US military, technology, arms, tactics

brar_w · Post by **brar_w** » 24 Sep 2016 03:30

Boeing ISR, EW, AEW platforms based on the 737 (E7, P-8) architecture. They are proposing these to replace the Rivet Joint, Compass Call, and JSTARS. Future plans to also compete for a future AWACS replacement using the platform -

brar_w · Post by **brar_w** » 28 Sep 2016 00:12

Higher resolution version of Boeing's Compass Call replacement proposal

brar_w · Post by **brar_w** » 05 Oct 2016 20:38

Orbital ATK Reveals New 'Double-Range' AARGM

FORT WASHINGTON, Maryland--Orbital ATK has lifted the veil on its extended-range variant of the AGM-88E Advanced Anti-Radiation Guided Missile (AARGM), which incorporates a redesigned control section and 11.5 in.-dia. rocket motor for twice the range and internal carriage on the Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II.

The modification answers the U.S. Navy’s call for a longer-range anti-radiation homing missile as the detection and intercept range of adversary surface-to-air missile systems pushes American warplanes farther away from potential targets.

AARGM entered service in 2012 as a modification to the supersonic, medium-range Raytheon AGM-88 High-speed Anti-Radiation Missile (HARM), adding point-to-point satellite-aided inertial navigation and millimeter-wave radar for terminal guidance if the target stops emitting.

The new version uses the same seeker and warhead as well as a “repackaged” multi-mode guidance section, but replaces the current AGM-88B/C-based rocket motor and protruding control surfaces. The diameter of the rocket motor has been increased from 10 in. to 11.5 in. but the overall missile is made shorter to fit inside the F-35. Instead of launching off the wing, the missile ignites after dropping from the Lightning II’s internal weapons bay to achieve safe separation.

The new design was recently revealed to the Navy during an event at Naval Air Station Whidbey Island in Washington state, home to the maritime branch’s primary electronic attack assets. Orbital ATK’s full-scale model was then displayed at the 60th annual Tailhook convention in Reno, Nevada, Sept. 8-10, before showing up in National Harbor, Maryland, in front of an Air Force audience at the Air Force Association’s Air, Space & Cyber conference this week.

“AARGM-ER is a follow-on to AARGM purely focused on the extended-range scenario,” Mike Stuart, Orbital ATK’s director of business development for strike weapons and defense electronics, said in an interview on Sept. 19. “Navy budget documents define what they’re looking for, and our design addresses that. Our design maintains the current seeker on the front end. We repackage the guidance and navigation system to provide more volume [for the 11.5-in. rocket motor]. We’re anticipating over two times the range.”

AARGM was developed jointly as an improved destruction of enemy air defense, or DEAD, weapon for the U.S. Navy and Italian air force through an Orbital ATK-MBDA collaboration. It is targeted for integration on the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet, E/A-18G Growler, F-16CJ Wild Weasel, F-35 and Tornado.

"AARGM-ER" emerged in 2015 as part of the Navy’s fiscal 2016 budget request and the service’s latest five-year budget blueprint spends $398 million on the program through fiscal 2021.

Meanwhile, the AGM-88E program of record has increased from 1,919 missile modifications to 2,475, with procurement extending out to 2023. The Air Force is not currently invested in AARGM, having instead backed Raytheon’s HARM Control Section Modification, which adds satellite-aided inertial navigation and new digital flight computer. Raytheon would also be eyeing the Navy’s AARGM-ER requirement and could put forward its own design for any future competition.

“It’s purely an evolution of the threat, and the threat drives everything we do in this entire industry,” Stuart says. “We look forward to the continued maturation of the Navy’s acquisition strategy and their plan so we can move forward with our proposals.”

Expect them to offer a repackaged ARES based on the ER configuration, and given the increased range of 250-300km the ARES may find a taker in the USAF.

Prem · Post by **Prem** » 06 Oct 2016 03:19

http://www.nextbigfuture.com/2016/10/us ... nging.html

US Army mounting combat lasers ranging from 2 kiloWatts to 60 kiloWatts on different sized trucks

The US Army has already experimented with a 10-kilowatt laser on a heavy truck, Boeing’s High Energy Laser – Mobile Demonstrator (HEL-MD), which could shoot down mortar rounds in flight. Lockheed is scaling up the truck-mounted laser to 60 kiloWatts, Boeing has scaled its laser down to 2 kW: still powerful enough to shoot down small drones, compact enough to fit in the Army’s eight-wheel-drive Stryker armored vehicle. (This Stryker also mounts radio jammers to scramble drones’ control links). Boeing is upgrading the Stryker mounted laser to 5 kilowatts for testing early in 2017.
Lockheed is upgrading the 10 kiloWatts laser on this large truck to 60 kiloWatts

brar_w · Post by **brar_w** » 06 Oct 2016 03:35

Bell 247 Unmanned tilt rotor concept

hnair · Post by **hnair** » 06 Oct 2016 13:42

whoa... what is that black painted stuff behind? some kind of IR supressing cowling for a tilt rotor or is it that the turboshaft does not swivel, only the gearing + rotor hub?

brar_w · Post by **brar_w** » 06 Oct 2016 14:50

That is the V280 (280 refers to the cruising speed in knots). The driveshaft and the rotor tilt unlike the Osprey where the entire engine assembly tilts for forward motion. Flight testing is to begin shortly.

http://www.bellhelicopter.com/military/bell-v-280

http://www.bellhelicopter.com/news/pres ... 7-vigilant

hnair · Post by **hnair** » 06 Oct 2016 14:58

thanks. That looks nice.

