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28 Aug 24. Reducing nuclear costs, MoD funds autonomous interdiction network. The ASAIN technology is intended only to be used only at sites where defuelling is mostly complete, that are lower risk, and where “’nuclear security’ measures are no longer proportionate” according to a release from the MoD. The UK Ministry of defence awarded £2m across four projects for an autonomous security alarm and interdiction network to secure nuclear sites. Image contributed by hlopex via Shutterstock.
The UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) has awarded £2m ($2.64m) in funds to find an autonomous security alarm and interdiction network (ASAIN) suitable to protect the UK’s aging nuclear facilities undergoing decommissioning.
The funded technologies will autonomously monitor, track and detect security breaches, reducing the cost of maintaining the sites while keeping “human operators out of harms way”, according to a release from the MoD, on 27 August 2024.
Four different technologies are being funded by through the MoD’s Defence and Security Accelerator (DASA) and the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA), in the second phase for a programme focussed on finding solutions to reduce the immense burden of decommissioning nuclear power sites. The NDA’s planned expenditure on site programmes will be £3.9bn according to the NDA’s Business Plan for 2023 to 2026.
“Keeping our sites safe and secure is absolutely critical to delivering our mission. Our estate spans 17 nuclear sites across the UK, made up of around 950 hectares of designated land on which over 800 buildings are located,” said NDA Innovation Delivery Manager Andrew Gray.
The specification for this funding, which came under the money-saving competition theme ‘Remote Monitoring of Sensitive Sites Phase 2: Security and Resilience’, stipulated that a successful ASAIN would be highly autonomous, but include a built in override functionality to allow an operator to control all system assets “safely and at will”.
The ASAIN technology is intended only to be used only at sites where defuelling is mostly complete, that are lower risk, and where “’nuclear security’ measures are no longer proportionate” according to a release from the MoD.
Successfully funded projects include efforts from Operational Solutions Ltd, Espanaro Ltd, ISS Aerospace, and Archangel Imaging. Initially, only £1.5m was to be made available, but this was increased to £2m after surveilling to quality and diversity of the proposals. (Source: army-technology.com)
29 Aug 24. UK defence sector re-establishes 120mm mortar barrel manufacture. Babcock has tasked Andover-based Perfect Bore Manufacturing with the manufacture of 120mm mortar barrels that could provide a mobile fires solution to the British Army.
The development of the GDAMS for the UK market is re-establishing mortar barrel manufacture in the country. Credit: Babcock via LinkedIn
Babcock has provided more information on the development of a UK mortar capability for possible use by the British Army, stating that Perfect Bore Manufacturing had been tasked with the manufacture of 120mm barrels.
The move will re-establish barrel manufacturing in the UK, Babcock stated, as it proceeds with its vehicle agnostic 120mm Ground-based Deployable Mortar System (GDAMS), which is being developed for UK use in partnership with Singapore’s ST Engineering.
“Our long-standing experience with the British Army and integration expertise will ensure that we offer the optimum solution that the army needs to strengthen UK defence,” Babcock stated in a mid-August social media post.
Planned onshoring of manufacture now a reality
In April 2024 Babcock and ST Engineering signed a collaboration agreement to offer land domain technologies, with an initial focus on mortar systems, indicating a potential future offering to the British Army in the form of a light vehicle-mounted mobile fires capability.
Announcing the agreement on 5 March, officials from Babcock and ST Engineering stated the companies would pursue defence opportunities “in markets of joint interest” that will see the combination of Babcock’s “close working relationship with the British Armed Forces” with ST Engineering’s “world-leading land systems products”.
ST Engineering offers two main land mortar capabilities: the Ground Deployed Advanced Mortar System (GDAMS), and the 120mm Super Rapid Advanced Mortar System (SRAMS). At the time, the development of a 120mm mortar offering for any UK requirement was understood to include onshoring ambitions. The mid-August social media post from Babcock indicates that the company is pursuing the GDAMS system for the UK military market. (Source: army-technology.com)
26 Aug 24. Russia Debuts UGV Mounted Mortar. The 2B11 is the widely fielded Russian heavy mortar while the Quadriga is typically seen employed as a robotic, unmanned ground vehicle (UGV). (Picture source: Defence Market News magazine)
Having the ability to rapidly displace after firing has been firmly established as an essential requirement for indirect fire weapons if they are going to survive on today’s battlefield a premise that is equally true for artillery and the mortar.
