US Armed Forces

[Khafee]

2,000 air force personnel from 4 nations join Red Flag-Alaska exercises
By Ed Adamczyk
14 June 2019

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Personnel of the air forces of four countries -- the United States, Japan, Thailand and South Korea -- are conducting Red Flag-Alaska, a 16-day exercise of simulated air combat at two U.S. Air Force bases in Alaska. Photo courtesy of U.S. Air Force

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June 14 (UPI) -- Red Flag-Alaska, an exercise involving 2,000 personnel, 85 aircraft and the air forces of four Pacific Rim countries, is underway, the U.S. Air Force announced.

The majority of the aircraft, from the Japan Air Self-Defense Force, the South Korean Air Force, the Royal Thai Air Force and the U.S. Air Force, are flying from Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson and Eielson Air Force Base, both in Alaska.

The exercise is directed by Pacific Air Forces, a U.S. Air Force component, and allows U.S. forces to train with coalition partners in a simulated combat environment.

It is the first time that senior enlisted leaders from the four countries' air commands have gathered in the same location. The exercise will conclude on June 21.

"Any time we come together in a training environment like this, we get really good and realistic training opportunities with our partner nations," U.S. Air Force Chief Master Sgt. Kaleth O. Wright said in a press release.

"I think opportunities like Red Flag are extremely important for us to get those repetitions in with our allies. I encourage all participants to take advantage of these opportunities where you get to work at a tactical level with our Indo-Pacific and our European counterparts because you never know how those relationships might pay off one day," Wright said.

The program, which is conducted several times each year, dates to 1975, when it was first undertaken at Clark Air Force Base in the Philippines. All Red Flag-Alaska exercises take place over the isolated, 67,000 square-mile Joint Pacific Alaska Range Complex over central Alaska, and involve integration of various forces in realistic threat environments.

Red Flag-Alaska executes the world's premier tactical joint and coalition air combat employment exercises and are designed to replicate the stresses warfighters must face during their first eight to 10 combat sorties, a USAF statement said.

"What they found in previous wars is that pilots were dying within their first 10 flights in-theater [in combat situations]," said Capt. James Carson of the U.S. Air Force's 354th Operations Group. "That's the idea behind RF-A. We try to provide similar flights to what pilots can expect to see when they actually go to war, but in a safe environment."

Among those involved in the exercise are personnel of the New York Air National Guard's 174th Attack Wing, who are testing and operating MQ-9 Reaper drones in simulated combat situations. .

2,000 air force personnel from 4 nations join Red Flag-Alaska exercises - UPI.com

Red Flag-Alaska, an exercise involving 2,000 personnel, 85 aircraft and the air forces of four Pacific Rim countries, is underway, the U.S. Air Force announced.

www.upi.com

 

[Khafee]

Active protection systems demo hits dead end for Stryker; US Army evaluates next steps
By: Jen Judson

Rheinmetall's Active Defense System is hooked up to a rig before a complex demonstration of its capabilities at the company's proving grounds in Germany. (Jen Judson/Staff)



WASHINGTON — After evaluating two active protection systems in a demonstration late last fall and determining neither were the right fit for the Stryker, the U.S. Army is now evaluating how to protect one of its critical combat vehicles.

“Unfortunately for Stryker, we have not found a system that is suitable for the platform,” Col. Glenn Dean, Stryker project manager told Defense News, said in a June 7 interview.

The Army has found interim APS for both its Abrams tank and Bradley infantry fighting vehicle but has struggled to find one for the Stryker. The service moved quickly to field combat vehicle protection against rocket-propelled grenades and anti-tank-guided missiles while it develops a future system.

The service originally considered Herndon,Virginia-based Artis Corporation’s Iron Curtain APS for the Stryker, but decided in August 2018 not to move forward in fielding it to Stryker units.

In an effort to expand its search for an appropriate system, the Army then decided to host a demonstration in late fall last year with two additional systems: Rafael’s Trophy VPS and Rheinmetall’s Active Defense System.

Signs the demonstration wasn’t proving fruitful cropped up in March, when the service said it needed extra time — an entire year — to evaluate options for the Stryker. Dean said the Army was hoping it would see promise in one of the systems at the end of the demonstration and then carry it through more complex characterization for better evaluation to make a decision.

But as the demonstration wrapped up, the Army decided neither would work.

“Both Rheinmetall and the medium-weight Trophy, both have maturity challenges, but the bottom line is that they turned out to not be a suitable fit for Stryker,” Dean said.

“We did see some potential in systems,” he added “It is our desire to continue to evaluate them further so we can understand them at a greater level of detail.”

Neither system received the same level of testing as Rafael’s Trophy on Abrams, IMI’s Iron Fist on Bradley or the Iron Curtain, Dean said, and the systems could end up being the right fit for some future effort to outfit other vehicles such as the Next-Generation Combat Vehicle program’s optionally manned fighting vehicle, mobile protected firepower platform and the armored multipurpose vehicle, “none of which we have identified APS solutions for yet/"

Through continued evaluation “maybe we will eventually learn something that brings us back to Stryker,” he added.

Unlike the Bradley and the Abrams, the Stryker is a relatively lightweight platform, Dean said. “It has challenges in its space, weight and power integration. It has proven difficult for us to find a system that is entirely suitable for integration.”

And while no operational APS system evaluated seems to work for Stryker, the Army is still looking for ways to protect the vehicle, as its value on the battlefield will increase with the addition of larger guns and more expensive weapon systems.

Under the Vehicle Protection System program office, the Army is working on reactive armor improvements focused on the Bradley and AMPV, but that could be of particular value for the Stryker, Dean said.

The Army’s laser warning program that is tied to the Modular Active Protection System program could also contribute to Stryker protection.

MAPS is a system under development with the Army featuring a common controller into which hard-kill and soft-kill protection can be plugged.

The Army will conduct a demonstration with layered hard-kill and soft-kill protection capability later this year as part of a culminating exercise for its MAPS program, according to Dean.

“The soft-kill may ultimately prove to be particularly well-suited for Stryker,” he noted.

