AH-64E V6 Goes To 1-151st Attack Reconnaissance Battalion | Fincantieri Launches Qatar’s 4th Zubarah Corvette | India Will Arm Tejas With JDAMs

Americas

DynCorp International won a $100 million deal, which provides organizational, selected intermediate, and limited depot level maintenance, as well as logistics support services for the Navy F/A-18C/D/E/F, EA-18G, MH-60S, E-2C, and F-16A/B/C/D aircraft. Work will take place in Nevada. Estimated completion will take place in September 2023.

The South Carolina National Guard’s 1-151st Attack Reconnaissance Battalion recently took delivery of five AH-64E V6 attack helicopters. These helicopters arrived at McEntire Joint National Guard Base on March 24. “The arrival of the AH-64E model Apache Guardian to the South Carolina Army National Guard is a vast technological step forward for South Carolina,” said US Army Col. Jay McElveen, 59th Aviation Troop Command commander, South Carolina National Guard.

Middle East & Africa

Italian shipbuilder Fincantieri has launched the fourth Al Zubarah-class corvette on order for Qatar. The ship Sumaysimah was launched during a ceremony held at Fincantieri’s Muggiano shipyard in La Spezia on March 29. Sumaysimah is the final ship of the class to be built by Fincantieri under a contract awarded in 2016. The multiship order, worth $4.47 billion, also includes the delivery of a landing platform dock (LPD) and two offshore patrol vessels (OPVs).

According to Defense News, Turkey is in negotiations to acquire up to 100 people to power its first indigenous tank, the Altay. Turkey’s highest defense procurement official, Ismail Demir, said the charges against the organization are focused on the quantity of power packs (which the engine and transmission make up) that would be pumped for the Altay program.

Europe

In a Norwegian fjord inside the Arctic Circle, the ‘Surveillance and Reconnaissance Squadron’ launched small teams from an Astute class submarine for ‘subsurface insertion’ missions. Their aim was to undergo reconnaissance missions on the rocky, icy shoreline in sub-zero temperatures while avoiding the multi-national ‘enemy’ force hunting them.

Asia-Pacific

India is getting a batch of JDAMs and these will be used to arm the indigenous Tejas fighter. Besides the JDAM, India is also procuring the French-made Armement Air-Sol Modulaire (AASM) precision-guided munition for the Tejas.

Today’s Video

WATCH: Al Zubarah-class: The New Power of Qatari Emiri Navy

LCA Tejas: An Indian Fighter – With Foreign Help

India’s Light Combat Aircraft program is meant to boost its aviation industry, but it must also solve a pressing military problem. The IAF’s fighter strength has been declining as the MiG-21s that form the bulk of its fleet are lost in crashes, or retired due to age and wear. Most of India’s other Cold War vintage aircraft face similar problems.

In response, some MiG-21s have been modernized to MiG-21 ‘Bison’ configuration, and other current fighter types are undergoing modernization programs of their own. The IAF’s hope is that they can maintain an adequate force until the multi-billion dollar 126+ plane MMRCA competition delivers replacements, and more SU-30MKIs arrive from HAL. Which still leaves India without an affordable fighter solution. MMRCA can replace some of India’s mid-range fighters, but what about the MiG-21s? The MiG-21 Bison program adds years of life to those airframes, but even so, they’re likely to be gone by 2020.

That’s why India’s own Tejas Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) project is so important to the IAF’s future prospects. It’s also why India’s rigid domestic-only policies are gradually being relaxed, in order to field an operational and competitive aircraft. Even with that help, the program’s delays are a growing problem for the IAF. Meanwhile, the west’s near-abandonment of the global lightweight fighter market opens a global opportunity, if India can seize it with a compelling and timely product.