Dear Colleagues, As technology and security needs of the defense industry become more demanding, Defense Technology International promises to deliver integrated intelligence on today’s complex defense industry across land, sea and air.
The U.S. military is testing applications for a novel class of materials that have high-performance properties ranging from impact strength and heat resistance to adhesion. Called geopolymers, they are being considered for applications that include runway repair, fireproof coatings and blocking shockwaves.
Work is underway at the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory to use flashes of laser light to remotely create underwater sound. The resulting acoustics could be used for communication, navigation and imaging. The process of converting light into sound begins by concentrating laser pulses in water. As small amounts of water absorb laser energy, they ionize and become superheated. This creates tiny steam explosions that release 22-dB. sound pulses. The process is controlled in two ways.
Marines in battle-torn Helmand Province are finding that the size and heft of mine-resistant, ambush-protected (MRAP) vehicles offer limited utility. The terrain of the region, coupled with the nature of their counterinsurgency campaign, is forcing Marines to spend most of their time on foot instead, despite the threat of buried bombs.
South Korea is reviving its KFX fighter program, with a potential production run of up to 250. If approved, the KFX will be developed as a Generation 4.5 rather than a fifth-generation fighter, making it simpler and cheaper than the original concept by dropping requirements for F-35-like stealth. Instead, the new fighter will combine a moderately reduced radar image with electronic jamming and agility.
Mini-Spike, the smallest of Rafael’s electro-optically guided missiles, is the first antipersonnel, precision attack, wireless guided missile for operation at company and platoon levels. The man-portable unit weighs 12 kg. (26 lb.). The system has a command and launch unit (CLU) that facilitates target acquisition and missile control. A soldier carries the CLU and two missiles—each weighs 4 kg. Other members of the unit carry spare missiles. An imaging sensor is in the transparent bubble in the forward section of the missile.
In the shadow of several dilapidated buildings a few hundred yards north of Kabul’s international airport sits an old MiG-21 fighter, moldering among tall weeds shooting through cracks in the concrete. A little farther up a dirt road, there are two compounds recently refurbished by the U.S. that serve as schools and training centers for the Afghan National Army Air Corps. There are plans to clean up the MiG and place it in front of one of the reclaimed buildings as a monument.
United Nations officials and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) recently concluded a risky operation that had been delayed for three years: Moving 3,500 curies of Cobalt-60 through Beirut (see photo) to a flight for transport to a secure location—in this case, Russia. Cobalt-60 is one of the nine or so elements sought by terrorists for dirty bombs. Detonating the bomb would partially aerosolize and disperse the radioactive material, killing people and rendering parts of a city unsafe for years (see p. 12).
With orders in place from an oil-exploration company, GO Science of the U.K. is looking at defense applications for an innovative family of vehicles, which use a similar configuration for powered and gliding versions that fly or swim. Founded by aerospace engineer Harry Gosling, GO Science has developed a “swept-forward ring wing” shape that eliminates drag caused by tip vortices while offering a lightweight, rigid structure that works as a flying machine and a pressure vessel.
Despite earlier denials, Russia has officially confirmed it has a contract with Syria for delivery of eight MiG-31 interceptors. Alexey Fedorov, president of United Aircraft Corp., which controls Russia’s fixed-wing aircraft manufacturing assets, told the newspaper Kommersant that two contracts were signed with Syria two years ago: one for deliveries of MiG-29M fighters, the other for export-modified MiG-31Es. Fedorov says the first deal is firm, but the MiG-31 contract is still being negotiated. He is optimistic that it will be finalized.
The U.S. government has gone to great lengths to prevent terrorist attacks on American soil in the eight years since 9/11. Other countries, however, have not been so fortunate. Many hostile incidents since Sept. 11, 2001, have occurred around the world, some with deadly success. Countries are developing and adapting technologies to counter these assaults. In some cases, they are working with NATO on multinational efforts.
The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (Darpa) is reviewing designs for the Vulcan hyperspeed engine program. Phase 1 of the program, in which designs were submitted by four contractors, concluded late last month. As conceived by Darpa, Vulcan will combine a commercial off-the-shelf turbine with a new powerplant called a constant volume combustion (CVC) engine that uses a specially designed mechanism, described generally in some reports as a “constricted tube,” to compress air into a shock wave as it burns fuel. The shock wave generates instantaneous combustion.
