UAE Eyes F-16 as Rafale Talks Falter

PARIS - The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is talking with Lockheed Martin about buying more F-16 fighter jets because France's offer of an advanced version of the Rafale is seen as too expensive, said a source familiar with the negotiations in the Arabian Gulf.

Discussions on the F-16 pile pressure on Dassault Aviation, builder of the Rafale, to cut prices and on the French government to increase funding for upgrades seen as vital to sealing an export deal for the twin-engine combat jet with the UAE, analysts said.

In the 1990s, the UAE bought 80 F-16E/F fighters under a $7.3 billion foreign military sales contract.

"The UAE is finding the Rafale offer to be too costly compared to the capabilities of aircraft and other technologies on the market," the source said. "The negotiations with France are still ongoing, and both sides are looking for a compromise."

The UAE has been seen as a potential first export buyer of the Rafale in a deal estimated last year at $10 billion. Meetings on the sale of the French fighter took place at the Paris Air Show, which ended June 26.

But price resistance has led UAE officials to open discussions with Lockheed to buy more F-16s with the latest "weaponry and targeting sensors," the source said.

Last year, UAE officials asked for technical information on Boeing's F/A-18E/F Super Hornet following a political chill at the highest levels between Abu Dhabi and Paris.

In talks with the French, the elements said to be stretching the UAE's planned budget are the co-development costs for a more powerful "special" version of the Rafale, plus maintenance and spare parts. The UAE wants its Rafales powered by Snecma M88 engines, whose 9 tons of thrust would provide 1.5 tons more than the version flown by the French Air Force.

Other improvements requested include a longer-range active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar and a more capable Spectra electronic warfare suite.

The upgrades previously have been estimated at 2 billion euros ($2.9 billion) by then-French Defense Minister Hervé Morin.

Officials with Dassault Aviation declined to comment. Shortly before the Paris Air Show, Dassault Chief Executive Charles Edelstenne said of the Rafale offer to the UAE, "the talks are advancing."

The gulf source said, "Lockheed Martin is offering a very attractive financial package."

A UAE sale might help Lockheed keep its F-16 assembly line open after India rejected the U.S. fighter in its Medium Multirole Combat Aircraft competition.

Lockheed officials were unable to comment by press time.

France badly needs export success on the Rafale, a showcase of military technological competence, as the national defense budget assumes foreign contracts to help pay for a steady rate of production.

Dassault has said it must build 11 Rafales per year to keep the production line running at an economical rate.

Large companies depending on the Rafale include Safran subsidiaries Sagem for the forward-looking infrared gear and Snecma for the jet engines, as well as Thales for the electronics and RBE2 AESA radar, and MBDA, which hopes to sell the Meteor long-range missile.

The UAE's interest in the F-16 has forced Dassault to reduce prices, said Loic Tribot La Spiere, chief executive of think tank Centre d'Etude et Prospective Stratégique. Dassault has little room to maneuver as it must sell the Rafale, needed to boost "other opportunities" in export markets, he said.

Dassault hopes to sell the Rafale to Brazil, India and Switzerland, among other countries.

"Faced with this development, Dassault could go far in concessions, and the Emirates know it," Tribot La Spiere said.

But the U.S. also has an urgent need to boost exports, given its dire domestic economic situation, Tribot La Spiere said. The gulf is seen as a region that helps sustain U.S. activity.

"In this context, it is a safe bet that buying the F-16 aircraft could be seen, or rather proposed, as underwriting a security insurance policy: 'You buy this product and we will ensure your security, even internally,'" he said.

Research fellow Hélène Masson of think tank Fondation pour la Récherche Stratégique said the UAE's talks with Lockheed are a "radical means to put pressure on Dassault's offer."

The move may raise France's financial burden to pay for the Rafale's development, particularly the M88 engine.

"The central problem is really the funding for the aircraft's new functions, notably the engine," Masson said. "It's a way to say to the aircraft maker, and above all, the French Defense Ministry, that they must contribute more significantly to the development of this new version of the M88 and so reduce the financial cost to the UAE. ... Yes, this is really a chess game."

Dassault refuses, as a policy, to use company money to fund military aircraft development, insisting the government client pay.

