only Singapore’s ST Kinetics and Germany’s Rheinmetall would matter for these competitions, though it’s worth noting that their absence has already derailed 2 artillery programs. The newspaper also cites Brig. Gurmeet Kanwal (ret.) of The Centre for Land Warfare Studies think tank, as one voice beginning to make the argument that blacklisting is a failure, and arguing that other approaches are needed.

Dec 12/11: Why so late? A Parliamentary question about India’s howitzer plans gets an answer from the defence minister, which is informative but not encouraging. Basically, India’s bureaucracy has had almost 2 years to get its act together on trials, and has not:

“Ultra Light Howitzer is amongst the equipment that is included in the Artillery Profile 2027 prepared by the Artillery Directorate of Army, The procurement on Single Vendor basis from M/s ST Kinetics, Singapore is sub-judice [DID: a legal case]. The option of procuring the equipment through US Government (FMS route) is also being pursued.

The field evaluation of Ultra Light Howitzer comprises three parts viz. user trials, DGQA trials and Maintainability trials. Out of these, only user trials of the gun proposed to be procured through US Government have been completed. The performance of the gun can be ascertained only after evaluation of all three trial reports.

The field evaluation trial report of the guns was a confidential document. Four pages of draft field trial report were received in an anonymous envelope by the Army Hqrs. An enquiry in the matter is underway. Detailed instructions exist about security of classified documents. Aberrations, if any, are dealt with as per the relevant rules.”

One wonders what the over/under odds would be in Vegas, on the subject of India actually having some new artillery pieces by 2027.

Nov 1/11: Wheeled cancellation. India’s MoD cancels the tender to purchase 180 wheeled 155/52mm howitzers, after complaints were made to Defence Minister A.K. Antony that a Zusana gun burst during 2010 trials last year. While Rheinmetall and Konstrukta were shortlisted after technical evaluations (Samsung was not), an MoD committee later concluded that the guns on offer were not in service anywhere, and as such were only prototypes. Which can happen, if your requirements force that. Indian Defence | Defense News.

Wheeled SPH canceled

Oct 15/11: You had WHAT all this time? The Times of India reports that India’s Ordnance Factory Board, whose leadership has been involved in bribery scandals that have derailed some of India’s attempted artillery buys (vid. July 7/10 entry), has been sitting on licensed design documents for India’s Bofors FH77 155mm gun. In other words, they had the full plans thanks to technology transfer and licensing agreements, but didn’t mention this, and didn’t produce the guns. Incompetent is the nicest adjective that can be used for this conduct.

“A senior official, not very amused at the turn of events, told TOI that they have now asked OFB to manufacture six prototypes of the Bofors artillery guns within the next 18 months. “If we had indigenous capability, then all these years of effort to buy foreign guns and such crippling shortage in capabilities wouldn’t have been there,” he said. A senior military source said the OFB has now been asked to manufacture two guns of the 155/39 mm caliber, the original make of the Bofors gun bought in the 80s. Two others would be of the same caliber but upgraded with new capabilities. The OFB has also been asked to make two guns of 155/45 mm caliber. All the six guns would be towed guns, sources said. Once they are ready, the Army would put them through extensive field trials and once cleared, OFB could then resort to mass production, one of the officials said.”

India OFB wins incompetence prize

June 29/11: DRDO DIY. India’s Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) has started developing an indigenous 155mm 52 caliber howitzer for the armed forces, with its Armament Research and Development Establishment (ARDE) in Pune as the lead agency. DNA India.

May 18/11: M777. In “India’s consolation prize to US,” The Times of India reports that India is close to an M777 buy, pursued as government-to-government Foreign Military Sale. The Times of India reports that:

“…the Army has dispatched a team to the US to carry out quality assurance assessments of maintenance and other technical specifications of M777… Once the team returns, “it wouldn’t take much time to conclude the deal”, sources said, adding that a June-end deadline was being looked at. He also hinted that this order too could go up, now that the government is expected to approve Army’s recommendation to raise a dedicated mountain strike corps for China border.”

April 29/11: BAE out. BAE Systems opts out of India’s Jan 23/11 tender for 1,580 towed artillery guns. They seem to have tired of the headaches, and will settle for the limited M777 ultralight howitzer procurement conducted outside of India’s normal processes. Guy Douglas:

“While we are certain that the FH-77B05 is the most capable 52 calibre towed gun available, and it was specifically designed for and demonstrated to meet the Indian Army… the company will not submit a proposal… We found that the new RFP includes technical and performance relaxations that allow less capable weapon systems to enter the competition. This significantly reduces the competitive advantage FH-77B05 derives from its greater capability… the decision not to bid is a commercial one based on the high investment costs required to participate in a complex artillery competition of this nature, where the win probability has been reduced…”

The question is whether this will leave India facing a single-vendor situation again, which will force them to cancel a 5th time. The RFP was not sent to Singapore’s ST Kinetics, but it did go to firms in France, the US, Israel and the Czech Republic. The question is who will respond. See StratPost.

Jan 23/11: (5th) Towed RFP. After 4 failed attempts in the last 25 years, and no new gun inducted since the mid-1980s, the Army has issued a fresh global tender for over 400 towed artillery howitzers. PTI reports that the latest RFP was issued in the 3rd week of January, for over 400 guns from foreign vendors, and local production of over 1,000 guns in India.

The last tender was canceled after Singapore Technologies was blacklisted by the Defence Ministry, and BAE Systems was the only company left. PTI adds that “it is not yet clear as which firms other than BAE Systems have received the RFP this time,” especially given that key competitors like Denel are also on Indian blacklists. Meanwhile, a government-to-government effort to circumvent these roadblocks and buy 145 M777 ultra-lightweight howitzers “for use in mountainous regions” is “in an advanced stage of negotiations.” India Defence (PTI) | Deccan Herald | Silicon India || defpro on the Denel G6’s woes | Hindustan Times on the Bofors scandal’s long echo.

5th Towed Howitzer RFP

2009 – 2010

3rd time for wheeled howitzer RFP; Towed competition canceled for 4th time; Pegasus wins ultralight competition – then blacklisted; US DSCA request for BAE’s M777.

Bofors Archer System
(click to view full)

Sept 10/10: SPH. The Indian defense ministry is expected to issue its 3rd wheeled howitzer RFP, for 140 wheeled guns, by the end of September. BAE’s Archer apparently doesn’t fit the RFP criteria, which implies requirements that aren’t in line with global norms for the class. France’s Caesar is also unmentioned in this competition, leaving just Rheinmetall’s RWG-52 and Slovakia’s Zuzana as known contenders. Aviation Week.

July 27/10: Canceled again. India cancels towed artillery field trials, as it suspends its artillery competition yet again. The Bofors FH77B05, now owned by BAE Land Systems, and STK of Singapore’s IFH 2000 were the only 2 guns in the competition for the 155mm/52calibre howitzers. STK has been blacklisted due to its involvement in the state-owned Ordnance Factory Board (OFB) scandal, leaving just one competitor. India’s government, burned by the Bofors allegations, then canceled the competition.

The Defence Ministry must now decide what to do next. A government-to-government Foreign Military Sale from the USa is one of the possibilities, in lieu of re-bidding the contract yet again. An Indian Army delegation reportedly visited the USA in January 2010, and the US government reportedly proposed 2 units for field trials and requested 84 rounds of Indian ammunition for that purpose. A draft Letter of Request is reportedly winding its way through India’s the Ministry of Defense to that end. AGE | India Defence Online | StratPost.

Towed cancellation #4

July 7/10: Blacklists, again. India’s CBI has asked the Defence Ministry to blacklist 6 firms for their alleged involvement in the Ordnance Factory Board graft scandal: Cooperation Defence in Russia, Singapore Technologies Kinetics (ST Kinetics), Israel Military Industries Ltd (IMI), Rheinmetall Air Defence (RAD) in Zurich, T S Kisan and companies Pvt Ltd in New Delhi, and R K Machines Tools Ltd in Ludhiana. If the Defence Ministry agrees, it would likely derail the self-propelled howitzer competition, where a different division of Rheinmetall is one of 2 finalists.

The move follows a 2,700-page chargesheet in a special CBI court against former Director General of Ordnance factory Board, Sudipta Ghosh and 11 others. The CBI alleges that Ghosh had entered into criminal conspiracy with other accused personnel, with the object of demanding and obtaining huge bribes in return for supply orders placed by the Ordnance Factory Board (OFB). Indian Express.

March 15/10: Still stalled. Indian Defence Minister Shri AK Antony responds to Shri Asaduddin Owaisi and others in Parliament:

“In March, 2008, the Government had issued a Request for Proposal (RFP) for procurement of towed guns. The name of one of the firms participating in the said procurement case figured among the names of seven firms in the FIR filed by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in May, 2009 in respect of various supply orders placed by Ordnance Factory Board. The procurement / acquisition cases in pipeline with any of the firms figuring in the said FIR were put on hold until further orders. Later, it was decided that multi-vendor procurement cases, presently held up at various stages of technical evaluation / trials, may be progressed further as per Defence Procurement Procedure – 2008. However, no tender will be awarded to the companies mentioned in the FIR unless CBI investigation clears them totally.

No towed guns / howitzers have been procured during the last three years. The proposals presently being processed include production of towed guns by Ordnance Factory Board under transfer of technology from the selected vendor. The procurement proceeds as per the provisions of the Defence Procurement Procedure 2008. The induction of the equipment, as and when it takes place, will enhance the firepower of the Indian Artillery.”

Feb 15/10: Towed. The Wall Street Journal reports that BAE Systems Ltd. expects to start trials in India for its FH77 B05 towed howitzer by early March. That’s a month or so behind the original February 2010 expectation for winter trials. The FH77 B05 would be manufactured and marketed in India by BAE’s joint venture with Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd.

BAE also reportedly expects to start trials for the M777 ultra-light howitzer in India by the end of 2010. Speaking at DefExpo 2010 in New Delhi, BAE Systems India (Services) Pvt. Ltd. VP and General Manager Mark Simpkins reportedly said that the initial M77 order “is likely to be for 145 units, which could increase to 1,000 units in the future.”

Feb 15/10: SPH. As part of its DefExpo 2010 push, Rheinmetall Defence discusses its RWG-52 and RTG-52 candidates for India’s self-propelled programs.

Jan 28/10: M777. Indian sources tell DID that that the M777 request could also become an attempt to sidestep India’s paralyzing procurement bureaucracy. Single-vendor competitions are problematic when following India’s Defence Procurement Procedures (DPP), but can reportedly be used for government-to-government foreign military sales deals, per Section 71 of the DPP 2008:

“There may be occasions when procurements would have to be done from friendly foreign countries which may be necessitated due to geo-strategic advantages that are likely to accrue to our country. Such procurements would not classically follow the Standard Procurement Procedure and the Standard Contract Document but would be based on mutually agreed provisions by the Governments of both the countries.”

While ST Engineering’s Pegasus is still an ultra-light howitzer contender, the question is whether the legal steps required to make that deal would take too long – even though nothing has been proven concerning the firm’s conduct in India.

Jan 26/10: M777 request. The US Defense Security Cooperation Agency announces [PDF] India’s formal request to buy 145 M777 155mm Light-Weight Towed Howitzers with Laser Inertial Artillery Pointing Systems (LINAPS), warranties, spare and repair parts, support and test equipment, publications and technical documentation, maintenance, personnel training and training equipment, and U.S. Government and contractor technical assistance and support.

The estimated cost is $647 million, but a DSCA announcement is not a contract. In this case, it may not even be an intended sale. DSCA requests can be issued as a way of ensuring that the way is clear for a contract, if a competition continues, and if that vendor requiring American arms export approvals turns out to be the winner.

If the 9,700 pound/ 4,400 kg, part-titanium M777 should bypass the competition altogether, or win a re-started competition against the likes of ST Kinetics’ Pegasus semi-mobile lightweight howitzer, the principal contractors will be BAE of Hattiesburg, MS; Watervliet Arsenal of Watervliet, NY; Seiler Instrument Company of St Louis, MO; Triumph Actuation Systems of Bloomfield, CT; Taylor Devices of North Tonawanda, NY; Hutchinson Industries of Trenton, NJ; and Selex in Edinburgh, United Kingdom.

Uncharacteristically for India, the DSCA says that there are no known offset agreements proposed in connection with this potential sale – another sign that India’s DPP may be side-stepped. Implementation of this proposed sale will require annual trips to India involving up to 8 U.S. Government and contractor representatives for technical reviews/support, training, and in-country trials, over a period of approximately 2 years.

US DSCA: M777 request

Jan 22/10: ST Kinetics. Singapore’s ST Kinetics announces that it is keen to set up a manufacturing base in India, if it wins some of the 5 contracts it has bid for. The tenders comprise 2 artillery gun projects (ultra-light and towed howitzers), a light strike vehicle for the army, and 2 carbine rifle projects for internal security forces.

Jan 15/10: ST Kinetics speaks. Singapore’s ST Kinetics issues a release touting “the longest in-service 155 mm 52 Calibre towed Howitzer, the FH 2000,” which is expected to enter field trials in February 2010. It also says that:

“The company is hopeful that the stalled [Indian] trial of the 155 mm calibre 39 Pegasus Lightweight Howitzer (LWH) will also recommence very shortly… ST Kinetics plans to address India’s strategic needs and is fielding tailored solutions to meet the requirements of the modernisation programmes of the armed forces. These include the iFH2000 155mm 52 Calibre Howitzer for the Towed Gun requirement and the Pegasus 155mm 39 Calibre Lightweight Howitzer for the Ultra Lightweight Howitzer program. ST Kinetics has also offered the SAR 21 Carbine with its proven reliability and performance.

Speaking at the Press Conference, Brig Gen Patrick Choy, Chief Marketing Officer, said “…The company is respected for its integrity, transparency and high standards of corporate governance. [The Pegasus 155mm / 39 howitzer]… is already in India in Gwalior and is awaiting a call to trials.”

SLWH Pegasus

Nov 23/09: Blacklistings. India’s MoD publicly confirms the blacklisting and terms for all 7 firms mentioned in the Nov 12/09 Defense News report:

“In regard to the tender cases of procurement/execution, where the tender process has already been started and where the companies mentioned in the FIR are figuring, each case should be dealt as per the tender conditions, keeping in view of the FIR in question. No tender should be awarded to the companies mentioned in the FIR unless the CBI investigation clears them totally.”

Nov 12/09: Frozen again. Defense News reports that India’s artillery competition is frozen yet again. Singapore Technologies has been disqualified, and under India’s rules, competitions can’t proceed with just one qualified vendor.

In June 2009, corruption charges filed against the former director-general of India’s Ordnance Factory Board placed 7 firms on the “tainted” list, blacklisting them from defense contracts: Singapore Technologies, Israel’s IMI, Poland’s BVT, Singapore’s Media Architects, and India’s HYT Engg, T.S. Kishan and R.K. Machine Tools. The latest Indian MoD advisory will not allow them to participate in defense procurements, pending a full Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) report.

Towed competition frozen, 7 firms blacklisted

Oct 7/09: Bofors. Indian Express reports that:

“The government may have decided to let Ottavio Quattrocchi off the hook, but the Bofors ghost continues to haunt the armed forces, with several key artillery modernisation programmes put in the limbo due to wrongdoing charges levelled against three major international manufacturers.”

March 12/09: Pegasus picked. The Singapore Straits Times reports that India has picked ST Kinetics’ “Pegasus” semi-mobile light howitzer for its $1 billion, 145-gun ultralight howitzer competition. At 5,000 kg/ 11,000 pounds, the 155mm/39 caliber Pegasus SLWH is not quite as light as BAE Systems’ M777. What it does have, is an unusual feature that allows the towed gun to be moved limited distances, at up to 12 km/h, under its own power. This is a very useful feature when trying to sidestep return fire cued by artillery tracking radars.

Unlike the 155/52 caliber competition for larger and heavier howitzers, the “ultralight” competition reportedly contains no clauses requiring manufacture in India.

Singapore was also sent an RFP for the 155/52 caliber competition, which the Straits-Times reports could involve up to 400 foreign-made and 1,180 domestically-produced howitzers. ST Kinetics’s other products include the 155/52 FH2000 towed field howitzer, and the Primus 155/39 caliber 28.5-ton tracked self-propelled howitzer. Singapore Straits-Times.

Towed guns: Singapore’s Pegasus picked

Jan 14/09: An anonymous Army official tells Indian reporters that:

“The procurement process for the towed and light howitzer is proceeding as planned. Bids have been received from all the vendors and trials of the guns are planned in February or March [of 2009]… The trials for self-propelled howitzers are planned in May-June [2009].”

According to the IANS report, the initial contract involves 180 guns, but the eventual contract is to include up to 400 guns, thanks to transfer of technology to build the howitzers in India. Of these, 140 will be light howitzers that will be spread over 7 regiments. They will still be 155/52 caliber, just lighter thanks to advances in metallurgy and design. The remaining 260 guns will be towed and self-propelled variants. IANS via India Defence | Hindustan Times.

2007 and Earlier

Denel’s blacklisting kills tracked Bhim SPH; 2nd wheeled & tracked howitzer RFPs issued.

G6 Base, Bleeding?

April 4/07: SPH Re-tender. The Calcutta Telegraph reports that India has reopened its artillery competitions entirely, refloating 2 global RFPs to 12 makers of 155mm/52 calibre self-propelled guns. The Indian Army reportedly proposes to buy 400 systems at the outset: 180 tracked and 220 wheeled.

The first new tender was for wheeled guns, with an RFP floated in early March 2007. The second tender for tracked guns was floated at the end of the month. Expected competitors include BAE Land Systems USA (M109A6 Paladin possible for tracked), BAE Bofors (FH77B towed, Archer wheeled), France’s Nexter (Caesar wheeled), Rheinmetall (Zuzana wheeled from Kerametal in Slovakia, possibly PzH-2000 for tracked), Korea’s Samsung Techwin (K9 for tracked), and Israel’s Soltam (Atmos 2000 for wheeled, Rascal for tracked).

