KMW buys Armoured Vehicle Manufacturer

BONN — German tank maker Krauss-Maffei Wegmann (KMW) has reached an agreement with the EDAG Group to take over its production of armored civil vehicles.

KMW announced the deal Jan. 23, saying the purchase of the German automotive development specialist still requires approval by the cartel authorities.

The acquisition is a move by KMW to strengthen its role in the market for protected military wheeled and tracked vehicles using EDAG’s technologies, as well as developing activities in the highly protected civil vehicles sector.

The acquisition also complements KMW’s strategic activities to establish itself in Central and South America. EDAG manufactures its protection systems at sites in Ingolstadt, Germany, as well as a facility in Mexico.

“The extension of our numerous protection activities through the EDAG protection branch is a logical step and, with a view to the site in Mexico, a consistent continuation of our Central and South America strategy,” Frank Haun, chief executive and president of KMW, said in a press statement.

The EDAG protection business develops and integrates ballistic protection systems for civil vehicles produced by a range of global manufacturers

Navistar Receives $880 Million MRAP Order

The Department of Defense announced Jan. 9 it had placed an order with Navistar Defense for chassis and other services valued at nearly $880 million.

The order, part of a previously awarded Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) vehicles contract, is expected to be completed by Oct. 2013. It specifies the delivery of 2,717 rolling chassis, 10 engineering change proposals, and 25 contract data requirements lists.

Navistar saw its net income climb from $223 million in 2010, to $1.7 billion in 2011.

The contract is being managed by Marine Corps Systems Command.

Rheinmetall, Thales Win Australia Vehicle Deals

SYDNEY, Australia - Germany's Rheinmetall MAN and French company Thales won contracts Dec. 12 worth billions of dollars to supply thousands of new military vehicles for the Australian Defence Force.

Rheinmetall MAN Military Vehicles Australia will provide up to 2,700 protected and unprotected medium and heavy vehicles, Defence Minister Stephen Smith said.

There will be an option for approximately 1,000 more for training purposes.

"The new vehicles will improve performance and protection, as well as provide commonality across the fleet which will improve Army's training and logistic support requirements," said Smith.

He declined to say what the contract was worth, saying only that it was expected to be more than an original budget estimate from August 2007, when the government targeted about 3 billion Australian dollars for replacement vehicles.

In addition, Thales Australia's Hawkei unit was selected as the preferred supplier for a 1.5 billion-Australian-dollar contract to supply up to 1,300 protected and unprotected light vehicles, Smith added.

No further details were given.

India Launches Major Land Exercise

NEW DELHI - One of the Indian Army's largest land exercises is underway near the border with Pakistan in the northern state of Rajasthan.

Code-named Sudarshan Shakti, the exercise includes more than 50,000 soldiers, 500 armored vehicles, including battle tanks, as well as Air Force fighter jets and combat helicopters.

Indian President Pratibha Patil on Dec. 5 is scheduled to review the exercises, mounted by the Southern Army headquarters in Pune.

In addition to T-72 tanks, the Russian-made T-90 and the indigenous Arjun tank are also participating.

The Air Force is fielding its Russian-made Sukhoi-30 MKI fighter jet, MiG-21 and MiG-27 fighter jets, airborne warning and control systems and UAVs purchased from Israel, and a variety of helicopters.

The exercise is being led by troops from Bhopal-based Army 21 Corps, also known as Sudarshan Chakra Corps.

The exercise is using network-centric warfare tactics that have been adopted by the Army over the last two to three years, said a senior Army official. The exercise will test the coordination between the India's air and land forces.

Export Rules for U.S. Military Aircraft Proposed

The Obama administration has released new draft rules for the export of U.S. military aircraft and associated parts, taking one more step in its ongoing reform effort.
In July, the White House introduced draft rules that outlined how the administration plans to move items off the U.S. Munitions List (USML), which is administered by the State Department, and onto the Commerce Control List (CCL), overseen by the Commerce Department.

Items on the USML - from aircraft to generic parts and components - are all subject to the same controls. However, the CCL's controls are tailored to what the item is and where it is being exported.
This summer, the Obama administration also released details for the first category - Category VII: tanks and military vehicles - as a test case to demonstrate how such transfers could take place.
The Nov. 7 announcement about aircraft is the second category to be released, while the administration continues to work out the transfer details for the remaining categories. Military aircraft and associated parts make up category VIII of the USML.
The Aerospace Industry Association, a leading advocate for export control reform, described the announcement as a "major milestone in the ongoing effort to control more appropriately exports to our allies of sensitive technology.
"The proposed revisions to Category VIII replace vague regulatory language with greater specificity for items remaining on the USML and the creation of new, stronger controls for items moved to the CCL - a proposal that AIA made early in the Obama administration," a statement from the aerospace lobby said.
The draft rules will now be open to a public comment period during which the White House will accept feedback from industry and Capitol Hill.

Pakistan Clandestinely Moving Its Nukes: Report

WASHINGTON - Pakistan has started moving its nuclear weapons in low-security vans on congested roads to hide them from U.S. spy agencies, making the weapons more vulnerable to theft by Islamist militants, two magazines reported Nov. 4.
The Atlantic and National Journal, in a joint report citing unnamed sources, wrote that the U.S. raid on May 2 that killed al-Qaida chief Osama bin Laden at his Pakistani compound reinforced Islamabad's longstanding fears that Washington could try to dismantle the country's nuclear arsenal.

