Internationale ontwikkelingen maritiem

[Parera]

Het zou misschien wenselijk zijn om de Lionfish/Hitrole 12.7MM te vervangen door de nieuwe 20X102MM 3 loops Gatling van Leonardo op de nieuwe fregatten.

De eerste twee klanten voor de 30 mm zijn bekend!

De Italiaanse marine kiest dit nieuwe kanon als vervanger van haar huidige 25mm kanons met als eerste installatie de PPX fregatten.

En de tweede klant is de Canadese marine voor de Type 26 fregatten.



Overigens ontwikkelen ze het systeem ook voor land torens, interessant voor de NL Boxer?
https://www.edrmagazine.eu/leonardo-details-its-30-mm-x-gun-and-announces-first-two-customers

[Harald]

Hypervelocity Projectile (HVP)

In this video interview recorded at Sea Air Space 2024, Tate Westbrook from BAE Systems takes us through the latest developments with the Hypervelocity Projectile (HVP). The program, which began in collaboration with the US Navy and ONR back in 2012, continues to progress.

HVP Overview:
The HVP is a next-generation, common, low-drag, guided projectile designed to enhance the lethality and performance of various gun systems.
It's adaptable for multiple platforms, including the Navy 5-Inch, Army and Marine Corps 155-mm systems, and even future electromagnetic (EM) railguns.

Mission Capabilities:
The HVP's aerodynamic design minimizes drag, allowing for high velocity and maneuverability. This translates to decreased time-to-target and effective performance against current threats.
Depending on the gun system and platform, the HVP can perform missions ranging from Naval Surface Fire to Cruise and Ballistic Missile Defense, as well as Anti-Surface Warfare and other future Naval mission areas.

Compact Design and Safety:
The HVP's compact design eliminates the need for a rocket motor to extend gun range.
Smaller, more accurate rounds reduce collateral damage risk and enable deeper magazines, enhancing shipboard safety.

Latest Advancements:
BAE Systems has introduced the XM1155-SC, the latest precision-guided munition in the HVP family. This highly lethal projectile is designed to defeat fixed and moving targets in contested environments with a short time-of-flight and exceptional maneuverability.
Recent tests have demonstrated its effectiveness at more than double the range of existing cannon-launched precision guided munitions.

[Harald]

JFD to deploy Carrier Seal in Tampa, looking to break into US market  (ook voor onze Mariniers Marsof interessant !! )



UK underwater operations specialist JFD is looking to extend its market recognition among the special operations forces (SOF) community, especially with its range of tactical diving vehicles (TDVs), with attendance at the SOF Week event in downtown Tampa, Florida, from 6-10 May 2024.

JFD will be taking both its Carrier Seal and Shadow Seal TDVs to the SOF Week event, but will additionally be demonstrating the Carrier Seal in waters close to the SOF Week location in Tampa after the event closes. The Shadow Seal, meanwhile, was first exhibited at the SOF Week event in May 2023.

Speaking to ESD on 16 April 2024, Alistair Wilson, JFD's strategy, sales and marketing director, also noted that the company is in the final stages of onboarding the Carrier Seal TDV with the US Department of Defense's Foreign Comparative Testing (FCT) programme, which is designed to test platforms and technologies of US allies that have a high technology readiness level with a view to rapidly and economically address US defence requirements.

"We bid [for FCT] in December," said Wilson, "and by the end of this month they've got to kind of finalise their position."

The company established JFD North America, based in Reston, Virginia, in March 2021 to bring its portfolio to the US defence market and in October 2023 appointed Keith Lehnhardt as its general manager in the United States. Lehnhardt has a 35-year career with the US Navy behind him that includes the kind of experience, with diving units and on submarine operations, that covers the spectrum of JFD's portfolio.

Meanwhile, in March 2022 JFD signed a strategic partnership with Fort Lauderdale-based Blue Tide Marine (BTM), which acquired a JFD Shadow Seal four-man TDV through a leasing arrangement in 2023. BTM's business model revolves around selling capability development training, while JFD would essentially be the platform provider for any TDV-related business that BTM picks up. The BTM relationship thus raises the profile of JFD's Shadow Seal TDV, with Wilson noting that "the Blue Tide Marine folks have got exposure to all the right people".

Explaining one of the key selling points of its TDVs, beyond their ability to approach a hostile shore submerged and undetected, Wilson explained that, while minisubs like the Shallow Water Combat Submersible (SWCS) used by US Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) require a high-value submarine to approach a hostile coast for them to be deployed, JFD's TDVs can be deployed from a significant stand-off range. The eight-man Carrier Seal, for example, has a typical surface range of 150 n miles (278 km) in addition to its 14 n mile subsurface range, but Wilson noted that, by carrying extra fuel bags in place of two personnel, its range can be extended out to 225 n miles.

