Three years after the award of the upgrade contract to Eurocopter, the first of 40 German Army CH-53Gs to be substantially revamped made its maiden flight on 10 February 2010. Dubbed CH-53GA, the massive helicopter née Sikorsky, but built under licence (except the first two) by VFW-Fokker in Germany in the early 1970s, is to receive new or upgraded systems, including an avionic suite cum displays and navigation system from Rockwell Collins, flight control systems from Eurocopter, a flir system from Selex Galileo, satellite communications from Scotty and an electronic warfare self-defence suite from EADS. This major operation, which also entails a total strip-down of the electrical system and airframe repair, will extend the service life of the German Stallions from 6000 to 10,000 hours. The German Army’s troop and equipment airlift workhorse has seen extensive service in Kosovo, Afghanistan and other areas as part of Nato operations. After the usual shake-down of the ‘prototype’, the actual serial re-build of the helicopters will begin in early 2011 at Eurocopter’s Donauwörth plant with deliv- eries to begin by the end of 2011 and finish in 2013.
The Aasm & L is Sagem’s latest version of the Armement Air- Sol Modulaire. The new ‘& L’suffix indicates that the bomb kit now adds a laser sensor to its inertial and satellite navigation system, which endows it with a metric rather than decametric precision. The weapon presupposes the use of a target laser designator (either carried by the launching platform or another aircraft, or aimed at the target by a ground operator) and while it retains its dual direct or vertical attack modes, it can now be used to attack moving targets. The French Air Force has recently placed a firm order for 680 units to complement the 750 standard Aasms previously ordered and deployed in Afghanistan under the wings of the Armée de l’Air’s Rafales. These kits aremounted on 250-kilo bombs, but are suitable for 125, 500 and 1000-kilo bombs. In 250- kilo guise, the Aasm has a range of around 50 km in the toss-launch mode.
With the Swedish Government’s recent decision to endow its navy with a new- generation submarine, the Kockums A26 design should become a reality in a few years. The February full-scale development go-ahead will also have a major impact on the preservation of the Scandinavian firm’s know-how in the development of submarines that are mainly intended for littoral warfare – a highly specialised discipline in itself. In tune with the increased demand for inter- national operations, the A26’s design and equipment will be sharply tweaked for information gathering missions. With a crew size ranging from 17 to 26 men, depending on the mission, the 63-metre long boat will have a submerged displacement of 1900 tonnes. A Sterling diesel electric air-independent propulsion system will enable her to stay submerged ‘for weeks’. In addition to four 53-cm bow tubes she will also have a flexible payload lock.
Rheinmetall, along with unnamed German and French partners, have been selected by the European Defence Agency (EDA) to create a system to protect multi-national military assets and installations. The Future Interoperability of Camp Protection Systems (Ficaps) programme aims to develop harmonise and integrate static and mobile protection systems of different nations under a common system architecture. One of the first hurdles is equipment interoperability from one country’s systems to the next. This Franco-German project will draw on national assets to develop a demonstration system within the next three years.
