24 Mar 22. Hanwha Makes Early Impression with Launch of Team Thunder for British Army’s Mobile Fires Platform. On Wednesday 23 March, Hanwha Defense hosted a parliamentary reception in the United Kingdom to lobby for its Self-Propelled K9 Thunder howitzer to be selected for the British Army’s Mobile Fires Platform (MFP) programme, originally conceived in January 2020. A Request for Proposal (RfP) is expected later this year with a decision on up to 116 new 155mm howitzers expected by 2025 at the latest.
The British Army currently operates the AS90 155mm 39 calibre self-propelled gun in three field regiments of the Royal Horse Artillery and Royal Artillery. It’s out of service date has been stated as 2030 although with a replacement competition still to be formally launched, this date could be extended.
The first Hanwha K9 artillery system entered service with the Republic of Korea Marine Corps in December 1999 and is currently in service with Poland, Norway and Estonia with new customers including Australia and Egypt. The latest version is the K9A2 Block-I upgrade.
Hanwha is at the centre of Team Thunder, with industry partners comprising Lockheed Martin UK, Leonardo, Pearson Engineering, Horstman Defence Systems, and Soucy Defense. Their proposal is for a local variant of the K9 to be offered for the British Army.
According to Hanwha Defense, it would be the prime contractor while Lockheed Martin UK would be responsible for platform and systems integration, as well as turret production. Leonardo would deliver the on-board navigation and pointing systems, while Pearson Engineering will manufacturing the vehicle. Horstman Defence Systems would provide suspension and other running gear components, and Soucy Defence would deliver the Composite Rubber Track Kit that includes associated casted wheel assemblies.
According to Kim Dae-young, executive vice president of Hanwha Defense’s Overseas Business Centre, the event represented the official launch of Team Thunder in the UK. He also suggested that the UK “could become a regional hub to the global supply chain the 2,400 K9 family vehicles.”
(Source: Armada)
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)
22 Mar 22. USN considers alternatives to unmanned boats with missiles. The U.S. Navy is nearly done assessing whether to put missile tubes on an unmanned surface vessel, comparing the idea to other options for getting missile launchers out to sea.
The ongoing distributed offensive surface fires analysis of alternatives is in its final stages and expected to complete by the end of April, Navy spokesman Lt. Lewis Aldridge told Defense News.
The study will compare the Navy’s preferred plan — a large unmanned surface vessel (LUSV) outfitted with vertical launching system tubes that can fire strike missiles — to other options. Four categories of options being considered are modifying existing naval ship designs, such as amphibious ships, expeditionary fast transports and expeditionary sea bases; modifying commercial vessel designs, such as container ships and bulk carriers; creating a new naval ship design; or creating a new commercial ship design, Aldridge said.
A 2019 study on the future surface combatant affirmed the need for an LUSV with missile tubes, to supplement DDG(X) as a large surface combatant and the Constellation-class frigate as a small surface combatant. This family of systems would allow the large combatant to focus on the most sophisticated missions, while the small and unmanned combatants could distribute firepower in more places across the ocean.
Despite the Navy’s certainty on this armed LUSV requirement, lawmakers have been concerned about the immaturity of unmanned technology and the Navy’s ability to use unmanned ships for the remote launch of missiles in a secure manner. The Fiscal Year 2021 National Defense Authorization Act limited the Navy’s ability to pursue an armed LUSV until a new analysis weighed alternatives. Aldridge said that study used the approved top-level requirements for LUSV — the requirements six industry teams have been considering — as the baseline option, though he could not elaborate on those requirements.
The analysis compares the LUSV baseline to alternate options in four focus areas: warfighting capability and capacity analysis, cost and affordability, technical risk, and industrial base considerations.
While it’s unclear what will come of the Navy’s study, Rep. Elaine Luria, a Democrat from Virginia who serves as the House Armed Services Committee vice chair, told Defense News last month she favors the idea of modifying an existing ship to add missile capacity to the fleet until unmanned technology is more mature.
