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27 Dec 23. South Korea improves Joint Fire Operation System. South Korea’s Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) has announced that the military’s Joint Fire Operation System (JFOS-K) has been upgraded to support integrated, theatre-level combat operations with air, sea, and ground forces. The JFOS-K is a joint theatre, firepower command-and-control system that “links joint and joint detection and strike assets for the key adversarial targets in real time and supports optimal decision making for strike”, according to DAPA. DAPA added that the upgrade includes “reinforcing functions and improving [the] operational capabilities” of the system.
“With this performance improvement, the ability to operate integrated firepower at the theatre level, including the navy and air force, has been strengthened from the existing ground force-centred firepower operation system,” the agency said. (Source: Janes)
27 Dec 23. Russian frigate enters service, with plans for hypersonic armaments. Russia has commissioned the frigate Admiral Golovko, the country’s first ship built to launch Zircon hypersonic missiles, the government announced.
At the Dec. 25 flag-raising ceremony, President Vladimir Putin said that by 2035 the Severnaya Verf shipyard will build a series of small- and medium-displacement corvettes. Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu had previously announced that all frigates and corvettes under construction would be armed with Zircon missiles.
However, experts have doubts about Russia’s ability to build both the vessels able to launch Zircons and the missiles themselves in the planned timeline.
“Despite the statements about the start of serial production, this is still a piece[-by-piece] production,” Pavel Luzin, senior fellow at the Center for European Policy Analysis, told Defense News.
The vessels will likely use “a universal launcher, which includes Kalibr, Oniks and Zircon missiles. Given that the Zircon missile is more expensive, the basis of the anti-ship armament of these vessels will be Kalibr and Oniks. In addition, there are few carriers for Zircon,” Luzin added.
The Severnaya Verf shipyard, a subsidiary of United Shipbuilding Corp., is currently under contract to build or prepare to launch seven Admiral Gorshkov-class frigates, also known as Project 22350. Three frigates of this type are in service with the Russian Navy.
Russia is also developing a modernized frigate, dubbed Project 22350M, and plans to build 12 of the ships.
“Severnaya Verf has produced three warships over the past three years, but plans to produce two frigates per year only of this class,” according to a Russian military expert and lieutenant colonel in the reserves.
“United Shipbuilding Corp. wants to create new shipyards, although they have problems with the old ones. The Severnaya Verf lacks a new boathouse; repairs, modernization and additional equipment are needed,” the officer told Defense News on the condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the topic.
In addition, Steregushchiy-class corvettes under projects 20380 and 20385 are to be armed with Zircons. Ten corvettes are in service, and nine are reportedly under construction, with plans for a total fleet of 29. But as a result of sanctions, “high quality components for the creation of radar complexes and diesel engines are either impossible to obtain or very expensive,” the officer explained.
“Because of this, many things need to be developed independently from scratch. But I am not sure that the Russian industry is ready for this. It would be long, expensive and with unclear results, and the corvette was supposed to be cheap. It is not clear how manufacturers will solve these problems and coordinate this with the Defence Ministry,” the officer added.
Meanwhile, it’s unlikely industry can produce the Lider-class destroyer, according to the state-owned media organization RIA Novosti, citing an interview with Aleksey Rakhmanov, the general director of United Shipbuilding Corp. And the battlecruiser Pyotr Velikiy is set to be decommissioned, per Russian media.
Attack on Russian ship
Earlier this week, Ukrainian aircraft damaged a Russian ship moored in the Black Sea off Crimea, both countries said, bolstering Ukrainian morale after battlefield disappointments and doubts about the future of Western aid.
The attack marks a recent setback in Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, which began in February 2022.
The planes fired guided missiles at the landing ship Novocherkassk, which is moored at a base in the city of Feodosia, Russia’s Defence Ministry said. Video on Russian and Ukrainian social media showed an explosion in the port.
Ukrainian authorities claimed the ship was destroyed. They said it was likely carrying ammunition and possibly drones.
The 360-foot Novocherkassk can carry 10 tanks and 225 sailors. (Source: Defense News)
21 Dec 23. Budget standoff delays Army’s artillery-targeting upgrade. New system will replace spreadsheets and PowerPoint to generate options at “machine speed.” The U.S. Army is gearing up to replace a targeting process that depends on spreadsheets and PowerPoint decks with a smarter one that collates options automatically. But it can’t get started until Congress passes a 2024 budget.
“As soon as the continuing resolution is lifted, we already have a team ready,” said Lt. Col. Tim Godwin, product manager fire support, command and control at the Army’s Program Executive Office for Command, Control, and Communications-Tactical.
That team will build prototypes for the planned Joint Targeting Integrated Command and Coordination Suite, or JTIC2S, which, like hundreds of other new Pentagon programs, can’t get going under a continuing resolution. The Army is also updating the decades-old Advanced Field Artillery Tactical Data System, or AFATDS.
JTIC2S will replace today’s Joint Automated Deep Operations Coordination System, or JADOCS, which depends far more on humans’ clerical work. For example, if a commander spots an enemy tank battalion, it takes a lot of time and brain power to ascertain what types of tanks they are, what fires are available from services and partners, and who needs to be called to execute the mission. Targeting and intelligence officers currently map out things by hand through spreadsheets and PowerPoint presentations.
