Emerging Defense Technologies

November 2009

Emerging Defense Technologies

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November 2009

Synopsis of global emerging defense technologies for the ground warrior

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Emerging Defense Technologies

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Emerging Defense Technologies

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November 2009

November 2009

What’s Inside

Synopsis of global emerging defense technologies for the ground warrior

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Emerging Defense Technologies

Emerging Defense Technologies is published monthly by Defense House Publishing, P.O. Box 236, Forest Hill, Maryland, 21050, USA. Copyright © 2009. All rights reserved. No portion of this publication may be reproduced, duplicated or re-transmitted without the expressed written permission of the publisher.

The Technology Briefs section of Emerging Defense Technologies is a single reference point for currently developing or developed patented scientific and engineering data of military projects or projects that have potential military application. The full reports, including all technical drawings are available separately. All reports are in the language of the country of origin with the language noted by each report.

The Technology Briefs’ documents are compiled by Defense House Publishing. For information on purchasing individual documents, a complete single issue or an annual subscription, contact Defense House Publishing.

November 2009 Defense House Publishing P.O. Box 236 Forest Hill, Maryland 21050 USA

Tactical Wheeled Vehicle Unified Acquisition Strategy

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USMC Expeditionary Fighting Vehicle

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Rapid MRAP Acquisition

By Andrew Feickert

By Michael J. Sullivan

14 US Army Mine Clearance Projects 16 DoD FY2010 Budget

By Matthew S. Goldberg

18 On Target—News Briefs 26 Calendar of Events 27 Technology Briefs

Ammunition & Munitions Artillery Communtions, Suvreillance & Sensors Ground Vehicles Infantry Weapons

Jeff McKaughan jeffm@defense-house.com 443-243-1710

Emerging Defense Technologies

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November 2009

Tactical Wheeled Vehicle Unified Acquisition Strategy

Ground-based military operations generally make use of two broad categories of vehicles: combat vehicles designed for a specific fighting function and tactical vehicles designed primarily for use by forces in the field in connection with or in support of tactical operations.

Combat vehicles generally move on tracks versus wheels and include the Abrams tank, Bradley Fighting vehicle, and the Paladin self-propelled howitzer. Tactical vehicles generally move on wheels and include the High Mobility Multi-purpose Wheeled Vehicle (HMMWV), the mine resistant ambush protected (MRAP) vehicle, and families of trucks and trailers. For fiscal years 2009 and 2010, the Department of Defense (DoD) has requested an estimated $16 billion for the procurement of those tactical wheeled vehicles described in this report, including an estimated $6 billion for MRAP variants.

In June 2007, the Subcommittee on Seapower and Expeditionary Forces, House Committee on Armed Services requested that the Government Accountability Office (GAO) assess:

March 2008, and summarized the results of the MRAP work in a July 2008 report.

Shortly thereafter, and on the basis of additional discussions with the subcommittee staffs, the GAO resumed the work related to their overall assessment of tactical wheeled vehicles and provided an interim briefing on the results of the Office’s work on April 30, 2009. For this assessment of the current status of selected tactical wheeled vehicle systems, the GAO included the following systems: • MRAP • MRAP-All Terrain Vehicle (M-ATV) variant • HMMWV Expanded Capability Vehicle (ECV) variant • HMMWV ECV2 variant • Joint Light Tactical Vehicle (JLTV) • Armored Security Vehicle (ASV) • Family of Medium Tactical Vehicles (FMTV)

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• Heavy Expanded Mobility Tactical Truck (HEMTT)

The GAO has updated their interim briefing to include fiscal year 2009 supplemental and fiscal year 2010 base year tactical wheeled vehicle procurement budget data and summarized recent decisions related to selected tactical wheeled vehicle programs.

Summary

During the GAO’s April 30, 2009, interim briefing and their August 13, 2009 updated briefing, they made the following major points: • DoD does not have a unified TWV strategy that considers timing, affordability, and sustainability. The advent of improvised explosive devices/roadside bombs has had a significant effect on designing for surviv-

• the extent to which DoD had developed an overall tactical wheeled vehicle (TWV) investment strategy that considers timing, affordability, and sustainability • the extent that the programs in the strategy fill identified gaps or provide duplicative capabilities • the current status of selected tactical wheeled vehicle systems that are a part of this strategy • whether DoD is pursuing a knowledgebased acquisition approach as a part of this strategy.

On the basis of discussions with the subcommittee staff, the GAO initially focused on gathering and analyzing data related to the MRAP program. We provided the members of the subcommittee staffs with a series of briefings between September 2007 and

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Emerging Defense Technologies

4 ability and the services are incrementally adapting their TWV capabilities in light of technology and funding limits. One unified strategy would help to coordinate efforts.

• While they did not identify any unfilled program gaps, the introduction of MRAP, M-ATV and eventually the JLTV creates a potential risk of unplanned overlap in capabilities; a risk that needs to be managed.

A critical contribution to the management of the risk will likely be the JLTV analysis of alternatives. The purpose of the analysis is to assess alternatives for capitalizing the fleets of light tactical vehicles operated by the services. The Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology, and Logistics provided guidance for the analysis in January 2009. The guidance stated that the analysis will compare the performance of JLTV alternatives against each of the legacy light tactical vehicles, including the HMMWV, up-armored HMMWV, ECV2 and MRAP. • Many TWV systems are in production and have remained stable. JLTV is early in its development and will require close oversight to ensure requirements, technologies, and resources are well understood before making significant commitments of time and money. MRAP and M-ATV are being procured exclusively with supplemental funding. Over 16,000 MRAPs were procured in fiscal years 2007 and 2008 for an estimated $20.9 billion. In addition, at least 5,244 M-ATVs will be procured in fiscal years 2009 and 2010 for an estimated $6 billion. The Army and Marine Corps spend billions annually on TWV procurement; the Air Force, Navy, and Special Operations Command spend considerably less.

• Generally, the acquisition programs we reviewed are effectively using knowledge-based acquisition practices.

Conclusions

While DoD does not have a comprehensive TWV investment strategy, the individual services—particularly the Army and Marine Corps—have multiple studies under way which address

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different aspects of TWV strategic planning.

The Army and Marine Corps have also collaborated on joint studies of TWV issues.

A unified, comprehensive, long-term TWV strategy would be beneficial to DOD and the services in minimizing the potential for unplanned overlap or duplication as they: • define the specific roles and capabilities of similar vehicles • adapt their TWV capabilities to current and anticipated threats • address long-term TWV sustainability issues • determine how best to take advantage of MRAP capabilities for the long term

The strategy should balance protection, payload, and performance needs with available resources, especially for light tactical vehicles.

Recommendations for Executive Action

To improve DOD’s ability to plan for and manage the development, production, and sustainment of TWV across the department, the GAO recommend that the Secretary of Defense develop a comprehensive and unified strategy and implementation plan for making sound investment decisions for tactical wheeled vehicles that:

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• assess and prioritize the capabilities and requirements of similar vehicles needed in the near and long term • estimate the funding, time, and technologies that will be required to acquire, improve, and sustain these systems • balance protection, payload, and performance needs with available resources, especially for light tactical vehicles • identify contingencies in case there are development problems, delays with key systems, or funding constraints DoD Response

In commenting on a draft of this report, DoD concurred with the GAO assessment and recommendations. The department agreed that a unified, comprehensive tactical wheeled vehicle strategy would be beneficial and outlined a plan to unite several ongoing studies into a comprehensive strategy that dovetails with the services’ strategies for equipping their forces.

In implementing the strategy, DoD will endeavor to align requirements, resources, and acquisition strategies into a unified plan to guide investment decisions.

The GAO believes that the various ongoing studies should provide valuable insight for DoD in developing a unified strategy, which will assist the department and the services in balancing their near- and long-term needs and resources.

This document was precented to: The Honorable Neil Abercrombie, Chairman; The Honorable Roscoe Bartlett Ranking Member Subcommittee on Air and Land Forces Committee on Armed Services House of Representatives; The Honorable Gene Taylor Chairman; and The Honorable Todd Akin Ranking Member Subcommittee on Seapower and Expeditionary Forces Committee on Armed Services House of Representatives. The original title was: Defense Acquisitions: Department of Defense Needs a Unified Strategy for Balancing Investments in Tactical Wheeled Vehicles.

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November 2009

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USMC Expeditionary Fighting Vehicle

By Andrew Feickert

The Marine Corps is responsible for the conduct of amphibious operations in support of the full spectrum of U.S. national security objectives. If the Marines need armored fighting vehicles in the early stages of an amphibious landing, these vehicles must either be transported by landing craft with limited protection against enemy fire, or the armored vehicle must come ashore under its own power.

Like current AAVs, the EFV is designed to roll off a Navy amphibious assault ship, move under its own power to the beach, and cross the beach and operate inland. The EFV is to be designed to be able to be launched 25 miles off shore (the AAV can be launched only two miles from shore) permitting the fleet to operate “over the horizon,” where it theoretically would be less vulnerable to enemy fire. Some suggest that the 25-mile over the horizon operating capability may no longer provide the protection to the fleet that it once did, noting that the Hezbollah C-802 cruise missile, which successfully struck an Israeli ship in 2006, has a maximum range of 75 miles. Concerns also have been raised that, when ashore, the flat-bottomed

EFV may be excessively vulnerable to improvised explosive devices (IEDs).

The EFV Program

The EFV is an armored, fully-tracked

infantry combat vehicle operated by a three-person crew that can carry 17 combatequipped Marines. It is to be a self-deploying, high-speed amphibious vehicle that will be able transport Marines from ships to objectives inland and will have the speed, maneuvering capabilities, fire power, and protection to operate with main battle tanks on land. It is intended to have a 20-knot speed in the water and a 345-mile range ashore with a 45-kilometer-per-hour speed on hardsurfaced roads.

The EFV is to be designed to have modular armor and expanded mine blast protection and mount a 30mm high-velocity cannon in a stabilized turret. The EFV is also supposed to be able to communicate in joint networks and operate as part of a joint land force. There are to be two EFV variants. The EVF-P1 will carry a Marine rifle squad and its equipment and provide direct fire support during combat operations.

The EFV-C1 variant provides command and control capabilities for commanders and their staffs.

Program Structure

The EFV is described as the Marines’ number one priority ground weapon system acquisition program and is the only Acquisition Category (ACAT) 1D program managed by the Marine Corps.

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The 12th Edition of the Defense Acquisition University Glossary, July 2005, defines an ACAT 1D program as a Major Defense Acquisition Program (MDAP), which is estimated by the Under Secretary of Defense (Acquisition, Technology, and Logistics) (USD[AT&L]) to require the eventual expenditure for Research, Development, Test, and Evaluation (RDT&E) of more than $365 million (FY2000 constant dollars) or the procurement of more than $2.19 billion (FY2000 constant dollars).

The Marine Corps EFV Program Office is collocated with the EFV’s prime contractor— General Dynamics—in Woodbridge, Virginia, and the Marines claim that collocation—the first of its kind for a major weapon system— has greatly reduced government contractor design costs and streamlined the program decision-making process.

Program History

In 1988, acquisition and program decision memorandums were signed by defense officials to initiate the Concept Exploration/ Definition Phase (CE/D) of what was then known as the Advanced Amphibious Assault Vehicle (AAAV) program. In 1995, the program entered into the Program Definition and Risk Reduction (PDRR) phase6, where it was considered by many to be a “model defense acquisition program,” winning

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two DOD awards for successful cost and technology management.

The Program Definition and Risk Reduction (PDRR) Phase normally lasts two to four years. Activities during this phase include defining key design characteristics and expected capabilities and demonstrating that technologies can be incorporated into systems designs. Prototype systems are developed during this phase.

In June 1996, a contract was awarded to General Dynamics Land Systems to begin full-scale engineering development of their design.

Based on the aforementioned early success of the program, the Marine Corps awarded a cost-plus contract to General Dynamics in July 2001 for the Systems Development and Demonstration (SDD) phase of the program. General Dynamics and the Marines envisioned that the SDD phase would be completed by October 2003, a schedule that some say “proved too ambitious.” In 2003, the Marines renamed the program the Expeditionary Fighting Vehicle (EFV) program.

Problems During the SDD Phase

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) alleged that: The program did not allow enough time to demonstrate maturity of the EFV design during SDD. The original SDD schedule of about three years proved too short to conduct all necessary planning and to incorporate the results of tests into design changes. Specifically, the original schedule did not allow adequate time for testing, evaluating the results, fixing the problems, and retesting to make certain that problems are fixed before moving forward.

Because of these and other difficulties, the EFV program was rebaselined in November 2002, adding an additional year to the program schedule, and then rebaselined again in March 2003, also adding another year to the program schedule. In December 2004, EFV prototypes experienced major failures of the hull electronics unit (HEU), the vehicle’s

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main computer system. These failures caused the water-mode vehicle steering to freeze, making the vehicle non-responsive.

The EFV also experienced significant problems in September and October 2004 with the bow flap—a folding panel extended forward to generate additional hydrodynamic lift as the EFV moves through the water. The EFV experienced a myriad of hydraulics system failures, leaks, and pressure problems during testing that contributed to low reliability ratings. Because of reliability problems, the originally required 70-hour mean time between operational mission failure (MTBOMF) rate for the EFV was reduced by the Marines to 43.5 hours. Because of these demonstrated failures and related concerns about a lack of program management and oversight, the program was rebaselined for a third time in March 2005, this time adding an additional two years to the extra two years added during the previous rebaselinings.

2006 Operational Assessment

In 2006, the EFV was subject to an Operational Assessment—a series of tests to demonstrate that it could meet performance requirements—that if successfully completed, would permit the program to move into the production phase. During this assessment, the EFV experienced numerous critical failures and, because of repeated breakdowns, the EFV failed to meet reliability requirements and failed the assessment. For example, during the test, the vehicles were able to operate for only 4.5 hours between breakdowns and required about 3.4 hours of corrective maintenance for every 1 hour of operation—a maintenance burden that evaluators said would “wear out a unit under realistic combat operations.”

Poor reliability also resulted in 117 operational mission failures and 645 unscheduled maintenance actions during testing. The EFV’s low reliability resulted in the EFV completing two out of 11 attempted amphibious tests, one out of 10 gunnery tests, and none of the three scheduled land mobility tests. The EFV prototypes tested

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were approximately 1,900 lb. too heavy to achieve the desired high water speed and, in some circumstances, could not accommodate equipment needed by Marines for special climatic conditions.

Evaluators also noted significant problems in terms of limited visibility, excessive noise, and difficulty in reloading the EFV’s main gun.

EFV Redesign

In the aftermath of 2006 operational assessment, the Marines went back to the drawing board. In February 2007, the EFV program office issued a “sources sought” notice, requesting information from industry leaders on “tracked combat vehicles that can provide an alternative design concept of the EFV”—a perceived vote of no confidence in General Dynamics by the Marines. Also that month, the Navy formally advised Congress that the EFV program would incur a cost breach, requiring program recertification under the Nunn-McCurdy Act (10 U.S.C. 2433).

Finally, in late February 2007, the Navy announced that it would have to relax EFV performance and reliability requirements in order for the program to continue. In March 2007, the Marines modified the original SDD contract and awarded General Dynamics an additional $143.5 million to redesign the EFV. In what has been termed “the largest program setback,” the Marines decided in June 2007 to repeat the entire SDD phase, meaning that instead of the original completion date of 2003, the SDD phase—if successful—will now be completed in 2011, eight years behind the original schedule.

In August 2008, the Marines and General Dynamics signed a SDD II contract, and work on seven new EFV prototypes is expected to begin in January 2009. These new prototypes are expected to include rewired electronics to better protect against sea water, a rebuilt and strengthened gun turret that should improve ammunition feed to the main gun, and the addition of trim tabs to make the EFV

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November 2009 more stable in the water. The new EFVs are scheduled to be built at the U.S. military’s joint tank production facility at Lima, Ohio, and are expected to be completed by early 2010.

Critical Design Review and Additional Prototypes

The General Accountability Office (GAO) noted that the EFV passed its December 2008 critical design review (CDR) and, with 94% of the system’s design models releasable, that EFV’s critical technologies are mature and its design is stable. Because the EFV’s design has been stabilized, a number of critical manufacturing processes can be established. Because the EFV passed the CDR, the go-ahead was given for the production of the seven new prototypes.

These new prototypes are expected to include almost 400 engineering design improvements to improve vehicle reliability.

It is likely that many of these engineering design improvements will add weight to the EFV. One potential change that could help reduce EFV weight could be incorporating a lighter-weight linked track that the Army is currently researching, which could reduce EFV weight by 800 pounds.

Solutions for EFV IED Vulnerability

As previously noted, there is a great deal of concern that the flat-bottomed EFV would be overly vulnerable to IEDs detonated under the vehicle. The lack of a V-shaped hull, which can mitigate underbelly IED explosions, is a long-standing concern of some in Congress, and the Marines contend that the EFV would have to be totally redesigned at great cost to incorporate a V-shaped hull. The Marines suggest that installing an add-on underbelly armor appliqué after the EFV comes ashore will provide necessary protection. Marine

7 officials also suggest that IEDs would not be a big concern during the initial stages of an operation and the EFV’s mobility would provide protection from IEDs. 2

It can be argued, however, that the Marines are assuming away the EFV’s vulnerabilities by suggesting that the enemy would not employ IEDs against Marine forces coming ashore and that the EFV could “out run” IEDs—something that has alluded smaller and faster combat vehicles in Iraq and Afghanistan.

