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28 Oct 21. Turkey Develops Kamikaze UAV Against Drone-Borne Threats. A group of Turkish defense contractors is testing a kamikaze unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) that will be used to counter and neutralize other drone-borne threats.
The UAV is part of a wide range of drone detection and destruction systems developed by Havelsan and Transvaro, exhibited at the 3rd Military Radar and Border Security Summit, organized by the Independent Industrialists and Businesspersons Association (MÜSIAD) in Ankara.
Speaking to Anadolu Agency (AA) at the summit, Havelsan Command Control Defense Technologies Business Development Manager Nezih Şişman said the threat posed by low-cost drones or UAVs is increasing by the day.
He noted that there are other stand-alone solutions, produced by different companies that can detect, diagnose and prevent threats using complex algorithms.
Şişman said they are looking to develop a system that can protect large campuses, critical facilities or infrastructures, organizations with scattered forces, like the gendarmerie, as well as critical locations like Ankara that is home to many important institutions.
He added that they took the vast STAR Refinery complex in western Izmir’s Aliağa as a prototype and started integration studies with its stakeholders for some defense plans.
1st in Turkey
The Havelsan official said they are creating an entire system by adding different algorithms to the Havelsan systems and integrating different components like radar, electro-optical suites, mixing devices and RF (Radio Frequency) detectors.
“At the end of the day, we attempting something that has not been done before in Turkey,” he said.
“We offer an artificial intelligence (AI) supported system that will utilize algorithms to detect, diagnose, analyze and eliminate a threat using the appropriate weapon. It will be able to do so thanks to software with a network-supported command and control system at its center, as well as software that can integrate different systems, weapons and sensors, provided that it is independent of the manufacturer,” he explained.
He added that the project’s stakeholder company is responsible for the drone detection radar, its electro-optical suite, control consoles, the ability to detect threats and use related fusion algorithms. Şişman said Havelsan removed the intermediate stages and moved such components to an integrated system.
Explaining how the system operates he said: “When a UAV approaches, our radar detects it and warns the electro-optical suite. The electro-optical suite locks and starts to follow the target. Meanwhile, our command-and-control system provides situational awareness to the user by taking images of the target and the electro-optical system. At this point, the system’s new member, a kamikaze UAV solution called Fedai (Bodyguard) is put on alert. Developed by our partner company Transvaro Fedai has already been tested. After the detections, the intercept geometry is calculated by the command-and-control software and the kamikaze UAV is launched to counter the threat.”
The kamikaze drone, Şişman added, “uses a certain target and identification information. It flies for a while and begins by visually scanning its target. As soon as it captures its target from a certain distance, which is 40 meters at the moment, it can destroy a single UAV or a swarm of UAVs at its location by detonating the warhead.”
He pointed out that solutions like signal jamming are also used against the drone threat. Şişman said when different methods and hybrid applications are used, jamming devices can become ineffective and in this case, it is possible to use the kamikaze UAV Fedai.
He noted that in the next one or two months, the company will demonstrate the capabilities of the entire system, from detection to destruction within a scenario, including destroying a UAV in the air by launching Fedai.
He said the system has an open architecture and the safe area it will provide will expand depending on the number of sensors and weapons are integrated.
Şişman added that by spreading different components like radar and electro-optical suite in a distributed architecture, they will achieve a system that can be controlled from a single center in a large area. (Source: UAS VISION/The Daily Sabah)
27 Oct 21. Kongsberg, Raytheon ready to keep up as Naval Strike Missile demand grows. As the U.S. Marine Corps begins launching the Naval Strike Missile from unmanned ground vehicles and the U.S. Navy continues installing NSM on its littoral combat ships, missile manufacturer Kongsberg is confident it can keep up with growing demand in the U.S. and around the globe. The Navy first identified the Norwegian missile as the solution for its over-the-horizon strike needs on LCS in 2018 and in 2019 sent the missile out on its first LCS deployment to the Indo-Pacific. Additionally, the Marines announced in budget documents in February 2020 they’d use the missile as part of their expeditionary advanced base operations plans, launching it as a ground-based anti-ship missile (GBASM) from unmanned Joint Light Tactical Vehicles in a pairing they call NMESIS (Navy-Marine Corps Expeditionary Ship Interdiction System).
