Lockheed Martin to build next-generation GPS system

The U.S. Air Force has announced that a team led by Lockheed Martin has won the competition to build the next-generation Global Positioning System (GPS) Space System program, known as GPS III.

Under the $1.4 billion Development and Production contract awarded by Secretary of the Air Force Michael Wynne and the Global Positioning Systems Wing, Space and Missile Systems Center, Los Angeles Air Force Base, Calif., the team of Lockheed Martin Space Systems Company, ITT Corporation, and General Dynamics, will produce eight GPS IIIA satellites, with first launch projected for 2014. The development contract will result in approximately 500 new jobs for Lockheed Martin.

Eight GPS IIIB and 16 GPS IIIC satellites are planned for later increments, with each increment including additional capabilities based on technical maturity. When fully deployed, the GPS III constellation will feature a cross-linked command and control architecture, allowing the entire GPS constellation to be updated simultaneously from a single ground station. Additionally, a new spot beam capability for enhanced military (M-Code) coverage and increased resistance to hostile jamming will be incorporated. These enhancements will contribute to improved accuracy and assured availability for military and civilian users worldwide.

ITT will provide the navigation payload, and General Dynamics Advanced Information Systems will provide the Network Communications Element (NCE) which includes the UHF Crosslink and Tracking Telemetry & Command (TT&C) subsystems.

Source: Lockheed Martin

Warfighter Information Network-Tactical (WIN-T)

The U.S. Army has approved the final design of Increments 1 and 2 of the Warfighter Information Network-Tactical (WIN-T) program, authorizing General Dynamics C4 Systems and partner Lockheed Martin to prepare for field testing in October 2008. Testing will be followed by deployment of the WIN-T on-the-move communications capabilities in 2009. WIN-T will be the Army’s primary battlefield communications network.

The approval follows successful critical design reviews (CDR) conducted in January and February. During the CDRs, the Army assessed the systems’ final designs to validate that baseline requirements would be met.

A key success factor in these CDRs was the detailed plan to enable mobile battle command down to the company level. In particular, WIN-T Increment 2 will provide tactical communication nodes, mobile “points of presence,” vehicle wireless packages and soldier network extensions to enable mobile battle command in a completely ad-hoc, self-forming, self-healing network. These warfighter-mobility features will support a commander’s ability to exercise command-and-control and synchronize warfighting functions from anywhere on the battlefield.

“These successful CDRs further demonstrate that the WIN-T program is on track for initial fielding in 2009 and confirms that the Army’s incremental delivery strategy will put broadband, on-the-move communications capabilities in soldiers’ hands as soon as possible,” said Bill Weiss, vice president of Tactical Networks for General Dynamics C4 Systems.

Prime contractor General Dynamics and partner Lockheed Martin lead a team of communications, network systems and platform integration experts that includes BAE Systems, Harris Corporation and L-3 Communications.

Source: General Dynamics

Lockheed moves JLTV forward with EMI testing

Lockheed Martin has completed initial electromagnetic interference (EMI) testing of the next-generation vehicle it is building for the U.S. Army’s Joint Light Tactical Vehicle (JLTV) competition. The tests are helping team engineers reduce risk and ensure JLTV program success by advancing the team’s vehicle design in the early stages of development.

EMI testing was performed on the JLTV Team’s Combat Tactical Vehicle Payload Category B infantry carrier inside an anechoic chamber at Lockheed Martin Systems Integration in Owego NY. Insulated from outside radio signal interference, the chamber enables test engineers to precisely measure the emission levels radiating from specific equipment. Systems tested included radio antennas, displays, engine and transmission controllers and electrical components. Additional tests conducted on an outdoor range characterized the interactions of the vehicle’s antennas, which will determine the optimum design of the communications suite.

The tests were performed by Lockheed Martin’s Owego-based EMI Laboratory team, which recently gained accreditation from the National Voluntary Laboratory Accreditation Program (NVLAP). Run by the U.S. Department of Commerce’s National Institute of Standards and Technology, the NVALP verifies that testing and calibration laboratories meet national and international quality and procedural requirements.

This summer, the U.S. Army and U.S. Marine Corps are expected to award 27-month technology development contracts to at least two industry teams. Prototype JLTV vehicles developed for the demonstration will undergo a host of trials to military standards, including EMI testing. The services could order as many as 50,000 vehicles for operation beginning in the mid 2010s.

In addition to its infantry carrier, Lockheed Martin also has built a second JLTV prototype — the Utility Vehicle Light Payload Category C — designed to carry personnel, general cargo and ammunition. The Category B vehicle already has undergone more than 5,000 miles of on and off-road testing, and both vehicles will complete 25,000 test miles by the end of this year.

As a lightweight tactical vehicle, the JLTV program will provide the services with a family of expeditionary vehicles capable of on and off-road mobility, protection from roadside bombs and the ability to haul a variety of useful payloads. As a system, the sensors and communications suite aboard the JLTV will tap into the military’s global communications network, enabling forces to coordinate operations by sharing up-to-the-minute battlefield information.

The Lockheed Martin-led JLTV Team includes Lockheed Martin as the prime contractor and design agent, providing systems engineering, platform integration, design expertise and program management. BAE Systems Mobility & Protection Systems provides advanced armor solutions and production facilities for high volume assembly. Alcoa Defense supplies materials knowledge, design services and aluminum components that give the vehicle its structural strength at reduced weight.

Source: Lockheed Martin

Catching up ...

Here is some extra reading of interest.

DARPA asks for aircraft that can stay aloft to five years and Aurora gets the contract.

Aviation Week has news videos including one on Lockheed's JLTV.