Always used to wonder why they cant shift the engines closer to the (or on the) fuselage, so they can avoid the heftier wings for supporting engine weight as well as that power transfer shaft (used incase one engine stops). Anyways they have very long spindles carrying most of the power produced. Maybe the lift from the huge rotors need a counter-weight?

brar_w · Post by **brar_w** » 06 Oct 2016 15:15

Some more information on the drone and the 280 from Aviation Week

Bell Helicopters’ shipborne V-247 Vigilant unmanned air vehicle (UAV) might seem like a fish out of water at an Army exhibition, but the foldaway vertical-takeoff-and-landing (VTOL) surveillance and strike tiltrotor was nonetheless quite the crowd pleaser. Unveiled at a press conference in Washington in September, the V-247 UAV is being proposed for the U.S. Marine Corps’ “MUX” requirement but could also be adapted to meet the Army’s “runway independent” UAV or lightweight Future Vertical Lift (FVL) needs.
The aircraft is designed for a maximum speed of 300 kt. and combat range of 350 nm, with 11 hr. of endurance over the objective area. Like the Bell-Boeing V-22 Osprey, Vigilant automatically folds up for storage inside a DDG-class warship hangar. The V-247 would be the company’s fourth clean-sheet proposal in the past five years, after the 525 Relentless, 505 Jet Ranger X and V-280 Valor. The V-280 which is being built for the Army’s Joint Multi-Role Technology Demonstration program.
The V-247 brings together the best performance and cost-saving features of the V-280, packaged in an armed reconnaissance drone to meet the Marine Corps’ future oceanic drone requirements. Despite splashy presentations, Textron-owned Bell will not be putting serious cash or resources into the project without first securing government support for a flight-test vehicle. Bell and its industry team is already investing $5 for every government dollar to develop the Valor prototype in preparation for FVL.
Vince Tobin, Bell’s vice president of advanced tiltrotor systems, says the company will not launch another large-scale, company-funded flight-test effort without first capturing a client. “Our current plan is to get through preliminary design and do a little bit more fleshing out of the design, but for V-247 we’re looking for a customer to fund the follow-on design effort—hopefully, a Marine Corps customer,” he said on Oct. 3. “In comparison to the investment in the V-280, it’s a relatively small [investment at this point].” The company believes Vigilant could be ready for low-rate production by 2023, if the expeditionary branch acts soon. It will be operated using Textron Systems’ Synturian “multivehicle, multidomain control and collaboration” family of products, which debuted this week at AUSA.
In terms of the V-280, Tobin believes it could be ready to enter development under FVL in 2019 followed by a Milestone C low-rate production decision five years later, in 2024. Valor is 65% complete at the company’s plant in Amarillo, Texas, and is due to fly by September 2017 but will likely fly sooner.

Cybaru · Post by **Cybaru** » 06 Oct 2016 20:43

brar_w wrote:Boeing ISR, EW, AEW platforms based on the 737 (E7, P-8) architecture. They are proposing these to replace the Rivet Joint, Compass Call, and JSTARS. Future plans to also compete for a future AWACS replacement using the platform -

That makes total sense. India needs to do the same for its fleet, either go with the same platform as P8I or go with A321Neo platform and stick to it for all AEW/ISR etc.... Good size, excellent 12-15 hours airtime, plenty of power and cost effective for both peace and war time ops.

brar_w · Post by **brar_w** » 06 Oct 2016 21:34

GE Readying FATE Engine For Mid-Size Future Vertical Lift

GE Aviation is positioning itself to offer a 5,000-10,000 shp-class Future Affordable Engine Technology (FATE) turboshaft engine for the U.S. Army Future Vertical Lift (FVL) program after beginning full engine testing under a cooperative development effort with the service that will continue into late 2017.

The single-spool engine has the highest compression ratio of any previous GE turboshaft design, and the program is described as the “most advanced turboshaft development” in the company’s history. By the end of testing, GE Advanced Turboshaft Program Manager Mike Sousa says the technology and component improvements will be validated at Technology Readiness Level-6 (TRL-6), the point at which FATE can move into a new engine development program, with an opportunity to power the Army’s next-generation family of rotorcraft being pursued under FVL.

The company will initially offer an engine to those companies vying for FVL Capability Set 3 (CS3), a mid-size, 30,000 lb.-class FVL program to develop a successor for legacy types such as the Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk and Boeing AH-64 Apache. Aircraft such as the Sikorsky-Boeing SB-1 Defiant and Bell V-280 Valor being built and flight tested under the Army Joint Multi-Role Technology Demonstration (JMR-TD) would demand a higher power engine, somewhere in the 5,000-6,000 shp range based on placeholder requirements for FVL CS3. Sousa says GE could offer a FATE-class design directly to the aircraft manufacturers or through an Army competition with the engine being provided to rotorcraft vendors as government-furnished equipment. Another potential opportunity being considered by the Army is a re-engining of the Boeing CH-47 Chinook, which is powered by the Honeywell T55 and is projected to remain in service through 2060.

FATE technology will form the basis of a family of high-power GE engines and many of its technologies are saleable from the lighter 3,000 shp GE3000 proposed for the Black Hawk and Apache re-engining effort and lighter FVL platforms up to the T408 (GE38) developed for the Sikorsky CH-53K King Stallion heavy-lift helicopter.

“FATE is developing the technology that would cover the range of 5,000-10,000 shp, and that’s where we think ... the Future Vertical Lift CS3 aircraft requirements could end up,” Sousa said in an interview at the Association of the U.S. Army exhibition in Washington Oct. 3. “So having a technology demonstrator in the right size class, and having those technologies matured to TRL-6 so we’re ready to go when the FVL requirements get finalized, that’s a really big deal to us.

