Raytheon's Rolling Airframe Missile Completes Key Flight Tests

23 November 2009


RAM-Rolling Airframe Missile (photo : Strategy Page)

Raytheon Company's (NYSE: RTN) Rolling Airframe Missile Block 2 successfully completed three instrumented test vehicle flights between April and October designed to demonstrate the system's upgraded kinematic capabilities.

The tests focused on RAM's rocket motor, airframe, control section and autopilot software. Raytheon will build 35 Block p missiles during the design and development test period and expects a low rate initial production contract will follow.

The RAM Block 2 upgrade includes a four-axis independent control actuator system and an improved rocket motor with a 30 percent increase in propellant.

These and other upgrades increase the missile's effective range and deliver a significant improvement in maneuverability. The improved missile also incorporates an upgraded passive radio frequency seeker, a digital autopilot and engineering changes in selected infrared seeker components.

"Block 2 will allow RAM to control the battlespace against emerging and more maneuverable anti-ship cruise missile threats," said Frank Wyatt, Raytheon's vice president of Naval Weapon Systems. "This improved system is one of the most advanced kinematic missiles in the world and sets the standard for performance and control system technology."

RAM is a supersonic, lightweight, quick reaction, fire-and-forget missile providing defense against anti-ship cruise missiles, helicopter and airborne threats, and hostile surface craft. The missile's autonomous dual-mode, passive radio frequency and infrared guidance design provides a high-firepower capability for engaging multiple threats simultaneously. Produced in partnership by Raytheon and RAMSYS of Germany, RAM is aboard nearly 100 ships as an integral self-defense weapon for the navies of the United States, Germany, Greece, Korea, Egypt, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates.

(Raytheon)

See Also :

Why SeaRAM is Superior to Phalanx
12 April 2006

Raytheon's SeaRAM (photo : Raytheon)

The Phalanx anti-missile system is being replaced by SeaRAM. What's interesting about this is that SeaRAM is basically the Phalanx system, with the 20mm gun replaced with a box of eleven RAM (RIM-116 "Rolling Air Frame") missiles. The Phalanx was developed in the 1970s, and entered service in 1977.

RAM was developed in the 1980s, and didn't enter service until 1993. RAM has a longer range (7.5 kilometers) than the Phalanx (two kilometers) and was originally designed to be aimed using the ships fire control systems. Phalanx, on the other hand, has its own radar and fire control system and, once turned on, will automatically fire at any incoming missiles. This was necessary, as some anti-ship missiles travel at over a 500 meters a second. With SeaRAM, you've got a little more time, and can knock down the incoming missile farther from the ship.

This is important, because it was feared that a large, very fast anti-ship missile (which the Russians prefer, and sell to foreigners), even when shot up by Phalanx, might still end up having parts of it slam into the target ship. Since SeaRAM has eleven missiles ready to fire, it can also engage several targets at once, something the Phalanx could not do.

SeaRAM Control Station (photo : Rayheon)

The RAM missiles are 127mm in diameter, 9.3 feet long and weigh 162 pounds each. The terminal guidance system is heat seeking. Basically, it uses the rocket motor and warhead from the Sidewinder air-to-air missile, and the guidance system from the Stinger shoulder fired anti-aircraft missile. SeaRAM missiles cost about $450,000 each.

SeaRAM is meant to provide combat support ships that normally have no defenses, or at least no combat radars and fire control system. The new LCS will use the SeaRAM as well.

(Strategy Page)

AVIC Allow to Foreign Production of L-15s

21 November 2009

Avic' L-15 trainer aircraft (photo : Airliners)

Avic Open To Local Manufacturing Of L-15s

Avic Defense, adopting an increasingly Western approach to military aircraft sales, says it is willing to allow foreign production of its latest export product, the L-15 Falcon supersonic trainer.

The aircraft is likely to retain the key advantage of an aircraft from a developing country, however, since the manufacturer is also suggesting it will be cheaply priced.

