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>> The U.S. Army Aviation and Missile Command has awarded defense contractor Raytheon a $27 million contract to provide field engineers to update Taiwan’s Patriot Air and Missile Defense System.

Sanjay Kapoor, vice president of Patriot programs at Raytheon Integrated Defense Systems said his company is “very pleased that the upgrades are happening on an accelerated timeline. This will provide Taiwan with an enhanced level of security sooner than expected.” (Source)

>> Contractor Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc., received a task order worth $1.25 million to provide services for the Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense for the Japanese Flight Test Mission. (Source)

>> Defense contractor Lockheed Martin’s Space Systems division has created a new missile defense systems unit, to be based in Huntsville, Alabama, and led by Retired Army Major General John W. Holly. (Source)

We blogged last month that Boeing, Northrop Grumman, and Lockheed were going after a Ground-based Midcourse Defense system contract that could bring in $200 million a year. Among other things, Lockheed’s new missile defense unit will pursue that contract.

 
U.S. defense contractor Boeing has developed a mobile Ground-Based Interceptor (GBI), which would provide more flexiblity in planning and implementating missile defense shields in Europe. By now it’s well-known that President Barack Obama is hesitant to go through with plans to build missile defense shields in Poland and the Czech Republic. Perhaps he’d be more amenable to a temporary and mobile system like the GBI. (Source)

Although the shields would protect the region from Iranian attacks, Russia claims they would be a threat to its national defense. Neither country’s parliament has ratified the agreements.

Last week we mentioned that Raytheon was developing a land-based SM-3 missile for Israel to use in the event of an attack from Iran. Part of the Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense System, the SM-3 is a ship-based anti-ballistic missile. An SM-3 successfully hit its target in space last week. Perhaps Boeing’s GBI could be used for Israel’s defense as well.

 
U.S. defense contractor Raytheon announced that it’s creating a land-based version of the Standard Missile-3 (SM-3) for Israel, a system that would help our ally defend against Iran. (Source)

Part of the Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense System, the SM-3 is a ship-based anti-ballistic missile. Last week an SM-3 successfully hit its target in space.

Discussed at the recent missile defense conference in Huntsville, Alabama, the land-based version of the SM-3 could be in operation by 2013. Raytheon’s Michael Booen told Reuters, “If the program goes through to production and is deployed globally with international allies, the potential value … will be more than $1 billion.”

Reuters reports that the cost of developing the SM-3 for Israel would be “very low.” Additionally, the Pentagon may use SM-3 systems as alternatives to missile shields in Poland and the Czech Republic. In fact, the Pentagon would be wise to develop the systems with these countries in mind. At this point, the fate of shields in the region are in doubt. Missile defense expert Riki Ellison said Russia may be more favorable to SM-3 systems than missile defense shields.

 
Reuters reports that costs for a missile defense program between the U.S. and Japan have risen. The Raytheon-built Standard Missile 3 Block IIA (SM-3 IIA) ballistic missile interceptor is expected to cost $3.1 billion, $700 million more than initially expected.

The U.S. and Japan partnered to build the SM-3 IIA after North Korea test-fired a ballistic missile over Japan in 1998. The new missile defense system would help protect Japan with fewer ships during an attack. U.S. Rear Admiral Brad Hicks said other countries are interested in similar partnerships.

What caused costs to climb? Hicks points to the defense budget. The Pentagon canceled Lockheed Martin’s Multiple Kill Vehicle program, which affected SM-3 IIA missile technology. As expected, Iran’s and North Korea’s nuclear ambitions raise the stakes in the effort to fund missile defense programs. The president proposes to slash $1.4 billion from the missile defense budget, although the budget may include funding to increase production of Aegis ships equipped with 218 SM-3 missiles.

 
The Missile Defense Agency awarded MircoTech a contract extension of over $25 million to continue operating and maintaining telecommunications support services.

MicroTech president and chief executive officer Tony Jimenez said, “We are honored that Missile Defense Agency has selected MicroTech to support Missile Defense Agency’s objective of building the largest and most advanced classified video teleconferencing network in Defense Department.” (Source)

The U.S. Navy awarded defense contractor Raytheon a $9.9 million contract to perform concept studies for the Air and Missile Defense Radar. (Source)

Robert Martin of Raytheon said, “We will leverage our experience and expertise with our scalable family of naval radars as a distinct advantage in helping the Navy to develop this next-generation radar. The envisioned commonality and scalability for the AMDR will help reduce costs across the fleet while its advanced capabilities will provide no doubt-reliability and effectiveness for naval forces around the world — today and tomorrow.”

The radar suite will include S-band radar, X-band radar, and a suite controller. Read more about the radar system in the press release.

 
The The Associated Press reports that Israel wants to buy a missile defense system from the U.S. for protection against short-range rockets and mortar fire. Israel has its eyes on the Vulcan-Phalanx cannon and radar system, and Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak will ask Defense Secretary Robert Gates to sell the system to his country.

