Defense Industry Daily

General Dynamics Bath Iron Works won a $23.9 million contract modification to exercise options for the accomplishment of planning yard efforts such as engineering, technical, planning, ship configuration, data and logistics efforts for DDG-1000 class destroyers post-delivery and in-service life-cycle support. The Zumwalt Class is the largest and most technologically advanced surface combatant in the world. Zumwalt is the lead ship of a class of next-generation multi-mission destroyers designed to strengthen naval power from the sea. Work will take place in Maine and California. Estimated completion will be by December 2021.

The US Army and Clemson University announced a partnership to study conversion of Bradley tanks and armored personnel carriers to autonomous use. The study for the conversion of existing Army equipment to self-driving vehicles is enabled by an $18 million Defense Department grant in the school’s Virtual Prototyping of Ground Systems, and a partnership between the US Army Ground Vehicle Systems Center and the Clemson University International Center for Automotive Research, Clemson University announced. The multi-year project will involve 60 faculty members in seven engineering disciplines, and will focus on autonomy-enabled ground vehicles, including digital engineering, next-generation propulsion and energy systems, and manned and unmanned teaming in unknown off-road environments.

A community that connects the innovation, technology, and business ecosystems of Israel and the UAE was launched last week. The establishment of the UAE-IL Tech Zone, the first community of its kind, follows the signing of the Abraham Accords by the two counties. The tech zone is said to already include more than 1,000 people in the business, innovation and technology sectors, investors, developers, and government entities from both countries. The community connects investors and entrepreneurs from both countries and helps Israeli entrepreneurs deepen their understanding of the business and innovation culture in the UAE, said Start-Up Nation Central, an independent nonprofit organization that builds bridges to Israeli innovation.

The Hungarian Air Force has taken delivery of 16 H145M helicopters that it ordered. A total of twenty helicopters were ordered. Four Zlin light training aircraft were also delivered recently. The H145Ms of the Hungarian fleet are equipped with a fast roping system, high-performance camera, dual cargo hook, hoist, disaster management kit, ballistic protection as well as an electronic countermeasures system to support the most demanding operational requirements.

An old Swedish submarine was relaunched after a 12-month mid-life upgrade, defense contractor Saab announced. The HMS Uppland, the second in the Gotland class of three submarines, had 50 new systems installed or modified, including installation of an Optronic Mast to replace a periscope. Some of the new systems will be used on the planned Blekinge class of vessels, next-generation submarines to replace the Gotland class. The HMS Uppland was returned to the Swedish Navy’s Defense Materiel Administration in a ceremony this week in Karlskrona, Sweden. At 198 feet in length, it is powered by two diesel and two Stirling electrical engines, and carries torpedoes and external mines.

CFM International won a $28.5 million contract modification, which adds scope to procure two P-8A Poseidon CFM56-7B27AE engines for the governments of Australia and New Zealand. The P-8A Poseidon has advanced sensors and mission systems, including a state-of-the-art multi-role radar, high definition cameras, and an acoustic system with four times the processing capacity of the AP-3C Orions. In July, the Australian Government had signed a new deal with Boeing Defense to deliver support services and provide advanced surveillance and response capabilities to the P-8A Poseidon aircraft.

Watch: 4K??? Airbus H145M Light Attack & Battlefield Support Helicopter Flight Demonstration

L3 Technologies won a $29.2 million deal for the manned/unmanned teaming hardware, as well as technical and engineering support, for the Apache helicopter. The Apache attack helicopter was developed by Boeing for the US armed forces. It entered service with the US Army in 1984. is an American twin-turboshaft attack helicopter with a tailwheel-type landing gear arrangement and a tandem cockpit for a crew of two. It features a nose-mounted sensor suite for target acquisition and night vision systems. Work will take place in Salt Lake City, Utah. Estimated completion date is June 30, 2023.

Lockheed Martin won a $9.3 million contract modification for the US and United Kingdom to provide strategic weapon system Trident fleet support, Trident II SSP Shipboard Integration (SSI) Increment 8, SSI Increment 16, Columbia class and UK Dreadnought class navigation subsystem development efforts. Trident II D-5 is the sixth generation member of the US Navy’s Fleet Ballistic Missile (FBM) program which started in 1956. Systems have included the Polaris (A1), Polaris (A2), Polaris (A3), Poseidon (C3), and Trident I (C4). The first deployment of Trident II was in 1990 on the USS Tenessee (SSBN 734). While Trident I was designed to the same dimensions as the Poseidon missile it replaced, Trident II is a little larger. Work will take place in New York, California, Florida and Massachusetts. Estimated completion date is November 30, 2023.

The AC-130W Stinger II is conducting air operations over Somalia under Joint Task Force – Quartz in support of Operation OCTAVE QUARTZ. The mission of OOQ is to reposition US DOD personnel from Somalia to other locations in East Africa. The AC-130W Stinger II primary missions are close air support and air interdiction. The aircraft is a highly modified C-130H featuring improved navigation, threat detection, countermeasures, and communication suites. All AC-130W aircraft are modified with a precision strike package to perform the gunship mission.

General Atomics won a $36.3 million contract modification for France contractor logistics support MQ-9 Block Five and Block One aircraft. The contractor will provide an additional period of contractor logistics support for the French Air Force. Work will take place in California. Estimated completion date is December 31, 2021.In January 2014, French Air Force took delivery of MQ-9 (Block 1) Medium Altitude Long Endurance (MALE) Reaper drones and deployed them at Niamey Air Base in Niger for border reconnaissance in the Sahel desert.

Royal Malaysian Air Force chief Gen. Tan Sri Ackbal Abdul Samad has disclosed that the service will acquire the Fighter Lead-In Trainer/ Light Combat Aircarft (FLIT/ LCA) aircraft within the next three years. The Ministry of Defense will request for the budget to buy 18 aircraft in the 2021 budget and another 18 aircraft in the 13th Malaysia Plan. The Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF) will be terminating the service of all Nuri helicopters within five years, said RMAF chief General Tan Sri Ackbal Abdul Samad. He said the helicopter, which has served for more than 52 years, is now obsolete as most of its components and spare parts are no longer in production.

Local media reports that Japanese defense officials are considering the option of installing new long-range standoff attack missiles on the two new Aegis warships to be built. Yomuiri Shimbun says the range of the new indigenous missiles will be around 1,000 km. The government may install such missiles on the two ships equipped with Aegis missile interceptor systems in response to increasing naval activities by Beijing in the East China Sea amid tensions over the Japanese-administered Senkaku Islands, which Beijing claims and calls the Diaoyu. The Cabinet approved Friday the building of the two vessels to enhance its defense capabilities in the face of the North Korean missile threat.

Watch: Japan Building Two Super-Sized Destroyers As An Alternative To Aegis Ashore

Boeing won a $41.7 million delivery order for consumable and depot-level repairable parts for the KC-46 military unique program. The Boeing KC-46 Pegasus is a military aerial refueling and strategic military transport aircraft. In 2011, the DOD announced the Boeing Company as the winner of a competition to build 179 new KC-46 Aerial refueling tankers for the Air Force, a contract valued at roughly $35 billion. Boeing designed the KC-46 to carry passengers, cargo and patients. The aircraft can detect, avoid, defeat and survive threats using multiple layers of protection, which will enable it to operate safely in medium-threat environments. Work will take place in Missouri. Estimated completion date is December 15, 2023.

Boeing won a $10.9 million contract modification for additional F/A-18 A-D and E-G aircraft integrated product support. The F/A-18 Hornet is a twin-engine, supersonic, all-weather, carrier-capable, multirole combat jet, designed as both a fighter and attack aircraft. The F/A-18 has a top speed of Mach 1.8. It can carry a wide variety of bombs and missiles, including air-to-air and air-to-ground. Work will take place in Missouri, California, Virginia, Washington, Nevada and South Carolina. Estimated completion date is December 31, 2023.

The US Army contracted Oxford Federal LLC with an $11.6 million deal for design-build construction at sites in Israel. Oxford Federal is a company engaged in building US government and private sector infrastructure projects located within and outside the Continental United States. Work will take place in Tel Aviv, Israel. Estimated completion date is June 8, 2022. Fiscal 2021 Foreign Military Sales (Israel) funds in the amount of $11,554,000 were obligated at the time of the award.

Turkish media reports that Turkish Aerospace Industries sold three Anka unmanned air vehicles to Tunisia. Around 52 Tunisian pilots and maintenance personnel will go to Ankara for training. The Turkish drones were purchased following nearly two years of negotiations. The Tunisian Ministry of Defense began talks for the procurement of the UAVs from TAI at the beginning of 2019. Some 52 Tunisian pilots and maintenance personnel will be given the necessary training at TAI facilities in the capital Ankara.

