 MILNET Brief New Weapons, Q3-07 September, 2007 |
| MILNET Brief New Weapons, Q3-07 September, 2007 |
| Weapon
Acronym |
Who |
Description |
Status |
| New
Technology |
|||
| Agile
Multi-Role Weapons System -
Laser Upgrade |
U.S. Army |
1
KW solid state laser that can attack UAV aircraft or be used to
detonate IEDs or other roadside explosives, carried by a Humvee.
Contract to Boeing - Aviation Week |
Development Demo Forthcoming |
Chip
Scale Atomic Clocks - CSACs Photo: NIST Click here for text |
U.S. |
Tiny integrated circuits that
can be used as building blocks for synchronization of time sources as
well as esoteric things such as magnetomoters...according to Thomas O’Brian, chief of the Time and Frequency Division
at NIST’s laboratory in Boulder, Colorado, " “You could scatter them across a wide area so when
a Jeep or tank drives over, they might detect it...Or
they could detect the presence of ventilating fans in [al Qaeda caves]
in Tora Bora [Afghanistan].” 9 - GCN |
Development
under DARPA's Future Icons Program |
| High Energy Laser Technology Demonstrator -- HELTD | U.S. Army |
"...Demonstrate the capability to effectively counter
rockets, artillery
and mortars -- counter-RAM -- in a relevant environment at the High
Energy Laser Systems Test Facility -- HELSTF -- at White Sands Missile
Range, N.M." - United Press International |
Demonstrator
Development Program |
Non-lethal
Incapacitator Photo: Fox News Online
|
U.S. |
Intelligent
Optical Systems, Inc., of Torrance, Calif., has been granted a
contract by the Department of Homeland Security to develop what it
calls the "LED
Incapacitator," according to a DHS online newsletter. The
handheld device using light-emitting
diodes
to emit super-bright pulses of light at rapidly changing wavelengths,
causing disorientation, nausea and even vomiting in whomever it's
pointed at." - Fox News, 8/6/2007 The article says the nickname for the device is the "pukesaber" (like Luke Skywalker's Light Saber :)) |
Contract for
Development from DHS |
PAS-13
Thermal Weapon Sights Photo: U.S. Army |
U.S. |
Updated
thermal imaging for rifles, tanks, etc., from Raytheon that adds
light intensification as well as light amplification and deep infrared
so that the viewer can see normal objects not designed to be read or
seen in low light conditions such as maps or images obscurred by dust
storms, inclimate weather, etc. |
Deployed/
Upgrades |
Rail Gun Photo:
IEEE
|
Australia |
The current record holder in
induced velocity, the gun
has propelled a lexan cube to a muzzle
velocity of an incredible 5.9 million km/sec (21 million kkph) easily
fast enough to put the projectile into orbit from the earth's surface
generating interest in surface to orbit schemes similar to Jules Vernes
"Earth to the Moon" concept. |
Research |
Ram
Accelerator Drawing: Ballistic
Flight
Group
|
U.S. |
Ben Joseph, former U of U
student and MIT graduate has formed a company called Ballistic Flight
Group, who is intent on developing surface to orbit launcher for
tactical satellites using a propulsive accelerator that uses sealed
cells in a long gun that uses a ram-jet
like effect to accelerate into
the high Mach numbers. Muzzle velocity at around 8 km/sec (28.8
kkph) Unfortunately, also develops some 2000 Gs, a little stiff for
both electronics and humans but certainly capable of achieving orbit
even with atmospheric resistance. According to SpaceView.com, the system operates as follows: "After a pre-launcher gun (e.g., light gas or gunpowder propelled) accelerates the projectile up to speeds of over 500 meters per second, the projectile enters the ram accelerator by passing through a breakable diaphragm and entering another tube, this one filled with a more volatile propellant, such as oxygen and methane. Because the projectile enters this second tube at supersonic speeds, it interacts with the tube wall to produce a ramjet-like effect inside the barrel. This ramjet effect forces the projectile to combust the fuel behind it, increasing its acceleration through the tube. The projectile exits the barrel with a muzzle velocity of around 8 kilometers per second. An upper stage rocket would circularize the trajectory of the payload (approximately one third of the projectile’s 2,000-kilogram mass) to a low Earth orbit of around 800 kilometers." |
Research |
Truck
Mounted Laser Photo: U.S. Army |
U.S. |
Boeing
has recieved a contract
to develop a truck mounted laser on the Heavy Expanded Mobility
Tactical Truck (HEMTT) chassis, sporting a battle ready verELsion of
the
experimental HEL TD (High Energy Laser Technology Demonstrator) laser
weapon prototype. A Boost Phase anti-missile defense system based upon the ABL (Airborne Laser) 747 prototype development program was awarded to Northrop Grumman in 2005, and now the company ihas been awarded an $8 million contract to compete with Boeing for a truck mounted system. Northrup Grumman won an important contract for a sub system related to this or similar laser weaponry, see HELTD above. |
Development |
| Conventional
Battlefield Weapons |
|||
Anti-Structure
Weapon - ASM (M72A9) |
U.S. / U.K. |
What some called a shoulder
launched bunker buster, the ASM (or BEM or blast enhanced/enhanced
blast weapon as called by some U.K. defense pundits) is used to take
down fortified structures - essentially a building buster. The
munition (round) is mounted and fired on the M-72 LAW (Light Anti-tank
Weapon) and is manufactured by Talley Defense Systems in Mesa, Arizona
or Dynamit Nobel Defence in Germany. |
U.S. to
receive in May of 2008 U.K. to receive in 2009 |
| Common Remotely Operated Weapon Stations - CROWS | U.S. |
"The U.S. Army ordered 6,500 Common
Remotely
Operated Weapon Stations (CROWS) in August, giving Norway’s Kongsberg a
five-year, $1.4 billion deal that will multiply the number of turrets
that allow soldiers to fire machine guns and grenade launchers from
inside military vehicles.
