88 · MT 3/2022 Industrial Focus sensors from Applied Technology Associates. The companies will deliver four vehicles to the Army’s Brigade Combat Team this year. “This team once again showed that the HEL system is fully integrated and ready to provide protection against complex threats,” Byron Bright, President of KBR Government Solutions, commented. “With an effectively infinite magazine and near-zero cost per shot, HEL is now the proven answer to asymmetric threats like drones and mortars.” Indo-Pacific 2022: Schiebel Australia Preparing for RAN Camcopter S-100 Award Schiebel Australia is preparing for a contract award to supply the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) with a modified variant of its Camcopter S-100. Speaking at the Indo-Pacific 2022 exhibition in Sydney, Fabian Knechtl, Managing Director, told MilTech that, with partner Raytheon Australia, Schiebel will spend the next few weeks finalising its bid and deciding some of the sensor packages. This includes the IFF responder certification, Link-16 integration, new radar sensor and ITAR controls. This follows the decision by the Australian government to move to a single source supply of the VTOL UAS, and end its SEA 129 Phase 5 Maritime UAS project (MUAS). Schiebel is already providing three S-100 UAS to the RAN’s experimental 822X Squadron under the NMP1942 project, These were being used as a testing platform to inform development of requirements for MUAS, which had a Request for Tender due in 2022. Knechtl said that the move to cancel SEA 129 Ph5 “came out of the blue,” as the teams bidding for the project had expected delays, due to the Australian general election taking place in May, that would see a schedule slip overall in the programme. Instead, he said, because of the degrading geopolitical situation with China, the RAN decided to bring UAS capability forward, and briefed the Minister of Defence accordingly last year. He expects the NMP1942 project to “ramp up” with the acquisition of more S-100 and for 822X Squadron to “lose the X,” moving from an experimental unit to an operational one by the end of the year. The squadron is expected to receive a second batch of three S-100s to increase capability to two flights. The contract with Schiebel is expected in early 2023, for between 2040 S-100 systems that will be an Australian customised variant, including governmental compliant payloads. The final numbers of UAS needed will depend on desired rate of effect and sustainment schedule the RAN wants for the capability bricks of its UAS systems. This decision will enable their deployment from the 12 Arafura-class Offshore Patrol Vessels and the first 3-4 Block 1 Hunter-class frigates. Knechtl said that the company will build on its existing infrastructure in-country, and expand on the industrial footprint that it first established in 2016, when it secured the NMP1942 contract. Boxer has already been ordered in 20 variants, and further options are constantly being proposed. (Photo: Artec) The €281.5 million order calls for deliveries to be effected between 2024-2026, which will make Slovenia the sixth user state for the type. To date, approx. 1,500 vehicles in 20 different variants are on order for NATO member states Germany, Lithuania, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom, and Australia has also opted for Boxer. Raytheon and Kord Demonstrate Anti-Mortar Laser Raytheon’s Intelligence and Space division and Kord, a subsidiary of KBR, have completed a series of live-firing exercises at the White Sands missile range during which a high-energy laser (HEL) was deployed to defeat 60mm mortar rounds. The 50kW laser was fitted to a Stryker vehicle. It forms part of the US Army’s Directed Energy Maneuver-Short Range Air Defense (DE M-SHORAD) system, and, during the exercise, “acquired, tracked, targeted and defeated multiple mortars and successfully accomplished multiple tests simulating real-world scenarios,” according to a statement released by Raytheon. The trials also included successful use of the system against small, medium and large unmanned aircraft. “Soldiers in the field face increasingly complex threats, and our combat-proven sensors, software, and lasers are ready to give them a new level of protection,” Annabel Flores, President of Raytheon I&S’s Electronic Warfare Systems business, said. “The Army gave us our toughest challenge yet – countering rockets, artillery and mortars – and we took an essential step on the path to providing the maneuverable, short range air defense soldiers need.” The consortium delivering the DE M-SHORAD capability also includes Stryker vehicle manufacturer, General Dynamics Land Systems; power and thermal management specialists Rocky Research; and additional The S-100 on display at Indo-Pacific 2022. (Photo: Tim Fish) A Stryker vehicle fitted with the HEL system and associated sensors. (Photo: Raytheon)
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