Austal Team Trimaran LCS Design (click to enlarge) Exploit simplicity, numbers, the pace of technology development in electronics and robotics, and fast reconfiguration. That was the US Navy’s idea for the low-end backbone of its future surface combatant fleet. Inspired by successful experiments like Denmark’s Standard Flex ships, the US Navy’s $35+ billion “Littoral Combat […]

Americas Austal won an $8 million deal to provide advance planning, material procurement, and accomplishment of work for emergent availabilities in support of the littoral combat ship USS Kingsville (LCS 36). This effort is to develop and provide planning, engineering support, planning and logistics technical documentation, funds and man-hour expenditure data, projected costs, cost estimates, […]

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 […]

F-35B: off probation (click to view full) The $382 billion F-35 Joint Strike fighter program may well be the largest single global defense program in history. This major multinational program is intended to produce an “affordably stealthy” multi-role fighter that will have 3 variants: the F-35A conventional version for the US Air Force et. al.; […]

Americas Lockheed Martin won a $79 million contract. This contract procures diminishing manufacturing sources parts required for the production and sustainment in of the F-35 aircraft for the Air Force, Marine Corps, Navy, Foreign Military Sales (FMS) customers, and non-US Department of Defense (DOD) participants. Work will be performed in Fort Worth, Texas, and is […]

MiG-21 ‘Lancer’ (click to view full) The MiG-21 is reaching the end of its service life, but it can still be effective for a little while. India’s refurbished MiG-21 ‘Bisons’ combined Russian, Indian and Israeli technology to excellent effect in the COPE India 2004 and 2005 exercises with the USAF, and there’s even a Russian-Israeli […]

Americas Technology company Sigma Defense Systems has signed a $4.7 million task order to build a virtual reality intelligence training ecosystem for the US Army. Under the deal, the Georgia-based firm will build, demonstrate, and deploy a next-generation training platform for the army’s Operator Maintainer Immersive Virtual Reality Environment for Intelligence Training (OMNIVORE-IT) project. The resulting […]

AH-64 in Afghanistan (click to view full) The AH-64 Apache will remain the US Army’s primary armed helicopter for several more decades, thanks to the collapse of the RAH-66 Comanche program, and the retirement sans replacement of the US Army’s Armed Reconnaissance Helicopter (ARH). Apaches also serve with a number of American allies, some of […]

Americas Applied Visual Technology won a $28 million firm-fixed-price contract for Targeted Fidelity Apache Tactical Trainer simulators, the Tactical Control Centre, and the Network Simulation Environment. Work will be performed in Orlando, Florida; and Kooiweg, Netherlands, with an estimated completion date of September 15, 2026. Army Contracting Command, Orlando, Florida, is the contracting activity. The […]

Americas The US Army is testing the Armored Multi-Purpose Vehicle-mounted Modular Turreted Mortar System (MTMS) prototype. Trials have been ongoing since January to ensure the expected performance from the system before an upcoming demonstration at Fort Moore, Georgia, in September. “We are diligently verifying its advertised capabilities and making sure it is safe for the […]

0 Reaper, ready… (click to view full) The MQ-9 Reaper UAV, once called “Predator B,” is somewhat similar to the famous Predator. Until you look at the tail. Or its size. Or its weapons. It’s called “Reaper” for a reason: while it packs the same surveillance gear, it’s much more of a hunter-killer design. Some […]

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 Marvin Land Systems won a $14.7 million deal for M1 Abrams tank auxiliary power units. The ordering period end date is September 19, 2024. Using military service is Army. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2023 through 2024 Army working capital funds. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency Land and Maritime, Warren, Michigan. […]

(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 Bell Boeing won a $14 million modification to provide continued post-production systems engineering and program management support for the V-22 Common Configuration Readiness and Modernization retrofit program for the Marine Corps. Work will be performed in Ridley Park, Pennsylvania; and Fort Worth, Texas and is expected to be completed in September 2024. Naval Air […]

F-15C over DC (click to view full) “Array of Aging American Aircraft Attracting Attention” discusses the issues that accompany an air force whose fighters have an average age of over 23.5 years – vs. an average of 8.5 years in 1967. One of the most obvious consequences is the potential for fleet groundings due to […]

Americas Boeing won a $19 million modification for the F-15 Eagle Passive/Active Warning Survivability System. The modification brings the total cumulative face value of the contract to $824,669,013. Work will be performed at Nashua, New Hampshire, and is expected to be completed by December 31, 2026. The Air Force Life Cycle Management Center, Wright-Patterson Air […]

Americas The US Army tested a remote landmine detect and diffuse system featuring a drone and a mortar-equipped land vehicle. The Ground Obstacle Breaching Lane Neutralizer (GOBLIN) concept was designed to neutralize a mine from a standoff range, reducing risk for breaching forces. It comprises a mortar-based launcher system integrated on a vehicle platform, a […]

Americas The Fleet Readiness Center East (FRCE) at Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point, North Carolina, recently completed restoring a retired Douglas A-4M Skyhawk to its former glory for static display. This project provided a special opportunity for FRCE’s artisans, many of whom had never worked on an A-4. The last A-4 Skyhawk was retired by […]

M3A3 Bradley CFV: Charge! (click to view full) In the 1970s, middle eastern wars demonstrated that tanks without infantry screens were vulnerable to infantry with anti-tank missiles. Unfortunately, armored personnel carriers were easy prey for enemy tanks, and sometimes had trouble just keeping up with friendly tanks like America’s 60+ ton, 50+ mph M1 Abrams. […]