To create an interim “Tomahawk arsenal,” she said, Military Sealift Command ships could be good candidates. These ships fit somewhere in between the naval vessels and the commercial vessels as outlined in the analysis of alternatives, with Military Sealift Command ships conducting missions like resupplying the warships in the fleet.
“If the Navy went out tomorrow and told MSC go modify this hull; put two, three VLS launchers in there; come up with the electronics, communication systems, the Tomahawk Weapons Control System, the different things that are necessary to essentially launch Tomahawks … I honestly think that it is something that could be implemented in a very short timeframe, essentially with existing capabilities,” she said.
She noted the Navy would be decommissioning a handful of cruisers this year, making those VLS launchers available to be used for this purpose.
Easier said than done, she acknowledged, “but I know that we did go back with the [Spruance-class] DDs, you know, cut a big hole and put a VLS launcher where there wasn’t one initially, so I just don’t see it as being a huge technological challenge.”
Luria said military cargo ships turned into missile shooters would need protection from traditional warships. Still, she said, it “is an opportunity, I think, to bring more firepower in combination with other [cruisers or destroyers] that have air defense capability for a much lower cost than developing some of these other ideas that are further off future.”
Pursuing Luria’s idea, or others being considered under the analysis of alternatives, could get missile tubes on ships faster than waiting for the LUSV program of record, which is still several years away from developing a final design and moving into construction.
The topic of missile capacity in the fleet has been a source of tension between the Navy and Congress. The Navy wants to accelerate decommissioning its Ticonderoga-class cruisers and has argued the ships aren’t relevant to today’s fight, are increasingly time-consuming and expensive to maintain, and — most recently — are unsafe for the crews that man them.
At the same time, Luria and Rep. Rob Wittman, among others, have said decommissioning the cruisers without a near-term replacement ready would take hundreds of missile tubes out of the fleet at a time when the Navy needs to prepare to deter powers like China or Russia. (Source: Defense News Early Bird/Defense News)
23 Mar 22. CNC is helping to shape the future of UK policing. Policing students have been given first-hand experience of life within the Firearms Training Unit (FTU) of the Civil Nuclear Constabulary (CNC) as part of their Lakes College course. Strengthening links between the specialist force and the West Cumbrian college, students working towards a level-three diploma in policing, were invited to spend time at the world-class Griffin Park tactical training centre, just outside the Sellafield site.
While at Griffin Park, which has the biggest 360-degree live fire range in Europe, students learned about life within CNC and the FTU from officers and staff who carry out this unique work, and were taught how the Dog Training Unit can be utilised to protect both nuclear facilities and the public.
This was the first cohort of students given a four-day placement, and Chief Inspector Marcus Robson, Griffin Park’s Unit Commander, said: “It’s vital CNC plays a role in shaping the future of policing; and it’s also really rewarding for us to play a role in the education of local students.
“While at Griffin Park, the students were given first-hand experience of the FTU and dog unit. They also had an opportunity to learn about life within CNC, and the incredible work we do from our experienced staff, who proudly defend the UK’s nuclear sites as well as the public.
“Through these links with Lakes College, our aim is to bolster the wider recruitment drive, and it was great to see the students enjoy their time with us.”
There are plans to host more students throughout the academic year at Griffin Park, which cost £42.5m when it opened its doors in 2020, and most recently hosted soldiers from the USA’s Nuclear Disablement Team.
Kayleigh Smith, lead work placement officer for Lakes College, added: “With many of our policing students being interested in a career with CNC at Sellafield, this is a great opportunity to see what their future career could entail.
“We are also working closely with CNC to look at the delivery of our curriculum, as well as having employer-engagement sessions with our students around the recruitment process.
