December 18, 2018 | International, Land
By: Todd South
The Army has selected two companies to provide prototypes of a new armored, tracked vehicle to give infantry units necessary firepower
Both Michigan-based General Dynamics Land Systems and BAE Systems will have the next 14 months to build and begin delivering 12 prototypes of the Mobile Protected Firepower vehicle.
BAE Systems will build an M8 Buford Armored Gun System with new capabilities and components.
GD submitted an offering that puts a version of its latest Abrams turret together with a chassis that uses past work on the United Kingdom's AJAX program.
The ultimate product will be either a 105- to 120mm cannon and a tracked vehicle that can withstand a classified level of enemy fire.
At least two of the vehicles should be able to fit into the back of a C-17 aircraft.
The need is aimed at near-peer threats.
Brig. Gen. Ross Coffman, director of the Next Generation Combat Vehicle Cross Functional Team, said that the current and future battlefield will challenge the firepower of the infantry.
Right now, Infantry Brigade Combat Teams have artillery to knock out secured enemy positions.
“But there's no precision munition to remove bunkers from the battlefield, to shoot into buildings in dense urban terrain,” Coffman said.
The MPF vehicle and weapon will be used to “disrupt, break in and breach those secure defensive zones,” Coffman said.
The requirement first emerged in the Army's vehicle modernization strategy in late 2015.
The target was to give IBCTs a protected, long-range, cyber-resilient, precision, direct-fire capability for early or forcible entry operations.
In February, GD and BAE, along with SAIC partnering with Singapore's ST Kinetics and CMI Defense, all submitted proposals.
The SAIC team combined CMI's Cockeril 3105 turret with ST Kinetics next-generation armored fighting vehicle chassis.
Officials would not discuss the reasons behind the selection. They expect a final decision to be made by fiscal year 2022. Fielding to the first units is expected by fiscal year 2025.
The MPF is under the Army's NGCV CFT program, which is overseen by the Army Futures Command.
The plans are for roughly 54 vehicles, initially. They will build 26 first, with an option to build 28 more and retrofit eight prototype vehicles.
For the existing vehicle fleet, there's another program that's been conducting recent testing to also enhance the combat vehicle firepower and protection.
The Army chose to evaluate two Active Protection Systems at a November live-fire rodeo, looking at whether either system could work as an interim protection system for one of its combat vehicles.
The APS will also go onto the MPF vehicle in development at this time.
The Israeli-made Trophy VPS by Rafael, a slimmer edition of the Trophy System already on the Abrams tank, and the German-made Active Defense System by Rheinmetall got a chance to showcase their products' abilities atop Strykers at the live fire, according to Military Times sister publication Defense News.
Rheinmetall partnered with Michigan-based Unified Business Technologies. They've dubbed their system “Strike Shield.”
Army representatives saw the Trophy VPS on a Bradley Fighting Vehicle at a demonstration in Israel in August, Defense News reported.
Earlier this year, the Army awarded a $193 million contract to Leonardo DRS for its Trophy APS on the M1 Abrams tank.
The program conducted four “soft kill” demonstrations using virtual threats with the system and controller.
The APS is an interim solution as the Army develops its Modular Active Protection System as part of a larger suite of Vehicle Protection Systems.
In late 2018, developers with the Tank Automotive Research Development and Engineering Center completed successful testing on the MAPS.
The MAPS base kit is an array of sensors and countermeasures used with the Modular Active Protection Systems Controller, giving vehicle crews a single solution to run APS for incoming threats such as enemy drones or anti-tank weapons.
Bill Beyer, MAPS Virtual Demonstrator lead, said in release following MAPS testing that the base kit would move into the vehicle program portfolio by mid-2019.
Rafael was selected to provide its Trophy APS for the Abrams while IMI, also an Israeli company, has put forth the Iron Fist for the Bradley.
Participants didn't fully install their systems on the vehicle. They put up mock rigs for testing in front of Strykers mounted their system on a Stryker.
June 4, 2021 | International, Aerospace
The State Department has approved a possible $3.5 billion sale of AH-64E Apache helicopters to the Australian government, the Defense Security Cooperation Agency announced Thursday.
