23 juillet 2018 | International, Naval

Navy's Fire Scout Drone Helo May Be Sold to Allied Militaries Soon

By Oriana Pawlyk

RAF Fairford, England -- Northrop Grumman Corp. is looking to expand sales of its MQ-8C Fire Scout abroad as the unmanned helicopter preps for its anti-submarine warfare mission.

Sitting buttoned-up on the flightline here, the Fire Scout drone -- complete with the U.K.-based Ultra Electronics' sonobuoy mission pod -- is receiving exposure just weeks after completing the first set of mission tests of its target identification, surveillance and surface warfare abilities aboard the USS Coronado.

"They've matured it to a level now where [people are] recognizing the value in different missions it is able to do and the [U.S. Navy] is very excited about expanding that capability," said Brian Chappel, Northrop's sector vice president and general manager of autonomous systems.

Military.com sat down with Chappel during the Royal International Air Tattoo here. Northrop did not showcase the UAS at Farnborough.

"Some of those missions are going to be very interesting to customers around the world. Antisubmarine warfare, communication nodes, support to service action groups, and also with beginning to see a shift in the export policy around this class of system in the U.S., we think there's an opportunity now to take this system and its capability and what it does and find some fertile ground overseas," he said.

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Chappel's comments come as the Trump administration on Monday finalized its Conventional Arms Transfer (CAT) Policy. The State Department recently approved the policy, which aims to relax export rules as well as create channels for U.S. defense industry to sell weapons and drones to international customers without U.S. government sign-off.

"We're in various stages in providing information to [partners] through the Navy," Chappel continued. "And by bringing it here [during] the 100th anniversary of the Royal Air Force, a lot of different forces, a lot of people to talk to here that wouldn't normally think about a Fire Scout, and we get to ... tell them how it's a little bit different than just unmanning a helicopter that flies by itself."

The Navy, which is set to use Fire Scout aboard its Littoral Combat Ships, is working with Northrop to add different capabilities, Chappel said.

"There's a radar that's now being implemented on the system that when it goes operational, will extend the horizon [of it] hundreds of miles beyond," he said, referring to Leonardo's Osprey 30 lightweight active electronically scanned array radar, as well as common datalink Link 16.

The UAS is a stripped-down version of the Bell 407. While the anti-sub mission pod would also be an enhancement, it is not currently used by the Navy.

The Fire Scout also participated in the U.S. Navy-led RIMPAC exercises this month. The drone can stay airborne for 12 hours and fly at a ceiling of 16,000 feet. Its radar range lets it see roughly 100 miles out to detect a surface target.

Chappel estimates that in 10 years additional U.S. units will be using the drone, as well as allies. He said it will evolve for different mission sets.

"Do you want it to be an [anti-sub warfare] platform today, and a comms node tomorrow or mixing and matching ... in between?" he said, adding that additional sensors could be integrated for range. "That type of flexibility will make it very attractive."

https://www.military.com/dodbuzz/2018/07/17/navys-fire-scout-drone-helo-may-be-sold-allied-militaries-soon.html

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  • Future Fighter Investment Is Keeping Eurocanards Competitive

