Ooops! As expected, indian fighter jet buy saga not over yet

Indian defence minister has ordered an enquiry into allegations of irregularities and manipulation of the selection process for the MMRCA fighter jet which saw Rafale being chosen over Typhoon as preferred bidder. 
The enquiry follows a letter written by MP M.V. Mysoora Reddy, who voiced his suspects and noted, as many others have done in India and elsewhere, that the choice of the Rafale is weird, considering that the performance of the french airplane in Libya has not been entirely shiny, and that the plane has never fared really well in comparisons and evaluations made in India and elsewhere (possibly with the exception of Switzerland, where the air force evaluation of Rafale, Typhoon and Gripen saw the Rafale victorious in all mission types, with Typhoon a close second and Gripen a distant follower).

The hope of the UK is that this process will help making the case for a new review into the selection, with the UK government confirming to Parliament no later than March 7 that Cassidian, representing the Eurofighter consortium, is ready to bid a new, revised price as soon as India wishes for it.

Keep your eyes open and wait for the next episode...! 

An "oh shit!" moment

So, after the great hopes and the long waiting, we get the big surprise: Dassault is India's preferred bidder for the mammoth 126 fighters order. The Rafale bid was the less expensive, and India will now begin negotiations with Dassault over the details of the deal. Contract signature is probably still months away, and there might be still a chance for a big change to happen if negotiations were to fail...

But the fact remains. Typhoon as of now is out of the game. A true "oh shit!" moment.

Remember that Oman deal for Typhoons...?

The one that was seen as certain already in 2010, so much so that the MOD booked in its accounts 500 million pounds well before the actual deal was signed.

Back then, negotiations verted on two options, each about 24 Typhoon jets. One option for Oman was to buy Tranche 1s modernized (Block 8, FRG4 standard, in other words) from the RAF, which would have further slowed down the buildup of the Typhoon force but would have greatly helped the MOD balance the books. The other option, the favorite one, was for Oman buying 24 slots from the Tranche 3B allocations of the UK, allocations that are not going to be taken up by Great Britain.

However, the order failed to materialize, and last month Oman ordered a further package of 12 (2 twin and 10 single seats) F16s fighters from the US, in a 600 million dollars deal. BAE systems had confirmed, literally weeks before, that negotiations for the Typhoon buy were ongoing and that they were absolutely certain that an order would come.
My interpretation of the day was that, for financial and political reason, Oman had probably decided to split the 24-jets buy in half.

There is now indications of it being the exact interpretation. The government of Oman has requested that BAE Systems submit a formal bid for the supply of Typhoon fighter aircraft, for equipping one Squadron (so roughly 12 airplanes), along with training and support. [the training voice is going to be interesting: how will they sustain a single-squadron fleet? With just 12 airplanes, no OCU and no margins, they are going to have a very small number of Typhoons ready for actual use in fighting.... Will their pilots come to the UK for training and conversion on the Typhoon?]

Anyway, times are going to be, once more, long. BAE expects negotiations to be over by the end of the year (!) with deliveries of the first jet coming 36 months later.

Still a good news for the Typhoon programme and for british industry and jobs, and perhaps it is a good news for the MOD, too, to a degree.
However times are long even in the optimistic plans (last time BAE talked about this order, in early 2011, the deal was to be signed "within months") and the order is halved compared to expectations.

A closer look at the Foxhound

Developed in the UK by Force Protection Europe (recently acquired in a 300 million dollars deal by General Dynamics) and by engineering firm Ricardo, with Thales, Qinetiq, Formaplex, DSG and Sula collaboration, is a wholly new design. The vehicle has been drawn on a clean sheet to increase current available levels of protection, mobility and modularity/mission configurability compared to vehicles already on the market.

The result of the design process is the by now relatively well-known “Skateboard” chassis type. Most, if not all readers interested in the British military have probably already read the name. This chassis, basically, is a V-shaped armoured element that acts as spine for the vehicle, like a keel in a ship. It sustains and protects the engine, the two fuel tanks (one main and one secondary tanks), the batteries, the electric generator and all elements of mechanical transmission. The only elements left outside of the armored shield are the torsion bar suspensions, but this is not to be considered a disadvantage: in most cases, as proven by the tests, a mine will blow off a wheel, but leave the Foxhound able to move on on the remaining three, and reach a safer area on its own. 

