Industry awaits weapons RFTs

Industry is still awaiting the RFT for a Follow-on Stand-Off Weapon, but the RFT for the ADF's Bomb Improvement Program closed shortly after we went to press - the RAAF's Hornets need both capabilities to develop their full operational potential.
At the time of writing industry was still awaiting a Request for Tender (RFT) for Project Air 5418 - Follow-On Stand-Off Weapon (FOSOW), but contenders were just about to submit tenders for a related project, Air 5409 - Bomb Improvement Program.

Worth some $500 million between them these will provide the precision and stand-off strike capabilities to sustain the RAAF through to the entry into frontline service of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter some time around the middle of next decade.

Last year the minister for defence, Senator Robert Hill, announced a shortlist of three contenders for the $450 million FOSOW program: Lockheed Martin's AGM-158 Joint Air-Surface Stand-Off Missile (JASSM); EADS-LFK's Taurus KEPD 350; and Boeing's AGM-84H Stand-off Land Attack Missile - Expanded Response (SLAM-ER).

ADM understands the Equipment Acquisition Strategy will consist of a tender followed by the award of Initial Design Activity (IDA) contracts. The source selection process will take the form of a Preliminary Design Review intended to assess integration, combat effectiveness and value for money aspects of the respective bids.

It's still not clear whether Defence is seeking a single weapon to arm the Hornet and then migrate across to the F-35, or separate weapons for the Hornet (ideally something which could be acquired and integrated rapidly) and then a separate weapons purchase down the track to arm the F-35. The former approach might suit Taurus Systems whose KEPD 350 is about to enter service with the Luftwaffe and is also being integrated with the Spanish Air Force's EF-18 Hornets. Similarly, Boeing's SLAM-ER has been used in Afghanistan and Iraq with some success. This could be integrated quite quickly with the Hornet but is not intended to arm the F-35.

Senator Hill has been quoted as saying he favours acquiring a single weapon which will arm the Orion, Hornet and F-35; buying a single weapon would mean a significant integration bill, but also ensures there's enough money in the kitty to acquire a credible war stock. But if the F-35 isn't operational until 2015 or later, there may be some operational advantages in delaying selection of a stand-off weapon for this aircraft until closer to its in-service date and choosing an interim weapon for the Hornet and Orion.

Boeing's pitch for the SLAM-ER emphasises the advantages of an interim purchase.

The SLAM-ER has been integrated on the P-3C and F/A-18 so physical integration is not a significant issue; mission system integration isn't a significant issue for the F/A-18, either, though it probably will be for the AP-3C. However, SLAM-ER and Harpoon are both baseline weapons for the US Navy's B737-based MMA, which could make it even more attractive to the ADF which is studying closely the cost-benefits of joining the MMA development program and eventually buying this aircraft to replace it AP-3Cs.

The weapon is designed primarily for land attack against a large target with anti-ship as a secondary role. It has a 500lb (250kg) warhead and is undergoing a series of upgrades which have introduced a Land Moving Target Indication (LMTI) capability, automatic target acquisition, and aim point selection options. It employs a GPS/INS/IR seeker and guidance system and can be fired either autonomously or employing Man In The Loop (MITL) control via a AAW-13 data link pod. Pilots and controllers can view live missile seeker IR video via the data link right up to target impact and can abort or redirect after launch if required.

Captive carriage flight tests conducted last year verified that SLAM-ER can also attack moving land targets using streaming midcourse updates from the F/A-18's Multifunctional Information Distribution System (MIDS - which the RAAF Hornets will receive under Phase 2.2 of the Hornet upgrade) with target data provided by sources such as JSTARS and UAVs.

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The AGM-158 JASSM, described by Lockheed Martin as the world's first stealthy cruise missile, went into full-rate production following the award late last year of a US$112 million contract for 288 weapons. That works out at US$380,000 per round - an attractive price which will probably only get lower as production rates increase.

