Americas
BAE Systems won a $15.7 million contract modificationfor spare parts necessary for initial training and fielding for Armored Multi-Purpose Vehicles. The Armored Multi-Purpose Vehicle (AMPV) is a family of next generation, highly survivable vehicles essential to the future of the US Army. The AMPV is to replace the Vietnam War-era and legacy M113 Family of Vehicles. The program is a part of the future of the Armored Brigade Combat Team (ABCT). The AMPV will be integrated with the ABCT and is required to operate alongside the M1 Abrams tank and the M2 Bradley infantry vehicle. Work will take place in Pennsylvania. Estimated completion date is January 1, 2023.
The US Air Force completed the Project Strike Rodeo (PSR) munitions proof-of-concept that validated loading five Lockheed Martin AGM-158 Joint Air-to-Surface Stand-off Missiles (JASSMs) on a Boeing F-15E Strike Eagle, according to a service statement. The proof-of-concept performed by the 85th Test and Evaluation Squadron started in January. A team of expert tacticians worked through a specific scenario that relied on the ability to escort a bomber loaded with stand-off munitions to a release point in a highly contested environment.
Middle East & Africa
While the Israel Gaza conflict is still ongoing, the Iron Dome proves successful against Gaza rockets. The Israeli-made and US-funded anti-rocket Iron Dome intercept system has reportedly stopped 90 percent of the missiles fired into Israel since the beginning of the conflict in early May. Israel has been using the Iron Dome since 2011. A battery consists of a radar unit and a control center that can detect projectiles soon after their launch and calculate their trajectory and target. It takes seconds for an approaching projectile to be detected.
Europe
Northrop Grumman won a $17.7 million order, which provides technical and sustainment support for E-2C/D aircraft common and unique requirements for the Governments of France and Japan. The E-2C Hawkeye aircraft supplied by Northrop Grumman is an all-weather airborne early warning aircraft to the naval task force. The next-generation E-2D Advanced Hawkeye has a new radar system, theatre missile defence capabilities, multi-sensor integration and a Northrop Grumman Navigation Systems tactical glass cockpit. Work will take place in Florida, Japan, and Ohio. Expected completion will be in April 2022.
German company Rheinmetall announced that it signed a contract worth $359 million with the country’s defense procurement agency for the supply of 44 Kodiak armored engineering vehicles (AEVs) for the German Army. Production will begin in 2023, with delivery scheduled to be completed by 2029, said the company. According to Rheinmetall, the Kodiak is an AEV and mine clearance tank that can meet the technical and tactical needs of modern combat engineers. It features a bulldozer blade with adjustable cutting and tilt angles. The Kodiak vehicle is known as the “Pionierpanzer 3 Kodiak” in German. It is based on the Leopard 2 main battle tank that was developed by German company Krauss-Maffei Wegmann (KMW).
Asia-Pacific
The Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA)’s Xinjiang Military Command has taken delivery of three new advanced weapon systems – armored vehicles, howitzers and self-propelled rocket launchers – over the past week. The unit deployed in a snowy plateau region at an elevation of more than 4,500 meters inducted dozens of Type 08 eight-wheeled armored vehicles of different variants.
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