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UNITED KINGDOM AND NATO
22 Feb 18. UK defence secretary seeks new Dreadnought spending plan. UK Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson is seeking a rescheduling of spending on four Dreadnought-class ballistic missile submarines as part of his Modernising Defence Programme (MDP) review. Williamson revealed his pitch to the UK Treasury (finance ministry) in testimony to the House of Commons Defence Committee on 21 February. The need to bring forward GBP300m (USD420m) in spending on the Dreadnought programme into the 2017-18 financial year has forced the Ministry of Defence (MoD) to make savings in other areas of its operations, Williamson confirmed.
Lieutenant General Mark Poffley, Deputy Chief of the Defence Staff for Military Capability, told the committee that these savings measures were spread across the UK armed forces and included restrictions on military personnel hiring cars and using mobile telephones. (Source: IHS Jane’s)
20 Feb 18. Biological Warfare
B2B Quote Ref no: B2B600715
Location: South West
Register Interest Deadline: Thursday, March 22, 2018
Submit Documents Deadline: Thursday, March 22, 2018
Development, manufacture & supply of immunoassays in the form of Lateral Flow Devices for detection of Biological Warfare Agents.
(Source: B2B.com)
20 Feb 18. Team Leander presses UK credentials for Type 31e bid. Key Points:
- Cammell Laird has teamed with BAE Systems Naval Ships under the banner of ‘Team Leander’
- The Leander design is being pitched as a low-risk, low through-life cost solution for Type 31e
The Cammell Laird/BAE Systems ‘Team Leander’ bidding for the UK Royal Navy’s (RN’s) Type 31e frigate programme has unveiled new details of its pursuit just weeks ahead of the Ministry of Defence’s (MoD’s) planned release of an invitation to negotiate (ITN).
Executives from the two partner companies claim the UK-owned and developed Leander design offers the lowest risk and lowest life-cycle cost solution for Type 31e while simultaneously promising the best return for UK prosperity and exports. Forming the centrepiece of the MoD’s National Shipbuilding Strategy, the Type 31e programme envisages the fast-track acquisition of a globally deployable but affordable frigate geared towards maritime security and defence engagement operations. A ceiling price of GBP250 m (USD350 m) per ship has been set for the first batch of five frigates, which are intended to enter RN service from 2023 to replace the five general purpose-roled Type 23 frigates.
Birkenhead-based Cammell Laird announced in October 2017 that it had teamed with BAE Systems Naval Ships for the Type 31e competition under the banner of ‘Team Leander’. A specialist in commercial shipbuilding and ship repair, Cammell Laird is building the polar research vessel RSS Sir David Attenborough for the UK Natural Environment Research Council under a GBP150 m contract awarded in late 2015. The company has also won contracts to build several small ferries.
For Type 31e, Cammell Laird is the prime contractor and shipbuilder, while BAE Systems is design agent for the 117 m Leander design, and is also responsible for combat system supply and integration. “We believe that we are the only team that can execute the programme in a low-risk way and offer a design that meets the level of warfighting capability and survivability demanded by the RN,” Tony Graham, Cammell Laird’s Type 31e director, told Jane’s. (Source: IHS Jane’s)
19 Feb 18. BTB is holding the next Tender Training Day workshops in March 2018. The timing for the day is 9.00am – 4.00pm.
The venues are:
The Grosvenor Hotel in Central London on Wednesday 14th March 2018.
Our offices in Wolverhampton on Wednesday 21st March 2018.
This 1 day course is an Introduction to Bidding & Tendering and is for people looking to gain a really good understanding of Public Sector procurement.
The workshop will cover:
- Understanding the Public Sector procurement process
- Identifying barriers to success
- A pathway to contract readiness
- Gaining experience when you can’t win contracts
- Developing your response to maximise success
- Importance of evidence
- What does a good response look like
- Making use of feedback and continuous improvement
Who should attend?
