Defense Industry Daily

Americas The US Department of Defense (DoD) has awarded a $982 million contract to 49 defense and technology firms to develop systems for its current and future unmanned surface vehicles (USV). Saab, Anduril Industries, Bollinger Shipyards, Teledyne FLIR, and General Atomics headline the list of chosen contractors. Marinette Marine Corp., Honeywell International, Leonardo Electronics, and Microsoft Corp. are also contract recipients. California Air National Guard’s 144th Fighter Wing (144 FW) recently hosted Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 211 (VMFA-211) for a joint training exercise focused on fighter integration. The F-35B Lightning IIs from Arizona arrived at Fresno Air National Guard Base on Jun. 7th, to train alongside the 144th FW’s F-15C Eagle fighter jets. This joint exercise capitalized on the opportunity presented by the 144th FW’s drill weekend, allowing for a higher participation rate among Air National Guard pilots. The core focus was on integrating the capabilities of the 4th generation F-15C with the advanced features of the 5th generation F-35B. Pilots from both squadrons honed their skills in executing offensive and defensive counter-air maneuvers in a team environment. The joint training maximized efficiency over the weekend, with a total of five mission sets and 40 sorties flown. Taking off from […]

Americas General Dynamics won a $202 million deal for DDG 51 Class Planning Yard. Work will take place in Bath, Maine, and is expected to be completed by July 31, 2029. Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, DC is the contracting activity. Ottawa is supplying additional tactical equipment to Ukraine to defend its territories amidst Russia’s illegal invasion, Canadian Defense Minister Bill Blair announced. The donation will include 29 Nanuk weapon systems from the Canadian military’s stockpile and about 2,300 CRV7 rocket motors previously fitted in the nation’s CF-18 Hornet fighter jets. The government wrote that the Nanuk systems can be mounted on different armored vehicle platforms for multiple mission types. Middle East & Africa Iraq’s foreign minister on Thursday, receiving his Iranian counterpart in Baghdad, warned of the dangers of conflict expanding in southern Lebanon and its repercussions across the Middle East. Near-daily cross-border fire between Lebanese-based militants and Israeli forces have occurred since Palestinian group Hamas attacked southern Israel on October 7. Europe The US State Department has approved a possible Foreign Military Sale (FMS) to the Netherlands of Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missiles – Extended Range (AMRAAM-ER) and related equipment, the US Defense Security Co-operation Agency (DSCA) announced on […]

Americas Raytheon won a $293 million deal with a $33,700,000 initial task order for sustainment, support, research, development, and supplemental objectives related to the Silent Knight radar systems in support of US Special Operations Command Program Executive Office-Fixed Wing, Special Operations Forces Acquisition, Technology, and Logistics-KF. Fiscal 2024 operations and maintenance funds in the amount of $977,000 are being obligated at time of award to the initial task order. The work will be performed in McKinney, Texas, and is expected to be completed by June 14, 2030. NATO countries have “comfortably exceeded” a target of placing 300,000 troops on high-readiness as the alliance grapples with the threat from Russia, a senior alliance official said Thursday. NATO leaders agreed in the wake of Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022 to massively ramp up the number of forces that alliance commanders can deploy within 30 days. “The offers on the table from allies comfortably exceed the 300,000 that we set,” the official said on condition of anonymity. Middle East & Africa Iraq’s foreign minister on Thursday, receiving his Iranian counterpart in Baghdad, warned of the dangers of conflict expanding in southern Lebanon and its repercussions across the Middle East. Near-daily cross-border fire between […]

Americas Boeing won $81 million modification, which definitizes the order and adds scope to provide continuing non-recurring engineering in support of configuration efforts for the Harpoon Coastal Defense System (HCDS), to include the Harpoon Block II Update Grade B Canister Launch All Up Round Missiles, the HCDS launch system, and Harpoon weapon station test and production equipment in support of the HCDS for Taiwan. Work will be performed in St. Charles, Missouri; Randolph, Vermont; Baltic, South Dakota; Pontiac, Michigan; Black Mountain, North Carolina; St. Louis, Missouri; Norcross, Georgia; various locations within the continental US; and various locations below and is expected to be completed in August 2026. Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Maryland, is the contracting activity. The United States will send another Patriot missile air defense system to Ukraine in the coming days, US media reported, citing unnamed administration and military officials. News of the decision to provide the advanced system came as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky pleaded on Tuesday for more air defenses at the start of an intense week of diplomatic meetings with Western partners. Middle East & Defense Lebanon’s Hezbollah said it shot down an Israeli drone on Monday, while the Israeli military confirmed a drone had […]

