The Apr. 6 announcement by U.S. Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates of program cuts and realignments was merely the start of a long debate over which will prevail, which will be reversed and which traded off for others. Land-based tactical air was one of the big losers. The U.S. Air Force has lost most hope of getting more F-22s—or indeed any new fighters of any kind until the F-35A is operational. Instead, Gates indicated that the F-35A ramp-up would be faster. He also indicated that 250 of the oldest Air Force fighters would be retired during 2010.
David J. Gorsich Chief Scientist, Tank Automotive Research, Development and Engineering Center, Warren, Mich. Age: 40 Education: B.S., electrical engineering, Lawrence Technological University; M.A., applied mathematics, George Washington University; Ph.D., applied mathematics, MIT.
Paul McLeary (Washington), David Walsh (Washington)
When most people think of improvised explosive devices, they think of the roadside bombs, suicide vests, rigged vehicles and booby-trapped houses that are part of the deadly daily ritual for U.S. and NATO troops in Iraq and Afghanistan.
The Russian air force will buy 38 new Ilyushin Il-476 transport aircraft through 2020, says Viktor Livanov, a vice president of United Aircraft Corp., the manufacturer. The air force will not, however, be the first customer: Russia won the Indian air force tender for six tankers with the aircraft last December. Livanov hopes the contract will be signed by the end of the year and the first aircraft delivered in 2011. The initial prototype for the Russian air force will be assembled at the Ulyanovsk Aviastar-SP facility in 2010.
Nanosized computer chips and other electronics attract attention for their ability to miniaturize components and in many cases improve their performance. One problem, however, affects the development of nanoscale electronic items like chips: repeatable, cost-efficient manufacturing, which is usually done by die stamping or molding. Researchers at Yale University developed a process that might simplify production of nanosized parts. The key is a family of materials called bulk metallic glasses (BMGs), a group of amorphous metals.
The soldier exoskeleton has moved from the realm of science fiction to reality, with contractors like Raytheon and Lockheed Martin partnering with smaller firms to bring products to market. But one big challenge remains: convenient and safe power for these machines.
The first two Alenia Aermacchi MB-339CM trainers for the Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF) are now in the customer’s hands. The RMAF ordered eight MB-339CMs in late 2006. The remaining six aircraft are to be handed over later this year. The aircraft will be used as lead-in trainers for pilots who will fly the air force’s Sukhoi Su-30MKM fighters. Malaysia is a long-standing customer for the MB-339, having previously operated the A-model, which will now be phased out.
Elbit Systems of America launched the Tacter-31D, a dismountable tablet computer for vehicles, at the Assn. of the U.S. Army Winter Symposium and Exposition in February (see p. 27). Elbit claimed the computer has a number of features that address the needs of field commanders and dismounted soldiers. These include embedded navigation system and multiple communication applications. On returning to the vehicle, a soldier inserts the computer into a charging and connection dock. The Tacter-31D has a ruggedized 10.4-in.
The United Arab Emirates has become the first Persian Gulf nation to buy the Counter-Battery Radar (Cobra), a modular, high-mobility weapon-location system that was originally developed for France, Germany and the U.K. Three Cobra systems will be supplied by Euro-Art International of Munich, a joint export venture of EADS Deutschland and Thales Air Systems, which was formed in 2007 to market the radar system. Cobra uses low-power gallium arsenide microwave-integrated circuitry in the transmit-and-receive modules of a modular, phased-array, solid-state antenna.
Boeing says its new F-15SE Silent Eagle—headed for a company-funded flight demonstration early in 2010—is not a competitor for the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter; and it is not, at least in the sense that it is not pitched against JSF in any competitions yet. But with budgets and markets tight worldwide, everyone is competing with everyone else for resources. Two potential customers for the F-15SE are also on the JSF prospect list (Singapore and Israel) and a third (Japan) could be there soon.
Germany is close to deploying an air-defense system for its forward operating bases in Afghanistan that not only repels traditional air attacks but has a counter-rocket, artillery and mortar (C-RAM) capability, as well.
Northrop Grumman Corp. and NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory successfully operated a pair of single-stage InP (indium phosphide, a binary semiconductor that generates high electron velocity) heterojunction bipolar transistor (HBT) amplifiers at some of the highest millimeter-wave frequencies ever achieved—184 and 255 GHz. (The millimeter-wave frequency range is approximately 30-300 GHz.; beyond that is submillimeter-wave frequency.) The amplifiers were designed with Northrop Grumman’s InP HBT monolithic microwave integrated circuit (MMIC) technology.
