Lockheed Martin won a $904.8 million modification, which provides for the production and delivery of three MH-60R Seahawk maritime aircraft for the Navy and 21 MH-60Rs for the government of India. The US Navy operates 289 MH-60Rs on its aircraft carriers, cruisers, destroyers and littoral combat ships. The Royal Australian Navy operates 24 MH-60Rs from its warships, having received its first MH-60R in 2013. The Royal Danish Air Force flies nine MH-60Rs, having acquired its first in 2016. The Royal Saudi Navy has begun to receive a total of 10 MH-60Rs, which will be flown from its forthcoming multimission surface combatant ship, also built by Lockheed. India will become the fourth nation to receive MH-60R Seahawk helicopters from Lockheed Martin. Work will take place in New York, Connecticut and Alabama. Estimated completion will baby September 2024.
IDSC Holdings won an $11.1 million contract. which procures up to 2,064 toolboxes containing 1.423 different types of commercial tools in support of initial outfitting associated with F-35 low rate initial production and maintenance. Meanwhile, the Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II’s modernization is two years behind schedule and its cost has risen by $1.5 billion. The Block 4 upgrade, a modernization of the relatively new stealth fighter’s software and hardware, was initially to be delivered by 2024, but now will not be handed over until 2026, according to a report released by the Government Accountability Office (GAO). IDSC Holdings will perform work in Kenosha, Wisconsin. Expected completion will be by September 2021.
Middle East & Africa
US vehicle manufacturer Oshkosh announced the formation of a joint venture (JV) with Saudi Arabia’s Al Tadrea Manufacturing Company. The new JV, which will be majority-owned by Al Tadrea, will be known as Oshkosh Al Tadrea Manufacturing (OTM). The company will, according to a press release, develop manufacturing expertise by becoming a prime contractor for tactical wheeled vehicles, provision of lifecycle sustainment services to the country’s military and security service customers, and will develop a broader and more efficient supply chain in the country. The venture will also work to develop intellectual property for use by customers in Saudi Arabia. An initial project will be to create a truck based on the Oshkosh 4×4 FMTV, with Saudi engineers developing, manufacturing, and integrating an armored cab, body, and other components to create a new vehicle.
Europe
Sputnik reports that Russia is testing the Su-57 in an unmanned mode with the pilot just monitoring the overall system in the cockpit. The Sukhoi Su-57 is a fighter jet that performs the functions of a strike aircraft and a fighter and is capable of destroying all types of air, ground and naval surface targets. The Russian Defense Ministry placed an order for 76 Su-57 jets during the Army-2019 International Military and Technical Forum.
Asia-Pacific
Gen. Bipin Rawat, India’s Chief of Defense Staff, said in an interview that the country will buy another 83 Tejas fighters instead of 114 foreign-made aircraft. “The IAF is saying, I would rather take the indigenous fighter, it is good,” Rawat was quoted as saying. India started a global search for new fighters in 2018, the proposed tender attracted companies such as Boeing, Dassault and Saab.The country’s air force is finalizing plans to induct indigenously made Light Combat Aircraft, Tejas to boost the capability of its aging combat aircraft fleet.
The Japanese Ministry of Defense announced that plans to go ahead with the deployment of a land-based ballistic missile defense installation in Akita prefecture would be canceled. Akita prefecture had been identified as a site for the deployment of one of two Aegis Ashore installations that Japan is procuring to better defend against ballistic missile threats from North Korea. The decision to revisit the plan to deploy the system in Akita comes after months of sustained opposition from local politicians and constituents. The envisaged site was the Japanese Ground Self-Defense Force training area in Akita’s Araya district. Initial reports that the Japanese government had started reconsidering Akita as a deployment area came in December 2019.
