News Story: Drones, Fighter jets on table as Mattis visits key ally India

By Abhaya SRIVASTAVA

Fighter jets, drone deals and shared concerns over Afghanistan's security look set to dominate the agenda when US Defense Secretary James Mattis visits India this week.

Mattis is scheduled to arrive late Monday and is set to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his new defence minister, in the first visit by a top US official since Donald Trump became president in January.

"The United States views India as a valued and influential partner, with broad mutual interests extending well beyond South Asia," a Pentagon statement said.

Trump and Modi met in June in Washington and the visit by Mattis is a sign "the political leadership in both countries place defence cooperation as a top priority", Mukesh Aghi, president of the US India Strategic Partnership Forum, told AFP.

Delhi and Washington share concerns about Afghanistan, with Trump announcing a new strategy for the war-torn country last month which cleared the way for the deployment of thousands more US troops.

The president has urged India to increase assistance to Afghanistan's economy, and has lambasted Delhi's arch-rival Pakistan for offering safe haven to "agents of chaos".

Read the full story at SpaceDaily

News Story: Russia Pitches MiG-35 to India as FGFA Project Falters

MiG-35 (Image: Wiki Commons)

by Neelam Mathews

As the contest to supply a new fighter aircraft to the Indian Air Force (IAF) heats up, the MiG-35 has emerged as a viable candidate. India is supposedly seeking about 220 single-engine fighters to replace 11 squadrons of MiG-21/27s that entered service in the 1990s.

Rosoboronexport is believed to have offered a licensed production deal for the twin-engine MiG-35 that would compensate for the IAF’s reluctance to proceed with the Indo-Russian Fifth Generation Fighter Aircraft (FGFA) project.

At the MAKS 2017 airshow in July, Ilya Tarasenko, director general of Russian Aircraft Corporation MiG, said: “We are actively working with the IAF in order to win the tender.” Russia has committed to a 40-year maintenance and upgrade contract to preclude the support issues that have arisen in the past with Russian aircraft in service with the IAF. Meanwhile, also at MAKS, Sergei Chemezov, CEO of the Rostec State Corporation, told reporters that a decision on the design and development of the FGFA would be made in the “nearest future.” He did not provide a timeline for the project, a version of Russia’s Sukhoi T-50, which has been under discussion between the two countries for the past decade.

According to an Indian defense official, “The MiG-35 is 25 percent cheaper [than rival candidates for the IAF requirement]; has an AESA radar; has commonality with the fleet; and being in the light to medium category enables it to land in the same airfields that the [indigenous] Light Combat Aircraft does. If the FGFA does not go through, Russia will have to be compensated, and this is the only contract left at the moment.” 

Read the full story at AINonline

News Story: Saab, Adani Group forge partnership for India’s single-engine fighter

JAS-39 Gripen (Image: Wiki Commons)

By: Vivek Raghuvanshi 

NEW DELHI — Saab of Sweden and Indian infrastructure conglomerate Adani Group have forged a partnership to build Gripen E aircraft and work on other aerospace programs in the Asian country.

The Sept. 1 announcement means India’s single-engine fighter aircraft competition worth $12 billion is now shortlisted between the Saab-Adani partnership and Lockheed Martin of the U.S. in a tie-up with India’s Tata Advanced Systems Limited.

”The intended collaboration would encompass design, development and production of Gripen for India and other high-tech products of national importance for India and also the creation of joint ventures in India in line with and in support of the Make In India policy,” according to a Saab news release.

Lockheed Martin is pitching its F-16 Block 70 aircraft, whereas Saab is fielding the upgraded Gripen E in response to the expression of interest sent to select aerospace companies through foreign Indian embassies in November 2016.

“Our plans in India are to create a new defense eco-system that would involve many partners, vendors and suppliers. To achieve this, we need a strong Indian partner who can help create the framework for the infrastructure and eco-system to come into place,” said Håkan Buskhe, CEO and president of Saab.

The president of Adani group, Gautam Adani, said: “We are proud of our enduring relationship with Saab and look forward to partnering in major projects such as Gripen. Our various collaborations in aerospace and defence sectors will help establish new production lines in India, generate employment and build sustainable skills.”

