US Military News, Reports, Data, etc.

ATK Wins $300M Order for Tank Ammunition

ATK Receives $97 Million in Tank Ammunition Orders

(Source: Alliant Techsystems; issued June 16, 2008)

MINNEAPOLIS --- Alliant Techsystems announced today that it has received $97 million in follow-on production and new contracts for tactical and training tank ammunition from the U.S. Army. If all production options are exercised, the total value of the contracts could exceed $300 million.

The U.S. Army awarded ATK a four-year contract, with a potential value in excess of $200 million, to continue production of the 120mm training ammunition used by the M1A1/A2 Abrams main battle tank. Under terms of the contract, ATK will also provide logistics support for the ammunition.

The first order is valued at approximately $48 million and deliveries will begin in February 2009. ATK also received a follow-on contract, worth approximately $44 million, to continue production of the 120mm M829A3 tank round, the most advanced armor piercing, kinetic energy tank cartridge in the U.S. arsenal. Finally, the company received a $5 million order to produce the 105mm M467A1 training round used by the Stryker Brigade Mobile Gun System vehicle.

Since 1980, ATK has delivered more than four million rounds of 120mm tank training ammunition to the U.S. Army, U.S. Marine Corps, and NATO allies. Propellants for ATK's tank ammunition are produced at the Radford Army Ammunition plant, Radford, Virginia. The rounds are assembled at ATK's manufacturing center of excellence in Rocket Center, West Virginia. Program management is headquartered in ATK's Plymouth, Minnesota facility.

New Developments in Grenade Ammunition
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I have posted a new article on grenade ammunition on my website, here:


Tony Williams: Military gun and ammunition website
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NEW DEVELOPMENTS IN GRENADE AMMUNITION

© Anthony G Williams

A version of this article was published in Defence Management Journal, Issue 41, May 2008

The concept of a portable infantry weapon firing a high-explosive shell can be dated back at least to the single-shot "trench guns" of the Great War, firing low-powered ammunition of 37mm or 40mm calibre. The idea was developed further in the USSR in the 1930s, this time with automatic grenade launchers capable of firing bursts of shells. Some 40.6mm Taubin guns, which used a five-round magazine and had a range of 1,200m, were used in the 1940 Winter War with Finland, but the designer fell out of favour and his guns died with him. A separate line of development in Germany during World War 2 saw some 26.5mm flare guns provided with rifled barrels and explosive rounds. Both concepts were revived in the USA in the context of the Vietnam War, leading to two different classes of grenade launcher: those designed to be fired from the shoulder, and their more powerful automatic cousins which are mounted on tripods or vehicles. This article will look at the development and future prospects of the various types of ammunition which they employ.

The Western 40mm rounds

The first grenade round to be adopted by the US Army was in 40mm calibre, with a cartridge case 46mm long. This uses a "high-low pressure" system in which the propellant is packed into a small part of the case; the gas produced on firing expands into the rest of the case before pushing the grenade up the barrel. This reduces the peak pressure and enables the rounds to be fired from light, shoulder-fired single-shot launchers, the principal example being the M79. These rounds are now mainly used in single-shot underbarrel grenade launchers (UGLs), fixed as their name suggests under the barrels of rifles. The American M203 is the most common type, but there are competitors. When the British Army decided to adopt a 40mm UGL for attaching to the standard 5.56mm L85A2 rifle, they chose the Heckler & Koch AG36 launcher, designated L17A2 in British service.

Various attempts were made during the 1960s to produce tripod-mounted automatic weapons chambered for this 40x46 round, but it was soon realised that the performance of the ammunition was too low. A new higher-performance version was accordingly produced. This has the case slightly lengthened to 53mm, but fires a heavier grenade (240g cf c.180g) at a much higher muzzle velocity (240 m/s cf 76 m/s), extending the maximum range from 400 to over 2,000 metres. The first successful ground-based gun using this ammunition was the USN's MK19 which is still in widespread service today. Weapons in this class are known as AGLs (Automatic Grenade Launchers) or GMGs (Grenade Machine Guns) and are all belt-fed, with cyclic rates of fire typically around 300-400 rounds per minute. An AGL has recently been adopted by the British Army, again a Heckler & Koch product, the new HK40 GMG, designated in British use the L134A1.

