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Arnold Defense www.arnolddefense.com
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10 Oct 19. Arnold Defense to exhibit FLETCHER rocket Launchers on multiple stands at AUSA 2019. Continuing an exceptionally busy program of worldwide exhibits, Arnold Defense, the St. Louis based manufacturer of 2.75-inch rocket launchers, will have four LAND-LGR4 “FLETCHER” laser guided rocket launchers on display at this year’s Association of the United States Army (AUSA) exhibition.
With FLETCHER, first unveiled just over 2 years ago, Arnold Defense has made a bold departure from the traditional concept of use for 2.75-inch rocket systems; that of an area suppression weapon delivered by aviation assets. FLETCHER, optimized for use by both special and conventional forces to provide surface-to-surface precision effect, uses advanced rocket-guidance technology and ground-based launch platforms, meeting the demands of modern, vehicle-mounted and dismounted asymmetric warfare.
Following exceptional levels of international interest since its launch, Arnold Defense has further developed a number of supplementary ground and maritime-based concepts, expanding FLETCHER’s utility into the arena of Unmanned Ground Vehicles (UGV), naval and littoral platforms. Jim Hager, President and CEO of Arnold Defense has said “Since launching FLETCHER, Arnold Defense has exhibited widely on the international market where it has garnered significant interest world-wide, especially from special operations units. Our rocket launchers are already internationally well-established on airborne platforms, so transitioning into the land and marine environments with FLETCHER is a natural progression”.
Arnold Defense has also recently revealed the newest member of their rocket launcher family, the Multiple Launch Hydra System (MLHS). Offering the same capability as FLETCHER but with dramatically greater capacity, the MLHS holds 23 rockets, over FLETCHER’s 4 and is set to transform the surface defense world by delivering a low-cost, high-capacity surgical strike capability. Whilst the MLHS is a new system, it represents a significant product development of Arnold Defense’s FLETCHER system.
The configurations of FLETCHER on display at this year’s AUSA will showcase some of the system’s versatility and will be found on the following stands: Navistar Defense – on the SOTV-B at Booth 2625; Dillon Aero – on a Toyota Hilux at Booth 8323; Moog Inc. – on the XM813 turret at Booth 3025; and BAE – on a swing arm at Booth 6343.
Jim Hager: “The development of FLETCHER and MLHS demonstrates our commitment to driving innovation; this facet of Arnold Defense’s ethos being key to our ability to remain ahead of a constantly and rapidly evolving defense environment.” He added “We are delighted to be showcasing FLETCHER at this year’s AUSA. The opportunity to have several systems on display demonstrates the exceptional levels of interest in our highly versatile FLETCHER system.”
11 Oct 19. First Production Trophy Active Protection Systems Delivered to U.S. Army. Leonardo DRS, Inc. and Rafael Advanced Defense Systems Ltd. of Israel (Rafael) announced today that the partners have delivered on time the first Trophy Active Protection Systems (APS) to defend the Army’s Abrams main battle tanks against a variety of anti-armor threats. This delivery marks the first of several that will ultimately outfit four brigades of tanks.
Under contracts awarded last year on an urgent needs basis by the Army’s Program Executive Office for Ground Combat Systems, the companies are equipping front-line M1 Abrams tanks for both the U.S. Army and Marine Corps with their first APS systems. The deliveries are the culmination of a multi-year qualification process. A joint team of government and industry from both the U.S. and Israel worked together to adapt and integrate Trophy for both Army and Marine Corps Abrams variants.
“We are proud to deliver the first advanced defensive protection systems for our front-line tanks to give our warfighters a needed layer of survivability against real and emerging battlefield threats,” said William J. Lynn, CEO of Leonardo DRS. “Our partnership between Leonardo DRS and Rafael has worked tirelessly to bring this battle-proven technology to the U.S. military while improving the system to meet the stringent needs and requirements from the customer.”