Read the full story at DefenseNews

USA: Possible Foreign Military Sale to Australia for an upgrade program for MH-60R Helicopters

WASHINGTON, Aug. 31, 2017 - The State Department has made a determination approving a possible Foreign Military Sale to Australia for an upgrade program for MH-60R Multi-Mission Helicopters.  The estimated cost is $360 million.  The Defense Security Cooperation Agency delivered the required certification notifying Congress of this possible sale on August 30, 2017.

The Government of Australia has requested a follow-on case for a possible ten-year upgrade program for twenty-four (24) MH-60R Multi-Mission Helicopters and associated training devices, spare and repair parts, support and test equipment, engineering and technical services, U.S. Government and contractor engineering, technical and logistics support services, Engineering Change Proposals (ECPs), ECPs for training devices, classified software (JMPS/MDLs), Engineering Technical Assistance (ETA), Logistics Technical Assistance (LTA), Other Technical Assistance (OTA), supply support, support equipment, and other related elements of logistics and program support.  The total estimated program cost is $360 million.

News Story: India to announce road map for single-engine fighter program

Artists impression of an Indian F-16 Fighting Falcon

By: Vivek Raghuvanshi

NEW DELHI — To accelerate the Make in India initiative under the strategic partnership model, the ruling National Democratic Alliance will formally issue a request for information next month to Lockheed Martin of the U.S. and Saab of Sweden to manufacture single-engine fighters in collaboration with a private company in the India.

The Ministry of Defence will float a request for information, or RFI, to Lockheed Martin for its F-16 Block 70 and Saab for its Gripen E next month, a senior MoD official said.

Under the new strategic partnership, or SP, model the two companies will be asked to submit offers of the single-engine fighters’ air power capabilities, the offer for India-specific technology transfer, indigenous solutions for the program and the offer for building an ecosystem for the program in the country, said a senior Indian Air force official.

“We have chosen both F-16 Block 70 and Gripen E because both single-engine fighters are fully upgraded, fully tested and are in full use,” the IAF official added.

Both Lockheed Martin and Saab will be given three months to respond to the RFI, which will then be evaluated by an IAF expert committee and the final selection will be made early next year, the IAF official added.

Read the full story at DefenseNews

News Story: Defence firms eye billion-dollar chance for 'made in India'

By Megha BAHREE

India has drawn up a shopping list for tens of billions of dollars of foreign fighter jets, armoured vehicles, submarines and helicopters but it will only sign the cheques if they are made in India.

The world's largest defence importer has announced a new policy inviting foreign defence manufacturers to set up shop as minority partners in India. It initiated the bidding process for submarines in July.

Such deals would boost job creation and bring key defence technologies into India.

Foreign companies say the opportunity is too good to miss.

Europe's Airbus Group, angling to sell its Panther helicopters, has said that if it wins a contract worth several billion dollars and expected to span at least a decade, it would make India its global hub for the multi-purpose choppers.

The company currently builds them at Marignane in France.

Lockheed Martin says if its F-16 fighter jets are selected -- it will likely compete with Saab for that order of close to $15 billion -- it will "support the advancement of Indian manufacturing expertise."

Germany's ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems and France's Naval Group are eager to compete for a contract of up to $10 billion to build submarines in the South Asian country.

Luring foreign defence companies to build in India would be a major and much-needed boost to the economy.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, with less than two years to national elections, is under intense pressure to create more jobs for the hundreds of thousands of people joining the workforce every month.

Growth in the first three months of 2017 slowed to 6.1 percent. Experts expect further disruption as businesses adjust to a new nationwide goods and services tax launched in July.

Read the full story at SpaceDaily

News Story: Netherlands, Australia selected to house F-35 parts

By: Aaron Mehta

WASHINGTON — The Netherlands and Australia will serve as regional centers of F-35 equipment as part of the fifth-generation fighter’s global footprint, the Pentagon announced Wednesday.

The move is part of a broader plan, launched in 2014, to create service hubs around the world for the various F-35 users. Countries have bid on the right to host parts of the sustainment program — such as Italy having a final assembly and check-out facility, or Japan having a heavy maintenance facility — because of the impact such facilities could have on local economies.

This particular aspect of the sustainment network will handle inventory management for Europe and the Pacific. Parts and supplies will be held and organized at these hubs, then shipped to various nations in the region, as opposed to those parts being shipped from manufacturers around the globe in what the program office says will be a cost-saving measure.