The French Air Force is understood to be content with the current engine's performance, so it appears Paris must decide whether to further fund upgrades to win the UAE sale. That comes as France seeks to cut its public deficit.

In the 1990s, the UAE bought 80 F-16E/F fighters, with distinctive conformal fuel tanks, under a $7.3 billion contract through the Pentagon's Foreign Military Sales program. A reported $3 billion of that amount went to co-develop the Block 60 Desert Falcon, widely viewed as the most capable version of the F-16 worldwide.

As co-developer, the UAE is co-owner of some of the sensitive military technology on the Block 60 version. As part of the deal, UAE personnel worked on the co-development program, and Lockheed trained Emirati nationals to service the Block 60 aircraft.

The 1990s also saw the UAE buy Dassault Mirage 2000-9s, which were more advanced than the 2000-5 flown by the French Air Force. Older Mirage fighters were also upgraded to the more capable variant.

The Mirage 2000-9 fleet still has a long life ahead, but the UAE could start taking delivery of the new F-16s in under five years while keeping its Mirages, the source said.

France has offered to buy back the Mirage 2000-9 fleet and resell it in export markets to encourage the Rafale sale to the UAE.

The UAE has bought the Black Shaheen cruise missile for the Mirage. The UAE also has the long-range strike missile Hakim, which was shown under the wing of a Rafale model displayed in February on missile maker MBDA's stand at the IDEX arms show in Abu Dhabi.

IDEX: Long-Term Strategy Pays Off in EADS C2 Win

ABU DHABI - A $550 million contract win by EADS to supply a sophisticated command-and-control system to the United Arab Emirates was the result of efforts to create a local pool of high-level capabilities, Hervé Guillou, Cassidian Systems CEO, said Feb. 23.
"There was a real strategy to create a C4I industry," Guillou said. "It represents years of effort."

Cassidian is the EADS defense and security division.
The deal is for the first phase of the Emirates Command and Control System (ECCS), which seeks to provide an integrated C4ISR network for the UAE armed forces.
French Defense Minister Alain Juppé referred Jan. 18 to the UAE program in his New Year's wishes to the French armed forces.
As part of efforts to boost capabilities in the UAE, Cassidian, its joint venture company Emiraje, and the Khalifa University of Science, Technology and Research have completed the first phase in establishing a Cyber Operations Center of Excellence, the EADS division said in a statement.
Emiraje Systems is a joint venture between EADS and C4 Advanced Solutions.
The new center will focus on cryptology, forensics and security of industrial control systems.
"The Centre of Excellence is intended to help increase the intellectual capital in cyber technology areas within Khalifa University in particular and in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) more generally," the statement said.
UAE authorities are keen to develop a knowledge economy, rather than one based on manufacturing.
Bernie Dunn, vice president of business development for the Middle East and Africa at ITT Defense, said the development of the domestic economy was more geared toward creating high-value work for the local population rather than production jobs.
"They are trying to develop their human resources here," Dunn said. "It's about utilizing the potential of their brain power, not creating [lower-skilled] work on the factory floor."
EADS partnered two years ago with Emirates Advanced Investments, based here, to create the C4 Advanced Solutions joint venture as part of its ECCS contract bid. That joint venture employs 60 staff, including 20 UAE citizens, but will now expand rapidly to execute the contract.
"The company will grow very quickly now," Guillou said.
EADS is unable to disclose details of the contract, Guillou said, but the main requirement is to develop and deploy a command-and-control system linking the various elements of the UAE Army, including logistics, intelligence and transformation of the vehicle fleet.
At the Idex show, the daily announcement of contracts included an 889.7 million UAE dirham ($242.3 million) contract for C4 Advanced Solutions to develop and upgrade networks and provision of technical manpower, the WAM official news agency said Feb. 23.
Thales had been a contender for the ECCS contract, which had attracted lively international bidding interest. Thales will act as a subcontractor, supplying a battle management system through Ampere Programas, a joint venture company held 51 percent by the Spanish Ampere group and 49 percent by the French systems company.

