Not very surprising.
The Senators and Representatives from Boeing Washington State and Kansas have promised to do whatever they can to get the tanker contract back too Boeing.
Category: Defense Procurement
India Working on BMD System
They are looking at a two tiered system, and have some demonstration vehicles for their missile defense system.
The two tiered system mirrors that of the US Safeguard system of the late 1960s, and has me wondering if their system, like Safeguard, uses nuclear warheads.
In Safeguard, the upper tier had an exoatmospheric interceptor, Spartan, with a megaton sized warhead that killed thermally, and an endoatmospheric interceptor, Sprint, with a kiloton sized warhead that killed through neutron pulse.
In either case, they have purchased Israeli phased array radars for the system, along with Raytheon and Lockheed, and there is either some Russian involvement, or an extensive marketing effort by the Russians to get their foot in the door.
A Case Study: The Problem With Defense Procurement
Over the past few years, the Swedes have looked at developing an advanced wheeled combat behicle, the SEP, developed by BAE* subsidiary Hagglunds.
About 6 months ago, after a few demonstrators had been fielded, massive budget cuts came out for the Swedish military, and there was not enough money to buy a new class of vehicles.
They decided to go “off the shelf”.
Well, now BAE and Hagglunds are declaring that the SEP is really off the shelf, because there are 4 pre-productions vehicles under construction….Yeah, right.
It’s the iron triangle, also called the military industrial complex, at work.
Still, it’s some pretty neat tech, doing 6×6, 8×8, and tracked on the same basic chassis.
It also has an active protection panel armor (see pics below):
*Full disclosure, I worked at another division of BAE in 1995 and 1996 when the Carlyle Group sold me to buy Dunkin Donuts†
†Yes, I have worked everywhere. Maybe I can’t hold down a job, but more likely this has been my role as “technical hit man”, where you are parachuted in to take care of a specific need.
Production Standard Tejas Flies in India
The first production standard example of the Indian Tejas Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) has flown. (See video)
It’s still using the GE F-404 engine, though this one is uprated, as the Indian Kaveri is not through development.
It’s a tiny thing, though.
Tanker, Oh Tanker
The G.A.O. has ruled against the Air Force on Boeing’s protest, which probably means a rebid.
I’m kind of surprised. After Boeing bribed the Pentagon acquisition officer, I figured that they would have handled this better.
I also figure that when you chose the plane that is:
- Already flying.
- Just as cheap.
- Offloads more gas further away from base.
- Has a contracting team with a better record of being on time and on budget.
That it’s tough to screw up the process.
Needless to say, Boeing is doing a happy dance about all of this.
The GAO language is fairly strong, which means that a recompete is almost certain.
If Obama’s folks have any guts, they will have proxies demagogue the hell out of this against McCain, who killed the original corrupt deal.
F-35 STOVL Mission Not Likely Before Next Year
They have the first STOVL airframe flying, but it looks like we will have to wait for any demonstrations of its vertical capabilities.
ONR Looking at Jumbo Size Hovercraft
The Office of Naval Research is looking at a very large hovercraft for amphibious operations.
It would have a 2500 mile range at 20kts, followed by a 250 mile 40+kt dash to the beach, with a 500-750 ton cargo capability, as versus the 70 ton capability with a 200 mile range for the LCAC currently in deployment.
If this runs true to Navy procurement form, we’ll next hear of it when it’s 18 months late and 35% over budget.
Australian Wedgetail Delayed Again
The oft-delayed Wedgetail, Australia’s choice for an AEW aircraft (see again), has been delayed again to July of 2009, with full capability, there are problems with the electronic warfare system, in 2010.
It was originally intended to be delivered in 2006.
It’s sh%$ like this that had the USAF giving extra points to Airbus on the tanker competition.
Missile Defense Agency Cancels Test
Same old same old, behind schedule and over budget.
Taking tests out of the schedule though is not a good way to handle that problem. Insufficient testing means that we might field a system that does not work…Then again, maybe Bush and His Evil Minions™ don’t care if it works, and they just want a system fielded.
