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UNITED KINGDOM AND NATO
17 Apr 24. Protecting Physical Assets from UAS Attack.
DASA seeks innovations to provide protection for land based assets from air attacks.
- DASA has launched a new Themed Competition: Protecting Physical Assets from UAS Attack
- Funded by the National Protective Security Authority (NPSA), the UK Home Office and the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (Dstl)
- Total funding available is £750,000 (excluding VAT)
- Competition closes midday 13 June 2024 (BST)
The Defence and Security Accelerator (DASA) is pleased to launch a new Themed Competition called Protecting Physical Assets from UAS Attack. This competition is jointly funded by the National Protective Security Authority (NPSA), the UK Home Office and the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (Dstl).
We are seeking proposals that can provide a defensive solution for physical assets as a countermeasure to an Uncrewed Aerial System (UAS) kinetic attack. The current Counter-UAS (C-UAS) technology market focuses on targeting the UAS in flight. This competition aims to move away from conventional C-UAS methods and instead explores the most effective ways to provide physical protection to various assets from hostile UAS. This includes options for hardening the asset, providing blanket last-ditch defence, and deploying automated alerts for incoming hostile UAS.
Read the full competition document and submit a proposal here; https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/protecting-physical-assets-from-uncrewed-aerial-systems-attack
Background
The war in Ukraine has demonstrated how vulnerable assets can be to roving UAS attacks. The conflict has seen widespread deployment of C-UAS capabilities, such as Detect, Track, and Identify (DTI) technologies, as well as electronic or kinetic effectors to stop a UAS in flight.
However, these solutions have limitations and this Themed Competition seeks to resolve them in order to ensure we keep the winning edge over adversaries.
The widespread use of UAS has demonstrated three main limitations in the deployments of C-UAS technologies:
(1) C-UAS technologies are not always located in the right place to prevent a UAS attack
(2) the difficulty of maintaining a cohort of trained personnel who are also located in the right place to prevent a UAS attack
(3) the C-UAS technology doesn’t fully mitigate the ever-developing UAS capabilities and tactics deployed to circumvent these technologies.
These factors highlight the need to go back to basics and reinforce C-UAS technology with physical last-ditch security countermeasures to mitigate the effects of a kinetic UAS attack.
Do you have a suitable innovation? Read the full competition document and submit a proposal.
Key dates and funding
The total possible funding available for all successful bids to this competition is £750,000 (excluding VAT). Individual proposals must be for an amount less than £150,000. A number of proposals may be funded.
The deadline to submit a proposal is midday on 13 June 2024 (BST).
Supporting events
Launch webinar: 2 May 2024 1.30pm to 2.30pm (BST)
This webinar offers the opportunity to find out more about this DASA competition, and the chance to ask questions of the competition team.
Register now
1-2-1: 9 May 2024 sessions provided between 1pm and 4pm (BST)
A series of 10 minute one-to-one teleconference sessions, giving you the opportunity to ask specific questions. If you would like to participate, please register on the Eventbrite page. Booking is on a first come first served basis.
Register now
Read the full competition document and submit a proposal here
Challenge areas
This competition has two challenge areas, which aim to address the increasing threat against the security of UK military forces at home and abroad, as well as civilian assets, VIPs and the wider public. We are looking for responses that will contribute solutions to at least one of the two challenge areas:
Challenge 1: Protecting a static asset
Challenge 2: Protecting an asset on the move
Read more on the challenge areas and see examples in the competition document here
Submit a proposal
This competition is seeking proposals that enhance physical security countermeasures, which will be used to mitigate a UAS kinetic attack. The current C-UAS technology market focuses on targeting the UAS in flight, whereas we want proposals that focus on how to protect a static or mobile asset from a hostile UAS. If you have an innovative C-UAS innovation, submit your proposal to support national security.
Read the full competition document to learn more and submit a proposal.: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/protecting-physical-assets-from-uncrewed-aerial-systems-attack (Source: https://www.gov.uk/)
EUROPE
12 Apr 24. Damen brings another Dutch supplier on the ASW frigate programme. Daman Naval contracts Hatenboer-Water to provide freshwater systems on the future ASW frigates to be delivered to Belgium and the Netherlands. Dutch naval manufacturer, Damen – the prime contractor for the future Belgian and Dutch anti-submarine warfare frigates (ASWF) – has signed a contract with another supplier based in the Netherlands, Hatenboer-Water, to provide freshwater systems for the four ships being constructed in the joint programme. Damen Naval signed the contract for the design and construction of the ASWF in June 2023. The frigates will be deployable for multiple tasks, although the emphasis will be on ASW. Initially, Belgium approved funding of €1bn ($1.2bn) for its pair of ships, while the Netherlands was expected to spend about €1.5bn. However, in April 2023, it was reported that the cost of the four vessels would reach about €4bn ($4.4bn). The Netherlands expects to receive the first vessel by 2029 and the second one by 2031, but with delays it may take until 2033. The 146-metre frigates will be largely automated, operated only by a small crew. While the primary role of these frigates is the detection and destruction of submarines, each ship comes equipped with a Thales above water warfare system to combat surface and air threats. Both navies’ new ships will replace their existing M-class frigates, which the Netherlands procured between 1993-95 and Belgium acquired between 2007-08.