As a result the head of the Strategic Plans Divisions (SPD), which is charged with safeguarding Pakistan's atomic weapons, was ordered to take action to keep the location of nuclear weapons and components hidden from the United States, the report said.
Khalid Kidwai, the retired general who leads SPD, expanded his agency's efforts to disperse components and sensitive materials to different facilities, it said.
But instead of transporting the nuclear parts in armored, well-defended convoys, the atomic bombs "capable of destroying entire cities are transported in delivery vans on congested and dangerous roads," according to the report.
The pace of the dispersal movements has increased, raising concerns at the Pentagon, it said.
Pakistan has long insisted its nuclear arsenal is safe and the article quotes an unnamed official from the powerful Inter-Services Intelligence agency saying: "Of all things in the world to worry about, the issue you should worry about the least is the safety of our nuclear program."
The Pentagon declined to comment on the article but a senior U.S. military official told reporters in Washington that the United States remains confident Pakistan's nuclear weapons are secure.
"I believe the Pakistan military arsenal is safe at this time, well guarded, well defended," said the military official, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
The article, based on dozens of interviews, said the U.S. military has long had a contingency plan in place to disable Pakistan's nuclear weapons in the event of a coup or other worst-case scenario.
U.S. Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC) has for years trained for a potential "disablement campaign" that its forces would lead and that would require entering more than a dozen nuclear sites and seizing or defusing atomic weapons, it said.
The operation would use sensitive radiological detection devices that can pick up trace amounts of atomic material, and JSOC has even built mock Pashtun villages with hidden mock nuclear-storage depots at a site on the East Coast to train elite Navy SEAL and Delta Force commandos, the report said.
Although Pakistan has suggested it might shift towards China and forsake its ties to Washington, Chinese officials have reached an understanding in secret talks with U.S. representatives that Beijing would raise no objections if the United States opted to secure Pakistan's nuclear weapons, said the report, citing unnamed U.S. sources.

U.K. Approves $1.6B Upgrade for Warrior Vehicle

LONDON - The 1 billion pound ($1.59 billion) program to update the British Army's Warrior infantry fighting vehicle has been given the go-ahead by the government.

A 1 billion-pound program update to the British Army's Warrior infantry fighting vehicle has been approved. (BAE Systems)

Prime Minister David Cameron's announcement that the Ministry of Defence will sign a contract with Lockheed Martin UK to upgrade the Warrior ends months of speculation over whether the program would proceed or be struck down by Britain's defense spending cuts.

The contract is expected to be signed by the end of the month.
Although given the go-ahead, the program is much delayed. A Lockheed spokesman said production will start in 2018, and full operational capability is expected in 2020. At one stage, the British Army wanted to have the updated Warrior operational by about 2012.
The number of vehicles to be updated has also slipped to about 380, and not all of those will receive the full upgrade package. Originally, 643 vehicles were to be included in the program, of which 449 would receive the full upgrade.
Lockheed was named as the only contractor remaining in negotiation with the MoD at the start of this year, after BAE Systems was knocked out of the running.
The Warrior Capability Sustainment Program will involve a raft of improvements, including fitting a new turret with a 40mm cannon supplied by CTAI, an Anglo-French subsidiary of BAE Systems and Nexter.
Other key improvements include a new open electronic architecture and better armor protection.
The MoD says the update could keep the vehicle in service until 2040 and beyond.
Lockheed's contract is valued at 642 million pounds. The remainder of the 1 billion pound cost of the program comprises government-furnished equipment, such as the new cannon, and government taxes.
Major suppliers include the Defence Support Group, Rheinmetall Defence, Curtiss-Wright, Thales UK and Meggitt.
The deal is the first major announcement since the appointment of Defence Secretary Phillip Hammond. He replaced Liam Fox earlier this month after Fox resigned in the face of controversy over his links with lobbyist and adviser Adam Werrity.
Fox's resignation held up the announcement of the deal.

U.S. Military Sees JLTV Development Gain Speed

The U.S. military's program to replace the Humvee has had more ups and downs than the road on which they are tested, but things look to be moving forward.

Above, an artist's rendering of Lockheed Martin's entry into the JLTV competition. (Lockheed Martin)

U.S. Army and U.S. Marine Corps leaders trimmed a lot of extras to cut the Joint Light Tactical Vehicle (JLTV) cost by $100,000. This also will slice 16 months from the $52 million engineering, manufacturing and development phase, which will end in May 2012. That means the $270,000 base vehicle will come cheaper and sooner, as a single contract award is now scheduled for 2015.

The Army wants at least 20,000 JLTVs with the potential for a larger buy for the program with an estimated worth of $20 billion. Army officials plan to replace a third of their 150,000-vehicle Humvee fleet with the JLTV. The Marine Corps plans to buy 5,500.
The services are now trying to convince the Senate Appropriations Committee, which had recommended the JLTV program be terminated, to come along for the ride.
"We spent all the time with the Marine Corps getting the requirements right that we frankly didn't tell the story to you all, to the Senate, and particularly the Senate Appropriations Committee about the good work that is going on," said Lt. Gen. Robert Lennox, deputy chief of staff for U.S. Army programs.
The new vehicle, outlined in an Oct. 3 draft request for proposal, will have the survivability of a mine-resistant, ambush-protected vehicle, better mobility than a Humvee and the ability to add mission kits. It will be transportable by ship or helicopter and be able to provide 30 kilowatts of exportable power. Six variants with companion trailers will make up the JLTV family, which will include a four-seat, close-combat weapons carrier, a two-seat utility carrier and shelter, a four-seat general purpose vehicle, a heavy guns carrier and command-and-control-on-the-move vehicle.
The latest changes include an increase to allowable weight from 12,600 pounds to 14,000 pounds. The original number was needed so the Marine Corps' CH-53 Sea Stallion could sling load the JLTV at high altitudes and high temperatures. But industry teams would have to experiment with exotic materials to reach such weight, said Katheryn Hasse, Lockheed Martin's director of tactical wheeled vehicles.
And while most initial entries could produce as much as twice the required 30 kilowatts of external power, the new standard will cut weight and cost.
Critics have ripped the program's lengthy technology development phase, but service officials wouldn't have been able to reach the requirement consensus without it, said Col. David Bassett, the Army program manager for Tactical Vehicles.
Four defense teams led by BAE Systems, Lockheed Martin, Oshkosh Defense and General Tactical Vehicles, a joint team of General Dynamics Land Systems and Humvee-maker AM General, have developed prototypes and will submit bids for the EMD phase. Three will be selected to move forward. Officials are mum on a lot of the details, as they don't want to show their hand before placing their bets. But here is a taste of what is to come:

