* The Undecided States Air Force (USAF) is organizing an industry day on April 2-3 at Hill AFB, UT, to discuss high resolution display systems for A-10 aircraft... that the service say they're going to retire. But then the Air Force had a last-minute change of heart...
Contracts – Awards Articles
Dassault Reports Strong Growth, Still Pursues Rafale Leads in Canada, Qatar, Malaysia
* Dassault Aviation reported 16.4% Y/Y growth with 2013 sales at 4.59 billion euros ($6.4B). Defense accounts for 31% of total revenue, though 87% of that comes from just France. The recent workshare deal with HAL in India, confirmed by Dassault CEO Eric Trappier,...
US Ponders NDN Alternatives, New Silk Road, Future of Maritime Transportation
* US Air Force General Paul J. Selva testified yesterday in front of the Senate Armed Services Committee for his nomination as commander of USTRANSCOM. He's currently heading Air Mobility Command, TRANSCOM's biggest component by far. He seemed confident that other...
Heavy Metal: US Military Primary Metals Purchases
Militaries order a lot of metal equipment, but they also order significant quantities of raw metal or basic metal forms directly for use in repair depots, machining shops, et. al. This DID article will cover these orders from FY 2007 through 2014, offering a bit of...
US Defense Industry Hampered by Lawyerese
* Reuters reports that titanium originating from China was found in some US aircraft and may also have been used in SM-3 missiles, in violation of the Berry Amendment. The Aerospace Industries Association (AIA) raised years ago the issue [PDF] that documentation...
Fast Rides: HSV Spreads to Middle East
72m TSV concept(click to view full) Austal has announced a $124.9 million contract for a pair of High Speed Support Vessel (HSSVs) catamarans, from "a naval customer in the Middle East.... to support naval operations, including helicopter operations, rapid deployment...
Airbus Aims for Targeted, Organic Growth in US Market
* Airbus wants to grow in the US through helicopter and space programs. They seem to rule out short-term large acquisitions. Reuters | National Defense. Ukraine * The quote of the day comes from Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk: "Germany's dependence on Russian gas...
Singapore’s Aerial Tanker Buy
RSAF KC-135R(click to view full) The Republic of Singapore Air Force currently relies on 4 re-engined KC-135R aerial refueling tankers, in order to extend the range of its fighter jets, and perform some long-range transport and cargo missions. This means that they...
Singapore’s Future Vision Includes Next Gen Fighters and Robot-Assisted Soldiers
* Ng Eng Hen, Singapore's Minister for Defence, presented a full-spectrum vision of what his country's defenses might look like in 2030. In a nutshell: highly technological, and highly integrated. North Korea Still Bad to the Bone Marrow * The Pentagon released its...