Those soft-kill systems are jammers and smoke systems that help obscure, tend to take up relatively little space and are less expensive then hard-kill APS, which require the reloading of countermeasures.

The service is also studying what it may need for a future APS, and it plans to initiate a program in the late part of next fiscal year, which could also be an opportunity to develop something more suitable for the Stryker, said Dean.

While the Army does have plans to protect its combat vehicles from rockets and missiles, in a June 6 letter sent to Army Secretary Mark Esper, a group of 13 House lawmakers expressed concern the service isn’t doing enough to outfit its current fleet with APS. They asked the service to explain why it hadn’t requested any further funding for APS upgrades in the budget.

According to Dean, for the Abrams and the Bradley “we are resourced to meet the requirements that we have on an urgent basis to outfit a limited number of brigades. We are doing analysis right now to support development programs of record in active protection.”

“What we are buying is not the end of APS activity, but it is the urgent requirements we have been given,” he said.

Active protection systems demo hits dead end for Stryker; US Army evaluates next steps

After a demonstration of two active protection systems proved unfruitful, the Army is looking for other ways to protect its Stryker combat vehicle.

www.defensenews.com

 

[Khafee]

Active protection systems demo hits dead end for Stryker; US Army evaluates next steps
By: Jen Judson

View attachment 8105

View attachment 8106
Rheinmetall's Active Defense System is hooked up to a rig before a complex demonstration of its capabilities at the company's proving grounds in Germany. (Jen Judson/Staff)



WASHINGTON — After evaluating two active protection systems in a demonstration late last fall and determining neither were the right fit for the Stryker, the U.S. Army is now evaluating how to protect one of its critical combat vehicles.

“Unfortunately for Stryker, we have not found a system that is suitable for the platform,” Col. Glenn Dean, Stryker project manager told Defense News, said in a June 7 interview.

The Army has found interim APS for both its Abrams tank and Bradley infantry fighting vehicle but has struggled to find one for the Stryker. The service moved quickly to field combat vehicle protection against rocket-propelled grenades and anti-tank-guided missiles while it develops a future system.

The service originally considered Herndon,Virginia-based Artis Corporation’s Iron Curtain APS for the Stryker, but decided in August 2018 not to move forward in fielding it to Stryker units.

In an effort to expand its search for an appropriate system, the Army then decided to host a demonstration in late fall last year with two additional systems: Rafael’s Trophy VPS and Rheinmetall’s Active Defense System.

Signs the demonstration wasn’t proving fruitful cropped up in March, when the service said it needed extra time — an entire year — to evaluate options for the Stryker. Dean said the Army was hoping it would see promise in one of the systems at the end of the demonstration and then carry it through more complex characterization for better evaluation to make a decision.

But as the demonstration wrapped up, the Army decided neither would work.

“Both Rheinmetall and the medium-weight Trophy, both have maturity challenges, but the bottom line is that they turned out to not be a suitable fit for Stryker,” Dean said.

“We did see some potential in systems,” he added “It is our desire to continue to evaluate them further so we can understand them at a greater level of detail.”

Neither system received the same level of testing as Rafael’s Trophy on Abrams, IMI’s Iron Fist on Bradley or the Iron Curtain, Dean said, and the systems could end up being the right fit for some future effort to outfit other vehicles such as the Next-Generation Combat Vehicle program’s optionally manned fighting vehicle, mobile protected firepower platform and the armored multipurpose vehicle, “none of which we have identified APS solutions for yet/"

Through continued evaluation “maybe we will eventually learn something that brings us back to Stryker,” he added.

Unlike the Bradley and the Abrams, the Stryker is a relatively lightweight platform, Dean said. “It has challenges in its space, weight and power integration. It has proven difficult for us to find a system that is entirely suitable for integration.”

And while no operational APS system evaluated seems to work for Stryker, the Army is still looking for ways to protect the vehicle, as its value on the battlefield will increase with the addition of larger guns and more expensive weapon systems.

Under the Vehicle Protection System program office, the Army is working on reactive armor improvements focused on the Bradley and AMPV, but that could be of particular value for the Stryker, Dean said.

The Army’s laser warning program that is tied to the Modular Active Protection System program could also contribute to Stryker protection.

MAPS is a system under development with the Army featuring a common controller into which hard-kill and soft-kill protection can be plugged.

The Army will conduct a demonstration with layered hard-kill and soft-kill protection capability later this year as part of a culminating exercise for its MAPS program, according to Dean.

“The soft-kill may ultimately prove to be particularly well-suited for Stryker,” he noted.

Those soft-kill systems are jammers and smoke systems that help obscure, tend to take up relatively little space and are less expensive then hard-kill APS, which require the reloading of countermeasures.

The service is also studying what it may need for a future APS, and it plans to initiate a program in the late part of next fiscal year, which could also be an opportunity to develop something more suitable for the Stryker, said Dean.

While the Army does have plans to protect its combat vehicles from rockets and missiles, in a June 6 letter sent to Army Secretary Mark Esper, a group of 13 House lawmakers expressed concern the service isn’t doing enough to outfit its current fleet with APS. They asked the service to explain why it hadn’t requested any further funding for APS upgrades in the budget.

According to Dean, for the Abrams and the Bradley “we are resourced to meet the requirements that we have on an urgent basis to outfit a limited number of brigades. We are doing analysis right now to support development programs of record in active protection.”

“What we are buying is not the end of APS activity, but it is the urgent requirements we have been given,” he said.

Active protection systems demo hits dead end for Stryker; US Army evaluates next steps

After a demonstration of two active protection systems proved unfruitful, the Army is looking for other ways to protect its Stryker combat vehicle.

www.defensenews.com

 

[Khafee]

U.S. Marines test vehicle-mounted laser for shooting down drones
June 19, 2019
By Ed Adamczyk

The U.S. Marines are testing a vehicle-mounted laser weapon capable of shooting down drones, the branch announced on Wednesday. Photo courtesy of U.S. Marines

June 19 (UPI) -- The U.S. Marines announced Wednesday that they are testing a portable, ground-based laser prototype for shooting down drones.