“Today, that’s a lot of humans in a loop,” Godwin said, on the sidelines of the service’s Technical Exchange Meeting here. “It’s a very time-consuming process that takes a lot of manual labor. JTIC2S is to automate that.”
JTIC2S is designed to process a massive amount of information and to understand, with commanders’ input, “the best targets to execute and who the best executors are so we can move at machine speed,” he said. “We’re only going to be limited by the amount of rounds we have.”
Godwin said his team has identified chunks of the old system that will be folded into its replacement.
“We have all the Lego pieces sitting there waiting on us once we can actually expend funds towards it,” he said.
The plan is to send a “minimally viable product” version of JTIC2S into the field to “start displacing systems,” and then to award a contract to a company who can deliver a better version, Godwin said.
A new contracting strategy
The Army is rethinking how it awards mission-control contracts with “big tent” contracts, said Col. Matt Paul, program manager for the portfolio.
“The government’s in the driver’s seat, where we’re going to look at best of breed on the contract,” Paul said. “Over the next 10 years, we’re going to be doing discrete tasks. And we’re going to ask vendors to team up and work together based on the nature of the work and the level of complexity.”
It’s a novel approach for the Army, he said, but one that is modeled after the Air Force’s Advanced Battle Management System—the service’s chunk of the Pentagon’s Joint All Domain Command and Control, or JADC2.
There are “principles of war, I have principles of modernization: agility, data centricity, and modularity are sort of my big three. And so I’m applying those principles to all of our modernization efforts moving forward,” Paul said.
But the key is getting industry on board.
“These systems have been around for a while. We have a lot of experience with them. We know what works. And sometimes we know what doesn’t work. But we want to work with industry on how we go about doing this. And we’re looking for some pretty novel concepts of how we do software development for both of these systems,” Godwin said.
Don’t forget about AFATDS
The Army is also updating the decades-old Advanced Field Artillery Tactical Data System, or AFATDS, which has three main jobs: fire support, so a maneuver commander can plan an attack; technical fire direction, or the math required to get a rocket or cannon to hit a target; and tactical fire direction.
The system works “very well,” but it could be better, Godwin said.
Having all of those functions in one system makes software updates difficult, virtually rebuilding the entire thing because of what is referred to as spaghetti code. For an engineer, that can be like opening a pantry that looks neat at first glance but upon inspection is hiding holes, wires, and just disorganized items.
“We have to touch so many different elements,” even those that are immaterial to the software update, Godwin said. “And it causes a very lengthy and pricey process to update” and test to make sure all of the elements work together.
The goal is to rebuild the system using microservices and specific apps that lets units “decide what capabilities they need in the system,” Godwin said.
(Source: Defense News Early Bird/Defense One)
26 Dec 23. Raytheon prototyping directed-energy zappers for US Air Force, Navy. The Air Force and the Navy have tapped Raytheon to design, build and test systems that fry electronic components with blasts of energy.
The company, a division of the rebranded RTX, plans to deliver prototypes for the Directed Energy Front-Line Electromagnetic Neutralization and Defeat program, or DEFEND, in fiscal 2024 and 2026.
Work on the high-power microwave antenna systems, as the company described them in an announcement earlier this month, is already underway in Tucson, Arizona. Its DEFEND contract is worth $31.3 m over three years.
“Non-kinetic defense systems are a key part of America’s national defense strategy,” Colin Whelan, president of advanced technology at Raytheon, said in a statement. “The new iterations of Raytheon’s high-power microwave systems are cost-effective and reliable solutions that operate at the speed of light — enabling our warfighters to defend against faster and more maneuverable threats.”
The Pentagon is spending an average $1 bn annually to develop directed-energy weapons, with the goal of deploying them aboard aircraft, warships and ground vehicles to bat down drones and missiles. High-power microwave equipment, specifically, works by unleashing waves of energy that overwhelm the internal circuitry of weapons, rendering them useless.
Raytheon said its prototypes will be rugged and transportable for front-line use against “airborne threats.”
The company previously worked on the Counter-Electronic High Power Microwave Extended Range Air Base Defense, known as CHIMERA, for the Air Force. Overseas, Raytheon UK announced earlier this year it would install another type of directed-energy weapon, a high-energy laser, onto a Wolfhound armored vehicle.
RTX is the second largest contractor in the world when ranked by defense revenue, according to Defense News Top 100 analysis. The company earned $39.6bn in 2022. (Source: Defense News)
24 Dec 23. The US and China are looking into big boxes full of missiles to give their navies new firepower.
- The war in Ukraine has militaries worried about keeping their arsenals full in a conflict.
- Navies are also thinking about how to increase the number of missiles aboard their ships.
- The US and China are looking into containers of missiles to put on warships and other vessels.
Call them prepackaged missiles or missiles-in-a-box, but containerized missile launchers, which can be fitted to most any commercial or military vessel, have the potential to revolutionize naval warfare.
The massive expenditure of munitions in Ukraine has underscored for many Western military leaders that huge arsenals will be needed to wage modern warfare. US Navy leaders in particular are worried about their ability to keep their ships’ magazines filled in a showdown with China’s rapidly expanding air and maritime forces.
