Raytheon to Develop Laser Guided Rocket for UAE

Raytheon Company and Emirates Advanced Investments of the United Arab Emirates have signed a cooperative development agreement for a semiactive laser guided 70 mm (2.75-inch) rocket designed to provide increased precision and lethality compared with conventional unguided rockets.


The Laser Guided Rocket project with Raytheon is a very important defense industry initiative for the United Arab Emirates.This program represents a hands-on development effort for engineers that will provide future benefits for the armed forces of countries. It is designed to destroy targets ranging from tactical armored vehicles to high-speed naval craft and will provide a very affordable precision weapon for attack helicopters.

Under the cooperative development agreement, the Laser Guided Rocket program represents a transfer of technology to the United Arab Emirates. Subject to approval of the respective companies' governments, Raytheon Missile Systems and Emirates Advanced Investments will produce the laser guided rocket for national and international customers.

The agreement details a complete development and qualification program and provides for a follow-on proposal to supply a commercial off-the-shelf laser guided rocket for military customers in the United Arab Emirates, United States and other countries. Initially, the laser guided rocket will be qualified on a single United Arab Emirates' platform, with later integration onto additional platforms.

This program is also intended to benefit the United States Army, because they would be able to obtain a fully qualified laser guided rocket that meets or exceeds all the guided 70 mm rocket requirements of the United States, without expending tens of millions of dollars of investment in research, evaluation, and testing.

In addition to the cooperative development agreement, Emirates Advanced Investments and Raytheon have signed a collaborative agreement to explore similar, future joint programs.

Emirates Advanced Investments, located in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, was incorporated in 2005 to develop advanced technologies and high-quality services through strategic global partnerships with world-class manufacturing and service organizations.

Raytheon Company, with 2007 sales of $21.3 billion, is a technology leader specializing in defense, homeland security and other government markets throughout the world. With headquarters in Waltham, Mass., Raytheon employs 72,000 people worldwide.

China Starts Producing Russian Mi-171 Helicopters

A manufacturing plant in southwest China has started to assemble Russian-designed Mi-171 transport helicopters.

China plans to build at least 20 helicopters in 2008 with assembly kits supplied by a Russian plant in Ulan-Ude and later increase production capacity to 80 aircraft per year.

Mi-171 is an export version of the Mi-8 Hip helicopter, which is currently in production at two factories in Kazan and Ulan-Ude, fitted with more powerful turboshaft engines.

The Chinese are planning to export [Mi-171] helicopters to Pakistan and Africa, which may hurt Russian exports. The successful implementation of the project could leave Russian manufacturers short of component parts.

In 2007, Russian companies only built 120 Mi-171 helicopters, although they had orders for 150 aircraft, due to a shortage of transmissions and rotors, and according to estimates, there are no plans in the future to increase production for these components.

At the same time, some Russian experts believe it is better to allow the Chinese to manufacture helicopters under license rather than sit and wait until China develops its own version, modeled on Russian designs, Vedomosti said.

New Coastal Submarine Concepts (Ready To Break The Surface)

The modern non-nuclear submarine is acknowledged to be a highly potent sea denial and intelligence gathering asset and, in the right hands, a very challenging adversary for even the best-equipped anti-submarine warfare (ASW) forces.

Even 26 years on, the UK Royal Navy's (RN's) experience in the 1982 Falklands (Malvinas) conflict serves as a salutary reminder of how difficult a prey the conventional submarine can be. Although it deployed a large taskforce equipped with a full range of ASW capabilities, it failed to detect the San Luis, the single Argentine Type 209 conventional submarine deployed in theatre. It is believed that only a faulty fire-control system prevented the submarine from executing a successful attack on an RN frigate operating close inshore.

The US Office of Naval Intelligence points out: "Operating near busy shipping channels or maritime chokepoints, submarines can covertly lay minefields or attack and disrupt commercial shipping. In this way, even a nation having a few relatively unsophisticated submarines can conduct sea denial and exert regional influence.

"Fitted with improved quieting sensors, weapons and propulsion systems readily available in today's market, submarines can operate undetected near a regional adversary's coast, covertly conduct surveillance, engage enemy naval forces and expand their nation's regional impact still further."

Covertness brings another attribute. Operating unseen and unannounced, the submarine can be forward deployed without undue provocation, thereby avoiding crisis escalation or political embarrassment. It can also be employed to support the insertion and extraction of special forces in clandestine missions.

And so for many smaller nations, the conventional submarine remains a prized asset because of the disproportionate impact it can have on military operations in the maritime domain, both above and below the waterline. Its major selling point is as a uniquely cost-effective means of sea denial against far more powerful potential adversaries.

Over the last two decades, the conventional submarine market has been dominated by sales of boats in the 1,400-1,800-ton bracket, typified by German shipbuilder HDW's best-selling Type 209, the successor Type 214 and the rival Scorpene jointly produced by French naval shipbuilding, systems and support group DCNS and Spanish shipbuilder Navantia. Highly capable, and now increasingly adopting air-independent propulsion (AIP) technology to extend submerged endurance and reduce the indiscretion ratio, they afford a powerful and cost-effective deterrent capability.

However, 'cost effective' does not mean cheap and it would be quite wrong to suggest that the acquisition of even a small number of diesel-electric submarines does not in itself constitute a significant capital investment. Furthermore, operating any submarine force in a safe and efficient manner demands the highest levels of design assurance, maintenance, operator and maintainer training and operational control.

