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Boeing Blusters Over Tweet | US State Dept Clears $668M Stryker Sale to Peru | $619B Defense Bill May Send MANPADS to Syria

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Americas * President-elect Donald Trump proved a tweet can be worth a billion dollars, with $1 billion being temporarily wiped off Boeing’s stock market value, after Trump deemed the company’s new Air Force One offering too expensive and called for it to be dropped. Boeing maintained that it has so far only received a $170 […]
Americas

* President-elect Donald Trump proved a tweet can be worth a billion dollars, with $1 billion being temporarily wiped off Boeing’s stock market value, after Trump deemed the company’s new Air Force One offering too expensive and called for it to be dropped. Boeing maintained that it has so far only received a $170 million contract for capability exploration work, far from the $4 billion price tag Trump was claiming. While $2.87 has been officially budgeted for the Air Force One replacement program from 2015 through to 2021, production contracts have yet to be awarded.

* The US State Department has cleared the sale of 178 reconditioned Stryker Infantry Carrier Vehicles to the government of Peru. Valued at $668 million, the deal also includes supporting weapons, Remote Weapon Stations, Global Positioning System navigation capabilities, special tool sets, and testing equipment. Once delivered, the vehicles will be used to support border security, disaster response, and counter-terrorism missions.

* Veyance Technologies will carry out Abrams track assemblies for the US Army. Valued at $77 million, the contract was awarded by the Defense Logistics Agency. Work is expected to be completed by 2017.

Middle East & North Africa

* UK Prime Minister Theresa May has reaffirmed her government’s commitment to increase defensive cooperation with Gulf allies. Addressing the Gulf Cooperation Council, May said Britain wanted to “make a more permanent and more enduring commitment to the long-term security of the Gulf” and invest more than 3 billion pounds in defense spending in the region over the next decade. British support will also go towards countering “Iran’s aggressive regional actions”.

* The recent $619 billion defense bill passed by Congress will provide for the possibility of sending Man Portable Air Defense Systems (MANPADS) to rebel groups fighting in Syria. While the bill does impose certain restrictions on the shoulder-fired antiaircraft weapon, it represents a significant shift from prior iterations of the legislation. The version of the bill the Senate passed in June made no mention of MANPADS.

Europe

* Statoil has confirmed that they will drop the use of H225 Super Puma helicopters, even if Norway’s Civil Aviation Authority decides to lift a ban imposed after a fatal crash off Norway in April. The Norwegian state-controlled oil firm stated that it would instead rebuild its capacity with the Sikorsky S-92. Following last April’s Super Puma crash that killed 13 oil workers flying from a Statoil-operated oil platform, unions representing oil workers expressed concern about the H225 helicopter and asked for a permanent ban.

* Dutch F-16s will be fitted with AN/ALQ-131 electronic countermeasure pods, following an agreement between the Royal Netherlands Air Force and Northrop Grumman. Under the agreement, the company will aim to improve threat detection and jamming capabilities for the aircraft, a move they add will make pilots safer in an evolving threat environment. The pods will give Dutch fighters a fifth-generation electronic warfare technology and makes a significant leap in capability for electronic countermeasures.

Asia Pacific

* Australia has been cleared to purchase AEA-18G Growler Aircraft Electronic Warfare Range Systems in a $115 million foreign military sale. The deal includes two systems, personnel training, integration testing, and other supporting equipment. Alongside the US, Australia is the main customer of EA-18G Growler aircraft.

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