UNITED KINGDOM AND NATO
18 Mar 22. UK MoD seeks contractor-provided VIP helo. The UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) has issued a tender for a single contractor-provided helicopter for VIP duties out of Royal Air Force (RAF) Northolt in north London. The Rotary Wing Command Support Air Transport (RWCSAT) capability tender issued on 17 March seeks to replace the current single Leonardo AW109SP GrandNew helicopter operated by 32 (The Royal) Squadron with a new type from 1 April 2023. “The Defence Equipment and Support [DE&S] Special Projects Multi Air Platform [SPMAP] Delivery Team is considering a new procurement for the RWCSAT capability,” the tender said. “The procurement is for a five-year period, with a requirement for the contractor to deliver a twin-engine helicopter and support service to deliver one fit-for-purpose aircraft daily at RAF Northolt.” (Source: Janes)
21 Mar 22. Ploughshare wins government funding for 2 defence technologies. Grants worth more than £280,000 will help develop a predictive test for sepsis and a sensor that can detect and identify laser threats. Ploughshare, the company owned by the Ministry of Defence (MOD) that finds new and inspiring uses for government inventions, has won more than £280,000 in grants to develop 2 technologies for the benefit of society. Ploughshare facilitated successful bids by the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (Dstl) to the government’s new Knowledge Assets Grant Fund. The funds will assist in the development of 2 new technologies – a predictive test for sepsis being developed by Presymptom Health, and a sensor that can detect and identify laser threats from Sentinel Photonics. The grants, offered by the Knowledge Assets unit in the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS), are to support the repurposing, commercialisation or expanded use of public sector knowledge assets. This is part of the Government’s Knowledge Assets initiative which aims to unlock the value of Knowledge Assets for social, economic and financial benefit to the public with a targeted programme of work and support to organisations across Government.
David English, Dstl Chief Finance Officer, commented: “We’re delighted that these science and technology innovations developed by Dstl will be further advanced. These 2 examples are indicative of Dstl’s commitment to protect lives through superior technology and innovation, while also supporting UK industry. In the case of Presymptom Health, Ploughshare supported Dstl in securing up to £100,000 from the fund which it will use to contract Presymptom Health to conduct research and development of AI machine learning software. This software could be used to analyse thousands of blood samples in Dstl’s biobank, accumulated over 10 years of research.
Initial trials of the technology, first developed for the MOD for use on the front line and now licensed by Ploughshare to Presymptom Health, suggest it can predict the onset of sepsis in patients up to three days before symptoms appear, enabling clinicians to treat them much sooner and manage them more effectively.”
Ploughshare also aided Dstl in its bid for £180,000 relating to its work with Sentinel Photonics, which is developing sophisticated technology to detect and protect against laser threats. The technology, licensed to Sentinel by Ploughshare, was developed for military use to detect and assess the threat levels of lasers deployed against personnel, aircraft and vehicles.
Dstl will use the grant funding to contract Sentinel to explore opportunities for civilian use – for example as a method of detection and threat level assessment when lasers are shone at commercial aircraft such as air ambulances, or at sporting events. The technology could potentially be installed in public areas to detect lasers, acting as a deterrent against their illegal use.
Hetti Barkworth-Nanton, CEO of Ploughshare, said: “We are delighted to have facilitated Dstl’s successful applications so that Presymptom Health and Sentinel Photonics can be among the first to benefit from the Knowledge Assets Grant Fund. This fund was created specifically to test the potential of knowledge assets for expanded or alternative use – directly in line with our mission to enable the commercialisation of government defence research for the benefit of society. These 2 technologies are at a very exciting stage of development, and the support of BEIS and Dstl will enable them to take the next step towards delivering positive societal impact.”
Chris Burgess, Sentinel Photonics CEO, said: “We are grateful for the support of Ploughshare, Dstl and BEIS in securing these funds which will enable us to take a significant step in unlocking the potential for our technology to detect and protect against laser threats to civilians. This grant will give us space and time to hold conversations with relevant organisations while continuing to develop and refine our technology.
