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18 Dec 18. U.S. State Department clears $3.5bn sale of Patriot missiles to Turkey. The U.S. State Department has approved a possible $3.5bn sale of Patriot air and missile defence systems to Turkey, the Pentagon said on Tuesday after notifying Congress of the certification. The Defence Security Cooperation Agency said the State Department had approved the sale of 80 Patriot guidance-enhanced missiles and 60 other missiles to Ankara along with related equipment, including radar sets, engagement control stations and launching stations. The State Department said earlier this year it was working with NATO ally Turkey on the possible sale of a Raytheon Co Patriot missile defence system to keep it from buying a Russian-made S-400 system. (Source: Reuters)
19 Dec 18. US Army decides to proceed with the Iron Fist Light APS on The Bradley. General Dynamics Ordnance and Tactical Systems (GD-OTS) in cooperation with Elbit Systems and IMI’s team is moving forward with Phase II of their Iron Fist Light (IFL) Active Protection System (APS) following the announcement of a positive Army Requirements Oversight Council (AROC) decision.
The low size and weight, ease of integration, and versatile high-performance positions IFL as an ideal candidate for the Bradley Fighting Vehicle. Iron Fist Light uses independent optical sensors, tracking radar, launchers and countermeasure munitions to defeat threats at a safe distance from the defended combat vehicles. The system provides 360-degree protection coverage for close-range scenarios in both open terrain and urban environments. Fielding active protection capabilities has been identified as an urgent need by the US Army.
“We are excited to move into Phase II and bring the vast capabilities of our Active Protection System to the Bradley Fighting Vehicle. We look forward to continuing to partner with the Army on advancing this important technology as well as enhancing integration capabilities across multiple Army platforms” said Steve Elgin, vice president and general manager of armament and platform systems for General Dynamics Ordnance and Tactical Systems.
“We are proud to support the US Army and cooperate with GD-OTS in delivering the Iron Fist Light – a sophisticated protection system that will enhance the capabilities of a variety of Army platforms while defeating a wide range of threats” said Yehuda (Udi) Vered, executive vice president and general manager of Elbit Systems Land Division.
18 Dec 18. China Flight Tests New Submarine-Launched Missile: First flight of JL-3 nuclear missile conducted in November. China carried out a flight test of a new submarine-launched ballistic missile last month that will carry multiple nuclear warheads capable of targeting most of the United States, according to American defense officials. The launch in late November was the first time the Chinese military flight tested the Julong-3, or JL-3 missile that will be deployed with the next generation of ballistic missile submarines, said officials familiar with the test who said it appeared successful. Julong is Chinese for Big Wave. The test was closely monitored by U.S. intelligence agencies that detected the launch with missile warning satellites. No additional details of the flight test could be learned. Pentagon spokesmen declined to comment. “The Pentagon will not comment on the intelligence related to Chinese missile tests,” said Lt. Col. Chris Logan, one of the spokesmen. China’s missile force announced, without elaborating, that five missile flight tests were conducted between Nov. 20 and 23. (Source: defense-aerospace.com/Free Beacon)
18 Dec 18. Russia wants back in on India’s gun and missile system competition. Russia has lodged a protest over India’s decision to disquality its two munitions systems from the $1.6bn Army program, spurring newfound tensions between the two allies. During a meeting of the India-Russia Inter-Governmental Commission on Military Technical Cooperation in New Delhi Thursday, visiting Russia Defence Minister Gen. Sergei Shoigu made clear his displeasure about the upgraded Tunguska system and a system from Pantsir being kicked out of the pending program, a source from the India Ministry of Defence confirmed.
In October, the Indian Army officially declared Hanwha Defense Systems of South Korea as the only qualified company for the gun and missile system program. In the 2013 global tender, Indian Army shortlisted three companies — Hanwha Defense Systems, which offered its Hybrid Biho system, and Russian companies Almaz Ante, which offered its upgraded Tunguska system, and KBP Tula, which offer its Pantsir system. During the IRIGC-MTC, Gen. Shoigu accused the Indian Army trial teams of purposely not completing the full trials last year. A Russian diplomat said on condition of anonymity that the two defense companies and the Russian defense ministry issued separate letters to MoD last month to reevaluate the entire selection process before making a final call.
However, a senior Indian Army official said both the upgraded Tunguska system fielded by Almaz Ante and Pantsir by KBP Tula systems were not fully compliant during the trials. The program calls for procurement of five regiments, or 104 systems, of gun missiles systems, including 4,928 missiles and 172,260 rounds of ammunition costing $1.6bn. The winner will have to provide full maintenance technology transfer for missiles to state-owned Ordnance Factory Board. The proposed gun and missile system should have a day and night camera functionality and a built-in simulator, and the gun should engage a target at 350 rounds per second, while the missile should have a range of five kilometers. The system should be able to operate up to 50 kilometers on a single fuel tank, and should have a minimum operation endurance of eight hours without refueling.
