July 22, 2020 | International, Land
by Ashley Roque
The US Army is asking industry to provide feedback on its updated Optionally Manned Fighting Vehicle (OMFV) programme before it finalises a solicitation for its fourth and latest attempt at fielding a new infantry fighting vehicle (IFV) to replace its M2 Bradley Fighting Vehicle fleet. On 17 July, the service released its OMFV draft request for proposal (RFP) and tasked industry with weighing in by 28 August.
As we continue to progress through the first phase of our five-phased approach for the OMFV programme, communication, inclusive feedback and innovative thinking from industry remains key, Major General Brian Cummings, the army's programme executive officer for Ground Combat Systems, said in a statement. We are looking forward to receiving feedback and learning from industry what's in the realm of the possible as we continue to develop this truly transformational vehicle for our soldiers.
This time around, the army said it wants to provide industry with the space and freedom to innovatively design a vehicle. Therefore, the service said it was avoiding “quantifying or prescribing critical levels of performance wherever possible” and that items derived from updated OMFV characteristics are non-mandatory.
“Accurately defining the desired set of capabilities without over-constraining the design is critically important, Brigadier General Ross Coffman, director of the Next Generation Combat Vehicles Cross Functional Team, wrote in the announcement. The army is committed to open communication with industry to ensure the characteristics and eventual requirements of the OMFV are informed by technological advances.
Earlier this year, the service unveiled nine OMFV ‘characteristics' starting with the most critical – survivability, mobility, growth, lethality, weight, logistics, transportability, manning, and training.
“Survivability is more important than mobility which is significantly more important than lethality,” the army wrote in the draft document.
https://www.janes.com/defence-news/news-detail/industry-set-to-weigh-in-on-us-armys-latest-omfv-plan
December 17, 2023 | International, Aerospace
The Block 4 upgrades, which are intended to bring greater weapons capabilities and other features, are facing hardware maturity and software issues.
June 17, 2020 | International, Aerospace
By: Aaron Mehta WASHINGTON — The U.S. State Department has cleared Canada to purchase a package of upgrades for its fleet of CF-18 Hornets, including upgraded radars and weapons, intended to serve as a bridge between the legacy fleet and Canada's future fighter. The package, which comes with an estimated price tag of $862.3 million, would fulfill the requirements for Canada's “Hornet Extension Project Phase 2,” which was announced last year. The program seeks to upgrade the “sensors, weapons, survivability, security and mission support to maintain parity with evolving threats” for 36 of Canada's Hornets, with initial delivery in 2023, according to a statement on the Canadian military's website. Canada has 80 CF-18s in inventory and is in the midst of a long attempt to replace the aging fighters with 88 newer designs — one of which has been marred with restarts and political challenges. The Phase 2 extension is designed to help bridge the capability gap until new jets come online. Among the upgrades included in this potential package: 50 Sidewinder AIM-9X Block II tactical missiles; 38 APG-79(V)4 active electronically scanned array radars; 38 APG-79(V)4 AESA radar A1 kits; 46 F/A-18A wide-band RADOMEs; upgrades to the Advanced Distributed Combat Training System; and technical assistance to support the upgraded jets. “This sale will provide Canada a 2-squadron bridge of enhanced F/A-18A aircraft to continue meeting NORAD and NATO commitments while it gradually introduces new advanced aircraft via the Future Fighter Capability Program between 2025 and 2035,” said a statement from the Defense Security Cooperation Agency, using an acronym for the U.S.-Canadian North American Aerospace Defense Command. “The proposed sale of the capabilities, as listed, will improve Canada's capability to meet current and future warfare threats and provide greater security for its critical infrastructure,” it added. Work would be performed by Raytheon in its El Segundo, California, location; General Dynamics Mission Systems in Marion, Virginia; Boeing's St. Louis, Missouri, facility; and Collins Aerospace in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Any industrial offset agreements will be sorted out in the future. Announcements of potential Foreign Military Sales deals are not final, and dollar amounts or quantities of items may change during final negotiation. https://www.defensenews.com/global/the-americas/2020/06/16/canadian-cf-18-upgrade-package-okd-by-us
June 13, 2019 | International, Naval, Other Defence
This additional order exercises an option on an existing contract which was initially awarded in 2017 and includes multiple line item options for additional Sea Giraffe MMR systems. The initial contract covers manufacturing, inspection, testing and delivery of the radars, which will be deployed on the Coast Guard's Heritage class offshore patrol cutter. Deliveries will take place between 2020 and 2021. Saab has continuously developed the standard Giraffe AMB sensor to meet multiple missions in the U.S. sea services from open-ocean blue-water applications into the littorals. “The key to our success in the US is the combination of our efficient and flexible Sea Giraffe radar coupled with our technical expertise and understanding of the US customer's needs and expectations”, says Anders Carp, Senior Vice President and Head of Saab business area Surveillance. In addition to the offshore patrol cutter, Saab's Sea Giraffe MMR radar is also being delivered for the Hershel Wilson Expeditionary Sea Base (ESB-4) class ship, operated by the U.S. Military Sealift Command. Saab's Sea Giraffe variant referred to as AN/SPS-77 is currently being deployed on the U.S Navy's Independence-class Littoral Combat Ships. Saab is also developing an AN/SPN-50 variant to meet the air traffic control needs of the U.S. Naval Air Systems Command for deployment on the Nimitz class aircraft carrier (CVN) and America- (LHA) and Wasp- (LHD) class amphibious assault ships. Saab will carry out the work in Syracuse, NY in the U.S. and Gothenburg, Sweden. https://saabgroup.com/media/news-press/news/2019-06/saab-receives-order-from-the-u.s.-for-sea-giraffe-mmr/