DoD Questions the Need for EFV

During an April 17, 2009, address at the Naval War College, Secretary of Defense Gates noted that: I have also directed the QDR [Quadrennial Defense Review] team to be realistic about the scenarios where direct U.S. military actions would be needed – so we can better gauge our requirements.

One of those that will be examined closely is the need for a new capability to get large numbers of troops from ship to shore – in other words, the capability provided by the Marine Expeditionary Fighting Vehicle.... But we have to take a hard look at where it would be necessary or sensible to launch another major amphibious action again. In the 21st century, how much amphibious capability do we need?

Given the Secretary of Defense’s comments, the EFV’s ultimate fate may well be determined by the outcome of the ongoing QDR. The Marines argue that they require the forced entry capability provided by the EFV and that cancelling it would only save a “relatively small” amount of money.

Program Cost and Funding

The Marines originally planned to procure 1,025 EFVs at a total cost of $8.5 billion. A December 2007 estimate by DoD

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predicts that the cost will increase by over 50% to $13.2 billion—a 168% per-vehicle cost increase. The Marines currently plan to procure only 573 EFVs, giving the Marines the capacity to amphibiously transport eight infantry battalions (approximately 970 Marines and sailors per battalion). The President’s FY2009 EFV budget request was $ 316.1 million for research, development, testing and evaluation (RDT&E).

The House Armed Services Committee (HASC) “concerned that “plans to begin fabrication of new EFV prototypes in FY 2009 have not sufficiently addressed the need to enhance protection of the EFV from mines and improvised explosive devices” recommended a $40.2 million reduction. The Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC) in its version (S. 3001), recommended fully funding the President’s $316.1 million request. The final version of the defense authorization bill agreed instead to a $35 million cut.30 House and Senate defense appropriators recommended $256 million—a $60 million reduction to the President’s EFV budget request.

According to GAO, as of March 2009, the EFV program will require $1,043.6 million in research and development and $9,778.4 million in procurement funding to complete the program and field 573 EFVs. FY2010 EFV Budget Request

DoD noted that the EFV continues in its systems development phase, with the first EFV scheduled for initial production in FY2012.

The administration’s FY2010 EFV budget request is $293.5 million for RDT&E. House Armed Services Committee (HASC) Markup of the FY2010 National Defense Authorization Act (H.R. 2647)

The HASC recommended fully funding

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8 the President’s FY2010 EFV budget request and also requires DoD to report on improvements to EFV protection against IED threats and overall vehicle survivability.

Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC) Markup of the FY2010 National Defense Authorization Act

The SASC recommended fully funding the President’s FY2010 EFV budget request.

House Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense Markup of the Department of Defense Appropriations Bill (H.R. 3326)

Noting that “the EFV has experienced cost growth, schedule slips, and technical issues throughout its development cycle” among other issues, the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense stated that it had “serious reservations whether the program will ever meet a standard for completion” and recommended cutting $50 million in EFV RDT&E funding.

Potential Issues for Congress Amphibious Fleet and EFV Vulnerabilities

Some analysts contend that the operational environment has changed so significantly since the EFV’s inception that both the fleet and the EFV face greater risks than anticipated. The Navy and Marines envision that future conflicts will require a “persistent presence in littoral areas” characterized by land-based anti-ship cruise missiles, mines, and small, fast suicide boats.

Twenty years ago when the EFV was conceived, some defense officials suggested that the fleet could operate 25 to 30 miles from shore, debarking EFVs for amphibious operations, but with the advent of these new enemy weapons and tactics, this is no longer possible. Instead, in order to sufficiently protect the large amphibious ships that transport Marines and EFVs, it has been suggested that the fleet might need to operate at least 100 miles from shore—beyond the EFV’s range. If there are new developments in enemy weapons and tactics between now and 2025—when the EFV is scheduled to reach full operational capability—the vulnerability to the fleet could increase further. Another potential issue is the EFV’s vulnerability to IEDs. Some in Congress are concerned that the flat-bottomed EFV, with a 16-inch ground clearance, would be highly vulnerable to IEDs that detonate under vehicles. The Marines contend that a “V” shaped hull on the EFV to

Emerging Defense Technologies

better protect it from IED blasts would force a total redesign of the EFV.

Instead, the Marines propose that once ashore, armor could be applied to the underside of the EFV, a solution that has met with congressional skepticism.

A study by the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessment (CSBA) titled the U.S. Marine Corps: Fleet Marine Forces for the 21st Century advocates “cancelling the EFV in favor of an armored combat vehicle optimized for modern land warfare (with modest ability to traverse water obstacles) and combine it with a high-speed, shallow-draft, ship to shore ‘connector’ (e.g. high-speed lighterage, air-cushioned landing craft).” The primary argument is that this solution would better address the “evolving anti-armor and precision-guided weapons regimes that will threaten naval forces at increasing distances at sea, and Marine Corps ground forces ashore.”

This approach may become an alternative if the EFV proves to be too unreliable or expensive to field, but any type of ship (such as the suggested Improved Navy Lighterage System) or ground combat vehicle (a modified light armored vehicle [LAV] or the proposed Marine personnel carrier [MPC]) might also be equally as vulnerable to anti-armor and precision weapons. One proposal to address this vulnerability—an active protection system (APS) such as the one being developed by the Army—may be a potential solution, but it is not known if the APS can be readily adapted for maritime use.

The assertion that the MPC and a surface transport would have “the additional benefit of nearly doubling the intended purchase, thereby lowering the per-unit cost and simplifying related logistics issues within the service” merits detailed examination, but any such examination should acknowledge that abandoning EFV altogether will result in a significant “sunk cost” that should be factored into any decisions related to the affordability of EFV alternatives.

What if the EFV Fails Its Second Systems Development and Demonstration (SDD) Phase Attempt?

In order for the EFV to enter its planned low rate initial production (LRIP) phase in 2011, it must successfully complete its second attempt at SDD. While reports suggest that an earlier requirement for a prototype reliability demonstration has been dropped, there will likely be a series of operational tests similar to those conducted in 2006.

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Reports suggest that the new EFV prototypes will be subjected to a 500-hour reliability test. The Marines have stated that the new EFV prototypes will achieve 61 hours mean time between operational mission failure (MTBOMF). Despite claims that the second SDD phase is going well and that the design is both table and mature, it is possible that the $16 million per vehicle EFV may again perform unsatisfactorily in operational testing.

If this is the case, it would likely be difficult to justify a third SDD phase, and it would probably not be operationally feasible to reduce the 573 EFV requirement any further to cut program costs. Given this potential scenario, it might be prudent to examine possible contingencies (such as the aforementioned CSBA proposal) should the EFV perform poorly on upcoming operational tests.

The EFV and the Quadrennial Defense Review (QDR)

Even if EFV prototypes exceed reliability requirements and its vulnerability to IEDs is adequately addressed, it may not survive the current QDR process. The Secretary of Defense has said that the requirement for EFVs will be looked at during an “amphibious study” conducted as part of the QDR process. Because this study could have significant operational and programmatic impacts beyond the EFV—including the need for amphibious ships and the requirement to have dedicated forces capable of conducting amphibious operations—Congress might choose to review the scope and charter of this study as part of its oversight. Questions could include what are the terms of reference for the study and what services/organizations will be involved in its conduct? What scenarios and analytic models, if any, will be employed as part of this study?

Based on the Secretary of Defense’s recent comments, is there a possibility of perceived “undue command influence” as it relates to the EFV’s future? Will this study result in an “all or nothing” recommendation for the EFV program, as a possible study recommendation to procure fewer than the currently programmed 573 EFVs might not be operationally or cost effective?

Andrew Feickert is a specialist in military ground forces with the Congressional Research Service.

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Rapid MRAP Acquisition A look at what can be learned from the MRAP acquisition process and applied to future programs

By Michael J. Sullivan

In February 2005, Marine Corps combatant commanders identified an urgent operational need for armored tactical vehicles to increase crew protection and mobility of Marines operating in hazardous fire areas against improvised explosive devices, rocketpropelled grenades, and small arms fire. In response, the Marine Corps identified the solution as the up-armored high-mobility multi-purpose wheeled vehicle. Over the next 18 months, however, combatant commanders continued to identify a requirement for more robust mine-protected vehicles.

According to the acquisition plan, in November 2006, the Marine Corps awarded a sole source indefinite delivery, indefinite quantity (IDIQ) contract and subsequently placed orders for the first 144 vehicles to

respond to the urgent requirement while it conducted a competitive acquisition for the balance of the vehicles. In February 2007, the Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Research, Development, and Acquisition approved MRAPs entry into production as a rapid acquisition capability. In September of 2007, the Undersecretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology, and Logistics designated MRAP as a major defense acquisition program3 with the Marine Corps Systems Command as the Joint Program Executive Officer.

Quantities to be fielded quickly grew from the initial 1,169 vehicles for the Marine Corps identified in the 2005 urgent need

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statement to the current approved requirement of over 16,000 vehicles split among the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, and Special Operations Command, plus others for ballistic testing.

Three versions of the MRAP vehicle were acquired for different missions: •

Category I, the smallest version of MRAP, is primarily intended for operations in the urban combat environment, and can carry up to seven personnel.

•

Category II is a multi-mission platform capable of supporting security, convoy

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10 escort, troop or cargo transport, medical, explosive ordnance disposal, or combat engineer operations, and carries up to 11 personnel.

•

Category III, the largest of the MRAP family, is primarily intended for the role of mine and IED clearance operations, and carries up to 13 personnel.

MRAP vehicles were purchased without mission equipment—such as communications and situational awareness subsystems—that must be added before the vehicles can be fielded to the user. The military services buy the subsystems for their vehicles and provide them as government furnished equipment to be installed at a government integration facility located at the Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command in Charleston, S.C. Tailored With Special Priorities

DoD used a tailored acquisition approach to rapidly acquire and field MRAP vehicles. The program established minimal operational requirements, decided to rely on only proven technologies, and relied heavily

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on commercially available products. The program also undertook a concurrent approach to producing, testing, and fielding the most survivable vehicles as quickly as possible. To expand limited existing production capacity, the department expanded competition by awarding IDIQ contracts to nine commercial sources.

To evaluate design, performance, producibility, and sustainability, DoD committed to buy at least four vehicles from each vendor. According to program officials, subsequent delivery orders were based on a phased testing approach with progressively more advanced vehicle test results and other assessments.

To expedite the fielding of the vehicles, the government retained the responsibility for final integration of mission equipment packages including radios and other equipment into the vehicles after they were purchased. DoD also designated the MRAP program as DoD’s highest priority acquisition, which helped contractors and other industry partners to more rapidly respond to the urgent need and meet production requirements.

Finally, some of the contractors involved in the acquisition responded to the urgency communicated by the department by

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investing their own capital early to purchase needed steel and other critical components in advance of orders. The decision on the part of the contractors to purchase components in advance of orders was not required under their contracts and was done at their own risk.

DoD leadership took several steps to communicate the importance of producing survivable vehicles as quickly as possible, for example •

In May 2007, the Secretary of Defense designated MRAP as DoD’s single most important acquisition program and established the MRAP Task Force to integrate planning, analysis, and actions to accelerate MRAP acquisition.

•

The Secretary also approved a special designation for MRAP—a DX rating— that requires related contracts to be accepted and performed on a priority basis over other contracts without this rating.

•

The Secretary of the Army waived a restriction on armor plate steel, which expanded the countries from which DoD could procure steel.

•

DoD allocated funds to increase steel and tire production capacity for MRAP vehicles as these materials were identified as potential limiting factors for the MRAP industrial base.

DoD recognized that no single vendor could provide all of the vehicles needed to meet requirements quickly enough and invited vendors to offer their non-developmental solutions. The request for proposal made clear that the government planned to award one or more IDIQ contracts to those vendors that were determined to be the best value to the government.

The Marine Corps awarded IDIQ contracts to nine vendors and issued the first delivery orders in early 2007 for four vehicles from each vendor for initial limited ballistic and automotive testing. One vendor could not deliver test articles in the time required and the Marine Corps terminated that contract at no cost to the government. According to program officials, vehicles from another vendor did not meet minimum requirements and the Marine Corps terminated the contract for convenience.

Conventional DoD acquisition policy dictates that weapons be fully tested before

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MRAP Developmental and Operational Test Plan 2007 2008 2 3 4 1 2 3

4

2009 1

Phase I Phase II Phase III IOT&E

they are fielded to the user. However, the need to begin fielding survivable vehicles as quickly as possible resulted in a phased approach designed to quickly identify vehicles that met the requirement for crew protection so they could be rapidly fielded. This approach resulted in a high degree of overlap between testing and fielding of the MRAP vehicles; orders for thousands of vehicles were placed before operational testing began and orders for thousands more were placed before it was completed. Figure 1 shows the concurrent nature of the overall test plan.

The Director, Operational Test & Evaluation approved the MRAP Test and Evaluation Master Plan in 2007. Candidate vehicles underwent ballistic and automotive testing beginning in March 2007. The test plan included three phases of developmental tests (DT) of increasing scope as well as initial operational test and evaluation (IOT&E).

Phase I included a limited evaluation by users. Phase II further evaluated vehicles at the desired level of performance against the ballistic threat, added more endurance miles to the automotive portion of the test, and included mission equipment such as radios and other electronic systems. Phase III raised the bar for ballistic performance to the emerging threat and assessed non-ballistic protection to include near-lightning strikes, high-altitude electromagnetic pulse, and nuclear, biological, and chemical decontamination tests.

The automotive portion of the test increased endurance to 12,000 miles per vehicle.

Developmental and operational tests were conducted from March 2007 through June 2008. Each of the six MRAP variants have also undergone IOT&E. All vehicles were rated operationally survivable and operationally effective with limitations by the Army Evaluation Center. These limitations were comprised of vehicle size, weight, mobility, and weapon dead space. All vehicles were also rated operationally suitable with

limitations. These limitations were due to logistic shortfalls, payload restrictions, and restricted fields of view.

MRAP Schedule and Performance

Schedule and performance results for the MRAP have been very good overall. At the time of our review in July 2008, nearly all of the developmental and operational testing had been completed; the Marine Corps, the buying command for the MRAP, had placed orders for 14,173 MRAPs; and, as of May 2008, a little more than a year after the first contracts were awarded, 9,121 vehicles had been delivered. As of July 2009, 16,204 vehicles have been produced and 13,848

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vehicles have been fielded in two theaters of operation. Total procurement funding for the MRAP vehicles, mostly through supplemental appropriations, was about $22.7 billion.

According to DoD officials, the MRAP is providing safe, sustainable, and survivable transport for troops in the theater.

It recognizes that MRAPs have limitations, particularly in the area of off-road mobility and transportability. Nonetheless, MRAPs are considered outstanding vehicles for specific missions.

Twenty-one months elapsed from the time the need was first identified in February 2005 until the sole source IDIQ contract was awarded and subsequent orders were placed for the first 144 vehicles in November 2006.

Three months elapsed between the award of the sole source contract and the delivery of vehicles under the orders placed pursuant to the contract in February 2007—about the same time the IDIQ contracts were awarded to multiple vendors for more vehicles. Testing of vehicles delivered under orders placed pursuant to the newly awarded contracts began one month later in March 2007. Initial operational capability was accomplished in October 2007 or about 33 months after the need was first identified.

Ultimately, MRAP vendors have successfully increased their production rates

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to meet the delivery requirement. Production began in February 2007 with one vendor producing 10 vehicles. By March 2008—a little more than a year after the contracts were awarded—6,935 vehicles had been produced.

According to DoD officials, the MRAP provides survivable, safe, and sustainable vehicles for troops in theater. It is recognized that MRAPs have limitations, particularly in the area of off-road mobility and transportability. Nevertheless, MRAPs met minimum requirements for specific missions.

Based on an earlier survey of over 300 soldiers interviewed in the field, warfighters were satisfied with MRAP overall, which offers significant improvement in survivability.

MRAP vehicles were seen as well suited for combat logistics patrols, route clearance missions, raids, quick reaction forces, and other missions requiring large, dismounted force. MRAP vehicles were seen as not well suited for mounted patrols in constrained urban areas or extensive operations in offroad operations.

Lessons Learned

As with any acquisition of this nature, there are lessons to be learned. On the positive side, it appears that quick action by the Secretary of Defense to declare the MRAP program DoD’s highest priority and give it a DX rating allowed the government and the contractors access to more critical materials than otherwise would have been available.

The availability of funding mostly through

Emerging Defense Technologies

supplemental appropriations was essential.

In addition, the decisions to 1) use only proven technologies, 2) keep requirements to a minimum, 3) infuse significant competition into the contracting strategy, and 4) keep final integration responsibility with the government are all practices that led to positive outcomes.

