Americas
Armtec Countermeasures Co. won an $11.7 million deal for RR-196 countermeasure chaff for the F-22. This contract provides for the impulse cartridge program and is used by F-22 aircraft for combat and training purposes. Work will be performed in Lillington, North Carolina, and is expected to be completed by September 30, 2027. The Air Force Life Cycle Management Center, Hill Air Force Base, Utah, is the contracting activity.
General Atomics Aeronautical Systems won a $500 million deal for program management support related to Medium Altitude Long Endurance Tactical MQ-9 and MQ-1C Special Operations Forces-peculiar modifications in support of US Special Operations Command (USSOCOM). This deal will be funded with operations and maintenance; procurement; and/or research, development, and testing evaluation funds under the applicable fiscal year, and is not multiyear. The work will be performed in Poway, California, and is expected to be completed by August 16, 2029. USSOCOM, MacDill Air Force Base, Florida, is the contracting activity.
Middle East & Africa
Iraq has ordered an unspecified number of H225M multi-role helicopters from Airbus to fill potential capability gaps caused by US troops’ pending withdrawal from the country. Joint Operations Command spokesperson Major General Tahseen Al-Khafaji revealed in a televised interview that Baghdad has officially signed a procurement contract with France, though he did not say how much exactly it is paying.
Europe
Italy has received US clearance to procure MQ-9 Reaper drones from General Atomics. Valued at $738 million, the potential foreign military sale covers the supply of six Block 5 Reaper drones and three mobile ground control stations. Italy has requested to buy six MQ-9 Block 5 UAVs; three MQ-9 mobile ground control stations (MGCS); 12 AN/DAS-4 Multi-spectral Target Systems; nine Lynx AN/APY-8 Block 20A synthetic aperture radars with a maritime wide area surveillance (MWAS) capability; and one embedded global positioning and inertial navigation (EGI) system.
Asia-Pacific
The Taiwanese military is bracing for a massive decommissioning of its aging assets as part of a renewed push to modernize its capabilities. More than 1,000 outdated weapons systems are set to be mothballed between 2024 and 2028, according to Rear Admiral Chen Chun-chung.