Americas
Honeywell International won a $15.8 million delivery order for V-22 spare parts. The V-22 Osprey is a joint-service, medium-lift, multimission tilt-rotor aircraft developed by Boeing and Bell Helicopters. Boeing is responsible for the fuselage, landing gear, avionics, electrical and hydraulic systems, performance and flying qualities. The delivery order was a sole-source acquisition using justification 10 US Code 2304 (c)(1), as stated in Federal Acquisition Regulation 6.302-1. This is a one-year contract with no option periods. Work will take place in Arizona. Estimated completion date is October 31, 2021.
L3 Technologies von a $23.8 million contract to perform survivable super high frequency (SSHF) upgrades to the E-4B platform. The SSHF upgrade seeks to build new capabilities that form the foundation for maintaining the E-4B as an effective nuclear command, control and communications platform. The E-4B is a militarized version of the 747-200 commercial airliner and acts as the United States’ principle airborne command and control operations center during times of war. Originally designed to carry the Secretary of Defense and the Joint Chiefs of Staff during a nuclear attack, the aircraft provides a highly survivable, command, control and communications center to direct US forces, execute emergency war orders and coordinate actions by civil authorities. Work will take place in Utah and Nebraska. Expected completion will be by April, 2022.
Middle East & Africa
Bombardier Recreational Products (BRP) says it will no longer export its Rotax engines to Turkey after the company become aware that the power plants were installed on the latter’s Bayraktar TB2 unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). “We have recently been made aware that some Rotax engines are currently used in military UAVs, and have started a thorough investigation immediately,” Martin Langelier, BPR’s senior vice president and the company’s spokesperson, told Radio Canada International in an email statement. He added that those engines are produced in Austria exclusively for civilian purposes and are certified for civilian use only. An Azerbaijan Bayraktar TB2 was shot down by Armenia last week and components from the wreckage showed that they were made by Canadian companies.
Europe
The US State Department announced that the Trump administration intends to give two decommissioned F-16 fighters to Bulgaria. The donation was announced during Assistant Secretary for Political and Military Affairs R. Clarke Cooper’s visit to the country. The transfer is subjected to approval by the US Congress. The jets will be used as training aids and general familiarization tools for Bulgarian Air Force personnel.
Asia-Pacific
A US Air Force C-17 had to make an emergency landing with its nose gear up on October 18 in Afghanistan. US Forces in Afghanistan spokesman Army Col. Sonny Leggett confirmed the incident. A video, taken from a car driving by the runway, shows the C-17 landing on its rear landing gear and then easing its nose down as it slows to a stop, with sparks streaking from its fuselage. Pictures of the C-17 on the ground after the emergency landing show the markings of the 62nd and 446th airlift wings at Joint Base Lewis-McChord in Washington.
VT-ALW, the second Boeing 777 airliner modified as the VVIP aircraft for the Indian government has arrived home on October 24. The first aircraft, VT-ALV, was delivered to India on October 1.The B777 is fitted with the state of the art defense systems, including missiles and jamming mechanisms. The plane has a state of the art missile defense system called as the Large Aircraft Infrared Countermeasures (LAIRCM) and Self-Protection Suites (SPS).
Today’s Video
Watch: US NAVY’S JOHN S.MCCAIN, JMSDF’S JS KIRISAME & AUSTRALIAN ROYAL NAVY’S HMAS ARUNTA JOIN HANDS !
