14 Apr 22. RAFAEL’s High-Power Laser Air Defense System “Iron Beam” Successfully Completes Series of Live Tests. RAFAEL, alongside the Ministry of Defense’s Directorate of Defense Research and Development (DDR&D) have successfully completed a series of ground-breaking tests with a high-power laser interception system against steep-track threats. The demonstrator successfully intercepted UAVs, mortars, rockets, and anti-tank missiles in various scenarios. RAFAEL’s Iron Beam provides Israel with a capability unlike one seen elsewhere in the world by successfully developing a high-power laser technology at an operational standard with operational interception capabilities. The tests are the first phase of a multi-year program led by the DDR&D and defense industries. The program aims to develop a high-power ground and aerial laser system equipped to deal with long-range, high-intensity threats. The laser will complement the “Iron Dome” system and will be an effective and economically efficient addition to Israel’s multi-tiered air defense array. The system’s development plan is led by the Research and Development Division in the Ministry of Defense’s DDR&D.
CEO and President, Rafael Advanced Defense Systems, Maj. Gen. (Res.) Yoav Har Even: “RAFAEL is proud to have completed this initial series of tests with the world’s most innovative high-power laser. The successful tests included the interception of a wide range of threats and have proven the system’s remarkable capabilities. Our cooperation with the DDR&D and the Ministry of Defense has led to this extraordinary development, constituting a significant milestone in the process to achieve operational capability. I am confident that this technological breakthrough will lead to future capabilities in directed energy, including the high-power laser system. This achievement is the result of RAFAEL employees’ tireless work contributing to Israel’s security while preserving and developing technological capabilities to ensure Israel’s qualitative advantage.”
13 Apr 22. DSA 2022: China’s Poly Defence sets up automated grenade production line. An official from Chinese state-owned company Poly Defence told Janes at the Defence Services Asia (DSA) 2022 exhibition held in Kuala Lumpur from 28 to 31 March that an automated grenade facility has been established to meet an increase in demand from the Chinese armed forces for handheld grenades. He said the new facility has the capacity to produce up to 8,000 handheld grenades per day over an eight-hour shift. Poly Defence’s manufacturing facilities are based near Beijing. According to the official, the entire production line requires the involvement of no more than 15 personnel, instead of the previous working team of 60 people. Operational personnel are physically separated from the machinery line for maximum safety and precision, said the official. The body of grenades produced at the facility feature ‘special plastic’ embedded with approximately 1,600 steel balls. The grenades have a diameter of 92–96 mm and a total weight of 260 g. The net explosive weight is 40 g, with delay before detonation of 3.5– 4.5 s. (Source: Janes)
13 Apr 22. Italian debate over future of cannon maker rumbles on. A debate in Italy over selling a stake in cannon-maker Oto Melara is rumbling on with a junior defense minister backing Germany’s Rheinmetall, and the CEO of Leonardo, which owns Oto Melara, calling French-German joint venture KNDS the “ideal choice.” Politicians, unionists and industrialists have all joined a sometimes heated discussion about Oto Melara ever since state-controlled Leonardo said last year it wanted to sell a stake in the firm to focus on other activities including electronics and helicopters. Reports put KNDS — the alliance of Germany’s Krauss-Maffei Wegmann and France’s Nexter — as the likely buyer. That drew fire from politicians on both the left and right who bemoaned the selling overseas of a firm which is a world leader in naval cannons.
Many gave their backing to a sale of Oto Melara to Italian state-controlled naval yard Fincantieri, which was said to be interested.
Italian defense undersecretary Giorgio Mulé told Defense News he was not keen on seeing Fincantieri try to take over Oto Melara since it would lead to competition between it and Leonardo.
“The two companies cannot be in competition, the role of the government in defense politics must be to stop a derby between the firms,” he said, adding Oto Melara “must follow a vision set down by the government.”
Mulé said a possible solution could be a joint venture with Germany’s Rheinmetall taking a 49 percent stake in Oto Melara and Leonardo retaining 51 percent.
He described Oto Melara as “strategic” and in line for a large increase in orders as defense spending in Europe grows following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Last month, Rheinmetall CEO Armin Papperger told Italy’s Il Sole 24 Ore newspaper he was keen on taking a stake in Oto Melara, including a minority stake, and envisaged the firm working on the German Lynx infantry fighting vehicle program as a result.
Speaking to reporters in Rome on Tuesday, Leonardo CEO Alessandro Profumo said “Rheinmetall has never made any kind of formal offer for Oto Melara.”
Profumo said KNDS would instead be the best partner for Oto Melara.
“It is an ideal partner,” he said, adding: “Based on what they have proposed they would want to jointly develop a new infantry fighting vehicle which would have international distribution.”
He declined to say whether he believed KNDS should be a majority or minority stake holder in Oto Melara.
