Aussie Key: Saab’s M3 Carl Gustaf Rocket

ADF training

Guided, portable anti-tank weapons have become a ubiquitous feature of the modern battlefield, but there’s still a role for good old fashioned panzerfaust rockets. For a soldier who needs to take out light vehicles at close range, blast enemy strongpoints, etc., these systems offer all the capability you can ask for, without all of the extra weight and cost. Less weight means more rounds carried, and less cost translates into more rounds bought. Taken together, they ensure more available firepower when it’s needed most. During 1989 operations in Panama, for instance, the 66mm LAW rocket was used so often as a building entry weapon that it was known as the “Ranger Key.”

Saab’s Carl Gustaf system and its range of 84mm rocket shells have become popular all over the world, with over 40 customers. Australia became one in 2009, and has continued to place orders associated with their LAND 40, Phase 2 project. Their system also has one particular twist…

LAV-AT: Modernizing the USMC’s Wheeled Tank-Killers

LAV-AT, 1991:
Desert Storm

General Dynamics’ wheeled LAV A2 family is the US Marine Corps’ backbone armored personnel carrier, and the LAV-AT (anti-tank) is one of the most interesting sub-types. A pop-up M901 Emerson turret rises out of the vehicle like the head of a robot, tracks opponents using visual and thermal imaging, and fires up to 2 BGM-71 TOW(Tube-launched, Optically-tracked, Wire guided) anti-armor missiles, before dropping back inside to re-load under armored protection. The result is a more mobile tank-killer that can strike from long-range, and remains effective even under heavy artillery shelling. It’s also handy for fire support against enemy strongpoints, serving in the same role as an assault gun.

Unfortunately for the Marines, their LAV-ATs are facing 2 separate threats to their long-term viability. Hence the USMC’s ACAT-III Light Armored Vehicle Anti-Tank Modernization Program.

Rapid Fire April 30, 2012: AMPV Briefing

• Here are the PPT slides from the Armored Multi-Purpose Vehicle (AMPV) Industry Day held by the US Army last week. The Defense Acquisition Board is expected to follow up on the future of this tentative MDAP by the end of the current fiscal year. There’s potentially about 3,000 new vehicles at stake at an Average Unit Manufacturing Cost in the $1M-$1.7M range with production starting between FY15 and FY17.

• The latest Aircraft Survivability [PDF] examines past and present live fire testing programs, as well as their current application to the CH-53K acquisition program.

• Northrop Grumman’s CEO Wes Bush would like Congress to ease restrictions on drone exports.

Rapid Fire April 27, 2012: Amazon.com Goes B2B

• The Washington Times looks into where base closures may happen, if a 6th BRAC is indeed going to be allowed by Congress. But so far the House is not interested. Cynics may allow themselves to think that the Administration’s inclusion of a BRAC round during an election year was a red herring that they were ready to give up from the get-go.

• Meanwhile Joint Base Lewis-McChord will see the reactivation of the 7th Infantry Division.

• The National Defense University’s INSS(Institute for National Strategic Studies) reviews [PDF] the state of French military capabilities and explains France’s closer defense relationship with Great Britain after being disappointed by cooperation efforts with Germany that never met their stated ambition.

US Military Ordering Low-Velocity Cargo Parachutes

Afghan drop

Low-velocity parachutes are so named because they’re used for cargo airdrops made below about 1,200 feet, with the cargo aircraft flying at low speed as parachute-rigged containers roll out the rear ramp. US Army Soldier Systems Natick developed them in 2006, aiming to offer a lower-cost low altitude system that did not require specialized parachute manufacturers. US Army PM FSS engineer Bruce Bonaceto’s designs hit those targets, and low velocity parachutes have been doing the same on the front lines. They’re generally used to deliver basic supplies such as gas, ammunition and food to troops in rough terrain and isolated locations, without having to use a more expensive high-altitude GPS-guided parachute system like JPADS, or a more expensive standard parachute like the G-12.