Both 40x46 and 40x53 ammunition (now commonly known as LV and HV for Low and High Velocity respectively) have become NATO and indeed international standards, with many different guns being designed to use them. The ammunition has also seen much development, with the length of the cartridge cases often varying from the nominal 46mm and 53mm.

Eastern Alternatives

Russia and China have adopted the same classes of weapon but firing different ammunition. The Russian UGLs are also in 40mm calibre and have a similar performance to the 40mm LV, weighing 250-280g and fired at 76 m/s with a range of 400m, but fire caseless VOG-25 rounds (the propellant is in the base of the shell) which are not interchangeable with NATO ammunition. The AGLs (two main types, designated AGS-17 and AGS-30) are in the 30mm VOG-17/30 calibre. This is not such as step-down in effectiveness as might be supposed, as the shell is very long and at 280g is actually slightly heavier than the 40mm HV NATO grenade. The muzzle velocity is 185 m/s and the maximum range is similar to that of the 40mm AGLs, at 1,700m for the original VOG-17 and 2,100m for the new, more aerodynamic, VOG-30. This ammunition is also available in the RAG-30 grenade rifle, which has a top-mounted box magazine and is fired from a bipod, but achieves a shorter range in this gun. China has adopted the Russian weapons but more recently has also developed a 35mm round for its lightweight AGLs, which has a similar performance to the other AGL rounds: 250g fired at 190-200 m/s for a range of 1,750m (on a tripod: 600m from a bipod). One oddity worth mentioning is the Russian 30mm VOG-T grenade which is fired from a special sealed-piston UGL which traps all of the propellant gas inside, completely eliminating muzzle flash and blast. This weighs about 250g, is fired at approximately 75 m/s and has a range of up to 500m. It is reserved for special operations forces.

The new 25mm Grenade Rounds

All of the weapons mentioned so far usually fire high-explosive fragmentation (HE/frag) grenades against personnel, with in some cases (35mm and Western 40mm) high-explosive anti-tank (HEAT) or combined dual-purpose (HEDP) ammunition being available. The HEAT and HEDP utilise a shaped-charge warhead capable (in the 40mm versions) of blowing a hole through about 90mm of mild steel or 50mm of armour plate. All types have nose fuzes triggered on impact, usually with a self-destruct mechanism.

During the 1990s the US Army became attracted to the idea of grenade-firing guns whose performance could be substantially enhanced over the 40mm weapons, partly by improving the ballistics but more significantly by introducing high-explosive air-burst ammunition (HEAB) designed to explode directly over the target. This was calculated to greatly multiply the effectiveness of the ammunition against soldiers who were lying down or hiding behind cover. The penalty is a considerable increase in the complexity – and therefore cost – of both guns and ammunition. The guns require a highly sophisticated sighting, range-finding and ballistic computer system which sets the aiming mark to achieve air-burst over a specific point, calculates the projectile flight time and sets its time fuze. The special, highly-accurate time fuzes required make these grenades substantially more expensive than the simple impact-fuzed type (ten times as much, according to one manufacturer).

Two different weapon systems emerged from the US Army's air-burst grenade programme: crew-served (tripod-mounted) and shoulder-fired guns, the contractors being General Dynamics and ATK respectively. The crew-served gun was initially known as the OCSW (Objective Crew-Served Weapon) but this was later changed to ACSW (Advanced) and is now designated the XM307. This is a lightweight belt-fed low-recoil machine gun in a new 25x59B calibre. The effective range is about 2,000m (the maximum is 3,600m) and compared with the 40mm AGL the trajectory is much flatter due to the muzzle velocity of 425 m/s. At a range of 2,000m, the 25mm grenade has a trajectory with a maximum height of 100m, compared with 400m for the 40mm HV. At 132g, the weight of the grenade is little more than half that of the 40mm, but the enhanced accuracy is said to compensate. In 2007 service introduction was stated to be a few years away, and it was intended that the XM307 will replace many of the .50 (12.7mm) M2HB heavy machine guns as well as the 40mm MK 19 AGLs. However, funding for the development of the XM307 (and the 12.7mm/.5" HMG version, the XM312) was stopped in 2007 and the future of this project is now uncertain.