Developed by Rafael in response to the ongoing proliferation of anti-armor threats, Trophy provides mature, combat-proven protection against rocket and missile threats, while at the same time locating and reporting the origin of the hostile fire for immediate response.
Rafael CEO and President, Maj. Gen. (Ret.) Yoav Har-Even said the delivery “marks a major milestone in U.S.-Israel cooperation. There is no greater pride and satisfaction than the knowledge that the technology developed by Rafael and ELTA over many years of investment, trials, and combat performance, will play an instrumental part in safeguarding American lives, just like it has saved Israeli lives and revolutionized the way our armored forces perform their missions. Rafael and Leonardo DRS are proud to deliver the first Trophy systems to US warfighters on time. We were tasked to meet challenging production time lines, an integration process and the most challenging test scenarios. I would like to thank our partners at Leonardo DRS for their support and I look forward to our continued cooperation.”
Trophy is the only fully integrated, combat-proven APS in the world. Since its first deployment in 2011, and currently installed on the IDF’s Merkava Mk3 and Mk4 tanks and Namer APCs, Trophy has made numerous combat interceptions with no injuries to crews, dismounted troops or damage to platforms. Having undergone over 4000 successful field tests, Trophy has accrued over 500,000 operating hours, and is now under contract for serial production for thousands of systems.
10 Oct 19. Arms and Security 2019: Ukraine’s Yuzhnoye introduces new supersonic ASM development.
Key Points:
- Design bureau Yuzhnoye has detailed its progress on a new Ukrainian ASM called the Bliskavka
- The missile is designed to exceed the performance of the Russian Kh-31 ASM
Ukrainian design bureau Yuzhnoye has revealed the next phase of a previously unannounced programme to develop a long-range, supersonic, air-to-surface missile (ASM) designated the Bliskavka (‘Lightning’).
The bureau announced the programme at Ukraine’s Arms and Security 2019 defence exhibition, held in Kiev from 8-11 October.
The Bliskavka will be in the same performance class as the Russian-made Kh-31, one of the programme’s designers told Jane’s , but will be slightly faster than the Russian missile’s Mach 3.5 top speed and have a longer range.
Like the Kh-31, the Bliskavka will be built with three different seekers: an active homing seeker for the anti-ship role; an electro-optical seeker; and a passive, anti-radiation seeker for Suppression of Enemy Air Defenses missions. (Source: IHS Jane’s)
09 Oct 19. Finland receives interim Torpedo System 45. Finland has received Torpedo System 45 lightweight torpedo assets on loan from Sweden for installation on board the Hamina-class strike craft FNS Tornio. The loan arrangement forms part of a wider bilateral co-operation, formalised by Sweden’s Defence Materiel Administration (FMV) and the Finnish Defence Forces Logistic Command in early 2018, that also covers the new Torpedo System 47. Originally developed by Saab Dynamics for the Royal Swedish Navy, the Torpedo System 47 is also being supplied to the Finnish Navy’s Hamina-class (Squadron 2000) mid-life upgrade programme. As well as co-operative development and procurement of the Torpedo System 47, the bilateral arrangement also includes the loan of existing Torpedo System 45 assets to establish an interim capability. (Source: IHS Jane’s)
09 Oct 19. Offensive reach: LRASM takes the anti-ship fight into contested seas. Lockheed Martin’s air-launched AGM-158C Long-Range Anti-Ship Missile has been developed to meet requirements for precision lethality at range. Richard Scott examines its introduction to service
In April 2008 the US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) Tactical Technology Office released a brief solicitation, together with an industry day announcement, outlining a joint effort with the Office of Naval Research (ONR) to “rapidly develop and demonstrate a ship-launched standoff anti-ship strike weapon capable of achieving mission kill against selective surface targets at significant standoff ranges”. These requirements reflected the emergence of increasingly capable maritime anti-access/area denial (A2AD) threats in the Indo-Pacific theatre that had in turn generated an urgent operational need statement from US Pacific Command. (Source: IHS Jane’s)
08 Oct 19. Lithuania begins NASAMS testing. The Lithuanian Air Force has commenced testing of the NASAMS medium-range air defence system, the Lithuanian Ministry of Defence announced on 3 October.
