September 12, 2019 | International, Land

DSEI: Shoot and scoot: Industry answers call for more mobile firepower

By: Jen Judson

LONDON — As the U.S. military and its European allies look to counter Russian capabilities observed against Ukraine in Crimea, countries are looking to move away from towed artillery systems to highly mobile mortar systems that pack a punch at greater range.

The exposition floor at DSEI, a large defense trade show in London, was littered with examples of mobile mortar systems that are answering the call.

“We're seeing the emergence of mobile mortars now due to changing threats and environments,” James Tinsley, a managing director at Avascent, told Defense News at the show.

“Where U.S. and allied operations in Afghanistan and Iraq used largely static mortar and artillery emplacements at Forward Operating Bases, these sites are easily fixed, targeted and destroyed by more advanced conventional adversaries,” Tinsley said. “Those adversaries use unmanned aerial vehicles, electronic intelligence and counter-battery radars to quickly target and counter-fire on vulnerable artillery positions.”

Militaries have increased their focus on mobile artillery solutions, as a result, Tinsley said, to include self-propelled howitzer being recapitalized with new systems like the Paladin M1299 Extended Range Cannon Artillery, Hanwha's K9, BAE Systems' Archer 155mm howitzer to name a few. And there's an effort to extend the range of rounds like the Nammo ramjet capability.

Hammer of Thor

BAE Systems showcased its CV90 Mjölner variant — Hammer of Thor — with a 120mm mortar system, which is about to be delivered to the Swedish Army after completing qualifications.

The company is seeing a genuine requirement from customers because they are seeing the threat and so the company believes its system fits the bill due to its simplicity for the operator.

Swedish Armed Forces Colour Sergeant Joakim Kylstad, a development officer at the Land Warfare Centre, said the system brings an increase in mobility and speed of firing and it can keep up with main battle tanks. The ability to shoot and move out of the way before an enemy can detect and return fire is critical, he added.

And the 120mm's firepower and range are more effective than an 81mm mortar, Kylstad said.

While this variant was specifically designed for the Swedish Army, there are a number of other countries interested in the platform, Dan Lindell, BAE Systems' director of combat vehicles in Sweden, said.

The company has sent information on both the Mjölner variant and an advanced mortar system to the United States, but the two have very different price points, Lindell noted.

The vehicle was delivered in record time to the Swedes. BAE fired the first shot from the variant just two-and-a-half months after signing a contract in December two years ago.

BAE also brought its Archer system on an 8x8 truck. The system carries 21 rounds and can be fired in two-and-a-half minutes.

Also packing a punch, Finnish defense company Patria displayed a 120mm Nemo turret on its 6x6 armored wheeled vehicle.

While not integrated onto a vehicle at the show, German defense company Rheinmetall brought its 120mm Ragnarok mortar combat system intended for integration into combat vehicles.

Downsizing

But even smaller vehicles came to the show with mortar systems highlighting easy setup and high mobility.

AM General's booth had one vehicle - a HMMWV with a Hawkeye 105mm mobile weapon system using a standard M20 cannon installed with a soft recoil capability.

The company has been working with Mandus Group on refining and integrating the Hawkeye system to the humvee. The only parts different from what is already in the U.S. Army inventory is the gun system's cradle and the recoil mechanism, Nguyen Trinh, company executive vice president of International Defense, told Defense News.

The 105mm system can be found on Korean and South African vehicles, but it's installed on huge 6x6 trucks. Yet, AM General installed the gun without making any modifications to the humvee besides adding stabilizer legs to adjust to uneven ground.

In a recent demonstration, an experienced artillery crew at Fort Campbell, Kentucky, showed the benefits of a system installed on a humvee versus a towed M119.

Compared to the four minutes and 41 seconds an artillery crew of seven took to set up and first fire the system, the four person crew using the HMMWV Hawkeye system fired its first shot in one minute and 54 seconds after spending a day-and-a-half training to use it, Trinh said. In emergency situations, a two-person crew can set up and deploy the weapon.

Additionally, the system can fire 24 rounds within three minutes from the time the vehicle stops, and by the time a counter-battery radar has time to find the system, it's already moving to its next firing position, he added.