As the missile has proven itself in testing, others have eyed it too, with Marine leadership at one point talking about using NSM to up-arm amphibious ships that haul Marines’ weapons but have little onboard punch. In January 2021, Maj. Gen. Tracy King, who led the Navy’s expeditionary warfare directorate at the time, told reporters he wanted to put the NSM on San Antonio-class LPDs — not to turn the Marine-carriers into a surface strike ship, but rather so the enemy would have to “honor that threat” that the amphibs pose. But he said the Navy didn’t want to divert missiles from the effort to add lethality to LCSs.
At the time, King said the Navy would have to talk to Kongsberg and NSM partner Raytheon Technologies about increasing production capacity to allow for the missiles to go on both amphibs and LCSs. But Kongsberg Senior Director for Special Platforms and Missile Systems Steve Schreiber told Defense News this month the two companies are ready to keep up with demand and could quickly set up a parallel production facility if needed.
Independence variant littoral combat ship USS Gabrielle Giffords (LCS 10) launches a Naval Strike Missile as part of shipboard operational testing and evaluation on March 18, 2021. The Naval Strike Missile is a long-range, precision strike weapon that can find and destroy enemy ships. (U.S. Navy)
Raytheon, as the prime contractor for the U.S. Navy, is “doing the final assembly and test part of the production, and … they’re ready to do a parallel production line if it comes to that,” he said.
“Demand is not an issue. If they suddenly come out and they say we need 200 a year, 300 a year, 500 a year, we can do that,” Schreiber added.
He said Kongsberg is seeing increased demand from foreign militaries as well, in part because they want to field what the U.S. fields and in part because, based on the missile’s proven performance, “nothing can touch it right now.”
He said he expects a second production line to be set up within the next couple of years.
Asked when that might happen, Randy Kempton, NSM program director at Raytheon Missiles & Defense, told Defense News the “Raytheon NSM production line is ready to meet full-rate production needs for the U.S. Navy Over the Horizon and USMC GBASM programs, and to accommodate additional growth as needed.”
The U.S. Navy is also seeking some improvements in the missile, which would directly benefit other customers, Schreiber said.
Without disclosing the exact improvements the Navy is eyeing, he said “obviously everybody’s always looking for more range.”
“There’s issues with range — by that I mean, how do you target? But they’re always looking for more range, so more efficiency in the fuels, more efficiencies in the motors,” Schreiber continued. “The computer systems in this are pretty dang up to date, so they’re not looking at doing anything with that. They might be looking at a few other areas.”
Noting the Norwegian, Polish, Malaysian and Japanese forces are using the missile today, he said “they’re all leveraging each other and capabilities to improve, to always keep improving.”
The U.S. Navy is continuing to install the missile on its LCSs and is proceeding through operational test and evaluation with the over-the-horizon missile.
The Marine Corps announced in April that it shot the missile for the first time as part of NMESIS, just 14 months after announcing the idea in its budget documents.
In August, during sea services’ Large Scale Exercise 2021 event, NMESIS shot at a decommissioned frigate and helped sink the ship from its location in Hawaii, with top Navy and Marine Corps leadership on hand to witness the first-of-its-kind event.
“There was an awful lot of leadership out there in Hawaii, and when it went off the rails and then when it hit, when the bullseye happened, all the Marines were cheering. It was great, it was pretty exciting,” Schreiber said.
It’s unclear how quickly the Marines will move in buying the missile to field with operational units for experimentation. The service requested 29 in its fiscal 2022 budget and 35 more in its unfunded requirements list — with 64 being the total needed to equip two medium-range missile batteries in the 3rd Marine Littoral Regiment, the first unit created under the commandant’s Force Design 2030 effort to reflect how the service will operate in the future.