Lithuania signed the contract with Kongsberg to acquire NASAMS in October 2017. The €110m contract includes two air defence batteries and a logistical maintenance package, as well as training for operators and maintenance personnel.
The testing will see components of the weapon system – missile launchers, radars, electro-optical sensors, components of integration with the RBS 70 short-range air defence systems, communication and control components, and vehicles – tested at the production facility, then put to field trials in Lithuania. The trials will assess technical and tactical conformity of NASAMS components to the determined weaponry specification.
The testing will run until February 2020, with the system planned to be officially delivered by the end of 2020.
The system procured by Lithuania includes ex-Norwegian armed forces launchers that have been upgraded to manufacturer parameters. The systems procured from Norway use US-made AMRAAM aircraft defence missiles capable of destroying aircraft and missiles of an adversary several tens of kilometres away. The equipment will be fully integrated into a system capable of completing air defence tasks: monitor and control air space, issue warning to ground-based units about air threats, and to destroy targets if necessary. (Source: Shephard)
09 Oct 19. Australia leads hypersonics developments: Minister Andrews. Minister for Industry, Science and Technology Karen Andrews has used a recent interview to spruik Australia’s capabilities in the research and development of hypersonics, with applications across commercial and defence aerospace.
While both Russia and China have made rapid developments in the hypersonics realm, particularly with the advent of hypersonic glide vehicles and advanced, hypersonic cruise missiles, Australia has been silently chipping away at the technology, making breakthroughs with widerspread implications for the nation’s space and defence industries.
In an interview with Nat Barr from Channel Seven’s Sunrise program, Minister Andrews recently explained Australia’s role in breaking through the hypersonic barrier with widespread implications for civilian and defence aerospace and the nation’s rapidly growing space industry.
“Look, 2030 is probably realistic. Here in Australia, we do already have world-leading expertise in hypersonics. The University of Queensland has already established a centre for hypersonics,” she said.
“They’re looking at the air-breathing engines. What the partnership now between the UK and the Australian Space Agency means is that there’s going to be greater connectivity, there’s going to be greater opportunities for us to work on technologies such as these air-breathing engines,” Minister Andrews said, explaining the developing collaborative research and development program between Australia and the UK.
This announcement comes following the signing of an MOU between the Australian Space Agency and the UK Space Agency in the form of a ‘space bridge’, which will be used to link the two developing industries and lay the foundation for future space-related trade opportunities between the nations.
Under the agreement, the two space agencies will work with the UK Department for International Trade (DIT) and Australian Trade and Investment Commission (Austrade), and with industry leaders such as the UK Satellite Applications Catapult and the new Australian SmartSat Collaborative Research Centre.
The space agencies, along with DIT and Austrade, will now focus on developing the Space Bridge Framework Agreement.
Last year, the two space agencies launched the Surrey Satellite NovaSAR, which is designed to use radar to view the Earth and share 10 per cent of its data with Australia’s Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO).
The UK-Australia Fintech Bridge came into effect in March last year, and looks to be a good model for enhanced space collaboration after Britain departs the EU.
Hypersonics research and development serves as a key component of this collaboration, with the technologies expected to support high-speed travel between the two countries, Minister Andrews said.
“Well it’s possible that we will be able to fly from Sydney to London in four hours at some time in the future. It’s new technology. It’s called – well it’s known as air-breathing engines. So, what that means is that our take-off speeds are going to be able to hit the Mach 5.5, which as you said, is over 6,000 km/h; it’s close to two kilometres a second, which is an amazing speed. So, that’s going to clearly shorten the time that it takes to get from Sydney to London.