“Whether it’s U.S. Army running the competition and providing a government off-the-shelf engine or it’s an aircraft manufacturer who needs that team and selects the engine, we want to work with whoever wants to work with us and however they want to do that. We don’t know exactly what our competition would have done or if their technology’s ready, but for us, we think we have the technologies to meet the requirements for FVL to a point where once they run in a system-level demo, they’re TRL-6 and ready for an engineering and manufacturing development [EMD] program. We have first engine test in the program happening today and the final engine run in the program would occur roughly one year [later].”

With a compression ratio in excess of 27:1, FATE’s goal is a 35% reduction in specific fuel consumption, 80% better power-to-weight, 20% design life improvement, and 45% reduction in production and maintenance costs compared with today’s military engines.
“It could go into an upgrade of the T408, but it’s also engine technology that could go into a new centerline, depending on the requirements for the FVL program—either an upgraded existing engine or new engine,” Sousa says. “These technologies are not exclusive. We can use it across a wide range of different applications.”

Progress on FATE comes as the Army moves forward with its lighter Improved Turbine Engine, which seeks 25% better fuel economy, 20% longer life and 65% more power than the GE T700, which powers today’s Black Hawk and Apache. GE and the Honeywell/Pratt & Whitney Advanced Turbine Engine Company joint venture received $102 million and $154 million contracts, respectively, in August for preliminary design of their single-spool GE3000 and dual-spool HPW3000, with a winner-takes-all downselect to one vendor in 2018. The $10 billion opportunity would deliver over 6,000 engines for the H-60M, H-60V and AH-64E as well as next-gen FVL platforms.

brar_w · Post by **brar_w** » 07 Oct 2016 14:46

Prem · Post by **Prem** » 07 Oct 2016 23:50

http://aviationweek.com/defense/podcast ... who-s-down
Podcast: Future Army Helicopters, Who’s Up, Who’s Down

How airframe and engine contractors are responding to the U.S. Army’s Future Vertical Lift plans. Oh, and a bit about the F-35, too.

rkhanna · Post by **rkhanna** » 17 Nov 2016 12:04

The US Army is set to start testing a faster and more lethal variant of the Abrams tank

"Advanced networking technology with next-generation sights, sensors, targeting systems and digital networking technology -- are all key elements of an ongoing upgrade to position the platform to successfully engage in combat against rapidly emerging threats, such as the prospect of confronting a Russian T-14 Armata or Chinese 3rd generation Type 99 tank.

The SEP v4 variant, slated to being testing in 2021, will include new laser rangefinder technology, color cameras, integrated on-board networks, new slip-rings, advanced meteorological sensors, ammunition data links, laser warning receivers and a far more lethal, multi-purpose 120mm tank round, Maj. Gen. David Bassett, Program Executive Officer, Ground Combat Systems, told Scout Warrior in an interview."

http://www.businessinsider.com/us-army- ... 16-11?IR=T

Austin · Post by **Austin** » 20 Nov 2016 21:15

Not sure if this goes here but quite informative report on Benghazi

brar_w · Post by **brar_w** » 21 Nov 2016 19:34

Raytheon awarded contract to advance GaN technology

Raytheon has received a USD14.9 million contract from the US Air Force Research Lab (AFRL) and the US Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD) to further enhance its process for producing gallium nitride (GaN)-based semiconductors.

The Title III award aims to increase the performance, yield, and reliability of Raytheon GaN-based, wideband, monolithic, microwave-integrated circuits (MMICs) and circulator components, the company said in a statement.

The contract is focused on demonstrating a mature capability that pushes the limits of GaN efficiency, Chris MacDonald, an engineering fellow of GaN process development for Raytheon, told IHS Jane's .

"It will allow Raytheon to enhance RF [radio frequency] performance, even further than what is possible today, while maintaining and/or improving the yield, reliability, and manufacturing readiness level," he said.

In June 2013, Raytheon was recognised by OSD for successful completion of a Defense Production Act Title III GaN production improvement programme. At the time, Raytheon demonstrated that the reliability of its GaN technology exceeded the requirement for Manufacturing Readiness Level 8 -- insertion into production military systems, MacDonald said.

"As a result of that initial work, our GaN yield was improved by more than 300% and cost was reduced more than 75% for MMICs," MacDonald said.

Unlike other defense contractors, Raytheon builds its own GaN wideband MMICs at its foundry in Andover, Massachusetts.

"GaN is a semiconductor material that can efficiently amplify high power radio frequency signals at microwave frequencies thereby enhancing a system's range and raid handling, while reducing size, weight, power, and cost. It is used in "a broad spectrum of military radars and defense systems," according to Raytheon.

The AFRL/OSD award is the second recognition in as many months for Raytheon. In September, the US Missile Defense Agency (MDA) awarded the company a contract modification to transition the production piece of the company's Andover foundry - which had been used to produce gallium arsenide (GaAs) MMICs - to produce GaN as well as transition future Army Navy/Transportable Radar Surveillance (AN/TPY) 2 radars to GaN to improve reliability and efficiency while lowering cost.

Although the Title III award is not tied to the recent MDA award, MacDonald noted that Raytheon radar and electronic warfare systems that use GaN will benefit from the AFRL/OSD award.

"All Raytheon systems and applications that leverage GaN-based components will benefit from the work being conducted as part of the Title III contract with the AFRL and OSD, once the development and release to production has been completed," he said.

"GaN chips are being fabricated in Raytheon's foundry for use in various systems such as Next Gen Jammer, SPY-6(V), the Enterprise Air Surveillance Radar (EASR), the active electronically scanned array (AESA) Patriot radar, and AN/TPY-2. The Title III programme work is applicable to any of these systems," MacDonald added.