The Compact Laser Weapons System, or CLaWS, is the first ground-based directed energy weapon approved by the Defense Department. It will be evaluated for several months, with the aim of upgrading it to be included in fixed-site and other mobile situations.

Boeing Co. first announced the weapon in 2015. It is a portable device capable of using an invisible laser to take down targets several hundred meters away. It was designed to focus energy on a small enough spot to heat and destroy targets, including moving ones -- such as drones.

"Think of it like a welding torch being put on target but from many hundreds of meters away," Boeing engineer Isaac Neil said at the time of the introduction.

In 2018, Boeing expressed an interest in mounting the CLaWS on tactical vehicles, including the Joint Light Tactical Vehicle under development to replace the Humvee. The CLaWS comes in 2-, 5- and 10-kW variants and can be carried by two or more Marine personnel.

"One of the related aspects of the CLWS is that it's a counterintelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance tool," said Jim Leary, Boeing director of weapons global sales. "You can shoot down enemy drones that might be observing friendly troops. That's the beauty of this laser."

U.S. Marines test vehicle-mounted laser for shooting down drones - UPI.com

The U.S. Marines announced Wednesday that they are testing a portable, ground-based laser prototype for shooting down drones.

www.upi.com

 

[Khafee]

Raytheon, Northrop Grumman partner on hypersonic missile system
The pair will be working together to use the scramjet engine, which Northrop Grumman is constructing entirely out of 3D-printed parts.
By Allen Cone
June 18, 2019

This is an artist's rendering of air-breathing hypersonic weapon being developed by Northrop Grumman and Raytheon for the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency. Photo courtesy of Raytheon/Northrop Grumman

June 18 (UPI) -- Northrop Grumman will develop, produce and integrate scramjet combustors to power Raytheon's air-breathing hypersonic weapons, the two companies said in announcing a teaming agreement.

The two companies in a joint news release Tuesday said they will work together to accelerate the "development and demonstrate readiness to produce the next generation of tactical missile systems."

Scramjet is short for supersonic combustion ramjet. The engines use high vehicle speed to forcibly compress incoming air before combustion to enable sustained flight at hypersonic speeds -- in excess of Mach 5, or 3,800 miles an hour.

These hypersonic speeds reduce flight times and increase weapon survivability, effectiveness and flexibility, according to the companies.

"The Raytheon/Northrop Grumman team is quickly developing air-breathing hypersonic weapons to keep our nation ahead of the threat," said Dr. Thomas Bussing, vice president of Raytheon Advanced Missile Systems. "This agreement combines Raytheon's decades of tactical missile expertise with Northrop Grumman's extensive scramjet engine development experience to produce the best possible weapons."

Northrop Grumman and Raytheon have a $200 million contract for the Hypersonic Air-breathing Weapon Concept, or HAWC, with the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency and U.S. Air Force.

"This teaming agreement extends our strong partnership with Raytheon on this critical technology capability," said Mike Kahn, vice president and general manager of Northrop Grumman's Defense Systems. "Our deep heritage in propulsion, fuzes and warheads will help accelerate readiness of tomorrow's missiles to meet range, survivability, safety and lethality requirements."

Raytheon is working with Lockheed Martin on a competing hypersonic propulsion system called boost glide. These weapons, including the AGM-183 ARRW -- or Arrow -- are boosted to near-space by ballistic missiles and then glide to their target at high speeds. For the first time, the U.S. Air Force last week successfully tested the hypersonic air-to-ground weapon on a B-52H Stratofortress bomber from Edwards Air Force Base, Calif.

Raytheon and Northrop are ready to make their first flight on the air-breathing system, Bussing said.

"We have a flight test planned for the near future where we will begin flying this particular class of weapon system," he said during a briefing at the Paris Air Show in Le Bourget. The companies have already conducted "significant" ground tests, Bussing said.

All of the scramjet is 3D-printed using advanced materials, said John Wilcox, the company's vice president of advanced programs and technology.

"There gets to be points where you have to weld additive manufactured parts, but right now even the full combustor [is printed]," he said. "We think we're the first to ever 3D print a full combuster for an air-breathing scramjet engine. That's what's going to drive the affordability for air-breathing scramjet missiles."

The weapons are meant to meet the reported development of hypersonic weapons by other nations, specifically Russia and China.

Raytheon, Northrop Grumman partner on hypersonic missile system - UPI.com

Northrop Grumman will develop, produce and integrate scramjet combustors made entirely of 3D-printed parts to power Raytheon's air-breathing hypersonic weapons, the two companies announced on Tuesday.

www.upi.com

 

[Khafee]

KC-46 fix months away as more debris found in new refuelers
June 18, 2019
By Allen Cone

The Air Force says new quality control measures and production changes have been put in place, but they expect to continue to find debris in new aircraft for the foreseeable future because of "a cultural issue."

The first KC-46 tanker aircraft were delivered to the U.S. Air Force in late January, and the Air Force expected to accept three per month after that. But since foreign object debris have been found in all of the delivered aircraft, they're barely receiving one per month. Photo courtesy of Boeing


June 18 (UPI) -- As the U.S. Air Force continues to find foreign objects in its new KC-46A Pegasus in-flight refueling tankers, a "fix" is months away, the branch's acquisition leader said.

Tools, rubbish and left-over parts, including loose nuts, are still being discovered since Boeing first delivered the refuelers in January and revamped its inspection process.

"It's a cultural issue," Will Roper, assistant secretary of the Air Force for acquisition, technology and logistics, told reporters Monday at the Paris Air Show in Le Bourget. "We are having those cultural dialogues with Boeing. This is not something you fix by sending out a memo, and then there's no foreign object debris in the airplanes."

Though Roper said at the briefing that he is "happy with Boeing's leadership and their response to FOD," he acknowledged the debris issue is likely to stick around for months or longer "because culture does not fix easy."

As Roper spoke, Boeing parked a gray KC-46 on the flight line nearby.

When the first debris was found in February, the Air Force stopped accepting the planes from Boeing until its inspection process was changed. Deliveries resumed in March but were halted again when inspectors found more debris.

Roper said the Air Force is accepting "one and change" KC-46s per month instead of the preferred three monthly. So far, Boeing has delivered 11 of the aircraft this year.