Challenges remain in the form of reliability, mobility, and safety, which have required some modifying of the designs, postproduction fixes, and adapting how vehicles were to be used. Also, long term sustainment costs for MRAP are not yet well understood and the services are only now deciding how MRAP will fit into their longer term organizations. This combination of actions executed to address the urgent need for accelerating the delivery of MRAP vehicles to theater was innovative and effective.

Major vendors and key subcontractors responded to the urgency communicated by the department. According to vendor officials from four of the companies, they collectively invested a substantial amount of their own capital in anticipation of MRAP work. For example, some vendors purchased steel and other critical components in advance of delivery orders for MRAP vehicles in order to meet projected time lines. In other cases, vendors purchased or developed new facilities for MRAP production. Multiple vendors also formed teaming arrangements to meet the increase in vehicle delivery demands.

As stated above, these actions on the part of the contractors were not required under their contracts and were done at their own risk.

November 2009

On the down side, because of unique designs, operating procedures, and maintenance for multiple vehicles from multiple vendors, vehicle maintenance and support has been somewhat complicated.

To ease maintenance and support concerns in the near term, the MRAP program office established a centralized training entity where maintainers would be cross-trained on multiple vendors’ vehicles.

Longer term, a key challenge for DoD will be to effectively manage maintenance personnel and vehicle repair parts without sacrificing vehicle operational availability.

Also, long term sustainment costs for MRAP are not yet projected and budgeted. The services are only now deciding how to fit MRAP vehicles into their organizational structures. Another lesson, based on operational use of the MRAP vehicles, was their lack of maneuverability and off-road capability.

As a result, DoD is in the process of acquiring an all terrain version of the MRAP to address the more difficult terrain and road conditions in Afghanistan. While most of the vehicles met ballistic requirements, other issues were identified (reliability, mobility and handling, and safety). These issues required some modifying of the designs, postproduction fixes, or adapting how vehicles were to be used. Testing of proposed solutions to more advanced threats continues.

The program office continues to enhance MRAP vehicle system performance through capability insertion initiatives executed via engineering change proposals. Such changes are verified through testing. This testing will be an ongoing process as additional upgrades are applied.

MRAP Implications From MRAP Acquisition

What were the keys in DoD meeting the urgent requirement for fielding MRAP in a timely manner? First, DoD kept the requirements simple, clear, and flexible and did not dictate a single acceptable solution.

Second, DoD made sure that only mature technologies and stable designs were used by setting a very short and inflexible schedule.

DoD acting as integrator of government furnished equipment after initial delivery eliminated some risk and uncertainty. Third, MRAP was also given the highest possible acquisition priority and the participating contractors responded in positive ways to meet the needs. Fourth, full and timely funding for the acquisition was a definite plus.

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November 2009

The question is, can this formula be applied to all of DOD’s major acquisitions and the broader acquisition process? The first two keys—simple requirements and mature technologies—certainly can be and, in fact, recent changes to the department’s acquisition policies and acquisition reform legislation passed by the Congress should enable these practices to be implemented easier than in the past. However, the MRAP program also owes it success to the third and fourth key practices as well—a DX rating as the highest priority acquisition in the department and nearly unlimited funding to meet the urgent need—that are not scalable to the broader acquisition process. Not every program can be a highest priority and acquisition funds are constrained.

While the MRAP acquisition benefited from all of the practices mentioned above, the biggest differentiator between that rapid acquisition and other more common acquisitions in DD was that it established requirements that could be achieved with existing technologies. Recent studies by the Defense Science Board, the Defense Acquisition Performance Assessment Panel

13 (DAPA), and GAO all indicate that the department can and should acquire and deliver weapon systems that fulfill urgent warfighter needs to the field much more quickly.

The DSB study recommends a dual acquisition path that allows for a “rapid” acquisition process for urgent needs and “deliberate” acquisition processes for others.

It recommends a new agency, proposed as the Rapid Acquisition and Fielding Agency, that would be focused on speed, utilizing existing technologies, and acquisition flexibility to achieve the “75 percent solution” quickly.

The DAPA Panel report, among other things, recommended that the acquisition process should never exceed six years from its beginning to initial operational capability of the acquired weapon system. It stated that mature technologies and achievable requirements are critical to the success of such time certain development efforts.

The Government Accountability Office has issued multiple reports under their “best practices” body of work that underscore the need for faster development cycles and the need for mature technologies, well understood requirements, systems engineering

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knowledge, and incremental delivery of capabilities to enable quicker deliveries. As early as 19998, they concluded that successful product developments separated technology development from product development, invested time and money in ensuring that their technology base was vibrant and cutting edge, and eliminated technology risk from acquisitions.

The GAO noted that the DoD’s science and technology (S&T) organization would need to be organized and structured differently, provided more funding to take new technologies to higher levels of maturity, and would have to coordinate better with the department’s acquisition community to achieve the synergies necessary to reduce cycle times. The GAO made recommendations along those lines. They believe that the “game changer” today in achieving rapid acquisition is the technology base. Finally, a broader lesson learned is that it may be time to invest the time, money, and management skills in the S&T community to enable the effectiveness expected from the acquisition community.

Michael J. Sullivan is the GAO’s director Acquisition and Sourcing Management.

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US Army Area Mine Clearance Projects

Area Mine Clearance System Medium Flail

The US Army Communications and Electgronics Command Contracting Center Washington has issued a request for proposal using a full and open competition method and issued on behalf of the Army Product Manager for Countermine & EOD the Area Mine Clearance System (AMCS) Medium Flail.

The AMCS is a manned, mobile, medium vehicular flail system that can neutralize anti-personnel (AP) and anti-tank (AT) mines with a rotating flail head over a large area, and can survive and protect the crew from multiple AP and AT mine blasts.

The intent of the Army is to award a single five-year, firm fixed price/time and materials indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity contract with a ceiling of $168 million and a minimum guaranteed of 30 systems.

The AMCS must be a non-developmental system in accordance with FAR 2.101, Commercial Items and must meet the following requirements: 1. System shall protect operator (crew) from effects from anti-tank (15 lb TNT explosive or equivalent) and anti-personnel (PMN-2 or equivalent) mine blasts with no injury through platform armament or tele-operation (threshold=objective); 2. Systems shall be transportable by rail, sealift, and highway (M870 trailer) and air (C-5, C-17 and C-130) transportation assets; systems shall be capable of being configured for transport in less than two hours for any of the aforementioned modes (threshold); 3. System shall withstand three blasts (15 lbs TNT explosive or equivalent) detonated under the flail head assembly during flailing operations without sustaining battle damage that is not repairable within 60 minutes 90percent of the time with available tools, replacement parts, and maintenance personnel (threshold); system shall withstand five blasts (15 lbs TNT explosive or equivalent) detonated under the flail head assembly during flail-

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ing operations without sustaining battle damage that is not repairable within 30 minutes 90-percent of the time with available tools, replacement parts, and maintenance personnel (objective), systems shall withstand the effects of one AT mine detonation (equivalent to 15 lbs TNT) under any portion of the platform without sustaining battle damage that is not repairable within 12 hours 90-percent of the time with available tools, replacement parts, and maintenance personnel (threshold); systems shall withstand the effects of one AT mine detonation (equivalent to 30 lbs TNT) under any portion of the platform without sustaining battle damage that is not repairable within four hours 90-percent of the time with available tools, replacement parts, and maintenance personnel (objective); 4. System shall provide the capability to

November 2009

neutralize/destroy 80-percent of the simple pressure AP (PMN-2 or equivalent) and AT (equivalent to 15 lbs TNT) mines, within an area or along a route in the manned-mode (threshold); system shall provide the capability to neutralize/destroy 99.6-percent of the AP and AT mines, within an area or along a route in the unmanned tele-operation mode at standoff ranges up to 300m (objectives); 5. System shall neutralize 80-percent of doctrinally employed non-hardened, simple pressure activated AP and AT mines in one pass (threshold); shall neutralize 99.6-percent of doctrinally employed blast-hardened, simple pressure activated AP and AT mines in one pass (objective); 6. System shall clear a minimum lane of 3.0 meters wide in one pass (threshold); shall clear a minimum lane of 4.5 meters wide in one pass (objective);

Light Flail Mechanical Anti-Personnel Mine Clearing System

The Project Manager, Robotics Systems Joint Project Office (RS JPO), TACOM Life Cycle Management Command (LCMC), Warren, MI, is seeking to identify sources capable of manufacturing a commercial off the shelf/non-developmental item (NDI) light flail mechanical anti-personnel mine clearing system.

The RS JPO requires a tracked, combat engineer teleoperated light flail system with the following core capabilities: a. Neutralization of anti-personnel (AP) and anti-tank (AT) mines by either destroying or detonating them with its rotating flail head. The system will neutralize nonhardened, simple pressure mines in designated, marked areas. b. Teleoperation from within the blast protected medium mine protected vehicle or from a safe dismounted location. The unmanned systems will keep soldiers out of harm’s way by providing teleoperation from safe standoff distances. The handheld, stand-off remote control feature of the system will allow the operator to remain outside the range of exploding mines during the clearing process. c. The machine’s engine and vital components will be protected by steel armor plates against mine explosion fragments. d. The system will be capable of being sling loaded by joint and Army heavy rotary wing helicopters. e. The system should also have the capability of using steel rollers in the head, in lieu of flail hammers.

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November 2009

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Know Your History!

Tech Intell There are several mine flails currently in operations worldwide including the USAF C-130 approved Hydrema 910MCV2 shown here.

7. Systems shall traverse complex, urban terrain and a 20-percent up slope, down slope and 10-percent side slope without roll-over (threshold); shall traverse complex, urban terrain and a 25-percent up slope, down slope and 15-percent side slope without roll-over (objective); 8. System maintain a minimum ground speed 400/800 meters per hour, with flail operating (threshold); shall maintain a minimum ground speed 1000 meters per hour, with flail operating (objective); shall penetrate undisturbed, dry soil composed of clay or clay mixture to a depth of 100 to 300 millimeters (mm) at minimum operational ground speed (threshold); shall penetrate undisturbed, dry soil composed of clay or clay mixture to a depth of 1000 mm at minimum operational ground speed (objective); 9. System shall be capable of completing 2 hours of flailing with a 94-percent probability of not experiencing a System Abort (threshold); shall be capable of completing 2 hours of flailing with a 98-percent probability of not experiencing a System Abort (objective); the sixth attribute is as follows: the Maintenance Ratio (MR) shall be less than 0.30 Maintenance Man-hours per Operating Hour (MMH/ OH) including PMCS (threshold); the Maintenance Ratio (MR) shall be less than 0.10 MMH/OH including PMCS (objective); 10. System shall have the capability for the operator to immediately stop the flail system and flail head (threshold); upon loss of tele-operation data link between the operator control unit and the medium flail system, the medium flail system will automatically stop moving and stop flailing (objective); shall provide the operator with alarms and data at

the operator control unit for vehicle status (objective); 11. System shall be capable of operating in hot and basic climates ranging from positive 320F to 1350F (frozen soil will degrade the performance of the flail head), shall survive storage and transportation in hot, basic and cold environments in accordance with AR 70-38, shall be capable of being operated by personnel while wearing appropriate clothing to include Mission Oriented Protective Posture (MOPP) Level 4 (threshold equal to objective); 12. System shall operate with multi-fuels JP8 and diesel (objective); 13. System shall provide adequate space in cab to mount SINCGARS radio (R68044: VRC-90F) and its mounting bracket, 24 volt power connection and provisions to connect and mount an external antenna (threshold equal to objective); 14. System shall be capable of withstanding the effects of two BLU 97, MK118, M42 and/ or M73 sub-munitions with no significant degradation to mission effectiveness (threshold); flail head shall be capable of withstanding the effects of ten BLU 97, MK 118, M42 and/or M73 sub-munitions with no significant degradation to mission effectiveness (objective); 15. System shall be capable of being operated in the manned-mode (threshold); shall be capable of being operated in the manned and tele-operated modes, a line of sight distance of 300 meters in the tele-operated mode (objective).

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In 1944/45 US Army technical intelligence teams fanned out across NW Europe reporting on new German armor, vehicles and weapons.

TECH INTELL Volumes 1 & 2 compile select reports including the tech reports with the original text and photos. $10.00 each or both for $18.00.

Plus shipping & handling r Volume 1 132 pages, 141 illustrations perfect binding, soft cover 15cm Nebelwerfer Half-Track, Panther as M-10, Semi-Tracked Cargo Vehicle, Panther Recovery Tank, Assault Gun Disguised as U.S., Pz Kpfw IV, Model J, Panther pillbox, Light armored tracked carrier, 7.5 cm on Sd Kfz 251, Sdkfz 140/1, German Modifications of M8 a/c, and RSO with 7.5 cm, plus many, many more! r Volume 2 132 pages, 129 illustrations perfect binding, soft-cover Sd.Kfz 250/9, 2 cm on 38(t), 3.7 cm Flak 43 on Pz.IV, BIVc r/c demo vehicle, 2 cm. Flak on Pz.IV, Sd.Kfz 234/1, Sd. Kfz. 251/17, Sd.Kfz 234, SWS, Sd.Kfz 9 recovery, 38 cm rocket projector on Tiger I, AA guns on Sd.Kfz 7, Special body on Sd.Kfz. 7, Streamlined motorcycle, 8-wheel a/c with 2 cm, self-propelled gun chassis as cargo carrier, plus many, many more!

Defense House Publshing P.O. Box 236 Forest Hill, MD 21050 jeffm@defense-house.com Emerging Defense Technologies

16

DoD FY2010 Budget

November 2009

The Congressional Budget Office looks at the long-term implications of the DoD’s Fiscal Year 2010 budget submission

The 2010 regular budget request (excluding overseas contingency operations) includes $188 billion, or 35 percent of the total, for O&M and $136 billion, or 25 percent of the total budget, for military personnel.

Between 1980 and 2001, O&M costs per active-duty service member increased steadily by about $2,200 per year (in constant 2010 dollars). O&M has deviated above that trend since 2002 because the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have required large amounts of O&M funding but more modest increases in active end strength (the number of active military personnel as of the last day of the fiscal year.). Those funds supported U.S. military forces in the Iraq and Afghanistan theaters, providing food, housing, and contracted security; fuel, spare parts, and maintenance for military equipment; transportation of personnel and equipment to and from the theater; and other services.

The regular defense budget for 2010 requests O&M funding that exceeds the prewar trend line by between $12,000 and $15,000 per service member; an additional $9,000 per service member would be required if funding for overseas contingency operations is included.

Projections of Funding for Investment The 2010 regular budget request for investment (excluding overseas contingency operations) includes $109 billion, or 20 percent of the total defense budget, for procurement; it also includes $79 billion, or 15 percent of the total, for research, development, test, and evaluation. CBO’s projection of $126 billion in procurement funding for 2020 is $8 billion below CBO’s earlier projection that was based on the 2009 FYDP; CBO’s projection of $187 billion in total investment funding for 2020 is $7 billion below its earlier projection.

The new, smaller projections incorporate recently announced changes to DoD’s investment plans.

Basis of Projections

The Secretary of Defense announced several major changes to DoD’s investment plans before the formal release of the 2010 budget.36 Although additional details were provided in the budget request and in subsequent press releases and briefing materials, the Administration did not submit a FYDP (which would have contained projected fund-

ing and other program information through 2015) with its 2010 budget request.

Nor did it submit year-end (December 2008) Selected Acquisition Reports (SARs), which would have provided cost, schedule, and funding data (including the estimated out-year funding requirements) to reflect the program of record for each major defense acquisition program.

In the absence of information typically available in a FYDP, CBO relied on the President’s 2010 budget request, with its accompanying budget justification materials, and other sources (including the previous year’s FYDP and SARs, to the extent they are still applicable) to project investment resources through what would have been the FYDP years (2011 through 2015) and further out, to 2028 .

Important Influences on Projections of the Costs of Investment

This section provides four examples of changes in DoD’s investment plans that CBO was largely able to anticipate and thus build into its projection of the 2010 defense budget. Those four changes affect the number of brigade combat teams (BCTs) in the active Army, the Future Combat Systems (FCS) program, the Airborne Laser (ABL) program, and sea- and land-based missile defense in Europe.

Less Brigade Combat Teams

According to the 2009 FYDP, DoD planned to expand the active Army from 42 to 48 combat brigades by 2013 (as well as 28 BCTs in the Army National Guard). In its 2009 edition of Budget Options, CBO noted that the active Army would probably be unable to identify 23,000 additional soldiers (beyond those already identified) to fully populate six new brigades under the current cap on total Army personnel. In April 2009,

By Matthew S. Goldberg Emerging Defense Technologies

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November 2009

the Secretary of Defense proposed curtailing the number of BCTs at 45 (versus 48) as a means to ensure that deployed units are fully staffed and to end the routine use of “stop loss” (the practice of involuntarily retaining deployed soldiers past the end of their enlistment or reenlistment contracts, until after their units return to the United States).

The Secretary also proposed maintaining the active Army’s planned end strength at 547,000. CBO estimates that by holding that end strength, DoD can avoid requesting as much as $16 billion over the next five years in budget authority that would be required for the expansion.

Cancelled FCS Manned Vehicle Progams

The FCS program had been planned to encompass eight new models of manned combat vehicles as well as new unmanned aerial and ground vehicles, sensors, and munitions.

