Latest updates[?]: The US Department of Defense is ordering a new batch of F-35 Joint Strike Fighters from Lockheed Martin. The company is being awarded with a $23 billion contract modification that covers the procurement of 255 aircraft. About 106 planes will be delivered to US services, including 64 F-35As for the Air Force, 26 F-35Bs for the Marine Corps and 16 F-35Cs for the Navy. Another 89 JSFs will be delivered to non-DoD participants of which 71 are A variant and 18 are B variants. A number of Foreign Military Sales customers will receive the remaining 60 F-35s in their A version. This modification includes low rate initial production lot 12 for US services and LRIP 12, 13 and 14 for international partner countries and FMS customers. Lots 12 and 13 jets are set to be delivered in 2020 and 2021, respectively. The definitization of the final LRIP 14 contract is expected to take place in 2020, with deliveries expected for 2022. Work will be performed at multiple locations worldwide. They include, but are not limited to, Fort Worth, Texas; San Diego, California; Nagoya, Japan and Warton United Kingdom. Performance of the contract is expected to be completed in March 2023.

Latest updates[?]: The Romanian government is ordering three more Patriot air-defense systems from the US. Defense Minister Mihai Fifor said Friday that the units, purchased this week, were in addition to a $3.9 billion military contract that Romania signed with the US in December 2017. As part this multi-billion deal, Bucharest will the receive Patriot Configuration 3+, the most advanced configuration available, as well as an undisclosed quantity of GEM-T and PAC-3 MSE interceptor missiles. Mike Ellison, an official with Raytheon, which makes the Patriot missiles, said: "Romania is purchasing the most advanced, capable, cutting-edge tactical ballistic missile defense system in the world." A NATO member since 2004, the procurement comes as Romania looks to modernize its Soviet-era equipment and improve its defense capabilities as tensions with neighboring Russia continue. The missiles are expected to become operational by 2020.

Latest updates[?]: Boeing is being contracted to supply multiple US foreign military sales customers with anti-ship missiles. The $244.7 million not-to-exceed, firm-fixed-price contract enables the company to procure long lead material for the Harpoon full-rate production Lot 91. The Harpoon Block II is an over-the-horizon, anti-ship missile capable of performing land-strike and anti-ship missions. The missile leverages progress on several other weapons to reduce its cost. The Harpoon's GPS/INS guidance system is taken from Boeing's JDAM program, and its GPS antennae and software are found on Boeing's SLAM. The missile's 500 pound blast warhead can deliver lethal firepower against targets like coastal missile batteries and ships in port. Work will be performed at multiple locations including - but not limited to - St. Charles, Missouri, Galena, Kansas and Elkton, Maryland.

Latest updates[?]: Flight Global reports that the UK's planned procurement of the E-7 Wedgetail system jointly produced by Boeing and Northrop Grumman is raising major concerns by rival producers of AEW&C aircraft. Defense secretary Gavin Williamson in early October confirmed that the UK is in early discussions with Boeing linked to a potential E-7 purchase, describing the 737-based system as "the stand-out performer in our pursuit of a new battlefield surveillance aircraft". Saab is fiercely stepping up its efforts to halt the non-competitive acquisition. "We are concerned by the lack of competition and the lack of dialogue and response from MoD," said Andre Walton, head of Saab UK, who notes that Saab's "significant investment in the UK" is premised on an understanding that the nation is committed to "fair and transparent, free-market competition". In a recent letter to Defense Committee chairman Julian Lewis, Walton offered the integration of Saab's Erieye AESA and mission equipment onto the RAF's A330 Voyager aircraft, which would reduce program costs by removing the need to acquire new aircraft. Flight Global states that factors behind the UK's preference for the E-7 system stem from a reluctance to invest in a potentially risky development activity, with an acquisition to instead draw on Australia's large investment in, and operational experience with the Wedgetail's capability.