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Latest updates[?]: Sputnik reports that Russia is testing the Su-57 in an unmanned mode with the pilot just monitoring the overall system in the cockpit. The Sukhoi Su-57 is a fighter jet that performs the functions of a strike aircraft and a fighter and is capable of destroying all types of air, ground and naval surface targets. The Russian Defense Ministry placed an order for 76 Su-57 jets during the Army-2019 International Military and Technical Forum.
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PAK-FA at MAKS-2011
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Russia wants a “5th generation” fighter that keeps it competitive with American offerings, and builds on previous aerial and industrial success. India wants to maintain technical superiority over its rivals, and grow its aerospace industry’s capabilities. They hope to work together, and succeed. Will they? And what does “success” mean, exactly?
So far, preliminary cooperation agreements have been signed between Sukhoi/United Aircraft Corporation, for a platform based on Sukhoi’s T50/PAK-FA design. This DID FOCUS article consolidates specific releases and coverage to date, and adds analysis of the program’s current state and future hurdles.
Sikorsky Aircraft won an $9 million contract modification, which provides support for the integration and transition of Windows 10 and Server 16 into various VH-92A training devices. The Sikorsky/Lockheed Martin VH-92 will replace the US Marine Corps VH-3D and VH-60N helicopters that transport the US president, while operating under the name of Marine One. The VH-92 presidential helicopter has an executive interior and military mission support avionics, including triple electrical power and redundant cockpit flight controls. The Navy awarded a $542 million order to Sikorsky last June for six Lot I VH-92A presidential helicopters. Sikorsky will begin deliveries of the first six VH-92A helicopters in 2021. Work will take place Quantico, Virginia and its expected to be finished by October 2022.
According to a statement by the navy, aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford completed readiness projects to board 1,000 personnel for an upcoming assignment, which will include integrating with a carrier air wing and carrier strike group. The ship underwent required maintenance and new construction tasks in its “window of opportunity” in Norfolk, Virginia, to prepare it for an at-sea period, Independent Steaming Event, or ISE, 10. The action will involve personnel and aircraft of Carrier Air Wing 8 and Carrier Strike Group 12, meaning that more fixed-wing and rotary aircraft will be aboard the ship than usual.
Middle East & Africa
Boeing received two contracts worth $2.6 billion combined from the US Navy to produce and deliver Harpoon and Standoff Land Attack Missile Expanded Response weapon systems to foreign military sales customers. The company will supply 650 units of SLAM ER missiles and provide nonrecurring engineering support related to the weapon system to the government of Saudi Arabia under a potential $1.9 billion contract. Work will occur in Missouri, Indiana, Michigan, Florida, Connecticut and North Carolina through December 2028. Naval Air Systems Command will obligate the full contract amount using FMS funds at the time of award. The company also won a $657 million modification, which covers the production of 467 Block II lot 91 full-rate production Harpoon missiles and delivery of support equipment to Brazil, Thailand, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Japan, India and South Korea and the Netherlands. Work under the modification will be performed across several sites within the continental US and the UK through December 2026. NAVAIR will use FMS funds to obligate the full contract amount.
The core of China’s Long March 5B rocket came back to Earth on May 11 but instead of landing in the Atlantic Ocean, parts of the rocket could have ended up in Mahounou, Ivory Coast, local media reports. The rocket went into orbit on May 5 while carrying China’s new space capsule. It then went into an unstable low earth orbit before tumbling back to ground. It was the largest man-made object to reenter the atmosphere uncontrolled since 1991. Photos posted on social media shows a long metallic pipe with burn marks in the village of Mahounou. The village lies on the reentry track of the rocket.
Europe
The Israeli Air Force has decided to deactivate 117th Squadron, which operates the F-16C, in October. The move is part of the Momentum Plan initiated by the Israel Defense Forces to improve efficiencies and acquire new systems. “Under the multi-year ‘Momentum’ Plan, Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Aviv Kohavi made a series of decisions geared toward internal efficiencies and cutting back old systems, alongside the acquiring and development of new systems. As part of these decisions, the chief of staff decided to close a fighter jet squadron,” the IDF said in a statement Wednesday.