- Anyone currently involved, or looking to start Tendering for Public Sector contracts.
- Any organisation who wants to win ‘Public Sector’ contracts or contracts through the formal procurement process
- Businesses who want to get on the route to ‘contract readiness’
Why should you attend?
This workshop is designed to provide delegates with an understanding of the process, why it is being used and most importantly how to be successful
Benefits from attending:
- Increasing your knowledge of the procurement process
- To further understand the public procurement process
- Increase chances of success
- To develop efficient and effective bidding systems
We limit the number of people attending to ensure you get the absolute maximum from the workshop and only 1 company from the same industry, so no need to worry about working alongside your competitors.
Our Trainer:
An active Bid Manager who really understands the bidding environment and how it applies in practice; not just the theory. A vast amount of experience and expertise supporting a range of blue chip, SME and third sector clients with their bids.
Some of the comments from a previous course:
“Superb training session learnt a lot of new ideas and this will help in securing future tenders. Was very informative and the group experience was great. Networking with others was a bonus”
“The course was very informative, and all areas were covered”
“It was a Step by step guide with good course content and I learned things I didnt know which will definitley help in the future”
“Trainer was brilliant and I have learnt a lot of good tips”
“A great training day. I can’t imagine there are many people with more experience in tender writing”
“A must for anyone considering completing a Tender”
“Excellent mix of presentation and group / individual participation”
The cost for the 1 day workshop is:
Wolverhampton – £299 plus VAT
London – £349 plus VAT
This includes all course material, lunch and refreshments being served throughout the day. You can book and pay for the Training Day by filling the form in on our website – https://www.b2bquote.co.uk/tender-training or if you would like to discuss the workshops or for further information please contact us on: 01902 712191 or e-mail: (Source: B2B.com)
EUROPE
22 Feb 18. Ammunition Rounds
B2B Quote Ref no: B2B601464
Location: Republic of Ireland
Register Interest Deadline: Monday, March 26, 2018
Submit Documents Deadline: Monday, March 26, 2018
Supply of 1 500 ammunition rounds.
(Source: B2B.com)
22 Feb 18. Bulgaria to initiate fighter jet, armored vehicle procurements this March. Bulgaria‘s Ministry of Defence will submit its proposals to procure new fighter jets and armored vehicles to the Council of Ministers this March, according to Defence Minister Krasimir Karakachanov.
The minister told public broadcaster BNT that Bulgaria will seek offers “for new and secondhand aircraft” to “find the best prices and the best options.”
In November, Karakachanov said the ministry aimed to request offers from a number of aircraft manufacturers. The considered fighter jets were to include Lockheed Martin’s F-16, Saab’s JAS 39 Gripen, the Eurofighter Typhoon and Boeing’s F/A-18 Super Hornet.
The aircraft are to replace Bulgaria’s Soviet-designed Mikoyan MiG-29 aircraft with Western-made fighters. The deal is expected to be worth about 1.5bn leva (U.S. $946m).
Karakachanov says the ministry aims to spend 20 percent of the country’s military expenditure on new weapons and equipment for the Bulgarian Armed Forces. By 2024, Sofia is to raise its annual defense expenditure to 2 percent of the country’s gross domestic product, according to the minister. Under the plan, the new wheeled vehicles are to replace Bulgaria’s Soviet-made BTR-60 armored personnel carriers. (Source: Defense News)
21 Feb 18. Latvian MoD completes Stage I of procedure for 4×4 tactical vehicle procurement. The Ministry of Defence of Latvia (MoD) has completed Stage I of the negotiated procedure for the acquisition of light and medium, high-mobility, armoured four-wheel drive 4×4 tactical vehicles. Based on the competition qualification criteria, the Latvian MoD has selected six eligible bidders to enter the Phase II of negotiated procedure. A total of 12 bids were submitted for the negotiated procedure.