All of those components would be linked by advanced communications networks into an integrated combat system. In January 2009, CBO projected (on the basis of the 2009 FYDP) that the Army’s FCS program would cost $60 billion over the next 10 years; “spinning out” technology enhancements to all of the Army’s infantry BCTs would cost $10 billion; the upgrades and purchase of combat vehicles would cost $28 billion. The combined 10-year cost of those related programs would have been $98 billion.

The Secretary announced in April 2009 that DoD would cancel the manned-vehicle

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portion of the FCS program. The department would then reevaluate that component and restart it at some unspecified time in the future.

Further details concerning the revised FCS program, including funding estimates and delivery schedules for the various components, will most likely not be available until DoD submits its 2011 budget (and associated FYDP) in February 2010.

As a substitute for the FCS plan that would have procured about 300 new vehicles per year, CBO analyzed a plan under which the Army would upgrade its existing Abrams tanks, Bradley fighting vehicles, and M109 self-propelled howitzers and also purchase new Stryker wheeled vehicles. CBO estimates those upgrades and new purchases of an average of 770 vehicles per year would

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cost a total of $43 billion between 2010 and 2019. In addition, CBO estimated a cost of $37 billion over the same 10-year period to spin out improved communications and other systems for all 73 of the Army’s active and National Guard BCTs. All together, the program assumed in CBO’s projections would cost an estimated $18 billion less over the next 10 years than the plan in the 2009 FYDP. The Secretary’s announcement concerning FCS left open the possibility of restarting the Army’s program to develop new types of manned combat vehicles; CBO’s estimates did not include any development or procurement costs for that program.

Matthew S. Goldberg the Congressional Budget Office’s acting assistant director.

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November 2009

On Target M109A6 & M992A2

BAE Systems has been awarded a contract from the U.S. Army Tank Automotive & Armaments Command for the procurement and fabrication of five prototype M109A6 Paladin Integrated Management (PIM) selfpropelled howitzer vehicles and two prototype M992A2 field artillery ammunition support vehicles (FAASV). The total contract value is $63.9 million.

The Paladin provides critical fire support for soldiers in the heavy brigade combat team,” said Joe McCarthy, vice president and general manager, heavy brigade combat team (HBCT) systems for BAE Systems. “The PIM program will ensure that this essential fire support system remains sustainable through its projected life beyond the year 2050.”

The Paladin PIM uses the existing M109A6 main armament and cab structure while replacing outmoded chassis components with up-to-date components from the Bradley Combat Systems to increase sustainability and commonality across the HBCTs. Paladin PIM incorporates a state-of-the-art digital backbone and robust power generation capability. PIM also integrates electric elevation and traverse drives, electric rammer and a digital fire control system. The M992A2 FAASV provides armor protected ammunition delivery for the M109A6 Paladin.

Design and engineering analysis work for the vehicle structure, automotive systems and electric and vehicle electronics will be performed at BAE Systems facilities in Pennsylvania, California, New York, Minnesota and Michigan as well as U.S government facilities at the Army Research and Development Center in Picatinny, NJ. The remanufacture program for the Paladin fleet will be performed in partnership with the Anniston Army Depot and at BAE Systems facilities in York, PA, and Elgin, OK.

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Ukrainian T-84 Oplots to Georgia

Ukraine will hand 12 T-84 Oplot tanks, developed by the Kharkiv Morozov Machine Building Design Bureau, to Georgia in October, Verkhovna Rada deputy Valerii Konovaliuk of the Party of Regions faction has announced to the press.

In his words, the state company for export and import of military and special-purpose products and services Ukrspetseksport will deliver the banks to the Georgian side.

The Georgian side has already transferred UAH 45 million of payment for the armor.

The Oplot main battle tank is outfit with a 125mm smoothbore KBA3 gun, a total of

Runflats

US Army Tank-automotive and Armaments Comand has issued a sources sought announcement seeking to qualify multiple sources for HMMWV its runflat application. The new device will become the only device and will phase out all prior run flat applications made available for all HMMWVs.

The notice is intended to qualify multiple sources and phase out all previous HMMWV runflat devices. Currently the three runflat NSNs are 2640011612114-

40 rounds of separate loading ammunition (projectile and charge), of which 28 rounds are placed in the automatic loader. It is also equipped wit a 7.62mm coaxial machine gun with ammunition of 450 rounds and a 12.7mm anti-aircraft machine gun with ammunition of 1,250 rounds.

As Ukrainian News earlier reported, President of Russia Dmitry Medvedev in August criticised Ukraine for supplying arms to Georgia.

In October 2008, Russia assured that Ukraine had been holding lead in supplies of arms to Georgia in 2004-2007.

Magnesium runflat, 2640013349453-runflat for radial or bias tire and 2640014196202runflat for radial tire (only).

The Army’s HMMWV is approaching an increased weight minimum of 15,400 pounds. Solutions must be applicable and adaptable to the military environment including extreme ambient operating conditions from -50 degrees to 135 degrees Fahrenheit, as well as increased weight; 4,540 lbs (threshold), 5,000 lbs (objective) per corner. Proposed technologies must be at a military hardware Technical Readiness Level 8 or greater.

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November 2009

M-ATVs Arrive For C4I Integration

The next generation of mine resistant ambush protected vehicles, the MRAP all terrain vehicles (M-ATVs), have arrived at Space and Naval Warfare (SPAWAR) Systems Center (SSC) Atlantic. As with the MRAP vehicles, SSC Atlantic is responsible for the prototyping, testing, integration, installation and quality assurance of all advanced electronic communications equipment on the M-ATVs.

SSC Atlantic has a proven record of success with command and control, communications, computer, intelligence (C4I) equipment integration of MRAP. SSC Atlantic’s C4I Expeditionary Systems government/industry team has performed C4I integration of more than 16,000 MRAP vehicles since 2007. The highly successful MRAP integration ramp up at SSC Atlantic attracted visitors from throughout the Department of Defense, including Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Marine Corps General James Cartwright, then-Secretary of the Navy Donald Winter, Chief of Naval Operations Gary Roughead and others.

The M-ATVs are manufactured by Oshkosh Corporation, which was awarded the production contract June 30. More than 6,600 M-ATVs are currently authorized.

The M-ATV answers an urgent and compelling requirement to protect warfighters with a highly survivable, off-road capable vehicle. The M-ATV mission is for small unit combat operations in highly restricted rural, mountainous and urban environments that include mounted patrols, reconnaissance, security, convoy protection and communications.

The vehicles have started to flow from the vendor to SSC Atlantic. The first shipment of integrated vehicles has been flown to warfighters in Afghanistan. These vehicles will be used to complement other tactical vehicles—including MRAPs—currently being used. The lack of established roads and bridges in the Afghanistan theater of operations requires a more mobile vehicle than the previous MRAPs produced.

Since the Office of the Secretary of De-

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fense determined the M-ATV is within the MRAP family of vehicles, it will continue to be managed by the MRAP Joint Program Office. The Marine Corps is executing the joint program on behalf of the Navy (lead service) with Marine Corps Brigadier General Michael Brogan as the Joint Program Executive Officer.

According to Brogan, lessons learned during the MRAP integration efforts in Charleston have been valuable in speeding the manufacture, prototyping and installation of the government furnished equipment (GFE) that provides C4I capabilities on the M-ATVs. One of the lessons learned will help the vendor better prepare the vehicles for the GFE added at SSC Atlantic. “… We were able to feed back to Oshkosh specific bracketry, racks and cabling so all that can be installed in the vehicle during manufacture; which means we don’t have to do it at SPAWAR,” Brogan said. “The goal was to push as much of that work that was getting done at SPAWAR, particularly the touch labor, upstream into the manufacturing process. Because we knew it going into this, we were able to include it into the design. That clearly is one of the lessons learned from Baseline MRAP that will speed the process at Charleston,” he added.

The SSC Atlantic team has extensive experience in the integration and fielding of various Marine mobile radio communications

and tactical data radio sets, sensors and various signal intelligence systems that enhance the warfighter’s situational awareness, communications and other capabilities on the battlefield. The team has demonstrated its ability to meet a strict delivery schedule on a high volume of vehicles while maintaining configuration management across multiple C4I variants.

SSC Atlantic will utilize many members of the MRAP integration team from various engineering disciplines, including industrial and mechanical engineering, technicians, subject matter experts and support staff. SSC Atlantic’s solid partnerships with small- to mid-sized industry provide the agility required to meet the demands associated with a project of this magnitude. As with the MRAP effort, the M-ATV team is responsible for every aspect of the activities, from engineering to receipt and final inspection in theater. SSC Atlantic also provides engineering reachback for all capability packages.

SSC Atlantic commanding officer Captain Bruce Urbon said, “The MRAP vehicles have resulted in the saving of many lives and limbs, and our involvement in this program has been very rewarding. We look forward to continuing our role providing direct support to the warfighter by integrating advanced electronic communications equipment in the M-ATVs.”

Two mine-resistant, ambush-protected all-terrain vehicles arrived at Bagram Airfield, Afghanistan, on October 1.Transporting M-ATVs by aircraft can be accomplished in a day, where sealift would require approximately 26 days. An order for more than 6,600 M-ATVs are expected to be fielded during the next year.

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Emerging Defense Technologies

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November 2009

On Target Extending Gun Barrel Service Life

Program Executive Office, Integrated Warfare Systems’ (PEO IWS) Naval Gunnery Project Office is reviewing results from the advanced gun barrel technology (AGBT) rapid fire test conducted in September at Dugway Proving Grounds, Utah. The test firing was the final demonstration of a new refractory metal coating for large caliber naval gun barrels.

During the demonstration, 48 high-propellant rounds were expelled in rapid fire mode from the Navy’s 155mm Advanced Gun System (AGS) engineering development model gun mount for eventual installation on the U.S. Navy’s new Zumwalt-class destroyer.

PEO IWS’ Naval Gunnery Project Office is examining results from the firing to determine if the technology performed as anticipated, and also if the technology might be leveraged for use by other naval guns “Gun barrel wear and erosion are factors that can limit the performance of large caliber gun weapon systems,” said Shawn Barreto, Naval Gunnery Project Office AGS assistant project manager.

“The anticipated objective for this new coating is to provide a fifty percent increase in the service life of the barrel while reducing the overall life cycle cost.”

The AGBT demonstration at Dugway was the culmination of a five-year Future Naval Capability program funded by the Office of Naval Research (ONR) with collaboration from the Naval Surface Warfare Centers and the defense industry. During the five-year period, BAE Systems worked cooperatively with Paradigm Shift Technologies of Toronto, Ontario, developing coating materials and processes for gun application.

“An increased service life would reduce the life cycle support cost for the program, while ensuring that gun weapon systems remain

capable of delivering naval surface fire support,” said Barreto. “The refractory coating could also serve as a technology enabler in the development of new high performance munitions.”

AGS is a fully integrated gun weapon system that will include at least two separate gun systems for each DDG 1000 warship. Each gun system will be capable of independently firing up to 10 rounds per minute from an automated magazine storing as many as 600 rounds. The 155mm rounds are about 6.1 inches in diameter, versus the 127mm diameter of the standard 5-inch projectile.

Non-GPS Navigation

Northrop Grumman Corporation has received a contract modification from the U.S. Department of Defense to further demonstrate a revolutionary advance in inertial navigation. The demonstration project makes use of traditional electro-optic (EO) cameras, atomic clocks, and advanced vision processing technologies to provide inertial navigation system (INS) updates to aircraft, ground vehicles and ground troops without the need for continuous Global Positioning System (GPS) input to maintain precise position and time.

Called LEGAND, for LADAR EO GPS/INS atomic clock navigation demonstration, the project aims to provide ground troops, aircraft, and ground vehicles the capability to maintain precision navigation in places not currently possible due to challenged or denied access to GPS, thus sustaining their operations. The LEGAND system processes visual motion observations to provide INS updates while the atomic clock maintains time synchronization, providing users precision navigation while rapidly re-acquiring partial or complete GPS input.

When GPS access is denied our warfighters in urban or indoor environments, they are often unable to maintain mission engagement. This inability to update the inertial navigation system with GPS causes a gradual loss of its precision navigation capability resulting in mission degradation or cancellation,” said Gorik Hossepian, vice president of Navigation and Positioning Systems for Northrop Grumman’s Navigation Systems Division. “This translates into less time focused on potential hostile targets of interest.”

Hossepian noted that LEGAND’s small size, weight and power requirements make it highly adaptable to current unmanned aircraft and will provide ground commanders critical battlespace awareness. “The innovative inertial navigation system can also benefit individual soldiers operating in remote areas on the ground,” he added.

Two successful studies of the core LEGAND technologies were completed by Northrop Grumman in September 2008 and February 2009 and the current demonstration hardware development phase funded by this contract modification is expected to continue through September 2010.

Emerging Defense Technologies

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November 2009

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MicroDAGR GPS

Rugged Tactical Vehicle Computer

Rockwell Collins today introduced its new MicroDAGR handheld GPS receiver for soldiers. This latest-generation navigation device, which is a smaller version of Rockwell Collins’ highly successful Defense Advanced GPS Receiver (DAGR), brings together the best commercial technologies with the security needed to meet military requirements, and the durability needed to survive the most rugged battlefield conditions.

The MicroDAGR provides dismounted soldiers with real-time position, navigation, moving maps and timing information on a full-color touch screen display, and is small enough to be worn on the wrist, attached to a lanyard, or placed in a pocket. The receiver initially features L1 frequency capability, utilizing military only secure GPS signals with anti-jamming and anti-spoofing capabilities.

MicroDAGR is also equipped with the latest Selective Availability Anti-Spoofing Module (SAASM)-based anti-jamming software.

Designed in response to feedback from soldiers in the field, the MicroDAGR also incorporates several new features including vibration alert, an MP3 player and a digital camera. These features will allow soldiers to record geo-rectified images of the battlefield for after-action review and analysis, listen to foreign language translations of important commands and phrases and get silent alerts from their MicroDAGR when they reach preprogrammed waypoints and/or danger areas.

“The MicroDAGR represents a major step forward in delivering a small, lightweight, easy-to-use GPS receiver to the military,” said Bruce King, vice president and general manager of surface solutions for Rockwell Collins. “We can’t wait to get this innovative new system into the hands of our soldiers so they can be equipped with the latest technology for enhanced situational awareness, safety and security.”

The new system will be available for delivery in January 2010. The first deliveries of the MicroDAGR will go to the U.S. Army Rapid Equipping Force (REF). Through the REF, the U.S. Army will ensure that this important new soldier capability reaches the warfighters as quickly as possible.

Elbit Systems of America, LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Elbit Systems Ltd. recently unveiled its newest tactical computer, the ETC Mark IV, designed to deliver a powerful computer capabilities within cramped vehicle conditions.

The ETC Mark IV features a brilliant daylightreadable 10.4-inch touch-screen display, built-In keyboard, Windows XP or Linux operating system capability, ergonomic design, Intel Dual Core 1.66MHz processor, 2GB DDR2 memory, flash memory for rugged use, two radio modems, 1GBps LAN interface and many enabling interfaces that allow the unit to replace multiple legacy systems with one computer. The computer is designed for comfortable use as well as ease of operation, and twelve programmable function keys make it an ideal platform for custom applications.

The ETC Mark IV is the newest in a series of tactical vehicle computer systems produced

by Elbit Systems, more than 13,000 of which are in use by various military and coalition forces around the world.

The ETC Mark IV will be available with embedded military SAASM or commercial GPS as well as two radio interfaces and options for other interfaces such as FBCB2, CAN Bus, 1553 Bus or other customized user interface requirements.

“We believe the new ETC Mark IV is a refreshingly versatile and space-saving computer solution that makes sense for both new vehicle platforms and retrofit programs,” said Jim English, vice president C4I Solutions, Elbit Systems of America. “It is our third entry into the tactical vehicle computer market, following the Tacter MVP with its remote 10.4inch display and the Tacter-31D, our dismountable Core 2 Duo tablet computer.”

Navistar and Tatra New Alliance

Navistar Defense, LLC and Tatra, a.s., a heavy-duty truck manufacturer located in Koprivnice, Czech Republic, have signed an agreement to jointly develop, produce and market new military tactical off-road trucks.

The new vehicle will utilize Navistar engines and other components in addition to Tatra’s proven backbone-tube chassis design and independent suspension system. Tatra’s chassis concept was originally developed in 1923 and today uses swinging half-axles for exceptional off-road mobility and added resistance against chassis wear and tear.

“We believe the Tatra chassis is the most capable off-road suspension system available anywhere in the world,” said Archie Massicotte, president, Navistar Defense. “By joining with Tatra, the team is positioned well to compete for new vehicle programs with U.S. and Allied Forces. Up-

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coming opportunities include the Israel Medium Tactical Truck (MTT) and Canada 10x10 wrecker programs.”

Under the agreement, a Navistar and Tatra branded truck will be marketed under Navistar Defense in all North American markets including the United States military and Foreign Military Sales financed by the United States government. Tatra will also source parts and components through Navistar’s global parts and support network for Tatra trucks delivered in markets outside of North America.

