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EUROPE
07 Nov 18. Companies line up to deliver Turkey hundreds of micro drones. The Turkish government has launched a competition to buy hundreds of multi-rotor micro drones, with scores of local companies having already expressed interest. SSB, Turkey’s procurement authority, has said that the planned drones would be used in homeland security missions like search and rescue, surveillance and reconnaissance, remote sensing and mapping. An SSB official said all drone programs come with a “priority” tag. Under the multi-rotor micro drone program, SSB will procure a total of 499 units. Twenty-two companies have replied to SSB’s Request for Proposal (RfP).
“The level of interest [in the contract] and potential competition during the race reflects the vibrancy of Turkey’s fast-growing drone industry,” said Özgür Ekşi, an analyst with C4Defense.com, a defense industry specialist. “Especially when you think that only a decade ago there was not a single drone maker in the country.”
Turkey has long prioritized developmental and operation of unmanned systems for its military and for export. The Turkish military was largely dependent on the Israeli-made Heron unmanned aerial vehicles in its fight with Kurdish insurgents in early 2000s when the government-controlled Tusas Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI) started working on the Anka, Turkey’s first indigenous drone. In 2013 TAI won a contract from the Turkish government to supply 10 Ankas and ground control stations. The Anka, a medium-altitude, long-endurance drone, can fly at an altitude of 30,000 feet for 24 hours and can carry up to 200 kg payload.
TAI later developed the armed and satellite-controlled versions of the Anka as the country’s dependency on drones in its asymmetrical warfare against Kurdish insurgency deepened. The Anka has paved the way for the entry into the market of private sector players. Kale-Baykar, a consortium, has successfully developed the Bayraktar TB-2, a drone system that comes in unarmed and armed versions, and delivered to the military six systems in 2017. The Bayraktar uses the MAM-L and MAM-C, two mini smart munitions developed and produced by state-controlled missile specialist Roketsan. Turkey’s local industry also is developing BSI-101, a SIGINT system, for the Bayraktar to end Turkey’s dependence on U.S.-made SIGINT systems for drones. The Bayraktar can fly at a maximum altitude of 24,000 feet. Its communications range is 150 kilometers. The aircraft can carry up to 55 kilograms of payload.
“We encourage private companies to spend more on drone R&D and come up with solutions cut for our specific (mostly asymmetrical) requirements,” said one procurement official. “there is a lot of activity going on and the market will deepen in quantity and quality in the years ahead.”
Ekşi from C4Defence.com said: “Twenty-two local bidders in a relatively small drone competition is a sign that the market, infant by age, will flourish soon.” (Source: Defense News)
07 Nov 18. Spain sets out European MALE RPAS procurement plan. The Spanish Air Force (Ejército del Aire Español: EdAE) has said it is to acquire 15 of the new European medium-altitude long-endurance (MALE) remotely piloted air systems (RPASs) being developed by a pan-European consortium. Planned for entry into service in the mid-2020s, the MALE RPAS is a joint project between Germany (Airbus), France (Dassault), Italy (Leonardo), and Spain (Airbus). An EdAE spokesperson confirmed the Spanish proposals on 7 November. While no timetable has yet been drawn up, the first aircraft are expected to arrive in Spain from 2026 onwards. To avoid a capability gap while it waits for the new European MALE RPAS, the air force is to be equipped with the General Atomics Reaper MQ-9 Predator B. The first two are due to arrive in February 2019 with a second pair set for delivery in October 2019. (Source: IHS Jane’s)
07 Nov 18. Airbus, IAR Ghimbav Sign 15-Year Collaboration Contract for the H215M Helicopter. Airbus and IAR Ghimbav signed on November 6, 2018 the final 15-year exclusive contract, a document whose principles had been established by the initial agreement in August 2017 signed in Bucharest, in the presence of the French and Romanian presidents. Under the Definitive Collaboration Agreement, the IAR is the lead contractor for the H215M for any future order from the Romanian Defence Ministry aimed at replacing the aging fleet. Airbus was dissatisfied from time to time that there are no firm orders from the Romanian state, and there were warnings of a possible closure of the assembly line, hotnews.ro reports. The H215 helicopter is produced since 2013 and currently 13 helicopters are used in six countries, with a total of 3,600 flight hours. The H215 was certified in September 2013, and in October 2013 the first delivery was made. The helicopter can carry 22 passengers and two pilots, reaching 262km/h, the maximum take-off mass is 8,600kg, and the autonomy on standard tanks is 866km (4 hours and 25 minutes). The ascent rate is 8.2m/s. There are two versions: a 4,691-kilogram long multirole and a 4,449kg smaller utility helicopter. (Source: defense-aerospace.com/The Romanian Journal)
05 Nov 18. Bundeswehr to seek BMS for upcoming NATO deployment. Germany’s Bundeswehr is preparing to launch an urgent procurement programme to equip its Very High Readiness Joint Task Force (VJTF) in 2023 with a new battle management system (BMS), industry sources told Jane’s . Designed to support deployments to hot spots that could include Eastern Europe on 1 January 2023, the army has been considering buying software-defined radio (SDR) and command-and-control (C2) solutions. A request for information is due to be published in November 2018, following parliamentary discussions regarding future funding, the sources said. A request for proposals is due to follow in the first quarter of 2019.