Oto Melara will conduct the first firing trials of its new counter-rocket, artillery and mortar (C-RAM) system, called Porcupine, in early 2010. If the results are positive, development will continue, with the goal of meeting an Italian army requirement for the system, as well as international demand. The cost and complexity of the few C-RAM weapons available make it difficult for many cash-strapped militaries to field defensive systems.
The first flight of the PAK FA (T-50) tactical fighter, the fifth-generation replacement for Russia’s Su-27 fleet, has been officially postponed until the end of the year. Government and military officials report, however, that development is continuing and there will be no delay in the overall program. The T-50 is slated to enter service with the Russian air force in 2015.
September’s Defense Systems & Equipment International (DSEi) show filled the ExCel exhibition center here. But for a leading land and sea weapons show, there wasn’t a lot of heavy equipment.
Israel’s armed forces have analyzed in depth the lessons learned from the nation’s two most recent conflicts—the Second Lebanon War of 2006, which led to dramatic changes in tactics and strategy, and Operation Cast Lead, the battle against Hamas in Gaza earlier this year.
September found DTI’s writers jetting around to DSEi in London, AFA in Washington and Camp KAIA in Afghanistan. Here are some of the most interesting reader comments (edited for clarity) about the posts that were filed: It doesn’t look like such a good idea to build the future backbone of the Air Force on an unproven engine design. –Viperfan on a post about a problem with the JSF engine
The first year of operational experience with the Guardium autonomous unmanned ground vehicle (UGV) “was equivalent, in terms of insight, to seven years of development,” says Noam Segal, G-Nius marketing vice president. Guardiums are used by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) to patrol fence lines along the border—they have already detained one fence-crosser—and the vehicle’s potential for route-proving and reconnaissance has been demonstrated.
The Rafael exhibit at last month’s Defense Systems and Equipment International (DSEi) show in London was dominated by a helicopter cabin mock-up demonstrating the company’s Spike missile. Spike is a multitarget weapon featuring an imaging infrared sensor and a fiber-optic data link to the launch platform. A Rafael executive—like many of the company’s people, a reserve officer in the Israel Defense Forces—showed how the missile could be fired at targets obscured by hills or buildings.
Putting together an issue of DTI isn’t an exact science. Launch a dozen writers on assignment and you never quite know what you’ll get. Indeed, a key attribute of journalism is (without going full Rumsfeld) finding out what you didn’t know that you didn’t know about. It is consequently interesting to see a theme develop across an issue—in this case—the way that land warfare technology and tactics are adapting to face flexible, technology-savvy insurgents.
With the U.S. and most NATO allies and other countries involved in the war in Afghanistan, there has been a surge in new tactical vehicle requirements to meet the challenges of the harsh terrain (see p. 16).
Bettina H. Chavanne (Washington), Paul McLeary (Washington)
Given the sturm und drang that the Future Combat Systems (FCS) program has created in the Washington think tank and media community during the last several years, now that the Manned Ground Vehicle (MGV) segment has been canceled (DTI July/August, p. 19), there has been a softening of some critiques, with more focus on what remains rather than what has been (at least temporarily) lost.
Persistent short-range tactical surveillance in the littorals is hampered by the short masts and restricted lines-of-sight of unmanned vehicles. A new U.S. Office of Naval Research (ONR) initiative to develop a multicomponent system called Navy Expeditionary Overwatch (NEO) aims to correct this. It uses data relays and ground, water and airborne platforms, manned and unmanned, to provide surveillance, security and communications for tactical operations.
Israeli forces will increasingly be fighting on battlefields that are more difficult to negotiate, more uncertain in terms of situational awareness and sometimes more lethal than has been the case in recent conflicts. Commanders will overcome these challenges with new tactics, greater use of interservice cooperation and technologies that permit rapid changes in battle tactics.
Among the gear Israeli soldiers might carry into combat are freeze-dried portions of their blood. If wounded during an operation, water would be added to the blood, which could then be used for a transfusion. The process is in development by Core Dynamics of Ness Ziona, Israel, a biotechnology company that specializes in developing processes and equipment for cryopreservation and thawing of cells, tissues and organs.
