Another Air Force fleet grounded over fears plane tails may fall off

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  June 14, 2019 | International, Other Defence

  Invisible Interdiction: Air Force Awards Contract for Rail-Mounted Anti-Drone System

  By: Harry McNabb While drone detection systems are proliferating recently, what to do when you've identified a rogue drone is still a problem. Solutions range from catcher drones equipped with nets to shoulder mounted “ray guns” and even drone hunting birds. In a recent press release (below), Invisible Interdiction announced the award of a U.S. Air Force contract to design and test a small lightweight rail-mounted drone jamming module: a device that can be attached to other weapons carried by military personnel. We reached out to Invisible Interdiction president, Clay Wild to learn more about the development of their technology: DRONELIFE: Congratulations on your award. Do you have a image that you could share with our readers? Clay Wild: “The system itself is still a rendering, but I've attached a couple of photos that might be useful. It will be an interesting capability.” DroneLife: Who is the Audience for your system? Whom is it designed for? Clay Wild: “The initial users will be US Air Force Security Forces personnel. The guys who guard Air Force bases. DRONELIFE: What is important about this award to Invisible Interdiction? Clay Wild: “This is our first major contract award. We are going to provide Security Forces Airmen the ability to stop drones interfering with their operations without the need to carry extra equipment. Attaching the countermeasure to the weapon provides them instant access to this device”. DRONELIFE: Tell us a little bit about Invisible Interdiction and how you got started. Clay Wild: “Invisible Interdiction was started only a year ago in March 2018 but we've been in the counter-drone business for almost four years now with other organizations. We are currently marketing to defense agencies in the U.S. but have a very active international representative network around the world introducing our capabilities to those military and police agencies that are allowed to deploy jamming capabilities. As you are aware, the RF jamming is a very sensitive technology around the world because of the potential for collateral effects. With most drones using the WIFI bands for control, jamming this part of the spectrum can impact everyday things like WIFI routers, Bluetooth devices, etc. We happen to design very directional and low-power jamming systems, but they can be temporarily impactful nonetheless. The use of this, and other types of countermeasures, is an interesting debate that is just starting.” DRONELIFE: How did you come up with the name of the company? Clay Wild: “The company name Invisible Interdiction refers to the use of ‘invisible' RF energy for interdiction of errant drones. This appeared to be an interesting play on what we do. Once folks think about it for a minute, the light goes on and..”oh yeah, I get it.” The following is an Invisible Interdiction press release. Invisible Interdiction Awarded Air Force Contract for Rail-mounted UAS Denial System. Melbourne, FL, May 30, 2019: Melbourne, Florida based Invisible Interdiction has been awarded a contract to design, test and qualify a very small, lightweight rail- mounted C-UAS jamming module. This Phase 3 contract is the result of a Special Topic SBIR award originally envisioned by the Air Force's Las Vegas-based innovation hub called AFWERX. Several barriers to working with the Air Force were removed including a shorter application process, an accelerated contract award and a shorter period of performance. This effort started in the fall of 2018 in response to the Air Force's pursuit of innovative counter-drone technologies. Invisible Interdiction submitted a concept that was selected and proven feasible late last year. This UAS denial system will be similar in size and weight to existing rail-mounted aiming lasers that are mounted on the Picatinny rail of issued shotguns or M4 rifles. Noted Invisible Interdiction CEO Bryan Sydnor, “We already have considerable experience designing small and lightweight hand-held and modular jamming systems. This weapon attachable jamming module will test our ability to design an effective capability that easily attaches to the service rifle or shotgun.” Prototype testing and qualification is scheduled for later this summer with production units available by the end of 2019. https://dronelife.com/2019/06/12/invisible-interdiction-air-force-awards-contract-for-rail-mounted-anti-drone-system/

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  November 28, 2018 | International, Aerospace, Naval, Land, C4ISR

  Japan at a crossroads: What’s keeping its defense industry from growing?