“We are very grateful for the work CNC has put into this to make our students’ work placement an unforgettable experience.” (Source: https://www.gov.uk/)
22 Mar 22. Iron Dome laser-based option, Iron Beam, takes major step forward. Israel has made a small but significant step towards a laser-based system that is capable of intercepting missiles, with the announcement that the country’s “Iron Beam” system officially has a budget. The program, which has existed in some form of R&D for more than a decade, has faced headwinds as a result of a long-running conflict between proponents and opponents of laser-based defense systems. But the technology appears to have matured to the point the government is now willing to put real money behind it.
Following a series of discussions over recent months, Defense Minister Benny Gantz approved the allocation of hundreds of millions of shekels for the development and production of the Iron Beam system. Maj. Gen. Amir Eshel, the director general of the ministry of defense, is expected to sign off on further development of the system this week.
The development plan for “Iron Beam” will be led by Israel’s R&D team in the Ministry of Defense, together with Rafael and Elbit Systems. On March 17 , Gantz toured the Rafael compound together with the head of Research and Development at the DDR&D, Brig. Gen. Yaniv Rotem, Rafael CEO Yoav Har-Even, and General Manager at Elbit Systems ISTAR & EW, Oren Sabag, where were presented with the system details. Subsequently, Gantz approved the plan’s progression according to the work plan and the agreement with Rafael.
Defense sources here say that the initial effort will be to develop an electric 100-150 kW solid-state laser that will be capable of intercepting rockets and missiles. The idea is to use two laser guns to create the needed power.
A source in the defense industry said that in order to have a system that will be capable of intercepting more than short-range rockets and missiles, Israel will need a laser generator that will be capable of producing a 1-megawatt beam.
The initial goal of this first phase is for Iron Beam to be a backup for the Iron Dome system; eventually the hope is a stronger solid-state laser emerges that can take on bigger threats. Anything that can help supplement Iron Dome will be welcome, as the system is struggling with maintaining enough interceptors following the 2021 Guardian on the Walls operation.
The technology may have international interest as well. In 2021, Rafael announced a team-up with American defense giant Lockheed Martin to “explore opportunities and technology implementations” based around the work being done on Iron Beam. The US and Israel have collaborated closely on development of other air defense systems, most prominently the Iron Dome and David’s Sling systems, for which the US has supplied significant R&D funding.
The two companies have agreed to partner to jointly promote a Ground Based Air Defense (GBAD) system, centered around the Lockheed’s battlespace situational awareness SkyKeeper system, in use in the United Kingdom since 2014, and the Barak MX air defense system, which was recently selected by Morocco for its air defense needs.
This new cooperation is a direct result of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed between the companies in July 2021, which both sides have touted as coming after a deep review of relevant business opportunities.
“We’re looking forward to further developing our partnership with IAI and working together to deliver a state-of-the-art solution designed to address the critical gap in short and medium-range ground based air defense,” said Scott Arnold, Lockheed’s vice president for integrated air and missile defense, said in a press release.
Added Boaz Levy, president and CEO of IAI, “These are the fruits of the cooperation agreement we recently signed with Lockheed Martin, the leading defense contractor in the U.S., and IAI’s steadfast partner over many years and in various fields. I am pleased that Lockheed Martin selected us, and I am certain this reflects the high mutual esteem existing in both the technological and business fields between the two companies. Together we will continue to lead substantial projects for our customers around the world.” (Source: Breaking Defense.com)
21 Mar 22. Lockheed joins Hanwha team for British artillery competition. Hanwha Defense has signed up Lockheed Martin UK as a member of its team bidding on a key British Army artillery program. The South Korean defense contractor announced March 21 that Lockheed had become the latest industry member to join Team Thunder, the group bidding to secure an £800m (U.S. $1bn) deal to supply 155mm self-propelled howitzers to the Army.
Hanwha is offering its K9A2 howitzer for the British effort likely to attract competition from several rivals. French, German and Swedish systems are expected to join in to fulfill the British Mobile Fires Platform requirement when the competition officially gets underway. The Defense Ministry has said it wants a new 155mm capability in place by 2029.