Damen contracts another Dutch supplier
Hatenboer-Water is not the only Dutch supplier in the ASWF programme. Damen Naval, has subcontracted Schelde Gears B.V. – a Dutch subsidiary of the German defence supplier RENK – to supply eight gearbox systems for the Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW) frigates due to be delivered to the Belgian and Dutch navies.
“From the very beginning, we have said that we want to involve as many companies from the Dutch maritime manufacturing industry as possible in our projects,” explains Damen Naval project director Joop Noordijk. “Safe and clean water on board is essential and we look forward to working with Hatenboer-Water.”
Schiedam-based Hatenboer-Water has been supplying water supply systems to ships worldwide since 1906 and introduced the ‘Safe Water on Board’ concept, combining water treatment and distribution installation with global assistance for management and maintenance. The company also supplies the water systems for the F126 frigates that Damen Naval is building for the German Navy. (Source: naval-technology.com)
USA
18 Apr 24. Cuashub.com said today that DHS Announces Significant Preparedness Grants for FY24. Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro N. Mayorkas announced more than $1.8bn in funding for eight Fiscal Year 2024 preparedness grant programs. These grant programs provide critical funding to help state, local, tribal, and territorial officials prepare for, prevent, protect against, and respond to acts of terrorism and disasters.
“As threats continue to evolve, the Department of Homeland Security is committed to providing state, local, tribal and territorial governments, as well as transportation authorities and nonprofit organizations, with vital resources to help them strengthen our nation’s security and preparedness,” said Secretary Mayorkas. “This funding is essential for frontline personnel, including emergency managers, firefighters, emergency medical services, law enforcement and other first responders. The grants will play a critical role in ensuring local communities across the country have the resources and capabilities to prevent threats to the homeland.”
After extensive consultation with grantees leading up to this announcement, DHS is focused on the need to invest in high-priority areas, build capacity in other communities, and give jurisdictions the flexibility to make prioritization decisions based on their own assessment of their needs. For Fiscal Year (FY) 2024, Congress cut each preparedness grant by 10%, which resulted in commensurate cuts to each jurisdiction.
The law requires that at least 25% of the combined funds for the State Homeland Security Program (SHSP) and the Urban Area Security Initiative (UASI) be dedicated to Law Enforcement Terrorism Prevention Activities (LETPA). This year, we are maintaining the LETPA minimum requirement of 35%. The Department’s law enforcement subject matter experts engaged with FEMA experts to review and clarify policy and program decisions to ensure that law enforcement and terrorism-focused grant funds are appropriately used for terrorism prevention activities, thereby strengthening our national preparedness posture.
This year, we will provide $274.5m in Nonprofit Security Grant Program funds to houses of worship, schools, and other nonprofits to support target hardening and other physical security enhancements for nonprofit organizations at high risk of a terrorist attack. The program will continue to help integrate nonprofit preparedness activities with broader state and local preparedness efforts. It will also promote collaboration in emergency preparedness activities among public and private community representatives and state and local government agencies.
The FY 2024 grant guidance will continue to focus on the nation’s highest-risk areas, including urban areas that face the most significant threats. The Urban Area Security Initiative enhances regional preparedness by helping build and sustain capabilities responsive to the evolving threat environment. This year, the Urban Area Security Initiative will fund 41 high-threat, high-density urban areas, including an urban area that has not previously received funding.
DHS continues to emphasize six national priority areas in the FY 2024 grant cycle: cybersecurity; soft targets and crowded places; intelligence and information sharing; domestic violent extremism; community preparedness and resilience; and election security. Grant recipients under the State Homeland Security Program and Urban Area Security Initiative must dedicate a minimum of 30% of their awards across these six priority areas. Of the 30%, there is a 3% minimum spend on election security, with flexibility on how to spend the remaining 27% across the six priority areas.
As with previous years, new capabilities built using homeland security grant funding must be deployable to support regional and national efforts. All capabilities being built or sustained must link to the core capabilities articulated in the National Preparedness Goal.
FY 2024 Preparedness Grant Summary
State Homeland Security Program
$373.5m
Urban Area Security Initiative
$553.5m
Intercity Passenger Rail
$9m
Emergency Management Performance Grant
$319.55m
Operation Stonegarden
$81m
Tribal Homeland Security Program
$13.5m
Nonprofit Security Grant Program
$274.5m
Port Security Grant Program
$90m
Transit Security Grant Program
$83.7m
Intercity Bus Security Grant Program
$1.8m
Preparedness Grant Program Allocations for Fiscal Year 2024
The following grants are non-competitive and awarded to recipients based on several factors:
Homeland Security Grant Program (HSGP): State Homeland Security Program—provides $373.5m to support the implementation of risk-driven, capabilities-based state homeland security strategies to address capability targets. Awards are based on statutory minimums and relative risk as determined by DHS/FEMA’s risk methodology.
HSGP: Urban Area Security Initiative—provides $553.5m to enhance regional preparedness and capabilities in 41 high-threat, high-density areas. As determined by DHS/FEMA’s risk methodology, awards are based on relative risk.
For both the state homeland and urban area grants, 30% of the awards must address the six priority areas of cybersecurity; soft target and crowded places; information and intelligence sharing; domestic violent extremism; community preparedness and resilience; and election security. Additionally, 35% of these grants must be dedicated to law enforcement terrorism prevention activities, and 80% must be obligated from the state to local or tribal governments within 45 calendar days of receipt.