The selected companies are Paramount Group in South Africa, Israel Aerospace Industries suppliers consortium in Israel, AS UPB in Latvia, Otokar in Turkey, Oy Sisu Auto in Finland, and AM General and Oshkosh Defence in the US.
According to the Defence and Security Procurement Law, the negotiated procedure needs to be carried out in two stages, of which the first stage, or the pre-selection of bidders, has now been completed.
During the second stage of the negotiated procedure, selected bidders will be required to offer a detailed bid and proposed vehicles for testing.
Following this, a complete evaluation of contributions and testing of proposed vehicles will be carried out by the procurement committee in near-combat training conditions in order to verify the compliance of proposed vehicles with operational requirements of the Latvian National Armed Forces.
As well as promoting the tactical mobility of the Latvian Army, the 4×4 vehicles will play a major role in the implementation of artillery, air defence and National Guard development projects.
In addition, the vehicles are required to be suitable for personnel and cargo transportation, command and control, and medical support missions.
(Source: army-technology.com)
20 Feb 18. Turkey to replace T-38 aircraft with locally built armed jet.
Turkish procurement officials say the country will replace its aging fleet of T-38 trainers with the Hurjet, an armed trainer jet developed by Turkish Aerospace Industries.
The officials said the Hurjets will replace a fleet of 70 T-38s built between 1961 and 1972. The Hurjet is a jet engine version of the turboprop Hurkus, Turkey’s first indigenous basic trainer aircraft.
“Production [of the Hurjet] will not be limited to a batch of 70,” said an official with Turkish Aerospace Industries, or TAI. “Market studies have shown strong export prospects.”
The Turkish military is planning to use the Hurjet for training and for close-air support missions with the country’s F-16 fighters.
“The Hurjet would be a strategic asset in our anti-terror warfare,” an Air Force officer said.
Turkey’s military has been fighting Kurdish militants in the country’s southeast as well as in neighboring Syria and Iraq. The fighting has claimed more than 40,000 lives since 1984.
TAI’s board gave the official go-ahead for the Hurjet program in August. The company has since been working on the architectural phase.
“We are hoping to have Hurjet’s maiden flight in 2022,” the TAI official said.
In addition to asymmetrical warfare, Turkey’s military is planning to use the Hurjet in border security missions.
The Hurjet will have a maximum speed of Mach 1.2 and can fly at a maximum altitude of 45,000 feet. The Hurjet will have a maximum payload of 3,000 kilograms, including ammunition, radar and camera.
Turkish officials have successfully tested the Hurkus-C, an armed version of the Hurkus family, equipped with L-UMTAS, a laser-guided long-range anti-tank missile. L-UMTAS was developed by the state-controlled missile-maker Roketsan primarily to operate from attack helicopters. In 2016, the system was qualified and integrated into the T-129, a Turkish attack helicopter built under license from the Italian-British AgustaWestland.
The aircraft also features other locally developed ammunition including CIRIT, TEBER, HGK and LGK. It can also use INS/GPS-guided bombs, conventional bombs, non-guided rockets and machine guns.
The armed Hurkus features armored body parts, a self-protection system, a data link, laser tacking, an electro-optical and infrared pod, an external fuel tank, and advanced avionics, according to TAI.
With a 1,500-kilogram payload that can be utilized through seven external hardpoints, the Hurkus-C will perform light-attack and armed reconnaissance missions.
TAI’s engineers began to design the Hurkus in 2004. For the Hurkus program, TAI signed two contracts with Turkey’s procurement agency, the Undersecretariat for Defence Industries: one for prototype development and the other for serial production.
Under a June 2014 serial production contract, TAI will deliver 15 aircraft with a follow-on option for 40 more.
The Hurkus platform features a single Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-68 turboprop engine that comes with a power rating of 1,600 shaft horsepower and a maximum speed of 574kph. TAI’s sister company, Tusas Engine Industries, which specializes in engines, is locally developing a turboshaft engine to replace the Pratt & Whitney Canada engine.