The shoulder-fired air-burst grenade gun was initially designated OICW (Objective Individual Combat Weapon) and later XM29. In that form, it combined a 5.56mm carbine with a self-loading 20mm grenade launcher with an eight-shot magazine. This combination proved unable to be reduced to its target weight, so after a rethink the 5.56mm element was deleted and the opportunity taken to increase the calibre to 25mm to allay concerns about the effectiveness of the little grenade, leading to a change in designation to XM25. Although the calibre is the same as the XM307's, the ammunition is different, using a much shorter (39mm rather than 59mm) cartridge case containing less propellant, for a reduced muzzle velocity. Effective range against point targets is said to be 500m, with 700m against area targets, but no details of grenade weight or muzzle velocity have so far been released. The XM25 is also some years away from service introduction - assuming that it gets there.

The 40mm Response

The US Army has therefore been planning to replace its 40mm grenade launchers with far more sophisticated 25mm weapons. However, the makers of the 40mm guns and ammunition have not taken this threat lying down, and have responded with a remarkable burst of creativity. Three different air-burst systems for 40mm AGLs have emerged. One, the S418 by STK of Singapore, uses a muzzle-mounted electronic fuze-setter derived from the Oerlikon AHEAD cannon technology. Two others are by Nammo of Norway: one sets the fuze by induction while it is in the chamber and is intended for guns which fire from a closed bolt (specifically, the international CG40 Striker AGL which is in US special forces service as the MK47, the HEAB ammunition being known as the MK285), while a variation on this for open-bolt guns (such as the HK40) uses a radio signal to set the fuze when the grenade is a few metres from the muzzle. The beauty of the latter is that it can be fitted to any existing AGL without modifying the gun. The grenades are not just fitted with time fuzes, they are redesigned to distribute their fragments to the rear as well as to the sides and front, to catch targets hiding behind walls. If the XM307 eventually enters service it will therefore face competition from a much cheaper modification programme for 40mm AGLs, which can also fire far less expensive standard ammunition as well as the air-burst type.

The 25mm XM25 will also be facing tough competition from a more varied range of developments affecting the 40mm LV systems. These have long been available with a range of less-lethal ammunition for use in crowd control situations, generally paralleling the characteristics of the 37mm riot guns used by police forces, firing impact projectiles which may be single or multiple rubber or plastic batons, or rubber-ball shot loads. Chemical projectiles containing CS gas or similar are also available, but their use is restricted by international law to police forces. The 40mm LV launchers also have a wide variety of pyrotechnic signalling, smoke-producing and parachute-borne illuminating flare munitions made for them.

More recently, air-burst ammunition has been developed, with IMI of Israel working on a MultiPurpose 40mm grenade designed to be fired from a UGL modified to have an induction fuze-setter, and intended for use with the Orion sighting system which can be attached to any rifle with standard accessory rails. An even less expensive approach to achieving air-burst capability is offered by two Bulgarian firms, Arcus and Arsenal, who make "jump" or "bouncing" grenades. These revive an old idea in having a small nose charge which is ignited on impact to kick the grenade back into the air where it explodes a fraction of a second later, providing a much wider fragment distribution. Arcus also offers an "anti-diver" grenade fitted with a delayed-action impact fuze which detonates the grenade underwater, at a depth of 5 to 12m, and has a claimed lethal radius of over 10m. Video reconnaissance rounds are available from Martin Electronics of the USA (the HUNTIR) and from STK: these contain cameras which send real-time images back to the firer's viewer while dangling under a parachute. Finally, the extra length of some of these special-purpose rounds is being made use of to provide more effective HE grenades. Martin Electronics led the way with its Mercury MV (Medium Velocity) HEDP round, which fires a longer and heavier grenade (containing 86g of HE compared with 32-45g for LV grenades) at a muzzle velocity of c.110 m/s, doubling the maximum range to 800m. These can be fired from suitable LV launchers, at some cost in extra recoil, but are specifically designed to work with the Milkor MGL-140 six-shot revolver. Other manufacturers are following suit.