Containerized launchers have appeal as a relatively easy way to arm a ship with more missiles and have resurrected interest in “Q-ships,” the warships disguised as merchant vessels that prowled the seas during World War I and II.
At the end of October, the US Navy test-fired a containerized SM-6 missile from USS Savannah, a littoral combat ship, in the Pacific Ocean. An SM-6 can be employed against aircraft, missiles, or ships, though the Navy said only that the missile was launched at “a surface target.”
However, the SM-6 was fired from a Mk 70 containerized launching system. Lockheed Martin has designed naval and ground variants of the launcher, which being used for the US Army’s Typhon system. The system aims to launch SM-6 and Tomahawk missiles — both of which have been tested from the launcher — at targets at ranges between 300 miles and 1,725 miles.
The launcher is being developed as part of the Army’s effort to improve its long-range weaponry and to support more distributed operations, a reflection of the US military-wide emphasis on dispersing to counter the long-range weapons of potential foes. The October test “demonstrated the modularity and lethality of Littoral Combat Ships and the ability to successfully integrate a containerized weapons system to engage a surface target,” the Navy said.
There have been reports that China is developing a variant of its YJ-18 cruise missile that could be fired from shipping containers carried by commercial vessels. Late last year, the China Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation, a state-owned firm that produces missiles and other weapons, unveiled “a container-type sea defense combat system” that could be mounted on heavy trucks to become mobile coastal-defense weapons.
Containerized launchers are a versatile solution to a problem that has long plagued navies: supply.
A World War II-era battleship might carry a thousand shells for its nine big guns, but US Navy frigate in the middle of the Cold War might be armed with four missile launchers and less than 100 missiles that had to be loaded from magazines, which meant a slow rate of fire and a limited supply of ammunition. (Many Soviet warships didn’t even bother to carry spare missile reloads.)
Modern vertical-launch systems — consisting of multiple launch tubes — can rapidly fire a variety of missiles, but they require cranes to lower more missiles into the tubes.
Containerized missile launchers are a more user-friendly approach. For example, Danish company SH Defense touts its launcher as a “plug-and-play” system that is installed in a standard 20-foot cargo container, the lid of which is raised to reveal a quadruple launcher.
In theory, a ship could expend a container’s missiles and then simply haul up and unpack another container that was stored on or below deck. This could vastly increase the number of missiles a ship can carry.
It also raises the possibility of a modern version of the Q-ships used during the World Wars. If missiles can be stored in standard cargo containers, then a standard cargo ship should be able to fire them. In that scenario, no one can be certain that a harmless-looking merchant ship isn’t really a missile boat. Indeed, Russia has been advertising its Club-K containerized anti-ship missile system as a weapon that can be mounted on cargo vessels.
For the Royal Navy, which is short on warships and missile launchers, an updated Q-ship could be a cost-effective way to add firepower, according to Peter Clarke of the Royal United Services Institute, a British think tank.
“Fully outfitting a medium-sized cargo ship would cost between $420 to $840 m, and would allow it to carry roughly 168 missiles capable of being launched,” Clarke wrote in September.
“A ship of this size would cost roughly $25m and no modifications would be required, since the missiles can receive target information” from other assets, Clarke added. “The total cost of the platform would therefore be no more than $900 m, and most likely far less.”
Nonetheless, containerized missiles aren’t a panacea for a lack of traditional warships. Even with networked sensors that can send targeting information across the globe, a Q-ship may be limited in its ability to detect targets for long-range missiles. Cargo ships also have limited speed and maneuverability, and modern Q-ships would still need a minimum of defensive gear such as electronic countermeasures or air-defense weapons.
If a ship packs a lot of missiles but has little capacity to defend itself, the navies using them may be tempted to launch first, and if cargo ships can become floating missile batteries, then every merchant vessel becomes suspect — an ominous prospect at a time when trade disruptions can ripple around the world.
(Source: News Now/https://uk.news.yahoo.com/us-china-looking-big-boxes-133701007.html)
21 Dec 23. Leidos delivers first set of Enduring Shield launchers. Leidos, a Fortune® 500 science and technology innovator, announced today the delivery of the first Enduring Shield launchers. The Enduring Shield program supports the U.S. Army’s Indirect Fire Protection Capability Increment 2 (IFPC Inc 2) program, which is a critical part of the Department of Defense’s layered defense strategy.
Leidos celebrated the event with Huntsville-based employees via a large gathering at its Chase facility. Speeches were given by Larry Barisciano, Leidos Weapon Systems Operations Manager; Brig. Gen. Frank Lozano, Program Executive Officer (PEO) Missiles and Space; Alex Burns, Leidos Division Manager over the Enduring Shield program; Col. Andrew Lunoff, Program Manager for the Army’s Short and Intermediate Effectors for Layered Defense (SHIELD). Afterwards, employees and esteemed visitors were invited to view all prototype units on the manufacturing floor while enjoying light refreshments.
“We know how vital Enduring Shield is to our Army customer, our warfighters and our nation,” Barisciano said. “Delivering these units today means so much to our team. We are proud to have reached this point and are excited for the testing and fielding milestones to come.”
“This milestone by the Enduring Shield team is a prime example of how Leidos Dynetics is working to build critical weapons systems for our warfighters right here in North Alabama. I’m incredibly proud of this accomplishment by the team and look forward to our continued work with the U.S. Army on this important program,” Cook said.