BAE Systems

BAE Systems delivered 11 JLTVs for the TD phase, which is 12 months of rigorous government testing.
The vehicle, now in its fourth generation, is designed with payload, protection and performance in mind but is scalable for future technologies, said Deepak Bazaz, program manager.
If the decision were made on looks alone, the sleek BAE vehicle would have this in the bank. But this isn't a beauty pageant, and BAE knows it. So its bottom-up design is centered on the soldier. The company even calls the vehicle a "Valanx," a combination of the ancient Greek "phalanx" formation designed to protect soldiers in combat, with a nod to the V-shaped hull designed to deflect a mine blast away from the vehicle.
BAE also teamed with the existing commercial base in a strategy to keep production and spare parts costs down, Bazaz said. Northrop Grumman has the lead on command, control, communications, computers, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance. The vehicle comes with a Navistar engine, Allison transmission and Meritor suspension.
Clip structures forward and back take the load into the suspension system to provide greater survivability. Ground height is not set, though earlier variants had a 24-inch max standoff. Simply put, the higher the vehicle is, the farther away the soldier is from a roadside bomb blast.
Officials said they "prefer not to share specific numbers" as the program approaches the EMD competition but are "very confident" the vehicle will meet reliability and fuel economy requirements. Bazaz also said the vehicle will achieve weight standards "with margin."
"It all comes down to performance against the requirements," he said. "We've got a very compliant vehicle at an affordable price point because of our commercial relationships and our partner strengths with our expertise in survivability. When you put all of that together, you get a very strong combination that we can bring to the Army."

General Tactical Vehicles

The General Dynamics/AM General team is finishing the redesign on a vehicle that combines the General Dynamics' skills in survivability with AM General's experience in this arena. And the influence of the latter is evident when looking at the vehicle, which some have described as a "Hummer on steroids."
The GTV JLTV incorporates the Stryker's double-V hull, said Mike Cannon, senior vice president of ground combat systems for General Dynamics.
"Lessons learned out of the TD phase are really going to inform us on the EMD phase," Cannon said. "We did not pay enough attention to quality going in the TD phase, but we're going to be dead on it in EMD. We're going to be all over it."
The tag team is also exploring other nondevelopmental capabilities, primarily relief from the height requirement. The company looked to negotiate a change during a private, two-hour session with program leaders that was offered to each company last week. Cannon said the height requirement would force them to reduce either the space between the vehicle and a roadside bomb or the crew space, and the company is not interested in an adjustable suspension because it adds a lot of cost.
"We have a really strong partner," Cannon said. "We have strong capabilities, systems integrators, systems engineering and survivability. That's our forte."

Lockheed Martin

Lockheed's JLTV is designed to bridge the capability gap between the Humvee and MRAP All-Terrain Vehicle by boosting mobility, payload and force protection, Hasse said.
The V-hulled vehicle achieved MRAP-level blast protection Oct. 4 while weighing 40 percent less than the M-ATV. Lockheed, which has partnered with BAE Global Tactical Systems, has logged more than 160,000 testing miles and has a fuel efficiency of 12 miles per gallon with the Gunner Protection Kit - a 50 percent increase over a Humvee with no armor. The company also is designing the JLTV to 13,800 pounds to provide a margin for growth and is confident it will hit the reliability requirement of 3,600 mean miles between failure.
"Are we there today? The answer is no," Hasse said. "But we will begin the EMD phase at a very substantial level of reliability … about 3,600 mean miles between hardware mission failure. That is a very reliable base to continue to tweak the design and take the corrective actions to achieve the level of reliability the government desires.
Soldiers will especially like the user-friendly crew cab, which was designed around the war fighter. Lockheed leveraged its aerospace background and systems integration experience to incorporate a substantial amount of capability into the dashboard, which frees space for the war fighter.
"We're going to provide the levels of force protection that the Army requires, which are substantially more than JLTV was and originally intended to do, and we're going to do it in a package that is very reliable," Hasse said. "We've already proven that in our TD program and our internal testing program."

Oshkosh Defense

Despite its strong showing with the M-ATV, Oshkosh is the new kid on the JLTV block as it did not participate in the TD phase.
But that doesn't cause Rob Messina, vice president for defense engineering, to lose any sleep. His Light Combat Tactical All-Terrain Vehicle, or L-ATV, is the sixth generation in a light vehicle family in which Oshkosh has invested more than $60 million. "We can show reliable history, well-developed components and performances that are in the range the customer is looking for," he said.
This latest evolution leverages the M-ATV's modular and scalable protection. It replaces the diesel-electric power train with an electric power train, but its key strength is its mobility. The vehicle includes the TAK-4i intelligent suspension system. Built on 10 years of operational experience in Iraq and Afghanistan, the system provides up to 20 inches of independent wheel travel. These combine to provide a vehicle that is 50 percent faster off-road than the M-ATV, Messina said.
Improved shock absorption also allows high speed on rough terrain while keeping passengers comfortable and lowering driver fatigue. Messina would not say where the L-ATV stands on reliability, fuel efficiency or weight, but he said the Marine Corps' high-hot requirement, which is 12,600 pounds, is achievable with the base variant.
Messina said he is confident Oshkosh can provide a "threshold or better performance" at the cost requirement - so confident, in fact, that Messina said he will be asking Army leaders to change their policy and give credit for performance above threshold.

First Boxer MRAVs Sent to Afghanistan

BONN, Germany - The new German-Dutch Boxer multirole armored vehicle (MRAV) has been sent on its first operational deployment. Germany has flown five armored personnel carrier variants to the country's training and protection battalion operating around Mazar-e-Sharif in Afghanistan.
The vehicles have been upgraded to the A1 level, which includes additional mine protection.

The remotely controlled light-weapon station also has been elevated by 30 centimeters to enhance its effective range. The station can be armed with the heavy 12.7mm by 99mm machine gun or the 40 mm grenade machine weapon.
Germany currently plans to deploy more armored personnel carriers and a command vehicle variant of the Boxer to Afghanistan during the first quarter of 2012.
As an armored personnel carrier, the Boxer can be used to transport and support an infantry group and its equipment. The binational project of the German and the Dutch militaries aims to fully or partially replace current vehicles, such as the armored personnel carriers M 113 and Fuchs.
The Boxer, which weighs 33 tons before the additional armor fit, is built by ARTEC, a joint-venture of German defense companies Krauss-Maffei Wegmann and Rheinmetall Defence.
Britain was originally a partner in the program but dropped out in 2003 when it decided the vehicle didn't suit the then operational requirements for a rapidly deployable expeditionary platform.
The British have since changed their minds but have been unable to field a suitable vehicle due to indecision and a lack of cash. A Boxer-type vehicle is not expected to be fielded until the next decade.
The all-wheel drive 8 by 8 vehicle is built on a modular design that encompasses driving and mission modules. Besides the armored personnel carriers designed for the infantryman of the future (IdZ) system requirements, Germany wants to field a command vehicle, an ambulance vehicle and a driver-training variant of the Boxer.
In total, the first batch ordered contains 472 vehicles in nine different variants: 272 for Germany in four variants and 200 for the Netherlands in five variants. The Boxer is built on assembly lines in Germany and the Netherlands.
Andrew Chuter in London contributed to this story.