And towed-artillery crews can normally only break down and set up the system several times before it becomes physically exhausting. But the mobility and ease of use of the Hawkeye humvee system means the crew can keep going longer.

The AM General system can also shoot in 360 degrees and is the only company worldwide with this capability. The rest of the systems out there can shoot in a forward-facing “wedge.”

One of the U.S. Army's priorities is to increase protective mobile fire capability because of the threats observed by Russia on the battlefield in Ukraine, and the Army is evaluating systems including AM General's system.

“Mobile, self-protected howitzers we believe are the future, not only in the Army but internationally,” Trinh said.

Ditching towed systems

The U.S. Army has recently completed an Army Requirements Oversight Council review on mobile, self-propelled artillery and language on the way forward is expected soon.

The United Kingdom is also looking at the same thing seriously and has requirements for a 155mm system.

But “I would say any country that has towed systems today and that really understands the survivability challenges of towed systems are looking in general terms at self-propelled systems,” Trinh noted.

While not at the show, the company also has a 155mm system called Brutus on an FMTV chassis.

The system doesn't just have to go on a humvee or FMTV either, Trinh said, but any vehicle in a country's inventory.

Also taking up less of a footprint was British company Supacat's High Mobility Integrated Fires Capability with an 81mm mortar system on the back.

The U.S. Army has several programs that increase the mobility of 120mm mortar systems from the Future Indirect Fire Turret (FIFT) program, the Armored Multipurpose Vehicle (AMPV) and work within the Next-Generation Combat Vehicle program.

Several options are being demonstrated to the Army with Stryker for the FIFT program, with a target of installing on AMPV or the future Optionally Manned Fighting Vehicle.

“Mortars offer significant firepower in lighter weight systems than self propelled howitzers, albeit at lower ranges. But they are a highly effective complement to other systems,” Tinsley noted.

Most self-propelled mortars today are mounted in the hull of vehicles like AMPV or the Stryker combat vehicle. “These can be effective but they are slower to bring to bear, have an open roof, which is vulnerable to counter-fire and require a heavier vehicle to handle recoil or an expensive and complex recoil system,” Tinsley said.

So turret-mounted systems are “coming into vogue now,” he said. “They offer high rates of fire, maintain crew protection and tightly integrate fire control or indirect and direct fire missions. Some have automatic loaders and other automation to drive even higher rates of fire.”

The Army was moving in this direction back in the days of Future Combat Systems, but the program was cancelled with the rest of the program.

The international market has been developing and adopting these systems more quickly, according to Tinsley, and it's likely that the providers with wares to show at DSEI are leading candidates for some of the things the U.S. Army is looking for, but will likely require U.S. production partners and integrators, according to Tinsley.

https://www.defensenews.com/digital-show-dailies/dsei/2019/09/12/shoot-and-scoot-industry-answers-call-for-more-mobile-firepower