The Army now has about 500 Protector
CROWS in
Iraq and Afghanistan, Col. Carl Lipsit, who manages soldier weapons at
Picatinny Arsenal, N.J., said earlier this year. The first batch of
1,300 CROWS will arrive early next year for M93 Fox reconnaissance
vehicles and Humvees in Iraq and Afghanistan."
- DefenseNews.com |
Production Order |
Dhruv
Advanced Light Helicopter - ALH |
India |
"Two
helicopters, one a utility version with a
glass cockpit and another armed with air-to-air missiles, rockets and
turret guns were flown Thursday in the defence area" in
Bangladore. "...The new glass cockpit will have the latest avionics and weapon systems. The four flat multi-functional colour displays ..." and a "...modern electronic warfare suite comprising a radar warning receiver, laser warning receiver and missile approach warning system." 7 - New Kerala.com |
Initial
Flight Test |
High Mobility
Artillery Rocket System - HIMARS Photo: U.S. Army  |
U.S. |
Designed to engage and defeat
artillery, air defence concentrations, trucks, light armour and
personnel carriers, or support troop and supply concentrations then
scoot away before enemy can respond to detection of the launch site --
perhaps inspired by experience in trying to find SCUDs in the first
Iraq war. Carries a single six-pack on the Army's Family of
Medium Tactical Vehicles (FMTV) 6x6 all-wheel drive 5t truck and weighs
24,000lb compared to more than 44,000lb for the MLRS M270 launcher. Fires a number of rockets some of which are: a. Extended-Range MLRS Rocket (ER-MLRS) improves the basic M26 range of 32km to more than 45km and the area of influence by 107% b. Extended range guided rocket GMLRS, with a range of more than 70km, and uses a GPS guidance system c. ATACMS (Army Tactical Missile System) long-range guided missile which (Block 1 missile) delivers 950 anti-personnel anti-material (AP/AM) baseball-sized M74 submunitions to ranges exceeding 165km |
First
Fielded in 2005 |
Jian 10 (J-10)  Photo: SinoDefense.com |
China | Swept wing fighter similar to
F-16, BAE Typhoon or Russian Mig-29, performance specs unclear however FAS says
the aircraft has "a delta wing canard configuration which ensures
aircraft stability with widened static stability active control
technology. The deep burial of the engine and the extensive use of
composite materials for wing-fuselage fusion design reduces the
aircraft's radar signature. This aircraft uses control-figured vehicle
design and nine independent control planes: two forward wings, two
forward wing flaps, two inside elevons, two outside elevons, and one
vertical rudder." According to SinoDefense.com, the aircraft: "...is fitted with a Chinese indigenous (designation reported to be Type 1473) pulse-Doppler (PD) fire-control radar...capable of tracking 10 targets and attacking 4 of them simultaneously. Maximum detecting range estimated to be around 100km....aircraft has a ‘glass cockpit’ with four multifunctional displays (MFD), a head-up display (HUD) with 40 degree horizontal field-of-view. Other avionic systems may include GPS/INS navigations, air data computer, and ARW9101 radar warning receiver (RWR). Weapons: The fighter has 11 external hardpoints forPL-12 (SD-10) ARH med range and PL-8 IR-homing missiles, LGBs, free-fall bombs, unguided rocket pods or drop tanks. Fighter is powered by Russian-made AL-31FN turbofan engine rated at 17,857lb dry and 27,557lb st with afterburning. Later production variants may be fitted with a Chinese indigenous WS-10A ‘Taihang’ turbofan." |
Revealed in 2007, not clear when
it will or if it is already deployed.