British Royal Navy frigate HMS Northumberland has arrived in Lerwick harbour. HMS Northumberland was recently involved in an effort to monitor the movements of a Russian Udaloy Class destroyer in the North West of the Outer Hebrides, off the west coast of Scotland. „Type 23 frigate HMS Northumberland watched the movements of Udaloy-class destroyer, the Vice-Admiral Kulakov, as she sailed North West of the Outer Hebrides, off the west coast of Scotland. Patrol ship HMS Severn was on duty in the English Channel and Dover Strait, where she shadowed a surfaced Kilo-class submarine, the Stary Oskol, the corvette Boikiy, patrol ship Vasiliy Bykov and support ships. Severn was also on patrol as the Vice-Admiral Kulakov sailed through the Channel“, the Royal Navy said in a statement.

India has decided that it will acquire six A320 airliners from Air India to modify them into airborne early warning (AEW) platforms. The radars supplied by the Defense Research and Development Organization (DRDO) will have full 360-degrees coverage. The previous plan was to buy two new A330 airliners for conversion. The new proposal will take between four to seven years to be completed.

Watch: Dream Realized: The Air Force’s New Multi-Mission KC-46 Tanker Is Ready

The Marine Corps and the Air Force successfully tested bi-directional data sharing on the F-22 and F-35 in exercises in Arizona and Nevada for the first time. The test was reportedly the latest demonstration of the network architecture underpinning its Advanced Battle Management System. Fifth-generation fighters are generally only able to communicate with each other and to command and control centers, but not with fighters in other classes because they use digital languages that aren’t compatible. But the gatewayONE system can translate between those formats, allowing the aircraft to more fully gather and share data and intelligence. The service announced that the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL), along with partner Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc., had flown with the gatewayONE payload aboard a XQ-58A Valkyrie UAV demonstrator in formation with a Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor and F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter (JSF). “During the test event, an F-22 Raptor and F-35 Lightning, the air force’s two fifth-generation fighters formed up off the wings of the smaller Valkyrie as it continued to fly autonomously in formation. This is a major milestone in the service’s efforts to provide low cost force multipliers in relevant operational environments,” the USAF said.

The first seven people to enlist directly into the US Space Force have graduated from basic military training at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland. The five men and two women, who graduated December 10, were among 414 recruits who completed seven and a half weeks of training, according to an Air Force announcement. Training began Oct. 20 following the recruits’ swearing-in at Fort George G. Meade Military Entrance Processing Station in Fort Meade, Md. At the graduation ceremony, Air Force Secretary Barbara M. Barrett spoke about three Airmen who represent the Air Force’s ideals of integrity, service and excellence, including Lt. Gen. Susan Helms, who flew more than 30 different types of aircraft as an Air Force test pilot and then served 12 years as an astronaut.

Boeing won a $46.9 million deal for the F-15 Qatar program. The deal provides or the Foreign Military Sales (FMS) requirement to procure Digital Electronic Warfare System spares for the Qatar Emiri Air Force. The F-15QA is the most state-of-the-art variant of the Eagle to date, building upon the F-15SA that was developed for Saudi Arabia. Qatar has ordered 36 F-15QAs which are the first to feature a new Advanced Cockpit System with Large Area Displays, among other improvements.Work will take place in St. Louis, Missouri. Estimated completion date is August 23, 2023.

Bell Textron won a $22.8 million order, which provides engineering and logistics support, procures four resident integrated logistics support detachment computer seats, trailer lease site for flight test engineers, support equipment workaround material and aircraft wiring integration remote terminal and flight control computer test station material in support of Marine Corps (USMC) AH-1Z; the governments of Bahrain and the Czech Republic UH-1Y and AH-1Z production aircraft; and USMC UH-1Y and AH-1Z aircraft modifications and sustainment. Work will take place in Texas and Maryland. Estimated completion date is in February 2022.

The US State Department approved a possible $500 million sale of two fully equipped Gulfstream G550 Aircraft to Italy. Italy’s government had requested two aircraft and supporting equipment including four Multifunctional Information Distribution Systems, three GPS security devices and four (4) RIO Communications Intelligence Systems. Italy also requested that up to six additional US contractors work in Italy for a year train personnel in use of the new equipment. The Gulfstream is a private business jet also utilized by the USAF for transportation of elected officials, cabinet secretaries and top generals.

South Korea will go ahead to sign a contract to buy 12 MH-60R naval helicopters from Lockheed Martin this month. The contract is worth $878 million and all helicopters will be delivered by 2025. A total of 12 Seahawks will arrive according to an agency official said. The 19.76-meter-long and 5.1-meter-high chopper with the maximum cruising speed of 267 kilometers per hour can handle multiple missions, including operations of warfare, search, rescue, and medical evacuation.

Watch: Full F-22 Demo: Exclusive Look Inside the Raptor

Northrop Grumman Systems won a $185.7 million deal for the A-10 Aircraft Structural Integrity Program (ASIP) Legacy VII. This contract provides for sustaining engineering services of A-10 aircraft. The A-10 Thunderbolt is also known as the Warthog, the ‘flying gun’ and the Tankbuster. The aircraft was used extensively during Operation Desert Storm, in support of Nato operations in response to the Kosovo crisis, in Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan and in Operation Iraqi Freedom. Work will take place in Clearfield, Utah. Expected completion date is December 13, 2030.

Boeing won a $79.6 million deal for F-15 Eagle Passive Active Warning and Survivability System low rate initial production. The Eagle Passive Active Warning Survivability System provides the US Air Force F-15 fleet with advanced electronic warfare technology to maximize mission effectiveness and survivability. Developed by BAE Systems as a sub-contractor to Boeing, the EPAWSS is designed to sample the radio frequency (RF) spectrum, identify threats, prioritize, and allocate jamming resources against them, and will replace the 1980s-vintage Tactical Electronic Warfare Suite (TEWS) currently fitted to the US Air Force’s (USAF’s) about 220 F-15E Strike Eagles. It is also one of the systems earmarked for the service’s latest F-15EX Advanced Eagle, of which as many as 200 are slated for eventual procurement. Work will take place in San Antonio, Texas. Estimated completion date is December 13, 2026.

Moscow has struck a deal with Khartoum to establish its first naval outpost on the continent. On December 8, the Russian government officially announced its agreement with Sudan to build a modern port and establish a navy base for at least 25 years. The new port, along with Russia’s base in the Syrian city of Tartus, will strengthen its military presence in the Red Sea and the Mediterranean. The port in Sudan will be Russia’s first military base in Africa, providing a convenient docking station for Russian battleships for refuel and repair.

A plan to use sustainable sources for up to 50 percent of military aviation fuel was announced by British Defense Secretary Ben Wallace this week. The British Ministry of Defense on Saturday said it would look to algae, alcohol, household waste, wood and biomass as potential sources of fuel for the nation’s F-35 and Typhoon planes and Wildcat helicopters. Aviation fuel consumes nearly two-thirds of fuel used by the British military, the ministry said. New aviation fuel standards in effect since November call for a reduction in emissions and carbon footprints, and complement the British government’s goal of net zero emissions throughout the country by 2050.

Safran’s 1,000-kg AASM precision guided munition has carried out two inert separation tests from a Rafale fighter. The tests were conducted at the French defense procurement agency DGA’s Cazaux flight test center in southwest France.This paves way for the first live firing tests to be conducted in 2021. The separation dynamics observed during the two firings were in line with simulations. These industrial validation tests were designed to check the correct sequencing of all components of the wing hardpoint and the weapon, as well as the wing deployment mechanism on the range extension kit.

South Korea’s Defense Acquisition Program Administration has provisionally declared the Korea Aerospace Industries Light Armed Helicopter fit for combat. KAI announced in an 11 December statement that DAPA’s assessment, which came five years and six months after the launch of the LAH project, “lays the foundation” for mass production of the helicopter, development of which is due to be completed by late 2022.

Watch: The Insane Engineering of the A-10 Warthog

General Atomics won a $305.2 million deal for MQ-9 Reaper contractor logistics support. The deal provides for program management, contractor filed service representative support, depot repair, depot maintenance, sustaining engineering support, supply and logistics support, configuration management, tech data maintenance, software maintenance and inventory control point/warehouse support for the MQ-9. The Reaper is designed primarily to disable or destroy time-sensitive targets and has a secondary function as an intelligence-gathering platform. The service branch will obligate $65.4M at the time of award from its fiscal 2021 operation and maintenance funds. Work will take place in Poway, California. Estimated completion date is December 31, 2022.

The US Navy’s 30-year shipbuilding plan calls for building 82 new ships by 2026 at a cost of $147 billion, a significant increase over previous plans. The “Report to Congress on the Annual Long-Range Plan for Construction of Naval Vessels“ calls for construction of three new attack submarines, four large unmanned surface vessels, designation of a second shipbuilder for frigates and retirement of most of the Navy’s current cruiser fleet. It also refers to development of light amphibious warships and next-generation logistics programs. These plans differ from previous Navy projections, which in part include an increase of 44 ships between Fiscal Years 2021 and 2026 at a cost of $102 billion.

