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UNITED KINGDOM AND NATO
23 Apr 24. Modernising testing and evaluation methods to future-proof defence. DASA seeks novel methods of testing and evaluating for the future of defence
- DASA has launched a new Innovation Focus Area (IFA) called Unlocking the True Potential of Test and Evaluation (T&E) for Defence
- Funding provided by the Ministry of Defence (MOD)
- Suggested project values of between £50,000 and £200,000 (ex VAT) with a maximum of £500,000 (ex VAT) per financial year
- This IFA will be open for a minimum of two cycles
The Defence and Security Accelerator (DASA) is pleased to launch a new IFA called Unlocking the True Potential of Test and Evaluation for Defence, run on behalf of the Ministry of Defence (MOD).
DASA is seeking innovations for priority T&E issues for which no solution is currently known across the domain.
If you think you can provide a solution, read the full competition document and submit a proposal.
What we would like to see
DASA is seeking novel proposals that:
- Accelerate the assurance of new systems and technologies
- Attune systems to the latest threats, emerging programme requirements and likely operating environments, for example by using digital tools and methods
- Enable capability to be more available to the war fighter, more quickly, more often and for longer. For example, mobile T&E infrastructure (taking the test to the capability rather than the capability to the test) allowing for rapid (re)assessment and assurance
- Enable agility by creating better understanding of the capability through innovative T&E methods and delivery
- Enable accelerated acceptance of the capability at test, by developing the novel T&E methods and processes with key regulations/ regulators (for example the Defence Safety Authority) in mind and enabling better understanding of risks and mitigations
Key dates and funding
This Innovation Focus Area will run for at least two funding cycles of the Open Call
DASA expects to fund several proposals between £50,000 and £200,000 with a maximum of £500,000 available per financial year.
Proposals are expected to deliver at TRL 6 (prototype) at the end of the contract and have a project duration of approximately 6 months. Priority will be given to proposals that can deliver within 6 months. This is likely to be reviewed after Cycle 1 and 2 with the project length potentially being extended to 9 months.
Background
T&E is the collection and analysis of evidence about the behaviour and performance of a system, under relevant operational conditions. This is used across the MOD and industry, and is vital to the understanding, development, delivery and deployment of all defence and security capabilities; assuring they are safe, effective and offer value for money.
This competition is part of a wider MOD Test and Evaluation Transformation Programme, which exists to ensure defence can validate technologies at speed in an increasingly complex threat environment. One key area, incites the T&E enterprise to become, and remain, innovative by instinct.
Read the competition document for full details of the competition scope: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/defence-and-security-accelerator-dasa-open-call-for-innovation/ifa042-unlocking-the-true-potential-of-test-and-evaluation-for-defence
Submit a proposal
Do you have an innovation that will enable defence to modernise testing and evaluation? Submit your idea: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/defence-and-security-accelerator-dasa-open-call-for-innovation/ifa042-unlocking-the-true-potential-of-test-and-evaluation-for-defence (Source: https://www.gov.uk/)
EUROPE
24 Apr 24. Saab’s Skapa initiative aims to speed technology into customers’ hands. Saab has established a new business function to revamp how it develops and delivers products to meet changing customer requirements. Skapa, a Swedish word that means “to create, to make, or to shape”, will focus on solving customer and stakeholder problems at speed, Erik Smith, president and CEO of Saab in the United States, told reporters on 23 April. “Skapa will accelerate the development and deployment of cutting-edge solutions to our warfighters” at pace, he said. (Source: Janes)
23 Apr 24. South Korea, Romania pledge defence cooperation amid reports of contract in works. South Korean and Romanian leaders pledged on Tuesday to boost defence industry cooperation as Seoul pushes to establish itself as the world’s fourth-largest arms exporter amid reports of huge additional contracts in the works.
President Yoon Suk Yeol hosted his Romanian counterpart, Klaus Iohannis, for a summit and pledged to increase cooperation in the defence industry, including joint production of weapons, a statement said.