JFD TDVs can also be transported innocuously in standard ISO containers and deployed from any marine vessel that has the equipment to launch them.

JFD is also looking into the possibility of its TDVs being operated autonomously. Wilson noted that the company has already remotely operated a Shadow Seal and has a roadmap for autonomous operations with the Carrier Seal. He explained a concept whereby a marine commando raiding party, once deployed using TDVs, could then be resupplied by autonomous/remotely operated TDVs.

Wilson additionally mentioned that the company's TDVs could quite easily be converted to carry a range of different payloads beyond combat swimmers, such as various sensors or other effectors.

In terms of TDV sales opportunities, Wilson noted that there are two Carrier Seals in service – one in Europe and one in Asia – with interest in its TDVs currently coming from Greece, Sweden, Japan and the Indo-Pacific region in general. A particular potential opportunity is with South Korea, which is developing a requirement for a 'Special Assault Boat'. This concept involves five 'motherships' each carrying four Carrier Seal-type TDVs, giving a requirement for 20 such vessels.

"We expect to that to be ratified as a programme by the end of this year," said Wilson.

Regarding JFD's prospects for selling its TDVs, Wilson remarked, "We're nearly there; I'd be really surprised if we don't break good ground within the next 12 months."

Looking beyond TDVs, JFD is also examining potential opportunities within the trilateral Australian-UK-US (AUKUS) strategic partnership, under which the UK Royal Navy (RN) and Royal Australian Navy (RAN) will operate a future fleet of SSN-AUKUS nuclear-powered attack submarines. JFD is looking in particular at opportunities under Pillar 2 of the AUKUS partnership, which includes among other things the development of advanced undersea capabilities. As a world leader in the provision of submarine rescue services, JFD is already the incumbent supplier of such services for the RN and RAN, so is well positioned to provide a future solution for the SSN-AUKUS boats as well as other advanced underwater warfare capabilities.

Among its other products and services, JFD continues to pursue further opportunities with its range of military diving equipment.

The company did, in fact win a US contract to provide a new deep-diving rebreather to replace the Mk 16 system for mine countermeasures operations, although this contract has been protested four times by competitor Avon Protection.

Meanwhile, JFD is currently competing to address the US Naval Sea Systems Command's Multi-Mission Underwater Breathing Apparatus (MMUBA) requirement to provide a closed-circuit, mixed-gas diving system for a variety of military diving operations in both deep and shallow water. This contract is for 675 rebreathers, which Wilson noted is "as many rebreathers as we've sold in 20 years of that type".

https://euro-sd.com/2024/04/major-news/37729/jfd-carrier-seal-to-sof-week/

[Benji87]

Ik zei dat Putin dat zou denken en daarop acteren. Ik weet dat de Amerikanen daar juist wel op ingericht zijn. En ja, Russische militaire planners weten dit ook wel, maar de oorlog in Oekraïne laat zien dat daar niet altijd naar wordt geluisterd door Putin. (Of ze zijn echt vreselijk incompetent.)

Het is omgekeerd anders net zo erg, misschien nog wel erger. Rusland is al helemaal niet in staat om ook nog eens gedonder op hun oost flank te gebruiken. Ze lopen zich aardig stuk op Oekraïne momenteel, in het huidige tempo zal ze in 2-3 jaar militair niet meer in staat zijn om überhaupt nog oorlog te voeren.

Dat niet alleen maar de diplomatieke banden met China zijn nou ook niet zo sterk dat hier gesproken kan worden van een effectieve militaire samenwerking. Ja de landen oefenen weleens met elkaar en er vindt handel plaats maar China heeft zich ook vaak zat afzijdig gehouden tov Rusland haar houding in Oekraïne. Ze hebben Rusland zelfs al een paar keer terug gefloten om hun agressieve houding met de inzet van nucleaire wapens.

Voor China geldt dat net zo. In hoeverre gaat Rusland hun ten hulp schieten als ze Taiwan binnen vallen? Doen ze dat überhaupt wel? Bovendien heeft China ook meerdere balletjes hoog te houden in de regio. Taiwan binnen vallen is een ding maar de zuid Chinese zee en het grens dispuut met India komen dan ineens ook onder druk te staan. Ook China haar handelspositie als een vrij kwetsbare economie zal klappen krijgen. Het innemen van Taiwan zal met een enorm hoge prijs moeten worden betaald. Ik vraag me af of ze bereid zijn die prijs te betalen

[Lynxian]

Ik heb die memo gemist denk ik. Waar staat die algemeen bekende spelregel over het niet willen en kunnen vechten op 2 plekken precies? En waaom is dat een typische zwakheid van de amerikanen?

