Defence`s Feeds

Americas General Atomics Aeronautical Systems won a $108 million contract for Canada MQ-9B remotely piloted aircraft systems hardware. This contract provides the necessary Foreign Military Sales (FMS) hardware and components to support Canada’s MQ-9B Direct Commercial Sale program. This contract involves FMS to Canada. This contract was a sole source acquisition. FMS funds in the amount of $12,890,775 will be obligated at the time of award. The Air Force Life Cycle Management Center, Wright Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, is the contracting activity. BAE Systems has received a $68 million in contracts to manufacture 44 additional Beowulf Cold Weather All-Terrain Vehicles (CATVs) for the US Army. The deal is part of a seven-year program assigned to the firm in 2022 to produce a modern ground-based fleet that can maneuver in the Arctic region and other environments with similar conditions. “The CATV provides a dynamic combination of mobility and flexibility to the US Army enabling rapid response in all terrains,” BAE Systems Sustainment & International VP Dean Medland stated. Middle East & Africa The American THAAD system, deployed in Israel last October, participated on Thursday in its first operational interception since entering service 18 years ago. The system intercepted a medium-range ballistic missile (MRBM) […]

The contract comes after Lockheed Martin said in October that it was internally funding the F-35 production line while negotiations for Lots 18 and 19, which had been ongoing since 2023, were underway. The Pentagon has awarded Lockheed Martin an “undefinitized” contract, worth $11.8 billion, to produce as a part of Lot 18 a total […]

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Unconfirmed accounts from two pilots, including the one shot down, described how the F/A-18F was engaged while recovering on the USS Truman and another missile was launched at a second aircraft. As already reported, on Dec. 22, 2024, an F/A-18F Super Hornet, embarked aboard USS Harry S. Truman, was shot down in what the U.S. Central […]

The post Let’s Examine the Pilots’ Accounts Emerged After the Friendly Fire Incident Involving the F/A-18 Over the Red Sea appeared first on The Aviationist.

Originally intended for long-range heavy bomber escort missions over Japan during World War Two, the F-82 arrived in service too late but did see action in the next war in Korea. First Blood from the Last of Her Kind On Jun. 25, 1950, a peaceful Sunday was suddenly interrupted when 90,000 North Korean troops stormed […]

The post The North American F-82 Twin Mustang: A Forgotten Fighter of the Forgotten War appeared first on The Aviationist.

The unusual design integrates radar arrays in its booms, as well as satellite communication, which would allow the PLA to create a networked mesh of manned and unmanned AEW assets, offering redundancy and flexibility. A video has emerged of China’s unorthodox Wuzhen-9 (or WZ-9) “Divine Eagle” unmanned aircraft, which has been described in social media […]

The post First Visuals of China’s WZ-9 Divine Eagle AEW Drone Surface Online appeared first on The Aviationist.

The Austrian MoD is currently negotiating the procurement contract with the Italian government, with the 12 aircraft being eyed for both training and air defense roles. Austria has decided to acquire the Leonardo M-346FA, the light fighter variant of the M-346 Advanced Jet Trainer (AJT). Citing military sources, the Austrian newspaper Krone said a letter […]

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Americas The US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) demonstrated the first at-sea refueling of the No Manning Required Ship (NOMARS) program. A pair of unmanned surface vessels (USV) — the Ranger and the Mariner — demonstrated the task originally designed for the program’s Defiant USV. A long-endurance NOMARS USV is intended to be designed from the ground up without the necessity for humans on board. Bollinger Shipyards has started the construction of the US Coast Guard’s initial vessel planned under the Polar Security Cutter (PSC) program. The PSC effort will replace the service’s aging ships deployed for national, maritime, commercial, and economic security support across the Arctic and Antarctic regions by the 2030s. The assembly is now taking place at the company’s facility in Pascagoula, Mississippi, marking the first local heavy polar icebreaker development in the US in over 50 years. Middle East & Afria Korea Aerospace Industries Ltd. (KAI) has secured its first export order for the KUH-1 Surion utility helicopter. The deal, valued at approximately $93.4million, involves the sale of the domestically developed helicopter to the Iraqi government. This contract not only represents a major win for KAI but also signals the growing international interest in South Korean […]