“There is a little bit of time pressure there, but the budget is not yet available,” one industry source explained, adding that final products must be “in place” at least one year before units are due to deploy in support of VJTF 2023. (Source: IHS Jane’s)
02 Nov 18. Italian MoD set to launch submarine, rescue ship, and anti-ship missile upgrade programmes. Italy’s planned multiyear defence programming document covering the 2018–2020 timeframe includes funding to launch new shipbuilding and guided weapon programmes for the Italian Navy. According to the document, publicly released on 2 November, the Italian Ministry of Defence (MoD) plans to launch three programmes in support of Italian Navy request, comprising a third batch of two U212A submarines built to an evolved design, a new submarine rescue vessel, and an improved version of MBDA’s Teseo Mk2 anti-ship missile system. The programming document is expected to be scrutinised in parliament from the second week of November. According to the document, the four U212A submarines comprising the third and fourth batches – which will be built in the evolved Near Future Submarine (NFS) configuration – will require a total of EUR2.35bn (USD2.68bn); EUR806m was been allocated to start the first two units in early 2018. (Source: IHS Jane’s)
05 Nov 18. Estonia seeks longer range anti-tank missiles. Estonia has allocated funding to procure longer range anti-tank guided missiles (ATGMs) to supplement its existing stock of FGM-148 Javelin and MILAN missiles, with several manufacturers now positioning for the multimillion euro contract. An initial request for proposals was released in early October, with a spokesperson for the Estonian Centre for Defence Investment (ECDI) telling Jane’s that EUR40m (USD45.5m) had now been approved for the project. “The new ATGMs will be purchased to improve Estonia’s anti-tank capability.” According to the spokesperson, the new long-range ATGM requirement will be funded by Estonia and calls for a minimum of 18 systems along with associated ammunition, technical support, and training. (Source: IHS Jane’s)
USA
05 Nov 18. DISA Prepping Three Contracts to Manage All Its Mobility Services. The military’s IT office plans to award all three contracts for mobile services and content management—classified and unclassified—before the end of fiscal 2019. The Defense Information Systems Agency will continue to supply the military with mobility solutions but, under a new crop of pending procurements, plans to get out of managing those contracts. DISA officials are planning to release the final request for proposals in the next two weeks for the classified portion of the Mobility Enterprise Services, with the unclassified portion on schedule for release early next year. These contracts together with the Mobile Content Management RFP expected to be released soon will encompass all of DISA’s mobility solutions offerings. As part of the award, a single vendor will manage the contracts and services being provided.
“To date, my team does a lot of the detail work and working with 16 different vendors,” Jacob Marcellus, portfolio manager for the Defense Department’s mobility program office, said Monday during DISA’s Forecast to Industry day. “With this new contract—once it’s awarded—we will expect that the actual awardee does those things for us,” Marcellus said. “We expect that they can do it more efficiently so that my government team can work on things more like requirements and the enhancements—moving at that speed of mobility.”