As a result, some smaller navies with more limited financial and technical resources - while attracted to the attributes of the submarine - have, to date, shied away from their acquisition. Others, particularly in Latin America, are troubled by the projected costings for the replacement of existing diesel-electric submarines now approaching life expiry.

Acknowledging this fact, four of Europe's leading submarine design houses have now all sought to craft compact, highly automated 'entry-level' submarine concepts specifically engineered to reduce capital cost and support overhead and manning requirements. As well as appealing to navies looking to acquire a submarine capability for the first time, the rival contractors are also eyeing nations that may be looking to recapitalise their existing submarine arms.

South Korea Demand Of AIM-9X Sidewinders

The Republic of Korea has requested a possible sale of 35 All-Up-Round AIM-9X Sidewinder Missiles, 1 AIM-9M Sidewinder Missile (Legacy), 12 AIM-9X Sidewinder Captive Air Training Missiles (CATMs), 2 AIM-9X Sidewinder Dummy Air Training Missiles (DATMs), Missile Containers, missile modifications, test and support equipment, spare and repair parts, publications and technical data, maintenance, personnel training and training equipment, contractor engineering and technical support services, and other related elements of logistics support. The estimated cost is $25 million.

The Republic of Korea is one of the major political and economic powers in East Asia and the Western Pacific and a key partner of the United States in ensuring peace and stability in that region. It is vital to the U.S. national interest to assist our ally in developing and maintaining a strong and ready self-defense capability, which will contribute to an acceptable military balance in the area. This proposed sale is consistent with those objectives. No foreign policy or military developments affect this proposed sale.

The sale of the AIM-9X Sidewinder missile system is being addressed in conjunction with the planned sale of additional F-15K fighter aircraft. AIM-9X procurement will significantly enhance the Korean Air Force's current air-to-air intercept capability to equal capabilities within their region of operations. Korea will have no difficulty absorbing these additional missiles into its armed forces.

The prime contractor will be Raytheon Electronic Systems Company of Tucson, Arizona.

Offset agreements associated with this proposed sale are expected, but at this time the specific offset agreements are undetermined and will be defined in negotiations between the purchaser and contractor.

There will be no adverse impact on U.S. defense readiness as a result of this proposed sale.

U.S. Army tests prototype .50-Cal. gun

The U.S. Army Soldier Weapons Center at Picatinny Arsenal, N.J., has ordered three prototypes of a first-of-its-kind lightweight .50-cal. machine gun that fires with less recoil force and can be carried more easily in rough terrain than the Army's current .50-caliber weapon.

Dubbed LW for lightweight and made by General Dynamics Armament and Technical Products (ATP), the 38-pound gun weighs less than half as much as the 82-pound M2 and incorporates a host of technologies designed to improve accuracy.

The gun uses impulse averaging, so it doesn't come to a hard stop. With an M2 today, user would have to take eye away from the sight because it would shake.

For several years now, the U.S Army has been working with industry in an effort to develop lightweight .50-caliber weapons. The LW .50-cal. is intended to be mounted quickly on light vehicles' Common Remote Weapons Station, a turret controlled remotely by soldiers with a joystick and video screen. The M2, a combat fixture for 70 years, will not be replaced.

The Army has ordered three prototypes from GD ATP for testing, which could lead to orders for thousands of the weapons.

The LW 50 has 250 pounds of recoil force, one-quarter that of the M2; has fixed head space and timing; and fires 200 to 300 rounds per minute up to 2,000 meters, Army and GD ATP officials said.The gun was recently test-fired by Special Operations Forces (SOCom).

In coming months, SOCom and Army evaluators will test the three prototype LW 50s at a GD ATP facility. The company will refine the design to incorporate lessons and customer input.Low-rate initial production is scheduled for 2011.

First Gripen Fighter For South Africa

On April 30th, the South African Air Force received and accepted its first new Gripen fighter aircraft opening a new chapter in the forces modernisation and transformation.

As part of its 1999 Strategic Defence Procurement, South Africa ordered 26 modern Gripen fighters for its front-line air defence and fighter requirement. The new multiple capability aircraft are replacing the SAAF's fleet of Cheetah aircraft. South Africa will receive 26 Gripen new generation fighters'9 dual-seat and 17 single-seat.

Delivery of the first Gripen follows an extensive two-year flight test programme in South Africa to integrate local avionics, defence and combat systems. Initial work was conducted in Sweden before migrating to a dedicated Gripen Flight Test Centre established at the SAAF's Test Flight Development Centre near Bredasdorp in the Southern Cape.

South Africa's first Gripen aircraft (SA01) first flew in November 2005 at Sweden. It was transferred to South Africa in July 2006 and engaged in a South Africa-specific flight test programme which was completed in January 2008. South Africa aircraft deliveries will continue progressively from now until 2012.

SAAB serves the global market with world-leading products, services and solutions ranging from military defence to civil security. Saab has operations and employees on all continents and constantly develops, adopts and improves new technology to meet customers' changing needs.

Gripen is the first of the new generation, multi-role combat aircraft to enter service. Using the latest available technology it is capable of performing an extensive range of air-to-air and air-to-surface operational missions and employing the latest weapons. Gripen is designed to meet the demands of current and future threats, while at the same time meeting strict requirements for flight safety, reliability, training efficiency and low operating costs.

Gripen is in service with the Swedish, Czech Republic and Hungarian Air Forces and has also been ordered by South Africa and Thailand. The UK Empire Test Pilots´ School (ETPS) is operating Gripen as its advanced fast jet training platform for test pilots worldwide.