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07 Dec 18. Lockheed Martin Tests New M-SHORAD Future Interceptor. Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control on 14 November conducted a successful initial ballistic flight test of its new M-SHORAD Future Interceptor from a Stryker Manoeuvre SHORAD Launcher (MSL) at the White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico. The M-SHORAD Future Interceptor leverages Lockheed Martin and government technology investment in a 6 ft-class hit-to-kill interceptor designed to defeat unmanned aircraft systems (UASs), fixed- and rotary-wing aircraft, and cruise missiles.
“The 5 inch diameter interceptor fits in the same envelope as the AGM-114L Longbow Hellfire missile currently being integrated on the MSL for the US Army’s Stryker-based interim manoeuvre SHORAD [short-range air-defence] capability, and provides significantly more range and manoeuvrability,” a Lockheed Martin spokesperson told Jane’s .
“The internally funded test objectives were to demonstrate key technologies, vehicle stability, and range. The Interceptor performance matched our predictions,” the spokesperson said.
“The driver for this development is how to address air-breathing threats for US Army manoeuvre forces beyond its current Stinger/Stryker capability,” Tim Cahill, Vice President, Integrated Air and Missile Defense, at Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control told Jane’s . “We’ve designed a medium-size hit-to-kill for what we believe will be the [US] Army’s range requirement for an M-SHORAD missile. The imperative of M-SHORAD is range and capability in the size of a missile that is manageable and affordable; Stinger is performance limited, other missiles are too long. So I believe it should be a hit-to-kill missile for M-SHORAD, and we will follow the PAC-3 MSE formula for both future land and sea applications,” he added.
Lockheed Martin has not disclosed additional specific detail on the M-SHORAD Future Interceptor, including its interception range, weight, and homing guidance. (Source: UAS VISION/Jane’s 360)
07 Dec 18. South Korea eyes $300m deal to buy U.S. missiles for Aegis destroyers. South Korea plans to buy dozens of U.S.-built ship-to-air missiles, in an order worth about $300m, to boost air defences against North Korea, even as it moves to reduce tension with Pyongyang, Seoul’s arms buying agency said on Friday. Since 2013, South Korea has bought Standard Missile-2s, developed by Raytheon Co, in instalments to equip three Aegis destroyers preparing to be deployed in the mid-2020s. It aimed to ramp up the capability to detect and track missiles from the North, as its neighbour developed nuclear programmes ultimately targeting the United States in defiance of international sanctions. The latest missile purchase decision by a defence acquisition panel paves the way for delivery of the final batch, an official of South Korea’s Defence Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) said. The official declined to state the number of missiles, citing security concerns, but said there would be “dozens”, with the total order valued at about 340bn won ($304m). (Source: Reuters)
06 Dec 18. Adding to the SeagullTM Unmanned Surface Vessels’ (USV) capability to mount and launch light weight torpedoes, Elbit Systems ISTAR division has teamed with Leonardo to develop and demonstrate Leonardo’s lightweight and mini torpedoes launching capabilities from the USV. The two companies announced the agreement at Exponaval (Valparaiso, Chile, 4-7 December). The solution will be based on the same architecture used for airborne torpedo launching systems. Operational with the Israeli Navy, Elbit Systems’ Seagull USV performed superbly in the Belgian Defence Ministry 2017 North Sea trials and has been participating regularly in international naval exercises conducting Mine Counter Measures and Anti-Submarine Warfare missions. Leonardo holds a strategic market position in the design, production and integration of torpedoes with over 30 Countries having selected its systems.
05 Dec 18. Peresvet Combat Lasers Enter Duty with Russia’s Armed Forces. Russian-made combat lasers, Peresvet, have started to enter duty with the Russian armed forces, the Russian Defense Ministry’s Krasnaya Zvezda newspaper reported on Wednesday.
“Peresvet laser systems, based on new physical principles, entered combat service in testing regime with the Russian armed forces,” the paper said. “The armed forces started receiving them in 2017 as part of the state procurement program.”
Russian military personnel operating those systems underwent special training at the Mozhaysky Military Space Academy in Russia’s second largest city of St. Petersburg.
“As combat units trained using this advanced weaponry, they learned and practiced their deployment and preparations for use,” the paper said.
During his State of the Nation Address on March 1, Russian President Vladimir Putin suggested county fellows choose names for a laser weapon, an underwater nuclear-powered drone and a nuclear-powered cruise missile. The laser combat system was named Peresvet after Alexander Peresvet, a medieval Russian warrior monk. During that speech, Putin said that “significant progress” was achieved in Russia’s laser weaponry program and “there are all reasons to believe that we are one step ahead our rivals in this sphere.” However, he gave no further details, saying only that the time was not ripe at that moment.
“I do not want to reveal more details. It is not the time yet. But experts will understand that with such weaponry, Russia’s capacities for defending itself have multiplied.”
05 Dec 18. Centauro II Mobile Gun Systems takes shape. Leonardo Defence Systems has confirmed that the Italian Army placed its first contract for 11 Centauro II 8×8 Mobile Gun Systems (MGSs) in July. Details about the contract were revealed to Jane’s in November. This order comprises the single prototype to be brought up to full production standard, as well as 10 new Centauro II vehicles and a two-year support package. Extensive user trials resulted in several suggested improvements, and these are being fitted to the prototype that will be completed in 2019 for final test and evaluation. Improvements include installing an identification, friend-or-foe (IFF) system, latest generation radios, and new grenade launchers that are to meet the European environmental requirements.