Congress is still working through the defense appropriations and authorization processes. (Source: Defense News)
26 Oct 21. Long-range weapon system HIMARS launched in Sweden for first time. The HIMARS is a mobile artillery rocket launcher system capable of destroying enemy artillery and armour carriers among others. The long-range artillery system M142 HIMARS (High Mobility Artillery Rocket System) has been launched in Sweden for the first time as part of an ongoing Special Forces exercise in the country. An American Hercules aircraft, with the HIMARS system on board, landed on a road base near Bro on the island of Gotland. The system was then assembled and then loaded onto a Swedish Hercules aircraft on the road base. Subsequently, it was transported to northern Sweden to demonstrate live firing.
Swedish Armed Forces Chief of Joint Operations Michel Claesson said: “Everything went very well. The joint exercises conducted this past weekend demonstrate how far we’ve come in our cooperation with the US.”
The Swedish and US special forces are working together to hone their capabilities. During the ongoing exercise, new methods and new technology were tested to further bolster joint operational capability.
HIMARS is a highly mobile artillery multiple rocket launcher system that can engage enemy artillery, air defence concentrations, trucks, and light armour and personnel carriers. It can fire the rockets at a quick pace and changes its location before enemy forces can locate the launch site.
It was developed by Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control under an advanced concept technology demonstration (ACTD) programme.
The system can carry a six-pack of GMLRS rockets or one TACMS missile. It can fire the entire Multiple Launch Rocket System (MLRS) family of munitions.
In December last year, DiSTI secured an order to deliver HIMARS and MLRS virtual trainers to the US Army. (Source: army-technology.com)
26 Oct 21. Free Horizons Displays Argus Predator UAV Armed with 40mm Grenade Launcher. Argus Predator UAV armed with 40mm grenade launcher at Milipol 2021. The Czech Company Free Horizons displays an armed version of its Argus Predator UAV (Unmanned Aerial Vehicle) fitted with a 40mm grenade launcher at Milipol 2021, an International homeland security exhibition that takes place in Paris, France. The Argus is a family of UAVs (Unmanned Aerial Vehicles) that weighs between 10 and 20 kg (with batteries) and can carry a payload from 2 to 30 kg. The flight time with electric power (batteries) of the basic version, depending on the payload is about 45 min with a flight speed of up to 55 km / h. They are manufactured with highly resistant materials and a waterproof finish. In series depending on the version, they are equipped with different types of cameras and with an independent safety system for emergencies. The use of the Argus Predator UAV system fitted with 40mm grenade launcher adapted to fire non-lethal ammunition at a short distance offers a way to ensure greater safety of life force. There is no need for abseiling to individual windows and throwing paralyzing grenades – not only this is ensured by a drone controlled by the operator from a safe distance. The 40mm grenade launcher is supplied as a single barrel of four-barrel. The aiming and firing of the projectile is controlled directly by the drone operator based on data from the surveillance camera, aiming camera and tracing laser displayed in the AR (Augmented Reality) glasses. The grenade launcher is equipped with a central aiming camera, which transmits the image to the AR Glasses and thus provides the operator with up-to-date information about the situation at the observed location and the aiming of the grenade launcher and its immediate use. For greater clarity, a tracing laser is connected to the camera, which displays the dot of the incident beam in the target and thus allows the operator to aim very precisely. Any standard 40mm grenades can be fired from the grenade launcher according to the user’s needs. Using that type of armed drone will reduce the number of group members needed for the intervention. It will cause a psychological effect by using this multi-purpose modern technology.: (Source: UAS VISION/Army Recognition)
25 Oct 21. Finland exercises option for five more K9 SPHs. Finnish Defence Minister Antti Kaikkonen has approved the Finnish Defence Forces’ request to procure five more K9 155 mm self-propelled howitzers (SPHs) in 2022, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) announced on its website on 21 October. The EUR30m (nearly USD35m) contract includes spare parts and supplies. The Finnish MoD said the SPHs had good off- and on-road mobility and would replace artillery that will become obsolete in the 2020s and 2030s and will be decommissioned. It added that the K9 is well-suited for conscripts, providing Finland’s conscript army with modern, cost-effective capabilities. Finland purchased 48 former South Korean Army K9s in 2017. The EUR146m contract included training, spares, and maintenance, with an option to procure additional K9s. Before exercising the option for five more K9s, deliveries of the 48 originally ordered was scheduled to be completed by 2024, when their full operational capability was planned. (Source: Janes)
25 Oct 21. Testing confirms pioneering new composite ExoProtectTM is bulletproof. ExoTechnologies’ sustainable, high-strength composite has passed third party testing for ballistic resistance. The material developed from DANU is called ExoProtectTM and is a specific formula that adds ballistic resistance while maintaining the advantages that make DANU unique. Made from styrene-free resin and sustainable fibres, ExoProtect is stronger and lighter than fibreglass, less brittle than carbon fibre, and is not compromised by water like other polyaramid fibres (Kevlar). Additionally, ExoProtect can be moulded into complex shapes. Unlike many ballistic resistant materials that are only available as panels, it can be customised to whatever shape is required. The composite can be formed to the precise geometries of tactical marine craft, in-service military combat vehicles, and aircraft components to protect personnel and critical mission systems. ExoProtect can also be chemically bonded to DANU, integrating protection that is much stronger than ‘bolt-on’ solutions.
