Category: Defense Procurement

First FCS NLOS- C Howitzer to be Unveiled

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This is, I think, the only variant of the FCS manned ground vehicle (FCS-MGV) at all likely to see large scale production.

The artillery Mafia in the Army have been clamoring for a replacement for the M109 Paladin for years, and the downsides of the FCS-MGV in a counter-insurgency scenario really do not apply to this vehicle, as a self propelled Howitzer should never be in a position where it would be in close contact with the populace.

That being said, it would have been far cheaper to buy something from our European allies.

Delusional Navy Budgets

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The navy is looking for $25 billion per year, about double current spending, on its 30 year plan for a 313 ship navy.

The problem is that everyone knows that this is not unsustainable, and their procurement programs are a mess, with the DDG-1000 costing over $5 billion a ship (the Navy claiming “only” $3.3 billion), the Littoral Combat Ship program being a disaster, with costs going from $220 Million/ship to over $500 million/ship, increasing maintenance costs as the Ticonderogas and the Burkes get older, etc.

The article goes into more detail, but it appears increasingly clear that the Navy does not have a clear vision of what it needs to be or to do over the nest 30 years.

Northrop Grumman’s Secret X-Bomber

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DTI editor Bill Sweetman looks at some contracts floating around the aerospace world, and has condluded that Northrop Grumman has been awarded “a classified Air Force contract to develop a secret bomber prototype”, likely based on the now canceled J-UCAS program, probably based on the X-47B that NG is making for the Navy as a part of the UCAS-D program that succeded the J-UCas:

He has a more detailed article here (Requires loading of proprietary Nxtbook reader), which indicates that the bomber would have a roughly 2000 mile range with a 14-28K pound bombload, which makes it about 1/2 the size of the B-2, and he theorizes that there may be some advances in terms of CFD and control systems.

Of course, the one question that does not get answered is why we really need this.

Dutch Parliament Throws a Monkey Wrench into JSF Acquisition

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The government won approval to buy their first two F-35 Joint Strike Fighters, but they cannot spend more than 10% of the money allocated until they conduct a, “the government conducts a new, open and transparent evaluation of alternatives to the JSF,” with the involvement of experts outside their ministry of defense.

I think that this all comes down to the increasing realization that the JSF is going to cost a lot more than was initially promised.

Dutch Industry Getting Cold Feet on JSF

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In 2002, the Dutch government agreed to invest €858 million in developing the JSF, “on condition that it would not cost more than buying an aircraft off the shelf”, with significant offsets to the local aerospace industry.

As a part of this contract, the Dutch aerospace industry agreed to cover any shortfalls in funding, but this number has grown signifantly from the €191 estimated in 2002, and inudstry wants to renegotiate the deal, claiming that, “financial benefits of the project are now far greater than originally thought and that the deal will benefit the taxpayer at the industry’s expense”.

Basically, they are saying that are getting hosed by cost escalation on the project, which is almost certainly true, and it will be getting a lot worse if the program continues in its current form.

A330 MRTT Winning on World Market

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This article (Paid Subscription Required) notes that the A330 is racking some very impressive sales, even when not considering the US tanker buy, with purchases by Australia (5 tankers), the UK (14 tankers), the UAE (3 tankers), and Saudi Arabia (3 tankers).

For the last two, it is the UAE’s first foray into tankers, and a major move away from US equipment for the House of Saud.

It looks like the Japanese and Italians, who bet on the US selecting the 767, may be the odd men out on all this.

They would be anyway, as the Boeing tanker proposal was significantly different from that they bought.

French Defense Procurement Faces Draconian Cuts

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It currently looks like France will be engaging in large wholesale cuts in its defense procurement, with the, “Rafale (from 294 to 200), a second aircraft carrier (PA2) (cancellation), and FREMM multimission frigates (17 to 12)”, being target for significant cuts.

At its core, someone needs to recognize that new weapons systems have become too damn expensive, with costs outpacing the ability to pay for them.

Indian AWACS

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You have a report on India’s efforts to improve its surveillance and command control assets, where they appear to be heading towards a two tiered system.

