DTN News: Why The F-22 Remains Vital And Important Factor To Be Maintained Part #3

DTN News: Why The F-22 Remains Vital And Important Factor To Be Maintained Part #3

*Why The F-22 Remains Vital And Important Factor To Be Maintained Part #2....Defense-Technology News March 24, 2009

*Why The F-22 Remains Vital And Important Factor To Be Maintained....Defense-Technology News March 21, 2009 *In Defense Of The F-22 Raptor : Part #2....Defense-Technology News March 17, 2009

*Young Signs F-22 ADM To Keep Options Open / US Must Have An Edge On Fifth Generation Jet Fighters Over Other Countries By Maintaining F-22....Defense-Technology News March 6, 2009

*U.S. Must Maintain Leadership In Aeronautical Technology With Fifth Generation Fighter Jets F-22 And F-35, Dropping F-22 Would Be The Biggest Blunder In Military History....Defense-Technology News February 22, 2009

*In Defense Of The F-22 Raptor....Defense-Technology News February 20, 2009

(NSI News Source Info) April 4, 2009: For 10 years, the Air Force has argued that the F-22’s incredible dogfighting capabilities will ensure the U.S. remains dominant for decades. And for 10 years, critics who say the fighter is an overpriced Cold War relic have steadily whittled down the service’s Raptor budget. It’s time for a new argument. The F-22’s superior dogfighting capabilities are barely relevant. Yes, formidable new fighters are being fielded by potential adversaries, notably the Russian-built Su-37 and MiG-31 and the Chinese F-11. The F-22 is far superior to these older-technology, nonstealthy aircraft, but the F-35 would also far outperform any of these models. As a consequence, the dogfighting rationale for the F-22 has never gained much traction outside the Air Force. Air Force leaders need to regroup and posit a rationale that the administration, Congress, the services and the American people can understand and support. The dogfighting gambit has not worked, but the need for maintaining air superiority is very real. The F-22 should become our chief asset for taking down enemy air defenses. Air superiority has two aspects: We prevent the enemy from using air power to attack our forces and facilities, but he cannot prevent us from attacking his. This second element is the most challenging. Since World War II, the Air Force has lost more than 2,700 aircraft in combat. Of those, fewer than 200 have been shot down in air-to-air engagements — and none since Vietnam. The other 93 percent have been either destroyed on the ground, or downed by anti-aircraft artillery and surface-to-air missiles. Now Russia has built new SAMs that are far more dangerous to our aircraft than anything we have yet faced. The S-400 system has an impressive range of up to 200 miles and would devastate nonstealthy fighter aircraft. Large and less maneuverable aircraft — tankers, airlifters and C2ISR platforms — would not stand a chance. These new SAM systems are proliferating, and we can expect that they will soon be in the arsenals of China, Iran, North Korea and Syria — if they are not already there. To employ our assets near the combat zone, we would have to take out the enemy SAM belt. Our current Suppression of Enemy Air Defenses assets could not do this — our anti-radiation missiles, carried by nonstealthy F-16s, are far outranged by the SAMs. It would be the classic case of taking a knife to a gun fight. But the F-22 could. With its superstealth and high speed, the F-22 could penetrate the enemy SAM belt, use its advanced radar and sensors to locate the enemy SAMs, and employ its internal ordnance of small-diameter bombs to destroy those sites. Removing these lethal missiles will then allow the thousands of other U.S. and allied aircraft to operate in the combat zone. Air superiority should remain the key mission of the F-22, but the threat is not the nonstealthy aircraft of potential adversaries. The threat is from the ground. Only a stealthy fighter with the capabilities of the F-22 can accomplish this crucial SEAD mission. The Air Force needs to remarket the Raptor. The old arguments about the need for a superior dogfighter are not credible. A SEAD asset is, however, essential. That is the vital mission the Raptor can perform peerlessly and for which it should be adapted.