IDEX: MBDA Wins Multi-Purpose Combat Vehicle Contract

ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates - MBDA has won a contract with an undisclosed Middle East country as its first export customer for the Multi-Purpose Combat Vehicle (MPCV), which mounts the Mistral anti-air weapon, the European missile maker said at the IDEX trade show here.
The vehicle deal is part of MBDA's efforts to boost its systems capability and upgrade the existing park of Mistral short range air defense missile.

Under the contract, MBDA will integrate the vehicle into the country's existing air defense system, which includes the Mistral weapon, the company said in a statement.
Rheinmetall supplies the turret for the MPCV. The export order has allowed production of the combat vehicle to begin, with a first delivery due in 2013, MBDA said.
"The MPCV program illustrates how MBDA can optimize the investments already made by its customers," said Antoine Bouvier, MBDA Chief Executive Officer. "We have devised an easy-to-use and highly automated system which significantly increases the capabilities of the missiles already in service with our customers."
The company spent four years and its own funds developing the missile vehicle, which was initially proposed for the French Army. Domestic orders failed to appear, however, and MBDA set out to look for export orders.
The European company is understood to have held talks on the combat vehicle with Qatar, Saudi Arabia; the United Arab Emirates, and probably Oman, French defense newsletter TTU has reported.
A prototype was tested in December 2008 using the Nimr high mobility vehicle from the Bin Jabr group, based here, and the King Abdullah II Design and Development Bureau (KADDB) of Jordan, TTU reported.
MBDA displayed the MPCV on a Sherpa 3A vehicle from Renault Trucks Defense at the Eurosatory trade show last year.

IDEX: UAE Requirement For APC Fleet Generates Interest

ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates - A requirement by the United Arab Emirates (UAE) for a fleet of new armored personnel carriers (APC), estimated at 600 units, has attracted strong interest from the European arm of General Dynamics, Nexter, Rheinmetall and Patria, which are on the bidding list.
Vehicles from each of the competing companies were on show at the IDEX arms exhibition here.

The planned purchase of 600 eight-wheeled troop carriers includes an undisclosed number of a fighting vehicle variant, industry executives said. The vehicles are intended to replace about 400 BMP-3 troop carriers dating back to the Soviet era, the executives said.
Amid official secrecy and cautious industry estimates, the companies are preparing their bids, which require teaming with local partners and meeting rigorous industrial offset requirements.
A high level of protection, mobility and modularity are priorities in the procurement. Tests of the vehicles were held last summer and more trials are due to take place this summer, when temperatures are expected to hit the 50s.
Once the vehicle is selected, the fleet will be plugged into a new command and control system.
EADS, through its Emiraje Systems joint venture with local partner C4 Advanced Solutions, was announced Feb. 22 as winner of a $550 million contract to supply a command and control system for the UAE armed forces.
Thales, meanwhile, is expected to deliver tactical radios for the new vehicle fleet through Thales Advanced Solutions, its joint venture with local partner Emirates Advanced Investments.
The bidders for the vehicle:
* General Dynamics European Land Systems is showing the Desert Piranha 5, a variant of the Piranha 5, at IDEX. A Piranha vehicle went through tests last summer, which led to modifications to be made to the present unit on display, a company executive said. The Desert Piranha unit will remain in the UAE after the show closes on Feb. 24 to take part in further tests. Production of the Pirnaha 5 has started in Switzerland.
* Nexter of France is proposing its Véhicule Blindé Combat d'Infanterie (VBCI). The French company is also leaving the unit at the show to take part in the upcoming field trials. The VBCI underwent tests last year. The VBCI has entered service with the French Army. Major Gen. Obaid Al Ketbi included Nexter in the Feb. 22 daily show announcement of deals, for a 423 million dirham contract for technical support for the Leclerc battle tank.
* Rheinmetall of Germany is fielding the Boxer, which went through summer trials here last year and entered production in Germany in September, a company executive said. The German Army plans to send the Boxer to Afghanistan in the second half of 2011. Rheinmetall has presented a fighting vehicle variant.
* Patria of Finland is bidding its Armored Modular Vehicle (AMV), which has been in service with the UAE since the Abu Dhabi authorities bought an undisclosed number of units in 2007. Patria understands the vehicle fleet has performed satisfactorily, a company executive said. That included the unit trials last summer, and which did not break down in the tests. The AMV is in local production in Croatia, Poland and Slovenia, which have bought the vehicle. Patria has a cooperation agreement with the Al Taif company, based here.

