Page 50 - HeliOps Frontline Issue 26

50 HELIOPS FRONTLINE / ISSUE 26 / 2019

3. Networking. Enhancing and hardening C2 against EMS-denial
and cyber-attack.

4. Soldier Lethality (SL). New weapons, armour and integrated
systems for the ‘boots on the ground’, including use of wearable
technology and micro-UAVs.

5. Air and Missile Defense (AMD). New systems to replace Patriot,
detect/destroy enemy aircraft and UAVs and, potentially, some
form of ‘Iron Dome’ ballistic weapon protection.

6. Future Vertical Lift (FVL). Higher speed, longer-range and
improved survivability on the battlefields of the future.

In terms of priority, the Army places FVL 3rd in the list, behind
LRPF and NGCV. However, this ambitious re-equipment programme
is already significantly ‘overheated’ in terms of affordability. As
always, quoting figures is a dangerous game, but it seems that the
Army is planning on spending some $3Bn per year over its budget
request for the next 5 years on new equipment. Savings therefore
have to be made.

JMR

Which circles us back to the CH-47F Block II. Whilst, notionally,
the heavy lift requirement is included in FVL as Joint Multi Role-
Heavy (JMR-H) and JMR-Ultra (JMR-U) neither concept is being