For the classified network contract, MES-C, Marcellus’ office expects to award a single indefinite-delivery, indefinite-quantity contract to support the department’s secret and top secret Defense Mobility Classified Capability programs. After the final RFP is released in a couple weeks, DISA officials plan to announce the award in the third quarter of fiscal 2019. The program office also expects to make a single award for the unclassified portion, MES-U, though the acquisition strategy is yet to be determined, Marcellus said. DISA plans to issue an RFP for the contract in the second quarter of fiscal 2019 and make awards by the end of the fiscal year. The final pillar of DISA’s mobility strategy is the Mobile Content Management contract, which will be available to users at all of the service branches to help move and manage large amounts of data.
The solution will center on a “commercial-based cloud mobile content management that will be a catalyst for new applications,” Marcellus said. The program office is already aware that mission partners at the Pentagon and branches will be looking to this contract for support using applications that require large amounts of storage on end devices, such as electronic flight bags or digital libraries. The MCM contract will offer managed services for both sides of the coin, Marcellus said, whether managing a data repository that devices can access or pushing content out to an endpoint. The mobility program office plans to release the final RFQ this quarter for a single-award IDIQ, with an award announcement expected in early 2019. (Source: Defense News Early Bird/www.nextgov.com)
REST OF THE WORLD
08 Nov 18. Indo Defence 2018: Luerssen offers variant of Frankenthal class for Indonesia’s MCMV replacement programme. Key Points:
- Luerssen has offered a variant of the Frankenthal-class minehunter that is currently in service with the German Navy to Indonesia
- Company has indicated its commitment to build the ships in-country, in collaboration with a local shipyard
Luerssen has offered a variant of the Frankenthal class for Indonesia’s Pulau Rengat (Tripartite)-class mine-countermeasure vessel (MCMV) replacement programme, a representative from the company confirmed with Jane’s at the Indo Defence exhibition in Jakarta.
Like the Frankenthal class, which has been in service with the German Navy since the early 1990s, the variant that is being offered for the Indonesian Navy’s (Tentara Nasional Indonesia – Angkatan Laut, or TNI–AL’s) requirements also features non-magnetisable hull, and the ability to launch remotely operated vehicles (ROVs), said Peter Kneipp, regional director of sales for Luerssen Asia. (Source: IHS Jane’s)
07 Nov 18. Flight trials begin for Philippine Lynx Wildcats. Leonardo has begun flight trials at its Yeovil production facility in southern England on the first of two AgustaWestland AW159 Lynx Wildcat maritime helicopters destined for the Philippines. The start of the trials, which was announced by the Philippine Department of National Defense (DND) on 6 November, comes 32 months after the Philippine Navy announced that it had selected the Lynx Wildcat to fulfil its anti-submarine warfare (ASW) helicopter requirement. Shortly after this selection, the DND signed a PHP5.4bn (USD114m at the time) contract that included the two helicopters, munitions, mission equipment, and support. This first helicopter will be handed over to the country once flight trials are complete, with the second to follow shortly after. The DND did not provide any information on when these handovers would take place. In the ASW role the Lynx Wildcat can be configured to carry active dipping sonar (ADS), sonobuoys, and torpedoes, while for the anti-surface warfare role it can be armed with anti-ship missiles, rockets, and guns. (Source: IHS Jane’s)
07 Nov 18. Indo Defence 2018: Indonesia’s lead Cakra class undergoes USD40m upgrade. Key Points:
- Indonesia has begun a USD40m upgrade on its first German-built submarine
- The upgrade will extend the boat’s service life beyond 2024
The Indonesian Navy’s (Tentara Nasional Indonesia – Angkatan Laut: TNI-AL’s) lead Cakra-class diesel-electric submarine (SSK), KRI Cakra (401), is currently undergoing a USD40m upgrade as part of efforts to extend the boat’s life beyond 2024, a PT PAL official told Jane’s at the Indo Defence 2018 exhibition in Jakarta. The submarine is one of two German-made vessels commissioned by the TNI-AL in the early 1980s. Contracts for the upgrade of both ships have been awarded to South Korean shipbuilder Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering (DSME), and work on Cakra has been ongoing at PT PAL’s facilities in Surabaya since mid-2018. (Source: IHS Jane’s)
06 Nov 18. DST seeks EOI for operations analysis and warfighting decision support modelling. The Joint and Operations Analysis Division (JOAD) within DST is seeking to engage Australian research and industry partners who could support the Modelling Complex Warfighting Strategic Research Investment program (MCW SRI). The MCW SRI seeks to revolutionise how DST undertakes operations analysis to better handle the interaction of complex geopolitical, social, technological, economic and cultural factors for design of the future force. Force design is the planning and decision-making process regarding military equipment and future defence operations. Such decisions are often made under conditions of high uncertainty and without assumptions on predictability or stability of the system. The MCW SRI aims to address four themes in the force design and future Defence Force employment problems. The MCW SRI is organised around four themes with seven current areas of interest within the themes, including:
- Conquering uncertainty: Scientific methods to enable robust force design decisions to produce a resilient force through the understanding and management of uncertainty in Defence.
