Americas
The US Air Force has awarded a contract to Silver Arrow to scale down its GD-2000 cargo delivery unmanned air system (UAS). This Small Business Innovation Research contract is to meet specific Air Force Special Operations Command (AFSOC) operational requirements. The glider will deploy from the cargo ramp of the CV-22 and side-door of small fixed-wing aircraft. Silver Arrow says the final product will a eventually be procure on a sole-source basis by the United States government for special operations and tactical resupply as well as humanitarian aid and disaster relief.
BAE Systems announced a $247 million contract with the US Space Force to manufacture an advanced global positioning system (GPS) receiver. The Space and Missile Systems Center of the USSF seeks smaller and lighter receivers capable of jam-resistant M-code, or military code, GPS signals. The technology is designed to provide positioning, navigation and timing capabilities to warfighters to execute missions in challenging electromagnetic environments, BAE Systems.
Middle East & Africa
American destroyer USS Winston S. Churchill has seized illicit shipments of weapons and weapons components from two stateless dhows during a maritime security operation in international waters off the coast of Somalia. Thousands of AK-47 assault rifles, light machine guns, heavy sniper rifles, rocket-propelled grenade launchers, and crew served weapons were found. Other weapon components included barrels, stocks, optical scopes and weapon systems.
Europe
The sale of multiple launch rocket systems to Finland was approved by the State Department. The potential $91.2 million deal, with Lockheed Martin Missile and Fire Control as its sole contractor, however still requires approval by the US Senate. The sale would include M30A2 and M31A2 Extended Range Guided Multiple Launch Rocket Systems, quality assurance testing services, and technical and logistical support.
British minehunter HMS Blyth is joining NATO Standing Mine Countermeasures Group One. According to the Royal Navy, the hi-tech minehunter has left her native Clyde to take her place with a small force of like-minded warships from across the alliance: Standing Mine Countermeasures Group One. Blyth completed a 6,500 nautical mile voyage home from the Gulf last summer and underwent an extensive maintenance period through the autumn and winter after her three years in the punishing heat/sand/dust of the Middle East.
Asia-Pacific
According to South Korea’s JoongAng Ilbo newspaper, the the US military is preparing for a possible North Korean missile test next month by relocating its missile tracking assets in the north Pacific. A RC-135S Cobra Ball missile tracking aircraft has been deployed from Offutt Air Force Base to Kadena Air Base, Japan. Similarly, USNS Howard O. Lorenzen has been underway in the Yellow Sea this week. The missile range instrumentation ship was previously involved in tracking North Korea long-range missile testing in 2016 and 2017.
Today’s Video
Watch: Big Beautiful Aircraft: Boeing RC-135s And An E-4B Taxiing At Offutt Air Force Base, Omaha