Intercity Passenger Rail—provides $9m to Amtrak to protect critical surface transportation infrastructure and the traveling public from acts of terrorism and increase the resilience of the Amtrak rail system. Award made per congressional direction.
Emergency Management Performance Grant (EMPG) Program –provides $319.55m to assist state, local, tribal, and territorial emergency management agencies in obtaining the resources required to support the National Preparedness Goal’s associated mission areas and core capabilities to build a culture of preparedness. Awards are based on statutory minimums and population.
The following grants are competitive, and exact awards will be announced later this year:
HSGP: Operation Stonegarden—provides $81m to enhance cooperation and coordination among state, local, tribal, territorial, and federal law enforcement agencies to jointly enhance security along the United States land and water borders.
Tribal Homeland Security Grant Program —provides $13.5m to eligible tribal nations to implement preparedness initiatives to help strengthen the nation against risk associated with potential terrorist attacks and other hazards.
Nonprofit Security Grant Program—provides $274.5m to support target hardening and other physical security enhancements for nonprofit organizations that are at high risk of a terrorist attack. This year, $137.25m is provided to nonprofits in UASI-designated urban areas, and $137.25m is provided to nonprofits outside UASI-designated urban areas in any state or territory.
Port Security Grant Program—provides $90m to help protect critical port infrastructure from terrorism, enhance maritime domain awareness, improve port-wide maritime security risk management, and maintain or re-establish maritime security mitigation protocols that support port recovery and resiliency capabilities.
Transit Security Grant Program —provides $83.7m to owners and operators of public transit systems to protect critical surface transportation and the traveling public from acts of terrorism and to increase the resilience of transit infrastructure.
Intercity Bus Security Grant Program —provides $1.8m to owners and operators of intercity bus systems to protect surface transportation infrastructure and the traveling public from acts of terrorism and to increase the resilience of transit infrastructure.
Before determining modifications and final allocations to the grant programs, DHS coordinated extensive engagements with local and state partners and worked with a wide range of stakeholders.
All preparedness funding notices can be found at www.grants.gov. Final submissions must be made through the FEMA Grants Outcomes (FEMA GO) system located at https://go.fema.gov.
Further information on DHS’s preparedness grant programs is available at www.dhs.gov and http://www.fema.gov/grants. (Source: https://cuashub.com/)
18 Apr 24. Lawmakers push for two submarines despite US Navy seeking just one. A House panel has made clear it wants the Navy to buy two attack submarines in fiscal 2025 in order to keep the submarine-industrial base on a path of recovery, despite the service requesting just one.
In a fiscal year when the defense budget is capped at 1% growth above the previous one, the Navy elected to ask for six ships in its FY25 budget, including one Virginia-class attack submarine. That submarine program is supposed to be on a cadence of two per year or greater to support the needs of both the U.S. and Australian navies. The latter is acquiring submarines as part of the trilateral AUKUS agreement also involving the U.S. and the U.K.
U.S. Navy leaders have argued that, in lieu of buying the second submarine, they are keeping the advanced procurement funds flowing and putting bns of dollars into the submarine-industrial base via funds meant to help increase vendors’ output.
But Rep. Joe Courtney, D-Conn., whose district includes the shipbuilder General Dynamics Electric Boat, said during a Wednesday hearing before the House Armed Services Committee’s sea power panel: “I reject the ivory tower theory that SIB [submarine-industrial base] investment is a substitute for a consistent demand signal for orders and business. The two enterprises have to occur in tandem.”
Courtney, the subcommittee’s ranking member, said the funds are welcome but “don’t pay the bills” — rather, they help companies, among other things, adopt advanced manufacturing processes and tools, expand their facilities, and train workers, with the ultimate goal of more quickly churning out parts.
Courtney told reporters ahead of the hearing that these funds are targeted at certain vendors rather than spread evenly across the whole industrial base. Companies who are healthy and producing their components on time are not receiving these funds at all, meaning their only stream of money from the Navy comes from orders for new submarines.
“For them, they’re basically looking at a 50% cut” to their revenue, per the Navy’s spending proposal, the congressman said.
When Courtney asked Navy acquisition chief Nickolas Guertin about this during the hearing, the latter replied: “We’ll have to take a closer look at that and see what we can do to help that aspect of the industry as well.”
“That’s not a very encouraging answer,” the congressman responded.
More broadly, Courtney told reporters he rejected the two common rationales for why the Navy doesn’t need to buy the second submarine in FY25: first, that the procurement dollars can be compensated for with advanced procurement money and industrial base funds; and second, that there’s such a backlog of work that Electric Boat and its vendor base won’t miss the work.
He told reporters the Navy is on track to accept delivery of three Virginia submarines this calendar year, leaving the industrial base with a remaining backlog of work that’s not far off from what it had before the COVID-19 pandemic.
“To me, what I see is that our industrial base is recovering from COVID, that the numbers are going up, the retention is going up, and the output is going up,” Courtney said during the hearing. “This is not a stagnating industrial base. It is an industrial base which took a big hit during COVID, like all of shipbuilding, but it is not stagnating; it is recovering.”
Ahead of the hearing, Courtney circulated a memo to his fellow lawmakers, laying out the progress the submarine-industrial base has made since the pandemic hit and explaining why he believes their momentum should continue uninterrupted by allowing for continuous procurement at a rate of two per year.