The new agreement has prompted fresh media discussion of the prospects of hypersonic travel between Australia and the UK, with craft powered by the Sabre engine now under development in the UK.
The ultimate dream is an hour from the UK to New York or four hours to Australia.
“I really like the concrete sense of a bridge linking us, and when we have brought the Sabre rocket engine to fruition, that may in a sense be the manifestation of that space bridge, enabling us to get to Australia in perhaps as little as four hours. Once you’ve got hypersonic engines operating, then that kind of journey time is achievable,” UK Space Agency CEO Graham Turnock said at the time of the MOU signing.
“This is technology that could definitely deliver that. We’re talking the 2030s for operational service, and the work is already very advanced.”
Minister Andrews said, “We’re now at the stage where we’ve got direct flights from Perth through to London of about 17 hours. We are looking at, in the foreseeable future, shortening that time with this new technology down to about four hours from Sydney to London, which would just be fabulous.” (Source: Space Connect)
08 Oct 19. UVision Will Present for the First Time at AUSA its Latest Lethal Loitering System ‒ the Hero-120SF, Configured for the Pinpoint Tackling of Hard Targets at Extended Ranges.
The new Hero-120SF is designed to meet the specific requirements of US Military Forces. UVision Air Ltd. – a global leader in the area of Loitering Munition Systems of all sizes for a variety of missions ‒ will present its new Hero-120SF configuration for the first time at AUSA. The new Hero-120SF is designed to meet the specific requirements of US military forces. The company will also highlight its HERO Series of lethal loitering systems and demonstrate its advanced simulation system.
The Hero-120SF
The new configuration of the Hero-120SF will be introduced for the first time at AUSA. It was especially designed to meet the specific requirements of the US Military Forces. The Hero-120SF is a portable, modular, customizable loitering weapon system which can be fitted with a range of powerful multi-purpose warheads. The versatile, precision, multi-operational system with a unique aerodynamic structure can carry out pinpoint lethal strikes against mid-range hard targets ‒ Vehicles, Tanks, Concrete Fortifications and Personnel ‒ in populated urban areas or remote locations with minimal collateral damage. Its high-speed transit flight and low-speed loitering, BLOS capability, and rapid reaction in response to time-sensitive targets deliver a critical advantage in confined and populated battlefields. The lightweight, compact, highly maneuverable man-pack configuration, with extended endurance of over an hour and a loitering range of up to40 km, can be independently operated by frontline forces, precisely striking time-sensitive targets from a wide variety of angles. Featuring low acoustic, visual and thermal signatures and fully gimbaled and stabilized day/night tracking, the Hero-120SF delivers critical situational awareness with its advanced data link and real-time intelligence. Providing cutting-edge abort and target re-engagement capabilities, it provides a whole new range of operational possibilities. Despite being a highly sophisticated weapon system, the Hero-120SF is affordable and cost-effective due to its recoverable option, using a parachute, while securing the warhead.
Major General (Ret.) Avi Mizrachi, CEO of UVision, commented, “As pioneers in the area of Loitering Munition Systems, UVision quickly responds to evolving needs from the field. Optimizing our solutions to suit the realities of modern warfare for a wide range of platforms, applications and scenarios, we take pride in delivering today’s most advanced capabilities for even the most complex missions. For example, the HERO systems are perfectly suited to mitigate threats of hostile operations against oil tankers such as the ones we’ve recently witnessed in the Gulf.”
An integrated solution will be showcased on an Oshkosh JLTV (Joint Light Tactical Vehicle) detailing Hero Multi-Canister Launcher mounted – Oshkosh Booth#6631
The HERO Series and Simulation System
At the show, UVision will also showcase the entire HERO Series of Lethal Loitering Systems highlighting the high-precision Hero-30 and the Long-Range Hero-400EC as well as the HERO multi-canister launcher adaptable for a wide range of platforms.