According to local reports Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI), via Indian company HAL Hyderabad, will start manufacturing components for IAI subsidiary ELTA’s AESA radar in India.The type of radar in question is the ELTA ELM-2052. HAL will manufacture gallium arsenide-based modules using ToT for about 54 ELTA AESA radars, which were ordered for the ongoing Jaguar Darin-III aircraft upgrade program.

Lockheed Martin won a $43.6 million contract modification for the US as well as the United Kingdom to provide Strategic Weapon System Trident Fleet support, Trident II SSP Shipboard Integration (SSI) Increment 8, SSI Increment 16, Columbia class and UK Dreadnought class Navigation Subsystem development efforts. According to Lockheed Martin, the Trident II D5 is the latest generation of the US Navy’s submarine-launched fleet ballistic missiles, following the highly successful Polaris, Poseidon, and Trident I C4 programs. First deployed in 1990, the Trident II D5 missile is currently aboard OHIO-class and British VANGUARD-class submarines. Each Trident II missile has a range of 4,000 to 7,000 miles. The Navy started the D5 Life Extension Program in 2002 to replace obsolete components using as many commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) parts as possible to keep costs down and to enhance the missile’s capability. Work will take place in New York, California, Florida and Massachusetts. Expected completion date is November 30, 2023.

Hungary has decided to replace the Soviet-era P-37, PRV-17 and ST-68U radars with the ELM-2084 radar made by Israel. The contract was signed with Rheinmetall Canada last week by Chief of the Staff Lt. Gen. Ferenc Korom. Deliveries will start from 2022. The number of radars to be purchased is unknown. ELTA’s ELM-2084 is a ground-based, mobile multi-mission radar with a 3D active electronically steered array. It is capable of detecting and tracking both aircraft and ballistic targets and providing fire control guidance for missile interception or artillery air defense. The IDF employs several variants of the radar as an air defense and artillery detection radar, and fire control radar for its air defense systems (Iron Dome and David’s Sling).

The United States officially returned 12 former military bases to South Korea, but questions are being raised about environmental contamination, according to South Korean press reports. The two militaries agreed to the handover on Friday during a virtual meeting, but were unable to solve an impasse over costs of any cleanup on bases like Yongsan Garrison in central Seoul, Yonhap and Hankook Ilbo reported. Discussions ended after the two sides agreed to continue cost sharing negotiations. A South Korean government official who spoke to reporters Friday said 24 out-of-use bases returned in the past cost Seoul about $202 million in decontamination costs.

Watch: MQ-9 Reaper: The Most Feared U.S. Air Force Drone in Action

Raytheon won a $38.8 million contract modification for the production of two Fire Control System MK 99 ship sets and the associated technical engineering services in support of the Aegis Combat System on DDG-51 class ships. The DDG 51 Class are the Arleigh Burke class destroyers in service with the US Navy. They are multi-mission warships with offensive and defensive capability in multi-threat air, surface, and subsurface environments. The USS Arleigh Burke (DDG 51), the first ship and namesake of the class, was commissioned on July 4, 1991. Since then 62 more ships have been commissioned. The MK-99 Fire Control System (FCS) is a major component of the AEGIS Combat System, a centralized, automated, command-and-control and weapons control system that was designed as a total weapon system, from detection to kill. It controls the loading and arming of the selected weapon, launches the weapon, and provides terminal guidance for AAW missiles. FCS controls the continuous wave illuminating radar, providing a very high probability of kill. Work will take place in Massachusetts, Virginia, Rhode Island and California. Estimated completion is in August 2024.

Northrop Grumman won a $73.2 million delivery order for Remote Visual Assessment II production and deployment for the Minutemen III. This delivery order provides for modification to the Remote Visual Assessment program by adding six capabilities to procure, produce, remove, install, audit, test and document the equipment. The Minuteman III is a land-based intercontinental ballistic missile developed by Boeing to carry single or multiple nuclear warheads and serve a part in the US nuclear deterrence triad. Work will take place in Montana, North Dakota and Wyoming. Estimated completion date is July 31, 2023.

Brazilian aircraft manufacturer had suffered a cyber attack on November 25. Although the company did not disclose what was stolen, those files were made available on a website hosted on the dark web. One of those files that was made available by the hackers was a 4.4MB file of the Nigerian A-29 program. The African state has an order for 12 A-29 light attack aircraft. The airplane maker said the attackers had “access to only a single environment,” and that the incident caused only a temporary impact on “some of its operations.”

British company BAE Systems received a $60 million contract to deliver additional advanced missile seekers for LRASM. The seeker comprises long-range sensors and targeting technology that help the stealthy missile find and engage protected maritime targets in challenging electromagnetic environments. According to the company, LRASM combines ‘extended range with increased survivability and lethality to deliver long-range precision strike capabilities’. Work on the LRASM sensor will be conducted at BAE Systems’ facilities in Wayne, New Jersey; Greenlawn, New York; and Nashua, New Hampshire.

News reports from Japan said that Lockheed Martin has been chosen to assist Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd. (MHI) in the development of the F-X fighter. Officials say the American company will provide assistance in the avionics and weapons integration. It will also assist in improving the plane’s aerodynamics and stealth characteristics. The F-X fighter program will cost around $40 billion; and the new fighter will replace Japan’s aging fleet of F-2 fighters, which were also developed by MHI and Lockheed Martin two decades ago.

Kyodo News reports that the Japanese Ministry of Defense has drop its request for $205 million in the budget next year for the modification of F-15 to carry the JASSM. The report says the modification is now in doubt as the development cost has soared by five times as electrical components required are in short supply and suppliers need to restart production lines to make them.

Watch: F-X Future Fighter Jet – Japan’s Most Sophisticated Fighter To Deal With The Competition From China

Bell Boeing won a $170.4 million contract modification, which adds scope for the production and delivery of one CMV-22B variation in quantity aircraft for the Navy and exercises options for V-22 Common Configuration Readiness and Modernization (CC-RAM) Lot 4 requirements. Additionally, this modification provides for planned maintenance interval inspections, repairs, shipping and storage containers and tooling in support of the V-22 CC-RAM program. The Bell Boeing V-22 Osprey is a joint service, multirole combat aircraft that uses tiltrotor technology to combine the vertical performance of a helicopter with the speed and range of a fixed-wing aircraft. With its nacelles and rotors in vertical position, it can take off, land and hover like a helicopter. Once airborne, its nacelles can be rotated to transition the aircraft to a turboprop airplane capable of high-speed, high-altitude flight. Work will take place in Ridley Park, Pennsylvania and Fort Worth, Texas. Estimated completion is in September 2024.

McCallie Associates won a $27.6 million contract for C-5M sustainment. This contract is for the delivery of technical data for organizational maintenance of the C-5M using a common source database. The C-5M Super Galaxy strategic transport aircraft, a modernized version of the legacy C-5, was designed and manufactured by Lockheed Martin to extend the capability of the C-5 Galaxy fleet to remain in service at least until 2040. The C-5M Super Galaxy transport aircraft achieved initial operational capability (IOC) in February 2014. Work will take place in Nebraska. Expected completion date is June 9, 2025.

Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI) announced that it has carried out seven aircraft modifications under the Erciyes C130 Modernization Project. The program’s scope is to upgrade the avionic system of 13 C-130E and 6 C-130B aircraft under a contract signed between TAI and the Presidency of Defense Industries (SSB) in 2006. A total of 23 systems and 117 components have been modernized along with the central control computer, which has been completely developed by TAI engineers and described as the brain of the aircraft, the company statement said. Additionally, other critical systems are being modernized and nationalized as part of the project, including the GPS, indicator, anti-collision system, weather radar, advanced military and civilian navigation systems, nighttime invisible illumination for military missions, the voice-recorded black box, communication systems, advanced automatic flight systems (military and civilian), the digital floating map and ground mission planning systems.

According to Jane’s, Airbus is offering a Tranche 5 standard of the Eurofighter combat aircraft to replace Germany’s fleet of Panavia Tornados. Speaking at a virtual running of the company’s annual Trade Media Briefing (TMB), the head of combat aircraft business development, Wolfgang Gammel, said that this future standard will be offered to the Luftwaffe as the service looks to replace 90 Tornado Interdiction and Strike (IDS) and Electronic Combat Reconnaissance (ECR) aircraft with 85 new aircraft from 2030.

Japan has officially decided that it will build two more Aegis warships to replace the abandoned Aegis Ashore program, Defense Minister Nobuo Kishi said. Tokyo will also be extended the range of its indigenous Type 12 surface-to-ship missile.Opposition lawmakers criticize the move to boost the range of the missile, saying that this is to make the weapon as a tool to attack enemy bases. Chief cabinet secretary Kato explained that the range improvement was to extend the defense capabilities.

South Korea received a bid from a US aerospace manufacturer for attack helicopters that can be introduced to South Korea’s Marine Corps. Vince Tobin, executive vice president at Bell Textron Inc., based in Fort Worth, Texas, said Wednesday at a virtual press conference in Seoul that the company’s AH-1Z Viper would provide superior support, Yonhap and Newsis reported. The helicopter with anti-armor and air-to-air missile capabilities can take on the “broadest array of threats” in “any environment on land or sea” while withstanding saltwater corrosion and resistant to dust and sand, the US manufacturer said.