During several rounds of testing, ExoProtectTM met NIJ Level III and IIIA ballistic resistance standards. Testing was conducted by an independent lab with over 50 years of experience. ExoProtect met industry standards for protection from small arms including 9mm and .44 Magnum rounds from 16 feet and 7.62mm rounds from 50 ft. ExoProtect also delivers ballistic resistance against explosive fragments and protects from multiple shots.
“ExoProtect is an excellent step forward in the protection of personnel and equipment in vulnerable situations. In my experience, performance is usually compromised for safety. ExoProtect solves this problem with a stronger, lighter solution,” says Michael J Silah, Rear Admiral (retired) and ExoTechnologies’ Founder.
“The ballistic properties of ExoProtectTM are an exciting additional development to what DANU already brings to the market as a naturally strong composite material used within industries such as marine and wind farm technology, making it relevant to a huge range of other sectors,” Shane Mugan, UBC’s Chief Executive Officer, said.
25 Oct 21. UK Tests Raytheon’s High-Energy Laser C-UAS Weapon. Raytheon UK has been awarded a demonstrator contract to provide a High-Energy Laser Weapon System, or HELWS, to the UK Ministry of Defence. Raytheon UK will deliver the MOD’s high-energy laser demonstrator to show the application of directed energy weapons technology to help protect the UK armed forces from unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) in today’s battlefield.
“High-energy lasers are moving from the laboratory to the field,” said Alex Rose-Parfitt, engineering director, Raytheon UK. “We are partnering with the MOD to accelerate this developing technology and make it available to the UK military. This demonstrator programme will show how the use of high-energy laser weapons could help protect soldiers against UAVs.”
A high-energy laser demonstrator will be installed by the Raytheon UK team on one of the MOD’s Wolfhound land vehicles for a period of comprehensive user experimentation. The experimentation provides an opportunity to see how HELWS could enhance UK capabilities and understanding in high-energy laser weapons, supporting UK’s ambitions to remain an as innovative leader science and technology.
HELWS, a modular counter-UAV system, uses an electro-optical/infrared sensor that prosecutes highly-maneuverable threats with precision and relative ease. The system can be installed on a variety of platforms and has been fielded in several real-world environments; it can also be integrated with many modern air defence systems, offering a robust layered defence capability as needed.
“We are investing £6.6 billion in research and development across Defence over the next four years, reaffirming our commitment to provide the Armed Forces with truly advanced capabilities,” said Minister for Defence Procurement, Jeremy Quin. “Directed Energy Weapons are a key element of our future equipment programmes and we intend to become a world-leader in the research, manufacture and implementation of this next-generation technology.”
As the programme evolves, Raytheon UK will encourage new capabilities and expertise in the UK supply chain and place the country at the forefront of this emerging technology. The Raytheon UK team is collaborating with other British companies on the demonstrator including Frazer Nash, NP Aerospace, and Lumoptica across the UK, to bring high-energy laser technology to the British Army. The contract is part of a wider framework by the UK Ministry of Defence to sustain strategic advantage through science and technology. (Source: UAS VISION)
28 Oct 21. India tests surface-to-surface ballistic missile Agni-V. Agni-V is capable of destroying targets at ranges up to 5,000km with a very high degree of accuracy. India has test-fired surface-to-surface ballistic missile Agni-V that can hit targets located up to 5,000km away. An Indian Ministry of Defence statement said that the missile was successfully launched from APJ Abdul Kalam Island, off the coast of Odisha, without elaborating on other details.