The Indian Army is looking for a mix of both gun and missiles mounted on one or separate high mobility vehicles. In addition, the gun as well as the missile should be able to engage aerial targets both with and without the fire control radar, either independently or simultaneously. (Source: Defense News)
18 Dec 18. Israel – Gaza: Hamas Group Qassam Brigades displays modified SA-7 MANPADS during parade. On 16 December, the Qassam Brigades of the Palestinian Hamas group released a video report displaying its fighters in possession of Russian-made 9K32 Strela-2 (SA-7 GRAIL) man-portable air-defence systems (MANPADS) in the Gaza Strip. Of note, the SA-7s were equipped with gripstocks from Chinese-made QW-18 MANPADS. This represents the first documented deployment of QW-18 MANPADS components in the Gaza Strip. Our analysis indicates Gaza-based militants have employed improvised external battery units to operate SA-7 MANPADS since at least 2012. However, such tactics are unsophisticated and often unreliable. The use of QW-18 components to operate SA-7 MANPADS requires a notable degree of technical proficiency not previously observed in Gaza from within the Qassam Brigades air defence units. According to the US FAA, the most capable variants of MANPADS can pose a threat to aircraft at altitudes below 25,000 feet AGL.
Analysis
Based on our analysis, Palestinian militants have utilised MANPADS on at least five occasions in attempted surface-to-air fire engagements targeting Israeli military air assets near or over the Gaza Strip since 2011. Multiple Palestinian militant groups in addition to the Qasaam Brigades are assessed to be in possession of MANPADS capable of engaging aircraft below FL260. During early October, the extremist Palestinian Islamic Jihad group released a video report displaying its fighters in possession of Russian-made 9K38 Igla (SA-18 GROUSE) MANPADS in Gaza. On 26 January, the extremist Jaysh al-Islam group, which has links to the Islamic State terror network, released a photo report displaying its fighters conducting SA-7 MANPADS training in Gaza. Of note, Israeli military airstrikes on 29-30 May reportedly targeted a Hamas group SA-7 MANPADS storage site in the Gaza Strip. Israeli military airstrikes in Gaza on 20 July reportedly targeted “unique aerial defences” belonging to Hamas, which we assess to be additional MANPADS storage sites. We continue to assess the Gaza Strip, along with areas inside Israel situated within 32 miles (50 km) of Gaza and the Egyptian border, to comprise a HIGH risk airspace operating environment below FL260.
Risk area recommendation: Comprehensive risk mitigation measures
- Flights below FL260 not advised; essential flights over FL260 via measures below
- Defer diverting from flight plan with the exception of life threatening situations
- Security and operational risk-based identification of pre-planned divert airports
- Reliable and redundant communications with an established communications plan
- Fully-coordinated and robust emergency response plan supplemented by asset tracking
Advice
Approvals: Operators are advised to ensure flight plans are correctly filed, attain proper special approvals for flight operations to sensitive locations and obtain relevant overflight permits prior to departure. In addition, ensure crews scheduled to operate to or over the country in the near term are fully aware of the latest security situation.
Military Air Activity: Increased military air operations; to include airstrikes, have the potential to cause airspace congestion and impact the safety of civil aviation flights. Any significant increase in the amount of air operations over the country may impact the availability of airports along with access to the airspace. Aviation operators should monitor airport/airspace-specific airspace-specific notices, bulletins, circulars, advisories, prohibitions and restrictions prior to departure to avoid flight schedule disruption.
Weapons Trafficking: Poor provisions of security through porous borders and an influx of weapons; including anti-aircraft systems, has facilitated a resurgence in VNSA activity in recent years. The country has historically been a hub of VNSA activity and a key route for arms-smuggling given its remoteness and anti-government sentiment due to the lack of economic opportunities. The presence of large, relatively unpoliced areas of the country are also vulnerable to security and or terrorism threats due to instability and porous borders, where VNSA groups are present.
18 Dec 18. Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT) has delivered the first Long Range Anti-Ship Missiles (LRASM) to U.S. Air Force operational units, achieving Early Operational Capability (EOC) status ahead of schedule. After successfully completing the required integration, flight testing and modeling and simulation, warfighters accepted the first of many tactical production units, meeting key criteria for the EOC declaration milestone.
“This event is the culmination of successful partnerships with the U.S. Air Force, Navy and DARPA,” said David Helsel, LRASM director at Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control. “This milestone serves as a great example of collaboration to bring critical capabilities to the warfighter at accelerated acquisition timelines.”
LRASM is designed to detect and destroy specific targets within groups of ships by employing advanced technologies that reduce dependence on intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance platforms, network links and GPS navigation in contested environments. LRASM will play a significant role in ensuring military access to operate in open ocean/blue waters, owing to its enhanced ability to discriminate and conduct tactical engagements from extended ranges.
