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27 Jun 24. Audit finds failures in Australian munitions management.
“The identified issues are not evidence of the standard expected,” reflected Australia’s Secretary and Chief of the Defence Forces.
The Australian National Audit Office has completed the first of two performance audits into Australia’s procurement process for establishing its domestic munitions production over the last eight years.
In that time, the Department of Defence was found to have committed probity and governance failures.
The Mulwala facility in New South Wales is the only manufacturing site of military propellants and high explosives in the Commonwealth. The nearby munitions site at Benalla, Victoria uses some of the output from Mulwala in its operations.
Both facilities operate under a government-owned, contractor-controlled structure in which Australia Munitions, a wholly owned subsidiary of Thales Australia, works closely with the government to deliver its strategic aims.
Australia Munitions delivers a range of ammunition, propellants, explosives and related services. It also serves as a principal supplier of small arms ammunition to the New Zealand Defence Forces.
Growing GWEO industrial base
The Albanese government has seen burgeoning demand for its sovereign Guided Weapon and Explosive Ordnance (GWEO) capabilities.
In March 2023 Europe’s leading missile manufacturer MBDA entered a collaboration agreement with BAE Systems Australia in which the company agreed to develop Australian industry capability through the transfer of knowledge, product assembly, and test.
On 6 October 2023, the Australian Government invested A$220m ($146.6m) in the Mulwala and Benalla plants. Primarily, the financial support will help with infrastructure redevelopments at each site – ensuring they are equipped to support future production demands, such as 155mm artillery ammunition.
Governance failures
Toward the end of 2019, Defence entered talks with the supplier to discuss a new sole source contract for the control of the plants once again.
“After assessing Thales’ tender response as not being value for money in October 2019, Defence proceeded to contract negotiations in December [that year] notwithstanding internal advice that Defence was at a disadvantage in such negotiations due to timing pressures.”
(Source: army-technology.com)
27 Jun 24. US Navy make a move on developing CPS hypersonic weapon.
New funds have been made available to Lockheed Martin to develop the hypersonic missile capabilities for US Navy Zumwalt and Virginia classes.
Eager to be quick on the draw, the US Navy has allocated new funds toward its Conventional Prompt Strike (CPS) missiles on 26 June 2024.
These future, hypersonic boost-glide missiles offer quicker, longer-range strikes with enhanced survivability against enemy defences: CPS missiles will be manoeuvrable while travelling at speeds exceeding Mach 5, or five times the speed of sound.
The US defence prime Lockheed Martin manages the CPS programme; the new contract modification will provide $534m to the supplier to support engineering, development and testing. Work under this undefinitised contract is expected to be completed on 19 June 2025.
CPS plans in action
Plans are in place to integrate this next-generation missile system onto the service’s Zumwalt-class (DDG 1000) destroyers – the first entered service in 2016, another was commissioned in 2019, while the third and final unit is expected to enter service in 2027 – as well as Virginia-class nuclear-powered fast-attack submarines (SSN 774).
Lockheed Martin originally secured a contract exceeding $2bn in value from the Navy to deploy the CPS weapon system on Zumwalt destroyers in February 2023. It will supply launcher systems, weapon control and all-up rounds, and provide platform integration support for the naval platform.
Partnering the CPS with the stealth and mobility of the Zumwalt ships will have a competitive edge in alluding adversaries from being able to anticipate where a shot is coming from on long range radar. The integration will deliver the first sea-based hypersonic strike capability to the US.
In addition, the system will also have land applications for the US Army, referred to as their ‘Dark Eagle’ programme.
Slow development
Hypersonics are forecast to grow to a greater share of the missiles and missile defence market throughout the coming decade. GlobalData intelligence noted that the CPS programme dominated US proposed spending in 2023, accounting for 44.1% of the missile defence budget.
While appropriations increase, the CPS has faced some development challenges. It has already failed two tests: first in October 2021 and in July 2022.
Currently, the US is prioritising spending on hypersonic glide vehicle designs rather than hypersonic cruise missiles, accounting for 78.9% of the proposed budget in 2023. However, such platforms are in the early stages of development. (Source: naval-technology.com)
26 Jun 24. Extended range version of Army guided rocket enters production.
The Army has given the greenlight to Lockheed Martin to produce an extended-range version of its Guided Multiple Launch Rocket System, according to the company and the service.