Foxhound on trials: note the absence of side door

Atop the skateboard pod sit the various mission-specific pods. For now, there’s a 2+4 seats Protected Patrol module, a Fire Support open-top Weapon Mounted Installation Kit WMIK pod and an Utility pick-up pod for protected logistics role, but more could be developed, and in particular an ambulance pod should be available soon. Each pod, regardless of its specific role, has sharply tilted inferior sides, which sitting atop the skateboard complete an ample V-shape perfect to reduce underbelly blast effects, venting the force of the explosion outwards.

The advantages of the Skateboard are: 

-          A low centre of gravity as all the heavy items are placed under the skateboard, improving mobility and stability  

-          The absence of any mechanical part inside the crew pod, ensuring maximum safety and leaving more exploitable space available inside the mission pods. 

The pods in this way could be built entirely in composite materials, giving it a good compromise in terms of weight and protection levels. The base protection level of each pod is STANAG 4569 Level 2+, with add-on armor kits available to overcome Level 3 and offer protection against RPGs and Explosively Formed Projectiles EFPs. I expect the UK Foxhounds on order for Afghanistan to be fitted with this additional layer of protection, but for now there is no evidence of it.

I also must say that I’m a bit disappointed: Level 2+ protection, or even Level 3, is far from revolutionary, even if, to be fair, the Foxhound is intended for a gross weight of 7.5 tons, which limits the amount of armor that one can put upon it. The French Aravis 4x4 vehicle offers Level 4 protection, but it weights over 12 tons. Blast and mine protection levels are not disclosed, but are certainly at least meeting STANAG Level 2a/2b, and hopefully exceed these significantly. 

A batch of Foxhound vehicles: again, no side doors.

The pods are installed with a fast linking system that allows the replacement of mission pods directly in the field. To replace a pod it is enough to remove the electric connectors, detach the steering system and open the hinges on both sides of the hull. At that point the module is detached and can be lifted off and replaced, in just 30 minutes of work. For normal maintenance, the operation is the same, but the hinges of the pod are opened only on one side, and the pod is gently pushed to tilt to the side with the help of, for example, another vehicle.

Very simple is also the replacement of the engine block, which has to be possible in any FOB, without sending the vehicle back to the main base.    

The Patrol Protected Vehicle module has two front seats (Driver and Commander), with the seats, provided with five-points harness, hang from the roof for improved blast-mitigation effect. Two bulkheads behind the seats separate the front compartment from the rear one, where four dismounts sit in seats attached to the walls, shoulders to the wall, sitting face to face. Further bulkheads separate this compartment from the last one to the back, which houses the radio and the electronics, on the two sides of the large double door at the back. 

Inside the Foxhound LPPV: note the empty space in the back, over the wheels. Here is housed the radio and other electronics, while the seats for the Dismounts sit in the middle.

Access to the vehicle is possible from this large door or from a large “Commander’s Door” in the side of the vehicle. This door is optional, however, since the absence of side openings is advantageous in terms of protection. Since the Mastiff 3 re-introduced side doors, it is probable that Foxhound vehicles will also have it, despite the detrimental effect on overall resistance of the safety cell. On the roof two large openings are provided: one hatch above the Commander’s seat, on the left, and a larger one in the middle of the roof, over the Dismounts compartment. This second opening is large enough for two men to stand and fire out of it at once with their personal weapons. In alternative, a ballistic-protected shielded turret for a machine gun can be fitted. Remotely-operated turrets should however be the preferred long-term solution, as they tend to offer the maximum performance and protection while generally impacting less the weight margin and centre of gravity.

The Protected Logistics variant sits only driver and “commander”, has a single top hatch over the commander’s seat and side doors, with the back made up  by the pick-up loadbed. The WMIK variant sits four men in an open-top pod with thick rollbars from which the blast-mitigating seats hang. Several weapon mounts are available, two more than on a Land Rover or Jackal: in addition to the top ring mount and the Commander’s swing mount, to the side of the driver, there’s a heavy machine gun mount in the back, aiming to the rear, and a further swing mount for a medium machine gun can take place on the passenger’s side.   