At Army 2024 the Russian military debuted a novel approach to provide this capability to the 120mm heavy mortar. They displayed a 2B11 120mm mortar mounted onto the Quadriga 4×4 platform, thus making it self-propelled mortar system.
The 2B11 is the widely fielded Russian heavy mortar while the Quadriga is typically seen employed as a robotic, unmanned ground vehicle (UGV).
The integration of the 120mm mortar on the Quadriga provides the weapon inherent mobility and the ability to traverse cross-county and paths in concert with, most likely, dismounted infantry units.
The Quadriga is designed with a very low noise making it suitable to operate forward without detection. Its 30 kmph maximum speed, compact size, and 800 km range facilitate its ability to both move with these units and to displace quickly. The latter is aided by the ability of the system to set-up to fire within under two-minutes and to displace as quickly.
The 2B11 12 mortar has an established record as a reliable system capable of firing a range of projectiles including high explosive able to neutralize emplacements, personnel and material at ranges up to 7 km. It can effectively deliver up to ten rounds per minute.
As the system includes a seat for a weapon operator it is evident that the Quadriga 120, although capable of unmanned movement, is intended to be laid, loaded and fired by a crew (it is not automatically loaded and remotely fired). The platform does, however, carry sixteen mortar rounds onboard.
The integration of the 120mm mortar on its own UGV based mobility platform does offer a more satisfactory capability for operating closely with combat units.
It is definitely able to emplace and displace more quickly that the wheeled-towed configuration currently fielded in combat units.
Utilizing the existing Quadriga UGV platform also reduces development risk, facilitates more rapid potential fielding, and simplifies logistics support. It also still allows for use of typical UGV movement controls like leader-follower.
It would further be reasonable to potentially find the Quadriga 120 mortar teams complemented with additional UGVs carrying additional ammunition, thus, increasing the autonomy of the firing units. (Source: Armada)
28 Aug 24. USMC new mortar, rocket simulator delivers training with no blast. The Marine Corps expects to sling more rounds of all kinds downrange in any future conflict, which means Leathernecks need to fire more mortars, rockets and bullets in training to stay proficient.
But recent research suggests that such repetitive blast exposure is causing long-term damage to troops.
To keep Jarheads safe from excessive blasts while making sure they remain trained at a high volume, The Corps announced Thursday that Marines will be able to use a simulator for certain weapons systems, including the 81mm mortar and shoulder-fired rockets, sparing them excessive blast exposure.
Such simulators are already used for rifles and machine guns.
The Marines have fielded the simulators to all their major installations, including Camp Pendleton, California, Marine Corps Base Hawaii, Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, Camp Hansen, Okinawa and Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center, Twentynine Palms, California.
The trainer also lets users fire weapons with night vision goggles and conduct annual rifle qualification courses of fire to prepare Marines for the individual weapons range qualification without firing live rounds.
The goal is to provide Marines with ample repetitions to maintain and sharpen their skills in a safer way. The simulated weapons are designed to closely replicate real ones, allowing for multiple repetitions and the firing of rounds without the cost of live ammunition, according to Todd Butler, a project officer who oversees such trainers.
At the same time, the reduced exposure to live rounds also limits the potential for deadly mistakes.
“From a safety perspective, we are committed to preventing negligent discharges,” said Tripp Elliott, head of safety for Marine Corps Systems Command.
The Marine Corps’ move follow a Pentagon memo released earlier this month outlining plans to reduce blast overpressure injuries to troops.
The policy update came after concerns raised in recent years that repeated exposure to blast overpressure, created by the high pressures of various munitions, can contribute to traumatic brain injury among exposure recipients.
Blast injuries are caused by waves of air pressure pushed out by exploding or ignited munitions. The more powerful the wave, the more it can affect organs in the body. Repeated pressure exposure to the brain can cause additional damage.
Deputy Defense Secretary Kathleen Hicks acknowledged in the recent announcement that weapons firing “is one of many factors that can negatively affect warfighter brain health.”
The memo also noted the number of jobs per service that held a higher risk of blast exposure. The Marine Corps had the second highest of all the services with 40 jobs. Only the Navy had more, with 41. (Source: Defense News)
28 Aug 24. Slovakia set to buy six air defence systems from Israel. Slovakia’s government approved plans on Wednesday to buy six mobile air defence systems from Israel for 554.3m euros ($616.88m), it said on its website, as the NATO member state strengthens protection of its airspace.
The government also approved the purchase of more than 1,300 6×6 and 8×8 heavy terrain vehicles in a joint acquisition with the Czech Republic, at an expected cost of 708.3m euros, which will replace ageing trucks.