  By: Mike Yeo MELBOURNE, Australia — Japan is facing what appears to be an increasingly difficult choice, between a desire to keep its domestic defense industry in business, and getting more value for its defense spending while introducing much-needed capabilities by buying foreign off-the-shelf systems. This conundrum comes as the U.S. ally continues to warily eye nearby China's military buildup and North Korea's missile and nuclear programs. Japan's defense industry came to being soon after the end of World War II, as it attempted to rebuild its shattered economy. According to Corey Wallace, a postdoctoral fellow at the Graduate School of East Asia Studies at Germany's Freie Universität Berlin, Japan adopted what was known as kokusanka — a conscious and systematic attempt to domesticate technologies that Japan would need for an autonomous defense-industrial base. Through licensing agreements and other methods of technology transfer and acquisition, the Japanese government in the post-war period identified the most important platforms it thought it needed and tried to domesticate them. Today, Japan's local industry produces all of the country's warships and submarines, albeit fitted with important systems like the Aegis combat system, radars and missiles from the United States as well as most of its land warfare systems. Despite these capabilities, there are a number of hurdles for Japan's defense-industrial base. Chief among these is the relatively small, domestic market that drives up unit prices as well as Japan's own set of unique requirements that sometimes create a bespoke product difficult to market overseas. The small, domestic market has also meant there is little competition. And when the price of a product is determined by what Japanese newspaper Asahi Shimbun calls the “cost calculation method,” in which a contractor's profit is added to the prime cost that also includes that of materials and labor, it can lead to “an open invitation for soaring costs as contractors have few incentives for suppressing the prime cost.” An example of this is the C-2 airlifter. Since 2016, Japan has ordered a total of seven C-2 aircraft out of an eventual requirement of 40. This slow production rate means the C-2 costs about $201 million per aircraft, according to the latest budget request from Japan's Defense Ministry, which has asked to procure two aircraft in the next fiscal year. This, coupled with the need to focus on the expensive missile defense systems against the North Korean ballistic missile threat, has put Japan's defense budget under strain, to the point that earlier this year Japan's Finance Ministry reportedly took the unorthodox step of urging its defense counterpart to consider the option of acquiring a cheaper airlifter instead of the C-2. Given recent developments in the geopolitical and domestic industrial sphere, Japan has turned to what Wallace calls “selectivity and concentration” — the country accepts that its defense-industrial base cannot achieve absolute autonomy, particularly in areas like fighter jets and ballistic missile defense, where international cooperation is necessary in the development process. Foreign partnerships Cooperation with a foreign partner appears to be the way Japan is proceeding with two key aerospace programs: the development of a new air-to-air missile and its next fighter jet. Japan is developing the Joint New Air-to-Air Missile, which will marry the active electronically scanned array radar seeker of Japan's AAM-4B air-to-air missile with the European MBDA Meteor ramjet-powered beyond-visual-range air-to-air missile. The missile is intended for use by the Japan Air Self-Defense Force, but the program appears to be on a long timeline. Reports indicate no technical work has been done, and the first prototypes are planned to be ready for test shots after April 2022, with a decision following on whether to go ahead with the program. With regard to its next-generation fighter jets, following a request for information from several overseas manufacturers earlier this year, Japan is reportedly studying the feasibility of a joint development program. Local media has tracked the story, although official information is scant pending the release of Japan's five-year midterm defense plan later this year. It's widely expected Japan will link up with a foreign partner for the development, however some are holding out hope for a wholly domestic fighter program despite the risks and higher costs involved. Japan has not locally built fighters since Mitsubishi F-2s rolled off the line in 2011. However, Grant Newsham, a retired U.S. Marine Corps officer who is now a senior research fellow at the Japan Forum for Strategic Studies in Tokyo, says Japan should consider spending more on defense, telling Defense News earlier this year that figure should be about $5 billion to $7 billion more per year for the next five years. As the world's third-largest economy, he said, “Japan has all the money it needs to properly fund defense. And the amounts required are about the same as the waste and/or fraud in a couple of public works projects, but it chooses not to do so.” Japan's latest defense budget request for the next fiscal year is for $48 billion, which is a 2.1 percent increase from the previous year's allocated budget and represents a new record-high defense budget for the country. The amount is roughly 1 percent of its gross domestic product, which, although not official policy, has essentially become a ceiling for its defense budget. Notably, Japan is carrying out final assembly on most of its 42 Lockheed Martin F-35A Lightning II Joint Strike Fighters, which will eventually replace the upgraded F-4EJ Kai Phantom II aircraft currently in service. The government reportedly wants to buy more F-35s, with some suggesting it's looking at the short-takeoff-and-vertical-landing F-35B to equip the flight decks of its helicopter destroyers of the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force. Export challenges Under Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Japan has ended its ban on defense exports, which his government sees as a way to boost Japan's economy. Japanese defense companies have and continue to pursue several international acquisition programs ranging from Australia's requirement for submarines to France and Germany's requirement for new maritime patrol aircraft. However, these export opportunities have presented their own set of challenges, not least the fact that Japanese companies lack the savvy of their more-experienced competitors at the higher end of the global arms market, and that they're being priced out by cheaper alternatives at the lower end. And despite their undoubted quality, Japanese offerings are sometimes hindered in the export market by the domestic market's bespoke requirements. In the case of the C-2, there were no requirements for the aircraft to conduct operations on short or poorly prepared airstrips, and this is likely to hurt its prospects in New Zealand, which is seeking airlifters for both strategic and tactical airlift missions. In this case, the ability to operate from poorly prepared runways is important given the Royal New Zealand Air Force conducts regular operations to South Pacific islands, particularly on humanitarian assistance and disaster response missions in the aftermath of natural disasters. Newsham noted that despite the recent loosening of restrictions, there has not been significant effort by Japanese companies to dive into the international defense market, as most major Japanese companies don't consider the defense business to be profitable. Other sources in Japan who are familiar with the industry have corroborated that view in speaking to Defense News. And Newsham adds that despite being the administration that pushed for the loosening of defense export restrictions, the Abe government has not proactively supported Japanese defense companies seeking to do business overseas. https://www.defensenews.com/industry/2018/11/26/japan-at-a-crossroads-whats-keeping-its-defense-industry-from-growing

