Bell Textron Tapped For H-1 Aircraft Support | F-15Es Ferried Live Bombs To UAE | India To Lease French A330 MRTT

Americas

Saguaro Business Solutions won a $67.3 million contract for aircrew training and courseware development. This contract provides all personnel, equipment, tools, materials, supervision, and all other items and services that are required to perform 552 Air Control Wing E-3 Aircrew Training and 752nd Operations Support Squadron and Reporting Center support at Tinker Air Force Base, Oklahoma. Estimated completion date is April 30, 2026.

Bell Textron won a $8 million deal, which provides engineering and technical field services for the H-1 aircraft to include airframes, avionics, electrical power plant systems and associated equipment, on and off-site proficiency training, technical and unusually complex technical guidance in support of the Naval Air Technical Data and Engineering Service Center. The UH-1Y Venom and the AH-1Y Viper hare 85 percent parts commonality, designed to significantly reduce life-cycle costs and the aircraft’s logistical footprint, while increasing the maintainability and deployability. The AH-1Z Viper attack helicopter provides rotary wing close air support, anti-armor, anti-air, armed escort, armed/visual reconnaissance and fire support coordination capabilities under day/night and adverse weather conditions for the USMC. The UH-1Y Venom multi-role utility helicopter is equipped with a wide range of weapons and mission support configurations to also perform close air support missions, along with combat assault support, search and rescue/causality evacuation, armed escort/reconnaissance, command and control, and special operation support. Work will take place in New Jersey, Louisiana and Hawaii. Estimated completion will be in April 2026.

Middle East & Africa

Six F-15Es from the 494th Expeditionary Fighter Squadron arrived at Al Dhafra Air Base, United Arab Emirates, April 25 ferrying live bombs from Jordan. This is the first combat tactical ferry mission for the F-15E as part of an Agile Combat Employment operation. Each fighter is carrying more bombs than it can drop in combat. The purpose is to ferry the live bombs to a location without having to use a cargo plane to do so.

Europe

Romania signed the Letter of Offer and Acceptance (LOA) contract for the Naval Strike Missile (NSM) Coastal Defense Systems (CDS). The General Directorate for Armaments of the Ministry of National Defense signed the contract on behalf of the government. The costs of the systems, which includes four mobile launchers, is about $286 million. Delivery will take place in the last quarter of 2024.

Asia-Pacific

India is to lease a A330 MRTT from France under government-to-government basis, Hindustan Times reports. The Indian Air Force has issued a request for information (RFI) for this purpose. Another request for proposal will be release in the future to lease another five tankers. The proposal was discussed during Air Chief Marshal RKS Bhadauria’s visit to France last week.

Japan is exploring the use of a multihull design for the two vessels that are to be equipped with the Aegis missile defense system that replaces the Aegis Ashore program. Japan’s Hibiki Class ocean surveillance ships uses the small-waterplane-area twin hull (SWATH) design. Such a configuration offers stability in rough seas. According to the news report, a civilian company will be contracted to develop a potential design.

Today’s Video

Watch: Japan commissions new ocean surveillance ship ” JS Aki Hibiki-class vessels”