Raytheon, Samsung team up for Land 17

1 July 2007

By Gregor Ferguson

With a Request for Tender due later this year for Project Land 17, the company which manufactures the market-leading artillery fire control system has teamed up with the manufacturer of an all-new, integrated gun system.

Raytheon Australia has teamed with South Korean artillery manufacturer Samsung Techwin to bid for Project Land 17, the Army's artillery replacement program.

The bid will be primed by Raytheon Australia which says it has developed an integrated solution for the Army's future artillery needs, including fire control, logistics support and training.

"Raytheon Australia will bid as the Prime Systems Integrator (PSI) for Land 17, offering a solution based around Raytheon's proven AFATDS command and control (C2) system and Samsung Techwin's K9 155mm self-propelled howitzer," said Raytheon Australia's Managing Director, Ron Fisher. "The Australian version of the gun will be called the AS-9."

"Importantly, in today's joint and coalition environments, the solution must interface reliably with the broader Army and ADF C2 and Joint Fires architectures. We've moved ahead on that basis to combine Raytheon Australia's proven performance as a PSI with Samsung Techwin's tremendous production capacity and reputation for high quality engineering," said Fisher.

The team will bid for Packages A, B and D of Land 17 - to provide the C2 systems, self-propelled gun system and an upgrade to the Army's current M198 towed field howitzers.

In addition to the Command and Control (C2) component required under Package A of Land 17, and the Package B self-propelled howitzer, the Raytheon/Samsung team will also offer the latter's K10 protected Ammunition Resupply Vehicle (ARV) for the AS-9 as well as a Package D option for an upgrade for the Army's current M198 155mm towed howitzer fleet.

This will reduce the guns' weight and add a modern Weapon Management System (WMS), manufactured by Turkish company Aselsan; this same WMS will be offered with the AS-9.

"We are engaged in discussions to maximise Australian industry involvement in the areas of manufacturing and through-life support, and our Australian and international partners have the demonstrated capacity to support the program over the long term," Fisher said.

"We are therefore confident that our solution will offer excellent value for money and a first-rate solution for the Australian Army's indirect firepower needs."

The partners have not yet selected an Australian in-service support contractor for the AS-9, ARV and the 155mm main ordnance. ADM understands one candidate for this role is Thales Australia.

Integration is both the major area of risk for Land 17 and the key to program success, according to Fisher.

"This isn't just about buying a gun," he stressed. "Commonwealth risk will be reduced through the appointment of a PSI to manage all aspects of system integration."

"As PSI, Raytheon Australia will reduce technical risk through the use of proven sub-systems, common elements, and a team with proven performance in all areas of program execution and delivery."

AFATDS is used in all echelons of the US Army and in the US Marine Corps, as well as being fitted in several ships to support amphibious operations. It operates with all current and planned US fire support systems as well as UK and other NATO systems.

Raytheon's bid for Land 17 harnesses synergies with its concurrent bid to provide a Battle Management System (BMS) for the Army under Project Land 75/125. The company has teamed with Tenix Defence's Electronic Systems Division and UK firm Cobham Defence Communications to provide the Land 75/125 BMS.

Their bid is based on Cobham's Battlehawk BMS which is already in service with the UK Special Forces and has been offered to the UK Ministry of Defence for the British Army's FIST (Future Integrated Soldier Technology) Ph.3 program.

The Battlehawk system will connect via Raytheon's Micro Light tactical Software-Defined Radio (SDR) system which conforms with the communications architecture being developed by General Dynamics Systems Australia for the Army's Battlespace Communications System (Land) under JP 2072.

Micro Light is derived from Raytheon's Enhanced Position Location Reporting System (EPLRS) and so can handle Variable Message Format (VMF) protocols as well as providing Blue Force Tracker functionality and can be integrated with a GPS receiver, if desired. EPLRS and Micro Light are both key elements of the Raytheon/Samsung Land 17 bid.

The EPLRS system is already in widespread use with the US Army and Marines, with over 13,000 units providing these forces' Lower Tactical Digital Internet. Equally important, says Raytheon, it is fully compatible with both AFATDS and the FBCB2 C2 system which is installed in the Army's new M1A1 Abrams main battle tanks.

Raytheon has used two separate programs - Land 75/125 (unofficially dubbed Land 200) and Land 17 - to position itself as a strong contender to provide an integrated battlefield command support and battle management system for the Army, using equipment and architecture derived from that already proven in combat by the US Army and Marines.

This is Samsung Techwin's first venture into the Australian defence market. It is a subsidiary of the Samsung Group of Companies, which had sales in 2005 of US$140.9 billion. Samsung Group is an industry leader in the commercial, defence and electronic sectors and the K9 155mm self-propelled howitzer is in full production, with over 10 years worth of orders for the South Korean army, Turkey and other customers.

Samsung Techwin says the K9 is recognised as the market leader in the next generation of self-propelled howitzers, currently on track to hold more than 30 per cent of the world market by 2015.