June 17, 2019 | International, Other Defence
By: Kelsey Reichmann WASHINGTON — The number of warheads has decreased over the past year, even as countries continue to modernize their nuclear forces, according to an annual assessment of global nuclear arms. The Stockholm International Peace Research Institute released the SIPRI Yearbook 2019 on the current state of armaments, disarmament and international security. The report found that 13,865 warheads in existence at the start of 2019 were owned by nine nations: the United States, Russia, the United Kingdom, France, China, India, Pakistan, Israel and North Korea. The year before hosted an arsenal of 14,465 warheads. “A key finding is that despite an overall decrease in the number of nuclear warheads in 2018, all nuclear weapon-possessing states continue to modernize their nuclear arsenals,” Jan Eliasson, SIPRI Governing Board chair ambassador and former deputy secretary-general of the United Nations, said in a news release. The U.S. and Russia were the only nations that decreased their warhead inventory, by 265 and 350 respectively, according to the report. The U.K., China, Pakistan, North Korea and possibly Israel all increased their number of warheads, SIPRI found. India and France saw no changes to the size of their arsenals. One big cause of the decrease in arsenal size, according to SIPRI, is the implementation of the New START Treaty between the U.S. and Russia, meant to reduce and set limits on ballistic missiles. The two nations produce more than 90 percent of the world's nuclear arms. The U.S. and Russia announced in 2018 that they had met the limits of the New START Treaty. But if an extension is not implemented, the treaty will expire in 2021. What's the United States up to? The U.S. is in the process of modernizing its nuclear arsenal per the Trump administration 2018 Nuclear Posture Review, which put forth measures to continue a modernization program started by the Obama administration. However, the NPR moves away from reducing nuclear weapons and instead sets a plan to develop new versions while and modifying others. The U.S. hopes to achieve its goals by expanding nuclear options to include low-yield nuclear weapons, which will expand capabilities associated with submarine-launched ballistic missiles. This would add to a U.S. arsenal that already contains 1,000 gravity bombs and air-launched cruise missiles with low-yield warhead options, according to the SIPRI report. The NPR claims these new capabilities are necessary without evidence that the existing arsenal is insufficient. The SIPRI report notes that America's focus on its nonstrategic nuclear arsenal could push other nations in that same direction. Where does Russia stand? “Russia's decisions about the size and composition of its non-strategic nuclear arsenal appear to be driven by the USA's superiority in conventional forces and not by the US non-strategic nuclear arsenal or by weapons yield," according to the SIPRI report. "Instead, pursuit of a new [submarine-launched cruise missile] to ‘provide a needed non-strategic regional presence' in Europe and Asia could — especially when combined with the parallel expansion of US long-range conventional strike capabilities — strengthen Russia's reliance on non-strategic nuclear weapons and potentially could even trigger Chinese interest in developing such a capability,” the report adds. SIPRI data shows Russia has about 4,330 nuclear warheads; approximately 1,830 of them are categorized as nonstrategic. In 2018, Russia continued long-range operations over the Arctic, Atlantic and Pacific oceans. And in December, it also sent to Venezuela two Tu-160 planes, which are part of its long-range aviation command fleet. Russia also fired air-launched cruise missiles from a Tu-160 bomber over northern Russia in November, which caught attention because the number of cruise missiles launched. Meanwhile, in China, India and Pakistan ... China has an estimated 290 nuclear warheads. Though China is working to expand its nuclear forces, the report notes, it has said it's committed to a no-first-use policy. However, the report added that China has taken steps to improve its retaliation response. Rivals India and Pakistan each provide little information about the size of their nuclear arsenals. However, they have made separate statements about missile tests. India has an estimated 130-140 warheads, and Pakistan has an estimated 150-160 warheads. Both nations are estimated to have increased their arsenal by 10 to 20 warheads in the last year. North Korea has provided little transparency about it nuclear weapons capabilities, besides announcing missile tests afterward. It's estimated the country has 20-30 warheads, which would be an increase of 10-20 warheads from a 2018 estimate. The SIPRI report cites a lack of transparency from most nations in regard to nuclear stockpiles. The U.S., the U.K. and France have disclosed some information about their respective arsenals. Information from other nations is mainly based on missile tests and the supply of military fissile materials. https://www.defensenews.com/global/2019/06/16/heres-how-many-nuclear-warheads-exist-and-which-countries-own-them/
January 18, 2019 | International, Aerospace
The MOD has awarded a five-year, multi-million-pound deal to Leonardo Helicopters (UK) for the support of the existing fleet of 50 Apache attack helicopters. Defence Minister Stuart Andrew announced the £293 million contract with Leonardo Helicopters during a visit to the company's site in Yeovil where some of the vital work on the aircraft will take place. The Apache AH MK1 Integrated Operational Support (IOS) contract will maintain the fleet until it's out of service date in March 2024. The Apache MK1 is being incrementally replaced by the latest Apache AH-64E aircraft that will begin entering service with the British Army in 2022. The new AH-64E model will have improved sensors and avionics as well as greater performance that will enable the Army to sustain its battle-winning capabilities in future operations. Defence Minister Stuart Andrew said: The Apache has provided years of crucial battlefield support to UK and coalition troops in operations in Libya and Afghanistan. This multi-million-pound contract will ensure our Armed Forces continue to benefit from this vital capability as we integrate the latest Apache model into service in 2022. The IOS contract secured by Defence Equipment and Support, the MOD's procurement agency, includes deep maintenance, repair and overhaul of the MK1 aircraft as well as the provision of technical and spares support. The contract has been awarded in three tranches, to maintain value for money, with this latest investment covering the final five years of the fleet in service. Full article: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/293-million-deal-for-apache-fleet