“The successful test of Agni-V is in line with India’s stated policy to have ‘credible minimum deterrence’ that underpins the commitment to ‘No First Use’,” the statement added.
The missile followed a perfect flight trajectory and hit the target within 15 to 18 minutes, reported The Hindustan Times quoting officials aware of the testing. Agni-V is equipped with a three-stage solid-fuelled engine and uses advanced guidance systems to hit targets with a high degree of accuracy. This was the first time that the ballistic missile was launched at night. The Agni missiles, which includes a family of medium to intercontinental-range ballistic missiles, are developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) under the Integrated Guided Missile Development Programme (IGMDP). Earlier this year, DRDO tested a new generation advanced ballistic missile variant Agni-P (Prime) from Dr APJ Abdul Kalam Island. This variant is a ‘canisterised’ surface-to-surface missile with a 1,000km to 2,000km range. It is equipped with a new class of propulsion and guidance and can hit enemy vessels located as far as in the Indo-Pacific. This year, DRDO has also tested Man Portable Antitank Guided Missile (MPATGM) and the New Generation Akash Missile (Akash-NG). (Source: army-technology.com)
22 Oct 21. South Korea seeks to develop missile defense against N. Korea’s artillery barrage. LIG Nex1, a South Korean precision missile developer, displayed this week a mock-up of a low-altitude missile defense system. The LAMD concept model was displayed at the Seoul International Aerospace and Defense Exhibition 2021 at an air base in Seongnam, south of Seoul. The LAMD consists of a missile launcher, a command post and a multifunctional radar. LIG Nex1 displayed a missile that is expected to be modified from the company’s Korean Surface-to-Air Anti-Missile, or K-SAAM, co-developed by the Agency for Defense Development.
An LIG Nex1 official said the missile is to be fitted with an active radar seeker for terminal guidance and capable of intercepting targets up to 7 kilometers away at a maximum altitude of 5 kilometers. The launcher has 16 launch containers in a 4×4 arrangement and is expected to be mounted on a semi-trailer.
“LIG Nex1 has developed and produced a wide range of defense systems for air defense, surveillance, command-and-control, communications, and electronic warfare,” the company said in a press release. “Taking advantage of accumulated technologies and knowhow on systems integration, engagement control, precise tracking and others, we will contribute to developing a state-of-the-art missile interceptor to defend against North Korea’s growing threats of artillery pieces.”
The LAMD is part of South Korea’s efforts to build an advanced layered air defense network that includes land- and ship-based missile defense systems. The LAMD is focused on neutralizing incoming artillery rockets from the North to defend the Seoul metropolitan area in the South, as the North Korean military is believed to have deployed hundreds of long-range artillery pieces along the Military Demarcation Line.
The South Korean military was considering buying the Israeli Iron Dome, but changed its mind given the Israeli air defense system was developed to deter mortar shells, which is less powerful than artillery rockets and short-range ballistic missiles fired by the North.
The request for proposal for the LAMD system is to be issued next year, with a goal to deploy the air defense systems in the early 2030s.
Besides LIG Nex1, Hanwha Systems is expected to compete for the $2.4bn acquisition program by offering its long-range surface-to-air radar and other sensor systems. (Source: Defense News)
22 Oct 21. Royal Navy tests new missile system for defence against small boat attacks. The Royal Navy has successfully tested a new missile system designed to protect the UK’s new aircraft carriers from attacks by swarms of small boats.
During operations in the Pacific Ocean with the UK Carrier Strike Group, HMS Defender’s Wildcat helicopter of 815 Naval Air Squadron fired the Martlet lightweight missile at an inflatable target in the sea – known in the navy as the big red tomato.
It is the first time this type of missile has been launched on frontline operations by the Royal Navy after rigorous testing at ranges off the UK coast by the Yeovilton-based Wildcat Maritime Force last year.