U.S. Army Moves Forward on JLTV

The U.S. Army insists it plans to go forward with its open competition for Joint Light Tactical Vehicle following completion of its two-year technology development phase even as many defense analysts have the program pegged for cancellation.
Tim Goddette, director of Sustainment Systems, said in a July 28 statement that the program has taken steps forward, refining the requirements during the technology development phase in order to "meet the designated capability gaps."

A program that could be worth up to $20 billion already has a host of defense companies, including BAE Systems, General Dynamics Land Systems, Lockheed Martin, AM General and General Tactical Vehicles, all vying to build the next-generation light vehicle.
Army officials hope to build a spree of capabilities into JLTV to include "fortified improvised explosive device, or IED, protections designed to withstand blast attacks, off-road mobility, variable ride height suspension, exportable power and essential command, control, communications, computers, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, or C4ISR, capabilities," Goddette said.
However, budgets are shrinking and the Army also plans to field the Ground Combat Vehicle in the next seven years and complete a recapitalization of the Humvee fleet. Army leaders know JLTV costs can't spiral out of control in the current budget environment.
Originally intended to replace the Humvee, the House Appropriations defense subcommittee wrote in the 2012 defense spending bill that "the operational niche to be filled by the JLTV appears to be shrinking," and cut $50 million off the Army and Marine Corps research and development budget request.
"We gained valuable insight into the cost of each capability and effect that one capability might have on another," Goddette said in the statement. "We've learned that some trade-offs are necessary to pursue an overall strategy that best synchronizes requirements, resources, mature technologies and a cost-reducing acquisition strategy."
One such trade-off could be to not include add-on armor known as B-kits to each vehicle. Goddette said the Army does not expect every JLTV will need that level of armor and protection. He also expects more lightweight protective material to be developed in the coming years.
Goddette also tried to dispel the belief that the Army no longer needs JLTV if it recapitalizes the Humvee fleet, integrates MRAPs and delivers the GCV. He said JLTV and the Humvee recap "complement one another as part of an integrated Light Tactical Vehicle strategy."
"These two competitive efforts are also synchronized with one another to invest a limited amount of resources up front enabling a 'try before we buy' approach and capitalize on the vast experience our industry partners have gained over that past five years," Goddette said

Blast Chimney Shows Promise, Questions Remain

Since its veiled debut at an annual U.S. Army conference last year, there has been little news of the structural blast chimney, a potentially groundbreaking technology that promises to protect Humvees and other military vehicles from roadside bombs.

A BLAST FROM an IED-like explosive envelops a Humvee equipped with a "chimney" structure intended to protect vehicle passengers. The U.S. Test Center has put the chimney through a number of such blast tests. (DARPA)

Now, new information is emerging, including blast test results from the Army's Test Center in Aberdeen, Md., and new data from the Marine Corps on the vehicle's durability in difficult terrain. The test results paint a complicated picture of a promising technology that still has to work out some kinks. And until there is more data, it remains unclear how much the chimney contributes to the safety of the people inside.

Back in October, those invited to an off-site art gallery near the Washington Convention Center could view a blast-tested Humvee and learn of its ability to vent explosive energy up through a blast channel that ran through the center of it.

News of the chimney immediately drew questions from skeptics. There were whispers that Hardwire, the company behind the chimney, and its teammate on the project, Humvee-maker AM General, had oversold the technology's potential.

Others wanted to know how a blast channel running straight up through the interior of a Humvee affected the space and visibility for the soldiers inside.

As the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), the Army and the Marine Corps proceeded to blast-test the vehicles in Aberdeen, defense officials talked about the technology's potential in congressional testimony and in meetings with reporters.

"Visually, it looks very, very promising," Army Secretary John McHugh told lawmakers March 16.

He said he'd watched classified videos in Army Chief of Staff Gen. George Casey's office of the vehicles being blown up.

Until now, no one outside the program has learned what "very promising" means.

M-ATV PROTECTION, HALF THE WEIGHT

While the tests' results remain classified, DARPA officials say the blasts indicate a Humvee equipped with the structural blast chimney provides the mandatory survivability level required of an M-ATV, the lightest version of the military's mine-resistant ambush-protected (MRAP) vehicles. And it does so at almost half the weight.

The gross weight of the Humvees being tested is 16,300 pounds. An M-ATV weighs roughly 30,000 pounds, while the average MRAP weighs 40,000 pounds.

"The data to date indicates that the occupant survivability of this vehicle is comparable to the M-ATV," said Leo Christodoulou, who directs DARPA's Defense Sciences Office.

There have been 11 survivability tests to date, and eight have been under a joint DARPA-Marine Corps-Army program. The Army Test Center has conducted all of the tests.

Five more survivability tests are scheduled before the end of the summer, Christodoulou said.

A DARPA chart prepared earlier in the year for Congress shows that the goal is to achieve MRAP-like survivability at less than half the weight. The companies behind the effort remain confident that such results will be achieved in upcoming tests.

The structural blast chimney holds a lot of promise for even bigger explosions, according to AM General CEO Charles Hall. He said the structural blast chimney could provide the survivability of vehicles two to three times its weight.

Chris Yunker, who leads the vehicle requirements team at the Marine Corps Combat Development Command, said the service is watching the blast testing closely.

"When they do the blast testing on this rigid cabin we're seeing pretty good results," Yunker said. "That really caught our attention and we said, 'This is a good design; let's keep looking at it.'"

Despite its moniker, there is much more to the new vehicle design than the chimney.

Hardwire CEO George Tunis explained that all of the components working together keep the vehicle intact, on the ground and its occupants safe.