The first demonstrator of this technology will be incorporated into Raytheon Space and Airborne Systems' Next Generation Jammer programme, which is scheduled for low-rate initial production in 2018, according to the company.

Raytheon's work with various substrates and cooling techniques are just two of the myriad ways the company continues to push the limits of what GaN can deliver from a reliability, yield, and performance perspective.

Commercial and defence industries are exploring different materials that could be used with GaN to improve thermal conductivity, for example, diamonds which could replace silicon carbide (SiC).

If diamonds or other materials are able to replace SiC, they could go a long way towards reducing or potentially removing the need to cool some systems. Besides the thermal benefits, the result could be lighter weight, more affordable technologies that rarely fail and require minimum maintenance.

brar_w · Post by **brar_w** » 21 Nov 2016 19:46

USN has a busy few years of testing planned for its Next Generation Jammer

The US Navy (USN) and Raytheon anticipate entering critical design review (CDR) for the Next Generation Jammer (NGJ) in 2017, following completion of the technology maturation and risk reduction (TMRR) phase and awarding of the engineering and manufacturing development (EMD) contract.

Raytheon was awarded a USD1 billion contract for the EMD phase, which the company formally entered on 10 March. EMD will continue through December 2020, the company announced in mid-April.

"Risk reduction is a core mindset on this programme. We did everything we could during the TMRR phase to address higher technology risks on the programme and mitigate [and reduce] those risks going into the EMD phase," Captain John Bailey, programme manager for Airborne Electronic Attack Systems and EA-6B programmes (PMA-234), told IHS Jane's on 25 April.

During TMRR, the navy and Raytheon prototyped the power generation system for the pod, integrating a ram air turbine generator inside the jammer pod, he said.

"We have not done it before. The ALQ-99 has an external prop that drives the ram air turbine," Capt Bailey said.

The pod then underwent wind tunnel testing at Arnold Engineering Development Complex at Arnold Air Force Base, Tennessee, where the navy was able to demonstrate that the RAM air turbine generator could generate the appropriate amount of prime power to drive the array subsystem.

The TMRR phase culminated in combined array testing with a radome to demonstrate full continuous wave power. That test took place at the Benefield Anechoic Facility's anechoic chamber at Edwards AFB, California.

"We demonstrated in that prototype testing that we could generate the appropriate amount of effective isotropic radiated power as required based on the threat," Capt Bailey said.

Additional wind tunnel tests, using scale models were conducted to show drag on the aircraft as well as how the aircraft would perform if it had to jettison a pod.

"The results of all this prototype testing informed the preliminary design and that is where that risk reduction comes from going into EMD," Capt Bailey noted.

Now with the EMD phase getting under way, Capt Bailey said the navy and Raytheon will initially undertake air mechanical testing, after which Raytheon will build and deliver air mechanical test pods that will be installed on the EA-18G test aircraft.

"We will start a lot of that air mechanical testing in about the second quarter [fiscal year 2018] FY 2018. That will support getting a flight clearance for mission systems [testing]," he said. "As we progress forward we will start delivering our EDM model pods. Those are your mission system test assets. Those are the ones that will have fully populated arrays ready to go, ready to radiate."

When those pods deliver they will be installed on a test aircraft and taken to the anechoic chamber at Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Maryland, for electromagnetic environment effects (E3) testing.

"That will support getting an initial flight clearance so we can load these onto the jets and fly them and radiate," Capt Bailey added. "Once that is done and we get initial flight clearance, we will [do] mission system testing here with radiating pods and then progress into flight test with pods radiating."

NGJ will provide the USN with more power and capacity than the ALQ-99 as well as advanced modulation, Capt Bailey said.

"The threat has pushed us out in terms of range, which then requires us to put out additional power to maintain a certain standoff. As the threats become more prolific, the threat density has increased, so therefore our need to handle more simultaneous assignments is required and that is what we do with the NGJ, as opposed to the ALQ-99," he added. The threat has advanced in terms of waveform diversity and our ability to counter that. So you counter that with the waveform diversity jammer and that is what NGJ is."

NGJ will replace the ALQ-99 tactical jamming pod on the navy's EA-18G Growler aircraft. The current programme of record, which does not include EMD assets, is for 270 pods (135 ship sets with two pods per ship set). The first low-rate initial production (LRIP) Lot 1 contract is expected to be awarded in late FY 2019.

Capt Bailey noted he is tied into the naval science and technology activities occurring at the Office of Naval Research (ONR) and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency where new and emerging electronic warfare capabilities are being developed that potentially could be integrated into NGJ. In fact the captain built a roadmap for the programme looking at incremental updates on incorporating different capabilities into NGJ after its initial operational capability (IOC).

There are a couple of projects under way at ONR that are on that roadmap. Those efforts could begin testing prior to IOC, but would not be fielded until later in the programme, Capt Bailey said.

For now the navy is focused on getting NGJ built, tested, and ready for IOC in the fourth quarter FY 2021 and then the first full-rate production Lot 1 contract award in second quarter FY 2022.

With the current configurations, the Growler's cover sub bands ranging from 64-150 MHz, 150-270 MHz, 500 MHz-1GHz, 1-2.5 GHz, 2.5-4 GHz, 4-7.75 GHz, and 7.75 GHz through 11 GHz. The Increment 1 pods referred to in the article above are going to cover the mid range probably S/C and X band (F-J band). The Increment 2 RFI was released recently so that will follow a few years behind Increment 1.

rkhanna · Post by **rkhanna** » 22 Nov 2016 13:27

delete

rkhanna · Post by **rkhanna** » 23 Nov 2016 14:14

Great Read. The Book 'inside Delta force' goes into much more detail

Meanwhile, Delta Force was standing up their own capabilities.