    29 janvier 2021 | International, Aérospatial

    Future Fighter Investment Is Keeping Eurocanards Competitive

    Tony Osborne Europe may be gearing up for the development of two next-generation combat aircraft, but its trio of so-called Eurocanards have managed to hold sway in the international fighter market. As little as five years ago, the Lockheed Martin F-35 Joint Strike Fighter seemed set to rule the roost in Europe, and the production of the Eurofighter Typhoon and the Dassault Rafale was deliberately drip-fed as industry extended production in hopes of securing a place in future fighter contests. Today, however, production of both types looks assured: Export sales and top-up orders from domestic nations will take production of both aircraft well into the late 2020s and their service lives out to 2060-70. Meanwhile, development of Saab's Gripen E continues apace, and the aircraft it was supposed to replace, the C/D model, now looks set to enjoy a career with the Swedish Air Force into the 2030s, paving the way for a new upgrade path into a future as a firm fixture on the international fighter market. “There has been a confluence of military, political, financial and industrial considerations that has kept these aircraft in production,” says Douglas Barrie, senior fellow for military aerospace at the London-based International Institute for Strategic Studies. Because these platforms were originally designed for Cold War-era threats, the expectation was that if the Cold War had continued, the successors to these platforms would have already entered the inventory or at least been well into development. The collapse of the Soviet Union and the resulting reduction in tensions instead saw the pace of fighter development slacken. Financial concerns put future fighter needs on the back burner, and largely incremental upgrades were delivered by industry to keep their skills ready for future programs. “In recent years, however, the deterioration in the security environment and renewed concerns with Russia have given the European fighters and their American counterparts a second wind,” Barrie says. The F-35 is another key factor. Some European countries view the U.S. fighter as a threat to their national industry and sovereignty, and the type is perceived as having strings attached to security and operational uses. Furthermore, the cost of operation has so far been high, and the weaponry options that come with European platforms are not available on U.S. platforms. Both the Eurofighter and the Gripen, however, are integrated with many different U.S. munitions. All three European fighters can now use the ramjet-powered MBDA Meteor beyond-visual-range air-to-air missile, and export customers can also access standoff weapons such as the Storm Shadow, Scalp and Taurus KEPD 350 air-launched cruise missiles, all largely free of strict U.S. regulation—a significant element for Middle East customers. Yet even with their replacements now on the distant horizon, the future development road map for the three European fighters appears more certain than ever. Both the French-German-Spanish Future Combat Air System (FCAS) and the UK-Italian-Swedish Tempest initiatives look set to benefit the platforms they will replace. French plans call for the Rafale to remain in service until 2070, supplementing the New-Generation Fighter (NGF), which will be at the heart of the Future Combat Air System when it enters service around 2040 (AW&ST Nov. 25-Dec. 8, 2019, p. 46). The F4 upgrade for the Rafale includes improvements to the aircraft's communications suite and delivers additional weaponry. The F5 upgrade, meanwhile, planned for the early 2030s, will enable the Rafale to make use of the FCAS' remote-carrier concept and introduce a virtual cognitive assistant to support the pilot in high-workload situations. Work on the artificial intelligence is already underway through the Man-Machine Teaming advanced study program launched by Thales and Dassault in March 2018. Plans for F6 and F7 upgrades, likely to emerge in the 2040s, are envisioned to align with the upgrade path for the NGF. One of the drivers for the Rafale's retention is France's aim to have a two-type fighter fleet: one to meet high-end threats and another lower-cost platform to take on less complex threats. Currently, the Rafale takes that lead role, and the Dassault Mirage 2000 supplements it, but once the NGF enters service, the Rafale will augment that platform. A wave of Rafale orders has helped to sustain that development activity, led first by Egypt and Qatar and then followed by India after the long-drawn-out agreements were finalized. Greece joined the Rafale operators club in January, the first European customer outside France to do so, with an order for 18, including several second-hand aircraft from French Air Force stocks. The Rafale is also in contention in Finland and Switzerland, and an export deal is said to be close in Indonesia. Top-up orders from France are in the offing, too: Twelve are on order to offset those aircraft being delivered to Greece, while another 30 Rafales are planned for delivery in 2027-30. The four Eurofighter partner nations—Germany, Italy, Spain and the UK—managed to draw out production for domestic use over 17 years, keeping production warm for potential future orders. This was a strategy that finally paid off in 2016: Kuwait ordered 28 aircraft, and a year later Qatar ordered 24. The two orders boosted the business case for investment in an active, electronically scanned array (AESA) radar for the aircraft, and Germany's Quadriga order will bring new enhancements to the AESA sensor. The order for 38 Tranche 4 Eurofighters to replace its Tranche 1 fleet keeps the production lines and platform development moving and adds an improved AESA radar and updated electronic warfare systems to the type's optional extras list. Another top-up order should come later this year from Spain, whose Halcon requirement calls for the purchase of an additional 20 airframes. The Eurofighter also will benefit from both the Tempest and FCAS development streams, but much of how this will pan out is still subject to agreement among the four nations. Jointly, they have been studying proposals for the Eurofighter's Long-Term Evolution (LTE) described as a midlife update for the platform. Studies for the LTE, launched by the four-nation consortium at the Paris Air Show in 2019, aim to expand on the performance-enhancement packages already being rolled out across the fleet and build on the fighter's mission-system architecture, defensive-aids suite and human-machine interface. The LTE studies also will consider a wide-area display cockpit as well as the