In making its decision to re-float the RFP, the cabinet committee on security reportedly concluded that:

• A single-vendor situation must be avoided;
  
• South Africa’s Denel had emerged as the single vendor for the tracked version, but they were blacklisted in 2005 on another deal;
  
• The process delays of 5 years since the first tender have been so great that the field as a whole has advanced since then;
  
• The standards for the selection of the guns need to be revised; and
  
• India’s defence procurement policy has been revised in the interim, and the RFP should reflect that.

Self-propelled howitzers RFP v2.0

Jan 16/06: A new scandal is swirling around re-opened allegations of kick-backs involving Bofors, and complicity by the current government in covering them up.

Jan 13/06: New trials. The Press Trust of India (PTI) reports that Army Chief General J J Singh has ordered a 4th round of extensive trials for the guns, in which only the Bofors and Soltam guns will be taking part. He said the two contending 155mm/52 caliber guns would be evaluated through summer and winter trials, with the winner inducted by 2007.

DID thought that was a bit optimistic…

Jan 12/06: BMCS RFP. The Times of India reports that India’s UPA government has floated new global tenders for collaboration in the Nalanda ordnance factory project to manufacture 155mm Bi-Modular Charge Systems (BMCS) for India’s artillery. See this link from BAE’s SWS Defence for a more in-depth look at a particular BMCS solution.

South Africa’s Denel had been picked, but the blacklisting stemming from the anti-material rifles’ deal is having further ripple effects. The winner of this competition will be well positioned for any follow-on orders involving India’s new howitzers.

July 28/05: Denel blacklisted. South African competitor Denel is blacklisted from Indian defense contracts by the Ministry of Defence, as a result of the CBI’s bribery investigation.

Denel blacklisted

June 15/04: Madison Government Affairs, summarizing Defense News:

“The Indian Army will choose among three foreign contenders for a $2 billion purchase of about 400 155mm self-propelled howitzers after field trials in the Rajasthan desert later this month, an Indian Defence Ministry official said. The candidates are the Swedish SWS Defense AB FH77B05 L52, the Israeli Soltam TIG 2002 and the South African Denel G5/2000 gun. All three failed to meet India’s accuracy specifications in last year’s trials; all three improved their guns to compete again this year, said an Indian Army official from the artillery directorate”

Additional Readings

• India MoD, via Slideshare – Defence Procurement Procedure 2013: Capital Procurement

• Indian MoD (June 1/13) – Salient Features of Defence Procurement Procedure- 2013.

Towed Guns

• Bharat Rakshak – 155mm BOFORS FH-77B.

• DID – M777: He Ain’t Heavy, He’s my Howitzer. An alternative from BAE Systems for the towed segment.

• Soltam Systems – Athos [PDF]. Towed 155mm howitzer.

Self-Propelled Guns

• DID – Sweden, Norway to Cooperate on Archer Artillery Project. Uses the FH-77.

• Army Technology – Caesar 155mm Self-Propelled Artillery System, France (Nexter).

• Global Security – 152mm ShKH Dana vz.77 (ZTS).

• Denel Land Systems – G6 SP Gun Howitzer and T5-52 Truck-Mounted gun Howitzer.

• GlobalSecurity – K9 155mm self-propelled howitzer (Samsung Techwin).

• DID (Oct 30/05) – Singapore Unveils New Air-Portable, Semi-Mobile 155mm Pegasus Howitzer.

• Army Technology – Soltam’s Atmos towed/truck-mounted howitzer, and tracked Rascal systems.

• Rheinmetall Defence – RWG-52 and RTG-52 for India’s artillery modernization programme.

News & Views

• The Hindu (Aug 20/14) – Feeble fire in the big guns.

• Force India (April 2012) – Stuck in the Stack: Indian Artillery marred by the S factor, stagnation and scandal.

Americas

BAE Systems won a $23.9 million contract modification for post-shakedown-availability (PSA) of the Arleigh Burke Class destroyer USS Paul Ignatius. The post-shakedown-availability is accomplished within a period of approximately 16 weeks between the time of ship custody transfer to the Navy and the shipbuilding and conversion obligation work limiting date. The PSA comprises all of the manpower, support services, material, non-standard equipment and associated technical data and documentation required to prepare for and accomplish the PSA. Work will include correction of government responsible trial card deficiencies, new work identified between custody transfer and the time of PSA, and incorporation of engineering changes not incorporated during the construction period, which are not otherwise the building yard’s responsibility under the ship construction contract. Huntington Ingalls delivered the USS Paul Ignatius to the US Navy during a ceremony on February 25. It is the 67th ship in its class and and is scheduled to sail away from the shipyard in June. BAE Systems will perform work in Jacksonville, Florida, and the expected completion date is in May 2020.

The US Navy awarded Raytheon a $19 million modification for engineering and technical services on the Standard Missile-2 and Standard Missile-6. The SM-2 missile provides anti-air warfare and limited anti-surface warfare capability against advanced anti-ship missiles and aircraft out to 90 nautical miles. According to Raytheon, the SM-6 is the only missile considered a “triple threat,” with anti-air warfare, anti-surface warfare and sea-based terminal ballistic missile defense enabling the US and its allies to cost-effectively increase the offensive might of surface forces. The missiles are deployed on cruisers and destroyers in the US Navy, as well as by international customers approved by the Defense Department. The combined contract is 90 percent for the Navy, with the rest under Foreign Military Sales for Australia, Germany, Denmark, Korea and Japan. Work will take pace in Tucson, Arizona and is scheduled to be completed by April 2020.

Middle East & Africa

According to local reports, the Israeli Defense Forces conducted a training exercise that involved the Patriot and the Iron Dome missile defense systems. Israel Air Force aerial defense personnel conducted interceptions of targets at various heights and distances. The drill was carried out at a base in central Israel and included a range of scenarios in order to test the capabilities of the Israel Air Force’s air defense fighters and technicians and their missile systems. Several missiles were launched against a combination of drones and unmanned aerial vehicles. Military delegations from the US and Greece attended and observed the trial and were able to draw conclusions from its results.

Europe

MBDA together with the UK’s Ministry of Defense presented details on the development of the SPEAR-EW and SPEAR-Glide, Jane’s reports. They are prospective air-launched missile variants evolved from MBDA’s baseline SPEAR stand-off, air-to-surface developmental weapon system. SPEAR is a long-range missile powered by a Pratt & Whitney TJ-130 turbojet engine with a range of over 140 km. It is the MBDA’s solution for the UK Ministry of Defense’s 100 kg class Selective Precision Effects At Range Capability 3 (SPEAR Cap 3) requirement. The weapon is supposed to be used within the internal weapons bay of the UK Royal Air Force and Royal Navy F-35 Lightning multirole stealth aircraft. Integration of SPEAR onto the Eurofighter Typhoon is also a program of record for the RAF.

Ukrainian Company Kyiv Armored Plant has developed a new wheeled command post armored vehicle called BTR-3KS, based on a BTR-3 wheeled APC (Armored Personnel Carrier) chassis. Kyiv Armored Plant is part of the State Company Ukroboronprom. The new command vehicle is fully equipped with modern battle management system, secure digital communication system coupled to tactical computer and network. The vehicle has also its own unmanned aerial systems that can be used to perform reconnaissance missions. This UAV is attached to the right side of the tank when it is not in use. Ukroboronprom claims that this battle management system can combine and process all information transmitted from command stations, combat vehicles, counter-battery radars, and unmanned aerial vehicles via secured digital communications regarding the location of divisions and targets.

Asia-Pacific

The Indian Air Force (IAF) inaugurated a repair and overhaul facility for its fleet of Russian-made Mil Mi-17 V5 ‘Hip’ medium-lift helicopters on April 17 at Chandigarh, north of New Delhi. Local reports say that the new facility comes in a boost to India’s self-sufficiency in carrying out defense repairs. The new facility will help repair Mi-17 V5 helicopter airframes and their aero engines. The Mil Mi-17 V5 is one of the world’s most advanced helicopters. It is designed to transport cargo inside the cabin and on an external sling. It can also be deployed in troop and arms transport, fire support, convoy escort, patrol, and search-and-rescue missions. India had acquired 151 twin-engine Mi-17-V5s between 2008 and 2016 for $2.87 billion.

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Americas

Sikorsky won a $23.4 million contract to maintain and overhaul the UH-60 Blackhawk. The medium lift utility helicopter is used for a variety of roles including troop transportation. The A model of the twin-engine chopper was designed to to serve in utility, air assault, medevac, command and control, and reconnaissance roles. The UH-60A entered service with the US Army in 1979. This was followed by the fielding of electronic warfare and special operations variants of the Black Hawk. Improved UH-60L and UH-60M utility variants have also been developed. Sikorsky will complete work for the current contract until April 17, 2023.

The US Navy awarded EFW a $17.8 million contract modification to procure 132 V-22 integrated avionics processors for the Navy and Air Force. The V-22 Osprey is a joint service multirole combat aircraft that can take off, land and hover like a helicopter and, once airborne, it can convert to a turboprop airplane capable of high-speed, high-altitude flight. Since entering service with the US Marine Corps and Air Force, the Osprey has been deployed in transportation and medevac operations over Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya, and Kuwait. In 2010, Bell-Boeing designed a new integrated avionics processor that resolved electronics obsolescence issues, added new network capabilities, and increased data throughput for the Osprey’s legacy Mil-STD-1553 avionics data bus. In 2017, EFW won an $8 million contract for V-22 integrated avionics processors. Work under the current modification will take place in Israel and Texas and is scheduled to be finished in February 2021.

Middle East & Africa

Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI) plans to push its Anka-Aksungur medium-altitude long-endurance drone into series production early next year, Jane’s reports. The company is reportedly expanding the testing envelope of its internally funded air vehicle development. The Anka-Aksungur is a twin-engine UAV that features a twin-boom airframe design supported by a retractable undercarriage and incorporating forward-mounted PD170 twin-turbocharged engines developed by Tusa? Engine Industries with input from General Electric, followed by a set of high-mounted wings with slight dihedral and terminating in vertical stabilizers joined by a horizontal tailplane. TAI started the Anka-2 project to develop a new UAV with higher payload. The high-range drone should operate at mid-altitude and would be utilized for roles such as reconnaissance, surveillance and attack. In March it was reported that the drone had completed its maiden flight.

Europe

Polish shipbuilder Nauta Shiprepair Yard launched the hull of Swedish Navy’s new signal intelligence (SIGINT) ship. The launching ceremony took place in Gdynia, Poland on April 17. Outfitting and equipment installation will take place at Nauta Shiprepair Yard, after which the vessel will undergo harbor and sea trials. The ship will then sail to Saab’s shipyard in Karlskrona to complete outfitting of special systems. According to Saab, the ship will be 74 meters long, displace 2,200 tonnes and will replace HSwMS Orion which was launched in 1984. The new ship will be given the name HSwMS Artemis.

According to local reports, NATO for the first time launched Italian Air Force Eurofighters based at Gioia del Colle Air Base on April 9. The mission was to intercept a civilian airliner that lost communications with civilian air traffic control over Croatia and was heading south towards Montenegro and Albania. It was established that the loss of communications was related to a misunderstanding between civilian air traffic control and the airliner crew. After resuming regular contact with the civilian controllers, the airliner continued to proceed to its destination to Hurghada, Egypt. On December 16, 2005, the F-2000 Typhoon reached initial operational capability with the Italian Air Force. The Italian Air Force uses the Eurofighter Typhoon as the main nation’s asset for air defense and coalition missions.

Asia-Pacific

Japan’s first F-35A stealth fighter reportedly made seven emergency landings in the months prior to crashing in the Pacific Ocean last week. The Japanese Air Force started using its fleet of 13 F35As in January. On April 9, the first plane of Mitsubishi assembly crashed. Of the 13 planes provided by the United States to Japan, five have been forced to make emergency landings in seven incidents. The plane that crashed made two of the emergency landings. Final assembly of four of the error reporting planes, including the fighter that went missing, was carried out in Japan by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. The other aircraft was built and assembled in the US. The crashed fighter reportedly had issues with its cooling and navigation systems twice. Japan grounded its fleet of 13 F-35As in the wake of the crash.

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Americas

Lockheed Martin Space won an $879 million contract to support the US Air Force in maintaining re-entry system and vehicle subsystems for the intercontinental ballistic missile platform. The potential 11-year contract includes maintenance, sustainment, developmental and production engineering, aging surveillance, alteration and software maintenance support for Minuteman III RS/RV equipment. The ICBM is a strategic weapon system using a ballistic missile of intercontinental range. The Minuteman III ICBM is currently the US Air Force’s only operational land-based strategic nuclear missile and can reach targets more than 6,000 miles away. Missiles are dispersed in hardened silos to protect against attack and connected to an underground launch control center through a system of hardened cables. Launch crews, consisting of two officers, perform around-the-clock alert in the launch control center. Lockheed will perform work in Pennsylvania and Utah and expects completion by June 4, 2030.

The Navy awarded Huntington Ingalls a $28.4 million contract modification in support of Follow Yard Class services for the Arleigh Burke (DDG-51) Class destroyer program. The deal provides liaison and technical support, engineering, design, and configuration management, systems engineering team, turnkey, special studies, baseline management, and crew indoctrination and orientation. Arleigh Burke Class destroyers are highly capable, multi-mission ships and can conduct a variety of operations, from peacetime presence and crisis management to sea control and power projection, all in support of the United States’ military strategy. The guided missile destroyers are capable of simultaneously fighting air, surface and subsurface battles. The ship contains myriad offensive and defensive weapons designed to support maritime defense needs well into the 21st century. Ingall’s has delivered 31 Arleigh Burke ships to the Navy. Work under the modification will take place within the US and is scheduled to be finished by April next year.

Middle East & Africa

Boeing won a $30.1 million contract modification to continue the Phase I design maturity, analysis, and test planning for the Stand-off Land Attack Missile – Expanded Response (SLAM-ER) production line in support of Saudi Arabia. The SLAM-ER is a low-cost, low-risk upgrade to the SLAM, which is designed to provide surgical strike capability against high-value, fixed land targets, ships in port, or ships at sea. It can be launched from safe standoff ranges of more than 150 nautical miles. Under the modification Boeing will also redesign obsolete parts to replace obsolete, nearly obsolete or uneconomical parts to support SLAM-ER weapon system production and improve future sustainment. Work will take place within the continental US and is expected to be finished in July this year. Foreign Military Sales funds in the full amount will be obligated at time of award.

Europe

The US Navy awarded Raytheon $72.2 million to support the US-Germany Guided Missile Tech Improvement Program. The contract modification provides design agent and engineering services for the Rolling Airframe Missile (RAM) MK-31 Guided Missile Weapon System Improvement Program. The MK-31 RAM system is a cooperative development and production program conducted jointly by the US and the Federal Republic of Germany under memoranda of understanding. The RAM system is designed to destroy anti-ship missiles. Its passive radio frequency and infrared guidance design provide high-firepower capability for engaging multiple threats simultaneously. Under the program, the company will help maintain the current RAM weapon system and provide design, systems, software maintenance, reliability, maintainability, quality assurance and logistics engineering support. Work will take place in the US and is scheduled to be complete by September 2022.

Asia-Pacific

The final batch of SU-35 „Flanker-E’“ multirole fighter aircraft arrived in China. The country has been the first foreign buyer of Russian Su-35 fighter aircraft. The contract worth about $2.5 billion on the deliveries of 24 generation 4++ fighter jets to China was signed in 2015. The deal also includes the delivery of ground equipment and reserve engines. The Su-35S generation 4++ supersonic fighter jet performed its debut flight on February 19, 2008. The fighter jet is a derivative of the Su-27 plane. The Su-35S weighs 19 tonnes, has a service ceiling of 20,000 meters, can develop a maximum speed of 2,500 km/h and has a crew of one pilot. The fighter jet’s armament includes a 30mm aircraft gun, up to 8 tonnes of the weapon payload (missiles and bombs of various types) on 12 underwing hardpoints. The Su-35S has been in service with the Russian Army since 2015.

The Indian Army approved the import of 240 Rafael Advanced Defense Systems Spike MR anti-tank guided missiles and 12 launchers, Jane’s reports. The buy is part of an „emergency purchase“. The Spike MR is a man-portable missile system designed for urban warfare, ground support and special missions. It operates in Fire & Forget mode for autonomous-guided medium-range target engagement of up to 2.5 km. The missile uses an advanced electro-optic CCD/IIR seeker, sophisticated tracker, and a highly precise guidance system. The equipment is being procured under the recently enhanced financial powers of the Army’s Vice Chief of Staff, who now has the authority to acquire goods and materiel worth$71.8 million without prior approval from the Ministry of Defense.

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Americas

Pratt & Whitney, a subsidiary of United Technologies Corp., won a $201.9 million modification from the US Navy to obtain long lead parts and materials needed to produce lot 14 propulsion systems for the F-35 aircraft. Pratt & Whitney’s F135 propulsion system powers all three variants of the F-35 Lightning II fighter aircraft. It is an afterburning turbofan. The system was developed with efforts to create a stealthy STOVL strike fighter for the US Marine Corps. The modification is in support of the Air Force, Marine Corps, Navy, non-US DOD participants and Foreign Military Sales customers. Pratt & Whitney will perform work in the US and the UK and is expecting completion in April 2022.

The US Navy awarded two contracts for repair work on the F-18 aircraft. The first contract goes to Sierra Nevada Corp., which won $13.5 million to repair the beacon transmitter and beacon receiver of the Hornet aircraft. Sierra Nevada will perform work in Sparks, Nevada and expects completion by April 2024. International Enterprise Inc. won a $7.3 million modification to repair the multipurpose color display replacements of the Hornet. Work under this modification will take place in Talladega, Alabama and is expected to be finished by August 2020.