“We view aircraft take downs as nothing more than a linear target on wheels,” Delta Force Sergeant Major Mike Vining said. “We went to experts and they taught us about aircraft systems, we learn the various airport jobs, baggage handling, refueling, emptying the toilets, restocking the aircraft, and so on so we could pass as a worker.” Delta snipers also learned how to shoot through the glass windows of a airplane cockpit.

In July of 1978, Major L.H. “Bucky” Burruss divided his Delta Force Squadron in half at the assembly area. Bucky had served in Mike Force during Vietnam and had also attended SAS selection at Beckwith’s request (Burruss, 252). First Troop moved out to take down an aircraft while Second Troop was assigned to breach a building and rescue hostages being held by “terrorists” inside. There was a lot riding on this one as this was Delta Force’s final validation exercise. Both targets were hit around 4 AM on Camp Mackall.

Approaching from the tail end of the decommissioned National Guard AC-121, first troop silently moved up to the two hatches they had decided to breach. “Padded ladders were softly laid on the fuselage. Two hatches had been selected. In the time it takes to suck in your breath, both doors were blown and the plane taken” (Beckwith, 160). Meanwhile, Second Troop breached the windows of their target building, clearing away the glass with steel pipes, and flooded the structure with operators. “Within seven seconds the terrorists had been taken out and the hostages freed” (Beckwith, 160).

https://sofrep.com/68278/delta-force-ai ... ake-downs/

brar_w · Post by **brar_w** » 26 Nov 2016 19:22

Interesting perspective. Most talk about the future of he AWACS and and C2C being a larger, huge radar carrying long range platform but it may as well be a smaller frame that acts as a data-link HUB more than a pure long range sensor. An aggregator of information as opposed to a generator of it under the current 1970/80's hub and spoke model which creates these small number of high value assets and targets.

Shameek · Post by **Shameek** » 26 Nov 2016 21:53

USN Zumwalt Destroyer breaks down

Just weeks after its debut, the Navy's most technologically advanced destroyer, the USS Zumwalt, has been put out of action due to engineering problems that occurred while it was crossing the Panama Canal.
"The timeline for repairs is being determined now," US Navy Cmdr. Ryan Perry said in a statement to CNN.
The issue occurred Monday while the Zumwalt was on its way to its new homeport of San Diego where it was to join the US Third Fleet, which is responsible for the Pacific Ocean.

rkhanna · Post by **rkhanna** » 29 Nov 2016 10:42

USMC Experimenting on going silent.

Every Fire arm in an entire Division will now be supressed

"However, that may be about to change. The United States Marines 2nd Division will be suppressing every single firearm in an infantry battalion – 1st Battalion, 2nd Marines – as part of an experiment to see how an all-quiet force changes the nature of infantry operations. "

Chief Warrant Officer 5 Christian Wade, the division’s gunner, or infantry weapons officer, said the Lima companies in two other battalions — 3rd Battalion, 6th Marines, and 3rd Battalion, 8th Marines — now had silencers, or suppressors, on all their rifles, including the M27 infantry automatic rifles. All units are set to deploy in coming months. The combat engineer platoons that are attached to these units and will deploy with them will also carry suppressed weapons, he said.

…

Wade said he is working on putting suppressors on the Marines’ M249 light machine gun and M240G medium machine gun, using equipment from Marine Corps Forces Special Operations Command. The third and final objective will be the suppression of the .50 caliber heavy machine gun, he said.

As the units conduct training and exercises with suppressors, 2nd Marine Division is collaborating with the Marine Corps Warfighting Lab to collect and aggregate data. Weapons with suppressors require additional maintenance and cleaning to prevent fouling, and the cost, nearly $700,000 to outfit an infantry battalion, might give planners pause.

What we’ve found so far is it revolutionizes the way we fight,” Love told Military.com. “It used to be a squad would be dispersed out over maybe 100 yards, so the squad leader couldn’t really communicate with the members at the far end because of all the noise of the weapons. Now they can actually just communicate, and be able to command and control and effectively direct those fires.”

http://www.thefirearmblog.com/blog/2016 ... rs-rifles/

Manish_P · Post by **Manish_P** » 29 Nov 2016 16:33

^ amazing

What next ? Silenced grenades and Silenced rocket launchers followed by silenced M1 Abrams and silenced Artillery (those poor blokes ears are usually the worst hit)

rkhanna · Post by **rkhanna** » 30 Nov 2016 12:56

^^ well an Artillery Silencer Does Exist in prototype

Edit: Image was crappy but you can google it.

Chinmay · Post by **Chinmay** » 04 Dec 2016 14:50

So the USN want a lot more Shornets. So Boeing's production line seems safe, for now. Will there be a 1:1 replacement of the older Hornets?
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-boein ... SKBN13T05S

brar_w · Post by **brar_w** » 04 Dec 2016 18:42

Chinmay wrote:So the USN want a lot more Shornets. So Boeing's production line seems safe, for now. Will there be a 1:1 replacement of the older Hornets?
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-boein ... SKBN13T05S

The older hornets are mostly being replaced by the F-35C. The higher number of Shornets is a move to improve readiness both NOW, and 8-10 years from now. Both the F/A-18 A-C, and the F-18E/F acquisition assumed a utilization pattern, forward deployed component and actual combat usage based on which the Navy built up a depot and logistical footprint. Over the last 10 years that model has been practically obliterated by higher utilization. The aircraft are being put into much higher engine cycles, and overall fleet utilization is much higher than anticipated. Moreover the F-35C is still 2 years away and since the Navy pays for the Marines F-35B's and F-35C's (The Marines are buying 80 F-35C's to operate from USN Carriers) as well there are limits in their annual expenditure to simply buy a lot more F-35C's per year than what they have planned. They, as of this NDAA (2017 budget) buy 20 F-35's (More B's, fewer Cs) and this number climbs to 32 in FY2019, and finally reaches 45 a year in FY2021 and stays there till the end of that decade. At its peak acquisition rate of 45, the Navy will be paying the F-35 program around $4.5 - $5 Billion a year which I'd assume is the limit for them since they have to support other programs and the primary budget items int he Navy have to be ships.