Asia-Pacific
Philippine’s Defense Minister Delfin Lorenzana said the two Foreign Military Sales package for attack helicopters offered by the United States is too expensive for the country. Lorenzana says Manila has only budgeted $256 million for the purchase of six attack helicopters. Last year, the country selected the Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI) T129 attack helicopter but the sale has been held up as Turkey needs export approval from Washington for certain parts.
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Sikorsky won a $29.9 million modification, which provides for rate tooling, physical configuration audits, associated systems engineering and program management in support of CH-53K aircraft production. The CH-53K King Stallion is a large heavy-lift cargo helicopter designed to replace the Marine Corps CH-53E to move Marines from ships to attack beaches. Back in April, it was reported that the aircraft successfully plugged into a funnel-shaped drogue towed behind a KC-130J during aerial refueling wake testing over the Chesapeake Bay. The CH-53K sea-based, long range, helicopter is designed to provide three times the lift capability of its predecessor. The CH-53K will conduct expeditionary heavy-lift transport of armored vehicles, equipment, and personnel to support distributed operations deep inland from a sea-based center of operations, Sikorsky officials say. It can lift more than 18 tons. Work will take place in Connecticut, Utah, Michigan, Kansas, Washington, New York and Nebraska. Estimated completion will be by December 2023.
United Technologies won a $10.6 million modification, which procures one low rate initial production Lot 11 afloat spares package kit for the Marine Corps in support of the F-35 Lightning II combat aircraft program. In the meantime a congressional watchdog group is concerned that as Lockheed Martin ramps up F-35 production, its suppliers are falling behind. According to the Government Accountability Office (GAO), the number of F-35 parts delivered late skyrocketed from less than 2,000 in August 2017 to upward of 10,000 in July 2019. The number of parts shortages per month also climbed from 875 in July 2018 to more than 8,000 in July 2019. More than 60 percent of that sum was concentrated among 20 suppliers, it said. Work under the current modification will take place in Connecticut, Indiana, Maine, Georgia, Illinois, Arizona, the UK and Israel. Estimated completion date is in September 2021.
Middle East & Africa
The Idaho Air National Guard’s 190th Fighter Squadron deployed to the Middle East on May 11. The personnel left on that day and the A-10s departed one day later. More than 400 members of the 124th Fighter Wing, based at Gowen Field, will continue to deploy throughout the spring and summer in support of Operations FREEDOM’S SENTINEL, INHERENT RESOLVE and NEW NORMAL. The deployment is the wing’s second largest deployment and includes multiple aircraft, pilots, security forces, maintenance and medical personnel, and various other support staff.
The US Africa Command announced on May 12 that Logistics Advisor Team 1610, 6th Battalion, 1st Security Force Assistance Brigade earlier this year delivered a three-week long vehicle maintenance and recovery course in Dakar, Senegal. According to AFRICOM the course is to prepare the Senegalese Armed Forces as they support United Nations Peacekeeping Operations. The 1st SFAB’s operations in Africa have been interrupted by the coronavirus, but the unit will continue working with US Army Africa and the US State Department once conditions allow advisors to return, AFRICOM officials said.
Europe
The Royal Air Force is in talks with British Airways, British Airline Pilots’ Association and other aerospace companies for civilian pilots made redundant due to COVID-19 to be seconded to the military for 18 to 48 months. Pilots who had switched from military to civilian careers are likely to be sought after to fill vacancies. The BALPA said the talks are still “exploratory” while a spokesperson from the RAF said the service has “always interested in recruiting high quality people and are currently in initial discussions with the UK aviation industry on the possibility of employing suitable available personnel.”
Asia-Pacific
The South Korean military conducted the first test-firing of its new Hyunmoo-4 ballistic missile in the middle of march, some two-and-a-half years after Washington and Seoul had agreed to scrap the warhead weight limit for South Korean missiles stipulated in US-South Korean guidelines. The Hyunmoo-4 is thought to be a solid-propellant rocket. has been reported to carry a payload as large as 2 tons to ranges of up to 800 kilometers. Testing was overseen by the Agency for Defense Development, South Korea’s indigenous defense research and development organization.