On the same subject

May 21, 2020 | International, Aerospace, C4ISR

More than one company could get cash to build the Air Force’s AI-equipped Skyborg drone
By: Valerie Insinna WASHINGTON — The U.S. Air Force has kicked off a competition for one of its most highly anticipated tech programs, a drone known as Skyborg that will use artificial intelligence to make decisions in battle. The service released a solicitation May 15 for Skyborg prototypes, which will merge autonomous, low-cost aircraft with a suite of artificial intelligence capabilities. The Air Force envisions Skyborg as a family of drones — each designed for a specific mission or set of missions — with modular hardware and software payloads and a common AI backbone, which will allow software to be rapidly updated across the fleet. The Air Force intends to give multiple companies $400 million to develop different versions of the Skyborg system, although it reserves the right to award just one or no contracts. Proposals are due June 15, with awards projected around July 8, according to the solicitation. Once under contract, companies will “conduct research to develop, demonstrate, integrate and transition air vehicle, payload and autonomy technologies and systems that will provide affordable, revolutionary capabilities to the warfighter through the Skyborg program,” the Air Force said. The service previously intended to use experimentation and prototyping to have Skyborg operational by 2023. Skyborg will be what the service calls an attritable system, meaning that aircraft loss is expected and can be tolerated even though the system is not considered expendable and can be reused. Aircraft should “generate massed combat power with minimal logistical footprints,” with cost per unit and the price of operating and maintaining the air vehicles a “small fraction” for that of the Air Force's existing fighter inventory, according to the solicitation. Air Force acquisition executive Will Roper has compared Skyborg to R2-D2, the Star Wars droid that feeds Luke Skywalker helpful information while piloting an X-Wing. Skyborg would build up efficacy on its own via artificial intelligence by working with manned pilots, who would issue commands to the drone and provide feedback on the data presented by it. Last year, Roper told Defense News that the service was exploring the possibility of teaming Skyborg both with the Lockheed Martin F-35 and the Boeing F-15EX aircraft. The ability to team manned fighter jets with smart, autonomous drones could “open up the door for an entirely different way to do aerial combat,” he said in May 2019. “We can take risk with some systems to keep others safer,” he said at the time. “We can separate the sensor and the shooter. Right now they're collocated on a single platform with a person in it. In the future, we can separate them out, put sensors ahead of shooters, put our manned systems behind the unmanned.” Numerous aircraft companies are expected to bid on the Skyborg solicitation. Kratos Defense and Security Solutions is already working with the Air Force on its XQ-58A Valkyrie drone, which logged its fourth successful flight test in January as part of the Low Cost Attritable Aircraft Technology program. Earlier this month, Boeing rolled out its own loyal wingman drone, the Airpower Teaming System. The Royal Australian Air Force has committed to buy three of those systems for experimentation under its Loyal Wingman Advanced Development Program. General Atomics and Lockheed Martin's Skunk Works each plan to offer their own aircraft proposals, according to Air Force Magazine. In fiscal 2021, the Air Force intends to spend $157.6 million across its three “vanguard programs,” which includes the Skyborg effort. The service also included an additional $25 million for Skyborg on its unfunded priorities list, which would allow it to begin integrating UAVs with artificial intelligence software. https://www.defensenews.com/air/2020/05/20/more-than-one-company-could-get-cash-to-build-the-air-forces-ai-equipped-skyborg-drone
December 22, 2020 | International, Land

General Dynamics to build upgraded Abrams tanks in $4.62B contract
By Ed Adamczyk Dec. 21 (UPI) -- The U.S. Army will purchase the latest iteration of the M1 Abrams tank in a $4.62 billion contract with General Dynamics, the Defense Department announced. The battle tank, regarded by many as the world's best, first entered service in 1980. The newest version, known as the M1A2C or the M1A2 SEPV3, includes a variety of improvements, notably a gunner's sight and commander's sight for increased lethality and a 120mm cannon. It also has an ammunition datalink to fire improved rounds, 12 batteries for longer silent watch, reinforced armor, a jammer to counter radio-activated improvised explosive devices, replaceable modules for easier maintenance and other features. The tank "provides the lethality, survivability and fightability necessary to defeat advanced threats well into the future," an Army statement said. "The Abrams tank is the Army's primary ground combat system." At 71.2 tons, it is regarded as the most reliable Abrams tank ever produced, and the platform for future modernizations. The Army intends to field over 2,100 M1AC tanks through its Abrams Upgrade Program and the eight-year, single-bid contract with General Dynamics Land Systems. The Defense Department did not disclose the number of new tanks to be delivered in its announcement, but noted a completion date of 2028. More than 10,000 Abrams tanks have been built since 1980, and are included in the equipment of the armies of Australia, Egypt, Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and Morocco. https://www.upi.com/Defense-News/2020/12/21/General-Dynamics-to-build-upgraded-Abrams-tanks-in-462B-contract/5371608568868/
July 25, 2019 | International, Aerospace