Slovakia, whose neighbour Ukraine has fought against a Russian invasion since 2022, has sought to boost air defence capabilities.
It has been part of NATO efforts to bolster the military alliance’s eastern flank. Defence Minister Robert Kalinak has said priorities should be on defence capabilities, especially air defence.
Last month, it received delivery of the first two of 14 new F-16 fighter jets.
The government did not name the defence system to be bought from Israel in a government-to-government deal.
Slovakia operates the medium-range 2K12 KUB system, which was at the end of its life cycle, the defence ministry said in a document released on Wednesday.
Under a previous government, Slovakia donated its ageing S-300 air defence system to Ukraine, a decision criticised by the current administration for lowering the country’s air defence capabilities.
($1 = 0.8986 euros) (Source: Google/Reuters)
28 Aug 24. India orders additional SIG716 rifles. US small-arms manufacturer SIG Sauer has signed a contract with the Indian Ministry of Defence (MoD) to supply the Indian Army with an additional 73,000 SIG716 7.62×51 mm rifles. The new deal, announced 26 August, follows a contract awarded to the company in February 2019 for an initial batch of 72,400 SIG716 rifles.
SIG Sauer said in a press release that the “fielding and soldier acceptance” of the first batch led to the follow-on contract. The company added that the SIG716 rifles will be built at its facilities in the US.
India’s Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) approved the procurement of the additional SIG716 rifles in December 2023 for a cost of INR8.4bn (USD100m). The first-batch purchase was valued at USD90 m and progressed through the Indian MoD’s fast-track procurement procedure, which requires deliveries to be completed within one year of contract signing. The second-batch rifles are likely being procured through the same procedure. The procured SIG716 rifles are replacing the Indian Army’s locally made Indian Small Arms System (INSAS) 5.56 mm assault rifles that entered service in the mid-1990s but were declared operationally inadequate by the army in early 2010. The SIG716 rifles are being issued to front-line Indian Army units deployed in counter-insurgency operations as well as to troops deployed along India’s disputed borders with Pakistan and China. (Source: Janes)
27 Aug 24. A Pennsylvania ammunition plant that makes a key artillery shell in Ukraine’s fight against Russia has managed to boost production by 50% to meet surging demand, with more capacity set to come on line.
Government officials revealed the increase in production this week as they showcased the historic factory’s ongoing, $400m modernization.
The Scranton Army Ammunition Plant cuts and forges 2,000-pound (907-kilogram) bars of steel into 155 mm howitzer rounds that are then shipped to Iowa to be packed with explosives and fitted with fuses. From there, many of them make their way to the fight in Ukraine, where they are highly sought.
The Scranton plant, along with two other ammunition plants in nearby Wilkes-Barre, recently increased production from 24,000 rounds per month to 36,000 rounds per month. Three new production lines are under development that will allow the Scranton facility to churn out even more of the critical munitions, the factory’s top official said.
“Right now we’re concentrating on 155. That’s pretty much all we’re concentrating on,” Richard Hansen, the Army commander’s representative at the plant, said Tuesday while giving news outlets a tour of the sprawling factory grounds near downtown Scranton. “We’re working really hard to ensure that we achieve the goal that the Pentagon has established.”
The U.S. has sent more than 3m 155 mm artillery rounds to Ukraine since Russia invaded the country in 2022, according to government figures. Earlier this month, the White House announced another $125 m in weapons to assist Ukraine in its military operations against Russia, including 155 mm shells.
The Scranton factory began life as a locomotive repair shop at the beginning of the 20th century before the Army bought it and converted it into a production facility for large-caliber artillery for the Korean War. It’s been operated by General Dynamics since 2006 under contract with the U.S. government, which owns the plant.
Officials are about halfway through one of the biggest modernization projects in plant history, with about 20 projects underway. Tuesday’s tour included a new production line with a sleek new machine that will do the job of three, helping maximize use of space at the 500,000-square-foot (46,452-square-meter) factory.
The plant employs about 300 people, according to a General Dynamics spokesperson. Some of them have been there for decades running the equipment that cuts the steel, heats it to 2,000 degrees Fahrenheit (1,093 degrees Celsius), and forges, machines, washes and paints the finished shells. Each round is manually inspected at each step to ensure it meets specifications.