Read the full story at DefenseNews

News Report: South Korea Launches Corruption Investigation Into F-35, KF-X Deals

Lockheed Martin F-35A Lightning Fighter Aircraft

South Korean officials have opened an investigation into defense acquisition contracts for F-35 and KF-X aircraft pushed for by former President Park Geun-hye, who was sentenced to prison in March for abusing the power of her office, bribery, coercion and leaking classified information.

Defense Acquisition Program Administrator (DAPA) head Chang Myoung-jin has become the subject of a criminal investigation stemming from concerns of negligence and corruption, the Korea Times reported Monday. Chang was tapped by Park for his post shortly before Lockheed Martin and Seoul agreed to the F-35 deal worth at least $7 billion.

South Korea agreed to acquire 40 F-35A conventional take-off and landing aircraft on September 30, 2014. Washington signed off on the program to help its ally retire a fleet of outdated F-4 and F-5 aircraft.

News Story: India won't ink a single-engine fighter deal before 2019

By: Vivek Raghuvanshi

NEW DELHI — India's single-engine fighter program, worth $12 billion, is unlikely to be "decided before 2019," analysts and officials say, even as the Indian Air Force has decided to hold flight tests of Lockheed's F-16 Block 70 and Sweden's Gripen-E, the two aircraft competing in the program. 

Restricted expressions of interests were sent through Indian embassies to "some overseas participants" to take part in the program in October last year to elicit responses to produce single-engine fighter aircraft in India. Lockheed Martin offered to shift the assembly line of its F-16 Block 70, and Sweden offered to build the Gripen-E aircraft in India with technology transfer. 

The F-16 fighter aircraft did not come up for discussion during last month's summit talks on June 26 between Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and U.S. President Donald Trump in Washington, said a Ministry of Defence official without commenting on the outcome of the talks. 

However, analysts and officials are skeptical whether the program would come to an early decision. Some analysts even say the F-16 will never be bought by the Indian Air Force, or IAF. 

"There isn't now even the slightest IAF interest in the F-16 Block 70 or any other variant," said Bharat Karnad, professor of national security studies at Centre for Policy Research. 

Read the full story at DefenseNews

USA: Hawaii gathering focuses on Pacific F-35B deployment

From MC1 Phillip Pavlovich, U.S. Pacific Fleet Public Affairs

In this file photo, a Sailor directs an F-35B Lightning II aboard USS America (LHA 6) during operational testing in November 2016. (U.S. Navy/MC3 Kyle Goldberg) >>

PEARL HARBOR - Commander, U.S. Pacific Fleet (COMPACFLT) co-hosted a Joint Strike Fighter Sustainment Summit alongside Marine Corps Forces, Pacific at COMPACFLT headquarters, June 27-28.

Attendees focused on planning and preparing the logistical support for the F-35B Lightning II first deployment scheduled to happen within the next year.

"The summit was primarily built to maximize communication, elevate problems, and arrive at solutions. This aircraft has a unique maintenance and support structure, and it is unlike any aviation weapon system presently in the Navy and Marine Corps inventories," said Rear Adm. John Palmer, U.S. Pacific Fleet's director of logistics, fleet supply and ordnance.

A variety of organizations participated, including representatives Lockheed Martin, who built the aircraft, Pratt and Whitney, who built the engine, Marine Corps Headquarters, Defense Logistics Agency, Office of the Chief of Naval Operations, Commander Naval Air Forces Pacific, Commander Naval Air Forces Atlantic, Commander Naval Surface Forces Pacific, and Military Sealift Command.

News Report: Lockheed Martin to Provide Aegis System Support for Australian Navy Warships

Hobart class air warfare destroyer

Lockheed Martin Mission Systems has received a more than $41-million contract to provide computer program maintenance to Australian Navy Hobart class warships carrying the Aegis missile interceptor system, the Department of Defense said in a press release.

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — Work on the project will be carried out at Locations in the United States and at Adelaide and Sydney in Australia and is expected to be completed by November 2019, the Defense Department said.

"Lockheed Martin Mission Systems and Training [of] Moorestown, New Jersey is being awarded a $41,765,876… contract for Aegis foreign military sales… support services consisting of computer program maintenance… [for] Australian Navy Hobart class ships," the release said on Tuesday.

News Story: US Army missile defense system destroys target in test

By: Jen Judson

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Army’s missile defense system capable of taking out targets in the last phase of flight intercepted a threat target on Tuesday in a Missile Defense Agency test out of Kodiak, Alaska, according to Lockheed Martin, the system’s manufacturer.

