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Marine Attack Squadron (VMA) 311 "Tomcats" ('WL-xx') deployed with their AV-8Bs from home base MCAS Yuma (AZ) to Ahmed al Jaber (Kuwait) as part of the Special Purpose Marine Air Ground Task Force-Crisis Response-Central Command.

BuNo 165580/WL-15, armed with AIM-9 Sidewinders is seen during an aerial refueling session with a USMC KC-130J over Kuwait on 10 August 2019.

The SPMAGTF-CR-CC is designed to move on short notice to support operations throughout the Middle East and is involved in Operation Inherent Resolve (OIR).

Photo credit: USMC by Sgt. Branden J. Bourque
 

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Navy test launches sub-based Trident II D5 missiles
Sept. 6, 2019
By Ed Adamczyk

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A Trident II missile is launched from the submarine USS Nebraska on Sept. 4 as part of tests this week off the Southern California coast. Photo courtesy of U.S. Navy

Sept. 6 (UPI) -- The U.S. Navy announced the test launch of unarmed Trident II missiles from the USS Nebraska on Friday.

Two launches occurred on Wednesday, and two on Friday, off the coast of Southern California. The tests from the Ohio-class ballistic missile submarine were part of a Commander Evaluation Test to validate performance expectations of the Trident II strategic weapon system.

The launches are the latest in 176 successful flights of the Trident II strategic weapon system. The tests are conducted on a recurring, scheduled basis and were not in response to any world events, the Navy said in a statement.

Trident missiles, built by Lockheed Martin Space Systems, have been deployed with the American and British navies since 1990. They are regarded as improvements, in accuracy, payload, and range, over the earlier Trident C-4, and are a key element of U.S. strategic deterrence.

Originally intended to be phased out by 2024, the system recent underwent a life-extending program that will keep the missiles operational through the 2040s.

The tests this week come as the Navy attempts to use more events, live and virtual, into training to prepare ships' crews to defeat potential threats. Navy commands in the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans are working to expose surface forces to more complex and challenging training as the Navy pushes the fleet to build its warfighting skills.

"Our nation's sea-based deterrent has been a critical component of our national security since the 1960s, and this week's launches continue to demonstrate the credibility and reliability of our life-extended missiles," said Vice Adm. Johnny R. Wolfe, director of the Navy's Strategic Systems Programs, said in a Navy statement regarding this week's tests.

 

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Pentagon: 541 military service members died by suicide in 2018

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Graves are seen at Arlington National Cemetery on Memorial Day in Arlington, Va., on May 27. A Pentagon report showed that there were 541 suicides among active duty, reserve and National Guard service members in 2018. File Photo by Kevin Dietsch/UPI | License Photo

Sept. 26 (UPI) -- There were 541 suicides among U.S. active duty, reserve and National Guard troops in 2018, according to the Pentagon's annual suicide report.

The report released Thursday found that 187 Army soldiers, 77 Marines, 79 Navy sailors and 63 airmen in the active and reserve ranks killed themselves. The Army National Guard experienced 118 suicides, while the Air National Guard experienced 17.

Rates among the active-duty ranks increased from 18.5 to 24.8 per 100,000 service members between 2013 and 2018, while statistics among reserve and National Guard members remained consistent.

The Navy experienced a "statistically significant increase" in suicide rates over the same period of time. The report said the overall rise in suicide rates was due to small increases in the number of suicides across all services.

Suicides were most common among men in the enlisted ranks under the age of 30 regardless of the military component. The primary method was by firearm. There were also 186 suicides among military spouses and dependents in 2017, the most recent year data were available.

The report found that suicide rates within the military was roughly equal to the overall population when accounting for the average age and sex of service members.

Thursday's report comes as the Navy, federal and local authorities are investigating four deaths by suicide on the USS George H.W. Bush including three this week and one in July.
 

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U.S. Navy orders more MK 18 marine robotic systems
September 29, 2019

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The U.S. Navy has awarded Hydroid, Inc., a subsidiary of Kongsberg Maritime, with a contract extension worth $52.3 million for the MK 18 family of Unmanned Underwater Vehicle (UUV) systems, sometimes known as underwater drones.

This modification is to provide additional fleet fielded assets, to provide expanded capacity. This modification will allow procurement of additional MK 18 Systems, individual UUVs to replace lost or damaged items, and parts kits needed to support repairs at the organizational level.