Lockheed was awarded a $200 m fiscal 2024 contract modification in May to build as many as 240 extended range GMLRS. The funding includes production, tooling and depot spares, an Army spokesman told Defense News in a June 26 statement.
The Army made the decision to cut GMLRS ER into Lockheed’s production line in Camden, Arkansas, in January, according to a Lockheed spokesperson.
GMLRS ER has had multiple successful flight tests leading up to the production decision. The extended range version can reach 150-plus kilometers compared to the 70-kilometer range capability of GMLRS.
The company won a $4.8bn deal for GMLRS in 2023 as the U.S. adjusted its production numbers to replenish rockets sent to Ukraine.
The U.S. has been providing GMLRS, along with the High Mobility Artillery Rocket System launchers used to fire them, to Ukraine since mid-2022 to help it fend off Russia’s invasion.
The service plans to ramp up GMLRS production from 6,000 rockets a year to 14,000 and expects to sign a multiyear deal for them in FY24, thanks to a new congressional authority. Multiyear contracts, usually reserved for expensive and large programs, provide longer-term certainty that can lower the cost.
The service is also expected to spend $1.2 bn in FY25 to buy 6,408 missiles as part of the anticipated multiyear contract, according to the Army’s FY25 budget request.
(Source: Defense News Early Bird/Defense News)
26 Jun 24. GDELS-SBS anticipates growing demand for large-calibre gun barrels. General Dynamics European Land Systems – Santa Barbara Sistemas (GDELS-SBS) is resuming its production capabilities for large-calibre gun barrels to stay ahead of anticipated demand. The Trubia factory in Asturias, Spain, has produced a range of large-calibre gun barrels, including 120 mm, 105 mm, and 155 mm, for main battle tanks (MBTs) and artillery, the company said in an 11 June statement.
These include more than 200 120 mm gun barrels for Spanish Army Leopard 2E MBTs, 100 155 mm/52 calibre barrels for SIAC 155/52 howitzers, and dozens of gun barrels for 105 Light Gun L118 and L119 105 mm guns, the statement said.
Ongoing military conflicts have demonstrated the relevance of artillery and MBTs. “GDELS-SBS is one of the few European companies that has preserved the knowledge and capabilities to manufacture gun barrels of the most demanded calibres for both weapon systems,” Juan Escrina, general director of GDELS-SBS, said in the statement.
The company is the only Spanish firm with the ability to manufacture, maintain, and modernise artillery systems to meet the latest requirements, the statement said.
GDELS-SBS is preparing to meet anticipated customer demand at short notice, Andreas Himmelsbach, senior manager for German and international news and media at GDELS, told Janes on 25 June. The company has identified increasing demand for gun barrels but has not yet received concrete orders. GDELS-SBS has retained the necessary equipment and know-how from earlier work to be well-positioned going forward, he said. (Source: Janes)
26 Jun 24. European Long Range Strike Approach sees LoI from France, Germany and Poland. The need for advanced deep-strike capabilities in Europe is a result of structural underfunding for high-intensity warfare.
A letter of intent (LoI) was prepared for the European Long-range Strike Approach (ELSA) at a meeting of the defence ministers of the Weimar Triangle states – Germany, France and Poland – on 24 June 2024 in Paris
ELSA is an initiative proposed by France for the joint development and procurement of advanced Deep Precision Strike (DPS) weapon systems with ranges over 1,000km. The capability has been identified as one European Allies lack but that Nato demands on a large scale.
The LoI on ELSA is to be signed by the states of the Weimar Triangle along with the UK, Spain, Italy and Sweden, and will be a put forward as a European contribution to the Nato Summit running 9-11 July.
Europe’s long-range strike requirement
The need for advanced deep-strike capabilities in Europe is a result of structural underfunding for high-intensity warfare. The Nato Defence Planning Process has identified key capability shortfalls in artillery and recommended that Allies address these shortfalls. The war in Ukraine has highlighters that long-range strike weapons are a critical component of modern defence preparations, adding operational and strategic depth to targeting and helping to shape the conditions of victory.
