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08 Feb 24. RoK to mass produce extended-range projectiles for K9 howitzers. South Korean metal and munition manufacturer Poongsan will initiate the mass production of the extended-range 155 mm artillery shells for the Hanwha Land Systems K9 Thunder self-propelled howitzers (SPHs) in 2024, a Poongsan official told Janes on 8 February.
Development and trials of the extended-range 155 mm shells were completed in 2023 and the company received a combat suitability certificate from the Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) in July 2023, the official said.
The combat suitability certificate is required to initiate the mass production of any platform, equipment, or weapon in the South Korean defence procurement process.
DAPA ordered 2,000 extended-range 155 mm shells in 2023, which will be produced and delivered by the end of 2024, the official added.
“DAPA will also sign another contract with Poongsan later this year to procure additional shells and these additional shells will be manufactured in 2025,” the official said. (Source: Janes)
07 Feb 24. Lawsuit investigates defective Combat Arms Earplugs in Australian Defence Force. A class action is being investigated to compensate Australian Defence Force personnel who suffered hearing loss while using allegedly defective Combat Arms Earplugs.
The investigation will seek to determine if Aearo Technologies, owned by American multinational 3M, manufactured and supplied defective Combat Arms Earplugs (CAE) to ADF personnel who served from 2003, according to Brisbane-headquartered personal injury law firm Shine Lawyers.
The ADF was supplied with CAE ear protection between 2003 and 2015 to prevent hearing loss and tinnitus in active military personnel. The double-sided CAE, which used an all-block side and a high-pitch blocking only “whisper mode” side, were designed to protect the inner ear of military personnel from noise associated with military training and combat, while also eliminating the need to carry two different sets of earplugs.
3M bought Aearo Technologies in 2008 and took over the original military contract.
“It is alleged that the CAE failed to form a proper seal when inserted, meaning they did not protect the user’s ear from the excessive noise that would occur when using combat equipment, industrial equipment, or when working with heavy machinery,” a statement from Shine Lawyers said.
“This may have led to total or partial hearing loss, tinnitus, vestibular disturbance and other forms of ear damage.”
The Australian law firm further alleges personnel may have suffered common injuries including tinnitus (constant ringing in the ears), general hearing damage or pain requiring medical treatment, diagnosed total hearing loss, loss of balance, vertigo, postural instability or blurred vision associated with using the defective Combat Arms Earplugs.
The company has called for former ADF personnel with an interest in the class action to contact or call 1800 325 172. (Source: Defence Connect)
06 Feb 24. US Army hunts for explosives to meet increased munitions output goals. As the U.S. Army seeks to drastically ramp up its 155mm munitions production to 100,000 a month by the end of 2025, the biggest concern for the service’s acquisition chief is being able to secure enough explosives to fill them.
“You have to produce enough explosives – either IMX-104 or TNT – to fill that many shells that fast and that production capacity does not exist in the United States by itself,” Doug Bush said during a Feb. 5 Center for Strategic and International Studies event in Washington. “We’re having to go overseas to allies. Luckily, we have many, [that are] highly capable.”
Prior to the war in Ukraine, the U.S. could build about 14,400 of the artillery shells per month. But as Ukrainian forces burn through the ammunition for howitzers sent to the country, the U.S. has taken a wide variety of steps to increase the speed and capacity of 155mm munitions production.
Bush said at CSIS that each 155mm shell contains 22 pounds of explosives. If the U.S. ramps up to 100,000 munitions a month, it would need to produce 26.4m pounds of explosives, also known as “energetics,” per year to keep up.
The Army awarded $1.5bn in contracts to nine companies in the fall of 2023 to companies in the U.S., Canada, India and Poland to boost global production of 155mm artillery rounds. The contracts included procuring 14.2m pounds of bulk energetics, consisting of TNT and IMX-104 explosive.
Increasing production is also riding on Congress approving a pending supplemental budget request which aims to support Ukraine and Israel. The supplemental includes $600m that would triple the amount of IMX-104 explosive that is made at Holsten Army Ammunition Plant in Tennessee. The plant produces roughly five million pounds a year with a plan to increase to 13m.