LRASM is a precision-guided, anti-ship standoff missile based on the successful Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile – Extended Range. It is designed to meet the needs of U.S. Navy and Air Force warfighters in contested environments. The air-launched variant, integrated onboard the U.S. Air Force’s B-1B, provides an early operational capability meeting the offensive anti-surface warfare Increment I requirement. LRASM is on schedule to achieve EOC on the U.S. Navy’s F/A-18E/F Super Hornet in 2019.
18 Dec 18. Indian Army issues global RFI for 938 air-defence guns. The Indian Army (IA) has invited responses by 17 January from foreign manufacturers to its request for information (RFI) for 938 air-defence guns and 505,920 rounds of ammunition to plug an operational gap in its inventory. The RFI, which was issued on 27 November, requires the ammunition to comprise 342,720 high-explosive rounds and 163,200 Smart 3P all-target rounds. The air-defence guns, which must not weigh more than 5,000kg, are required to fire 300rds/min and be able to engage aerial targets to a range of more than 4km and an altitude of 2,500m. They should also be able to engage targets moving at speeds of 500m/s and above, and have a “minimum hit probability of 0.6 during an engagement cycle”. (Source: IHS Jane’s)
18 Dec 18. Lithuania receives first upgraded PzH2000 howitzers. The Lithuanian Armed Forces has received the first two upgraded heavy self-propelled artillery systems, Panzerhaubitze 2000 (PzH2000) howitzers. Delivered to the Lithuanian Artillery Battalion, the heavy artillery systems were procured from the German Armed Forces.
National Defence vice-minister Giedrimas Jeglinskas said: “A modern military conflict, as we can see from the military actions in Ukraine and other hotspots, efficient artillery is one of the most important pillars of defence, which is also of deterrence. These fully upgraded, armoured, heavy tracked self-propelled howitzers will doubtlessly enhance defensive capabilities of the Lithuanian Armed Forces, they are still the highest standard in indirect artillery to date.”
In September 2015, Lithuania signed a contract with the German Armed Forces to acquire18 upgraded howitzers in combat setup mode.
Featuring upgraded control battlefield control, and fire control software, the new PzH2000 howitzers will enhance the firing range of the battalion by up to 40km.
The battalion has been using the 105mm howitzers with a firing range of roughly 11km.
With the new equipment, Lithuanian soldiers will begin training with the howitzers.
Lithuania’s future military maintenance personnel and operators, howitzer crews and planning officers have already participated in various training courses in Germany.
Next year, the new howitzers will be deployed to fire the first shots during Exercise Fire thunder.
General R Giedraitis Artillery Battalion commander lieutenant colonel Marijus Jonelis said: “This is the best Christmas present the Artillery Battalion could get. Such gifts will increase the Battalion personnel’s motivation to seek the status of the biggest firepower status in the Lithuanian Armed Forces even more, of course, the gifts have arrived along with new responsibility. Troops have to reach set goals, demonstrate excellent results, and take care of the new equipment.”
The remaining howitzers will be delivered to the Lithuanian Armed Forces by the end of next year. (Source: army-technology.com)
17 Dec 18. Brazil conducts test firing of MANSUP anti-ship missile. The Brazilian Navy and industry in late 2018 achieved a major milestone in the effort to develop an indigenous surface-to-surface anti-ship missile (ASM) capability, with the first flight trial of a representative MANSUP (Míssil Antinavio Nacional de Superfície) missile.
On 27 November the navy launched a prototype MANSUP ASM with a telemetry warhead from the Cv Barroso (V34) corvette, some 300 km off the coast of Rio de Janeiro. Three missiles were manufactured for flight trials and a single functional testing missile model or MTF (Modelo de Teste Funcional) was manufactured for the testing activity.
The event, which was originally scheduled for October, “enables the navy and the industry team to proceed with development of the missile,” a navy spokesperson told Jane’s. “MANSUP significantly contributes to the country’s defence technological and industrial base [DTIB] and accordingly provides Brazil with the technological ability and autonomy to complete the life-cycle of weapons of this class,” he added.
MANSUP is intended to replace the navy’s current MBDA Exocet MM40 Block 1 ASM capability and can be launched from the MBDA ITL-70A launcher installed in several existing Brazilian Navy surface ships. The MANSUP missile weighs 860kg (including a 154kg high-explosive blast fragmentation warhead), is 5780mm in length, 344mm diameter, has a wingspan of 1,135mm, and has a range of approximately 70km.
