October 5, 2020 | International, Land, C4ISR, Security
Military.com | By Matthew Cox
The Army just awarded a $1.2 billion contract to General Dynamics Land Systems for Stryker combat vehicles equipped with new short-range air defense weapons.
Under the contract, the company will produce, test and deliver Interim Maneuver Short-Range Air Defense (IM-SHORAD) Strykers to the Army, a key modernization effort for the service, according to an Oct. 2 company news release.
The IM-SHORAD is designed to counter threats from unmanned aerial systems, as well as enemy helicopter and fixed-wing aircraft, according to the release, which adds that the Army's initial, $230 million order calls for 28 Stryker IM-SHORAD vehicles.
"This dedicated SHORAD capability adds a new operational dimension to the Stryker fleet in all of the Army's maneuver formations," Don Kotchman, vice president and general manager of GD Land Systems -- the company that also manufactures Stryker vehicles for the service -- said in the release.
General Dynamics has partnered with Leonardo DRS and Raytheon on the deal, which has an estimated completion date of Sept. 30, 2025, according to the release.
Air and missile defense is a major modernization priority for the Army as it prepares for future, large-scale conflicts with adversaries such as Russia and China.
The IM-SHORAD vehicles will be equipped with Raytheon's Stinger Missiles.
The Army is also working to equip Strykers with 50-kilowatt lasers under the Directed-Energy Maneuver-Short Range Air Defense (M-SHORAD) effort.
In July 2019, the service selected Northrop and Raytheon to develop competing prototypes of 50-kilowatt laser-equipped Strykers as part of a $203 million deal that includes Kord Technologies as the prime contractor.
Northrop and Raytheon will each bring their laser-equipped Stryker to a competitive shoot-off scheduled for the third quarter of fiscal 2021. Army officials plan to select one of the prototypes, which will ultimately be among four vehicles fielded to the first platoon equipped with the 50-kilowatt version of M-SHORAD.
January 26, 2023 | International, Land
As Ukraine rapidly burns through 155mm artillery rounds to fight back the Russian invasion, the U.S. Army is scrambling to increase production capacity.
December 20, 2018 | International, Aerospace
Le gouvernement espagnol a débloqué une enveloppe de plus de 7 Md€ afin de mener trois programmes de modernisation. Le Ministère de la défense espagnol a annoncé le 14 décembre qu'une enveloppe de plusieurs milliards d'euros avait été débloquée afin de conduire trois programmes d'armement. Le conseil des ministres a ainsi autorisé un investissement de 7,331 Md€ pour la conduite de programmes pluriannuels de défense. Cette enveloppe doit permettre de financer trois programmes jusqu'en 2032. Gr'ce à ces 7 Md€, l'Espagne va pouvoir s'équiper de cinq frégates F-110, de 34 blindés VCR 8x8 et entamer la modernisation de sa flotte d'avions de combat Eurofighter Typhoon. Les dépenses autorisées pour l'Eurofighter sont donc revues à la hausse. 906 M€ devraient ainsi être alloués à la modernisation des appareils jusqu'en 2023. Gr'ce à cette décision, « la Défense pourra moderniser et adapter ces appareils en les équipant de nouvelles technologies », a déclaré le ministère de la défense espagnol. L'Espagne est partie prenante du programme Eurofighter aux côtés de l'Allemagne, de l'Italie et du Royaume-Uni. L'ejercito del aire dispose actuellement de 69 appareils sur les 73 commandés. Les quatre aéronefs restants devraient lui être remis au cours de l'année 2019. La flotte devrait ensuite rester en service jusqu'en 2045. http://www.air-cosmos.com/l-espagne-investit-pour-moderniser-ses-avions-de-combat-eurofighter-typhoon-118485
August 22, 2018 | International, Aerospace
By: Sam LaGrone The next phase of the Navy's effort to replace its decades-old ALQ-99 jamming systems on its fleet of electronic warfare aircraft is in a holding pattern amid a protest from a company cut from the competition, USNI News has learned. As part of rapid acquisition push for the new jamming technology, the Navy is splitting up the Next Generation Jammer (NGJ) ALQ-99 replacement work into three increments based on the frequencies the system must block – high-band, mid-band and low-band – to help shield U.S. aircraft from anti-air radar systems. In 2013, Raytheon won a $276 million award for the first portion of the NGJ project – the ALQ-249 mid-band jamming part of the new system – and was awarded an additional $1.2 billion for the work in 2016. In late 2017, Naval Air Systems Command announced a “demonstration of existing technology” contract to shape how it would pursue the low-band increment. The work would create “[a] demonstration that will lead to an assessment of the maturity level of the technologies that might be applied to a low band jammer pod,” a NAVAIR spokesperson told USNI News in a statement on Tuesday. “This will help inform the appropriate acquisition strategy of the program.” Last month, L3 and a team of Northrop Grumman and Harris were selected to move forward from a field of four competitors that also included Raytheon and a Lockheed Martin and Cobham team, USNI News has learned. Soon afterwards, Raytheon filed a protest with the Government Accountability Office, arguing it should have been selected to move forward with the low-band jammer effort. Both L3 and the Northrop Grumman/Harris team confirmed that their low-band tech was selected for potential further study by NAVIAR but referred additional questions to the Navy due to the ongoing protest from Raytheon. “We have a mature and exceedingly capable offering for Next-Generation Jammer Low Band,” a Northrop spokesman told USNI News in a statement. “Northrop Grumman stands ready to demonstrate that technology.” USNI News understands a Lockheed Martin/Cobham team was not selected for further study. A Lockheed spokesperson referred questions to the Navy citing the protest. In a short statement, Raytheon implied the Navy did not fully take into account the benefits of the company's existing investment into the ALQ-249 mid-band jamming technology. “We believe there were errors in the government's evaluation,” Dana Carroll, a Raytheon spokeswoman, told USNI News in a statement. “Our low-risk, open architecture pod effectively and affordably counters modern threats while maximizing reuse of proven technology and taxpayer investment.” The GAO has until October to reach a decision on Raytheon protest. The Next Generation Jammer program has been a weak point the Navy's push to revitalize its aerial electronic warfare portfolio after the service shrugged off developing an improved capability for years in favor of other priorities. The program was placed on the backburner for years while the U.S. was mostly engaged in conflicts with largely uncontested airspace. Full article: https://news.usni.org/2018/08/21/l3-northrop-selected-next-generation-jammer-work-program-stalled-raytheon-protest