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The new Black Hornet 3 nano unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) is being presented by FLIR at Eurosatory 2018, being held in Paris on 11-15 June, while the previous Black Hornet 2 is being shown integrated into vehicles. At Eurosatory, the Black Hornet is displayed on a Patria AMV armoured vehicle and a BAE Systems CV90 infantry fighting vehicle. Arne Skjaerpe, vice-president of unmanned aerial system (UAS) sales and operations at FLIR, told Jane's the Black Hornet 3, which was announced in a 5 June FLIR press release, has a new, modular air vehicle which can carry new day/night sensors with better perceived picture quality and new software, which he said was a “step change” compared with the Black Hornet 2. He reported that there are 30 customers for the Black Hornet, including many NATO countries, with the US Army's Soldier Borne Sensor programme having ordered the first batch of Black Hornet 3s for USD2.6 million. Other customers of the latest version of the UAS are the Australian and French armed forces. On 11 June French special forces equipped with Black Hornets participated in the rehearsal for a live demonstration to be held at Eurosatory on 12 June. The Black Hornet 3 UAV weighs 32-33 g, compared with 18 g for the Black Hornet 2, and both share the same base station and screen, according to Skjaerpe. He said FLIR would continue to provide service and maintenance support for the Black Hornet 2. A vehicle reconnaissance system is being developed for the Black Hornet to give vehicles greater situational awareness and targeting capabilities, according to Skaerjpe. These range from reconnaissance vehicles to main battle tanks and self-propelled howitzers. http://www.janes.com/article/80821/eurosatory-2018-black-hornet-is-integrated-into-vehicles

Rheinmetall Canada has unveiled a newly named Mission Master Cargo unmanned ground vehicle (UGV), which is a new version of the Multi-Mission UGV that was first revealed at IDEX in February 2017. The platform is designed for direct support of dismounted troops and is available in a cargo and casualty evacuation version, and a surveillance and reconnaissance version. The new UGV was revealed during Eurosatory 2018 in Paris, and Rheinmetall Canada spoke to Jane's prior to the event. Modules can be swapped in and out as required, so the UGV can fulfil mission sets including logistics support; weaponised; chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear and explosives (CBRNE); and communications relay. “The end user can buy either a surveillance module, CBRN module or fire suppression module and clip it onto the vehicle itself with no modification required. The software can integrate and interact with any of those mission modules that are already embedded into every single UGV,” Alain Tremblay, vice-president of business development for Rheinmetall Canada, told Jane's. In the weaponised role, the platform is fitted with a remote weapon station featuring a 12.7 mm machine gun. Live fire testing was done at the end of 2017 on a military base in Canada to trial how the UGV could lock onto a target, the target then be confirmed by operators, and the platform fire by itself up to a range of 800 m. Tremblay noted that any type of remote weapon station, regardless of the manufacturer, can be fitted to the platform. “The open architecture of the software allows anything to be mounted, even a Russian type missile which has a different architecture system to the western world,” he said. “Early next year we are going to be starting to work on a medium calibre 20 mm remote weapon station for the same platform which is actually not that difficult to do. http://www.janes.com/article/80789/eurosatory-2018-rheinmetall-canada-unveils-production-ready-mission-master-cargo-unmanned-ground-vehicle

The U.S. Navy has awarded Boeing (NYSE: BA) a two-year, $862.2 million contract modification to fund the full rate production of lot 42 Super Hornet multirole aircraft. Boeing will produce 15 units of the F/A-18E variant and and 3 of the F/A-18F variant for the service branch under the modified contract, the Defense Department said Friday. The company also received a $73.2 million indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract in late February to update four F/A-18E/Fs in an effort to extend the aircraft's operational service life. Super Hornet's E and F versions are designed to operate in various tactical missions such as strike, fighter escort, close air support, reconnaissance, forward air control, tanker and suppression of enemy air defenses. https://www.govconwire.com/2018/06/boeing-gets-862m-super-hornet-full-rate-production-contract-modification/

