Americas
* A number of F-35Bs will conduct developmental and operational testing aboard the USS America amphibious assault ship. Two of the Short Takeoff & Vertical Landing (STOVL) variant will be used in third phase development testing, evaluating the jet’s short take-off vertical landing operations in a high-sea state, shipboard landings, and night operations. Another five will undergo operational testing which involves the simulation of extensive maintenance on a ship. The USS America is the first ship of its class that incorporates design elements specifically to accommodate the new Joint Strike Fighter.
* Lockheed Martin has won a number of US Navy & USAF contracts for work on the Aegis Weapon System and F-22 Raptor aircraft. A $536 million deal will see Lockheed conduct sustainment services for the F-22 through to December 2017 while a $60 million award covers Aegis ship integration and test efforts for five new Arleigh Burke-class ships, as well as the modernization of five existing ships of that class. Completion of the Aegis contract is expected for November 2017.
* CACI International has landed a massive deal to support the US Joint Improvised-Threat Defeat Organization (JIDO). Valued at $1.7 billion, CACI will provide JIDO with deployable analytical operations, intelligence and training services to support the organization’s Focused Support/Decisive Effort mission worldwide. The deal will seek to enhance the ability of deploying joint forces to integrate capabilities, technologies and lessons learned against improvised-threat weapons, including improvised explosive devices, or IEDs.
Middle East & North Africa
* Israeli Air Force officials plan to have its fleet of F-35I “Adir” fighters operational as soon as possible, with service technicians due to visit the US in order to participate in a series of test flights manufacturer Lockheed Martin plans to perform at its Fort Worth, Texas facilities. The test flights aim to familiarise the crew with maintaining the fighter and preparing it for a combat mission and also includes a visit to the USAF’s base in Utah to observer operational procedures for the F-35. With the first two Israeli F-35s slated to arrive next month, immediate work is expected to begin on installing Israeli-developed systems.
Europe
* Swiss firm Pilatus is confident that a contract with the French government to sell Paris PC-21 trainers is very close. It’s expected that between 20-25 of the turboprop aircraft will be sold in a procurement deal designed to replace the French Air Force’s aged fleet of Dassault Alpha Jet trainers. A decision on the competition is expected in 2017 with the PC-21 the only trainer being offered by the two shortlisted consortia, respectively led by Airbus Defence & Space and Babcock. Leonardo’s Aermacchi M-345 had also been in the mix but did not make it to the competition’s latter stages.
* The UK’s finance minister has announced funding worth $2.3 billion in order to counter cyberattacks. Speaking at a technology conference in London on Tuesday, Chancellor of the Exchequer Phillip Hammond added that “we will not only defend ourselves in cyberspace, we will strike back in kind when we are attacked.” The spending over the next five years represents a doubling of funding on cyberdefense in the 2011 to 2016 period.
* Planning to visit Crimea? Well, some of the Soviet-era tourist attractions once available may have been commandeered for Russian defense in the region. Previously abandoned Soviet missile bunkers, once open to the public (for a $50 fee), are now off limits as Moscow has blocked roads to the area which locals now believe “is a functioning military base with an anti-ship missile system.” The bunkers are just one of several previously abandoned military installations being used as the militarization of the Crimean peninsula continues, as reciprocal NATO buildups occur within Russia’s east European neighbors.
Asia Pacific
* AAI Corp has won a $206 million US Army contract to carry out work as part of Australia’s RQ-7B Shadow drone program. The foreign military sale includes contractor logistics sustainment services for Shadow, and is expected to be completed by October 2017. Australia’s first Shadow drones have been in operation since 2011 and provides reconnaissance, surveillance, target acquisition and force protection for brigades in all weather and at all hours.
Today’s Video
Higher quality look at Chinese J-20s:
