October 29, 2020 | International, Aerospace

Lockheed to research air-dropped packaged missiles in $25M contract

Oct. 28 (UPI) -- Lockheed Martin Corp. announced the award of a $25 million contract on Wednesday supporting the use of U.S. Air Force cargo planes to deploy missiles.

The contract was issued by the Strategic Development Planning and Experimentation Office, and is meant to support the fourth phase of the Palletized Munitions Experimentation Campaign, Lockheed said in a press release.

The campaign is meant to investigate, and test, the idea of delivering large volumes of air-launched weapons via airlifters.

The system uses C-17 and C-130 cargo planes, rolling the packaged missiles onto the planes for high-altitude airdrops to locations where they are needed.

"Initial studies show that airlifters have the potential to deploy large quantities of Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile Extended Range missiles, providing a significant increase in long-range standoff scale and complementing traditional strike and bomber aircrafts," Lockheed said in a statement.

The Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile Extended Range, or JASSM-ER, is a long-range, conventional, air-to-ground missile used by the United States and allied forces to destroy high-value and well-defended targets.

"This innovative approach enables warfighters to launch offensive operations from a greater number of airfields and engage a larger number of near-peer adversarial targets," the company said.

Tests with simulated weapons earlier this year demonstrated the feasibility of packing JASSM-ER missiles into modular containers atop standard shipping pallets, and then delivering them through airdrops.

"A Palletized Munitions capability could enable various airlift aircraft to employ a range of weapons en masse via a self-contained, roll-on/roll-off palletized system, and may offer an alternative way for the Air Force to bring more mass to the fight," Dr. Dean Evans of the SDPE said after a test in September.

"The successful demo represents a key step in SDPE's Palletized Munitions Experimentation Campaign, which will determine if the Palletized Munitions concept is feasible and provides a competitive advantage for the warfighter."

The first-of-its-kind test was conducted at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla.

The contract announced Wednesday includes a system-level demonstration in 2021 and continuing research of the program's viability.

https://www.upi.com/Defense-News/2020/10/28/Lockheed-to-research-air-dropped-packaged-missiles-in-25M-contract/8691603902444/?ur3=1

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July 16, 2019 | International, Aerospace

Thales tests FASGW(L) weapon system for Royal Navy
Thales has performed firing trials for the Future Anti Surface Guided Weapon (Light) (FASGW[L]) programme for the British Royal Navy. Conducted at Royal Artillery Air Defence Range at Manorbier in Pembrokeshire, the trials are part of the FASGW(L) programme's integration testing phase. The programme includes testing of all parts of the FASGW(L) weapon system, including Thales' lightweight multirole missile (LMM), the launcher system and all key equipment of the Royal Navy's Agusta Westland AW159 Wildcat helicopter. In June 2014, Thales won a contract to develop, qualify and integrate the FASGW(L) system for the Navy's Wildcat helicopter. The system consists of a five-barrel launcher and a laser guidance system. Set to enter service in 2020, LMM is a precision strike missile capable of being fired from a variety of land, sea and airborne tactical platforms. The missile will be called Martlet in the Royal Navy. It is designed to defeat mobile maritime threats such as small ships and inshore attack craft. LMM will offer improved protection for Royal Navy personnel and important sea assets, such as the Queen Elizabeth Carrier. During trials, Thales fired six LMMs at a small boat target at sea at a distance of 4.5km. The missiles feature telemetry software to facilitate collection of test data. Information will be used to analyse the performance of the Thales-designed launcher, the guidance system and missile. In a statement, Thales said: “The FASGW(L) system accurately guided all missiles to the targets and provided extensive data on the excellent performance of all elements of the ground set-up and inflight performance of the missile. “The successful achievement of the ground firings is a major milestone and key to progressing to future testing including air firing trials later in 2019 and culminating in qualification and verification in 2020.” The Royal Navy is also fielding Sea Venom/ANL helicopter-launched anti-ship missile to address its FASGW(H) requirements. MBDA is delivering the Sea Venom/ANL missile under a contract jointly awarded by the UK and France. https://www.naval-technology.com/news/thales-tests-fasgwl-weapon-system-for-royal-navy/
July 18, 2024 | International, Aerospace

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September 6, 2019 | International, Naval

New tropical boots coming by the end of 2019
By: Shawn Snow The Corps' new tropical boots may be on the feet of some Marines by the end of 2019, according to Marine officials. The Corps awarded two contracts on Aug. 29 for up to 140,000 total pairs of two styles of tropical boots, according to Maj. Ken Kunze, a spokesman for Marine Corps Systems Command. Kunze said one contract was awarded to ADS Inc. for a maximum order of 70,000 pairs of the Rocky brand tropical boot. That contract award was valued at $11.1 million dollars, Kunze said. Another contract was awarded to Provengo LLC for 70,000 pairs of the Danner brand tropical boot, with a contract valued at $13.7 million, according to Kunze. Kunze said the initial order for the new tropical boots is being procured in September and they should start arriving in 60 days to 90 days. The boots have gone through rigorous training during the past several years. In 2017, Marines with 3rd Battalion, 3rd Marines, evaluated three tropical boot prototypes from boot manufacturers Danner, Bates and Rocky while training in a jungle environment. The new boots will not be part of a Marine's general seabag issue. The boots are headed for the for the Consolidated Storage Program, and will be issued to Marines in predeployment training before heading to a hot or tropical climate, Manny Pacheco, a spokesman for Marine Corps Systems Command, previously told Marine Corps Times. https://www.marinecorpstimes.com/news/your-marine-corps/2019/09/05/new-tropical-boots-coming-by-the-end-of-2019

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Lockheed to research air-dropped packaged missiles in $25M contract

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Spain Joins PAC-3 User Community PAC-3 MSE features advanced capabilities to defend against incoming threats including tactical ballistic missiles, cruise missiles,hypersonics and aircraft.

Spain Joins PAC-3 User Community
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