In conclusion, grenade launchers, which were once a simple way of firing small HE shells, are becoming much more sophisticated, primarily as a result of ammunition developments. The older 40mm weapons may be bigger, heavier and ballistically inferior to the new 25mm systems, but their larger grenades provide much more versatility, especially in the LV weapons. As a result, 40mm grenades are likely to remain in service for the foreseeable future.


Grenades shown approximately to scale. From left to right: 25x39B XM25; 25x59B XM307; 40x46SR LV; 40x53SR HV; 30x29B VOG-30 (it has a more rounded fuze profile than the VOG-17); 40mm VOG-25 caseless; 35x32SR Chinese HEDP (drawing courtesy of Timothy Yan)

Whatever Floats Your Tank: the USN’s Improved Navy Lighterage System
16-Jun-2008 18:07 EDT
http://www.defenseindustrydaily.com/images/NAVY_Lighterage_USS_Seay_Bradleys_lg.jpg[/imh]
Lighterage from USS Seay

Lighterage is about loading or unloading ships using lighters (barges) that can form a sort of ad-hoc ramp or shuttle from ships at anchor; they are often used when a port’s dockside is too shallow for the ship, or dockside berths are unavailable. These modules greatly expand landing options for well-equipped militaries, and may be versatile enough to be used in sea-based transfers as well. Even so, lighterage is one of those quiet enablers that rarely receives the attention it merits.

In August 2003, Marinette Marine Corp. in Marinette, WI won a firm-fixed-price contract for the manufacture of the new Improved Navy Lighterage System, including both powered and non-powered modules. The total contract could rise to $404.8 million if all options are exercised. The systems will be delivered at Naval Amphibious Construction Battalion One in Coronado, CA; Naval Amphibious Construction Battalion Two in Little Creek, Norfolk, VA; the Expeditionary Warfare Training Group Pacific; and Blount Island Command in Jacksonville, FL.

DID explains the new INLS ferries and lighterage, details the program’s contracts which are approaching $400 million, and discusses the systems uses and trials under a new concept called seabasing…

INLS, Explained
INLS: Contracts & Key Events
Additional Readings and Sources

Jules Verne ATV Reveals Unexpected Capabilities

by Staff Writers

Paris, France (ESA) Jun 17, 2008

Eleven weeks into its integrated service to the International Space Station, Jules Verne ATV has followed up its successful automatic docking on 3 April 2008 by achieving all its scheduled objectives - and much more. ATV is providing capabilities never planned for before its mission.
In the coming days, Jules Verne is set to transfer its entire 856 kg of refuelling propellant to the Space Station and reboost the 300-tonne Station to a higher orbit for the second time since its arrival.

Crewmembers meanwhile are using the European space supply vessel as a new area to sleep and wash. One of its empty tanks has successfully stored 110 litres of condensation water from the ISS. And, last but not least, the ATV's mission in orbit has been extended from August to September, in order to take advantage of its powerful ISS reboost capabilities.

Since early April, the hatch has remained open between Jules Verne ATV and the rest of the ISS, at times making the first European 48 m3 pressurised spaceship one of the centres of daily life for the crew and the ISS logistics activities.

A new hygiene station?
Answering a request from the ISS crew, ESA ATV managers have authorized the cosmonauts and astronauts to use Jules Verne for a whole new purpose. Instead of using the usual Crew Hygiene Station, the crew can now freely take advantage of the ATV area to wash using their usual wet fabric towels and treated napkins. They also wash their hair with an alcohol-free rinseless shampoo.