(Source: Defense News Early Bird/Defense News)
20 Feb 18. Belgium wants to buy Rafale fighters for naval capability, says French lawmaker. Belgium has shown interest in the Rafale fighter jet for maritime use, said Jean-Jacques Bridey, chairman of the French Defence Committee of the lower house National Assembly.
“The Belgians are interested in the Rafale,” he told The Defense Journalists Association. “Why? If they buy the Rafale, it will be the naval Rafale.”
Belgium is interested in the aircraft’s ability to land on the French aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle, which would boost Belgium’s deployment capacity, Bridey said. “This is a seaborne airbase, after all,” he added.
France has pitched the Rafale in an offer of broad bilateral military cooperation with Belgium, opting out of a competition that has attracted British and American offers of the Eurofighter Typhoon and F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, respectively.
Laurence Mortier, the spokeswoman for Belgium’s defense minister, said she could not confirm the interest in a carrier-based aircraft.
The French government letter offering the Rafale is undergoing a legal review in Belgium, she said.
That review seeks to determine whether the French proposal can be considered despite being made outside a tender. The Belgian Defence Ministry has posted a request for government proposal for public consultation, setting out the tender for 34 multirole combat aircraft and support equipment. An aircraft carrier capability is not among the requirements listed in the air combat capability program.
A fighter jet with carrier capacity reflects European and international cooperation in which France, one of the largest European forces, could “federate” its “discriminating capabilities,” Bridey said.
There are nations that lack equipment, and cooperation would allow their forces to take part in operations.
French cooperation could include a naval task force, cybersecurity, intelligence gathering in the exo-atmosphere, military intelligence, special forces, and command and control of large operations, he said. Frigates from Britain, Germany and Spain have sailed in a French naval task force, he noted.Dassault Aviation, prime contractor on the Rafale, was not immediately available for comment. Dassault last week signed 13 cooperative agreements with Belgian companies as part of the French offer of the Rafale. (Source: Defense News)
19 Feb 18. German Air Force Wants F-35; German Government Doesn’t. Pork barrel politics is complicating Germany’s replacement of its 1970s fighter jet. Within a decade, Germany must replace 85 of its Tornado multi-role combat aircraft. Designed and built in the 1970s by a consortium of British, Italian and West German aircraft companies, the Jets have reached a point of diminishing return when it comes to maintenance and modernization. In 2015, for example, it was reported by the German press that only 30 of the planes were combat-ready at any given time. Plain and simple, the Luftwaffe needs a new aircraft.
In May of last year, the German air force asked to be briefed on the American-made F-35, the stealthy, multi-mission, 5th-generation aircraft. Then, in November, Lt. General Karl Müllner, the Luftwaffe chief of staff, indicated his service’s preference for replacing the Tornado jets with the F-35 because of its low-observable signature and its ability to identify and strike distant targets. ”I think I have expressed myself clearly enough as to what the favorite of the air force is.” Given Russian advances in ground-based air defenses and combat aircraft, the general’s comments were not surprising from a military point of view.
But the general’s remarks may well have been a surprise to his government. In December, the Deputy Defense Minister Ralf Brauksiepe pushed back against the idea of replacing the Tornados with F-35s by simply noting that this was “not the position of the federal government.” Instead, the ministry stated that the Tornados would be replaced with the Eurofighter, an aircraft originally designed in the late 1980s and early 1990s to be an air-superiority fighter but which has evolved into a multi-mission platform. Like the Tornado, the Eurofighter is built by a consortium (Germany, Italy, UK and Spain) of European nations.