General Dynamics ordered the Sea Giraffe AMB naval radar from Saab for the US Navy. The radar, designated AN/SPS-77 will be installed in the newest Littoral Combat Ships LCS 36 and LCS 38. The ships will be named USS Kingsville (LCS 36) and USS Pierre (LCS 38). The Sea Giraffe AMB is a medium range, multi-role surveillance radar optimized for detecting small air and surface targets with high update rate in all kinds of environments, including the littorals. It will assist the commander in all kind of naval warfare and give the operators maximum time to react to incoming threats. Saab received the first order for a Sea Giraffe AMB for the LCS in 2005. Since that time, Saab has continuously developed the standard Giraffe AMB sensor. Saab will carry out the work in Syracuse, NY in the US and Gothenburg, Sweden.

Middle East & Africa

Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) launched an innovative solution that connects all platforms on the battlefield, whether they are manned or unmanned. The so called OPAL relies on the creation of a decentralized communication cloud for all platforms on the ground, in the air, and at sea, to allow real-time information sharing. This allows all members to exchange relevant information in order to achieve a comprehensive operational picture of the battlefield. According to IAI, the OPAL solution provides a range of proven capabilities and operational flexibility, which allows for optimal utilization of the available resources to maximize effectiveness for a wide range of missions. OPAL is installed in a variety of advanced fighters, attack helicopters, refueling aircraft, UAVs, ships, Command and Control centers, as well as mobile and fixed base stations.

The Bahrain Defense Force revealed it has been operating Oshkosh M-ATV light armored vehicles in Yemen, Jane’s reports. The Oshkosh M-ATV is a mine-resistant ambush protected vehicle. The vehicle provides superior crew protection by incorporating an armor system from Plasan North America, which developed the armor system in use on more than 5,000 current MRAP vehicles and for the Armored Cab Medium Tactical Vehicle Replacements (MTVR) in Iraq and Afghanistan. Bahrain was not previously known to operate the M-ATV.

Europe

The UK and India signed a renewed Defense Equipment Cooperation Memorandum of Understanding (MoU). The two countries have agreed to “redouble efforts” to identify mutual defense requirements and collaborate on solutions, the UK Ministry of Defense said in a statement. The MoD also indicated that a focus of the agreement will be to explore opportunities in naval systems. By collaborating and exploiting procurement opportunities together, both nations will be able to benefit from technological and manufacturing capabilities as well as support long-term cooperation between their defense and security industries.

Asia-Pacific

The US State Department approved a potential Foreign Military Sale to Taiwan for the continuation of a pilot training program and maintenance and logistics support for the F-16 aircraft. The deal is valued at $500 million. The latest sale follows an announcement last week that a Foreign Military Sales (FMS) contract has been awarded to Raytheon to refurbish radar for Taiwan’s naval vessels for a total cost of nearly $50 million and a $9 million contract to develop and upgrade Taiwan’s Patriot missile defense system over the next five years. Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office (TECRO) has requested the possible sale for the continuation of the pilot training program and maintenance/logistics support for F-16 aircraft currently at Luke Air Force Base, Arizona.

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Americas

The Air Force awarded Boeing a $21.6 million contract modification for GBU-57 Massive Ordnance Penetrator, also known as a „bunker buster“ bomb. The bunker buster is a precision-guided, 30,000 pound bomb employed only by the B-2 Spirit stealth bomber. Once released from the bat-winged bomber, the MOP is guided to targets by GPS and a pair of stubby fins. It was designed to attack deeply buried bunkers and tunnels and carries 5,300 pounds of explosives. GBU-57 was first tested in 2009. The modification provides for sustainment work. Boeing will perform work in Missouri and expects completion by July 18, 2023.

According to Jane’s, the Navy is continuing to evolve the MQ-8C vertical take-off and landing unmanned aerial vehicle. The MQ-8C is the Bell 407-based variant of the Fire Scout. It is designed to be deployed from ground and naval platforms to perform missions including intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, cargo resupply, and communications relay. It provides naval forces with extended over-the-horizon intelligence-gathering capability. The MQ-8C variant has an increased flight time and extended payload capacity as well as a larger airframe than previous variants. The US Navy selected Northrop Grumman as the prime contractor to develop and produce up to eight next-generation MQ-8C Fire Scout unmanned air systems in April 2012. It also awarded a $71 million contract to Northrop Grumman in March 2013 to build a further six MQ-8C helicopters. Modifications currently under development include the introduction of a Link 16 datalink to enhance the UAV’s ability to network the Lockheed Martin MH-60 Naval helicopter. This will enable the crew to receive data being collected by the Fire Scout directly instead of relaying it via the Littoral Combat Ship.

Middle East & Africa

According to reports, Philippines’ president Duterte announced that Jordan will donate a third attack helicopter to the Philippines. The Jordanian government earlier donated two Bell AH-1 Cobra attack helicopters that are supposed to strengthen counterterrorism measures in the Philippines. The choppers will be delivered in July this year. The AH-1 Cobra is a two-blade, single-engine attack helicopter. Jordan obtained 24 AH-1Fs in the late 1980s, and in 2001 obtained nine additional ex-US Army Cobras. In 2010, Jordan transferred 16 AH-1F helicopters to Pakistan, under a US-sponsored support program that provided Islamabad with 40 AH-1 refurbished helicopters.

Europe

The Russian Armed Forces will soon start to receive the S-350 and S-500 air defense systems. The development of the S-500 has reached its final stage. The S-500 is a long-range anti-ballistic missile system with a planned range of 500-600 kilometers. The system will carry various missiles. These missiles will have various ranges and will be used against different targets. The S-350 Vityaz air defense system just recently passed the government’s certification tests and the manufacturing of the first serial set has begun. It is meant for hitting aerodynamic and ballistic targets. One system is armed with twelve air defense missiles. The S-500, the S-350 feature high mobility and are able to deploy to and function in unprepared positions.

Asia-Pacific

The Philippine Navy inspected the country’s first two anti-submarine choppers in the UK. According to reports, the test and pre-delivery inspection of the AW-159 Wildcat was going smoothly. In 2016, the country contracted AugustaWestland with a $114 million contract to manufacture the helicopters at the manufacturer’s Yeovil, UK site. The deal also includes training and support. The Wildcat is in service with the UK’s Royal Navy and Army Air Corps. The AW159 Wildcat features a ferry range of 963 kilometers and has an endurance of one-and-a-half hours, or four-and-a-half hours when provided with auxiliary fuel. It has a range of 777 kilometers and is capable of travelling at speeds of 291 kilometers per hour. The two AW159s will join Manilla’s modest naval rotorcraft fleet, which consists of five AgustaWestland AW109Es.

China’s Marine Lizard amphibious combat unmanned surface vessel completed successful factory acceptance tests on April 8 at Wuchang Shipbuilding Industry Group’s Shuangliu shipyard. The amphibious drone ship is the world’s first armed amphibious drone boat which military analysts said could be used in land assault operations and is capable of forming a combat triad with aerial drones and other drone ships. Wuchang Shipbuilding’s Module Company division also handed over the first pre-production hull for the Marine Lizard to Qingdao Wujiang Technology Company for systems integration and further development. The Marine Lizard USV is under joint development by Wuchang Shipbuilding Industry Group and Qingdao Wujiang Technology Company. In ship form, the 12-meter-long Marine Lizard is a trimaran propelled by a diesel-powered hydrojet and can reach a maximum speed of 50 knots while maintaining stealth. When approaching land, the amphibious drone ship can release four continuous track units hidden under its belly, and travel at 20 kilometers an hour on land,

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“Grand Slam”
(click to view full)

During the Second World War, attacking heavily protected targets like U-boat pens and protected “V-weapon” facilities was a key challenge. Enter a brilliant British engineer named Barnes Wallis, fresh off the dam-busting “Upkeep” bouncing bomb. His next trick was a 12,000 pound weapon called the “Tallboy,” a streamlined, spin-stabilized bomb with a claimed terminal velocity of Mach 1 when dropped from 20,000 feet. That mass, carrying 5,200 pounds of Torpex D1 explosive, made a crater 80 feet deep x 100 feet across when it hit. By 1945, Wallis’ next “Earthquake bomb” was in production – the 22,000 pound “Grand Slam.” His creations made short work of U-boat pens.

These bombs went out of fashion with the advent of nuclear weapons, but if you wait long enough, fashion comes around again. Enter the USA’s new GBU-57 Massive Ordnance Penetrator (MOP). Despite additional funding, and October promises of accelerated deployment, the MOP did not arrive by mid-2010, as planned. Development continues, however, including a set of upgrades ordered in 2012 that are aimed at closing the gap against specific targets…

The MOP Program The Program

Boeing MOP
(click to view full)

The GBU-57A/B MOP project began in 2004 as a proof of technology demonstration, with early tests conducted by the US Defense Threat Reduction Agency that focuses on securing and cooperatively destroying nuclear materials and bio-chemical weapons. With the FY 2006 demise of the RNEP nuclear bunker-buster program, MOP stepped into the spotlight as a way to address advancing trends. Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman:

“The threats have been developing over the years… There are, without getting into any intelligence, there are countries that have used technologies to go further under ground and to take those facilities and make them hardened. This is not a new phenomenon, but it is a growing one.”

Pentagon Press Secretary Geoff Morrell adds:

“The reality is that the world we live in is one in which there are people who seek to build weapons of mass destruction, and they seek to do so in a clandestine fashion,” he said. “And this has been a capability that we have long believed was missing from our quiver, our arsenal, and we wanted to make sure we filled in that gap.”

MOP flight tests began in 2008, and in February 2010, the DTRA MOP Technology Demonstration transitioned to the USAF as a Quick Reaction Capability Program. Most MOPs produced have been used in test, and a 2012 contract aimed at a sequence of upgrades. Those upgrades were reportedly tested in 2013.

Northrop Grumman is the B-2A prime contractor, and leads the MOP integration effort. Boeing Company is the prime contractor to produce the MOP, and will also be the B-52 fleet integrator. They serve as a subcontractor to Northrop Grumman for the B-2 integration effort.

The Weapon

MOP Mockup, Whiteman AFB
(click to view full)

This 30,000 pound weapon is approximately 31.5 inches in diameter and 20.5 feet long, with about the same amount of explosives inside as Wallis’ Tallboy (5,300 pounds). It isn’t the biggest bomb the USA has ever built – the 44,000 pound T12 has that distinction – but it could well become the biggest conventional bomb ever used. Even the famous GBU-43 MOAB (Mother Of All Bombs) thermobaric weapon weighs in at only 21,000 pounds.

Unlike the MOAB, however, this project’s goal is a GPS-guided, hard-penetrating weapon that can be carried aboard B-2A Spirit bombers to defeat “a specialized set of hard and deeply buried targets” like bunkers and tunnel facilities. Some graphics show expectations of over 60 feet of concrete destroyed, and a USAF article stated that the bomb was meant to penetrate 200 feet underground before exploding.

That may have been revised upward in the 2012 upgrade, which tried to address perceived shortfalls against known targets. Upgrades reportedly include more precise guidance through undisclosed means, adjustment of the detonator fuze to withstand impact with layers of granite and steel, and the ability to reject guidance-jamming attempts and operate in “contested environments.”

About 8 operational GBU-57s have been publicly ordered to date, and a number of bomb bodies and flight test weapons have been detonated in tests.

The B-2A will be able to carry 2 MOPs: one in each bay, mounted to the existing forward and aft mounting hardware.

The B-52H Stratofortress has been used in tests, but it won’t be used operationally. Any target you’d want to use an MOP on will be very heavily defended, and a B-52 run would lend new meaning to the term “suicide bomber.”

Contracts and Key Events

The program would appear to be in the late stages of weapon development and testing, with very slow low-rate production orders, and an ongoing parallel improvement program that may clear the way for more orders soon.

FY 2016-2019

Second Phase Redesign.

MOP comparisons

April 16/19: Sustainment The Air Force awarded Boeing a $21.6 million contract modification for GBU-57 Massive Ordnance Penetrator, also known as a „bunker buster“ bomb. The bunker buster is a precision-guided, 30,000 pound bomb employed only by the B-2 Spirit stealth bomber. Once released from the bat-winged bomber, the MOP is guided to targets by GPS and a pair of stubby fins. It was designed to attack deeply buried bunkers and tunnels and carries 5,300 pounds of explosives. GBU-57 was first tested in 2009. The modification provides for sustainment work. Boeing will perform work in Missouri and expects completion by July 18, 2023.

October 19/15: Boeing’s GBU-57 Massive Ordnance Penetrator (MOP) will undergo a second phase redesign, known as the Enhanced Threat Reduction IV, with a contract anticipated soon. With no plans to competitively procure the weapon, the next GBU-57 contract – expected to be for the redesign, qualification and testing of the weapon – will be a sole-course acquisition. The bunker-busting bomb has been in development since 2004, with early tests conducted by the US Defense Threat Reduction Agency. The hard-penetrating weapon is intended to be carried on B-2A Spirit stealth bombers, thought to be capable of carrying two of the weapons in internal bays.

FY 2011 – 2013

Low-Rate Initial Production; William J. Perry award; Pause for improvement; Fordow and Bust.

June 7/13: Jerusalem Post:

“In an effort to show Israel and other ally states that it is capable of striking Iran’s nuclear plants, the US has recently conducted a test of its bunker buster bomb, destroying a replica of an underground nuclear facility, Hebrew daily Yediot Aharonot reported on Friday.

The nuclear facility replica, that cost millions of dollars to build, was made of concrete and buried under dozens of feet of dirt and rocks, Yediot reported.”

May 3/13: Fordow & Bust. The Wall Street Journal reports that the GBU-57 MOP upgrades (q.v. April 12/12) are specifically designed to enable the destruction of Iran’s underground Fordow uranium enrichment plant near the city of Qom. Improvements reportedly include better guidance through undisclosed means, adjustment of the detonator fuze to withstand impact with layers of granite and steel, and the ability to reject guidance-jamming attempts and operate in “contested environments.”

The upgrades have also pushed spending on the program from $300 million to around $400 million. Defense Update | Jerusalem Post | Wall Street Journal [subscriber-only].

April 12/12: Contract. Boeing in St. Louis, MO receives a maximum $98.8 million cost-plus-incentive-fee and firm-fixed-priced contract “to procure enhanced threat response redesign for the Massive Ordnance Penetrator, a quick reaction capability program.” Translation: the enemy is tougher, so it needs to be badder.

Work will be performed in St. Louis, MO, and is to be complete by March 30/14. The AAC/EBDK/EDBJ at Eglin Air Force Base, FL manages this contract (FA868109-C-0280, PO 0034).

Upgrade contract

Feb 7/12: Contract. Boeing in St. Louis, MO receives an $18.3 million cost-plus-incentive-fee and firm-fixed-priced items contract for accelerated MOP effort, regression testing, and a fuze risk reduction effort. Work will take place in Saint Louis, MO, and is expected to be complete by Feb 28/13. The AAC/EDBK/EDBJ at Eglin AFB, FL manages the contract (FA8681-09-C-0280, PO 0030).

Jan 27/12: Better MOP needed. The Wall Street Journal reports that:

“…initial tests indicated that [MOP], as currently configured, would not be capable of destroying some of Iran’s facilities, either because of their depth or because Tehran has added new fortifications to protect them… [prompting] the Pentagon this month to secretly submit a [$82 million] request to Congress to enhance the bomb’s ability to penetrate deeper… before exploding.”

See WSJ [subscription] | UK’s Daily Mail | China’s Xinhua | Iran’s Tehran Times.

Improvements needed

Jan 17/12: Recognition. Members of the Massive Ordnance Penetrator program team from the USAF, Defense Threat Reduction Agency, and Boeing Company receive the 16th annual William J. Perry Award for the MOP.

The award is named in honor of former Secretary of Defense Dr. William J. Perry (1994-1997) and recognizes exceptional contributions to precision strike systems in the private or public sector by an individual or team. USAF.

William J. Perry award

Aug 2/11: Contract. Boeing in St Louis, MO receives a $32.1 million cost-plus-incentive-fee contract modification for an aircraft closure redesign; plus 8 MOPs, 16 separation nuts; and 8 MOP loading adapters. Work will be performed at St. Louis, MO. The Air Armament Center EBDK/EBDJ at Eglin Air Force Base, FL manages the contract (FA8681-09-C-0280, PO0022).

April 7/11: Low rate production begins. Boeing in St Louis, MO receives a $28.3 million cost-plus-incentive-fee contract modification for 8 massive ordnance penetrators, 16 separation nuts, 8 MOP loading adapters, and an aft closure redesign. Work will be performed at St. Louis, MO. The ACC/EDBK/EDBJ in Eglin Air Force Base, FL manages the contract (FA8681-09-C-0280, P00019).

LRIP-1

Feb 8/11: Boeing in St Louis, MO receives a $15.2 million contract modification for additional Massive Ordnance Penetrator Integration to include flight test support, 3 additional test assets, an alternative/modified fuse design, and 16 fuses. At this time, $6 million has been committed by the AAC/EBDK/EBDJ – MOP Tiger Team at Eglin Air Force base, FL (FA8681-09-C-0280, P00016).

It would appear that the December 2010 goal has not been met.

FY 2007 – 2010

Contract for 8 more test weapons; Testing work; Pentagon tries to accelerate the program, but it ends up being late.

MOP mockup in
B-2 Weapon Load Trainer
(click to view full)

Aug 9/10: Contract. Boeing Co. in St Louis, MO receives a $20.3 million contract modification to provide 8 Massive Ordnance Penetrator (MOP) “extended user evaluation assets”: 8 MOP warheads, 8 MOP toolkits, 8 MOP loading adapters; 8 carriage and release equipment sets; 16 separation nuts; 16 fuzes; and 4 separation nut simulators, with associated proposal preparation charges. At this time, $10 million has been committed by the AAC/EDBK at Eglin Air Force Base, FL (FA8681-09-C-0280; P00009).

8 Test MOPs

Dec 20/09: An email from a Pentagon spokesperson confirms that despite the funds for accelerated fielding, the MOP program will deliver about 6 months late. Tara Rigler is quoted as saying that:

“Funding delays and enhancements to the planned test schedule have pushed the capability availability date to December 2010,” [instead of mid-2010].