Avibras Indústria Aeroespacial provides the solid propellant rocket-motor solution – which delivers transonic speed (between Mach 0.8 and 1.2) – and the safety and arming unit (SAU), structural items including body wings, and assembly and testing of the prototype missiles. Jane’s understands that the MANSUP rocket motor solution leverages technologies previously developed by Avibras for the 543 kg AV-RE 40 propulsion system designed to re-power Brazilian Exocet MM40 Block Is. (Source: IHS Jane’s)
18 Dec 18. Indonesian Navy to remove main gun from Ahmad Yani frigate for gunnery simulator. Key Points:
- Indonesia is building a naval gunnery simulator that will be equipped with a 76mm cannon retrieved from an Ahmad Yani-class frigate
- The simulator, which will feature a mock-up bridge and mock-up combat systems, will significantly improve the Indonesian Navy’s training efficiencies
The Indonesian Navy (Tentara Nasional Indonesia – Angkatan Laut: TNI-AL) is preparing to remove the primary weapon from one of its Ahmad Yani (Van Spejk)-class frigates, KRI Slamet Riyadi (352).
The weapon, a 76mm Oto Melara naval cannon, will instead be installed at a future land-based gunnery simulator that will be built in Paiton, East Java. A source from within the TNI-AL and an Indonesian defence industry source have both confirmed the matter with Jane’s separately.
The sea-facing gunnery simulator will be constructed on an existing small-calibre weapons range currently in use by the Indonesian Marine Corps (Korps Marinir: KORMAR). The facility will be managed by the Indonesian state-owned defence electronics company PT Len on a commercial contract once it is ready.
“The existing range in Paiton is usually used to train our KORMAR personnel on the 40mm, 37mm, 20mm, and 12.7mm weapons,” the TNI-AL source told Jane’s. “We don’t have a facility yet for 76mm and 57mm calibre weapons,” he said, adding that the future gunnery simulator will significantly improve the TNI-AL’s training efficiencies, and lower operational costs as trainees do not have to be deployed at-sea for the purpose.
The simulator complex, which is slated to begin construction in 2019, will be equipped to emulate a range of combat operations at sea, and feature a fire-control radar, combat management systems, and communication systems trainers. An image released by the industry source indicates that Slamet Riyadi ‘s gun will be mounted on an elevated pedestal ahead of a bridge simulator complex. (Source: IHS Jane’s)
17 Dec 18. Major Aus Munitions Contracts. The Government today announced the Australian Defence Force has entered into two significant munitions contracts. Minister for Defence, the Hon Christopher Pyne MP, said the Commonwealth has signed a three-year contract worth AU$81.6m with NIOA of Brisbane to supply 81mm high explosive and practice mortar ammunition.
“This acquisition will allow Army to sustain its current mortar capability ahead of projects to modernise the 81mm mortar fleet with a lighter weight system,” Minister Pyne said.
This contract builds on NIOA’s other recent awards under the Major Munitions Contract, Future Artillery Ammunition Contract, the recent announcement of their tenancy at the Australian Government owned munitions factory at Benalla and their associated Joint Venture with Rheinmetall in Maryborough, Queensland. Collectively these contracts will create 200 jobs in Brisbane QLD, Maryborough QLD and Benalla in regional Victoria.
“Delivery of products will commence in April 2019 with final deliveries planned for April 2022.”
Minister Pyne said the Commonwealth has also signed a contract with General Dynamics Ordnance and Tactical Systems of Canada.
“This is a four-year, AU$62.7m deal with General Dynamics Ordnance and Tactical Systems of Canada to supply 155mm high explosive howitzer ammunition for our artillery guns,” Minister Pyne said.
“This acquisition allows Army to sustain its current artillery capability and support its training requirements as we move towards modernisation of the 155mm fleet under the LAND 17-1C2 Future Artillery Ammunition Project being delivered by NIOA.
“This contract has been awarded to ensure capability of the current ADF in-service ammunition is maintained, with delivery commencing April 2019.” (Source: ASD Network)
17 Dec 18. The Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE: NOC) AQS-24B mine hunting system demonstrated the benefits of performing mine warfare from a high-speed, unmanned surface vessel (USV) at the Royal Australian Navy-sponsored Autonomous Warrior 2018 exercise in Jervis Bay, Australia.
The Northrop Grumman remote controlled Mine Hunting Unmanned Surface Vessel (MHU), with the AQS-24B mine hunting sensor, demonstrated a safe standoff mine hunting and undersea surveillance capability targeted at addressing three key aspects of the mine warfare challenge: reducing the mine clearance timeline; accurate detection, localization, classification and identification of undersea objects of interest; and improving crew safety by keeping the sailor out of the minefield. The AQS-24B system includes the world’s first combined operational High-Speed Synthetic Aperture Sonar and an optical laser line scan sensor, which provides complete coverage out to maximum range on a single pass. The real time analysis capability demonstrated how unmanned systems can augment manned mine warfare operations.
“The demonstration highlighted Northrop Grumman’s leading role in proving the operational utility of unmanned maritime systems in the mine warfare domain,” said Alan Lytle, vice president, undersea systems, Northrop Grumman. “At operational speeds significantly higher than other mine hunting systems on the market, the USV/AQS-24B combination successfully completed a number of scenarios and challenges that were set by the Royal Australian Navy’s exercise command task group.”