ApiJECT won a $138 million contract action for COVID-19 response “Project Jumpstart” and “Project Rapid,” which will dramatically expand production capability for domestically manufactured blow-fill-seal injection devices. ApiJect also recently partnered with the Department of Health and Human Services to establish the RAPID Consortium to supply prefilled syringes to the US Strategic National Stockpile for public health emergency use. Work will take place throughout the US. Estimated completion date will be by may 8, 2022.
BAE Systems Land $42.8 million for MK 41 Vertical Launching System (VLS) canister production and ancillary hardware. The company will make Mk 41 Vertical Launching System canisters, renew Mk 13 Mod 0 canisters and produce Mk 13 Mod 0, Mk 21 Mods 1 through 3 and Mk 29 Mod 0 canisters under the modification. The Navy initially awarded a potential $954.5M contract to update and repair Mk 41 VLS canisters for the service branch and FMS customers from Denmark, Japan and South Korea. Work will take place in Minnesota and South Dakota. Estimated completion will be by July 2023.
Middle East & Africa
Two US Marine Corps AV-8Bs both encountered emergencies during a mission in Bahrain last year. One of the aircraft caught fire on a taxiway and the jet was armed. The other Harrier had taken off and encountered technical issues as well. Because of the other mishap aircraft on the ground, it had to circle while waiting for the clearance to land. It ended up landing with just five minutes of fuel remaining. Both pilots had to thank Air Traffic Controller 2nd Class Drey Aynes who was on duty in the tower and help direct the emergency crew to handle the situation. Although the article did not state which Harrier unit was involved, VMA-311 was assigned to Special Purpose Marine Air Ground Task Force-Crisis Response-Central Command 19.2 in Bahrain last year.
Europe
TASS reports that Russian Air Forces have tested a new hypersonic missile on the Tu-22M3 bomber recently. The new missile is expected to be mounted on the upgraded Tu-22M3M. The anonymous source said the new missile is different from the Kh-32 missile that is part of the armament of the Tu-22M3. Earlier, the Russian defense industry developed two types of aircraft hypersonic missiles. The Kinzhal is the latest Russian airborne system that consists of a MiG-31K aircraft as a delivery vehicle and a hypersonic missile. Tu-22M3M supersonic bomber is a modification of Tu-22M3 with expanded combat potential.
The Hellenic Ministry of National Defense signed an agreement with the Israeli Ministry of Defense to lease an unspecified number of Israel Aerospace Industries Maritime Heron Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), primarily for border defense missions. Under the agreement, the Israeli MoD will lease the Heron system in its maritime configuration to Greece over three years starting within a year, with an option to purchase it when the leasing period is completed, IAI said. The Heron system consists of platforms that can operate both day and night, and is equipped with maritime patrol radars and satellite communications, according to the Israeli company, which added that it offers extended operational endurance for missions including maritime patrol, marine and land border protection, search and rescue, and disaster management.
Asia-Pacific
Australian defense scientists are working with industry and academia on ways of integrating both laser-based optical and radio frequency communications technologies into a single satellite communications (satcom) user terminal, local media reports. Project CHORUS, which stands for Compact Hybrid Optical RF User Segment, is the first collaborative project to be launched by the DoD through the SmartSat Cooperative Research Centre (CRC). Based at the University of South Australia, the SmartSat CRC is Australia’s biggest space industry research-and-development collaboration, and formally opened for business in February.
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The Wisconsin Army National Guard has created a instrument flight rules (IFR) training visor that uses a smartphone to turn it opaque for training purposes. Traditionally, the student undergoing training will have to put on a hood or the instructor would put his hand in front of the student’s face so that the trainee will only fly the aircraft using the instruments on board.The inventor of the visor, 1st Lt. Nick Sinopoli, felt that the traditional method disrupts training realism and value. He sold his car to pay for the patent for the device and has spent many long nights developing prototypes. His design come in the top 16 of the National Guard Innovation Competition.
