The Army successfully conducted the test firing to validate the effectiveness and precision of the multiple launch rocket system GMLRS (Guided Multiple Launch Rocket System) Unitary rockets for point effects precision fire, and that of GMLRS AW (Alternative Warhead) rockets for engaging area targets for area effects in long-range fires.

The multiple launch rocket system is part of the Finnish Defence Forces’ system for joint effects with the capability for engaging located targets from land, sea and air. The test firing was conducted to test the Army and Air Force long-range standoff fires capabilities for joint effects on the same target. The firing also involved testing forward observation and validating the effectiveness of the fire.

The multiple launch rocket system GMLRS ammunition supplements the Finnish Defence Forces’ array of joint effects. With a range of approximately 80 kilometers, the GLMRS Unitary rocket explodes on target, whereas the GMLRS AW projectile with area effects spreads fragmentation exploding above the target.

"We have now validated the multiple launch rocket system capability by GMLRS rockets. We are capable of engaging area and point targets at increasingly long distances. We can be proud of our artillery system’s capability," said Artillery Inspector Colonel Pertti Holma.

The test firing is part of the systematic development of Army fires and effects.

The decision on procuring the multiple launch rocket system GMLRS ammunition dates back to 2016. The procurement acquisition provides the Army with a capability for new wide-ranging effects. The utilization of the multiple launch rocket system purchased in 2006 is now increasingly effective and with access to a more versatile selection of munition.

Source:  Finnish Army
Associated URL: Click here to visit

The subcontract, worth about £860 million (€960 million), marks a significant milestone for the program, following the £2.3 billion MIV contract awarded to ARTEC, the Rheinmetall and KMW consortium in December 2019.

The contract will create and sustain over 200 skilled jobs in and around Telford, with the complete program creating and sustaining more than 1,000 jobs nationally. The award of this contract will allow RBSL to provide work and training opportunities to more than 60 apprentices over the next five years, which is anticipated to be replicated across the UK supply chain.

The MIV program aims to source 60%, by value, of the contract from within the UK. To achieve this, RBSL is part of the MIV Joint Procurement Team, which has engaged with suppliers in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. The team has issued over 250 requests for quotations, and RBSL has completed numerous detailed supplier audits.

By working with a vibrant UK supply chain, the MIV program will help support economic growth and level-up regional economic opportunity. The MIV program aims to support and enhance the UK supply chain, including SMEs. It will also ensure that the UK has, in country, the skills and expertise to support the vehicles throughout their operational life.

Millions of pounds of investment will be made across British industry in training and capital equipment, increasing productivity throughout the supply chain. RBSL alone is making a £20 million investment in its Telford site to improve infrastructure, provide state-of-the-art manufacturing facilities, and deliver some of the highest standards of training for specialist capabilities, such as welding.

Defence Minister Jeremy Quin said:

"Investment in Defence is an investment into British industry and this Boxer contract will create and sustain thousands of skilled jobs throughout the country over its lifetime. Defense contracts like this at RBSL in Telford will modernize and upgrade our Armed Forces whilst helping the nation build back better from the Covid-19 pandemic."

The MIV program

In November 2019, ARTEC, a joint venture between two German companies - Rheinmetall and Krauss-Maffei Wegmann - signed the £2.3 billion contract to deliver 500+ Boxer vehicles to the British Army.

The vehicles will be manufactured in the UK, with production subcontracted equally between Rheinmetall BAE Systems Land (RBSL) and WFEL. The companies will undertake fabrication of the armored vehicle structures together with assembly, integration and test of the complete vehicles at their respective facilities in Telford and Stockport.

The MIV contract will sustain jobs at RBSL and WFEL sites across the UK, as well as a vibrant national supply chain. The plan is to source more than 60%, by value, of the contract from within the UK, protecting the UK’s sovereign engineering and manufacturing skills and ensuring that the vehicles remain supported through their 30-year operational life.

Boxer

Boxer is a state-of-the-art wheeled armored vehicle with outstanding mobility and protection features. Its design allows for any Mission Module configuration with a payload of up to circa 15 tonnes. So far, more than 800 vehicles in various configurations have been supplied to, or ordered by, three NATO nations - Germany, the Netherlands and Lithuania - as well as Australia. The Australian armed forces are introducing the Boxer under the Combat Reconnaissance Vehicle (CRV) project.