The MHU was outfitted with L3 ASV’s ‘ASView’ unmanned control system. The system provided the capability to control the vessel from a remote location with minimal human oversight. ASView’s situational awareness displays provided the remote captain full control and awareness to safely execute dynamic demands of mine warfare missions.
“L3 ASV is excited to be supporting Northrop Grumman’s mine hunting system with our unmanned surface vehicle technology,” said Larry Karl, vice president and general manager, L3 ASV. “This operation has demonstrated the flexibility of the system which will enable it to support future mine hunting and defense applications.”
17 Dec 18. Small assault-style rifle firms thriving under activists’ radar. A decade ago, Kentucky’s Anderson Manufacturing was a small machine shop that didn’t make firearms. By 2016, it was making more rifles than Smith & Wesson, according to the latest available data from the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF). Anderson’s big seller: assault-style rifles that cost up to $2,100 and require no lubrication. Anderson says it made nearly 454,000 rifles that year, or about 57,000 more than Smith & Wesson. Anderson is the leader among a cluster of small, private companies that are taking market share from America’s biggest gun makers. They are doing so with catchy marketing or weapons that have, for example, more knockdown power for hunting wild pigs.
Some rifles made by companies such as Patriot Ordnance Factory and Daniel Defense fire larger .308-caliber rounds instead of the .223-caliber rounds more commonly used in AR-15s. Another firm, Kel-Tec CNC Industries Inc, makes the hot-selling Sub-2000 rifle – which folds up small enough to fit into a backpack. It costs $500 and fires popular 9mm handgun ammunition.
“It’s easy to conceal in some sort of bag that is not screaming, ‘Gun,’” said Cape Gun Works owner Toby Leary in Hyannis, Massachusetts. “People like it for the discreetness.”
By contrast, America’s leading gun makers have struggled over the past two years, with the three biggest seeing their rifle market share slip to 44 percent in 2016 from 57 percent in 2011, according to ATF data. Over the same period, a cluster of about 30 small companies combined for 51 percent of overall rifle production, up from 37 percent.
Top rifle maker Remington Outdoor Company emerged from bankruptcy in May. Net firearms sales at Sturm Ruger & Company Inc fell 7 percent during the nine-month period that ended Sept. 30. And American Outdoor Brands Corp, parent of Smith & Wesson, saw shipments of long guns, including rifles, fall 32 percent in fiscal 2018, compared to the previous year.
Gun sales surged to historic highs during the Obama administration amid fears of more restrictive gun laws with a Democrat in the White House. But since Republican Donald Trump became president gun sales have fallen. The adjusted number of criminal background checks, a proxy for guns sales, fell 10 percent in November from the year-ago period, according to the FBI.
The biggest three companies – Remington, Ruger and American Outdoor – did not comment for this report, nor did the smaller manufacturers Anderson, Patriot, Daniel and Kel-tec.
Smaller players largely have sidestepped scrutiny about their products or their financing because activists have mostly focused on pressuring big retailers and gun makers with publicly traded stock or debt held by mutual funds. Excluding the big three, there were 28 companies that made 10,000 or more rifles in 2016, up from 20 companies in 2011, according to ATF data.
“The number of manufacturers was shocking to me,” said Christopher Ailman, chief investment officer for the $219bn California State Teachers’ Retirement system, which this fall started a new effort to press gun makers and retailers on safety.
Surging sales of assault-style rifles under the Obama administration paved the way for smaller gun makers to enter the market. Larger manufacturers have in recent years had trouble meeting a spike in demand for rifles like the semi-automatic AR-15, leaving room for Anderson and others, said Stefanie Zanders, chief operating officer of gun distributor Zanders Sporting Goods in Illinois.
“The ARs just took off, and some manufacturers couldn’t keep up,” she said in a telephone interview.
Overall, rifles accounted for 2.7 percent of the weapons used on U.S. murder victims in 2017, FBI data show. But assault-style rifles are at the center of America’s gun-policy debate because they have been used in deadly mass shootings, including last year’s sniper attack that killed 58 at a Las Vegas music festival.
The shooter used weapons made by small and large companies when he fired more than 1,000 rounds into a crowded music festival. Those included ones manufactured by Daniel Defense, FN America LLC, LWRC International, Patriot Ordnance Factory and Sturm Ruger, according to a report from the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department.
FREE-FLOWING CAPITAL
This year, lenders including Citigroup Inc and Bank of America Corp outlined new restrictions on lending to gun makers and retailers after a gunman killed 17 people at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, with an assault-style rifle.
Also in the wake of that shooting, top fund firms BlackRock Inc and Vanguard Group backed a shareholder resolution calling for Sturm Ruger to report on the safety of its products.