AAI Corp. won a $20.7 million modification for engineering and technical services for the Unmanned Influence Sweep System (UISS) and Unmanned Surface Vehicle program. The deal modifies a contract originally awarded in September 2014 for work on the UISS, which consists of a mine countermeasure unmanned surface vessel and is designed to operate as part of the littoral combat ship (LCS) mine countermeasure (MCM) package. Unmanned surface vehicles, or Naval drones, are boats that operate on the surface of the water without a crew. According to the Pentagon, the UISS program is intended to satisfy the Navy’s need for a rapid, wide-area coverage mine clearance capability which are required to neutralize magnetic/acoustic influence mines, while also providing a high-area coverage rate in a small, lightweight package with minimal impact on the host platform. Work will take place in Maryland and Louisiana. Estimated completion will be by September 2021.
Middle East & Africa
The US State Department has approved a possible sale of Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) armored vehicles to the United Arab Emirates. The sale includes up to 4,569 MRAP vehicles under the Excess Defense Articles program. Together they have an estimated value of $556 million. The vehicles include the MaxxPro Long Wheel Base vehicle, the MaxxPro Recovery vehicle, the MaxxPro LWB chassis, the MaxxPro Dash, the MaxxPro Bases Capsule, the MaxxPro MEAP Capsule, and the MaxxPro Plus. They also include Caiman Multi-Terrain Vehicles without armor, and Caiman Base, Caiman Plus, Caiman Capsule, and MRAP All-Terrain vehicles. The Emirati military seeks to use the vehicles “to increase force protection, to conduct humanitarian assistance operations, and to protect critical infrastructure,” according to the statement.
The US State Department has approved a possible Foreign Military Sale of a refurbishment package for 43 Boeing AH-64E Apache attack helicopters owned by Egypt. The deal is estimated at $2.3 billion. “Egypt intends to use these refurbished AH-64 helicopters to modernise its armed forces to address the shared US-Egyptian interest in countering terrorist activities emanating from the Sinai Peninsula, which threaten Egyptian and Israeli security and undermine regional stability,” says the Defense Security Cooperation Agency. “This sale will contribute to Egypt’s military goal to update its capability while further enhancing greater interoperability between Egypt, the US, and other allies.” Over the last couple of decades, the USA has helped Egypt put down a Bedouin insurgency, which has used attacks on civilians and kidnappings of tourists to further its cause.
Europe
The Irish Air Corps has added a PC-12 to its fleet recently. The purchase was worth $5.6 million. Minister of State for Defense Paul Kehoe told parliament that the aircraft “is providing the Air Corps with a further agile resource to service urgent requests from agencies of the State.” The service said on its social media pages that the first operational mission told place on April 25.
Asia-Pacific
Tokyo will procure seven more Type-19 155 mm/52 calibre wheeled self-propelled howitzers (SPHs) and an additional 33 Type-16 Mobile Combat Vehicles (MCVs) this fiscal year as part on ongoing efforts to enhance the capabilities of the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force (JGSDF). The new long-range Type-19 SPH, which is integrated into an 8×8 MAN tactical military truck and has a crew of five, is being gradually rolled out to the JGSDF to replace the service’s aging fleet of FH-70 towed artillery systems, said the Ministry of Defense in Tokyo in its latest ‘Defense Programs and Budget of Japan’ report, the English-language version of which was released in late March.
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Rockwell Collins won a $7.6 million contract for small mission computer hardware and executable software for the RQ-7B Shadow Tactical Unmanned Aircraft System. The aircraft can see targets up to 125 kilometers away from the brigade tactical operations center, and recognize tactical vehicles up to 8,000 feet above the ground at more than 3.5 kilometers slant range, day or night. The RQ-7 Shadow ground control station transmits imagery and telemetry data directly to the Joint Surveillance and Target Attack Radar System, All Sources Analysis System, and Advanced Field Artillery Tactical Data System in near real time. Work will take place in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Estimated completion date is August 15, 2022.