“We want it go where we point it,” Hansen said. “We want it to go as far as we need it to go to do its job. Lives depend on it — the lives of the gun crew, the lives of innocent civilians depend on this round doing exactly what we want it to do out in the field.” (Source: Defense News Early Bird/AP)
27 Aug 24. Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE: NOC) is redesigning the Intercontinental Ballistic Missile (ICBM) target vehicle for the Missile Defense Agency (MDA). The new design replaces the target’s heritage Trident C4 first stage solid rocket motor with a Peacekeeper SR119 motor to provide extended range, lift capability and payload capacity for ICBM target missions.
- Northrop Grumman leveraged virtual and augmented reality to fully animate and validate the target vehicle’s new integration and stacking operations, which will be demonstrated later this year.
- Northrop Grumman modified the retired SR119 rocket motor to serve as a first stage motor, meeting mission performance requirements with minimal changes to its original design. The new ICBM design creates target longevity to support future missile defense testing.
- The company completed the Critical Design Review of its redesigned ICBM target earlier this month, and the redesigned vehicle is slated to take its first flight in late 2025. It will be compatible with advanced front ends to simulate sophisticated, long-range ballistic missile threats.
Expert: Robin Heard, director of targets, Northrop Grumman: “Our approach to building target vehicles enables us to pair new and proven technologies together to create the best solution to meet customer needs. It’s about finding the right balance of affordability and innovation – combining capable, government-owned surplus motors and sophisticated front ends to simulate current and emerging threats.”
Details: ICBM target vehicles are threat-representative ballistic missiles used by the MDA to test the efficacy of the nation’s missile defense systems, including the Ground-based Midcourse Defense System and Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense System. Northrop Grumman is the prime contractor for the Intermediate Range Ballistic Missile and ICBM target vehicles, delivering 25 vehicles to date and supporting 10 successful launches since 2011.
The redesigned ICBM target is Northrop Grumman’s first target program to leverage virtual and augmented reality to fully animate the vehicle’s factory integration and field operations, known as pathfinding. Pathfinding provides a lower risk setting to fully vet new integration, stacking and test operations on inert hardware. Virtually simulating the vehicle’s pathfinding operations further buys down risk, enhances end-to-end test capability and optimizes processes to deliver the critical capability with agility.
In collaboration with the MDA and the U.S. Air Force Rocket Systems Launch Program, the company successfully completed a static fire of the SR119 solid rocket motor in 2022 and initial SR119 integration pathfinding operations in June 2024. The tests validated the motor’s capability to serve as a first stage in this new target vehicle application.
27 Aug 24. Kim Jong Un Oversees Performance Test of Loitering Munitions.
Kim Jong Un, General Secretary of the Workers’ Party of Korea and President of the State Affairs of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, oversaw a performance test of various drones organized by the Drone Institute of the Academy of Defence Sciences on August 24.
He was accompanied by Jo Yong Won, Ri Pyong Chol, Pak Jong Chon and other senior officials of the C.C., WPK. The respected Comrade Kim Jong Un got firsthand information on the drones under development at the Drone Institute.
The mission of the drones to be used within different striking ranges is to attack any enemy targets on the ground and in the sea. The drones of various types all correctly identified and destroyed the designated targets after flying along different preset routes.
Developing different types of drones and steadily increasing their combat performance take an important share in preparing for a war in view of the trend of world military science and combat experience on battlefields, Kim Jong Un said that it is necessary to develop and produce more suicide drones of various types to be used in tactical infantry and special operation units, as well as strategic reconnaissance and multi-purpose attack drones.
Calling for constantly developing not only underwater strategic weapon systems like nuclear torpedo but also various types of underwater suicide attack drones in conformity with the characteristics of our country as a maritime nation, and opting for proactively introducing artificial intelligence technology into the development of drones, he set forth detailed tasks and ways for doing so.
Expressing satisfaction over the tactical and technical features and data of the newly-developed drones, he stressed the need to more intensively conduct tests for their combat application and equip People’s Army units with them as early as possible.
Officials, scientists and researchers of the Drone Institute of the Academy of Defence Sciences hardly repressed their surging emotion, looking up to him who personally guided the test on the spot and indicated the path to be followed by them in enhancing the combat efficiency of drones and developing drone industry, and hardened their determination to thoroughly carry out the important tasks set forth by him and thus make a positive contribution to bolstering up the country’s self-defensive military capabilities.
The images show the launch of what appears to be a delta-winged loitering munition that resembles the Israeli Aerospace Industries Harop system.
The images also depict what appears to be a tube-launched loitering munition striking targets such as phased array radar mock-up and a tank.