The US Air Force expects to procure 4,900 JASSMs over the life of the program, while the US Navy plans to procure 450 JASSMs, starting in fiscal year 2007. The USAF awarded Lockheed Martin a US$79 million contract 12 months ago for Phase II development of an Extended Range (ER) variant of JASSM, culminating in flight tests in 2006. The JASSM-ER will have a range significantly greater than 500 nautical miles thanks to a new engine and increased fuel load. Production of JASSM-ER will begin in 2008.

Project Air 5409 is a restricted tender with Raytheon pitting its Enhanced Paveway II laser/GPS-guided bomb kit against Boeing's JDAM (and possibly JDAM-ER) GPS-guided bomb kit. Tenders were due on 15 February and whichever kit is selected will be fitted to RAAF Mk 84 (2,000lb) Mk 82 (400lb) and BLU-109 (2000lb-class penetrator) bombs in the current inventory. The new kits will be in service and integrated by 2008.

The JDAM has been introduced into service very quickly and is now integrated on all US tactical aircraft and bombers. The basic requirement for JDAM was a highly accurate, affordable, all-weather guided weapon that's capable of being re-targeted by an operator aboard the launch aircraft prior to weapons release. It uses a combination of GPS and INS guidance which has demonstrated Circular Error Probabilities (CEP) of 2.5m for GPS guidance and 6.5m for INS guidance - both significantly better than the operational requirement.

The basic JDAM has a range of 13-15 nautical miles, depending on the launch aircraft velocity and altitude; Boeing demonstrated an extended range version of the 2,000lb JDAM using the European MBDA Diamond Back wing kit, but has put its investment dollars into an ER version of the 500lb JDAM using Australian company Hawker de Havilland's Kerkanya folding wing kit. This is due for its first flight trials early this year and is expected to deliver three times the range of the standard weapon - out to about 40nm, which is the RAAF's target under Air 5409.

While JDAM is a single-mode weapon, Raytheon's Enhanced Paveway 2 Laser-Guided Bomb (LGB) combines its proven laser-guidance system with a GPS receiver in the nose of the weapon and GPS/INS guidance system in the tail cone.

Like JDAM Enhanced Paveway 2 (EP2) can be pre-loaded with target coordinates before take-off and these can be updated in flight prior to weapon release. An LGB is inherently more accurate than a pure GPS/INS-guided weapon, with Man In The Loop (MITL) control right up to impact - this is very important where Rules of Engagement are stringent, says Raytheon, so dual-mode weapons such as EP2 are a more conservative choice to satisfy demanding RoEs.

Paveway has an inherently greater range than JDAM because of its larger control surfaces and battery, affording more flexibility in the direction of attack and angle of impact on specific targets. However, the company hasn't disclosed how it plans to enhance the weapon's range to match that of JDAM-ER.

Enhanced Paveway 2 has been used extensively by the US Navy, Marines and Air Force as well as by its lead customer, the UK's Royal Air Force, which has used over 500 in combat. Operational analysis has shown that it reduces the number of sorties required to destroy specific target sets because, being a dual-mode weapon, it can operate in all weather conditions and so simplifies mission planning - there is no need to launch strike packages with a mix of laser-guided and GPS/INS-guided bombs just in case the weather turns bad.

Like JDAM, EP2 can exploit target data generated by modern laser/FLIR targeting systems, such as Raytheon's ASQ-228 Advanced Targeting FLIR. Raytheon has built over 1,700 EP2s since 1996; already integrated on RAF Tornado GR.4s and Harrier GR.7s, it has been integrated also with the Predator-B UAV and is now being integrated onto Spanish EF-18s, Danish F-16s and, this month, will undertake qualification trials on a US Navy F/A-18 equipped with the Omni 19C Operational Flight Program. EP2 will also be a baseline fit for the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter and Eurofighter Typhoon.

By Gregor Ferguson, Adelaide