The L-15 is joining a crowded market as one of four trainers with the high flight performance needed for direct pilot transition to the most advanced fighters. Other players in the field are the Korea Aerospace T-50, Yakovlev Yak-130 and Alenia M-346.

The M-346 is a derivative of the Yak-130, while the L-15 resembles the Russian aircraft and was developed with help from Yakovlev.

L-15 during flight demo (photo : Hongkongnet)

Avic Defense’s trainer business, Hongdu Aviation of Nanchang, has already had considerable success in allowing a customer to set up a separate production line. Its JL-8 (or K-8) subsonic jet trainer has been assembled in Egypt as part of an order for 120.

But the willingness of Avic Defense to allow foreign assembly of the L-15 is more surprising, since the company has not yet put the Falcon into large-scale production at home. Moreover, manufacturers in up-and-coming aircraft industries, far more than most Western competitors, are usually highly protective of their home production lines.

L-15 is a LIFT aircraft with max speed 1.4 mach (photo : Airliners)

“Because the L-15 has been developed and made in China, we are very competitive in price,” says Avic Defense President Wang Yawei, also asserting that the aircraft’s performance is at least comparable with that of its competitors.

Five L-15s have been built so far, Wang told Aviation Week during an interview in the company’s offices in central Beijing. One of the five is slated to be at the Dubai Airshow to perform the type’s first foreign flight demonstration. Despite skepticism in some aerospace companies about the value of air-show flight displays, Avic Defense feels they can bring great success after its experience with the Egyptian order.

JL-9/ FTC-2000 (photo : 0476net )

Export sales may be particularly crucial for the L-15, since it is not assured of large-scale domestic sales. The Chinese air force could instead buy the JL-9, a massively modified derivative of the MiG-21, as its supersonic trainer.
The JL-9, also called the FTC-2000, is a product of the Guizhou Aircraft subsidiary of Avic General Aircraft.

Aerodynamically, the L-15 features prominent leading-edge extensions that help it to emulate the extreme maneuverability of the latest fighters. The flight control system is digitally commanded.

As to the similarity to the Yak-130, “the development of the L-15 was primarily based on the results of domestic technology research,” says Wang.

“[But] in seeking to catch up with the mainstream development of such advanced trainers, we proceeded with international cooperation in certain areas, benefiting from our long-term relationships. We cooperated with international partners on aerodynamic design and testing.”

In the development of the latest-generation trainers, such cooperation has inevitably resulted in an interchange of ideas and the partners learning from each other, says Wang. “So the similar characteristics of these similar products simply reflect technological cooperation and the requirements of the market.”

J-10 (photo : Militaryphotos)

Avic Defense specializes in fighters, trainers, drones and missiles, although it also has considerable nonmilitary and even nonaeronautic activities. Its key factories are the combat aircraft plants at Chengdu and Shenyang, Hongdu Aircraft, the missile facilities at Luoyang and three maintenance businesses.
The J-10 is the latest fighter from Chengdu to enter service, although a successor is close to flight testing.

Despite reports of an imminent sale to Pakistan, Wang plays down the immediate potential of the J-10 (or Jian-10) as an export product, because Avic Defense is too busy filling domestic orders.

“The J-10 is one of the major fighter aircraft for the Chinese air force,” he stresses. “The main responsibility of our facilities is to operate at full load to provide this advanced military aviation equipment to the Chinese air force. Whether the J-10 will be offered in the international market will be decided in the future.”

China has agreed to sell 36 J-10s to Pakistan, the Financial Times and Pakistan’s Daily Times quote unnamed Pakistani officials as saying. Wang told Aviation Week he has not heard of such reports.

FC-1/JF-17 (photo : pakdef)

For the moment, the company is promoting export sales of its FC-1 Xiaolong (or JF-17 Thunder), which it says is of the same technology generation as the J-10. The FC-1 has been jointly developed with Pakistan.

