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04 Apr 24. India test launch Agni-Prime ballistic missile. The successful development and induction of the Agni-Prime ballistic missile marks another moment in India’s quest for self-reliance in defence technology. India’s Strategic Forces Command (SFC) and Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) celebrated the successful flight test of the Agni-Prime ballistic missile from Dr APJ Abdul Kalam Island off the Odisha coast. The planned test, conducted at approximately 1900 hrs on April 3, 2024, showcased the missile’s performance, meeting all trial objectives. The Agni-Prime’s flight trajectory, tracked by a network of range sensors, including two downrange ships stationed at the terminal point, showed its reliability. The launch event witnessed the presence of dignitaries, including the Chief of Defence Staff, the Chief of Strategic Forces Command, and senior officials from DRDO and the Indian Army. The border dispute between India and China is a major factor accelerating multiple missile procurement programmes. India is the second-largest spender in the regional MMDS market. According to GlobalData’s “The Global Missiles & Missile Defense Systems Market 2023-2033” report, India is reinforcing its defence capabilities through recent developments in missile technologies. Minister of Defence Raksha Mantri Shri Rajnath Singh lauded the collaborative efforts of DRDO, SFC, and the Armed Forces, emphasising the significance of the successful test in augmenting India’s defence capabilities. He hailed the Agni-Prime as a potential force multiplier poised to enhance the nation’s deterrence posture. The test comes amidst India’s ongoing advancements in missile technology, including the successful test launch of the Agni-III intermediate-range ballistic missile and the maiden flight of the Agni-5 ballistic missile. The successful development and induction of the Agni-Prime ballistic missile marks another moment in India’s quest for self-reliance in defence technology. India also undertook a test of the Agni-Prime ballistic missile in June 2023. As geopolitical dynamics evolve, India’s commitment to bolstering its defence capabilities remains strong. The successful flight test of the Agni-Prime is another symbol of the nation’s resolve to safeguard its sovereignty and territorial integrity. (Source: army-technology.com)
02 Apr 24. LM Conducts Historic LRASM Flight Test. The U.S. Navy in partnership with Lockheed Martin [NYSE: LMT] successfully conducted a historic Long-Range Anti-Ship Missile (LRASM) flight test with four missiles simultaneously in flight. During the 12th Integrated Test Event (ITE-12), the U.S. Navy was able to demonstrate the weapon’s inherent high-end lethality from mission planning through kill chain integration and its effects on the target. All mission objectives were met, reinforcing high confidence in the weapon’s capabilities and superior firepower.
“We have continued to invest in the design and development of LRASM’s anti-surface warfare capabilities to ensure that warfighters have the 21st century security solutions they need to complete their missions and come home safely,” said Lisbeth Vogelpohl, LRASM program director at Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control. “This event was a testament to our commitment to deliver reliable products that work each and every time, ensuring those who serve stay ahead of ready.”
ITE-12 was the next ‘big-step’ in LRASM’s evolution. The successful test was a graduation exercise for the missiles’ latest configuration and lays the foundation for increased capabilities to come. As a member of the AGM-158 family of cruise missiles, LRASM delivers long-range, highly survivable and lethal capability against highly defended surface combatants that no other weapon in the inventory can provide. (Source: ASD Network)
04 Apr 24. Northrop Grumman Corporation’s (NYSE: NOC) Integrated Battle Command System (IBCS) seamlessly fused data from a Lower Tier Air and Missile Defense Sensor (LTAMDS) to acquire, track, engage and intercept a long-range cruise missile surrogate with a PAC-3 Missile Segment Enhancement during a recent test event held at White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico.
- IBCS extends its performance record during live-fire flight tests, building on the success of similar tests last year that validates its critical role in revolutionizing the battlespace by integrating any sensor or effector.
- IBCS’ capability to integrate with LTAMDS as it continues in development and testing supports the U.S. Army’s Air and Missile Defense modernization strategy.