General Dynamics won a $14.7 million contract modification for Abrams systems technical support. The M1 Abrams is a third-generation american main battle tank.Abrams M1A2 SEPV3 (System Enhanced Package) is a modernized configuration of the Abrams main battle tank (MBT) in service with the US Army. The new version offers enhanced protection and survivability, as well as higher lethality than its predecessors. Work will take place in Sterling Heights, Michigan. Scheduled completion date is September 30, 2023.
Middle East & Africa
MD Helicopters won a $35.8 million modification for logistics support for the Afghanistan Air Force MD-530F aircraft fleet. MD 530F Cayuse Warrior is an armed variant of the OH-6 Cayuse light observation helicopter built by MD Helicopters. It is designed to enhance scout attack, armed escort and close air attack capabilities of the air forces. The multi-purpose armed helicopter can be deployed in tactical, reconnaissance and transport operations. It can also carry out airborne law enforcement, executive and personnel transport, air medical services, search-and-rescue (SAR), firefighting and other public safety missions. Work will take place in Mesa, Arizona, and Kabul, Afghanistan. Estimated completion date is November 30, 2020.
Elbit Systems has developed a rescue capability for the maritime patrol-variant of its Hermes 900 medium-altitude long-endurance (MALE) unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV). The Israeli company announced that its Hermes 900 Maritime Patrol now has the ability to carry and drop life rafts for long-range search and rescue (SAR) operations. The Hermes 900 Maritime Patrol can carry up to four, six-person life-rafts that are integrated on its wings. Using an onboard maritime radar, the [Hermes] detects survivor situations. Upon detection its electro-optic/infrared (EO/IR) payload is deployed to provide visual identification, and a rapid calculation of the drop-point is performed, enabling the Hermes to dispatch life rafts from a low altitude of 600 ft to a pin-pointed location at a safe distance from the survivors.
Europe
The DoS approved a potential Foreign Military Sale to Hungary of sixty AIM-120C-7/C-8 AMRAAM-ER missiles, and two spare AIM-120C-7/C-8 AMRAAM-ER guidance sections and related equipment for an estimated cost of $230 million. The possible sale is in support of Hungary’s acquisition of the National Advanced Surface to Air Missile System (NASAMS) air defense system. NASAMS is a distributed and networked medium to long-range air defense system developed by Norway’s Kongsberg Defense & Aerospace and USA’s Raytheon.
Asia-Pacific
The head of Australia’s $32.2 billion Sea 1000 program has confirmed that construction of the pressure hull for the first of 12 Attack Class conventionally powered submarines is scheduled to begin in 2024. This will follow the construction in 2023 of a hull qualification section to prove procedures, equipment, and skills at the submarine construction facility now being built at Osborne North near Adelaide by government-owned Australian Naval Infrastructure to the functional requirements of Sea 1000’s French-owned designer and build partner Naval Group.
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Latest updates[?]: The head of Australia's $32.2 billion Sea 1000 program has confirmed that construction of the pressure hull for the first of 12 Attack Class conventionally powered submarines is scheduled to begin in 2024. This will follow the construction in 2023 of a hull qualification section to prove procedures, equipment, and skills at the submarine construction facility now being built at Osborne North near Adelaide by government-owned Australian Naval Infrastructure to the functional requirements of Sea 1000's French-owned designer and build partner Naval Group.
Buoy oh buoy…
News reports from Japan indicate that country is suggesting to Australia that they go in together to build a new series of non-nuclear submarines, hoping to finalize a deal before the end of the year. The Australian DOD would confirm only that they are indeed talking to several countries about cooperating on a new series. The previous Australian government (Labor) had promised 12 new keels, but the sitting government put those plans into a study phase, concerned that doing so would result in an availability gap between the new subs and the existing Collins class boats.