What all this does is it forces a readiness problem right now for the Marines and later for the Navy since the classic hornets are going through their age very fast, but more importantly it clogs up the depots around 2025 when a lot of the Super Hornet's would be lining up for their SLEP's and SLAP's. This will pose severe readiness problems in the 2020's unless the US Navy decides to increase its depot capacity which it has determined is not a sustainable strategy (it would require manpower additions). The first F-18E/F squadron begins to hit its 6000 hour airframe life next year and will be lining up for its life-extension work around 2018-19. This number will steadily rise in the early to mid 2020's and will peak around 2025-2026. What the Navy has wanted to do is buy more aircraft NOW so as to have a high level of readiness when a lot of these Super Hornets are lining up at depots to get SLEP'd. The wait is probably going to be many times the actual time it takes for them to SLEP them.

If I were to guess I'd guess a range between 50-70 more F-18E/F's, and about 40 more EA-18G's. There are enterprise wide studies ongoing to determine the right number of EA-18G's since the Marines have decided to get out of the full spectrum stand-off EA mission. The USN has determined value in having 16 active squadrons of Growlers with 8 aircraft each, and once you factor in reserves (there is one reserve squadron), training and tactics units, readiness rates etc the number you need to have to get those 16 active squadrons is around 205. They have so far acquired 160 so there is room to add around 40 more if it is determined that the requirement is reasonable going forward. The Navy's Growlers not only support its carrier operations but the concrete Growlers also support the other two service's requirements for full spectrum electronic attack.

So yeah, the Super Hornet line isn't going anywhere. The Navy has always bought more aircraft than originally intended and this was true of the F-18, legacy and Shornet, true of the F-14 and will be true of the F-35 as well. Their efforts to develop an F-18E/F replacement will also kick off in a couple of years (they are currently performing a legally mandated Analysis of Alternatives) and it's entirely possible that Boeing is producing Super Hornet's well into the early 2020's as they transition into the R&D phase for its replacement.

There is also a Trump affect here since the services generally plan something for a change of administration to consider. Under the current Democratic White House and a GOP controlled house and senate there was a gridlock. Obama refused to raise military spending beyond the caps unless an equal amount (above the caps) was also provided for social programs. The Republicans opposed this and only wanted a defense increase. The result was that the budget never exceeded the caps and was never at the levels required to get all the things the services wanted. The services for the short term traded away readiness in favor of modernization and this plan simply buys that readiness back since now there is a GOP control in DC. Other components expected -

- Higher F-35 rate, with about 12 more F-35's part of the FY17 supplemental budget that Trump is expected to introduce
- Buy back the 3 Virginia Class Submarines that the Navy had decided to give up over the years where there would be concurrent procurement of Virgnia and Columbia classes (The Virginia is on a 2 a year production rate but the Navy decided to go to 1 on years when they also buy the Columbia class so they buy a total of 2 nuclear subs a year...The virignia rate would be have fluctuated between 2 and 1 depending upon whether the Navy was buying Columbia or not)
- Move forward with JSTARS replacement

etc.

brar_w · Post by **brar_w** » 05 Dec 2016 19:43

USAF issues draft RfP for improved 'bunker buster' bomb

The US Air Force (USAF) has issued a draft request for proposals (RfP) for a new penetrator warhead to replace its current BLU-109/B and BLU-109C/B systems.The draft RfP for the BLU-137/B Penetrator Warhead, released on 2 December, covers low-rate initial production (LRIP) and four full-rate production (FRP) lots totalling 15,000 bombs.

Intended to be in the same 2,000 lb class of warhead as the BLU-109/B and BLU-109C/B, the BLU-137/B will be procured in an indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity (IDIQ) contract running from fiscal year (FY) 2017 to 2021. LRIP will number 1,000 warheads, with the four follow-on FRP contracts numbering 3,500 each and spanning one year apiece. A second IDIQ award may be granted after FY 2021.

No technical specifications for the BLU-137/B were given in the draft RfP, except to say that it is intended to provide improvements in capability and survivability over the BLU-109/B and BLU-109C/B.

Responses to the draft RfP are to be submitted no later than 14:00 Central Time on 16 January 2017.As with the incumbent BLU-109, the BLU-137/B will be used to defeat hardened targets, such as secure command-and-control bunkers and other protected facilities. The BLU-109 comprises a 2.5 cm-think one-piece high-strength forged steel casing that can penetrate close to 2 m of reinforced concrete. A delayed-action fuse detonates the 550 lb high explosive warhead only after the bomb has penetrated the target.

