Rapid Fire 2011-12-30: The US Navy’s Challenged Plans

DID would like to wish all of our readers a Happy New Year!

• So, what milestones does India’s Ministry of Defence want to highlight from 2011?

• Dynamint Nobel is still working on its classic Panzerfaust, whose modern versions have proven quite popular. The lightweight versions are strong urban warfare weapons, and the next step is integrating them with remote weapons stations for roles like harbor defense.

• Switchblade UAVs to launch from subs? While they could retain their kamikaze capabilities, the reality is that sub-launched UAVs are going to be 1-shot items at first. Why not adapt an existing UAV designed for that?

• InnoCentive offers a $15,000 reward for a concept or design of a medical transportation device that would enable a rescuer to quickly and safely transport an injured person away from an active combat site.

• Range remains a significant challenge for nonlethal weapons.

• Aviation Week Intelligence Network really doubts that the US Navy will be able to keep its resolutions about fielding modernized DDG-51 Flight III destroyers. Worse, operations and maintenance costs are going to be a problem for the existing fleet. Meanwhile Walter Pincus is challenging the Navy’s numbers and Bloomberg View bemoans how LCS has turned out so far.

• At least the US Navy is not facing a fire on one of its nuclear submarines, unlike its Russian counterpart yesterday.

• Thursday was not a good day for the Russian military since they also had a Su-24 crash. These crashes have happened like clockwork over the years [in Russian]. Nobody died in either incident yesterday though some people appear to have been injured in the submarine fire.

• Yet another cybersecurity acquisition for Raytheon: Henggeler Computer Consultants, Inc. It’s the 2nd this month and the 10th in the last 4 years.

Rapid Fire 2011-12-29: Dancing with the Stars

• The Pentagon is to modestly reduce the number of its top-ranked officers, after a decade of “star creep.”

• How do you squeeze a Merlin AW101 helicopter into a C17? The BBC explains with a timelapse video and helpful charts.

• Some British soldiers are complaining that their new Personal Clothing System (PCS) makes them look American, which is apparently not a flattering statement.

• Turkey has frozen political and military relations with France because of the French recognition of the Armenian genocide as such. Back in September Turkey suspended its defense ties with Israel, though last week coordination between their respective air forces was reestablished.

• How will the United States’ AirSea Battle work-in-progress doctrine affect Japan?

• Kit Up‘s advice on Carl Gustaf tactical employment: learn to use it or someone is going to get hurt, and not just the intended target.

Crazy Hawks, Fit for a King

EO-5C “Crazy Hawk”

The US military’s Dash-7 derived “Crazy Hawk”/ Airborne Reconnaissance Low aircraft use their short-field takeoff capabilities and array of imaging, signals collection, and radar sensors to monitor developments on the ground. The planes made the news briefly in 1999 when one went down in Colombia, but the capability was needed, and that aircraft was replaced. Fort Bliss, TX reportedly hosts several aircraft, and in 2011 one of the planes based in South Korea was reportedly forced to return to base by North Korean GPS jamming.

The modernized ARL fleet remains a valuable asset, with an estimated 8 ARL-M/EO-5C planes. In December 2011, King Aerospace, Inc. in Addison, TX won a $28.2 million firm-fixed-price contract, for life cycle contract support of the USA’s Airborne Reconnaissance – Low fleet until Dec 31/14. The bid was solicited through the Internet, with 3 bids received by US Army Contracting Command in Redstone Arsenal, AL (W58RGZ-05-C-0302).

The ARL-Ms will serve alongside aircraft bought for similar programs, as surveillance needs have grown. Programs like MARSS have added similar contractor-operated aircraft. In parallel, smaller twin-engine Beechcraft King Airs were bought (MC-12W) and refurbished (RC-12X), to serve in similar surveillance and COMINT/SIGINT roles.

Rapid Fire 2011-12-28: Light Air Support Contest

• Last week the US GAO dismissed Hawker Beechcraft’s [HBDC] protest of the Air Force’s decision to exclude the company’s proposal as “technically unacceptable”, in the context of the Light Air Support (LAS) RFP (FA8637-10-R-6000). The agency “fundamentally [disagrees] with HBDC’s premise that the Air Force directed the notice of exclusion to an ‘incorrect’ address.” Now the company is suing the USAF. At stake is a $1B award for the Afghan Air Force that Embraer otherwise looks set to win with its A-29/EMB-314 Super Tucano.

• German Defence Minister Thomas de Maiziere, speaking of the Afghan forces: “At some point, you have to take off the training wheels.”

• China says its BeiDou / Compass navigation satellite system started operating yesterday after the launch of its 10th satellite.

• Russia will commission Bulava ballistic missiles after this year’s successful tests.

• Australia is investigating the possibility of hiring foreign sailors and pilots.

• Air Commodore Ted Bushell AM (Retd) wrote in Air Power Australia that the country’s naval capabilities are “decaying.”

• Spend Matters offers a summary of yesterday’s Radio 4 “Buying Defence” [audio stream] covering the UK’s ongoing acquisition reforms.

• South Korea will buy 2 modified Falcon 2000s from Dassault to replace its Raytheon RC-800 tactical reconnaissance aircraft. Yonhap | La Tribune [in French].

