Future recon aircraft competition moves forward featuring a 20mm Gatling gun developed at Picatinny

As two industry teams develop prototypes that will go head-to-head in a competition for the Army’s Future Attack Reconnaissance Aircraft, both teams will be working with Picatinny Arsenal engineers to outfit those aircraft with 20mm Gatling guns.

The Future Vertical Lift (FVL) Cross Functional Team has accelerated the FARA to return a dedicated aerial reconnaissance capability to Army Aviation, filling the void left by the retired OH-58 Kiowa scout helicopter.

To meet their aggressive timetable, the FARA Competitive Prototype (FARA CP) Program is using an Other Transaction Authority for Prototype arrangement as part of the Army’s strategy. Under FARA CP, Bell and Lockheed Martin will design, build, and test two demonstrator aircraft competitively before the Army selects one aircraft in 2024.

The Advanced Rotorcraft Armament and Protection System (ARAPS) program team at the U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Center (CCDC) Armaments Center will prototype and demonstrate the Gatling gun, known as the XM915, for transition and integration into the Bell and Lockheed Martin FARA CP demonstrator aircraft.

The XM915 under development is a 20mm, three-barrel Gatling weapon capable of firing up to 1500 shots per minute while weighing under 115 lbs. The weapon will be mounted in a turreted cradle allowing the weapon to be aimed independent of the aircraft’s direction of travel. Ammunition will be fed into the weapon by a linkless carrier drive system that accomplishes the same task as steel-belted ammunition while saving weight and increasing system reliability.

FVL is one of the U.S. Army's top modernization priorities that also includes Long Range Precision Fires, Next Generation Combat Vehicles, Network, Air and Missile Defense, and others.

FVL platforms and technologies, including the FARA, increase the maneuverability, endurance, lethality, and survivability of Army aircraft – broadening their operational reach and effectiveness against near-peer competitors.

FARA CP will feature a lightweight primary armament system with rapid-fire capability to engage targets of opportunity and provide defensive fires without excessive payload and impulse considerations to the airframe.

U.S. Army modernization officials have asked aviation firms for ideas on equipping the service's future attack reconnaissance aircraft with mission systems.

The Army modernization strategy, launched in 2017, was put into play with the goal of replacing most major combat platforms beginning in 2028.

As part of the Gatling gun development, the CCDC Armaments Center performed analysis to frame the armament system trade space. Trade space analysis identifies critical components and capabilities, explores the relationships between them, and quantifies those relationships for informed decision making. Engineers explored combinations of weapon and ammunition, balancing adversary target effects and total armament system weight, to create metrics of performance. These metrics were used to narrow the field of weapons that fit the trade space.

For its reconnaissance missions, the FARA aircraft prioritizes lightweight platform and mission system technologies for increased aircraft mobility and survivability.

To meet the FARA CP schedule, Armaments Center engineers leveraged a low Technology Readiness Level (TRL) 20mm Gatling weapon to mature as the point of entrance for the FARA CP weapon. The ARAPS program will prototype and demonstrate to TRL 6 the XM915, a 20mm Gatling weapon for transition and integration into the Bell and Lockheed Martin FARA CP demonstrator aircrafts.

“Thousands of modeling and simulation runs played weapon configurations on a representative aircraft in combat-derived scenarios to establish trends,” said Daniel DiMartino, acting FVL Science and Technology Lead at the Armaments Center. “These trends consider the aircraft elevation and position, weapon rate of fire and accuracy, ammunition characteristics, and target type to provide engineering data that informs product development.”

Engineers have found that a 20mm Gatling weapon provides sufficient range and lethality while minimizing system weight and forces applied to the FARA airframe.

The Armaments Center is performing engineering activities to design, model, test and evaluate the XM915 weapon. Engineers are analyzing complete system effectiveness of the XM915 in a lab environment to determine overall performance against a variety of target sets. These lab analyses will transition to flight testing on the forthcoming FARA platform.

“We have been able to accomplish a significant amount of engineering development in the accelerated timeline to produce the XM915,” said Michael Colonnello, acting FVL Acquisition Lead at the Armaments Center. “These next few years of development and testing are critical to push technology to the warfighter.”

The XM915 is on schedule for live fire performance and reliability testing in 2021 to meet TRL 6 criteria, meaning the weapon has reached a level of maturity to operate in a relevant environment. The XM915 will be provided as Government Furnished Equipment to Bell and Lockheed Martin for integration prior to 2023 flight testing and demonstrations. Armaments Center is currently supporting the FARA CP program to facilitate XM915 integration to each demonstrator aircraft and ensure the Government receives best value through the prototype acquisition process.

U.S. small robotic mule, other unmanned ground systems on the horizon

FORT MEADE, Md. -- The US Army plans to award a contract this month to produce hundreds of robotic mules that will help light infantry units carry gear, a product manager said last week, as part of a line of unmanned ground systems the service is developing.

The Small Multipurpose Equipment Transport, or S-MET, was tested last year by two infantry brigades from the 10th Mountain Division and 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault).