The January 2010 failure of a generator aboard HMAS Farncomb was just the latest in a long history of problems faced by its fleet of 6 Collins Class diesel-electric submarines – which have sometimes been reduced to just 1 operational vessel. That readiness issue presents an immediate financial headache for Australia’s government, and adds a longer-term challenge to the centerpiece of Australia’s future naval force.
With just 6 submarines in its fleet, Australia’s current deployment set-up leaves little room for error. Even a normal setup of 2 in maintenance, 2 for training but available if needed, and 2 on operations makes for a thin line, given Australia’s long coastline and sea lanes. Almost 15 years after the first Collins Class boat was delivered, they are still short of this goal. When crewing problems are added to the mechanical issues, the failings of its current fleet are creating sharp questions about the Australia’s 2009 White Paper plan to build 12 new diesel-electric fast attack submarines, as the future centerpiece of the 2030 Australian Navy.
Boeing won a $7 million order, which procures non-recurring engineering for the design, fabrication and correction of deficiencies required for the delivery and installation of retrofit kits for Navy P-8A aircraft with Increment 3 Engineering Change Proposal (ECP) 6 capabilities. The P-8A ECP 6 provides a significant modification to the baseline aircraft, installing new airframe racks, radomes, antennas, sensors and wiring, while incorporating a new combat system suite with an improved computer processing and security architecture capability at the higher than secret level, a wide band satellite communication system, an anti-submarine warfare signal intelligence capability, a minotaur track management system and additional communications and acoustics systems to enhance search, detection and targeting capabilities. Work will take place in Puget Sound, Washington. Estimated completion will be by May 2021.
Huntington Ingalls Industries won a $187.1 million contract modification to prepare and make ready for the refueling complex overhaul (RCOH) of USS John C. Stennis (CVN 74). The Stennis is the seventh Nimitz-class nuclear-powered supercarrier in the United States Navy and is currently docked at Naval Station Norfolk in Virginia. The deal, which modifies a contract awarded in 2018, funds continued advance planning efforts including material forecasting, long lead time material procurement and pre-overhaul tests and inspections on the ship, with an expected completion date of January 2021. Huntington Ingalls Industries Inc. is the original building yard contractor for all ships of the CVN-68 class, the reactor plant planning yard, the lead design refueling yard and the only private shipyard capable of refueling and overhauling nuclear powered aircraft carriers. Work will take place in Virginia.
Middle East & Africa
The Cameroon Navy started to use the new floating dock that was supplied by China to repair its vessels. It released photographs of PR 001, a Swiftships 12 m patrol boat, entering the dry dock and naval personnel working on its hull. “This type of operation will continue for all the fleet’s ships,” the navy said. PR 001 is one of the few survivors of 30 such boats that were delivered in the late 1980s under a US military assistance program.
Europe
BAE Systems has acquired Raytheon’s Airborne Tactical Radios business. After reaching a definitive agreement in January, BAE Systems say has now completed the acquisition of Raytheon Technologies Corporation’s Airborne Tactical Radios business. BAE say that this acquisition augments their portfolio in airborne communications with broad-spectrum, multi-band, multi-channel radios that feature robust anti-jamming and encryption capabilities.
Asia-Pacific
A French Air Force A400Marrived in Auckland, New Zealand on May 6. This is the first time that type of French aircraft had landed in the country. The mission was to bring home around 20 French Polynesians stranded in New Zealand to Tahiti. It was deployed to Tahiti from Paris late in April, carrying medical supplies and cash for banks. The deployment is part of Operation Resilience, launched by French President Emmanuel Macron to battle the spread of Covid-19.