"The ATV's pressurized cabin offers the crew a large space, a lot of privacy and it also helps to keep the Station air humidity level lower," said Herve Côme, ESA's ATV Mission Director at the ATV Control Centre in Toulouse, France.

Some crewmembers also enjoy Jules Verne as their sleeping quarters, given that the sound level of the ventilator fans and air circulation is relatively low. Although the Space Station houses two small crew cabins, each one is big enough to accommodate just one person. The third ISS crewmember can sleep anywhere in the Station, including inside the ATV, just as long as they attach themselves inside a sleeping bag to a wall.

Cross water transfers
In early April, 22 litres of ATV's 270 kg cargo of drinking water were transferred from the ATV to the ISS for test purposes. "Analysis showed the water quality to be excellent for drinking and the transfer to the ISS worked flawlessly," said Herve Côme.

On 29 May, the ISS partners asked ESA's ATV operation managers to transfer into ATV 110 litres of un-recycled water drawn from the air using the Station's humidity collector. Water retrieval in this way was not envisioned in ATV's original objectives.

Five 22-litre water bags have been used to store this unwanted condensation water before transferring it in the ATV's empty spherical water tanks. Currently, each astronaut on board the ISS uses about 13.6 litres of water daily. Air humidity is recycled to regulate moisture levels in the Station.

Later in the mission, liquid waste from the Station's toilet will be transferred to the ATV's tanks via valves and flexible hosepipes or foldable plastic containers. The crew will also gradually fill the cargo section with the Station's waste and equipment that is no longer used.

Russian partners have asked ESA to consider including a Soyuz seat liner no longer needed on the ISS. At the end of its mission, Jules Verne ATV will burn up in a controlled reentry into the Earth's atmosphere over the Pacific Ocean, in the process eliminating 6.3 tonnes of waste material.

Last April, the ATV was also used by Yi So-yeon, first South Korean female astronaut and nanotechnology engineer, to perform experiments during her 11-day space journey.

Among other numerous ATV activities, on 9 June, some of the 28 smaller ATV thrusters (220 N) were fired for 400 milliseconds from the Moscow Control Centre. The purpose of this quick attitude-control test was to check the dynamic behaviour of the massive 400-tonne orbital outpost with the new 16-tonne Japanese Kibo science lab attached and with Space Shuttle Discovery docked.

"Jules Verne is an incredible spaceship; it is performing beyond our best hopes. ATV has fulfilled all its objectives perfectly and on top of that, several new functions have been made possible that we did not initially plan for" said Alberto Novelli, Head of ATV Mission Operations at the ATV Control Centre.

NASA congratulations
Jules Verne is set to remain attached to the ISS for one extra month, with undocking now scheduled for September instead of early August, as originally planned. The European spaceship was built to stay docked to the space complex for six months, just like the Russian Soyuz and Progress capsules.

"With the perfect inaugural rendezvous with the ISS, Jules Verne saved over 870 kg of propulsion fuel, which can be used to perform more Station reboosts at regular intervals this summer," said Frank Bouckaert, ESA ATV mechanical and thermal engineer. "The reboosts raise the Station to a higher orbit to overcome the effects of residual atmospheric drag."

The ATV's achievements have also been noted by NASA Administrator Michael Griffin. "I am incredibly proud of our European partners for successfully docking the Jules Verne with the ISS," said Griffin, during an official speech to a Parliamentary Group on Space at the French National Assembly on 5 June 2008.

"I applaud Europe's achievement. In combination with the launch of the Columbus Module earlier this year, the success of the ATV marks the arrival of Europe as a full-fledged space power. (...) We welcome, indeed we are asking for, European collaboration in human exploration. We welcome the development of independent European capabilities in space to provide redundant systems in the event of failure of any one partner's capabilities."