Enduring Shield is a ground-based, mobile system that aims to combat cruise missiles and unmanned aircraft systems. The system is a key part of the solution to protect and defend critical civilian and military infrastructure. It also bridges the gap between tactical short range air defense and strategic systems. Enduring Shield is able to integrate with the Integrated Air and Missile Defense Battle Command System (IBCS), which was successfully demonstrated in summer 2023. All units being provided by Leidos are fieldable prototypes, which means if the need arises, the systems can be deployed.
Leidos’ Dynetics team was selected as the primary contractor to develop the Enduring Shield system as part of the Army’s IFPC Inc 2 program in September 2021. The original delivery date for the launchers was scheduled for March 2023, but supply chain issues and technical challenges led to a delay in physical delivery. However, Leidos and the Army worked closely together to integrate and test different facets of the program to mitigate any potential negative impacts to the system production and fielding target timelines.
The Army will begin its Developmental Test program in 2024 for the prototype launchers as part of the next phase for the Department of Defense’s layered defense strategy. Leidos is making preparations at its Chase facility for the next order of launchers, which is expected in 2025. (Source: PR Newswire)
20 Dec 23. Lockheed Martin preps souped-up HIMARS demo for Germany. Lockheed Martin is gearing up to host a 2024 demonstration in Germany to showcase a version of its High Mobility Artillery Rocket System, or HIMARS, with improved firepower, according to Lockheed executives.
The American aerospace giant has partnered with Rheinmetall to offer the GMARS weapon – with the G denoting Germany – as a replacement for the German armed forces’ MARS 2 multiple launch rocket systems. The government has donated a handful of the aging launchers to Ukraine to support that country’s defense against Russia.
“We are probably somewhere around 12 months out from a demo in Germany, although I can’t further define what it will consist of,” Tom H. Stanton, director of international business development for tactical missiles and fire control at Lockheed Martin told Defense News in an interview on Dec 13.
Although an official tender for the Bundeswehr program has yet to be released, Lockheed officials hope to capture the business with the promise of increased firepower, doubling the number of munitions of various types that can be loaded at one.
“The Germans are interested in what we call a double load-out capability on the GMARS – it allows for two pods of munitions,” Howard Bromberg, a vice president for strategy and business development, explained. “This allows the launcher to carry two Army Tactical Missile Systems (ATACMS), 12 Guided Multiple Launch Rocket Systems (GMLRS) or Extended-Range GMLRS, or four Precision Strike Missiles (PrSMs) between the two pods.”
One likely Lockheed-Rheinmetall competitor for the German program is a European version of the PULS artillery piece from Israel’s Elbit Systems, marketed here with the German-Franco KNDS joint venture that combines Krauss-Maffei Wegmann and Nexter. The Netherlands, which cooperates closely with neighboring Germany on ground forces development, ordered 20 of the PULS systems in May.
Rocket artillery has seen resurgence in the course of the Ukraine war, with high-profile strikes against Russian invaders’ positions lending HIMARS an almost legendary reputation. A number of European nations recently requested or have already bought the equipment – Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia and Poland among them.
Italy is the latest country to have received U.S. approval for the purchase of the M142 HIMARS launchers, bringing the total number of known current and future operators on the continent to seven, including Ukraine and Romania.
“We are in active dialogue with 20-plus European countries, including current and newer users, regarding our launcher solutions ,” Bromberg said.
The vendor has seen user nations request greater accuracy of the weapons, which is partly an economical consideration.
“Based on the demand for munitions like GMLRS and ATACMS, customers are looking for a high level of precision – to address the threat precisely where it is and with fewer missiles fired,” Bromberg added.
This has also involved extending the range of newer munitions, he said, pointing to the next-generation PrSM, which required motor technology and aerodynamic improvements as well as lower missile mass to strike farther.
“With our U.S. government partner, we are also developing PrSM Increment 2 with moving target capability,” Bromberg said. The range of the PrSM currently exceeds 499 kilometers (310 miles), per the company’s website.
(Source: Defense News Early Bird/Defense News)
20 Dec 23. US missile defense proposal stirs debate in Palau. A proposal for permanent deployment of U.S. Patriot missile defense batteries in Palau in response to China’s expanding reach in the Pacific has come under fire as the nation’s politicians debate the move ahead of elections next year.
The United States has begun work on an over-the-horizon radar system in Palau and the island nation’s president, Surangel Whipps, says he has asked Washington to install the missile shield given fears that hosting the radar could endanger the archipelago’s 18,000 residents.
However, in late November, the Senate in Palau, where the population is sensitive to the islands’ history as a bloody battleground in World War Two, passed a resolution rejecting the deployment. The lower house of parliament has yet to consider the issue.
The Senate vote came after Whipps announced in September that the U.S. and Palau were discussing permanent deployment of Patriots, as hosting the radar system made his nation of 340 islands halfway between the Philippines and Guam a potential target in any conflict.
Patriots will also help protect the new radar system, which is expected to be operational in 2026 to boost U.S. capabilities as China expands its military operations in the Pacific.
The U.S. has already temporarily deployed Patriot systems in Palau and test-fired them during exercises.