He wrote that Electric Boat hired 5,300 new workers in 2023 and is on track to hire 5,200 more this year, even as co-builder Newport News Shipbuilding, owned by HII, hired 8,300 new workers across 2022 and 2023. Submarine construction rates are up from 1.2 a year to 1.4 a year (compared to the two submarines a year the yards should deliver if the Navy consistently buys two annually). And new facilities at the shipyards are popping up to help make shipbuilding even more efficient.
Courtney said arguments that the industrial base is struggling and therefore doesn’t need or can’t handle a second submarine in FY25 are “looking backwards, not forwards, in terms of what’s actually happening in the shipyard.”
Still, Courtney and his supporters on the subcommittee face an uphill battle in putting the second submarine back into the budget. The Fiscal Responsibility Act caps defense spending, meaning that any additions lawmakers propose will need to come at the expense of something else. Courtney told reporters he didn’t have a recommendation for what to cut to make room for the sub.
Lawmakers at the hearing also dinged the Navy for delaying advanced procurement for its next two aircraft carriers, and for not committing yet to a multiyear buy on San Antonio-class amphibious transport docks.
“I think we have the greatest shipbuilders and repairers and maintainers in the world. But we have to send them the right signal, all the time. We have to give them predictable schedules of both repair and building,” the subcommittee’s chairman, Rep. Trent Kelly, R-Miss., said at the hearing.
“We can’t send mixed signals, and we can’t tell them to pause or put on the brakes or take a strategic pause. And we have to use multiyear buys, understanding that it’s always not financial benefits that we gain, but sometimes it’s the benefit in time, to produce more in a short time.” (Source: Defense News)
18 Apr 24. Cuashub.com said today that DASA Competition: Protecting Physical Assets from UAS Attack. The Defence and Security Accelerator (DASA) is excited to announce a new Themed Competition titled “Protecting Physical Assets from UAS Attack.” This initiative is co-funded by the National Protective Security Authority (NPSA), the UK Home Office, and the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (Dstl). The agencies seek proposals for defensive solutions to safeguard physical assets against kinetic attacks by Uncrewed Aerial Systems (UAS). While existing Counter-UAS (C-UAS) technologies primarily target UAS during flight, this competition seeks innovative approaches to enhance the physical protection of assets against hostile UAS. Proposals may include asset-hardening strategies, last-resort defense mechanisms, and automated alert systems for detecting incoming hostile UAS.
Background
The Ukraine conflict has underscored how assets are vulnerable to roaming UAS attacks. The war has witnessed the extensive use of C-UAS capabilities, including Detect, Track, and Identify (DTI) technologies and electronic or kinetic countermeasures to intercept UAS in flight.
Despite these advancements, there are inherent limitations in current C-UAS solutions that this Themed Competition aims to address, ensuring we maintain a strategic advantage over adversaries.
The extensive UAS usage has exposed three primary challenges with C-UAS deployments:
1) Inconsistent positioning of C-UAS technologies, leading to gaps in preventing UAS attacks.
2) Maintaining a skilled workforce positioned correctly to counter UAS threats is challenging.
3) Inadequate mitigation of evolving UAS capabilities and tactics to evade existing technologies.
These challenges emphasize the importance of revisiting foundational principles and enhancing C-UAS technology with robust physical last-resort security measures to counteract kinetic UAS attacks effectively.
Key Information
This competition invites proposals to bolster physical security measures to counteract kinetic UAS attacks. While the existingvC-UASvtechnology primarily targets UAS during flight, we seek innovative solutions to protect stationary or mobile assets from hostile UAS threats. If you have groundbreaking C-UAS technologies, we encourage you to submit your proposal to contribute to national security efforts.
The total possible funding available for all successful bids to this competition is £750,000 (excluding VAT). Individual proposals must be for an amount less than £150,000. Several proposals may be funded.
The deadline to submit a proposal is midday on 13 June 2024 (BST).
The full competition document and terms and conditions can be found at the following link- Protecting Physical Assets from Uncrewed Aerial Systems Attack.
An informational webinar will be held on 2 May 2024 from 1:30 pm to 2:30 pm (BST). This webinar offers the opportunity to learn more about this DASA competition and ask questions of the team.
A series of 10-minute one-to-one teleconference sessions will be available on 9 May 2024 from 1:00 pm to 4:00 pm (BST) to ask specific questions. Interested participants can register on the Eventbrite page. Booking is on a first-come, first-served basis.
https://cuashub.com/content/dasa-competition-protecting-physical-assets-from-uas-attack/?_hsenc=p2ANqtz-9XMCHIAqEyTXaxtAeiyyw8kgxfCdUb3Fp9rT4m6wQWsWl3n_ieonDK7_cONGRgPZz9t82NK4Nay7uYPvmBiFGh3YP3fxkshy1YPUlBlND8i2rxhx0&_hsmi=303241743#utm_campaign=C-UAS%20Hub%20General&utm_medium=email&utm_content=303241743&utm_source=hs_email (Source: https://cuashub.com/)
16 Apr 24. F-35 sustainment costs soar even as flight hours get cut, says GAO. A GAO report found that the F-35 programme sustainment costs have increased by 44%, while flight hours have fallen by 21% to reduce costs.