The rest of the report notes that this is the rub: the understandable desire to preserve the local defense industry rather than spend huge amounts of money for an American airplane. Despite early woes, the F-35 is a great plane and getting better as the kinks are worked out—which is standard operating procedure for advanced technology. And, despite the reputation for being a boondoggle in terms of cost, it’s actually cheaper than the F-22 and would be cheaper, still if it were being procured at the planned rate. The combination of austerity in most NATO capitals and the bizarre budget-without-a-budget that the US has been operating on the last decade cut acquisition considerably, boosting the per-unit price of the early inventory. More countries getting on board produces economies of scale since the R&D costs are the same whether one plane or thousands are sold. (Source: News Now/Outsidethebeltway.com)
19 Feb 18. With the Nordic nation’s existing fleet of 64 US F-18 Hornet jets becoming increasingly obsolete and expensive to maintain, five contenders are expected to run in the upcoming tender.
As Finland is heading toward the largest military purchase in its history, the suspense is building. The modernization of the Finnish Air Force is expected to cost up to €10bn ($12.5bn), with at least as much spent on maintenance and updates in the upcoming 30 years, Finnish national broadcaster Yle reported.
Finland’s current fleet of 64 US F-18 Hornets is estimated to have seven to twelve years left in operation. To offset their gradual decommission, the Nordic nation has five replacement contenders on its radar: the F-35 (Lockheed Martin), the F/A-18 Super Hornet (Boeing), the Gripen E (Saab), the Rafale (Dassault) and the Eurofighter Typhoon.
According to Lauri Puranen of the Defense Ministry, the stakes are particularly high as the goal is to acquire a system that will be still in service after 30 years and will be able to be updated further on to meet the challenges of tomorrow.
According to Puranen, it is therefore about “getting a whole system with many components” rather than an array of aircraft. Therefore, factors such as sensors, wiring and ability to work in units will be considered, he stressed.
Puranen revealed that the purchase price/maintenance cost ratio is expected to be 40/60.
Charly Salonius-Pasternak of the Finnish Foreign Affairs Institute argued that the upgradability of the new aircraft is crucial, as it yet difficult to envisage the needs of the air force in the decades to come. Since all the five contenders are expected to be up to a certain level, the question was rather which of them will offer anything beyond that level.
In addition to fighter jets’ performance per se, security policy implications will be taken into consideration as well, he stressed.
The last air force update of this scope was carried out in 1992, when it was decided to buy 64 Hornet jets, a decision which opened Finland’s security policy door to the West. At that time, disappointment was particularly great in Sweden as Finland did not choose the Swedish-made Gripen, despite increased talk about cooperation.
“It was disappointing. We had talked a lot about Sweden about joint procurement of defense equipment. And it was like a blow to these beautiful words,” the then-Defense Minister Elisabeth Rehn recalled.
This time, expectations are once again running high among the Swedish defense group Saab.
“There are some politicians and even parties that have flagged in favor of buying Swedish because of the Swedish-Finnish cooperation. Many in Sweden are equally hopeful,” Salonius-Pasternak stressed, emphasizing that Finland and Sweden currently are the only Nordic nations to remain outside of NATO.
According to him, the main argument in favor of the European fighter jets is supporting Europe’s military independence.
“And then there are those who indirectly consider US interest in this, as we did in the early 90s. In my personal discussions, it has been made clear that if Finland were to switch countries, it would certainly affect the US-Finnish relationship,” Salonius-Pasternak stressed. The tender will start in several months’ time, Yle reported. (Source: News Now/Sputnik News)
19 Feb 18. Denmark positions F-35 funds. The Danish Central Bank has completed the hedging of payments of USD3.7bn so that the department of defence is able to acquire the Lockheed Martin F-35 Joint Strike Fighter at fixed price in its local currency. Copenhagen agreed in 2016 to acquire 27 conventional take-off and landing F-35A variants of the fighter to replace its incumbent F-16 fleet, and has hedged the dollars so that they are available at a fixed price when they are needed. This process commenced at the beginning of 2018, the bank said, and has now been completed.