The Pentagon added that despite the successful B-52 test flight with an inert MOP over White Sands Missile Range, NM on Dec 15/09, they do not plan to use older B-52 Stratofortress bombers as an operational delivery platform for the MOP. Probably because the kinds of facilities you’d want to use an MOP on, are going to be some of a nation’s most prized – and in all likelihood, highly defended – assets. Reuters | The Peninsula of Qatar | Iran’s Press TV.

Oct 8/09: A Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman briefs reporters on the MOP, acknowledging that Congress had approved the redirection of $52 million to accelerate its fielding to mid-2010. Pentagon Armed Forces Press Service:

“The department has been “working on technology that allows us to get at deeply buried, hardened targets” since 2004… Development of the bomb has taken longer than originally envisioned because of variables in the budget process, Whitman said, adding that it is now back “on track.”

…Therefore, he said, the department decided to develop a new penetrator bomb, which should be ready by next summer [summer 2010]. Although there was no “urgent” reason to develop the new bomb, defense planners recognized the need to obtain it, Whitman said. Such a weapon is “an important capability to have,” he said.”

See: Pentagon AFPS | Voice of America.

Oct 2/09: Contract. Boeing subsidiary McDonnell Douglas Corporation of St. Louis, MO received a $51.9 million contract to provide Massive Ordnance Penetrator Integration on B-2 test aircraft. At this time $32.15 million has been committed by the 708 ARSG/PK at Eglin Air Force Base, FL (FA8681-09-C-0280, P00002).

Aug 18/09: Contract. Boeing subsidiary McDonnell Douglas Corporation in St. Louis, MO received a $12.5 million cost plus fixed-fee contract with performance incentives to provide for 3 Massive Ordnance Penetrator separation test vehicles, associated aircraft and handling equipment, and technical support for one single and one dual release separation and de-conflict test on the B-52 aircraft.

In English, they’re going to test MOP drops on the B-52, in order to ensure safe and dependable drops when releasing either 1 or 2 MOPs. At this time $6.2 million has been committed by the AAC/708th ARSG PK at Eglin Air Force Base, FL (FA8681-09-C-0280, P00001).

Aug 17/09: UPI reports that the U.S. Defense Department says it wants to accelerate the MOP program, asking Congress for the necessary funding to ensure that it would be ready by July 2010. UPI adds that both US Central Command, which covers the middle east, and the Pacific Command, which covers North Korea, have endorsed the speed up.

July 16/09: Contract. Boeing subsidiary McDonnell Douglas Corporation in St. Louis, MO received a $12.1 million contract “to provide massive ordnance penetrator on B-2 platform.” At this time, $6 million has been obligated. The AAC/708th at Eglin Air Force Base, FL manages the contract (FA8681-09-C-0280).

April 28/09: A USAF team, a Northrop Grumman-led aircraft contractor team, and a Boeing-led weapon contractor team verify that the equipment required to integrate the new MOP on the B-2 will fit together properly inside the aircraft. This includes the hardware that holds the MOP inside the weapons bay, the weapon itself, and the hardware used by the aircrew to command and release the weapon.

The checks were conducted at Whiteman Air Force Base, MO using a high-fidelity MOP mockup and the B-2 Weapons Load Trainer, a device that simulates the interior size and shape of the aircraft’s weapons bays. Northrop Grumman release.

Oct 23/08: Boeing announces a July 2008 test, in which a new fuze well design allowed a Small Diameter Bomb fuze in an 1,800-pound warhead to survive “a supersonic impact into high-strength reinforced concrete and soil” at Holloman AFB. Research partners included Applied Research Associates (ARA), L-3 KDI Precision Products, and Ellwood National Forge Co.

The design is the result of data collected from a 2006 test at Holloman Air Force Base in New Mexico, when Boeing propelled a 1,800-pound penetrator warhead at more than 2,300 feet per second through high-strength reinforced concrete. Steve Vukelich, director of Special Programs at Boeing says that “This design concept can be incorporated into existing weapon fuzes and [is] currently being considered for a number of advanced weapons.”

Feb 6/08: The Register reports that the Massive Ordnance Penetrator (MOP) will now be dropped for the first time from a B-52 Stratofortress bomber in June 2008, in a test originally scheduled for August 2007.

The problems apparently stem from the bomb rack. It has proved impossible to hang the MOP from existing racks, and a whole new subsystem has had to be designed, reportedly pushing program costs up by $10 million and causing a 10-month delay.

Dec 18/07: A team of weapons specialists at Whiteman AFB, home of the USA’s B-2 stealth bomber fleet, loaded a 20-foot long, 700 pound mock MOP into a B-2 bomb bay replica that’s used for training purposes. Interesting comment by weapons loader Tech. Sgt. Jason Hermann of the 509th Maintenance Group:

“I couldn’t help but notice how enormous the bomb was hanging in the weapons bay. It looked much larger once we had loaded it into the weapons bay than when it was on the loading adapter.”

See USAF article: “B-2, MOP A Devastating Combo.”

March 14/07: Boeing announced that on a MOP bomb body successfully completed a static tunnel lethality test (i.e. “there’s supposed to be an earth-shattering ka-boom!”) on this day at White Sands Missile Range, NM.

Additional Readings

• WIRED Danger Room (Oct 12/10) – Europe’s HARDBUT Missile Is Your Ultimate Penetrator. Who in MBDA named this one? Don’t ask (don’t tell).

• Pentagon AFPS (Oct 8/09) – New Bomb Has ‘Important Capability,’ DoD Official Says

• USAF (Dec 21/07) – B-2, MOP A Devastating Combo

Americas

The Navy tapped Boeing with $93.6 million to supply eight Wideband Satellite Communication (SATCOM) kits for the P-8A Poseidon aircraft. The deal includes the manufacture as well as test, installation, integration and qualification of the kits. The Wideband Global SATCOM system or WGS is a high-capacity, high-speed SATCOM link that will augment and eventually replace Defense Satellite Communications System (DSCS) and Global Broadcast Service (GBS) satellites as soon as all six satellites are up and ready for use. The new technology provides increased capabilities for C4ISR, battle management, and combat support information purposes by improving satellite bandwidth and communication. The Navy uses The Boeing P-8 Poseidon aircraft, which will be receiving the upgrades, for anti-submarine warfare, anti-surface warfare, and blockade purposes. The aircraft includes electronic support measures to detect, locate, analyze, and intercept sources of electromagnetic energy, such as combat vehicles, ships, or aircraft, to protect from potential threats. Adding WGS will improve the P-8A’s ability to detect electromagnetic sources because it can recognize foreign frequencies that other satellite communications systems cannot detect. Boeing will perform work in Washington, Maryland, and Missouri and is expecting completion in April 2024.

Sikorsky won a $9.5 million contract modification to upgrade the Mission Communications System of the VH-92A presidential helicopter. The modification is for the integration of the Mission Communications System Version 3.0 hardware changes. Sikorsky will perform work in Patuxent River, Maryland and is expecting completion in April 2020. The VH-92 is currently under development and is supposed to replace the Marine Corps’ Marine One US Presidential transport fleet. According to a new report from the Government Accountability Office, the VH-92A program will cost less than initially anticipated. The cost has declined from $5.18 billion to $4.95 billion since 2014. The Navy previously attempted to replace this aging fleet starting in 2002, selecting a variant of the AgustaWestland AW101 called the VH-71. However, the Navy terminated the contract in 2009 due to schedule delays, performance issues, and a doubling of cost estimates, from $6.5 billion to $13 billion. The VH-92A program has also seen some delays. Specifically, the Milestone C review to authorize low-rate initial production has been pushed back five months, from January to June 2019, and the initial operational test and evaluation start has been pushed back from October 2019 to March 2020. An initial operational capability decision is now anticipated in October 2020, three months later than originally expected.

Middle East & Africa

The Type 23 frigate HMS Montrose reportedly arrived in Bahrain to start a three-year mission. The Duke Class ship, that was commissioned in 1994 started its 47,000 mile journey six months ago from her home in Plymouth, sailing via the Pacific and Indian Ocean to reach the Gulf. The Montrose will conduct patrols related to drug trafficking in the Indian Ocean, support counter-terrorism and counter-smuggling operations, and work with Middle East and allied Navies to ensure the safety and security of the region. According to the ship’s Commanding Officer, this deployment „marks a significant milestone“ for the UK’s operations in the Middle East.

Europe

The Ukrainian 1L220UK counter-battery radar successfully completed field tests, the company UkrOboronProm announced. The Zaporizhia-based Iskra research center designed the indigenous counter-battery radar. The Ukranian Armed Forces conducted the tests. The new 1L220UK mobile weapon locating system is designed to detect and track incoming artillery and rocket fire to determine the point of origin for counterbattery fire. The tests, which took place at one of the ranges of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, allowed to confirm the technical specifications of the 1L220UK, which significantly exceeds the counter-battery radars, which are now in service with the Armed Forces of Ukraine. 1L220UK is intended for reconnaissance positions of enemy artillery.

The US will temporarily deploy the THAAD anti-missile protection system in Romania this summer. The Terminal High Altitude Area Defense will be used by NATO for its Ballistic Missile Defense systems while the international alliance’s existing Aegis Ashore Missile Defense System goes through several-week-long maintenance and updates. THAAD will support the ongoing Aegis Ashore Romania mission at Naval Support Facility Deveselu as part of the existing US and NATO BMD mission. Once in place, NATO’s Allied Air Command will assume operational control of THAAD for the duration of its mission. The scheduled update to Aegis Ashore Romania is part of regular updates taking place on all US Aegis systems. The THAAD is an anti-ballistic missile defense system designed to shoot down short-, medium-, and intermediate-range ballistic missiles in their terminal phase by intercepting with a hit-to-kill approach.

Asia-Pacific

Indonesia signed a $1.02 billion contract with South Korean shipbuilder Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering (DSME) for three Type 209/1400 diesel-electric submarines. The vessels will be a follow-on to the country’s Nagapasa class. The submarine will accommodate 40 crewmembers and include eight launchers capable of shooting torpedoes, mines and missiles. For the first vessel under the new contract, which will be the fourth-in-class overall, two of the SSK’s six modules will be constructed by PT PAL in Surabaya, while DSME will build the remaining four in South Korea. The Indonesian-built modules will be shipped to Okpo for assembly. For the second submarine, PT PAL will construct four of the six modules in Surabaya, with DSME constructing the remaining two in Okpo. As with the first vessel, modules that have been constructed in Surabaya by PT PAL will be shipped to South Korea for final assembly. For the third vessel in the contract, PT PAL initially proposed to build the entire submarine.

Today’s Video

Watch: Boeing Releases Concept of its New Advanced Eagle Fighter Aircraft

Aborted landing
(click to view full)

In January 2005, the U.S. Navy selected the US101 as the new “Marine One” baseline helicopter, for use by the President of the United States. The US101 is an American variant of AgustaWestland’s successful AW101 multi-mission medium helicopter; it beat out Sikorsky’s S-92 Superhawk, which is already in use as a government VIP transport in countries like South Korea.

That $1.7 billion victory was first endangered, and then destroyed, by ongoing changes from the White House staff. In 2008, the program’s ballooning costs and requirements got a temporary reprieve when US Navy agreed to proceed with the VH-71, despite a cost per aircraft equal or greater than the President’s Air Force One 747s. By June 2009, however, the VH-71 program had shot itself down.

Another round of competition is on the way, and back in 2009 the Pentagon said it was considering buying 2 different helicopters in the VXX follow-on program. Faced with an initial Analysis of Alternatives deemed too expensive, the OSD accepted the Navy’s revised approach in May 2012, setting things in motion for a new program of record.

The New Marine One Helicopter Programs: A Quick History

VH-3D (top), VH-60N
(click to view full)

The Marine Corps currently operates 11 VH-3D Sea Kings, and 8 smaller VH-60N Black Hawk helicopters. The VH-3Ds were originally placed in service in 1974 and 1975, and the VH-60s entered service in the 1980s. They’re safe and reliable due to low and careful use, but they no longer had the growth capability to incorporate the equipment that George W. Bush’s White House believed was required in a post 9/11 environment.

The new “Marine One” helicopter, expected to be in service for up to 4 decades, was officially designated VH-71A in July 2005. The platform never made it into service. The Presidential office kept adding requirements, the Navy couldn’t or didn’t refuse, and eventually the entire project crashed. Each helicopter had become more expensive than a VC-25 “Air Force One” Boeing 747.

What Now?

When the VH-71 program was terminated, in 2009, the question was what to do with the 9 delivered machines. The President and Pentagon believed that the 5 pilot production VH-71s wouldn’t be useful, long-lived, and cost-effective enough to join the Presidential fleet, while some in Congress still believed the 5 should be fitted out and pressed into service. By September 2011, however, all 9 VH-71 airframes had all been shipped to Canada, for use as spare parts.

In its place, the US DoD plans with a revised “VXX” program that aims to field 21 operational helicopters, divided between Presidential helicopters and associated supply helicopters. In 2012 the Navy and the Office of the Secretary of Defense agreed on a cost-effective revised Analyses of Alternatives, setting things in motion to restart a program of record that won’t be in a position to replace the current fleet until 2020 at the earliest.

The VXX RFP was issued in May 2013. During the EMD phase, the selected contractor will provide 6 test helicopters, 4 of which will transition to front-line service in HMX-1. They’ll join another 17 production helicopters: 4 from LRIP Lot 1, 5 from LRIP Lot 2, and 8 from “full-rate production”. Flight and maintenance training systems and contractor support will also be part of the contract, and the level of security around the project will be very tight.

Meanwhile, the Pentagon moved ahead with a program to refurbish the existing VH-3/VH-60 helicopter fleet, while adding 12 V-22 tilt-rotors that will carry cargo, support staff, and media members. The 1st HMX-1 V-22 was inducted in May 2013.

VH-3/ VH-60 Refurbishment

VH-3D
(click to view full)

This section covers efforts underway to improve existing VH-3D/ VH-60N helicopters, or extend their lifespans.

The VH-3D Lift Improvement program consists of the operational level installation of 55 composite main rotor blades on all 11 VH-3Ds. Sikorsky and their partner Carson Helicopters have been working on upgrades to the VH-3D’s commercial S-61 counterpart, using a 5-blade upgrade of new composite main rotor blades, while strengthening the helicopter’s tail pylon and transmission mounts. This costs just $1.25 million per aircraft, while boosting lift capacity by 2,000 pounds (910 kg), increasing speed by 15 knots at regular power, stretching range by 15%, and doubling service life to 20,000 hours.

The Structural Enhancement Program consists of efforts to redesign the VH-3D’s cabin redesign to reduce total gross weight, replace critical aircraft structure on the VH-60N, upgrade the safety of the fuel system on the VH-3D, and perform Service Life Extensions on the VH-3D and VH-60N.

The VH-3D and VH-60N Cockpit Upgrades consists of an upgrade to LCD panels, replacing mechanical dials and gauges. The Communication Suite Upgrade consists of Demand Assigned Multiple Access Satellite Communication radio upgrade, Digital Frequency Modulation radio upgrade, High Frequency radio upgrade, the Presidential redundant secure communications upgrade, Data Transfer capability upgrade, and Crypto Modernization Upgrade.

The Obsolescence Management Program will manage impending Executive Helicopter obsolescence issues. A variety of factors will be addressed including communication, navigation, operational weight, safety, and engine upgrades to remain mission relevant. An H-3 and H-60 will be converted to TH-3D and TH-60N training helicopters, in order to reduce wear on the operational fleet. The addition of VH-22 Osprey tilt-rotors to the squadron as of May 2013 will also help in this regard, though they’re never used to carry the President.

A Sept 15/14 contract aims to refit the VH-3s with new cabin interiors and air conditioning.

Note that other contracts exist for something called “Special Progressive Aircraft Rework.” These are not upgrades, just an enhanced version of the helicopters’ Standard Depot Level Maintenance that occurs after a set number of flight hours or months, whichever comes first. It includes partial disassembly of the airframe, replacement of components, refurbishment of interior furnishings, and repainting the aircraft.

VH-71/VXX Marine One: Contracts & Events

US Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) in Patuxent River, MD manages these contracts; exceptions are noted in the text below. Note that this article covers the Presidential fleet only. Ancillary planes like the Presidential squadron’s supporting VH-22 Ospreys will have milestones mentioned, but won’t receive full coverage.

FY 2016-2019

Preliminary Design Review for VH-92A

S-92 VIP

April 15/19: Upgrade and Update Sikorsky won a $9.5 million contract modification to upgrade the Mission Communications System of the VH-92A presidential helicopter. The modification is for the integration of the Mission Communications System Version 3.0 hardware changes. Sikorsky will perform work in Patuxent River, Maryland and is expecting completion in April 2020. The VH-92 is currently under development and is supposed to replace the Marine Corps’ Marine One US Presidential transport fleet. According to a new report from the Government Accountability Office, the VH-92A program will cost less than initially anticipated. The cost has declined from $5.18 billion to $4.95 billion since 2014. The Navy previously attempted to replace this aging fleet starting in 2002, selecting a variant of the AgustaWestland AW101 called the VH-71. However, the Navy terminated the contract in 2009 due to schedule delays, performance issues, and a doubling of cost estimates, from $6.5 billion to $13 billion. The VH-92A program has also seen some delays. Specifically, the Milestone C review to authorize low-rate initial production has been pushed back five months, from January to June 2019, and the initial operational test and evaluation start has been pushed back from October 2019 to March 2020. An initial operational capability decision is now anticipated in October 2020, three months later than originally expected.

May 7/18: ‘Marine One’ cheaper as expected Sikorsky has announced that its fleet of VH-92A helicopters, that are replacing the President’s Marine One, are on schedule and slightly below previous cost estimates by 2.4%, or about $123 million. Cost reductions came from a small number of design changes, stable requirements and efficiencies from cost saving initiatives. The Marine Corps currently operates 11 VH-3D Sea Kings, and 8 smaller VH-60N Black Hawk helicopters. The VH-3Ds were originally placed in service in 1974 and 1975, and the VH-60s entered service in the 1980s. They’re safe and reliable due to low and careful use, but they no longer had the growth capability to incorporate the equipment in a post 9/11 environment. The US Navy plans to acquire a fleet of 23 VH-92A helicopters to replace the Marine Corps’ existing fleet of VH-3D and VH-60N helicopters at a total cost of $5.1 billion, and with an initial delivery scheduled by FY 2020 through FY 2023. The new “Marine One” helicopters are expected to be in service for up to 4 decades.