Made by defense contractor Raytheon, the Vulcan-Phalanx will house the Iron Dome, an anti-rocket shield Israel successfully tested earlier this month, and two additional missile systems. (The Iron Dome is designed to defend Israel from Hamas and Hizbullah rockets and also serves as a major component in a multi-layered missile defense system that includes the Arrow anti-ballistic missile shield.)

Faced with short-range weapon and mortar shell attacks, Israel needs an anti-rocket system to neutralize these threats. Protection against long-range weapons includes systems like the Arrow II, which would counter Iran’s Shahab-3 missile.

In related news, Iran has warned Israel not to attack its nuclear sites. President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad recently called Israel a “most cruel and repressive racist regime” during a United Nations conference in Geneva. Iran is developing long-range missiles and a nuclear program, and countries like Iran and Syria have Israel in their sights.

Last year it was reported that Israel may preemptively strike Iran’s nuclear facilities, and Iran said it would retaliate by deploying the Shahab-3. Syria’s president said that if Israel attacks Iran, there would be “catastrophic consequences for the entire world.” Despite the tension, Israel is still interested in peace talks with these rogue nations.

 
U.S. defense contractor Raytheon was awarded a $27 million option for engineering services for the Patriot Air and Missile Defense System, bringing the total value of the contract to $159.2 million. (Source)

Raytheon received an extension to perform risk-reduction services on the Global Positioning System Operational Ground Control Segment. Bob Canty, vice president and program manager of the segment, said “We are working with our customer to continue to reduce program risk to ensure that we have the lowest-risk program going forward. What’s critically important on this program is to be able to deliver our team’s commitments fully and on-time.” (Source)

Raytheon was awarded a $12.5 million from the U.S. Army to deliver to Enhanced Position Location Reporting System Extended Frequency (EPLRS-XF) radio technologies. This system is designed to enable soldiers to communicate during “congested combat situations.”

Network Centric Systems Integrated Communications Systems vice president Jerry Powlen wrote, “The EPLRS-XF radio gives the war fighter high-speed, on-the-move video and data exchange capabilities for a broad range of applications. We continue to evolve EPLRS and our networked communications capabilities to deliver the most advanced solutions to our troops.” (Source)

 
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has signed an agreement with U.S. defense contractor Raytheon for anti-aircraft missiles capable of being launched from the ground or air. (Media Line)

The UAE Air Force also will acquire Raytheon’s most advanced medium-range air-to-air missile as part of its effort to modernize defense technology. The UAE apparently is concerned about Iran’s weapons build-up and possible attacks if the U.S. and Iran escalate their conflict.

In other news, the U.S. Congress has cleared the way for the purchase of U.S. defense contractor Lockheed Martin’s Theater High Altitude Air Defense (THAAD). The UAE will buy the system for $6.9 billion. (Source)

Although the authorization process takes about 18 months, Lockheed spokesman Denis Cavin said, “We see no obstacle to meeting the timeline the UAE has asked us to meet.” From the article:

“The U.S. government is extremely cautious on releasing sensitive defense technology, and although some transfer might be granted, it was unlikely all would be released to the UAE, a U.S. executive said.”

 
**Defense contractor ATK was awarded a $55 million contract from the Navy for the advanced anti-radiation guided missile (AARGM). ATK will deliver a certain amount of AARGMs to meet the Navy’s Initial Operational Capability next year. (SPX)

**Defense contractor Raytheon-Lockheed Martin Javelin Joint Venture was awarded a $29.9 million contract from the Marine Corp to upgrade 404 Block 0 command launch units to Block I.

Raytheon’s Duane Gooden said, “One of the many advantages of the Block I is that it increases the radius of lethality by 38 percent. Enemy forces in Iraq and Afghanistan are engaging our warfighters with machine gun fire and mortars at a range of 2,500 meters (more than 8,200 feet). The upgrade to Block I gives U.S. Marines the ability to employ the Javelin missile within that same effective range.” (SPX)

**Raytheon won an additional $154 million Foreign Military Sales contract to upgrade Taiwan’s Patriot Air and Missile Defense Systems. The Army awarded a contract that included radar kit upgrades and command and control components.

Raytheon’s Sanjay Kapoor said, “Upgrading Patriot fire units from Configuration-2 to Configuration-3 will provide Taiwan with enhanced system capabilities to meet current and emerging threats.” (SPX)

(Photo credit: ATK)

 
The U.S. Navy tested defense contractor Raytheon’s Standard Missile-2 target detecting device (SM-2 Block IIIB). The test was the lowest altitude intercept using the new device so far. Fired from the USS STERETT, the missile took on multiple targets under simulated threat situations. (Source)

Raytheon’s Ron Shields said, “These tests demonstrate the reliability and accuracy of SM-2 as it continues to evolve. The SM-2′s ability to successfully employ this new target detecting device against challenging targets enhances the missile’s usefulness to the warfighter.”

The Navy deployed the SM-2 Block IIIB, which has a range of 90 nautical miles, for long-range ship self-defense.