The six-month assessment included 80 systems from four vendors that were evaluated during home-station training and rotations to the Joint Readiness Training Center at Fort Polk, Louisiana.

Soldiers successfully tested the performance of the robotic vehicles to ensure they could at least carry 1,000 pounds, operate over 60 miles in a three-day period, and generate a kilowatt when moving and 3 kilowatts when stationary to allow equipment and batteries to charge.

“We were able to demonstrate that and got lots of Soldier feedback,” said Lt. Col. Jonathan Bodenhamer, product manager of Appliqué and Large Unmanned Ground Systems, which falls under the Program Executive Office for Combat Support and Combat Service Support.

The S-MET will begin to be fielded in the second quarter of the next fiscal year, with a total of 624 vehicles in Soldiers’ hands by the middle of fiscal 2024, according to the U.S. Army Acquisition Support Center.

Soldier feedback led to increasing the S-MET’s carrying capacity and mobility, creating alternative methods for casualty evacuation and robotic obscuration, as well as reducing its noise, said Col. Christopher Barnwell, director of the Joint Modernization Command’s Field Experimentation Division.

“Soldiers think outside the box,” Barnwell said of the importance of their input during last week’s Future Ground Combat Vehicles virtual conference.

The S-MET program is also leveraging modular mission payload capabilities, or MMPs, to expand its functions using a common chassis, Bodenhamer said.

“This is important because this shows one of the linkages between robotics efforts,” he said, adding his office often discusses plans across the Army’s robotics community to prevent replication. “Modular mission payloads is a great example of that synergy.”

In April 2019, the Army held a weeklong demonstration with the add-on payloads at Fort Benning, Georgia, to explore ways to enhance the effectiveness of the S-MET.

“Obviously there’s a lot of potential here for the Robotic Combat Vehicles to use some of this, too,” he said, referring to the light and medium RCV variants. “They’re looking closely at the efforts we’re undertaking with these MMPs.”

Requests for information have already been sent out to industry for two MMP capabilities: counter-unmanned aerial system and another for enhanced autonomy.

“We are going to try to quickly get these things out to Soldiers and let them see which ones do and don’t meet their needs,” he said, “and then hopefully procure a quantity of these payloads to further enhance the capability of the S-MET.”

Manned-unmanned teaming

The Army also completed an assessment in March on the Nuclear Biological Chemical Reconnaissance Vehicle, or NBCRV, a modified Stryker vehicle with chemical detection sensors.

The assessment, conducted by the 1st Armored Division at Fort Bliss, Texas, added new unmanned, surrogate systems to enhance NBC reconnaissance and surveillance. Each NBCRV controlled an unmanned ground vehicle as a wingman and three UAS aircraft, Barnwell said.

Manned-unmanned teaming operations “extended the range, the area of coverage and reduced the risk to the crew and enabled faster reporting of [chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear] hazards,” he said.

The requirement for the Assault Breacher Vehicle Teleoperation Kit, which is built on an M1A1 Abrams tank chassis, is also set to be finalized this summer after being tested in last year’s Joint Warfighting Assessment.

The kit allows the two-person crew to step out of the vehicle and remotely control it during dangerous breaching operations.

While the gun tube of the tank is removed, it can still launch mine clearing line charges and includes a lane marking system and front-end plowing attachments.

 “It’s a great use of teleop,” Bodenhamer said. “Probably the best use we’ve ever come up with, in terms of how it fits into the overall impact of bringing the unmanned operation of a platform into the Army.”

As technology improves, artificial intelligence will continually play a larger role in operations, Barnwell said.

“These systems are going to have to be able to do more and more on their own to enable the human operators to focus on the big picture,” he said.

A tank commander, for instance, may need to order a few robotic “wingman” vehicles to drive themselves to a waypoint, avoiding obstacles along the way.

Or, a helicopter pilot may require a UAS to detect and destroy air defense systems ahead of him before arriving to a specific location, he said.

“We’re not talking Skynet,” he said, referring to The Terminator film. “We’re talking about simple things that these systems are going to have to do to enable us as warfighters to operate more efficiently.”

DoD launches F-35A DEAD/SEAD retrofit

The US Department of Defense (DoD) has launched an effort to begin retrofitting a complete destruction/suppression of enemy air defences (DEAD/SEAD) capability onto the Lockheed Martin F-35A Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter (JSF), according to a contract notification posted on 1 June.

The DoD has awarded the manufacturer USD36.78 million to support non-recurring engineering efforts to develop and certify a retrofit solution to support the structural requirements for full-up DEAD/SEAD capabilities for Lot 14 and Lot 15 F-35A aircraft.

The award, which covers USAF and international F-35A operators, will run through to August 2022.

DEAD/SEAD is one of the core missions of the F-35, alongside defensive counter-air (DCA); close air support (CAS); air interdiction (AI); strike, co-ordination, and reconnaissance (SCAR); and non-traditional intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (NTISR).