But small gun makers have plenty of options for capital outside of public markets. Smaller rifle makers get financing from community banks, credit unions and makers of metal-cutting machines, according to a Reuters analysis of firearms financial disclosures filed with more than a dozen secretaries of state.
“We’re not going to starve any of these companies of capital because there’s always someone” willing to lend gun makers money, said John Streur, chief executive of Calvert Research and Management. The Calvert unit, part of Eaton Vance Corp, has pressed big retailers to restrict gun sales.
Windham Weaponry in Maine received an $8m revolving credit line and a $3m term loan last year from Bar Harbor Bank & Trust, according to local real estate records. The company and the bank did not respond to requests for comment.
Anderson Manufacturing received financing in 2013 from The Bank of Kentucky as its rifle sales began to surge, according to financing reports filed with the Kentucky secretary of state. The bank has since been acquired by North Carolina-based BB&T Corp, which did not respond to a request for comment.
At the Cape Gun Works in Massachusetts, owners Leary and Brendon Bricklin said they borrowed several million dollars from Wisconsin-based First Bank Financial Centre to create what is now a 20,000-square-foot building that includes a retail store and firing range.
They said area banks initially were reluctant to get involved with their firearms business. But some have expressed new interest now that they are up and running.
“Nature abhors a vacuum,” Leary said.
RIFLES WITH ‘PERSONALITY’
Anderson and its smaller peers are winning customers with innovation and marketing messages that can be patriotic and provocative.
“People buy their guns because they want to buy some personality in it,” said Angela Register, co-owner of Spike’s Tactical LLC of Apopka, Florida. Her company is known for its Crusader rifle and details like a safety setting marked “Full Libturd,” an insult aimed at political liberals.
Some of the other upstarts have focused on more powerful guns like the .450 caliber “Thumper” from Windham Weaponry, founded by Richard Dyke, best known as the creator of the Bushmaster assault-style rifle.
FN America LLC, a unit of Belgium-based FN Herstal SA, sells an assault-style rifle costing $8,499 that comes with a bipod and the ability to fire a belt-fed magazine with 200 rounds.
Not all the marketing highlights brute force. This year, CMMG Inc, based in Boonville, Missouri, released a special edition pink assault-style rifle for breast cancer awareness. Rifles made by Phoenix-based Patriot Ordnance Factory come with American flags and “God Bless America” on their ejection port covers.
Also helping smaller gun makers is how AR-15 parts can be fitted to create firearms for a myriad of uses, whether it be for target shooting or hunting, said Glen Zediker, a gun enthusiast and author of “America’s Gun: The Practical AR15.”
“I call it ‘Mr. Potato Head’: choosing and assembling specialized components from even smaller shops to create a truly custom gun,” he said.
Chris Monhof, director of shooting operations for Jager Pro Hog Control Systems in Fortson, Georgia, said some smaller rifle makers have a reputation for slightly better quality than mainstream companies.
“It might be the difference between having a 50-cent spring versus a 25-cent spring,” Monhof said. “The smaller companies will do a lot of customization, too, for people who say, ‘I want to look like a special ops guy.’” (Source: Reuters)
17 Dec 18. Brazilian Army qualifies Skyfire-70 rocket system on Fennec AvEx. The Brazilian Army, in collaboration with local companies Avibras Indústria Aeroespacial and Helibras, has conducted a major live-fire test campaign to qualify the Skyfire-70 70 mm unguided air-to-ground rocket system on the service’s Airbus Helicopters Fennec AvEx light attack helicopter. The AvEx is currently armed with only an FN Herstal 12.7mm gun pod. The event, which was conducted at the Army Evaluations Centre (CAEx) in Rio de Janeiro in late November, was co-ordinated by the Army Aviation Command’s (CAvEx’s) Flight Test Group (GEA), following approval by the Army Aviation Material Directorate (DMAvEx).
Powered by the M9 series rocket motor, 43 70mm rockets with active high-explosive (HE) warheads and seven 70mm rockets with inert warheads were fired on 24 November by AvEx light attack helicopters of the 1st Army Aviation Battalion (1º BAvEx). The Skyfire-70 round weighs 11.28 kg, is 1,430mm long, and has an effective range of 4,700m with an engagement speed of 820m/s.
In a parallel development, a new weapons carriage wing developed by Helibras and furnished with an Avibras AV-LM 70/19-SF multiple rocket launcher system was also approved for use with the Fennec AvEx platform. Systems including the UCAAH (Unidade de Controle do Armamento Axial Helibras) fire-selector unit and T100 cockpit visor were used during the firing session. (Source: IHS Jane’s)
17 Dec 18. MBDA’s Sea Venom-ANL missile marks further trials milestone. MBDA’s Sea Venom-ANL anti-ship missile has successfully conducted a further firing trial, passing a significant new milestone for the Anglo-French co-operation programme. Conducted on 14 November from a Direction Générale de l’Armement (DGA) Dauphin test helicopter at the DGA Missile testing range of Ile du Levant range, the trial was the final development firing for the missile prior to the start of qualification trials in 2019. This latest trial highlighted Sea Venom-ANL’s lock on before launch (LOBL) capabilities, with images from the missile’s infrared seeker being used by the operator to designate the target prior to launch.