South Korea’s defence minister Shin Won-sik separately hosted Poland’s deputy defence minister, Pawel Bejda, amid reports of an impending contract for Hanwha Aerospace to supply additional weapons systems and negotiations over financing.
South Korea has emerged as a major player in global defence exports, with Russia’s invasion of Ukraine opening the door for its industries to sign large-scale contracts from Europe, the Middle East and Asia.
South Korea’s major defence manufacturer, Hanwha Aerospace (012450.KS), is working on a deal worth 1trn won ($725.7m) to supply K9 howitzer to Romania in what would be the first defence contract with that country, the Korea Economic Daily reported this year.
Hanwha declined to comment on the report.
The company said during an earnings conference call in February it would announce a weapons export deal with Romania in the first quarter, but there was no announcement.
Last year the company signed a memorandum of understanding with Romania’s state-run defence company to export its K9 self-propelled howitzer and infantry fighting vehicle.
Poland, which has been ramping up defence spending, has agreed to buy $22 bn worth of weapons from South Korea in the country’s largest ever arms sale.
On Tuesday, South Korea’s Dong-a Ilbo newspaper reported, citing defence industry sources, that Poland would sign a contract this week for 70 additional Chunmoo rocket artillery units worth $1.6 bn to be supplied by Hanwha Aerospace.
Hanwha declined to comment on the Dong-a report.
The visit by the defence delegation from Warsaw comes as the two countries have worked to expand South Korea’s financing of the weapons purchases. Statutory caps on credit to facilitate such deals have acted as a constraint.
In February, South Korea’s parliament voted to ease restrictions on the state export financing bank, which could aid in negotiations for the second phase of the deal with Poland, sources have said.
Poland has already agreed to buy more than 150 K9 howitzers for $2.6 bn and 288 Chunmoo rocket launchers. It has separately agreed to buy K2 tanks manufactured by Hyundai Rotem (064350.KS), and fighter jets from Korea Aerospace Industries (047810.KS).
($1 = 1,378.0700 won) (Source: Reuters)
REST OF THE WORLD
25 Apr 24. Brazilian Army seeks 12 UH-60M Black Hawk helicopters. The Brazilian Army is to acquire 12 Sikorsky UH-60M Black Hawk utility helicopters to replace its eight HM-3 Cougar and four HM-2 Black Hawk helicopters, said Army Commander General Tomás Miguel Miné Ribeiro Paiva during a 17 April presentation to the Brazilian Committee on Foreign Relations and National Defense.
Gen Tomás noted that the fleet is to be purchased through the US Foreign Military Sales (FMS) programme and entails purchasing surplus helicopters, which will be refurbished before transfer to the Brazilian Army Aviation Command (CAvEx).
The acquisition is being carried out as part of the Army Strategic Program Army Aviation (Prg EE Av Ex). The phasing out of the Cougar and Black Hawk helicopters was approved in December 2023.
The HM-3 is fielded by the 2nd Army Aviation Battalion and the 3rd Army Aviation Battalion, and the HM-2 is deployed by the 4th Army Aviation Battalion. (Source: Janes)
23 Apr 24. Indian MOD hands over components for Tejas Mk1A fighter jet.
This latest iteration of the Tejas fighter jet is a little-known, priority project, leading the way for indigenous defence production in India.
India’s Defence Research and Development Orgnaisation (DRDO), a branch within the Ministry of Defence (MOD), has handed over indigenously built components to an industrial supplier, Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), to be fitted onto the next Tejas fighter iteration, the Mark 1A (Mk1A).
Building on the Indian Air Force’s original Tejas fighter jet, which entered service in 2016, the Mk1A will cost $4.5bn over the next ten years, according to GlobalData. The DRDO has widened the indigenous supply chain, having sourced various components across India’s fledgling defence industry.