The Fraunhofer Institutes for Applied Polymer Research and Computer Architecture and Software Technology in Germany have devised a way of increasing building security with a relatively simple alarm. The system is based on a motion sensor that is activated by changes to light reflected by the coatings of windows. Glass is coated with a fluorescent material containing nanoparticles that convert light into fluorescent radiation. The coating can be sprayed on or applied as a film.
The U.K. Defense Ministry released its Defense Technology Plan on Feb. 26, a wish list of technologies and capabilities it wants industry to develop in coming years. Much of the emphasis is on robotic systems, especially platforms like fixed-wing aircraft (including fighters), helicopters and ground vehicles ranging from robots to tanks. Two concepts in particular stand out: Novel Air Concept (NAC) 2 and Future Protected Vehicles (FPVs). The NAC2, as envisioned, will be an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) with a rotor system for vertical takeoff and landing (see photo).
Tom Vaneck and Richard Guiler, researchers at Physical Sciences Inc. of Andover, Mass., spent this past winter in a laboratory watching a video of houseflies flying into panes of glass, over and over. The viewing was fascinating—at least for their work. What they watched could be the next leap ahead in the global pursuit of microdrones, tiny reconnaissance devices that have the potential to fly and scurry their way to a snooping revolution.
The U.S. Army’s Future Combat Systems modernization program—which seems like it’s been fighting for its life since the day it began—hit the news again last month with the release of a highly critical report from the Government Accountability Office (GAO). The report found that while the Army has “made progress” in technology development and testing, serious concerns remain.
The first delivery of the Airbus A400M military transport to its lead customer, France, has been pushed back by 3-4 years, following a series of program delays that have left European customers questioning the performance and capabilities of the aircraft.
British soldiers in Afghanistan will soon have a helmet liner that provides greater protection against bullet strikes. The material, D30, is an orange gel that uses nanotechnology to create “intelligent molecules.” Manufacturer D30 Lab of Hove, England, says the gel’s molecules move normally when not under stress. In a high-energy impact such as a bullet strike, however, the molecules lock together in milliseconds and the gel becomes a solid. This transformation absorbs impact energy.
Military commanders readily admit that their enemies are getting smarter and more adaptive. Stories of insurgents surrendering to an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) are long gone. These days, even children recognize the nasal drone of a small UAV, which means that what used to be an easy mission can quickly be compromised.
NATO agencies are preparing the ground for the 17,000 U.S. troops that will reinforce its International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in Afghanistan. Command and control systems deployed in Afghanistan were already scheduled for upgrade and replacement, which has become even more urgent to handle the extra troops, and NATO’s air traffic management (ATM) capacity is being increased for the greater number of sorties that will support the reinforcements.
Paul McLeary (Washington), Christina Mackenzie (Paris)
Brazil decided late last year that its newfound offshore oilfields were worth protecting at a cost of about €8.9 billion ($12 billion), which will buy it four diesel-electric submarines, technical assistance to build its first nuclear-powered submarine, a naval base and new shipyard near Rio de Janeiro, and 50 EC725 Eurocopter helicopters.
Iran didn’t send its three Kilo-class submarines to the International Defense Exhibition (IDEX) here in February, but the boats are clearly a strategic consideration for the United Arab Emirates. The UAE navy announced at IDEX that it is building a blue-water fleet with antisubmarine warfare (ASW) capabilities, as well as antiair and antiship defenses.
The Indian air force decommissioned its last MiG-23BN single-engine fighter-bomber during a ceremony at Halwara air base in Punjab on Mar. 6. With the action, the air force comes closer to reducing the number of models in its fleet, which have created a maintenance nightmare. The MiG-23BN—renamed Vijay, or victory—was flown by the air force for 27 years. The fighters saw action against Pakistan in the Kargil War in 1981 and the Siachen conflict in 1985 and 1986. India had a total of 70 BN and MF versions of the MiG-23. More than half were lost in crashes.
Weighing as much as 35 tons, Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) vehicles are proving effective in assuring that troops survive ballistic attacks and improvised explosive devices (IEDs). Despite their survivability, though, serious operational issues are emerging due to the MRAP’s heft, size and maintenance needs, which will affect their tactical utility in operations in Afghanistan. Commanders are taking a hard look at how best to use a vehicle that despite its life-saving qualities, easily becomes stuck offroad or snags low-hanging power lines.