A Pentagon spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
In a statement to Reuters, Whipps’ office said it hoped Palau Senate members “understand that in these tumultuous times it is good to have a defense system for Palau and her people that can respond immediately to a threat.”
Under the terms of long-standing agreements, the United States is responsible for the defense of Palau, Micronesia and the Marshall Islands and provides economic assistance, while gaining exclusive military access to strategic swathes of the Pacific.
In October, BenarNews, an affiliate of Radio Free Asia, quoted Hokkons Baules, the president of Palau’s Senate, as saying that U.S. interests rather than Palau’s were served by a military buildup in the country.
In a statement to Reuters, Baules said that Palau should not be asking for the permanent basing of weapons.
“Permanent basing of purely military weapons in the Republic of Palau is not consistent with our nation’s history as an independent country, and not consistent with any current threats to Palau’s sovereignty or security,” Baules said.
CHINESE INTERFERENCE?
Such opposition has brought suggestions of Chinese interference.
Whipps told Washington’s Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD) think tank in July that China was actively wooing politicians in Palau and described the speaker of the House and president of the Senate as “very supportive of China.”
Baules, who failed to win Senate support in 2017 for a resolution to establish trade ties with China, told Reuters the missile resolution was “not about China.”
He said he had “consistently supported building economic ties with all nations, including China.”
Chinese Embassy spokesperson Liu Pengyu in Washington, in response to a Reuters request for comment, said “China believes that relevant parties need to contribute to the peace, development and stability in the Pacific island countries.”
Cleo Paskal, an expert on the Pacific islands at FDD, said the issue of missile deployment was highly charged given elections due to be held in Palau in the latter half of 2024. She said the U.S. case was not helped by the failure so far by the U.S. Congress to approve new 20-year funding programs for Palau, Micronesia and the Marshall Islands, due to budget squabbling between Republicans and Democrats in Washington. The delay in congressional approval has created a particular funding crunch for Palau. “For those that are pushing ‘the U.S. is making us a target of a military target and isn’t helping with our schools or health care system,’ this plays right into that argument,” Paskal said. (Source: Reuters)
20 Dec 23. US Army to field new rifle, machine gun and optic in 2024.
The US Army’s newest rifle and automatic rifle are already in the hands of soldiers for testing and will officially field to its first unit in 2024.
The service delivered the Next Generation Squad Weapon rifle and automatic rifle, known as the XM7 and XM250, respectively, along with its advanced optic, the XM157 fire control, to a platoon in the 101st Airborne Division at Fort Campbell, Kentucky in late September.
That platoon, along with a squad from the 75th Ranger Regiment, conducted user tests over the subsequent months as the Army ramped up for full fielding to a not yet identified unit in the 101st by the second quarter of fiscal year 2024, officials told Army Times.
The XM7 will replace the M4 for close combat units such as infantry, scouts, combat engineers and special operations forces. The XM250 will replace the M249 Squad Automatic Weapon for the same units.
The weapons and optics will drop the “X” in their names once fielded.
The Next Generation Squad Weapon-Automatic Rifle. (Army)
Non-close combat forces will continue to carry the M4 and M249 for the foreseeable future.
The legacy M4 and M249 fire the 5.56mm round while the XM7 and XM250 fire the recently developed 6.8mm cartridge.
The Army began development of the “intermediate caliber” to better defeat enemy body armor and increase both accuracy and lethality at longer ranges. That effort began in earnest following the 2017 Small Arms Ammunition Configuration Study, which identified firepower and range gaps in small arms across the Army.
The Marine Corps has actively participated in multiple testing and evaluation sessions with the Army, provided feedback and is “monitoring” the Army’s development and fielding of the weapons systems.
The heavier round provides better penetration and outperforms the 7.62mm round used in the M240 machine gun system, typically found at the platoon level.
The increased energy of the round also allows shooters to penetrate barriers that deflected 5.56mm rounds, as demonstrated in a live fire during which an Army Times reporter participated in September at Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland.
The Army’s Next Generation Squad Weapon-Automatic Rifle or XM250, will replace the M249 SAW for close combat forces. (Sig Sauer)
Multiple XM250 6.8mm rounds drilled holes through cinder blocks and struck a human silhouette target while only a single 5.56mm round managed to damage, but not fully pass through the cinder blocks.
“That’s turning cover into concealment,” Lt. Col. Micah Rue, product manager for soldier weapons at Program Executive Office-Soldier, said at the time.
The current 10-year contract for the Sig Sauer weapons, builder of both systems, has a ceiling value of $4.5bn, and the Vortex Optics/Sheltered Wings XM157 fire control cost ceiling is set at $2.7bn.
The Next Generation Squad Weapon-Fire Control will be built by the Vortex Optics/Sheltered Wing partnership. The companies are scheduled to produce as many as 250,000 optics over the next 10 years. (Vortex)
The fire control allows for computer-aided ballistics, matching the round and weapon with the optic for better accuracy. The shooter can aim at the target, push a button on the weapon or optic and it will automatically adjust for distance and bullet drop, allowing the user to adjust fire rapidly.