The company will also demonstrate its advanced, user-friendly simulation system, allowing a hands-on experience for visitors. The HERO Simulator is used for training forces on the HERO systems, thus avoiding the costs, risks and constraints inherent in live-fire missions.
UVision Air Ltd. established UVision-USA Corporation this year as part of its commitment to expanding its presence in the United States and becoming a local source for its military customers. This decision reinforces UVision’s long-term strategic plan and dedication to supporting US warfighters. AUSA, Washington, D.C., October 14-16, Hall A, Stand 1260.
07 Oct 19. Missile Defense System Protects From Attacks of All Ranges. The Missile Defense Agency’s mission is to protect the deployed forces, allies and partners from hypersonic and ballistic missile attacks of all ranges through a layered missile defense system, its director said.
Navy Vice Adm. Jon Hill spoke today at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington. Hill illustrated how it works, using an example of a March 25 missile defense test over the Pacific Ocean. An intercontinental ballistic missile was launched from the Reagan Test Site on Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands, he said. It cruised into space heading eastward toward the United States.
Meanwhile, more than 4,000 miles away, two ground-based interceptors were launched a minute apart from each other from Vandenberg Air Force Base, California — the first-such test firing more than one GBI, he said.
The first GBI, also known as the kill vehicle, successfully collided with the ICBM target, destroying it, and the second GBI hit a large chunk of that debris, he said.
A lot was happening in the background to make that kill successful, he said.
For instance, two powerful radars were used to track the ICBM, one on Wake Island and one on a floating platform in the Pacific. Satellites fitted with infrared sensors also tracked the target, he said.
Data from the sensors and radars were transmitted to the fire control stations in Colorado Springs, Colorado, and Fort Greely, Alaska, he said.
An X-band radar on a ship in the Pacific picked up the target as it flew through space and collected detailed information to send back to the fire control station, he said. Once the data was received by the warfighters operating the system, they fired the two GBIs, which obliterated the target.
Other types of missiles used in missile defense include the Patriot, the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense and the Standard Missile-3.
Hill then explained the way ahead, noting that great progress has already been made in missile defense since MDA stood up 15 years ago. He also mentioned that there’s still a lot more work to do.
For example, different radars operate at different frequencies. Getting the different systems to communicate with each other is a work in progress, he said.
Also, sharing data and better integrating missile defense with allies and partners is something MDA is doing through exercises and foreign military sales, he said, mentioning the NATO nations, Japan, South Korea, Israel, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
Improving space-based sensors, cyber defenses and installing more GBI is also part of the work the agency is doing, he said.
The agency is also working with the military services on directed energy weapons, such as powerful lasers that can take out missiles, he said.
Hill said that artificial intelligence will become more important over time, with the goal of AI being to more quickly and efficiently inform the warfighter of threats and options so the warfighter can make better decisions.
Lastly, Hill said these improvements are important because near-peer competitors are designing and fielding advanced missiles that are harder to track and take out such as hypersonics and advanced cruise missiles that are very maneuverable. (Source: US DoD)
07 Oct 19. Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE: NOC) successfully operated the AQS-24 minehunting sonar at depths greater than 400 feet during system testing off the coast of Ft. Lauderdale, Florida.
Embarked on the M/V Richard Becker, the Northrop Grumman test team demonstrated reliable AQS-24 system operations with excellent sonar performance at all tested depths, while using the system to classify bottom objects of interest.
“The AQS-24 minehunting system performed superbly at tow depths up to and beyond 400 feet,” said Alan Lytle, vice president, undersea systems, Northrop Grumman. “This latest internal research and development effort underscores our commitment to provide the most innovative, affordable and operationally-proven capabilities to meet the Navy’s Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) Mine Countermeasures Mission (MCM) package requirements and future expeditionary MCM needs.”