Watch: Here’s What Can Fit inside C-5M Super Galaxy The Largest Aircraft

L3 Technologies won a contract modification, which exercises an option to procure 12 AN/SRQ-4 kits and associated components for the MH-60 Common Data Link system. Sikorsky Aircraft developed the MH-60R Seahawk multi-mission naval helicopter, also called ‘Romeo’, in order to replace the US Navy’s legacy SH-60B and SH-60F helicopter fleet. The MH-60 R integrates advanced mission systems and sensors developed by Lockheed Martin Mission Systems and Training (MST). The helicopter is integrated with a data link for data transmission, an ARC210 Gen 5 multi-function radio for flexible and secure communication, and chaff and flare decoys dispenser. It also features an integrated self defense system for protection against RF, IF, laser and missile threats. Work will take place in Salt Lake City, Utah. Estimated completion date is in February 2023.

The House on Tuesday granted overwhelming bipartisan approval to the annual defense spending bill despite threats by President Donald Trump, he would veto the bill. Lawmakers approved the $740 billion National Defense Authorization Act by a vote of 335-78, surpassing the two-thirds necessary to override a presidential veto, although there was no solid commitment that Republican lawmakers would vote against the action by Trump. A total of 140 Republicans joined a majority of Democrats in voting “yes” for the bill, while 37 Democrats voted “no” and one voted present. The NDAA includes funding for major military programs and weapons systems, and authorizes dozens of special pay and bonuses for service members.

Raytheon won a $13.7 million contract modification for the procurement, manufacture and storage of spares in support of sustainment for the Qatar Early Warning Radar (QEWR). QEWR is an early warning radar that will add long-range detection to Qatar’s layered Integrated Air and Missile Defense (IAMD) architecture, which includes Patriot systems and an Air Defense Operation Center (ADOC). The 360-degree radar tracks ballistic missiles as part of a missile defense shield, expanding Qatar’s ability to protect its people and assets from missile attack. Work will take place in Andover, Massachusetts, and is expected to be completed by December 2025.

France is planning to build a new 300 meter long, 75,000 tonne nuclear powered aircraft carrier. The new nuclear powered aircraft carrier will be able to carry over 30 aircraft and will be in service by 2038. President Emmanuel Macron officially launched the project to build a new nuclear-powered aircraft carrier to replace the Charles de Gaulle. Macron made the announcement during a visit to a nuclear facility in the Burgundy town of Le Creusot.

Negotiations between France and Indonesia for the purchase of 48 French Rafale fighter jets are advancing at a fast pace and a deal could be inked soon, French website La Tribune.fr said last week, citing several sources.Indonesia would like to seal a deal before the end of the year but French negotiators want to take the time necessary to fine-tune the details, it said.

Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, Gen. Gilbert Gapay, has hinted that Manila has decided to buy F-16s. “Soon, before our President steps down, we will finally have multi-role fighters in the likes of the F-16 in our Air Force inventory,” said Gapay at a Laging Handa press briefing held online. The F-16 is running in the competition together with Saab’s JAS-39. The potential acquisition of F-16 fighter jets was among the topics discussed by American and Philippine officials during the visit to Manila of US Secretary of the Air Force Barbara Barrett in November.

Watch: Nothing Can Kill the F-16 Fighting Falcon

International Enterprises won a $12.5 million requirements contract requirements contract for F-16 modular low power radio frequency (MLPRF) and dual mode transmitter (DMT) repairs. This contract provides for the repair of both MLPRF and DMT, which function as part of the radar systems of each F-16 C/D aircraft. The General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon is a single-engine supersonic multirole fighter aircraft originally developed by General Dynamics for the USAF. One of the most versatile aircraft in the US Air Force inventory, the F-16 Fighting Falcon has been the mainstay of the Air Force aerial combat fleet. With over 1,000 F-16s in service, the platform has been adapted to complete a number of missions, including air-to-air fighting, ground attack and electronic warfare. Work will take place in Alabama. Estimated completion date is December 6, 2025.

The US Air Force is to field interim enhancements to the problematic Remote Vision System (RVS) for its Boeing KC-46A Pegasus tanker-transport aircraft. The Air Force Materiel Command (AFMC) announced the move, saying that demonstration flights conducted over the summer (third quarter) had validated the Enhanced Remote Vision System (ERVS) as a stopgap measure until RVS 2.0 is rolled out in late 2023. RVS 2.0 is the agreed final solution to resolve Category 1 deficiencies associated with the current RVS. “The implementation of ERVS will provide some benefit to our ‘Total Force’ boom operators in the near-term, but most importantly will not delay the fielding of RVS 2.0,” General Jacqueline Van Ovost, commander of Air Mobility Command (AMC), was quoted as saying.

The guided-missile destroyer USS Ralph Johnson captured over 2,000 pounds of suspected narcotics in the Arabian Sea, the US Navy said on Monday. The interdiction was in support of the 33-nation Combined Maritime Forces’ mission known as Combined Task Force 150, which combats illicit operations on the seas. The Navy Ship assigned to the Nimitz Carrier Strike Group, found a stateless dhow, a privately-owned sailing vessel, “loitering without power in international waters” on Friday, a Navy statement said. The Combined Maritime Forces, formed in 2002 and currently led by the Royal Saudi Naval Force, conduct security operations in the Arabian Gulf, Red Sea, Gulf of Aden, Gulf of Oman and Indian Ocean.

France proposed selling six MRTT aerial tankers to India in a government-to-government deal that involves converting second-hand A330 airliners. These former passenger airplanes are between five to seven years in age and France will certify them for 30 years of lifespan. Another alternative proposal being considered by the Indian Air Force was to wet-lease the tankers from a British company. The IAF now operate seven Russian IL-76 M refuellers with Pakistan acquiring four of the same refuellers from Ukraine and China operating three of the same Russian refuellers along with 10 vintage modified versions of Russian bombers.

NATO announced the operational capability of a special operations command on Monday, organized by Belgium, the Netherlands and Denmark. The Composite Special Operations Component Command, or C-SOCC, was launched in 2017 to provide a unified “deployable multinational headquarters, specifically designed for commanding several Special Operations Forces task groups.” The new command is expected to provide “the participating nations with a capability that exceeds the sum of their individual national contributions,“a NATO statement said. The effort is one of 13 NATO High Visibility Projects meant to reduce costs and improve operational values through shared equipment, training and procedures.

The US State Department approved a possible Foreign Military Sale to the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in the United States (TECRO) of a Field Information Communications System (FICS) and related equipment for around $280 million. The decision “shows the US commitment to the Taiwan Relations Act and Six Assurances,” the Taiwanese Foreign Ministry said Tuesday on Twitter after the sale was approved by the US State Department. “It also enables the country to maintain a robust defense in the face of China’s military provocations, as well as Indo Pacific peace and stability,” it added. The US Defense Security Cooperation Agency said on Monday the US State Department made a “determination approving a possible Foreign Military Sale to the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in the United States (TECRO) of a Field Information Communications System and related equipment for an estimated cost of $280 million”.

Watch: Dream Realized: The Air Force’s New Multi-Mission KC-46 Tanker Is Ready

Southeastern Computer Consultants won a $43 million task order, which shall provide Tactical Tomahawk Weapon Control System (TTWCS) Integrated Logistics Support (ILS) products and services in support of Training Support Activity responsibilities at Naval Surface Warfare Center, Port Hueneme Division. This is a single award, five-year, cost-plus-fixed-fee term level of effort task order that consists of one base year with four option years, which, if all line item quantities are ordered, would bring the cumulative value of this contract to $42,989,767. The Tomahawk missile is a long-range, all-weather, jet-powered, subsonic cruise missile that is primarily used by the US Navy and the Royal Navy in ship and submarine-based land-attack operations. Work will take place in Virginia, California, Florida, Washington, Georgia, Hawaii, Japan and The UK: Expected completion date is in December 2021.

Boeing won a $20.7 million order, which provides for the production and delivery of 48 retrofit kits, support equipment and special tooling in support of phase two of the T-45 Service Life Extension Program (SLEP) for SLEP production Lots Three and Four. In addition, this order provides retrofit engineering and logistics from the original equipment manufacturer to support the installation of associated technical directives. The T-45A/C Goshawk is the US Navy’s two-seat advanced jet trainer. It entered service with the US Navy in January 1992. Work will take place in St. Louis, Missouri and estimated completion will be in May 2024.

The Trump administration on Friday ordered most US troops out of Somalia, a move a Defense Department watchdog warned last month could damage gains the country has made against al-Shabab. The Pentagon said “the majority of personnel and assets” in Somalia will be removed from the East African country by “early 2021.” A news release from the department declined to offer a specific timeline on the moves. “As a result of this decision, some forces may be reassigned outside of East Africa,” the release said. “However, the remaining forces will be repositioned from Somalia into neighboring countries in order to allow cross-border operations by both US and partner forces to maintain pressure against violent extremist organizations operating in Somalia.”

