In February the U.S. Army will receive 100 new handheld Force 21 Battle Command Brigade and Below/Blue Force Tracking (FBCB2/BFT) systems to complement the vehicle-mounted units already fielded, according to manufacturer Northrop Grumman.
KUWAITI APACHES: The Boeing Co. has signed an initial foreign military sales contract with the U.S. Department of Defense to build 16 AH-64D Apache Longbow helicopters for Kuwait, the company said Oct. 6. Kuwait signed a letter of offer and acceptance with the DOD for the helicopters last year (DAILY, Sept. 4, 2002). The total sale could be worth up to $2.1 billion, including options, the Defense Security Cooperation Agency said when it notified Congress of the sale (DAILY, April 19, 2002).
JSF WORK: BEI Technologies' Precision Systems and Space Division will design and build electro-optical components for the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) under a $3 million contract from Northrop Grumman. The contract covers work through the program's system development and demonstration phase, the company said Oct. 6, and includes options for production work. "This contract represents a strong opportunity to baseline our optics technology into this program," Asad Madni, president and CEO of the company, said in a statement.
PRAGUE - Czech defense officials have denied claims by an international anti-corruption body that a tender for the supply of 14 used supersonic aircraft to the Czech Republic lacks transparency.
United Defense Industries (UDI) has developed an advanced gun system that can provide heavy firepower from a 20-ton chassis, company officials said. UDI officials unveiled the Thunderbolt gun system Oct. 6 at the Association of the U.S. Army's 2003 Annual Meeting in Washington. The vehicle's development shows that near-term transformation technologies can be quickly integrated into current platforms to enhance soldier capabilities, company officials said.
The focus of experiments conducted during joint exercises next year with the U.S. Joint Forces Command (JFCOM) will be to improve the U.S. Army's command-and-control capabilities, Army officials said Oct. 6. "I'm going to devote everything I have to getting command-and control straight," said Gen. Kevin Byrnes, commander of the Army's Training and Doctrine Command (TRADOC).
NEW DELHI - The Indian air force announced it plans to add nine squadrons of military aircraft in the next seven to 10 years. The additional aircraft will include Ilyushin IL-76 mid-air refuelers; fighters, including the indigenous Light Combat Aircraft and international aircraft; and transport aircraft, Air Chief Marshal S. Krishnaswamy said here Oct. 6. The air force also has embarked on a budget drive to reduce its operational costs, Krishnaswamy said.
METAL STORM BUY: Ballistics company Metal Storm Ltd. of Australia said Oct. 6 it plans to buy ProCam Machine, based near Seattle, for $4.3 million, including the assumption of $3.7 million of the company's debt. ProCam builds precision machined parts for the defense, aerospace and other markets.
EO MARKET: Defense agencies worldwide are expected to spend nearly $12.8 billion over the next 10 years to develop and buy electro-optical (EO) technology, according to a new report from Forecast International/DMS. The report estimates that the annual production of electro-optical systems will peak at 63,589 in 2005, with an estimated total of 545,026 individual systems being produced through 2012.
BOEING IT: Computer Sciences Corp. (CSC) will provide distributed server support for Boeing Integrated Defense Systems under a six-year, $60 million contract, which company CEO Van B. Honeycutt said solidifies CSC's position as "the leading IT services provider to the global aerospace and defense market.
NEW DELHI - Pakistan test-fired a short-range surface-to-surface Ghaznavi ballistic missile on Oct. 3. A diplomat with Pakistan's embassy here said the missile was successful in all of the test's goals, an improvement over earlier tests of the system held last May. The nuclear-capable, 290-kilometer (180-mile) range missile could strike targets in India within a minute, the diplomat said, and is powered by solid fuel.
SHADOW WEAPONS: Drop-type munitions would have to be used if the U.S. Army decided to equip the Shadow unmanned aerial vehicle with weapons, according to Frederick Strader, president and CEO of AAI Corp., which makes the Shadow. "Anything that would be more of a gun or missile, unless it's dropped first and then takes off, would be a real problem for the aerodynamics of the vehicle," Strader says. AAI is trying to develop a sensor payload package for the Shadow with a laser rangefinder that could be upgraded to a laser target designator, he says.
CRUISE MISSILES: Air Force Gen. Ralph "Ed" Eberhart, commander of Northern Command (NORTHCOM), says he is concerned that there is no clear "way ahead" for the U.S. to develop defenses against cruise missile attacks. Cruise missiles are a particularly difficult problem because unlike intercontinental ballistic missiles, they leave no "return address," are much easier to launch, and are relatively inexpensive. Although he says he thinks the wide-area surveillance provided by platforms such as the Missile Defense Agency's High-Altitude Airship (DAILY, Oct.
A team led by Raytheon has won a contract worth up to $500 million to upgrade the U.S. Air Force's Distributed Common Ground System (DCGS), the Department of Defense said Oct. 3. Northrop Grumman also was competing for the work, which is to upgrade a series of ground stations that process intelligence from a variety of sources (DAILY, Sept. 24). The contract award says the Navy, Army and Marine Corps also may participate in the program.
PRE-EMPTIVE STRIKE: Russia's defense minister Sergey Ivanov reiterates that Russia retains the right to conduct pre-emptive strikes if Russia's interest or "allied obligations" require it. He spoke at the same meeting of top military brass as Putin. The defense ministry meeting outlined the direction of Russia's armed forces development, which has been nicknamed "Ivanov's doctrine" by Moscow analysts.
In a prelude to the release of its national strategy document later this year, the Defense Department's Joint Council on Aging Aircraft (JCAA) has identified its top 12 concerns, ranging from technical issues such as corrosion to management issues such as changing the way maintainers are trained to deal with older aircraft.
The Senate agreed late Oct. 2 to amend the fiscal 2004 supplemental appropriations bill to buy 800 more "up-armored" High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicles (HMMWVs). The amendment, offered by Sen. Jack Reed (D-R.I.), provides $191 million for the additional vehicles, which have extra armor to protect against small arms fire and rocket-propelled grenades. The supplemental already contained $177 million for 747 up-armored HMMWVs. Reed said his recent visit to Iraq convinced him that the vehicles should be procured at a faster pace.
PRAGUE - A government-appointed commission is examining options for the future of debt-laden Czech aircraft producer Aero Vodochody in a move that may lead to a major shakeup of the company. The Czech industry and trade ministry told The DAILY Oct. 3 that the commission began its work at the beginning of September at the behest of Czech Prime Minister Vladimir Spidla. "The commission was formed after Aero submitted a business plan to the government which seemed to be unrealistic," said an industry and trade ministry official.
Through its acquisition of Steyr Spezialfahrzeug, General Dynamics has obtained the production rights to a combat vehicle with a strong export potential, according to weapons analyst Dean Lockwood of Forecast International/DMS. Steyr Spezialfahrzeug manufactures the Pandur family of 6x6 combat vehicles (DAILY, Oct. 1), which are used by Austria, Belgium, Kuwait, and Slovenia. In May 1999 the U.S. Army awarded a $51 million contract for Pandur vehicles as part of its Armored Ground Mobility System program.