“We are tremendously excited about this strategic alliance with Navistar Defense,” said Ronald Adams, board of directors’ chairman and CEO, Tatra. “Navistar is a great company with a proven track record of success and a very fine team of professionals covering all disciplines of the truck business.”

Emerging Defense Technologies

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November 2009

On Target Deployed Jackel

The UK’s Household Cavalry troopers have been preparing to deploy to Afghanistan by undertaking intensive training in their new Jackal all-terrain vehicles on the rugged sand dunes of North Devon. Soldiers from the Household Cavalry, who are normally based at Windsor, took to the spectacular Braunton Burrows 900-acre sand dune system near Barnstaple as part of this effort.

They put their Jackal vehicles through their paces in tough and demanding sandy conditions which are similar in many ways to the conditions they will soon experience in Helmand province. The Household Cavalry, who are deploying as part of 11 Light Brigade, are reconnaissance experts and will be the eyes and ears of the force, gathering information and battlefield intelligence on the insurgents 24-hours-a-day in all conditions.

Mounted primarily in the Scimitar combat vehicle some of the troopers from the regiment have now been trained in using the new, all-terrain, protected Jackal vehicles to give the unit extra flexibility. Stealthy, powerful and highly maneuverable, the vehicles can be fitted with a wide range of weaponry from grenade launchers to machine guns, making them a potent weapon against the Taliban.

Lieutenant James Hulme, a Troop Leader from A Squadron of the Household Cavalry Regiment, said, “We have been training

Emerging Defense Technologies

MTU Series 881 Diesel Engine

MTU has long been a leader in the development of high speed diesel engines for defense applications. In September, the 8V configuration of MTU’s Series 881 defense engine (MT881 KA501) became the latest in a long line of MTU engines to successfully complete NATO AEP-5 (Allied Engineering Publication) testing. The 400-hour test was conducted by the Tognum subsidiary MTU at Bundeswehr Technical Center for Automotive and Armored Vehicles (WTD 41). The test is an accelerated life test, which is meant to simulate the entire life cycle of the engine. It was performed in accordance with the international standards set forth in NATO AEP-5, which require that the engine is run 200 hours on jet engine fuel (JP8) and 200 hours on regular diesel fuel.

The MTU Series 881 is a high-speed common-rail diesel engine that offers up to 1,200 bhp at 3,000 rpm. It is currently in use by several armed forces including the Turkish Army for its M60 tank upgrade program and the USMC Expeditionary Fighting Vehicle. for the deployment for many months and the intensive training here with the Jackals on the Devon dunes is a key part of our UK training.

The Jackal is a fantastic piece of equipment - the troops are very impressed with it and its mobility over the roughest terrain is unrivalled. It’s been tested to its limits here on the dunes; it can get over, or up, pretty much anything.

The Jackal is one of the most agile and versatile vehicles on operations and has received enormous acclaim from soldiers on the ground. It has high levels of off-road mobility enabling troops to avoid well-trodden routes, giving them a degree of unpredictability which is an essential tactical asset in itself.

The design of the vehicle hull incorporates advanced armor protection features.

RPG Vehicle Protection

Textron Defense Systems, an operating unit of Textron Systems,. recently announced that its Tactical Rocket Propelled Grenade (RPG) Airbag Protection System (TRAPS) had successfully completed testing at the Energetic Materials Research and Testing Center (EMRTC) in Socorro, NM. The testing was accomplished under the supervision of the U.S. Army Tank Automotive Research, Development and Engineering Center.

TRAPS is a vehicle protection system that utilizes sensor detection technology combined with airbags and non-lethal countermeasures to defeat threats. During testing, numerous live RPGs were fired at different angles and from both short and long ranges at the TRAPS system.

“Goals for this round of testing included recording extensive system data, as well as evaluating its baseline operational performance,” said Tom McNamara, chief technology officer of Textron Systems Corporation.

“With these Phase I tasks accomplished successfully, we are looking forward to further fine tuning the TRAPS system’s capability.”

Phase II testing is expected to take place in late fall of this year. As with the successful Phase I test event, Phase II testing will utilize an architecture design for the mine resistant ambush protected vehicles.

“TRAPS is designed to deliver an invaluable measure of added protection to warfighters in the field,” said Textron Defense Systems senior vice president and general manager Mark Catizone.

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November 2009

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TARDEC and ARL Top Awards

A U.S. Army project to develop lightweight, mine-resistant fuel carriers has been recognized as an unparalleled example of the technology development and collaboration needed to protect and promote warfighters.

The U.S. Army Tank Automotive, Research, Development and Engineering Center’s (TARDEC’s) and Army Research Laboratory’s (ARL’s) lightweight vehicle underbody protection system (LVUPS) received a 2009 collaboration award during the U.S. Army Acquisitions Corps Annual Award Ceremony. The project, which linked the efforts of TARDEC engineers, other Army researchers and defense industry experts, has resulted in development of the LVUPS mine protection system that enhances field maneuverability, lowers weight, increases occupant protection, saves fuel and lowers the life-cycle costs associated with mine resistant ambush protected (MRAP) vehicles.

“This project exemplifies the kind of dedication, cooperation, innovation, expertise and personal pride necessary—and inherent —in every project and program that TARDEC undertakes on behalf of the nation’s military personnel,” noted TARDEC Director Dr. Grace M. Bochenek. “This kind of collaboration leverages the most advanced vehicle system technology solutions available for our

Ground Soldier System

Rockwell Collins has announced that it has delivered 10 prototype systems for the U.S. Army Ground Soldier System (GSS) Increment 1 program, which will significantly enhance soldiers’ effectiveness on the battlefield. soldiers and military personnel.”

“We believe the Rockwell Collins team

Engineers with TARDEC’s Prototype has created a system that will exceed nearly Integration Facility partnered with ARL, the every aspect of the requirements set forth Army Test and Evaluation Center and defense by the Ground Soldier program,” said Bruce industry contractors to design and field test King, vice president and general manager the underbody system. of surface solutions The system incorporates for Rockwell Collins. features that optimize a “We’re encouraged by vehicle’s ability to withthe feedback we’ve alstand blast force from ready received from improvised explosive soldiers, and expect that devices and other ex- The U.S. Research, Development and our GSS Increment 1 plosives and land mines. Engineering Command Acquisition system will be further Those materials and pro- Center (RDECOM) has a requirement, enhanced with the input cesses include the use of in support of the Rapid Equipping Force, obtained from the warfaluminum lithium 2195 for the development of a Pre-Sniper/ ighter during the protoand Friction Stir Weld- Pre-Marksman system that is mountable type evaluation phase.” ing.

King noted the U.S. to U.S. Army tactical vehicles and pro The annual awards vides the capability to detect the pres- government’s efforts ceremony recognizes the ence of enemy snipers and marksmen to embed members of accomplishments of the prior to a shot occurring. their team within the acquisition workforce’s Rockwell Collins team most extraordinary memallowed rapid progress bers and the teams they lead. and decision making on the overall system.

Rockwell Collins, together with its teammate Elbit Systems of America, created a full soldier system prototype that improves upon combat-proven displays and navigation systems originally developed for the Land Warrior program, and incorporates superior video processing, mass storage, computing and information assurance capabilities. The system includes Elbit Systems of America’s proven, soldier-worn Dominator computing system, to bring the required computing capability to the program.

The GSS Increment 1 program focuses on providing mature technologies to provide Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Acquisition, Logistics and Technology OASA(ALT) Military Deputy LTG N. Ross Thompson III (left), Deputy Assistant Secretary for improved situational awareness and network Research and Technology and Army Chief Scientist Dr. Thomas H. Killion (second from left) capabilities for the soldier, while minimizing and OASA(ALT) Principal Deputy Dean G. Popps (right) present a 2009 Department of the size, weight and power. Rockwell Collins is Army Research and Development Laboratory of the Year Award: Collaboration Team of the one of three companies selected for the techYear Award to ARL’s William Mermagen (center) and TARDEC Director Dr. Grace M. Bo- nology development phase of the program. chenek (fourth from left). (Photo by Paul Trembly.)

Pre-Gunshot Detection

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Emerging Defense Technologies

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November 2009

On Target Brigade Combat Team Modernization

In response to Defense Secretary Robert Gates’ order to dramatically revamp the Future Combat System, the Army is moving forward with a program called the Brigade Combat Team Modernization program.

The program is converting the effort to spin out FCS technologies into a capabilities package concept, but also is working to acquire a “single network solution,” by integrating current and future networks, to bring the existing MRAP vehicles into the force and to develop a ground combat vehicle that “will meet the needs of today and tomorrow,” said Lieutenant General Stephen Speakes, the deputy chief of staff, G-8.

At the same time, the Army must reset the mass of equipment being withdrawn from Iraq, Speakes said. “We are simultaneously resetting, upgrading, and modernizing,” he said.

But Major General Robert Lennox, who is Speakes’ designated replacement, warned that the defense budget appears to be flattening, while requirements, medical costs, military pay and the expense of infrastructure improvements the Army has promised its families are growing. “Declining resources will have an impact on us,” Lennox said, which will force the Army to “focus on what’s really important, and what’s not.”

Lieutenant General Michael Vane, director of Army Capabilities Integration Center at the Training and Doctrine Command, said the concepts and programs were developed based on lessons learned from eight years of

PEO Integration

The Department of the Army has announced that it established the Program Executive Office (PEO) Integration to support current and future acquisitions programs.

This office supports the April 2009 Secretary of Defense decision to cancel Future Combat Systems (FCS) and restructure the program in accordance with guidance by the Defense Acquisition Executive to the Army outlined in the June 2009 Acquisition Decision Memorandum.

PEO Integration will oversee several

Emerging Defense Technologies

war, from several modernization projects and from information from soldiers recently returned from war, the Army acquisition corps, other services and key allies. What they have learned is that providing protective capability in a future combat vehicle is primary, there is a need to avoid predictable routes, which means some off-road capability and “the need for a combat vehicle that can operate in a complex environment,” including urban areas, Vane said. That means the new vehicle will need to grow in “size, weight and computational capability.” The vehicle also must provide command and control on the move and with dismounted soldiers, he continued.

On developing the network, Vane said they were surprised to learn that soldiers and commanders in the field were more concerned with improving connectivity than getting the ability to move large volumes of data. “We must close the gap battalion and below,” he said.

Major General John Bratley, program executive officer for Integration, formerly the PEO for FCS, said they have produced a proposal for the new ground combat vehicle, which must be approved by the Joint Requirements Oversight Council and then the joint staff.

“The idea is to have an acquisition decision by the end of this year” and a draft request for proposals to industry next August.

Although details on the new vehicle are not set, Vane listed some of the attributes they are seeking, including MRAP-type protection

project and product management offices which focus on the Ground Combat Vehicle, the Network, and Brigade Combat Team (BCT) modernization.

“It is important for the Army to establish a new PEO,” said Acquisition Executive and Acting Assistant Secretary of the Army for Acquisition, Logistics and Technology Dean G. Popps. “We are moving forward with efforts to improve our ability to equip brigade combat teams, and to modernize the Army consistent with the Army force generation model. PEO integration will enable better portfolio management.”

against IEDs, but scalable protection that can be adjusted for other combat conditions, “mobility, as good as our Bradleys and Abrams can deliver today in off road,” and lower fuel consumption.

They also will be modernizing existing vehicles as well as buying new, he said.

The capabilities packages being developed will put FCS spin off technologies and other capabilities into the brigade combat teams first, then into other brigades, Vane said. They will include “non-material solutions,” including training, he added.

The plan is to have the ability to upgrade capabilities on a two-year cycle, rather than the current four years.

“Army modernization may shift to buying less, more often, to allow us to respond to changes,” Vane said.And, “strategy and risk assessment must drive procurement, not the other way around,” he said.

Lieutenant General Ross Thompson, director of the Army Acquisition Corps, said the Army is responding to orders from the Congress and Gates’ office to greatly expand its depleted acquisition work force and plans to add 2,000 new workers and to in-source 4,000 jobs currently contracted out.

Speakes summed up the presentation by saying that while the Army has challenges, “we have profited from the hard-won lessons of war.”

One of those lessons is that there is no certainty about the future, he noted.

“What we’re looking at is an Army that must continuously adapt its modernization strategy” to become a “versatile, flexible force.”

As part of the Army’s transition to a new modernization strategy, this new PEO will enhance the Army’s ability to develop and deliver improved warfighter capabilities needed in current and future contingency operations, such as identifying threats from standoff positions, gathering and disseminating real-time intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance information down to the soldier level, removing soldiers from potential danger by using unmanned systems and providing the BCT with a 40-kilometer precision-strike and allweather capability.

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November 2009

Mobile Fighting Positions

Defenshield has deployed its 1,000th mobile defensive fighting position (MDFP) with an award for 20 units from U.S. Marine Corps Base at Camp Lejeune, NC.

Since the company’s inception in 2002, Mobile Defensive Fighting Positions have been its most requested armor solution product, deployed at military bases, police stations, embassies, consulates, and nuclear facilities around the world. The units are commonly used at entry control points to provide a higher level of protection for security and overwatch personnel. They are also widely used in combat areas as a ballistic enhancement to temporary sand-filled or construction material outposts. Their portability and exceptional field of vision creates the ideal armor solution for deterrence applications and defeating attempts at reconnaissance. Units are deployed with all four branches of the U.S. military, at the Pentagon, the U.S. Na-

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val Observatory, and throughout the Middle Eastern Region in Iraq, Afghanistan, Kuwait and Turkey. They are also being used in drug interdiction programs in Mexico, and at high profile U.S. consulates in Thessaloniki, Greece and Kabul, Afghanistan.

“We have received many letters from fielded troops thanking us for saving their lives and developing products that help them to feel protected during a security detail,” said Collins White, President of Defenshield.

“Our goal is to keep providing that level of protection and bringing our soldiers home safely every day. We’re excited to reach the 1,000 mark and look forward to continued growth.”

The MDFPs for Camp Lejeune will be fitted with ATV-style tires for added mobility on rough surfaces, as well as red-brick camography which will allow the units to blend in with the existing architecture and design of the base. Delivery is expected in December. A variety of accessories and options are available for the MDFP, allowing it to be customized for different applications and environmental situations.

New Heavy Synthetic Grease Amsoil Inc., Superior, WI, has developed a new line of heavy-duty synthetic polymeric greases designed to excel in extreme environments, featuring a calcium-sulfonate complex thickener for enhanced extreme-pressure performance.

AMSOIL Synthetic Polymeric Off-Road Grease has been custom-built to provide performance benefits specific to off-road equipment. AMSOIL Synthetic Polymeric Off-Road Grease utilizes a uniquely engineered technology for tenacious cling ability and maximum pound-out resistance over extended service intervals, even in wet environments.

Features of the new grease include:

Extreme impact resistance

Moly-fortified to meet CAT specifications

Excellent water washout resistance

Extended service life

Reduced environmental impact

The new AMSOIL Synthetic Polymeric Off-Road Grease is ideal for heavy-duty, heavy-load-bearing applications operating in adverse conditions, including power shovels, drag lines, wheel and track loaders, excavators, bulldozers, skid steers and other heavy-duty equipment. It excels at protecting heavily-loaded points such as pivot pins, king pins, bucket pins and bushings.

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Thermal Camera Partnership

It was recently announced that FLIR Systems and Sofradir will be collaborating on state-of-the-art, third-generation dual-band detectors and camera cores to create thermal cameras with enhanced capabilities for military and commercial applications.

Sofradir brings its industry-leading detector technology and mass production capacities, while FLIR will design cameras and insert them into both U.S. and international developed systems.

“FLIR Systems and Sofradir share a common goal to supply the global sensor market with leading-edge technology,” said Bill Sundermeier, president, FLIR Systems Government Systems division. “This relationship reinforces the confidence that our customers have in our increased technological capabilities.’

“We are pleased to be working side-byside with FLIR, whose reputation for product quality is recognized worldwide,” said Philippe Bensussan, chairman and CEO of Sofradir. “Together we’ll be offering the best dual-band product on the market.”

This collaboration comes at a point when dual-band detectors are just beginning to become available after a long period of materials development in several countries.

Sofradir’s IR detectors are integrated into thousands of military-grade systems deployed to detect, observe and identify objects at great distances, day and night, through fog, smoke and dust. Sofradir has introduced numerous firsts to the IR camera and optronics systems sector, and several of its IR detectors have set new industry standards in performance.

The dual-band thermal camera will operate in the midwave and longwave bandwidths, allowing users to switch spectral bands depending on the particular object to be identified or surveyed. The longwave bandwidth can optimize detection at cooler temperatures, and be beneficial on a battlefield, in the presence of dust, smoke or fog. The midwave bandwidth will enhance performance in high temperature and high humidity. The cameras will also provide for efficient image fusion between the two bands, as the images will be naturally registered.

