On February 1, 2007 the Israeli Ministry of Defense (MoD) selected
RAFAEL to develop the system that could mitigate the rocket
threat. Called "Iron Cap" the system will address
the threat of short range rockets, including the Qassam improvised
rockets and Katyusha rockets fired by Palestinian and Hezbollah
guerillas from Gaza and South Lebanon. The mobile Iron Cap system
will most probably will consist of mobile radar systems, battle
management center and missile firing units employing a version
of a yet unspecified missiles, to be modified into rocket interceptor.
The system will utilize a new radar developed at IAI's Elta,
capable of tracking multiple targets and discriminate between
benign threats and those threatening the protected targets.
The German Ministry of Defence (MoD) has awarded a € 430
million ($559 million) contract to EuroHawk GmbH, a joint-venture
company formed by Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE: NOC) and
EADS, for the development, test and support of the Euro Hawk
unmanned signals intelligence (SIGINT) surveillance and reconnaissance
system. The joint team will conduct integration and flight test
activity in Germany in late 2009. Delivery of the first demonstrator
is scheduled for 2010, with the following four systems scheduled
tentatively between 2011 and 2014.
A US Government Accountability Office (GAO) released today
the preliminary observations on the U.S. Army’s implementation
of its equipment reset strategies. According to the preliminary
report, due to reporting and tracking inadequacy, the Army is
unable to confirm that the $38 billion that Congress has appropriated
since fiscal year 2002 for equipment reset has actually been
obligated and expended for this purpose. Lacking sufficient
monitoring of actual reset spending, the report forewarns the
Army cannot be assured its reset strategies will sustain equipment
availability for deployed as well as non-deployed units while
meeting ongoing operational requirements.
With Turkey and Norway signing the Joint Strike Fighter (JSF)
production, sustainment, and follow-on development (PSFD) memorandum
of understanding (MOU), all but two members – Italy and
Denmark confirmed their support for the next phase of the Joint
Strike Fighter program.
The U.S. Army Tank and Automotive Command (TACOM) plans to
test a new robot designed to perform under-vehicle visual inspections
for explosives, weapons or other contraband while keeping human
inspectors protected from potential attack. The robot, known
as Spector, was developed by Autonomous Solutions, Inc. (ASI),
a designer and manufacturer of unmanned vehicle systems. It
is intended for use at roadside, embassy, border, and other
secure location checkpoints.
US Army Awards
KVH US$11.5 Million for TACNAV systems
KVH Industries (Nasdaq: KVHI) will supply
TACNAV vehicle navigation systems for use on U.S. Army combat
vehicles. The contract is potentially worth $11.5 million over
five years. The systems provide precision navigation, heading,
and pointing data for vehicle drivers, crews, and commanders.
Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT) and Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace
(Kongsberg) of Norway have entered into a Joint Marketing Agreement
to market an air-launched version of the Naval Strike Missile.
The 1,000 pound stealthy missile, to be called the Joint Strike
Missile (JSM), is designed to be carried internally and launched
externally from the F-35 Lightning II aircraft, striking surface
or land targets at ranges of up to 130 nautical miles with high
precision.