The littoral combat ship program continues to push ships to the fleet as the program begins to wind down ahead of the Navy's planned transition to a future frigate. In Marinette, Wisconsin, Lockheed and Fincantieri's latest mono-hull LCS, the Sioux City, completed acceptance trials in Lake Michigan, according to May 31 announcement. That ship is preparing to commission in Annapolis, Maryland, in the Fall after some weather and mechanical delays pushed back trials. The Sioux City is the sixth mono-hull LCS. Austal USA in Mobile, Alabama, in May delivered its eighth trimaran LCS, the Tulsa, and the second LCS delivered by the yard this year. The first one, the Manchester, was commissioned May 26. Both yards are still churning on a backlog of LCS. The ships will be coming fast and furious over the next couple of years as Austal, Lockheed and Fincantieri all pursue strategies to secure the contract to build the Navy's future frigate, known as FFG(X). At Marinette, the yard has seven other ships in production as well as one in long-lead procurement. Austal is working on five other LCS and the last three expeditionary fast transport ships of the 12 ordered. Between the two shipyards, there are no fewer than three proposals for the FFG(X). Fincantieri is pushing hard to make FREMM the Navy's next frigate, which would likely be built at Marinette. You can read all about the FREMM below: Lockheed is also likely eyeing Marinette for its proposal for FFG(X), a variant of the Freedom mono-hull LCS, for which it is the prime contractor. Austal is likewise proposing a variant of its trimaran LCS and the stakes for that shipyard are especially high since it is coming to the end of both its programs. Lockheed and Fincantieri are anticipating an order of a Freedom LCS variant multi-mission surface combatant for Saudi Arabia's naval recapitalization. All three of the contractors are among five competing for the FFG(X) contract. Navantia and Huntington Ingalls are the other two. https://www.defensenews.com/naval/2018/06/11/lockheed-austal-usa-serve-up-new-batch-of-lcs-amid-frigate-competition/

WINDSOR LOCKS, Conn. (AP) — The Connecticut National Guard's newest unit, which has spent the past two years training with new, specialized helicopters, will deploy soon to provide care and transport to the sick and wounded in support of military operations in southwest Asia. "To receive your first medical evacuation aircraft in 2016 and be fully prepared for a deployment less than two years later is a testament to the hard work and dedication of those in our aviation community," Maj. Gen. Thaddeus J.Martin, adjutant general and commander of the Connecticut National Guard, said in a statement ahead of a sendoff ceremony last month for the aerial medical evacuation unit, officially known as Detachment 2, Charlie Company, 3rd Battalion, 126th Aviation Regiment. The detachment, based in Windsor Locks and commanded by 1st Lt. Matthew Barringer of South Glastonbury, doesn't officially deploy until later this month. It represents a new capability for the National Guard. It received the first of three Blackhawk helicopters specifically outfitted for medical evacuation in the spring of 2016, even before becoming a fully operational unit in the fall of 2016. Thirty members of the detachment are deploying and will spend about a year providing aeromedical evacuation, en-route critical care and medical support while transporting patients. Five of the members deploying are women. The unit will join the 70 guardsmen from Connecticut already deployed in support of operations around the world. While deployed, the unit will be on 24-hour standby, and operate in shifts. A crew of four — two pilots, a crew chief, and a flight paramedic — can transport up to six patients at a time on one of the Sikorsky-built HH-60M Blackhawk helicopters. The helicopters have been specially outfitted for aerial medical evacuation and will be stocked with medical supplies like ventilators and IVs. The crew also has the capability to do procedures on board such as put in a chest tube. "We're almost a flying hospital," said Chief Warrant Officer Jonathan Behuniak, 28, of Unionville. From the time a call comes in, they have less than 15 minutes to grab supplies, get to the aircraft and take off to aid a patient, who could be a member of the U.S. military or coalition forces, contractors, and even military working dogs, Behuniak said. Through training, they've been able to get that number down to nine minutes. "There are a lot of computers that need to start working, so as fast as the aircraft will let us take off, we can take off," Behuniak said. The benefit of a medevac unit, he added, is the ability to get a critically wounded patient to a hospital within so the so-called "golden hour," which greatly increases a patient's chance of survival. A 2015 study involving the Army, Texas A&M University and the University of Texas Medical School at Houston found that getting wounded troops to hospitals in less than an hour, along with improved care on the battlefield and in medical helicopters, saved hundreds of lives. "There's a wide spectrum of care an injured person can receive on this aircraft," said Sgt. Ryan Will, 28, Manchester, a flight paramedic. "It's very comprehensive care as well." Flight paramedics like Will and Staff Sgt. Trevor O'Neill, 27, of Greenwich, have gone through extensive training and are nationally registered paramedics. Both are also civilian paramedics. Members of the unit underwent a range of training to prepare them for the conditions they'll encounter overseas. They trained at a facility in Rhode Island that can simulate desert conditions. Anticipating mountain peaks of 13,800 feet, some pilots went to Colorado for training to get an understanding of how air density affects a helicopter's rotor system and the ability to fly. Last week, they trained with members of Air National Guard's 103rd Airlift Wing, practicing loading and unloading patients onto the helicopters, and simulating different missions where the two units would cross paths. "There are a lot of gravity and effects that are placed on the patient that there aren't normally on the ground, whether that be from high maneuver turns or simply just taking off and landing. Things like vibrations can really make a patient uncomfortable and these are things they have to know when they're giving us patients," said O'Neill, one of the flight paramedics. There was strong interest in joining the unit, which represents a new capability for the Connecticut National Guard. Second Lt. Brett Boissonneault, 25, of East Hampton, was handpicked out of flight school to be part of the unit. "It's a great opportunity to be part of an important mission where we're saving people every day, helping people every day," he said. https://www.sfchronicle.com/news/article/New-National-Guard-medical-helicopter-unit-set-to-12984985.php