integration of new weapons and enhanced engine performance. LTE will likely feature on the planned Tranche 5 Typhoons that Germany wants to introduce to replace its Panavia Tornado fleet. Airbus has suggested the first LTE aircraft could fly in 2027-28. Other opportunities are in the offing, too. Like the Rafale, the Eurofighter is competing in Finland and Switzerland, and the potential exists for further orders from the Middle East. Saudi Arabia might use the platform to replace its Tornado fleet, which is due to exit service around 2030. Agreements signed by Riyadh in 2018 for another 48 aircraft are yet to be exercised. Output from the LTE study has been submitted to Eurofighter customers for review and consideration, Eurofighter's head of strategic marketing, Raffael Klaschka, tells Aviation Week. “We are actively supporting that process, and we will continue to do so until it concludes. . . . A positive outcome will allow us to progress toward the next phase of the program and bring Typhoon LTE aircraft into service through the latter half of the decade,” Klaschka says. “We are confident that the LTE study report contains cost-effective long-term solutions that will maintain Typhoon's position as a world-leading multirole fighter aircraft, providing the foundation for the continued development of the weapon system well into the 2060s.” In support of the FCAS introduction, Airbus is proposing a combat cloud network for both the Eurofighter and Rafale that would be ready for operations in 2030 and might even pave the way for use of remote carriers—unmanned aircraft that are envisaged to accompany the FCAS into hostile airspace. The UK also is discussing the use of its Lightweight Affordable Novel Combat Aircraft alongside the Typhoon as an additive capability before the Tempest enters service. Additionally, the UK is advancing plans for a more capable AESA radar with an electronic-attack capability (AW&ST Sept. 14-27, 2020, p. 28). Development of Saab's Gripen E is continuing rapidly; efforts are now taking place across two continents with the arrival of Brazil's first aircraft in-country in late 2020. Saab views the Gripen E as a new-generation fighter aircraft. Because of the differences between the E and C/D models, the company argues there are now four Eurocanards. Although production of the Gripen C/D is currently on ice, Saab has said it could quickly restart production should new orders for the older version emerge. “Gripen E is a completely new aircraft,” says Mikael Franzen, vice president and head of marketing and sales at Saab's aeronautics business. “Of course, we use this very optimized configuration that we have on Gripen, but we have redesigned the complete airframe internally. . . . Pretty much every system in there has been redesigned.” The Gripen E is a stockier, heavier machine than its predecessor. Broader wing roots allow it to carry 40% more fuel, and wider air intakes feed the more powerful General Electric F414-GE-39E turbofan engine. Two additional belly-mounted pylons expand weapon load capacity, while faceted wingtip pods feature an enhanced electronic-warfare capability. Its empty weight is up by 1,200 kg (2,650 lb.) to 8,000 kg, and all-up weight is increased by 2,500 kg to 16,500 kg, yet the jet has been designed to remain within the strict parameters that allow the Swedish Air Force to use the newer version from its network of austere bases and road runways. Internally, Saab has focused on the development of advanced sensor and electronic-warfare capability, while a federated architecture separates critical flight control systems from the tactical systems. Saab says the federated approach will make the Gripen E's avionics and mission systems more easily and quickly upgradable; tactical upgrades could be written, tested and installed in weeks rather than months or even years. “The technology is working, and we are talking weeks rather than months or years for upgrades,” Franzen says. The challenge will be for customers to adapt to this new rapid pace of change. Air forces will need to develop ways to approve the new upgrades and then train their pilots to be able to fight with the modified aircraft, Franzen adds. The Gripen E's new sensors should allow it to surpass the capability of the Gripen C/D when it reaches the front line in 2023. Among the systems onboard is what Saab refers to as human-machine collaboration: If the pilot is focused on an air-to-ground task, for instance, the aircraft systems will continue to monitor the aerial picture and warn the pilot if a potential threat emerges ahead. Sweden would like the aircraft to be able to carry a standoff weapon by the end of the decade, and Brazil sees its Gripen Es carrying a cruise missile, the domestically developed MICLA-BR, in the coming years. Meanwhile, the Swedish government's decision to keep 40 Gripen C/D aircraft in service to supplement the Gripen E fleet in response to the enhanced threat posed by a resurgent Russia has prompted Stockholm to consider how to keep the older, smaller Gripen model relevant into the 2030s, which could bolster its chances on the international market once again, too. The last Gripen C/D sale was to Thailand 13 years ago, but the fighter has struggled to find a sale since; at least one country has cited a lack of AESA on Gripen C/D as a reason for its rejection. Saab subsequently self-developed and flew an X-band AESA in the Gripen last year, and that could form part of the platform's development road map, particularly for the retained Swedish fleet. Franzen says the study work will initially focus on removing obsolescence from the aircraft before looking at capability areas. “We will, of course, try to get all of the ground support system [and] planning stations into one track to support both aircraft,” he says. The Gripen E orderbook stands at 96 aircraft: 60 for Sweden and 36 for Brazil. But Brazil has ambitions to double or triple that number. Like its European rivals, the Gripen is competing hard for Finnish requirements. Saab is developing a road map for the Gripen E, likely to build off Sweden's partnership with the UK and Italy on the Tempest technology work. Both British and Italian industry have cited Sweden's experience with the rapid development of the Gripen E as a key ingredient to achieving success with the Tempest. Ironically, after years of ferocious competition, Europe's fourth-generation fighters will be intrinsically linked together and will end up sharing technologies developed through the political and industrial links established to help replace them. https://aviationweek.com/defense-space/aircraft-propulsion/future-fighter-investment-keeping-eurocanards-competitive