Florence Parly dévoile la stratégie spatiale française de défense
La France va investir 700 millions d'euros supplémentaires dans le spatial militaire d'ici à 2025, pour renforcer ses moyens de surveillance et se doter de capacités d'auto-défense dans l'espace. Une somme qui s'ajoute aux 3,6 milliards d'euros déjà prévus pour le spatial de défense dans la Loi de programmation militaire française 2019-2025. « Aujourd'hui, nos alliés et nos adversaires militarisent l'espace. Et alors que le temps de la résilience se fait de plus en plus court, nous devons agir. Nous devons être prêts. » Jeudi 25 juillet, Florence Parly, ministre des Armées, s'est rendue au Commandement de défense aérienne et des opérations aériennes (CDAOA), situé sur la Base aérienne 942 de Lyon Mont-Verdun afin de présenter les grandes orientations militaires françaises dans le domaine spatial. Véritable enjeu, l'espace est devenu un lieu de confrontation de plus en plus militarisé. Indispensables au bon déroulement des opérations militaires, nos satellites et leur sauvegarde constituent un impératif stratégique. C'est pourquoi Florence Parly a annoncé que la France allait investir 700 millions d'euros supplémentaires dans le spatial militaire d'ici à 2025, pour renforcer ses moyens de surveillance et se doter de capacités d'auto-défense dans l'espace. Une somme qui s'ajoute aux 3,6 milliards d'euros déjà prévus pour le spatial de défense dans la Loi de programmation militaire française (LPM) 2019-2025. La stratégie spatiale dévoilée par la ministre des Armées se décline selon trois axes : organisationnel, juridique et capacitaire. Montée en puissance progressive du commandement de l'espace Ainsi, comme l'avait annoncé Emmanuel Macron le 13 juillet, un grand commandement de l'espace verra le jour le 1er septembre à Toulouse. Il sera placé sous l'autorité de l'armée de l'Air qui deviendra l'armée de l'Air et de l'espace. Son rôle : fédérer et coordonner tous les moyens consacrés au domaine spatial de défense. « A terme, il doit conduire l'ensemble de nos opérations spatiales, sous les ordres du chef d'état-major des armées et en lien avec le CPCO à l'instar de l'ensemble de nos opérations », a précisé Florence Parly. Doté d'une équipe de 220 personnes, ce commandement de l'espace montera progressivement en puissance sur la durée de la loi de programmation militaire, d'ici à 2025. Pour mettre en place sa stratégie spatiale, la ministre souhaite une évolution des textes régissant l'utilisation de l'espace pour intégrer la spécificité des opérations spatiales militaires. « J'ai décidé que le ministère des Armées assumerait la fonction d'opérateur spatial »explique-t-elle. « Si nous souhaitons être en mesure de mener de véritables opérations spatiales militaires, il nous faut développer une autonomie d'action. » Enfin, Florence Parly a annoncé vouloir perfectionner les capacités de défense spatiale, par le biais d'un nouveau programme d'armement nommé « Maîtrise de l'Espace ». Celui-ci intègrera deux volets : la surveillance et la défense active. Actuellement, la France est une des rares nations à disposer de ses propres capacités de surveillance de l'espace, gr'ce aux radars Graves et Satam ainsi qu'aux télescopes du CNRS et d'Ariane Group. « Demain, nous ferons appel à des moyens et des services plus sophistiqués encore », a souligné la ministre. « Le successeur de Graves devra être conçu pour déceler des satellites de la taille d'une boîte de chaussures à une distance de 1 500 kilomètres. » Afin de mieux protéger nos satellites, des actions seront menées, comme l'intégration de caméras de surveillance aux satellites de communication Syracuse pour leur autoprotection ou encore l'acquisition de nano-satellites patrouilleurs à partir de 2023. Gr'ce à ces futures capacités de surveillance, une défense active pourra être mise en place. La ministre prévient qu'il ne s'agit que d'autodéfense et non d'une stratégie offensive : « Si nos satellites sont menacés, nous envisagerons d'éblouir ceux de nos adversaires. Nous nous réservons le moment et les moyens de la riposte : cela pourra impliquer l'emploi de lasers de puissance déployés depuis nos satellites ou depuis nos nano-satellites patrouilleurs », a-t-elle précisé. https://www.defense.gouv.fr/actualites/articles/florence-parly-devoile-la-strategie-spatiale-francaise-de-defense

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