Russia is gaining on America’s dominance of military sales globally, and in one measure Moscow has become the prime provider of weapons to the Indian imports market (the world’s largest), according to the latest analysis from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (Sipri). According to the Swedish defense think tank, the five largest suppliers of global arms exports during 2009–13—responsible for a combined three-quarters of all exports—were the U.S. with 29%, Russia at 27%, Germany at 7%, China at 6% and France with 5%.
The Pentagon is increasingly looking at first-tier subcontractors and their deals with prime providers of major weapons and systems, and all of them are being judged on what they do to lower costs for the Defense Department, according to Shay Assad, director of defense pricing and acquisition policy.
SHIP CONSTRUCTION: The U.S. Navy has awarded Bath Iron Works, of Bath, Maine, a $642,583,946 contract modification to exercise options for the construction of a DDG 51 class ship, the Pentagon announced March 14. The modification also provides $79,400,000 in advanced procurement funding for fiscal 2016-2017 ships. The work is expected to be completed by July 2023. Contract funds in the amount of $100 million will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, D.C., is the contracting activity.
The political situation in the Ukraine may force the U.S. to rethink its airborne supply route into Afghanistan, as well as Russian-built rocket engines used for space launches, Pentagon leaders say.
Russia is taking lessons from NASA’s aeronautics and Europe’s Clean Sky programs in structuring its new civil aviation research effort, to begin in 2016. With $6 billion in government funding over 10 years to 2025, the National Aeronautical R&D Plan will be similar in scale to NASA’s aeronautics program, which runs at around $550 million a year. An overview of the plan was provided by Sergey Chernyshev, executive director of the TsAGI aero-hydrodynamic research institute, at the Greener Aviation 2014 conference in Brussels on Mar. 11.
One of the rare women executives in the male-dominated business of missiles, Veronique Cham-Meilhac, vice president of ballistic missile defense at MBDA, sees her job primarily as protecting people. A frequent speaker at conferences and seminars, she explains this complex subject in straightforward terms, as she did recently for European Defense Editor Christina Mackenzie. Veronique Cham-Meilhac
Empowered by modern technology, artillery is regaining its fabled punch after being diminished by the evolution of aerial attack and missiles. The introduction of precision strike, driven by guided missiles, had threatened to eliminate artillery from the battlefield. However, advances in such areas as high-g-resistant electronics, durable guidance systems and miniature servos have endowed artillery with advanced capabilities.
Lmams follows the successful deployment of a small number of AeroVironment Switchblade unmanned aerial systems (UAS) in Afghanistan since 2012. The operational concept is similar.
Transparent displays are used in platforms from aircraft heads-up and helmet-mounted displays to automotive windshields, motorcycle helmet visors and eyeglasses. Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology say each system has limitations, mostly in viewing angles. A team led by MIT Profs.
Michael Fabey (Washington), Francis Tusa (London), Richard Fisher (London)
Ballistic missiles have often been a threat with a bigger bark than bite, mostly due to poor accuracy that renders them militarily ineffective unless armed with mass-destruction warheads. But, as reported last month (AW&ST Feb. 17, p. DT3), Israeli missile-defense expert Uzi Rubin expects a rapid proliferation of higher-precision weapons before 2020.
The British Army is evaluating a method of assuring that adequate fuel is available to aircraft during overseas operations near water. The technique involves the use of a towed flexible barge (TFB)—an established platform—to offload fuel from tankers, which is then transported to shore through waters too shallow for a vessel to enter. In trials last month in Cyprus, a team from 516 Royal Engineers conducted operations with a 69-meter (226-ft.) rubber tube.
U.S. Defense Department leaders think special operations forces (SOF) are uniquely suited for the most likely missions of the future—counter-terrorism and crisis response.
As if there aren't enough concerns about computer security, researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute for Communication, Information Processing and Ergonomics in Germany say laptops and other mobile devices are susceptible to hacking through the high-frequency audio signals they emit. According to an Inside Science report, an experiment by Michael Hanspach and Michael Goetz demonstrated that data on air-gapped computers—those not connected to the Internet—could be stolen or corrupted by “covert acoustical networking,” a concept some experts had dismissed.
Smartphones are convenient, but hardly secure. Hence, the need for U.S. defense and security personnel to have one with protected communication. Enter Boeing Black, a modular device that guards data, resists hacking and encrypts conversations. The phone's ultimate protection is a self-destruct mechanism triggered by tampering. Boeing doesn't disclose what this involves, but it's probably a technique for erasing data or destroying circuitry. The company isn't releasing much about the smartphone.
The U.S. Air Force's second training base for the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter has received its first F-35A of 144 to come. The single-engine, stealthy aircraft (on top) arrived at Luke AFB, Ariz., March 10, escorted by two F-16s. Initial training is being conducted at Eglin AFB, Fla. Sixteen of the JSFs are slated to be delivered to Luke's 56th Fighter Wing by the end of the year. Luke will serve as a main base for training international F-35 pilots.
With contracts awarded for designs of initial supersonic X-plane concepts, NASA's High Speed Project is working on a new set of foundational technologies, instrumentation and test techniques that will prepare the way for its development later this decade. “The High Speed Project feels the next major step is to build a flight demonstrator, and we're trying to do everything we can to be prepared for when the time comes,” says Tom Jones, High Speed Project deputy project manager at NASA Armstrong Flight Research Center at Edwards AFB, Calif.
In the last decade, Congress has moved increasingly toward the use of multi-year contracts to save on big-ticket defense programs. But the Pentagon's current long-term budget plans call for stopping the purchase of Sikorsky MH-60 helicopters one year before its current fixed-price, multi-year agreement expires. That prompts the contractor to raise the specter of the decision reversing the trend in multi-year contracting.
With the Indian government and AgustaWestland on the verge of what could be lengthy litigation over the cancellation of a deal for 12 AW101 VVIP helicopters, the Indian air force (IAF) has decided to fast-track a back-up, with time running out for its shaky fleet of Soviet-era Mi-8 executive transport rotorcraft. India's defense ministry has formally initiated paperwork and discussions that will potentially lead to a fresh competition. Until then, however, the air force must have helicopters to ferry government leaders and visiting dignitaries.
The first of two MC-235 gunships, modified from Airbus Military CN235 transports by Alliant Techsystems (ATK). and Jordan's King Abdullah Design & Development Bureau (KADDB), has completed its U.S. testing, including gun firing, and will be delivered to Jordan this month, according to ATK. The second is due to follow in April, and the aircraft will enter service following missile-firing tests and crew training.
Advancements in the Chinese air force, along with a proliferation of technologies that could be converted into electronic weapons, have analysts and officials warning that the U.S. may not be keeping pace.