40mm Grenade Doubles Range of Existing Weapon
By matthew cox

Published: 17 Jun 14:50 EDT (10:50 GMT)

PARIS - There's a new 40mm grenade in the works that doubles the range of today's 40s and for the first time will let ground troops shoot them in direct fire mode.

From a shoulder-fired grenade launcher, the new medium-velocity, Mercury 40mm grenade will have an effective range of 800 meters compared with the 400-meter range of a standard, low-velocity, 40mm round, said David Codling, sales and marketing manager for Chemring Defence. Codling spoke during the program's "launch" briefing to reporters June 17 at the 2008 Eurosatory: the International Land, Airland and Homeland Defense Exhibition.

In addition, the Mercury's increased velocity will let infantry troops shoot directly at targets out to 300 meters, Codling said. Standard velocity grenades have to be fired indirectly on an arc to engage targets.

The joint business venture between the European firm Chemring Defence and Martin Electronics, located in Florida, began two years ago after hearing repeated reports that combat troops wanted such as round.

"In a lot of reports from Afghanistan and Iraq, they are looking for that additional reach," Codling said.

The U.K.'s Ministry of Defence successfully tested the Mercury round two weeks ago at a training range outside of London, Codling said.

The program's future, however, depends upon U.K. and U.S. military interest, he said. The new grenade could be available for combat troops by 2009 if all goes well, Codling said.

The Goverment Acounting Office has issued a ruling on the KC-X selected as KC-45 tanker modified Airbus 330. the Boeing entry was a modified Boeing 767and then latter stated it would offer a 777 modification the 777 being the 330's equal in size well the 767 is much smaller. pound for pound the Airbus better fit the role as the 767 is more a straight 707 replacement and not able to carry as much or fuel as many aircraft. the contract was awarded to Northrop Grumman but boeing protested ( funny how they won the CSAR x and every one else protested and they claimed victim)



boeing
June 18, 2008—The following is a statement from Randy Belote, Vice President of Corporate & International Communications for Northrop Grumman Corporation: "We respect the GAO’s work in analyzing the Air Force's tanker acquisition process. We continue to believe that Northrop Grumman offered the most modern and capable tanker for our men and women in uniform. We will review the GAO findings before commenting further."

Northrop
June 18, 2008—The following is a statement from Randy Belote, Vice President of Corporate & International Communications for Northrop Grumman Corporation: "We respect the GAO’s work in analyzing the Air Force's tanker acquisition process. We continue to believe that Northrop Grumman offered the most modern and capable tanker for our men and women in uniform. We will review the GAO findings before commenting further."

AF officials comment on GAO tanker bid decision
GAO sustains Boeing bid protest
The Boeing Company's protest of the Air Force's award of a contract to Northrop Grumman Systems Corp. for KC-X aerial refueling tankers was sustained by officials from the Government Accountability Office June 18. (U.S. Air Force graphic/Billy Smallwood)
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6/18/2008 - WASHINGTON (AFPN) -- Earlier today, Government Accountability Office officials announced their findings and sustained portions of the Boeing protest of the KC-45A aerial refueling tanker competition.

The contract, originally awarded to Northrop Grumman, is for the development and procurement of up to 179 tanker aircraft for approximately 35 billion dollars.

Air Force officials are currently reviewing the GAO decision and once the review is complete, Air Force officials will be in a position to determine the best course of action.
"The Air Force will do everything we can to rapidly move forward so America receives this urgently needed capability," said Sue C. Payton, Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Acquisition. "The Air Force will select the best value tanker for our nation's defense, while being good stewards of the taxpayer dollar," said Ms. Payton.

"As soon as possible, we will provide the Air Force's way ahead," she said. "We appreciate the GAO's professionalism and thoroughness in its assessment of the protest of the KC-45A source selection."

DARPA/ONR Launch Long-range Anti-ship Missile Demonstrator

Posted by Graham Warwick at 6/17/2008 9:05 AM CDT

After years of neglect, the US is looking to get back into the anti-ship missile business. DARPA and the Office of Naval Research have kicked off a joint effort "to rapidly demonstrate a ship-launched standoff anti-ship strike weapon". The Long Range Anti-Ship Missile Demonstration program aims to flight test a prototype within three years of contract award.