The Foxhound Protected Logistics variant: ideally, this vehicle will appear in the British Army and be a long term replacement for many Utility Vehicles, including the UOR procured Husky, which is inferior in protection (blast protection in particular) and payload (around 1300 kg).

Foxhound with WMIK module

  

The Foxhound is 5.4 meters long, 2.1 meters wide and 2.34 meters tall, with a gross weight of 7.5 tons, with a payload of nearly 2000 kg. In the Patrol Protected Variant this means that there is payload margin for 6 soldiers (for design purposes a soldier is a load of around 158 kg) and over 900 kg of further load, which could include a RWS turret (on the market there are models from 70 to 280+ kg. The Selex Galileo Enforcer, widely used by the British Army on the Panther, on the Bulldog and on some Challenger II vehicles, weights around 156 kg without ammunitions and weapon) or a shielded, manned turret ring (can weight well over 300 kg), additional armor and other kit.

At 7.5 tons, the Foxhound can be under slung on a Chinook helicopter and airlifted easily by C130, A400 and, of course, C17 and above. The Foxhound has a Steyr-Daimler Puch 3.2l engine. It is a six-cylinder, four-stroke diesel engine with turbocharger with a power of over 250 HP. The vehicle is also fitted with a ZS six speed auto-transmission and independent, lockable differential axles from AxelTech. The four-wheel steering provides it with a turning circle of just 12m. The Foxhound can reach a maximum speed of 110 km/h and accelerates from 0 to 80 km/h in 19.7 seconds on road. Cross country it can overcome a 60% maximum gradient and negotiate side-slopes of 30%, promising very good mobility on the field.

With the around 200 liters of fuel in the tanks, the Foxhound has a range of around 600 km.

Last, but not least, it is worth remembering that the Foxhound will be the first vehicle adopted by the British Army that meets the Generic Vehicle Architecture (GVA) requirement. Objective of the GVA is to affirm as unique vehicle standard for all electric and electronic parts, the DefStan 23-09. In practice, the wish is to have all new vehicles fitted with a common, open electronic architecture, so that any equipment developed for a vehicle is compatible with all the others as well.

To make this possible, it was necessary to rapidly select a stable base over which develop the system  and write the requirements in terms of hardware (which tension should the component use, which shape factors it needs to follow, etc). Key to this is the “Middleware”, the common software interface that allows components from different firms to work together and dialog without problems. As Middleware, the MOD selected the DDS (Data Distribution Service), and consequently made available to its suppliers a specific development software suite, called Land Data Module. A supplier that tomorrow will be asked by the MOD to design and provide a new component for a GVA vehicle will use the Land Data Module development suite to write software fully compatible with the DefStan 23-09.

In the case of the Foxhound vehicles on order, responsibility for design of the DefStan 23-09 components falls on Thales.

The Foxhound should soon make its appearance in Afghanistan, mainly as Land Rover Snatch replacement. Initially procured as UOR in the first order, placed in 2010 (180 million pounds for 200 vehicles and initial spares package) they have been brought into Core budget and are part of the long term Army plan for the future. A second order for around 100 more is being negotiated and has already been announced. It is expected that the actual contract will be signed soon. This news is however made a bit less happy and good by the awareness that, originally, it was expected that the second batch order would be for another 200 vehicles. It has effectively been halved.

Further orders are expected, but they will depend on the availability of budget for it – no more UOR money for Foxhound, most likely -, on its effective performances in Afghanistan, on its cost hopefully dropping (now it is still way too high) and on the decisions that will be taken on its long term roles within the new army structure. In particular, its future is likely to be closely connected to that of the ex-Operational Utility Vehicle System, now Protected Vehicle Multirole. Of course, the Foxhound/Ocelot aims to export orders as well, even though its first big occasion (a 1300 vehicles order from Australia) has been lost, with Australia deciding to locally develop and pursue the Hawkei vehicle.

The Brazil market for 2012: no big spender

BAE systems has finalized a deal with Brazil, selling them the 3 90-meters long OPVs originally built for Trinidad and Tobago but never delivered because Trinidad and Tobago terminated the contract due to BAE's delays. The deal will see the 3 ships head to Brazil, for 120 million pounds, plus 13 millions in training and support. The deal includes the acquisition of licence rights, with Brazil to build a minimum of 5 more OPVs at home.

