On March 22, 2011, two Bell Boeing MV-22B Osprey tiltrotors launched from the amphibious assault ship USS Kearsage to retrieve two U.S. Air Force F-15E pilots whose aircraft suffered mechanical failure over Libya. The fact that the MV-22Bs reached the pilots faster than a helicopter could have has been the central theme of a Marine Corps public relations offensive to polish the controversial Osprey's image. If it hadn't been for the V-22, Marine Commandant Gen. James Amos said in November, “we'd have been negotiating for the release of those two pilots.”
Japan's 2012 defense budget of ¥4.7 trillion ($60.8 billion) is essentially unchanged from last year. It is likely to remain flat in coming years or reflect a downward trend that began in 2003—especially as the country absorbs the huge financial burden from the devastating earthquake and tsunami that struck last March. Despite the shrinking budget, planners are working to enhance capabilities in surveillance and rapid deployment, and planning to strengthen the defense of its southwestern islands facing China, which has made territorial claims on them.
At press time, two optionally piloted Kaman K-Max cargo-lift helicopters, modified for the mission by Lockheed Martin, were supposed to be on their way to Afghanistan—finally, after a lot of on-and-off decisions about unmanned cargo helicopters. If they make it, they will be the first in theater for the time being, ahead of the Boeing A160T, which was also being evaluated by the U.S. Navy for a Marine Corps support mission. Unmanned cargo helicopters ought to be a good fit for the distributed small-unit operations seen in Afghanistan.
It was disclosed last year that AeroVironment's Switchblade man-portable, lethal unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) had received a production contract from the U.S. Army, following an operational utility assessment in 2010. AeroVironment has taken the lead with these systems, after launching development under the Army's Project Anubis. Using components from its Wasp mini-UAV, the 2-lb. Switchblade is tube-launched (so the operator can stay under cover) with tandem flip-out wings and electric propulsion.
The U.K.'s Team Complex Weapons initiative, a partnership between government and industry designed to structure and stabilize the development of guided weapon systems, got a lukewarm reception when announced at the Farnborough air show in 2008, but some of the thinking behind it is becoming clearer as one of its first products takes shape. MBDA unveiled the land-based launcher for its new Common Anti-Air Modular Missile (CAMM) at the DSEi show in London last September (see photo), after displaying the sea-based version at the 2010 Eurosatory exhibition.
Economic crises, budget cuts and shifting warfighting needs will have an impact on defense industries this year. Nevertheless, technology development continues. Products will be commercialized and business plans written with an eye toward weathering the storm and building for the future. Following are 10 companies that DTI's editors believe are worth watching for the innovation they will bring to the market this year.
Two new optionally piloted airships are slated to deploy to Afghanistan in 2012. The Blue Devil from MAV6, sponsored by the U.S. Air Force, is a conventional teardrop hulled, lighter-than-air ship that will carry BAE Systems' Argus-IS sensor. The Long Endurance Multi Intelligence Vehicle (LEMV) is a hybrid craft—helium-filled but slightly heavier than air, with a multilobe, wing-shaped envelope, developed by Northrop Grumman with technology from the U.K.
Bar armor is the usual way to protect transport and patrol vehicles from rocket-propelled grenades (RPG), but it is heavy, cumbersome and loses effectiveness after damage. A U.K. unit of Amsafe—based in Bridport, England, which has a 750-year history of rope and net-making—has teamed with ST Kinetics to develop a net-based protection system, Tarian, initially for the Warthog tracked articulated vehicle. Tarian is a refined version of a system developed for the British Army in 2009. Total weight is 190 lb. versus 1,200 lb.
France's 2012 defense budget has had to cut €267 million ($352.4 million) from its original request of €31.72 billion. Had the axe not fallen, this budget would have remained stable, since the original 1.8% rise on the 2011 figure was just above the 1.7% inflation rate. The increase now is 0.75%.
Covering Armageddon is not always the most comfortable place for a reporter. Worldwide, the defense enterprise is shuddering from multiple impacts. Forces are stretched from long deployments—the expensive high-tech weapons of the Cold War era, which are mostly what everyone uses, were designed for training and a brief, intense war. Too many bungled, overwrought projects ate all the fodder in the barn through infancy and adolescence, then dropped dead and left the oldsters and the starving siblings to pull the plow.
Wide-area surveillance systems are the intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance flavor of the month in Afghanistan, and several systems are due to be deployed in 2012 or be integrated on new platforms. The nomenclature for these systems can be confusing and sometimes reflects a complex heritage. Take, for example, BAE Systems' Argus-IS (Autonomous Real-Time Ground Ubiquitous Surveillance Imaging System), which was originally a U.S.