“Without these supplies, the fielded systems cannot be maintained in a fully functional condition, and may be unavailable and unable to meet the mission requirements placed upon them,” the Navy message states.

Work will be performed in Pocasset, Massachusetts, and is expected to be completed by April 2024.

The Navy officials also added that this contract includes options which, if exercised, would bring the cumulative value of the contract to $100 million, from previously $48 million.

MK 18 system consists of Hydroid UUVs and associated auxiliary equipment. These UUVs can be used singularly, or in groups to search in the enemy rear areas for threat objects.

MK 18 underwater drone can dive to depths of up to 6,000 meters and explore shallow waters to hover in hazardous areas where navigation is difficult. These unmanned marine vehicles have reduced the high costs of ocean exploration and sampling while increasing the availability of quality scientific marine data.

The company’s website said the underwater vehicle involved with undersea mine countermeasures have helped save lives by eliminating human divers from minefields. These customizable vehicles have helped solve plane and ship disaster mysteries, including locating wreckage such as Air France Flight 447 and generating 3-D mapping of the Titanic.
 

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U.S. Army moving ‘rapidly’ toward new contract for M16A4 rifles
September 29, 2019
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The U.S. Army Contracting Command will soon release its final request for soliciting and award up to two, 5-year firm fixed price – Indefinite Delivery Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) contracts for M16A4 5.56mm Rifles.

In a notice posted on the U.S. government’s main contracting website on 27 September, the Army Contracting Command announced that the Government intends to evaluate proposals and award up to two, (but not necessarily two), contracts without holding discussions with offerors for delivery of 215,000 5.56mm Rifles (maximum quantity).

Also states that a license agreement between Colt’s Manufacturing LLC and the U.S. Government requires the items procured to be manufactured in the United States Territory.

The Colt’s M16A4 Rifle is the fourth generation of the M16 series weapon system and is the world standard by which all other weapons of this class are judged.

Adopted in 1998, the M16A4 Series 5.56mm Rifle is the most prevalent combat rifle in the U.S. Army inventory. It is a gas-operated, air-cooled, shoulder-fired weapon that can be fired either in automatic three-round bursts or semi-automatic single shots. The M16A4 has a mil standard 1913 upper receiver and forward rail system with a back up iron sight. The weapon system can accommodate modern optics and accessories, as well as configurations that incorporate M203 and M320 40mm grenade launchers.

The Colt’s website said the M16A4 with a removable carrying handle and an integral rail mounting system for mounting of optics and other ancillary devices, it is the ultimate full length combat rifle in 5.56mm caliber for the 21st Century.
 

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Why the U.S. Air Force Wants to Combine Drones and Missiles
September 29, 2019
The future is now.
by David Axe

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Key point: DARPA is a leader in its field.

The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency — DARPA, the Pentagon’s fringe-science organization — has begun work on a small drone that extend the range of an AIM-120 air-to-air missile.

The “Flying Missile Rail” could help U.S. Air Force and Navy fighters match and even exceed the ever-increasing range of Russian- and Chinese-made missiles. The latest AIM-120 boasts a range of around 100 miles. China has been testing a very-long-range air-combat missile that apparently can fly as far as 200 miles.

Perhaps just as importantly, program manager Jimmy Jones — and Air Force colonel — wants the robotic launcher to be cheap and easy to produce so that the military could quickly churn out hundreds of them just in time for some big shooting war.

DARPA released its request for proposals for the Flying Missile Rail in early September 2017. The agency is proposing to spend $375,000 over the next year or so developing and testing a prototype.

The Flying Missile Rail initiative is a response to the increasing cost and complexity of new warplanes. If the military can’t build a new manned fighter quickly and cheaply, maybe it can outfit existing fighters with robotic rails in order to make the fighters deadlier in combat.

“A new advanced monolithic aircraft typically requires 10 to 25 years to design, develop and build,” Jones wrote in his notice to the aerospace industry. “New technology concepts are subject to requirements and other processes which can render them programmatically unrealizable before the technology becomes obsolete. An innovative approach is needed to ‘build on demand’ and to incrementally enhance existing capability.”

To that end, DARPA wants to do two things — develop a design for the Flying Missile Rail, while also working out a process for producing copies of the rail at a rate of 500 units per month. By comparison, the Air Force and Navy together requested just 325 AIM-120s for 2018 — meaning a production rate of around 27 missile per month.