Onzin, de gehele Amerikaanse defensie is er juist op ingericht om 2 grootschalige conflicten tegelijkertijd te kunnen voeren. Dat hebben ze toen met Irak en Afghanistan ook gedaan.

Ik zei dat Putin dat zou denken en daarop acteren. Ik weet dat de Amerikanen daar juist wel op ingericht zijn. En ja, Russische militaire planners weten dit ook wel, maar de oorlog in Oekraïne laat zien dat daar niet altijd naar wordt geluisterd door Putin. (Of ze zijn echt vreselijk incompetent.)

[Benji87]

Mocht dat gebeuren dan zet ik serieus geld in dat Putin na die invasie, en de Amerikaanse reactie erop, een inval zal doen in de Baltische staten, de kend dat de Amerikanen geen oorlog op twee fronten willen en kunnen bevechten.

Onzin, de gehele Amerikaanse defensie is er juist op ingericht om 2 grootschalige conflicten tegelijkertijd te kunnen voeren. Dat hebben ze toen met Irak en Afghanistan ook gedaan.

[Huzaar1]

Mocht dat gebeuren dan zet ik serieus geld in dat Putin na die invasie, en de Amerikaanse reactie erop, een inval zal doen in de Baltische staten, de kend dat de Amerikanen geen oorlog op twee fronten willen en kunnen bevechten.

Ik heb die memo gemist denk ik. Waar staat die algemeen bekende spelregel over het niet willen en kunnen vechten op 2 plekken precies? En waaom is dat een typische zwakheid van de amerikanen?

[Lynxian]

De periode 2026-2028 wordt inderdaad door veel strategische denktanks, om diverse redenen, bestempeld als kritiek.

Mocht dat gebeuren dan zet ik serieus geld in dat Putin na die invasie, en de Amerikaanse reactie erop, een inval zal doen in de Baltische staten, de kend dat de Amerikanen geen oorlog op twee fronten willen en kunnen bevechten.

[jurrien visser (JuVi op Twitter)]

2027 gaat het toch echt gebeuren dan zijn de Chinezen er klaar voor zie mijn postings in de Chinese expansie.

De periode 2026-2028 wordt inderdaad door veel strategische denktanks, om diverse redenen, bestempeld als kritiek.

[Ace1]

Amfibisch zijn ze nog niet klaar voor een Taiwanees avontuur... ze leren en lopen snel de tekorten in.

2027 gaat het toch echt gebeuren dan zijn de Chinezen er klaar voor zie mijn postings in de Chinese expansie.

[jurrien visser (JuVi op Twitter)]

Heel benieuwd of de Chinese schepen ook tegen een stootje kunnen?

Amfibisch zijn ze nog niet klaar voor een Taiwanees avontuur... ze leren en lopen snel de tekorten in.

[Ace1]

In China houden ze de vaart erin en bouwen ze LHD's of het niks is

Heel benieuwd of de Chinese schepen ook tegen een stootje kunnen?

[silvester herc]

In China houden ze de vaart erin en bouwen ze LHD's of het niks is

[Parera]

Het zou misschien wenselijk zijn om de Lionfish/Hitrole 12.7MM te vervangen door de nieuwe 20X102MM 3 loops Gatling van Leonardo op de nieuwe fregatten.

Doe mij die 30x113 mm dan maar    Dit is hetzelfde kaliber als de Apache's en met een beetje mazzel passen er ook Airburst patronen in goed tegen kleine oppervlakte doelen en kleinere luchtdoelen zoals drones.

[Kornet43]

Interessant dat men de 3 loops 20 mm & 30 mm voorzien als vervanging van de 12,7 mm Hitrole's/ Lionfish.

Leonardo is developing two new medium calibre guns

The Italian defence industry champion unveiled two new projects for medium calibre guns, one chambered for 30×113 ammunition while the second is a Gatling weapon firing 20×102 mm rounds
At the end of an in-depth presentation of its 30×173 mm X-Gun (a full report on that gun will follow soon), first shown last year at the Seafuture exhibition in La Spezia, Leonardo unveiled two new medium calibre (although company wording defines them small calibre) programmes, one being developed within the same timeframe of the X-Gun, while the work on the other one started in 2023. The development of such weapons is part of the company industrial strategy of vertical integration, which aims at putting on the market products entirely made by Leonardo divisions.