Earlier this year, Northrop Grumman demonstrated an autonomy upgrade path for the AQS-24’s minehunting system by integrating and successfully testing the company’s image exploitation suite, incorporating state-of-the-art machine learning for automatic target recognition (ATR) using multiple ATR algorithms. Following this successful demonstration, the U.S. Navy plans to incorporate this new capability into existing AQS-24 minehunting systems.
The success of Deep Tow is now followed by the recently commenced in-water testing of Northrop Grumman’s AQS-24 system on the Navy’s MCM unmanned surface vessel (USV) at Naval Surface Warfare Center Panama City. This is in preparation for user operated evaluation system testing aboard the LCS in 2020. The AQS-24’s newly doubled depth capability is planned for integration and test with the MCM USV system.
These major enhancements to the U.S. Navy’s only operational mine hunting towed sonar – running deeper, automatically detecting and reporting targets, and providing the transition to the LCS MCM USV – increases the operational effectiveness of the AQS-24 system while providing the warfighter with an unprecedented capability that affordably meets operational needs and provides a proven path for continued integration of state-of-the-art technology.
07 Oct 19. US ARSOAC/USSOCOM trials GBU-39/B with Gray Eagle UAS. The United States Army Special Operations Aviation Command (ARSOAC), in association with the United States Special Operations Command (USSOCOM), has performed a series of complex launch trials with the Dynetics baseline and Block I variant GBU-69/B Small Glide Munitions (SGMs) from an ARSOAC MQ-1C Gray Eagle Extended Range (GE-ER) medium-altitude long-endurance (MALE) unmanned aircraft system (UAS). Conducted in late August at the US Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake, the trials mark the first time the GBU-69/B weapon system has been released from a UAS and represent an expanded platform set from which the munition can be employed. The baseline GBU-69/B SGM is a 60lbs (27.2kg)-class precision glide munition, 11.4cm in diameter, and has a wingspan of 71.1cm. (Source: IHS Jane’s)
07 Oct 19. Northrop readies Hatchet glide munition for platform integration. Northrop Grumman has achieved a technical readiness level (TRL) 7 milestone with its Hatchet unpowered precision strike munition, following the completion of a campaign of live end-to-end guide-to-hit trials in August. The next milestone will be full platform integration.
The campaign, which was continued from the end of 2018 to allow for new range time logistics, provided for a series of multiple target live guide-to-hit engagements, a company spokesperson told Jane’s. The release platform type, target types, heights of release, range to targets, location and results of the trials campaign, were not disclosed
An earlier test programme in October 2018 culminated in a full guide-to-hit release of two inert rounds against threat representative targets, both of [which] were successful, the spokesperson said. (Source: IHS Jane’s)
07 Oct 19. HMS Cattistock sets out on Nato mission in Baltic. British Royal Navy minehunter HMS Cattistock has set out on a whistle-stop Nato assignment in the eastern Baltic region for the next seven weeks. The Hunt-class ship left Naval Base Clyde in Scotland after completing a month of pre-deployment training.
Over the week, the 750t vessel will travel eastwards and join the Standing Mine Countermeasures Group 1, the Nato force responsible for detecting and removing mines and historic ordnance from the waters of northern Europe. The primary task of Cattistock, the divers and mine warfare specialists / Seafox remote-controlled submersible operators will be to tackle the debris of past conflicts still lying on the bed of the Baltic.
During port visits in the eastern Baltic, divers from the British vessel will also share their experience and knowledge of dealing with explosive ordnance with bomb disposal experts from other countries.
The 38-year-old Cattistock is the second oldest vessel in the Royal Navy and includes the latest minehunting systems.
The vessel left Portsmouth for Loch Goil for the completion of engineering trials before undergoing a fortnight of intensive training and assessment in preparation for the Nato mission. All Royal Navy ships intended for deployment on frontline duties are required to pass pre-season operational sea training.