Expert:
Rebecca Torzone, vice president and general manager, global battle management and readiness, Northrop Grumman: “The integration of LTAMDS and Patriot into IBCS is a crucial element in modernizing integrated air and missile defense. Ready now, IBCS is the cornerstone of the globally connected battlespace to defeat increasing complex threats.”
Details on IBCS:
IBCS unifies current and future assets in the battlespace, regardless of source, service or domain. IBCS has demonstrated its ability to integrate with a wide range of sensors and shooters, including Patriot, Sentinel, F-35, CAMM, Giraffe, PAC 2 (GEM-T), PAC 3 and other sovereign capabilities. Through its modular, open and scalable architecture, IBCS gives warfighters new capabilities by fusing sensor data for a single actionable picture of the full battlespace that enables rapid, informed decisions to optimize shooters. This capability gives warfighters more time to make decisions on how best to defeat threats. IBCS is the centerpiece of the Army’s modernization strategy for air and missile defense, and is a foundational element for the multi-domain, multi-national future.
In 2023, IBCS was approved for full rate production, enabling the Army to set a fielding schedule for later this year for operational air defense units. Additionally, IBCS achieved initial operational capability enabling the system to be fielded and available for deployment for wartime operations. Globally, Poland has declared Basic Operational Capability for IBCS for their WISŁA medium range air defense program and IBCS is planned for deployment in Defense of Guam as part of the U.S. Army program of record for integrated air and missile defense modernization.
02 Apr 24. U.S. Army Begins Distribution of Next Generation Weapons to 101st Airborne. The U.S. Army has officially begun outfitting its soldiers with the Next Generation Squad Weapon (NGSW) systems, marking a pivotal advancement in military armaments. The 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) stationed at Fort Campbell, Kentucky, is the first recipient of this cutting-edge technology. This initial fielding encompasses the XM7 rifle and the XM250 automatic rifle, both of which are products of a contract with firearm manufacturer SIG Sauer. These weapons, along with the new 6.8mm cartridges and the XM157 advanced optic, represent a leap forward in the Army’s combat effectiveness.
The NGSW program was conceived nearly a decade ago, with its formal establishment in 2017 following Congressional directives to evaluate enhancements to the Army’s standard issue M4 carbines. Despite the M4’s popularity for its reliability, the assessment highlighted the need for an upgraded system capable of firing a more powerful 6.8mm round, promising a significant increase in lethality and range. The decision to proceed with the NGSW program reflects a strategic move to outpace adversaries by enhancing the standard infantry arsenal.
The introduction of the XM7 and XM250 at Fort Campbell follows extensive testing and soldier feedback. The XM7, weighing in at just under 9.4 lbs with a suppressor, and the XM250 are expected to replace the M4 carbine, M249 SAW light machine gun, and the 7.62 mm M240 machine gun across close combat units. Despite some initial skepticism among troops accustomed to the M4’s lighter frame and familiar operational characteristics, feedback has turned increasingly positive, particularly regarding the new system’s enhanced range and firepower.
The rollout of the NGSW systems comes after more than 25,000 hours of development and testing. While the current phase focuses on special operations and infantry units, the long-term goal is a broader deployment across the Army. The initiative not only promises to bolster the combat effectiveness of U.S. forces but also signifies a generational shift in military firepower, marking the most significant update to the Army’s small arms in over 65 years. (Source: https://www.sofx.com/)
01 Apr 24. US Army office in charge of rapid development takes on Guam air defense. The U.S. Army’s Rapid Capabilities and Critical Technologies Office is standing up a joint team to execute the Pentagon’s vision for an air and missile defense architecture for Guam, its director told Defense News.
Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment Bill LaPlante signed a memorandum establishing the Guam Defense Systems Joint Project Executive Office, which RCCTO will manage, Lt. Gen. Robert Rasch, said in a March 27 interview at the Association of the U.S. Army’s Global Force Symposium in Huntsville, Ala. It will consist of members from all of the services, he noted.
