Sikorsky Tapped For VH-92A Support | German Strela Missiles Offered To Ukraine Not Useable | NATO Increases Presence On North-Eastern Flank

Americas

Lockheed Martin won a not-to-exceed contract modification, which adds scope for the procurement, delivery, installation, and configuration of 22 F-35 Joint Strike Fighter training devices. The total quantity of training devices includes full mission simulators, multispectral database, and interactive courseware. Additionally, this modification provides non-recurring engineering to identify and integrate a replacement rechargeable battery module to be installed within the blade server system of pilot training devices in support of the Air Force, Marine Corps, Navy, non-US Department of Defense (DOD) participants and Foreign Military Sales (FMS) customers. Work will take place in Texas and Florida. Estimated completion will be in December 2027.

Sikorsky Aircraft won a $15.9 million modification, which adds scope to provide interim contractor support and procure interior spares for VH-92A low rate initial production Lot II aircraft. The Marine One VH-92A is the next-generation presidential transport helicopter being developed for the US Marine Corps. Sikorsky Aircraft is responsible for the production. Work will take place in Washington, Illinois, Connecticut, Pennsylvania and New York. Estimated completion will be in March 2023.

Middle East & Africa

Israel Defense reports that the Mozambican army has intercepted and neutralized 3 ISIS drone squads in the north of the country with the tactical systems provided by the Israeli company MCTECH RF Technologies. According to a report by the army, the drones were apparently sent for the purposes of gathering intelligence and bombarding the soldiers. According MCTECH, the system model MC-Horizon D360BP V3 tactical systems were supplied to the Mozambican army at the end of 2021.

Europe

According to local media, the German government had to backtrack on the planned delivery of 2,700 East German-era Strela anti-aircraft missiles to the Ukrainian army. The magazine Der Spiegel reported that  a large proportion of the Strela missiles in the German army depots are not only completely outdated, they are also no longer usable. The German army had already taken the East German-era system out of the troops’ operations in 2014 “for security reasons”, according to a confidential note on the weapon system.

NATO is increasing its presence on the north-eastern flank of Allied territory in response to the Russian troop concentration and subsequent aggressive incursion by Russian forces into Ukraine. Now all four multinational NATO task forces have been reinforced with additional personnel and materiel. Britain, the lead nation of the NATO battalion in Estonia, has sent another 850 soldiers and more Challenger tanks there, plus 350 more troops to Poland. It has also put another 1,000 on standby to help with refugees, and sent another four fighter jets to Cyprus, while sending two ships to the eastern Mediterranean.

Asia-Pacific

Indonesia Air Force Chief of Staff Air Chief Marshal Fadjar Prasetyo disclosed that a number of pilots have been shortlisted for conversion to the Rafale fighter. “We have prepared several pilots, but we have not determined the number. However, we have readied the criteria and those who are eligible to fly the Rafale,” Prasetyo said on March 4.

Today’s Video

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