The Terminal High Altitude Area Defense system at Pacific Spaceport Complex — Alaska “detected, tracked and intercepted” a threat target designed to represent an intermediate-range ballistic missile, a first for THAAD, according to a company statement.

The interceptor “destroyed the target’s reentry vehicle with sheer force of a direct collision,” the statement reads.

The test marks the 14th successful intercept in 14 attempts for THAAD since 2005. 

Read the full story at DefenseNews

Industry: Australia's Future Submarine Program reaches major international milestone

Lockheed Martin Australia and Naval Group welcome the opening of Australia's Future Program Office in Cherbourg.

CHERBOURG, France, July 9, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Naval Group (formerly DCNS) and Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT) Australia today welcomed the official opening of Australia's Future Submarine Office by Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull in Cherbourg France.

In collaboration with the Australian Department of Defence, in what will be Australia's largest defence capital investment program in history, Naval Group and Lockheed Martin Australia will deliver to the Royal Australian Navy a fleet of 12 regionally superior submarines.

The Office is a tripartite secure facility which will house Submarine designers, naval architects and engineers who will work alongside each other on Australia's Future Submarine Program. The facility will be known as 'Hughes House', in recognition of Rear Admiral 'Oscar' Hughes, AO, RAN and his invaluable role in Australia's submarine history as Director of the Collins Submarine Project.

News Report: Questions Arise as US-India F-16 Deal Seeks to Get Airborne

CGI of Lockheed Martin's F-16 for India (File Photo)

A lucrative aviation deal between US-India firms to manufacture F-16 fighter jets in the south Asian nation has attracted criticism that old technology is being "dumped."

US defense contractor Lockheed Martin has taken further steps to secure a deal which would relocate the manufacture of F-16 fighter jets to India. News of the multi-billion dollar agreement with Indian industry giant Tata Group came as Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi met with US President Donald Trump in Washington on Monday, June 26.

We had a great discussion on a broad range of issues that would deepen our bilateral strategic partnership. pic.twitter.com/Wsn3Ht0JAC

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) June 27, 2017

A press release issued by both firms stated that India will be able to "produce, operate and export the multi(-role) fighter F-16 Block 70 aircraft."

News Report: Modi Confident in 'Convergence' of US, Indian Interests

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said he is "confident in the growing convergence" between India and the U.S. as he prepares to meet with President Donald Trump at the White House.

In an op-ed published in the Wall Street Journal, Modi stated his optimism for economic growth and increased bilateral trade between the two countries.

"In an uncertain global economic landscape, our two nations stand as mutually reinforcing engines of growth and innovation," he wrote.

On Sunday, Modi met with top American business executives and members of the Indian diaspora on his first visit to the U.S. since Trump was elected president.

Meeting with tech leaders 

At a hotel meeting in Washington with leaders of some of the top American technology companies, the prime minister extolled the virtues of doing business in India where he said there was "minimum government," making it easy to do business in the South Asian nation.

Among those attending the meeting were Google's Sundar Pichai, Satya Nadella of Microsoft and Shantanu Narayen of Adobe Systems, who are all Indian Americans. Amazon chief Jeff Bezos and Apple's Tim Cook also attended the meeting.

News Story: USFK adds long-range air-to-ground missiles to its munitions - sources

AGM-158 JASSM (Image: Wiki Commons)

SEOUL, June 26 (Yonhap) -- The U.S. Forces Korea (USFK) has more than 10 long-range, precision-guided missiles capable of hitting major facilities in Pyongyang even when fired south of the inter-Korean border, multiple defense sources in Seoul said Monday.

The USFK recently deployed the Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile, or JASSM, at Kunsan Air Base, some 180 kilometers south of Seoul, for use by F-16 fighter jets, they said.

Lockheed Martin's JASSM with a range of over 300 kilometers is designed to engage high-value fixed targets, equipped with a penetrating blast-fragmentation warhead.

Read the full story at YonhapNews

News Story: MQ-9B drone sale for India to be OK'd

MQ-9B Guardian (Image: Wiki Commons)

By: Aaron Mehta

WASHINGTON — The U.S. State Department is in the final stages of clearing the sale of 22 MQ-9 drones to India, with an expectation that U.S. President Donald Trump will announce the sale during the upcoming visit of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. 

Modi, who will meet with Trump for the first time on June 26, is expected to discuss a wide range of topics, including terrorism and visas, but is poised to walk away with an offer to purchase the unarmed MQ-9B Guardian design produced by General Atomics. 