Iain Miller, CEO at Presymptom Health, said: “As we continue to explore the potential for our technology to provide early diagnosis of sepsis, which claims the lives of up to 11 million people each year around the world, we are grateful for this grant which could enable us to find new ways of detecting tell-tale markers which are an indication for the disease. Our development of machine learning technology, with the support of Dstl and enabled by the Knowledge Assets Grant Fund, could greatly increase the rate at which we can analyse samples, enabling us to bring this potentially life-saving test into general use more quickly.”
Ploughshare, wholly owned by Dstl, has unique access to a wide range of technologies developed by leading scientists and engineers at the MOD and wider government. Since it was founded in 2005 it has licensed more than 140 innovative technologies and created more than 400 jobs.
The Knowledge Assets Grant Fund, operated out of BEIS, offers grants of up to £250,000 to support the repurposing, commercialisation or expanded use of public sector knowledge assets. This aims to realise the potential of these assets for the benefit of the UK. Later this year, a new dedicated unit in BEIS will launch to support knowledge asset development, including a new funding round for the Knowledge Assets Grant Fund. For more information see www.ploughshare.co.uk (Source: https://www.gov.uk/)
EUROPE
22 Mar 22. Patria vehicle scores highest in Slovak armored-vehicle acquisition race. Slovak Defense Minister Jaroslav Naď has announced Patria’s AMVXP armored vehicle obtained the highest score in the tender to modernize the country’s outdated fleet dominated by Soviet-designed machines.
“The Finnish government’s offer of Patria AMVXP was evaluated by the project’s expert team as the best of the five submitted offers (The Czech Republic, Finland, Romania, Spain, and the US),” Naď wrote in a Facebook post.
Naď said that the program’s feasibility study had been submitted to the Value for Money Department of the Slovak Ministry of Finance. The unit evaluates the government’s planned purchases with regards to their economic efficiency.
“We will reveal more information soon,” the minister said.
Under the program, Slovakia is to acquire at least 76 armored vehicles. Bratislava plans to spend about €332.2m (US$366.3m) on new eight-wheel-drive vehicles, according to the feasibility study.
The minister did not disclose the entities that submitted their offers. However, local media report the pitched vehicles included the Pandur II, Piranha V, and Dragón vehicles offered by General Dynamics European Land Systems and its partners from the Czech Republic, Romania, and Slovakia, respectively, and the Stryker, put forward by General Dynamics Land Systems.
Meanwhile, the Slovak ministry is also planning to purchase some 156 tracked infantry fighting vehicles (IFVs) for the country’s military under a deal estimated to be worth €1.739bn, with a recommendation on the selected vehicle expected by the end of June. (Source: Defense News Early Bird/Defense News)
17 Mar 22. Portuguese Army enhances special operations capabilities with new equipment. The Portuguese Army is equipping its special operations unit, the Força de Operações Especiais (FOE), with a range of new weapons and systems. The 100-strong FOE is part of the Special Operations Troops Centre (CTOE) based in Lamego and is composed of a command staff, six special operations task units (SOTUs), and a command and support company. FOE relies on the Special Operations Force Implementation Plan (PIFOE) introduced in 2016, and other projects that fall under the country‘s Military Programming Law, for the acquisition of equipment, the FOE‘s Deputy Commander Major António Lopes told Janes . A variety of surplus equipment was received in 2021 from other army units, mainly 12.7 mm M2HB-QCB and 7.62 mm MAG machine guns (MGs), 40 mm GMG automatic grenade launchers, and Carl-Gustaf M2U anti-armour weapons, as well as eight Defender 130 Td4 SOPS 4×4 assault vehicles for training. (Source: Janes)
18 Mar 22. Kongsberg partners with Navantia to support Norwegian F-310 frigates. In January, NDMA contracted Navantia for the future modernisation of the vessels. Kongsberg Defence and Aerospace has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Navantia to support the Royal Norwegian Navy’s Fridjof Nansen-class F-310 frigates. Under this MoU, both companies will explore potential ways to work together in the future modernisation and upgradation of the vessels. The collaboration will also focus on delivering solutions for the Norwegian Armed Forces. Being one of the major sub-contractors for Nansen-class frigate programme, Kongsberg has delivered the national parts of the combat system and navigations system for the ships. The systems included anti-surface and anti-submarine warfare solutions, which were designed and developed based on Kongsberg’s combat management system architecture. Over the past several years, the company has been supporting the vessels. Designed and manufactured by Navantia shipbuilders, the Nansen-class frigates were delivered to the Norwegian Navy between 2006 and 2011. Besides, Navantia has been providing maintenance and sustainment services for the frigates since 2013. The Norwegian Defence Material Agency (NDMA) signed a contract with Navantia in January this year, extending their partnership in the future modernisation of the ships. (Source: Google/naval-technology.com)
17 Mar 22. Lockheed Martin making final push for Greek frigate construction, modernization work. Talks between Lockheed Martin and the Greek Navy will continue, as the company has modified its pitch to secure a piece of the country’s surface fleet modernization program.