But despite a 34,9 billion US dollars budget request made for 2012 by the Brazilian MOD, inclusive of an 18% increase in the procurement budget (to 4,38 USD billions) there is no mention of pursuing the long delayed F-X2 programme for a new fighter jet, nor is there a plan for signing contracts for the PROSUPER (Programa de Obtencao de Meios de Superficie) programme, a mammoth naval requirement for 11 ships (5 6000-tons frigates, 5 oceanic patrol vessels of 1750/1850 tons and a 20.000 tons Logistic Support Vessel).

While the F-X2 is expected by France to be the first major export success of Rafale (if the order will ever be finalized, and assuming that Gripen does not manage to gain the top instead, despite the promises made to Sarkozy by Lula, ex-president of Brazil), the PROSUPER is of great interest for the UK, which offered, jointly with BAE and at government level, a formidable solution based on the Brazilian participation into the Type 26 Global Combat Ship programme. The UK solution is a package of 5 Type 26, 5 90-meters OPVs one Wave-class support vessel.
An alternative, low-cost, immediately available proposal was made last year, but was rejected, and it involved the 4 Type 22 B3 frigates removed from the Royal Navy, the Trinidad and Tobago OPVs (plus more to be built locally) and the ex RFA Fort George oiler and replenisher ship. 

Brazil will not finance the F-X2 or PROSUPER for this year, according to budget planning. The Navy is giving priority to the development of the submarine fleet, with billions to be invested in a new base, in a new fleet of conventional submarines built with French assistance, and work for the design and development, again with french help, of what will be the country's first nuclear submarine.
73 millions will also finance further work on the patrol ships of the type NAPA-500.
65 millions are going into financing the start of work on acquiring a 1800-tons class of patrol vessels as well, under NAPA-1800.

The order for the Trinidad and Tobago OPVs placed in these days comes out of the wider PROSUPER programme, which effectively broke down into parts, with the frigates and support vessel decision-making still ongoing, while the OPVs are now selected and financed. The requirement was stated for 5 vessels, but now Brazil is buying 3 already built plus rights for "a minimum of 5 more": either they have expanded the requirement, or perhaps they are willing to use the same OPV hull for the NAPA-1800 requirement as well.

The Brazilian air force is to invest over 544 millions of Reals in the KC-390 cargo plane development, 309 millions for the SISCEAB surveillance system and 716 millions will go for upgrading platforms already in service.

There is also nearly a billion in funding for a new satellite communications system (SISCOMIS) and for the H-XBR medium utility helicopter, for which they will build locally a force of 50 EC-725.

For this year, both the Rafale and the Type 26 seens set to have to wait. But at the same time, the fact that Brazil decided to buy british for its OPV requirements might be a good sign that the military collaboration agreement is working, and hopefully it means their interest in the Global Combat Ship remains real and solid.

December 20; News

US Congress approves the 2012 budget for Defense

The budget includes authorization and funding for the F35 LRIP Batch 6, which will buy 18 F35A, 7 F35C and 6 F35B. The bill removed a single F35A from the planned figure (- 151 USD million) and allocated 100 millions to additional development and test activity to troubleshoot the problems with the plane.

The bill is important for the UK as it includes authorization for the US Marines to swap an F35C for the BK3, the third of the 3 test F35B being built for the UK. It is so confirmed that the UK will get a first F35C as part of the test fleet.

Despite fears of massive cuts, the Budget is full of good news, overall, including the restoring of the 30 years shipbuilidng plan, funding for the JLTV (Hummer replacement), a 255 million order for 42 additional Abrams M1A2 tanks (the factory risked being closed if orders were not placed). Of course, there were adjustements, included halving (from over 800 to around 400 millions) the budget for in-year activities on the Ground Combat Vehicle.

Of course, the real battle is Budget 2013, but the fight is already on, and the Pentagon enjoys far greater support in Congress than the MOD in the UK's parliament.

