Explainer: What are solid-fuel missiles, and why is North Korea developing them?

On the same subject

• 

  January 15, 2021 | International, Aerospace

  Indian government clears $6.5 billion deal for homemade Tejas fighter jets

  By: Vivek Raghuvanshi NEW DELHI — India on Wednesday cleared the country's largest-ever indigenous defense deal worth $6.5 billion for the purchase of 83 LCA MK1A Tejas light combat aircraft. The deal was approved by the government's apex security body, the Cabinet Committee on Security, which is chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The deal will see state-owned Hindustan Aeronautics Limited manufacture 73 LCA MK1A Tejas fighter versions and 10 trainers versions, the Ministry of Defence said. “This deal will be a game-changer for self-reliance in Indian defence manufacturing. It would act as a catalyst for transforming the domestic aerospace ecosystem. The LCA-Tejas is going to be the backbone of the [Indian Air Force] fighter fleet in the years to come,” Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said. “Under the Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyaan [Self-Reliant India Initiative], India is continuously growing in its power to indigenously design, develop and manufacture advanced cutting edge technologies and systems in the defence sector,” the MoD said in a statement. “About 500 Indian companies including MSMEs [micro, small and medium enterprises] in the design and manufacturing sectors will be working with HAL in this procurement. The programme would act as a catalyst for transforming the Indian aerospace manufacturing ecosystem into a vibrant self-sustaining ecosystem.” The MoD said this deal is the first “Buy (Indian-Indigenously Designed, Developed and Manufactured)” category procurement of combat aircraft with indigenous content of at least 50 percent — and it's expected that will increase to 60 percent by the end of the program. HAL Chairman Ramakrishnan Madhavan said the Tejas program will involve the highest level of local work in comparison to any Indian program of this scale. According to a senior HAL executive, the private defense companies that will support assembly include Larsen & Toubro for the wings, Dynamatic Technologies for the front fuselage, Alpha Tokal for the rear fuselage, and VEM Technologies for the center fuselage. The LCA MK1A fighters will have new capabilities including midair refueling; improvement in operational roles; enhanced combat capability; maintainability improvements; and active electronically scanned array radar, an electronic warfare suite and beyond-visual-range missile capabilities, a company executive said. The Indian Air Force will sign a formal contract with HAL during the Aero India air show in Bengaluru next month, according to an MoD official. Each LCA MK1A fighter is powered by a single F404-GE-IN20 engine, and each jet will cost about $78.5 million, another HAL executive said, adding that the program is expected to generate 5,000 jobs in India. https://www.defensenews.com/air/2021/01/14/indian-government-clears-65-billion-deal-for-homemade-tejas-fighter-jets

• 

  April 14, 2024 | International, Aerospace

  Air Force to get F-15E jet with fresh electronic warfare tech in summer

  EPAWSS, an advanced electronic warfare system, will allow F-15EX and some F-15E jets to monitor, jam and deceive threats in highly contested environments.

• 

  July 29, 2020 | International, Land

  GOP coronavirus bill includes at least $7 billion for weapons programs

  By: Joe Gould WASHINGTON ― Senate Republicans' proposed $1 trillion coronavirus relief package includes at least $7 billion for weapons programs, part of $29 billion for defense overall. The 177-page draft appropriations legislation unveiled Monday would include funding for military helicopters, aircraft, ships and missile defense systems. The bill also includes $11 billion to reimburse defense contractors for coronavirus-related expenses, as authorized by Section 3610 of the CARES Act. Defense firms and trade associations have lobbied for the funding, fearing the Pentagon would otherwise have to tap modernization and readiness accounts. The legislation's release marks the end of weeks of wrangling between the White House and congressional Republicans, who are still divided over its price tag. It also kicks off the start of formal negotiations with Democrats. “The American people need more help. They need it to be comprehensive. And they need it to be carefully tailored to this crossroads,” Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said on the Senate floor Monday. The inclusion of defense spending, which Republicans have reportedly touted as essential for the economy and national defense, was just one aspect criticized by Senate Appropriations Committee Vice Chairman Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., who said the overall package was inadequate to protect Americans “If all of this were not bad enough, the bill contains billions of dollars for programs unrelated to the coronavirus, including over $8 billion for what appears to be a wish-list from the Department of Defense for manufacturing of planes, ships, and other weapons systems,” Leahy said in a statement. The pandemic has created weapons program slowdowns, temporary factory closures and cash flow problems, particularly for smaller firms. The Pentagon was been working in close communication to respond to the problems, largely by making billions of dollars in advance payments to contractors. Congress previously sent the Defense Department $10.5 billion under the CARES Act. Defense primes Boeing and Lockheed Martin appear to be the major beneficiaries of procurement dollars in the proposed bill. The bill includes more than $1 billion for Boeing P-8A Poseidon maritime patrol planes for the Navy. The Air Force would receive $686 million for additional Lockheed F–35A jets, $720 million for Lockheed C–130Js and $650 million for A–10 wing replacements―which Boeing is contracted to perform. Shipbuilding funds include $1.45 billion for four expeditionary medical ships, $260 million for one expeditionary fast transport ship, with $250 million for for amphibious shipbuilding and $250 for the surface combatant supplier base program. The Army would receive $375 million more to upgrade the Double V-Hull Strykers and $283 million for new AH–64 Apache Block IIIB helicopters. The bill would boost missile defense accounts, with more than $300 million for the the Lockheed Martin-made Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) program and its Raytheon-made AN/TPY-2 radar. Another $200 million would be to extend the life of the Ground-Based Midcourse Defense (GMD) system, for which Boeing is the prime contractor. https://www.defensenews.com/congress/2020/07/27/gop-coronavirus-bill-includes-at-least-7-billion-for-weapons-programs/