February 22, 2021 | International, Aerospace
Canadian aviation company manufacturing air sanitizers to fight COVID-19
A Canadian company is developing air sanitizers to help in the fight against COVID-19.
February 28, 2020 | International, Aerospace
Lockheed Seeks Options As F-35 Cost Pressure Rises
Steve Trimble
ORLANDO, Florida—Lockheed Martin sees Poland's defense industry as a potential low-cost manufacturing source for the F-35 program, as “upward pressure” continues to grow on aircraft prices beyond Lot 14 partly due to the loss of Turkey as a low-cost manufacturing source.
“Poland is a new opportunity to provide higher quality and lower cost,” said Greg Ulmer, Lockheed's vice president and general manager of the F-35, speaking to journalists at the Air Warfare Symposium here.
Last month, Poland signed an order to buy 32 F-35As from production lots 16-23. The acquisition helps the NATO member that shares a border with Russia to replace its remaining fleet of Soviet-era fighters. But the deal also opens a new industrial source for the overall program.
Meanwhile, the U.S.-led Joint Program Office is still working out procedures for finally expelling Turkey from the F-35 supply chain. A decision by Ankara last July to accept deliveries of Russian S-400 air defense systems prompted the U.S. government to cancel Turkey's remaining F-35 orders and suspend the country from participating in the program. An executive steering group is continuing to finalize plans to expel Turkey's companies, Ulmer said.
The loss of Turkey's industrial base comes as the F-35 production system enters a transition period. After annual output more than doubled to 134 aircraft in 2019 from 66 in 2017, the pace of growth is slowing, with about 170 deliveries expected by 2023 as upgraded Lot 15 jets roll off the assembly line. The production ramp-up helped Lockheed dramatically lower prices, with F-35As from Lot 14 delivered in 2022 projected to cost $78.9 million each.
As the pace of the ramp-up slows, Lockheed is starting to see “upward pressure” on recurring procurement costs after Lot 14, Ulmer said. A request for proposals sent by the U.S. program office to Lockheed recently for Lot 15 includes a greater variance between guaranteed orders and priced options than the company has seen before, Ulmer said. The minimum number would decline in annual production after Lot 14, he said, and the maximum could increase deliveries.
The insertion in Lot 15 of Technical Refresh 3 upgrades under the Block 4 modernization program should not change recurring production costs, Ulmer added. The upgrades, which include a new integrated core processor, panoramic cockpit display and additional computer memory, should be a “cost neutral” upgrade, Ulmer said.
On the same subject
-
-
February 26, 2020 | International, Aerospace
Insufficient missile defense funding would leave Americans vulnerable
The U.S. Missile Defense Agency submitted its report on unfunded priorities to Congress last week, which includes a number of priorities worth more than $1.1 billion. The list demonstrates the tangible consequences of a flat Pentagon budget request and provides a road map for lawmakers to ensure that the U.S. homeland and America's forward-deployed troops have sufficient missile defense protection. The Trump administration requested $705.4 billion for the Department of Defense for fiscal 2021, a level that fails to keep pace with inflation. Accordingly, the DoD is only requesting $9.2 billion for FY21 for the MDA — more than an 11 percent reduction from the FY20 enacted amount of $10.4 billion. The National Defense Authorization Act requires the MDA to submit a list to Congress of items not included in the administration's budget request but that are “necessary to fulfill a requirement associated with an operational or contingency plan of a combatant command or other validated requirement.” The list includes programs that combatant commanders genuinely need and would have included if additional resources were available. The MDA's top unfunded priority for FY21 is $231 million for 10 additional Standard Missile-3 Block IIA missiles. The SM-3 IIA missile is designed to intercept medium- and intermediate-range missiles. This additional purchase would bring the total number to 24 missiles a year, which MDA calls the “maximum sustainable production rate per year without further investment.” In addition to the SM-3 IIA's vital existing capabilities against medium- and intermediate-range missiles, the DoD believes that the missile could potentially be adapted to intercept intercontinental ballistic missiles. In response to a mandate in the NDAA, the MDA plans to conduct a flight test this spring, known as FTM-44, to determine whether an SM-3 IIA could intercept an ICBM. If successful, the SM-3 IIA could then provide an additional and complementary layer of protection for the U.S. homeland against a limited ICBM attack from an adversary such as North Korea. Consequently, keeping the SM-3 IIA production line at full speed would enable the U.S. to meet combatant commander requirements for medium- and intermediate-range ballistic missile defense. And if the test this spring is successful, optimized ongoing production would also allow the DoD to more quickly field SM-3 