The outlook for shorter range missile capabilities is also limited. Fabian Hoffman, a researcher at the Oslo Nuclear Project, estimates that Europe has 3,100 – 3,300 missile systems with a range greater than 150km, that could be used to fight a local war, although this figure may be higher than the true level of currently operational systems, and it does not include Turkey’s indigenous surface-launched capabilities, which have been substantially enlarged in the last ten years.
In the aftermath of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, various European Allies have signed new deals for the procurement of long-range strike capabilities, including an announcement from the French Directorate General of Armament (DGA) to acquire at least 13 systems by 2030.
Netherlands’ commitment to addressing the gap in long-range strike capabilities has become clear with the approval in February from the US State Department foe the foreign military sale of 120 AGM-158B/B-2 Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile-Extended Range (JASSM-ER) air-launched cruise missiles (ALCMs). With a 1,000km range, these armaments offer an air-launched capability for the role.
The decision by Netherlands to purchase Lockheed Martin’s JASSM is likely motivated but the lack of a European alternative. International Institute of Strategic Studies research Associate Timothy Wright points out that while Europe companies have developed several other options for air launched cruise missiles, including the German–Swedish Taurus KEPD-350 and the Franco-British SCALP EG/Storm Shadow, these systems have not been manufactured at scale for some time.
Motivators behind a European security architecture
President Macron of France called on European Allies to enhance their deep strike capabilities in a speech to the Sorbonne on 25 April, stressing the need to fulfil the objectives of Nato’s Strategic Compass. This is inline with Macron’s long-standing view to build a new European security architecture, and links to his new European defence initiative. Since the invasion of Ukraine, Macron has insisted that only a credible European defence can allow for possible “neighbourly relations” with Russia in the future.
Collaboration between Germany and France on projects funded by the European Commission is ongoing on Future Indirect fiRes European Solutions (FIRES) and European COmmon LOng Range indirect Fire Support System (E-COLORSS), although this strategic proximity between France and Germany have come under criticism for breeding a relationship in which France is overly dependent on Germany. Advocates for a stronger industrial policy within France have recommended the nation seek ties with other European nations. (Source: army-technology.com)
25 Jun 24. Space Engine Systems Announces Partnership With ASEI(USA) to Develop Hypersonic Solutions for Missiles. Space Engine Systems (SES), following on its success in securing a place in UK MoD’s Hypersonic Technology and Capability Development Framework. (HTCDF). https://des.mod.uk/des-to-award-contracts-on-1-bn-framework-to-develop-uks-first-hypersonic-missile, is pleased to announce a partnership with Applied Systems Engineering Inc (ASEI) of the US. Coupling SES’ expertise in advanced propulsion and spaceplane design with ASEI’s expertise in navigation systems, launchers, and weapon design accumulated over 30 years, has resulted in a partnership with the goal of supporting the UK’s stated aim to develop a sovereign Hypersonic technology base.
SES, a Canadian leader in aerospace and space propulsion technology since 2011, is uniquely positioned to support this framework due to the technology that is currently being developed in the building of the Hello series of hypersonic Spaceplanes which will enable the lowest-cost transportation of payloads to space, and ultimately enable the landing of humans on the Moon. This development involves the use of advanced modelling & simulation technologies and techniques in building advanced airframe structures and materials to withstand the environment experienced, during hypersonic travel. SES have successfully tested a multi-fuel turbo-ramjet engine that will form the basis of our propulsion solution for the Spaceplanes. SES will also leverage the inherent advantages of working from Spaceports on two continents (Cornwall Spaceport UK and a second Spaceport in the US) with dedicated teams working in each of the locations.
In turn, ASEI, can provide quick reaction solutions for advanced technology development in tactical navigation systems, embedded software and electronics design and integration, with the ability to demonstrate the technology effectively and with the facilities to efficiently manufacture their products. ASEI has corporate headquarters at Niceville, Florida and an operating location in Tucson, Arizona.