The clutter inside the vehicle has been cleaned up, with new racks designed to hold gear and ammo. Hardwire picked seats designed by Jankel, which Tunis described as the best blast-mitigating seat on the market.

Hardwire has also redesigned the way the Gunner Protection Kit responds during a blast event, greatly reducing the blast overpressure, he said.

The floor has also been redesigned to absorb as much blast energy as possible, Tunis said.

Finally, there is the chimney, which not only creates a hollow space through the vehicle but a very rigid cab structure that can withstand big explosions. The chimney also connects the ceiling to the floor, which reinforces the floor's strength, Tunis said.

But what once seemed like the key feature - the hollow blast channel - might only play a small role in the vehicle's protection.

Christodoulou said DARPA is still running tests and simulations that will help decouple the contributions of the various components. For the chimney, "the jury is still out," he said.

First and foremost, the chimney provides structural rigidity to the cabin, Yunker said. "There's a little bit of debate on whether there is any venting effect of that chimney."

The numbers he's seen show it may contribute 3 to 7 percent in the decrease of the vehicle's acceleration.

"I have the luxury of being a combat developer," he said, "and I tell people, 'I don't care if it's bubble gum on the window that makes the thing work.' If it works, we're interested in it."

He said that of the three ways that Marines and soldiers die in roadside bomb attacks, the chimney may be protecting against two.

The chimney does not mitigate a bomb's energy impulse, which still hits the vehicle's underbody, but it may help decrease acceleration from overpressure, according to Yunker.

"It looks to me like there's some venting, because you see smoke and dirt coming out of that chimney," he said.

Troops are also killed by fragmentation and debris, and some of that appears to be going through the chimney as well, he said.

"No matter what the percentage, if it reduces injury by any percent it's worth it," Tunis said.

SYSTEM'S FLAWS

While DARPA continues to investigate the question of the chimney, the Marines are focusing on the Humvee's structural durability after thousands of miles of driving.

"What we're seeing in the structural blast chimney design is similar to a problem we're seeing in other designs," Yunker said. The rigid cabin structure is putting pressure on the Humvee's frame and this is leading to fatigue problems.

"You can drive it a few thousand miles and you'll have some structural damage and pretty quick you'll have some real component failures, so our next step is to focus now on the automotive issues," he said. "It's kind of like we're looking at a house, but we've got a foundation problem."

The Army and the Marine Corps also have to consider cost. The question becomes how much does it cost to solve the problem versus buying new vehicles.

Meanwhile, both services will have other candidates to consider.

"Honestly, we're seeing other designs in that same weight class that are making M-ATV-level protection," Yunker said.

AM General even has another potential offer for the Army and Marine Corps' upcoming Humvee recapitalization programs.

After canvassing industry a few years ago, AM General decided to throw its luck and investment behind the Hardwire solution and a different one from Israeli armor-maker Plasan.

"This [chimney] program is not supposed to be a point solution for anything; it's supposed to inform us to make the next vehicle decisions," Christodoulou said.

While questions about the chimney remain, officials agree that people should let the data speak for itself.

"Let's follow the data. Let's continue to do experimentation and see where the data and the facts take us," Yunker said.

DoD Approves U.S. Army's GCV Plan

Pentagon officials approved the U.S. Army's plan to field a $1.35 billion fleet of armored vehicles called the Ground Combat Vehicle following a July 21 Defense Acquisition Board review.

Army officials will proceed with the GCV program's technology development phase of the vehicle designed to replace the Bradley infantry fighting vehicle. Ashton Carter, the Defense Department acquisition chief, approved the Army's plan despite questions from inside and outside the service about the need for the armored vehicle and its affordability.

The Army plans to field more than 1,800 GCVs, which some analysts say could cost the service as much as $10.5 million per vehicle.

"The Army is committed to delivering a vehicle that provides soldiers with protected mobility in modern combat environments. The Army's proposed program builds upon refined requirements and a strategy to achieve an affordable solution to address soldiers' protected mobility in a seven-year schedule to the first production vehicle," according to an Army statement following the decision.

Three industry teams submitted a second round of bids in January to compete in the program's technology development phase of the program. A second round was needed after the service resubmitted the program's Request for Proposals after focusing the GCV's list of requirements.

U.S. House Panel Hits JLTV, Cuts $50M From R&D

U.S. lawmakers took another swipe at the Joint Light Tactical Vehicle, hatcheting $50 million off the Army and Marine Corps' 2012 research and development budget request, according to the House Appropriations defense subcommittee's review of the 2012 defense spending bill.
The committee recommended the Army use the money subtracted from the JLTV program toward researching "survivability enhancements" for the High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle highlighting the potential for "blast venting technology."

Repeatedly brought up in hearings and commended by Army Secretary John McHugh, the committee again showed their support for what is called the blast chimney, which directs blast energy through the vehicle by way of a vent no wider than a laptop.
"These improvements could lead to a HMMWV with survivability equal to or better than the [Mine Resistant Ambush Protected vehicle], weigh considerably less than predicted for the JLTV, and at a cost significantly less than the other," the subcommittee's report read.
Performance by the HMMWV, MRAP and MRAP All Terrain Vehicle (MATV) over the past 10 years in Iraq and Afghanistan has called into question the need for delivery of the JLTV by 2016, according to the review.
Marine Corps leaders have raised concerns with the JLTV's weight and transportability. Many of the same questions have been raised for the Army's other major tactical vehicle program, the Ground Combat Vehicle.
"The committee notes that the operational niche to be filled by the JLTV appears to be shrinking," according to the subcommittee's report.

Otokar Wins $63.2M Armored Vehicle Deal

ANKARA, Turkey - Turkey's leading armored vehicles manufacturer, Otokar, announced it won a $63.2 million deal to sell its six-wheel-drive armored vehicle, the Arma, which it launched in 2010.
Otokar said in a press release that this is the second export contract the company secured after the launch of the Arma. The first contract came from an unnamed Middle East country and was worth $10 million. Otokar did not name the new buyer country for reasons of contractual confidentiality.

