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January 18, 2019 | International, Naval, Land

Marines Want Missiles To Sink Ships From Shores, And They Want Them Fast

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WASHINGTON The Marine Corps has kicked off a rapid development program to begin firing long-range anti-ship missiles from shore-based ground vehicles in an effort to add more punch to the Navy's growing anti-ship capabilities, which are aimed squarely at Chinese and Russian advances.

Dubbed the Navy-Marine Expeditionary Ship Interdiction System — that's NEMSIS to you — the program has completed its design phase. For the missile itself, Marines are looking at

  • Lockheed Martin's new Long-Range Anti-Ship Missile (LRASM), with stealthy features to penetrate enemy missile defenses, a 1,000-pound warhead, and a range disclosed only as “over 200 miles”;
  • Raytheon's Naval Strike Missile (NSM) already chosen as an upgrade for Navy Littoral Combat Ships, with a 264-lb warhead and a 115-mile range;
  • and Boeing's venerable Harpoon, whose variants have a 500-lb warhead and ranges between 70 and 150 miles.

The program kicked off last year with a request for information (RFI), after which companies signed OTA agreements with the service in September. Final proposals were submitted in December.

Full article: https://breakingdefense.com/2019/01/marines-want-missiles-to-sink-ships-from-shores-and-they-want-them-fast/

On the same subject

  • Italy to buy drones to keep company alive, but the Air Force doesn’t want them

    April 29, 2019 | International, Aerospace

    Italy to buy drones to keep company alive, but the Air Force doesn’t want them

    By: Tom Kington ROME — The Italian government said it will purchase the troubled P.1HH drone from Italy-based Piaggio Aerospace as it seeks to keep the firm afloat, despite an apparent lack of interest in the platform from the Italian Air Force. The Ministry of Economic Development announced April 24 the acquisition of four drones, which are unmanned variants of the firm's P180 business aircraft. Confirming the purchase, the Defence Ministry said the purchase would serve the “operational needs” of the Italian armed forces and protect the “strategic value” of the company, while strengthening Italy's credentials as a partner in the pan-European EuroMALE drone program. The Ministry of Economic Development added that future purchases would follow, with an industrial source telling Defense News another four drones would be bought. Piaggio Aerospace was placed in receivership late last year by then-owner Mubadala, an investment fund based in the United Arab Emirates, which also canceled its planned order of eight Piaggio P.1HH drones. One reported reason for Mubadala's decision was its impatience as Italy dragged its heels on promises to buy an enhanced version of the drone, preferred by the Italian Air Force and known at the P.2HH. As Italy's parliamentary defense commission dragged its heels on approving the P.2HH order last year, Mubadala pulled the plug on the firm, even as work on its order of P.1HH drones was nearing completion. The decision put hundreds of jobs at Piaggio in jeopardy and left the firm with incomplete P.1HH drones. In March, Italian Air Force chief Gen. Alberto Rosso told Italy's parliament he was not interested in buying them, adding to speculation the drone program was dead. But he appears to be have been overruled, as Italy's government seeks to save jobs at the company. The industrial source said the four drones set to be purchased by Italy for the Air Force, plus the further four to be bought in the future, would be those originally destined for the UAE. One drone that had already been delivered to the UAE could now be returned for delivery to the Italian Air Force. The source said €70 million (U.S. $78 million) will be spent by the Italian Defence Ministry to achieve flight certification for the drones, which is expected to take between 12 and 18 months. Maintenance work and construction of the P180 will also now continue. The deal will allow a revived Piaggio to avoid layoffs and to find an “industrial partner,” the Ministry of Economic Development said. That could be Italy's Leonardo, although CEO Alessandro Profumo this month told Defense News he was only interested in Piaggio's engine maintenance activity. https://www.defensenews.com/unmanned/2019/04/26/italy-to-buy-drones-to-keep-company-alive-but-the-air-force-doesnt-want-them

  • The Corps wants lighter body armor for counterinsurgency conflicts

    August 16, 2018 | International, Land

    The Corps wants lighter body armor for counterinsurgency conflicts

    By: Shawn Snow The Corps wants new lighter body armor to give commanders more flexibility in low-intensity conflicts on the battlefields of places like Iraq and Afghanistan. The Marines posted a request for information, or RFI, Wednesday to seek out industry support in fielding a new, lighter body armor that will complement the Enhanced Small Arms Protective Insert, or ESAPI, plates already fielded by Marines. According to the RFI, the Corps is seeking new armor to provide “protection from non-armor piercing rounds that are currently prevalent in counterinsurgency operations and other low intensity threat environments.” “Our current ESAPI plates do an amazing job of protecting Marines and have saved many lives,” Nick Pierce, Individual Armor team lead, program manager of Infantry Combat Equipment at Marine Corps Systems Command, said in a command release. “The only problem is Marines are currently given a binary choice between taking on 15 pounds to be protected or zero pounds and very little protection. This new lightweight plate would protect Marines and give commanders the choice of what plate to use based on the specific mission.” https://www.marinecorpstimes.com/news/your-marine-corps/2018/08/15/the-corps-wants-lighter-body-armor-for-counterinsurgency-conflicts/

  • US FAA wants new planes to capture more cockpit data to boost safety probes | Reuters

    November 30, 2023 | International, Security

    US FAA wants new planes to capture more cockpit data to boost safety probes | Reuters

    The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) on Thursday said it is proposing to extend the cockpit voice-recording requirement to 25 hours for all new airplanes from the current two-hour loop.

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