In addition to its other strategic partners, including Graphene Innovations Manchester and Meridian Space Command, Space Engine Systems is rapidly moving to meet the demands of one of the UK’s most pressing defence needs – hypersonic capability development – while also progressing its advanced horizontal take-off and landing space launch capability at the same time. In addition to the UK, SES is also well positioned to support the defence needs of Canada and its Allies in the design and build of hypersonic air breathing missiles, with propulsion solutions including both a well proven turbo-ramjet as well as a scramjet in development that would enable velocities of up to Mach 7.
(Source: BUSINESS WIRE)
24 Jun 24. House Armed Services Committee urge for JDAMs on B-2 bombers.
Alluding to increasing threats the US faces from its adversaries, the Committee noted its support for expanding the bomber’s capabilities. Lawmakers in the House Armed Services Committee have urged the US Air Force to expand the use of GBU-62 Joint Direct Attack Munitions – Extended Range (JDAM-ERs) from its B-2 Spirit bombers.
Alluding to increasing threats the US faces from its adversaries, the Committee noted its support for expanding the bomber’s capabilities in an amendment of the National Defense Authorization Act for FY2025 at the end of May 2024.
With a tail section that contains an inertial navigational system and a global positioning system guidance control unit, the JDAM-ER is an air-to-surface guidance tail kit that converts conventional, unguided free-fall bombs into accurate, adverse weather ‘smart’ munitions.
The 500 pound JDAM-ER variant features a modular add-on wing kit, which utilises small diameter bomb glide technology. The wings unfold in flight and triple the range of the weapon from the standard 15 miles (24km) of a conventional JDAM system to more than 45 miles.
Boeing has produced JDAM systems since 1998. The programme is a joint US Air Force and Navy programme; they are also used by 26 other countries.
The B-2 Spirit is a low-observable, long-range, heavy bomber capable of performing all-altitude attack missions up to 50,000 feet with a range of more than 6,000 nautical miles unrefueled.
The Air Force have dropped more than 600 JDAMs from the B-2 during the Nato bombing of Yugoslavia in 1999, demonstrating enhanced air warfare capability with greater stealth and accuracy. The Mark 82 500-pound variant bombs subsequently. (Source: airforce-technology.com)
25 Jun 24. Northrop Grumman delivers B-21 Raider in “record time.”
The procurement process for the first ever sixth generation aircraft is unique, on time and under budget says GlobalData in a Q1 industry overview.
It has become far more difficult to balance time and costs for new systems in an age of demand not seen for decades, yet the US defence prime Northrop Grumman is delivering the US Air Force’s (USAF) future bomber, the B-21 Raider, at pace and below budget estimates.
In a Q1 2024 industry overview presentation on 24 June 2024, GlobalData Defence Analyst James Marques said that the first ever sixth-generation aircraft is “currently developing in record time.”
Analysis carried out by GlobalData detailed that, adjusted for inflation, the per unit cost was estimated at around $750m, a significant decrease from the $2bn each of the older 20 B-2 bombers cost, the platform it will be replacing. Although the exact figures are held in strict secrecy by the US military.
Officials from within the USAF and government similarly noted the platform’s steady progress two months ago. However, the highly secretive programme represents a more significant circumstance as it proves that the US defence industry can deliver at pace and under budget, in contrast to years of long running delays and mounting costs.
How does this compare to other major US defence programmes?
Lockheed Martin’s F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter – considered the world’s most sophisticated aircraft, and used by many Nato militaries and their allies – has faced a number of modernisation and development issues in the last decade.
The US Government Accountability Office (GAO) has published reports laying out the enduring problems. Originally due to be completed in 2026 and determined to cost $10.6bn, it was found that the F-35 Block 4 programme had risen to $16.5bn and it was estimated to conclude in 2029 but this has been extended. This was reiterated in a previous report voiced in May 2023.
“In general, the US over the last 30 years since the Cold War ended has not truly felt the pressure of a global competing superpower breathing down their necks,” Marques stated. “Over time their defence projects have become sluggish, overly expensive and delivering smaller numbers of equipment behind schedule.
“With the B-21 Raider, Northrop adopted a whole new mentality to not fall into any of those problems, and so far seems to be a more successful approach.”
What is the the status of the B-21 Raider?
Notably, the USAF Rapid Capabilities Office is handling the Raider programme rather than the traditional Defense Department procurement processes.