Russia scraps Libya's debts as Putin visits Tripoli.

Iran shows off its military might.

Canadians to get combat badge and multiple tours recognition.

French receive first Pétits Véhicule Protégé (in French).

Sources: As cited
Photo: French Army

The economics of counter-IED

Over the next 10 years, an estimated $23 billion will be spent on the development and production of major EW programs, according to Forecast International's “The Market for Electronic Warfare Systems.” Some 35,814 units of leading electronic countermeasures (ECM), radar warning receivers (RWRs), electronic support measures (ESM), and other EW systems that make up this analysis are expected to be produced through 2017.

“The need to counter IEDs has led to a sharp demand for systems and research designed specifically for that task,” said Andrew Dardine, Forecast International Senior Aerospace & Defense Analyst and author of the analysis. “The threat from these devices has only grown more in size and sophistication over the past few years. As a result, major contracts have been awarded to move the effort forward."

The market leaders in this analysis are Northrop Grumman, BAE Systems, Raytheon, ITT, and Lockheed Martin. The French defense firm Thales and Israel’s Elta Systems are also making increasingly strong showings in the areas of ESM and ECM systems for a variety of international applications.

While little has changed in recent years in terms of the apparent reluctance of any government agency to fund this extremely expensive work, EW manufacturers are jockeying for position in the market of missile protection for civilian airliners. The need to protect civilian airliners and other non-military aircraft has led many companies to invest large sums of money into adapting their military infrared (IR) countermeasures systems to new uses. The scope of this effort is truly international, with companies such as Saab, EADS, and Israel’s Rafael taking a strong lead, as well as BAE systems and Northrop Grumman.

While the prospect of equipping civilian aircraft is far from certain, the military demand for this technology is more assured. Northrop Grumman’s Large Aircraft IR Countermeasures (LAIRCM) system is expected to be installed on a growing number of NATO and U.S. aircraft. The FY08/09 U.S. defense budget features one of the biggest allotments for LAIRCM development and procurement in the system's history. The Pentagon plans to spend well over $1 billion through FY13 on procurement of the systems for these aircraft, declaring that its long-range desire is to equip a total of 444 aircraft.

Among military planners, the need to adapt and adopt airborne electronic attack (AEA) systems will also be a major market driver. Low-rate initial production of the U.S. Navy’s all-important EA-18G Growler AEA platform is to run through 2009-2012. Meanwhile, upgraded EA-6B Prowlers are deploying as fast as they can be completed. Desperately needing to disrupt and disable enemy communications on a moment’s notice, the U.S. Marine Corp has already taken an early lead in the program, procuring its own fleet of upgraded aircraft.

In terms of funding, based on a projection of the current U.S. defense budget, the Navy will likely spend more than $2.3 billion over the next 10 years on R&D for EW technology. Likewise, the Air Force can be expected to commit some $673.6 million for its own EW needs – a number that may change dramatically with the prospect of a possibly renewed B-52 Airborne Electronic Attack program.

Source: Forecast International Press Release

JLTV update

An RFP has been issued for the Joint Light Tactical Vehicle (JLTV).

"JLTV will replace all the HMMWVs for the Marine Corps and will be the centerpiece of the light tactical wheeled vehicle fleet as part of the tactical mobility triad to maintain our expeditionary capability," Lt. Col. Ben Garza, JLTV program manager for the Marine Corps at Quantico, Va., said.

Like the High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicles the Joint Light Tactical Vehicle will stress a commonality of capabilities and components. There are expected to be 10 sub-configurations in three different payload categories.

Sources: Various

Canadian airlift contract awarded - finally

Lockheed Martin has signed a contract with the Government of Canada valued at $1.4 billion for the purchase of 17 C-130J Super

"The airlift requirements of the Canadian Forces is a top priority," said the Honourable Peter Gordon MacKay, Minister of National Defence. "We are confident that the C-130J will provide Canada with a cost-effective, operations-proven tactical airlift capability."

"We are continuing to make sure Canada's aerospace and defence industries obtain maximum benefit so they can build and sustain capacity to support these aircraft over the long-term," Mr. Fortier (Minister of Public Works and Government Services Canada) said. "Under the in-service support portion, the contractor will be required to spend in Canada 75 per cent of the total cost in direct industrial regional benefits - well above the 60-per-cent ratio negotiated by the previous government for purchases of this magnitude."

Source: Press releases
Photo: Lockheed Martin

Joint Light Tactical Vehicle (JLTV) Update

For over twenty years the High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle, HMMWV or "humvee", has been quite the success story. Thousands have been produced for the U.S. Armed Forces. More than a dozen variants were created from an ambulance to a TOW missile carrier. It even spawned the civilian Hummer.

The days of the HMMWV are, however, numbered. Like it's predecessor the Jeep, the HMMWV was designed for use behind the front lines. Times and the battlefront have changed. These vehicles were finding themselves confronted by heavy small arms fire, rocket propelled grenades (RPGs), IEDs and other threats they were never designed to face

In response the Joint Light Tactical Vehicle (JLTV) program was launched. JLTV program is looking to procure an acceptable next-generation vehicle probably about half the size and price of an MRAP. Speed and mobility will be demanded in five variants: Reconnaissance; Utility; Combat/Tactical and C2. This means billions of dollars and this story will really begin to heat up with an expected RFP in February.

The most recent news on this front is an announced new partnership. Northrop Grumman has joined with Oshkosh Trucks to compete with Boeing/Textron, General Dynamics/Force Protection and Lockheed Martin/Armor Holdings (now part of BAE). Stay tuned.

Sources: Various