“The process of entering into forwards, which ensure a fixed price of dollars when the government needs them has been smooth,” Frank Nielsen, assistant governor of the bank, said. (Source: IHS Jane’s)
USA
20 Feb 18. The US Navy has funded five potential designs, including one from Austal, for its future guided missile frigate FFG(X) requirement, with potential for the project to include an Australian flavour.
The US$15m contracts were awarded to General Dynamics Bath Iron Works, Fincantieri’s subsidiary Marienette Marine, Huntington Ingalls, Austal USA and Lockheed Martin. Both Austal and Lockheed Martin currently build Littoral Combat Ships – the monohull Freedom Class and the Independence Class trimaran – for the US Navy and both of their FFG(X) designs are based on those existing LCS platforms.
General Dynamics Bath Iron Works is proposing a modified variant of the F100 frigate, a Spanish design that is the basis for Australia’s Air Warfare Destroyers. Huntington Ingalls will put forward a version of their Patrol Frigate concept based on the Coast Guard’s Legend Class National Security Cutter.
Fincantieri Marinette Marine will offer a customised version of its FREMM vessels for the program, a class of frigate currently on offer to Australia for its SEA 5000 Future Frigate program.
Should Austal or Fincantieri’s Marinette Marine be selected, there would be opportunity for Australian businesses in the companies’ global supply chains.
The US Navy will need at least 20 vessels built and each vessel is expected to cost around $1bn.
Giuseppe Bono, CEO of Fincantieri, said Marinette Marine’s down-selection for the project is a tick of approval for the vessels capabilities.
“This contract, along with the selection of the FREMM project for the final round in the tender in Australia, confirms our global leadership in the design and construction of the most technologically advanced vessels and our ability to continuously innovate.” (Source: Defence Connect)
20 Feb 18. Lockheed filed a pre-award protest of the Air Force‘s Huey replacement competition. Here‘s why. The U.S. Air Force hasn’t chosen a winner for its UH-1N Huey replacement contest, but Sikorsky — a Lockheed Martin subsidiary and one of the three companies vying for the contract — has already filed a protest with the Government Accountability Office in the hopes of getting the service to pare back its control over certain data rights.
The protest, filed by Sikorsky on Feb. 12, revolves around concerns about intellectual property — specifically, requirements to hand over technical data rights that the company sees as proprietary.
“We believe that we can and would comply with the RFP [request for proposal] requirements as we understood them based on law and regulation in the RFP itself, but in the [evaluation notice] dialogues [in September], it became apparent that our ability to comply was significantly compromised by the Air Force’s interpretations of some of those items in the RFP,” said Steve Callaghan, vice president of strategy and business development for Sikorsky.
For example, the Air Force’s current interpretation of its solicitation would designate a company’s software source code as operations, maintenance, installation and training, or OMIT, data, said David Morgan, Sikorsky’s business development director. The government automatically obtains unlimited rights over any OMIT data.
“The issue there is they can use that however they see fit. Give it to other services, other vendors,” he said. But according to the Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement, “software source code is not considered as sustainment or OMIT data.”
Although the Air Force has been clear that it wants vendors’ source code as OMIT data, there are other technical data elements that the service has not yet decided whether to classify as OMIT — and therefore government-owned — or non-OMIT, Callaghan said.
That poses an additional challenge, making it more difficult for all competitors to submit informed fixed-priced bids for the program, Morgan contended.
“Defining that after-contract award puts us into the situation where we don’t have a clear requirement to bid to. That’s an unbounded and ambiguous requirement,” he said. (Source: Defense News)
15 Feb 18. US Army requests expeditionary and mobile systems to counter ‘low, slow, and small’ UASs. The US Army is looking to rapidly deploy two new systems to protect its forces against ‘low, slow, and small’ unmanned aircraft systems (UASs), the service disclosed on 14 February.
Two separate requests for information (RFIs) related to the requirement were posted on the same day for the rapid development, deployment, and support of the Mobile-Low, Slow, Small UAS Integrated Defeat System (M-LIDS), and for the Expeditionary (E-LIDS) system.