Americas L3Harris Technologies has secured a $34-million contract to upgrade the US Air Force B-52H bomber cockpit. It is part of the air force’s Global Strike Command B-52 Quad Crew Program to consolidate the functions of the electronic warfare officer and navigator. The aircraft’s five-person crew comprises two pilots, two navigators, and an electronic warfare officer. The US Army has begun awarding contracts to AM General to build its Joint Light Tactical Vehicles (JLTV) previously manufactured by Oshkosh Defense. The firm recently received $11.6 million to manufacture and deliver an undisclosed number of JLTVs. According to a Pentagon announcement, the work will be performed in South Bend, Indiana, with an estimated completion date of February 2033. Middle East & Africa The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) has fielded the Roem/Sigma self-propelled howitzer following a series of tests. Touted as the world’s first fully automatic artillery, the 155mm/52 caliber Elbit Systems gun is intended to be a replacement for hundreds of M109s in the Israeli Artillery Corps. “The relevance and dominance of artillery fire are evident in warfare,” IDF’s chief artillery officer Brig, Gen. Yair Natans said. Europe Saab has unveiled a significant upgrade to its Giraffe 1X radar system with the introduction of […]

Americas Raytheon won a $38 million modification to previously awarded contract for an option exercise and the award of a technical refresh of DDG-1000 Class Total Ship Computing Environment Hardware in support of Zumwalt Test Facility Ship Mission Center, peripherals and spares hardware. Work will be performed in Manchester, New Hampshire; Nashua, New Hampshire; Portsmouth, Rhode Island; and San Diego, California, and expected to complete by May 2027. The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, DS, is the contracting activity. The US Army has issued a request for information (RFI) regarding a new large drone that can support large-scale combat operations. The unmanned aerial system (UAS) should fall under Group 4 or 5 (more than 1,320 pounds/600 kilograms), or the same category as the MQ-9 Reaper and MQ-1C Gray Eagle. It must be able to perform precision strike, surveillance, reconnaissance, intelligence gathering, and command-and-control missions. Middle East & Africa The Tunisian Armed Forces are set to enhance their training capabilities with a comprehensive upgrade of their primary training area at Ben Ghilouf. This development comes following the publication of detailed plans on the US government’s System for Award Management (SAM) website on May 15. The upgrade project is currently in its third […]

Americas Lockheed Martin won a $97 million contract procures aircraft armament equipment such as internal adapters and weapon umbilical cables required to employ long-range strike weapons, which allows for internal carriage and employment of the Advanced Anti-Radiation Guided Missile – Extended Range weapon for F-35 Lightning II aircraft for the Air Force, Marine Corps, Navy, Foreign Military Sales (FMS) customers, and non-US Department of Defense (DOD) program participants. Work will be performed in Fort Worth, Texas, and is expected to be completed in February 2028. Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Maryland, is the contracting activity. BAE Systems has secured a $95 million contract from the U.S. Navy to develop and produce electronic warfare (EW) pods for the P-8A Poseidon Multi-Mission Maritime Aircraft. These pods will provide critical defensive capabilities for the Poseidon, enhancing its survivability in contested environments. The new EW pods are designed to detect and counter a variety of threats, including air-to-air and surface-to-air missiles. This will significantly improve the protection of the P-8A Poseidon and its crew, allowing them to operate more safely in potentially hostile airspace. Furthermore, the pods will expand the operational range of the Poseidon by enabling it to venture into areas previously […]

