China is marketing a lightweight 155-mm howitzer remarkably similar in description to BAE's M777, regarded as one of the most advanced lightweight artillery systems in its class since its debut in 2000. In service with the U.S. Marine Corps since 2005 and the U.S. Army since 2006, the M777 weighs 3.7-4 tons, has a crew of five to seven, and fires up to five rounds per minute of extended-range shells that reach 40 km (25 mi.). This lightweight, high-performance capability is due to extensive use of high-strength, low-weight titanium.
Rafael, Israel's leading missile development center, has quietly been working on an air-to-air derivative of the Stunner interceptor, to be designated Python 6 or the Future Advanced Air-to-Air Missile (FAAM). The Stunner is a surface-to-air missile already being developed in partnership with Raytheon for Israel's David's Sling air and missile-defense system.
Russia has claimed the successful test of a prototype of new intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM). The new missile was fired from a mobile launcher at the Plesetsk spaceport in May and its warhead reached a designated area in the Kura test range on the Kamchatka Peninsula. The military also said the missile will have improved capabilities to overcome anti-ballistic missile defenses being deployed by the U.S.—an important new priority for Moscow after years of trying to forestall U.S. missile-defense developments.
Since some military operations could take place with no access to GPS, work is underway to develop an onboard sensor that guides missiles and other projectiles independently of the navigation system. The U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (Darpa) is seeking to develop a Chip-Scale Combinatorial Atomic Navigator (C-Scan), integrating solid-state and atomic inertial sensors in one inertial measurement unit (IMU). The sensor, no bigger than 20 cu. cm. (1.2 cu.
Patents have been filed in recent years for improvements in hand grenades, which have remained largely unchanged since 1915. One recent patent application addresses an old concern: how a left-handed soldier can efficiently wield a grenade. Designed for right-handed use, grenades such as the M67, in use by the U.S., have the safety pin on the left. A soldier grips the grenade and fuze lever in his right hand, pulls the pin with his left and throws the weapon. A southpaw must invert the grenade to neatly pull the pin with his right hand and throw with his left.
Turboshafts seem to last for generations, as many engine mechanics who have tended to just a handful of major types throughout their entire career can attest. Small wonder then that opportunities for new engine launches come along once in a blue Moon, particularly in the rarified world of heavy-lift helicopters.
There is a perfect fiscal storm brewing which some have been slow to recognize and has already reached our shores. The most significant element is the Category 5 hurricane known as “sequestration.” Mandated by the Budget Control Act passed last year days before the U.S. credit-rating downgrade, sequestration mandates significant cuts to both defense and discretionary domestic federal spending. It happens on Jan. 2, is automatic and can only be altered by a change in the law.
There's nothing novel about European firms chasing export deals to offset shrinking domestic defense budgets, but MBDA wants to go a step further by making weapon-design decisions to help enhance its new products for customers beyond the home market. Historically, MBDA—the joint venture comprising BAE Systems, Finmeccanica and EADS—has generated roughly 30% of turnover from exports. But Paul Stanley, market development director, notes that “to sustain the business we will be looking much more to 50%” of exports.
Walter J. Zable, the aerospace industry's oldest and longest-serving CEO and a pioneer in the field of global positioning, died June 23 of natural causes at a San Diego-area hospital. He was 97. Zable founded Cubic Corp. in 1951 in a San Diego storefront. Long before GPS was invented, the company developed a satellite-based technology that identified the location of land masses and enabled the U.S. military to pinpoint targets to improve the accuracy of ballistic missiles. Later, Cubic fielded the world's first instrumented air combat training system.
Boeing has taken another step to strengthen its manufacturing and technology ties in Brazil by allowing Embraer to tap its marketing expertise for the KC-390 medium-lift transport, Brazil's largest defense procurement program and Embraer's most ambitious effort to sell a military aircraft abroad.
A tightly wrapped object the size and shape of a combat aircraft was hauled along Chinese highways in June, sparking speculation that the country was deliberately revealing a new twin-engine fighter from Shenyang Aircraft.
In a major consolidation to address an era of fixed-price contracts and lower defense and civil space spending, Lockheed Martin Space Systems is establishing two basic business lines — military and civil — rather than the separate talent pools devoted to more specific requirements in each of those areas.