“I don’t want to say anything, let’s see what happens during the process,” he said. (Source: Defense News Early Bird/Defense News)
12 Apr 22. India tests anti-tank guided missile Helina. Helina is a third-generation fire and forget class anti-tank guided missile (ATGM). India has conducted flight testing of the helicopter launched, anti-tank guided missile (ATGM) Helina at high-altitude ranges. The flight test is part of the user validation trials of the missile system. During the test, an Advanced Light Helicopter (ALH) fired a missile to engage a simulated tank target. The Helina ATGM, said to be one of the most advanced anti-tank weapons in the world, was guided by an Imaging Infra-Red (IIR) Seeker, operating in the Lock on Before Launch mode.
A team of scientists from the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) conducted the test, with the participation of the Indian Army and Indian Air Force (IAF).
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and DRDO chairman Dr G Satheesh Reddy congratulated the team for the successful testing of the Helina anti-tank missile.
In a statement, the Indian Ministry of Defence said: “In continuation to validation trials conducted at Pokhran in Rajasthan, proof of efficacy at high altitudes paves the way for its integration on the ALH.
“The trials were witnessed by senior Army commanders, and senior scientists of the DRDO.”
According to the DRDO website, the Helina is a third-generation fire-and-forget class ATGM. It comes with all-weather capability and can be used against battle tanks equipped with conventional armour, as well as explosive reactive armour.
The system is currently being inducted into the Indian Army. The IAF will receive another variant of the missile system called Dhruvastra.
The Indian Army and the DRDO recently conducted flight tests of an upgraded version of the Pinaka rocket system. (Source: army-technology.com)
11 Apr 22. Oshkosh Partners With US Army DEVCOM to Develop, Integrate, and Test Medium Caliber Weapon Systems. Oshkosh Defense, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Oshkosh Corporation (NYSE: OSK), has entered into a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) with the U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command (DEVCOM) Armaments Center (DEVCOM) at Picatinny Arsenal. Under the CRADA, Oshkosh Defense and DEVCOM will cooperate in the development, integration, and testing of innovative armament technologies to provide a transformative, next-generation lethality capability for the Warfighter. Additionally, the CRADA will enable both organizations to mature their technologies for eventual transition to direct fire medium caliber platforms such as the U.S. Army’s Optionally Manned Fighting Vehicle (OMFV). Development activities will leverage the proven Oshkosh Defense Stryker Medium Caliber Weapon System (MCWS) 30 mm turret.
“We are already starting with a robust weapon system platform with our Stryker MCWS turret”, said Pat Williams, Vice President and General Manager of U.S. Army and Marine Corps Program for Oshkosh Defense. “This CRADA allows us to explore additional weapon system capabilities and apply them to our OMFV solution to provide our Soldiers with the cutting edge technology required on the modern battlefield.”
In June 2021, the U.S. Army selected Oshkosh Defense, Pratt Miller Defense, and Rafael Advanced Defense Systems to provide a precision lethality capability to the Stryker Brigade Combat Teams (SBCTs) as part of the Stryker MCWS program. Production of the Oshkosh Defense Stryker MCWS is expected to begin in Spring 2022. In July 2021, the U.S. Army also selected Oshkosh Defense to participate in the OMFV Concept Design Phase, which culminates in Q1FY23. Oshkosh Defense has partnered with Pratt Miller Defense, Hanwha Defense USA, Rafael Advanced Defense Systems, QinetiQ Inc., and Plasan for the OMFV Concept Design Phase. (Source: ASD Network)
11 Apr 22. Indian Army and DRDO test upgraded version of Pinaka Rocket System. A total of 24 EPRS rockets were fired for different ranges, over 14 days. The programme involved testing the Pinaka Mk-I (Enhanced) Rocket System (EPRS), and the Pinaka Area Denial Munition (ADM) rocket systems.
A total of 24 EPRS rockets were fired for different ranges over 14 days at the Pokhran Firing Ranges. According to an Indian Ministry of Defence statement, the rockets met all trial objectives satisfactorily.
The statement added: “With these trails, the initial phase of technology absorption of EPRS by the industry has successfully been completed, and the industry partners are ready for user trials/series production of the rocket system.”
DRDO’s Armament Research and Development Establishment and High Energy Materials Research Laboratory jointly developed the Pinaka rocket system, which is currently in service with the Indian Army.
The EPRS version is upgraded with advanced technologies that enhance the range of the system to meet evolving requirements.
The technology of the upgraded version was transferred to the industries Munitions India Limited (MIL), and Economic Explosives Limited Nagpur.
The rockets made by MIL were tested during the latest campaign.
During the testing, the officials also assessed the different variants of munitions and fuses of the rocket system.