The USAF declared initial operational capability (IOC) for the F-35A in August 2016, at which time the service said that the aircraft was able to conduct “limited” DEAD/SEAD missions. Although it did not define exactly what it meant by limited capability, it likely involved performing the role using the baseline weapons package released at that time, which included GBU-31/32 1,000 lb/2,000 lb Joint Direct Attack Munitions (JDAMs). Since then, the Block 3F software package has included the GBU-39 Small Diameter Bomb (SDB) and AGM-154A/C Joint Stand-Off Weapon (JSOW) glide bomb, which can also be used in the role.

For the full-up DEAD/SEAD role (also known as anti-access/area denial [A2/AD]), the F-35A is slated to receive the Stand-in Attack Weapon (SiAW). This still developmental weapon will leverage heavily the Northrop Grumman AGM-88E Advanced Anti-Radiation Guided Missile (AARGM).

KURDISH MAD MAX

KURDISH MAD MAX

SIG SAUER Delivers Next Generation Squad Weapons to U.S. Army

NEWINGTON, N.H., (June 1, 2020) – SIG SAUER, Inc. is proud to announce the recent delivery of the Next Generation Squad Weapons (NGSW) system to the U.S. Army, consisting of lightweight high-performance 6.8mm hybrid ammunition, NGSW-AR lightweight machine guns, NGSW-R rifles, and suppressors.

“The SIG SAUER next Generation Squad Weapons system is the only submission entirely designed, engineered and manufactured by a single American company.  We are proud to deliver this comprehensive solution to the U.S. Army, with new capabilities to enhance mission effectiveness for our soldiers on the battlefield,” began Ron Cohen, President & CEO SIG SAUER, Inc.  “Our ammunition, machine gun, rifle, and suppressors far surpass the performance of the legacy weapons system in range and lethality, offer exponentially better maneuverability, and are significantly lighter in weight.”

The features and benefits of the complete SIG SAUER Next Generation Weapons Systems are:

SIG SAUER 6.8mm Hybrid Ammunition: designed to enhance mission effectiveness, this high-pressure, compact round combines a significant reduction in weight, with the ability to handle higher pressures resulting in increased velocity and greater penetration.  Additionally, based on the cartridge design and the traditional manufacturing processes, the growth potential of the SIG 6.8mm ammunition is exponential.

 

SIG SAUER Lightweight Machine Gun (NGSW-AR): with an emphasis on significant reductions in soldier load and enhanced combat performance, SIG SAUER designed the NGSW-AR to be 40% lighter than current systems, and dramatically reduce felt recoil while maintaining traditional belt-fed operation to increase down range capability.  The MG 6.8mm machine gun features ambidextrous AR style ergonomics, quick detach magazines, increased M1913 rail space, quick detach suppressor and vastly improves upon the operation and function of the legacy M249.

SIG SAUER Rifle (NGSW-R): a lightweight rifle built on the foundation of the SIG SAUER weapons in service with the premier fighting forces across the globe combined with the added firepower of the 6.8mm round.  Features include a fully collapsible and floating stock, rear and side charging handle, free-floating reinforced M-LOK™ handguard, full ambidextrous controls, and quick-detach suppressor.

SIG SAUER Next Generation Suppressors: designed to reduce harmful backflow and signature that feature low flash with a quick detach design.

“I am very proud that every component of the SIG SAUER Next Generation Squad Weapons system was manufactured at our SIG SAUER facilities in New Hampshire and Arkansas and is entirely American made.  Our engineers have worked in concert to optimize the system, ensuring that every component is synchronized, and our soldiers are equipped for the demands of the modern battlefield,” added Cohen.  “Additionally, I would be remiss if I did not recognize the hard work and dedication of the entre team whom worked tirelessly in these unprecedented times, in the face of a pandemic, to deliver the SIG SAUER NGSW system to the U.S. Army.”

Mi-26 heavy transport helicopter used to help transport machinery for road contruction

Mi-26 heavy transport helicopter loaded with an excavator arrives at Abuluoha Village in Butuo County of Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture, southwest China's Sichuan Province, Dec. 5, 2019. Nestled in the mountainous area, Abuluoha Village is connected with the outside world with a rugged trail built along a cliff. One way trip needs about 4 hours by walk and goods are transported by horses. To improve the transportation conditions which are believed to hinder the villagers from getting rid of the poverty, local authority decided to build a 3.8-km-long road that will link Weimu Village of Laguo Township with Abuluoha Village in Butuo County of Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture. As the road construction was carried out, problems came. Large-scale machinery and equipment need to be transported to the construction site. A Mi-26 heavy transport helicopter has been rented since Nov. 30 by the construction unit, Sichuan Road and Bridge (Group) Co., Ltd., to help transport machinery and equipment to both ends of the road where the construction works are underway simultaneously. After this road is completed, all the villages in Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture have access to the rural road. (Xinhua/Jiang Hongjing).

Nigerian "indigenous" hybrid armored vehicles

Nigerian Army creating the hybrid homemade armored vehicles - they put the armored personnel carriers and armored vehicles on trucks.

Most likely they do not have spare parts for engines, transmission and chassis, so they found a way out. 

MOWAG Piranha APC of the Nigerian Army on truk

Otokar Cobra of the Nigerian Army on truk