The US Government Accountability Office (GAO) have said the F-35 program sustainment costs have increased by 44%, from $1.1trn in 2018 to $1.58trn in 2023, even as use of the F-35, and its availability, have decreased, with the F-35 Joint Program Office reporting a 21% reduction in flight hours across the programme.
The F-35 Lightning II aircraft is the Department of Defense’s (DoD) most costly weapon system, with an acquisition cost of $442bn for the 630 in-service fighter jets, and the approximately 2,500 more F-35 aircraft it intends to purchase by the mid 2040’s.
Intended to be in service until 2088, the F-35, a sustainment cost of $1.58trn puts the total estimated cost to buy, operate, and sustain the at $2trn.
The original sustainment target for a single F-35 aircraft for one year was $4.1m, in 2018. The GAO report states that the services have made progress in meeting their affordability targets, identifying the main drivers as a decrease in the number of flight hours by the services broadly, and for the the US Air Force (USAF) alone, an increase in the value of the sustainment target, shifting the goal to $6.8m per aircraft per year in 2023.
However, closer inspection of the GAO conclusions show that while the USAF is increasing the target for sustainment costs, it is also reducing the number of flight hours, from 230 hours in 2020 to 187 hours in 2023. The other services that employ the F-35 are either maintaining the same flight hours, in the case of the Navy, or increasing the number of flight hours, in the case of the Marine Corps, moving from 253 hours in 2020 to 336 hours in 2023.
The GAO finds that the overall availability of the F-35 has trended downwards between 2018 and 2023, with none of the variants of the platform meeting the availability goals, judged as the percentage of time the platform can perform one of its tasked missions.
In 2019, the GAO projected that the cost per year for each aircraft in the Air Force F-35A programme would be $7.8m, and $9.1m for the Marine Corp F-35B programme, $7.9m for the Marine Corp F-35C programme, and $9.9m for the Navy F-35C programme, in constant 2012 dollars. (Source: naval-technology.com)
15 Apr 24. F-35s to cost $2trn as Pentagon plans longer use, says watchdog. The F-35 Joint Strike Fighter’s total cost is expected to top $2trn over its entire life span given the U.S. military plans to fly it longer, inflation is rising, and the Pentagon’s efforts to rein in expenses are largely falling short, a government watchdog said Monday.
That price tag represents an increase from the $1.7 trillion lifetime cost the Government Accountability Office previously reported in September 2023. The revised estimate includes nearly $1.6 trillion in sustainment costs — a 44% increase from the $1.1 trillion sustainment price tag estimated in 2018 — and about $442 bn in acquisition costs, including development and procurement of the Lockheed Martin-made jet.
In the new report to lawmakers, GAO said the Defense Department now plans to fly the F-35 through 2088, 11 years longer than services most recently anticipated.
That longer projected life span is part of the reason the F-35′s total price tag will now top $2trn, GAO said — but it’s not the only reason.
Rising inflation is a major factor driving up the cost of flying the F-35, GAO said. And while the F-35 program has made attempts to bring costs back down, the report noted those efforts have had only limited success.
In a statement to Defense News, the F-35 Joint Program Office pointed to steps it took to rein in costs for the fighter.
“We have continued to reduce sustainment costs through growth and maturation of the F-35 enterprise, including JPO product support manager efforts to drive down contract costs, better alignment of U.S. services’ requirements and budgets, and an active cost reduction initiative pipeline,” the F-35 Joint Program Office said.
Those cost-control measures have cut the annual cost per tail by about a third between 2014 and 2022, from $9.4m to $6.2m, the JPO said, and it cut the jet’s cost per flying hour from $86,800 to $33,600, in 2012 dollars.
Most F-35s flown by U.S. services — including the Air Force’s F-35A, the Marine Corps’ F-35B and the Navy’s F-35C — are coming in under their current annual cost estimates to operate and sustain the jets, GAO said.
The Air Force is now spending $6.6m each year to operate and sustain the average F-35A. That’s a shade under the $6.8m the service now has budgeted to fly each jet annually — but well over the original goal of $4.1 m.
F-35Bs are also costing about $700m less apiece to fly than expected, and operating and sustainment costs for Navy F-35Cs are $1.7m less than the target.
The Marine Corps’ F-35Cs, however, have annual costs of $8.6m — $1.8m more than anticipated.
The reason services are making progress toward meeting their affordability targets is partly because projected flying hours have been reduced, GAO said.
In 2020, the JPO expected the F-35 fleet would fly more than 382,000 hours per year by the mid-2030s. But that estimate has now dropped to a little more than 300,000 hours per year, GAO said, due to lower-than-expected use of the F-35 so far and revised estimates about how much it will be flown in the future.
The Pentagon took steps over the last decade to reduce the F-35′s costs, including working with contractors to find savings, restructuring the JPO to bring down fleet expenses and setting up an initiative called the “war on cost.” That last effort includes taking steps to improve the reliability and maintainability of parts on the jet, reducing incidents of foreign object debris entering and damaging the engine, and improving engines’ reliability and availability so they can stay in a jet longer.
But while those steps could save about $84 bn over the lifetime of the F-35 program, Pentagon officials told GAO “these efforts will not fundamentally change the [F-35′s] estimated lifetime sustainment costs.”
Planned upgrades to the F-35 — particularly a program to modernize its Pratt & Whitney-made F135 engines to deliver more power and cooling ability — could help bring down the jets’ costs, GAO said. But the F-35 program’s decision to hold off on starting some of those upgrades led it to missed opportunities that could have reduced sustainment expenses.
