LONDON — Norway wants to purchase an extra six Lockheed Martin F-35 Joint Strike Fighters (JSF) in bid to speed the introduction of the aircraft into the country’s air arm. In its budget proposals for 2014, the Norwegian defense ministry is asking the country’s parliament for the funds to purchase an extra six F-35s for delivery in 2018, in addition to the 10-aircraft buy already approved. Four were ordered back in 2011 and the other six earlier this year. The new order would bring Norway’s purchases so far to 16 aircraft.
LONDON — The Romanian government has signed a contract to purchase 12 General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcons from Portugal. The sale, worth up to €186 million ($253 million), was finalized on Oct. 11 and will see Lisbon transfer nine former Portuguese air force F-16s and a trio of ex-U.S. Air Force aircraft purchased by Portugal to be upgraded and sold to Romania. The deal was signed by the two governments after authorization for the purchase from the U.S. Congress. Around €78 million has already been transferred to Portugal to begin the transaction.
The U.S. Navy is testing technology on Virginia-class attack submarines that could bring the same kind of situational awareness offered by commercial smart phones to submarine crews. The technology helps fuse Google Earth data and sub-specific computer platform needs to provide the same type of terrestrial awareness people have with smart phones to ship commanders patrolling undersea, as detailed in a recent article in UnderSea Warfare, the official magazine of the U.S. Submarine Force.
The U.S. Army made major cuts in its 2014 outyear spending plan, zeroing funding for 11 lines in its “Other Procurement” account, saving $1.6 billion. The U.S. Navy has made a similar sweep through its “Other” account, which includes many comparatively small-dollar items. (See charts pp. 6-11.) Looking at the outyear spending plans cut by 50% or more, the 2014 budget plan estimates spending at $539 million, down from the $3.3 billion estimated in the 2013 plan.
MOSCOW — The long-delayed retrofitting of the Kiev-class Vikramaditya aircraft carrier (formerly the Russian Admiral Gorshkov) finally seems to be over. The ship “will leave our waters and head for India on November 30,” Russian Vice Premier Dmitry Rogozin promised Oct. 14. The handover ceremony will take place in Severodvinsk—where Vikramaditya was retrofitted—on Nov. 16 during the visit of Indian Defense Minister A.K. Antony.
The christening of the aircraft carrier CVN-78 Gerald R. Ford is still on schedule for Nov. 9, although the U.S. Navy had indefinitely postponed the Oct. 19 ceremony for the DDG-1000 Zumwalt-class destroyer because of issues related to the federal government shutdown.
David Eshel Tel Aviv, Christina Mackenzie Paris and Bill Sweetman Washington, Christina Mackenzie (Paris), Bill Sweetman (Washington)
Vehicle protection technology has made enormous strides since the improvised explosive device (IED) threat emerged in Iraq and Afghanistan, along with the use of rocket-propelled grenades (RPGs) and ballistic threats. The V-hull concept pioneered in South Africa was adapted and modernized for different conditions. New materials were introduced, starting with ceramics that had previously been confined to tank armor, progressing into sophisticated ceramic and plastic hybrid systems, and much stronger transparent materials.
Technical realities, the impact of the global economic crisis and other pressures on defense budgets have slowed but not stopped the development of “future soldier” systems worldwide. The need to provide soldiers with the kind of connectivity and situational awareness they routinely use when out of uniform is more urgent than ever. Some of the key goals, such as reducing the size, weight and power (SWaP) requirements of the equipment a soldier carries, have not changed, but cost is more important.
After spending much of the past decade pushing its ground equipment to the limit to meet combat needs during the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, the U.S. Army is taking more measured steps in rebuilding its fleets. Consider the approach in development of the Joint Light Tactical Vehicle (JLTV), a program the service shares with the U.S. Marine Corps, to replace the High Mobility, Multi-Purpose Wheeled Vehicle (Humvee) that has been in service since 1985.
Unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) are proven intelligence gatherers and terrorist hunters, but military and civilian organizations conducting stability operations around the world say drones may be as valuable for keeping the peace.
The days of front-loading equipment programs with costly prototypes and field trials may be over—at least if a simulator developed by Chemring Technology Solutions (CTS) gains wide acceptance for research and development initiatives. The U.K.-based company, whose focus is defense and security technologies, recently developed the Dismounted Close Combat (DCC) simulator, which provides a fully immersive environment for preliminary testing of concepts and prototypes.
Obituary: Albert D. “Bud” Wheelon, who led the development of the first reconnaissance satellite for the CIA and helped lead Hughes Aircraft to dominance as a manufacturer of satellites, died in Montecito, Calif., reportedly of a form of cancer. He was 84. Wheelon also was a member of the presidential commission that investigated the loss of the space shuttle Challenger in 1986.
A Stuttgart, Germany-based research team working on building artificial blood vessels with 3-D printers recently took another step forward by developing gelatin “bio-inks” that can be sprayed through inkjet nozzles without clogging them.
One problem in war is that enemies do not stand still to be dispatched with one shot. Hence, the importance of hitting moving targets. Rifle practice in this area, though, is rare—even the U.S. Marine Corps falls short. This could be changing, however. The Marine Corps Warfighting Laboratory (MCWL) tested techniques for accurately engaging moving targets last month in Quantico, Va. Marines fired M-4 carbines and M-27 infantry automatic rifles at life-size plastic mannequins on tracked robots moving at 4-8 mph.
A thermocouple developed at Cambridge University in England to measure jet engine temperatures near their combustion source reduces drift by 80% at 1,200C (2,192F), and 90% at 1,300C. Drift is degradation in a sensor, typically a double-walled nickel-based thermocouple in this application, which monitors engine heat. High temperature affects the integrity of components and thus, engine maintenance and life. Most nickel-based thermocouples drift above 1,000C. This is a problem because many engines reach 1,500C.
The U.S. Navy wants to develop an onboard sensor that provides ships engaged in resupply at sea forecasts of environmental conditions, wave motions and ship movements such as pitch, heave and roll. The objective is to base materiel transfer decisions on the best available data to increase safety and efficiency. A research partnership of industry and academia, led by the Office of Naval Research (ONR) and Naval Surface Warfare Center Carderock Div., tested hardware and software last month for the Environmental and Ship Motion Forecasting (ESMF) system.
The U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory recently announced the success of an initiative with industry to restore adequate amounts of domestically manufactured primary beryllium metal. The primary or high-purity beryllium is produced at a reduction plant in Elmore, Ohio, operated by Brush Wellman. Access to a reliable domestic supply of primary beryllium, which is processed into “pebbles” for use in high-tech applications, is vital to U.S. defense. Beryllium is one of the lightest metals on Earth and six times stiffer than steel.
British Army Maj. Gen. (ret.) Jonathan Shaw, CB, CBE Born: 1957 Education: Sedbergh School; Trinity College, Oxford; Army Staff College 1989-90, Royal College of Defense Studies 2006
With advanced avionics and mission systems, the 1970s-era delta-winged fighter called Kfir could rank in the same class as contemporary “fourth-generation” fighter jets, say officials from manufacturer Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI). The company can deliver up to 50 of the Mach 2+ Kfirs, configured to the newest Block 60 standard, using airframes retired from Israeli air force service in the 1990s, IAI officials report. These aircraft were mothballed in the southern Negev desert and are in good condition for refurbishment.
