Defense Industry Daily

M1A2 SEP (click to view full) America’s M1 Abrams tanks come in a number of versions. In addition to the M1A1 that is now standard, the US Army is beginning to field its M1 TUSK for urban warfare. It also operates the M1A2 System Enhancement Program (SEP), currently the most advanced standard variant. This Spotlight […]

Americas Boeing’s KC-46A Pegasus has encountered some turbulence. Plagued by technical glitches and safety concerns, the aerial refueller has faced a $7 billion headwind. Boeing is taking the Pegasus back to the hangar for a thorough overhaul. Six critical issues stand between the Pegasus and its full potential. Michael Marrow from Breaking Defense toured Boeing’s […]

Block IV Cutaway (click to view full) Block IV Tomahawk is the current generation of the Tomahawk family of cruise missiles. The BGM-109 Tomahawk family began life in the 1980s as sub-sonic, low-flying nuclear strike weapons, before being developed into long-range RGM/UGM-109 conventional attack missiles. They’re most frequently launched from submarines and surface ships, and […]

Americas Boeing won a $102.7 million cost-plus-fixed-fee modification, which exercises options for the production and delivery of ten P-8A increment three retrofit A-kits and provides for three retrofit kit A-kit installs, in support of anti-submarine warfare capabilities upgrades for the Navy. Work will be performed in Jacksonville, Florida; St. Louis, Missouri; and Mesa, Arizona, and […]

P-8A Poseidon (click to view full) Maritime surveillance and patrol is becoming more and more important, but the USA’s P-3 Orion turboprop fleet is falling apart. The P-7 Long Range Air ASW (Anti-Submarine Warfare) Capable Aircraft program to create an improved P-3 began in 1988, but cost overruns, slow progress, and interest in opening the […]

Americas According to the Defense Post, the US Air Force is seeking a vendor to integrate the upcoming Long-Range Standoff (LRSO) nuclear missile on the B-52H Stratofortress bomber. The service expects the vendor to build and integrate the Bomber Weapon Interface Equipment (BWIE) on the aircraft in support of the LRSO. The US military remains […]

B-52H: flyin’ low, dyin’ slow… (click to view full) Officially, it’s the B-52H Stratofortress. Unofficially, it’s the BUFF (Big Ugly Fat F–cker). Either way, this subsonic heavy bomber remains the mainstay of the U.S. strategic fleet after more than 50 years of service. A total of 102 B-52H bombers were delivered from FY 1961-1963, and […]

Americas BAE Systems has delivered the US Marine Corps’ first Amphibious Vehicle Command and Control (ACV-C) variant following tests ensuring its mission-critical effectiveness. The ACV-C is part of a $256.8-million production contract for the vehicle’s Personnel and Combat variants. The production is estimated to be worth $111.5 million. BAE Systems is currently producing and developing Personnel, […]

Americas Northrop Grumman won a $23 million modification for Global Hawk (RQ-4) aircraft sustainment. The contract modification is for the purchase of replenishment spares for operational use and to support depot repair. This modification also provides an option for procurement of an additional quantity of spares. The modification brings the total cumulative face value of […]

RQ-4A Global Hawk (click to view full) Northrop Grumman’s RQ-4 Global Hawk UAV has established a dominant position in the High Altitude/ Long Endurance UAV market. While they are not cheap, they are uniquely capable. During Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF), the system flew only 5% of the US Air Force’s high altitude reconnaissance sorties, but […]

Javelin, firing (click to view full) The FGM-148 Javelin missile system aimed to solve 2 key problems experienced by American forces. One was a series of disastrous experiences in Vietnam, trying to use 66mm M72 LAW rockets against old Soviet tanks. A number of replacement options like the Mk 153 SMAW and the AT4/M136 spun […]

Americas Bell Boeing won a $23.3 million modification, which exercises an option to provide continued flight test support for the V-22 Osprey aircraft for the Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force, and the government of Japan. Work will take place in Maryland, Pennsylvania, Texas and Florida. Expected completion date is in January 2025. Boeing won a […]

(click to view full) In March 2008, the Bell Boeing Joint Project Office in Amarillo, TX received a $10.4 billion modification that converted the previous N00019-07-C-0001 advance acquisition contract to a fixed-price-incentive-fee, multi-year contract. The new contract rose to $10.92 billion, and was used to buy 143 MV-22 (for USMC) and 31 CV-22 (Air Force […]

Americas The US has agreed to co-produce the Stryker armored fighting vehicle with India in an effort to enhance New Delhi’s deterrence against China. New Delhi recently submitted a letter of intent for the deal to Washington, Nikkei reported citing a US defense official. The US Air Force has announced that its B-21 Raider stealth bomber completed […]

Americas The US Army will receive more next-generation thermal weapon sights from Leonardo as part of a new $134-million deal. According to the company, the device provides rapid target acquisition capabilities to soldiers, especially during missions in low-light environments. BAE Systems has landed a $5-million contract to develop electronic warfare solutions for the US Navy’s Common-architecture […]

Americas Systems Planning and Analysis won a $90.8 million deal for Trident II Strategic Weapons System technical support services supporting the Common Missile Compartment program, D5 Life Extension 2 program, Strategic Systems Program (SSP) Facilities Management, Activation and Assessments, and Missile Systems program. This contract also benefits a foreign military sale to the United Kingdom. […]

Americas Booz Allen Hamilton won a $17.6 million modification for AH-64E technical support, which will be performed in Huntsville, Alabama, with an estimated completion date of November 3, 2024. Fiscal 2010 Foreign Military Sales (Australia); fiscal 2023 research, development, test, and evaluation, Army; fiscal 2022 aircraft procurement, Army; and 2024 operation and maintenance, Army funds […]

Americas General Dynamics won a $967.2 million modification for lead yard support and development studies and design efforts related to Virginia Class submarines. Work will be performed in Groton, Connecticut; McLeansville, North Carolina; Newport News, Virginia; and Newport and Quonset, Rhode Island, and is expected to be completed by October 2024. The US Navy has […]

Americas Design West won a $21 million modification to exercise options to procure launch sequencers and associated kitted material in support of the MK 41 Vertical Launching System. This modification combines purchases for the Navy; and the governments of Finland, Australia, Germany, Norway, Canada, and the Republic of Korea under the Foreign Military Sales (FMS) […]

MK 41s in action (click to view full) The naval MK 41 Vertical Launching System (VLS) hides missiles below decks in vertical slots, with key electronics and venting systems built in. A deck and hatch assembly at the top of the module protects the missile canisters from the elements, and from other hazards during storage. […]