Noting the common operational elements shared between the Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) and the Joint High Speed Vessel (JHSV), the U.S. Navy has decided to place oversight of the latter’s development under the LCS Council of admirals shepherding the program. Adm. Jonathan Greenert, the chief of naval operations, directed the expansion in a March 29 memo. There is no indication that the charter change is the result of any problems with the JHSV program; indeed, Navy officials have touted the development and acquisition effort to date as successful.
LONDON — Thales and missile manufacturer MBDA say they have extended their partnerships as they work together to develop the U.K.’s new short-range naval and ground-launched surface-to-air missile.
In the final fiscal 2013 spending bill for the Pentagon, lawmakers added $711 million to the U.S. Air Force’s aircraft procurement account, mostly so the service can have five more Lockheed Martin C-130s. The total for the additional C-130J, two more HC-130s and two more MC-130s, is a half-billion dollars. Advance procurement for the C-130J had a zero request from the Pentagon; lawmakers plussed that to $180 million. The total request for Air Force aircraft procurement was $11 billion, so the increase is 7%.
The Obama administration’s imminent fiscal 2014 budget request for the Pentagon will ignore limits set by the 2011 Budget Control Act (BCA), try to partially undo the law’s sequestration cuts this year, perpetuate a “fog bank” of illusory budget-making sweeping Washington and is likely to be declared dead on arrival by congressional Republicans who control the House.
REPROGRAM IT: The White House Office of Management and Budget is urging federal agencies to consider exploiting so-called reprogramming authority — i.e., the ability to ask Congress to allow internal money movement within its budget — to deal with the Budget Control Act’s sequestration cuts this fiscal year. Agencies and departments have varying degrees of reprogramming authority, according to the Congressional Research Service.
LONDON — The Selex ES arm of Italian defense and aerospace giant Finmeccanica plans to lay off more than 2,500 employees as it attempts to restructure in a bid to help its struggling parent. Selex management presented its plans to the Finmeccanica board on March 26 to cut 2,529 staffers from across its Italian and U.K. workforce—1,940 in Italy. Furthermore, Selex says it will close 25 of its sites, the majority in Italy.
NEW DELHI — India is considering increasing the foreign direct investment (FDI) limit in its defense sector to at least 49% from the current 26%, according to a top government official. “I am in favor of raising [the] FDI limit in the defense sector to at least 49%, if not 74%,” Federal Trade Minister Anand Sharma says. The policy change is needed to help India “become a major defense producer” in the world, he says. “India needs to move on. Our industry is talking to major defense manufacturers in the U.S. and Europe.”
Pilatus Aircraft ended 2012 with its lowest sales total in at least five years, but a series of contracts for its military, trainer and special mission aircraft propelled the company to its strongest year ever in order intake and positions the Swiss airframer for growth.
U.S. Naval Sea Systems Command (Navsea) completed the first-ever Air Defense Cruiser Aegis Baseline 9 combat systems upgrade for CG-62 USS Chancellorsville March 29. The upgrade was developed by Lockheed Martin and is part of the Navy’s Aegis modernization and cruiser-upgrade program, begun in April 2012 at BAE Systems’ San Diego Ship Repair Facility, and completed following combat systems testing and sea trials.
NEW DELHI — India has approved a plan to buy 30 billion rupees ($500 million) worth of night-vision equipment for its armed forces, a government official says. At an April 2 meeting of the Defense Acquisition Council, the highest decision-making body in the country’s defense affairs, Indian Defense Minister A.K. Antony approved the procurement of around 5,000 third-generation thermal-imaging and night-vision devices for the country’s Russian-origin T-72 and T-90 battle tanks and its BMP Infantry Combat Vehicles (ICVs), a defense official says.
LANGKAWI, Malaysia — UAVs would be the Maldives’ best choice for surveillance of its vast exclusive economic zone compared with manned aircraft, and the tiny nation is eager to hear from companies looking to do trials or research, says Brig. Gen. Ahmed Shiyam, head of the Maldives National Defense Force. Internationally renowned for its pristine natural environment, the Maldives faces a mammoth task in protecting it—920,000 square kilometers of ocean, dotted with 1,192 coral islands.
Pilatus Aircraft ended 2012 with its lowest sales total in at least five years, but a series of contracts for its military, trainer and special mission aircraft propelled the company to its strongest year ever in order intake and positions the Swiss airframer for growth. The company reported 2012 at 593 million CHF ($625 million U.S.), down from 781 million a year earlier and 688 million CHF in 2010. At the same time, though, orders totaled 2.67 billion CHF on the year, more than six times the 416 million CHF taken in during 2011.
HELO VIDEO: Cobham’s Brazilian subsidiary has secured its first major contract in Brazil to equip State Police helicopters with high-definition video surveillance downlinks to be used on helicopters in 12 cities during the 2013 Confederations Cup and the 2014 World Cup, the company says. The contract was developed with a local integration partner following the opening of Cobham’s Sao Paulo office in August 2012 and includes both airborne and ground-based equipment.
With projected costs dropping significantly for the U.S. Navy’s proposed Air and Missile Defense Radar (AMDR), the focus is now on the destroyer line slated to host the AMDR suite — the DDG-51 Arleigh Burke class. There are still questions and concerns, not only about the advanced Flight III versions of the ship being designed with AMDR in mind, but also the Flight IIA versions that marked the beginning of the restarted Burke line to develop and deploy more advanced Aegis Combat Systems meant for improved ballistic missile defense (BMD).
Despite congressional efforts to block the U.S. from purchasing equipment from a Russian-state owned weapons exporter, the Pentagon plans to purchase 30 Mi-17 helicopters from Rosoboronexport to equip the Afghan air force. The fiscal 2013 National Defense Authorization Act prohibits funding from being used to contract with Rosoboronexport. Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) led efforts to pass the bill, citing that company’s involvement in selling weapons to Syria.
Recent Pentagon moves with aircraft in Asia are underscoring a heightened U.S. military focus on the region. The U.S. Defense Department sent a pair of F-22 Raptors to South Korea in late March to participate in military exercises there — a move that may be largely symbolic, defense analysts say. But it also carries operational importance that could help shape the electronic order of battle for the region, should the stakes reach that level.
LIVE FIRE: The guided-missile cruiser CG-62 USS Chancellorsville has completed its first Aegis Combat System live-fire test using the system’s newest Baseline 9 capability build, Aegis prime contractor Lockheed Martin said April 3. During the at-sea test scenario, Aegis successfully detected, tracked and engaged a medium-altitude subsonic target. Four additional live-fire exercises will be completed aboard the Chancellorsville before the ship’s Combat System Ship Qualification Trial events begin later this year.
TEL AVIV — Recent commercial satellite imagery provided by the Israeli satellite firm ImageSat International reveals that new construction activity has already begun at North Korea’s Light Water Nuclear Reactor at Yongbyon.
The U.N. General Assembly on April 2 overwhelmingly approved a new Arms Trade Treaty that is supposed to demand more accountability of nations over their foreign transfers and sales of light weapons, missiles, tanks and even ships to suspected terrorists, criminals and other groups under widespread suspicion of malfeasance or human rights abuses.
Embraer Defense & Security is stepping up its marketing drive in the region and is demonstrating that with its participation at this week's International Defence Industry Fair (IDEF'13), which takes place May 7-10 at the Tüyap Fair & Exhibition Center, in Istanbul, Turkey.
Analysts reacting to U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel’s first major policy speech say the dour remarks on future cuts and likely dramatic mission changes due to austere budgets were expected, albeit significant, for benchmarking the Pentagon’s approach to life under sequestration.
