Weapons

Photo Source: Clipart.com

Well it is about time that we explore what is happening in the world, as far as weapons are concerned.

United States:

As of the writing of this article, President Obama wants to cancel the VH-71 presidential helicopter program, but there is some resistance on Capitol Hill. The program is plagued with cost overruns and delays and the helicopter is for the president and he does not want it, so those senators and representatives pushing this program should just forget it. The Marines are going to send a squadron of MV-22 Osprey tiltrotor planes to Afghanistan. They will be based on a ship with a Marine Expeditionary Unit.

It is finally happening, robot cargo craft. The U.S. Marine Corps has just announced that they want to purchase robotic cargo planes that will be operated by a private contractor and they want them by 2010 or earlier. The idea is to use these in Afghanistan, where transportation of goods is extremely hard and subject to ambush and explosives as they pass over and through the mountains.

The Ground Soldier Ensemble is a system that controls other systems for ground soldiers. Its goal is to make them more aware of the situation around them and reduce reaction times and reduce the risk of killing friendlys. General Dynamics and Raytheon will be competing contractors for this program. Are we getting too technical and will this become a weak point in our forces? I hope not, but the more advanced you get with computing devices, the more chance there is of being hacked or experiencing system failure.

The U.S. Air Force has agreed to delay a new nuclear capable bomber. While doing this, officials stated that we still have to replace aging bombers. The new bomber has been put on hold until the new START (Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty) negations are completed with Russia.

Remember all the problems with the Bradley vehicles years ago? Well they are in the news again, only this time because they are going to be upgraded. Raytheon is to equip 822 of the vehicles with a new surveillance system that can rotate 360 degrees.

A new fire control radar was tested aboard a new Apache Block III attack helicopter. The company that created the radar is known as Longbow LLC and is a joint venture between northrop Grumman and Lockheed Martin.

United Kingdom:

The Ministry of Defence (MoD) is upgrading the UK WG 13 Lynx AH-9 combat support helicopters and sending them to the frontline units in Afghanistan. The first four should arrive by October of this year. The Rolls-Royce Gem engines will be replaced with the more powerful ones from Light Helicopter Turbine Engine Company, knows as the CTS800-4N turboshaft.

The MoD has just signed a comprehensive contract worth over 800,000,000 dollars with BAE Systems. The contract calls for the company to maintain the Harrier fleet until it is phased out in 2018.

The MoD has awarded a contract for 80 Coyote 6X6 vehicles and 110 Jackal 2 2X2 vehicles, to be built and sent to Afghanistan.

Indonesia:

Indonesia is inviting Russia and South Korea to submit proposals for up to three new submarines. This country is also getting ready to receive two Makassar-class landing platform dock ships known as LPD.

Vietnam:

Vietnam is also looking for new submarines and is negotiating with Russia over Kilo class submarines. It is thought that they will buy up to six of these subs.

Brazil:

There is one business that certainly is not hurting and that is the Brazilian guided weapons industry. It has been expanding lately because of more and more export business.

Turkey:

Turkey is about to buy tank landing craft. It is said that they will buy vehicles that can hold up to seven main battle tanks or up to 17 trucks. The winning contractor actually exceeded the specifications for the landing craft.

Taiwan:

The president of Taiwan is urging the U.S. to send him more military equipment. He feels that if he doesn't get it, the delicate balance between the forces of Taiwan and mainland China will tilt toward China.

China:

China has announced a plan to modernize its military. PLAN (China's People's Liberation Army Navy) has announced that it plans to get new aircraft and war ships. The army said that it wanted large combat warships, more accurate long-range missiles, information technology and deep sea torpedoes, along with many other items.

Australia:

An upgrade to Australia's Adelaide-class frigates is almost finished. Over 60 ships were modernized. The over one billion dollar program was called into question a few times, but all the problems seem to have been ironed out.

Poland:

Poland has developed a new PT-91P main battle tank and is taking it to Peru for a demonstration. Peru is looking to buy between 100 and 140 new tanks.

European Union:

For the first time the European Defense Agency (EDA) is moving toward establishing a common air worthiness certification. A new European Military Joint Airworthiness Authority is being established and they hope that by 2015 all the bugs will be worked out for Europe's air forces.

Russia:

The Russian firm of Transas has completed a trial of a new UAV (Unmanned Aerial Vehicle). The vehicle is known as the Dozor-4 and it is a reconnaissance vehicle. The company is now working on the Dozor-5 which is a larger vehicle.

Russia and Belarus have agreed to jointly field a new Russian air defense system known as the S-400 Triumph.