In 0.3 seconds, the missile detached from the Wildcat HMA Mk2 helicopter, accelerating to one and a half times the speed of sound towards its target.
The purpose of the missile system is to add another layer of protection around the Royal Navy’s aircraft carriers, with the Wildcats able to carry up to 20 of the laser-sensor missiles that can be used against stationary and moving targets.
Captain James Blackmore, Carrier Strike Group’s Air Wing Commander, said: “Martlet is a new air to surface lightweight multi-role missile recently introduced into service for the Wildcat helicopter and provides an offensive and defensive capability against small boats and maritime targets that may pose a threat to the Carrier Strike Group.
“The Wildcat is a phenomenally versatile aircraft and the inclusion of up to 20 missiles on each of the four embarked aircraft adds yet another potent capability to the Air Wing and the Carrier Strike Group.
“This first firing during an operational deployment not only gives confidence in the end to end weapon kill chain but also offers an overt demonstration of one of the many strike capabilities provided by the Air Wing from within the Task Group.”
HMS Defender is currently deployed with the UK Carrier Strike’s Group on its maiden global operational deployment.
And the Martlet missile, available for all Wildcats deployed on the task group, is part of the ring of protective steel around carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth. Frigates HMS Kent and HMS Richmond also embark Wildcats along with Type 45 destroyer HMS Diamond.
Meanwhile, HMS Queen Elizabeth adds Merlin helicopters and F-35 Lightning stealth fighter jets to the protective ring. (Source: https://www.gov.uk/)
22 Oct 21. US conduct three tests as part of hypersonic flight campaign. The tests were executed by Sandia National Laboratories from NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility. The US Navy and the US Army conduct a demonstration of advanced hypersonic technologies and prototype systems in a realistic operating environment. Credit: U.S. Navy photo courtesy of Sandia National Laboratories.
The US Navy Strategic Systems Programs (SSP) and the Army Hypersonic Program Office (AHPO) has successfully carried out a High Operational Tempo for its hypersonic flight campaign.
The three tests to advance hypersonic weapon programmes were conducted on 20 October.
These tests were executed by Sandia National Laboratories from NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility.
They were carried out to demonstrate the development of the US Navy’s conventional prompt strike (CPS) and the US Army’s long range hypersonic weapon (LRHW) capabilities.
The rocket launches demonstrated ‘advanced hypersonic technologies, capabilities, and prototype systems in a realistic operating environment.’
They were based on hypersonic experiments from partners such as AHPO, the Joint Hypersonic Transition Office, Johns Hopkins University/Applied Physics Laboratory, SNL, and Oak Ridge National Laboratory.
The US Navy said in a statement: “This test is a vital step in the development of a navy-designed common hypersonic missile, consisting of a Common Hypersonic Glide Body (CHGB) and booster, which will be fielded by both the navy and army with individual weapon systems and launchers tailored for launch from sea or land.”
Hypersonic weapons can travel at over five times the speed of sound, or about 6,200kph in the upper atmosphere.
The tests come after US President Joe Biden expressed concerns about the Chinese hypersonic weapons, reported Reuters.
The US has been developing hypersonic weapons as a part of its conventional strike programme since the early 2000s, with firms such as Lockheed Martin and Raytheon Technologies working on hypersonic weapon capabilities.
Earlier this month, Lockheed Martin opened an advanced production facility focused on hypersonic strike production in the US state of Alabama.
In July, Northrop also broke ground on a new engineering and hypersonic production facility at Elkton in Maryland, US. (Source: naval-technology.com)
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Arnold Defense has manufactured more than 1.25 million 2.75-inch rocket launchers since 1961 for the U.S. Army, U.S. Navy, U.S. Air Force and many NATO customers. They are the world’s largest supplier of rocket launchers for military aircraft, vessels and vehicles. Core products include the 7-round M260 and 19-round M261 commonly used by helicopters; the thermal coated 7-round LAU-68 variants and LAU-61 Digital Rocket Launcher used by the U.S. Navy and Marines; and the 7-round LAU-131 and SUU-25 flare dispenser used by the U.S. Air Force and worldwide.
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