Frank Bastart, MBDA’s head of the Sea Venom-ANL programme, said: “This latest successful trial is a great milestone for the programme, which will provide a major increase in the naval strike capabilities of our armed forces. Throughout the trials campaign we have continued to push the system and its operating modes to its limits. The success of these tests is testament to the unrivalled performance of the Sea Venom-ANL missile.”
Sea Venom-ANL is capable of being launched from a wide range of platforms, and will be used on the UK Royal Navy’s AW159 Wildcat and French Navy future HIL (Hélicoptère Interarmées Léger) helicopters. This 120 kg sea-skimming missile is designed to enable navies to deal with a range of threats including fast moving patrol boats, corvettes and coastal targets. The missile is capable of being fired in both lock on before launch (LOBL) and lock on after launch (LOAL) modes, with a two way datalink and imaging seeker giving the operator the ability to monitor the engagement, perform aim point refinement, select a new target, or abort the mission if necessary.
The missile is being developed under a unique joint programme launched at the 2010 Lancaster House Summit, that is the first to take full advantage of consolidated centres of excellence created within the Anglo-French missile industry under the ‘One Complex Weapons’ initiative.
17 Dec 18. NAVAIR reveals Sub-Harpoon contract award plan. The US Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) has given notice of its intention to sole-source Boeing for the recertification and re-issue of UGM-84 Sub-Harpoon anti-ship missiles in a move that would pave the way for the re-introduction of the weapon to the US fleet.
This follows a successful UGM-84D missile live-fire demonstration from the US Navy (USN) Los Angeles-class nuclear-powered attack submarine USS Olympia in July 2018 as part of the ‘Rim of the Pacific’ (RIMPAC) 2018 exercise.
In a pre-solicitation notice issued on 3 December, NAVAIR advised that its Precision Strike Weapons Program Office (PMA-201) intends to enter into sole source negotiations with Boeing with the intention to award a firm fixed-price contract during calendar year 2019. (Source: IHS Jane’s)
17 Dec 18. Sea Venom/ANL missile service entry faces year-long delay. The introduction of the Sea Venom/ANL helicopter-launched anti-ship missile into UK Royal Navy (RN) service faces a delay of up to 12 months because of unspecified technical issues, the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) has disclosed. The slippage would leave the RN’s Wildcat HMA.2 helicopter without its principal anti-ship armament until the latter part of 2021.
Sea Venom/ANL is being developed by MBDA for the UK and French governments under a contract worth about GBP500m (USD630m) awarded in March 2014. The UK, which is managing the contract as part of MBDA’s Team Complex Weapons portfolio, is procuring Sea Venom/ANL to meet its Future Anti-Surface Guided Weapon (Heavy) – FASGW(H) – requirement; France is to field the missile on the future H160M Hélicoptère interarmées léger to meet its national Anti Navire Léger requirement.
Designed to disable targets from fast attack craft up to corvette size, and also offer a capability against coastal and land targets, Sea Venom/ANL is a 110kg-class high-subsonic missile incorporating an imaging infrared seeker (with provisions for an additional semi-active laser guidance channel), a two-way datalink for operator-in-the-loop (OITL) control, and a 30kg warhead. While the missile is capable of flying a fully autonomous profile, OITL control will enable capabilities such as in-flight re-targeting, aim-point correction/refinement, and safe abort. While Sea Venom/ANL is intended to address the FASGW(H) requirement, the UK is also procuring the Thales Lightweight Multirole Missile (LMM) to meet its Future Anti-Surface Guided Weapon (Light) – FASGW(L) requirement. To be known as Martlet in RN service, the laser-guided LMM will afford Wildcat a precision surface attack capability more proportionate to smaller surface targets such as fast inshore attack craft. (Source: IHS Jane’s)
14 Dec 18. US Army Bradley Brigade Will Get Israeli Anti-Missile System: Iron Fist. Seeking to stop Russian-made anti-tank missiles, the US Army will buy Israel’s Iron Fist Active Protection System for a brigade of its M2 Bradley armored vehicles, Breaking Defense has learned. The decision comes after weeks of confusing statements by Army officials and months of delays fitting the high-tech active protection on a Cold War-vintage vehicle — one already upgraded to the limits of available space, weight, and electrical power. Full execution will also have to await the 2020 budget or at least a congressionally-approved reprogramming: The Army currently has only $80m of the approximately $200m required to buy and install Iron Fist on an armored brigade’s 138 Bradleys, plus spares.