Answering questions about the program in Parliament on Feb. 25, Defence Procurement Minister Jeremy Quin said the program is still in its concept phase.
“Around £166,000 was spent on the Mobile Fires Platform project between February 2021 and January 2022. As the project is still in the concept phase, the remainder of the £800m provisioned has yet to be committed to future projects,” he said.
“Along with other Team Thunder partner’s expertise, our advanced systems, specialty engineering, and digitally-enabled production facility will provide the modern capabilities needed to manufacture in-country, bring into service and support the K9A2,” said Lee Fellows, vice president and managing director for Lockheed Martin UK’s Ampthill-based business.
Britain is seeking to update its 155mm artillery capability, as it currently relies on the aging AS90. Analysts say the country is outgunned in quantity and quality compared to Russia.
Industry executives say the MoD is watching what’s happening across the Atlantic, where the U.S. Army is reviewing its own wheeled, self-propelled howitzer requirements before deciding what it will ultimately need.
The K9A2 is not part of the U.S. Army evaluation, but variants of the system are part of export deals with several countries, including Poland, Estonia, Norway, Egypt and Australia.
Lockheed joins an industry team that already includes Pearson Engineering, Horstman Defence Systems, Leonardo and Soucy Defense. Hanwha said it is proposing to manufacture the tracked K9A2 in Britain and create hundreds of new jobs in the country if it secures the deal.
Lockheed’s U.K. arm has a major facility at Ampthill, near London, where it has invested substantial sums of money to design and build turrets for armored vehicles. But the company’s ambition to be a key player in Britain’s armored fighting vehicle industry was severely dented by the Army’s decision last year to ax its program to update the Warrior infantry fighting vehicle. Lockheed was the prime contractor for that program.
Lockheed is currently providing turrets for the Ajax reconnaissance platform built by General Dynamics UK for the British Army. That program could also be in jeopardy, as lawmakers have repeatedly called for the program to cease due to technical shortcomings. (Source: Defense News Early Bird/Defense News)
18 Mar 22. HASC leaders want next-gen Stinger replacement, as stockpile dwindles due to Ukraine.
“The committee urges focus on the most rapid possible development, testing, and fielding of a more capable SHORAD system and would favorably consider an appropriate reprogramming request to get this started,” wrote HASC Chairman Adam Smith and Rep. Mike Rogers, its top Republican.
top two leaders of the House Armed Services Committee are sounding the alarm for the US military to develop a modern short range air defense system that would allow it and its allies to replenish the thousands of Stinger anti-aircraft systems that are currently being transferred to Ukraine.
In a March 18 letter to Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark Milley, HASC Chairman Adam Smith and HASC Ranking Member Mike Rogers expressed concern that the provision of Stingers to Ukraine could potentially dwindle US Army and Marine Corps stockpiles, as well as those of other allies delivering the weapon to the Ukrainian military.
“We believe this is a matter of the highest urgency,” Smith, D-Wash., and Rogers, R-Ala., wrote in the letter, which Breaking Defense exclusively obtained.
Smith and Rogers implored the Pentagon to accelerate the development of a short range air defense (SHORAD) system that could replace the FIM-92 Stinger, a Raytheon Technologies-produced system that was designed in the late 1960s.
“The committee urges focus on the most rapid possible development, testing, and fielding of a more capable SHORAD system and would favorably consider an appropriate reprogramming request to get this started,” they wrote.
Specifically, the lawmakers said the new system should be low-cost, exportable to allies and available in 36 months.
“Events in Europe have demonstrated the importance of such a capability and the need for the Army and Marine Corps to develop a plan to invigorate the industrial base, buy-down strategic risk in our current capability, and accelerate the development of a follow-on SHORAD system that can be rapidly fielded,” Smith and Rogers wrote.
While the Army has previously signaled interest in replacing Stinger, a program of record has not materialized. In 2020, the service released a sources sought notice for a Stinger replacement, postulating a potential contract award for 6,000 missiles in fiscal year 2026, Aviation Week reported. However, there has been little activity since the Army put out that solicitation.