Americas Lockheed Martin’s advanced projects division has demonstrated how artificial intelligence (AI) could aid air-to-air intercepts in a tactical environment. In a press release, Skunk Works said its AI agent was integrated into an L-29 Delfin aircraft to directly control the jet and execute tactical exercises. With the AI agent managing the aircraft’s heading, speed, […]

Americas South Korea is offering its K9 Thunder self-propelled howitzer to the US Army to fill the capability gap created by canceling the Extended-Range Cannon Artillery (ERCA) program. Launched in 2018, the ERCA program aimed to provide the service with a long-range artillery strike capability by having a Paladin M109 howitzer mounted with a 30-foot […]

Americas Northrop Grumman won a $119 million long-term, requirements contract for the repair of 17 weapon replaceable assemblies and shop replaceable assemblies in support of the E-2 aircrafts. Work will take place in Syracuse, New York; Duluth, Georgia; Woodland Hills, California (4%); Burnsville, Minnesota; and Ronkonkoma, New York. No funds will be obligated at time […]

Americas Northrop Grumman won a $32.6 million modification, which exercises option years two and three for continued fabrication and installation support to retrofit the Delta System Software Configuration 4.0 (DSSC4) capabilities, to include Tactical Targeting Network Technology and the Beyond Line of Sight for the E-2D Advanced Hawkeye aircraft. Work will be performed in Melbourne, […]

Americas All Clear Repair Services won a $15 million firm-fixed-price contract for UH-60 Black Hawk maintenance and overhaul. Bids were solicited via the internet with two received. Work locations and funding will be determined with each order, with an estimated completion date of May 30, 2029. Army Contracting Command, Redstone Arsenal, Alabama, is the contracting […]

Americas Palantir Technologies has won a $480-million contract to begin the prototyping phase for the US Army’s Maven Smart System project. Maven is an artificial intelligence (AI)-enabled tool that fuses information from various sources into a unified interface to provide faster and much-improved battlefield analysis. It can identify military points of interest more rapidly than […]

Americas The US Air Force has awarded Boeing a $7.5-billion contract for Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM) tail kits that convert air-launched, unguided bombs into guided munitions. The contract includes spares, repairs, technical, and Laser Joint Direct Attack Munition sensor kits with an expected completion date of February 29, 2030. Some JDAMs will go to the […]

Americas Sikorsky has announced the start of flight testing for its new unmanned aerial system (UAS) that features a novel “rotor blown wing” design. Developed on behalf of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), the drone can take off and land vertically like a rocket from a seated position on its tail. It can then […]

Americas Lockheed Martin won a $22.7 million modification to exercise an option for industrial post-delivery availability support for the Freedom-variant Littoral Combat Ship USS Cleveland (LCS 31). Work will be performed in Marinette, Wisconsin, and is expected to be completed by March 2025. Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, DC, is the contracting activity. Green Expert […]

Americas Northrop Grumman will collaborate on the US-Japan counter-hypersonic missile system development program. Along with the US Missile Defense Agency, Northrop will team up with the Japanese Ministry of Defense and its industry partners to develop elements of the Glide Phase Interceptor (GPI). This stems from the 2023 US-Japan bilateral memorandum of understanding for research, […]

Americas Pratt & Whitney won a $9 million delivery order against a five-year basic ordering agreement for F100 engine case diffusers. This was a sole-source acquisition using justification 10 U.S. Code 2304 (c)(1), as stated in Federal Acquisition Regulation 6.302-1. The delivery order end date is December 31, 2027. Using military service is Air Force. […]

Americas Lockheed Martin has announced the first-ever launch of a Patriot PAC-3 missile segment enhancement (MSE) interceptor using the Virtualized Aegis Weapon System. Conducted in collaboration with various US Department of Defense components, the test saw the advanced missile engage and neutralize a cruise missile target mid-flight. It utilized a ground-based MK-70 containerized launch platform from […]

Americas The US Army has signed a $756-million deal with Lockheed Martin to acquire new capabilities for the country’s Long Range Hypersonic Weapon (LRHW) system. Under the contract, Lockheed will provide additional LRHW battery equipment, systems and software engineering support, and logistics solutions. The items will boost the force’s ability to launch hypersonic missiles from ground […]