2 décembre 2020 | International, Terrestre
By: Aaron Mehta
WASHINGTON — The U.S. State Department on Tuesday cleared six Foreign Military Sales cases, potentially worth a combined total of $1.55 billion.
The six cases, spread across South Korea, Saudi Arabia, Brazil, Croatia, Lebanon and Canada, were announced on the website of the Defense Security Cooperation Agency.
DSCA announcements mean that the State Department has decided the potential FMS cases meet its standards, but this does not guarantee the sales will happen in their announced forms. Once approved by Congress, the foreign customer begins to negotiate on price and quantity, both of which can change during the final negotiations.
Here are the details on each case:
Croatia: The largest dollar value of the announced FMS cases comes from Croatia, which seeks to spend $757 million on refurbishing its 76 M2A2 Bradley Infantry Fighting Vehicles. The NATO ally operates older models dating to Operation Desert Storm, and is looking to upgrade capabilities.
In addition to maintenance, upgraded radios, armor and simulators, the package includes 84 M240 machine guns, 1,103 TOW 2A radio frequency missiles, 100 TOW 2B radio frequency missiles and 500 TOW bunker buster radio frequency missiles. Work will primarily be done by BAE Systems' York, Pennsylvania, facility as well as Raytheon Missile Systems in Tucson, Arizona.
Canada: America's northern neighbor wants to upgrade its fleet of five C-17 transport aircraft to the tune of $275 million.
The package includes “aircraft hardware and software modification and support; software delivery and support; ground handling equipment; component, parts and accessories; GPS receivers; alternative mission equipment; publications and technical documentation; contractor logistics support and Globemaster III Sustainment Program (G3) participation; other U.S. Government and contractor engineering, technical, and logistical support services; and related elements of program and logistical support,” according to the DSCA announcement. Boeing would perform the work.
Saudi Arabia: The most unique of the six cases, the Saudi request involved $350 million in support services for five years, covered through the U.S. Military Training Mission to Saudi Arabia, or USMTM, located in Riyadh — an office of roughly 330 service members and U.S. contractors who help train the Saudi military.
Services included in the package are “pay and allowances for U.S. Military, U.S. Government, and Foreign National staff members; USMTM communications support costs; local contracting costs; construction and renovation costs of housing area; transportation costs; U.S. Mail services support costs; dependent education (grades K through 12); administrative costs; temporary duty costs for USMTM personnel; Value Added Taxes (VAT) assessed by Saudi Arabia; and future transition costs to move USMTM” to a proposed new housing location in Saudi Arabia, per DSCA.
Brazil: The government in Brazil wants to spend $70 million on 22 MK 54 conversion kits, which would convert existing MK 46 Mod 5 A(S) torpedoes to MK 54 Mod 0 lightweight torpedoes. Those would be equipped on the country's fleet of Sikorsky S-70B Seahawk helicopters and its surface ships. Work would be performed at Raytheon Integrated Defense System's Portsmouth, Rhode Island, facility.
Lebanon: The country seeks to spend $55.5 million to procure 300 M1152 High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicles in two tranches of 150 each. Beirut currently operates more than 1,000 HMMWVs of various designs, according to the DSCA, which are primarily used to “counter violent extremist organizations and to secure its border.”
The primary contractor would be American General, with work happening in its South Bend, Indiana, facility. This is the first FMS case cleared for Lebanon since the start of the Trump administration.
South Korea: A frequent customer of U.S. weapons, South Korea now seeks to purchase two MK 15 MOD 25 Phalanx Close-In Weapons System Block 1B Baseline 2 systems for $39 million. This anti-missile defense weapon for ships would come along with training and 4,000 rounds.
According to DSCA, Seoul plans to use the systems aboard its first KDX III Batch II-class ship “to provide it with effective means of detecting and defending itself against incoming airborne threats.” The primary contractor is Raytheon, with work to be done at its be Louisville, Kentucky, location.
All told, the six notifications mean the Trump administration has cleared 23 FMS cases since Oct. 1, the start of fiscal 2021, with an estimated price tag of $58.75 billion. However, that number is inflated by the inclusion of two pre-cleared cases for Finland's fighter competition; while Finland may pick either the F-35 (for $12.5 billion) or the F/A-18 (for $14.7 billion), it would only select one, and may still choose a European bidder instead.
16 février 2022 | International, Terrestre
Lawmakers are also debating whether to add six new Rafale fighter jets to an existing order for 18 planes ' six of them newly built and 12 that were previously in service in the French air force.