The fire control has preprogrammed ballistics information and can be fit to nearly any small arms weapon system in the Army’s inventory. (Source: Defense News)
20 Dec 23. Indian Air Force inducts SAMAR air-defence system. The Indian Air Force (IAF) has inducted the Surface to Air Missile for Assured Retaliation (SAMAR) system, an IAF source told Janes on 20 December. According to the source, the service also test-fired the system in mid-December at Air Force Station Suryalanka located in the southern coastal region of India. The source did not elaborate on the number of systems the service has inducted. However, another IAF official told Janes in February that the first batch will include five SAMAR units. SAMAR is a short-range air-defence system jointly developed by the IAF’s 7 Base Repair Depot (BRD) and 11 BRD in association with Indian private-sector companies Simran Flowtech Industries and Yamazuki Denki. The system provides air defence against low-flying aerial targets with a maximum striking range of 12 km. SAMAR employs the IAF’s shelf-life-expired Russian Vympel R-73E infrared‐guided air-to-air missiles (AAMs). The AAMs are refurbished and upgraded to perform surface-to-air roles and the missiles can be launched in both single and salvo mode. (Source: Google/Janes)
20 Dec 23. Enduring Shield completes tests for US missile defence. Leidos completed US Army tests on the Enduring Shield multi-launch missile defence system designed to counter cruise missiles and UAS.
Leidos announced on 19 December 2023, the completion of the Risk Reduction Flight Demonstration (RRFD) for its Enduring Shield Weapon System.
Following the successful completion the system is progressing to the next stage of its development, including an initial shipment of launchers as part of the Department of Defence’s multi-layered defence strategy.
The Enduring Shield system is a ground-based, mobile defence system designed to counter cruise missiles and unmanned aircraft systems and safeguard key civilian and military infrastructure. The system also serves as a link between tactical short-range air defence systems and strategic defence mechanisms, such as the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) and Patriot forces.
Leidos subsidiary Dynetics received a contract for $237m in September 2021 to manufacture the Enduring Shield mobile ground-based weapon system, beating out competition from Rafael’s Iron Dome during US Army testing according to a Congressional Research Service report. The 2.5-year contract was awarded for the Enduring Indirect Fires Protection Capability (IFPC) by the US Army Program Executive Office Missiles and Space, to provide 16 field-able launcher prototypes, 60 interceptors and related all-up round magazines (AUR-M).
The RRFD was conducted to demonstrate the capability of the Enduring Shield system to launch an AIM-9X interceptor missile from a simulated Integrated Battle Command System (IBCS) interface. This test successfully validated the system’s full launch process, from initiating the interceptor to targeting a specified location. The integration of Enduring Shield with the IBCS was successfully demonstrated earlier in the summer of 2023.
Following the successful completion of the RRFD, the Enduring Shield system is progressing to the next stage of its development. This includes the initial shipment of launchers as part of the Department of Defence’s multi-layered defence strategy.
The US Army IFPC Inc 2 program is scheduled to start its developmental test in January 2024, with an operational assessment planned later in the year. The data obtained from the RRFD and the tests in 2024 will be utilised to enhance the next batch of launchers produced by Leidos.
Larry Barisciano, Weapon Systems Operations Manager for the Leidos Dynetics team, commended the development, and emphasised the readiness of the prototypes for government testing, expressing confidence in the project’s next phase in collaboration with the US Army. (Source: army-technology.com)
20 Dec 23. Rheinmetall awarded development contract for Skyranger variant of Lynx in Hungary. The Düsseldorf-based tech enterprise Rheinmetall has scored a significant success in marketing its new Skyranger 30 air defence system as part of the European Sky Shield Initiative: Hungary, a NATO and EU member nation, has awarded Rhein¬metall a contract for the conceptual development of the Skyranger 30 turret for the future Lynx KF41 Mobile Air Defence Vehicle. The contract has been signed on 15th December 2023 in Budapest.
For Rheinmetall, the development contract is worth close to €30 m. The customisation development of the Skyranger 30 turret for the Lynx tracked armoured vehicle and the integration of additional effectors responds to Hungary’s need to address the current threat situation, adding a new member to the Lynx family in the process.
The order highlights the Group’s role as the global leader in short-range air defence – an innovative force driving the ongoing development of cutting-edge air defence systems. Rheinmetall’s Skyranger 30 is the ideal solution for contemporary scenarios that involve countering drone attacks and other aerial threats.
The Lynx Skyranger 30 will be a pathbreaking air defence system based on the tried- and-tested Lynx infantry fighting vehicle. Integrating the state-of-the-art Skyranger air defence system results in an even more effective and versatile air defence capability. The system offers an optimum combination of mobility, survivability, flexibility and precision, capable of thwarting highly challenging new threats in the short- and very-short domain. A hybrid solution, its turret combines a high- performance 30mm automatic cannon, surface-to-air missiles and the accompanying sensor suite, all on a single platform. Moreover, the system is compatible with a variety of modern guided missiles, such as the Mistral, Stinger and Chiron.
Armin Papperger, chairman of the Group’s executive board, points out that “with the Skyranger 30, Rheinmetall is making an important contribution to the security of our customers and their ability to defend themselves. We’re committed to offering solutions that will remain more than a match for steadily evolving threats. In this development contract, we’ll be setting the standard yet again in the world of air defence technology. The Lynx Skyranger 30 is a top performer, capable of countering a vast variety of threats including ballistic missiles and unmanned aircraft. We’re proud to be able to offer our customers worldwide an advanced solution that meets their security needs so superbly.”