The office is already forming and fiscal 2024 money is being realigned to get it started, he said.
The Army last year was assigned to lead the acquisition and execution plan for the Guam architecture and the new office within RCCTO will focus on bringing the technology together to create a joint integrated air and missile defense fires capability to protect the strategic Pacific island.
“As we start bringing to bear defense of Guam Army systems, Navy systems and MDA systems, that sensing layer is going to thicken,” he explained. “And we think we have a lot to learn on how to assimilate or fuse that information from air defense perspective and that’s a really hard domain to get right. So if we can get it right there, [we] think that will scale very quickly to the other domains that don’t quite have the same latency [or] time requirements on it for them to execute their mission.”
Pentagon leaders, focused on China as a growing threat, say 2024 will be a key year for the Army to bolster defense around Guam. During this year, the service plans to have in place a foundational capability to help stave off a potential attack.
The Missile Defense Agency and the Army sought a combined $1.5 bn in FY24 budget to begin preparing the island by moving assets into place and integrating capabilities. The effort is a test for the Army, which decision-makers have at times overlooked amid the focus on air and naval power in the Indo-Pacific region.
Success in Guam could help cement the Army’s air and missile defense role in the region. The first wave of defenses will include radars, launchers, interceptors, and a command-and-control system.
The Army requested $638m for FY24 for three Lower Tier Air and Missile Defense Sensors, multiple Patriot air defense systems, and an assortment of Mid-Range Capability missile launchers and Indirect Fire Protection Capability launchers. Additionally, the service plans to use the Northrop Grumman-made Integrated Battle Command System to connect the right sensors to the right shooters on the battlefield.
The Navy will provide technology and capability from its Aegis weapon system; the service holds jurisdiction over the sites where it will place the technology.
Additionally, FY24 funding requests are meant to cover the installation along the island’s periphery of four high-end, solid-state, mobile AN/TPY-6 radars, which are new sensors that use technology from the Long Range Discrimination Radar in Clear Space Force Base, Alaska.
“It’s the synchronizing of all of that at one point in time, or to arrive at one point in time, on Guam so you actually have a capability – not just delivering a radar to a location where there’s no power, there’s no place to put it, or we don’t have any maintenance setup for it,” Rasch said. “So a lot of our efforts, other than building this integrated layered capability, is making sure that all of the pieces and parts make a capability, not just a material thing.” (Source: C4ISR & Networks)
29 Mar 24. US Army refreshes competition for short-range laser. The U.S. Army is evaluating additional 50-kilowatt platforms as it seeks to buy short-range air defense laser weapons, even as its initial four prototypes deploy in U.S. Central Command’s area of operations, a service official told Defense News.
Three of the Army’s Directed Energy Maneuver-Short Range Air Defense systems, or DE M-SHORAD, are in Iraq so the service can experiment with the capability in relevant operational environments. The fourth and last prototype will join the other three after getting some work done, said Lt. Gen. Robert Rasch, the service’s Rapid Capabilities and Critical Technologies Office director.
“All four will be downrange supporting our soldiers in the fight today,” he said. “What we’re giving up a little bit is our ability to learn how to integrate that capability into the maneuver force, so we have some work to do on the back end. We’re still capturing data; [the Army Test and Evaluation Command] is downrange with us.”
Additionally, the Army will learn from two other 50-kilowatt laser platforms while the first platoon-set of prototypes are away, he explained.
The Army had originally planned to finish the DE M-SHORAD prototyping effort and transition it to Program Executive Office Missiles and Space in 2023. That office had planned to run a competition for the program of record.
But Rasch’s office decided in 2022 that the directed-energy effort needed more time in development, and planned for a fiscal 2025 transfer instead.
The first prototypes consist of a 50-kilowatt laser from Raytheon on a Stryker combat vehicle. Kord Technologies is the lead integrator.