|
K-21
Advanced Armor Vehicle - AAV Photo: You-Tube |
South Korea | Armored Anti-Helicopter attack
ground vehicle. 40mm gun, vehicle can
rotate 360 degress in one spot with radars for detecting low flying
attack helicopters. According to DefenseNews.com: "The 25-ton tracked vehicle, which holds a crew of 12, is armed with a mounted, stabilized 40mm auto cannon and a 7.62mm machine gun. The 40mm gun can fire three munitions, including the tungsten Armored Piercing Fin-Stablized Discarding Sabot ammunition, at a rate of 300 rounds per minute, enough to shoot down slow-moving helicopters and aircraft seven kilometers away" |
Development, Ready for Deployment |
| Merkava
Main Battle Tank Upgrades |
Israel |
Improvements include both
offensive and defensive systems, "...enhanced Arrow 3 ballistic missile interceptors, which will enhance the current 'Homa' program preparing to face the imminent unconventional threat from Iran, anticipated by the end of this decade. The program is funding continued development of the 'Magic Wand' medium range missile interceptor, currently under development in a joint Israeli-US program. TEFEN seeks accelerating development and potential fielding of the 'Iron Cap' Counter Rocket, Artillery and Mortar (C-RAM) system, which is expected to be ready for operational use within 24 months." - Defense Update |
Development
and Deployment |
| M107
High Explosive Round for Paladin |
US |
"The M107 is a low-cost, 155mm
High Explosive artillery projectile that is used in war and in
training. The rounds are fired from the Paladin, M-198 and the M-777
howitzers and are utilized by the U.S. Army and U.S. Marine Corps,"
General Dynamics said. - United Press International, 9/1/2007 |
Production Order |
Near
Term Sea-Based Terminal Weapon  Photos: U.S. Navy
 |
U.S. Navy |
According to Navy News: "first sea-based intercept of a ballistic missile in its terminal phase. A short-range target was launched from the Pacific Missile Range Facility in Hawaii. Shortly thereafter, it was intercepted by the SM-2. Previous MDA / U.S. Navy ballistic missile tests have utilized the Standard Missile-3 (SM-3) to intercept threats in the midcourse phase of flight, outside the Earth's atmosphere. Those tests have resulted in six intercepts in seven attempts. While there is a limited emergency capability available against midcourse threats, there is no terminal phase capability other than the existing Patriot Advanced Capability (PAC-3)." The upgrade was led by Raytheon. |
Upgrade to Existing System for
Near Term Deployment of Ballistic Defense
|
P-8A
Posedion Multi-Mission Maritime Aircraft -- MMA Drawing: Boeing
|
U.S. Navy |
Boeing
Aircraft contract builds 737 airframes into replacements for
vintage Lockheed P-3A maritime patrol aircraft in a $3.8 billion
aircraft deal for Boeing. The new aircraft will use the well
proven 21,000 lb thrust CFM56-7 engine. Specification |
Production
Imminent |
| Revolutionary Approach to Time-Critical Long-Range Strike -- RATTLRS | U.S. Navy |
An
upgrade to the speed of flying
missiles to faster than a rifle bullet. Lockheed Martin and Rolls-Royce
North America have a $120-million contract to build a hypersonic
missile demonstrator that will eventually become an eventual tactical
weapon. The first flight of RATTLRS is slated to take place in November
2007. - News Max.com |
Development |
Russian
Ship Building Photo: Moscow News Weekly |
Russia |
30 ship building
projects have been started, including projects for Project 955 Yury
Dolgoruky-class nuclear powered submarines, Project
20380 Steregushchy-class corvettes, and Project 21630 Astrakhan-class
small artillery ships. Lack of funding has pushed the programs
beyond 2010 however, and it is not clear if all the necessary funds
will be forthcoming. |
Building |
S-400
Triumf / SA-21 Growler |
Russia | "The latest
S-400 Triumf (NATO codename SA-21 Growler) has been designed
to intercept and destroy airborne targets at a distance of up to 400
kilometers (250 miles), or twice the range of the MIM-104 Patriot, and
2.5 times that of the S-300PMU-2.
