Americas
Lockheed Martin Corp won a $3 billion modification to provide continued logistics support to include ground maintenance activities, action request solution, depot activities, automatic logistics information system operations and maintenance, reliability and maintainability, supply chain management, pilot training, maintainer training, and training system sustainment in support of delivered F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter Air Systems for the Air Force, Marine Corps, Navy, Foreign Military Sales (FMS) customers, and non-Department of Defense (DOD) program partners . The contract being modified was not competed. Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Maryland, is the contracting activity.
Honeywell International won a $92 million for a firm-fixed-price, five-year, spares requirements contract with no options for procurement of 15 inboard wheel segments, 15 outboard wheel segments, 905 landing gear wheels, 630 of another type of landing gear wheels, 610 rotor assemblies, 192 multiple disk brakes, 68 of another type of multiple disk brakes, 137 of another type of landing gear wheels, 1,286 disk brake stators, 337 hydraulic piston assemblies, 1,393 of another type of hydraulic piston assemblies, and 508 of another type of landing gear wheels, for a total of 6,096 weapon repairable assemblies, in support of the F/A-18 aircraft. Naval Supply Systems Command Weapon Systems Support, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, is the contracting activity.
Middle East & Africa
Poland’s first two Lockheed Martin F-35A Lightning IIs aircraft arrived at Ebbing Air National Guard Base in Fort Smith, Arkansas, on Dec. 23. This event initiates a new chapter in the F-35 Foreign Military Sales training program. Training for Polish pilots at Ebbing is scheduled to commence in January 2025. The Air Force’s 85th Fighter Group, stationed at Ebbing, will conduct the F-35 training program. Ebbing ANGB was selected for the program in 2023, surpassing other potential sites like Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland, Texas and Selfridge Air National Guard Base, Michigan.
Europe
A “massive missile attack” pummelled Ukraine’s northeastern city of Kharkiv, Mayor Igor Terekhov said on Wednesday morning. “Kharkiv is under a massive missile attack. A series of explosions were heard in the city and there are still ballistic missiles heading towards the city,” he wrote on Telegram. The regional governor counted seven Russian strikes and said casualties were still being assessed.
Asia-Pacific
The South Korean military has successfully launched another surveillance satellite into space at a time of intensifying tensions with North Korea. This marks the third time Seoul has placed a domestically-built spy satellite into orbit within just a year, following launches in December 2023 and April 2024. According to the South Korean defense ministry, the space asset was launched on Saturday aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from the Vandenberg Space Force Base in California.
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