August 07/17: Lockheed Martin has announced that the VH-92A presidential helicopter has made its maiden flight. Two flights were made by Engineering Development Model 1 (EDM-1) on July 29 at Sikorsky Aircraft in Stratford, Connecticut with both sorties lasting for one hour. During the test, the team made hovering control checks, a low speed flight, and a pass of the airfield. An additional EDM-2 is on track for its first flight later this year. Expected to enter service in 2020, both helicopters will transport the president and vice president of the United States and other officials.

July 27/16: The US Navy has cleared Lockheed Martin’s VH-92A program Critical Design Review (CDR). Tasked with transporting the president and vice president of the United States and other officials, the VH-92 will see initial fielding in 2020, and production continuing until 2023. First flight is expected next year.

June 21/16: Sikorsky has announced that its VH-92A Marine One helicopter VH-92A program is the subsystem critical design review of the helicopter at the end of next month, and that is expected to take place earlier than scheduled.

November 6/15: Sikorsky has completed a Preliminary Design Review (PDR) for its new Presidential transport helicopter, the VH-92A. The company was awarded a $1.2 billion engineering & manufacturing development contract in May 2014 for development of the helicopter, with options covering 21 operational and 2 test helicopters. The Presidential Helicopter Recapitalization Program (or VXX) saw Sikorsky become the only bidder after other competitors dropped out. The VH-92A is scheduled for fielding in 2020, with the PDR allowing Sikorsky to move into a Critical Design Review (CDR) stage.

FY 2014

VXX development contract; final VH-71 settlement.

Sept 16/14: VH-3s. Sikorsky in Stratford, CT receives a $9.2 million cost-plus-fixed-fee, firm-fixed-price delivery modification for one-time efforts redesigning the VH-3D’s cabin interior and environmental control system, including VIP seats, a cabin interior kit, and special tooling. All funds are committed immediately, using FY 2014 US Navy aircraft budgets.

Work will be performed in Stratford, CT, and is expected to be completed in August 2016. US Navy NAVAIR in Patuxent River, MD manages the contract (N00019-14-G-0004, DO 4010).

May 7/14: VXX Contract. Sikorsky in Stratford, CT receives a $1.245 billion fixed-price-incentive-firm target contract for the Presidential Helicopter Replacement program’s Engineering and Manufacturing Development phase. The EMD Phase includes 6 VH-92 test aircraft and associated support equipment, with “mature government-defined mission systems” integrated, flight training and maintenance training devices/ simulators, and various forms of support.

$42 million is being committed immediately, using FY 2014 RDT&E funding. Work will be performed in Stratford, CT (62.22%); Owego, NY (19.38%); Coatesville, PA (14.25%); Orlando, FL (1.44%); Phoenix, AZ (.86%); Cedar Rapids, IA (.85%); Vergennes, VT (.53%); and Torrance, CA (.47%), and is expected to be complete in October 2020. US NAVAIR in Patuxent River, MD received 1 offer (N00019-14-C-0050).

VXX EMD contract

Jan 27/14: VH-71 Termination. Inside Defense reports that Lockheed Martin and the US government finalized the end of the VH-71 helicopter program on Dec 19/13 with a final $91.1 million payout: $38.5 million for completed work and $51.6 million in termination fees. That brings the termination total to about $203 million (q.v. June 2/11).

The contract was terminated on June 2/09, and the total amount paid to Lockheed over the entire contract ends up costing the taxpayer about $2.2 billion. The biggest reason for all that waste is a President’s own office that couldn’t stop adding requirements (q.v. Dec 13/07, Jan 19/08), but enforcing Navy certification requirements on a helicopter designed to commercial aviation standards wasn’t helpful, either (q.v. March 14/08). Sources: Inside Defense, “DOD, Lockheed Settle On Final $2.3 Billion Tab For Terminated VH-71 Program”.

FY 2013

VXX RFP out; 1st V-22 joins HMX-1; 2014 budget highlights VH-3/VH-60 upgrade costs.

HMX-1’s V-22
(click to view full)

Sept 6/13: GAO Report. The GAO releases a short report that looks at the Navy’s rationale for waiving competitive prototyping requirements for either the base VXX helicopter, or its equipment suite. That’s normally required by The Weapon Systems Acquisition Reform Act of 2009, but prototyping can be waived with a justification to the US Comptroller General.

As VXX hit Milestone B, the US Navy had calculated that competitive prototyping would delay fielding by 16 months, and raise development costs by somewhere between FY11$ 782 million – 3.38 billion. At best, spending in the higher end of this range would save FY11$ 542 million in lifetime costs, which is a poor deal.

The helicopter justification is straightforward this time, because the program is insisting on an off-the-shelf helicopter, without huge modifications to change performance. For the mission sub-systems, most of the components are known, and prototyping wouldn’t be a big help to integration. GAO did note that this aspect of the program is likely to be challenging, and may be more challenging than the Navy thinks, but the question is whether competitive prototyping would help. GAO thought the Navy’s documentation and analytical rigor around that question was good, and accepted the Navy’s rationale. That’s good news, if the Navy wants to go ahead with just the VH-92. Sources: US GAO Report #GAO-13-826R.

Aug 2/13: VXX. Reuters quotes “Defense officials” who say that the pullout of AgustaWestland and Boeing won’t change their plans to proceed, “and said there were procedures in place to ensure competitive pricing even in cases involving a single bidder.”

These procedures include re-use of existing equipment in the new airframe, and could involve the CRH search and rescue helicopter approach of requesting more price data from Sikorsky. Sources: Reuters, “UPDATE 1-U.S. Navy defends presidential copter bid format as firms bail out”.

S-92
(click to view full)

July 29/13: VH-92 left. Boeing and AgustaWestland both confirm to Aviation Week that they don’t intend to bid on the VXX RFP. That leaves only Sikorsky & Lockheed Martin’s VH-92. The S-92 is widely used as a head-of-state VIP helicopter, but this probably isn’t the outcome the Navy was looking for. AgustaWestland:

“After a comprehensive analysis of the final RFP…. There are fundamental proposal evaluation issues that we believe inhibit our ability to submit a competitive offering, and that provide a significant advantage to our likely competitor…. we believe we have the best, most suitable aircraft for the President.”

Eurocopter never stepped in. Then there’s Boeing, whose response also removes Bell Helicopter:

“The Boeing Company will not submit a bid for the U.S. Navy’s VXX Presidential Helicopter program. While both the Boeing H-47 Chinook and the Bell Boeing V-22 are often used to transport military and government leaders in theaters of operation, we do not believe these aircraft would be competitive for this program as it is currently structured.”

The downwash issues on the White House lawn made those machines rather improbable from the get-go, and you can’t transport a V-22 in a C-17, unless you remove the wings. Leaving the question: now what? Sources: Aviation Week, “VXX Becomes One-Horse Race”.

May 4/13: VH-22. The 1st of 12 MV-22B Ospreys is delivered to the HMX-1 Presidential Squadron. These Ospreys will never carry the President, just cargo, support staff, and media members.

V-22 flight operations at HMX-1 technically began on April 26/13, but flights with support staff and news media representatives won’t begin until later in 2013. Sources: USMC | US NAVAIR.

V-22 joins HMX-1

May 3/13: VXX RFP. The US Navy issues their VXX RFP. Proposals for the 23 helicopters are due in 90 days with a goal to award a fixed-price incentive engineering and manufacturing development (EMD) contract, with production options, by mid-calendar year 2014. Proposals will be evaluated on “best value,” which means a more expensive proposal can win, and technical factors are “slightly more important” than cost. Vendors can gain an extra 10% for assessed strengths in some or all of Fully-outfitted Performance with Overall Weight Growth Margin; Transportability – C-17 Load/Unload Timeline; Cabin Reconfiguration Timeline; and Reliability. Another 5% premium can be gained by offering risk reduction benefits, for a maximum of 15%.

The government will define the mission systems, which is what crashed the program last time, and choose the interior aesthetics from among options offered by the contractor. One hopes that past lessons have been learned. They do have a cost target, which may seem low:

“The affordability target for unit recurring flyaway VXX Integrated Air Vehicle and support equipment, provided for guidance, is $41M. Unit recurring flyaway is defined as that which is associated with the “end item” (excluding GFE hardware) and is comprised of the Prime Mission Equipment including airframe, propulsion, avionics, and it is also comprised of the Software, Integration, and Systems Engineering / Program Management (SEPM) to repeat build of the end item…. The affordability target for Production Support, provided for guidance, is $12M per option year.”

The thing to remember is that most of the helicopter’s total cost will be tied up in the Government Furnished equipment. The difficult interactions happen when the amount of equipment starts forcing overall design changes to the helicopters that can’t be met by off-the-shelf technologies. Having said that, some requirements like the ability to safely land in very small landing zones, with minimal damage to the surroundings, are non-negotiable. Sources: FBO.gov | US NAVAIR.

VXX RFP

May 4/13: H-92. Sikorsky reiterates that they’ll be submitting a variant of their S-92 for VXX, in partnership with Lockheed Martin. They’ll compete against Northrop Grumman and AgustaWestland (AW101), and Boeing (TBD). Sources: Sikorsky, May 4/13 release.

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

Planning changes from FY 2013 to FY 2014 are “directly related to the reprogramming of funds to support the unplanned requirements associated with keeping the existing fleet of Presidential VH-3’s and VH-60’s [sic] safely operating beyond their originally planned service life until replaced by VXX. Requirements include obsolescence issues and safety improvements such as weight reduction efforts, and structural improvements.” Overall, life extension and modernization work on the current fleet of 11 VH-3Ds and 8 VH-60Ns amount to about $708.7 million from FY 2012-2018.

March 28/13: GAO Report. The US GAO tables its “Assessments of Selected Weapon Programs“. Which is actually a review for 2012, plus time to compile and publish. The VXX program gets a short 1-page entry, which notes an April 2012 VXX analysis of alternatives (AOA) study:

“The program plans to leverage existing avionic and mission systems and it uses less stringent requirements than those developed for VH-71. In addition, the acquisition approach includes integrating a government developed communication package and mission systems…. A May 2012 Director of Cost Assessment and Program Evaluation (CAPE) memo certifying the AOA study states that the analysis demonstrates that the proposed approach to avoid [requiring flight recertification of the final helicopter] is feasible for a number of options and, if adopted, offers potential for reduced cost and schedule.”

The tradeoff involves reduced requirements from the VH-71 program, and GAO says that the final Capabilities Development Document didn’t make any changes that would destroy the assumptions of the AOA study.

Nov 29/12: Program Support. Engility Corp. in Mount Laurel, NJ received a $9.7 million cost-plus-fixed-fee contract to provide technical and engineering support services. They’ll help with requirement specification, design, implementation, test, management, and maintenance of laboratory/information system and project/program related software in support of the MH-53 program for minehunting helicopters, the existing VH-3/60 Executive Transportation Program, the VXX program, and general Avionics System Integration.

Work will be performed in Patuxent River, MD (95%), and Lexington Park, MD (5%), and is expected to be completed in November 2013. $2.4 million is committed immediately, and will expire at the end of the current fiscal year, on Sept 30/12. This contract was not competitively procured pursuant to FAR 6.302-1 by the US Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division in Patuxent River, MD (N00421-13-C-0006).

Nov 29/12: VXX. US FBO:

“The VXX Program will conduct a Pre-solicitation Conference on 10 December 2012 at the Southern Maryland Higher Education Center located at 44219 Airport Road, California, MD 20619, from 1:00p.m. to 5:00p.m. EST. The purpose of this event is to provide a brief status update of the VXX Program, inform industry of program requirements, receive industry’s feedback on the draft RFP, and provide a Question & Answer/networking opportunity.”

Nov 23/12: VXX. FBO.gov releases NAVAIR’s draft for the VXX competition, #N00019-12-R-0063. Once the RFP is refined and released, it will be about designing, building, testing, qualifying, and delivering 25 helicopters. The 2 VXX Engineering Development Model (EDM) machines would be delivered within 30-36 months, and 4 System Demonstration Test Article (SDTA) helicopters would be delivered within 42-52 months. They would be followed by 11 Low Rate Initial Production lots, and 8 “Full-Rate Production” lots. Each lot is actually 1 helicopter.

On the one hand, NAVAIR is trying to keep development costs down:

“Offerors will be highly encouraged to propose an existing, in-production helicopter platform from which the VXX will be derived. It is the Government’s desire to hold development to an absolute minimum on the VXX Program and focus the program effort on integration of mature subsystems on a mature platform. While minor changes to the platform to accommodate integration of subsystems are inevitable, change to major components such as drive train, rotors, engines and basic structure is highly discouraged. In keeping with this approach, the Offerors will be encouraged to not propose any design elements that contain immature technology or that might be deemed Critical Technology Elements (CTEs).”

Announced competitors Finmeccanica/Northrop Grumman (AW101) and Sikorsky/Lockheed (S-92) both fit the basic requirements. On the other hand, the VH-71/AW101 fiasco involved an in-production, C-17 transportable platform, led by a US contractor. It needed so many changes to its engine, rotors, etc. because of the program’s equipment and range requirements, which couldn’t be met by any existing helicopter. These aspects of VXX have yet to become public. A pre-solicitation conference will be held in Maryland on December 10. Sources: US FBO.gov, “Presidential Helicopter Replacement Program (VXX) Contract” | Aviation Today, “NAVAIR Sets Ball Rolling (Again) for Presidential Helicopter (VXX) Replacement” | Reuters, “Navy moves ahead to replace presidential helicopters”.

FY 2011 – 2012

VXX Analysis of Alternatives; VH-71s sold to Canada as spares.

CH-149 Cormorant SAR
(click to view full)

August 2012: AoA. Navy Public Affairs Officer Capt. Cate Mueller tells DID that the revised Analysis of Alternatives (AoA) was approved back in May. The focus for the program is set on “affordability, cost control and risk reduction” which reflects adjustments asked by the Pentagon after the original AoA was deemed to set an unaffordable path.

The next step in the acquisition process is work on a Capabilities Development Document (CDD), the key deliverable of the Technology Development (TD) phase. This is expected to be submitted for approval to the Joint Requirements Oversight Council (JROC) in 2013. Once that is approved, an Independent Cost Estimate (ICE) has to be made before moving to Pre-Engineering & Manufacturing Development and issuing an RFP.

All told, this puts the program at least “8 years away from when a new helicopter could replace the current fleet” according to Mueller. The Congressional Budget Office, in its July 2012 assessment of the FY 2013-2017 FYDP, assumes a replacement for Marine One will happen “in the second half of this decade.”

Feb 27/12: GAO Report. the Government Accountability Office publishes its second report on DOD’s handling of the VH-71 cancellation aftermath and VXX follow-on. (The first report was released in March 2011.) The GAO conducted a performance audit from March 2011 to February 2012 that reviewed work on the Navy’s AOA and a number of high-level Pentagon and Navy briefings.

The AOA submitted by the Navy in March 2011 was not approved by the Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD) because of a lack of a cost-effective solution. At least that was OSD’s perception as it is relayed in the GAO report. The Navy apparently believed it had been faithful to DOD guidance in its analysis. OSD then provided additional guidance in December 2011. There won’t be a Milestone A, nor an official program, until that is resolved. The revised AOA is expected to be presented to OSD in March 2012.

Feb 13/12: 2013 Budget. The US Navy is asking for $61M in FY2013 for V-XX program definition.

Sept 12/11: Off to Canada. HW Farren Company announces that it has finished transporting the USA’s 9 VH-71 helicopters to Canada’s Department of National Defence, for use as spare parts to Canada’s CH-149 Cormorant fleet. The CH-149s have had readiness issues, and have been consuming spares at a rapid clip. Hence the mention that the 9 helicopters were “in care of” maintenance contract holder IMP Aerospace in Enfield, NS.

The first 4 VH-71s were broken down for transport, but the last 5 could not be disassembled, and HW Farren had to designed and fabricate special wheel cradles for them. They were loaded on a barge, transported to Baltimore, off-loaded, placed on an Atlantic Container Line Roll-On Roll-Off Vessel for transport to Halifax, then re-loaded onto barges, for transport to Canadian Forces Depot Bedford. CFAD Bedford is technically part of CFB Halifax, but the “Bedford Magazine” is its own major property occupying the entire northern shore of Bedford Basin. It houses all of the weaponry and ammunition for MARLANT vessels, and has a loading jetty and several nearby anchorages. HW Farren | CASR.

VH-71s to Canada as spares

June 2/11: Termination fees. Lockheed Martin MS2 in Owego, NY receives a $53.4 million modification to the previously awarded cost-plus-award-fee VH-71 system development and demonstration contract, which was terminated for the convenience of the government. This modification provides funding for post-termination related expenses, including, but not limited to: physical inventory of contractor acquired property; proposal preparation; security; disposition of contract inventory; subcontractor settlement costs; and termination management activities. When combined with the June 2010 contract, it raises termination expenses to $112 million.

Work will be performed in Owego, NY (36%), and at various subcontractor facilities located within the United States and in the United Kingdom and Italy (64%), and is expected to be complete no later than September 2012 (N00019-05-C-0030).

FY 2010

Teaming for VXX

VH-71/ EH101 concept
(click to view full)

June 21/10: Termination fees. Lockheed Martin Mission Systems and Sensors in Owego, NY receives a $58.6 million modification for termination-related expenses. The cost-plus-award-fee VH-71 System Development and Demonstration contract (N00019-05-C-0030) was terminated for the convenience of the government, but there are still some associated costs that the government must pay. This modification provides funding for post termination related expenses, including, but not limited to, the physical inventory of contractor acquired property; proposal preparation; security; disposition of contract inventory; subcontractor settlement costs; termination management activities; and applicable fees.

Work will be performed in Owego, NY (36%) and at various subcontractor facilities located within the USA, and in the United Kingdom and Italy (64%), and is expected to be complete by September 2011. All contract funds will expire at the end of the current fiscal year, on Sept 30/10 (N00019-05-C-0030).

June 7/10: AW101. The EH101 is back, as Boeing teams with AgustaWestland. Finmeccanica’s subsidiary has produced several Boeing helicopters under license in England and Italy (WAH-64 Apache, CH-47 Chinooks), and now Boeing will return the compliment with the AW101. The license will give Boeing full intellectual property, data and production rights, making its version of a Presidential AW101 bid a Boeing aircraft, built by Boeing personnel, at one of its U.S. facilities. Boeing says that it will respond to the current VXX RFI by the June 18/10 deadline.

This decision is likely to create several ripples. Loren Thompson of the Lexington Institute points out that:

“Boeing’s bid could create some embarrassing moments for both itself and Lockheed Martin. Lockheed Martin spent years arguing that the AgustaWestland airframe was superior to the Sikorsky product it now supports… By the same token, Boeing is engaged in a bitter dispute with Airbus concerning European aircraft subsidies, and [the AW101 has received them]… As Christopher Drew noted in today’s New York Times, the government will be selecting between the same two rotorcraft in the new competition that were offered the first time around, albeit with different teams behind them. Whether the government ultimately saves any money… will depend on how it re-writes its performance specifications… the more likely outcome is that… the greater capacity of the EH101 will once again prevail.”

See: Boeing | Finmeccanica [PDF] | AgustaWestland | DoD Buzz | Lexington Institute.

April 20/10: V-22? Boeing and Bell Helicopter are reportedly considering a VV-22 tilt-rotor bid for the VXX competition.

The V-22 offers significant speed and range advantages, but there’s a reason the V-22 didn’t make the finals the first time. Massive downdrafts too strong for the White House lawns didn’t fit the RFP, and a low-ceilinged cabin design didn’t fit the idea of a President walking in without stooping. Not to mention continued jitters concerning its safety, though that can cut both ways as a political statement. DoD Buzz.

April 19/10: H-92. Sikorsky and Lockheed Martin team for VXX. This day, the 2 companies also jointly submit a response to the U.S. Navy’s VXX request for information, detailing how they would design and manufacture the next Marine One. The agreement has Sikorsky as the prime contractor, offering its H-92 Superhawk medium-lift helicopter, with Lockheed Martin as the major integrator of all required electronic subsystems.

In addition to the VXX teaming agreement, the firms also signed a Memorandum of Understanding to explore business opportunities involving “other Sikorsky programs” beyond VXX, or their existing 38-year partnership surrounding the US Navy’s SH-60/MH-60 Seahawk naval helicopters. Sikorsky | Lockheed Martin | Aviation Week Ares.

Feb 16/10: VXX. The USA releases a 27-page RFI for new “VXX” Presidential Vertical Lift Platform(s). Interested parties are asked to provide a 5-page response by March 3/10. The responses will be used to support a new analysis of alternatives, the first step toward a formal Request for Proposal.

One change is that VXX would feature at least 2 versions of the new helicopter: an executive model for VIP transport and a passenger-cargo variant for support. Total buy for both models will track closely with VH-71 plans, at 23-28 aircraft. FedBizOpps #VXX-RFI | Defense News.

“VXX” RFI

Oct 14/09: Politics. US Secretary of Defense Robert M. Gates sends a letter to Congress [PDF], in advance of House/Senate efforts to reconcile their defense bills into a single agreed budget. It includes the following excerpt:

“The conference bill should not provide funding for weapons that are not working or are no longer needed. To that end, the Department strongly objects to the House’s addition of $400 million to make operational five partially-completed VH-71 helicopters and appreciates that the Senate did not add funds [for the VH-71] to the President’s [budget] request. These helicopters currently have no mission equipment and would require in excess of $2 billion to complete and operate as Presidential helicopter. Even with these funds, they would not meet full operational requirements for the mission. The Department [of Defense] and the White House are conducting a requirements analysis, and the outcome of this effort should not be pre-empted. If the final bill were to include funds that continue the existing VH-71 program, or would pre-judge the plans to re-compete the Presidential helicopter program, I would recommend that the President veto the bill.”

FY 2009

VH-71 cancellation

VH-71 MSB simulator
(click to view larger)

June 2/09: It’s official: Arrivederci, VH-71. A Pentagon press release states that:

“The Navy today announced that it will terminate the VH-71 System Development and Demonstration (SDD) program contract. The announcement follows a Department of Defense (DoD) decision to cancel the existing presidential helicopter replacement program… Navy contract N00019-05-C-0030 and associated work with Lockheed Martin Systems Integration – Owego (LMSI-O), Owego, N.Y., awarded Jan. 28, 2005, for the SDD of the VH-71 program, has been terminated for the convenience of the government. The under secretary of defense for acquisition, technology and logistics issued a VH-71 program acquisition decision memorandum on May 15, 2009, which directed the program be cancelled, to include both Increment 1 and Increment 2.”

VH-71 terminated

June 1/09: Arabian Aerospace quotes Sikorsky VP of Business Development Frank DiPasquale, who says that:

“We have worked very hard to establish the S-92 in a Head of State role in the Middle East and that has been a great success. The aircraft is performing that mission in Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar and in Saudi Arabia where the royal family is now flying in the S-92.”

May 21/09: What Next? One of the big problems with the new helicopters was the need to pack all of that communications gear, into a helicopter that can fly nearly 300km without refueling to an emergency airbase at Andrews AFB or Camp David, while remaining small enough to avoid damaging the White House lawn.

Secretary of Defense Robert Gates told the defense subcommittee of the House Appropriations Committee that the Pentagon is now considering a request for 2 different helicopter types: one for routine shuttle trips, and a more capable escape aircraft designed for use in emergencies. This would allow a much lower-budget fleet of standard helicopters for everyday use, and a much smaller fleet built on a larger design that didn’t have to care about the White House lawn.

May 15/09: Stop work. The VH-71 program receives a stop work order from the Pentagon. Another 225 layoffs are expected at Lockheed Martin’s Owego, NY facility before the end of the month.

The 5 production and 4 test aircraft would still be the property of the US Navy, but many have not had their advanced systems integrated yet. It will be up to the US Navy to decide what to do with the helicopters.

The US Navy said that the $85 million 2010 budget request includes money to cover termination costs, government efforts to develop options for a replacement program, and service life extensions for the current presidential helicopter fleet. Some estimates place termination costs as high as $500 million, but that figure remains to be negotiated between Lockheed Martin and the federal government. Elmira Star Gazette | Ithaca Journal | NY Times op-ed | Wall Street Journal on local impacts | WICZ Fox 40 news | bNet | The Hill magazine | Wall Street Journal on cancellation.

April 28/09: Testing. The 9th and final (4 test + 5 pilot production) VH-71 to be built under “Increment 1” of the US Presidential Helicopter Replacement Program leaves AgustaWestland’s Yeovil, UK facility. It will be sent to the United States for completion by prime contractor Lockheed Martin. AgustaWestland release.

April 28/09: Politics. In a Reuters interview, AgustaWestland CEO Giuseppe Orsi takes issue with the Pentagon’s characterization of the VH-71 Increment 1 helicopters’ expected lifespan. Orsi says that even with the additional armor and modifications, the new VH-71 helicopters are certifiable for a minimum 10,000 flight hours of operation, or about 30 years of service in the Presidential fleet. The firm has agreed to tests with the US Navy to verify that performance.

Those tests may be important, because Orsi also backed a compromise plan being floated in Congress. It would revert to the original budget of $6.8 billion, in exchange for sticking to the VH-71 Increment 1 specifications. Note the March 17/08 entry, below, which explains that a number of original requirements were deferred from Increment 1 to improve affordability.

Since the Increment 2 specifications are not realistic or cost-effective, the question going forward must be which specifications can be cut, even if the competition is re-started. The question is whether the Increment 1 helicopters can serve for the required length of time, and are close enough to the reduced requirements, to justify continuation of the program. The alternative involves termination costs that could run to $200 million, in exchange for a renewed competition and a helicopter that offers a more exact match for the new requirements. Reuters | New York Times.

April 27/09: Layoffs. Lockheed Martin Corp. announces an initial round of 225 job cuts at its Owego, NY plant, with further layoffs expected. About 800 of the plant’s 4,000 workers are dedicated to the VH-71 program, and others have been working on an EH101 derivative for the USAF’s CSAR-X search and rescue competition. AP, via Forbes.

April 6/09: Stop. In an unusual move, American Secretary of Defense Robert M. Gates announces his FY 2010 budget recommendations to the President. He recommends full cancellation of the VH-71 program, on the grounds that the Increment 2 helicopters will cost more than an Air Force One 747, and “Increment One helicopters do not meet requirements and are estimated to have only a five- to 10-year useful life.”

New options for the future Presidential helicopter are to be developed for a replacement program that’s expected to begin in FY 2011.

March 5/09: Bloomberg reports that the latest estimate and 15-page report, prepared for congressional defense committees, revises the VH-71’s program cost from $11.2 billion to $13 billion – 113% above the original baseline of $6.1 billion. Based on 28 helicopters built, the allocated R&D and purchase cost would be $464.3 million per helicopter.

The report adds that instead of having the first 5 helicopters ready no earlier than September 2010, there would be a delay of 18 months (April 2012), and that the upgraded version with more sophisticated communications and the most advanced defenses would slip from December 2017 – December 2019.

The US Navy would not confirm these changes or comment, because Secretary of Defense Robert Gates has yet to provide a formal certification of cost and justification for the program to Congress, per the Nunn-McCurdy legislation’s review process. Bloomberg News | Congressional Quarterly | Washington Post | Ithaca Journal | Britain’s The Independent discusses the effect in Britain.

Costs rise again

Feb 27/09: Hacked. P2P Intelligence firm Tiversa claims that in Oct/Nov 2008, it traced a file that contains details regarding the VH-60N Presidential Helicopter’s CAAS avionics architecture, and some program financial data, on public-access peer-to-peer (P2P) file-sharing networks. On Feb 25/09, the file was found on the IP address of an Iranian computer.

The CAAS avionics architecture is slated for use in the VH-71 as well. Read “P2P Network Leaks: The VH-60N Helicopter” for full treatment of this breach, its implications, and the underlying trend at work.

Feb 23/09: Arrivederci? Disparaging comments at the White House fiscal summit by President Obama, and by his Republican Party opponent Sen. John McCain, cast doubt on the VH-71 program’s future. From The Australian’s report :

“Yesterday Mr Obama, as if playing both speaker and leader in the Westminster style, first called on Senator McCain in this version of question time.

“Thank you for doing this,” said Senator McCain, “your helicopter is now going to cost as much as Air Force One. I don’t think that there’s any more graphic demonstration of how good ideas have cost taxpayers an enormous amount of money”.

“I’ve already talked to (Secretary of Defence Robert) Gates about a thorough review of the helicopter situation,” he said.

“The helicopter I have now seems perfectly adequate to me,” he said, generating laughs before adding “of course, I’ve never had a helicopter before … maybe I’ve been deprived and I didn’t know it.”

He said it was an example of the “procurement process gone amok. And we’re going to have to fix it”.

Those comments by both men were widely reported, and triggered a drop in Finmeccanica’s share price. AgustaWestland USA chief executive Stephen C Moss stated his belief that the program will go forward, with changes, and pointed out that in 63 cases of Nunn-McCurdy cost overruns, only 2 programs have been canceled. Changes have been proposed to the VH-71, including reducing the number of helicopters, and removing some of the troublesome requirements. Other proposed changes include putting the program up for rebid, building new VH-3s with updated communications, or simply canceling the program without replacement.

In the current economic environment, more extreme solutions become more likely. Given that the existing VH-3/ VH-60 fleet is not suffering from flying hour fatigue, these comments from Obama and McCain will make the required Nunn-McCurdy justifications to Congress very problematic. See also: Washington Post | CNN Money with Moss statement | MSNBC re: Connecticut delegation’s rebid push | The Hill | AP | Helciopter Association International | Flight International | WIRED Danger Room.

Jan 29/09: Cost breach. The US Navy announces that the VH-71 program is more than 50% over budget, triggering “Nunn-McCurdy” legislative provisions and stopping work on development of the VH-71’s Increment 2 design.

Under those provisions, the Defense Department either must end the program, or certify that it is essential for national security, that the new unit costs are reasonable, that management structure can control future growth, and that no substitutes exist that provide equal or greater military capability at less cost. Reuters, via Forbes.

Nov 26/08: SDD. Another $500 million in System Development and Demonstration (SDD) funds to Lockheed Martin Systems Integration in Owego, NY. Work on this modification to the existing cost-plus-award-fee contract (N00019-05-C-0030) will be performed in Patuxent River, MD (28%); Owego, NY (26%); Yeovil, UK (20%); Cascina Costa, Italy (15%); Rolling Meadows, IL (3%); Lynn, MA (3%); Clifton, NJ (2%); Denton, TX (1%); Grand Rapids, MI (1%); and Rancho Santa Margarita, CA (1%), and is expected to be complete in December 2014.

Oct 9/08: SDD. Lockheed Martin Systems Integration in Owego, NY receives a $173 million modification, raising the January 2005 cost plus award fee contract (N00019-05-C-0030) for the System Development and Demonstration (SDD) of the VH-71 Presidential Helicopter.

Work will be performed in Patuxent River, MD (28%); Owego, NY (26%); Yeovil, United Kingdom (20%); Cascina Costa, Italy (15%); Rolling Meadows, IL (3%); Lynn, MA (3%); Clifton, NJ (2%); Denton, TX (1%); Grand Rapids, MI (1%); and Rancho Santa Margarita, CA (1%), and is expected to be complete in September 2011.

FY 2008

Price inflation; pilot helo.

VH-71 Demonstrator
(click to view full)

Sept 22/08: Testing. The first operational pilot production helicopter (PP-1) completes its maiden flight at AgustaWestland’s facility in Yeovil, England. Lockheed Martin release.

March 14/08: New deal. The Pentagon reaches an agreement with the White House re: the VH-71 program, and confirms that the cost of the 28 helicopter program has jumped to $11.2 billion – from $6.1 billion when the contract was signed in 2005. Increment 1 rose from $2.3 billion to $3.7 billion, and Increment 2 jumped from $4.5 billion to $7.5 billion. The price of the Increment 2 helicopters would be over $325 million each – comparable to the current Air Force One 747 fleet, even when adjusted for inflation since 1990.

The original VH-71 program planned to rely on an existing commercial helicopter and make modest modifications, but Pentagon acquisition chief John Young has now acknowledged that no existing medium-lift helicopter can meet all of the requirements crammed into VH-71 Increment 2:

“The Navy and industry team did not clearly realize the full implications of the White House requirements… These issues were further complicated by the enforcement of Navy certification requirements on a helicopter designed to commercial aviation standards.”

That’s a rather startling admission. Now, the Navy and industry teams are will complete a “substantial” redesign of the EH-101 base helicopter to meet Increment 2 requirements. The Day Paper, CT | Aviation Week | Defense News

New deal, costs rise

Feb 27/08: Testing. Test Vehicle 3 makes its initial flight in Yeovil, England marking the 4th program helicopter to enter flight test. TV-3 will be the first vehicle tested that is outfitted with mission systems, which means it will be able to validate in-flight performance data for the helicopter’s equipment, instead of relying on lab tests.

TV-3 is due to arrive at the Presidential Helicopter Support Facility here on March 17/08 and will then travel to Lockheed Martin Systems Integration in Owego, NY for final assembly and mission systems integration. TV-3 will join TV-1, TV-2 and TV-5, which have accumulated more than 650 total hours of flight test so far. One additional test vehicle is scheduled for flight testing and missionization after TV-3, before the initial lot of production aircraft are delivered to Patuxent River. NAVAIR release | Flight International.

Jan 19/08: VH-71 stays. Defense Technology International reports that After considering alternatives to the Lockheed Martin VH-71 presidential helicopter – including upgrading the Sikorsky H-3s – the Navy has reportedly decided to stick with the US101 aircraft and fund an additional $1 billion in modifications in “Increment 2,” on top of the program’s initial $6.1 billion price tag, on the grounds that other alternatives wouldn’t be any better.

DTI reports that White House and Navy requirements are essentially turning the helicopter into another “Air Force One” (Presidential 747), which involves hundreds of specifications not included at the program’s outset. In addition to extra electronics, the changing specifications will include structural modifications to the US101 helicopter, in order to extend its range beyond what the current airframes can deliver.

Adding hundreds of new performance requirements in mid-stride does make successful program delivery very difficult – and being on that ride has cost Lockheed Martin before, during evaluations of another modified US101 for the $10-15 billion CSAR-X combat search and rescue helicopter.

Jan 10/08: Testing. The first 2 VH-71 Increment 1 helicopters (TV-2 and TV-5) have entered the flight test phase with the U.S. Navy and U.S. Marine Corps at Naval Air Station Patuxent River, MD. They are the first of 4 Increment 1 test aircraft; TV-3 and TV-4, will undergo additional assembly and missionization at Lockheed Martin Systems Integration in Owego, NY, before being transferred to NAS Patuxent River in 2008 for testing. NAVAIR release.

Jan 3/08: Cancellation? Inside Defense reports that the VH-71 program may face significant cuts:

“The fate of the VH-71 presidential helicopter program is hanging in the balance as senior defense officials privately weigh the elimination of the bulk of the program, according to sources tracking the issue inside and outside the Pentagon…”

Dec 13/07: Cancellation? Gannett’s Marine Corps Times reports that cost increases and schedule problems, “driven in part by nearly 2,000 requirement changes,” (vid. April 2007 entry) forced a meeting with the White House Military Office to discuss the program’s fate.

Rumors of cancellation began shortly after that, though the Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Aviation Programs later said that there “has been no decision to terminate the program… We’re continuing to look at all the options. We’ve looked at almost every conceivable option…”

Nov 14/07: Industrial. Lockheed Martin announces that its VH-71 Systems Integration Lab (SIL) is now operational at the Navy’s Presidential Helicopter Support Facility at Naval Air Station Patuxent River, MD, in preparation for the arrival of the first aircraft built for the VH-71 program. The new SIL at Patuxent River will allow engineers to test VH-71 avionics and mission systems prior to installation aboard the aircraft – for instance, ensuring that the President can communicate with several government agencies simultaneously. It consists of test benches to evaluate individual subsystems currently in development. The SIL at Lockheed Martin Systems Integration in Owego, NY, which became operational in August 2007, includes a master systems bench full-scale functional mockup of the VH-71 cockpit and cabin that allows the Navy-Lockheed team to run mission scenarios of the final integrated systems.

Test Vehicle 2 (TV-2) is scheduled to arrive at Patuxent River in mid-November 2007 to commence a comprehensive testing program. Another 3 test vehicles are scheduled for delivery to the U.S. this winter, followed by 5 production aircraft during 2008. Capt. Don Gaddis, the U.S. Navy’s Presidential Helicopters program manager, said that:

“A Systems Integration Lab at the Presidential Helicopter Support Facility will enable the Marine Corps to test the integrated systems more quickly during the flight test phase… Having this on-site test capability is critical to meeting our requirements.”

FY 2006 – 2007

Maiden test flight, full flight.

VH-71 1st flight
(click to view full)

July 3/07: Testing. The 1st VH-71 pilot production helicopter makes its maiden flight at AgustaWestland’s facility in Yeovil, UK. Before that TV2 model is delivered to the test facility in Patuxent River, MD in fall 2007 for structural testing, the aircraft will complete initial shake-down flying and embark on flight trials to test the integrated avionics systems and aircraft systems. Lockheed Martin release | GE release.

April 2007: 2,000 changes? A systems requirements review reveals that nearly 2,000 design changes will be needed to meet Pentagon requirements for the VH-71 Increment 2 model – the first model intended to offer the President full command and control capability while in flight. The changes reportedly included a new tail, transmission and rotor blades. Source.

Oct 24/06: Sub-contractors. GE Aviation officially opens its new Presidential Helicopter engine facility at the Lynn, Massachusetts, plant. The dedicated area in Lynn Product Development & Delivery will house the assembly and shipment operations of CT7-8E and CT7-8CE1 engines for the next-generation “Marine One” helicopter that will be used by the President of the United States.

Lockheed Martin Systems Integration in Owego, NY awarded GE a $65-million contract to provide CT7-8E and CT7-8CE1 engines for use during the system development & demonstration (SDD) phase of the Presidential Helicopter Replacement program. GE Aviation release.

June 12/06: Industrial Lockheed Martin formally opens the VH-71 Presidential Helicopter Integration Facility. The new 176,000-square-foot facility features aircraft integration hangars, program management and engineering office space, systems integration laboratories, aircraft parts storage, and maintenance and helicopter paint facilities. The complex also includes a new helicopter flight operations area. Lockheed Martin release.

October 2005: First test flight of the VH-71.

1st test flight

FY 2003-05

VXX/US101 dubbed VH-71A

US101, 1st test flight
(click to view full)

July 7/05: VH-71. The next generation US presidential helicopter sheds its generic “VXX” placeholder and contractor’s “US101” moniker and received its mission design series designator of “VH-71A.” A popular name for the VH-71A is still under consideration. NAVAIR release.

VH-71 designation

May 19/05: Politics. The House Armed Service Panel approves the FY 2006 defense appropriations bill, including the Presidential helicopter. Money for the project now is included in the House version of the Defense Appropriations bill. Congressional maneuvering had left this result in some doubt, along with about 750 jobs at the Lockheed Martin Systems Integration plant in Owego, NY. Government Executive.

April 2005: Politics. Sikorsky’s home-state Sen. Christopher Dodd [D-CT] inserts an amendment to a State Department authorization bill that would have prohibited any European companies in “countries that do business with terrorist-sponsoring states” from producing components of the US101 helicopter. The amendment was crafted to target AgustaWestland, but Lockheed Martin home-state Sen. Chuck Schumer’s [D-NY] objections to the amendment kill it. Towanda, PA Daily and Sunday Review

Jan 28/05: Winner! U.S. Navy NAVAIR selects the US101 as the new “Marine One” helicopter for the President of the United States, issuing a $1.7 billion System Design & Development (SDD) contract.

The US101 is a derivative of AgustaWestland’s 3-engine EH101. The reason for such a large contract is that the helicopter may be a tested platform, but there’s a lot of gear to position, integrate, and test, including expensive propositions like electronic interference testing. Team US101 release | Lockheed Martin release.

US101 wins, gets SDD contract

Dec 1/03: US101. The US101 Team competing to provide the president of the United States with a new Marine One helicopter fleet selects GE Aircraft Engines (GEAE) to supply American-made CT7-8E engines for the US101 Presidential helicopter. At more than 2,500 shaft horsepower, the CT7-8E is one of the newest and most powerful derivative of GEAE’s successful T700/CT7 family of helicopter engines. Lockheed Martin release.

Appendix A: VH-71 – The Plan, and the Problems

Air Force One
(click to view full)

Given the immense complexity of the electronics involved, the plan was for VH-71 deliveries to involve 2 separate “increments” that separated the full electronics suite from the airframe and basic functions.

In the Increment 1 phase, 4 test aircraft and 5 pilot production VH-71 aircraft were to be delivered through 2009. Increment 1 would answer the urgent need for an air system with enhanced performance over existing VH helicopters, but would not include many of the desired technologies.

Increment 2 was supposed to see a significant increase in helicopter performance, and communications, for the operational helicopters that would remain for many years as America’s Presidential fleet.

According to the Pentagon’s Selected Acquisition Reports, these 28 VH-71 aircraft were initially expected to cost a total of of $6.145 billion, including both R&D and production. Even that worked out to about $219.5 million per helicopter, a sum that could purchase a new civilian 747 jumbo jet.

Tier one of the program’s problems began when it rushed the schedule.

The original schedule for the Presidential Helicopter Replacement Program, known as VXX, had called for an initial operating capability in 2014. That schedule was accelerated by 4 years after the 9/11 attacks, even though it had taken several years to award the contract. Based on the contract schedule, the first US101 that was equipped to transport the President was expected to be available in 2009. The entire fleet of 28 US101s was scheduled for delivered to the Marine One squadron by late 2015.

Tier 2 of the program’s problems are a common refrain in US Navy acquisition programs: a long stream of requirements changes mid-process, creating technical specifications that current technologies cannot meet, with production starting long before a final design is agreed upon. In this case, however, many of the changes were driven by White House staff, not by the Navy.

By March 2008, the Pentagon confirmed a new figure of $11.2 billion, or $400 million per helicopter – comparable to a new buy of the USAF’s VC-25 “Air Force One” 747s. Their next SAR was forced to incorporate that jump, and report the VH-71 program as being in breach of American Nunn-McCurdy regulations. Those laws require cost increases of over 25% to re-justify the program to Congress. That proved to be a very difficult exercise, amidst the meltdown of the global financial system.

VXX 1.0 – Team Lockheed’s “US101”

US101 Demonstrator
(click to view full)

This competition had some unique requirements, including rotor wash and helicopter weight that had to avoid being too hard on the White House landscaping. Those requirements had reportedly washed out Bell Textron and Boeing’s V-22 tilt-rotor, which meets a number of the program’s challenging range requirements and offers speed advantages. Aside from its downwash effect on the local flora, the Osprey also had a very low-ceilinged cabin and safety questions, and was never seriously considered for presidential use. Bell Helicopter joined Lockheed’s US101 team.

In 2005, after a long competition, a modified AgustaWestland EH101 beat out Sikorsky’s smaller S-92, which already operates as a head-of-state helicopter in other countries. Team US101 lead Lockheed Martin received a $1.7 billion contract from the Navy for the VH-71 Marine One program’s systems development and demonstration phase.

Team US101 was led by Lockheed Martin as system integrator. AgustaWestlandBell, a joint venture between AgustaWestland and Bell Helicopter Textron, was the principal American subcontractor to Lockheed Martin. Despite being a subcontractor, they would have responsibility for the basic helicopter design, production build, and basic air vehicle support.

While most European EH101s use a Rolls Royce/ Turbomeca RTM322 engine, The VH-71/US101s will be powered by 3 of GE’s CT7-8E and CT7-8CE1 engines, derived from the T700 series that powers many US military helicopters. The CT7-8 delivers 2,520 shp at sea level, and subsequent models were expected to surpass that.

Other key suppliers included ITT, Northrop Grumman, Kaman Aerospace, and Palomar Products. Aircraft final assembly will be by Bell Helicopter in Amarillo, TX, with mission equipment installation and final integration by Lockheed Martin Systems Integration in NY.

New engines, and a rotor downwash that wouldn’t mess the flowers, were only the beginning of the changes to the basic airframe and systems. Another key modification for the new US101 a 6-foot-tall main cabin airstair door, instead of the shorter opening on regular EH101s. Why? It makes for better TV. The taller door matches the height of the cabin, and so the President needs only a tip of the head to get into Marine One, instead of having to duck down.

The VH-71 would retain the EH101’s active control system, which cancels out rotor and transmission vibration to create an airliner-like ride. Sound-absorbing material was also installed throughout, to provide a better work environment. All this would be present in the Initial Increment 1 helicopters.

Increment 2 would add other technical features, including head-up displays in the cockpit, a more robust tail rotor design, a higher power gearbox, slightly redesigned rotor blades for better flight characteristics, and higher performance engines.

The Presidential helicopters’ most important technologies, however, involved an array of EMP (Electro Magnetic Pulse, created by nuclear blasts) resistant communications systems. While VH-71 Increment 1 helicopters would have limited capabilities in this regard, the full production VH-71 Increment 2 birds were expected to feature a wide array of new capabilities, allowing the President of the United States to work while in transit, and exercise command while en route to longer-term crisis transportation. From a temporary transport with some communications capabilities, Marine One was morphing into a platform that began to resemble the USA’s “Air Force One” VC-25s/ 747s.

In VH-71 Increment 2 helicopters, the 4th aircrew member would operate an elaborate, state-of-the-art, open architecture communications suite providing secure access to the White House communications network, along with technical enhancements designed to give the President full command and control capability while in flight.

Unfortunately, advanced EMP-resistant systems of this type are expensive, proprietary, inherently bulky, and draw a lot of power when aggregated together. In a 747, that isn’t a show-stopping problem. It’s a serious engineering problem in a very confined space, however, and also creates weight issues that will bite especially hard with a less-efficient helicopter aircraft. They bite even harder if that helicopter must also have truly unusual range, something that’s rather difficult to do if it’s loaded to the gills with gear, power generators, and other weight-creating equipment.

The 1st flight of a VH-71 pilot production helicopter took place in Yeovil, England on July 3/07.

In March 2008, Pentagon acquisition chief John Young acknowledged that no existing medium-lift helicopter could meet all of the requirements crammed into VH-71 Increment 2, adding the startling admission that “The Navy and industry team did not clearly realize the full implications of the White House requirements…” Following a program reorganization, the Navy and industry teams worked to complete a “substantial” redesign of the EH-101 helicopter to meet those Increment 2 requirements. It was this redesign that drove costs so high, as the helicopter was required to carry tons of extra gear and up to 15 passengers, while flying farther than current VH-3 and VH60 helicopters.

No problem is insoluble, if enough dollars and engineering resources are applied. Projects can and will be killed, however, if those dollars and resources climb too high. In the end, that’s what happened to the US101.

Additional Readings Background: Helicopters & Program

• FBO.gov – Presidential Helicopter Replacement Program (VXX). Solicitation Number: N00019-13-R-0060.

• AgustaWestland – AW101

• Bell Textron – The Bell-Boeing V-22. Didn’t contend in either phase, but VH-22s are becoming HMX-1 Squadron’s associated utility platform, carrying cargo and VIPs other than the President. They’ll eventually supplant the VH-60s.

• Sikorsky – S-92 Superhawk

• GE – CT7-8E and CT7-8CE1. This engine also equips the S-92 Superhawk, and Spanish NH90 helicopters. GE CT7-6 variants power Italian EH101s.

• Lockheed Martin Code One Magazine (Q4 2004) – Landing on the Lawn

Background: Legacy Helicopters

• Wikipedia – VH-71 Kestrel. They were eventually sold to Canada as spare parts for the CH-149 (AW101) search and rescue fleet.

• Lockheed Martin, via WayBack – US101. They’re now part of Sikorsky’s S-92 team.

• Team US101, via WayBack. This was Lockheed Martin’s collaboration with AgustaWestland, for the VH-71.

• GlobalSecurity.org – VH-60 Marine-1

• GlobalSecurity.org – VH-3D Marine-1

Official Reports

• US GAO (Sept 6/13, #GAO-13-826R) – Department of Defense’s Waiver of Competitive Prototyping Requirement for the VXX Presidential Helicopter Replacement Program

• US GAO (Feb 27/12, GAO-12-381R) – Effort Delayed as DOD Adopts New Approach to Balance Requirements, Costs, and Schedule. This is about VXX.

• US GAO (March 25/11, GAO-11-380R) – Application of Lessons Learned and Best Practices in the Presidential Helicopter Program

• Congressional Research Service (Dec 2009) – VH-71/VXX Presidential Helicopter Program: Background and Issues for Congress

News & Views

• Defense News (Feb 7/05) – Lessons of US101 [PDF format]

• IEEE Internet Computing (6(1), February 2002), via – Mapping the Gnutella Network: Properties of Large-Scale Peer-to-Peer Systems and Implications for System Design [PDF]. Explains the system behind the VH-60N avionics leak.

• US Navy, via GlobalSecurity (November 2001, N88-NTSP-A-50-0008/A) – Navy Training System Plan for the VH-60N [PDF]

HMS Sutherland
(click to view full)

Britain’s Type 23 Duke Class frigates were originally envisioned as pure anti-submarine vessels, to the extent of being planned with no other armament. The 1982 Falklands War quickly put paid to that idea, however, and the Type 23s would end up being commissioned from 1989-2001 and fitted with a main gun, Sea Wolf short range anti-air missiles, and Harpoon anti-ship missiles to accompany her torpedoes, decoys, et. al. These changes turned the frigates from specialized sub-hunters into versatile multi-role combatants that play a key role in the British fleet. The Royal Navy is set to continue shrinking in size (see esp. diagram) due to rising ship costs, and even though key platforms like aircraft carriers and amphibious ships may be more capable, the mid-tier combat role filled by frigates is not slated for new construction any time soon. As such, upgrading the Navy’s 13 remaining Type 23s to keep them in service is vitally important to Britain’s future force.

As part of those operational upgrade efforts, the Type 23 frigates will receive: Sonar 2087 towed sonars, the Royal Navy’s latest and most sophisticated submarine hunting system (Thales UK, GBP 166 million for machines that go ‘ping!’); Upgraded vertical-launch Sea Wolf Block 2 air defense missiles to help counter supersonic anti-ship missiles (BAE Systems Insyte with MBDA, GBP 300 million); an improved 114mm Vickers Mk 8 Mod 1 main gun, capable of firing long-range ammunition; and a reshaped stern to cut fuel use. Upgrades are also being performed during maintenance periods, some of which are significant to the ship’s overall capabilities. This article covers a number of upgrade efforts, from 2005-2015.

Events & Milestones

HMS Iron Duke
(click to view full) April 15/19: Deployed to Bahrain The Type 23 frigate HMS Montrose reportedly arrived in Bahrain to start a three-year mission. The Duke Class ship, that was commissioned in 1994 started its 47,000 mile journey six months ago from her home in Plymouth, sailing via the Pacific and Indian Ocean to reach the Gulf. The Montrose will conduct patrols related to drug trafficking in the Indian Ocean, support counter-terrorism and counter-smuggling operations, and work with Middle East and allied Navies to ensure the safety and security of the region. According to the ship’s Commanding Officer, this deployment „marks a significant milestone“ for the UK’s operations in the Middle East. August 12/15: The Royal Navy’s Type 23 frigates are to receive new propulsion systems through two contracts worth a total of $124.7 million. Running to 2024, the first, $106 million contract with Rolls-Royce subsidiary MTU is for the production of diesel generators, with Hitzinger UK producing voltage converters under a second, $18.7 million contract. The new equipment will be manufactured in Austria and Germany, with the contracts announced days after the signing of a number of long-lead production contracts for the Royal Navy’s Type 26 future frigates, which include the Rolls-Royce designed gas turbines.

October 17/11: HMS Richmond has started a £20M (about $31M) retrofit at Devonport Dockyard. MoD signed the refit contract with Babcock last month. Upgrades include Sea Wolf, better command and weapons control systems, and 30mm automatic guns with increased accuracy and range.

Work is scheduled to be completed by spring 2012, to be followed by sea trials and a return to the fleet by the summer. MoD.

Sept 17/10: HMS Argyll is ready for sea again after her refit. The Royal Navy says that the GBP 20 million upgrade:

“…includes her short range missile system Sea Wolf, her 4.5″ Gun which is sporting a new angular turret (otherwise known as Kryten’s Head in honour of the Red Dwarf character) and her new automated small calibre cannons. From a structural perspective large sections of the hull have been replaced and her wooden flight deck has been removed to be replaced by a new composite material deck. Internally Argyll has been the recipient of 3 new engines, her living quarters have undergone a facelift to improve habitability and all of this is now protected by a new fire and flood monitoring system.”

Oct 9/09: BBC News reports that HMS Argyll has just arrived in Rosyth for a GBP 19 million, year-long overhaul by 120 Babcock staff. Upgrades will include the set noted above, as well as upgraded living quarters.

Dec 30/08: Manufacturing Business Technology covers improvements to HMS Montrose, which has come into Babcock’s dockyard for GBP 15 million in refits. These include the first fitting of the Royal Navy’s newest DNA (2) command and combat system, based on the system being fitted to the Royal Navy’s new Type 45 Destroyers. The GBP 30 million Fleet Wide Management Systems program to develop a common command system across the fleet was contracted to BAE Systems in 2006.