o Modelling complex human systems under uncertainty; and
o Trans-disciplinary approaches to modelling unknowns.
- Innovative simulations: Novel modelling and simulation techniques to enable exploration of whole-of-force warfighting concepts and force options.
o Simulation for future operating concept development.
- Knowledge synthesis: Synthesis of analytical and simulation results to support development of a joint force that is integrated by design.
o Data-driven defence operational analysis.
- Modelling complexity: Methods to enable understanding of properties of the joint force emerging as a result of nonlinear interactions between the many constituent elements.
o Concepts for complexity-enabled warfare;
o Machine-discovered behaviour; and
o Force effectiveness modelling.
Expressions of interest are to include a brief description of the function of the tool, how it might support particular areas of interest within the MCW SRI program and examples of where it is currently being used. Successful EOIs will be invited to attend the MCW Workshop being held Thursday, 6 December 2018 in Melbourne and demonstrate their tool as part of the workshop. Expressions of interest are not to exceed one A4 page of text plus one A4 page of diagrams/graphics (optional) and are to be submitted by 5:00pm (AEDT) on Monday, 12 November 2018. (Source: Defence Connect)
05 Nov 18. Peruvian Defence Ministry announces 2019 budget, releases acquisition plans. Peruvian Defence Minister José Huerta Torres met with the Peruvian Congress Budget Commission on 29 October, requesting about USD2.3m for fiscal year 2019, the ministry announced via a press release. The main objectives of the armed forces will be to respond to natural disasters, combat terrorism, and reduce drug trafficking. Several platforms will be acquired for the three services, including 20 MAN tactical trucks for troop movements and 20 multipurpose 8×8 trucks for the army (Ejército del Perú). The air force (Fuerza Aérea del Perú) will acquire two C-27 Spartan transport aircraft and two radars of an unspecified type. (Source: IHS Jane’s)
02 Nov 18. MHI to build two new multirole frigates for JMSDF. multirole frigate. Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) announced on 1 November that it has been awarded a contract by the Japanese Ministry of Defense (MoD) to build the first two of four ships of a new class of multirole frigate for the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF). Although MHI did not disclose the value of the contract, the MoD had earmarked JPY92.2bn (USD816m) in its budget for fiscal year 2018 for the construction of the two 130 m-long, 13 m-wide frigates, which are expected to be handed over to the JMSDF in March 2022. In August the MoD requested JPY99.5bn from Tokyo for the construction of the two remaining vessels, with delivery expected to take place in March 2023. However, the contract for these two ships has yet to be awarded. MHI’s frigate design and proposal were selected over those submitted by Mitsui Engineering and Shipbuilding (MES) and Japan Marine United. MES, however, was chosen to be the subcontractor. Construction of the first 3,900 tonne ship will take place at MHI’s Nagasaki Shipyard & Machinery Works in Nagasaki Prefecture, while the second one will be built at MES’s Tamano Shipyard in Okayama Prefecture. The arrangement marks the first time that MHI will build a ship as the lead contractor. According to the MoD, this new frigate class, which is intended to carry out surveillance missions in waters surrounding the Japanese archipelago, will be equipped with enhanced multirole capabilities, including the ability to conduct anti-mine warfare operations, which until now have been performed by the JMSDF’s ocean-going minesweepers. Armament on the frigates, each of which will be capable of embarking one helicopter as well as unmanned surface and underwater vehicles, is expected to include the navalised version of the Type-03 (also known as the ‘Chū-SAM Kai’) medium-range surface-to-air missile, a 5-inch (127 mm)/62-calibre gun, a vertical launch system, canister-launched anti-ship missiles, and a SeaRAM close-in weapon system. (Source: IHS Jane’s)
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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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