The commander and loader’s hatches are to be capable of being lifted through 180°, and the driver’s situational awareness is to be improved for driving in the closed-hatch position. The roof-mounted Hitrole remote weapon system (RWS), armed with a 12.7 mm machine gun (MG), will be repositioned because its location on the forward part of the turret roof can restrict the view through the commander’s Leonardo Attila stabilised day (colour charge device camera)/third-generation thermal sighting system that includes a laser rangefinder.
Production of the complete hull and running gear will be undertaken at Iveco Defence Vehicles Bolzano facility, while the turret is to be manufactured at the Leonardo Defence Systems facility in La Spezia.
The first four production Centauro II 8×8 MGSs are slated to be complete in the last half of 2020, followed by another six in 2021. The Italian Army’s total requirement for the Centauro II 8×8 MGS, funding permitting, is for 148 units in two batches of 74, with tranches within these batches. (Source: IHS Jane’s)
05 Dec 18. Almaz-Antey details new Viking air-defence system. Russian air-defence systems manufacturer Almaz-Antey has disclosed detail of the new export variant of its Buk-M3 (SA-11, NATO: Gadfly) surface-to-air missile (SAM) system: the 9K317E Viking system. According to the company, the 9K317E Viking SAM system can simultaneously engage up to 36 targets, and “is designed to engage cruise missile, frontline and strategic aircraft, high-precision weapons, stealth targets, rotary-wing platforms [including hovering], and radio-emitting surface and ground targets in contested areas.”
In its baseline configuration, the Viking system comprises a 9S510ME command-and-control post, target detection system, up to six 9S36ME radars, up to six 9A317ME transport-erector launchers (TELs), up to 12 9A316 self-propelled launchers, and 9M317ME interceptor.
The 9K317E interceptor system can engage combat aircraft at a distance of 60km, helicopters <60 km, stealth aircraft <40 km, tactical ballistic missiles <25 km, cruise missiles <20 km, ground and surface radar-emitting targets <15 km, and hovering helicopters <12 km.
The 9A317ME TEL is armed with six interceptors, while the 9A316ME self-propelled launcher carries 12 interceptors. The whole system has a reaction time of no more than 10─12 seconds and a combat readiness time of 5─10 minutes, Almaz-Antey source told Jane’s. (Source: IHS Jane’s)
04 Dec 18. Finnish Army tests GMLRS AW ammunition for long-range effects. The Finnish Army has conducted testing of the guided multiple launch rocket system alternative warhead’s (GMLRS AW) new ammunition in Rovajärvi training exercise area, Lapland, Finland. The test firing was conducted to validate the new ammunition’s long-range capability and precision. During testing, the heavy rocket launcher’s ammunition demonstrated the desired capability requirements, increasing the Finnish Defence Forces’ sustained readiness for long-range fires. In a statement, Finnish Defence Forces Artillery Inspector colonel Pasi Pasivirta said: “The performance capability of this new ammunition has now become validated. The GMLRS rockets will enhance the Finnish Defence Forces’ readiness for sustained long-range fires. These rockets enable precision fires from increasingly longer distances and thus increase the capability for defending the entire country.”
In 2016, Finland Defence Minister Jussi Niinistö approved a proposal to procure munition for a heavy rocket launcher system under a foreign military sale from the US.
The munition procurement was for both GMLRS AW to engage area targets and for GMLRS UNITARY for precision fire.
The GMLRS ammunition and heavy rocket launcher system are manufactured by Lockheed Martin.
Each rocket is packaged in a multiple launch pod and is fired from the launcher, with a range of approximately 80km.
Last month, the Finnish Defence Forces’ Logistics Command received a mandate to conclude a contract with the US Government to procure upgrade kits of the Universal Fire Control System (UFCS).
The upgrade kits will allow using new munitions with the heavy rocket launcher. The Finnish heavy rocket launcher system was procured in 2006. (Source: army-technology.com)
04 Dec 18. Latest Peruvian patrol boats to receive Escribano turrets. The Peruvian Navy has selected turret systems from Spanish company Escribano Mechanical and Engineering for its next two PGCP-50 coastguard patrol boats. The turrets will equip the fifth and sixth vessels of the Rio Pativilca class, which are being built by state-run Peruvian shipyard Servicios Industriales de la Marina (SIMA) at its Chimbote facilities. Earlier ships in the 55m, 500 tonne class have been equipped with the 30mm Typhoon and Mini Typhoon from Israeli group Rafael Advanced Defense Systems. SIMA Peru and the Peruvian Navy are understood to have taken the decision to switch to Escribano turrets in accordance with an agreement signed two years ago covering the possibility of joint ventures on system developments that could be sold to third countries. (Source: IHS Jane’s)
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Control Solutions LLC is a turnkey design and manufacturing corporation with over 20 years experience solving tough military motion control problems. We focus on improving the safety, survivability, and mission effectiveness for personnel in tactical vehicles. We will be showcasing our CS5100 Lightweight Motorized Turret System as well as new JLTV-ready gun turrets. We have fielded over 60,000 ITDS and BPMTU motorized turret systems for the HMMWV, MRAP, and other tactical vehicle programs. We will present a family of accessories including weapon-mounted actuators, turret power and spotlight kits, and novel soldier power solutions. Control Solutions is on a mission to help solve your toughest motion control challenges.
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