The Ukrainian Ministry of Defense has placed an order for three An-178 cargo planes with Antonov. This was revealed by Vice Prime Minister, Minister for Strategic Industries Oleh Urusky. The An-178 is based on the An-158 regional jetliner but with an enlarged diameter to hold more cargo. The Defense Ministry of Ukraine and the state-owned Antonov Design Bureau are set to sign a contract for the construction of three new An-178 transport aircraft. AN-178 is a short-range medium-airlift military transport aircraft designed by the Ukrainian Antonov company and based on the Antonov An-158 (An-148-200) regional jet.

Airbus Helicopters announced that it successfully performed autonomous take-off and landing (ATOL) from a moving deck using its Vertivision Surveillance Rotorcraft 700 (VSR700) optionally piloted vehicle (OPV). The milestone was achieved using the Deck Finder local positioning sensor system and the DeckMotion Simulator supplied by Airbus Defense and Space. The VSR700 OPV is being developed as a multimission naval UAS under a joint venture between Airbus Helicopters and Hélicoptères Guimbal in response to the French Navy’s Système de Drones Aériens de la Marine (SDAM) requirement announced in 2016. The effort also involves French naval shipbuilder DCNS, which is responsible for integration of the VSR700 into ship-based operations.

According to Jane’s, officials from Indonesia’s defense ministry are in discussions with a consortium led by French shipbuilder Naval Group for a possible order of the Riachuelo (Modified Scorpene)-class submarine. The discussion is the latest development in what has been a series of sporadic talks between Indonesian defense planners and Naval Group since 2016, when Jakarta first indicated its interest in the Scorpene 1000 vessel type for its naval requirements. Due diligence specifically for the Riachuelo class began after a variant of the submarine type was suggested by Naval Group as being suitable for Indonesia’s requirements, said one of the industry sources.

Watch: Launch of “Riachuelo”, Brazil’s first Scorpene-class attack submarine

Bell Boeing won a $18 million contract modification, which exercises an option to continue providing technical analysis, engineering and integration services for various systems and sub systems in support of the V-22 aircraft for the Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force and Foreign Military Sales customers. The V-22 Osprey is a joint service multirole combat aircraft utilizing tiltrotor technology to combine the vertical performance of a helicopter with the speed and range of a fixed-wing aircraft. With its rotors in vertical position, it can take off, land and hover like a helicopter. Once airborne, it can convert to a turboprop airplane capable of high-speed, high-altitude flight. Work will take place in Texas and Pennsylvania. Estimated completion will be by 2022.

Lockheed Martin Space won a $29.1 million contract modification to procure a pilot assessment of the contractor’s property management system and exercise options under previously awarded contract N00030-20-C-0100 for Trident II (D5) missile production and deployed systems support. The modification includes a $5 million not-to-exceed value for the pilot assessment, which is being awarded as an undefinitized contract action. The Trident II D5 fleet ballistic missile (FBM) is a three-stage, solid-propellant, inertial-guided ballistic missile developed by Lockheed Martin. The Trident II D5 submarine launched ballistic missile (SLBM) is a successor to Polaris A1, Polaris A2, Polaris A3, Poseidon C3 and Trident I C4 missiles. Work will take place in Colorado, Utah, Florida, Illinois, New York and California. Work will take place in September 20, 2025.

Mali has decided to expand its C295 fleet by ordering another cargo plane to expand the number of aircraft to two. Airbus says this contract includes an integrated logistics support package with spare parts for the two aircraft and training for flight crews and mechanics. This second aircraft, to be delivered in 2021, will supplement the first C295 already in operation since December 2016 which has already accumulated 1,770 flight hours and transported more than 38,000 passengers and 900 tonnes of cargo in less than four years of operations.

The Italian Air Force will double its intake at the International Flight Training School after the school moves to Sardinia. Head of the training operation, Gen. Luigi Casali, says 80 new pilots will be able to complete Phase 4 training at Sardinia and two thirds of those students will be from foreign air forces. Italy currently gathers its Phase 2, 3 and 4 pilots at Galatina where pilots in Phase 2 and 3 fly the Italian MB339 and Phase 4 students fly 18 T346A air force jet trainers, built by Italy’s Leonardo, as well as another four of the type owned by the firm. As the Phase 4 pilots move to Sardinia, the earlier stage students will stay on at Galatina to take advantage of the freed up space and start to switch over to new, M345 aircraft, also built by Leonardo, which is partnering the air force in the running of the flight school.

Japan media have confirmed that a Royal Navy naval task force lead by aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth will be sailing to Asia as early as next year. The British warships are likely to conduct wargames with Japanese and US forces in waters off the Nansei Islands chain in southwestern Japan. The move comes amid concerns over China’s increasing assertiveness in the East and South China seas as well as about its handling of pro-democracy protesters in Hong Kong. It could trigger an outcry from Beijing. During the dispatch, the British navy also plans to conduct maintenance on carrier-based F-35B stealth fighter jets at Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd.’s aerospace systems works in Aichi Prefecture, central Japan, the sources said.

The US State Department has made a determination approving a possible Foreign Military Sale to the Government of Australia of 155mm Ammunition and Accessories, and related equipment, for an estimated cost of $132.2 million. The Government of Australia has requested to buy M825A1 155mm White Phosphorous projectile munitions, M782 Multi-Option Fuze for Artillery, M762A1 electronic-timed fuzes, M231 and M232A2 propelling charges, percussion primers, technical publications and books, technical data for operational maintenance, technical assistance and services, and other related elements of logistics and program support. The total estimated program cost is $132.2 million. This proposed sale will support the foreign policy and national security objectives of the United States. Australia is one of our most important allies in the Western Pacific. The strategic location of this political and economic power contributes significantly to ensuring peace and economic stability in the region.

Watch: Exclusive visit of the new C295 FWSAR for Canada

Lockheed Martin won a $48.7 million contract modification to exercise an option for AEGIS Combat System Engineering Agent efforts for the design, development, integration, test and delivery of Advanced Capability Build 20. The Aegis Combat System is the Navy’s most modern surface combat system. It was designed as a complete system: the missile launching element, the computer programs, the radar and the displays are fully integrated to work together. This makes the Aegis system the first fully integrated combat system built to defend against advanced air and surface threats. The Aegis combat system uses powerful computers and radar to track and guide weapons to destroy enemy targets. Aegis, not an acronym, refers to the shield of the mythical Greek God Zeus. Work will take place in Moorestown, New Jersey, and is expected to be finished by December 2021. Estimated completion will be by December 2021.

The State Department approved a possible Foreign Military Sale to the Government of Brazil of MK 54 Lightweight Torpedoes and related equipment for an estimated cost of $70 million. The Government of Brazil has requested to buy twenty-two (22) MK 54 conversion kits – to convert MK 46 Mod 5 A(S) torpedoes to MK 54 Mod 0 lightweight torpedoes. Also included are torpedo containers, Recoverable Exercise Torpedoes (REXTORP) with containers, Fleet Exercise Section (FES) and fuel tanks, air-launch accessories for rotary-wing, torpedo spare parts, propellant, lanyard start assembly suspensions bands, thermal batteries, training, publications, support, and test equipment. U.S. Government and contractor engineering, technical, and logistics support services, and other related elements of logistics and program support. The Government of Brazil intends to utilize MK 54 Lightweight Torpedoes on its Sikorsky S-70B “Seahawk” aircraft and surface ships. The principal contractor will be Raytheon Integrated Defense System, Portsmouth, RI. There are no known offset agreements proposed in connection with this potential sale.

Moroccan tabloid Al Ahdath Al Maghribia reports that the country will take delivery of the first G550 intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) aircraft early next year. This will be the first of four aircraft that was ordered with Raytheon in 2019. The Gulfstream G-550 business jet is equipped with an Israeli-American made intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) system. The subcontracting has also been entrusted to the Israeli group Elta Systems, a subsidiary of Israel Aerospace Industries, giant of Hebrew state aerospace technology.

German defense contractor Rheinmetall on Wednesday announced the sale of MK-82-EP general purpose aircraft-dropped bombs to France and Germany. The order, for about 2,000 bombs, totals $42.3 million, Rheinmetall said. The 500-pound bomb bodies will be used by France’s Mirage 2000 and Rafale fighter planes, the Direction General de l’Armament said, and as the warhead of the GBU-54 Laser Joint Direct Attack Munition system for Germany’s Tornado and Eurofighter platforms. The upgraded bomb, designed by General Dynamics, is regarded as a free-fall, standard bomb, although it can be fitted with laser guidance and other improvements.