Otokar, based in Arifiye, near Istanbul, is owned by Turkish business conglomerate Koc Holding. The armored vehicles maker also is listed on the Istanbul Stock Exchange.
Otokar said it will complete deliveries for the new Arma deal in 2012. CEO Serdar Gorguc said that he saw strong prospective demand for the Arma from an increasing number of armies worldwide. Otokar's armored vehicles have been sold to more than 20 countries, he said.
The Arma is an amphibious tactical wheeled armored vehicle. Company officials say it has a high degree of ballistic and mine protection thanks to its high steel hull. But Otokar's signature product is the Cobra, a four-wheel-drive tactical armored vehicle, exported to nearly 10 countries in the Balkans, the Middle East and Southeast Asia since the mid-1990s.
Otokar also is the Turkish prime contractor for a multibillion-dollar program for the design, development and manufacturing of Turkey's first domestically produced main battle tank, the Altay.

U.K. Army Fears Loss of Battlefield Mobility

LONDON - British soldiers will be walking to war if the Ministry of Defence fails to deliver a coherent equipment plan as part of its restructuring of the U.K. military later this decade, according to a senior Army officer.
Maj. Gen. Bill Moore, the MoD's director of battlespace maneuver and master general of the Ordnance, singled out the need to fund a planned upgrade of the Army's Warrior infantry fighting vehicle as vital to enabling the British military to maneuver in the post-2015 era.

"While support for operations [in Afghanistan] is the main effort, we need to deliver a coherent Future Force 2020. If we don't get this right and don't get the Warrior [capability sustainment program] funded and maintain the other things in our program, the Army will be walking to war from 2015," Moore told an audience of senior officers and industry executives at a June 2 conference on land warfare, hosted here by the Royal United Services Institute.
The MoD has been in negotiations with Lockheed Martin UK for months to update more than 300 Warriors with a new turret, gun, electronic architecture and better armored protection.
The future of the program has been wracked by uncertainties as a result of heavy defense budget cuts imposed by the British government over the next four years.
The general said there is an enduring need for the Warrior, and the current machine has reached the end of its tether with an obsolete gun, a power-to-weight ratio on operations that is near its limit and other failings. The update would allow Warrior to stay in service beyond 2040.
While Moore may have had his tongue in his cheek over the "walking to war" comment, he said that even if Britain manages to maintain all the programs in the budget, there would still be an issue of being able to maneuver properly in the 2015-20 time frame.
There is a clear budget gap across many of the key maneuver equipment plans post-2015, and he said armored vehicles, support helicopters, air transport, support vehicles, ISTAR and joint fires would all require more funding if Britain is going to develop the Future Force 2020 concept fully.
One bright spot, he said, is the progress on the new armored scout vehicle being developed by General Dynamics UK. The team developing the turret for the vehicle conducted its first live firing with the 40mm case telescoped cannon system integrated in mid-May.
Lockheed Martin is leading the team using a Rheinmetall Landsysteme-designed turret. The tests, conducted in Germany, involved firing 20 rounds. General Dynamics said the milestone was achieved five months ahead of schedule.
Moore said Britain also needs more helicopter lift capabilities, including additional Boeing Chinooks and upgraded Eurocopter Pumas.
AgustaWestland Merlin battlefield support helicopters are being transferred to the Royal Navy for commando operations.
Future Force 2020 is a planned transformation of the British military into a more adaptable, but smaller, expeditionary force by the end of the decade.
The transformation, part of the 2010 British government strategic defense and security review, is sparking increasing debate here on military requirements and how they will be funded post-2015, against what could be a backdrop of continuing economic uncertainty and budget pressure.

USMC Chief Looks to Offset China in Pacific Region

U.S. Marine Corps Commandant Gen. Jim Amos wants to send more of his Marines to the Pacific to offset China's expanding influence in the region.
Amos said America's military commitments in Iraq and Afghanistan have kept more U.S. forces from working with militaries in the southeast and southwest Pacific allowing a growing Chinese military to further establish itself.

"We'd liked to be more engaged in the Pacific, in the southwest Pacific, and that area of the world than we are. Our ability to be able to have that kind of forward presence in that part of the world is challenged right now because we are occupied in another section of the world," Amos said at a May 24 dinner hosted by the Center for New American Security, a Washington think tank.
The head of the Marine Corps said he didn't expect a military conflict with China anytime soon, but he said China's growing reach should concern U.S. leaders. Amos' comments come a week after Chinese People's Liberation Army Chief of Staff Gen. Chen Bingde visited the U.S. as a guest of the U.S. Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Adm. Mike Mullen.
"I think we need to be there. I don't think we're there to anywhere we need to be. I think our nation understands that. We'd like to turn that around," Amos said.
In a series of rare public speeches for the Chinese leader whose position is roughly equivalent to the U.S. Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said a "gaping gap" still remains between the two respective countries' militaries.
Amos is just the latest U.S. military leader to speak about his service's plans following the Afghanistan drawdown. U.S. Army leaders have also made their case to deploy Reserve and National Guard units to places such as Africa and South America on what are called "theatre security cooperation" missions to train foreign militaries.
The discussions for future service deployments come as military and congressional leaders debate future cuts to the defense budget. Amos said his service is already preparing to cut its manning down from 202,000 to 186,800 Marines. The U.S. military as a whole is already planning to reduce its footprint in Europe.
The last "five or six" years of spending are over, he said. Military leaders in each service will have to look for efficiencies and reduce spending.
"The Marine Corps will only ask for what it needs. We're done asking for what we want," Amos said he told Congress.
That means cutting programs that go over budget as the Marine Corps decides what Amos said "is good enough" for a service trying to both modernize and reset from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Defense Secretary Robert Gates already cancelled the Corps' Expeditionary Fighting Vehicle program in January.
"There are some things that we absolutely have to do. There are some things that I think we can postpone and then there are other things that we maybe start to recapitalize in four or five years," Amos said.
The Marine Corps will not automatically expand the fleets of vehicles that performed well in Iraq or Afghanistan, either.
Amos used the example of the Mine Resistant Ambush Protected vehicle better known as the MRAP. While it may have saved countless Marines in Iraq, its weight is a burden. He said the Corps will put a premium on mobility as it looks to field a new combat vehicle.
Amos said he expects what he described as a return to the Corps' "frugal roots" to last throughout his term as commandant and beyond.
"This traditional dip is typically eight to 10 years … so I think this will be an issue for the 36th commandant and it's going to be an issue for the 37th commandant when we'll begin to realize some growth and some modernization of significant proportions," he said.