Meanwhile, the Army will continue testing Iron Fist on the Bradley — although it’s assiduously avoided the term “test” because of its legal implications in Pentagon procurement. Officially, the initial phase that Iron Fist has completed is merely “characterization,” while the second, more in-depth phase it’s entering now is “qualification.”
Whatever terms you use, the decision by the Army Requirements Oversight Council to buy a brigade of Iron Fist is not contingent on any particular level of performance in this new round of testing/qualification. (Presumably, though, some unexpected disaster could cause the service to reconsider).
That’s been a point of confusion after Army officials publicly contradicted each other at a recent conference in Detroit — one at which reporters were barred — but well-informed sources I’m unfortunately unable to identify made it unequivocally clear. The AROC has decided the threat is urgent, so the Army is not waiting on the test results: The only reason it’s not buying a brigade of Iron Fist immediately is that it’s $120m short.
Nor is the Army currently considering an alternative to Iron Fist for Bradley, despite a “market survey” posted on Tuesday afternoon that seems open to any company with an APS on offer. That Request For Information was another source of severe confusion, but I’ve been walked through the wording and it’s written so that only Iron Fist can qualify.
Specifically, the survey asks for information on “current market manufacturing capability to produce a Technology Readiness Level (TRL) 6 Active Protection System (APS)” — TRL 6 means there’s already been a field-tested prototype — and “This APS shall have been proven and characterized on the Bradley Family of Vehicles (FOV).” (Emphasis ours). Iron Fist is the only active protection system that the Army’s “characterized” on the Bradley.
The only potential challenger is the Trophy APS, also Israeli, which is the only active protection system in the Western world that’s actually been mass-produced and used in combat — qualifying it as TRL 9. (The Russians have plenty of APS in service, as Ukrainian anti-tank teams have learned to their sorrow, but they’re not in the running for a US Army contract).
The Army is already buying Trophy for four brigades of M1 Abrams heavy tanks — a decision it also made without waiting for the results of Phase 2 “qualification” trials. Both the size of the purchase and speed testify to the Army’s confidence in Trophy’s track record and the importance it places on the Abrams.
In January, the Army will also evaluate Trophy for the eight-wheel drive Stryker troop carrier, having earlier rejected the US-made Iron Curtain. An APS from Germany’s Rheinmetall is already in live-fire testing for Stryker, under a congressional mandate to explore additional options. Whichever the Army ends up choosing — if it chooses either — there’s no money yet set aside to actually buy an APS for Stryker, or even to complete Phase 2 “qualification” testing for it.
The Army has no current plans to try out Trophy on a Bradley, at all. However, Trophy’s manufacturer, Rafael, did install a variant of Trophy on an Israeli-owned Bradley and test it in Israel — at their own expense but with American observers.
Since the US Army didn’t run that test, it almost certainly doesn’t meet the Army’s definition of “proven and characterized.” Rafael and its American partner Leonardo DRS could make a good case that their Israeli tests should count for something. But given how the market survey is worded, and how urgently Army leadership wants to upgrade the Bradley’s defenses, the odds are that IMI and its American partner, General Dynamics, will get a sole-source contract for at least this first brigade.
All bets are off after that brigade, however. While it’s currently looking at off-the-shelf “non-developmental” options like Iron Fist and Trophy, the Army’s long-running, long-term program of record is to develop something called the Modular Active Protection System. MAPS aims to create a standardized control system with an open architecture that lets you mix and match subsystems from multiple vendors — a radar from here, an interceptor from there, a jammer from the other place — on a single vehicle. That way the Army could keep upgrading piece by piece with the best components from any company, without being beholden to one vendor for the system as a whole.
The Army also wants to replace the aging M2 Bradley altogether with a cutting-edge Optionally Manned Fighting Vehicle that, among other features, is designed with active protection in mind, rather than having APS added on wherever it fits.
Those are worthy ambitions, but technically tricky to realize, and they’ll take time — with a non-negligible chance of turning into one of the Army’s periodic acquisition disasters. Meanwhile, the Army is buying what it can get right now.
The Army’s full statement to me on the Iron Fist decision is below, courtesy of Ashley John, public affairs director for Program Executive Officer – Ground Combat Systems (PEO-GCS). It’s somewhat opaque, so read it with the explanations above in mind:
“At the end of November, the Army Requirements Oversight Council met to assess the performance of the Bradley Expedited Active Protection System non-developmental solution (Iron Fist) and to determine if the system was suitable for urgent qualification and deployment. After reviewing the results of the Army Test and Evaluation Command’s testing, the AROC determined that the Iron Fist system improved the survivability of the Bradley Fighting Vehicle without meaningful impact to the vehicle’s performance or increased risk to dismounted Soldiers. The AROC directed that Bradley ExAPS move into the next phase of urgent qualification testing and in parallel plan for fielding of at least a brigade’s worth of capability on an urgent basis in accordance with existing approved requirements.” (Source: glstrade.com/Breaking Defense.com)
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