VERSAILLES, France ― Information technology firm Atos is in talks with Airbus Helicopters about installing its SICS battle management system on the Tiger Mk 3 attack helicopter, said Sylvain Gonnet, Atos project director. Atos developing the Scorpion Information Communication System, which will equip the French Army with the Bull battle management system intended to give a tactical overview, linking up platoon leaders to colonels. Atos expects to sign a contract with Airbus Helicopters this summer for a 12-month study to de-risk an installation of the Bull system on the Tiger. That study will help draw up a road map for equipping the attack helicopter with the system. Track our full coverage of Eurosatory here! SICS is designed to provide situation awareness, blue-force tracking and allow orders to be given by on-screen graphics rather than verbal orders, he said. Fitting SICS will be part of a midlife upgrade of the Tiger to the Mk 3 version. Belgium is closely tracking the SICS program. Officials there have signed a letter of intent on a €1.1 billion (U.S. $1.3 billion) acquisition of Griffon troop carriers and Jaguar reconnaissance and combat vehicles, which will be equipped with the battle management system. Atos signed in October 2016 a contract with an export client for its system. No further details were available. There is strong interest in battle management systems, with Britain and Germany looking to upgrade capabilities. Bull pitched its system to the U.K., which is looking to upgrade with the Morpheus tactical information and communication system. Other competitors in the market include Elbit Systems, Rheinmetall, Nexter and Danish company Systematic. Atos gave its presentation to the press May 16 ahead of the Eurosatory trade show, which runs June 11-15. The Tiger Mk 3 will be a midlife upgrade of the helicopter, which will be undertaken in cooperation with Germany. That modernization includes a new air-to-ground missile as well as linking up the helicopter more closely to the ground troops through the SICS. https://www.defensenews.com/digital-show-dailies/eurosatory/2018/06/08/tiger-helos-upgrade-will-replace-verbal-orders-with-digital-ones/

PARIS — Rafael is rapidly driving toward a demonstration of a lighter version of its Trophy active protection system, or APS, on a Bradley Fighting Vehicle this summer as the U.S. Army continues to assess APS systems on its combat vehicles, according to Rafael's head of its land maneuver systems directorate. The Israeli company has already been chosen to field Trophy on four brigade sets of Abrams tanks, and the U.S. Army continues to analyze two other systems on Bradley and on the Stryker combat vehicle. The Army is qualifying Israeli company IMI System's Iron Fist on Bradley and the Virginia-based Artis' Iron Curtain for Stryker. The characterization efforts for both Bradley and Stryker systems are delayed by roughly six to eight months depending on the system. Should one or both of them have insufficient performance or maturity, the Army could choose to adapt another system under evaluation to that platform; or the service could assess another nondevelopmental APS system to fit that same role; or furthermore, it could make a decision to move the system from engineering development activity under a science and technology development effort as part of the Vehicle Protection Systems program of record, according to Army spokeswoman Ashley Givens. There's also fiscal 2018 funding that will be used to evaluate a fourth nondevelopmental APS system via an installation and characterization activity to be identified after a preliminary evaluation phase that will occur late this year, applying lessons learned from efforts to date, Givens added. So Rafael sees a lighter version of Trophy as a promising candidate for other U.S. combat vehicles, which has advantages such as a large amount commonality with Trophy on Abrams, Rafael's Michael L. told Defense News in a June 11 interview at the French defense conference Eurosatory. Michael's last name has been withheld for security reasons. And the timing seems right, according Michael, as the Army will move toward decisions on APS systems for its combat vehicles at some time this year. Rafael has been conducting extensive testing of its lighter and smaller Trophy system, and the company is inviting the U.S. military to attend a major test event in August in Israel to witness the capability on a Bradley, which is the combat vehicle considered the most difficult on which to integrate a system because of the current variant's power limitations. The company would also be capable of integrating the system onto a Stryker, but it has decided — along with its U.S. partner DRS — to focus on Bradley for the time being, Michael said. While the current Trophy system would be too heavy, coming in at 1.8 tons as a full system, the lighter version will weigh just shy of half that, while still retaining “the same method of operations, the same logic, the same interface,” Michael said. Rafael sees the solution not as a simple one, but a high-end one, which it believes would be needed on a platform like Bradley. Israel and other countries are also calling for a lighter APS system that would work on infantry fighting vehicles, and so Rafael sees “a large business opportunity,” according to Michael. “In August we are going to surprise a lot of people who weren't sure,” Michael said, “because when you say shrinking, it's not just making it smaller. You need to make sure that nothing was lost in the process ... we already know that nothing has been lost, but we are testing it to make sure that everything is in order, and I think we have a great solution.” Rafael is also developing and testing a 30mm weapon station outfitted with Trophy as an all-in-one system, according to Michael. The turret can be purchased with or without the Trophy system. One customer ― not Israel or the U.S. ― is buying more than a hundred 30mm weapons stations. The company will complete development of the turret in September and will then begin production for the country in January 2019, Michael said. While the country has yet to commit to adding Trophy as part of a single system, it wanted to prove the system with Trophy. Rafael is eyeing what happens with the ongoing assessment by the U.S. Army to upgun its Strykers with a 30mm cannon. The assessment of the current configuration is expected to wrap up in the summer. Michael said the company has spoke with the Stryker program office in the U.S. to understand what the soldier wants from a 30mm cannon with the intention to fine-tune an offering should the Army decide to assess other 30mm options in order to outfit the rest of its Stryker fleet. And to sweeten the deal, the 30mm cannon would come with an APS system already integrated into the turret, according to Michael. https://www.defensenews.com/digital-show-dailies/eurosatory/2018/06/11/rafael-to-demo-lighter-trophy-protection-system-on-bradley-fighting-vehicle/