Americas Lockheed Martin Corp won a $3 billion modification to provide continued logistics support to include ground maintenance activities, action request solution, depot activities, automatic logistics information system operations and maintenance, reliability and maintainability, supply chain management, pilot training, maintainer training, and training system sustainment in support of delivered F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter Air Systems for the Air Force, Marine Corps, Navy, Foreign Military Sales (FMS) customers, and non-Department of Defense (DOD) program partners . The contract being modified was not competed. Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Maryland, is the contracting activity. Honeywell International won a $92 million for a firm-fixed-price, five-year, spares requirements contract with no options for procurement of 15 inboard wheel segments, 15 outboard wheel segments, 905 landing gear wheels, 630 of another type of landing gear wheels, 610 rotor assemblies, 192 multiple disk brakes, 68 of another type of multiple disk brakes, 137 of another type of landing gear wheels, 1,286 disk brake stators, 337 hydraulic piston assemblies, 1,393 of another type of hydraulic piston assemblies, and 508 of another type of landing gear wheels, for a total of 6,096 weapon repairable assemblies, in support of the F/A-18 aircraft. Naval Supply Systems Command […]

Americas Lockheed Martin won a $198 million deal, which provides maintenance, program management, and logistics services to support through life support (TLS) services for 36 Royal Australian Navy (RAN) MH-60R aircraft. The TLS services enable the RAN to provide the necessary operational capability and all-inclusive sustainment to include organizational, intermediate, depot, operational and deeper level maintenance, training, and support activities on RAN MH-60R aircraft, aircraft systems, support systems, and support and test equipment for the RAN AIR 9000 Phase 8 Future Naval Aviation Combat System MH-60R Foreign Military Sales FMS program. Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Maryland, is the contracting activity. Lockheed Martin won a $60 million modification for in-service AEGIS Sustainment, Baseline 10 system and fielding, product documentation. Work will be performed in Moorestown, New Jersey, and is expected to be completed by December 2025. Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, DC, is the contracting activity. Middle East & Africa The US State Department has approved new weapons sales to Morocco worth over $174 million, showing U.S. strong support to a major ally and strategic partner, described as an important force for political stability and economic progress in North Africa. The announcement was made Friday by US Defense Security […]

Americas General Dynamics Land Systems won an $18.9 million modification for Abrams system technical support. Work will be performed in Sterling Heights, Michigan, with an estimated completion date of February 27, 2025. Army Contracting Command, Detroit Arsenal, Michigan, is the contracting activity. Two US Navy pilots were shot down over the Red Sea early Sunday in “an apparent case of friendly fire,” the American military said. Both pilots were recovered alive but “initial assessments indicate that one of the crew members sustained minor injuries,” the United States Central Command said late Saturday local Florida time – where CENTCOM is headquartered. Middle East & Africa The United States State Department has approved the potential sale of more than $5 billion in arms for Egypt. The State Department informed Congress on Friday that it had approved the sale of $4.69 billion worth of equipment for 555 US-made M1A1 Abrams tanks operated by Egypt, along with $630 million in Hellfire air-to-surface missiles and $30 million in precision-guided munitions. Europe Germany will buy four more submarines from ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems to increase the number of boats to six, part of a joint purchase with Norway that may also see the Nordic country increase its […]

Americas Raytheon won a $24.5 million modification for the procurement of components for Megatron obsolescence in support of Standard Missile-6 (SM-6) production requirements. Work is expected to be completed by February 2027. The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, DC, is the contracting activity. American defense firm Kratos has reportedly completed the first flight of its “Thanatos” combat drone. Thanatos is expected to integrate advanced artificial intelligence tools designed for high-risk missions traditionally undertaken by crewed aircraft. These capabilities aim to reduce risks for human pilots in combat situations. Middle East & Africa Bahrain has purchased nine H145 Airbus helicopters to support law enforcement missions and emergency medical operations. The aircraft will be operated by the kingdom’s Police Aviation Command, with Airbus Helicopters’ EVP for Global Business Olivier Michalon predicting that the chopper will quickly become a valuable new asset for the service. More than 60 H145s are already in service across the Middle East, with growing demand for their use in various missions. Europe Estonia’s National Center for Defense Investments (RKIK) has laid the cornerstone of a future marine rescue headquarters and training center at the Old City Harbour in Port of Tallinn. The construction supports the government’s objective to combine […]