Another $93m would upgrade facilities to reestablish M6 propellant production at Radford Army Ammunition Plant in southwest Virginia. That propellant is used to shoot the shells, but is no longer in production in the U.S.
An additional $14m would cover the construction and recommissioning of a black powder – an explosive combination of sulphur, carbon and potassium nitrate – production line with a company called Goex in Minden, Louisiana.
Taking on TNT
The Army would also use $650m to design and construct a domestic TNT production facility, which will likely be at Radford Army Ammunition Plant, Bush has said previously.
Currently there is no TNT production in the U.S. and the supplies come from allies such as Australia and India.
Poland is a major supplier, but with every country ramping up production to support Ukraine and meet their own demands, Bush noted late last year, the U.S. will need to onshore TNT production.
The Army issued a request for information in the fall of 2023 on Sam.gov for the design, construction and commissioning of a facility capable of producing five m pounds of TNT per year. Responses from industry are due Feb. 17. The service is aiming to complete construction and open the facility no later than 48 months after awarding a contract. The RFI notes that the government is assessing multiple sites for the facility.
(Source: Defense News)
05 Feb 24. Saudi companies to make parts for Lockheed’s THAAD defence system. U.S. weapons maker Lockheed Martin (LMT.N), opens new tab has signed agreements for Saudi Arabian companies to manufacture parts of its Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system, the company said on Monday. These sub-contracts will enhance manufacturing capabilities in Saudi Arabia and transfer expertise to strengthen the country’s defence industry, Lockheed said in a statement.
State-owned Saudi Arabian Military Industries (SAMI) signed 11 agreements at the Saudi defence show in Riyadh, according to the country’s state news agency.
The contracts come at time of rising tension in the region as some shipping companies suspended transit along the busy Red Sea route to avoid being attacked by Yemen’s Iranian-backed Houthi group.
The Houthis have launched waves of exploding drones and missiles at vessels since November in response to Israel’s military operations in Gaza.
The Biden administration has maintained backing for the Saudis to receive a Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system first approved in 2017 to counter ballistic missile threats.
The prime partners of Lockheed Martin’s deal that will receive sub-contracts include Middle East Propulsion Company (MEPC) and Arabian International Company (AIC) for Steel, the firm added in statement.
In a separate deal, Boeing Saudi Arabia (BA.N), opens new tab and Bahri Logistics, a unit of the country’s national shipping company, signed a strategic MoU that envisages boosting supply chain activities in the country and enhancing Bahri’s support for services and defence-related products. (Source: Google/Reuters)
02 Feb 24. France, Italy and UK upgrade air defence under OCCAR. OCCAR’s updates the FSAF-PAAMS air defence programme, this will see France and Italy to procure SAMP/T NG systems and the UK upgrade its Aster missiles.
Joachim Sucker, director of the executive administration of OCCAR – the French abbreviation for the Organisation for Joint Armament Co-operation – and Anne Diaz De Tuesta, the managing director of Eurosam – a defence industrial joint venture between MBDA and Thales – signed a new European air defence contract amendment.
Signed in Paris, France on 30 January 2024, this amendment is the 14th update to the FSAF-PAAMS agreement. This programme was originally founded in October 1988 as a Franco-Italian venture in the development of anti-air missiles.
Since then the programme has reached a stage of serving as a sustainment and enhancement (S&E) contract. Principal Anti-Air Missile Systems (PAAMS) are new weapon systems based on common elements developed in the frame of the original FSAF programme.
OCCAR now manages the munition procurement programme for land and maritime systems on behalf of the participating states to achieve greater, cost effective economies of scale.
France, Italy and UK to upgrade Aster systems
The 14th amendment now stipulates several offerings to the air defence portfolios of France, Italy and the UK.
Firstly, the industrial supplier, Eurosam, will produce Aster 30 B1 and Aster 30 B1NT surface-to-air missiles for land and maritime air defence for the Italian armed forces.