Lockheed Martin and the U.S. Navy together offered the official U.S. bid to the Hellenic Navy in December, in a letter of agreement that expired March 17. Industry sources told Defense News the U.S. Navy has extended the LOA through Sept. 18, giving the U.S. team more time to talk with Greek officials and decide if the deal will go forward. Greece originally laid out a multi-pronged approach to modernizing its surface fleet: buying new frigates and corvettes, upgrading its four Hydra-class MEKO frigates, and obtaining used surface ships to operate while the MEKOs are in their mid-life upgrade program. The official U.S. pitch was for Lockheed Martin to upgrade the MEKOs with the company’s suite of products centered around the Aegis Combat System; the Hellenic Navy to buy some number of the company’s Hellenic Future Frigate, also centered around the Aegis system and designed specifically for Greece’s mission needs, the first of which would be built in the U.S. and later ships built in Greece; and the U.S. Navy to provide four decommissioned warships to serve as a temporary gap-filler.
Greece announced Sept. 28 it would buy three Belharra frigates from France, but Lockheed Martin Vice President and General Manager for Naval Combat and Missile Defense Systems Joe DePietro told Defense News his company is pitching the Hellenic Navy on buying additional new ships to round out the program.
DePietro said in a Feb. 17 interview Greece originally wanted as many as four to six frigates and four to six corvettes. Not only has Greece only inked a deal for three frigates — leaving the door open to buy more — but DePietro said Greece also made clear it wanted its domestic shipbuilding industry involved. Naval Group, which builds the Belharra frigates, will construct Greece’s ships on its production line in Lorient with its own predominantly French supply chain.
Lockheed Martin said it sees an opening to push for ship modernization and even ship construction with Greek shipbuilders and suppliers.
The crux of Lockheed Martin’s revised pitch is that it could sell Greece a slightly different surface combatant than the Hellenic Future Frigate — either the Freedom-variant littoral combat ship with lethality and survivability upgrades to fill the corvette piece of the plan, or the larger Multi-Mission Surface Combatant currently being built for Saudi Arabia that the HF2 design was derived from — and be ready to start production right away at the Hellenic Shipyard outside Athens.
DePietro acknowledged the LCS is larger than a typical corvette — about 3,300 metric tons, compared to a traditional corvette that might be 1,500 to 2,500 metric tons — but said the ship’s use of water jets instead of propellers allows the LCS to operate in shallower waters than European corvettes. While the price tag of about $400m apiece is a bit more expensive than the other options, he said it comes with the training and spares support associated with a U.S. foreign military sales case.
On the MMSC option, Lockheed Martin said it could use the proven work instructions from the hot MMSC line at Fincantieri Marinette Marine shipyard in Wisconsin and immediately bring them over to the Greek shipyard — whereas the original HF2 proposal was a related but distinct ship design and would be considered a new start. In that case, Lockheed Martin had originally proposed working out the kinks with its experienced workforce in Wisconsin on the first ship.