End of the Japan dream

As i've been saying all along, Europe could not hope to beat the US in a tender for the Japanese armed forces. Japan announded that they will procure 42 F35As to replace their old F4s, as they regard the stealthness and long fighting range of the type essential for their needs of self-defence in the asian theatre. The Typhoon was considered the most likely alternative, with the Boeing F18 Super Hornet international as third runner. The first F35 for Japan will be delivered in 2016, LM promised. This is before the expected IOC of the type, and in the middle of development for the F35: Japan is taking a real risk here, and in fact the decision to go JSF was reportedly controversial and far from accepted by everyone.

They also wanted two engines, but they sacrificed that requirement when it became clear that the F22 was a real no-no.

The last F22 has been recently delivered to the USAF, and production is over. In service, the type continues to struggle with low availability, unresolved problems of connectivity and electronics obsolescence that will require massive investment and, even worse, serious and not yet clear issues with the onboard oxygen system, that has caused the loss of one plane and one pilot, grounded the whole fleet for a while, and caused a limitation in the flying envelope and altitude that the fighter is allowed to reach. The cause of the problem is still unclear.

End of the Oman dream too?

Oman announced a 600 million dollarsorder for 12 F16, 10 single-seat and 2 twin-seat trainers. Literally weeks before, BAE had announced to stakeholders that an order from Oman for the Typhoon is (was?) expected in early 2012. It is the same order that the MOD has been expecting like a blessing from the sky ever since 2008, when it was booked in as a 500 million pounds revenue, well before the contract was actually signed.

Oman negotiated the acquisition of 24 Typhoons, but ever since August there's been suggestions that Oman would buy both F16s and Typhoons.

A Typhoon deal should still come in the first quarter of 2012, but it will likely be for just 12 fighters.

Despite export win, still lots of problems to solve for the F35

There are pretty serious issues with the whole family, reported in a damning report come out recently. The most worrisome developments are the worse than expected latency troubles with the advanced Helmet Mounted Display, which is currently incapable to show full night vision, has symbology problems, and a much longer latency time than expected. Night flying at the moment is done with NVG googles, and development will continue using an alternative HMD, from BAE system, which has been contracted to supply a modified Striker system. The Striker is well known in the RAF, being the HMD used on the Typhoon.

The F35 HMD is however far more important, and expected to give 360° view and targeting capability to the pilot, day and night, even across the fuselage. Its succesful development is fundamental, but at the moment problems remain.

There are issues with the coating of the rear control surfaces, which will have to be modified, since after the F35 reached its max speed of Mach 1.6 with afterburner, its rear surfaces's paint bubbled, cooked, and fell off. The planes have since been limited to Mach 1, with afterburner to be used for no more than 2 minutes in a row.

Again, the under-fuselage fuel dumping valve is a nightmare as the fuel, once released, does not flow away clear of the moving control surfaces, with a risk of it catching fire over the surfaces heated by attrite. The problem is said to be particularly bad on the B variant, which is full of doors, panels and additional moving parts.

There are issues also with the stability of the plane in maneuvers, already with attack angles of just 20°, and these will have to be solved as well. The report also highlights worries about the fact that the current LRIPs planes are being acquired without the tests on airframe life having been completed, with the C variant practically untested at all in this sense.

The F35A, and especially the F35B, have revealed during testing that some components have developed cracks much, much earlier than planned, with some of them already replaced in LRIP5 and other improvements coming along in LRIP6.

The F35C has a problem of its own: it does fine with catapults, having launched many times from steam C13 cats and now from the EMALS as well, but it has issues catching the arresting wire due to an unhappy design of the arresting hook. Of all the embarked planes of the US Navy, besides, including even the X47B drone, the F35C is the plane that has, by far, the shortest distance between the undercarriage wheels and the arresting hook, at just over 7 feet. This makes it hard to land properly on the deck and catch the wires, and is of course a major issue that needs a solution. The report notes that, in the case that modyfing the arresting hook proves not enough, a quite major redesign will be necessary, to move back as far as possible the hook.

The report goes so far to suggest that production of the F35 should be suspended and be subject to demonstration that all problems are solved. In a way, this makes perfect sense, but in another, it would be disasterous, further slowing down development and troubleshooting, and pushing up the aircraft cost.

The Pentagon, in fact, seems to have no intention at all to follow the suggestion: LRIP6 has been contracted, and the Budget 2012 contains authorization to proceed with definition of all the next planned lots of production.

