US Marine Corps Gets 1st Reaper Under Joint Procurement Deal With USAF | UK Will Send Storm Shadows To Ukraine | SOCOM Develops C-130 Maritime Variant With Japan

Americas

The US Marine Corps has taken delivery of its first MQ-9 Reaper drone under a joint procurement deal with the US Air Force. The delivery was part of a $136 million deal awarded to General Atomics Aeronautical Systems in 2022 for eight MQ-9s to be delivered to the marines this year.

Boeing won a $10.4 million modification, which adds scope and provides non-recurring engineering in support of mission systems hardware and software to develop a unique configuration of the P-8A aircraft for the government of Germany.  Work will be performed in Seattle, Washington, and is expected to be completed in December 2024.

Middle East & Africa

Boeing won a $216 million modification for C-17 Globemaster landing gear spares management services. Work will be performed primarily in Long Beach, California, and is expected to be completed by Sept. 30, 2024. This contract involves Foreign Military Sales to the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, NATO Airlift Management Program Office, India, Kuwait, United Arab Emirates, and Qatar.

Europe

The UK government on Thursday announced it would send Storm Shadow missiles to Ukraine, becoming the first country to provide longer-range weapons to Kyiv. “Today I can confirm that the UK is donating Storm Shadow missiles to Ukraine,” said Defense Secretary Ben Wallace. Storm Shadow is an air-launched long-range, deep-strike weapon, “designed to meet the demanding requirements of pre-planned attacks against high-value fixed or stationary targets,” according to manufacturer MBDA.

Asia-Pacific

US Special Operations Command (SOCOM) is seeking to collaborate with Japan to develop a C-130 military transport aircraft maritime variant. Speaking at a conference in Florida, SOCOM acquisition head Jim Smith said the US can leverage Tokyo’s experience in developing the ShinMaywa US-2 maritime cargo aircraft. The country reportedly has six of the amphibious-capable aircraft the Maritime Self-Defense Force uses for search and rescue.

During an earnings briefing on May 9, Hiroshi Ide, President of IHI Corporation, told reporters that approximately 200 Pratt & Whitney F100 turbofan engines mounted on the Mitsubishi F-15J fighter will have to be disposed of when they are retired. Japan has 200 F-15s in operation and half of these were not delivered with the Multi-Stage Improvement Program (MSIP) that allows these fighters to have wiring support to fire newer air-to-air missiles. Therefore, these jets will be decommissioned from service and replaced by the F-35.

Today’s Video

WATCH: How Panic Created The Best Fighter Jet Ever: The F-15 Eagle

MQ-9 Reaper: Unfettered for Export

The MQ-9 Reaper UAV, once called “Predator B,” is somewhat similar to the famous Predator. Until you look at the tail. Or its size. Or its weapons. It’s called “Reaper” for a reason: while it packs the same surveillance gear, it’s much more of a hunter-killer design. Some have called it the first fielded Unmanned Combat Air Vehicle (UCAV).

The Reaper UCAV will play a significant role in the future USAF, even though its capability set makes the MQ-9 considerably more expensive than MQ-1 Predators. Given these high-end capabilities and expenses, one may not have expected the MQ-9 to enjoy better export success than its famous cousin. Nevertheless, that’s what appears to be happening. MQ-9 operators currently include the USA and Britain, who use it in hunter-killer mode, and Italy. Several other countries are expressing interest, and the steady addition of new payloads are expanding the Reaper’s advantage over competitors…

P-8 Poseidon MMA: Long-Range Maritime Patrol, and More

Maritime surveillance and patrol is becoming more and more important, but the USA’s P-3 Orion turboprop fleet is falling apart. The P-7 Long Range Air ASW (Anti-Submarine Warfare) Capable Aircraft program to create an improved P-3 began in 1988, but cost overruns, slow progress, and interest in opening the competition to commercial designs led to the P-7’s cancellation for default in 1990. The successor MMA program was begun in March 2000, and Boeing beat Lockheed’s “Orion 21” with a P-8 design based on their ubiquitous 737 passenger jet. US Navy squadrons finally began taking P-8A Poseidon deliveries in 2012, but the long delays haven’t done their existing P-3 fleet any favors.

Filling the P-3 Orion’s shoes is no easy task. What missions will the new P-8A Poseidon face? What do we know about the platform, the project team, and ongoing developments? Will the P-3’s wide global adoption give its successor a comparable level of export opportunities? Australia and India have already signed on, but has the larger market shifted in the interim?