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  June 21, 2019 | International, Aerospace

  CAE wins US Navy contract to train UC-12 aircrews

  CAE USA has received a contract to provide classroom and simulator training for the US Navy's UC-12 aircraft's aircrews. As part of the training programme, the company will provide initial and refresher training courses for naval pilots and flight officers. The programme will include training on the King Air 200 Pro Line 21 and non-Pro Line King Air 200 cockpits, in addition to the King Air 350 Pro Line 21 and Fusion cockpits. CAE USA president and general manager Ray Duquette said: “CAE has an unmatched ability to leverage a global network of training centres and training programmes. “The award of this contract is a great example of CAE's Defense and Civil business units working together to deliver a comprehensive training programme for the US Navy. We are particularly pleased that navy C-12 aircrews will be joining the army and airforce in training C-12 pilots at our Dothan Training Center in Alabama.” Alongside Alabama, training will also be delivered at the firm's facilities in Dallas, Texas, and Morristown, New Jersey. The UC-12 is a military version of the Beechcraft King Air multi-mission aircraft. Variants of the Beechcraft C-12 Huron are in service with the US Air Force, Army, Navy and Marine Corps. The navy uses the UC-12 to transport personnel and cargo, as well as for range clearance, medical evacuation, and humanitarian assistance. The department's UC-12B/F/M Huron is based on the King Air B200 aircraft, while its UC-12W Huron is as a modified version of the King Air 350. In May last year, CAE was awarded a contract to deliver instructor support services for providing ground-based training to the US Navy. https://www.naval-technology.com/news/cae-wins-us-navy-contract-to-train-uc-12-aircrews/