U.S. Army’s FMTV 2.5-Ton Trucks Undergo Overhaul

U.S. Army’s FMTV 2.5-Ton Trucks Undergo Overhaul

(NSI News Source Info) April 4, 2009: The U.S. Army is refurbishing another 200 of its 2.5 ton FMTV trucks for a cost of about $100,000 each. Bought new, the trucks cost about twice that.

Most of the trucks to be refurbished are worn down by hard use (some have 50,000 miles on them), while others were damaged in combat or accidents.

These 2.5 ton trucks replaced the Vietnam era M35 models in the 1990s. They can carry 2.5 tons, and tow six tons. The army is still buying these 2.5 ton and 5 ton (same design, just different size) trucks, and will have acquired nearly 100,000 of them when production stops in the next 5-10 years.

A new design is in the works to replace the FMTV family of trucks in a decade or two. Army trucks are wearing out faster than expected because of operations in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Additional Info - Related News

Army trucks will be overhauled to “like-new” condition at Red River Army Depot in Texas for roughly half the cost of buying new models.

The Army awarded a $20.5 million contract to BAE Systems in September to refurbish — or “reset” in Army-speak — 200 of its family of medium tactical vehicles 2.5-ton trucks. The FMTV has been in production since 1991 and comes in 21 variants, including troop carriers, cargo carriers, vans, dump trucks and recovery vehicles.

Trucks are deemed candidates for refurbishment if Army engineers determine that they are more economical to repair than to replace with a new vehicle. They have accumulated anywhere from 500 miles to more than 50,000 miles.

Some of the trucks with lower mileage may have been badly damaged in training exercises or in actual combat by roadside bombs.Before the trucks move down the production line, 70 to 90 parts, such as hoses and filters, are removed and replaced. Once on the line, reconditioned engines, transmissions and axles are installed and a technical inspection determines other parts to be repaired or replaced, says Daryl Gore, director for logistics programs at BAE Systems’ mobility and protection systems division.

Each truck is to be refurbished in 90 to 100 days. The goal is to reset about 30 trucks per month to meet the Army’s completion deadline in September. “We’ve been doing this for two and a half years. We know what the hard-to-get parts are,” Gore says.

Threats of roadside bombs and other explosives have prompted manufacturers to evolve cabs with better protection in recent years.

Newer FMTV models have incorporated armor and other materials to boost survivability. But the first-run FMTVs, such as those going through the overhaul, were built with soft-skin cabs that are no longer manufactured.

Rather than construct such cabs from scratch for the reset, older cabs previously provided to the government are being rebuilt in Sealy, Texas, before being sent to the depot for reassembly on the chassis.

BAE was awarded a $107 million contract in January to incorporate engineering changes that add additional armor (B Kits) to 5,108 FMTV cabs.

The work is expected to be completed by August 2010.To complete 30 trucks per month, workers perform on eight-hour to nine-hour shifts. BAE Systems is in negotiations with the Army to determine whether to move to 24-hour operations to stay on task, says Gore. Trucks coming through the production line so far have displayed average wear and tear, he adds. “It’s used every single day. It’s the workhorse,” says Gore, a retired soldier who served as a logistics officer during its Iraq deployment in 2005 to 2006 with the 4th Infantry Division. “I was responsible for the readiness of all the vehicles within our division.

That was the one I never had to focus on.”The contract includes options to reset an additional 400 FMTVs in the next two years. BAE also is competing for a possible future acquisition by the Army of 22,000 FMTV trucks between 2009 and 2013.

Nato To Commit Up To 5,000 Extra Troops To Afghanistan

Nato To Commit Up To 5,000 Extra Troops To Afghanistan

(NSI News Source Info) STRASBOURG - April 4, 2009: The White House said Saturday its NATO allies would send up to 5,000 more troops to Afghanistan, in response to President Barack Obama's call for a greater alliance role. Obama's spokesman Robert Gibbs said the number would include 3,000 soldiers on short-term postings to provide security for the election later this year, including 900 from Britain, 600 from Germany and 600 from Spain. Front row from left, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, US President Barack Obama, French President Nicolas Sarkozy, Portugal's Prime Minister Jose Socrates, NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer and German Chancellor Angela Merkel wiat for the start of a group photo at the NATO summit. A further 1,400 to 2,000 soldiers would also be made available in 70 units of 20 to 40 troops each to form embedded training teams for Afghan army units. The White House also said the NATO summit in Strasbourg had agreed to establish an alliance mission to provide better training for the Afghan army and police force. Several nations would contribute more than 300 new para-military trainers and mentors for the struggling Afghan police service, the White House said in a fact sheet. The alliance, meeting in its 60th anniversary summit, also agreed to expand a fund to sustain the Afghan army and to make a downpayment of more than 100 million dollars. FROM THE SUMMIT PROCEEDINGS

Nato leaders sought new ways to tackle the Taliban in Afghanistan at the alliance's 60th anniversary summit on Saturday, as differences festered over its future secretary general. After a minute's silence to mark the fallen in allied operations from the Balkans to Afghanistan, leaders meeting in Strasbourg set their minds on ways to provide security for key Afghan elections in August. ‘We can't allow ourselves to lose,’ France's President Nicolas Sarkozy declared at the opening session of the talks on Afghanistan. ‘Over there, the freedom of part of the world is at stake.’ ‘Afghanistan is a real test of our credibility,’ added summit co-host Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany, insisting that international terrorist groups must not again be allowed to set up Afghan safe havens. The hosts were responding in part to calls from US President Barack Obama, who has used his first diplomatic tour of Europe to call for his reluctant European allies to step up their involvement in the Afghan war. There are 70,000 foreign troops in Afghanistan, mostly under Nato command, battling Taliban-led rebels, whose tenacious rebellion is spreading from the rugged and lawless tribal regions around the border with Pakistan. Obama has decided to send 21,000 extra US troops and is considering deploying 10,000 more, while asking Europe to contribute by providing more soldiers as well as civilian support staff to train the police. Sarkozy, who earlier met his Nato counterparts at the centre of a monumental footbridge connecting France and Germany, used the occasion to announce France's return to the alliance's military command. The meeting also honoured Albania and Croatia who this week became the 28-strong bloc's newest members. ‘Welcome to Nato, we are excited about your participation,’ Obama said, greeting the new states. ‘It is a measure of our vitality that we are still welcoming new members.’ Despite this optimism, the session was delayed for more than an hour as the leaders huddled in an impromptu meeting to try to overcome Turkish objections to Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen as next head of Nato. Obama held an hour-long telephone conversation with Turkish President Abdullah Gul on Saturday and the two men were joined on the line by Rasmussen, Turkish news agency Anatolia reported. Outside, demonstrators disrupted proceedings, blocking some routes to the summit venue, while Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi held up events in what appeared to be his latest diplomatic gaffe. Arriving on the German side of the Rhine River to be greeted on a red carpet Merkel before the walk to the French side, the Italian leader left his car still talking on his mobile telephone. He turned his back on his host and walked to the river bank still talking. Merkel appeared at first amused and then exasperated, and the others left Berlusconi behind to cross for the bridge ceremony. Following two days of attempts to breach the security cordon around the summit, anti-war protesters split into smaller groups and attempted to block several road junctions throughout the French city. Riot police fired tear gas to repulse a group of 1,000 protesters who tried to cross a bridge into the city centre, but another group managed to breach the outer security perimeter and block a tramline serving the venue. There were 25 arrests in the early clashes, which followed two days of violence on both sides of the Rhine.

Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen Wins Top NATO Post After Turkey Relents

Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen Wins Top NATO Post After Turkey Relents

(NSI News Source Info) April 4, 2009: NATO picked Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen as its next leader, overcoming Turkey’s objections that the choice would rile Muslims and damage the war effort in Afghanistan. The battle over the Danish candidate laid bare the divisions confronting President Barack Obama as he strove to repair ties with American allies at the military bloc’s 60th anniversary summit. Anders Fogh Rasmussen, informally known as Anders Fogh is the current Prime Minister of Denmark and the next Secretary General of NATO, a job he will be taking over on the 1st of August 2009. He is the leader of the Liberal Party (Venstre), and heads a centre-right coalition of his Liberal Party and the Conservative People's Party which took office in 2001, and won its second and third terms in February 2005 and in November 2007. Fogh Rasmussen's government relies on the Danish People's Party for support, in keeping with the Danish tradition for minority government. His government has introduced tougher limits on non-ECA immigration and froze tax rates before he took office (the "tax freeze", or "skattestoppet" in Danish). He has authored several books about taxation and government structure. Under Fogh, certain taxes have been lowered, but the Conservative coalition partners repeatedly argue for more tax cuts and a flat tax rate at no higher than 50%. Fogh implemented an administrative reform reducing the number of municipalities (kommuner) and replacing the thirteen counties (amter) with five regions. Rasmussen has referred to this as "the biggest reform in thirty years". Furthermore, a reform of the police and judiciary systems is being implemented, changing the numbers of police districts and city courts from 54 to 12 and 82 to 22, respectively. Prior to the rejection of the Lisbon Treaty by Irish voters, European political analysts suggested that he could become the president of the European Union as suggested in the Lisbon Treaty. Rasmussen has since been named as the replacement for Jaap de Hoop Scheffer as NATO's Secretary General in 2009, having received the support of France, Germany, Italy, the United Kingdom and the United States of America. Turkey at first indicated opposition to his candidacy “A solution has been found for the concerns expressed by Turkey,” the outgoing secretary general, Jaap de Hoop Scheffer, told reporters after North Atlantic Treaty Organization leaders met today in Strasbourg, France. “We all very much agree and are unanimous on this nomination.” Rasmussen, 56, will take over as NATO’s 12th secretary general in August, charged with overseeing the war in Afghanistan and trying to craft better ties with former Cold War foe Russia. Predominantly Muslim Turkey went into the summit vowing to block Rasmussen because of his defense of Danish newspaper cartoons lampooning Islam in 2005. Pressure to relent came from French President Nicolas Sarkozy and German Chancellor Angela Merkel, the summit’s co-hosts. ‘Force of Unity’ “The force of unity won the day,” Merkel told a post- summit press conference. “No one would have understood it if we hadn’t managed to agree on someone.” Sarkozy said “the time of summits for nothing is over.” The clash of civilizations in the trans-Atlantic military alliance broke out two days before Obama travels to Turkey in an effort to reach out to Muslims who were alienated by the U.S.- led war on terror. Obama leaves the summit -- marking the alliance’s founding on April 4, 1949 as a bulwark against the Soviet Union -- with a hastily brokered compromise on the next NATO chief and praise for European leaders for his new Afghanistan strategy. What he didn’t get were European offers that came close to matching the U.S. troop strength in Afghanistan, currently around 38,000. Obama has ordered 17,000 more combat troops and 4,000 trainers to Afghanistan. Bush Administration In a break with the Bush administration, Obama dropped the criticisms of European allies for not sending more frontline troops and said the U.S. would welcome civilian and financial contributions as well. Britain, with 8,000 troops in the second-biggest contingent after the U.S., said it would send more on a temporary tour in the run-up to Afghanistan’s Aug. 20 elections as long as other allies follow suit. Divisions over burden-sharing in Afghanistan -- where insurgent attacks last year reached the highest level since the 2001 U.S. invasion -- colored the dispute over who will run the alliance. NATO has had 11 secretaries general, all western Europeans, since the post was created in the early days of the Cold War in 1952. The appointment, usually for a four-year term, is made by consensus, giving veto power to any one allied country. NATO’s top military commander, based in Mons, southern Belgium, is traditionally an American. That post is now held by U.S. Army General John Craddock. Dutchman De Hoop Scheffer, 61, leaves office at the end of July.

Italy Considers Withdrawing Female Troops From Afghanistan

Italy Considers Withdrawing Female Troops From Afghanistan

(NSI News Source Info) ROME - April 4, 2009: Italy could withdraw its female troops stationed in Afghanistan to protest against a new law for the country's Shi'ite minority that has been attacked as a blow to women's rights, the Italian defence minister said. A female Italian soldier in Afghanistan on patrol along with her male counterpart. Italy, which is the sixth largest troop contributor to the NATO-led military operation in Afghanistan, is the latest to express concern on the Shi'ite Personal Status Law after some Afghan lawmakers criticised it as legalising marital rape. "I realise that it would not be a very easy choice," Ignazio La Russa told Corriere della Sera newspaper in an interview on Saturday. "But a temporary withdrawal of our women in uniform, perhaps with the exception of those involved in health services, could represent a very significant gesture on the role of women." He called the new law a step back in the modernisation of Afghanistan and in contrast to the values that justify the presence of Italian troops in the country. "Everyone would understand, Shi'ites included, that women can accomplish the same work done by men," he said, explaining his proposal. "It would be the best education for the Afghan population. The United States, NATO, Canada and the United Nations have already voiced concern about the law, but Afghan President Hamid Karzai says the criticisms were based on a wrong translation or misinterpretation of the law. La Russa said his proposal had yet to be discussed with Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, but it was immediately welcomed by Equal Opportunities Minister Mara Carfagna.

Such a move would be a "strong reponse" to a law that violates basic women's rights, Carfagna said in a statement. Separately, La Russa told reporters at the NATO summit in Strasbourg on Saturday that Italy would also heed the the U.S. call for more European help in Afghanistan by sending an additional 524 soldiers to the 2,665 already present there.

BAE Wins $169 Million For M-113, M-88 Vehicle Work

BAE Wins $169 Million For M-113, M-88 Vehicle Work

(NSI News Source Info) April 4, 2009: Pentagon Contract Announcement

-- BAE Systems, Anniston, Ala., was awarded on Mar. 31, 2009, an $87,735,664.00 firm fixed price contract for the reset of 697 M113 Family of Vehicles. Work is to be performed at Anniston, Ala., with an estimated completion date of Dec. 31, 2009.

One bid was solicited and one bid received.

U.S. Army Tank & Automotive Command, Warren, Mich., is the contracting activity (W56HZV-05-G-0005).

The M88 is one of the largest all weather armored recovery vehicles currently in use by U.S. Armed Forces and Israel Defense Force, almost 10 tons heavier than the M1 Abrams main battle tank. There are currently three variants, the M88, M88A1 and M88A2 Hercules. The M88 series has seen action most noticeably in Vietnam, the Gulf War, Operation Iraqi Freedom, and to a lesser extent during the Kosovo War where they were deployed to help recover heavy armored vehicles of the Allied ground units. The current M88A2 replacement cost is around $2,050,000.

-- BAE Systems, York, Pa., was awarded on Mar. 31, 2009, an $81,419,445.00 firm fixed price contract for production of 39 Army-configured M88A2 HERCULES recovery vehicles, and three sets of Authorized Stockage List Spares. Work is to be performed at York, Pa., (98 percent) and Aiken, S.C. (2 percent), with an estimated completion date of May 31, 2012.

One bid was solicited and one bid received.

U.S. Army Tank & Automotive Command Contracting Center, Warren, Mich., is the contracting activity (W56HZV-09-C-0408).

General Dynamics Awarded General Services Administration Alliant Contract For Information-Technology Solutions

General Dynamics Awarded General Services Administration Alliant Contract For Information-Technology Solutions

(NSI News Source Info) FALLS CHURCH, Va. – April 4, 2009: General Dynamics has been awarded an Alliant contract by the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) to provide federal government agencies with integrated information technology solutions for evolving needs on a global basis. Alliant is a 10-year multiple-award, indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity government-wide acquisition contract (GWAC). The contract has a $50 billion potential value among all 59 awardees if all options are exercised.

Through this contract, General Dynamics will provide infrastructure, application and information technology management services to support federal government agencies. Alliant is a successor contract to the Applications n’ Support for Widely Diverse End-User Requirements (ANSWER) and Millennia government-wide technology contracts. General Dynamics currently holds the ANSWER contract.

“As a long-standing partner of the General Services Administration, General Dynamics is committed to providing outstanding information technology and mission-support services to agencies throughout the federal government,” said Jerry DeMuro, executive vice president of the Information Systems and Technology group for General Dynamics. “General Dynamics will help federal agencies achieve seamless and efficient access to the vital information-technology solutions necessary for them to successfully fulfill their missions.”

General Dynamics, headquartered in Falls Church, Va., employs approximately 92,300 people worldwide. The company is a market leader in business aviation; land and expeditionary combat systems, armaments and munitions; shipbuilding and marine systems; and information systems and technologies. More information about General Dynamics is available online at www.gd.com.

British 1st Battalion The Rifles (1 RIFLES) Return From Tough Helmand, Afghanistan Tour

British 1st Battalion The Rifles (1 RIFLES) Return From Tough Helmand, Afghanistan Tour

(NSI News Source Info) April 4, 2009: Soldiers from 1st Battalion The Rifles (1 RIFLES) returned to the UK yesterday after a tough six-month deployment to Helmand which saw them working from remote and austere bases mentoring the Afghan National Army. British Soldiers from 1st Battalion The Rifles arrive at RAF Brize Norton after a gruelling but successful six-month deployment in Helmand. Led by their Commanding Officer, Lieutenant Colonel Joe Cavanagh, over 550 soldiers from the battalion deployed to Helmand province in September 2008, as part of 3 Commando Brigade. The 1 RIFLES Operational Mentor and Liaison Team (OMLT) Battle Group was responsible for working alongside the Afghan National Army soldiers and officers as their personal mentors, and as liaison officers between the British-led HQ and the Afghan Brigade. Working in eight-man teams from remote and austere bases they lived amongst the Afghan people, rather than in British bases, for six months of patrols in the local towns and villages, and on operations to hunt the insurgents. During their deployment the battalion were also involved in what was described as a 'stunning success' in the pivotal operation to clear enemy forces from the area around the provincial capital Lashkar Gah, Operation ATTAL, and assisted the Afghan National Army in bolstering the security around Helmand's second city of Gereshk. They also provided security across Helmand during voter registration for the impending national elections. In addition to OMLT tasks, detachments of riflemen from two platoons and a rifle company were employed on a variety of other tasks such as providing security in the capital, Kabul, protecting the southern town of Garmsir, and maintaining the security of the main UK base and airfield - Camp Bastion. Tragically eight soldiers from the 1 RIFLES Battle Group were killed during the tour: Rifleman Stuart Nash, Serjeant* Chris Reed, Corporal Richard Robinson, Corporal Daniel Nield, Lance Corporal Stephen Kingscott, Rifleman Jamie Gunn, Lance Corporal Paul Upton and Corporal Tom Gaden. Lt Col Cavanagh said that members of 1 RIFLES had been helping each other with the deaths and the battle group has become stronger and more tight-knit. He said: "We have a unique position as the infantry battalion of the brigade. We've learnt a great deal about each other - the men have been under some fierce pressure at times but we've observed that we get valuable results from the efforts we've put in - it's been rewarding and satisfying." After landing at RAF Brize Norton yesterday afternoon, 2 April 2009, 1 RIFLES returned to their base at Beachley Barracks in Chepstow and Lt Col Cavanagh paid tribute to the battalion's rear party and the soldiers' families and members of the public locally and nationally who have been supporting them. He said: "We remain indebted to you all, we cannot have hoped for better support; it is with pride and determination that we drive on towards completion of this most demanding of tours. "The battle group has achieved amazing things during this tour - with the Afghan National Army and among ourselves. The Riflemen have been making a difference and know it. "We're a family regiment and we draw great strength from the support we have received at home."