As part of these efforts, the DRDO has handed over the first batch of cutting-edge actuators and an airbrake control module to HAL for the LCA Tejas Mk1A.
Tejas is a single-seat, single-engine, lightweight, high-agility supersonic fighter aircraft. It has a delta design with shoulder-mounted delta wings. It has a fin but no horizontal tail. Lightweight materials, including aluminium, lithium and titanium alloys, and carbon composites, have been used in the construction.
There is also a naval variant, which completed a flight test aboard the Indian Navy’s aircraft carrier, INS Vikramaditya in 2020.
Driven by the need to address critical deficiencies in the Tejas Mk1 aircraft variant, India was compelled to develop a new upgrade specification for the baseline light combat aircraft (LCA). Mk1A is said to incorporate more than 40 improvements over the original Mk1 version, which entered service in 2016.
With HAL as the prime contractor, India placed the order for the acquisition of 83 LCA Mk1A aircraft in February 2021, with the first units of the aircraft expected 36 months after the signing of the contract. The deliveries of aircraft are expected to commence sometime in 2024 and will be delivered at the rate of 16 aircraft annually.
The secondary flight control of LCA-Tejas, comprising leading edge slats and airbrakes, now has servo-valve-based electro-hydraulic servo actuators and control modules. These high-pressure, redundant servo actuators and control module, characterised by astute design, precision manufacturing, assembly, and testing, represent a culmination of the DRDO’s pursuit of indigenous technological prowess.
The production of these components is underway at the Accessories Division of HAL in Lucknow, marking a significant stride toward strengthening India’s aerospace manufacturing capabilities.
Noteworthy contributions from public and private industries, including Godrej Aerospace, Mumbai, alongside certification agencies such as CEMILAC and DGAQA, have been instrumental in this endeavour. (Source: airforce-technology.com)
19 Apr 24. Argentina makes progress in air force modernisation with BT-67 aircraft. After securing the F-16 deal with Denmark, the US State Department recently approved a foreign military sales (FMS) deal with Argentina for the Basler BT-67 utility aircraft.
The Argentine Air Force continues to make headway with its air force modernisation efforts with the recent purchase of a Basler BT-67 turboprop utility aircraft. The procurement comes under an FMS agreement approved by the US State Department on the 18 April 2024.
Besides the single aircraft, the Argentine Government also acquired supplementary equipment including spare engines, logistics and training support – all for $143m (124.37bn pesos).
According to the State Department, the proposed sale will improve Argentina’s capability to meet current and future threats by providing additional capacity for airdrop and airlift operations to service Antarctica during the winter season. It is believed that this will reduce the burden on other airlift assets in the country.
The principal contractor will be Basler Turbo Conversions in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. There are no known offset agreements proposed in connection with this potential sale.
BT-67 engines
Basler’s biggest selling point when it comes to the BT-67 is that it is equipped with PT6A-67R turboprop engines from Pratt & Whitney Canada.
“The versatility and performance of the PT6A makes it the engine of choice for demanding, high-cycle/high-power applications,” said Balser.
The PT6A currently powers aircraft in service with over 7,100 operators in more than 180 countries, having accumulated more than 400m flying hours.
Implementation of this proposed sale will not require the assignment of any additional US Government or contractor representatives to Argentina.
New Argentine F-16s
In the same week as the Basler purchase, Argentina’s Defence Minister, Luis Petri, also confirmed his country’s $300m purchase of 24 second-hand Danish F-16s, following a declaration of intent at the end of March 2024.
“These aircraft, equipped with cutting-edge technology, represent a milestone in the modernisation of our air force and underscore our unwavering commitment to protecting our sovereignty,” Petri stated over social media.
The new F-16 fleet will replace the air force’s current fleet of five Super Etendard multi-role aircraft, procured in 1980–82.
Denmark has also earmarked 19 F-16s to go to Ukraine, six of which are expected to be delivered soon. (Source: airforce-technology.com)
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