While the baseline BLU-109 warhead can be delivered as either a guided or unguided weapon, the BLU-109/B is usually mated with a laser guidance kit to form a GBU-24/A penetrator bomb. Other weapons that incorporate the BLU-109/B warhead are the GBU-10G/H/J/K Paveway II; GBU-15(V)-31/B and (V)-32/B glide bombs (GBU-15I); GBU-24A/B (USAF), GBU-24B/B (USN) Paveway III, the subsequent GBU-24(V)2/B, GBU-24(V)4/B, GBU-24(V)8/B, GBU-24(V)10/B (with differing fuze and airfoil options) and the GBU-24/E/B Enhanced Paveway III (EGBU-24); GBU-27/B Paveway III and GBU-27A/B Paveway III; GBU-31(V)3/B (USAF) and GBU-31(V)4/B (USN) JDAM; and the AGM-130C air-to-surface missile.

The BLU-137/B will be mated in a similar fashion to form an as-yet undesignated penetrator bomb.

Philip · Post by **Philip** » 07 Dec 2016 11:36

Trump wields the axe!
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/12 ... -scrapped/

Donald Trump calls for 'ridiculous' new Boeing Air Force One to be scrapped
SAM 28000 sits on the tarmac as Air Force One (in the background) descends on final approach into Hickam Field in Honolulu, Hawaii with President George W. Bush aboard.
There are two planes available to the president. SAM 28000 sits on the tarmac as Air Force One (in the background) descends on final approach into Hickam Field in Honolulu, Hawaii with President George W. Bush aboard
Nick Allen, washington
6 DECEMBER 2016 • 5:07PM
Donald Trump has called for the scrapping of multi-billion dollar plans for Boeing to build a new Air Force One, calling the costs "ridiculous and totally out of control".

Boeing shares immediately dropped one per cent following Mr Trump's comments.

The US government signed a deal with Boeing earlier this year to build a new aircraft to fly the president once the current one reaches the end of its service life.

Mr Trump tweeted:

Boeing is building a brand new 747 Air Force One for future presidents, but costs are out of control, more than $4 billion. Cancel order!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 6, 2016
The US president-elect later added: "The plane is totally out of control. I think it's ridiculous. I think Boeing is doing a little bit of a number. We want Boeing to make a lot of money but not that much money."

Air Force One is the air traffic control call sign for any plane carrying the president.

Two Boeing 747-200 aircraft are currently used and the Boeing deal involves replacing them with two Boeing 747-8 planes.

The intention is is to have the replacements flying by 2024, which would be the final year of Mr Trump's presidency if he is re-elected for a second term.

The deal's off: Trump has put the kibosh on Boeing's AF1 plans

The deal between the Pentagon and Boeing was announced in January with an initial $26 million research contract. Another $127.3 million was awarded in July.

The US Air Force has previously put the cost of the project at $1.65 billion.

In a statement earlier this year the US Defence Department said: "Parts obsolescence, diminishing manufacturing sources and increased down times for maintenance are existing challenges that will increase until a new aircraft is fielded."

It was not the first time Mr Trump has taken aim at Air Force One.

In July he attacked President Obama and Hillary Clinton for using it on the campaign trail, calling it a "disgrace" and a waste of taxpayers' money.
Taxpayers are paying a fortune for the use of Air Force One on the campaign trail by President Obama and Crooked Hillary. A total disgrace!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 5, 2016
He added then: "Air Force One is a very old Boeing 747 and it sucks up a lot of gas, a lot of fuel. Boy, the fuel bill. You turn on those engines I can tell you it's a lot of money."

US presidents have used Boeing planes since 1943 and Air Force One has become one of the most visible American symbols.

The new Boeing 747-8 planes are due to be 240ft long long with a wing span of 224ft.

They would be capable of flying 1,000 miles further than the current ones without a refuel.

During the campaign Mr Trump suggested he could use his own plane as president. He owns a Boeing 757 dubbed "Trump Force One".

However, US officials have previously said that would be "nearly functionally impossible".

Air Force One is equipped with hugely expensive equipment including missile defence systems, protection against nuclear explosions, and secure communications devices.

Officials have said it would be "cost prohibitive" to put such equipment on Mr Trump's personal plane and he would have to pay for it.

brar_w · Post by **brar_w** » 07 Dec 2016 17:25

brar_w · Post by **brar_w** » 07 Dec 2016 20:54

U.S. Army Hopes To Accelerate ITEP Engine

The U.S. Army is looking for ways to re-engine its General Electric T700-powered SikorskyUH-60M/Vs and Boeing AH-64E Apaches faster by accelerating the Improved Turbine Engine Program (ITEP), if the technology proves itself and more funding becomes available.
ITEP promises to deliver a 3,000 shp-class T700-701 successor with 50% more power and 25% better fuel consumption within the same weight and volume constraints. The Army is courting alternative engine combinations put forward by General Electric (GE3000) and Honeywell/Pratt & Whitney joint venture Advanced Turbine Engine Co. (HPW3000). In August, the companies received contracts worth $256 million combined to carry their former science and technology demonstrator engines through a preliminary design review, which will inform a down-selection to one vendor in 2019.

Speaking at a Defense One forum on next-generation rotorcraft in Washington Dec. 6, Army ITEP/Future Vertical Lift chief Richard Kretzschmar said this phase could take 18-24 months, with development commencing in the 2019/2020 timeframe, followed by low-rate production around fiscal 2024. The engines should be supporting operations by fiscal 2026-27, but Kretzschmar says there are opportunities to bring that schedule forward.

Worth an estimated $10 billion for 6,283 development and production engines, ITEPs would swap out the two T700s in as many as 2,135 Black Hawks and 690 Apaches, allowing them to regain carrying capacity traded for better survivability and mission equipment over the past 15 years of counterterrorism operations in the Middle East.

Although today’s rotorcraft are safer to fly in hostile regions, they cannot carry the same number of troops, cargo and ammunition in high and hot environments as they once did.