Both RFIs noted, “The US Army has identified a need to develop countermeasures against enemy-armed and intelligence gathering UASs operating at various speeds and altitudes, which are targeting US interests both at home and abroad.
“[These RFIs] include all incidental services to develop, produce, integrate, deploy, and sustain the M-LIDS/E-LIDS in multiple theaters of operation.”
No details on either system were disclosed, except that the RFIs were given a classification code listing of ‘Guided Missiles’. Interested parties have until 1600h Central Time on 2 March to respond to the solicitations. These RFIs come two-and-a-half months after the US Army said that it was looking for an interim close-in air defence and counter-unmanned aerial vehicle (C-UAV) system to field on its Stryker wheeled infantry carrier and reconnaissance vehicles. That RFI, issued on 5 December 2017, was for 72 Interim Maneuver Short-Range Air Defense (IM-SHORAD) systems that would be capable of neutralising unmanned aircraft through both kinetic and non-kinetic means. (Source: IHS Jane’s)
REST OF THE WORLD
20 Feb 18. Tank and armour upgrades on the agenda. An industry consultation day will be held in Melbourne today for Australian businesses looking to score a piece of the work in Defence’s Main Battle Tank Upgrade and Under Armour Breaching and Bridging projects.
Delegates representing 131 companies, the majority of which are from Australia, are participating in the event. Defence Industry Minister Christopher Pyne said the event, hosted by the Centre of Defence Industry Capability (CDIC), will help local businesses get involved in building up Australia’s military capability.
“Small and medium enterprises will be able to engage with Centre of Defence Industry Capability at this event, to discuss potential Australian innovative solutions they can offer for integration into the capability,” Minister Pyne said.
“With a combined value of approximately $2 bn, these projects are an opportunity for Australian companies to win work and contribute to Army’s future Armoured Fighting Vehicle capability. Early industry engagement is crucial for Defence to understand potential future industry participation in capability development and delivery.”
The projects, known as LAND 907 Phase 2 and LAND 8160 Phase 1, are worth up to $2bn.
Under the LAND 907 Phase 1 project, Defence acquired 59 M1A1 Abrams Integrated Management Situational Awareness Abrams tanks, 13 M88 Hercules Armoured Recovery Vehicles, and training and support systems including simulators, special tools, test equipment, spares and ammunition. The LAND 907 Phase 2 project, budgeted for $750 m to $1 bn, will look at providing the Australian Army with an upgraded Main Battle Tank (MBT) capability, with the M1A1 to be upgraded to a M1A2 variant and M88A2 to be upgraded to an M88A3 variant.
Under the LAND 8160 Phase 1 project, Defence is seeking to acquire and armoured engineering system for the Army to provide and under armour obstacle breaching and bridging capability to support mounted forces. The capability will be based on a M1 tank chassis and may be delivered by three variants: an Armoured Breacher Vehicle, an Armoured Bridge Launcher and an Armoured Engineering Vehicle (AEV).
The breacher vehicle’s main role will be to mechanically and explosively breach minefields and clear obstacles, while the armour bridge launcher will be able to cross wet or dry gaps and allow for forward movement in the battlefield. An AEV typically features a large dozer blade or mine ploughs, a large calibre demolition cannon, augers, winches, excavator arms and cranes or lifting booms. (Source: Defence Connect)
20 Feb 18. Brazil cuts three aircraft from Skyhawk fighter upgrade. The Brazilian Navy’s Naval Aviation Force will receive six modernised McDonnell Douglas Skyhawk (three AF-1B single-seat and three AF-1C twin-seat) fighters, instead of nine AF-1Bs and three AF-1Cs as originally planned in an April 2009 contract with Embraer.
The move is due to Brazil’s constricting budget, its decision to phase out its São Paulo (A 12) aircraft carrier, and its hope to preserve the capability to operate embarked aircraft.