Updates on the ACA website, progresses on Queen Elizabeth

The Aircraft Carrier Alliance website has been updated, removing (finally!) all STOVL-related images and adding with new photos and videos, showing the sponsons being added with the help of the Goliath crane onto the already massive LB03 superblock. Of particular relevance is however a new video showing the next steps in the building of HMS Queen Elizabeth, complete with expected dates of the various phases.

Notably:

- 10 February 2012: the last sponson on LB03 should go in place 
- 22 June 2012 LB03 is undocked to move in the LB02 and LB01 blocks that will compose the bow 
- 09 November 2012 the first gas turbine is installed 
- 05 March 2013 first island installed
Assembly will be complete by 30 October 2013, and probably soon after that the ship will exit the dock, and parts of HMS Prince of Wales will start coming in. QE will probably face a further 2 years of fitting out, prior to contractor sea trials in 2015 and delivery to the Navy for service trials in 2016. 
The Build Updates of November is also good to get an idea of all the latest progress. 



The 8000 tons of LB03 enter the assembly dock, No1, in Rosyth, in September






SP04 is lifted up to be added onto LB03. The super block already has been fitted with the four units composing CB03: the roof of the hangar and the galley deck. CB03a to CB03d were built at A&P Tyne and delivered 5 weeks ahead of schedule. 








The 2 recent images above show, from different points of view, the evident progress made since LB03 arrived. Now the hangar is enclosed and covered, and the sponsons are going in place, giving the carrier its full flight-deck width of 74 meters.

  

Next to reach Rosyth will be the LB05 block (aft area of the vessel) and LB02 super block, a 6000 tonnes monster making up the front of the vessel. The bulbous bow (LB01) is already stored in Rosyth. 

LB02 and LB01 will be put into dock and assembled together from June or July 2012, after LB03, completed, will be temporarily pulled out of dock to allow them to enter. 

The video quoted above will explain the complex process better than any word, and the map of the many "LBs" involved is available here. An indispensable map if you want to know exactly what is going on! 

 

Future Fast Landing Craft and Force Protection Craft

The Royal Marines are hard at work to trial the prototypes of what should become, sometime in the future, the LCU MK11 and Force Protection Craft, MK6. The testing of the PACSCAT is complete, with the craft handling all its task magnificently, including delivery on the beach of the huge, heavy Hippo BARV and Challenger II MBT. With a Chally on board, the PACSCAT registered a speed of 19 knots, more than twice the maximum speed of the LCU MK10. Empty, the PACSCAT went close to 40 knots. It also delivered with no problems a load of 5 Viking vehicles. Alternatively, it can carry 4 HX60 4x4 trucks.

For the Force Protection Craft, which will also partially replace the LCVP MK5, the requirement is for some 12 units, with deliveries from 2016. Currently, the RM are testing borrowed CB90 combat boats from Sweden, which have already been deployed from current LCVP MK5 davits, proving the concept valid. The CB90s were given to the RM by their swedish counterparts, which have received a few Offshore Raiding Crafts from the UK in exchange.

Cross order possible? It would make everyone happy, i suspect. Navy News announced a reportage into the CB90 testing for their January's edition, so keep your eyes open, it should make for very interesting reading!

Trident II Life Extension Programme

2011 has been an important year for Trident, with many contracts placed by the US. The UK collaborates to the expense and work. The Trident LEP aims to keep the missile in service until at least 2042, and involves, mainly, a 1.2 billion dollars contract of the Pentagon with Lochkeed Martin. The programme will replace a number of components on the missiles, from rocket motors to the MK6 guidance system, which is being replaced by the MK6 LE. 108 new missiles are to be produced to replace the oldest ones and keep up the level of the stock.

Northrop Grumman is also involved in contracts for maintenance and future proofing, and BAE has received a 58.3 million dollars contract for integration work for the Trident Strategic Weapon System into the Advanced Missile Launcher, part of the Common Missile Compartment being jointly developed for the US and UK replacement SSBNs. The contract also includes mention of integration work of the Ohio SSGN combat system, which seems to confirm that the CMC will come with the possibility of fitting the new launch tubes with large, multiple-rounds Tomahawk canisters. The US will probably be able to afford using part of its SSBNs as SSGN while keeping up a constant at sea deterrence. The UK, with 3 or maximum 4 boats, is reportedly considering using the future SSBNs as a dual-role “SSGBN”, so to speak, maintaining CASD while covering conventional roles as well, mainly as SSN(T), by carrying large numbers of TLAM missiles. 