IIAs for homeland defense against ICBMs. The MDA's second- and third-highest unfunded priorities relate to the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense system. These include $319 million to procure an eighth THAAD battery for the United States and $30 million to procure trucks required to support THAAD systems. The THAAD is a rapidly deployable land-based missile defense system designed to intercept incoming ballistic missiles during their terminal (or final) phase of flight. Since the program was initiated, the MDA reports, THAAD has completed 15 successful intercepts in 15 attempts. THAAD uses hit-to-kill technology to destroy an incoming warhead. It is effective against short-, medium- and some intermediate-range ballistic missile threats. The DoD can transport the THAAD system by air, land or sea. Iran's January ballistic missile attack on U.S. service members at two bases in Iraq highlighted the lack of sufficient U.S. ballistic missile defense capacity. With no U.S. ballistic missile interceptors in range, U.S. forces could only watch and wait for impact. Had a THAAD system been deployed in the region, the U.S. could have intercepted the Iranian ballistic missiles and better protected U.S. troops. Acquiring an eighth THAAD battery makes not only operational sense, but also financial sense. Saudi Arabia is purchasing a large quantity of THAAD systems. A U.S. and Saudi “synchronized” purchase would enable the U.S. to benefit from the associated economies of scale. The fourth priority on MDA's unfunded list is $39 million to “develop technology and advanced command and control to integrate networked sensors to detect and track advanced cruise missile threats.” As Gen. Terrence O'Shaughnessy, the commander of Northern Command, highlighted in congressional testimony on Feb. 13, the U.S. homeland remains incredibly vulnerable to a cruise missile attack. He testified that “advanced cruise missiles now carried by Russian aircraft and submarines present a growing challenge to our current sensor networks and have the range and accuracy to strike military and civilian targets throughout the United States and Canada.” O'Shaughnessy argued that investments in cruise missile defense capabilities “are necessary to defend our vital facilities and infrastructure, preserve our national ability to project power abroad, and help to safeguard our citizens and vital institutions.” That is exactly what MDA's unfunded priority would do, and the burden of proof should be on those who argue that it should not be funded. A fundamental responsibility of the federal government is to protect the American people. The MDA's report on unfunded priorities to Congress demonstrates that the agency requires additional funding from Congress to fulfill this important responsibility. Bradley Bowman is the senior director for the Center on Military and Political Power with the Foundation for Defense of Democracies. https://www.defensenews.com/opinion/commentary/2020/02/25/insufficient-missile-defense-funding-would-leave-americans-vulnerable/
-
February 1, 2021 | International, Land
Elbit signs tank, armored vehicle contract with Asia-Pacific country
By: Mike Yeo MELBOURNE, Australia — Elbit Systems will supply tracked light tanks and wheeled fire-support vehicles to an army in the Asia-Pacific region under an approximately $172 million deal, the Israeli company announced Tuesday. Elbit is acting as the prime contractor for the three-year program and will supply the Sabrah light tank, which is based on the tracked ASCOD platform manufactured by General Dynamics European Land Systems. Elbit will also supply the eight-wheel drive Pandur II vehicle manufactured by the Czech firm Excalibur Army. An Elbit news release said the 30-ton Sabrah “provides a unique combination of powerful fire capacity and high maneuverability.” Both the tank and vehicle platforms will be equipped with a 105mm turret as well as a range of subsystems, including electro-optical sights, fire control systems, Torch-X battle management systems, E-Lynx software-defined radios and life support systems. Elbit President & CEO Bezhalel Machlis said the contract “reflects the mutually beneficial strategic co-operation between Elbit Systems and GDELS, based on joint development and manufacturing of vehicle-turret solutions.” Elbit's news release did not reveal the numbers of each vehicle ordered nor identify the customer, although Defense News understands that the vehicles are destined for the Philippines. Previous unconfirmed reports suggest the contract will be for eight Sabras and 10 Pandur IIs, along with one command and one recovery vehicle. The Philippine Department of National Defense has not confirmed it is the end user for the tanks. But if it is, this would mark the latest success for Elbit in the Southeast Asian country, having previously upgraded the country's M113 armored personnel carriers. That upgrade included equipping the M113s with Elbit's battle management systems — the same ones that will be fitted to the Sabrah and Pandur vehicles in this new contract. The Philippines also previously acquired Hermes 450 and 900 drones from Elbit. https://www.defensenews.com/industry/2021/01/29/elbit-signs-tank-armored-vehicle-contract-with-asia-pacific-country