The US State Department has made a determination approving a possible Foreign Military Sale to the Republic of Korea of two (2) MK 15 MOD 25 Phalanx Close-In Weapons System (CIWS) Block 1B Baseline 2 (IB2) systems and related equipment for an estimated cost of $39 million. The Republic of Korea has requested to buy two (2) MK 15 MOD 25 Phalanx Close-In Weapons System (CIWS) Block 1B Baseline 2 (IB2) systems; and four thousand (4,000) rounds, 20MM cartridge API linked. Also included are spare parts; other support equipment; ammunition; books and other publications; software; training; engineering technical assistance and other technical assistance; and other related elements of the program and logistical support. The estimated total cost is $39 million. The proposed sale will improve the Republic of Korea’s capability to meet current and future threats. Korea will use the systems aboard its first KDX III Batch II Class destroyer to provide it with effective means of detecting and defending itself against incoming airborne threats. The Republic of Korea will have no difficulty absorbing this equipment into its armed forces.

CNN Philippines reports that Manila has decided to postpone the purchase of BrahMos missiles from India due to lack of funds. The government is putting on hold plans to purchase the country’s first cruise missile system from an Indian-Russian joint venture. This was supposed to be part of the military’s long-term modernization program to boost the country’s defense capabilities. BrahMos is a supersonic cruise missile, which can fly at three times the speed of sound (2.8 Mach). It can be used for both coastal defense and ground attack.

Watch: C-RAM • MK 15 Phalanx Close-In Weapons System (CIWS)

Raytheon won a $235.6 million deal for the production and delivery of the Silent Knight Radar in support of US Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) requirements. The Silent Knight radar is designed to be outfitted on the MH-47G Chinook and MH-60M Blackhawk helicopters, MC-130 transports and CV-22 Osprey tilt-rotor aircraft. The Silent Knight is built for safe navigation through low altitudes at night or in bad weather. In June 2019 Raytheon was awarded a $96.6 million contract for the initial production of the Silent Knight system for Special Operations Command. Work will take place in McKinney and Forest, Mississippi. Estimated completion will be by July 2025.

Canada will receive new equipment for its Royal Canadian Air Force C-17 transport planes, the US government announced. The DoS approved the upcoming sale that is estimated to cost $275 million and the US Congress has been notified of the proposed deal. The Canadian government “has requested to buy C-17 sustainment support to include aircraft hardware and software modification and support; software delivery and support; ground handling equipment; component, parts and accessories; GPS receivers; alternative mission equipment; publications and technical documentation; contractor logistics support and Globemaster III Sustainment Program participation”, according to the US announcement. The deal will also include US government and contractor engineering, technical, and logistical support services; and related elements of program and logistical support.

Kellogg Brown and Root Services won a $28.3 million contract modification for the incorporation of additional services for Option Periods Three through Seven under the base operating service contract at Naval Support Activity (NSA) Kingdom of Bahrain. The work to be performed provides for, but is not limited to, all management, supervision, tools, materials, supplies, labor and transportation services necessary to perform security operations, galley services, unaccompanied housing, facility management, emergency service requests, urgent service, routing service, facilities investment, custodial, pest control service, integrated solid waste, grounds maintenance, utility management, wastewater, operate reverse osmosis water treatment system, chiller and transportation, at NSA Kingdom of Bahrain. Work will take place in Bahrain. Performance period is December 1, 2020, to November 30, 2021.

US Ambassador to Athens Geoffrey Pyatt has confirmed Greece’s intention to buy F-35s. Pyatt says the US government welcomes the decision by Athens “at the highest levels” and will support the aquisition. “We have signaled our support for procurement and are working closely together on a future acquisition program, which would enhance Greece’s defense capabilities, ensure interoperability with US Armed Forces and improve regional stability.  All reports to the contrary are false and misrepresentations of US policy“, Pyatt said in a statement. Although some in Greek media claimed that the US was reversing its decision in procuring the F-35 fighter jet, the American ambassador ensured that these reports are false. “We take great pride in our defense and security partnership with Greece and work daily to advance that from strength to strength, including through Greece’s future acquisition of the F-35,” Pyatt said.

General Atomics has delivered the final two MQ-9A Block 5 UAVs ordered by the Spanish Air Force. The delivery took place on November 23 and includes a ground control station. The new MQ-9s will be operated by the 233rd Squadron at Talavera la Real Air Base near Badajoz, Spain. Besides being the first for the issuance of the Airworthiness Military Type Certificate, Spain’s program represents the first MQ-9A Block 5 acquisition by an international partner. Other milestones for the program have included the SpAF taking initial delivery of its MQ-9A Block 5 aircraft at the end of 2019 and launching its first flight in January 2020. The 233rd Squadron has flown nearly 300 hours with its MQ-9A Block 5 aircraft and is steadily building the expertise of its crewmembers and maintainers as the SpAF moves towards declaring the Initial Operational Capability for the system.

Lockheed Martin won a $12.4 million contract modification, which adds scope to provide non-recurring engineering and obsolescence services in support of the Airborne Low Frequency Sonars integration into MH-60R production aircraft for the governments of India and Denmark. The MH-60 R integrates advanced mission systems and sensors developed by Lockheed Martin Mission Systems and Training (MST). The helicopter is intended to carry out a range of missions, including anti-submarine warfare (ASW), anti-surface warfare (ASuW), surveillance, communications relay, search and rescue (SAR), naval gunfire support (NGFS), personnel transport, vertical replenishment (VERTREP) and logistics support. It can be launched from aircraft carriers, destroyers, cruise ships, frigates and amphibious ships.

Watch: Just How Big is America’s C-17 Globemaster III

Raytheon and Pratt and Whitney Military Engines won a $642 million deal, which provides for the procurement of performance-based logistics activities including maintenance of support equipment, common program activities, unique and common base recurring sustainment, repair of repairables, field service representatives, common replenishment spares, conventional take-off and landing/carrier variant F135 unique maintenance services and short take-off and landing F135 unique services in support of the F-35 Lightning II F135 propulsion system for the Air Force, Marine Corps, Navy, non-Department of Defense participants and Foreign Military Sales customers. Pratt & Whitney’s F135 propulsion system powers all the three variants of F-35, the combat-proven fighter jet developed by defense major Lockheed Martin LMT, with BAE Systems BAESY and Northrop Grumman NOC being the co-manufacturers. Notably, F135 delivers more than 40,000 lbs. of thrust and unmatched advances in safety, design, performance, and reliability. An initial contract obligation amounting to $215.5 million will come from the US military’s fiscal 2021 operation and maintenance funds. Work will run at Eglin Air Force Base in Florida; Hill AFB in Utah; Edwards AFB in California; Luke AFB in Arizona; Beaufort Marine Corps Air Station in South Carolina; Oklahoma City; East Hartford, Connecticut; and Camari, Italy, through November 2021.

IAP Worldwide Services won a $11 million contract modification, which increases the contract value and provides additional funding for inventory replenishment, operational and depot spare parts in support of the E-6B Mercury airborne command post take charge and move out aircraft. The Boeing E-6 Mercury is a command post and communications relay aircraft manufactured by Boeing for the US Navy. The aircraft relays communications for ballistic missile submarine forces and provides airborne command and control for strategic forces. Work will take place in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma; Patuxent River, Maryland; Bellevue, Nebraska; and Fairfield, California. Expected completion will take place in January 2021.

Leidos Inc. won a $38.4 million modification for contractor logistics support services supporting the Afghan Air Force. Leidos had also received a multi-million contract modification in support of the Afghan Air Force and the Special Mission Wing of the Afghan armed forces back in March. The Department of Defense awarded a $728 million contract to Leidos Inc. in support of the Afghan Air Force in late in late 2018. Work under the current modification will take place in Kabul, Afghanistan. Estimated completion date is February 28, 2021.

The US Army awarded AITC-Five Domains JV LLC a $36 million contract to provide train, advise, assist and mentor services to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Bids were solicited via the internet with one received. Fiscal 2021 Foreign Military Sales funds in the amount of $36,000,547 were obligated at the time of the award. Work will take place in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Estimated completion date is November 30, 2024.

BAE Systems won a $3.2 billion munitions contract for Britain’s Next Generation Munitions Solution program, the defense ministry announced. The British-based company will manufacture 39 different munitions for the Royal Navy, Army, Royal Air Force and Strategic Command for front-line use, including small arms ammunition, mortars, medium-caliber gun rounds and large-caliber artillery and tank shells. The 15-year contract calls for manufacturing improvements in five BAE facilities in Britain, and is part of a $22 billion, four-year increase in British defense spending announced on November 19. “This vital multi-billion-pound contract will provide our service men and women with fire power on the front line for years to come whilst investing in British industry, British jobs and British infrastructure,” Defense Minister Jeremy Quin said in a press release.

The United States and Australia, in an agreement announced on November 30 by the US Defense Department, will soon start speeding the development and testing of hypersonic weapons, officials of both governments said. The process of certifying the missiles capable of flying five times the speed of sound, or up to 6,000 mph, has been accelerated by a regional arms race involving China and Russia, each working on hypersonic missile programs of their own. The interest in air-launched missiles comes after defense strategists warned that a planned 10-year schedule of development is inadequate against potential threats.