The HASC leaders’ letter comes just days after President Joe Biden announced an additional $800m in military assistance to Ukraine. The latest package includes 800 Stinger anti-aircraft systems, on top of more than 600 Stingers previously delivered to the Ukrainian military. (In total, the administration has ordered $2bn in security assistance to Ukraine since January 2021.)
Earlier this month, Congress passed a fiscal 2022 spending bill that contained $13.6bn in aid to Ukraine, including additional funds for military aid made via Presidential Drawdown Authority. The expectation is for some of that money to be used to send additional Stinger systems to Ukraine, Smith and Rogers wrote. (Source: Breaking Defense.com)
21 Mar 22. French Army details vehicle deliveries and upgrade plans. The French Ministère des Armées (Ministry of Defence) has given more details concerning recent deliveries of equipment, as well as planned upgrades for some of its legacy vehicle fleet.
During a briefing, ministry officials confirmed that 34,100 HK416F rifles had been delivered to the French Armed Forces, with a total of 93,080 planned for delivery by the end of 2028. Deliveries of the Glock 17 Gen 5 FR self-loading pistol and the SCAR-H PR self-loading precision rifle commenced in late 2020; however, the total number delivered so far for both these weapons was not disclosed. The ministry also confirmed that more than 1,800 new Onyx night-vision goggles had been delivered. (Source: Janes)
17 Mar 22. Omani SSF operating self-propelled mortar. The Omani Sultan’s Special Force (SSF) is using an advanced, low-recoil mortar system, coverage of its annual day event on 15 March revealed.
A montage of training footage broadcast by Omani television showed SSF soldiers firing a weapon from the back of a VAMTAC tactical vehicle that appeared to be the 81 mm variant of the Advanced Automatic Autonomous Mortar System (A3MS) promoted by the Austrian company ESL Advanced Information Technology (ESLAIT).
ESLAIT uses photographs of the A3MS and the associated Hawk electro-optical targeting system mounted on VAMTACs in its promotional material, as well as Omani G6 self-propelled howitzers. The Hawk and A3MS are linked by the company’s Mortar Command Control System (MCCS) so that targeting data can be rapidly transferred to the weapon, which automatically lays on to the co-ordinates.
The A3MS is similar to the Cardom made by the Israeli company Elbit Systems. When the Danish military announced in 2017 that it was buying 120 mm Cardom 10 mortar systems from ESLIAT, it identified the company as an Elbit subsidiary, although this is not stated on either companies’ website. (Source: Janes)
21 Mar 22. North Korea test-fires artillery shots from multiple rocket launchers. The shots were fired from an unidentified location in South Pyongan Province. North Korea has reportedly test-fired artillery shots from its multiple rocket launchers amid increasing military tensions in the peninsula.
According to the Yonhap news agency, the reclusive nation fired four shots that fell into the Yellow Sea. The shots were fired from an unidentified location in South Pyongan Province, the news agency added citing South Korean military officials.
However, other details of the test-firing, including the type of weapons launched and the range of the missiles, were immediately not clear.
Following the test-firing, South Korea’s Ministry of Unification spokesperson Lee Jong-joo was quoted by Yonhap as saying: “(We) once again urge North Korea to immediately stop unilateral actions that create tensions and go counter to the peace and stability of the Korean Peninsula, and to choose the path of dialogue and cooperation that we and the international community have proposed.”
Notably, North Korea has increased missile testing this year, conducting a record number of firing in January.
This includes testing of Hwasong-12 intermediate-range ballistic missile test, the first since 2017. The missile is said to be capable of hitting the US Pacific territory of Guam.
Recently, the US Indo-Pacific Command (INDOPACOM) increased its surveillance and reconnaissance collection in the Yellow Sea in response to the missile launches.