10 janvier 2019 | International, Terrestre
GD Land Systems now scheduled to modernize more than three brigades of tanks. January 8, 2019 STERLING HEIGHTS, Mich. – The U.S. Army has signed a $714 million delivery order for General Dynamics Land Systems to upgrade an additional 174 M1A1 Abrams Main Battle Tanks to the state-of-the-art M1A2 System Enhancement Package Version 3 (SEPv3) configuration. This brings the total of M1A2 SEPv3 tanks ordered by the Army in 2018 to 274 (more than three brigades of tanks). The M1A2 SEPv3 configuration features technological advancements in communications, reliability, sustainment and fuel efficiency, plus upgraded armor. The delivery order is part of an Army Requirements Contract signed in December 2017 through which the Army can upgrade up to 435 M1A1 Abrams tanks to the M1A2 SEPv3 configuration. “We're proud to help the Army provide world-class combat capability to Armored Brigade Combat Teams,” says Don Kotchman, Vice President and General Manager of General Dynamics Land Systems U.S. Market. “This delivery order, along with our previous orders, means our production line will be rolling at a steady rate through 2021.” Work on this delivery order will be performed at Land Systems locations in Scranton, Pa., and Tallahassee, Fla., and at the Joint Systems Manufacturing Center in Lima, Ohio, the only operational tank plant in the country. Land Systems is a business unit of General Dynamics (NYSE: GD). General Dynamics Land Systems provides innovative design, engineering, technology, production and full life-cycle support for land combat vehicles around the globe. The company's extensive experience, customer-first focus and seasoned supply chain network provide unmatched capabilities to the U.S. military and its allies. https://www.gd.com/news/press-releases/2019/01/us-army-awards-general-dynamics-delivery-order-upgrade-174-abrams-main
10 juin 2020 | International, Aérospatial
June 8, 2020 - Almost 300,000 km per second. That's the speed of light, and also the speed of laser light. Faster than any projectile. A laser is also accurate and always hits its target. This means it should be possible to bring down unwanted drones quickly and cheaply. In a laboratory set-up for weapon systems, TNO is already seeing promising test results with a high-energy laser. From an innocent toy to an offensive weapon: that's what happens when malicious people attach explosives to drones. The fact that improvised explosive devices like this can inflict significant damage was confirmed yet again last September, during the attacks on Saudi Arabian oil installations. GATWICK AIRPORT PLAGUED BY DRONES Even without explosives, drones can still cause major problems. In 2018, at Braitains Gatwick airport, a few simple and inexpensive drones proved capable of causing hours of disruption to air traffic. “The Netherlands has its own counter-drone research programme. The problem is being taken very seriously.” COUNTER-DRONE RESEARCH PROGRAMME Several countries across the world, including the Netherlands, are developing solutions for the problem of drones. Last year the Netherlands launched its own counter-drone research programme, spearheaded by the Ministry of Defence, the National Police and the National Coordinator for Counterterrorism and Security (NCTV). The problem is being taken very seriously and is therefore high on the agenda. UTMOST CARE “The first challenge is to quickly detect and identify an incoming drone”, says Patrick Keyzer, who heads up TNO's research programme. “If a drone appears to represent a genuine threat, we have to disarm it as quickly as possible. Of course, it must be done with the utmost care and we need to ensure that we inflict as little unintentional damage as possible.” “TNO is testing a high-energy laser capable of burning a hole in thick steel plate in just a few seconds” ENOUGH FIREPOWER Using a laser is one of the possibilities for disabling drones. “It's a highly effective method”, confirms Federica Valente, Business Developer for TNO's high-energy laser research. In a heavily-secured bunker, her colleagues are testing a high-energy laser capable of burning a hole in thick steel plate in a matter of seconds. “That's obviously more than enough firepower to bring down drones.” LESS THAN A EURO A SHOT “This kind of laser is also extremely accurate and cost-effective”, she continues. “To fire it, you only have to pay for the energy: less than a euro each time. A laser is also very flexible, enabling you to monitor the drone's every movement at relatively low cost.” “In addition to using a laser, we can also take control of the drones or use jammers” TOOLBOX “A laser weapon certainly has numerous advantages”, agrees Keyzer. “But we need to carefully assess the setting and situation in which a drone appears. It's important to have several options at our disposal for disabling drones responsibly. This is why we're currently developing and researching several different solutions. In addition to using a laser, we can also take control of the drones or use jammers. So, it's not a case of ‘one solution fits all'. Nevertheless, the emergence of a laser weapon will help enormously in combating the threat of drones.” The laser weapon is just one of the weapon systems that TNO is researching. The aim of these innovations is to protect those who protect us. Read more about it on the ‘Weapon Systems' page. View source version on TNO: https://www.tno.nl/en/tno-insights/articles/light-as-a-form-of-defence-laser-brings-down-unwanted-drones/