Watch: It Could Nuke a Country: The E-6 Mercury is America’s Deadliest Plane Ever

According to the US Air Force, a B-1B Lancer bomber conducted a demonstration testing its ability to externally carry potential hypersonic weapons. The “external captive carry” test was conducted last week by the 412th Test Wing’s 419th Flight Test Squadron at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif., the Air Force said on Tuesday. The plane carried an inert Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile outside its fuselage. An earlier test demonstrated the capability of carrying large weapons within the plane. The tests indicate that the B-1B can deliver and launch large hypersonic weapons, which by definition fly at over five times the speed of sound. The United States, China and Russia are all developing hypersonic missiles.

According to media reports, the Brazilian Navy completed the modernization of amphibious assault ship Atlantico on 12th November. After the modernization, the ship will be able to operate with fixed-wing medium-altitude long-endurance unmanned aerial vehicles as well as crewed tiltrotor VTOL aircraft. After the modernization, the Brazilian Navy decided to reclassify the helicopter carrier “Atlantico” as an aircraft carrier. The Atlantico was procured in 2018 for a value of £84 million from the United Kingdom, where it has operated since 1995. With 203 meters in length and 21,600 tons of displacement, the vessel was used as a platform for helicopters on amphibious assault missions. Despite the new name, the ship has no characteristics to be considered an aircraft carrier, such as catapult or ski-jump takeoff systems.

Israeli media is reporting that Israel’s Ministry of Defense is in talks with Canada’s Top Aces for the purchase of 29 surplus F-16A/B fighters. Israel is asking for between $3 million and $4 million for each jet and the Ministry of Defense’s International Defense Cooperation Directorate (SIBAT) is responsible for the talks. General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcons were delivered to Israel in the early 1980s and over the past decade have been gradually phased out of service.

The United Arab Emirates approved the establishment of a new national cybersecurity council, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, UAE Prime Minister and Vice-President and ruler of Dubai, said. The cabinet of the UAE government also appointed Industry and Advanced Technology Minister and head of Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) Sultan al-Jaber as a special envoy for climate change.

The first two of fifty new Apache AH-64E attack helicopters have been delivered to the British Army. The British Army expects to operate 50 AH-64E aircraft. Approval for the upgrade of fifty of the UK’s WAH-64 fleet to AH-64E Apache Guardian standard was given by the US Defense Security Cooperation Agency in August 2015 however in July 2016, the UK placed an order for 50 AH-64Es through the US Foreign Military Sales program instead of upgrading their Westland-built WAH-64s. To date, more than 500 AH-64E model Apaches have been delivered worldwide. “The arrival of the first Apache E model attack helicopter to be delivered to the British Army over the next two years marks the beginning of a significant uplift in capability to enhance the army’s contribution across the spectrum of military operations,” Major General Jez Bennett, Director Capability, was quoted as saying.

The Philippine Navy formally received an Insitu Inc ScanEagle 2 unmanned aerial system from the United States during a “turnover, acceptance and blessing ceremony” held at the Naval Base Heracleo Alano in the Philippine city of Cavite near Manila on November 25. The PN said in a statement that the $14.79 million system – which comprises eight unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), two launchers, the SkyHook recovery system and a ground control station – was handed over by US Acting Deputy Chief of Mission Kimberly Kelly and representatives from the US Embassy in the Philippines’ Joint US Military Assistance Group (JUSMAG).

Watch: B-1 Lancer – The Bone – Supersonic Bomber

Lockheed Martin won a $14.1 million contract modification for AN/SLQ-32(V)6 design agent engineering services. The AN/SLQ-32 is a shipboard electronic warfare suite built by Raytheon and the Hughes Aircraft Company. It is currently the primary electronic warfare system in use by US Navy ships. AN/SLQ-32(V)6, the latest fielded variant of the AN/SLQ-32, incorporates receiver, antenna and combat system interface upgrades developed under the SEWIP Block 2 ACAT II program and adds the High Gain High Sensitivity adjunct sensor developed under the SEWIP Block 1B3 ACAT II program. Work will take place in Syracuse, New York, and is expected to be completed by November 2021.

Three National Guard bases and a Navy Reserve base were selected to receive new C-130J Super Hercules cargo planes, the US Air Force announced. Louisville Air National Guard Base in Kentucky, McLaughlin ANGB in West Virginia and Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base in Texas are set to start receiving eight new aircraft each in the coming year. Savannah ANGB in Georgia is also scheduled to receive C-130Js “if they become available in the future,” officials said in a press release. The Lockheed Martin-built planes are improvements over earlier C-130 variants they will replace, and offer reduced manpower requirements and operating and support costs, providing life-cycle cost savings, the Air Force said. The C-130J climbs faster and higher, flies farther at a higher cruise speed, and takes off and lands in a shorter distance than its predecessors.

Acting Defense Secretary Christopher Miller made a surprise visit to Somalia Friday in the last of a four-country tour as President Donald Trump contemplates a draw down of counterterrorism troops there. Miller, who replaced Mark Esper on November 9, was making his first trip abroad in the position. The US military has about 700 troops in the country. Miller was visiting neighboring Djibouti as part of his scheduled trip when he took a flight to Somalia without traveling press. Officials said he is believed to be the first defense secretary to visit the country.

The final test firing trial of the Sea Venom/ANL missile was completed November 17 at the French Armament General Directorate (DGA) test site at Ile du Levant. The final qualification trial tested the missile’s advanced target discrimination within a complex and cluttered naval scenario, MBDA says. Soon to start equipping the Royal Navy’s AW159 Wildcat and Marine nationale’s H160M Guépard shipborne helicopters, the Sea Venom/ANL anti-ship missile is a co-operation project developed under the Lancaster House treaty between France and the United Kingdom.

The governments of India and Sri Lanka are in talks for the donation of one Do 228 maritime patrol aircraft. Another aircraft will be sold to Sri Lanka as well. It has been discussed that the cost of one aircraft is said to be around $8 million. During the discussion, it has been decided to deploy an aircraft currently used by India with Indian pilots and coast guard officers immediately for surveillance operations and to provide the necessary training to the Sri Lankan counterparts. Thereafter, it is planned to deliver the first aircraft of this type manufactured by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited to Sri Lanka free of charge.

Japan will attempt to launch a military communications satellite today that will relay data collected by its optical and radar-imaging reconnaissance satellites. This new satellite replaces the Data Relay Test Satellite (DRTS) that was decommissioned in 2017. It has a Laser Utilizing Communication System (LUCAS) that allows a network throughput of 1.8 gbps. The Optical Data Relay Satellite payload aboard this mission will be used to relay data collected by Japan’s fleet of Information Gathering Satellites (IGS) – including both optical and radar-imaging reconnaissance spacecraft – back to Earth for analysis.

Watch: This Is Why the C-130 Is Such a Badass Plane

Northrop Grumman Systems won a $4.8 billion deal for Global Hawk development, modernization, retrofit and sustainment activities for all Air Force Global Hawk variants. The contract provides for management, including program, business and technical areas; engineering efforts, including configuration management, data management, reliability, availability and maintainability, and related areas of concern such as technical refresh, diminishing manufacturing sources, etc.; studies and analyses; design, development, integration, test and evaluation; contract/production line closeout/shutdown; training; sparing; overseas contingency operations support; fielding; cyber security/information assurance; interoperability support; facilities modifications/renovation; integrated logistics support; requirements management specification management; and quality assurance. The USAF has 31 Block 20, 30, and 40 Global Hawk HALE UAVs in its inventory. The RQ-4 Global Hawk is a high-altitude, long-endurance unmanned aircraft system with an integrated sensor suite that provides intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, or ISR, capability worldwide. Global Hawk’s mission is to provide a broad spectrum of ISR collection capability to support joint combatant forces in worldwide peacetime, contingency and wartime operations. Work will take place in San Diego, California. Estimated completion date is September 30, 2030.

Perspecta Engineering won a $9.7 million deal, which provides engineering services in support of test and evaluation and systems engineering activities related to Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense on behalf of the Missile Defense Agency. The Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense system is a US Department of Defense Missile Defense Agency program. It is developed to provide missile defense against short to intermediate-range ballistic missiles. It is part of the US national missile defense strategy. Work will take place in Hawaii, California and Virgina. Estimated completion is November 2025.

According to Stars and Stripes, Acting Defense Secretary Christopher Miller is serving Thanksgiving meals to troops in the Middle East this week during his first international trip as the Defense Department begins the transition to President-elect Joe Biden’s administration. With the official switch to a new administration less than two months away and only being on his new job for a couple of weeks, Miller was already part of a major decision last week to reduce the US forces in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Great Britain’s Prime Minister Boris Johnson stated that the UK will routinely deploy a ‘permanently available, ready to fight’ Carrier Strike Group. Having two aircraft carriers, HMS Queen Elizabeth and HMS Prince of Wales, allows for one to be available at short notice year round. The additional funding announced by the Prime Minister will also support the purchase of three new Fleet Solid Support ships and the development of a new multi-role research vessel.