RBSL’s Telford site

RBSL’s Telford site, originally GKN-Sankey, then Alvis Vickers, and lastly BAE Systems Land UK, has produced a large number of armoured vehicles for the British Army and for export, including the FV430 series (now Bulldog), Warrior, Desert Warrior, Piranha 2, Saxon, Tactica, and Urgent Operational Requirements for recent operations.

Source:  RBSL
Associated URL: Click here to visit

An F-35A Lightning II opens its bomb bay doors and drops a mock B61-12 at Sandia National Laboratories’ Tonopah Test Range. Media can download test flight footage here. (Photo courtesy of Sandia National Laboratories) Click the thumbnail for a larger image.

The flight test of the B61-12 with the F-35A Lightning II this summer was the first ever at Sandia National Laboratories’ Tonopah Test Range featuring the fighter jet. It was also the first of a testing series that will conclude with full-weapon systems demonstrations designed to increase confidence the bomb will always work when needed and never under any other circumstances.

"We’re showing the B61-12’s larger compatibility and broader versatility for the country’s nuclear deterrent, and we’re doing it in the world of COVID-19," said Steven Samuels, a manager with Sandia’s B61-12 Systems Team. "We’re not slowing down. We’re still moving forward with the B61-12 compatibility activities on different platforms."

In partnership with the National Nuclear Security Administration, Los Alamos National Laboratory and the Air Force, Sandia completed a B61-12 full-weapon system demonstration with the F-15E Strike Eagle fighter jet in March, and another in July with the Air Force’s B-2 Spirit bomber.

Sandia is the design and engineering lab for non-nuclear components of the nation’s nuclear stockpile, including the B61-12. In addition to non-nuclear component development, Sandia serves as the technical integrator for the complete weapon, assuring the system meets requirements as a full-weapon system.

Showing the bomb’s real-world capability

During the Aug. 25 flight test, an F-35A flying faster than the speed of sound dropped a B61-12 - containing non-nuclear and mock nuclear components - from about 10,500 feet above Tonopah Test Range. The inert B61-12 struck the desert floor in the designated target area about 42 seconds later.

"We successfully executed this historic, first-ever F-35A flight test at Tonopah Test Range within the specified delivery criteria," said Brian Adkins, range manager at TTR.

"The success of this test, as with all other weapons evaluations, is only possible through the detailed planning, combined with full collaboration between TTR and the program engineers, and the execution of the test evolution by the field operators and recovery specialists in the combined team of Sandia and TTR’s operations and maintenance subcontractor, Navarro Research and Engineering," he said. "With the multiple phases and operational activities a test involves, the team at TTR is diligent to integrate safety and security into all segments to ensure proper precautions are implemented for mission success."

Coordination between Sandia, Los Alamos, the NNSA and the Air Force made the flight test possible, and initial data shows that all systems and interfaces between the refurbished bomb and the F-35A worked as expected.

Unlike previous fighter jets, the F-35A carries the bomb internally. The recent flight test was the first demonstration of a fully instrumented B61-12 release from an internal bomb bay on a fighter and the first such release at speeds of Mach 1 or greater, Samuels said.

"This was the first test to exercise all systems, including mechanical, electrical, communication and release between the B61-12 and the F-35A," he said.

The test also came amidst now commonplace COVID-19 workplace restrictions, which can make planning more difficult but are not slowing down Sandia’s important mission work, said B61-12 program senior manager Christine Mitchell. "Sandia National Labs, Los Alamos National Laboratory, NNSA and our Air Force partners are working diligently to ensure F-35A major milestones stay on track, despite the challenges presented by COVID-19."

"The latest test is a critical piece in the F-35A and B61-12 program," Samuels said. "Aboard the newest fighter, the B61-12 provides a strong piece of the overall nuclear deterrence strategy for our country and our allies."

Sandia design and engineering is integral to B61-12 Life Extension Program

The compatibility testing is an essential part of the B61-12 Life Extension Program to refurbish, reuse or replace components, extend the bomb’s service life, and improve its safety, security and effectiveness.

A life extension program allows scientists and engineers to address the aging of nuclear weapons components. Some components are requalified and go back into a weapon without change; others that have aged are remanufactured using the original specifications; and sometimes the original technology is no longer available, so Sandia redesigns those parts using modern technology.

The first B61 entered service 50 years ago, and over the decades numerous modifications have been made to increase safety and reliability. The B61-12 consolidates and replaces most of the previous variants. The National Nuclear Security Administration recently announced plans to manufacture the first refurbished B61-12 in fiscal year 2022.

Source:  Sandia National Laboratories
Associated URL: Click here to visit