Americas
General Dynamics Electric Boat won an $878 million deal in support of the planned Virginia Class submarines SSN 812 and SSN 813 and in furtherance of the Navy’s commitment to the health and stability of the industrial base. Work is expected to be completed by September 2033. Fiscal 2024 shipbuilding and conversion (Navy) funds in the amount of $658,500,000 will be obligated at time of award and will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, DC, is the contracting activity.
Dassault Aviation has announced the launch of a new unmanned combat aerial vehicle (UCAV) programme as part of the future Rafale F5 standard. The announcement was made by Sébastien Lecornu, French Minister of the Armed Forces and Veterans Affairs, on October 8 during a ceremony at the Saint-Dizier air base to mark the 60th anniversary of the French Strategic Air Forces (FAS). The event also marked the 90th anniversary of the French Air and Space Force. The UCAV is expected to enter service after 2030 and will complement the Rafale in collaborative combat. Dassault Aviation Chairman and CEO Éric Trappier believes the UCAV will contribute to the technological and operational superiority of the French Air Force by 2033. He also stated that the Rafale F5 combined with the UCAV and their evolutions will ensure France’s independence and capability superiority in the coming decades.
Middle East & Africa
Israeli military strikes are targeting Iran’s armed allies across a nearly 2,000-mile stretch of the Middle East and threatening Iran itself. The efforts raise the possibility of an end to two decades of Iranian ascendancy in the region, to which the 2003 US invasion of Iraq inadvertently gave rise.
Europe
France’s Ministry of Defense is planning to send the first tranche of French-made Mirage 2000 multi-role aircraft to Ukraine in the first half of 2025. The military aid is part of Paris’ efforts to help Kyiv bolster its air defenses in response to Russia’s ongoing aggression on NATO’s eastern flank. “The Mirage 2000s that will be delivered to Ukraine will be equipped with new equipment,” French Armed Forces Minister Sébastien Lecornu said in an interview with Bordeaux-based news agency Sud Ouest. “This transformation operation will take place at the Cazaux base in Gironde.”
Asia-Pacific
Two grey shapes, visible from satellites for most of this year at Cambodia’s Ream naval base, seem to confirm growing fears in Washington: that China is expanding its military footprint, beyond the three disputed islands in the South China Sea which it has already seized and fortified. The shapes are type 056A corvettes of the Chinese navy – 1,500-tonne warships – and they have been berthed alongside a new, Chinese-built pier that is big enough to accommodate much larger vessels. Onshore there are other facilities, also built by China, which are presumed to be for the use of the Chinese navy.
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