South Korea’s government approved the production of more than 200 Korean Tactical Surface to Surface Missiles (KTSSM). The Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) says the missile is designed to destroy long-range artillery pieces hidden in underground tunnels. During the defense project promotion committee presided over by Defense Minister Suh Wook, the government approved the plan to produce more than 200 units of the Korean Tactical Surface to Surface Missile (KTSSM) by 2025, according to the Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA).

The Russian Defense Ministry successfully carried out a check of its antiballistic missile (ABM) system. A recently-released video shows the interception in the skies above Kazakhstan’s Sary-Shagan testing ground. According to Lieutenant General Andrey Demin, commander of the 1st air and missile defense army of the Russian aerospace forces, the missile “reliably confirmed its characteristics” by successfully hitting the simulated target. The Defense Ministry described the interceptor as intended to defend against air and space attacks. Earlier this month, the US successfully tested the SMM 3 interceptor against a simulated ICBM. Following the test, Moscow accused Washington of providing “false information” about its capabilities.

Watch: Most Advanced Of U.S Military Technology : RQ-4 Global Hawks.

The US Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division (NAWCAD) has down selected L3Harris Technologies and Martin UAV for the phase two demonstration of the MI2 technology demonstration. The program’s objective is to identify unmanned air vehicles capable of operating in austere deployed environments without ancillary support systems. Such drones must not require dedicated launch or recovery equipment. Phase 2 demonstrations will take place at Yuma Proving Ground from November 30 to December 18.

BAE Systems won a $197.5 million deal for the execution of the USS Wasp (LHD 1) fiscal 2021 Chief of Naval Operations scheduled docking selected restricted availability. This availability will include a combination of maintenance, modernization and repair of USS Wasp (LHD 1). Under the deal, BAE will drydock and perform maintenance and modernization work on the amphibious assault ship. The company’s last maintenance availability aboard the Wasp was from December 2016 to May 2017, when it added modifications to support Joint Strike Fighter operations. The contract includes options that, if exercised, would bring the total value of the deal to $237.7 million. This is the second time in four years the contractor has been hired to perform significant work on the ship. Work will take place in Norfolk Virginia. Estimated completion will be by May 2022.

A Israeli Air Force flight instructor and his student died on the spot in a field north of Beersheba on November 24 when their G-120 single-engine light aircraft crashed. The two had taken off from the IAF flight school at Hatzerim Airbase in their two-seat Grob G-120 ‘Snunit’ (‘Swallow’) aircraft. An IAF helicopter from the 669 Search and Rescue Unit and Magen David Adom paramedics arrived at the scene of the crash, near the Kibbutz Mishmar Hanegev shortly after the accident and found two men unresponsive. They were later pronounced dead at the scene.

The budget committee of the Bundestag, the German parliament, has approved funding for the German Navy’s new NH90 Sea Tiger frigate helicopter and tank ammunition, as well as for the upgrade of DM2A4 torpedoes and the Bundeswehr’s IT wide area network (WAN). The German Ministry of Defense announced on its website that it had approved $3.2 billion in funding for 31 Sea Tigers, accessories, spare parts, and training. Starting in 2025, the helicopters will replace the German Navy’s Sea Lynx Mk88A frigate helicopters dating from the 1980s. The German MoD said the Sea Tiger would be the Bundeswehr’s only multirole helicopter, providing close protection for frigates, armed with torpedoes and missiles for anti-submarine and anti-surface warfare and conducting transport and search and rescue (SAR) missions.

Swiss voters decide on Sunday whether to ban the funding of arms makers, the latest anti-military referendum in the neutral country that hasn’t fought an external war for 200 years. Swiss banks have given loans and hold shares worth nearly $11 billion in companies like Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman and General Dynamics, according to a study by independent researchers Profundo. The Swiss National Bank (SNB), UBS and Credit Suisse have the biggest exposure, the study said. “An enormous amount of money comes from Switzerland into an industry which profits from death and destruction,” said Julia Kueng, co-president of the Young Greens Party.

Bell Boeing won a $12.8 million contract modification, which exercises options to modify the V-22 aircraft to the government of Japan’s unique configuration requirements. Additionally, the modification exercises options for the production and delivery of nine traffic collision avoidance systems, technical support representation and preservation of aircraft post completion of unique modifications. Last week, the Japanese Ground Self-Defense Forces kicked off flight operations with the first V-22 aircraft at Kisarazu Air Field, in the Chiba Prefecture, Japan, becoming the first military outside of the US to operate the Osprey. Japan selected and procured the type through foreign military sales (FMS) in 2015. The first two aircraft, JG-1701 and JG-1705, were transported from the US to Iwakuni via ship in May 2020.

Watch: Episode 17. Mi-28N. Natural-born hunter

Northrop Grumman won a $185.7 million deal for the A-10 Structural Integrity Program Legacy VIII. The deal provides for sustaining engineering services of A-10 aircraft. Services under the indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract are intended to support the military branch’s A-10 Aircraft Structural Integrity Program Legacy VII effort. Built by Fairchild Republic Company prior to its acquisition by Northrop, the A-10 aircraft is designed to help USAF perform airborne forward air control and close air support operations. Work will take place in Clearfield, Utah and estimated completion date is November 22, 2030.

Lockheed Martin Aeronautics won a $9.3 million contract for the Long Range Systems Division seeking to integrate the Navy Advanced Anti-Radiation Guided Missile-Extended Range (AARGM-ER) into the F-35. The AARGM-ER is a Navy weapon that will provide the F-35A advanced suppression of enemy air defenses/destruction of enemy air defenses capability. The AARGM-ER (Advanced Anti-Radiation Guided Missile-Extended Range) is a further development of the AGM-88 HARM anti-radiation missile, used to destroy enemy air defense network. An anti-radiation missile homes in on the electronic transmissions coming from a hostile surface-to-air radar and destroys it. The AARGM-ER was originally developed for the navy carrier-based fighters, equipping its F-35C fighter fleet with a credible long-range weapon, which would further boost their lethality in carrying out SEAD/DEAD (suppression/destruction of enemy air defenses) sorties. With Lockheed Martin bagging the contract, the weapon system would also find its way into the US Air Force’s F-35A CTOL (conventional take-off and landing) fleet. Lockheed Martin is the parent manufacturing company of the F-35 aircraft as well.

Greece and the United Arab Emirates, countries opposing recent Turkish policy, agreed to a strategic partnership on November 23rd. “I am happy to announce the establishment of a strategic partnership to enhance political, economic and cultural cooperation between our countries,” Prince Muhammad bin Zayed announced on Twitter. The clause regarding mutual defense calling for aid if one country’s territorial integrity is threatened, is likely the most significant element of the pact. Although Greece and the UAE do not share a border or belong to a common alliance, each country regards Turkey as a threat. Greece disputed Turkey’s search for minerals and energy in the eastern Mediterranean Sea, claimed by Greece and Cyprus, during the summer.

Armasuisse, which is the Swiss Federal Office for Defense Procurement, announced that it has received the second set of proposals for the country’s Air2030 Neues Kampfflugzeug (New Fighter Aircraft, NKF) as well as ground-based air defense system. The offers to replace the Swiss Air Force’s F-5E/F Tiger II and F/A-18 Hornet fleets were made by Germany for Airbus Eurofighter, France for the Dassault Rafale, and the United States for the Boeing F/A-18E/F Super Hornet and Lockheed Martin F-35A Lightning Joint Strike Fighter. The DDPS said the proposals included the prices for 36 and 40 aircraft, including logistics and weapons, as a binding starting point for negotiations with the winning offer after type selection.

The US government donated 100 TOW-2A guided anti-tank missiles to the Philippines on November 23. US National Security Advisor (NSA) Robert C. O’Brien participated in the ceremonial handover of the weapons. The missiles will support the Armed Forces of the Philippines’ efforts to defeat ISIS-East Asia in the Southern Philippines. Following the recent typhoons that ravaged the Philippines and forced thousands of people from their homes, NSA O’Brien announced an additional $3.5 million in US humanitarian assistance to disaster-stricken communities.

Korea Aerospace Industries’ dedicated services company, Korea Aviation Engineering & Maintenance Service launched its new facility in Sacheon, in the south of the country, aiming to position the region as a hub for aerospace maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO) services. KAEMS, which specializes in both military and commercial aerospace MRO, said the facility will initially be positioned to win regional commercial aerospace contracts as well as those to support military transport aircraft. KAI, manufacturer of military platforms including the T-50 advanced jet trainer aircraft, announced the launch of KAEMS in 2018 and started building the Sacheon plant in 2019. KAI, which is also headquartered in Sacheon, owns a 66.4% stake in the firm.

Watch: How Powerful is TOW Missile & How BGM-71 TOW Anti-Tank Guided Missiles Work?