Meanwhile, the F-35 is still far from meeting the program’s goals for aircraft availability, GAO said. Mission-capable rates for F-35As fell to 52% in 2023, well below the minimum target of having 80% of jets available to carry out all its missions at any particular time.
“B” and “C” variants were at nearly 60% and 62%, respectively, also below their minimum mission-capable rate goal of 75%. No version of the F-35 met its performance goals over the past five years, GAO said.
But the program has either met or is close to meeting 17 of its 24 goals for having jets available for operations and not out of service for maintenance, GAO said.
The report noted the F-35 program is still facing several challenges that harm the jets’ readiness, including a heavy reliance on contractors, inadequate training, a lack of spare parts and support equipment, and a lack of technical data that could help the military perform its own sustainment work on the jets. (Source: C4ISR & Networks)
15 Apr 24. HD Hyundai Heavy Industries, the world’s largest commercial and military shipbuilder, and Anduril Industries, the world’s leading venture-backed defense company, have agreed to a strategic partnership to reimagine and rebuild naval power for the United States, the Republic of Korea, and their allies and partners.
This agreement brings together the complementary capabilities of two leading companies. With more than five decades of experience, HD Hyundai is the global leader in the development and production of commercial vessels, warships, submarines, and other maritime systems as the largest part of a South Korean shipbuilding industry that currently accounts for nearly half of total shipbuilding capacity in the world. Anduril, a global defense technology company, has developed a growing family of low-cost autonomous military systems and weapons that are all built on its Lattice software platform, which delivers AI-enabled sensor fusion, mission autonomy, distributed network management, and command and control for robotic systems.
“With the rise of autonomous naval systems as a significant component for future maritime defense, we expect to pioneer the market with our warship-building capacity and leading defense technology combined,” said Won-ho Joo, Chief Operating Officer of Naval & Special Ship Business Unit at HD Hyundai Heavy Industries.
Christian Brose, Chief Strategy Officer of Anduril Industries, added: “Together, our companies will define a new maritime arsenal of democracy—one that both restores naval capacity through modern shipbuilding and mass manufacturing practices, while also enhancing naval capability through cutting-edge mission autonomy, artificial intelligence, and software.”
Under this strategic partnership, HD Hyundai and Anduril will pursue collaborative efforts to design, develop, and produce new and different types of autonomous naval systems for the United States, the Republic of Korea, and their allies and partners. This is urgently needed. America’s traditional defense industrial base can no longer generate sufficient numbers of naval forces to maintain deterrence amid dangerous shifts in the global balance of military power, especially in the Indo-Pacific region. By bringing together HD Hyundai’s world-leading shipbuilding capabilities with Anduril’s proven ability to conceive and develop software-defined, AI-enabled military systems, this partnership will pursue new classes of low-cost, mass producible autonomous maritime systems that can support the United States, the Republic of Korea, and their allies and partners in bolstering global peace and security.
This partnership will also provide HD Hyundai, working through Anduril, greater access to the U.S. defense market, while providing Anduril, working through HD Hyundai, greater access to the Republic of Korea’s defense market. There is strong and growing demand in the United States for the world-leading shipbuilding expertise and modern manufacturing capabilities that HD Hyundai possesses. There is similarly strong and growing demand in the Republic of Korea for the software-defined, autonomous defense systems and weapons that Anduril is rapidly producing. Through their closer work together, HD Hyundai and Anduril can unlock the fuller value of both companies in both countries.
Finally, this strategic partnership will facilitate greater technological collaboration between HD Hyundai and Anduril. The companies will explore deeper integration of Anduril’s Lattice software platform with current and future HD Hyundai products. The companies will also explore how HD Hyundai’s world-leading shipbuilding and manufacturing practices can support the large-scale production of Anduril’s current and future maritime systems. (Source: ASD Network)
12 Apr 24. Three firms will vie for Marines’ $249m loitering-munitions buy. The Organic Precision Fires-Light contract aims to get the weapons to infantry units by 2027. The Marine Corps has chosen three companies to compete for a potential eight-year, $249-m contract to build new loitering munition systems for dismounted soldiers in infantry rifle squads.
AeroVironment, Anduril Industries, and Teledyne FLIR will compete for delivery orders to manufacture, test and deliver the non-developmental items that are designed to give Marines precision strike capability beyond their lines of sight.
The Organic Precision Fires-Light contract has an initial five-year base period and a three-year option period, according to a trio of award notices posted Wednesday.
Loitering munitions are aerial weapons that fly around an area until they find or are directed to a target, then crash into it. The idea is to speed up reaction times against hidden targets that appear for short periods of time, but by using smaller weapons that are harder to find.
The Corps wants to have loitering munitions in some squads as soon as federal fiscal year 2027. OPF-L is part of that service branch-wide effort to roll out the munitions that can be deployed from the individual soldier and from vehicles.
Marine officials want systems that are man-packable and consist of the loitering munition, related ground control station, training simulator and ancillary equipment needed to support the technology. (Source: Defense News Early Bird/Defense One)
REST OF THE WORLD
18 Apr 24. Egypt looks to secure jets and missile defence. Facing threats across the region, Egypt looks to gain aerial superiority with more military fixed-wing aircraft and ground-based missile defence systems. Egypt’s latest list of defence platform acquisitions point to a greater need to secure its airspace in the region.
