24.2 Hour Long KC-46A Flight | Progress Of Iran’s Zagros And Damavand Production | Rheinmetall Delivered 3,000 UTV To Germany

Americas

A US Air Force KC-46A crew has flown the aerial refueling aircraft for 24.2 hours in a mission to gather human factors data on long-duration flights. The aircraft was flown by four pilots working on four-hour shifts with another two pilots acting as backup. They were joined by three boom operators, a photojournalist, and a physician assistant. Taking off from McConnell Air Force Base on May 5, the jet landed back at McConnell Air Force Base the next day with just one refueling from a KC-46A.

Korte Construction Co., doing business as The Korte Co. won $37 million firm-fixed-price contract to design and construct an operations and test facility. Bids were solicited via the internet with four received. Work will take place at Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada, with an estimated completion date of May 5, 2024. The US Army Corps of Engineers, Los Angeles, California, is the contracting activity.

Middle East & Africa

Iran has claimed that the production of two indigenous destroyers, the Zagros and Damavand-2, has made significant progress and that they will join the country’s navy “in the near future.” As per the Iranian Navy, the studies related to the manufacturing of the destroyers have been completed and they are soon expected to enter the production phase.

Europe

According to Defense News, US Pentagon leaders are asking Congress for new authorities when it comes to cooperative defense programs with the European Union, a prospect officials on both sides of the Atlantic have said will complement traditional NATO processes. Defense officials circulated legislative language to that effect on Capitol Hill this month in hopes of having it included in the annual defense policy bill now on the congressional docket.

German defense manufacturer Rheinmetall MAN Military Vehicles (RMMV) announced that it has delivered 3,000 unprotected transport vehicles (UTVs) to the German military. The delivery was part of a 2017 contract to produce 2,000 UTVs capable of carrying up to 15 tons (30,000 pounds) of payload.

Asia-Pacific

Australia has announced plans to acquire 12 more MH-60R naval helicopters and 29 AH-64E attack helicopters. The MH-60R contract will include a 13th aircraft to replace one that was lost in 2021. All will be based at HMAS Albatross. Boeing says it welcomes Australia’s decision as the AH-64E Apache provides Australia with a low-risk, fully-integrated, battle-proven capability.

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