The problem is the US doesn't have a long-range anti-ship missile - and the countries it considers potential enemies do. Boeing's Harpoon is subsonic and can fly about 60nm from a surface launch. Russia's 3M-54E Klub (SS-N-27 Sizzler) can reach out as far as 160nm, and some variants are supersonic. China has Sizzler, and it may have been offered to Iran.





Novator 3M-54E Klub, aka Sizzler. Photo: Air Power Australia

Sizzler is not a new threat, so why now? "Because we don't have one," says a US industry official. "Their ships can shoot at ours from outside the range of our missiles." But what's so "DARPA-hard" about developing a long-range anti-ship missile that the research agency needs to do it?

The performance requirements for the demonstrator are classified. DARPA's broad-area announcement uses phrases such as "significant standoff ranges" and "well outside direct counter-fire ranges", as well as "inherent capability to ensure weapon survivability against advanced defensive systems" and the "extensibility of terminal systems to future delivery vehicles with enhanced range, speed, or launch platform flexibility".

The missile is to be fired from the US Navy's Mk41 vertical launch system, receiving in-flight targeting updates, navigating with degraded or denied GPS, using multiple sensors for target discrimination, varying the terminal approach trajectory, sending target classification data back before impact for damage assessment, and disabling the ship with unitary or multiple warheads.

DARPA and/or ONR will fund the demonstration. The nine-month first phase of the program will take the missile concepts to a preliminary design review. Phase 2 will take the selected system to a full-scale, integrated flight demonstration of the vehicle's performance, target discrimination, terminal survivability and warhead lethality - all within 36 months of contract award.

last Waltz For The E-2

June 18, 2008:

A new version of the U.S. Navy's E-2 Hawkeye radar aircraft, the E-2D is being tested, and is expected to enter service in three years. Originally introduced in 1964, the two engine, 24 ton E-2 was never produced in large quantities (fewer than a hundred are in use). Last Summer, the E-2 fleet reached a milestone, of a million flight hours. The current E-2C models cost about $51 million each and are difficult to maintain because of their age. The E-2s always contained a large quantity of the most modern, and failure prone, electronics. Operating mostly off carriers, and thus constantly exposed to corrosive, salty ocean air, the aircraft take a beating. The five man crew are mostly concerned with using the large radar carried atop the aircraft, and keeping track of friendly, and hostile, aircraft and missiles at up to 400 kilometers distance.

The aircraft can stay in the air for 4-6 hours at a time, and cruises at 450 kilometers an hour. The aircraft have had their electronics constantly upgraded over the years. Currently, the three "system operators" use large flat screen displays and many gigabytes of disk storage each (for capturing and comparing data) to operate as a sea-going AWACS. It was the navy that developed the AWACS concept at the end of World War II, using Avenger light bombers, equipped with radar, to control large carrier strikes.


Each American aircraft carrier has four E-2s, and the U.S. Navy a total fleet of about 70 E-2s. There are several dozen in service in other countries, but only France operates them from carriers. Everyone else uses land bases. About half the E-2s ever built (production ceased in the 1990s) are still flying, and the United States expects to keep using them (as the E-2D) into the 2020s. After that, an unmanned aircraft will probably replace the E-2.


The latest, and probably last, model, the E-2D, has new engines, a new phased array radar, new electronics and many other improvements. Development and manufacturing of 75 E-2Ds for the U.S. Navy will cost about $206 million per aircraft. The E-2D will have longer range, and more accurate, radar as well as a much more efficient and reliable computer systems.

Tomorrow, the U.S. Army officially releases volume two of its official history of the Iraq War, , by Donald P. Wright et al., COST, 2008.

The original volume one was released in 2004: , by Gregory Fontenot et al., CALL, 2004

Hat Tip to the SWJ for the early heads-up.