One AF-1C is to be delivered in the coming weeks and one AF-1B is to be delivered in August, the navy told Jane’s. The first AF-1B was delivered in May 2015 and the second in April 2016, but the latter aircraft crashed on 26 July 2016. (Source: IHS Jane’s)
18 Feb 18. The French weekly financial newspaper La Tribune reported on Friday that a deal between Cairo and France over the sale of 12 Rafale jet fighters to Egypt has been blocked because the US is refusing to export a component of a cruise missile that is part of the plane.
French sources quoted in the report asserted that the delay in the deal is due to the shortage of the American component of the scalp missiles and not a funding issue as in the past.
La Tribune noted that Dassault Aviation and MBDA declined to confirm reports about the Scalp cruise missile, a low observable air-launched cruise missile.
In response to the report, the Egyptian army’s official spokesperson Tamer El-Refa’ai told Egypt Independent on Sunday that the issue of the missing American component of the Scalp cruise missile is considered as French “internal affairs.”
The newspaper added that France has previously approved the export of the Scalp cruise missiles to Egypt, though the US’s refusal to provide the manufacturer with the American component obstructed this step.
This refusal triggered outrage among Egyptians who are insisting on receiving the Scalp cruise missiles before completing the Rafale deal.
It explained that the Egyptian outrage will push France to seek alternatives to the American components through resorting to another missiles’ manufacturer away from MBDA, or to open high-level communication with the US administration, saying that such communications may take place during the upcoming visit of the French President Emmanuel Macron to US in April.
The French newspaper highlighted that there is a conflict between the US and France regarding French weapons’ deals to Middle East countries including Egypt and United Arab of Emirates [UAE], asserting that the US previously refused to sell French components used to manufacture spy satellites to UAE.
In November 2017, La Tribune said that Egypt is going to sign a military deal with France which will see Egypt buy 12 Rafale fighter aircrafts.
At the time, the newspaper quoted anonymous sources as saying that the French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian negotiated the deal with President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi while attending the World Youth Forum in Sharm El-Sheikh in November 2017.
In February 2015, France agreed to deliver 24 Rafale fighter jets to Egypt at a cost of € 5.2bn.
The French Rafael manufacturer Dassault Aviation disclosed in March that it would deliver to Egypt eight Rafale fighters this year.
In December 2016, Egypt ranked first among developing nations that imports arms, according to a US congressional report.
Over the past few years, Egypt has finalized several arms deals with a number of countries including France and Russia. (Source: News Now/Egypt Independent)
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American Panel Corporation
American Panel Corporation (APC) since 1998, specializes in display products installed in defence land systems, as well as military and commercial aerospace platforms, having delivered well over 100,000 displays worldwide. Military aviators worldwide operate their aircraft and perform their missions using APC displays, including F-22, F-18, F-16, F-15, Euro-fighter Typhoon, Mirage 2000, C-130, C-17, P-3, S-3, U-2, AH-64 Apache Helicopter, V-22 tilt-rotor, as well as numerous other military and commercial aviation aircraft including Boeing 717 – 787 aircraft and several Airbus aircraft. APC panels are found in nearly every tactical aircraft in the US and around the world.
APC manufactures the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter Large Area Display (LAD) display (20 inch by 8 inch) with dual pixel fields, power and video interfaces to provide complete display redundancy. At DSEI 2017 we are exhibiting the LAD with a more advanced design, dual display on single substrate with redundant characteristics and a bespoke purpose 8 inch by 6 inch armoured vehicle display.
In order to fully meet the demanding environmental and optical requirements without sacrificing critical tradeoffs in performance, APC designs, develops and manufactures these highly specialized displays in multiple sizes and configurations, controlling all AMLCD optical panel, mechanical and electrical design aspects. APC provides both ITAR and non-ITAR displays across the globe to OEM Prime and tiered vetronics and avionics integrators.
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