Among other updates, BAE Systems will install the Sea Wolf Mid Life Update (SWMLU), upgraded small calibre guns, and a new IT system that will involve 12 miles of installed cabling.

Nov 14/08: HMS Sutherland leaves Rosyth to embark on 2 months of sea trials after her refit, which included the first ship upgrade to Seawolf Bock 2 missiles. The system will be rolled out across the Type 22 and Type 23 classes by 2017 under a GBP 300 million supply contract with BAE Systems. UK MoD release.

Aug 4/08: A new radar upgrade. BAE Systems announces a GBP 100 million contract (about $195 million) to develop the ARTISAN 3D (Advanced Radar Target Indication Situational Awareness and Navigation) radar, for deployment on a variety of ships. Between 2011-2015, it will also be refitted to Britain’s Type 23 “Duke Class” frigates, the amphibious assault ships HMS Albion and HMS Bulwark, and the helicopter carrier HMS Ocean. It will also be built into Britian’s new Queen Elizabeth Class of full size aircraft carriers. BAE Systems, QinetiQ and Roke Manor Research will form the Artisan 3D team.

Artisan will be a medium range radar used for “volume search”, which means it can quickly scan large areas and pass potential targets to the ship’s fire control radar. It will also have secondary navigation functions, and is being designed to operate effectively in the clutter produced by near-shore littoral environments. BAE has confirmed with DID that Artisan will use a passive phased array design. UK MoD release | BAE release.

July 16/08: BAE Systems announces a GBP 141 million through-life support agreement for the VL-Seawolf missiles on board the Royal Navy’s Type 23 frigates, which will last until 2017. This includes support for the Seawolf Mid-Life Update version that has been added to HMS Sutherland, and the new missiles will be refitted to other Duke Class warships. See “Britain Signs Through-Life Support Deal for Seawolf Missiles” for more.

May 30/08: Following a year long refit, HMS St Albans completes inspections and is ready to begin sea trials. The GBP 10 million contract with Babcock Marine in Rosyth included Sonar 2087 installation, the addition of a new 30mm gun for small threat defense, a new defense-grade communications system, radial filters and vent system upgrades, and converting the ship’s helicopter berth, flight deck, et. al. to accommodate the new EH101 Merlin helicopters. UK MoD release.

A UK MoD follow-on announcement on Aug 7/08 reveals that the ship passed its trials, and has been cleared to rejoin the operational fleet.

May 28/08: Chile officially welcomes the former-HMS Marlborough into the Chilean fleet as Almirante Condell in a Portsmouth, UK ceremony, under her new commanding officer, Captain Jorge Cruz. The ship is expected to arrive in Chile by year end.

The vessel is the last of 3 former Royal Navy Type-23 frigates to be handed over to Chile, under a GBP 134 million pound sales agreement signed in September 2005, with conversions and refits performed by BAE Systems. She joins the former HMS Norfolk (Almirante Cochrane, November 2006) and former HMS Grafton (Almirante Lynch, March 2007). This completes Chile’s renovation of its surface fleet under Project Puente, which included refitted Dutch M-Class and L-Class frigates as well. UK MoD release | Mercopress report.

Dec 17/07: The UK MoD announces that Work to install the first fit of a new, upgraded NATO Radial Chemical, Biological, Radioactive, Nuclear (CBRN) filter system to HMS Iron Duke has been completed as part of the ship’s 10-month maintenance period in Portsmouth, UK. The system will enable more cost effective through-life support through less frequent requirement for filter changes, and may end up being retrofitted to all ships in class. Installation wasn’t easy, however, requiring new installations to the ship’s superstructure as well as a considerable revamp to existing in-board fittings.

Fleet Support Limited (FSL) worked with the Marine Environment Survivability and Habitability and Frigates Integrated Project Teams, and the frigate’s maintenance program saw 40% growth in workload over its 10 months. Externally, the frigate was fitted with a new transom flap to improve fuel economy, a considerable number of sea tubes were replaced, radar trackers were removed and overhauled, and finally an extensive painting package was completed. Internal work included improvements to the ship’s machinery, particularly the gearbox, a new aircraft handling system that lets the ship operate large EH101 Merlin helicopter, and enhanced accommodation for the crew.

Dec 6/07: Britain’s MoD announced that the F81 HMS Sutherland would be the latest to receive these refits, at a cost of GBP 35 million (about $71.6 million). New equipment valued at GBP 18 million will be installed as part of a general overhaul of the ship under a GBP 17 million contract with Babcock Marine at their Rosyth dockyard in Scotland.

Aug 11/05: The Type 23 frigate HMS Northumberland begins her journey back to Devonport, following a year-long, GBP 20 million (USD $36.1 million) refit at Babcock’s dockyard in Rosyth. That refit added a number of combat enhancements.

The frigate is also the first Royal Navy ship to have a revolutionary silicone paint called Intersleek 700 applied to its hull. See “No Barnacles On Us, Thanks to UK Type 23 Frigate’s New Coating” for more.

Additional Readings

• DID (Aug 22/05) – No Barnacles On Us, Thanks to UK Type 23 Frigate’s New Coating. The trials appear to have been successful; a new paint was discussed in the November 2008 release re: HMS Sutherland.

• Naval Technology: Duke Class

Americas

Northrop Grumman won a $3.2 billion order from the US Navy for 24 more E-2D Advanced Hawkeye aircraft. The E-2D is the latest variant of the E-2, the Hawkeye carrier-based AEW&C aircraft. It is an all-weather airborne early warning aircraft that provides real-time tactical intelligence in maritime combat zones. The Advanced Hawkeye is assigned aboard aircraft carriers and provides airborne early warning and command and control to carrier air wing. The E-2D can act as a sensor to guide the fleet’s weapons onto targets that other aircraft and ships can not locate. Also it warns of incoming anti-ship missile attacks. The aircraft was approved for full-rate production in 2013. In 2014 the US Navy ordered 25 E-2D aircraft. Work under the modification will take place within the US and France and is scheduled to be completed in August 2026.

The Pentagon awarded the first contracts to build a wall on the border to Mexico. The US Army Corps of Engineers awarded SLCSCO $789 million for wall construction in Santa Teresa, New Mexico. Army funds in the amount of $388.9 million were obligated at the time of the award. Barnard Construction won $187 million for primary pedestrian wall replacement in Yuma, Arizona. Army funds in the amount of $93.5 million were obligated at the time of the award. Work for both contracts is scheduled to be completed in fall next year. The contracts mark the first funds the Pentagon has doled out after Trump declared a national emergency in February to reallocate billions of dollars in federal money to construct additional barriers on the US-Mexico border. Pentagon spokesman Lt. Col. Jamie Davis said, the deal will provide the El Paso sector with 46 miles of “30-foot bollard fencing and a five-foot anti-climb plate.” He added that 11 miles of “18-foot bollard fencing and a five-foot anti-climb plate” will be built at the Yuma sector.

Middle East & Africa

Rockwell Collins won a $30.9 million Foreign Military Sales contract to produce a Transportable Blackhawk Operations Simulator training device for the Saudi Arabian National Guard. The Transportable Blackhawk Operations Simulator is a flight simulator that provides high-fidelity flight training device capability for UH-60L and UH-60M helicopters. The simulator’s cockpit has the identical form, fit and function as the cockpit in the actual aircraft. It flies with the actual aircraft avionics software and flight dynamics data. Back in July 2018, it was reported, that Saudi Arabia was seeking to expand its Blackhawk fleet following the announcement of a $193.8 million firm-fixed-price Foreign Military Sales contract for 17 UH-60Ms in January 2018. Rockwell Collins will perform work in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

Israeli defense company Elbit Systems won a $30 million two-year contract to deliver the precise Guided Mortar Munition STYLET to an Asian-Pacific country. The SYTLET is a multi-mode GPS/INS-guided 120mm Guided Mortar Munition designed for tactical combat units and Special Forces. It has a range of 1000-8500m. Elbit Systems introduced the new round into its portfolio in order to meet demands for high-precision guided munitions that are also economically efficient.

Europe

The Romanian Piranha 5 completed a static and dynamics test, according to a General Dynamics European Land Systems press release. The successful live firing test, which took place on March 28, is an important step in the Piranha 5 Program. The company stated that a fully equipped PIRANHA 5 performed a series of static and dynamic shooting tests with a 30 mm system in order to demonstrate its capability. The Mowag Piranha 5 fighting vehicle is armed with the Elbit UT30MK2. The ELBIT unmanned turret exceeded customer requirements and this milestone qualifies the system for Romanian requirements. Earlier this month it was reported that the Piranha 5 Program was facing delays due to General Dynamics not delivering the first batch of 30 vehicles on time.

Asia-Pacific

The Australian Army ordered more Carl-Gustaf ammunition from Saab for $18.1 million. The Carl-Gustaf system is a multi-role, man-portable artillery system that allows the infantryman to defeat armored vehicles with add-on armor protection, destroy landing craft and bunkers, blast breach holes through brick and concrete walls, knock out concealed troops, and deploy a smoke screen. The Australian Army has ordered the newest version of the system – Carl-Gustaf M4. The CGM4 features a lightweight, flexible design incorporating titanium-made components and improved carbon fiber wrapping. The recoilless rifle offers enhanced agility and tactical flexibility, allowing military forces to engage multiple tactical targets. Already in September 2018, the Army ordered the Carl-Gustaf M4 from Saab. Deliveries are expected to take place next year.

Today’s Video

Watch: US Warship Sails Massive Loaded with F-35s Spotted near Disputed reef in South China Sea

ADF training
(click to view full)

Guided, portable anti-tank weapons have become a ubiquitous feature of the modern battlefield, but there’s still a role for good old fashioned panzerfaust rockets. For a soldier who needs to take out light vehicles at close range, blast enemy strongpoints, etc., these systems offer all the capability you can ask for, without all of the extra weight and cost. Less weight means more rounds carried, and less cost translates into more rounds bought. Taken together, they ensure more available firepower when it’s needed most. During 1989 operations in Panama, for instance, the 66mm LAW rocket was used so often as a building entry weapon that it was known as the “Ranger Key.”

Saab’s Carl Gustaf system and its range of 84mm rocket shells have become popular all over the world, with over 40 customers. Australia became one in 2009, and has continued to place orders associated with their LAND 40, Phase 2 project. Their system also has one particular twist…

Updates

April 12/19: M4 for Australia The Australian Army ordered more Carl-Gustaf ammunition from Saab for $18.1 million. The Carl-Gustaf system is a multi-role, man-portable artillery system that allows the infantryman to defeat armored vehicles with add-on armor protection, destroy landing craft and bunkers, blast breach holes through brick and concrete walls, knock out concealed troops, and deploy a smoke screen. The Australian Army has ordered the newest version of the system – Carl-Gustaf M4. The CGM4 features a lightweight, flexible design incorporating titanium-made components and improved carbon fiber wrapping. The recoilless rifle offers enhanced agility and tactical flexibility, allowing military forces to engage multiple tactical targets. Already in September 2018, the Army ordered the Carl-Gustaf M4 from Saab. Deliveries are expected to take place next year.

January 5/17: An unnamed customer has contracted Saab to deliver $36 million worth of M3 and M4 variants of the portable Carl Gustaf weapon system. The shoulder-fired multi-role weapon affords operators the option to choose between a variety of ammunitions while remaining light weight. Over 40 governments operate the system.

April 27/12: Saab announces a SEK 199 million (USD conversion: $29.6 million) order from Australia for more 84mm Carl Gustaf ammunition, under a standing order laced in early 2011. Deliveries will take place during 2013.

Nov 10/11: Saab announces a SEK 160 million (USD conversion: $24.2 million) contract for more 84mm Carl Gustaf ammunition, under a standing order laced in early 2011. Deliveries will take place over the next 6 months.

Nov. – Dec. 2009: Australia signs a contract with SAAB Bofors Dynamics for 437 M3 Carl Gustaf weapons, followed by a December 2009 contract with BAE Systems Australia for 437 Heavy Weapon Thermal Sights. Australia is the 1st country to use both the weapon and sight as an integrated system, which works equally way by day or by night.

Roll-out to entitled units completed in October 2011. Australia DMO. Note that Saab announced a SEK 192 million (USD conversion: $26.8 million) pair of contracts in December 2009 for Carl Gustaf weapons, but would not specify the customer at the customer’s own request. It may or may not have been Australia; Australia’s DoD did not announce the award at the time.

Americas

The Navy awarded $33.4 million to Raytheon to supply the Naval Warfare Center in Philadelphia with up to 28 electronic throttle control units (ETCU) and auxiliary components in support of the Virginia Class program. The deal has Raytheon provide replacement ETCU hardware, which is currently obsolete and can no longer be efficiently supported. The Virginia Class are attack submarines. The Navy’s newest undersea warfare platform is designed to seek and destroy enemy subs as well as surface ships. Virginia Class boats can carry up to 24 torpedoes and Tomahawk cruise missiles. They can be deployed for a wide range of operations including anti-submarine warfare, anti-surface ship warfare, strike warfare, special operations forces support, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, irregular warfare, and mine warfare missions. According to the DoD, the proposed contract includes the hardware fabrication for new construction platforms and all back-fit systems to mitigate parts obsolescence, update and maintain the ETCU technical data package, and design verification testing on limited production units for quality assurance. Work is scheduled to be completed by April 2024.

BAE Systems won an $8.1 million contract modification from the Navy for USS Wichita (LCS 13) post-shakedown availability (PSA). The Wichita is a Freedom Class Littoral Combat Ship. The 378-foot highly maneuverable lightweight combatant features a steel monohull with a draft of only 13 feet allowing access to more ports and locations than other ship designs. LCS warships are designed to perform humanitarian aid and rescue, anti-submarine warfare, minesweeping, defending against piracy and drug trafficking, small assault transport and deterrence, while operating in shallow coastal waters known as the littorals. The Navy commissioned the ship in January this year. The PSA encompasses all of the manpower, support services, material, non-standard equipment and associated technical data and documentation required to prepare for and accomplish the PSA. The work to be performed will include correction of government-responsible trial card deficiencies, new work identified between custody transfer and the time of PSA and incorporation of approved engineering changes that were not incorporated during the construction period. BAE Systems will perform work in Jacksonville, Florida, and is expecting to be finished by March 2020.

Middle East & Africa

The US Navy contracted Al Qabandi United with $30 million for vehicle lease services. According to the DoD, the deal provides for non-tactical vehicles for transportation purposes in support of the Ali Al Salem Air Base in Kuwait as well as surrounding tenant units. Al Qabandi United Company is a private General Trading, Supplying, and Contracting firm established in 1993. The company will perform work at the Ali Al Salem Air Base. Fiscal 2019 operations and maintenance funds in the amount of $16,000 are being obligated on a task order at the time of award.

Raytheon won $47.4 million from the US Navy to procure 62 LAU-115 and 68 LAU-116 guided missile launchers for the government of Kuwait to enable the F/A-18 aircraft to carry and launch AIM-120 and AIM-9X missiles. This deal also includes 99 LAU-115 and 100 LAU-116 guided missile launchers for the US Navy. The LAU-115 and LAU-116 provide the structural and electrical interfaces that allow the F/A-18 aircraft to carry and launch missiles such as Sparrow, Sidewinder and the Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missile (AMRAAM). The LAU-115 are rail launchers designed for carry and launch AIM-7 missiles from the F/A-18 aircraft. The launcher is suspended from the BRU-32 bomb rack on wing stations. The LAU-7 launchers or LAU-127 launchers may be attached to the sides of the LAU-115 to carry AIM-9 or AIM-120 missiles. The LAU-116 provides for the launch of the AIM-7 series Sparrow missile from the F/A-18A aircraft. The LAU-116A/A is also capable of launching the AIM-120 AMRAAM missile. Two launchers, one on the left hand and one on the right hand, are installed in the underside of the aircraft fuselage at stations 4 and 6.

The US Air Force awarded Textron Aviation Defense a $15.4 million modification for the completion of the reconstitution of 15 T-6A aircraft. According to the DoD, the deal provides for a schedule extension to complete the reconstitution of 15 T-6A aircraft and procure cartridge actuated devices and propellant actuated devices. The contract is a Foreign Military Sale to Iraq. The T-6A military trainer provides performance and handling characteristics that will safely lead the student from ab-initio through primary and well into advanced training curricula. The Iraqi Air Force awarded HBC with a contract for eight T-6A trainers in August 2009. A second contract for seven more was awarded in September 2009, bringing the total to 15. The first four T-6A trainers were delivered to Iraqi Air Force in December 2009.

Europe

Thales announced that Switzerland selected the company for an Image Intelligence System. Thales will supply elements of an Image Intelligence (IMINT) Center built around the Thales MINDS / SAIM system. The MINDS / SAIM platform is designed to digitally process real-time data feeds from all types of sensors using advanced processing tools to address issues arising from the volume of data and diversity of sources. According to Thales, MINDS / SAIM will enable the Swiss Armed Forces to precisely target the data they need to process and to identify threats, thanks to a set of highly sophisticated tools based on AI and other technologies. MINDS (Multisensor image Interpretation and Dissemination System) is described by Thales as a combat-proven solution providing real-time digital acquisition and processing of raw data from all EO/IR sensors including wet films, SAR and MTI radars. Deliveries of the Image Intelligence System will begin in early 2020.

Asia-Pacific

The State Department approved a possible Foreign Military Sale to Japan regarding 56 Standard Missile-3 (SM-3) Block IB missiles for an estimated cost of $1.2 billion. Also included are missile canisters, US Government and contractor representatives’ technical assistance, engineering and logistical support services as well as other related elements of logistics and program support. Prime Contractor for the Missile System will be Raytheon. For the canisters BAE Systems will be the prime contractor. The supersonic SM-3 Block IB interceptor is an upgraded variant of the original SM-3 missile fitted with an enhanced two-color infrared seeker and features an upgraded steering and propulsion capability. The SM-3 Block IB, first flight tested in 2011, is designed to destroy incoming short- to intermediate-range ballistic missile targets in midcourse. The weapon system became first operational with the Navy in 2014.

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