In theory, the plan for the U.K.'s two new aircraft carriers is now set and can proceed. The 2010 Strategic Defense and Security Review (SDSR) changed the ships, and the aircraft that are to fly off them, from the B-variant, short-takeoff/vertical landing (Stovl) version of the Joint Strike Fighter (JSF), in favor of the larger, heavier, longer-range F-35C carrier variant. As such, there is now a requirement for catapults and arrester gear.
Widely thought of as the U.K.'s next unmanned aerial system (UAS), Scavenger may be much more. The project is expected to deliver a deep and persistent airborne intelligence, surveillance, target acquisition and reconnaissance (Istar) capability in the 2018 timeframe. Although the Defense Ministry is not anticipating a decision this year, 2012 will be pivotal in shaping a program important to the future force mix and the aerospace industry.
Budget pressure and continuing technological and management problems are likely to lead to further changes in the Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) program, with announcements possible before the defense budget rollout in February. The program's high points last year—flight testing and deliveries stayed on schedule, for the first time since 2008, and the F-35B performed its first shipboard landings—won't affect those changes.
Early Warning The public face of 2Excel Aviation, a Northamptonshire, England, company, is exciting: The Blades is the only aerobatic display team in the world licensed as an airline. It carries fare-paying passengers on stunt flights in two-seat Extra EA-300 LPs. But what 2Excel Aviation is doing behind the scenes could have an enormous impact on the future of aviation. While unmanned aerial systems (UAS) are an essential part of military fleets, the development of a civil market is hampered by their inability to be legally flown outside restricted airspace.
November's International Atomic Energy Agency report implied that the Stuxnet virus delayed, but didn't derail, Iran's nuclear program. Nevertheless, the worm's precision strike seems to have spawned more advanced cyberattacks. In October, researchers in Budapest announced the discovery of a Stuxnet derivative. Duqu—so named because some files it creates have the prefix “DQ”—may be the work of the same coders, but its mission is different.
Technology is the lifeblood of the defense industry. The ability of companies large and small to develop ways of meeting urgent needs or to extend capabilities even incrementally guarantees that progress, measured as much by intelligence and deterrence as force of arms, will keep forces alert, ready and when necessary, capable of defeating threats. Of the myriad new technologies that are redefining product development, DTI's editors have selected 12 that we believe will stand out.
The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (Darpa) wants proposals for a factory that builds a combat vehicle in record time by making rapid design changes. Darpa released the final solicitation for iFAB—Instant Foundry Adaptive through Bits—part of a program to build “adaptive vehicles” with drastically shorter development cycles. “Instead of building one factory, wrapping it around one product or even a family of products, the iFAB foundry is a manufacturing capability with no learning curve,” says Army Lt. Col. Nathan Weidenman, deputy program manager.
Arab unrest is changing the balance of power in the Middle East, along with the dynamics of the region. With the uprisings in Tunisia, Egypt, Libya and Syria reconfiguring the political landscape, Israel is increasingly isolated and its dependence on the U.S. is growing.
Everyone in the fighter business loves helmet-mounted displays, in principle. And everyone hates integrating them and (even worse) maintaining them, because they are complicated and not affixed to the airframe and have to be in precise alignment with the aircraft and its sensors. Three product families—Elbit's Targo (chosen for the Alenia M-346), BAE Systems' Q-Sight (selected for Gripen and JSF interim solutions) and Gentex's Scorpion (chosen for the U.S. Air National Guard and Air Force Reserve F-16s and A-10s, and for AC-130 gunships) are breaking the mold.
Test flights are coninuing for the Airbus Military A400M against a background of angry rumblings from the French government, which is the launch customer for the transport aircraft. Laurent Collet-Billon, director of the DGA procurement agency, says he will not take delivery of the A400M “and I will not pay for them,” unless a satisfactory support and maintenance contract is reached.
The Cold War is dead but one of its offspring, nuclear proliferation, is very much alive. Following is a review of programs underway in the Middle East, Asia and Russia, which could soon be flashpoints.
U.S. Air Force leaders in December signed off on a report called “Energy Horizons,” which looks at ways to reduce the service's dependence on imported oil, improve energy efficiency and increase use of alternative fuels. “The report has been approved,” says Mark Maybury, Air Force chief scientist. The final report will likely be cleared for release in early 2012. The report looks at fuel consumption across air, space, cyber and infrastructure, and recommends ways to increase efficiency.
