Saturday, July 18, 2020

U.S. Army has deployed M1A2 Abrams Sep V2 MBTs in Germany equipped with the new Trophy APS

According to the Tweet of US Army Europe on July 18, 2020, the U.S. Army has deployed M1A2 Abrams Sep V2 main battle tanks in Germany equipped with the new Trophy APS (Active Protection System). The Trophy is an APS developed and designed by the Israeli Company Rafael that can be integrated into main battle tanks and combat vehicles. The goal of this APS is to intercept and destroy incoming anti-tank guided missiles and rockets with a shotgun-like blast.

 An M1A2SEPv.2 Abrams MBT equipped with Trophy APS is loaded on an M1300 Heavy Equipment Transport System at Bergen-Hohne Training Area, Germany , July 10, 2020, prior to Phase II of Defender Europe 20.
Photo by Sgt. Evan Ruchotzke

The new M1A2 Abrams Sep V2 fitted with the Trophy APS (Active Protection System) will take part at the military exercise Defender Europe 2020.

U.S. Army Releases Draft RFP for OMFV Preliminary Digital Design Phase

The U.S. Army issued a draft Request for Proposal (RFP) for the Optionally Manned Fighting Vehicle (OMFV) Preliminary Digital Design phase on July 17.

Raytheon/Rheinmetall Lynx Prototype


The draft RFP describes the transformational vision for OMFV, outlines broad performance specifications and characteristics, and places a great deal of emphasis on a squad-focused platform. It will gather additional industry feedback prior to the final RFP release for this phase later this year.

“As we continue to progress through the first phase of our five-phased approach for the OMFV program, communication, inclusive feedback and innovative thinking from industry remains key,” said Maj. Gen. Brian Cummings, the Army’s program executive officer for Ground Combat Systems. “We are looking forward to receiving feedback and learning from industry what’s in the realm of the possible as we continue to develop this truly transformational vehicle for our Soldiers.”

“Accurately defining the desired set of capabilities without over-constraining the design is critically important,” said Brig. Gen. Ross Coffman, director of the Next Generation Combat Vehicles Cross Functional Team (NGCV CFT). “The Army is committed to open communication with industry to ensure the characteristics and eventual requirements of the OMFV are informed by technological advances.”

The draft RFP will be open for feedback for 40 days, and the feedback received from industry will help shape additional industry engagements and ultimately the final RFP for this phase of the program. The final RFP for the Preliminary Digital Design phase is planned to result in the award of up to five contracts in June of 2021 under a full and open competition.

“We do not want to box industry into a solution,” said Cummings. “We want to incentivize industry as they lean forward and think creatively to bring the Army innovative technologies and solutions necessary to achieve our vision – both in terms of the ability to integrate newer technology we are seeing today and leaving space for future growth on the OMFV platform.”

As stated earlier this year, the Army is planning a five-phased approach to design, prototype, test and produce the OMFV. This approach focuses on encouraging innovation, maximizing competition throughout the entire program, and producing a transformational infantry fighting vehicle (IFV) that will dominate maneuver in Multi-Domain Operations (MDO).

U.S. Army OMFV Program

The Optionally Manned Fighting Vehicle (OMFV) program is seeking to replace the U.S. Army’s Bradley Fighting Vehicles (BFV).

The OMFV program is part of the larger Next Generation Combat Vehicles (NGCV) program. Other programs under NGCV are Armored Multi-Purpose Vehicle, or AMPV; Mobile Protected Firepower, or MPF; future robotic combat vehicles, or RCV; and the next-generation main battle tank.

The NGCV-OMFV will be designed to maneuver Soldiers in the future operating environment to a position of advantage to engage in close combat and deliver decisive lethality during the execution of combined arms maneuver. NGCV must exceed current capabilities while overmatching similar threat class systems.

The vehicle must have the following capabilities:

  • Optionally manned. It must have the ability to conduct remotely controlled operations while the crew is off platform.
  • Capacity. It should eventually operate with no more than two crewmen and possess sufficient volume under armor to carry at least six Soldiers.
  • Transportability. Two OMFVs should be transportable by one C-17 aircraft and be ready for combat within 15 minutes.
  • Dense urban terrain operations and mobility. Platforms should include the ability to super elevate weapons and simultaneously engage threats using main gun and an independent weapons system.
  • Protection. It must possess requisite protection to survive on the contemporary and future battlefield.
  • Growth. It will possess sufficient size, weight, architecture, power, and cooling for automotive and electrical purposes to meet all platform needs and allow for pre-planned product improvements.
  • Lethality. It should apply immediate, precise and decisively lethal extended range medium caliber, directed energy, and missile fires in day/night all-weather conditions, while moving and/or stationary against moving and/or stationary targets. The platform should allow for mounted, dismount, and unmanned system target handover.
  • Embedded Platform Training. It should have embedded training systems that have interoperability with the Synthetic Training Environment.
  • Sustainability. Industry should demonstrate innovations that achieve breakthroughs in power generation and management to achieve increased operational range and fuel efficiency; increased silent watch, part and component reliability, and significantly reduced sustainment burden.

Ukrainian Army receive new batch of upgraded T-64s

Lviv Tank Factory delivered the next batch of repaired and upgraded T-64BV tanks to the Ukrainian Army.



During the upgrade tanks was equipped with new digital communication and satelite navigation systems and thermal sight.




F-15 uses Legion Pod to fire AIM-9X for first time

A U.S. Air Force F-15C from the 85th Test and Evaluation Squadron fired a AIM-9X dogfight missile for the first time while using the Legion Pod to identify, track and shoot the target.