As one might imagine, demand is high in Afghanistan, and some of the small business contract recipients are an interesting set of stories in and of themselves…

Digital Abrams: The M1A2 SEP Program

M1A2 SEP

America’s M1 Abrams tanks come in a number of versions. In addition to the M1A1 that is now standard, the US Army is beginning to field its M1 TUSK for urban warfare. It also operates the M1A2 System Enhancement Program (SEP), currently the most advanced standard variant.

This Spotlight article covers the M1A2 Abrams SEP upgrade program, and will be updated and backfilled as new contracts are issued and key events take place.

Rapid Fire April 26, 2012: Prime Financials, Q1 2012

• Q1 results are in for L-3 Communications, Lockheed Martin and Raytheon. They are all showing more topline resilience than Northrop Grumman. Quick summary table of their sales and backlog at the bottom of this entry.

• Lockheed Martin’s CEO Bob Stevens will retire and be replaced by current President and COO Christopher Kubasik effective January 1, 2013. Kubasik is an alumnus from the Defense Acquisition University.

• US Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta leaned on Brazil in support of Boeing’s F/A-18s for the ongoing F-X2 competition. Panetta discussed technology transfers with his counterpart Celso Amorim. Dassault is working the local cooperation angle too [in French].

BAE’s Turret to Deploy in CV-22s, MV-22s

RGS for V-22

In the past specific and detailed allegations were made concerning the V-22 Osprey‘s performance, testing flaws, and survivability issues in anything beyond low-threat situations like the Anbar deployment in Iraq. Despite direct offers, US NAVAIR chose not to respond or address any of those allegations. One of the flaws that appeared headed for correction, however, was the issue of 360 degree covering fire. This capability is useful for fire support. It is especially helpful when entering or covering landing zones, where rotary aircraft are most vulnerable.

The Osprey’s huge propellers and the positioning of its engines had created obstruction issues for normal machine gun mounting locations, but AUSA 2007 saw BAE Systems promoting a retractable belly turret solution based on a 3-barrel 7.62mm GAU-17 minigun. Special Operations Command has ordered some, and now the US Marines have deployed with them.

NGC Contracted for USN/RAN SPQ-9B Radars & Support

AN/SPQ-9B radar

Northrop Grumman Systems Corp. in Melville, NY makes the AN/SPQ-9B radar system. Its mission is to serve as a primary fire control or backup radar that can detect and track low-flying, high-speed, small radar cross-section anti-ship missile targets in heavy clutter environments. That’s especially useful amidst waves, or close to shore.

The SPQ-9 is not a new radar, though it has received a number of upgrades over the years. It was originally built to be the main air defense radar on several American destroyer and cruiser classes, but over time it has been relegated to a secondary role on advanced air defense ships to fill in coverage gaps, or a slot on some amphibious ship classes as a relatively inexpensive, medium-capability main radar. Orders continue:

• The AN/SPQ-9B
  
• Contracts & Key Events [updated]
  

C-9s, Still: USN Support Contract 2012-2013

C-9B Skytrain II

In April 2012, King Aerospace, Inc. in Addison, TX receives a not-to-exceed $11.1 million indefinite-delivery requirements contract to support 6 C-9B aircraft. This effort includes base site operations, depot planned maintenance interval inspections, and engine shop visits. Funds will be obligated on individual delivery orders, as they are issued. Work will be performed in Addison, TX (38.5%); Ardmore, OK (35%); Whidbey Island, WA (14%); Cherry Point, NC (8%); and Miami, FL (4.5%), and will run until May 2013. This contract was competitively procured via an electronic request for proposals, and 2 offers were received by US Naval Air Systems Command in Patuxent River, MD (N00019-12-D-0014).

The C-9Bs are military variants of the Super 30 stretched DC-9 short-haul passenger jet, and were built from the mid-1960s through the mid-1990s. The C-9A Nightingales that once performed aeromedical evacuation have been retired, and the remaining C-9s serve as VIP transports and cargo aircraft. Even so, age is catching up with them. Their Pratt and Whitney JT8-D-9 engines are noisy and inefficient by modern standards, their airframes have many flight-hours on them, and their older cockpit layout and equipment remain a drawback. Many of the C-9s are being replaced by modern, 737-derived C-40s, and there had been plans to retire the C-9s by 2010, but there haven’t been enough C-40s bought to fully replace them.