IDEX: KMW, Ashok Join to Produce Armored Vehicles

ABU DHABI - Krauss-Maffei Wegmann (KMW) has struck a deal with Ashok Leyland Defence Systems to partner in the development of armored vehicles for Indian and other markets.
The two companies used the IDEX defense show here to announce they have signed a memorandum of understanding covering armored wheeled vehicles, recovery vehicles, artillery and combat systems, bridge layers, and other similar vehicles.

Ashok is India's largest military truck supplier, with more than 60,000 of its Stallion machines helping power India's military logistics effort.
The Chennai-based company recently formed a new company, Ashok Leyland Defence Systems, to spearhead its special military vehicles effort.
Germany's KMW said it would provide technology and technical assistance to develop products for the Indian market.
Ashok Leyland Defence Systems Chairman V. Sumantran, said the "strategic partnership seeks to harness the formidable skills of both companies, namely, the technological bandwidth of KMW and our approach to innovations aimed at cost advantage."
The German armored vehicle company follows European rival Bae Systems into the Indian market. It recently formed a joint venture with automotive maker Mahindra & Mahindra to develop artillery systems and armored vehicles for the Indian market.

IDEX: France's Nexter Deals With Mideast Firms

Abu Dhabi - Nexter has signed a number of deals for munitions and local industrial cooperation aimed at boosting its business in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the Middle East region, an executive of the French land systems company said at the IDEX show here.
Among recent contract wins:

■ The supply of 30mm ammunition for the Dassault Mirage 2000-9 fighters of the UAE Air Force, a deal signed with the International Golden Group, based here, in early 2011.
■ Supply of a "very significant number" of Bonus 155mm, 52-caliber anti-tank artillery rounds for an undisclosed Middle East country, signed toward the end of 2010.
Nexter has sold its Caesar truck-mounted artillery to Saudi Arabia and Thailand, as well as the French Army.
■ A deal with the International Golden Group to supply the Azur up-armor kit for the UAE Army's Leclerc battle tank. The kit includes extra protection for combat in urban zones.
Nexter executives are looking to that recent sale of Bonus rounds to provide a sales platform for the UAE Army.
As part of its renewed sales effort in the region, Nexter signed Feb. 21 an agreement with the Burkan industrial group, based here, aimed at transferring to its local partner production of tens of thousands of the 120mm shell for the Leclerc tank fleet.
Burkan is a joint venture of German company Rheinmetall, the state-owned Mubadala holding group and the Al Jaber company.
Nexter also signed Feb. 21 a memorandum of understanding with Al Taif Technical Services for its local partner to provide maintenance for the UAE's Leclerc tanks and armored recovery vehicles. Al Taif is part of Mubadala.
Nexter is pitching its Véhicule Blindé Combat d'Infantrie (VBCI) in the UAE's competition for a fleet of armored personnel carriers estimated at 600, which includes a number of fighting vehicles.
A transfer of technology that allows local munitions production and a higher level of local tank and armored vehicle maintenance are intended to meet the UAE's drive to develop its defense industrial base, Nexter executive Bruno Burgon said.
Nexter is keen to be retained in any future modernization of the Leclerc, which was designed as a complete system. It fears third-party work might reduce the internal cohesion.
The signing of the "gentlemen's agreement" on local munitions production opens the way for talks to begin in April on work shares. The first batch of shells to be locally produced would be practice rounds before moving on to making combat munitions, which are expected to include new-generation high explosive and armor-piercing shells.
Nexter is also hoping to sell its Narwhal 20mm naval gun to the UAE Navy for mounting on fast patrol boats and the Baynunah missile corvette built by the Abu Dhabi-owned CMN shipyard in Cherbourg, northern France.
Nexter has signed up to the UAE's new offset agreement, which underpins the government's bid to strengthen its industrial base.

IDEX: UAE To Modify Black Hawks Into Gunships

ABU DHABI - The United Arab Emirates is set to turn a number of its Sikorsky Black Hawks into gunships in a deal with the U.S. helicopter maker worth nearly 1 billion Arab Emirate dirhams ($272 million).