On Jul. 13, another milestone for the pod’s development was achieved when a F-16 flew the first operational flight while carrying the pod on station 5R.

Lockheed Martin, the manufacturer of the pod, was given a contract by Boeing in 2018 to integrate, test and qualify Legion Pod for the U.S. Air Force’s F-15C fleet.

The Legion Pod employs the same IRST21 long-wave infrared sensor that the U.S. Navy is using for the Super Hornet.

For more information, visit the Source - Legion Pod reaches two flight milestones

Pentagon reveals some details of Trump's 'super duper' hypersonic missile


(CNN) - officials have revealed to CNN details about the hypersonic missile President Donald Trump has long touted as a "super duper" new military weapon -- part of a major effort to catch up to Russian and Chinese hypersonic weapons programs.



Pentagon officials acknowledged for the first time some of the capabilities of the hypersonic missile, which Trump has described as traveling 17 times the speed of sound.

A senior defense official has told CNN that Trump has taken a special interest in the missile, revealing that Trump's oft-cited "17 times" faster figure derives from a test of a "hypersonic glide body" over the Pacific in March, a test that the Pentagon officially described as "successful" while revealing little additional information.

"What he was referring to, really, was the recent flight test that we've performed in March where we flew 17 times the speed of sound," the senior defense official said.

But the American effort still lags years behind those of Moscow and Beijing's already fielded weapons systems, with a US missile unlikely to be fielded until 2023.

Hypersonic missiles are traditionally defined as missiles that travel at least five times the speed of sound, which is more than 3,800 miles per hour, and are considered highly maneuverable and capable of operating at varying altitudes.

Trump has touted the missile being developed by the Pentagon on at least three separate occasions, referring to it as "a super duper" missile capable of traveling 17 times faster than anything currently in the US missile arsenal.

"We have a -- I call it the 'super-duper missile.' And I heard the other night, 17 times faster than what they have right now," Trump said in May.

Much harder to defend against
Given their tremendous speed and ability to maneuver in the atmosphere, hypersonic missiles are seen as particularly hard to defend against using conventional missile defense systems, which are designed to counter and intercept traditional ballistic missile threats, the trajectory of which are much more predictable than their hypersonic counterparts.

"Trying to defend against a hypersonic vehicle, that uncertainty in trajectory, becomes very difficult to deal with and defenses become very difficult because you've coupled very high speed with uncertainty in flight trajectory," a senior US defense official told CNN.

The senior defense official revealed that Trump's oft cited "17 times" faster figure derives from a test of a "hypersonic glide body" over the Pacific in March, a test that the Pentagon described as "successful."

"What he was referring to, really, was the recent flight test that we've performed in March where we flew 17 times the speed of sound," the senior defense official said.

The official said that Trump "does get briefed" on the details of the hypersonic weapons program, saying "he is aware of and supportive of the progress we're making."

"There's presidential level support and interest in what we're doing," the official said.

2023 at the earliest, while America's adversaries, Russia and China, claim they have already fielded such weapons.

Russia said it placed its nuclear capable hypersonic missile known as "the Avangard" on "combat duty" late last year.

The Russian military has also tested an air launched version of a hypersonic missile known as the Kinzhal and has said it could field it this year.

Chinese missile development
And China recently showcased its hypersonic weapon, the DF-17, during a recent military parade.

The US has acknowledged that it needs to catch-up to Moscow and Beijing and the Pentagon has requested billions for the weapon's development.

"I have full confidence that we'll catch up, and we're investing in hypersonics," Assistant Secretary of Defense for Strategy, Plans, and Capabilities Vic Mercado told CNN, saying that the Russian and Chinese capabilities were a major planning factor for the Pentagon.

The senior official told CNN that the reason the US fell behind China and Russia in the hypersonic arms race is that the US made a conscious decision to avoid adapting hypersonic technology to weapons until relatively recently, a change spurred on by Moscow and Beijing's embrace of the armaments.

For four or five decades, "the United States has been a world leader in hypersonic technology. But we've always shied away from making the decision to transition that technology to war fighting applications," the senior defense official said.

"What helped us make the decision is that, you know, hey, the adversaries have made that decision to develop their hypersonic systems, and that really creates a potential asymmetry in war-fighting capability that we just can't allow to stand if we want to make sure we maintain our military dominance," the official said.

The US hypersonic weapons program is primarily focused on two types of missiles, a "boost glide system" derived from a traditional ballistic missile and a hypersonic cruise missile.

Tremendous range
The boost glide system, which was the system tested in March, places a maneuverable glide vehicle atop a ballistic missile, giving the missile much enhanced maneuverability at hypersonic speed.

The weapon is seen as having tremendous range, 1,000 miles or greater, but is more expensive and larger than the cruise missile variant.

The other kind of hypersonic missile the US is working on is a hypersonic cruise missile and is much more like a traditional cruise missile such as the Tomahawk missile, a weapon long used by the military to strike enemy targets.

The hypersonic missiles would travel up to ten times faster than the Tomahawk missile currently in the military's arsenal.

The senior defense official said a test of the cruise missile would take place later this year.

The official said both weapons could work in concert with one another, with the longer range boost glide missiles taking out an enemy's air defense systems, allowing US warplanes armed with hypersonic cruise missiles to fly in closer and strike a greater number of enemy targets.

One major difference between the planned US weapons and the Chinese and Russian variants is that the American missiles are not designed to be nuclear capable according to US officials.