(Source: UAS VISION/KCNA WATCH; FlightGlobal; Reuters)
23 Aug 24. Estonia launches competition to host major foreign munitions firm. for picking a munitions producer to set up shop at a military base in 2025, a move meant to jump-start a domestic shell production industry.
The ECDI, the procurement arm for the Estonian Defense Forces, announced the bid on Aug. 21, calling on companies to submit their proposal by early October.
The winner will be granted a space of approximately 8,900 square meters at the Ämari military base, located southwest of the Estonian capital Tallinn, for up to five years. The site will include a maximum of seven ammunition storage facilities, protective embankments and communication equipment, according to an ECDI statement.
The government’s goal is to launch the production of ammunition for combat use in the first half of next year.
“We currently do not have any ammunition production within the country, [hence] we are heavily dependent on other European countries for this,” Tuuli Duneton, undersecretary for defense policy, told Defense News in an interview last year.
At the time, the Estonian official had said that two options were being assessed to set up domestic manufacturing.
The first, would involve an Estonian defense company establishing a dedicated facility for producing shells, and the second, would entail the creation of a manufacturing plant in Estonia by a European company, preferably a privately owned one.
Officials did not name desired projectile types in the new ECDI tender, saying only the deal would cover “ammunition or combat ammunition containing explosives.”
Fellow Baltic nation Lithuania launched a similar industry initiative earlier this year. The government signing a memorandum of intent with Rheinmetall to build a 155mm ammunition plant locally.
The proposal was part of a series of amendments made by Lithuanian economic authorities to existing regulations, with the goal of attracting major arms maker to a open production sites amid the promise of lowered bureaucratic hurdles.
The push to turn the Baltic states into munitions producers comes amid an explosion in the demand for artillery shells across the European market, as countries seek to strike a balance between sending rounds to Ukraine while simultaneously boosting their own stocks. (Source: Defense News Early Bird/Defense News)
19 Aug 24. FN America, LLC announced the expansion of the strategic licensing and manufacturing alliance with ammunition and weapon system manufacturer TV Ammo, Inc. (True Velocity), to produce True Velocity’s .338 Norma Lightweight Medium Machine Gun for US and Allied military units.
The international strategic alliance positions FN as the primary manufacturer of Texas-based True Velocity’s .338 Norma machine gun, both in the United States and the United Kingdom. The .338 is a recoil-mitigated weapon system designed to provide warfighters with range and terminal performance similar to that of the .50-calibre M2 machine gun, but with a lightweight, functional profile comparable to that of the ubiquitous M240 machine gun also manufactured by FN.
“FN America is extremely excited to partner with True Velocity on this effort to deliver the next medium machine gun to the US military,” said Mark Cherpes, President and CEO for FN America, LLC. “Both companies share the drive and desire to innovate and deliver game-changing technology to the warfighter. This has produced a really great collaborative effort across our teams.”
A lightweight machine gun solution chambered for the .338 Norma cartridge has been a focal point of requirements emerging from the US Department of Defense and Allied militaries in recent years. In March 2024, the United States Department of Defense selected True Velocity’s .338 Norma Lightweight Medium Machine Gun for continued evaluation in a military programme aimed at fielding a weapon system that would bridge the performance gap between the .50-calibre M2 machine gun and the M240 machine gun chambered for 7.62x51mm NATO.
“True Velocity’s .338 machine gun will change the battlefield for our warfighters. We are thrilled that FN will join with us so we can equip US and Allied militaries with this combat advantage,” said True Velocity President and Chief Intellectual Property Officer Craig Etchegoyen. “It very quickly became clear that FN is a world-renowned, reliable and respected manufacturer of innovative machine guns, and we’re excited for them to join our mission.”
Over the past 40 years, FN’s production facility in Columbia, South Carolina, has produced over one m small arms under contract to the US Department of Defense. Currently, FN America produces firearms, accessories and other adjacent products for the US military, law enforcement agencies as well as authorised retailers. The company has manufactured the M4A1, M16A4, M249 light machine gun, M240 medium machine gun and FN SCAR under contract for the US military.
“FN America is excited to bring its 40-plus years of US government support in the manufacturing of belt-fed machine guns to the TV-FN alliance,” said Jim Williams, Vice President, Military Programs for FN America, LLC. “The natural teaming between True Velocity and FN America ensures success by combining the new technology designs of TV and the decades of manufacturing and US Government support of FN America. And it’s equally exciting to extend the alliance globally through our sister company FN UK as we expand the growing relationship and joint expertise that TV and FN bring.” (Source: joint-forces.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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