Separately, details of Shenyang’s F-8T, the latest version of another Avic Defense product, have been revealed. The fighter, whose origins date back to the 1960s, now offers 15,400 lb. thrust, up 4% from the previously reported rating, and a multifunction X band pulse-Doppler radar with a detection range of 75 km. (40 nm.) for 3-sq.-meter targets.

A brochure shows the aircraft with Avic Defense’s advanced PL-12 air-to-air missile. Weight is 10.4 metric tons empty, 15.2 tons at normal takeoff and 20 tons maximum.

(Aviation Week)

LCU 1000 DWT TNI-AD Diluncurkan

21 November 2009

Maket LCU 1000DWT TNI-AD (photo : Dephan)

Peluncuran Kapal LCU 1000 DWT dengan menggunakan sistem AIRBAG

Jumat, tanggal 20 Nopember 2009 untuk pertamakalinya PT. DKB melaksanakan Peluncuran Kapal LCU 1000 DWT dengan menggunakan sistem AIRBAG di Galangan - IV. Kapal LCU 1000 DWT ini adalah satu dari dua kapal yang dipesan oleh PT. Purindo Adiyasa Perkasa dengan User TNI - ADyang diberi nama KM. ADRI XLVIII.

Hadir dalam acara tersebut petinggi dari TNI - AD antara lain ASLOG KASAD Bpk. Mayjen Hari Krisnomo, SIP,MSC, Dirstanlaik Dirjen Ranahan Bpk. Brigjen TNI Maman Sumantri, Dirbekangad Bpk. Brigjen Albert Hutabarat, Direktur Utama PT. Putrindo Bpk. Abel C. Arya, Direksi dan Komisaris PT. DKB.Adapun kapasitas dan daya.muat dari LCU 1000 DWT :

- Pasukan & Perlengkapan : 300 orang atau
- Kendaraan truck @ 5 ton : 22 unit atau
- Kendaraan tempur roda ban/ rantai : 13 Unit atau
- Bekal materil : 500 ton
- ABK : 38 orang
- Volume ruang palka : 1450 m3
- Kapasitas tangki bahan bakar : 250 ton
- Kapasitas tangki air tawar : 432 ton, bila memuat 300 personil

Memberikan sambutan dalam acara tersebut Direktur Utama PT. DKB bpk. Riry Syeried Jetta, Dirjen Ranahan Dep Pertahanan yang diwakili oleh Dirstanlaik Bpk. Brigjen TNI Maman Sumantri dan Direktur Utama PT. Putrindo,dalam sambutannya mengharapkan agar kapal LCU dapat segera diserahterimakan dan kerjasama dengan PT. DKB dapat terus ditingkatkan dan diharapkan Departemen Pertahanan secara berkesinambungan akan memberikan pesanan-pesanan berikutnya untuk memenuhi armada TNI AD.


Tepat pukul 09.00 WIB acara peluncuran kapal LCU - 1000 DWT dengan sistem AIRBAG dilaksanakan, dengan waktu ±15 menit Alhamdulillah kapal meluncur dengan mulus dan selamat, jkemudian dilanjutkan dengan penandatanganan Berita Acara Peluncuran dan Ramah Tamah. Selamat kepada seluruh pimpinan dan staf Galangan - IV, semoga dapat terus meningkatkan kinerjanya Amin.


(Dok Kodja Bahari)

Malaysia Orders Sealegs Amphibious Craft

21 November 2009

Unique boat: Commandos carrying out a mock sea rescue operation at the Putrajaya Maritime Centre yesterday. (photo : Bernama)

Sealegs International said yesterday it had received an order from the Malaysian Government for one of its 6.1m amphibious marine craft.

The order has been placed by Malaysia's Fire and Rescue Department for evaluation and testing.

The order follows one for six Sealegs 6.1m rigid inflatable boats by the Italian Fire Department this year for use in flood-prone areas.

