Russian Navy May Receive Next-Gen Corvette
With Kalibr Missiles Before 2018
20:01 29.07.2017(updated 01:24 30.07.2017)
The Russian Defense Ministry may receive new
next-generation Project 22800 'Uragan' corvette armed with Kalibr cruise
missiles before 2018, Deputy Defense Minister Yury Borisov said Saturday.
ST. PETERSBURG (Sputnik) — The first two Project 22800
corvettes, dubbed the Uragan and the Taifun, were laid down on
December 24. The warships will have a displacement of 800 metric tons and
a maximum speed of over 30 knots.
"Tests of Uragan should be carried
out in the next six months, it is practically equipped with all
devices. After floating, the mooring trials, adjustment, alignment of all
the main units will begin and I think it is quite possible to transfer the
ship to the Navy before year-end, we will hope," Borisov said.
He noted that the Uragan has solid weapons.......Read rest of article: HERE
Russia celebrates the Navy Day every last
Sunday of July, including July 30, 2017.
MOSCOW (Sputnik) – The country's Navy has been evolving
since the late 17th century. Then Russia needed a regular navy because it had
to overcome territorial, political and cultural isolation, which had been one
of the main obstacles to its socioeconomic development in the late 17th and
early 18th centuries.
The Azov Fleet comprising warships and other vessels
built in the winter of 1695-1696 became the first regular task force of the
Russian Navy that helped the Russian Army seize then Turkish fortress of Azov........Read rest of article: HERE
The main tank VT4 has a combat mass of up to 52 tons.
Used 1300-horsepower engine provides maximum speed on the highway to 67 km / h.
The capacity of fuel tanks is sufficient for a 500 km long march. Specific
power of about 25 hp. Per ton allows the VT4 tank to have mobility at the level
of the best modern samples of foreign production.
In the tower of the VT4 tank, a 125-mm smoothbore gun is
installed, which is a Chinese version of the development of the Soviet /
Russian gun 2A46. Such weapons allow the tank to use ammunition of several
types and for different purposes. In addition, the tank is equipped with a set
of guided weapons, allowing the use of guided missiles with a range of up to 5
km. The gun is connected with the automatic loading device, accelerating the
process of preparation for the shot. The use of such automation allows you to
save the crew of three people. The general ammunition of the tank is 38 shots.
22 shots are placed in the cells of the automatic loader, the rest - in the
stowage of the fighting compartment.
Auxiliary armament of the VT4 tank is standard for
Chinese armored vehicles of this class. In the tower, a 7.62 mm machine gun
coupled with a cannon is installed, and the tower has a remotely controlled
combat module.
WASHINGTON, July 28 (Reuters) - Lockheed Martin Corp was
awarded a $3.7 billion interim payment for a batch of 50 F-35 fighter jets
earmarked for non-U.S. customers, the Pentagon said on Friday.
The contract provides funds for the procurement of 50
aircraft, comprised of one F-35B aircraft for Great Britain, one F-35A for
Italy, eight F-35A aircraft for Australia, eight F-35A for the Netherlands,
four F-35A for Turkey, six F-35A for Norway, and 22 F-35A aircraft for other
foreign military sales customers, the Pentagon said in a statement.
(Reporting by Eric Beech; Editing by David Gregorio)
20 JULY, 2017 SOURCE: FLIGHTGLOBAL.COM BY:
DOMINIC PERRY LONDON
Saudi Arabia is considering acquiring the
Textron AirLand Scorpion light attack aircraft, with initial discussions under
way.
Scott Donnelly, chief executive of parent company
Textron, says Riyadh is one of a number of customers it is in talks with over
the developmental aircraft.
The recent arms deal between the USA and Saudi Arabia
includes $2 billion for “light close air support” aircraft. However, no details
on the type or delivery dates have been disclosed.
Cautioning that its talks with Riyadh are at an
"early" stage, Donnelly, speaking on a second-quarter results call,
added: "There are certainly a number of things that we are looking at, but
we think that now the performance envelope, the capability of what Scorpion can
do makes it a very viable product for their requirements. But it’s still in its
formative stages, I would say."
Scorpion, along with the Beechcraft AT-6 and Embraer/Sierra
Nevada A-29, will participate in a test campaign for the US Air Force in August
as the service evaluates the potential purchase of a light attack aircraft
under its OA-X initiative.
Although there is no programme of record for the
requirement, Donnelly believes there is sufficient support from senior USAF
leaders to merit the experimentation phase.
"I think the air force is being pragmatic about the
fact that they need to execute the experimentation programme, understand what
the capability is of the platforms that they are looking at and then take their
next step, whatever that might be."
Textron displayed a prototype of the Scorpion, powered by
twin Honeywell TFE731 engines, at the recent Paris air show and Royal
International Air Tattoo in the UK.
Donnelly says talks with prospective customers continue,
but acknowledges that some will be waiting for the outcome of the OA-X effort.