The Guardian design is a variant of the Predator B drone, equipped with several radar systems specifically useful for maritime searches.  

“We are pleased that the U.S. government has cleared the way for the sale of the MQ-9B Guardian to the Indian Government,” said Linden Blue, CEO of General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, in a statement to Defense News. “Guardian provides the endurance and capability required to significantly enhance India’s sovereign maritime domain awareness in the Indo-Pacific. General Atomics Aeronautical Systems is standing by to support the US and Indian Governments throughout this process” 

It is unclear how much the sale will be worth, nor what offsets were being offered to India. Modi’s Make in India initiative has emphasized production on the ground in India be part of weapon procurement from foreign suppliers. However, GA estimates the sale will create around 5,000 jobs in the U.S. through its supply chain. 

An industry source confirmed that General Atomics has been told the sale is being approved. A spokesman for the U.S. State Department declined to comment. 

But offering sales to New Delhi and getting them concluded are two very different things, with the Indian government notorious among defense circles for dragging out negotiations before cancelling them outright. 

Read the full story at DefenseNews

News Story: (US) Congress considering restart of F-22 program

Lockheed Martin F-22A Raptor (Image: Wiki Commons)

by Stephen Carlson

The House Armed Services Committee is currently reviewing a classified report it ordered last year on restarting production of the F-22 Raptor, according to a spokesperson for the committee.

"I can confirm that we received the report and are reviewing it," HASC spokesman Barron Youngsmith told UPI, declining to comment further due to the classified nature of the review.

Last April, the committee asked the Department of Defense what it would take to restart F-22 production and build 194 new fighters, which would bring the total fleet size to the Air Force's original requirement of 381 Raptors.

HASC chairman Mac Thornberry and others in Congress argued that Secretary of Defense Bob Gates reasons for canceling the program in 2009 -- that they were inappropriate for the wars the United States was engaged in -- no longer applied.

Read the full story at SpaceDaily

News Report: Japan Forces Hold Air Defense Drill as Threat With North Korea Looms

Patriot Advanced Capability-3 (PAC-3)

A new set of military preparedness exercises intended to counter the growing North Korean threat were conducted by Japan on Wednesday.

The latest military preparedness drills by Japan are a direct result of the May summit between Washington and Tokyo in which both resolved to "take concrete actions to enhance the Japan-US defense posture and capacity," in response to threats from the People's Democratic Republic of Korea (DPRK), according to the Japan News.

The drills, using the Patriot Advanced Capability-3 (PAC-3) surface-to-air anti-missile system, were conducted by Japan's Air Self-Defense Force at the Ground Self-Defense Force's Camp Asaka, on the border of the Tokyo and Saitama prefectures.

Open to the media, the drills were intended to show Japan's readiness to counter an aggressive ballistic missile attack by the DPRK.

As part of Washington's global military outreach and weapons sales program, 34 Lockheed-Martin mobile PAC-3 units have been sold to Tokyo and installed on Japanese territory.

Additional missile preparedness drills are planned across Japan in the coming months, as well as at US bases within the country.

This story first appeared on Sputnik & is reposted here with permission.

News Story: Lockheed - Trump's 'Buy American' emphasis unlikely to thwart potential F-16 production in India

CGI of the F-16IN developed for the Indian MMRCA contest

By: Valerie Insinna

LE BOURGET, France — Lockheed Martin is still waiting for India to make a decision on its fighter jet competition. However, in the event of a win, the company feels assured its proposal to move the F-16 line to India won’t raise eyebrows with the Trump administration, despite the president’s focus on keeping jobs in the United States. 

Earlier this year, Orlando Carvalho, executive vice president of Lockheed Martin's aeronautics business area, said the company was keeping a close eye on what U.S. President Donald Trump’s comments would ultimately mean for the proposed move, which is seen as a key incentive for getting India on board. 

But during a June 20 interview at the Paris Air Show, Carvalho said Lockheed’s engagements with officials have bestowed some level of confidence that the administration will ultimately be supportive. 

“We’ve briefed various members of the administration on the program, on what that program would mean for the United States and what it means for India, and throughout all of the briefings and discussions that we’ve done, we haven’t seen any resistance to the program by the administration,” he told Defense News. 

“Given that, 'yes,' for a short answer, we are feeling more comfortable with the administration. It doesn’t see this program as an issue.” 

Read the full story at DefenseNews