  • Rheinmetall eyes do-over in new pitch of its Lynx vehicle to the US Army

    21 octobre 2020 | International, Terrestre, Sécurité

    Rheinmetall eyes do-over in new pitch of its Lynx vehicle to the US Army

    Sebastian Sprenger COLOGNE, Germany — Rheinmetall is teaming with Textron Systems to pitch the Lynx KF41 vehicle as a Bradley replacement to the U.S. Army, the company announced Tuesday. The campaign marks the second time that the Düsseldorf, Germany-based company is targeting the Optionally Manned Fighting Vehicle program following an unsuccessful attempt last year that eventually saw the ground service halt the race. This time around, Rheinmetall is putting greater emphasis on a U.S. footprint, led by its growing American Rheinmetall Vehicles subsidiary based in Sterling Heights, Michigan. Textron, as the newcomer on Team Lynx, is meant to be front and center when it comes to manufacturing and robotics capabilities. “Textron Systems' Slidell, Louisiana, vehicle production facility has supported more than 15 armored vehicle programs of record supporting over 20 countries,” Henry Finneral, senior vice president and general manager of Textron Systems' Marine and Land Systems business, said in a statement. “We stand ready to support the team and the US Army and deliver a trusted platform for the future.” Matt Warnick, managing director at American Rheinmetall Vehicles, said the “teaming agreement brings together two of the world's leading providers of defense industry solutions." Raytheon remains part of the team. Executives hope the new Army competition will give all bidders more leeway in fine-tuning their eventual offers to the service's requirements. That marks a contrast to the previous acquisition attempt, where the ground service essentially wanted specific features already built into prototype vehicles, with little time for companies to adjust. This time around, the Army plans to downsize to five bidders, then three, before picking an eventual winner. A final request for proposals is expected late this year or early next. Service officials have put competitors on notice that an open architecture in the vehicle design will be at a premium, a feature that Rheinmetall touted in its bid notice. “The network is almost more important in some ways than building the combat vehicles,” Maj. Gen. Brian Cummings, program executive officer of ground combat systems, told Defense News in an interview ahead of the Association of the U.S. Army's virtual conference, which ended last week. Rheinmetall previously planned to present the teaming arrangement with Textron at this year's AUSA show if the event had taken place in person. https://www.defensenews.com/global/europe/2020/10/20/rheinmetall-eyes-do-over-in-new-pitch-of-its-lynx-vehicle-to-the-us-army/

  • DOD Releases Fiscal Year 2020 Budget Proposal

    20 mars 2019 | International, Aérospatial, Naval, Terrestre, C4ISR, Sécurité, Autre défense