(NZHerald)

See Also :

Ministry Sets Eyes on ‘Sealegs’

Sealegs also used by Malaysia's Bomba (photo : Sealegs)

PUTRAJAYA: Malaysia will be the first nation in the world to own the “Amphibious Sealegs” – a high-tech boat functional both in water and on land – if the purchase receives the green light from the Government.

Defence Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said its manufacturer wanted Malay-sia to be the first country to own the boat and to be the centre for its worldwide sales.

“The chief executive of Sealegs, New Zealander David McKee Wright, has Malaysia close at heart.

“His mother hails from Taiping, Perak, and the product is a sign of love and commitment towards his mother’s country.

“From my observation, the boat is suitable to be used not only by the navy’s elite squad but also by the other wings of the Armed Forces.

“I will ask for a special allocation to purchase the boat if the use of the ‘Amphibious Sealegs’ meet our needs, especially in helping to safeguard the sovereignty of our nation,” he said.

Speaking to reporters after witnessing a mock sea rescue operation at the Putrajaya Maritime centre yesterday, Ahmad Zahid said the “Amphibious Sealegs” would also be useful to other agencies, especially to carry out rescue and relief operations during floods.

The “Amphibious Sealegs” will be carrying out a four-day, 1,600km tour from Kelantan to Langkawi in conjunction with the Langkawi International Maritime and Aerospace (Lima) 2009.

Wright said it took his company five years to create the RM360,000 boat, which is 7.1m in length and can seat eight people, adding that Malaysia was the first country which was introduced to the vessel.

“The ‘Amphibious Sealegs’ was created because of my love for the maritime industry. Malaysia was chosen to be the first country in the world to own the boat because of my background.

“It is not only the birth country of my mother, but I too, was born here,” Wright said.

(The Star)

India's Astra BVRAAM Tests Boost Indigenous Capability

20 November 2009

An Astra BVRAAM (photo : acig)

With the Indian Air Force (IAF) conducting a captive flight trial of the indigenously developed Astra Beyond Visual Range Air-to-Air missile (BVRAAM), the Defence Research & Development Organisation’s (DRDO) ambition to indigenously develop missiles for India has got yet another boost. According to Akshay Kumar of the India-based online news service 8ak (http://www.8ak.in), project director of the Astra programme S. Gollakota has said that the IAF had made available the Russian manufactured Sukhoi Su-30MKI for the trials. It has also been reported that the missile had been subjected to pressures of 7Gs at supersonic speed during the test.

The fully developed Mark–II active, radar homing Astra will lock-on and shoot down enemy aircraft about 80 kilometres away. Currently under development is a 44 kilometre range Mark-I version. The Astra, with its design altitude of 15km, has the capability to evade radar.

The missile initially will be developed to arm the front line Su-30 fighter aircraft apart from the indigenously developed LCA – Tejas.

Over the years India has developed numerous new missiles to bolster its attack and retaliatory capabilities. Earlier this year, the 700 kilometre range nuclear-capable submarine- launched ballistic missile (SLBM) Sagarika was tested. Other indigenously built missiles to be tested by India this year are the 350 kilometre range Prithvi, 3,500 kilometre range Agni 3 and the jointly Russia-India developed supersonic missile BrahMos.

These missiles are being developed under the aggressive Integrated Guided Missiles Program (IGMP) launched in 1983 by India to develop futuristic missiles technology based on hypersonic rockets to provide a potent weapon to the armed forces in order to enhance national security.

If one studies the progress of IGMP, no one will have any doubts regarding the advancement India has made over the years in development of missiles technology. The program underlines India's capability to attain self-reliance and present a deterrent from a hostile attack. However, Pakistan claims that India is lagging behind them in missile technology.