The DRDO also recently flight-tested the Solid Fuel Ducted Ramjet (SFDR) booster, a missile propulsion system that will enable it to intercept aerial threats at a very long range.
Last month, the DRDO tested an army version of the Medium-Range Surface-to-Air Missile (MRSAM) system. (Source: army-technology.com)
08 Apr 22. US Army initiates plan to replace Stingers with next-gen interceptor. The U.S. Army has launched an effort to replace Stinger missiles with a next-generation interceptor for Short-Range Air Defense capability as the aging weapon system heads toward obsolescence, according to a solicitation recently posted to the government contracting website Sam.gov.
The request for information to industry for a new surface-to-air missile for the Army’s SHORAD system comes as the Pentagon has been sending Javelin and Stinger missiles to Ukraine to help it fight the ongoing Russian invasion. But even as the Army considers that version of the Stinger obsolete, senior defense officials are discussing with industry how production might be ramped up.
A next-generation interceptor for SHORAD has long been in the works, as detailed in fiscal 2022 budget documents nearly a year ago. The service requested $1.5m in FY22 to issue an RFI and conduct an industry day ahead of a competitive shoot-off, according to those budget documents.
The plan is to award a contract in the second quarter of FY23, the documents note, with design, development, prototyping and performance assessment ongoing through the fourth quarter of FY28.
Stinger can be fired from a shoulder-launched system, but the Army rapidly fielded a Stryker-based SHORAD system equipped with Stinger missiles to Europe last year in response to an urgent request in theater. The Army is preparing to field a complete Stryker-based SHORAD battalion by the end of 2022.
The service will also add a 50-kilowatt class laser weapon to the SHORAD system and is outfitting four prototypes with the capability as it prepares to hold a competition to build more.
“The Stinger-Reprogrammable Microprocessor (RMP) will become obsolete in [FY]23 and Stinger Block I is undergoing a service life extension to extend its end of useful life,” the RFI notes. “The current Stinger inventory is in decline.”
According to the RFI, the Army plans to begin design and development of the replacement missile in FY23, which will lead to production of 10,000 M-SHORAD “Inc. 3″ missiles beginning in FY27.
The RFI calls for soldier-portable solutions but also notes the system must be capable of integration with the Stinger Vehicle Universal Launcher (a component in the Increment 1 Stryker-based SHORAD system already fielded).
The Army expects the new missile to offer “improved target acquisition with increased lethality and ranges over current capability,” the RFI states.
Potential candidates should be ready to conduct a technology demonstration in FY24, the RFI notes, that consists of “digital simulation, hardware in-the-loop and/or live-fire demonstration.” These systems should be ready for an operational demonstration in FY26 that will include live-fire engagements, according to the solicitation.
The Army is nearing the end of its Service Life Extension Program effort at McAlester Army Ammunition Plant, according to a review of budget documents from FY19 and FY20. The process replaces “aging key components” in existing Stinger missiles.
The process also adds a Proximity Fuze (PROX) capability to improve its effectiveness against unmanned aircraft system threats “by eliminating the need for hit-to-kill,” which means when the missile gets close to a target, the warhead explodes and anything within its burst radius is taken out.
Older budget documents indicate the SLEP process for Stinger is slated to wrap up in FY23, but the White House hasn’t yet released detailed FY23 budget documents. The total number of Stingers that will undergo the SLEP process is 5,892 systems, according to FY20 documents.
The Army is getting close to being ready to inform Congress of its initial plans to replenish both Javelin and Stinger stockpiles or ramp up production if needed as it continues to provide the weapons to Ukraine, Doug Bush, Army acquisition chief, said recently.
At least one lawmaker has argued the Pentagon should be weighing whether it makes sense to ramp up an obsolete line for Ukraine while the Army needs to modernize.
“What I also want bring into the conversation is many of those weapons that we’re talking about are of a design of decades ago. Is it the best use to reengage those lines or to upgrade? How long will that take versus what we need? What might we potentially need for Ukraine or other countries,” House Air and Land Subcommittee chairman Donald Norcross, D-N.J., told Defense News. (Source: Defense News Early Bird/Defense News)
08 Apr 22. China’s Poly Defence displays GAM-10X anti-tank guided missile system. State-owned Chinese company Poly Defence displayed its indigenously developed GAM-10X anti-tank guided missiles (ATGMs) at the Defence Services Asia (DSA) 2022 exhibition in Kuala Lumpur. The GAM-10X series consists of the GAM-100 and GAM-102. The former is a short-range ATGM with an effective range of 200–2,500 m, while the latter is a medium-range system with an effective range of 300–4,000 m. The systems use uncooled components and self-developed infrared (IR) core ships, which significantly decreases the warm-up period, according to Poly Defence. The GAM-100 variant has a length of 1,200 mm and a weight of 13 kg. The missile has a maximum speed of 170 m/s. (Source: Janes)