    DOD Releases Fiscal Year 2020 Budget Proposal

    On March 11, 2019, President Donald J. Trump sent Congress a proposed Fiscal Year (FY) 2020 Budget request of $750 billion for national security, $718.3 billion of which is for the Department of Defense (DoD). The FY 2020 Budget maintains momentum from the sustained funding increases enacted in FY 2017, FY 2018, and FY 2019 to repair damaged readiness, and the Budget marks a key next step in how we operationalize the 2018 National Defense Strategy. Deterring or defeating great power aggression is a fundamentally different challenge than the regional conflicts involving rogue states and violent extremist organizations we faced over the last 25 years. The FY 2020 Budget is a major milestone in meeting this challenge and resourcing the more lethal, agile, and innovative Joint Force America needs to compete, deter, and win in any high-end potential fight of the future by: investing in the emerging space and cyber warfighting domains; modernizing capabilities in the air, maritime, and land warfighting domains; innovating more rapidly to strengthen our competitive advantage; and sustaining our forces and building on our readiness gains. This budget is about projecting power through competitiveness, innovation, and readiness. It fully recognizes that future wars will be waged not just in the air, on the land, and at sea, but also in space and cyberspace, increasing the complexity of warfare. It modernizes capabilities across all warfighting domains to enhance lethality, including the largest ship building request in 20 years and the largest research and development request in 70 years, focusing on technologies needed for a high-end fight. This budget sustains our forces by funding a 3.1 percent military pay raise, the largest in a decade. Congressional approval of the FY 2020 Budget will help us meet current operational commitments and outpace the threats posed by China and Russia through maintaining our competitive advantage, even as DoD spending remains near a record low as a share of the U.S. economy. Specifically, the Department's FY 2020 budget builds the Joint Force's capacity and lethality by investing in: Cyber ($9.6 billion) Supports offensive and defensive cyberspace operations - $3.7 billion Reduces risk to DoD networks, systems, and information by investing in more cybersecurity capabilities - $5.4 billion Modernizes DoD's general purpose cloud environment - $61.9 million Space ($14.1 billion) Resources the initial establishment of the United States Space Force - $72.4 million 4 National Security Space Launch (aka EELV) - $1.7 billion 1 Global Positioning System III and Projects - $1.8 billion Space Based Overhead Persistent Infrared Systems - $1.6 billion Air Domain ($57.7B) 78 F-35 Joint Strike Fighters - $11.2 billion 12 KC-46 Tanker Replacements - $2.3 billion 24 F/A-18 E/F Super Hornets - $2.0 billion 48 AH-64E Attack Helicopters - $1.0 billion 6 VH-92 Presidential Helicopters - $0.8 billion 6 P-8A Aircraft - $1.5 billion 6 CH-53K King Stallion - $1.5 billion 8 F-15EX - $1.1 billion Maritime Domain: $34.7 billion and the largest budget request in more than 20 years for shipbuilding COLUMBIA Class Ballistic Missile Submarine - $2.2 billion 1 CVN-78 FORD Class Aircraft Carrier - $2.6 billion 3 Virginia Class Submarines - $10.2 billion 3 DDG-51 Arleigh Burke Destroyers - $5.8 billion 1 Frigate (FFG(X)) - $1.3 billion 2 Fleet Replenishment Oilers (T-AO) - $1.1 billion 2 Towing, Salvage, and Rescue Ship (T-ATS) - $0.2 billion 2 large unmanned surface vehicles - $447 million Ground Systems ($14.6 billion) 4,090 Joint Light Tactical Vehicles - $1.6 billion 165 M-1 Abrams Tank Modifications - $2.2 billion 56 Amphibious Combat Vehicles - $0.4 billion 131 Armored Multi-Purpose Vehicles - $0.6 billion Multi-domain and nuclear triad ($31 billion) B-21 Long Range Strike Bomber - $3.0 billion Columbia Class Submarine - $2.2 billion Long-Range Stand-Off Missile - $0.7 billion Ground Based Strategic Deterrent - $0.6 billon The FY 2020 Budget funds preferred munitions at the maximum production rate. 40,388 Joint Direct Attack Munitions - $1.1 billion 10,193 Guided Multiple Launch Rocket System - $1.4 billion 125 Standard Missile-6 - $0.7 billion 1,925 Small Diameter Bomb II - $0.4 billion 9,000 Hellfire Missiles - $0.7 billion 430 Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile - $0.6 billion 48 Long Range Anti-Ship Missile - $0.2 billion Highlighting the enduring importance of missile defeat and defense, the FY 2020 Budget funds the sustainment of the surge in missile defense investment we undertook in FY 2018 and FY 2019, while also investing in Missile Defense