Egypt faces strained relations with Ethiopia, instability in Libya, terrorism in the Sinai Peninsula, and a need to modernise its ageing Soviet-era platforms.
According to GlobalData’s latest ‘Egypt Defence Market Report, 2024-2029’, the country is prioritising numerous fighter jets and missile defence. These priorities suggest the Government’s solution to its problems lies in aerial superiority.
Egypt will continue to modernise its fighter jet fleets as the republic pursues 30 additional Rafale F4 fighter jets from France, on top of the 24 units already delivered, in a deal worth $4.5bn between 2027-36.
The Egyptian Government is also seeking to acquire 46 F-15s from the US, as the US embargo of Russian military systems restricted Egypt from acquiring Sukhoi-35 jets in 2021, jets which will now go to Iran.
In addition, Egypt now seeks India’s Akash surface-to-air missile defence weapon system, which will be worth $3.8bn over the next ten years.
Egypt shifts its focus
Recently, Egypt have shifted their priorities toward securing its airspace, having largely modernised their ground vehicle fleets in the past several years.
Since 2016, the Egyptian Government have been focused on land vehicles. In that time, the Armed Forces inducted 2,500 Panthera T-6 armoured personnel carriers, 79 VAB 4×4 carriers, 114 Sherpa 4x4s, two MT-LB infantry fighting vehicles (from Russia), among hundreds more ground vehicles.
This change of priority comes at a suitable time given the form of warfare that is currently playing our in the nearby Red Sea region.
Since autumn last year, Yemen’s Houthi militant group, which controls vast swathes of the country following a 2014 uprising backed by Iran, has been launching missiles and uncrewed aerial systems against commercial shipping in transit through the region, vessels that the Houthis say are supporting Israel’s ongoing war in the Gaza Strip.
Likewise, Iran has more recently attacked Israel by the same means, but on a much larger scale. (Source: army-technology.com)
17 Apr 24. NZAero sees opportunities with Royal Thai Air Force. A government-led mission to Southeast Asia could provide a $37m boost to New Zealand’s aeronautical industry, according to an industry expert.
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon will lead a delegation of senior business leaders representing a cross-section of New Zealand companies on a seven-day mission to Singapore, the Philippines and Thailand later this week. The diplomatic visit is designed to strengthen bilateral ties in the region, diversify trade and promote New Zealand’s strong expertise and innovation across key sectors including manufacturing and technology.
Stephen Burrows, CEO of NZAero, the country’s only commercial aircraft manufacturer, says the opportunity to grow an existing supply relationship between New Zealand’s aviation industry and the Royal Thai Air Force Thailand during the visit will represent a multi-m dollar boost to the sector’s export earnings and could see the creation of dozens more jobs and significant expansion of the local industry.
He says defence spending in Southeast Asia is expected to rise by bns of dollars in the coming years and New Zealand designed aeronautical technology has a growing role to play in supporting the military-led humanitarian needs of its regional partners – as well as helping to address the impact of climate change.
“In countries like Thailand where the heat index can reach as high as 54 °C, precipitation is becoming less frequent and droughts are more prevalent and intense, air quality and climate change are the nation’s leading environmental concerns. At the start of every year Thailand’s Department of Royal Rainmaking and Agricultural Aviation initiates a cloud-seeding programme to stimulate artificial rain and dampen down fine particulates in the air caused by vehicle emissions and agricultural practices, as well as mitigating dry weather conditions in the main crop-growing areas. This operation utilises a fleet of 30 rainmaking aircraft to ease the impact of climate change on the country’s farming sector and prevent hailstorms and forest fires in some regions of the country,” Burrows said.
“New Zealand has a 50-year history as an aviation supplier to Thailand – with their air force having purchased 72 aircraft and ms of dollars of parts from us in that time. We have recently launched our new SuperPac XSTOL (Extremely Short Take-Off and Landing) aircraft. With a 41% greater climb performance and 10% faster cruise speed than its predecessor, this model is specifically designed for high altitudes in hot and humid climates – allowing them to fly a 2,000kg payload over mountains at 4,000m, without impacting fuel efficiency. An opportunity exists to significantly increase the value of parts and maintenance exports to that market and help strengthen our relationship so that as their existing fleets are phased out, our new utility aircraft are seen as a viable replacement.”
Burrows says the SuperPac provides an off-the-shelf model that can be rapidly reconfigured for humanitarian and defence roles including medivac, border patrol, aerial photography, Intelligence Search and Rescue, skydive deployment, rainmaking, pollution control, firefighting as well as passenger/freight, agricultural operations and geophysical survey.
Burrows says they will also look to meet with defence force decision-makers and private aviation operators in Singapore and the Philippines. “The Philippines is set to increase their annual defence budget by over 50% to modernise their military in the next five years, similarly Singapore’s increase in defence spending in the coming year will be highest in over a quarter of a century. The timing of the upcoming mission to these countries is well aligned with New Zealand export objectives and provides a tangible opportunity to grow New Zealand’s aeronautical manufacturing capacity,” he says. (Source: Google/APDR)
17 Apr 24. Baghdad seeks arms deal with General Dynamics. The Iraqi Prime Minister, Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani, received on Tuesday a delegation from General Dynamics, a global aerospace and defense company based in the US, to discuss an armament deal.