It would go along with the Republicans’ general policy of “faith based missile defense”
South Africa and Brazil Enter Joint Development for A-Darter Missile
South Africa has been working on this missile for some time, and the jount development agreement should bring some more resources to the project.
It’s clearly been delayed a bit, as the SAAF has purchased German IRIS-T missiles as an interim fit.
The A-Darter is a short range IR guided air to air missile, and appears rather similar to the British ASRAAM, with no forward wings, though it has thrust vector vanes in the exhaust, implying a bit more agility off the rail:
This would also imply a dual thrust motor, with low thrust in the first second or so, so as to allow for optimum operation of the thrust vector paddles.
First THAAD Battery Activated
I’m not sure how much notice this would ordinarily rate, but I worked on some issues with this, basically laying out some fixed basing concepts for allies who are trusted enough to operate the system.
Not sure who the client nation was.
I laid out THAAD, PAC-3, and Arrow cells.
Noise and Existing Hangars Loom Large in Norwegian Fighter Competition
Norway is deciding between the upgraded Gripen-N and F-135 for a replacement for its F-16 fleet, and it appears that the F-35 may be significantly larger and noisier than they would like(Paid Subscription Required).
Aircraft noise and politically sensitive basing options may become decisive factors in Norway’s selection process for a new fighter aircraft to replace the country’s Lockheed Martin F-16s.
New information received from the two remaining contenders (Lockheed Martin’s F-35A and Saab’s enhanced Gripen-N) indicates that one (understood to be the F-35) is “significantly more noisy” than the other, senior government and military sources here say.
The information could mean that Norway’s Bodo Main Air Station, located right outside a major population center, gets ruled out as a future operating base if the F-35 is selected. Bodo is one of two active fighter bases in Norway, the other one being Oerland, which is in a sparsely populated area 50 mi. from Trondheim.
….
At Oerland, too, the F-35 appears to have one disadvantage compared to Gripen, which is that the U.S. jet is too bulky to fit inside the hardened aircraft shelters there (those at Bodo are larger). “The question is,” [State Secretary for Defense Espen Barth ]Eide allows, “does that really matter at a time when the trend is to no longer operate out of hardened facilities?”
Given that the F-35 is more than twice the gross weight, and roughly twice the thrust of the Gripen-N, basic physics say that it will be noisier.
Italy to Sign on Dotted Line for JSF
It looks like Italy will sign a contract for 2 F-35s this month (Paid Subscription Required) as a part of the, “initial operational test and evaluation phases of the JSF program”.
This is no surprise. Italy has always been on board, though some questions remain, specifically it’s mix between conventional and STOVL variants, and whether final checkout prior to delivery will be done in Italy.
France To Defer Second Carrier
Sarkosy has indicated that France is likely to push back procurement of a second carrier by 2-3 years: (Paid Subscription Required) for budget reasons.
Bacically, he’s saying that the decision will be pushed back until 2011-2012, which means that service entry would be delayed until 2017-2018.
FCS MGV Update
You can get a good summary of the progress of the NLOS-C howitzer and NLOS-M mortar here, and things seem to be proceeding well, with the tube and the autoloader performing well.
Some pics of the NLOS-C:
FWIW, I don’t think that the FCS MGV (Future Combat System — Manned Ground Vehicle) is a particularly good idea. These platforms will be more expensive than their predecessors, but lighter weight, half the weight of a Bradley, 1/3 of the weight of an Abrams, so they will be more vulnerable to things like IEDs.
The systems they contain, communications and sensors, not the hybrid drive system, do have military value, and I expect them to see service, but it’s cheaper, and to my mind more militarily advantageous to retrofit the boxes on existing systems.
As to whether the military will buy any of these, I think yes, but only the NLOS-C, because the artillery folks at the military are currently using a vehicle first fielded in 1963, the M109 Paladin, and with the Crusader cancellation in the late 1990s, it’s still their turn.