$86.5 million contract marks first order of
tactical missiles
ORLANDO, Fla., July 26, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Lockheed
Martin (NYSE: LMT) received an $86.5 million contract from the U.S. Navy and
Air Force for Long Range Anti-Ship Missile (LRASM) production.
The contract marks the first production award for the
air-launched variant of LRASM, and includes 23 missiles and engineering
support. Low-rate initial production Lot 1 is the first of several expected
annual production lots that will deliver next-generation anti-ship missiles to
the U.S. Navy and U.S. Air Force.
"This first production lot of LRASM brings a new
level of capability to both the U.S. Air Force and the Navy," said Mike
Fleming, LRASM director at Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control.
"LRASM enables our warfighters to prosecute even the most advanced enemy
ships."
LRASM is designed to detect and destroy specific targets
within groups of ships by employing advanced technologies that reduce
dependence on intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance platforms, network
links and GPS navigation in electronic warfare environments. LRASM will play a
significant role in ensuring military access to operate in open ocean/blue
waters, owing to its enhanced ability to discriminate and conduct tactical
engagements from extended ranges.
LRASM is a precision-guided, anti-ship standoff missile
based on the successful Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile - Extended Range
(JASSM-ER). It is designed to meet the needs of U.S. Navy and U.S. Air Force
Warfighters in contested environments. The air-launched variant provides an
early operational capability for the U.S. Navy's offensive anti-surface warfare
Increment I requirement to be integrated onboard the U.S. Air Force's B-1B in
2018 and on the U.S. Navy's F/A-18E/F Super Hornet in 2019.
About Lockheed Martin
Headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland, Lockheed Martin is a
global security and aerospace company that employs approximately 97,000 people
worldwide and is principally engaged in the research, design, development,
manufacture, integration and sustainment of advanced technology systems,
products and services.
After the Cold War ended, the U.S. Navy dropped the ball
with respect to anti-ship weaponry as the prospect of a major sea battle faded
from view.
China took a different tack by spending big on naval
modernization with new ships and submarines and an increasingly sophisticated
array of anti-ship ballistic and cruise missiles or “carrier killers” fired
from land, sea and undersea. China’s road-mobile DF-21D missile, for instance,
can target military vessels about 810 nm (1,500 km) off the coast and its YJ-18
subsonic cruise missile fielded in 2015 can reach out 290 nm, creating a threat
ring of approximately 264,200 nm2. Meanwhile, the U.S.
continues to rely on the sea-skimming Boeing Harpoon Block 1C missile introduced in
the mid-1980s, with an unclassified range of 67 nm.
Seeing the Navy increasingly forced into a defensive
crouch and responding to the White House’s “Pacific Pivot,” DARPA and the
Office of Naval Research began tinkering with the AGM-158C Long-Range Anti-Ship
Missile (LRASM), derived from Lockheed Martin’s extended-range Joint
Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile, which boasts a range or more than 500 nm.
Sharing 88% common components including the airframe, engine, anti-jam GPS
receiver and 1,000-lb. penetrating warhead, the weapon has been upgraded with a
multi-mode seeker designed by BAE Systems for semi-autonomous strikes
against specific naval vessels, even when mixed among noncombatants.
The program was launched in 2009 and achieved its first
successful strike against a maritime target on Aug. 27, 2013, fired from the
B-1B bomber. The weapon’s design has been validated two other times in flight
testing in 2013 and 2015 and was adopted by the Navy in 2014 to meet an urgent
requirement for an air-launched anti-ship weapon, a requirement called
Offensive Anti-Surface Warfare (OASuW) Increment 1. Moving at roughly twice the
speed of a normal acquisition program, LRASM received clearance from the
Pentagon to enter low-rate initial production in late 2016 to support fielding
on the Air Force B-1B next year and the Navy F/A-18E/F Super Hornet in 2019. Built in Troy,
Alabama, Lockheed will turn out 110 missiles to meet the immediate need and
then compete for the follow-on requirement known as OASuW Increment 2. It is
also pitching surface-launched versions fired from the Mark 41 vertical launch
tube and a customized deck-mounted launcher for the Littoral Combat Ship.
Source: aviationweek.com
LRASM Surface Launch flight test from the USN
Self Defense Test Ship
On July 21, 2016, the third successful surface-launched
LRASM test was conducted from the USN SDTS at Pt. Mugu Sea Range, CA. This test
proved the missile’s ability to load mission data using the modified Tactical
Tomahawk Weapon Control System (TTWCS+), and align mission data with the moving
ship and launch from the MK 41 Vertical Launch System (VLS). During the test,
LRASM exited the VLS launcher, cleanly separated from its Mk-114 booster and
transitioned to the cruise phase. The missile successfully flew a pre-planned
low-altitude profile collecting aerodynamics agility data while enroute to its
pre-determined endpoint. Source: lockheedmartin.com