“We’re looking to accelerate the program,” Kretzschmar says, noting that ITEP could also power two of the lightest classes of next-generation FVL rotorcraft sometime down the road. “If resources are available, we’ll ask industry to accelerate the best they can and provide that capability to the warfighter that much quicker.”

The price tag for the new engine program has some wondering if the Army should focus instead on accelerating FVL, but Kretzschmar says regardless of how fast a Black Hawk and Apache successors is delivered, ITEP is still needed. The UH-60M and upgraded V-model equipped with Northrop Grumman’s new open-systems glass cockpit will remain in service through 2050, as will the Apache.

The Army, Marine Corps and U.S. Special Operations Command recently began an analysis of alternatives looking at potential successors in the Black Hawk, Seahawk and Bell UH-1 Yankee and Zulu “utility, common attack and utility and deep attack/penetration” mission spaces under FVL-Medium, also known as Capability Set 3 (CS3). This materiel solutions analysis phase was approved by the Pentagon in October and will be informed by the planned flight demonstrations of the Bell V-280 Valor tiltrotor and Sikorsky-Boeing SB-1 Defiant compound helicopter from September 2017 through 2019.

Kretzschmar says the airframe and engine size requirements will be bedded down in 2018 for a fiscal 2019 Milestone A decision, which will approve contracts with some number of vendors for a three-year technology maturation phase. Depending on the success of the ongoing V-280, SB-1, Karem Aircraft and AVX Joint Multi-Role Technology Demonstrator effort, Kretzschmar says the Army may be willing to move faster toward a contract for full-scale development.

“We want to move at the speed of industry,” he says. “I don’t think accelerating FVL is going to impact the need for the ITEP engine. Even if we produce the CS3 aircraft at a fairly aggressive rate, we’ll still have Black Hawks and Apaches for 20-30-plus years. The capability gap will continue to increase, so it’s one of the highest priority programs in [Army] Aviation.

Kretzschmar stresses that there are no planned programs of record to follow the science and technology programs with GE for a 7,500 shp-class Future Affordable Turbine Engine and the Honeywell/Pratt & Whitney team’s variable-speed Alternate Concept Engine, or ACE. Instead, those laboratory efforts will spin off technologies for some future engine development program supporting FVL.

Kretzschmar says the FVL acquisition strategy will continue to evolve through 2018, but it will likely involve FVL contenders selecting their own, preferred propulsion systems instead of a government-furnished type. This might be a completely new turbine combining ITEP, FATE and ACE technologies or modifications to an existing engine. The exact power class won’t be known until the FLV-Medium specifications are completed and a request for proposals is issued around 2020.

Kretzschmar says it is much more “deliberate and synergistic” to design the aircraft and engine in combination. “I think that strategy will hold because they can tailor an engine to their platform,” he says.

Also relevant to the AH-64E's that the IAF/IA has acquired/will acquire given that these engines could be brought in as upgrades over their operational life.

brar_w · Post by **brar_w** » 09 Dec 2016 16:22

Interesting..

Rakesh · Post by **Rakesh** » 09 Dec 2016 23:19

oh damn! that is interesting...

brar_w is that an AIM-9X?

brar_w · Post by **brar_w** » 09 Dec 2016 23:43

Yes, an Aim-9X block 2.

Rakesh · Post by **Rakesh** » 10 Dec 2016 00:13

thanks. good luck to whoever goes up against that thing...

brar_w · Post by **brar_w** » 10 Dec 2016 01:09

The block 2 can now loft and is networked so could be something that can be used against cruise missiles and other UAV's. There is little benefit to the integration besides this. Still very interesting because the Aim-9X, and this integration activity appears to be a US-Navy project.

Rakesh · Post by **Rakesh** » 10 Dec 2016 01:52

I would not be that concerned if it was some other AIM-9 variant. But the AIM-9X. That is a whole different cookie. Selection of the AIM-9X make sense though, if it is to be used against cruise missiles and other drones.

brar_w · Post by **brar_w** » 10 Dec 2016 05:00

Aim-9x is the version of the Sidewinder that they interface with new systems. Older generation variants are no longer being integrated on any new platform. Those are being phased out since between the USAF and USN there are now thousands of operational 9X's.

Rakesh · Post by **Rakesh** » 10 Dec 2016 08:17

Was'nt the last F-16 purchase to Pak was AIM-9Ms? Is the US exporting the AIM-9X to other nations?

brar_w · Post by **brar_w** » 10 Dec 2016 08:59

Of course. A lot of the major Aim-9 users/operators has upgraded to the Aim-9x. It's been in production for 15 years. I was referring to the US services that haven't purchased any other variant of the Sidewinder since the 9X started production around 2000. Raytheon has delivered most of the 4300 Block I missiles ordered by the US and FMS customers (> 3000 by US services) and started rate production of the Block II last year. Block I Aim-9X will no longer be produced once those ordered prior to 2011 have been delivered. Pakistan does not operate the Aim-9X. Block II is now going to replace all the older Aim-9 stocks that they still have (The F-22A only recently shifted to the Aim-9X). Some 5000 Aim-9X block II's are going to be acquired between the USAF and USN between 2015 and 2025. FMS customers have already started buying this version/block.

Manish_P · Post by **Manish_P** » 10 Dec 2016 14:48

brar_w wrote:The block 2 can now loft and is networked so could be something that can be used against cruise missiles and other UAV's. There is little benefit to the integration besides this. Still very interesting because the Aim-9X, and this integration activity appears to be a US-Navy project.

What about against Helicopters.. specifically attack helicopters ?