Americas
Science Applications International won a $41.8 million contract to repair MK-82 Directors and AN/SPG-62 antenna systems. The MK-82 is a crucial component of the Aegis missile fire-control system’s illuminator, The director positions the fire control system antenna to illuminate the target. AN/SPG-62 is a fire control radar provided to the AEGIS-equipped warships allowing to guide surface-to-air missiles, primarily Standard Missile SM-2, to their intended targets. The director and the the antenna are both mounted and operated on the ship’s open spaces and are subsystems of the MK-99 Fire Control System, which controls the loading and arming of the selected weapon on the Aegis Combat System as well as launches it, and provides terminal guidance for AAW missiles. Technical services under the contract include supplemental repair, disassembly and reassembly support, engineering, test support, and obsolescence resolution services. Work will take place in Indiana and is expected to be finished by June 2024.
Boeing decided on BAE Systems to supply vehicle management systems for its MQ-25 unmanned aerial aircraft. BAE Systems said in a press release on Monday, that its „Vehicle Management Control System will control all flight surfaces and perform overall vehicle management duties for the MQ-25 unmanned aerial vehicle“. Boeing is developing the MQ-25 Stingray unmanned tanker for the US Navy. It is the Navy’s first operational carrier-based unmanned aircraft and will provide a necessary refueling capability. The USN wants MQ-25 to have initial operational capability by 2026. A MQ-25A prototype, known as a T-1 or Stingray, is expected to take its first test flight later this year. The drones will be based on the Boeing F/A-18 Super Hornets, Boeing EA-18G Growlers and Lockheed Martin F-35C fighters.
Middle East & Africa
According to local reports, Turkey wants to strengthen its defense cooperation with Jordan. The country wants to build more joint defense industries with Jordan. Ismail Demir, head of the Turkish Defense Industries Directorate, expressed Ankara’s desire for an enhanced defense cooperation with Amman during a visit he made on Thursday to the King Abdullah II Design and Development Bureau. Turkish ties with Jordan are strong. The two countries signed more than 40 agreements and memorandums of understanding between them. The enactment of the Free Trade Agreement and the Agreement on Visa Exemption in 2009 upgraded the level of relations. The Free Trade Agreement entered into force on March 2011.
Europe
British Typhoons in Estonia have yet again been busy intercepting Russian fighters. The British Ministry of Defense said that Typhoon jets launched during the evening of Friday the 14th of June to intercept a Russian SU-30 fighter aircraft that was flying to the north of Estonia. Royal Air Force crews made a second scramble on Saturday June 15 to intercept a Russian SU-30 Flanker fighter and an Ilyushin IL-76 Candid transport aircraft transiting north from Kaliningrad towards Estonian and Finnish airspace. The RAF Typhoons are deployed at Ämari Air Base in Estonia in support of NATO Baltic Air Policing. This was already the eight time the British aircraft intercepted Russian fighters since taking over the Baltic Air Policing mission on May 3, 2019. During both intercepts, pilots reportedly flew the aircraft at a safe distance and operated in a professional manner throughout.
The UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) announced its approval of the proposed military vehicle joint venture between German company Rheinmetall and Britain’s BAE Systems. The joint venture will handle military vehicle design, manufacturing and support. It will also play a role in the delivery of the British Army’s new Mechanized Infantry Vehicle (MIV) Program. The MIV is the British Army’s concept of an 8×8 wheeled vehicle. On March 31, 2018 the United Kingdom rejoined the Boxer (armored fighting vehicle) program in order to move to an assessment phase, which may see the Boxer selected. The upgrade of the Challenger 2 third-generation main battle tank fleet will also be a focus of the joint venture.
Asia-Pacific
Jane’s reports that the Indian Navy has postponed the commissioning of the second of six Kalvari or Scorpene Class diesel-electric attack submarines (SSKs) after they discovered apparent manufacturing defects. The Navy has therefore asked the government-owned Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Limited (MDL), which is building the boats in collaboration with France’s Naval Group, to fix the deficiencies found in the submarine. Commissioning will be delayed for several months. The sub is called Khanderi and began sea trials in 2017. Khanderi was initially scheduled to enter service by the end of 2019. It is part of the Indian Navy’s Project 75 Program for six Scorpene Class boats,
Today’s Video
Watch: PAC/Chengdu JF-17 Thunder Displays Maneuvers at Paris Air Show (Display 1) – AINtv