Latest updates[?]: Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) is being contracted to supply India's navy with additional air and missile defense systems. The deal is worth $777 million and covers the delivery of several Barak-8 systems for seven Indian warships. The navalised Barak-8 project aims to give India’s naval defenses a much longer reach, with the intention of eventually making it India’s primary naval SAM. The missile can fly to ranges of up to 42 miles, provides 360° coverage and can engage multiple targets simultaneously. State-owned IAI, Israel's largest defense firm, said worldwide sales of the Barak-8 system now totalled more than $6 billion. India, which has longstanding territorial disputes with neighbors China and Pakistan, has signed several big-ticket defense deals since Prime Minister Narendra Modi came to power in 2014.

Latest updates[?]: The US Air Force is procuring more updated Advanced Medium Range Air to Air Missiles (AMRAAMs) from Raytheon. The awarded cost-plus-incentive-fee option is valued at $62 million and provides for more missiles that integrate the Form, Fit, Function Refresh (F3R) of the AMRAAM guidance section. Friday's contract involves foreign military sales to Norway, Turkey, Japan, Romania, and Australia. The Air Force's AMRAAM F3R project is a comprehensive effort to mitigate the effects of parts obsolescence and diminishing manufacturing sources in the missile's guidance section to extend the missile's lifetime well into the 2020s. The F3R effort includes the substantial redesign of subsystems that include a new ASIC design, new hardware and a new signal processor. Work will be performed at Raytheon's factory in Tucson, Arizona, and is expected to be completed by December 2020.

Latest updates[?]: Navistar Defense is being contracted by the US Army to provide technical support to its MRAP fleet. The contract modification is priced at $19.7 million and provides for technical support for the in-production and out-of-production MaxxPro family of vehicles. MRAP vehicles are designed from the outset for blast-resistance against land mines and even car bombs. These vehicles normally serve a variety of roles including as armored personnel or weapons carrier, convoy protection platform, key leader vehicle and command post and armored ambulance. This contract combines a number of orders that will run through March 2020.

Latest updates[?]: An Israeli official claims that Syria's new S-300 is not a match for the IAF's F-35i fighter aircraft. The official told Israel's Army Radion on Wednesday that the Russian supplied air-defense missile system can be "defeated by Israel’s stealth fighters and possibly destroyed on the ground". Tzachi Hanegbi also told the radio station that the S-300's capabilities had long been factored into Israeli planning. The F-35 is designed as an ‘affordable stealth’ counterpart to the F-22 Raptor, in addition the F-35i incorporates Israeli-made electronic counter-measures systems. Experts have noted that although, the S-300 has systems that are designed to detect and track the presence of low observable aircraft such as the F-35i, its low-band early warning radars may not be able to accurately target the aircraft. The Russian government confirms that the delivery of the S-300 to Syria is a response to an incident last month that resulted in the downing of a Russian spy plane.

Latest updates[?]: The US Air Force is procuring technical support for its Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM) from Boeing. Boeing will provide the service with studies and analysis, product improvement efforts, upgrades and integration work at a cost of $45 million. The JDAM program essentially makes 'dumb' bombs 'smart' by adding sophisticated rear guidance sections. This tail kit includes adjustable tail fins, a control computer, an inertial guidance system and a GPS receiver. Before release, the aircraft tells the bomb its current position and the GPS coordinates of the target. According to the US Air Force, the system is accurate to within 40 feet. One JDAM tail kit costs about $20.000 making it significantly cheaper than laser-guided bombs. Work will be performed at Boeing's facility in St. Louis, Missouri and is expected to be completed by March 31st, 2019.

Latest updates[?]: Raytheon being tapped to deliver CIWS upgrades to the US Navy, US Army and several partner nations. The firm-fixed-price contract is priced at $482.3 million and provides for the delivery of Mk15 upgrades and conversions, system overhauls, and associated hardware. The Mk15 serves as the last layer of defense against enemy missiles and aircraft. The current Block IB Baseline 2 Upgrade Kits cost $1 million per piece and will be the new US Navy standard by 2019. This contract includes purchases for the Navy, Army and the governments of Taiwan, Saudi Arabia, Japan, New Zealand and Australia. Work will be performed at multiple locations inside and outside the US, including - but not limited to - Melbourne, Florida; Tempe, Arizona and Ottobrunn, Germany. Performance is expected to be completed by April 2024.