"Boeing is focused on providing quality KC-46 aircraft to our air force customer, and remain committed to our goal of 36 deliveries by the end of the year," Boeing said.

Roper said the inspection process is tedious and time consuming, with each airframe inspected from "tip to tail," with the inspection restarted every time something is found until the plane is clean.

Even before they arrive at Air Force bases, foreign objects have been found inside dozens of tankers in various states of assembly at Boeing's plant in Everett, Wash.

"We expect all of them are going to have foreign object debris," or FOD, Roper said. "As we go through and we're doing sweeps, we're finding FOD in the planes."

This is "unacceptable," Leanne Caret, the CEO of Boeing Defense, Space and Security, said Monday. "Our customers deserve better than that. I have personally apologized to our customers and I have given them my personal assurances ... in every aspect of our business, this will not happen again."

Company executives are examining the inspection process of other projects, as well.

Boeing CFO Greg Smith the company has been focused on figuring out what the company needs to do to fix the FOD problem, but Roper said he expects more KC-46s with debris in them for the time being.

"As those airplanes flow forward down the line, we think it's going to take some time for the new quality assurance inspection processes to start early enough so that airplanes will flow that are FOD-free," he said. "It's not the way we want to get airplanes into the Air Force, but it's what we're going to have to do in the meantime."

He added that the process won't be sped up because pushing for a faster delivery schedule "would put the rigor of the inspection at risk. We're just going to have to stay focused."

The KC-46 is built as an empty 767 airframe in Everett, Wash., then transferred to a facility at the south end of Paine Field called the Military Delivery Center. That's where the aircraft's military systems, including the refueling and communications equipment, are installed.

Although the plane has had inspection problems, Boeing officials said it is a safe plane and weren't embarrassed to bring one to Paris.

"KC-46 is a great capability," acting Air Force Secretary Matt Donovan said Monday. "It really is a great airplane. What we're talking about here are sort of minor things when you take a look at the whole capability of the airplane."

The KC-46 is not Boeing's only headache right now, as it has also been dealing with the global grounding of the 737 Max, which is believed to have faulty flight control software responsible for two crashes that killed 346 people.

The 737 Max and KC46 are manufactured in different factories in the Seattle area.

KC-46 fix months away as more debris found in new refuelers - UPI.com

As the Air Force continues to find foreign debris in its new KC-46A tankers, a "fix" is months away and that debris is expected to be found in more aircraft for the time being, the branch's acquisition leader said.

www.upi.com

 

[Khafee]

RAM Block 2A missiles made by Raytheon ready for the US Navy
20 JUNE 2019

RAM Block 2A missiles to be ready for the US Navy

The U.S. Navy successfully completed a series of guided-flight tests with the Raytheon's RAM (Rolling Airframe Missile) Block 2A short-range, surface-to-air missiles. Testing occurred at the Naval Air Warfare Center in California, and from the Navy's self-defence test ship off the coast of Southern California.

The RAM™ guided missile weapon system is the world's most modern ship self-defence weapon and is designed to provide exceptional protection for ships of all sizes. It's currently deployed on more than 165 ships in 11 countries, ranging from 500-tonne fast attack craft to 95,000-tonne aircraft carriers.

A supersonic, lightweight, quick-reaction, fire-and-forget weapon, the RAM system is designed to destroy anti-ship missiles. Requiring no additional direction upon launch, its passive radio frequency and infrared guidance design provide high-firepower capability for engaging multiple threats simultaneously. The missile is continually improved to stay ahead of the ever-evolving threat of anti-ship missiles, helicopters, aircraft and surface craft.

The Block 2 variant, the latest evolution in the development of the RAM missile, has a larger rocket motor, advanced control section and an enhanced RF receiver capable of detecting the quietest of threat emitters. The improvements make the missile two and a half times more manoeuvrable, with one and a half times the effective intercept range. This provides the Block 2 variant with the capability to defeat highly stressing threats, increasing the survivability of the defended ship. Raytheon Company expects to deliver the first RAM Block 2A missiles to the U.S. Navy by the end of 2019.

The MK 44 guided missile round pack and the MK 49 guided missile launching system, which hold 21 missiles, comprise the MK 31 guided missile weapon system. The system is designed to be easily integrated into many different ships. A variety of existing ship sensors can readily provide the target and pointing information required to engage the anti-ship threat.

The MK 44 missile is also used in the SeaRAM® anti-ship missile defence system, replacing the M601A1 Gatling gun in the Phalanx® close-in weapon system with an 11-round launcher. The Phalanx system’s sensor suite and internal combat management system reduces dependency on the ship’s combat system and enables a fast reaction to stress anti-ship missiles. The RAM Block 2 missile has been successfully fired from a SeaRAM system.

https://www.navyrecognition.com/ind...s-made-by-raytheon-ready-for-the-us-navy.html

 

[Khafee]

Russia ready to ship a batch of rocket engines to US
Friday, June 21, 2019 1:00:17 PM




The user acceptance commission has given the green light to a batch of RD-180 rocket engines bound for the US, announced NPO Energomash, the Russian rocket manufacturer.

“In June, representatives of Pratt & Whitney, United Launch Alliance and RD Amross signed the forms for three engines. Over the course of two weeks, representatives of the aforementioned companies carried out an external inspection of the engines and the SPTA, and [filled in] the accompanying documentation,” the Energomash’s announcement reads.

The company noted that this is the first shipment of engines in 2019.

The RD-180 engines were developed by Energomash in the mid 1990s on the basis of the Soviet-era RD-170, which at the time was the most powerful rocket engine in the world, and was used on the super heavy-lift launch vehicle “Energia”. Russia exports RD-180s to the US, where they are used in launches of the Atlas family of rockets.

At the start of April, US Space Commander John Raymond announced Washington’s plans to stop buying RD-180s after 2022. He said that the discontinuation has been prescribed by law and will be complied with in a timely manner. He also commented that the US should pursue its strategy to increase its competitiveness in providing satellite launches. In September last year, Roscosmos Director Dmitry Rogozin remarked that Roscosmos has become highly dependent on exporting rocket engines to the US, since these contracts provide the income needed for Russia’s space sector.

