03 Nov 10. More delays for CTA? During a visit to Lockheed Martin’s UK facility on Wednesday, BATTLESPACE was shown the new turret for the Warrior WCSP Programme. A Lockheed Martin spokesman told BATTLESPACE that the gas egress problem was being addressed with a new seal in front of the self-loading breech. Whilst this will solve the gas problem it may cause problems for the crew in the event of a misfire. Lockheed also demonstrated its new Meggitt ammunition systems for between 40 and 70 rounds and the news ‘Archimedes screw-like’ system which does away with the existing system. Lockheed says that it will conduct a live firing of the system in December at Faldingworth. Cynics could suggest that the FRES IPT deliberately chose an immature canon and ammunition with a non-existent turret to delay the introduction of the Scout vehicle to keep the IPT live ad kicking for another 10 years! The CTA canon has to be qualified as does the ammunition, it then as to be qualified with the turret, the turret has to be qualified with the chassis and the process repeated for the production versions. Indications are that the canon, ammunition and turret won’t be ready until at least 2016, which will create further delays to the Scout ISD. British Army personnel interviewed by BATTLESPACE during AUSA showed great interest in the ATK-ADV turret on the ATK Booth which is productionised, U.K. manufactured and ready to go for retrofit into either warrior or Scout!
27 Oct 10. Raytheon has successfully flight tested the small tactical munition (STM) weapon, designed for unmanned aircraft systems (UAS).
The 2ft-long STM is a 13lb guided bomb, which is equipped with a dual-mode, semi-active laser seeker and GPS-inertial navigation system (GPS-INS). The laser seeker and GPS-INS system enable the weapon to engage fixed and moving targets around-the-clock in any weather conditions.
Raytheon has flight tested two STM weapons on two separate passes from a Cobra UAS. During the test, the GPS-INS guided the weapons to a mid-course position where the semi-active laser seeker precisely guided the weapon to the target, achieving all test objectives. Raytheon vice-president of advanced missiles and unmanned systems Bob Francois said current combat operations had highlighted the need for extremely small, precise weapons that are optimally designed for remotely piloted aircraft. (Source: airforcetechnology.com)
27 Oct 10. Vigiscan systems retrofitted to French Navy frigates. The French Navy is retrofitting its five La Fayette-class frigates with a new panoramic infrared (IR) surveillance device supplied by HGH France. Known as Vigiscan, the system has been acquired to meet an urgent operational requirement for enhanced surveillance and situational awareness during anti-piracy and maritime security missions. (Source: Jane’s, IDR)
27 Oct 10. Air burst hand grenade nears development for Sweden. Rheinmetall Waffe Munition (RWM) is completing the development phase of a new air burst hand grenade for Sweden that will supersede current grenades. The Swedish Defense Materiel Administration (FMV) awarded a contract to RWM in February for the development, qualification and serial production of the grenade. (Source: Jane’s, IDR)