C'est une course contre la montre quasiment désespérée. Ce lundi 11 juin, le Premier ministre Charles Michel et ses ministres de l'Intérieur et de la Justice vont rencontrer leurs homologues français sous le patronage d'Édouard Philippe. À l'agenda de cette visite, le remplacement des avions de chasse belges de type F-16, comme le révèle la RTBF. Depuis des mois, le dossier empoisonne la politique de défense belge. Initialement, le gouvernement avait reçu trois offres pour remplacer son avion de chasse américain vieillissant. En plus du Rafale, l'Eurofighter, construit par un consortium britannico-germano-italiano-espagnol, et le F-35 américain de Lockheed Martin étaient sur les rangs. Mais la proposition française faite par Dassault était assez différente sur la forme. Dénonçant dans un biais de l'appel d'offres, qui, selon le PDG de l'avionneur à Challenges, aurait favorisé le F-35 américain, Dassault a décidé d'agir directement à l'échelle intergouvernementale. Plutôt qu'une simple offre respectant l'appel lancé par le gouvernement belge, la France, par la voix de sa ministre des Armées Florence Parly, a proposé en octobre dernier un partenariat stratégique. Face au refus du ministre belge de la Défense, Steven Vandeput, l'affaire semblait très mal engagée pour le fleuron de l'aéronautique français. Accès aux porte-avions français pour les avions belges Cependant, les atermoiements et les divisions politiques sur ce sujet – les francophones du Mouvement réformateur (MR) étant les plus fervents partisans de l'offre française –, ont permis à la France de conserver des chances. « Notre proposition couvre les demandes faites par la Belgique dans le cadre de l'appel d'offres, a expliqué à la RTBFl'ambassadrice de France en Belgique, Claude-France Arnoult. En plus, depuis septembre, l'offre française s'est développée à la lumière des événements : vous trouverez des propositions comme celle de donner aux Belges l'accès aux porte-avions français, s'ils prennent la version navale du Rafale. C'est un partenariat global pour un système de combat qui a été proposé en septembre, et qu'on affine depuis, qui est sur la table et qu'on est prêt à discuter plus en profondeur ». Après des mois de tergiversations, le dénouement est imminent. http://www.lepoint.fr/monde/defense-derniere-chance-pour-la-vente-du-rafale-a-la-belgique-11-06-2018-2225992_24.php

OTTAWA, Ontario, June 12, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Lockheed Martin Canada (NYSE: LMT) has been awarded a three-year extension to its In-Service Support contract for the Royal Canadian Navy's 12 Halifax Class Frigates. "We are pleased by the vote of confidence from our Royal Canadian Navy customer to continue this existing relationship," said Gary Fudge, vice president and general manager of Lockheed Martin Canada Rotary Mission Systems. As part of our Combat System Integrator portfolio, Lockheed Martin Canada has established a world class in-service support team which is also being recognized by our international customers." The Lockheed Martin Canada In-Service Support team has provided uninterrupted support to the Halifax Class Combat System, Command and Control System and Trainers for 25 years. The existing In-Service Support contract commenced in November 2008 with the award of the Halifax Class Modernization project. The In-Service support contract also included support of the legacy Halifax Class system prior to ships entering the shipyard for modernization. The Combat Management Systems (CMS) support entails hardware and software support for the CMS 330, and the CMS to combat subsystem interfaces, ancillary systems and tools, as well as the integration of new weapons, sensors and information sources. For additional information, visit our website: www.lockheedmartin.ca. https://news.lockheedmartin.com/2018-06-12-Lockheed-Martin-Canada-Awarded-Extension-to-its-Contract-for-In-Service-Support-for-Royal-Canadian-Navys-Halifax-Class-Frigates