(Defpro)

Inauguration of RSAF F-15SG Fighter Detachment in US

20 November 2009

F-15SG uses the latest technology : Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) Radar, Infra-Red Search and Track (IRST) System, Joint Helmet-Mounted Cueing System (JHMCS), and Link-16 Fighter Data Link (photo : Mountainhome)

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Defence Teo Chee Hean officiated at the inauguration ceremony of the Republic of Singapore Air Force's (RSAF) Peace Carvin (PC) V F-15SG fighter detachment at the Mountain Home Air Force Base (MHAFB), USA, today (Singapore time). The inauguration marked a milestone in the RSAF's development of its advanced fighter capabilities to deliver more effective air power for the 3rd Generation SAF.

The PC V detachment was established in October 2008 as part of the US Air Force's (USAF's) 428th Fighter Squadron, and will operate up to 12 F-15SG fighter aircraft at the MHAFB for the next 25 years. The detachment of about 250 RSAF personnel comprises pilots, Weapons System Officers (Fighter) and ground crew. They will undergo air-to-air and air-to-ground training and development programmes to operationalise the F-15SG fighter aircraft, and set up a core group of fully qualified F-15SG air and ground crew. They will also participate in USAF exercises to hone their professional skills and enhance their combat readiness.

At the inauguration ceremony, Mr Teo said that the RSAF detachments in the US "have provided realistic, rigorous and demanding training for our airmen to build up their combat readiness. They have also seen countless friendships forged between the airmen and crews of our two Air Forces. They are a reflection of the longstanding defence relationship between Singapore and the United States."

Besides the PC V detachment, the RSAF has another ongoing F-16C/D fighter detachment (PC II) at the Luke Air Force Base, Arizona, which was established in 1992 under the PC Programme. In addition, the RSAF has two other training detachments in the US: Peace Prairie CH-47 Chinook helicopter detachment in Grand Prairie, Texas, and Peace Vanguard AH-64D Apache helicopter detachment in Marana, Arizona.

(Mindef)

China Copies C-17 and C-130J

20 November 2009

Shaanxi Y-9 (photo : Chinese Military Aviation)

China has announced that it will soon show off a domestically designed heavy (weighing more than 200 tons) military transport. Pictures of the new Chinese transport indicate a design similar to the Russian Il-76 (which the Chinese have been using for a long time.) China also has another 30 Il-76s on order, but has been unhappy with the costs. Doing a knock off of the Il-76 would not be unusual, as China has been copying Russian aircraft designs for decades. The Chinese aircraft would probably aspire to the more recent U.S. C-17, especially in terms of electronics and fuel efficiency.

Earlier this year, China revealed that it had revived its effort to build a C-130J class transport. The Chinese Y-9 is a 77 ton Chinese designed aircraft that is back in development, after having been dormant for some time. Powered by four turboprops, it can carry 25 tons (or nine 108x88 inch pallets, or 132 paratroopers.) It will have a crew of four, a cruise speed of 650 kilometers an hour, and has a max ferry range of 7,800 kilometers. The initial Y-9 design effort began in 2001, but the manufacturer ran into personnel and quality control problems, and put the effort on hold after a few years.

Three view of Chinese Y-9 (image : topgunchen)

The Y-9 is basically a stretched version of the 61 ton Y-8F-200, which is, in turn, a Chinese copy, and upgrade, of the Russian An-12. Like the U.S. C-130, the An-12 was developed in the 1950s, and is still used by civilian cargo haulers all over the world. Some 1,200 An-12s were built (between 1957-73), compared to about a hundred 100 Y-8s (which began production in 1981). Nearly 2,300 C-130s have been built so far.

China wants to reduce its dependence on Russia for transport aircraft, and has noted the success of the latest version of the C-130, the C-130J (a 79 ton aircraft with a crew of three, that can carry 33 tons of cargo, 8 pallets or 92 paratroopers.) The C-130J has a cruise speed of 644 kilometers an hour and max ferry range of 7,400 kilometers.

(Strategy Page)