Emerging Defense Technologies

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November 2009

Calendar of Events Combatant Commanders Conference November 3-4, 2009 Defense Technical Information Center confinfo@dtic.mil Armoured Vehicles Australia November 5-6, 2009 IDGA Canberra, Australia www.idga.org Defence Logistics November 9-10, 2009 SMi Defence London, UK www.smi-online.co.uk Defence Equipment Maintenance November 11-12, 2009 The Shephard Group Berkshire, UK ww.shephard.co.uk Military Engineering November 16-17, 2009 The Shephard Group Kent, UK www.shephard.co.uk

IDGA Abu Dhabi, UAE www.idga.org National Symposium on Acoustics November 26-28, 2009 Research Centre Imarat Hyderabad, India Nsa2009rci@gmail.com Infantry Weapons November 30-December 1, 2009 IDGA Brussels, Belgium www.idga.org Defense Logistics December 1-4, 2009 WBR Arlington, VA www.wbresearch.com Vehicle Maintenance Summit December 7-9, 2009 IDGA Washington, DC www.idga.org

Soldier Equipment Expo November 16-18, 2009 IDGA Fayetteville, NC www.idga.org

Soldier Survivability and Personal Protection December 9-10, 2009 IDGA London, UK ww.idga.org

Expeditionary Warfare Conference November 16-19, 2009 NDIA Panama City, FL www.ndia.org

Soldier Technology January 19-22, 2009 WBR Crystal City, VA www.wbresearch.com

Light Armored Vehicles & Stryker Summit November 16-19, 2009 IDGA Vienna, VA www.idga.org

Defence Logistics Middle East January 24-27, 2010 IDGA Abu Dhabi, UAE www.idga.org

International Defence Logistics November 18-19, 2009 IDGA Canberra, Australia www.idga.org Armoured Vehicles Middle East November 22-24, 2009

Emerging Defense Technologies

International Armoured Vehicles February 1-5, 2010 IDGA London, UK www.idga.org Tactical Wheeled Vehicles Conference February 7-9, 2010 NDIA

Monterey, CA www.ndia.org Munitions Executive Summit February 8-10, 2010 NDIA Coronado, CA www.ndia.org Special Operations/Low Intensity Conflict Conference February 9-11, 2010 NDIA Washington, DC www.ndia.org DEFEXPO February 15-18, 2010 New Delhi, India www.defexpo.com AUSA Winter February 24-26, 2010 AUSA Fort Lauderdale, FL www.ausa.org NAVEXFOR March 1-3, 2010 Lodestar Group Virginia Beach, VA www.defensetradeshows.com PROTEX Kuwait March 8-10, 2010 Kuwait City, Kuwait www.protexkuwait.com Ground Robotics Capabilities Conference March 16-18, 2010 NDIA Miami, FL www.ndia.org Future Artillery March 25-26, 2010 IDGA London, UK www.idga.org MARCORSYSCOM APBI April 5-7, 2010 NDIA Baltimore, MD www.ndia.org

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November 2009

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Technology Briefs Ammunition and Munitions  

Artillery       

      

 

 

Communications, Sensors & Surveillance

 

Ground Vehicles  

Infantry Weapons Soldier Survivability and Gear

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Emerging Defense Technologies



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November 2009

Ammunition & Munitions Quick Firing Round, “Ostashkov” for Smooth Bore Tank Gun Gosudarstvennoe obrazovatel’noe uchrezhdenie vysshego professional’nogo obrazovanija Moskovskij gosudarstvennyj tekhnicheskij universitet imeni N.Eh. Baumana Country of origin: Russia Language: Russian

This invention is related to ammunition with electronic trajectory detonating fuses.

Round comprises cartridge with powder propellant charge, extended electric igniter with channel installed in bottom part of cartridge, charge with bottom igniter connected to cartridge, with rigid stabilizer with beam, in which axial channel is arranged, and device for commands input.

Electric igniter is arranged with external electric contact brought out to cartridge end, which is connected to bottom detonating fuse by means of electric circuit, which includes cable installed in channel of extended electric igniter, plug socket between extended electric igniter and charge stabilizer, and cable installed in axial channel of stabilizer beam, besides, bottom detonating fuse is equipped with commutator arranged with the possibility to charge capacitor that supplies to bottom detonating fuse after command is sent for firing round, installation of bottom detonating fuse operation mode and supply of impulse to electric igniter.

The reported effect is a higher rate of firing.

3 drawings

Tank Round of Separate Charging “Valday” with Laser Input of Detonating Fuse Installation Gosudarstvennoe obrazovatel’noe uchrezhdenie vysshego professional’nogo obrazovanija Moskovskij gosudarstvennyj tekhnicheskij universitet imeni N.Eh. Baumana Country of origin: Russia Language: Russian

This invention is related to ammunition. Round comprises charge with bottom trajectory detonating fuse equipped with

Emerging Defense Technologies

receiver of laser radiation, and partially burning cartridge with powder charge and its igniter. At axis of cartridge bottom a transparent optical window is installed, and along axis of powder charge there is a tube installed, being made of burning material and connected by back end to transparent optical window of cartridge bottom, and by front end - to receiver of laser radiation of bottom trajectory detonating fuse.

The reported effect is a higher rate of firing and probability of target hitting.

3 drawings

Fragmenting Beam Projectile “Posvizd” Federal’noe gosudarstvennoe unitarnoe predprijatie Tsentral’nyj nauchnoissledovatel’skij institut khimii i mekhaniki - TsNIIKhM Country of origin: Russia Language: Russian

This invention is related to ammunition with axial directed field of destruction.

Missile comprises body with set of missile units serially installed along axis of projectile, every of which comprises charge of explosive substance and set of ready destructive elements laid on its end surface inverted to head of projectile. Missile units are fixed in body of projectile, besides distance between them does not exceed 0.8 of missile unit diameter.

The reported effect is increased destructive action of projectile.

4 drawings

Cartridge Having a Sabot Projectile Rheinmetall Waffe Munition Country of origin: Germany Language: German

The invention relates to a method for the production of a cartridge, and to a cartridge produced according to said method having a projectile and a combustible propellant charge case and having a case cover connecting the propellant charge case to the projectile. The projectile comprises a sealing ring adjoining the case cover. In order to provide a cost-effective assembly of such a cartridge, the invention proposes for the case cover to be produced as an injection-molded part from an elastic plastic, wherein the front region of the case cover facing the projectile forms the sealing ring.

3 drawings

Unknown 1 Country of origin: China Language: Chinese 2 drawings

Unknown 2 Country of origin: China Language: Chinese 3 drawings

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November 2009 Illumination or Signal Round for Grenade Launcher Federal’noe gosudarstvennoe unitarnoe predprijatie Federal’nyj nauchno-proizvodstvennyj tsentr Nauchno-issledovatel’skij institut prikladnoj khimii Country of origin: Russia Language: Russian

T\his invention is related to fixed signal facilities, and may be used in illumination or signal rounds for grenade launchers. Moderator is separated from propellant charge by diaphragm with opening with diameter equal to 0.12…0.51 of moderator internal diameter, and parachute is installed in semispherical fairing and is separated from cable by means of gasket, at that grenade extension is equal to 2.4…3.2 of caliber.

The reported effect is provision of required parameters of distance, height and concentration.

2 drawings

Insert with Cells for Package of Cartridges and Package of Cartridges Zolotov Igor’ Alekseevich Country of origin: Russia Language: Russian

The invention is related to package with inserts of cell type, which is intended for storage and transportation of ammunition for small arms. Insert with cells for package of cartridges comprises two parts installed symmetrically relative to each other with front and back sides, at that cells of each part are arranged in the form of open seat rows salient outside relative to back side, which repeat with their profile at least part of cartridge profile, between seat rows there is a longitudi-

29 nal stress concentrator, and parts of insert are arranged with the possibility to fold relative to stress concentrator till contact of their back sides. Package of cartridges comprises box with internal cavity limited by longitudinal and side walls, cover and bottom, in which insert with cells is installed, front sides of which are arranged with the possibility of contact with longitudinal walls of box, and back sides - with the possibility of contact between each other.

The reported effect is the provision of reliable fixation of cartridges in storage and transportation, complete recycling of inserts without harm to environment, expansion of package operational resources, and also solving problem of secondary use of paper and pulp wastes.

6 drawings

Device for Separating Links of an Ammunition Belt Nexter Systems Country of origin: France Language: French

L’invention a pour objet un dispositif assurant la séparation des maillons d’une bande d’emport de munitions. Ce dispositif est caractérisé en ce qu ‘il comporte des

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moyens assurant le basculement du premier maillon ainsi que des moyens assurant le guidage et le maintien du maillon suivant pendant le basculement du premier maillon.

7 drawings Method for Detection of Incendiary Property of High Explosive Fragmentation Projectile Muzhichek Sergej Mikhajlovich, Vinokurov Vladimir Ivanovich and Efanov Vasilij Vasil’evich, Shajmordanov Sergej Gennad’evich Country of origin: Russia Language: Russian

This invention is related to the field of ammunition testing and may be used to detect incendiary action of projectiles.

Invention consists in firing of test projectiles at imitator of fuel tank via screen arranged in the form of dural sheet, screen strike-through, creation of small heated particles - heated dispersed metal, creation of shot hole in imitator of fuel tank. At the same time direct contact is provided between heated particles - heated dispersed metal, products of explosion, fragments, vapors and fuel flowing out of fuel tank imitator shot hole. Due to that fuel ignition and burning takes place. Light energy coefficient KL E is identified as ratio of explosion products glowing time to time of explosion products volume growth in test high explosive fragmentation projectile.

Explosion products emission intensity coefficient KI is defined as ratio of intensity of test and reference projectiles emission, and igniting property coefficient KI G is defined for test high explosive fragmentation projectile as product of light energy and explosion products emission intensity coefficients KL E KI.

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30

The reported effect is higher information value.

2 drawings Systems and Methods for a Selectively Engageable Shaft Lock and Drive Device Priority General Dynamics Ordnance and Tactical Systems, Inc. Country or origin: USA Language: English

The present invention provides an apparatus and methods directed to a selectively engageable shaft locking device. In one embodiment, a shaft lock device is presented which enables the testing of the shaft and shaft drive device without engaging the drive mechanism into a fully operational state.

Another embodiment provides the ability to return the shaft lock device to a storage state after full engagement. The present invention also provides for methods of testing a selective shaft lock device according to the disclosures contained herein.

5 drawings

Target Acquisition and Tracking System Trex Enterprises Corp.

Country of origin: USA Language: English

A projectile tracking system for acquiring and precisely tracking a projectile in flight in order to reveal the source from which the projectile was fired. The source is revealed by the back projection of a 3-dimensional track file. In preferred embodiments the system is installed on a vehicle, such as an un-manned blimp or other aircraft, road vehicle or ship, for locating

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and destroying small arms fire directed at the vehicle. A kill system may also be included on the vehicle to destroy the source of the projectile.

17 drawings Solid Propellant Management Control System Honeywell International Country of origin: USA Language: English

Systems and methods of controlling solid propellant burn rate, propellant gas pressure, propellant gas pressure pulse shape, and propellant gas flow rate, rely on the position of a throttling valve. A throttling valve that is movable to a control position is disposed downstream of, and in fluid communication with, a solid propellant gas generator, and in parallel with a plurality of reaction control valves. The solid propellant in the solid propellant gas generator is ignited, to thereby generate propellant gas.

The throttling valve is moved to a control position to attain a desired solid propellant burn rate, propellant gas pressure, and/or propellant gas pressure pulse shape.

4 drawings

Explosion-Proof and Bullet-Proof Protective Device Gosudarstvennoe obrazovatel’noe uchrezhdenie vysshego professional’nogo obrazovanija Voennaja akademija Raketnykh vojsk strategicheskogo naznachenija imeni Petra Velikogo Country of origin: Russia Language: Russian

This design describes protective device includes external (explosion-proof) and internal (bullet-proof) circuits. External circuit is made of metal grids in the form of curtains with gathers, and internal circuit includes steel screen and metal grid cur-

November 2009

tains with cell size not exceeding one bullet gauge. Both circuits are preengineered and mounted as separate modules including 1-3 grid curtain units in metal frames, or steel screens. Modules are fastened to each other, with external circuit curtains mounted in metal racks tilted at 45-60° towards the curtains at both sides in fishbone pattern, and internal circuit curtains fixated at inner side of rack. Curtains are made of elastic grid with spatial lattice.

The reported effect is reduced metal consumption, reliable triggering of hollowcharge grenade in external circuit, intensive dispersion of explosive jet in air, simplified installation and disassembly, enhanced total efficiency of protective device.

1 drawing

Projectile Having A Window For Transmitting Power and/or Data Into The Projectile Interior Omnitek Partners LLC Country of origin: USA Language: English

A method is provided for optically providing at least one of power and data to a projectile from an external optical source.

The method including: outputting an optical signal from an external optical source into an interior of the projectile; receiving the optical signal in the interior of projectile and at least one of converting the optical signal to electrical energy and storing data provided in the optical signal. The electrical energy can be provided to the one or more electronic components and/or energy storage medium disposed on the interior of the projectile. The data provided in the optical signal can be provided to a data storage medium disposed on the interior of the projectile.

5 drawings Guided Missile Gosudarstvennoe unitarnoe predprijatie Konstruktorskoe bjuro priborostroenija Country of origin: Russia Language: Russian

The guided missile design described

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November 2009 here comprises fair, tandem combat part comprising leading shaped charge (LSC) and main combat part, and extending head part. Fair has bottom with LSC seat. LSC casing is arranged in nose fair to form a closed chamber between nose fair and LSC casing front end face that communicates, via a channel, with pulsed pressure source. Extending front part represents a set of hollow telescopic links and compression spring.

Extreme inner link has a nose shell with orifice and electric contact element. Extreme outer link has a dead bottom and is arranged to axially move in guide sleeve fastened on nose fair. The latter accommodates locking element representing a plug with normalized break-off force. Guide sleeve and telescopic mechanism outer link have outer link locking element.

The reported effect is higher efficiency.

3 drawings

Guided Missile (2) Gosudarstvennoe unitarnoe predprijatie Konstruktorskoe bjuro priborostroenija Country of origin: Russia Language: Russian

This guided missile design comprises fair, tandem combat part comprising leading shaped charge (LSC), main combat part and head contact device arranged on missile nose fair extending with the help of pyro mechanism with gas generator.

31 Aforesaid pyro mechanism represents a cylindrical base arranged on LSC casing and furnished with dead circular clearance relative to LSC casing and fitted in circular clearance of hollow piston representing a thin-wall cylinder jointed to nose fair.

Sealing elements are fitted along the cylindrical base faces. Spring ring is arranged on front-end face of the said cylindrical base to lock piston in pulled-out position.

Aforesaid cylindrical base, piston with nose fair, casing and LSC funnel form a closed chamber communicated with gas generator fastened at the cylindrical base rear end face.

The reported effect is higher combat efficiency.

2 drawings Guided Missile Steering Gear Gosudarstvennoe unitarnoe predprijatie Konstruktorskoe bjuro priborostroenija Country of origin: Russia Language: Russian

This guided missile steering gear comprises two one-way actuating motors jointed, via rocker, with rudders axles. Actuating motors represent plunger electromagnets with armatures furnished with rods provided with end caps. The latter represent a lug with opening for pivot bolt displaced relative to rod axial line in perpendicular direction. Caps and rocker are pivoted together so that rocker arm length to the pivot makes less than half the OD of plunger electromagnet casing.

The reported effect is higher stability, simplified design.

2 drawings

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Large-gauge Rear-loaded Ammunition Nexter Munitions Country of origin: France Language: French L’invention concerne une munition de gros calibre constituée d’un projectile fixé à une jupe combustible fermée par un culot, un dôme de liaison étant prévu entre la jupe et le culot.Le dôme de liaison comporte une première paroi latérale coopérant avec la jupe et une seconde paroi latérale prolongeant la première et coopérant avec le culot et ce dôme comprend des moyens assurant sa liaison avec la jupe lorsqu’ils sont rabattus par le culot sur la paroi latérale de la jupe combustible.Application aux munitions chargeables par l’arrière.

8 drawings

Plasma Generator for an ElectrothermalChemical Weapons System Comprising Ceramic, Method of Fixing the Ceramic in the Plasma Generator and Ammunition Round Comprising Such a Plasma Generator BAE Systems Bofors Country of origin: Sweden Language: Englisg

The invention relates to a plasma generator for electrothermal and electrothermal-chemical weapons systems, the plasma generator being intended, via at least one emitted energy pulse, to form a plasma, which is designed to accelerate a projectile along the barrel of the weapons system in question, the plasma generator comprising a combustion chamber having an axial combustion chamber channel and a ceramic arranged inside the combustion chamber channel for insulating the combustion chamber. According to the invention the ceramic

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32 consists of a shrink- fixed, compressively pre-stressed ceramic tube. The invention also relates to a method for shrink-fixing the ceramic tube in the combustion chamber channel as well as an ammunition round comprising a plasma generator according to the invention.

10 drawings

November 2009

a sensor on or in the sabot projectile, said sensor generating a signal upon ablation of at least one sabot segment from the projectile body, wherein the sensor is connected to the projectile igniter by an electrical connection, so that the sensor signal can be used for activating the projectile igniter.

