Boeing Wins $2.6B for KC-46 Production | Pratt & Whitney Tapped For Jordan FMS | DoS Approves AH-6i FMS To Thailand

Americas

Boeing won a $2.6 billion contract modification for Lot 5 production KC-46 aircraft, initial spares, and support equipment. The deal provides for the exercise of an option for an additional quantity of 15 KC-46 aircraft, data, two spare engines, five wing refueling pod kits, initial spares, support equipment, subscriptions and licenses, and G081 flat file being produced under the basic contract. The KC-46A Pegasus is a widebody, multirole tanker that can refuel all US, allied and coalition military aircraft compatible with international aerial refueling procedures. The aircraft is capable of carrying 212,299 pounds of fuel and 61,000 pounds of cargo, 10 percent more than the KC-135 can hold. The KC-46A is equipped with a refueling boom driven by a fly-by-wire control system, and is capable of fuel offload rates required for large aircraft. Its hose and drogue system adds additional mission capability that is independently operable from the refueling boom system. Work will take place in Seattle, Washington, and is expected to be completed by March 2023.

Northrop Grumman Systems won a $495 million contract for the E-8C Joint Surveillance Target Attack Radar System (JSTARS) aircraft. This contract provides for modernization and sustainment of 16 mission and one trainer aircraft. The deal will support the current JSTARS Program Office and Air Combat Command projections of improvements to increase or maintain E-8C performance, capability, reliability, and maintainability. The JSTARS is an airborne battle management, command and control, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance platform. Its primary mission is to provide theater ground and air commanders with situational awareness to support military operations. In 2015, team JSTARS set a major milestone when they surpassed 100,000-combat flying hours in support of the US Central Command while flying the E-8C Joint STARS out of Al Udeid Air Base, Qatar. Northrop will perform work at Robins Air Force Base, Georgia; and Melbourne, Florida, and is expected to be completed by Sept. 26, 2024.

Middle East & Africa

United Technologies doing business as Pratt & Whitney Military Engines won a $78.1 million deal for engine module remanufacture. The contract provides for F100-PW-220/-220E engine module remanufacture for Foreign Military Sales partner country of Jordan. It involves 100% Foreign Military Sales to Jordan. The Pratt & Whitney F100 is an afterburning turbofan engine that powers the F-15 Eagle and F-16 Fighting Falcon. Work will take place at East Hartford, Connecticut; Midland, Georgia; and Midwest City, Oklahoma, and is expected to be finished by September 30, 2024

The US State Department approved a possible Foreign Military Sale to Qatar of two AN/AAQ-24(V)N Large Aircraft Infrared Countermeasures (LAIRCM) systems and related equipment for an estimated cost of $86 million. The procurement of the LAIRCM systems will provide enhanced capability to Qatar to deter regional threats. Northrop Grumman has been named as the principal contractor for the AN/AAQ-24(V)N LAIRCM. LAIRCM offers protection to aircraft from infrared-guided missiles. Qatar intends to use the LAIRCM systems for installation on a pair of 747-800s.

Europe

The Ukrainian Forces received their first Bars-8MMK (mobile mortar complex) vehicles from Ukroboronservice, Jane’s reports. The defense conglomerate said Ukroboronservice had successfully completed acceptance tests with the vehicle, covering tactical and technical characteristics, as well as firing trials, with a Ukrainian military unit. The BARS-8MMK is a new mobile self-propelled mortar vehicle using the chassis of the BARS-8 4×4 wheeled armored vehicle. It carries a 120 mortar which can be deployed automatically at the rear of the vehicle to perform firing operations. It takes only 30 seconds to bring this artillery system in firing condition, and the vehicle is able to leave the firing position in less than 20 seconds. The BARS-8 is a 4×4 armored vehicle designed and manufactured by the Ukrainian Company Bogdan. The vehicle is built on the Dodge Ram pick-up truck’s 4×4 wheeled chassis. It has a gross vehicle weight of 10,000 kg and a payload capacity of 2,000 kg.

Asia-Pacific

The DoS approved a possible Foreign Military Sale to Thailand of eight AH-6i light attack reconnaissance helicopters and related equipment for an estimated cost of $400 million. Boeing’s AH-6i gunship is a light attack/reconnaissance helicopter based on the storied Hughes OH-6 Cayuse – better known as the Little Bird – that first flew in 1963. The commercial version was named the Hughes 500, later renamed the MD 500 after McDonnell Douglas purchased Hughes Helicopters in 1984. Following Boeing’s later merger with McDonnell Douglas, MD Helicopters purchased the MD 500 line, and produces aircraft – including military variants – based on the platform.

Today’s Video

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Re-engining the E-8 JSTARS

The USA’s E-8 JSTARS is a Boeing 707-300 derivative that provides a picture of the ground situation analogous to the E-3 AWACS’ picture of the air situation. JSTARS aircraft use their radars to determine the direction, speed and patterns of military activity of ground vehicles, helicopters, and even groups of people. They then send this information via secure data links with air force command posts, army mobile ground stations and centers of military analysis around the world.

These surveillance and communications relay capabilities are somewhat unique, and have proven extremely useful in a series of conflicts from Desert Storm in 1991 to the present day. Europe originally intended to field a similar, smaller AGS aircraft based on the Airbus A321, but that project has now been cut to a small fleet of RQ-4 Global Hawk UAVs. With the Global Hawk limited by its payload capacity, and the USA’s E-10A program canceled, the USA’s 17-aircraft operational JSTARS fleet is likely to remain very popular for some time to come. The question is how to keep that fleet relevant, flying, and allocated among all of the units clamoring for their attention.

$96M to DS2 for LAIRCM Aircraft Defense System Support

Defense Support Services (DS2), a Greenville, SC-based venture between Lockheed Martin and Day & Zimmermann, received a $96 million contract to provide support for the Large Aircraft Infrared Countermeasure (LAIRCM) System.

Northrop Grumman’s LAIRCM is a laser-based countermeasures system that is designed to defend C-17 and C-130 transport aircraft and other large, slow-moving aircraft from an infrared missile attack by automatically detecting a missile launch, determining if it is a threat, and activating a high-intensity system of pulsed lasers to track and defeat the threat by confusing its guidance head…