Russia ready to ship a batch of rocket engines to US

The user acceptance commission has given the green light to a batch of RD-180 rocket engines bound for the US, announced NPO Energomash, the Russian rocket manufacturer. “In June, representatives of Pratt & Whitney, United Launch Alliance and RD Amross signed the forms for three engines. Over...

uawire.org

 

[Khafee]

After delay, US Army clears Joint Light Tactical Vehicle for full-rate production
22 June 2019
by Jen Judson

The Army is moving forward with the Joint Light Tactical Vehicle. (Oshkosh Defense)

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Army has approved the Oshkosh-built Joint Light Tactical Vehicle’s transition to full-rate production after a roughly six-month delay, according to a June 21 announcement.

Full-rate production for the JLTV was pushed from an original schedule of December 2018 out to May this year due to a number of changes to the Humvee replacement.

The Army decided to make a series of alterations as the result of soldier feedback, including a larger back window and the addition of a muffler. The approach was designed to minimize the cost and quantity of the vehicles that would need to be retrofitted, the vehicle’s program office told Defense News at the time.

The decision to delay the full-rate production did not stop the service from beginning to field 300 of the new vehicles to the Army’s 1st Brigade, 3rd Infantry Division at Fort Stewart, Georgia, making it the first unit equipped with the vehicle in April 2019.

“We are also grateful for soldier feedback on new features and enhancements,” Jeffrey White, the Army acquisition chief’s principal deputy said in the Army announcement. “The Soldiers of the 1st ABCT, 3rd Infantry Division provided valuable input on enhancements such as increased situational awareness, reduction of system noise, a troop seat kit, and a companion JLTV trailer. Their assessments helped bring us all to a successful Full-Rate Production decision.”

Oshkosh beat out Humvee-maker AM General and Lockheed Martin in 2015 to build the replacement for the Humvee for both the Army and the Marine Corps. The low-rate initial production, or LRIP, contract was worth $6.7 billion, and the entire program is estimated to be worth $30 billion through 2024.

“Important insights from manufacturing and rigorous developmental and operational test during LRIP contributed to shaping the vehicle’s current configuration,” George Mansfield, vice president and general manager of joint programs for Oshkosh Defense, said in a statement sent to Defense News.

“The program remains on schedule and on budget, and ensures our troops have the protection, connection, and extreme off-road mobility they need today for current and future battlefields. The JLTV is the only light tactical vehicle being fielded today that can maneuver within combat formations,” he said.

At the time of the LRIP award, a total of 49,100 JLTVs were planned for the Army, not including what the Marine Corps is planning to buy as well as a small number for the Air Force and Navy.

The service cut its procurement of the JLTV in its fiscal 2020 budget request by 863 vehicles. The Army procured 3,393 vehicles in FY19 in LRIP but only plans to buy 2,530 vehicles in FY20. The Army originally planned in its FY19 request to buy 3,035 vehicles in FY20.

It is unclear if more cuts will come for the JLTV. Army Secretary Mark Esper said at the time the FY20 budget rolled out that the vehicle was designed and procured in “the context of Afghanistan and Iraq,” and hence was just not as relevant anymore when applied to the fresh National Defense Strategy now guiding Army investment.

“We are certainly cutting the total number” of JLTV procurement, Esper said. “I know that much. But whether it settles out, finals out right here, today, I can’t tell you. In five years, I could maybe have a different number for you.”

While the JLTV was designed for the counterinsurgency fight — a light vehicle with the protection to endure the blast of an improvised explosive device much like mine-resistant, ambush-protected vehicles — Oshkosh has used the JLTV’s highly configurable design to increase firepower options on board a JLTV and to protect it from missile and rocket attacks.

Over the past three years, it integrated remote weapon systems, a lightweight 30mm cannon paired with a 7.62mm coaxial machine gun, a Javelin integration kit, several .50-caliber machine guns, and a lightweight automatic chain gun, among other weapon systems.

The IMI Iron Fist Active Protection System and Rafael’s Trophy Light APS have both been integrated onto JLTVs for evaluation.

And the Boeing Maneuver Short-Range Air Defense launcher, which was not selected by the Army for its interim SHORAD solution, was also integrated onto the JLTV to include an M3P .50-caliber machine gun, M299 launcher with four Longbow Hellfire missiles, a sensor suite, and a communications suite with the Thales VRC-111.

Now that the Army has approved full-rate production for the JLTV, it is anticipated Foreign Military Sales prospects could begin more rapid materialization. Slovenia has already placed an order for a small number of JLTVs, and it’s likely the United Kingdom as well as Lithuania will be future customers.

After delay, US Army clears Joint Light Tactical Vehicle for full-rate production

The Army is moving forward with the Joint Light Tactical Vehicle.

www.defensenews.com

 

[Khafee]

BAE awarded $67M to develop amphibious combat vehicle for Marines
21 June 2019
By Allen Cone

In December 2016, BAE Systems rolled out the first of the 16 prototypes for the assault combat vehicle. Photo courtesy of BAE Systems


June 21 (UPI) -- BAE Systems was awarded a $67 million contract to develop three amphibious combat vehicle command and control variants, as well as the ACV medium caliber cannons, for the U.S. Marine Corps.

The contract for Systems Land and Armaments includes development of engineering drawings, manufacture and test support for the command and control mission role variants, and the development of engineering drawings for the cannon mission role variants, the Defense Department announced Thursday.

The ACV program is managed within the Program Executive Officer Land Systems in Quantico, Va.
Eight-five percent of the work will be performed in York, Pa., and 15 percent in Aiken, S.C. And it is expected to be completed by Sept. 30, 2022.

Fiscal 2018 research, development, test and evaluation funds in the amount of $2.5 million and fiscal 2019 RDT&E funds in the amount of $20.1 million will be obligated at the time of award, and funding in the amount of $2.5 million will expire at the end of the current fiscal year.

BAE Systems has produced an assault amphibious vehicle since 1984. The vehicles have "earned a reputation for rugged durability and superior mobility for transporting troops and cargo from ship to shore," according to the company.

