Secretary of the Army, Hon. Ryan D. McCarthy in the General Dynamics factory

Secretary of the Army, Hon. Ryan D. McCarthy, and Vice Chief of Staff of the Army General Joseph M. Martin, visit General Dynamics in Detriot, Mi., April. 23, 2020. (U.S. Army photo by Sgt. James Harvey).

Here is the some interesting photos from visit:

Mobile Protected Firepower (MPF) 

Optionally Manned Fighting Vehicle (OMFV)

Optionally Manned Fighting Vehicle (OMFV) on background and an unknown UGV on front

Multi-Utility Tactical transport (MUTT)

M60A3 vs 12,7mm rifle

Turkish tank M60A3, which was destroyed by a large-caliber rifle "Zagros" (12,7mm). After penetration, the bullet caused the tank round to explode, killed three members of the crew.

Syria, February 4, 2016.

USAF Surprise Mission - B-1B Flew Near Russia's Kamchatka Peninsula After Crossing The Bering Sea

USAF B-1B HYPER21 executed a flight from Ellsworth AFB to Japan, flew near Russia's Kamchatka peninsula, crossing The Bering Sea & North Pacific. The bomber worked with JASDF fighters near Misawa AB, then flew to a point near Okinawa before the return trip to Ellsworth AFB.

Via Aircraft Spots

The Press release from Pacific Air Forces. The statement reads, in full:

In demonstration of the U.S. Air Force’s dynamic force employment model, a U.S. Air Force B-1B Lancer bomber flew from the continental United States and integrated with the Koku Jieitai (Japan Air Self Defense Force or JASDF) to conduct bilateral and theater familiarization training near Japan April 22. 

 

The B-1, flew a 30-hour round-trip sortie from Ellsworth Air Force Base, S.D., to the Indo-Pacific and teamed up with six U.S. Air Force F-16 Fighting Falcons, seven JASDF F-2s and eight JASDF F-15s over Draughon Range near Misawa as part of a joint U.S. Indo-Pacific Command (INDOPACOM) U.S. Strategic Command (USSTRATCOM) Bomber Task Force (BTF) mission before returning home. 

“This operation showcases our unwavering commitment to the security and stability of the Indo-Pacific region through the employment of strategic forces from around the globe,” said Gen. CQ Brown, Jr., Pacific Air Forces and INDOPACOM Air Component commander. “From confronting invisible threats of a global pandemic to addressing military aggression and coercive activities, we remain a lethal, innovative and interoperable force focused on a shared vision of upholding a free and open lndo-Pacific.” 

In line with the National Defense Strategy’s objectives of strategic predictability and operational unpredictability, the U.S. Air Force transitioned its force employment model to enable strategic bombers to operate forward in the Indo-Pacific region from a broader array of overseas and CONUS locations with greater operational resilience. 

“Like the advancements of our Agile Combat Employment concept of operations, we continue to innovate and adapt our approach, to include how we deploy and employ the various weapons systems we integrate with our allies and partners,” Brown said. “Bringing the B-1 into theater ensures our bilateral interoperability accounts for any combination of flying operations to prepare for and outpace the rapidly growing threats in the Indo-Pacific region.” 

This marks the second CONUS-based bomber bilateral training to occur this year with the JASDF. On Feb. 3, two B-52s integrated with six USAF F-16s and more than 45 JASDF fighter aircraft in the vicinity of Misawa Air Base, Japan. Those bombers flew from Andersen Air Force Base, Guam, and Minot Air Force Base, N.D. 

“The rapid employment of airpower directly supports the National Defense Strategy and assures we can provide overwhelming force anywhere, anytime in support of American interests or our Allies and partners,” said Gen. Tim Ray, Air Force Global Strike Command and Air Forces-Strategic commander. “This mission is a demonstration to our friends throughout the region: we will continue to remain fully predictable in our commitment to ensuring peace, while also demonstrating that we have the ability to operate from numerous locations across the globe, even during the global pandemic.”
The B-1 is assigned to the 28th Bomb Wing and the F-16s are assigned to the 35th Fighter Wing from Misawa Air Base, Japan. 

The last time the B-1 was in the INDOPACOM area of responsibility was January 2018, when the airframe and crews completed a six-month Continuous Bomber Presence mission at Andersen. During that time, the 9th Expeditionary Bomb Squadron from Dyess Force Base, Texas, conducted a number of sequenced bilateral missions with the Republic of Korea Air Force and the JASDF. 

USSTRATCOM has conducted BTF missions (previously known as Bomber Assurance and Deterrence missions) since 2014 as a demonstration of the U.S. commitment to collective security, and to integrate with Geographic Combatant Command operations. The first mission included B-52H Stratofortresses and B-2 Spirits traveling from the continental United States to Joint Base Pearl-Harbor Hickam in April 2014.