The Philippines Department of National Defense is set to conclude its planned procurement of the ATMOS 155 mm/52 calibre self-propelled gun system produced by Israeli firm Elbit Systems. The guns will be acquired by the Philippine Army (PA), which will operate the systems through two batteries initiated under its Army Artillery Regiment (AAR) in January 2020. The NTP provides Elbit with formal authority to start building the howitzers for the PA consistent with the terms of the contract, which was signed in early 2020. A delay in issuing the NTP is thought to be due to funding constraints.
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Raytheon Space and Airborne Systems Won a $325 million deal for the repair of the Advanced Targeting Forward Looking Infrared System used in support of the F/A-18 Super Hornet aircraft. The ATFLIR is a multi-sensor electro-optical targeting pod used to provide navigation and targeting for military aircraft in adverse weather and using precision-guided munitions such as laser-guided bombs. According to Raytheon, the system is used to provide navigation and targeting for military aircraft in adverse weather, and is intended to replace the Navy’s AN/AA-38 Nite Hawk pod. Work will take place in Texas and Floria. Estimated completion will be by May 2025.
Bell Boeing won a $10.2 million contract modification, which provides for additional repairs in support of the V-22 Common Configuration Readiness and Modernization program. Additionally, this modification provides non-recurring engineering for a drive tube engineering change proposal in support of V-22 Osprey multirole combat aircraft production. The V-22 Osprey is a tiltrotor military aircraft with both vertical takeoff and landing as well as short takeoff and landing capabilities. It has been in use by the US Army, Navy and Marine Corps and Japan’s Self-Defense Force, since 2007. There are currently about 200 Ospreys in service. Work on the contract will be performed at a variety of locations, including Fort Worth, Texas, Ridley Park, Penn., and Amarillo Texas. The expected completion date for the contract is in September 2022.
Middle East & Africa
The Egyptian Navy welcomed its third Type 209/1400 submarine to its main Ras el-Tin base in Alexandria after it completed its maiden voyage from Germany. A video released by the Egyptian Ministry of Defense showed the new submarine S 43 (867) leading the other two Type 209/1400s and two Project 033 (Improved Romeo) Class submarines that the Egyptian Navy has retained in service for the time being despite the arrival of the new boats. These were followed by the FREMM frigate Tahya Misr, which was received from France in 2015, and the two Mistral Class amphibious assault ships, which were handed over the following year. Both Mistrals carried six attack helicopters on their flight decks.
Europe
Flighting Electronics won an $18.6 million contract for the manufacture and delivery of 543 TTU-597/E engineering change proposal kits to address parts obsolescence and availability issues on the fuel control test set for Navy and Foreign Military Sales customers. Additionally, this contract provides logistics support documents to include technical manual updates, provisioning data and the interim support items list. Work will take place in New York and the UK. Expected completion will be by May 2024.
Sweden has formally launched the search for a new jet trainer aircraft, with a request for information (RFI) released by the FMV national procurement agency. The RFI seeks to source a replacement for the Swedish Air Force’s Saab 105 jet trainer aircraft that first flew in 1963 and joined the SwAF inventory in 1967. The jet trainer requirement seeks to procure new aircraft, simulators, safety equipment, and maintenance. With government authorization now granted for a replacement platform for the first phase of pilot training, the goal is to have the system in place at Malmen in Linkoping by the third quarter of 2023. SwAF flight instructors should have access to the platform before that date in order to prepare for the commencement of student training.
Asia-Pacific
A Republic of China Army (ROCA) Aviation OH-58D helicopter, #634, suffered a hard landing during a training flight at Guerin base. Two people on board, an instructor and student, were not injured. The Army is evaluating the damage, and a special taskforce will be assigned to investigate the incident, the AASFC said. All Army flight training will be suspended until the cause of the accident has been determined, the AASFC said. An Army officer, who requested anonymity because he was not authorized to speak on the matter, told CNA that the incident occurred at 3:20 p.m. at the AASFC’s Guiren base in Tainan. A flight student and his instructor were performing an emergency landing drill that simulated a situation in which the helicopter lost power, the officer said.
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