* The Chief Executive of Boeing’s defense, space and security unit says that the company is counting on growing demand in Asia and the Middle East for military aircraft to help offset possible spending cuts in Europe and the U.S.
* A Lockheed Martin Executive tells Reuters that the company is willing to outsource some production of its F-35 Joint Strike Fighter to Japan if the country’s government decides to buy them as its next mainstay fighter aircraft.
* Saab receives orders from the Royal Thai Navy to upgrade two frigates with the latest generation of 9LV Mk4 and CEROS 200 combat management and fire control systems. The contracts will also supply data-link equipment which will allow communication between the frigates and Thailand’s existing Gripen aircraft and Saab 340s.
* Textron Marine and Land Systems awarded a one-year baseline contract worth up to $257 million by the U.S. Army Contracting Command to produce up to 440 Medium Armored Security Vehicles (MASV) for the Afghanistan National Army (ANA).
* General Dynamics conducts live-fire tests of the new Cased Telescoped (CT40) cannon system integrated in the very first Scout SV Turret five months ahead of schedule.
* Teledyne Brown Engineering agrees to form a strategic alliance with Aerojet to manufacture liquid propellant rocket engines for customers such as NASA and other aerospace companies.
* Australia’s Minister for Defence Materiel announces that CAE Australia will provide aircrew training services for the new KC30-A air-to-air refueling tanker.
* The Department of Defense’s new director of defense pricing presses on with initiatives to develop ‘world class buyers’.
* BAE Systems and DEW Engineering to collaborate on Canada’s Medium Support Vehicle System (MSVS) program, which will provide the Canadian Army with a new fleet of medium-sized logistics trucks.
* As CANSEC draws to a close, industry representatives are still unclear of the exact role of Canada’s new associate minister of defence.