Sikorsky Gets $2.3B For Black Hawk |Djibouti Revealed Bayraktar TB2 | MBDA Introduces JFS-M For HIMARS And M270

Americas

Sikorsky Aircraft won a $2.3 billion deal for procurement of 120 H-60M Black Hawk helicopters and related support for fiscal years 2022-2026, including options for an additional 135 aircraft. Bids were solicited via the internet with one received. With more than 2,100 H-60 variants in the US Army’s inventory, the Black Hawk remains the workhorse and backbone of US Army aviation. As the US Army continues to develop its Futura Vertical Lift (FVL) programs – in which the company competes with its Raider X and SB-1 Defiant – they will continue to operate the H-60M for decades to come and alongside its future replacements. According to the US Department of Defense publication, the contract is multi-year and firm-fixed-price, and includes the aircraft and the logistics support ecosystem. Work will be performed in Stratford, Connecticut, with an estimated completion date of June 30, 2027.

Lockheed Martin won a $13.3 million cost-plus-incentive-fee modification to previously awarded contract N00024-13-C-5116 for AEGIS Combat System Engineering Agent (CSEA) efforts. Work will take place in New Jersey. Expected completion will be by December 2022. The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, DC, is the contracting activity.

Middle East & Africa

Baykar, the Turkish manufacturer of the Bayraktar TB2, will donate additional unmanned combat aerial vehicles (UCAVs) to Ukraine, refusing to accept crowd-funded payment for the aircraft. Baykar announced the gifting of three UCAVs on June 27, saying that “The People’s Bayraktar” campaign to raise funding for the procurement should instead redirect the monies raised to “the struggling people of Ukraine”.

Djibouti has revealed itself to be an operator of the Baykar Bayraktar TB2, parading the Turkish-built unmanned combat aerial vehicle (UCAV) at its independence day celebrations on June 27. Two Bayraktar UCAVs were showcased in a military parade to mark the 45th anniversary of independence for the east African country, with each being transported on the back of a flatbed truck.

Europe

At the recently concluded ILA Berlin Air Show, MBDA took the opportunity to unveil the Joint Fire Support Missile (JFS-M) that can be fitting inside the ammunition pods of the HIMARS or M270 Multiple Launch Rocket System (MLRS). The company decided that a cruise missile solution is more desirable than using ballistic missiles as the latter require larger boosters.

Asia-Pacific

According to Business World, the US has reoffered to co-develop the 110-kilonewton (kn) engine for India’s Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft (AMCA). An earlier US offer in 2019 to jointly develop the fighter engine was shelved after disagreements arose over technology sharing between the two countries. The US was reluctant to share “core or hot engine technology” with India, the outlet wrote.

Today’s Video

WATCH: Joint Fire Support Missile – Growth of capability for the artillery