23 juin 2021 | International, Aérospatial
Lockheed CEO Urges Pentagon to Enshrine COVID-Era’s Bigger Upfront Payments
The policy was created to shore up pandemic-weakened supply chains.
30 janvier 2019 | International, Terrestre
With shutdown over, Japan cleared to spend $2.15 billion on Aegis Ashore
By: Aaron Mehta
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Defense Security Cooperation Agency announced Tuesday that Japan has been cleared to buy a pair of land-based Aegis ballistic missile defense systems, the first Foreign Military Sales announcement since the end of a government shutdown that stalled the FMS process.
The sale, worth an estimated $2.15 billion, would bolster Japan's existing sea-based Aegis capabilities. The island nation is in the process of increasing its missile defense capabilities, both through additional Aegis buys and through the co-development of the SM-3 missile with the U.S.
Although not specified in the DSCA announcement, a government official confirmed these two systems are for Japan's planned Aegis Ashore sites, which are expected to be operational by 2023.
Included in the potential package: two Aegis weapon systems, two multimission signal processors, and two command-and-control processor refreshes, alongside radio navigation equipment, ordnance, identification friend or foe systems, and construction services for six vertical launch system launcher module enclosures.
Tuesday's announcement is the first DSCA notification to be posted since Dec. 18, just days before the longest government shutdown in U.S. history began.
Speaking to reporters last week, Andrea Thompson, the U.S. State Department official who oversees the FMS process, said the shutdown was slowing down the process of clearing sales requests from foreign customers — notable, as the Trump administration has made increasing weapon sales abroad a key part of both its foreign policy and economic growth strategy.
“There will be a bit of a bump — a gap, if you will — just because we haven't had the engagement with [Capitol] Hill” normally seen in the process, Thompson said then. “We'll be able to make up some ground, but I am a realist. We have to work harder if we are going to have the numbers we had last year.”
Japan has recently spent heavily on American defense items. In September, the nation was cleared to spend $3.14 billion on nine E2-D Advanced Hawkeye aircraft, and in October it agreed to pay more than half a billion dollars for SM-3 missiles.
In the recently released Missile Defense Review, the U.S. Department of Defense identified that working with partners in the Pacific — notably Japan and South Korea — is the “cornerstone” of American security in the region.
“Japan is one of our strongest missile defense partners, and works together with the United States to strengthen cooperative missile defenses against regional missile threats,” the review states. “Going forward, DoD will work with allies and partners to prioritize these types of missile defense integration opportunities that contribute to more effective protection of the United States, its allies and deployed forces.”
DSCA announcements do not mean sales are final. The announcement serves as notification to Congress about the potential sale, which can be vetoed by the Senate; once cleared, negotiations between the customer and contractor can lead to changed quantities or dollar figures from the original announcement.
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17 janvier 2024 | International, Aérospatial
Spain buys Rheinmetall munitions amid calls for more ammo production
For months, defense officials have urged European Union members to pressure their arms industries to increase munitions production.
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5 octobre 2018 | International, C4ISR
Army chooses Raytheon, Lockheed to mature new missile defense radars
By: Jen Judson WASHINGTON — The U.S. Army has picked Raytheon and Lockheed Martin to continue on the path to develop a next-generation air and missile defense radar following a concept design phase that looked at four different companies' technology, according to company representatives. The Department of Defense Ordnance Technology Consortium awarded contracts to four companies to come up with designs to help inform the Army's requirements for the Patriot AMD radar replacement a year ago. Because of their previous involvement, it came as no shock both Raytheon and Lockheed received contracts for the Lower Tier Air-and-Missile Defense Sensor. Northrop Grumman and dark horse Technovative Applications, based in Brea, California, were also awarded contracts. Raytheon is the manufacturer of the legacy Patriot system, and Lockheed Martin spent years developing a system to replace Patriot, from which the Army ultimately walked away. That system — the Medium Extended Air Defense Systems — is still in development with Germany. After spending years debating when and how it would replace its current Patriot system's radar with one that can detect threats coming from any direction, the Army decided to hold a competition for a brand-new 360-degree, lower-tier AMD sensor in early 2017. Replacing the radar becomes evermore critical as the Army looks at dealing with different threats: ones that fly slower, faster or maneuver differently. According to the Army's Air and Missile Defense Cross-Functional Team lead, Brig. Gen. Randall McIntire, the service is trying to move quickly to procure a radar more capable than the current one; any future radar must fit into the future Integrated Air and Missile Defense framework. The AMD CFT is part of the Army's new four-star organization — Army Futures Command — tasked to get after the service's top six modernization priorities. AMD is fifth on that list ahead of soldier lethality and behind the network. Each priority has an assigned CFT to manage modernization efforts. The concept design contracts were given a period of performance of 15 months, so the downselect to Raytheon and Lockheed came slightly early. Congress has mandated that the Army by 2025 find a way to produce a 360-degree radar, accelerating the service's effort to bring something online. The Army will get a capable radar over time, McIntire told Defense News in an Oct. 1 interview, but it might be worth quickly fielding a radar and then building capability into the system over time. McIntire noted that while a 360-degree capability is a top priority, there might be some key performance parameters that rank higher such as more efficiency and better range. “We are proud to be selected as one of the companies to move forward to the Technical Maturation and Risk Reduction phase for the Lower Tier and Air Missile Defense Sensor that will provide the United States Army the ability to detect, identify, track and report aircraft and missiles,” a Lockheed spokesperson said in an Oct. 3 statement to Defense News. Raytheon spokesman Mike Nachshen told Defense News that the company is entering the technology-maturation and risk-reduction phase of the program with a brand-new radar, rather than an upgraded Patriot radar. The capability was designed from the ground up using gallium nitride technology and a staring array, rather than a rotating one, to provide constant 360-degree coverage, according to Nachshen. The company has its own GaN foundry. Raytheon expects to begin discussions with the Army over the next few weeks to determine how the radar's performance will be evaluated, the timeline of the phase and how much the Army plans to invest. https://www.defensenews.com/land/2018/10/04/army-chooses-raytheon-lockheed-to-mature-new-missile-defense-radars