The Marines sought a stronger vehicle that can maneuver from ship to shore and beyond in combat situations. Defence Blog noted the vehicles are becoming increasingly costly and difficult to maintain.

In December 2016, BAE rolled out the first of the 16 prototypes for the USMC ahead of schedule, the ACV 1.1, which is 34 tons and has eight-wheel drive.
"Our amphibious combat vehicle 1.1 solution is designed from the ground up to fulfill the complex mission objective of deploying Marines from ship to shore," the company said.

The vehicle can carry 13 embarked Marines and three crew with internal storage capacity for all their equipment and two days of supplies.

On land, the vehicle has a range of more than 325 miles before refueling and can travel at speeds in excess of 65 miles per hour.

On water, AAV7A1 vehicles have a cruising speed of 7 knots and the ability to negotiate 10-foot plunging surfs heading seaward or to shore.
Last September, the Marines terminated an amphibious assault vehicle survivability upgrade program with SAIC that included new tracks to enhance mobility, increased underbelly armor, blast-mitigating seats, a new engine and transmission, suspension upgrades.

BAE awarded $67M to develop amphibious combat vehicle for Marines - UPI.com

BAE Systems was awarded a $67 million contract to develop three amphibious combat vehicle command and control variants, as well as the ACV medium caliber cannon MRV, for the U.S. Marines.

www.upi.com

 

[Khafee]

Lockheed hypes F-35′s upgrade plan as interest in ‘sixth-gen’ fighters grows
22 June 2019
By: Valerie Insinna  

U.S Air Force crew members gather next to a F-35 Lightning II on display at the Paris Air Show in Le Bourget, east of Paris, France, on June 18, 2019. (Michel Euler/AP)

LE BOURGET, Paris — As European defense firms drum up publicity about the sixth-generation fighters they plan to build, Lockheed Martin executives promoted the F-35 as the proven fifth-gen option that could blur the lines with sixth-gen planes as it is upgraded into the 2020s and beyond.

“It’s a compliment to the F-35 that many countries are looking to replicate fifth gen and thenextending that to sixth gen,” Michele Evans, Lockheed’s head of aeronautics, told Defense News at the Paris Air Show on June 19. “I think it really does reflect on the value of what F-35 is bringing to the pilots and the battlespace. In terms of technology, we’re not going to let F-35 go static.”

During a Monday briefing, Lockheed laid out a series of upgrades that could be adopted during the jet’s “Block 4” modification phase in the mid 2020s.

Fundamental to Block 4 is the upcoming “Tech Refresh 3” package of IT upgrades, including a new integrated core processor with greater computing power, a panoramic cockpit display and an enhanced memory unit, said Greg Ulmer, Lockheed’s vice president and general manager of the F-35 program. The company intends to incorporate TR3 in F-35s starting in Lot 15, with those jets rolling off the production lot in 2023.

Also in TR3, Lockheed plans to move to an open-architecture backbone for the F-35, which will allow it to more quickly boost the jet’s capabilities with new software.
“You’ll see year over year over year we’re going to have an incremental update,” Ulmer said. “Rather than biting it all off [at one time] and waiting for a big-bang tech insertion, we’re going to trickle that out.”

Some of the modifications that could become available in Block 4 include capabilities like conformal or external fuel tanks that could extend the jet’s range by more than 40 percent, or the auto-ground collision avoidance system that is set to roll out this month — six years earlier than expected.

But other potential upgrades might lead to an F-35 that blurs the line between a fifth-generation fighter — characterized by stealth and sensor fusion — and a sixth-generation one, which at least currently is seen as having advanced network capabilities that could give the pilot control over external weapons, drones and sensors.

The U.S. Air Force has been upfront about wanting to team the F-35 with low-cost attritable drones outfitted with artificial intelligence. Attritable aircraft are inexpensive enough for to be replaced if they are shot down or damaged, allowing operators to take a greater amount of risk while using them.

While the F-35 program currently does not have manned-unmanned teaming as part of its program of record for Block 4, Ulmer said the technology is achievable.
“I think the F-35 is very well-positioned for manned-unmanned teaming. The data sensor fusion approach to the airplane as well as our relationship with our brethren at Skunk Works, I think we’re very well-aligned,” he said, referring to Lockheed’s secretive advanced development arm.

Ulmer pointed to missile defense as another potential use for the F-35.
“We’ve done some experimentation here and have seen some very strong results as well, and that will only improve with the TR3 capability of the airplane,” he said.

While Ulmer didn’t elaborate, the Defense Department is studying whether to outfit the F-35 with a weapon that would allow it to shoot down cruise missiles or intercontinental ballistic missiles. Even if the Pentagon opts not to go in that direction, an F-35 might be able to track ICBMs — as it demonstrated during simulated exercises in 2014 — or pass along targeting information to other assets that then could intercept it.

Multidomain command and control is another potential area of expanse. Again, Ulmer did not provide many details, but acknowledged that Skunk Works has conducted experiments with how the F-35 gathers and shares information, and that they have seen “very strong results.”

Asked whether Lockheed could offer an upgraded F-35 to the U.S. services in sixth-generation fighter competitions rather than a completely new airframe, Evans acknowledged that “it’s definitely something Lockheed is looking at.”
“I’m not sure you’re going to see this big leap — like you saw from fourth gen to fifth gen — with fifth gen to sixth gen. I think it could very well be an evolution,” she said. “F-35 could be the basis of what we look at, and certainly the technologies of the F-35, if not the platform itself.”

Lockheed hypes F-35′s upgrade plan as interest in ‘sixth-gen’ fighters grows

"We’re not going to let F-35 go static," Lockheed's head of aeronautics tells Defense News.

www.defensenews.com

 

[Khafee]

Navy issues final request for next-generation frigate proposals
21 June 2019
By Allen Cone

Austel USA, which built the future USS Cincinnati -- its 11th littoral combat ship for the U.S. Navy -- is developing plans for a next-generation guided missile frigate. Photo courtesy U.S. Navy

June 21 (UPI) -- The U.S. Navy released the final solicitation for companies to bid on the design and construction of the next generation of guided-missile frigates, the FFG(X).