1 drawing

Sabot Projectile Rheinmetall Waffe Munition Country of origin: Germany Language: German

The invention relates to a sabot projectile having a subcaliber projectile body and a sabot, wherein the projectile body comprises a projectile sleeve having an explosive charge and a time-adjustable projectile igniter. In order to provide an arming device that is simply and robustly constructed and can be manufactured at low cost, and that can be used for stabilized subcaliber sabot projectiles, the invention proposes disposing

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November 2009

Artillery

33

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Artillery Piece of Caseless Charging Otkrytoe aktsionernoe obshchestvo spetsial’nogo mashinostroenija i metallurgii Motovilikhinskie zavody Country of origin: Russia Language: Russian

The artillery piece of caseless charging described in this document is intended for application with lock having rotary frame, on which obturator is installed with cartridge chamber. Artillery piece comprises mechanism for feeding of ignition tubes into cartridge chamber, arranged in the form of carriage installed on barrier with the possibility of longitudinal displacement with feed hopper of ignition tubes and rammer, having possibility of kinematic connection with frame of lock during return. In case of kinematic connection of grip, rammer, carriage and feed hopper, their mutual displacement takes place until output window of feed hopper is installed opposite to seat of cartridge chambe so that rammed ignition tube becomes coaxial to cartridge chamber, and rammer rotates and rams ignition tube in seat of cartridge chamber.

The reported effect provides for automatic supply and ramming of ignition tubes with application of lock that provides for reliable obturation of gases.

3 drawiings

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Communications, Sensors & Surveillance Sight Instrument of Homing with Laser Rangefinder Otkrytoe aktsionernoe obshchestvo Peleng Country of origin: Russia Language: Russian

This sight-instrument includes the following optically connected components lens, spectrum divider, surveillance system, including fixed grid, on one of working surfaces of which, installed in focal plane of lens, a sight mark is formed, erecting system with variable magnification, including at least two replaceable lens unit installed with the possibility of variable location on lens axis, and ocular, which create a sighting channel, transmitting channel of range finder, including optically connected pulse laser and the first forming system, homing channel, including serially installed and optically connected laser of permanent radiation, the second forming system, comprising raster modulator with pancreatic system, spectrum divider and lens, receiving channel of range finder, including optically connected lens, spectrum divider, flat mirror, introduced into optical track of homing channel, and the first photodetector device.

Lens is common for sighting channel, homing channel and receiving channel of range finder. Flat mirror is installed on axis of homing channel at the outlet of the second forming system with the possibility of its introduction into optical track of homing channel or withdrawal from it by means of rotation around axis parallel to normal line to its surface.

The reported effect of this invention makes it possible to produce devices for surveillance of objects and sighting, and also for measurement of distances to targets with the help of inbuilt laser range finder and for homing of controlled rockets to target by laser beam.

3 drawings

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November 2009

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Low Authority GPS Aiding if Navigation System for Anti-Spoofing Country of origin: USA Language: English

A method and apparatus for generating navigation solutions. A global positioning system based navigation solution unit; an inertial navigation solution unit; a correction unit, a limiter, and an adding unit. The global positioning system based navigation solution unit is capable of generating a first navigation solution. The inertial navigation solution unit is capable of generating a second navigation solution. The correction unit is capable of generating a raw correction. The limiter is capable of selectively modifying the raw correction to fall within a selected range of corrections to form a correction.

The adding unit is capable of adding the correction to the second navigation solution to form a navigation solution.

12 drawings Directed Energy Beam Virtual Fence Raytheon Corp.

Country of origin: USA Language: English

There is disclosed apparatus and methods for a directed energy beam virtual fence.

The directed energy beam virtual fence may include a source unit to provide an energy beam and a sequence of relay units disposed at intervals along the length of the virtual fence. Each relay unit in the sequence may receive the energy beam from a previous unit and may recollimate and redirect the energy beam towards a subsequent unit.

7 drawings

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November 2009

35

Ground Vehicles Motorcycle Equipped with Arms RAJaLIN Tom and KhEL’KAMA Mikko Country of origin: Russia Language: Russian

This concept describes a motorcycle, equipped with arms, comprises front and back wheels or front ski and caterpillar band installed backwards, chassis, front frame, steering wheel, rotary facilities, installed between steering wheel and front wheel or ski. With the help of rotary facilities, rotary motions of steering wheel are sent to front wheel or ski. Rotary facilities include suspension elements for arms, by means of which arms are connected to rotary facilities with the possibility of its aiming with the help of steering wheel, and also connection mechanism with switching elements, which provide for connection of arms to steering wheel for its homing in horizontal direction due to rotary motions (α1) of steering wheel, or disengagement from steering wheel with the possibility to use steering wheel for control of motorcycle.

The reported effect of the invention provides for high firing capacity, rapidity and maneuverability, surprise of attack, low probability of detection and destruction, and also low costs in production and maintenance.

7 drawings

System for Ventilating Inside a Protected Test Vehicle with an Area for Carrying Contaminated Probes Rheinmetall Landsysteme GMBH Country of origin: Germany Language: German

Vorgeschlagen wird eine Druckkaskade zwischen einem Innenraum zur Aufnahme einer Besatzung etc., einer, die kontaminierten Proben aufnehmenden Räumlichkeit sowie einer Umgebung aufzubauen, wodurch auf eine Abluftförderung als zusätzliche Einrichtung verzichtet wird.

Emerging Defense Technologies Dazu ist vorgesehen, dass ein Zuluftgebläse im Innenraum einen inneren Überdruck zur Umgebung schafft und in der Räumlichkeit gegenüber dem Innenraum ein Unterdruck vorhanden ist. Zwischen dem Innenraum und der Räumlichkeit sowie zwischen der Räumlichkeit sind zudem Überdruckventile eingebunden, so dass über diese zumindest im Arbeitsbetrieb die Zu- und Abluft innerhalb der Räumlichkeit reguliert wird.

3 drawings

Integrated Headlight Assembly for Tactical Vehicles Lockheed Martin Corp.

Country of origin: USA Language: English

An integrated front lighting unit for a tactical vehicle, which includes a housing, multiple lights and a single connector for connection to a vehicle electrical system.

All the parts are located in or on the housing which may include a front, a top, a bottom, two sides, a back and mounting tabs or another mounting arrangement. There is wiring for each light in the unit having a cable and all cables are attached to the single connector. The multiple lights in the unit may include a blackout driving light, a blackout turn signal, a headlight, a turn signal and a side marker truck light. The lights may use LEDs as light sources.

7 drawings

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Blast Protected Structures for Vehicles Country of origin: Australia Language: English

This design features a protective structure of a vehicle comprising a compartment that holds at least one occupant and at least one compartment extending forward from the occupant compartment and opening into the occupant compartment to receive the legs of the occupant. The compartments include downwardly convergent undersides formed of blast-resistant material.

16 drawings

Strukturteil für eine Fahrzeug-Panzerung (Structure of a Vehicle) Edag GMBH & Co KGAA Country of origin: Germany Language: German

Die Erfindung betrifft ein Strukturteil für eine Fahrzeug-Panzerung, vorzugsweise der Beschussklasse FB7, das folgende Merkmale aufweist: a) Das Strukturteil umfasst ein ballistisches Blech einer Stahllegierung oder mehrerer Schichten unterschiedlicher Stahllegierungen oder besteht aus solch einem Blech, b) das Blech ist in einem Stück in einem Prozess der Warmumformung dreidimensional geformt c) und nach der Warmumformung gehärtet, wobei das Blech oder im Falle eines mehrschichtigen Blechs wenigstens eines der Schichten eine Härte von wenigstens 56 hrc aufweist.

1 drawing

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36 Vehicle Safety Seat Gemini SRL Country of origin: Italy Language: English

Vehicle safety seat comprising a seating part and a backrest part, wherein the seat is adapted to be mounted on a vehicle, between a floor region and a roof region thereof, by means of a plurality of belts arranged above and below the seat. The seat comprises a rigid frame which supports the seating part and the backrest part. The plurality of belts comprises a pair of lower belts which are anchored to the lower end of the backrest part, on the opposite sides thereof, and are arranged to anchor the seat to the floor region of the vehicle, and a pair of upper belts which are anchored to the upper end of the backrest part, on the opposite sides thereof, and are arranged to anchor the seat to the roof region of the vehicle. The lower belts or the upper belts are provided with suspension means, respectively, for allowing a controlled elastic elongation of those belts as a result of a tensile force applied thereto.

4 drawings

stored under covers. Only when the vehicle is on water do the covers open and buoyancy bodies fill with air. An on-board compressed air system supplies air for filling buoyancy bodies so that air, which is not required by a braking installation or the like of the vehicle, is used to fill the buoyancy bodies. The additional use of outside air enables more air to be supplied to the buoyancy bodies at a low pressure than the sole use of the on-board compressed air system. In order to empty the buoyancy bodies, a vacuum is generated in connection lines. When stop cocks are open, air is sucked out of the buoyancy bodies, which then fold up and the covers are closed and locked.

5 drawings

Chassis Frame of a Motor Vehicle International Truck Country of origin: USA Language: English

A chassis frame uses channels as right and left side rails. A lower “clam” has a horizontal bottom wall that bridges the side rails and is disposed against bottom flanges of the side rail channels and vertical side flanges that extend from opposite sides of the bottom wall upward and against a face

Vehicle with Buoyancy Bodies Rheinmetall Landsysteme GmbH Country of origin: Germany Language: German

According to the invention, inflatable buoyancy bodies are kept in storage housings on the outside of a vehicle. During normal use, buoyancy bodies are folded up and

Emerging Defense Technologies

November 2009

of a respective one of vertical walls of the channels that is exterior to the interior of the respective channel. An upper “clam” is a mirror image of the lower “clam” and fits over the side rails. Spacer structure is disposed between and in abutment with the side rail channels and between and in abutment with the “clams” in inwardly spaced relation to the side rail channels. Fasteners fasten various parts together to complete the cross member that is formed by the “clams” and the spacer structure.

7 drawings

Composite Armor Plate and Ceramic Bodies Country of origin: Israel Language: English

The invention provides a composite armor plate for absorbing and dissipating kinetic energy from high-velocity projectiles, the plate comprising a single internal layer of pellets which are bound and retained in plate form by an elastic material, substantially internally within the elastic material, such that the pellets are bound in a plurality of spaced-apart rows and columns, the pellets being made of ceramic material, and the pellets being substantially fully embedded in the elastic material so that the pellets form an internal layer, wherein the solidified material and the plate are elastic, and wherein a majority of each of the pellets is in direct contact with six adjacent pellets in the same layer to provide mutual lateral confinement therebetween, each of the pellets being characterized by a body having a substantially regular geometric cross-sectional area and first and second end faces, each of the end faces projecting from the body and having an outwardly decreasing cross-sectional area

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November 2009 wherein the height of the end face disposed substantially opposite to an outer impact receiving major surface of the plate is less than 15% of the length of the diameter of the pellet body from which it projects 6 drawings Laminate Armor System for Police Vehicle Country of origin: USA Language: English

A method to protect a police officer receiving small arms fire utilizes a pliable armor sheet of interconnected, hinged, articulating panels. During construction of a police vehicle outwardly curving convex panel windows are utilized and made from tempered glass or from laminated glass including an outer convex surface, a first glass panel, a second glass panel, and a polymer sheet intermediate said first and second glass panels. The armor sheet is mounted in a dispensing unit housing in a wound configuration in said driver’s side door for deployment therefrom at an angle canted inwardly toward said interior of said frame, to contact directly with said outer convex surface of a convex window in the driver’s side door to form a canted convex small arms fire-resistant laminate comprising the armor sheet and the window in the driver’s side door.

30 drawings

Loading and Unloading Stabilization in an Active Suspension System Bose Corporation Country of origin: USA Language: English

An active suspension system includes a relative slow-responding force bias eliminator (such as a pneumatic actuator) and a relatively fast-responding actuator (such as an electromagnetic actuator) that together support a plant (such as a truck seat or vehicle cabin). The system also includes a load-unload detector (which may be a physical or virtual detector) to detect a loading or unloading of the plant. When such a loading or unloading is detected, the system causes the force bias eliminator to respond quickly

37 (e.g., as quick as possible) while controlling the fast-responding actuator so as to preserve the available energy for operating the actuator (e.g., so as to keep the fast-responding actuator from consuming all of its available energy) prior to when the force bias eliminator can respond.

6 drawings

Armored Motor Car OOO Volgogradskaja mashinostroitel’naja kompanija VgTZ Country of origin: Russia Language: Russian

This design relates to multi-functional armored motor cars of enhanced carrying capacity to solve transportation problems presuming requirements of air transportation and air deployment delivery and assaults from Navy landing ship and rapid negotiating large water obstacles. Armored motor car is represented as light-weight (13.2 tons) armored floating and high-speed machine enclosed into aluminum deck-house-type body. It is provided with pneumatic suspension and clearance controlled by pneumatics. There are multi-purpose arm-chairs for work and assault from aircraft. Control compartment is in the front part of machine body. Troop transporting section is in the middle of the machine. Power unit with opposite diesel engine and hydro mechanical transmission provided with hydro- volume steering unit and two hydro-jet propulsions having impeller of 340mm diameter are in the rear motor and transmission compartment.

The reported effect of the armored motor car is provided with high carrying, negotiability and mobility characteristics; high volumetric and comfort factors

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inside machine body significantly enhance mobility and power of air and navy assault forces when fulfilling combat missions.

22 drawings Reconnaissance Chemical Machine OOO Volgogradskaja mashinostroitel’naja kompanija VgTZ Country of origin: Russia Language: Russian

The concept of the described reconnaissance chemical car is intended for radiation, chemical and biological reconnaissance by air and navy assault troops in case of NBC delivery attack, especially in regions with prevailing low temperatures. Reconnaissance chemical car is represented with light-weight armored floating car that can be air transported and assaulted together with combat unit. It is a full-track car with weight to 13.2 tons. The car is enclosed into aluminum body and provided with deck-house welded to the body. Clearance is controlled by pneumatic suspension. There is a standalone machine gun in rotating turret of the car. A set of standard special equipment for reconnaissance is available in the car as well as multipurpose armchairs to work and assault from air craft. The car is provided with power unit with opposite diesel motor and hydro mechanical transmission with hydro volume steering unit.

The reported effect of the combat car provides high mobility characteristics, high volumetric parameters inside body and deck-house, minimum weight, that increase mobility and power of air and navy assault troops when performing various combat missions in case of NBC delivery attack.

18 drawings

Apparatus and Method of Litter Support System for Vehicles Ferno Washington Inc. Country of origin: USA Language: English

A litter support system for a vehicle

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38 including a support framework connectable to a wall of the vehicle, an upper litter support arm for holding a litter, the upper litter support arm connected to the support framework, a lower litter support arm for holding a litter, the lower litter support arm connected to the support framework, wherein the upper and lower litter support arms are connected to the support framework such that the upper and lower litter support arms are rotatable between a store position and a first support position and movable substantially horizontally between the first support position substantially adjacent to and near the support framework and a second support position substantially extended outwardly from the support framework.

21 drawings

Vehicle for Transport of Persons and/or Cargo in Regions Where Detonations are to be Expected Drehtainer ZGMBH Spezial Conati Country of origin: Germany Language: German

The invention relates to a vehicle for transport of persons and/or cargo in regions where detonations are to be expected. The vehicle has a chassis or platform loadbed with drive unit and also with steerable and driven wheels, a shielded vehicle part secured to the platform loadbed for the accommodation of persons and/or cargo and a driver’s cab. The driver’s cab is designed as a module which can be separately secured to the platform loadbed and which is shielded against detonations and/or is of a hardened design, and is equipped in the interior

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thereof with steering and control mechanisms whose steering and control commands are transmitted to the platform loadbed for execution.

3 drawings Transporter-Launcher Container of Minelayer Rossijskaja Federatsija, ot imeni kotoroj vystupaet gosudarstvennyj zakazchik-Ministerstvo oborony Rossijskoj Federatsii, Otkrytoe aktsionernoe obshchestvo Konstruktorskoe bjuro transportnogo Mashinostroenija Country of origin: Russia Language: Russian

This design concept is related to facilities of minelayers installation, namely to transporter-launcher containers of mobile systems of remote undermining. For installation of mine cassettes in body there is a replaceable unit of frame structure.

On base from the side of bottom there are elements of power distribution network fixed with creation of single detachable set together with base. Alternate connection of mine cassettes to system of undermining control with the possibility to set time of self-liquidation and mines shooting in compliance with specified program is realized through shooting control instrument (SCI), fixed on body of container. SCI is electrical-

November 2009

ly connected with contact seats by means of power distribution network. To provide for possibility of self-liquidation time setting signal transfer to mine cassette, there are circuits of coded signal transfer introduced into power distribution network, and this coded signal sets time of mines self-liquidation, and circuits of activation for transfer of gating pulse that puts electronic circuit of mine cassette into state of availability for reception of self-liquidation signal. Contact seats are grounded onto container body with the possibility of protection against external electrostatic and electromagnet noise and are equipped with ring contact that respond in shape to rings of mine cassette signals pickup, to provide for connection of introduced circuits.

The reported effect provides for realization of mine cassette ammunition self-liquidation time setting and reduction of time for mines recharge with ammunition load.