Renouncing to CASD policy is also a possibility being studied in the Trident value for money review, along with adoption of a cruise missile-based system.  

France efforts into satellites continues, ESA and EDA collaborate

Faithful to White Paper 2008, France continues to invest in satellites. The latest programme, ELISA, aims to deploy a constellation of 4 SIGINT/ESM satellites for signals intelligence. 

In the meanwhile, the European State Agency and the European Defence Agency have announced a collaborative project for the testing of Unmanned Air Systems flying under satellite control in nonsegregate airspace.  

Still waiting for announcements

700 top-brass, officers of high rank, could be part of the next round ofredundancies, it has been announced. But it has also been suggested, in a far more painful report, that the MOD Police could be literally halved, with up to 1500 jobs to be lost.

In the meanwhile, the Territorial Army could change name for the first time since its creation in 1908, reflecting the expansion in roles expected for the reserves.

Effectively, however, it appears that Halmond will keep us waiting for 2012 before any announcement comes out. To the Parliamentary Defence Committee, he said that he expects to make the announcemens before the clock is pushed forwards. That should mean before 25 march 2012 then, or at least within the 1^st quarter. 

40 million pounds for Future Combat Air System research

The MOD is investing 40 million pounds in a four years research and development activity targeted at shaping the future UAVs and UCAVs. It is to inform the MOD's unmanned air system strategy over the coming decades to ensure that the best use is made of these new technologies, and keep the aerospace industry of the UK in motion. 

It is not clear what the research will try to demonstrate, but the Taranis stealth UCAV, a demonstrative, Hawk-sized drone unveiled last year will probably be part of the programme, and finally make its first flight, which was expected this year, originally. 

The programme will be important to help shape the requirements and doctrine for the incoming Telemos drone, to be developed jointly with France, and for a first UCAV, which the two countries hope to put in service by 2030.

A 3 million bill for putting women on submarines  

The expense will cover modifications to the boats (first of all, the SSBNs of the Vanguard class) to have separate accommodation for female personnel, plus an emergency air supply system for any female crewmember found to be pregnant on the submarines, whose voyages last for months.

Answering questions in the Commons, Mr Hammond said the first female officers will begin serving on Vanguard class SSBNs from late 2013 and then joined by women ratings in 2015. From around 2016, female personnel will serve on the SSNs of the Astute class as well.

Blackmailing the UK on the Falklands

After Brazil denied its ports to HMS Clyde and to RN ships bound for the Falklands, now Uruguay also adds its voice, closing its ports to all ships flagged in the Falklands islands. The UK has immediately asked for explanations, and Spain is also concerned, since most ships beating the Falklands's flag are actually owned by iberian companies.

The position of Uruguay is that the “Malvinas are the last example of colonization in South America”, so they decided to follow the suggestion, agreed on at the UNASUR conference, to close the ports to ships flagged in the Falklands. 

It is of course bad news for the Falkland Islands fishing companies, but they note, not without reason, that the move could hurt Uruguay more than it hurts the Falklands. It also appears that the vessels of the Falklands could still sail in if sporting the british merchant navy red insign.

In the meanwhile, Rockhopper has determined that the Sea Lion oil field is bigger than expected (and it is already the second time that the amount of recoverable oil proves greater than expected) and found oil at another two drilling sites. Gas was also found. 

Sea Lion is now prospected at 430 million barrels. 

There are still concerns about the cost of drilling oil and gas out of the area, but if the finds continue, the Falklands reserves will prove more and more attractive.  

Big chance

The United Arab Emirates announce officially that there won't be at all a Rafale order.
France had been bullish over the deal, which they saw as imminent, for 60 airplanes.

Instead, at the Dubai air show the UAE first asked the UK to give them information and an offer for the Typhoon, then announced that Rafale is rejected.
Now the Typhoon's rivals are the americans, from F15 to F18, but especially F16.

However, it comes as a big new chance in a market that for months looked unattractive.

This pays for the probable failure in Japan, were, despite initial optimism, beating US rivalry will be really, really difficult.