MPLC: Bringing the Boom to Beat the Boom

MPLC

In December 2011, Ensign-Bickford Aerospace & Defense in Simsbury, CT received a $10.8 million firm-fixed-price contract for 3,000 Man Portable Line Charge Systems that can fire rope-shaped plastic explosives for remote detonation, and 206 Inert Training Systems. Work will be performed in Graham, KY; Simsbury, CT; and Sterling, CT, with an estimated completion date of April 8/12. One bid was solicited, with 1 bid received by US Army Contracting Command at Aberdeen Proving Ground, MD (W91CRB-12-C-0012).

In August 2011, an FBO.gov RFI explained the rationale behind the MPLC: US forces needed a system for quickly clearing paths through land mines, which was lighter and easier to carry than existing gear. To be specific…

Rapid Fire 2011-12-27: Japan to Export Weapons

• Japan’s government decided to ease its arms exports policies set in the 60s and 70s.

• The United Kingdom may involve the private sector in running defense procurement. Chief of Defence Materiel Bernard Gray and Minister for Defence Equipment Peter Luff will discuss options under consideration today on BBC Radio 4.

• Finland arrests 2 Ukrainian crew of the British-flagged M/S Thor Liberty, which was en route to China with 69 Patriot surface-to-air missiles and explosives. Germany says “hey, that was our legitimate sale to South Korea!”

• The US Navy’s departure from standard ship class-naming conventions, and insertion of political figures instead (vid. “John P. Murtha” for LPD-26, instead of a city name), has raised a few eyebrows in recent years. USNS Cesar Chavez [T-AKE-14] may have tipped a backlash in Congress. This is so even though that example has far more merit. The T-AKE ships have honored other pioneering political figures, and Chavez was a Navy veteran.

• Northrop Grumman’s LN-251 GPS/INS will fly on the USMC’s forthcoming CH-53K heavy-lift helicopters.

• Manufacturers are working on ground control stations that could let a single pilot manage several UAVs at once.

• Mexico’s Zetas drug cartel had an entire system of encrypted short-range radio relays around their territories, in what amounted to a military communication infrastructure. The NPR report adds that some of their kidnappings have even been designed to get technical expertise – though holding highly technical people hasn’t always gone well for them.

Elbit’s M7 Wins 2012-2014 Maintenance for US C-23, C-26 Fleets

C-23 landing, Kuwait

M7 Aerospace became an Elbit Systems of America subsidiary in December 2010. Its 6 integrated business segments include Aerostructures Manufacturing; Government Logistics Support Services; Maintenance, Repair & Overhaul; Engineering Services; Aircraft Parts & Support and Supply Chain Management and Purchasing. Their platform specialties include the Shorts Aircraft series of short take-off light transports (incl. US Army’s C-23), and Fairchild’s Merlin & Metro (US C-26 variants).

The US military continues to operate variants of these aircraft, and M7′s strong position in those niches has led to a number of contract wins. A pair of December 2011 support contracts, dating back to FY 2005 and FY 2009, illustrate the point…

Israel Kicks Off Program to Improve Its F-16s and F-15s

F-15s: Note Kill Stickers
(click to view larger)

F-15s and F-16s make up the backbone of Israel’s potent fighter force. The IDF’s main fighter is the F-16 Fighting Falcon, including aging F-16 A/B Netz (“Falcon”), plus F-16C Barak (“Lightning”) and 2-seat F-16D Brakeets (“Thunderbolt”), and now the heavily customized two-seat F-16I Block 52+ Soufa (“Storm”). The Israelis fly the largest contingent of F-16s outside the United States, alongside longer range, higher performance F-15s. F-15A-D Baz (“Eagle”) models have greatly distinguished themselves in IDF service, and the customized two-seat F-15I Ra’ahm (“Thunder”) Strike Eagle is optimized for advanced ground attack and long range interception. All of these aircraft are heavily modified from the US versions, with Israeli avionics, self-protection systems, weapons, and sometimes radars as well.

While Israel’s F-16A/B Netz inventory may well be sold on the international market, their F-16 C/D and F-15 A-D planes were expected to serve the Air Force Corps until at least 2020. Unfortunately, Israel’s new F-35As won’t even start arriving until 2016 or 2017. To keep their edge, Israel began spending money in 2006 to improve and upgrade its legacy fighter fleet:

• Cheyl Ha’Avir: Upgrading the Fleet [updated]
  
• Contracts & Key Events [updated]
  
• Additional Readings [NEW]
  

Be Good, Be Safe, Merry Christmas

DID wishes our readers a Merry Christmas, and a happy holiday season.

The guy below would like to suggest that being good might be a very good idea…

Survivable Laser-guided Express Integrated Gift Handling system

Up to $992M for USAF Health-Care Staffing

The USAF Medical Service needs qualified health care workers to provide direct patient care services inside military treatment facilities, and to act as extensions of the military treatment facilities within the United States and Guam. The 773rd ESG/PKJ at Wright-Patterson AFB, OH received 26 proposals, and issued 23 multiple-award, indefinite delivery/ indefinite quantity fixed-firm-price contracts with a maximum total value of of $992 million. This sort of contract is not uncommon; the US Army does the same thing.

Recipient will be eligible to bid on specific delivery orders, and each is guaranteed only $5,000 as a way of offsetting bid expenses. Winners included: