Lockheed wins $1.9 billion deal

Funding completion of the fifth and sixth satellites in the SBIRS system, it will also fund completion the associated ground operations and processing updates.

SBIRS is a new U.S. strategic missile warning system that replaced the 1970s Defense Support Program satellites. It includes a mix of satellites in geostationary (GEO) orbit, sensors on other satellites in highly elliptical orbit, and ground hardware and software.

The contract, announced in the Pentagon's daily digest of major contract awards, runs through Sept. 30, 2022, and comes on top of advanced procurement funding awarded to Lockheed in 2012 and 2013 to start buying parts that take a long time to order. The first two GEO satellites started operations in 2013. The third GEO satellite is in testing and the fourth is in final assembly, Lockheed said.

U.S. Air Force Space Command's Space and Missile Systems Center said the contract award saved over $1 billion as a result of a block-buy contracting approach and production and management efficiencies: "We eliminated unnecessary layers of program oversight and contract reporting, restructured our test program and streamlined the production schedules," Colonel Mike Guetlein, production program manager, said in a statement.

India: ¿Really ready to fight against China?

At a time when the ambitious IGMDP (Integrated Guided Missile Development Program) is yielding significant results, there are some key points the Hindu government should bear on mind, to fight with a hostile and mighty army in the Northeast in the very uncertain near future. Let us summarize some of them: 

Ground

1. While Chinese has built a well connected network of highways and railways over the last three decades, and have reportedly stationed their air defence units and mobile ballistic missile launchers in the entire Tibetan plateau, posing a direct threat to Indian forces, India has a lack of motorable roads which hamper its capability to deploy mechanised infantry units, self propelled artillery systems and truck mounted missile batteries.
2. Recent reports highlighted the fact that the Indian Army and special operations troops urgently require helmet mounted night vision goggles, Level 5 bullet proof Kevlar vests, thermal imagers, satellite navigation equipments (SatNavs) and hand held laser designators (for guiding laser guided artillery shells to targets).
3. Also, the outdated automatic assault rifles and the lack of shoulder mounted anti tank guided missiles hamper his capability to cause significant damage to intruding hostile forces in the Northeast. 

Sea

1. While Chinese has built a huge fleet of nuclear submarines posing a direct threat to military and civilian Indian ports in the event of an armed confrontation, the design of the proposed second indigenous aircraft carrier hasn’t yet been finalised and the Indian navy lacks a credible underwater based second strike capability.

Air

1. The outdated Russian made Igla MANPADS (Man Portable Air Defence Systems) hamper Indian capability to cause significant damage to intruding hostile forces in the Northeast.
2. India also lacks hypersonic Theatre Ranged Ballistic Missiles (TBMs) on the lines of the Russian Iskander systems to neutralise Chinese TEL BMD (Ballistic Missile Defence) and AAD (Advanced Air Defence) batteries installed in Tibet, as the Indo-Russian BrahMos 2 hypersonic cruise missile project is yet to see the light of the day.

Space

In the eventuality of a war with China, the country will need to blind the enemy`s reconnaissance satellite coverage over the Indian peninsula. But unfortunately, India lacks an effective surface launched/air launched capability to shoot down enemy satellites in the low earth/medium earth orbit.

91st Missile Wing gets new leader

Command of the 91st Missile Wing was transferred Tuesday from Col. Robert Vercher to Col. Michael Lutton. Vercher will become deputy director of mission assessment and analysis at U.S. Strategic Command at Offutt Air Force Base in Nebraska — a position Lutton has held for the past two years. 

The 91st Missile Wing oversees 150 Minuteman III missiles buried in silos across 8,500 square miles in northwest and north central North Dakota, and is assigned to Air Force Global Strike Command, which oversees nuclear missiles and bombers.

22nd June: Alea Iacta Est?

Intelligence reports are predicting that Iran and North Korea could develop and test an intercontinental ballistic missile capable of reaching the United States by 2015. Given the preceeding GMD test failures, the test will be watched closely as after all, just the GMD System -based at Fort Greely, Alaska and Vandenberg Air Force Base in California- stands between a long-range missile attack from North Korea or Iran on the U.S. homeland.

Over the last decade, the system has failed eight of 15 intercept tests, including the last three in a row, despite the fact that the tests were "highly scripted". ¿What means "highly scripted"? It means the GMD system operators knew ahead of time where and when the target would be launched, and exactly what it looked like. But in a a real war, the surprise factor is the key factor to the success, and the enemy knows it. This is why the GMD system test is so important to maintain the peace in the world. If America fall, Europe will be the next to fall. And then the rest of the world will fall.

India: INS Arihant to Testfire Nuclear Capable BO-5 Missile

DRDO chief Avinash Chander stated today the indigenous nuclear submarine INS Arihant is set to be launched for sea trials "in a month or two" and it will test-fire the submarine-launched nuclear capable ballistic missile BO-5. The medium-range nuclear missile BO-5 has a range of over 700 km-range.

He was asked about the present status of the indigenous nuclear submarine programme under which at least three Arihant-Class nuclear underwater vessels would be built for the Navy: "During the trial phase, the Arihant will testfire the fully-developed BO-5 missile as part of the sea trials," he said. INS Arihant has been undergoing trials at Navy's key submarine base in Vishakhapatnam and has cleared most of its harbour acceptance trials.

Once inducted, the submarine will help the country complete its Nuclear Triad giving it the capability to respond to nuclear strikes from sea, land and air-based systems. "Triad" means the ability to fire nuclear-tipped missiles from land, air and sea-based weapon platforms. This nuclear submarine will help India achieve the capability of going into high seas without the need to surface the vessel for a long duration. Conventional diesel-electric submarines have to come up on surface at regular intervals for charging the cells of the vessel.

India: Akash Completes Validation Trials

Last Wednesday 18th June, Indian Army successfully test fired the sophisticated Surface-to-Air Missile (SAM) Akash in a very low altitude near boundary mission from a defence base off the Odisha coast making the weapon system deliverable.

Akash missile, which has a launch weight of 720 kg, a length of 5.8 metres and a diameter of 35 cm, can carry a payload up to 50 kg and destroy a target 30 km away, flying at a supersonic speed of around 2.5 Mach and reaching an altitude of 18 kms. Akash mobile air defence weapon system has been designed, developed and led to production by DRDO for defending and protecting the important assets of the country from penetrating aerial attacks.

Congratulating the DRDO teams, production agencies and Army for successful demonstration of intercepting the target in a low altitude near boundary mission, Scientific Advisor to Defence Minister and DRDO Chief Avinash Chander said Akash system has great export potential: “The indigenous development, production and induction of Akash weapon system is a significant contribution to India’s self-reliance in air defence technologies,” he maintained. More than 250 industries are engaged in production and supply of various subsystems/components with military/aerospace grade quality for Akash missile and ground systems.

The trial was supervised by Project Director of Akash G Chandramouli and witnessed by Associate Director of LRDE RV Narayana, ITR Director MVKV Prasad, GM of BEL MM Handa, Director (Technical) of BDL NB Singh, Director General of Army Air Defence and other senior Army officials. This flight trial was last among the validation trials being carried out by Army on the first off production models of Akash supersonic missile.