SM-2 Launch, DDG-77 (click to view larger) Variants of the SM-2 Standard missile are the USA’s primary fleet defense anti-air weapon, and serve with 13 navies worldwide. The most common variant is the RIM-66K-L/ SM-2 Standard Block IIIB, which entered service in 1998. The Standard family extends far beyond the SM-2 missile, however; several nations still use the SM-1, the SM-3 is rising to international prominence as a missile defense weapon, and the SM-6 program is on track to supplement the SM-2. These missiles are designed to be paired with the AEGIS radar and combat system, but can be employed independently by ships with older or newer radar systems. This article covers each variant in the Standard missile family, plus several years worth of American and Foreign Military Sales requests and contracts and key events; and offers the budgetary, technical, and geopolitical background that can help put all that in context. The Standard Missile Naval Defense Family: Missiles and Plans [youtube:v=F2fXChvE6WQ] 60 years of SM-x click for video Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) is the technical direction agent for Standard missile. They work with the US navy, other naval customers, and Raytheon to manage ongoing technical improvements. Within […]

Let’s have a look at the markings sported by the final six F-15E Strike Eagles of the 492nd Fighter Squadron, which have just returned from their deployment to the Middle East. The final six F-15E Strike Eagle jets belonging to the 492nd Fighter Squadron “Madhatters” of the 48th Fighter Wing, deployed to the CENTCOM AOR […]

The post Nicknames, Nose Art, and Bomb Markings of the Final 492nd FS F-15Es Returning from the Middle East appeared first on The Aviationist.

The RAF Typhoons, which were returning from the Advanced Tactical Leadership Course in the UAE, made a stop in Turkey for a ‘detailed inspection’ in the presence of top Turkish and British defense officials. The diplomatic push of the United Kingdom and Germany for Turkey to acquire the Eurofighter Typhoon is now moving from words […]

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Two years after the first Eagles returned to the United States, the last F-15C is now ready to leave Kadena Air Base in Japan, where the type was stationed since 1979. The United States Air Force’s 18th Wing is about to complete the divestment of its F-15C/D Eagle fleet, with the last airframe ready to […]

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The U.S. Navy announced it awarded the contract to Northrop Grumman to conduct mission-systems integration for the E-130J that will replace the E-6B in the TACAMO mission. Northrop Grumman has been selected as the prime contractor for the E-130J NC3 (Nuclear Command, Control and Communications) aircraft which will perform the US Navy’s TACAMO (Take Charge […]

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Recently released images show J-15s of one of the brigades attached to the Naval Aviation University practicing launch and recovery operations at an unspecified coastal base where a flight deck with jet blast deflectors and arresting wires has been set up. Sometime between late November and early December 2024, a brigade with China’s Naval Aviation […]

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Americas Sikorsky Aircraft won three contracts by the US Navy in support of the CH-53K. The first deal is worth $175.7 million for the procurement of 22 main modules in support of the CH-53K aircraft. The second contract is worth $132.9 million for the procurement of 128 main rotor blade assemblies, the third one involved $11.6 million for the procurement of eight helicopter rotor hub assemblies. Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) pilots have begun intensive training with the Royal Air Force (RAF) on the P-8A Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft. This collaboration marks a crucial phase in the RCAF’s transition to the advanced platform, replacing the aging CP-140 Aurora fleet. The training is taking place at RAF Lossiemouth, a key hub for Britain’s Poseidon operations. The decision to acquire the P-8A Poseidon came in November 2023 when the Canadian government finalized a deal with the United States for up to 16 of the multi-mission aircraft. This procurement addresses the growing challenges of supporting the 40-year-old CP-140 Aurora fleet which is becoming increasingly expensive to maintain and less relevant against modern threats. The Canadian government, after thorough analysis, deemed the P-8A as the only currently available aircraft capable of meeting all operational […]

Named Tryzub after the golden trident used as a national symbol of Ukraine, Colonel Vadym Sukharevskyi states that the new weapon has a range of over two kilometers. Colonel Vadym Sukharevskyi, Commander of the Unmanned Systems Forces in the Ukrainian Armed Forces, made an interesting revelation on Dec. 16, 2024 at a European Defense Industry […]

The post Ukrainian Commander Claims to Have Operational Laser Anti-Aircraft Weapon appeared first on The Aviationist.

The three nations made important steps forward this year, establishing equal work sharing, locations and coordination of the different areas of GCAP, with the objective of cutting in half timeline and costs. As recently reported, the three national industry leads participating to the Global Combat Aircraft Programme (GCAP), BAE Systems, Leonardo and Japan Aircraft Industrial […]

The post 2024 Fundamental for GCAP, Working to Make 2035 Goal a Reality, Says Leonardo appeared first on The Aviationist.