22 Jun 12. Lockheed offers exportable target mensuration capability. Lockheed Martin, the prime contractor for the guided multiple launch rocket system (GMLRS), has stepped in to provide a means of placing these costly GPS-guided munitions precisely on target. Until recently, there has been no exportable portable target-grid mensuration facility for reducing target location errors to a level matching the precision engagement capability of GPS-guided all-weather co-ordinate-seeking munitions, such as the air-delivered JDAM (Joint Direct Attack Munition), rocket-delivered GMLRS and tube-artillery-delivered Excalibur or Vulcano. (Source: Jane’s, IDR)
03 Jul 12. The U.K. Government confirmed that ground based air defence systems will be deployed at six sites in and around London for the duration of the 2012 Olympic Games. As part of the Ministry of Defence’s wide-ranging support to the police-led Olympics security effort, the Defence Secretary announced last year that an air security plan had been drawn up which included the potential deployment of Rapier and High Velocity Missiles, primarily to protect the Olympic Park. In early May, as part of a military exercise, unarmed equipment was put in place at the six proposed sites for a period of nine days. This saw the air security plan tested extensively and confirmed the utility and integration of the various elements. As a result, based on military advice, the Government has now agreed to the deployment of ground based air defence systems – including Rapier and High Velocity Missile systems – at the six locations for the duration of the Games. The systems will be in place by mid-July, along with other Defence equipment including Royal Navy helicopter carrier HMS Ocean, which will be moored in the River Thames, Royal Air Force Typhoon jets, which will be temporarily stationed at RAF Northolt, and Puma helicopters, at a Territorial Army centre in Ilford.
03 Jul 12. Army accepts last Persistent Threat Detection System aerostat. The Persistent Threat Detection System entered its next chapter, May 29, as Lt. Col. Michael Parodi, product manager Meteorological and Target Identification, was on hand at the Lockheed Martin facility in Dayton, Ohio; to accept the delivery of the last PTDS ordered. Since its original introduction as a quick reaction capability the Army has procured 66 systems that have been used in both Iraq and Afghanistan. Persistent Threat Detection System, or PTDS, is a large aerostat tethered to a mooring platform, which is accompanied by a Ground Control Station, or GCS. The system is equipped with both visual and audio surveillance technology. Since the Civil War, when Union Soldiers utilized hot air balloons to serve as a surveillance platform, lighter than air technology has been a part of the Army’s inventory. As U.S. forces began a troop surge in Afghanistan while maintaining security in Iraq the need to provide soldiers with a persistent view of the battlefield was paramount. In 2008, (then) Secretary of Defense Robert Gates directed an Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance, or ISR, surge dedicated to providing Soldiers with the ability to understand their environment. One of the systems that was fielded to support the ISR surge was PTDS. (Source: ASD Network)
28 Jun 12. US reveals Harpoon Block II+ upgrade plan. Details of a previously unpublicised upgrade for the US Navy’s inventory of Boeing AGM-84 Harpoon air-launched anti-ship missiles have been disclosed by Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR). Known as Harpoon Block II+, it has been developed by an integrated product team (IPT) in NAVAIR’s Precision Strike Weapons programme office (PMA-201) to bridge a capability gap between the legacy missile and the needs of the front-line community.
(Source: Jane’s Navy International)
26 Jun 12. North Korea aiding Syria to upgrade Scud D capability. A co-operative missile development programme between North Korea and Syria has recently gained mome