While frigates and larger vessels are assessed near Plymouth, smaller vessels proceed to western Scotland for the assessment. After the assessment, the vessel will be protected from a variety of threats, such as fires, flood and fast attack craft. It will also be able to find and neutralise mines. During anti-mine operations, the team is expected to use Seafox and its detonation charges, or deploy divers to trigger any devices found by placing small explosive charges.
Cattistock is expected to return to Portsmouth in November.
Cattistock Commanding Officer, Lieutenant Commander Claire Thompson said: “We only returned from operations in the Gulf earlier in the year, so preparing has been hard work but the whole team are looking forward to visiting many new places, working with a number of different Nato nations and generally taking part in such a rewarding deployment.” (Source: naval-technology.com)
04 Oct 19. Turkish laser weapon passes acceptance tests. The Vehicle-Mounted Laser System (ARMOL) designed and developed by the Informatics and Information Security Research Centre (BİLGEM) of Turkey’s Scientific and Technological Research Council (TÜBİTAK) has successfully completed acceptance tests, according to a press release posted on BİLGEM’s website on 2 October. It said the ARMOL was the first laser weapon system to enter service with the Turkish Armed Forces.
“ARMOL, together with its high-power laser system, is capable of taking high-resolution images outdoors. With this feature, it provides the opportunity to gather information for intelligence purposes, to identify the threat in advance, and to make the necessary plans in advance for the inactivation process,” said the press release. (Source: IHS Jane’s)
03 Oct 19. Air defence assets in Northwestern Russia accept S-400 into service. Air defence units of Russia’s 6 th Air and Air Defence Army headquartered in the Leningrad Oblast of the Western Military District have accepted S-400 air defence systems into service, according to a 2 October announcement from the press service of the Western Military District. The new systems were inspected and accepted by their crews at the Kapustin Yar testing ground in the Astrakhan region, the announcement stated. They then conducted a successful test engagement against what was described as “unique Favorit RM hypersonic target missiles that mimic the enemy’s air attack: a probable reference to the 5V55RM missile fired by the naval version. (Source: IHS Jane’s)
04 Oct 19. Sweden receives firing units for IRIS-T SLS air defence system. The Swedish Armed Forces’ Air Defence Regiment has received firing units of the ground-based IRIS-T SLS air defence system. The firing units provided by Diehl Defence were handed over to the Air Defence Regiment by the Swedish procurement agency FMV.
Diehl supplies the IRIS-T SLS short-range air-defence system to the Swedish Army. IRIS-T SLS includes the IRIS-T air-to-air missile for vertical launch from Hägglunds’ Bv410 carrier platform.
Air defence systems offer protection to critical assets and ground troops from aerial threats such as missiles, aircraft and attack helicopters.
IRIS-T SLS is equipped with sensors, radars, command and control systems, communications systems.
The IRIS-T air-to-air guided missile was developed as part of a Germany-led multinational programme with participation from Sweden. The programme was started with the objective of replacing AIM-9 Sidewinder missiles used by the Nato member nations.
In a statement, Diehl Defence said: “In the development of the IRIS-T SLM/SLS ground-based air defence systems, Diehl succeeded in setting new standards in open system architecture, thus allowing maximum flexibility in the procurement of new weapon systems, as well as modernisation / upgrading of existing systems.
“Through the delivery of highly advanced equipment within the agreed cost and time frame, Diehl has made a notable contribution to the renewal of Swedish air defence.”
The company developed the surface-launched IRIS-T SL for the German Armed Forces’ Tactical Air Defence System (TLVS). IRIS-T SL is an upgraded version of the IRIS-T missile. (Source: airforce-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.
Today’s rocket launchers now include the ultra-light LWL-12 that weighs just over 60 pounds (27 kg.) empty and the new Fletcher (4) round launcher. Arnold Defense designs and manufactures various rocket launchers that can be customized for any capacity or form factor for platforms in the air, on the ground or even at sea.
Arnold Defense maintains the highest standards of production quality by using extensive testing, calibration and inspection processes.
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