Ideally, the Flying Missile Rail — or FMR — will be capable of doing more than just launching an AIM-120. “An FMR is a device that can optionally remain on the wing of a host F-16 or F-18 aircraft and release an AIM-120 missile, or alternately, fly away from the host aircraft acting as a booster and extending the range of an AIM-120, Small Diameter Bomb or special payload pod,” Jones wrote.

“Once the FMR reaches the target area, the FMR vehicle would be capable of loitering until the weapon is released.” DARPA hinted that industry bidders might also want to figure out how to fit two AIM-120s to a single flying rail.
The drone rail must be compatible with the existing underwing hardpoints on Air Force F-16s and Navy F/A-18s. It must also have space for a radio and antenna so that the rail can communicate with the launching fighter.

Jones stated in his notice that the FMR could share technology with the Air Force’s Loyal Wingman program, which is building plug-and-play line replaceable units — basically, boxes of radios, processors and other devices along with pre-loaded software — that can transform a manned fighter such as an F-16 into a semi-autonomous armed drone.

Loyal Wingman itself dovetails with the Air Force’s QF-16 drone target program — which modifies old F-16s for pilotless, remote flight — as well as the Fifth-Generation Aerial Target effort, which is developing a cheap, stealthy target drone that could, in theory, possess combat capabilities.

The Air Force is also working with drone-maker Kratos on the so-called “Low-Cost Attritable Aircraft,” of LCAA, which aims to produce a small, jet-powered armed drone that — like the Flying Missile Rail and could be manufactured quickly and cheaply. The flying branch wants to be able to buy batches of 100 LCAAs at a cost of no more than $300 million, roughly the cost of two F-35 fighters.

Finally, the Pentagon has been tinkering with an “arsenal plane” concept that involves drones or manned fighters flying ahead of and designating targets for, heavy bombers carrying potentially scores of missiles. The drones and fighters act as nimble, flying sensors capable of surviving enemy defenses. The bombers stay out of harm’s way, waiting to fire barrages of missiles on command.

Combining all these efforts — Loyal Wingman, 5GAT, LCAA, the arsenal plane and the Flying Missile Rail — and it’s clear where U.S. air power is headed. In coming years, vast swarms of drones — some newly-built, others pilotless versions of old manned jets — could fly into combat alongside manned fighters, each drone and manned fighter carrying its own, smaller drones armed with their own missiles. All the fighters and drones would be in touch with distant arsenal planes carrying additional missile-drones.

The result could be a much more heavily-armed force capable of hitting targets at greater range, all while exposing fewer pilots to enemy fire.

And here’s the kicker — this more lethal form of air power could actually be cheaper.
 

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Boeing to integrate Small Diameter Bomb weapon system on new platforms
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The U.S. Air Force has awarded Boeing a modified contract not to exceed $280 million for Small Diameter Bomb (SDB) integration and engineering support, a U.S. Department of Defense news release states.

Under the contract, the world’s largest aerospace company will provide SDB weapon integration on selected weapon platforms and support of the fielded weapon system. The types of platforms were not indicated in the news release.

Work will be performed in St. Louis, Missouri, and is expected to be completed by September 2024.

The Small Diameter Bomb is a 250 lb (110 kg) precision-guided glide bomb that is intended to provide aircraft with the ability to carry a higher number of more accurate bombs

SDB combines GPS and internal inertial navigation to achieve precise guidance accuracy. The SDB warhead is a penetrator design with an additional blast and fragmentation capability. The weapon can be set to initiate on impact or a preset height above the intended target. Fuze function delays can be pre-set to either of these two options.

Combatant Commanders use SDB to attack fixed or relocatable targets that remain stationary from weapon release to impact. Units can engage both soft and hardened targets to include communications facilities, aircraft bunkers, industrial complexes, and lightly armored ground combat systems and vehicles.

According to the current information, the weapon system is currently integrated on the F-15E Strike Eagle, F-16 Fighting Falcon, F-22 Raptor, and AC-130W. Also, the Air Force has the plan to integrate SDB for use on the A-10, MQ-9, B-1, B-2, and the B-52.
 

