NEW DELHI — Indian engineering company Larsen & Toubro (L&T) Ltd. and South Korean defense firm Samsung Techwin Co. are joining forces in a bid to build self-propelled artillery guns for the Indian army. According to an announcement made at the DefExpo 2012 here, the two companies have formed a joint venture to compete for the Tracked Self-Propelled Artillery Program.
The U.S. Government Accountability Office’s (GAO) analysis of 96 programs in the 2011 Pentagon portfolio puts their total cost to complete at $1.58 trillion, a 5% increase over the previous year. The 10 largest programs account for more than half the portfolio cost; the Joint Strike Fighter’s $327 billion total accounts for one-fifth. In assessing the overall impact of program cost growth, GAO observes that more than 60% of programs “lost buying power” because of increases in unit costs.
SANTIAGO, Chile — Growing concern over cyberattacks against its radar and air command and control systems has prompted ThalesRaytheonSystems to launch a program to protect its systems from being spoofed.
The cost of the Pentagon’s largest weapon system continues to grow, as a Pentagon official contends that the increases are being brought under control.
SANTIAGO, Chile — Elbit is targeting Brazil for its latest laser-guided rocket project, hoping to convince the government to change its preferred rocket and add a precision-guidance system. The goal of the self-funded effort is to begin the first demonstration firings of the new laser-guided rocket by year’s end, to help generate interest within the Brazilian military, an industry official says. The weapon is slated for use on Panther and other helicopters, as well as the A-29 Super Tucano.
NEW DELHI — India’s defense minister says the country’s defense expenditures will continue to increase as the modernization of its armed forces remains a top priority. “Our armed forces need to have access to [the] latest defense technologies, equipped with the state-of-the-art platforms, equipment and systems. With the projected growth of the Indian economy expected at a trajectory of 8-10% for the next two decades, expenditures on defense in absolute terms is bound to increase,” Defense Minister A.K. Antony said in inaugurating DefExpo 2012 here.
The defense industry has been on edge since last summer about a potential $1 trillion reduction in military spending over the next decade, but it’s not an issue that registers with the voting public. To make the military’s angst known, Rep. Randy Forbes (R-Va.) is planning a “Defend Our Defenders” road show. The multistop tour aims to bring in retired military brass, members of Congress and industry to build the public’s interest in defense spending so it can be an issue on the campaign stump before November.
In another clear signal that moderation in the U.S. Congress is on the margins, House lawmakers have booted a deficit compromise proposal based on a bipartisan commission from 2010. The vote occurred as Republicans and Democrats are calling for prompt action on a deal to avert a potential $1.2 trillion across-the-board cut in government spending due to take place Jan. 2, 2013.
MINESWEEPER: The U.S. Navy recently finished a second round of testing to further prove the countermine mission potential for its Littoral Combat Ship (LCS). The second phase started with testing of each of the components designed for the mine countermeasures package on the LCS-2 USS Independence, including the Remote Minehunting System, Airborne Laser Mine Detection Systems, Airborne Mine Neutralization System and the AN/AQS-20A sonar. Navy officials then tested multiple systems in concert, finally culminating in successful mine detection and neutralization tests.
GENOA — Italy’s Finmeccanica will establish a defense unit in 2013 to combine all of its U.S. operations, including aeronautics, helicopters and defense electronics, to be led by former U.S. Deputy Defense Secretary William Lynn. The move, unveiled earlier this week by Finmeccanica CEO Giuseppe Orsi, is part of several significant changes in the beleaguered giant’s strategy, structure and businesses. The changes are necessary, Orsi says, to return Finmeccanica to profitability as soon as this year.
NEW DELHI — India’s “air defense is 97% obsolete,” the country’s soon-to-retire army chief Gen. V.K. Singh wrote in a recent letter to the Indian premier that discusses a number of major issues plaguing the Indian military. The content of the letter, dated March 12, was leaked to the media March 28.
Northrop Grumman’s Global Hawk Block 30 may have a shot at escaping U.S. Air Force plans to place it in storage. Rep. Jim Moran (D-Va.), a member of the House Appropriations defense subcommittee, says he will recommend continuing funding for the high-flying unmanned aircraft. “That may prevail, at least in the House defense subcommittee.” According to Moran, the “taxpayer is best served” by the Global Hawk, as compared to the U-2 intelligence-gathering aircraft, which the Air Force wants to continue using.
SANTIAGO, Chile — Embraer has added three countries to its A-29 Super Tucano customer list with Burkina Faso, Angola and Mauritania. Burkina Faso already received its three aircraft last year, with talks under way for more. Angola is buying six aircraft, with three to be delivered this year and the rest next year. The size of the Mauritania deal was not disclosed; all are to be delivered this year. All three countries are buying the Embraer-developed Training and Operation Support System. The total contract value is $180 million for the deals.
SANTIAGO, Chile — Brazil is expected to give the go-ahead this year to a new ground-launched cruise missile development program. Avibras has been working on the technology to launch the new weapon, called TM (Tactical Missile), from the Astros II artillery rocket system, but more serious engineering work will require government funding. A production contract is expected to follow in three to four years, according to an industry official.
Those at the Pentagon creating plans for surviving future wars are pressed to stay ahead of increasingly malevolent and sophisticated cyber hackers. Part of their effort follows the template of compartmentalization used for protecting networks on combat aircraft. Planners contain and isolate functionalities such as flight control, weapons and mission systems from cyber weapons that can be delivered wirelessly to corrupt, destroy or exploit digitally controlled capabilities. The key is to let systems interact without providing a path for malware.
A REPRIEVE: Hawker Beechcraft is working with lenders on a “comprehensive recapitalization” after receiving a temporary reprieve from interest payments that were coming due along with an additional $120 million in financing. The additional liquidity will fund ongoing operations while Hawker Beechcraft works with lenders on long-term financing, the company says. The announcement of the forbearance agreement and liquidity comes just days before the Wichita airframer is set to release its fourth-quarter 2011 results.
Amid Senate complaints that the U.S. Navy is treading on questionably legal ground with some of the service’s alternative fuel forays, the Naval Facilities Engineering Command (Navfac) Hawaii this month opened the first of three Ethanol 85 (E85) stations planned for the Navy’s fleet of flex-fuel vehicles March 22 at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam (JBPHH).
While Pentagon contractors worry about the potential effect of sequestration on long-term projects, there should be relatively little impact on current shipbuilding programs, and even existing long-term shipbuilding deals, says Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII) CEO Michael Petters. “The sequestration budget discussion is really for future work — work that hasn’t been appropriated yet,” Petters said March 28 during a conference call with business analysts to discuss the company’s latest earnings.
The sophisticated radar and electronic-attack arrays on ships and aircraft, which have increased the range of electronic attack and greatly decreased the size of targets that can be detected, are more vulnerable to cyber attack than the more primitive systems they replace.
BAD SIGN: As the Pentagon has sought to rein in out-of-control costs and contracting, it has increasingly used fixed-price contracts. But in just three years, the number of services contracts awarded on a lowest-price technically acceptable (LPTA) basis increased by 40%, a rate one expert calls “disturbing.” The use of LPTA contracts is appropriate, particularly when buying commodities, but the government has leaned too far in their direction, says Ray Bjorklund, vice president of Deltek.
NEW DELHI — India’s defense minister has ordered a departmental inquiry into French firm Dassault’s win of the 126-fighter Medium Multi-Role Combat Aircraft (MMRCA) contract, after a lawmaker raised the possibility of “manipulation” in the selection process.