A highly qualified team of Rheinmetall engineers and expert technicians from different Rheinmetall entities will carry out the development of the Lynx Skyranger 30. The Group has longstanding experience in developing and integrating air defence systems and is determined to widen still further its lead in this area. The development contract also means an increase in capabilities for Rheinmetall’s subsidiaries in Hungary.
This development project forms part of the European Sky Shield Initiative, or ESSI, which seeks to significantly Europe’s air defence capabilities in the next few years. The ESSI aims to protect Europe’s NATO member states more effectively against aerial attack. To achieve this quickly, ESSI member nations plan to jointly procure, deploy and maintain the relevant hardware, including radar systems, automatic cannon and surface-to-air guided missiles.
The Bundeswehr is eager to restore the German Army’s organic air defence capability. Procurement of around twenty Skyranger 30 systems is currently under consideration, to be mounted in this case on the Boxer 8×8 wheeled armoured vehicle.
Earlier, Denmark had already announced its intention of buying around fifteen Skyranger 30 systems, to be integrated into a different 8×8 wheeled armoured vehicle.
19 Dec 23. Japan accelerates Type 12 deployment. The Japan Ministry of Defense (MoD) has accelerated the deployment of the upgraded Type 12 surface-to-ship missile (SSM) by a year, the MoD said in a press release in mid-December.
According to the MoD, the missile’s deployment – originally scheduled in 2026 – has been accelerated to 2025 to strengthen stand-off defence capabilities.
With the early deployment of Type 12, Japan aims to strengthen its counter-strike missile capabilities as part of its National Defense Strategy (NDS) to address rising military threats posed by China, North Korea, and Russia.
In April the MoD signed a contract with Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) to develop and mass-produce upgraded Type 12 SSMs. (Source: Janes)
19 Dec 23. The Aegis Ashore Missile Defense System in Naval Support Facility Redizkowo, Poland, Transfers Ownership from Missile Defense Agency to the U.S. Navy. The Aegis Ashore Missile Defense System (AAMDS) located in Redzikowo, Poland, will be accepted by the U.S. Navy on Dec. 15, 2023, where AAMDS will enter a planned maintenance period to upgrade the network and computer systems. Once finalized, AAMDS Poland will be a fully integrated and tested element of the U.S. Ballistic Missile Defense System, and made ready to operate under NATO command and control. The official transfer to NATO is scheduled to occur spring to summer of 2024.
The acceptance of the Aegis Ashore site in Poland, like its sister site in Romania, is an important step in our efforts to get AAMDS ready to protect against the growing threat posed by ballistic missiles launched from Iran. The addition of this site in Poland will help provide enhanced coverage and expand protection for all NATO European populations, territories and forces against potential threats to the Euro-Atlantic area.
The Aegis Ashore is defensive in nature and designed to shoot down threats posed to U.S. forward deployed forces, or the security of our European allies. The defensive focus of Aegis Ashore is confirmed in the U.S. commitments to NATO and standing NATO policy.
Aegis Ashore in NSF Redzikowo is a critical part of the European Phased Adaptive Approach (EPAA). EPAA protects European Allies and partners against ballistic missile threats emanating from outside the Euro-Atlantic area. EPAA integrates the missile defense systems of forward deployed U.S. Navy destroyers in Rota, Spain with the Aegis capabilities at NSF Deveselu, Romania and, once fully operational, AAMDS Poland at NSF Redzikowo to provide comprehensive ballistic missile defense across Europe.
NSF Redzikowo is a tangible demonstration of the U.S. commitment to collective security in Europe. Poland is a vital ally, partner, and friend of the United States. Our alliance is based on shared values, including democratic governance, free markets, and individual liberty. Security is a fundamental pillar of the U.S.-Poland bilateral relationship.
For over 80 years, U.S. Naval Forces Europe-U.S. Naval Forces Africa (NAVEUR-NAVAF) has forged strategic relationships with our Allies and Partners, leveraging a foundation of shared values to preserve security and stability.
Headquartered in Naples, Italy, NAVEUR-NAVAF operates U.S. naval forces in the U.S. European Command (USEUCOM) and USAFRICOM areas of responsibility. U.S. Sixth Fleet is permanently assigned to NAVEUR-NAVAF, and employs maritime forces through the full spectrum of joint and naval operations. (Source: https://www.defense-aerospace.com/USN)
19 Dec 23. Spike Missile Integrated into Apache Helicopter at Yuma Proving Ground. A primary responsibility of U.S. Army Yuma Proving Ground is to support developmental testing to improve existing weapons systems, even on platforms considered the most lethal of their kind.
A recent example of this is testing in support of an airworthiness release that will allow the Spike non-line of [sight] missile to be integrated into the AH-64 Apache attack helicopter.
Always identified with state-of-the-art sensors and precision guidance systems, as well as lethal air-to-surface missiles like the Hellfire, the Apache will now boast a precision weapon with more than four times the range of the iconic missile.
“Our plan is to field next summer,” said Maj. Brian Haley, assistant product manager for Program Manager Apache. “We are going rapidly from this culminating test event to fielding. It is an awesome capability that I think will be a game-changer.”