The two new 50-kilowatt platforms the Army will also evaluate, when they are arrive next year, are one option from Washington state-based nLight and another from Lockheed Martin, Rasch said. The designs are different, he added, so aspects like beam quality, affordability and reliability are also expected to differ.
The Rapid Capabilities and Critical Technologies Office now plans to spend approximately two years to evaluate options before deciding on a way forward.
“We’ve got a few different designs, so we’ll take the data from what we’ve received already, the data that we collect off these other two systems, and combine that together to tee up for the senior leaders, probably late ’26, early ’27 time frame,” Rasch said.
“We want to maintain competition, so it doesn’t really help if we spent a lot of money and almost unfair if we kind of load the deck and we pass off a program decision to, say, PEO Missiles and Space, and it really isn’t a decision; you’ve got one vendor who’s viable,” Rasch said. “Competition makes everybody better.”
While this effort means moving even slower, Rasch did say he “would have loved to have had them all done and be programs of record, but we probably couldn’t have afforded them all anyway. So this gives us a little time to really set up a better competitive space for that next phase affordability.”
With the DE M-SHORAD systems downrange, he added, the Army will learn about lethality and reliability.
“We’ve tested these in labs for decades,” Rasch said. “Now we’re learning some new lessons on what happens when you operationalize these, when you put them in a really ugly, dirty environment that our soldiers put them in.”
The Army is investing about $100 m a year as it prepares to make a recommendation to Army leadership on a strategy, he noted.
Right now, his office is evaluating 10-, 20-, 50- and 300-kilowatt options for a wide variety of threats and missions. The 300-kilowatt laser is designed for the Indirect Fire Protection Capability, which is a system that will use kinetic, laser and high-powered microwave weapons to destroy threats including rockets, artillery, mortars, drones and cruise missiles. The Army is to receive that laser weapon next year.
Not every laser capability we be at the range at the same time, but the service plans to collect data on power, lethality, affordability and reliability across directed-energy weapons through an integrated test campaign to inform senior leaders, Rasch said.
The process will help the service save some money from a testing perspective and, through operational assessments with the user, capture enough data to help the Army pin down the sweet spot for what it will need to counter threats in various environments, he explained. (Source: C4ISR & Networks)
29 Mar 24. RTX’s SM-6 intercepts ballistic missile target at sea. A Standard Missile-6 (SM-6) built by Raytheon, an RTX (NYSE: RTX) business, intercepted a medium-range ballistic missile target at sea in its final seconds of flight, after being fired from the USS Preble (DDG 88). This test verified some of the missile’s enhanced capabilities when launched from a Baseline 9.C2 variant of the Aegis Combat System.
The SM-6 missile can perform anti-air warfare, anti-surface warfare and advanced ballistic missile defense at sea. This latest flight test, designated as Flight Test Aegis Weapon System (FTM)-32, involved the SM-6 Dual II (Block IA) configuration with newly qualified software that significantly enhances the missile’s capabilities for the U.S. Navy fleet.
“This test demonstrated that the latest versions of the SM-6 and combat system provide the critical capability to destroy an incoming sophisticated missile threat,” said Kim Ernzen, president of Raytheon Naval Power. “Raytheon is committed to ensuring our technology stays ahead of evolving threats and is available to sailors as quickly as possible.”
FTM-32 was the seventh flight test of the SM-6 against ballistic missile targets and the fourth test utilizing the Dual II (Block IA) configuration.
Deployed on U.S. Navy ships, SM-6 delivers a proven over-the-horizon offensive and defensive capability by leveraging the time-tested Standard Missile airframe and propulsion system. It’s the only missile that supports anti-air warfare, anti-surface warfare and sea-based terminal ballistic missile defense in one solution, and it’s enabling the U.S. and its allies to cost-effectively increase the offensive might of surface forces.
The U.S. Department of Defense has approved the sale of SM-6 to several allied nations. (Source: PR Newswire)
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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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