Northrop Grumman to Develop Advanced Air-to-Air Missile Engagement Concept

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  January 30, 2019 | International, Naval, Land

  The Marine Corps wants three types of amphib vehicles ― including one with a 30mm cannon

  By: Todd South The Marine Corps is looking to plus up the firepower aboard its new amphibious combat vehicle with a 30mm cannon. Officials with Marine Corps Systems Command posted a request for information on the government website FedBizOpps on Monday. The ACV will replace the aging assault amphibious vehicle, which entered service in the early 1970s. The Marines want three variants of the ACV ― a command and control configuration, a recovery and maintenance setup and ACVs with 30mm medium-caliber cannons. The older AAV had space for a 40mm grenade launcher, but in direct vehicle-on-vehicle fighting the 30mm cannon offers fast, high-volume direct fire. BAE Systems was selected in 2018 to produce the ACV, which is expected to reach initial operational capability by fiscal year 2020. The company has built amphib vehicles for the military since 1941. The ACV is a chief “connector” from ship to shore for Marine amphibious operations. it will include mine resistant ambush protected-level armor, and able to “negotiate two-foot significant wave height and four-foot plunging surf,” according to Program Executive Office-Land Systems. The 30mm-cannon arming follows suit with making existing and future ground combat vehicles more lethal. The Army began upgunning its Stryker vehicles with a 30mm cannon, replacing its twin .50-caliber machine guns. In 2018, the Army also put in place the common remotely operated weapon station for the Javelin missile on the Stryker, keeping soldiers inside the vehicle when firing the missile. Those upgrades began first in Germany as a counter to increased capabilities in the Russian ground formations. The Marines have also started upgrading their light armored vehicle, also a decades-old platform, to include a better powerpack, drive train and digitized instrument panels. Late last year the Corps was still only looking at two ACV variants, according to official postings: the turreted assault vehicle and the command and control version. At the annual Modern Day Marine Military Expo at Quantico, Virginia, John Swift, program director for BAE's amphibious vehicles, told Marine Corps Times that they expect to have 30 vehicles built by the end of summer 2019 to go through testing and modifications as the Corps decides the composition of the ACV fleet. Those will be basic testing platforms. This most recent posting gives some indications of what the Corps needs. Most recently the Corps was asking for 704 ACVs when full production begins in 2022. Those are expected to be done within six years. And a previously ongoing contract with another company to perform survivability upgrades on an estimated 392 AAVs was cancelled last year in a move of funding from that program to more rapid modernization priorities. The legacy AAV is a tracked vehicle, while its replacement will be an eight-wheel vehicle. https://www.marinecorpstimes.com/news/your-marine-corps/2019/01/29/the-marine-corps-want-three-types-of-amphib-vehicles-including-one-with-a-30mm-cannon

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  October 3, 2018 | International, Aerospace

  Australia releases RFI for at least 16 special operations helicopters

  By: Nigel Pittaway MELBOURNE, Australia — Australia's Defence Capability Acquisition and Sustainment Group issued a request for information for at least 16 special operations support helicopters. The helicopters will be acquired under Project Land 2097 Phase 4, which has not been formally approved by the Australian government but has been identified as a priority for future defense spending in the 2016 Defence White Paper. The proposed timeline calls for a request for tender in the fourth quarter of 2019, with the major delivery of equipment to follow in 2022. “The project is currently in the exploratory phase, collecting information and proposals to inform concepts for capability realisation,” according to the RFI's cover letter, authored by CASG's acting first assistant secretary of the helicopter division, Brigadier Jeremy King, and the head of land capability at Army Headquarters, Maj. Gen. Kath Toohey. “The project is considering a wide range of procurement options based around a light helicopter as the major system. The acquisition strategy is developmental and is subject to Government approval,” the letter read. According to the RFI, the requirement is for a proven commercial or military off-the-shelf light helicopter, which is already in service with other operators. Other requirements include optimization for use in dense urban environments, capable of rapid deployment by the Royal Australian Air Force's C-17A airlifters, and the ability to be fitted with simple and proven intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance equipment and weapons. The helicopters are intended for use by the Australian Army's 6th Aviation Regiment, based at Holsworthy, south of Sydney, and will complement a squadron of larger NHI MRH-90 Taipan helicopters. The Taipans are replacing the 6th Aviation Regiment's existing Sikorsky S-70A-9 Black Hawk, beginning in January 2019. The RFI does not specify a desired size for the new helicopter, but four are required to be deployed aboard one C-17A. In an earlier update to the Army's major battlefield aviation programs, CASG's first assistant secretary of the helicopter systems division, Shane Fairweather, and Toohey discussed a helicopter in the four-ton class. The primary role of the new helicopter will be to provide an air assault capability by small teams of special forces, with secondary roles including ISR (using electro-optical sensors), fire support and general utility. The RFI calls for a helicopter that can be rapidly reconfigured between these roles. The main base for operations will be at Holsworthy, but the Australian Army is considering the establishment of a permanent detachment of helicopters — referred to in the RFI as the “independent detachment” — in a yet-to-be-decided location. Australia's Special Operations Command has two commando regiments based at Holsworthy and the Special Air Service Regiment based in Western Australia. The RFI calls for four helicopters to be maintained online at Holsworthy, in addition to the independent detachment (four aircraft) and two deployable elements, each of four helicopters. The number of helicopters to be acquired is not specified in the document, but respondents are asked to provide an assessment of how many will be needed to support 16 aircraft online at any given time. The forthcoming RFI was a major focus at the 2018 Land Forces exhibition, held in Adelaide in early September, with several major helicopter manufacturers declaring their intention to respond. Then-head of Airbus Group Australia Pacific Tony Fraser said the European manufacturer intends to offer its 3- to 7-ton H145M helicopter. “We will compete the H145M and we expect it to be a very strong competitor,” he said. Also speaking at Land Forces, Bell's business development director for Australia, Dan McQuestin, revealed that the company intends to bid the 2.5-ton Bell 407GT, an armed version of the popular 407GX civil helicopter. “It's COTS, it's already deployed in the field in the Middle East and maintained through a commercial supply chain,” he said. Boeing Defence & Security's vice president of global sales and marketing for Australia said he was keen to see what the Commonwealth's requirements would be, but the U.S. manufacturer saw its 1.6-ton AH-6i Little Bird as a candidate. “Based on our conversations, we think the AH-6i is a viable alternative for Land 2097 Phase 4,” he said. “We'll see what is in the RFI, but we certainly expect to bid.” Leonardo's helicopter division announced during the show that it will propose the AW109 Trekker helicopter. Other potential contenders include MD Helicopters with its MD530G helicopter, and Northstar Aviation with the 407MRH Lightning, a multirole helo based on the Bell 407. https://www.defensenews.com/industry/2018/10/02/australia-releases-rfi-for-at-least-16-special-operations-helicopters

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  June 14, 2023 | International, Other Defence

  NATO calls for common standards in push to boost defence production

  NATO must work harder to set common standards for weapons and ammunitions, its chief said on Wednesday, as the alliance tries to boost defence production amid a Ukrainian counteroffensive likely to deplete Western military stocks even further.