I don’t think that the rest will be manufactured, though the ICV (Infantry Combat Vehicle) is in one very significant way, it carries a full infantry fire team of 9, as opposed to the Bradley’s 6, because of space freed up by making the turret remotly operated.
You could retrofit a Bradley with a new turret for the same effect though.
U.S. Air Mobility Command Head Wants Tanker Deliveries Accellerated
Gen. Arthur Lichte wants to boost annual production from 15 to 26 per year (Paid Subscription Required) so that he can get the increasingly maintenance intensive KC-135s out of service.
I guess that it will depend largely on how Boeing’s protest of the tanker award is handled.
US Missile Defense Agency Solicits Bids for Multiple Kill Vehicle (MKV)
The MDA is looking about upgrading its interceptors to handle a missile penetrating with decoys and other penetrating aids.
While this technology sounds difficult and complex, basically it’s just this:
Aluminum coated mylar balloons. What’s more, it’s entirely possible to put the warhead inside balloon, as was stated by a WMD experts years ago (can’t dig up the link, I think that he was from MIT).
Lockheed and Raytheon are competing for the contract. (Paid subscription required) They are taking two different design approaches.
Raytheon is developing multiple vehicles that are largely autonomous, and the number can be therefore be taylored to the size of the payload bay, with the first vehicle ejected serving to direct the others:
Lockheed has a “bandoleer” of smaller interceptors grouped around a central “mother ship”, which, while less flexible as to payload size, allows for a better sensor, and more maneuverability, for the initial contact and tracking with the kill vehicles being dispensed relatively closer to the interception point:
According to this article(paid subscription required), Lockheed’s sensor on the carrier will have 4x the resolution, 512×512 pixel staring array, as versus Raytheon’s 256×256 staring array.
Of course, these things look to cost a few hundred thousand bucks a pop, and I can get a silver mylar balloon for a buck fifty from the party store.
USAF Secretary and Chief of Staff Forced Out
General Michael Mosley and Secretary Michael Wynne have been forced to resign.
While the nominal reason given by SecDef Gates is mishandling of nuclear weapons by the USAF, I agree with Noah Shachtman’s take on it, that the USAF has been insubordinate on the F-22, and strongly resisting the supporting needs for more UAVs in Iraq and Afghanistan, and they were let go for this reason.
Gates pretty much said it himself, “For much of the past year I’ve been trying to concentrate the minds and energies of the defense establishment on the current needs and current conflicts,” he told the Heritage Foundation. “In short, to ensure that all parts of the Defense Department are, in fact, at war.”
Unfortunately, the USAF’s first priority has been a war with the rest of the DoD over the budget, in order to support their bloated spending priorities.
The Annals of the Incredibly Obvious
The Defense Contract Management Agency (DCMA), the Pentagon’s accountant, is saying that Lockheed-Martin needs adult supervision to stay on budget for the JSF contract.
The DCMA is predicting a 12 month schedule slip, and a $4.9 billion cost overrun.
Same old, same old, at the Pentagon.
The U.S. Navy Seems to Be Without Procurement Vision
Interesting, it appears that the US Navy, from the CNO on down, is not aggressively pushing more DDG-1000 Zumwalt class destroyers.
At one Congressional hearing, when asked what the DDG-1000 brings to the Navy, CNO Adm. Gary Roughead said, “is an introduction of new technologies that will be very important to how we go forward.”
That is not a sterling endorsement of a ship that will be the largest surface combatant to be fielded in a long time, it’s 80% bigger than the Arleigh Burke Class, and a quick Wiki shows that the last hull of its size was built somewhere around 1950.
If you go read the article, it appears that the Navy has no real clue as to what it wants, with fuzzy thinking on anything, whether it be more Burkes, whether the CG(X) should be nuclear powered, LPD landing ships, maritime patrol aircraft, etc.
For some reason, except for carriers and submarines, the Navy seems completely adrift (pun not intended).