10 drawings Optically Transparent Resilient Laminate Materials Country of origin: USA Language: English

In accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, an optically clear polyurethane/polyurea polymer may comprises an impact resistant material comprising: a first polycarbonate layer; a second layer comprising a first elastomer; a

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November 2009

39

third glass layer; a fourth layer comprising a second elastomer; and a fifth polymeric layer. In another exemplary embodiment, the third glass layer may be articulated and/ or embedded in the second layer. Disclosed features and specifications may be variously controlled, adapted or otherwise optionally modified to improve and/or modify the performance characteristics of the transparent armor composite. Exemplary embodiments of the present invention generally provide lightweight transparent armor for use as, for example, bulletproof windows in vehicles and buildings.

4 drawings Gun House of Armored Vehicle Gosudarstvennoe unitarnoe predprijatie Konstruktorskoe bjuro priborostroenija Country of origin: Russia Language: Russian

The described gun house (GH) of armored vehicle comprises armored aluminum hood accommodating sights of commander and gunner with stabilization and head mirror guidance unit. Front part of aforesaid armored cap supports armored mask with weapon unit pivoted thereto.

Weapon unit comprises gun-launcher unit (GLU), automatic gun (AG) and machine gun. Armored mask is articulated with weapon unit vertical guidance drive. Armored cap rear part accommodates the hatch with GLU cartridge case extraction mechanism and radio station antenna. Horizontal guidance unit drive and WU basket are attached to armored cap base. WU basket represents a suspension and round floor supporting GLU loading automatic device, AG magazines and hoses, as well as instruments of automatic fire control. Armored cap represents decahedral-truncated pyramid made up of flat sheets of armored aluminum of various thickness.

The reported effect is fire accuracy and rate of battle run fire.

5 drawings

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Infantry Weapons Sight Apparatus for Use with Firearms Country of origin: Germany Language: English

Sight apparatus for use with firearms are described herein. An example sight apparatus described herein includes a first swivel element removably coupled to a second swivel element. The first swivel element includes a first aperture coaxially aligned with a second aperture of the second swivel element to define a passageway. A coupling element is removably disposed within the passageway to pivotally couple the first swivel element relative to the second swivel element. A retainer is operatively coupled to the coupling element to engage at least one of the first or second swivel portions to prevent movement of the coupling element along a transverse axis of the passageway.

8 drawings

Optical-Mechanical Accessory for Small Arms and Small Arms Comprising Optical-Mechanical Accessory Fink Jurij Mikhajlovich Country of origin: Russia Language: Russian

This invention is related to the field of small arms, in particular to opticalmechanical accessories (OMA) for it. OMA comprises video camera connected to monitor, drives for vertical and horizontal homing of arms, source of target illumination with laser target designator, optical sight and extender. Extender is arranged in the form of tubular element, in which bracket is

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November 2009

Emerging Defense Technologies installed for installation of monitor with the possibility of its rotation. Unit of trigger device is arranged in the form of fork-shaped element and comprises tumbler for connection of optical-mechanical accessory, tumbler for connection of illumination, socket for connection of accumulator batteries and trigger traction rod of trigger mechanism. OMA comprises unit of universal fixation with “П”-shaped box, inside of which video-camera and universal fixture are provided for installation of target illumination source.

The reported effect provides for guaranteed destruction of enemy with complete isolation of gunner from response fire.

0 drawings Rail Cover Panel for a Firearm Magpul Industries Corporation Country of origin: USA Language: English

A panel system for covering a lengthwise segment of an elongate firearm mounting rail. The firearm mounting rail is a T-rail comprising a T-shaped cross-section with the top of the T corresponding to the top of the T-rail. The firearm T-rail further includes a number of transverse slots in the top spanning the length of the T-shaped cross-section. The panel system comprises at least one pair of identically shaped panel halves. Each panel half comprises a body having a top, a bottom, an abutting proximal edge and a distal edge. At least one axial tongue extends from the abutting proximal edge and a corresponding axial groove is defined in the body, with each axial groove having a groove mouth associated with the abutting proximal edge. A cantilevered clip extends from the abutting proximal edge.

A clip receptacle is defined by the body. A proximally extending lip extends from the body bottom near the distal edge. Each panel half is configured so that with the abutting proximal edges brought into abutment, each axial tongue of each panel is received in a corresponding axial groove of the other and the proximally extending lip of the cantilevered clip engages the clip shoulder of the other.

13 drawings

Small Arms Feeder Hopper Otkrytoe aktsionernoe obshchestvo Kontsern Izhmash Country of origin: Russia Language: Russian

This design is related to feed hoppers of small arms, namely to box-like feed hoppers with cartridge feeders. Feed hopper comprises body, “П”-shaped insert with wing flaps in upper part and springloaded feeder. “П”-shaped insert is fixed on axis with the possibility of rotation and is equipped with limiters of its rotation. Angle of “П”-shaped insert rotation is selected provided that cartridge bullet enters barrel cartridge chamber and makes 7 degrees.

The reported effect is increased reliability of arms as a whole and simplified design due to elimination of use of large number of assembled parts.

3 drawings     

Weapon Control Device Country of origin: USA Language: English

A weapon control device is provided and is coupled within a weapon for controlling accessories and auxiliary components.

The weapon control device includes a processor and a connector operably engaging a selector switch of a weapon. The processor receives a signal from the connector in response to movement of the selector switch.

The weapon control device further includes one of a transmitter and a transceiver, wherein one of the transmitter and transceiver send a signal in response to the processor receiv 

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November 2009 ing a signal from the connector. The weapon control device further includes a weapon accessory, wherein the weapon accessory is activated in response to the signal sent by one of the transmitter and transceiver.

13 drawings

Device Mounting System for a Weapon Country of origin: USA Language: English

A mounting system includes an electronic device, a support plate, and a scope ring. The electronic device has a bottom surface. The support plate is engaged with the bottom surface and has a first mounting rail extending along a first side. The scope ring has a first clamp for coupling to the first mounting rail and a second clamp for surrounding the scope thereby attaching the electronic device to the scope.

22 drawings

Muffler of Sound Shot Mezhregional’noe obshchestvennoe uchrezhdenie Institut inzhenernoj fiziki Country of origin: Russia Language: Russian

This concept is related to detachable muzzle devices for reduction of shot sound and is aimed at improvement of sniper rifle SVD muffler design. Muffler of shot sound is made of separator and jacket, creating a row of subsequent flow chambers, moreover, in separator for muffler connection to fire arms there are L-shaped bulges installed behind foresight block. Muffler is equipped with adapter installed on arms barrel, in which six threaded openings are arranged.

41 In muffler jacket evenly along circumference at 30° there are twelve oval holes arranged, besides jacket is installed on adapter by means of matching of single oval hole to one of threaded holes, and muffler jacket is fixed with screw.

The reported effect of this design is that it simplifies design of device and increases its efficiency, which expands functional resources of muffler.

1 drawing

placement without removing the remaining structure from the stock.

11 drawings Noiseless Arms Sagakov Stanislav Svjatoslavovich, Nikolaev Jurij Nikolaevich, and Shmurnov Evgenij Anatol’evich Country of origin: Russia Language: Russian

This design is related to noiseless arms of shooting, grenade-launching and mine-launching types. Arms comprise box, trigger mechanism and four blocks, which are connected by single string to projectile.

At the same time front and back blocks are installed in pairs in two carriages with the possibility of displacement along box in opposite directions with the help of power element, based on powder, pneumatic or elastic base.

The reported effect is higher efficiency of arms.

3 drawings

Stock Mounted Load Bearing Assembly Magpul Industries Corp.

Country or origin: USA Language: English

The invention is an improved load bearing arrangement for use with firearms. The system comprises a cylindrical body with a sealing cap, mounting structure on the body including a plurality of mounting tabs and a “T” rail with matching structure on the stock. The mounting tabs are only partially fastened on the body so as to form hooks which will secure the body from behind the structure on the stock. The “T” rail interfaces with a corresponding notch on the rear of the stock and is secured with the stock’s butt pad. A water-tight cap is also provided, which is also capable of removal and re-

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Automatic Bullpup-Design Firearm Glukhov Aleksandr Vladimirovich Country of origin: Russia Language: Russian

This proposed firearm comprises spring return mechanism for moving firing unit and guide stock that makes carriage for the

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42

November 2009

latter. Aforesaid carriage has two pistoltype handles arranged ahead of fixed lower box-like magazine and lengthwise opening for cartridge case extraction. Firearm has underbarrel cantilever element rigidly fixed to breech frame and furnished with vertical rib to act on muzzle face of cartridge case. Compression return spring is arranged inside telescopically jointed cartridge cases to move guide stock into front position.

The reported effect is expanded performances and perfected design.

3 drawings

Underwater Grenade NAVAIR (US Navy) Country of origin: USA Language: English

An underwater grenade and a method for using an underwater grenade. A depth activated, hand emplaced ordnance utilizing safe and arm technology to address underwater threats (such as enemy swimmers) while providing a safe interface with personnel.

The grenade is armed after a sequence of events have occurred including reaching a desired depth and a desired passage of time.

Failure of any of the events to occur will cause the grenade to be rendered safe.

2 drawings

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November 2009

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Soldier Survivability & Gear Tactical Lighting System Lawrence J. Shurupoff Country of origin: USA Language: English

Portable projectable infrared lights are used to mark and illuminate dark areas such as rooms in a building or cells in a prison.

The lights cannot be seen with the unaided eye but are brilliantly visible with the aid of night vision goggles and similar infrared receivers and light transducers which convert infrared light to visible light. In those cases where potentially hostile individuals are equipped with night vision apparatus, the infrared lights can be used to temporarily blind, stun and/or disorient them.

16 drawings

Blast Mitigation Coating Systems Country of origin: USA Language: English

The present invention relates to methods of providing a blast mitigation coating system to a building structure and kits of the system. The method comprises the steps of: mixing and applying a water-based flexible polymer, a micro-fiber material, a mineral filler material, and other additives to the building structure to form a layer of coating; embedding one layer of glass-fiber reinforcing meshes into the coating; applying the second layer of coating; and embedding a second layer of meshes. The water-based flexible polymer comprises acrylic resin, styrene-acrylic, and vinyl-acetate ethylene.

The micro-fiber material comprises polypropylene. The mineral filler material comprises ground silica and/or mica. The kit of the blast mitigation coating system comprises the water-based flexible polymer, the micro-

fiber material, the mineral filler material and glass-fiber reinforcing meshes. Additional components may include a blend of Portland cement and dry additives, or a pigment, preservatives and rheology modifiers.

Systems and Methods for Operational Verification of a Missile Approach Warning System Country of origin: USA Language: English

A coupler that generates and emits a simulated missile signature for assessing the operational capability of a missile approach warning system. The coupler may be directly attached to the system by an adapter.

Couplers may be used in multiplicity, simultaneously or sequentially. The simulated signature may be digitally stored, as may be the results of the assessment. Simulated signatures may also be generated from freeform. The coupler also performs sensitivity testing.

6 drawings

Identification Device Qinetiq Ltd Country of origin: UK Language: English

A sheet of thermally reflective material has a surface texture comprising a plurality of reflecting elements, wherein each element has a first facet which is substantially reflective at thermal infrared wavelengths and wherein the respective first facets form an angle with the plane of the sheet. Preferably, the first facets are aligned such that, in use, thermal radiation is reflected from a common direction. By orienting the sheet of thermally

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reflective material to reflect cold regions of the sky, a marking material exhibiting a cold spot in a thermal imager can be provided.

12 drawings

Back Illumination Method for Counter Measuring IR Guided Missiles BAE Systems Country of origin: USA Language: English

Commercial aircraft are protected from attack by infrared seeking guided missiles through the utilization of a ground-based directed infrared countermeasure system in which the deployment of an IR guided missile is detected off-aircraft and more particularly on the ground. An infrared laser beam is projected towards the detected missile such that the projected laser infrared radiation impinges upon the missile from the rear. The off-axis infrared radiation illuminates the IR transmissive dome at the head of the missile where it is internally reflected back towards the IR detector carried by the missile through the total internal reflection characteristics of the dome. The domes of these missiles are typically made of a high index of refraction IR transmissive materials such that the material is prone to total internal reflection. The infrared laser generated radiation is a modulated so as to interfere

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44 with the guidance system of the missile causing it to execute a turn and plunge to the ground. In one embodiment, the long wavelength infrared laser is a 100-W laser with a beam width of 100 microradians, thus to provide a zone of protection of about three miles.

6 drawings Methods and Apparatus to Provide Training Against Improvised Explosive Devices Raytheon Company Country of origin: USA Language: USA Method and apparatus for a training system for improvised explosive devices (IEDs). An IED training system can include an inert explosive component that can resemble a large round, rocket propelled grenade (RPG), or the like. Various triggers can activate visual and/or audio devices in response to triggering the system, such as by a motion sensor or trainer action.

17 drawings

Multiaxial Fabric for Ballistic Applications Dupont Country of origin: USA Lanuguage: English

The invention concerns multiaxial fabrics comprising a first layer comprising a plurality of first yarns being substantially parallel in a first direction; a second layer comprising a plurality of second yarns being substantially parallel in a second direction and skew of off-set with respect to the first yarns; a third yarn layer comprising a plurality of third yarns being substantially parallel in a third direction and skew of off-set with respect to the first yarns and second yarns; a fourth yarn layer comprising a plurality of fourth yarns being substantially parallel in a fourth direction and skew of off-set with respect to the first, second and third yarns; at least one fiber network layer; and a transverse yarn interlaced transversely within the

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multiaxial fabric where each layer may be arranged in any sequential order and optionally coated with a high viscosity polymer that has a glass transition temperature Tg in the range of about -40 to about 0 degrees C., and a zero shear melt viscosity of about 2x106 to about 1013 poise at 20 degrees C. 1 drawings

Process for Producing Anti-Fog Coating Universite Laval Country of origin: Canada Language: English

The invention relates to an anti-fog coating for a surface of a substrate comprising: a first polymer layer resulting from covalently bonding a polyanhydride polymer to said surface; and a second polymer layer resulting from covalently bonding a polymer selected from the group consisting of polyvinyl alcohol, partially hydrolyzed polyester, polyether and cellulose derivative; said surface having nucleophilic groups. A substrate having an anti-fog coating, as well as a process for preparing said anti-fog coating to the surface of a substrate is also provided.

1 drawing

Molded Torso-conforming Body Armor Including Method of Producing Country of origin: USA Language: English

Molded body armor panels conformed to fit individual torsos based upon gender or, in custom applications, individual features

November 2009

of a particular male or female torso. The individual body panels are constructed of multiple layers of twill or other unconventional long float woven ballistic fibers with each layer impregnated with a curable adhesive.

Additional reinforcement may be supplied in appropriate areas, such as breasts, spine, sternum and edges. The multiple impregnated layers of fabric are placed within a mold conforming to the particular torso contour desired. The long floats of the fabric allows the layers to stretch or compress as required to the particular shape desired. The adhesive is cured in the mold under low heat and low pressure, binding the layers of fabric together, as well as binding the conformed yarns of each individual layer in permanent contour. Interior and exterior coverings for comfort and appearance may be supplied.

12 drawings

Firearm Camouflage System Country of origin: USA Language: English

The present invention provides a pre-packaged kit and a method for creating unique multi-toned custom patterns or camouflage on a surface, and in particular the surfaces of a firearm. The multi-toned

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November 2009 custom patterns or camouflage are created by separating or peeling off pre-cut stencil/ templates from sheet or roll stock adhesive backed masking material and applying the stencil/templates to a surface. The surface is subsequently sprayed with coatings, finishers and sealants. Additional layers of stencil/ templates are then added and sprayed with various colors or tones of coatings, finishers and sealants to complete the desired effect on the firearm surface.

20 drawings Hard Armor Composite Country of origin: USA Language: English

A hard armor composite includes a rigid facing and a ballistic fabric backing.

The fabric backing is carried by the facing, and includes an array of bundled highperformance fibers. The fibers have a tensile strength greater than 7 grams per denier and a denier per filament ratio of less than 5.4.

3 drawings

Blast Effect-limiting Glazing Structure Saelzer Sicherheitstechnik Country of origin: Germany Language: German Ein Scheibenaufbau weist eine erste, einer Angriffsseite zugewandte Scheibenanordnung, eine zweite Scheibenanordnung, die durch einen ersten gasgefĂźllten Zwischenraum von der ersten Scheibenanordnung getrennt ist und eine dritte, einer Schutzseite

45 zugewandte Scheibenanordnung auf, die durch einen zweiten gasgefĂźllten Zwischenraum von der zweiten Scheibenanordnung getrennt ist. Alle Scheibenanordnungen verlaufen parallel zueinander und sind mittels randseitig umlaufender Abstandhalter miteinander verbunden. Zumindest die dritte Scheibenanordnung ist eine Verbundscheibe, die aus mindestens zwei jeweils mittels einer Klebeschicht miteinander verbundenen Scheiben besteht.; Um die Sprengwirkungshemmung eines derartigen Scheibenaufbaus zu verbessern, wird vorgeschlagen, dass die Dicke der dritten Scheibenanordnung grĂśsser als die Dicke der zweiten Scheibenanordnung und/oder der ersten Scheibenanordnung ist.

8 drawings

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