Feb 11, 2013 15:03 UTC
Latest updates[?]: DOT&E; report says serious issues remain; E-2D approved for full production; Export updates.
Northrop Grumman’s E-2C Hawkeye is a carrier-capable “mini-AWACS” aircraft, designed to give long-range warning of incoming aerial threats. Secondary roles include strike command and control, land and maritime surveillance, search and rescue, communications relay, and even civil air traffic control during emergencies. E-2C Hawkeyes began replacing previous Hawkeye versions in 1973. They fly from USN and French carriers, from land bases in the militaries of Egypt, Japan, Mexico, and Taiwan; and in a drug interdiction role for the US Naval Reserve. Over 200 Hawkeyes have been produced.
The $17.5 billion E-2D Advanced Hawkeye program aims to build 75 new aircraft with significant radar, engine, and electronics upgrades in order to deal with a world of stealthier cruise missiles, saturation attacks, and a growing need for ground surveillance as well as aerial scans. It looks a lot like the last generation E-2C Hawkeye 2000 upgrade on the outside – but inside, and even outside to some extent, it’s a whole new aircraft.
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Jan 29, 2013 17:02 UTC
Hermes 900
Elbit Systems has enjoyed considerable domestic and export success with its Hermes 450, which sits at the smaller end of the MALE (Medium Altitude, Long Endurance) UAV spectrum. As UAVs proved themselves, Elbit wasn’t interested in ceding the market for larger and more capable MALE UAVs to the likes of IAI and General Atomics.
They invested company funds to create the larger Hermes 900, but those kinds of investments eventually need a buyer. In 2010, their home country of Israel stepped up, and became the anchor buyer for this system. They weren’t the last. A comparison with the popular Hermes 450 is instructive…
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Oct 03, 2012 15:44 UTC
Latest updates[?]: Support and engine retrofits.
ER/MP, armed
In August 2005, “Team Warrior” leader General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. in San Diego, CA won a $214.4 million cost-plus-incentive-fee contract for research, development, test and evaluation (RDT&E) of the Extended Range/ Multi Purpose Unmanned Aerial Vehicle System (ER/MP UAS). That was just the first step along the US Army’s $5 billion road to fielding a true Medium Altitude, Long Endurance, armed UAV, modified from the USAF’s famous MQ-1 Predator.
The ER/MP program was part of the US Army’s reinvestment of dollars from the canceled RAH-66 Comanche helicopter program, and directly supports the Army’s Aviation Modernization Plan. Its position got a boost when a 2007 program restructuring cut the Future Combat Systems Class III UAV competition, in favor of ER/MP. Next, the US Air Force saw this Predator derivative as a threat and tried to destroy it, but the program survived the first big “Key West” battle of the 21st century. Now the MQ-1C “Gray Eagle” is moving into full production, as the US Army’s high-end UAV. This FOCUS article offers a program history, key statistics and budget figures, and ongoing coverage of the program’s contracts and milestones.
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Aug 16, 2012 18:36 UTC
IqAF 350-ISR,
Oct 22/08 flight
In recent wars, a lot of high tech gear has been upstaged by a surprising contender. Countries like the USA, Canada, Britain, Egypt, Iraq, and others are flying low-end turboprop business aircraft fitted with an array of sensors and a small crew. They’re cheap to buy, don’t use technology that makes export approval difficult, and are easy to maintain. Operating them is well within the capabilities of any country with an air force. Their sensors also offer more diversity and power than all but the highest-cost UAVs, in exchange for having just 1/2 to 1/3 of a high-end UAV’s mission endurance. No wonder many countries see them as a good complement to, or substitute for, existing UAV offerings.
Saudi Arabia has the money and clout to buy the expensive stuff. A number of years ago, they had 3 of their military’s Boeing 707 derivatives converted into RE-3 TASS planes for light battlefield surveillance, and COMINT/SIGINT(intercepting enemy communications and electronic signals) roles. Unfortunately, those planes will be in the shop until 2015, and they need a quick substitute that will still be useful when the RE-3s come back. Guess what they picked…
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Aug 02, 2012 13:46 UTC
Latest updates[?]: Multinational order.
PLGR & DAGR
(DAGR is on the right)
Out in the field, one of the most important questions is also one of the simplest: where am I? Map-reading and orienteering remain critical soldiering skills, but the explosive growth of the GPS receiver market offers modern-day soldiers – and their opponents – new options. GPS has a military channel as well, of course, offering greater precision. These military-grade GPS receivers are becoming common among American units and their allies, often operating alongside civilian units from firms like Garmin that can include in-country roadmaps for front-line zones. Then again, you probably wouldn’t want to offer nearby airstrike coordinates based on a civilian unit if there was any choice in the matter.
Defense Advanced GPS Receivers (DAGRs) will serve as a smaller, lighter, replacement for the Precision Lightweight GPS Receiver (PLGR). Their electronics can be integrated into tanks, UAV drones, etc., or serve as standalone handheld systems for both advanced and basic military GPS users. Authorized Department of Defense (DoD) and foreign military sales (FMS) customers receive a hand-held Precise Positioning System (PPS) with a dual-frequency (L1/L2) receiver that weighs less than a pound, and incorporates the next generation, tamper-resistant GPS “SAASM” (Selective Availability Anti-Spoofing Module) anti-jamming and security module.
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Aug 20, 2011 14:31 UTC
Federal Business Opportunities (FBO) has recently disclosed the following Requests for Proposals (RFP), modifications and notifications:
- The US Air Force releases a Statement of Work, Questions and Answers and additional documents in relation to the purchase and installation of a Lawful Intercept (LI) capability for the Government of Iraq (GOI). LI will provide the GOI with enhanced communications intelligence to support a range of security operations.
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Aug 07, 2011 15:38 UTC
SOTECH
In August 2011, Special Operations Technology, Inc. in Annapolis Junction, MD receives a $79.5 million cost-plus-fixed-fee contract modification “to install, operate, and maintain the lawful intercept equipment and support equipment at various locations around Afghanistan.” Wiretaps can be used for a wide variety of purposes, of course, and there’s an especially pointed history tied to US wiretaps within combat zones. Back in May 2007, American authorities trying to find 3 soldiers kidnapped in Iraq spent nearly 10 hours, during the critical initial phase of the operation, trying to get legal authority for wiretaps to help in the hunt. The soldiers were not found in time, and were murdered by al-Qaeda in Iraq. With respect to wireless taps in Afghanistan, Vanity Fair’s story of Operation Foxden pre-9/11 is an instructive might-have-been.
Work will be performed in Afghanistan, with an estimated completion date of Aug 3/13. One bid was solicited, with 1 bid received by U.S. Army Space & Missile Command, Huntsville, AL (W9113M-10-C-0084).