The request for proposals, or RFP, are for the first 10 ships -- one base ship and nine option vessels. The Navy said Thursday it expects to award a contract to one company in fiscal year 2020.

Interested bidders will have until Aug. 22 to submit their technical proposals to the Navy and until Sept. 26 to submit their pricing proposal, USNI News reported.

The Navy released a draft RFP to industry on March 1 and hosted an Industry Day event on March 19 to gain feedback.

The Navy wants more weapons and capabilities than the two current littoral combat ships currently in production.

The branch said the next-generation frigate will have "multi-mission capability to conduct air warfare, anti-submarine warfare, surface warfare, electronic warfare and information operations. " The ship would have at least 32 vertical launching system cells and an AEGIS-based combat system.

The Navy awarded five development contracts in July 2018 to shipbuilders to refine an existing parent hull design as a basis for the frigate, which must be build in domestic shipyards, according to federal law.

The $15 million contracts were awarded to Huntington Ingalls Industries, Austal USA, Lockheed Martin, Fincantieri Marine and General Dynamics Bath Iron Works to refine their own frigate parent designs.

Navy acquisition executive Hondo Geurts told Congress last year he anticipates the lead ship's cost will be $1.2 billion.

Lockheed Martin, which builds the Freedom-variant littoral combat ship, was part of the early process but announced it would not continue with the frigate competition. Austal USA is building four Independence-class LCS ships in Mobile, Ala.

The Navy wants to reach the full requirement of 20 ships and is planning a second contract closer to fiscal year 2025 for the next 10 ships "to ensure more accurate pricing on out-year ships." This will be beyond the six years planned for this initial contract.

A parent ship design must have been through production and demonstrated in full scale at sea.

The first ship would be outfitted 72 months after contract award.

Navy issues final request for next-generation frigate proposals - UPI.com

The U.S. Navy released the final solicitation for companies to bid on the design and construction of the FFG(X), the next generation guided-missile frigate.

www.upi.com

 

[Khafee]

The Marines’ Urban Warfare Tactics Are Outdated. Here’s How They Plan to Fix That.
23 Jun 2019
By Gina Harkins

Marines with Alpha Company, 1st Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, practice proper techniques to clear a stairway during an Urban Operations exercise at Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, California, Jan. 9, 2014. Each building is designed differently to offer an unpredictable layout that Marines would normally experience in UO. The rooms are filled with distracting elements including holes in the walls, open ceilings and multiple doorways. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Christopher J. Moore/Released)

Hundreds of Marines will join their British counterparts at a massive urban training center this summer that will test the leathernecks’ ability to fight a tech-savvy enemy in a crowded city filled with innocent civilians.

The North Carolina-based Kilo Company, 3rd Battalion, 8th Marines, will test drones, robots and other high-tech equipment at Muscatatuck Urban Training Center near Butlerville, Indiana, in August.

They’ll spend weeks weaving through underground tunnels and simulating fires in a mock packed downtown city center. They’ll also face off against their peers, who will be equipped with off-the-shelf drones and other gadgets the enemy is now easily able to bring to the fight.

It’s the start of a four-year effort, known as Project Metropolis, that leaders say will transform the way Marines train for urban battles. The effort is being led by the Marine Corps Warfighting Laboratory, based in Quantico, Virginia. It comes after service leaders identified a troubling problem following nearly two decades of war in the Middle East: adversaries have been studying their tactics and weaknesses, and now they know how to exploit them.

With tensions heating up with Iran, China and Russia, it’s likely Marines could face a far more sophisticated enemy than the insurgent groups they fought in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Just this week, Iran shot down a massive U.S. Navy drone capable of flying at high altitudes that collects loads of surveillance data. President Donald Trump said he called off retaliatory strikes just minutes before the operations were slated to kick off.

Less than two weeks prior, a Russian destroyer nearly collided with a U.S. Navy warship in the Philippine Sea. These are just some of the examples of close calls that could have left Marines and other U.S. troops facing off against near-peer militaries equipped with high-tech equipment in highly populated areas.

At the same time, the Marine Corps’ Operating Concept, a document published in 2016, found the service isn’t manned, trained or equipped to fight in urban centers, Maj. Edward Leslie, lead planner for Dense Urban Operations at the Warfighting Lab, told Military.com.

“The enemy has changed,” Leslie said. “… They obviously have more access to drones. I think the enemy’s sensing capabilities have increased, they have the ability to see in the night just as well as we can, and they have capabilities that can exploit our technology or disrupt our technology.”

The Marine Corps isn’t alone in grappling with these new challenges. The Army is spending half a billion dollars to train soldiers to fight underground, and has begun sending small-units to its massive training center in California where leaders are challenged with more complex warfighting scenarios.

The Army also found that young sergeants in most infantry and close combat units don’t know how to maneuver their squads or do basic land navigation, Military.com reported this spring.

Those are skills Marines must continue to hone, Leslie said, since so many advantages they’re used to having on the battlefield are leveling off. It’s not just room-clearing Marines need to be good at, he said, but overall urban operations -- things like figuring out ways to penetrate a building without destroying it since it’s right next to a school or hospital.
“I think that’s the value we’re going to get [with Project Metropolis],” he said.

A Next-Gen Fight
The training center Marines and British Royal Marines will use this summer is a sprawling 1,000-acre site that houses dozens of buildings, some with up to seven stories and basements. The complex also has more than a mile’s worth of underground tunnels and active farmland.

The urban center has been used not just to train troops, but to help government leaders prepare for pandemic responses or natural disasters as well.

Kilo Company will complete four phases during the month they spend there, Brig. Gen. Christian Wortman, who recently served as the Warfighting Lab’s commanding general, told reporters last month. It will culminate with a five-day force-on-force simulated battle in which the Kilo Company Marines, equipped with new high-tech gear, face off against a like-minded enemy force with its own sophisticated equipment.

The concept was introduced by Commandant Gen. Robert Neller last summer to help Marines better prepare to fight a near-peer enemy. The British Royal Marines participating in the exercise will either join Kilo Company’s efforts against the aggressor, or act as another force operating in the same region, Leslie said.