The presentation of the new products was provided during a meeting at the Brescia facility, the home of medium calibre land and naval systems, barrels and other mechanical components being produced in the La Spezia plant. The facility is part of the Defence Business Area, which belongs to the group Electronics Division.

The idea of a 20 mm Gatling gun was launched in late 2019, work starting in 2020, amid the COVID pandemic. In the past Leonardo developed the TM 197B heliborne light turreted gun, which equips Italian Army Aviation AW129 Mangusta and Turkish ATAK helicopters. The three-barrel Gatling 20, as it is defined by Leonardo, will allow replacing the gun of US origin, produced by General Dynamics Ordnance and Tactical Systems, with a full ITAR-free weapon. This will not happen on the AW249 attack helicopter currently under development at Leonardo, the Italian Army contract including the original M-197, but the new Gatling 20 will be definitely part of the Leonardo offer on the export market. The form factor allows to fit the Leonardo gun into the TM 197B without modifications. The weapon declared mass is 71 kg, and it is powered by a 28 VDC source. The rate of fire is the same of the M197 used on Italian and Turkish helicopters, as it was the optimal compromise between firepower and accuracy, hence the newly designed weapon can shoot 750 20×102 mm linked rounds per minute ± 30 rpm, the chute ejecting cases from the bottom.



According to company sources, the Gatling 20, which exploits state-of-the-art technologies and materials, for example the housing is lighter and easier to manufacture, and overall, the weapon is easier to maintain. Leonardo engineers aimed at solving some mechanical issues adding for example a clutch to avoid issues with the feeder, while performances remain very similar to those of the existing 20 mm Gatling. The gun will be available for both electrically primed and percussion primed ammunition.

The Gatling 20 is currently considered at TRL 6, "but we will move very quickly to TRL 7," Leonardo representatives stated showing the new weapon. During the factory tour a functioning model was visible, however EDR On-Line understood that the gun has already performed initial firing tests. The company will be ready to take orders before year end; first deliveries may take place two years after contract signature, and once production will be launched further contracts might see deliveries within 12-18 months.



As said, the work on the Blaze30, the new gun chambered for the 30×113 mm ammunition, started only in late 2023, however as the new weapon exploits many elements developed for the X-Gun, Leonardo will be ready to take orders from 2025 on, delivery times from contract being similar to those for the Gatling 20. Leonardo makes it clear that the approach has been totally different from competitors' guns, as those were derivatives of weapons born for helicopter use, while the Blaze30 was developed starting from a blank sheet, the aim being to replace12.7 mm heavy machine guns on Lionfish or on HITROLE Light turrets increasing their firepower and effectiveness. As mentioned, the new weapon is heavily based on the X-Gun design, albeit in reduced dimensions considering the much lower chamber pressure of a 30×113 mm round compared to a 30×173 mm one. That Blaze30 mechanism is based on a drum cam, which gives the name to the X-Gun, as during the rotation we can see a cross; a 3D model of the drum cam in real size was visible during the visit to the facility. Of course, it is a scaled down version of that being at the core of the X-Gun, the 30×113 weapon having been defined as a "mini-X-Gun" by some engineers, the main difference apart the type of round being that it features a single feed. As in the bigger gun, the drum cam contains a 24 VCD powered brushless electric motor, which in a three turns rotation ensures all operations, feed, ram, dwell, and extract.



The Blaze30 maintains most of the features of the X-Gun; among these, thanks to the adoption of the brushless motor, it can be fired in the sniper mode, with the round chambered and the shooting process paused until the actual firing, which ensures maximum accuracy. The gun can be fitted with the fuse programming kit allowing the use of airburst munitions; EDR On-Line understood that KNDS Ammo Italy S.p.A (formerly Nexter Arrowtech), which is developing a 30×173 mm airburst round for the X-Gun specifically designed for the counter-UAS role has already launched the development of a 30×113 mm round for similar use, fuse miniaturisation and lethality package being the main issue. The Blaze30 has a mass of 80 kg, is 2,100 mm long and has a 1,426 mm long barrel, it has a 250 ± 30 rounds per minute rate of fire, case ejection being lateral. The weapon is currently considered at TRL4.



https://www.edrmagazine.eu/leonardo-is-developing-two-new-medium-calibre-guns

Het zou misschien wenselijk zijn om de Lionfish/Hitrole 12.7MM te vervangen door de nieuwe 20X102MM 3 loops Gatling van Leonardo op de nieuwe fregatten.