Harper Construction To Build F-35C Hangar Addition | IAI To Continue F-16 Wing Production For Lockheed Martin | Patria To Deliver 6x6s To Latvia

Americas

Harper Construction won a $101.7 million construction contract for design and construction of an F-35C hangar addition at Naval Air Station Lemoore, California. The project will include the construction of a two-module addition in support of F-35C operational squadrons. It will construct an aircraft parking apron and marshalling area, access apron and shoulders, taxiway connections and associated lighting, and construct an alternate mission equipment storage facility. The hangar addition will be constructed with reinforced concrete masonry unit, structural steel frames, metal deck and pile foundation. The work to be performed includes design and construction of the F-35C hangar addition to Hangar 6. Work will take place in California. Estimated completion will be by March 2024.

Lockheed Martin won a $12.6 million deal to exercise options for Aegis design agent field engineering services. Services include test and evaluation, engineering change development, ordnance/ship alterations, modernization engineering, logistics and technical support, ordnance alterations kit development, integration and test support, AN/SPY-1 series radar antenna refurbishment and Coast Guard deep-water program design agent field engineering support. The services are in support of Aegis-equipped CGs and DDGs, allied Aegis-equipped ships, and Coast Guard Aegis-configured ships. Work will take place in Virginia, California and Florida. Estimated completion will be by September 2022.

Middle East & Africa

According to Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI), it has resumed the production of F-16 wings for Lockheed Martin, using an assembly line established in the 1980s. IAI recently reopened the production line following increased worldwide demand for the F-16 Block 70/72. IAI will produce F-16 wings that will be shipped to the F-16 final assembly line in Greenville, South Carolina, according to the company.

Europe

Northrop Grumman won a $50 million modification for Integrated Battle Command Systems hardware and software. The Integrated Air and Missile Defense Battle Command System is intended is to integrate the communications between weapon launchers, radars, and the operators, allowing an air defense unit to fire its interceptors using information provided by the radar of another. Fiscal 2010 Foreign Military Sales (Poland) funds in the full amount were obligated at the time of the award. Work will take place in Alabama. Estimated completion date is December 31, 2025

Finnish firm Patria won an order to deliver 200 6×6 armoured vehicles to Latvia. The contract also covers provision of support and training systems. Deliveries will take place between 2021 and 2029. The joint programme is open to other countries with the mutual consent of the participating countries. In general, this common vehicle system will improve the mobility, cost-effectiveness, interoperability, and security of supply of armies in the participating countries, the company said in a statement August 30.

Asia-Pacific

Hindustan Aeronautics has completed the spin and night flight testing portion for the HTT-40 basic trainer and the light aircraft will head for certification clearance. Intended to replace the HPT-32 (Hindustan Piston Trainer), the HTT-40 is a basic training aircraft developed for the first stage of the training of rookie pilots in the Indian Air Force.

Today’s Video

Watch: Gigantic Fleet of US C-17 Take Off One by One During Elephant Walk

SM-3 BMD, in from the Sea: EPAA & Aegis Ashore

SM-3 Standard missiles have been the backbone of the US Navy’s ballistic missile defense plans for many years now, and are beginning to see service in the navies of allies like Japan. Their test successes and long range against aerial threats have spawned a land-based version, which end up being even more important to the USA’s allies.

In July 2008 the US Missile Defense Agency began considering a land-based variant of the SM-3, largely due to specific requests from Israel. Israel currently fields the medium range Arrow-2 land-based ABM (Anti-Ballistic Missile) system, and eventually elected to pursue the Arrow-3 instead of SM-3s. Once the prospect had been raised, however, the US government decided that basing SM-3 missiles on land was a really good idea. The European Phased Adaptive Approach to missile defense is being built around this concept, and other regions could see similar deployments.

May day: India’s New Basic & Intermediate Flight Trainers

India’s stalled defense procurements have become an international joke, but they’re not funny to front-line participants. The country’s attempts to buy simple artillery pieces have become infamous, but their current problem with trainer aircraft is arguably a more significant wound.

You can’t produce pilots properly without appropriate training, but the IAF’s fleet of 114 locally-designed HPT-32 Deepak basic trainers has been grounded since August 2009, because they aren’t seen as reliable enough or safe enough to fly. Since then, equally aged HJT-16 Kiran jets are being used for both Stage-I and Stage-II fighter training. That yawning gap has added urgency to a replacement buy, but progress has been predictably slow. With its high-end Hawk AJT jet trainer deals behind them after 20+ years of effort, can the IAF take the next step, and plug the hole in the middle of its training? In May 2012, it did.