The announcement of a plan to buy weaponization kits for 23 of its Black Hawk UH-60M helicopters was the pick of a 4 billion Arab Emirate dirham order bonanza unveiled by the UAE armed forces at the IDEX show Feb. 21 in Abu Dhabi.
Included in the list of 21 orders was a second deal with Sikorsky, this time a program to train Black Hawk pilots and technicians in a contract valued at 65 million Arab Emirate dirhams. The scheme to turn the UH-60M into an air assault machine gives the U.S. helicopter maker a launch customer for the Battle Hawk weaponization package it has been working on for some time now.
A Sikorsky spokesman here was unable to give additional information on the deals.
Information previously released by the company shows the weaponization package will give the UAE military a helicopter able to fire rockets, heavy-caliber machine guns and missiles from four weapon stations.
The bulk of the work will be undertaken by AMMROC, the maintenance, overhaul and repair center set up here last year in a joint venture between Sikorsky and a local company, Abu Dhabi Aircraft Technologies.
With further development work still needed on the weaponization package, sources said it was likely the first modified helicopters would be handed over to the UAE around 2014. The deal could be expanded later to cover further weaponization kits, the sources said.
UAE has long been tipped as a launch customer for the Battle Hawk package, but Sikorsky wasn't the only helicopter manufacturer to benefit from new orders here.
AgustaWestland secured a 336 million Arab Emirate dirham order for the delivery of four AW139 rotorcraft for VIP duties.
The helicopter deals kicked off what is likely to become a daily routine of contract announcements here if the last IDEX show provides an example. Almost every day at IDEX 2009, the IDEX spokesman arrived in the press center to reel off a long list of orders running into billions of dirhams.
The centerpiece announcement in 2009 was the purchase of Alenia Aermacchi M-346 trainers and light attack aircraft. That deal remains on ice with the two sides at loggerheads over a number of issues, and there is little indication the deal will be signed any time soon.
Asked whether there had been any progress toward signing the deal, IDEX spokesman Maj. Gen. Obaid Al Ketbi said there was "nothing much happening in that area."
Then, as now, many of the announcements for small-value deals caught contractors by surprise.
Included in the list of contracts this time around is South Korean company Hanwha, which is supplying arms and ammunition; engines for unmanned air systems from Denel of South Africa; fire control systems for naval guns from Selex of Italy; munitions from Diehl BGT Defence of Germany; and bulletproof vests from local company Al Naboodah Protection.
The IDEX spokesman there would be more deals to come over the next few days.

IDEX: Airbus Predicts Mideast A400M Sales

ABU DHABI - Airbus Military sees potential sales of 50 to 100 of its A400M military airlifter in the Middle East and North Africa, Didier Vernet, head of market development at the aircraft company, said Feb. 21 at the IDEX trade show.

Asked about export prospects for the turboprop transport plane in the Middle East region, Vernet said, "Yes, we have prospects."

Airbus Military estimates the world market for military airlifters to total about 800 units over the next 30 years as replacements for the current 1,800 transport fleet. The European company hopes to snare about half the replacement market with the A400M, which aims to hit the segment for payloads of 25 to 50 tons.
The planned KC-390 from Brazil and the Lockheed Martin C-130J would grab sales in the market segment for 12- to 25-ton payload.
Airbus Military hopes the A400M will meet requirements for flying heavier armored vehicles, humanitarian equipment and helicopters.
The company needs to sign contract changes agreed with the seven European launch customers before it can begin selling the A400M to potential export clients.
With a total of 174 units ordered - 170 for the European nations and four for Malaysia - Airbus would fit export deliveries around the planned production of 2.5 to three units per month that is expected from around 2015-2016.
Export prices for the A400M would depend on the mission package selected - 50 "plug in" options are offered - the number of units and services required.
Belgium, Britain, France, Germany, Luxemburg, Spain and Turkey are the seven European launch customers. Britain has canceled three orders and Germany seven for the A400M amid budget constraints.