The Russian MoD signed the acceptance agreement of the first UAV complex "Orion"

The Russian MoD signed the acceptance agreement of the first three vehicles of the long-range unmanned complex "Orion".

Orion is a Russian unmanned combat aerial vehicle developed by Kronstadt Group. The vehicle is a medium-high unmanned complex of long flight duration, with following Parameters:

• Max altitude: 7.5 km

• Max flight duration: 24 hours

• Max speed: 200 km/h

• Max take-off mass of 1 ton

• Max payload mass of 200 kg.

Air Force Selects Raytheon to Build Next-Gen Nuclear Weapon

The U.S. Air Force has chosen Raytheon Co. as the sole-source manufacturer to proceed with the service's new nuclear cruise missile, which is intended to be launched from aircraft such as the B-52 Stratofortress.

The service on Friday selected Raytheon's design for the Long Range Stand Off weapon, known as LRSO - which is currently in the technology-maturation and risk-reduction phase -- over Lockheed Martin Corp.

The decision to choose a single company will allow the LRSO office to begin exploring how it can "redirect funding to critical areas and potentially move some activities into the TMRR phase currently scheduled for the Engineering and Manufacturing Development (EMD) phase, including flight tests" at a faster pace, according to a service news release.

While officials didn't call the latest decision a down-select between the two companies -- a move that wasn't expected until fiscal 2022 -- the service said it came to the choice after an "extensive evaluation of [both companies'] contractor programmatic and technical approach."

The Air Force announced today plans to continue the Long-Range Standoff Weapon’s development with Raytheon Company as a sole-source contractor.  The LRSO cruise missile is a critical element of the Air Force’s on-going nuclear recapitalization efforts. 

After an extensive evaluation of contractor programmatic and technical approach during the TMRR’s preliminary design reviews, the Air Force decided to focus on Raytheon’s design.

“Our competitive TMRR phase, which included both Lockheed Martin and Raytheon as the prime contractors, enabled us to select a high-confidence design at this point in the acquisition process,” said Maj. Gen. Shaun Morris, Air Force Nuclear Weapons Center commander and program executive officer for strategic systems. 

“And this early off-ramp of a contractor is completely in line with the existing LRSO acquisition strategy, which included periodic reviews to assess contractor designs. Lockheed Martin has been an excellent contractor and partner throughout the TMRR effort and this pivot to Raytheon does not represent a lack of effort or commitment on their part.  Lockheed Martin has supported the nuclear enterprise for decades and we continue to value their expertise in sensors and nuclear certification and surety.”

“This is not a down-select per se; instead, we are reframing our relationship with Lockheed Martin to focus on specific technology maturation we believe either has future applicability for the final LRSO design or will reduce overall program risk,” said Elizabeth Thorn, AFNWC’s LRSO system program manager.

Communication is underway with the prime contractors and an orderly closeout process has commenced at the affected Lockheed Martin and supplier offices.  In addition, interagency stakeholders have been notified. 

The LRSO program office is now developing plans to pivot to a sole-source environment.  It is also exploring opportunities to redirect funding to critical areas and potentially move some activities into the TMRR phase currently scheduled for the Engineering and Manufacturing Development phase, including flight tests. 

Resource reallocation efforts are underway, in the prime contractor and sub-tier contractor offices, according to Thorn. 

“I am confident in the program office’s ability to execute the next phase’s contract negotiations in a single-source environment and maintain schedule and affordability,” Morris said.  “We are committed to acquiring an affordable LRSO weapon system and we have exceptional cost and design insight into both contractors’ strategies, due to our progress with the acquisition reviews and the cost-capability trades.”

Morris reiterated the off-ramping of a contractor in the TMRR phase is consistent with the LRSO acquisition strategy and different than Boeing’s decision last year not to bid on the EMD contract for the Ground Based Strategic Deterrent, another critical Air Force nuclear weapon modernization effort.

The LRSO program office, located at Eglin Air Force Base, Florida, is part of AFNWC’s Air Delivered Capabilities Directorate.  Headquartered at Kirtland AFB, AFNWC is responsible for synchronizing all aspects of nuclear materiel management on behalf of Air Force Materiel Command, in direct support of Air Force Global Strike Command.  The center has more than 1,300 personnel assigned to 18 locations worldwide.

US Army Picks Firm to Build Deadly New Sighting System Prototype for NGSW

Army modernization officials have selected a Wisconsin-based optics firm to make advanced fire-control prototypes capable of equipping the service's Next Generation Squad Weapon (NGSW) with a 1,000-meter laser range finder and a ballistic computer to calculate the bullet's path to the target, according to an April 20 news release from Vortex Optics.