Turkey Takes Aim At Targeting Pod

ANKARA - Turkey's largest defense company is beginning to flight-test the country's first indigenous advanced targeting and reconnaissance pod.
The tests mark the end of the initial phase of an ambitious program by military electronics specialist Aselsan. It is not publicly known how long Aselsan has been working on the once-classified project, but the company says it has so far spent $50 million to design and develop the Aselpod.

Built to track up to four targets simultaneously in infrared (IR) and day video, the pod contains a zoomable, third-generation IR camera with a 640x512 mid-wave detector and three fields of view. Both IR and video cameras can automatically track objects on the ground and in the air, and inertial trackers help keep the cameras on target even when the line of sight is momentarily obscured.
For stability, the cameras pivot on a four-axis gimbal in the sensor head. Solid-state recorders bring the information back home for debriefing. A laser pointer enables the pod to designate targets for other weapons, and a laser spot tracker allows the pod to lock onto targets illuminated by others.
Military and company officials declined to discuss further details about the pod and its development.
The tests are proceeding at an air base in Eskisehir, 220 kilometers northwest of here. The Turkish Air Force plans to install the first Aselpod to an F-4E 2020 before the end of 2011.
The second phase of the program calls for the production of 16 pods, to be installed on F-16 Block 50 fighter jets.
Procurement officials said the Aselpod, when fully operational, will replace the U.S. made LANTIRN, a combined navigation and targeting pod system for use on the U.S. Air Force's premier fighter aircraft - the F-15E Strike Eagle and F-16 Block 40/42 C and D models.
Last year, Lockheed Martin signed a foreign military sales contract to deliver Sniper Advanced Targeting Pods (ATPs) and LANTIRN Enhanced Resolution (ER) navigation pods to the Turkish Air Force. Valued at $118 million, the contract will provide Sniper ATP and LANTIRN ER navigation pods to equip Turkish Air Force F-16 Block 40 and Block 50 Peace Onyx aircraft.
A Turkish defense official said the military hopes the Aselpod eventually will replace the LANTIRN.
"The program reflects a strategic choice to end our dependency on foreign [U.S.] systems for targeting equipment," he said.

Observers' Doubts

But analysts were dubious about official claims about the Aselpod.
An Ankara-based defense analyst said that although Aselsan has invested much time and resources into the Aselpod program, the end result may fall short of the Turkish ambitions.
"No doubt, the Turkish system will work this way or another, within this time frame or another," he said. "But how much the Aselpod may deviate from the existing technology and costings is yet to be seen."
A London-based Turkey specialist said the Aselpod may be another example of Turkish ambition to go local.
"Indigenous programs often make the Turks proud. But success in terms of desired capabilities and costs is something else," he said.
In recent years, Turkey's procurement planners have strongly encouraged local design, development and production of systems including UAVs, armored vehicles, helicopters, trainer aircraft, naval platforms and several defense electronic, avionic and software systems.
Aselsan is a public company owned by the Turkish Armed Forces Support Foundation. Turkey's top five defense companies are all owned by the same foundation.
Aselsan reported $792 million in sales in 2010. It aims at $850 million this year and $1 billion in 2013. The company exports products to 37 countries.

France Using 'Training Bombs' in Libya: Military

PARIS - French jet are dropping inert bombs packed with concrete instead of explosives to destroy Libyan ruler Moammar Gadhafi's tanks without killing civilians, the military said April 28.
Military spokesman Thierry Burkhard denied rumors the use of the 300-kilogram (660-pound) training devices was prompted by a shortage of real bombs. He said the first such strike crushed an armored vehicle .
"The aim of this munition ... is to use the effect of the impact while limiting the risk of collateral damage," Burkhard said. "It is a very precise strike. There is no, or very little, shrapnel thrown out."
The military said French warplanes have made 216 sorties in Libya over the past week and destroyed targets including 15 armored vehicles and big guns, as well as a munitions depot.
Burkhard said French forces were also continuing to use real bombs against other Gadhafi targets in the NATO-led assault, which aims to frustrate Gadhafi's forces and protect civilians in his assault on rebels

Italy Wants IED Inhibitor on All Afghan Vehicles

ROME - The Italian Army intends to mount IED-inhibiting technology on every Italian vehicle in Afghanistan by 2012 to fulfill the service's top priority - troop safety."All our attention is on Afghanistan, where individual safety is fundamental," said Gen. Giuseppe Valotto, who was appointed Italy's top Army official in 2009.
Last year in Afghanistan, the Army started mounting the Guardian IED jamming system on its LMV Lince vehicles, which have been likened to up-armored Humvees. Now the system is being placed on Italy's larger Freccia vehicles. Seventeen of the eight-wheeled, 26-ton armored vehicles were dispatched to Afghanistan last year and are based in Shindad.
The Guardian, built in the U.K. by Finmeccanica unit Selex Communications for use in vehicles and by foot soldiers, jams signals used to detonate IEDs and can be programmed to operate on various bandwidths and levels of intensity.
"We have nearly 200 and are buying more to put one on every vehicle," said Valotto. "We hope to conclude the purchase this year or during 2012, the resources are there."
Valotto said the system in use offered a "bubble" of protection 60-70 meters across, allowing one in every two convoy vehicles to be kitted out. The system, he added, works at the low frequencies used by garage door remote controls, as well as the high frequencies used to send cellphone text messages.
"The British collaborated at the start, supplying the threat library," he said. "Each system consists of a vehicle-borne element and a man-portable element used by soldiers who need to dismount to remove IEDs."
Industry officials integrating the system in Afghanistan have shifted antennae for greater effectiveness and are tackling overheating issues, Valotto said.
Italy is meanwhile planning to buy an upgraded version of the LMV, known as version 1A, which will provide greater electrical power for systems, including jammers.
"At the start, with other U.S. and British systems we used, the signal would be interrupted when we turned on the radio, but not with this system," Valotto said.
Valotto, who ran Italy's military interforce command in Rome for a year before his appointment to lead the Army, said the purchase of Guardian systems was part of his drive to increase troop safety in Afghanistan, where Italy has suffered losses from IEDs.
"We are looking to new sensors, UAVs and protected vehicles to carry out the mission, but above all, safeguard the soldier," he said.
After the deaths of soldiers traveling in Lince vehicles, Italy last year dispatched 17 Freccias to Afghanistan, just months after they were delivered by joint manufacturers Italian firms Oto Melara and Iveco.
The vehicles have been involved in firefights with insurgents but have not been hit by an IED explosion, "possibly because they have served as a deterrent so far," said one Army source.
With industry officials on hand at a dedicated hangar in Shindand, the Freccias have been operated by three different regimental companies rotated in to gain experience, while upgrades have also been made.
"There have been small changes," said Valotto. "We have increased the cooling for the Guardian, which was built to handle a maximum temperature of 40 centigrade, but out there we get up to 45-50 centigrade."
Sending the closed-hull Freccia out to patrol alongside the Lince has coincided with the installing of remote gun turrets on the roofs of the Linces, replacing the gunner who stood in a hatch and was vulnerable if the vehicle overturned. Both measures risk distancing Italian troops from the local residents they are seeking to build trust with, but Valotto said the soldiers would have plenty of other occasions to push dialogue.
The so-called Italian way of peacekeeping in Afghanistan is based on "the capability to dialogue with local populations," he said. "Our soldiers respect customs, traditions and religions and talk to people," he said, "it is an incredible resource that helps achieve the mission."
Separately, Italy's Mangusta attack helicopters, which form a purely offensive part of the Italian mission in Afghanistan, are soon to be equipped with the Spike missile, which is also being purchased for mounting on Lince and Freccia vehicles.
Also being integrated on the Mangustas is the Rafael Toplite targeting system, which will provide targeting information to the missile. But a defense source said that recent flight trials in Italy had paved the way for further uses of the Toplite.
"Italy requested that the Toplite also provide laser targeting for other aircraft, as well as registering laser targets painted by other aircraft. In the recent tests, an Italian AMX fighter bomber dropped a GBU munition on a target designated by a Mangusta," he said.