This effort comes under an existing contract in which OCCAR ensures the supply of Aster missiles to France and Italy.
Secondly, the amendment will begin production of Aster SAMP/T NG land-based air defence system sections.
Eurosam will produce “four SAMP/T NG sections for the Italian Army, and supplementary activities for France with the aim to secure the future launch of the full serial production of SAMP/T NG sections for the French Air Force.”
Lastly, this contractual change includes the supplementary procurement of additional equipment for the UK to bring about mid-life upgrades to its Aster missile production.
The MLU Aster production has been ongoing since 2021 for all three nations. OCCAR and industry met these first deliveries for France and Italy in December 2023.
Aster missiles and SAMP/T NG missile defence systems
The Aster 30 SAMP/T is a land-based air defence system effective against high-speed threats such as tactical ballistic missiles, cruise missiles, combat aircraft and UCAVs (uncrewed combat air vehicles).
The full-scale development of the Aster 30 missile and the SAMP/T started in 1990, with production engineering and initial volume production in 1997. Qualification firing trials began in 1999.
SAMP/T began operational evaluation with the French and Italian armies in May 2008 with two successful test firings.
MBDA is the original equipment manufacturer developing the Aster block 2 missiles for the SAMP/T launcher with long range and different trajectories to defeat future ballistic missile threats.
MQST3 Firing Aster 30 SAMP/T. Credit: MBDA.
The maximum speed of Aster 30 is 1.4 kilometres (km)/sec and the missile has the capability to intercept targets at altitudes from 50 metres (m) to 20km.
The maximum range of the Aster 30 is 100km against aircraft targets flying at altitudes above 3km. At aircraft targets with altitudes below 3km, the range of Aster 30 is 50km.
A typical SAMP/T battery includes a command and control vehicle, Arabel radar and up to six transporter erector launcher (TEL) vehicles, each with eight missiles and a store of reload missiles. The missile TEL vehicles are dispersed to launch sites located up to 10km from the Arabel radar. (Source: army-technology.com)
02 Feb 24. US Bradleys to get upgraded APS pending contract award. The US Army is a step closer to awarding General Dynamics Ordnance and Tactical Systems a sole source contract to upgrade Bradley infantry fighting vehicles (IFVs) with Elbit Systems’ Iron Fist active protection system (APS), following a pre-solicitation notice published on 18 January. The announcement proposed an eight year, firm-fixed price, indefinite delivery contract worth an undisclosed sum, for the “B-Kit Iron Fist Protection System” in support of Project Manager Mounted Armored Vehicle (PM MAV). A spokesperson for the US Army confirmed to Janes it does not yet have a sole source production contract in place for Iron Fist APSs for Bradley IFVs. “Any pending contractual actions are pre-decisional in nature and will not be disclosed at this time,” the spokesperson said. Speaking to Janes, defence sources suggested the contract could equip up to nine US Army brigades with the Iron Fist APS, with priority given to brigades operating in Europe, given the ongoing conflict in Ukraine. (Source: Janes)
01 Feb 24. UK scraps Type 23 frigate LDEW test plan. The UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) has dropped plans to trial a laser-directed energy weapon (LDEW) demonstrator from a Royal Navy (RN) Type 23 frigate. Revealing the decision in a 30 January parliamentary answer, Minister of State for Defence Procurement James Cartlidge said the move was intended to free up money for the UK’s wider Directed Energy Weapons (DEW) programme. Thales had been under contract to develop the maritime LDEW demonstrator. The UK began industry competitions in 2020 for three different DEW capability demonstrators: a maritime LDEW demonstrator under Project Tracey; a vehicle-based LDEW demonstrator named Project Swinton; and a land-based radio frequency (RF) DEW counter-unmanned aircraft system (C-UAS) prototype designated Project Ealing. The MoD in September 2021 announced that Thales UK had been selected to deliver Project Tracey and Project Ealing, while a consortium led by Raytheon UK had been contracted for Project Swinton. (Source: Janes)
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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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