It is capable of destroying stealth aircraft, cruise missiles, and
ballistic missiles with an effective range of up to 3,500 kilometers
(2,200 miles) and a speed of up to 4.8 kilometers (3 miles) per
second...major enhancements would be made to the system's
electronic components...The enhancement of electronics will allow the
systems to see farther,
higher and react quicker, which will significantly expand the range of
their capabilities, including repelling strikes from space"- SpaceWar.com |
Deployed/
Upgrade Planned |
| S.F. Gunship | U.S. |
Replacement for the aging and extremely vulnerable AC-130 gunship will probably be based upon a new low speed capable bomber design from the USAF Air Combat Command (ACC). Will not sport large tube artillery guns like the AC-130...no tubes outside the aircraft fuselage, probably limited to 30mm cannon and rail guns. | Specification |
Stand-off
Obstacle Defeat Photo: AIM-120, U.S. Navy  Photo: WIRED Blog |
U.S. Navy |
Used to clear beaches when
Marines are conducting amphibious operations, the weapons system
essentially knocks down various obstacles that are intended to delay
soldiers or inhibit their movement of equipment from the sea onto
shore. The Navy is currently experimenting with a continous rod warhead mounted on
the AIM-120 AMRAAM rocket that can be deployed by aircraft prior to the
Marines or SEALS beach assault. The continous rod warhead and
other similar obstacle and de-mining systems are described in this MILNET mirrored document
on demining. |
Development |
| Submarines
For Indonesia KILO class Russian Subs |
Indonesia |
According to Naval
Technology.com, the Russians have closed a deal to supply Indonesia
with two Kilo class nuclear powered submarines. In our opinion,
that may lead to a newfound desire on the part of the Indonesians for
nuclear fuel for the subs, and then, here we go again...another member
of the "we can build nuclear weapons" club. |
Purchase |
| Submarine
Launched Cruise Missile Platform |
U.S. Navy |
Several fomer U.S. Navy Nuclear
Trident missile submarines have been refitted to launch up to 157
Tomahawk Cruise Missiles. These massive launch platforms are
extremely stealthy and can be deployed easily within range of most
targets inland anywhere in the world. An article in News
Max.com gives the example of the U.S.S. Michigan which was
recommissioned in June of 2007 after a three year refit costing several
$billion... "the submarine can carry and support a team of 66 special operations forces for up to 90 days. The USS Michigan is the third of 4 nuclear ballistic missile submarines to be converted into cruise missile/special forces boats. The Michigan follows the USS Ohio, which also is based at Bangor, and the USS Florida, which is based at King's Bay, Georgia." - News Max.com |
Deployed |
| Nuclear Weapons Arsenals |
|||
DF-31A  Photo: IASC |
China | Solid fuel ICBM intended to also
act as an anti-missile-missile. A look at the NTI
writeup on Chinese Missiles (with an excellent table of same)
claims the missiles: "were designed to be road-mobile, solid-fueled missiles and have shortened launch preparation times. Some reports say China had hoped to make both missiles MRV- (multiple re-entry vehicles) or MIRV (multiple independent re-entry vehicles) -capable. In addition, there is speculation that China could use a DF-31-type re-entry vehicle for a MRV payload for the DF-5 sometime in the near future. The DF-31 and JL-2 will also likely employ GPS technology for improved accuracy." According to the Wisconsin Project for Nuclear Arms Control: " is a three-stage, solid-fuel, mobile missile...has an estimated range of 8,000 km with a 700 kg payload,designed to carry a single 200-300 Kt nuclear warhead. The DF-31 was successfully flight-tested in August 1999. China conducted two more successful flight tests of the DF-31 during 2000... 2002 test of the DF-31 re-entry vehicle was unsuccessful, ending in a mid-flight explosion...launched from a single location, the DF-31 can be transported on its TEL to one of many predetermined launch sites... may also be the first Chinese missile to be armed with a warhead based on the W-88 or W-70, U.S. warheads the designs for which were stolen from American weapons labs...DF-31 has not come as quickly as previously predicted. Currently, the system is expected to be deployed before the end of the decade. The JL-2 is the submarine-launched version of the DF-31." |
Revealed in 2007, not clear when it will or if it is already been deployed |
Hatf-8
or Ra'ad Cruise Missile |
Pakistan |
Successfully launched in August of 2007, the air-launched cruise missile is reputed to have a range of some 220 miles (350km) according to online site CBC. According to defence-talk, the weapon "has a low detection probability due to stealth design and materials used in its manufacturing. The Ra’ad can carry" | |
X-51
Scramjet Powered Missile |
USAF |
"...The Air Force is developing
a "hypersonic" engine designed to fly bombs at Mach 6.5 speed, or more
than 4,000 miles per hour...officials conducted an initial test of the
SJX-61 Pratt & Whitney
engine, which would drive the platform. An initial flight test could be
held sometime in 2009. The platform wouldn't be operational for at
least another eight years or so, the Air Force says..." 6 - Christian Science Monitor |
Engine
Demonstration Program |