First they are developing an AWACS system based on the IL-76/A-50 with Israel’s phased array Phalcon system in a conventional, though non-rotating dome:

They are also looking at procuring a smaller, somewhat less capable system, likely the EMB 145 Erieye:

The theory here is that this allows them to have more assets available at any given time, with the more capable assets only needing to be deployed where the improved capabilities (range, endurance, and more radar operators) are required.

House Armed Services Committee Votes to Cut European Missile Defense Program

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The HASC has voted to cut $220 million from the Bush administration’s request for their European missile defense program, which would place 10 interceptor missiles in Poland, and the radar in the Czech Republic.

I think that this is less about the program in and of itself, and more about the diplomatic consequences of proceeding, particularly because it would allow a lame duck to tie his successor’s hands on this contentious issue:

Democrats argued that the European missile plan should not be rushed. House Budget Committee Chairman John Spratt, a Democrat from South Carolina, says the program would divert funds from other U.S. defense needs, and possibly tie the hands of a new president.

“What we need to strike here is a balance, enough of a commitment to the project to let the Poles and Czechs know that we are not backing down on them, that the thing is still there it is still viable, still in the works, yet not so much commitment at this point that the next president, whoever he or she may be, does not have the flexibility to review this commitment,” Spratt said.

This has always been a dubious plan, as it does not cover much of the southern tier of NATO, and I believe that is more driven towards making Russia paranoid and hostile toward the US, because the Republicans believe that a new Cold War benefits them electorally.

The Senate voted to fully fund the program, so it will have to be resolved in conference committee.

Norway Protests: We Are Having a Real Fighter Competition

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The Norwegian air force chief of staff Major General Stein Erik Nodeland is now aggressively combating the idea that Norwas has already decided to buy the F-35 JSF.

This perception is why Eurofighter pulled out of the bid about a year ago, leaving the improved Gripen as the only other competitor.

I think that if one looks at the bid process objectively, there certainly are segements of the Norwegian air defense establishment who have settled on the JSF, to the extent that they are using Lockheed-Martin F-35 powerpoint slides in their presentations, though there are indications that the some members of Parliament are not amused.

National Reconnaissance Office Gets Slapped Down

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The NRO has, for the 2nd time in a year, “been stripped of Milestone Decision Authority on a program, which means that it no longer has the authority to sign off on a project as complying with the contract requirements.

It appears that it has been decided that the NRO, which is responsible for procurement and operation of the US spy satellite fleet, has been determined to need adult supervision.

Future Combat System Facing Funding Cut

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The House Armed Services Committee is sticking with the 5% cut in funding recommended by the Airland Subcommittee, and it’s likely that the house as a whole will stick with the cut.

Good idea. While some of the technologies are intriguing, the program as a whole is bloated, over ambitious, over budget, and over schedule.

Full disclosure, I worked on FCS from 2003-2006.*

*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.

Is Canada Upgrading Its Military, Or Is Stephen Harper Downgrading Its Social Safety Net?

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Stephen Harper is is looking to double the Canadian Defense budget over the next 20 years.

While there are doubtless some needs driven by the wear and tear from operations in Afghanistan that need to be addressed, this proposal is far more ambitious, calling for extensive upgrades in weapons systems capabilities, most of which have very little correlation to any future needs, which would be in a peacekeeping/counterinsurgency scenario, where legacy systems with communications and networking upgrades could meet the needs of the conflict just as well as new equipment.

In all fairness though though in a counter insurgency scenario the roughly 10% increase in force size may make sense.

We already know that Mr. Harper is very much of the Western Province (Alberta) tradition, which by Canadian standards is rather wingnutty, so I wonder how much of this is driven by a real need to upgrade forces, since any foreseeable conflict would resemble Afghanistan, where the existing systems are more than adequate, and how much is an attempt to pre-allocate money so it won’t be available for things like the national health service and public education.

There is also a 3rd explanation, which is that if there is a common thread among right wing parties world wide, it is a fetish among the about the creation and maintenance of large military establishment, even when threats do not justify this.

It may also be a combination of all three.