Lockheed said it has already had conversations with George Procopiou, who last year purchased the Hellenic Shipyard in Skaramagas, just west of Athens.
“We’ve met with him now five times, and we got to the point where, at the last sit-down, I was walking him through the module breakdown of the construction of an LCS or an MMSC, parts, material flows, what would be done in the yard and how we would like optimize the yard,” DePietro said, adding they talked through what buildings the yard would need to replicate the ship construction model at Marinette Marine.
“Mr. Procopiou is willing to make a significant investment like we did in Marinette to make that transformation,” DePietro said.
DePietro said Lockheed Martin hasn’t signed formal agreements with the shipyard, but the other shipyard in Greece — Elefsis Shipyard, just up the waterfront from Hellenic Shipyard — does not have a clear owner right now and is not in a position to have these detailed discussions.
Lockheed would likely do the MEKO repairs and modernization at the Hellenic Shipyard as well. This means the workforce there would be trained to do ship construction and repair to U.S. Navy standards.
The Navy this year will deploy its first Freedom-variant LCS from Florida to U.S. 6th Fleet in Europe and/or U.S. 5th Fleet in the Middle East, kicking off what’s expected to be a continuous LCS presence on the other side of the Atlantic. The Navy has a contract with Spanish contractor Navantia to conduct surface ship maintenance in Rota, Spain, but DePietro said the addition of LCSs to the region would require additional maintenance capacity.
The Hellenic Shipyard would have the facilities and the trained workforce to do these repairs, if the Navy opted to do use the yard as an Eastern Mediterranean maintenance hub to complement the work taking place just outside the Med in Rota. It remains unclear if Greece is interested in Lockheed’s proposals, with talks being extended but no agreements reached. (Source: Defense News Early Bird/Defense News)
USA
22 Mar 22. US Army seeks 6.8 mm conversion kits for the M240. The US Army is seeking industry feedback on 6.8 mm calibre conversion kits for its M240B and M240L general purpose machine guns, according to a 15 March market survey. Conversion kits should include a new barrel assembly and possibly other mechanical changes to the weapon including the gas regulator and drive spring to ensure reliable function with the new calibre, according to the notice. Barrel lengths can be provided as either the standard length M240B barrel (550 mm), or the shorter M240L profile (450 mm). Industry has until the end of the month to respond to the army and is asked to provide information about the lead times to produce and deliver up to 10 kits and a maximum of 15,000 rounds of ammunition for evaluation.
“It is preferable that all items be available within two to three months of request,” the army wrote but noted that this is not a request for proposal. (Source: Janes)
REST OF THE WORLD
23 Mar 22. New Zealand’s MoD shelves Antarctic patrol ship project. A RFI was released in May last year to gauge the level of market interest for the vessel’s design and build. New Zealand’s Ministry of Defence (MoD) has reportedly deferred plans to procure an ice-strengthened vessel under its Antarctic patrol ship project. A report published by Reuters said that the MoD is reassessing the planned budget due to the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic. In an email statement, MoD Defence Policy and Planning deputy secretary Michael Swain told Reuters: “Due to the impact Covid-19 has had on the fiscal environment and emerging personnel pressures from other projects, this work has been deferred.” Besides, the MoD has not confirmed the new schedule for resuming the project. As per the reports, Swain said a new tender for information on build costs and design will be released if the project is revived in the future. The patrol vessel was expected to provide enhanced patrol capabilities to the Royal New Zealand Navy (RNZN) in the environmentally demanding conditions of the Southern Ocean and Ross Sea. In the Defence Capability Plan 2019, New Zealand’s MoD highlighted the investment plans for a dedicated Southern Patrol Ocean Vessel. According to the capability plan, the MoD was expected to issue a tender request for the patrol vessels in 2022 with a launch anticipated in 2027. The total indicative capital cost of the project was estimated to be from $300m to $600m. At present, the RNZN owns only one polar-class sustainment vessel, HMNZS Aotearoa, which is responsible for carrying out operations in Asia and the Pacific. (Source: naval-technology.com)