Pakistan Army Employs Lessons of Taliban Conflict

ISLAMABAD - Pakistan is implementing a wide-ranging modernization program in the wake of lessons learned fighting the Taliban.
The program seeks substantial training changes down to the unit level and improvements in personal protection, weaponry, surveillance capabilities, communication equipment, night vision and thermal image sensors, nonlethal weaponry, and vehicle protection.
Drawing on his experience in the British Army when it was initially deployed on counterinsurgency (COIN) duties in Northern Ireland, analyst Brian Cloughley said retraining and re-equipping soldiers schooled in conventional warfare for such duties took a year.
"This is exactly the same for the Pakistan Army's units on the eastern border," Cloughley said.
The areas he stressed the most were "fitness and, above all, training."
"The training program must include all the obvious things, which of course have not been practiced by units on the eastern border: vehicle anti-ambush drills, long-distance foot patrolling, resupply by helicopter, requiring quick pad construction," he said. "It's a long list, and of course all these things are known. They are, however, dormant. And it takes months for units to learn them." Other aspects of British COIN operations were also relevant to Pakistan efforts, Cloughley said.
For the British, an important consideration was "acquisition of radios capable of working in built-up areas, as well as the wide-open spaces," he said. This appears to have been an early lesson for the Pakistan Army.
A military spokesman said some aspects of the program, specifically communication and surveillance capabilities, have been implemented already, and were tested in last year's Azm-e-Nau/New Resolve military exercise.
Analysts were intrigued by mention of new vehicles, however, and Cloughley said there had to be "analysis of the type of enemy and what tactics are likely to be encountered."
He added, "the emphasis on [improvised explosive devices] is most important, but this has to be balanced besides mobility."
Cloughley did stress that "a balance between expense, perception of the threat and effectiveness" also had to be struck. "There isn't much point in buying multimillion-dollar mine-protected vehicles when they aren't going to see much use," he said.
Talk of new vehicles also led to some confusion. According to the military spokesman, the vehicle in question was actually the indigenous Burraq mine-resistant, ambush-protected vehicle manufactured by state-owned military vehicles producer Heavy Industries Taxila (HIT).
He stated the Burraq had been evaluated by potential overseas customers and that foreign vehicles had not been evaluated by Pakistan, as had been speculated. Burraq fills a long-standing operational requirement, as IEDs have taken a considerable toll. HIT refused to comment on Burraq's service status or foreign evaluation.
Another long-awaited change that predates operations against the Taliban has been the switch to a 5.56mm-caliber rifle. The current 7.62mm Heckler & Koch G3A3 battle rifle was found to be too heavy and cumbersome for the swift, mobile style of operations required.
The G3A3 also was impossible to control in full automatic fire, and there was a requirement for an under-barrel grenade launcher, the use of new holographic sights, plus affixed torches or pointing devices.
State-owned Pakistan Ordnance Factories responded with the G3S, which appears to be a carbine version of its PK8 design, itself a G3 chambered for the NATO 5.56mm round. The company exhibited a mock-up of the G3S at February's IDEX defense exhibition in Dubai but were not able to furnish additional information regarding the carbine when contacted.
More infantry support weapons have been called for, such as automatic grenade launchers. The origin or status of these is not clear and was not clarified by the military. More than one system appears to be in service.
The Detonics division of the Al-Technique Corp. of Pakistan (ATCOP) has in the past exhibited a 40mm automatic grenade launcher at Pakistani defense exhibitions, and this is thought to be in at least limited service.
However, analyst Haris Khan of the Pakistan Military Consortium think tank said foreign automatic grenade launchers have been tested, and of two designs short-listed in 2007, one was South African. This is not the only grenade launcher in service; Khan said the Chinese-built version of the Russian AGS30 was rushed into service and that the launchers have been installed or at least tested on the M113 armored personnel carrier.
These, in addition to additional helicopter-mounted 7.62mm MG3 machine guns and mini-guns, have increased fire support for ground troops, he said.
Though the military spokesman could not expand on the issue, an unusual requirement has been for modern flamethrowers. Khan compared this to the allied experience against the Japanese in World War II.
"Most of the insurgents took clever advantage of the area's terrain. They used caves and dug extensive tunnels to hide in and operate from. The Army lacked any type weapon that could effectively flush out and destroy the insurgents from their hideouts," he said.