U.S. Air Force Awards Raytheon Contract For Laser-Guided Maverick Missile

U.S. Air Force Awards Raytheon Contract For Laser-Guided Maverick Missile (NSI News Source Info) TUCSON, Ariz. - April 4, 2009: The U.S. Air Force awarded Raytheon Company a contract to upgrade guidance and control sections for the air-to-ground Maverick missile. Maverick AGM-65: Maverick launched from an F-16 fighter. "The military is successfully employing laser-guided Mavericks against moving targets and in urban environments," said Harry Schulte, Raytheon Missile Systems vice president of Air Warfare Systems. "This contract is a win for the warfighters, because it gives them a reliable combat-proven weapon they can take to war almost immediately." The contract initiates engineering efforts required to restart the laser-guided Maverick production line and will incorporate state-of-the-art laser-seeker technology. The contract will result in the upgrade of up to 450 laser Maverick guidance sections for the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Navy. Raytheon plans to deliver the first upgraded guidance sections to the U.S. Air Force in 20 to 24 months. The contract uses funds from a General Services Administration exchange program. The program provides the latest technology to the U.S. Air Force without affecting normal weapon procurement budgets. Raytheon Company, with 2008 sales of $23.2 billion, is a technology and innovation leader specializing in defense, homeland security and other government markets throughout the world. With a history of innovation spanning 87 years, Raytheon provides state-of-the-art electronics, mission systems integration and other capabilities in the areas of sensing; effects; and command, control, communications and intelligence systems, as well as a broad range of mission support services. With headquarters in Waltham, Mass., Raytheon employs 73,000 people worldwide.

Boeing Teams With TAK To Develop Wing Assembly For 2,000-Pound JDAM ER

Boeing Teams With TAK To Develop Wing Assembly For 2,000-Pound JDAM ER

(NSI News Source Info) ST. LOUIS - April 4, 2009: Boeing March 31., announced an agreement with Times Aerospace Korea, LLC (TAK) to jointly develop a wing assembly for the 2,000-pound Joint Direct Attack Munition Extended Range (JDAM ER). Boeing has announced an agreement with Times Aerospace Korea, LLC (TAK) to jointly develop a wing assembly for the 2,000-pound Joint Direct Attack Munition Extended Range (JDAM ER), shown here in an artist's rendering. "This teaming agreement is a prime example of Boeing Weapons Programs' efforts to form strategic partnerships as we develop the systems our global customers need," said Debra Rub, Weapons Programs vice president. "Our alliance with TAK is an important step forward in bringing the expanded capability of JDAM ER to the warfighter." Under the teaming arrangement signed Feb. 27, Boeing and TAK will co-develop, test, and field a JDAM ER wing kit to convert the 2,000-pound JDAM into a JDAM ER. Over the course of the 40-month development program, Boeing will provide support to TAK as the Korean company further develops its aerospace capabilities, including preparations for production of the JDAM ER wing assembly.

Upon successful completion of the development and flight-test programs, TAK will become Boeing's primary supplier for the 2,000-pound JDAM ER wing assembly. JDAM is a low-cost guidance kit that converts existing unguided free-fall bombs into accurately guided "smart" weapons.

The JDAM kit consists of a tail section that contains a Global Positioning System/Inertial Navigation System and body strakes for additional stability and lift. The incorporation of the Extended Range wing kit extends JDAM's standoff range. The baseline JDAM has been sold to the U.S. Air Force and the U.S. Navy, as well as to 22 international customers.