The long-range, stealth bomber continues to undergo stringent flight tests at Edwards Air Force Base in California.
The team is focused on building test aircraft as production-representative as possible. Test aircraft are built on the same manufacturing line and use the same manning and tooling that will be used in the eventual production, the service stated.
The initial production run was meant to cost $4bn but it is currently only $2.7bn.
Moreover, prototypes are usually designed long before the actual production run, but so far the two units made have been designed to be expandable and upgradeable and eventually will be used in the actual operational fleet. (Source: airforce-technology.com)
21 Jun 24. US Army to buy more than 1,000 Switchblade drones through Replicator.
The U.S. Army will field more than 1,000 Switchblade 600 drones over the next year as part of Replicator — the Pentagon’s push to field thousands of uncrewed systems.
Gen. James Mingus, the Army’s vice chief of staff, revealed the quantity for the first time during a June 21 House Appropriations defense subcommittee hearing, hosted at the Defense Innovation Unit’s headquarters in Mountain View, Calif.
Built by AeroVironment, the Switchblade 600 loitering munition is one of a handful of systems the Defense Department plans to buy in the first tranche of the Replicator program and is the only one officials have identified by name. Others include an unspecified fleet of maritime drones procured through a DIU solicitation, a batch of uncrewed surface vehicles and a set of counter-drone systems.
The intent of Replicator, which Deputy Defense Secretary Kathleen Hicks announced last August, is twofold. In the near-term the Pentagon wants to field large numbers of attritable drones to counter China. But the larger goal is to develop an enduring process for buying technology to meet the department’s most urgent operational needs.
The Pentagon plans to spend a total of $1 bn on the effort in fiscal years 2024 and 2025 with funds drawn from various sources including prior year appropriations, a reprogramming request, a national security supplemental approved in August and the department’s yet-to-be approved FY-25 budget proposal.
Switchblade has featured heavily on battlefields in Russia, Syria and Iraq. The Army had already planned to buy the system through its Low Altitude Stalking and Strike Ordnance program, though in smaller quantities, before it was selected for Replicator. Last October, the service announced that it would procure 100 Switchblades to test and field within Army units.
“That was an innovation that we had worked collectively together, it’s a loitering munition, which we then included as part of Replicator Tranche One,” Mingus said during the hearing. “And we are now going to scale and scope that to over 1,000 over the next year or so.”
Hicks announced last month that the department started fielding Replicator systems to Indo-Pacific Command in early May. The Pentagon declined to say what systems had been fielded nor would it disclose quantities.
“This shows that warfighter-centric innovation is not only possible; it’s producing real results,” Hicks said in a statement. “Even as we deliver systems, our end-to-end capability development process continues.”
(Source: C4ISR & Networks)
24 Jun 24. FK Brno unveils BKS .338 Norma Magnum medium machine gun. Czech firearms company FK Brno unveiled its BKS medium machine gun at the Eurosatory 2024 defence exhibition held in Paris from 17 to 21 June.
The BKS is a gas-operated, belt-fed, air-cooled, select-fire machine gun chambered for the .338 Norma Magnum (NM) (8.6×63 mm) cartridge. The BKS weighs 11 kg; is 1,275 mm long; and has a rate of fire of 550 rds/min, an effective range of 1,700 m, and a maximum ballistic range of 6,500 m.
Despite the outward similarities to the Soviet-designed PK/PKM series of general purpose machine guns, FK Brno modified the original design to accommodate the new, much more powerful cartridge.
When asked about the choice to base the BKS’ design on that of the PK, a company representative said that the BKS was the ninth large-calibre machine gun design they had developed. The company experimented with eight other designs, chambered for various calibres and employing different operating mechanisms. Ultimately, the company decided that the PK offered an ideal, proven, mechanically reliable architecture from which to work. A company representative said that it had already received interest from a European country at the show and that the company was open to a potential future licensing agreement for the design.
The first, and probably most important change from the PK, comes in the construction of the receiver. While the original PK used a stamped receiver, with the stock socket and barrel socket riveted in place, the BKS receiver is machine-forged from steel, including the feed cover. A new front trunnion is also fitted to the front of the receiver, allowing the retention of a quick-change barrel function. (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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