Last year, South Korea approved a programme to install a $2.6bn artillery interception system to protect its population from long-range rocket attacks. Around half of the country’s population resides in the capital city of Seoul and surrounding regions, situating them within the range of neighbouring North Korea’s long-range guns, reported Reuters. (Source: airforce-technology.com)
21 Mar 22. Marshall Aerospace have now successfully certified and installed the latest generation of lightweight cockpit armour on a NATO Air Force fleet of C-130J-30s. The successful in-service use of the new armour followed the signing of an exclusive agreement in July 2020 to market, sell and install new lightweight armour (LAST Armor® LWA) from QinetiQ Inc., at the same time making Marshall Aerospace the first company able to certify the armour on the C-130 platform.
NATO Air Force representative said “It was an easy decision to work together with Marshall Aerospace to certify and install the LAST Armor LWA onto our fleet of C-130Js. The level of protection from the armor provides a greater probability of mission success in harsh environments or potential conflicts and has promoted confidence in our aircrew.
The new armour is less than half the weight of its predecessor which not only makes it easy to install, but has helped to save fuel, reduce the impact on the aircraft’s centre of gravity and allowed for full cargo carrying capacity across our fleet, whilst still meeting the same ballistic requirement as QinetiQ’s previous LAST Armor.”
The new armour is a tool free installation design that minimizes aircraft downtime and maximizes crucial military aircraft availability. The modular design also enables damaged panels to be easily replaced whilst in operation without having to replace the entire system.
Andrew Smith, Project Manager Marshall Aerospace explains, “We’re delighted to have been able to offer this cutting-edge lightweight armour solution that is far more durable and easier to install onto the aircraft. Crew safety is paramount and critical to mission success and we’re pleased to be able to provide this important capability to the air crew through our exclusive partnership with QinetiQ.’’
The armour is manufactured from high tenacity polyethylene, making it extremely robust, and approximately 380kg (840lbs) lighter than the previous generation LAST Armor solution.
20 Mar 22. Australian rocket company, Black Sky Aerospace, has achieved a major milestone with initial integration of guidance and control on a sovereign Australian missile fired in Queensland. Black Sky has teamed up with other local Queensland companies, including Crystalaid, to develop a next generation missile system and ensure Australian technology is at the forefront of defending the nation.
Black Sky Aerospace CEO Blake Nikolic, said the technology partners are all focused on developing sovereign capability for Australia’s soon-to-be-announced Guided Weapons and Explosive Ordnance (GWEO) Enterprise. “As the only Australian sovereign commercial manufacturer of solid rocket propulsion for use in guided weapons, it’s natural for us to team up with other Australian companies involved in advanced manufacturing of defence technology,” Nikolic said. “The rocket we just fired is comparable in size to a Javelin Surface-to-Air missile, and our partners are bringing the components that will ensure it can be steered onto a target and deliver the desired effects. We are seeing in the Ukraine right now just how devastating and effective these weapons can be on an invading force; we want to make sure Australia has its own sources of missiles and is not solely reliant on foreign suppliers.”
Crystalaid Chairman, Ross McKinnon, said this launch demonstrates a local advanced manufacturing capability that has traditionally been sourced from overseas. “Many people would not know that the sophisticated electronics packages needed for guided weapons can all be made here in Australia,” he said. “While industry waits for Defence’s decision on how to achieve a GWEO enterprise, it’s important that Australian industry demonstrates a current level of capability and capacity. We need to ensure that the implementation of GWEO grows the Australian Defence Industry capacity and by partnering with international and local partners, fill any capability gaps. This is achieved by utilising locally manufactured components to create new highly skilled Australian jobs.”
The collaborative teaming partners believe the development of Australian industry missile capability could accelerate the implementation of the AUKUS agreement. “We believe that cross-industry collaboration is essential.” Mr Nikolic said. “We celebrate the creation of the groups working together on GWEO, and we understand it is essential that Australian industry works together, and with companies such as those from our AUKUS allies and other partners.” (Source: Google/https://asiapacificdefencereporter.com/)