IDEX: Dassault-UAE Talks Progress on Rafale Sale

ABU DHABI - Talks between Dassault Aviation and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on a possible sale of the Rafale fighter jet are going well, with Dassault officials hoping for a deal in the medium to long term, an executive of the aircraft company said at the IDEX trade show.

"The discussions are going well," the executive said. An announcement on the Rafale was not expected in the near term, he said. In the short term, Dassault was supporting the Mirage 2000 operated by the UAE, while the Rafale was seen as a medium- or long-term prospect, he said.

Good relations between the UAE and France have been restored after hitting a rough patch last year, when a report ran late June in the daily newspaper Le Figaro which offended the Abu Dhabi authorities.
The Dassault family owns the Figaro and is the controlling shareholder of Dassault Aviation.
At a low point in bilateral relations, UAE defense officials asked the U.S. government for technical information on the F/A-18 Super Hornet. Subsequently, relations were smoothed out between France and Abu Dhabi.
"They managed to fix it," a gulf defense official said. "The talks are back on."
French Prime Minister François Fillon recently visited Abu Dhabi, seen as a sign of improved ties between Paris and the UAE.
France sets great store by an export sale of the Rafale, which is the standard bearer of national prestige in world politics, a much-needed source of cash for the straitened defense budget and an export beacon for the French aerospace industry.

IDEX: NATO, Thales Extend Comms System Agreement

ABU DHABI - NATO has extended with Thales for two years a contract to act as operator of the secure communications system used by coalition forces in Afghanistan, the French systems company said in a Feb. 20 statement at IDEX 2011.

Thales won a contract in 2007 years ago to provide an information and communications service for the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in Afghanistan. The service allows more than 7,000 users in the various militaries to talk to each other on the Afghan Mission Network, the company said.

No financial details were available.
"We are very proud of the renewed trust shown in us by NATO for such a sensitive issue as the outsourcing of its communications capabilities, with all the security aspects that this involves," said Pascale Sourisse, Thales senior vice president in charge of C4I (command, control, communications, computers, intelligence), Defense and Security activities.
The system uses satellite, point-to-point radio links, fiber optics, secure voice over internet protocol (VoIP) and video on demand, the company said.

IDEX: QinetiQ Reaches Research Deal With Saudis

ABU DHABI - British defense technology company QinetiQ has inked a memorandum of understanding to undertake joint development work with a leading Saudi Arabia research center.

QinetiQ said in a statement released Feb. 20 at IDEX 2011 that it had agreed a deal with King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology (KACST) to collaborate on a range of research and technology development programs.

The sectors being eyed for collaboration include autonomy, robotics, sensors, communications and remote sensing, QinetiQ said.
Based in Riyadh, KACST is the Saudi national science agency and manages Saudi Arabia's national laboratories.

IDEX: ATK To Modify Planes for Jordanian Military

ABU DHABI - The Jordanian military is turning two CASA-235 aircraft into heavily armed gunships and has contracted ATK to modify the transport aircraft, the U.S. firm announced Feb. 20 at IDEX 2011.

A graphic of the gunship that ATK will produce for the Royal Jordanian Air Force. (ATK)

ATK is partnering with Jordanian state-owned King Abdullah II Design and Development Bureau to modifying the EADS-built aircraft in time for a late spring 2013 delivery to the Royal Jordanian Air Force.

ATK will install and integrate electro-optical targeting systems, a laser designator, aircraft self-protection equipment, and an armaments capability that includes Hellfire laser-guided missiles, 2.75-inch rockets, and a M230 link-fed 30mm chain gun similar to the one ATK supplies for the Apache attack helicopter.
Work will be performed in Jordan and at three ATK sites in the U.S.
ATK's special mission aircraft business in 2008 modified a Cessna Grand Caravan to an armed configuration for the Iraqi military. The aircraft has a similar weapons fit to the Jordanian aircraft. Its capabilities include air-to-air and air-to-ground data links.
In a separate announcement involving Jordan, the Austrian rotary unmanned air systems supplier Schiebel said it had delivered two Camcopter S-100 machines to KADDB. The vehicles will be used by the Royal Jordanian Air Force for surveillance and reconnaissance duties.