Review efforts at $13.6 billion. The missile defeat and defense investments for FY 2020 include: 37 AEGIS Ballistic Missile Defense (SM-3) with Install - $1.7 billion Support for Missile Defense Review (e.g., Land-Launched Conventional Prompt Strike, Extended Range Weapon, Space-based Discrimination Sensor Study) - $1.5 billion Ground Based Midcourse Defense - $1.7 billion 37 THAAD Ballistic Missile Defense - $0.8 billion 147 Patriot Advanced Capability (PAC-3) Missile Segment Enhancements - $0.7 billion The FY 2020 Budget continues the Department's emphasis on innovation and technology, which will enhance our competitive advantage. The Budget highlights emerging technology projects including: Unmanned / Autonomous projects to enhance freedom of maneuver and lethality in contested environments - $3.7 billion Artificial Intelligence / Machine Learning investments to expand military advantage through the Joint Artificial Intelligence Center (JAIC) and Advanced Image Recognition - $927 million Hypersonics weapons development to complicate adversaries' detection and defense - $2.6 billion Directed Energy investment to support implementation of directed energy for base defense; enable testing and procurement of multiple types of lasers; and increase research and development for high-power density applications - $235 million The FY 2020 Budget increases the readiness, lethality, and agility of the Joint force by increasing our military end strength. Funds readiness to executable levels across services - $124.8 billion Total military end strength will increase from FY 2019 projected levels by approximately 7,700 in FY 2020 Active end strength will increase by approximately 6,200 from FY 2019 projected levels to FY 2020, with the largest increase in the Air Force Reserve Component end strength will increase by approximately 1,500 from FY 2019 projected levels to FY 2020, with the largest increase in the Army Guard and Reserve The FY 2020 Budget provides the largest military pay raise in 10 years and robust support to our most valued asset—our military members—and their families. The Budget: Provides a competitive compensation package Includes a 3.1 percent military pay raise Continues to modernize and transform our Military Health System Continues family support programs with investment of nearly $8 billion for: Spousal/community support Child care for over 180,000 children Youth programs serving over 1 million dependents DoD Dependent Schools educating over 76,000 students Commissary operations at 236 stores Facilities investment is a continuing area of emphasis. This funding: Supports the National Defense Strategy by investing in key operational and training facilities Enables timely maintenance of critical infrastructure Improves Quality-of-Life for Service Members and their families Provides funding for Marine Corps and Air Force hurricane-related facility repairs at Camp Lejeune and Tyndall Air Force Base The FY 2020 Budget contains critical funding for Overseas Contingency Operations (OCO) and an emergency budget request, totaling $173.8 billion, which is subject to the same congressional oversight requirements as the base budget. These pieces of the request are vital to our budget as a whole and our ability to support the National Defense Strategy. The FY 2020 OCO/Emergency request contains four categories: Direct War Requirements: Combat or combat support costs that are not expected to continue once combat operations end - $25.4 billion OCO for Enduring Requirements: Enduring in-theater and CONUS costs that will remain after combat operations end - $41.3 billion OCO for Base Requirements: Funding for base budget requirements in support of the National Defense Strategy, financed in the OCO budget due to the limits on base budget defense resources under the budget caps in current law - $97.9 billion Emergency Requirements: Funding for military construction for emergencies, to include border security and reconstruction efforts to rebuild facilities damaged by Hurricanes Florence and Michael - $9.2 billion Long-term strategic competitions with China and Russia are the principal priorities for the Department, and require both increased and sustained investment, because of the magnitude of the threats they pose to U.S. security and prosperity today, and the potential for those threats to increase in the future. 2018 National Defense Strategy The entire budget proposal and additional material are available at: http://www.defense.gov/cj. https://dod.defense.gov/News/News-Releases/News-Release-View/Article/1782623/dod-releases-fiscal-year-2020-budget-proposal/source/GovDelivery/

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