The meeting took place in Washington DC as the Iraqi Prime Minister is paying an official visit to the United States, where he met with the US President, Joe Biden, and other senior officials, including the Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, and the Secretary of Defense, Lloyd Austin.
The step reflects the Iraqi government’s efforts to restore its armaments-related military capabilities, according to a statement cited by the Iraqi News Agency (INA).
The discussion included the sale of tanks and armored fighting vehicles in addition to working together to establish a major workshop for tank development and repair that is climate-appropriate for Iraq.
The statement mentioned that, as part of the government’s objectives to modernize its military institution and equip it with a variety of weaponry, the two sides decided to begin a number of projects in the near future.
In addition to tanks and armored fighting vehicles, General Dynamics produces business jets, nuclear-powered submarines, and guided-missile destroyers. (Source: News Now/https://www.iraqinews.com/)
16 Apr 24. Oman’s main battle tank spend to double as defence projected to grow. Besides the UK, Oman is the only other operator of the Challenger 2 main battle tank, with the first units arriving nearly 30 years ago. Aprojected rise in defence budgets in the Sultanate of Oman, strategically located on the southeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula, is being driven by spending in the land domain, in part through a doubling of expenditure on its main battle tank (MBT) and infantry fighting vehicle (IFV) fleets.
Newly released figures from GlobalData’s Oman Defense Market report indicates that spending on MBTs would rise from $38m (OR14.4m) in 2024 to $85m by 2034, a significant decade-long increase. Over a shorter time period, between 2024-2029 Oman’s spending on IFV would increase from $4.5m currently to $9.6m by 2029.
Oman acquired 38 Challenger 2 MBTs from Alvis Vickers, now BAE Systems Land Systems, between 1996-2001, along with four Challenger recovery vehicles in 1996. The country also operates an unknown number of M60A1 and M60A3 MBTs, obtained from the US in the 1980s and 1990s respectively.
Oman’s PARS III IFVs have been provided by FNSS, and are among the newest platforms in the Sultanate’s military. Credit: FNSS
It is likely that the increase in spending in the MBT segment will be driven by maintenance and upgrade costs as the Sultanate looks to keep its ageing platforms operational. Oman’s Challenger 2 MBTs were ‘desertised’ in order to improve their operational capabilities in hot, dry, and sandy conditions, with one armoured brigade operating the type.
The only other operator of the Challenger 2 – the UK – is upgrading 148 of its 227-strong fleet to the Challenger 3 variant, incorporating an active protection system, a new turret, and Rheinmetall’s 155mm L55A1 smoothbore gun.
Oman operates 27 PARS III 6×6 and 145 PARS III 8×8 wheeled IFVs provided by FNSS in the mid-to-late-2010s, and as such are among the Sultanate’s newest land platforms. It also operates a small number (approximately six) of VBC-90 scout vehicles obtained in the 1980s, according to GlobalData intelligence.
Charting Oman’s defence spending increase
Oman looks to be emerging from a multi-year period of defence spending decline, which between 2020-2024 registered a negative compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 2.9%, primarily due to lower oil prices and the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.
As a result, the defence budget was reduced from $9bn in 2020 to $8bn in 2024, while the acquisition budget was dropped from $1.7bn in 2020 to $1.4bn in 2024.
However, according to GlobalData’s Oman Defense Market 2024-2029 report, the country’s defence expenditure is forecast to value $8.2bn in 2025 as it seeks to modernise its current inventory, keeping pace with regional neighbours such as Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Bahrain.
Over the 2025–29 forecast period Oman is anticipated to grow at a CAGR of 2.6%, while the defence acquisition budget is expected to grow at 3.9% to record $1.7bn over the reporting period. The defence budget for 2029 is forecast to reach $9.1bn, with Oman’s Ministry of Defence expected to invest in land vehicles, fixed-wing aircraft, and ammunition.
(Source: army-technology.com)
15 Apr 24. US Africa Command seeks funding to counter armed drones. Various defence media report that the United States Africa Command (AFRICOM) has sent Congress an unfunded priorities list totaling more than USD500 m, highlighting the need to counter armed drones in the region as a major priority. AFRICOM supports African governments by helping build capacity in their armed forces, which are necessary for a government to counter violent extremists and respond to crises. The priorities list reportedly states that it is “only a matter of time before US forces in East Africa are attacked by enemy drones or missiles”. AFRICOM joins the US Army and US Central Command, which both included C-UAS systems on their own unfunded priorities list. For more information: www.africom.mil (Source: www.unmannedairspace.info)
12 Apr 24. India issues tender for 97 additional Tejas Mk 1As. The Indian Ministry of Defence (MoD) has issued a tender to Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) for the procurement of 97 additional Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Tejas Mk 1A fighter aircraft.
The potential acquisition has an initial proposed value of INR650 bn (USD7.7 bn), an industry source told Janes on 12 April. The possible acquisition of the 97 aircraft is in addition to the 73 Mk 1As and 10 trainers ordered by the Indian Air Force (IAF) in 2021.
The source added that the tender document for the 97 Mk 1As was issued in March 2024.
The document, which is akin to a request for quote (RFQ), will be assessed by HAL, the source said. Janes understands that HAL has three months to respond to the document. The source added that the “value of the proposed acquisition could change”. (Source: Janes)
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