ABU DHABI - A David-and-Goliath pairing of L-3 Communications and armored vehicle minnow Total Mobility Vehicles (TMV) made their debut together Feb. 20 on the opening day of IDEX 2011, marrying a new 6x6 platform with an integrated network of sensors and displays.

U.S. systems giant L-3 is teaming with the British vehicle maker to showcase an array of capabilities based on what it calls its Ruggedized Command and Control Network.

L-3 demonstrated a virtual version of a generic vehicle, deploying its RCCN system to potential customers in the U.S. last year.
This time it has gone one better, and it brought the real deal in the shape of the imposing TMV vehicle fitted out with its systems and products to IDEX 2011, which runs through Feb. 24.
The "best way to demonstrate the company's vehicle networking capabilities is on a rolling test bed and the newly designed TMV vehicle is the perfect fit," said Pete Alexander, business development director for L-3's San Diego-based Ruggedized Command & Control Solutions business.
The tie-up with TMV doesn't mean L-3 is getting into the platform business. But Alexander said it does show L-3's ability to integrate systems from across the marketplace, including many in-house technologies, in a rugged open architecture network.
"We are vehicle agnostic and equipment agnostic; we are not vertically aligned; and we can play in the field as a neutral, trusted supplier," he said.
Alexander said some of the vehicle primes have been bringing equipment capability back in-house in recent times - and in doing so they "have pigeon holed themselves" to provide only what solutions they can offer from their own product ranges.
L-3 marketing literature at the show claims the RCCN is the "first operationally proven, truly agnostic vehicle network solution."
Alexander said L-3 can supply solutions free of U.S. technology export restrictions, if required.
TMV brought a special forces-configured vehicle to IDEX, with L-3's RCCN providing the electronic backbone for a baseline suite of capabilities that includes displays, data receiver terminals, vision enhancers, event recorders and electronic jammers.
Other 6x6 versions of the TMV, like an armored personnel carrier, could include remote weapons stations, mast mounted sensor suites, weapon sights and electro optical/infrared systems.
For TMV, the association with L-3 "demonstrates to potential customers the ease of integrating top-line systems into our vehicle and helps people recognize our ambitions in the marketplace," said John Stretton, the British company's managing director.
TMV, an outgrowth of the Leyland Technical Centre, has matured the high protection, high mobility 6x6 vehicle to the point where it could deliver a fully integrated machine to a customer in the first quarter of 2012, Stretton said.
It's not just the military on which TMV is focusing, Stretton said. Applications like border patrol and emergency response vehicles are also in the company's sights. And 4x4 and 8x8 versions of the vehicle also are on the drawing board.

IDEX 2011 Underway in Abu Dhabi

ABU DHABI - The largest defense equipment exhibition in the Middle East opened in the United Arab Emirates capital Abu Dhabi on Feb. 20, as military spending continues to grow in the region amid rising tensions.

Sheik Mohammed shakes hands with executives from Lockheed Martin and Boeing at IDEX 2009. The 2011 edition of the show opened Feb. 20 in Abu Dhabi. (Staff file photo)

The International Defence Exhibition and Conference (IDEX) 2011 opened with a parade of helicopters, fighter jets and armoured vehicles, in the presence of UAE Prime Minister and Dubai ruler Sheikh Mohammad bin Rashed al-Maktoum.

The 10th edition of the biennial show is taking place as the region is hit by a wave of protests that toppled veteran leaders in Tunisia and Egypt and threatens other regimes.
The conference, which will continue until Feb. 24, hosts more than 1,000 exhibitors. Nearly 50,000 visitors are expected from around the world.
More than 30 pavilions most of them belonging to the United Arab Emirates, the United States, Britain, France and Germany, were spread over 124,000 square meters (0.05 square miles).
A naval defense industries exhibition, Navdex, is being organized for the first time this year.
Manufacturers worldwide are racing to seal contracts with Gulf states, who are fearful of Iran and possessing spending power buoyed by high oil prices.
The six Gulf Cooperation Council countries - Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, the UAE, Oman, Qatar, Kuwait - along with Jordan are set to spend $68 billion on defense in 2011, according to research firm Frost & Sullivan. Their spending is expected to reach nearly $80 billion in 2015.