Over the course of five days in December 2023, testers fired eight full-up rounds in a variety of test scenarios at the proving ground: day and night shots, against both moving and static targets such as a mock SA-22 and a Dodge Dakota truck, at different distances, from hovers close up to more than 30 kilometers away.
In more than one fire, the Apache dropped down in altitude and even turned 180 degrees as the missile sped toward its target to intentionally lose link with the round to verify it would still hit the target on its automatic track: the link was reestablished before impact in one test and intentionally not reestablished in another.
The Spike missile is also able to disable the warhead mid-flight, and one test verified this, hitting a target board like a slug. The test included acoustic sensors to gather sound data on its impact.
“The flight restriction algorithm on the Spike is pretty robust,” said Cole Sutter, YPG test officer. “It has an intended and expected flight area, and when it leaves that expected flight area it induces a roll to land within the surface danger zone.”
Aviation testers appreciate YPG’s vast ranges and variety of realistic targets as they put the weapon through its paces in a variety of situations and altitudes. YPG’s natural desert environment also contributes significantly to the realism of the testing. The Spike had three successful test shots in January 2023 for integration qualification and had been demonstrated at the proving ground in 2019 and during Project Convergence 2021.
“We’ve had a relationship with Yuma for four years now,” said Haley. “It has the range space, the facilities, and frequency management requirements that are specific to us. Other ranges have different resource challenges that we don’t have here.”
Information gathered during the test will not only validate fielding the weapon, but also contribute new insights into reconfiguring existing pods on the Apache to accommodate more missiles, as well as in training combat pilots on how to use the Spike for maximum effect. (Source: https://www.defense-aerospace.com/ US Army)
15 Dec 23. GE Aerospace claims breakthrough with its hypersonic ramjet propulsion. Using its rotating detonation-enabled ramjet, hypersonic systems can operate at speeds lower than Mach 3: the limit at which hypersonics currently operate.
General Electric Aerospace (GEA) announced that it has successfully tested its hypersonic ramjet that uses a rotating detonation combustion (RDC) at its research centre in Niskayuna, New York according to a company statement on 14 December, 2023.
It is believed that “this could help enable high-speed, long-range flight with increased efficiency” due to the ramjet’s improved propulsion.
A typical air-breathing ramjet propulsion system can only begin operating when the vehicle achieves supersonic speeds greater than Mach 3, or three times the speed of sound. GEA engineers are working on an RDC-enabled ramjet that can operate at lower Mach numbers, enabling a flight vehicle to operate more efficiently and achieve longer range.
Hypersonic refers to aerial objects—including aircraft, missiles, rockets, and spacecraft—that can reach speeds through the atmosphere greater than Mach 5, which is nearly 4,000 miles per hour (6437 km/h).
Using the right materials
Amy Gowder, president and CEO of GEA Defense & Systems, stated: “The highly successful demonstration of the [ramjet] with RDC is an outgrowth of our 10+ years of RDC work.”
The successful high-speed propulsion demonstration is part of a larger portfolio of technology programmes that GEA is developing and scaling to advance hypersonics, including high-temperature materials and high-temperature electronics.
As hypersonic objects travel faster, technical challenges such as atmospheric heating increase exponentially, a paradigm that has historically limited designers. Hypersonic missiles or vehicles will reach speeds of up to Mach 20, causing extreme atmospheric friction which can result in component surface temperatures upwards of 9400°C, thus necessitating the use of ultra-high temperature (UHT) materials to mitigate the risk of thermal damage.
GEA focuses on key advanced materials such as high-temperature ceramic matrix composites, silicon carbride power electronics, additive technologies and advanced thermal management.
The hypersonic scene today
According to a GlobalData thematic intelligence report on Hypersonics (2023), the US, Russia, and China are all testing hypersonic technology, generating fears of escalating global competition for weaponry that has the potential to render current defenses inadequate.
Russia’s use of hypersonic missiles in Ukraine has been confirmed, representing the first combat use of these weapons, and Ukraine has claimed the first successful interception of hypersonic missiles
Although, claims that the Russian Kinzhal missile is a hypersonic weapon is a misconception. During an international press event at MBDA Germany’s Schrobenhausen facility in late October, Dr Dirk Zimper, Director of Future Systems, argued that “a hypersonic weapon system must also be able to manoeuvre” in flight, which Kinzhal cannot achieve. (Source: airforce-technology.com)
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About Galvion:
Galvion designs, develops, and delivers mission critical head, face, and torso protective solutions as well as intelligent power and data management systems for the world’s most demanding military and tactical teams. Founded in 2002 as Revision Military, a foundational belief in calculated investment and capability expansion led to a strategic refocus, resulting in the divestiture of the protective eyewear business, along with the Revision name, in 2019. Rebranded as Galvion, the company’s products and technology continue to evolve beyond purely passive protection, focusing instead on active systems that enhance performance and survivability, with an eye to the ever-changing demands of the modern battlefield. Through advanced design, keen end-user insight and intelligent integration, Galvion engineers uniquely customized solutions that go beyond what was once thought possible.
Privately owned with ISO 9001:2015 certified facilities in Vermont, Massachusetts and New Hampshire in the US, Montreal in Canada and Bristol in the UK, Galvion’s team of 400+ employees work proactively to solve the problems left unsolved by others.
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