The Vortex NGSW-FC

The Army's Product Manager Soldier Lethality awarded Vortex an agreement to deliver production-ready prototypes of the NGSW-Fire Control for future Soldier Touch Point evaluations, the release states.

The 1-8x30 Active Reticle Fire Control is a variable power, direct-view, first focal plane riflescope -- meaning that the reticle is located in front of the magnification lens to allow the reticle to increase in size as the shooter increases the magnification level.

The Vortex system is built around "a revolutionary technology based on many years of internal research and development, along with multiple cooperative development efforts with the Army's [Project Manager] Soldier Weapons," according to the release.

"The end result is Active Reticle, which has been proven to increase hit percentage and decrease time to engage during U.S. Army Soldier touchpoints over the last two years," it adds.

The Army released a Prototype Opportunity Notice last spring inviting companies to develop a NGSW Fire Control that "increases the soldier's ability to rapidly engage man-sized targets out to 600 [meters] or greater while maintaining the ability to conduct Close Quarters Battle," according to the solicitation, posted May 30, 2019, on FedBizOpps.gov.

Weapons officials are currently testing NGSW prototypes from General Dynamics Ordnance and Tactical Systems Inc., Textron Systems and Sig Sauer Inc. for the final phase of the NGSW effort, which is designed to replace the 5.56mm M4A1 carbine and the M249 squad automatic weapon in close-combat units with automatic rifle and rifle versions chambered for a more powerful 6.8mm round.

The Army plans to select a final design for both weapons from a single company in the first quarter of 2022 and begin fielding them to an infantry brigade combat team in the first quarter of 2023.

It's unclear whether the Army has awarded agreements to other optics companies for fire-control prototypes. Military.com reached out to Army program officials but did not receive a response by press time.

Vortex officials maintain the prototype's "1km-capable laser rangefinder, state of the art on-board ballistic engine, atmospheric sensor suite, and programmable active matrix micro-display ... delivers a true multi-mission fire control enabling everything from [close-quarter battle] to designated marksmanship at the extents of the NGSW's effective range," according to the release.

"For the soldier in the field, that means the freedom to devote their entire focus downrange," Sam Hamilton, chief technical officer at Vortex Optics, said in the release. "End-users will no longer need to leave their field of view to consult separate rangefinders or ballistic calculators, slowing them down and compromising their situational awareness."

Hybrid combat vehicle HMMWV fitted with various types of weapons

The 90 mm cannon of a french-made Panhard AML-90 armored car mounted onto a HMMWV (Libya)

Hybrid combat vehicle Humvee fitted with BMP-1 73mm turret used by Houthi militia in Yemen.

Russian T-14 Armata tanks tested in Syria

The T-14 tank on the heavy tracked vehicle platform has been tested in Syria, Russian Minister of Industry and Trade Denis Manturov said on Sunday.

"Yes, that’s right. They [Armata tanks] were used in Syria," he said in an interview with the Deistvuyushchiye Litsa (Political Actors) with Nailya Asker-zade program on the Rossiya-1 television channel answering a corresponding question. "They were used in field conditions, in Syria, so, we took into account all the nuances."

Alexander Potapov, CEO of Uravagonzavod, the tank’s developer and manufacturer (incorporated into Rostec corporation), said in an interview with the Vedomosti daily on February 3 that first batches of Aramata tanks would be supplied to the Russian army in 2020 for field trials.

The Armata is a heavy tracked standardized platform serving as the basis to develop a main battle tank, an infantry fighting vehicle, an armored personnel carrier and some other armored vehicles. The T-14 tank based on the Armata platform was shown to the public for the first time at Red Square’s Victory Day parade on May 9, 2015. The new combat vehicle features fully digitized equipment, an unmanned turret and an isolated armored capsule for the crew.

Serial supplies of T-14 tanks

Serial supplies of Russia’s new T-14 tanks on the Armata platform to Russian troops will begin in 2021.

"It [the T-14 Armata tank] is expensive because it is still undergoing extra trials and modernization after the defense ministry requested additional technical solutions in order to begin serial supplies starting from the next year under the existing contract," said Denis Manturov.

Foreign buyers of Armata tanks

Russia plans to begin work with potential foreign buyers of Russian Armata tanks and has already received a number of advance orders.

"Next year, when serial supplies of these tanks to the defense ministry are launched and an exports certificate is obtained, we will begin to work with foreign clients," said Denis Manturov.

According to the minister, a number of countries have already demonstrated interest to these tanks. He noted that Russia already has advance orders. "Preliminarily, bearing in mind that we cannot provide all the documentation to our foreign clients, well, we do have preliminary orders," he said.