Bell Textron To Provide Navy With H-1 | Rafael To Display Spyder At NATO Days | Lithuania To Buy UAVs For Armed Forces

Americas

Bell Textron won a $228.2 million deal by the US Navy, which provides the H-1 Light/Attack helicopter with new and modified capabilities through System Configuration Sets, which is a combination of software and/or hardware configuration item changes integrated into a previously deployed baseline configuration. These efforts include work on the airframe, aircraft wiring interface terminals, flight controls, and weapon systems interfaces, as well as research alternatives, investigation, and documentation of new capabilities and anomalies related to flight controls, wiring harnesses, and weapons, and developing, integrating, verifying, validating, and testing these systems. Additionally, this contract provides for identification of maintenance activities required to support the systems; research, development, and support of studies and analysis related to configuration items, new subsystems, weapons integration, engineering, and logistics; and all efforts required to accomplish analysis of alternatives, system design, integration, testing, rapid response activities, and system capability improvements for Foreign Military Sales customers and fleet support. Work will take place in Texas. Estimated completion will be in September 2027.

The US Air Force is testing out loading GBU-38 smart bombs with other types of munitions while being carried externally on the B-52 bomber. Tasked by the US Air Force SEEK EAGLE Office, engineers from Arnold Engineering Development Complex uses a 16-foot transonic wind tunnel at Arnold Air Force Base to gather separation data when the GBU-38 is carried with different types of weapons such as the GBU-31 and CBU-87 on neighboring stations.

Middle East & Africa

Israel’s defense company Rafael is arriving at NATO Days as one of the Main Marketing Partners of the event and as the only Israeli company which has developed an air defense system that has been acquired by a NATO member. The Czech Ministry of Defense purchased the SPYDER air defense system last year. At NATO Days 2022, in Ostrava, Czech Republic, RAFAEL’s state-of-the-art SPYDER Family of air defense systems will be displayed with two configuration models of the SPYDER SR and SPYDER MR which operates with 6 different interceptors.

Europe

The Lithuanian Ministry of Defence announced a procurement process to buy unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) for its armed forces. The future order includes two UAV models, including 26 “mini” and nine “small” systems. According to market analysis, the variants should cost around $36 million. They will be utilized for target identification and tracking, field impact assessment, artillery fire monitoring, and system adjustments.

Damen Naval and Rolls-Royce Power Systems have inked a contract for the latter to deliver 16 mtu diesel generator sets (gensets) for the German Navy’s four new F126 frigates. Damen noted that this was the first time it had awarded a contract for mtu naval diesel gensets. The agreement also includes an Integrated Logistics Support (ILS) package. The onboard power of each F126 vessel will be provided by four mtu Series 4000 variable speed generator sets.

Asia-Pacific

China announced sanctions on Friday against the chief executives of American defense contractors Raytheon and Boeing Defense over a major US arms sale to rival Taiwan. Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning did not specify what the sanctions would be against Gregory Hayes, chairman and CEO of Raytheon Technologies, and Ted Colbert, president and CEO of Boeing Defense, Space and Security.

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