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Pentagon awards $41 million contract for Special Forces combat submersibles

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US Navy SEALs prepare to launch a SEAL Delivery Vehicle (SDV) mini-submarine from the Los Angeles-class attack submarine USS Philadelphia (SSN 690) during a training exercise. Photo by Andrew McKaskle

The U.S. Department of Defense has announced that Teledyne Brown Engineering, industry leader in engineered systems and advanced manufacturing, was awarded a $41 million contract for production and delivery of MK11 Shallow Water Combat Submersibles (SWCS) and provide related engineering services.

Teledyne Brown Engineering is the Prime Contractor for the U.S. Special Operations Command’s Shallow Water Combat Submersible. The SWCS vehicle contract was awarded on the basis of design. The contract consists of design, systems engineering, test and evaluation, systems integration, manufacturing, training, configuration management, quality assurance, logistics, and program management.

The MK11 SWCS is a mini-submarine, designed for operation by specialist U.S. Navy SEAL special forces teams.

The Special Forces combat submersible used to transport navy divers and their combat gear to and from hostile shores for special operations missions.

According to HI Sutton, MK11 SWCS carry a pilot, co-pilot, and four person combat swimmer team and their equipment to and from maritime mission objectives on land or at sea. The pilot and co-pilot are often a part of the fighting team.

The new SWCS was designed to replace the Mark 8 SDV, improving a variety of capabilities including range, speed, payload, navigation and communications, all based on a modern modular subsystem design to ease processor and sensor upgrades.

In September 2018, The Defense Post reported that the Shallow Water Combat Submersible is deployable from surface ships as well as from larger submarines able to carry the Dry-Deck Shelter used to launch the vessel.

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Bell teams with Collins Aerospace to develop next-gen attack reconnaissance aircraft

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Famed U.S. helicopter maker Bell is teaming up with Collins Aerospace Systems, a unit of United Technologies Corp., on a project to develop the next-generation attack reconnaissance aircraft for the U.S. Army.

Bell Textron Inc., said in a press release on 27 September that the two companies have signed a teaming agreement, as the company competes for the U.S. Army’s Future Attack Reconnaissance Aircraft (FARA) Competitive Prototype program.

The FARA will be a light-attack and reconnaissance aircraft that will be able to avoid radar detection and operate in densely populated megacities. Requirements for the FARA, include enough Artificial Intelligence to fly unmanned at least part of the time, a secure communications network to control specialized drones, an open architecture, speed up to 235 miles per hour and the ability to reach targets 155 miles away. The Army plans to conduct flight testing on the prototypes in 2023 and make a procurement decision in 2024, then field this new capability to a combat unit soon afterward.

According to a company news release, Bell is designing a vertical lift aircraft, as part of the contract awarded in April of 2019, with advanced performance capabilities and high operational availability to meet the threats faced in multidomain operations. As the mission systems integrator, Collins Aerospace will deliver a new generation of avionics hardware and software featuring cyber-hardened and digital backbone solutions to the prototype.

“This team has a lot of experience supporting attack and reconnaissance requirements and will deliver a smart, lethal aircraft at an affordable cost,” said Keith Flail, vice president of Advanced Vertical Lift Systems at Bell. “The Army is looking for revolutionary solutions for warfighters and we are confident that our team has the right combination of innovative technology and experience to build an aircraft with transformative capabilities on a compressed timeline.”

Collins Aerospace will also provide Model-Based Systems Engineering (MBSE) tools and processes to configure and integrate mission avionics for the FARA. The company’s use of the new MBSE methodologies will enable rapid mission capability insertions into the FARA platform.
“By teaming with Bell, we can reduce the overall lifecycle costs and risks associated with this next generation of aircraft and effectively meet the FARA objectives in multidomain threat environments,” said Dave Schreck, vice president and general manager for Military Avionics and Helicopters at Collins Aerospace. “With a long history of providing avionics solutions to both Army and Special Operations aviators, Collins Aerospace is uniquely positioned to provide Bell with the cutting-edge cockpit technology necessary to enable warfighter mission success.”

Although the configuration has not yet been revealed, the Bell FARA prototype takes advantage of technologies demonstrated on the V-280 Valor, Bell 525 and other Bell programs incorporating expertise in fly-by-wire flight controls, rotors and drives, as well as design to build technology that enhances sustainability, manufacturability and affordability. This team has the experience to produce an affordable, high-performance aircraft at reduced technical risk that will meet or exceed all requirements and provide reliable capability to the warfighter.
 
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