Project Metropolis will build on years of experimentation the Marine Corps has conducted as part of its Sea Dragon 2025 concept. Leslie said the grunts picking up the next leg of experimentation in Indiana will be further challenged to use some of the new technology Marines have been testing in a more complex urban setting, similar to what they’re likely to face in a future warzone.

Marines have been experimenting with different infantry squad sizes to incorporate drone operators. Now, Leslie said, they’ll look at how to organize teams operating a new tactical self-driving vehicle called the Expeditionary Monitor Autonomous Vehicle, which will carry a .50-caliber machine gun.

“That’s going to be a major thing,” he said. “We’re looking to see, what’s the table of organization look like to work with that, and is it any different if it’s an urban vehicle?”

Marines practice Military Operations on Urban Terrain at Camp Buehring, Kuwait, Nov. 23, 2012. The Scout Sniper Platoon, Weapons Company, Battalion Landing Team 3/5, 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit is deployed as part of the Peleliu Amphibious Ready Group as a U.S. Central Command theater reserve force, providing support for maritime security operations and theater security cooperation efforts in the U.S. 5th Fleet area of responsibility. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Timothy R. Childers)

Rifle squads will continue experimenting with unmanned aerial systems, Leslie added, to spot enemy positions without sending someone into a danger zone. They’ll use ground robots that have the ability to map the insides of buildings, and will test Marines’ decision-making when they’re overwhelmed with information.
“Really want we want to see is how the tech integrates and also how it operates in a dense urban environment,” he said.

Kilo Company will also work with nonlethal systems, Wortman said, which they can turn to if they’re in an area where there could be civilian casualties. They’ll have access to kamikaze drones and “more sophisticated tools for delivering lethal fires,” he added.

It’s vital that they see that Marines are able to put these new tools to use quickly and easily, Wortman said, as they don’t want them to be fumbling with new systems in the middle of combat situations.

Building on the Past
Marines aren’t new to urban fights.

Leathernecks saw some of the bloodiest urban battles since Vietnam’s Battle of Hue City in Fallujah, Iraq. About 12,000 U.S. troops fought in the second leg of the 2004 battle to turn that city back over to the Iraqi government. In the fierce battle, which involved going house-to-house in search of insurgents, 82 U.S. troops were killed and about another 600 hurt.

The Marines learned during those battles, Leslie said. But a lot has changed in the last 15 years, he added. With adversaries having access to cheap surveillance drones, night vision and other technology, military leaders making life-and-death decisions on the battlefield must adjust.

The goal, Wortman said, is to keep Marines armed with and proficient in to keep their edge on the battlefield.

Every city has a different character, too, Leslie added, so what Marines saw in Fallujah is not going to be the same as what they can expect in a new fight.

There has also been a great deal of turnover in the Marine Corps since combat operations slowed in Iraq and Afghanistan, Leslie said. Today’s generation of Marines is also incredibly tech-savvy, Wortman said, and they’re likely to find ways to use some of the new gear they’re handing to them during this experiment and come up with innovative new ways to employ it.

“We have the expectation that these sailors and Marines are going to teach us about the possibilities with this technology because they’ll apply it in creative … ways the tech developers didn’t fully anticipate.”

-- Matthew Cox contributed to this report.

Inside Project Metropolis: Marines Prepare to Wage Big-City Battles

The four-year effort, known as Project Metropolis, is being led by the Marine Corps Warfighting Laboratory in Quantico.

www.military.com

 

[Khafee]

THE JAVELIN AND THE JLTV: OSHKOSH DEFENSE PARTICIPATES IN SUCCESSFUL FLIGHT TESTS AT REDSTONE TEST CENTER
June 24, 2019

OSHKOSH, Wis. (June 24, 2019) — Oshkosh Defense, LLC, an Oshkosh Corporation (NYSE: OSK) company, along with several industry partners, participated in a successful Javelin flight test from a Kongsberg remote weapon station on a Joint Light Tactical Vehicle (JLTV) at the Redstone Test Center in Redstone Arsenal, Alabama.

“This successful demonstration further solidifies the importance of the JLTV’s position within the current combat fleet formation,” said George Mansfield, Vice President and General Manager of Joint Programs at Oshkosh Defense. “The JLTV is the only light tactical vehicle on the field today that can maneuver within combat formations, hauling critical weaponry and equipment quickly across complex terrain, all while keeping our troops safe and protected.”

This demonstration represents the first-time firing of both the Javelin and the Northrup Grumman lightweight 30mm cannon through a remotely operated weapon station on the Oshkosh Defense JLTV.

The Javelin is an anti-tank, guided munition and surveillance weapon system made by the Javelin Joint Venture, a partnership between Raytheon Company and Lockheed Martin.

Distinguished US military guests, as well as guests from multiple allied nations, were able to attend and observe this special event.

The Javelin and the JLTV: Oshkosh Defense Participates in Successful Flight Tests at Redstone Test Center | Oshkosh Defense

OSHKOSH, Wis. (June 24, 2019) — Oshkosh Defense, LLC, an Oshkosh Corporation (NYSE: OSK) company, along with several industry partners, participated in a successful Javelin flight test from a Kongsberg remote weapon station on a Joint Light Tactical Vehicle (JLTV) at the Redstone Test Center in...

oshkoshdefense.com

 

[Khafee]

Army Will Get Enhanced Stinger Missiles to Fight Drones
24 June 2019

The Army is retrofitting its existing Stinger missiles with proximity fuzes that will help them target drone threats, according to a release from manufacturer Raytheon.

The retrofit will allow the missiles to destroy a wider arrange of threats, including enemy unmanned aerial systems.

The Army has completed qualification testing on the new fuze, according to the release, and soldiers are set to receive the retrofitted missile before the end of the year.

To date, the Stinger missile has over 270 fixed- and rotary-wing intercepts. All U.S. service branches and 18 countries in total have acquired the missile.

Army Will Get Enhanced Stinger Missiles to Fight Drones

The Army is retrofitting its existing Stinger missiles with proximity fuzes that will help them target drone threats.

www.military.com