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20 Oct 16. Northrop submits proposal for USAF’s ICBM programme. Northrop Grumman has submitted a proposal for the modernisation of the US Air Force’s (USAF) intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) system.
The company intends to replace the existing ICBM with a new ground based strategic deterrent (GBSD).
The GBSD will replace the existing ICBM missile system, including the weapon systems command and control; flight, launch and ground systems; and cyber elements, Northrop said in a statement.
Northrop Grumman Aerospace Systems GBSD vice-president and capture manager Carol Erikson said: “The ICBM system has been an effective deterrent since its inception.
“Northrop Grumman has submitted a proposal leveraging our comprehensive ICBM weapons system understanding to deliver a low-risk, adaptable solution within cost and schedule.”
The company has been the systems integrator on every ICBM weapon system in the US.
The USAF had issued a request for proposals for its ICBM programme in July this year.
The ageing LGM-30 Minuteman III ICBM systems were fielded in the late 1990s and early 2000s with an intended 20-year lifespan.
The air force intends to develop and deliver an integrated weapon system, including launch and command and control segments.
The new GBSD weapon system will meet existing national requirements, while having the adaptability and flexibility to affordably address changing technology and threat environments through 2075, the USAF said in a statement. Deployment of the new system is expected to begin in the late 2020s. (Source: airforce-technology.com)
20 Oct 16. Russia to start testing Pantsir-SM. Key Points:
• The Pantsir-SM will use a new high-speed SAM with improved capabilities against cruise missile and UAV targets
• Provision for the naval version of the Pantsir-SM system will be incorporated into new-construction Project 20380 Buyan-class missile-armed corvettes from 2017
The KBP Instrument Design Bureau’s upgraded Pantsir-SM integrated gun and surface-to-air missile (SAM) system may be ready to enter production in as soon as two years, according to Vladimir Popov, general director of the Shcheglovsky Val Defence Company (a KBP subsidiary).
Popov said on 7 October that engineering for the Pantsir-SM has been completed and work on building the first test units will start later this year or in early 2017. (Source: IHS Jane’s)
20 Oct 16. Euronaval 2016: Unmanned MCM team lines up. A French industry cluster comprising aluminium shipbuilder OCEA, underwater and robotics specialist ECA, and training facilitator DCI has come together to offer an end-to-end, stand-off unmanned mine-countermeasures (MCM) system for the export market.
The co-development and marketing agreement between the three companies was formally signed at the Euronaval exhibition in Paris on 19 October. The team’s proposed concept marries an MCM mothership variant of OCEA’s OSV 190 survey vessel with an offboard MCM suite – including an Inspector Mk 2 unmanned surface vessel, autonomous underwater vehicles, and a mission management system – developed by ECA. DCI’s role is to provide MCM operational training and technical assistance, providing knowledge transfer from the French Navy. (Source: IHS Jane’s)
19 Oct 16. The life-extension program for the B61-12 atomic bomb will cost just over $8.25bn, according to a new estimate from the National Nuclear Security Agency (NNSA). The new cost estimate was completed over the summer as the agency prepared to enter the production-engineering phase of the program. The baseline cost of the program is $7.605bn, with an additional $648m in “funds leveraged from other NNSA programs for technology and manufacturing readiness,” according to an agency statement – money that has common applications across multiple weapon systems.
That cost