Americas
Raytheon won a $18.2 million delivery order for the repair of the APG 65/73 radar systems in support of the F/A-18 aircraft. Originally developed by the Hughes Aircraft Company, now Raytheon, the AN/APG-65 radar systems have been in regular use by the US Navy and Marine Corps, along with foreign militaries, since the early 1980s, and the AN/APG-73 has been in use since its development in the early 1990s, according to Raytheon. The AN/APG-73 was integrated into upgraded F/A-18 Hornet aircraft models C and D, along with early editions of the Navy’s F/A-18E/F Super Hornet. Work will take place in Indiana and is expected by March 2022.
General Dynamics Electric won a $13.1 million deal for additional fiscal 2020 development studies and design efforts for Virginia Class Submarines. The Virginia Class new attack submarine is an advanced stealth multimission nuclear-powered submarine for deep ocean anti-submarine warfare and littoral (shallow water) operations. The Electric Boat division of General Dynamics, Connecticut, is the lead design authority for the Virginia Class. General Dynamics Electric Boat has built the first of the class – Virginia (SSN 774), and Northrop Grumman Newport News the second – Texas (SSN 775). Work will take place in McLeansville, North Carolina and will be complete by September 2020.
Middle East & Africa
The USS Carney conducted a scheduled port visit in Cape Town, South Africa, while patrolling European and African waters with the US 6th Fleet. The Arleigh Burke Class destroyer, stationed in Rota, Spain, made the weekend visit on March 15 at the invitation of Lana Marks, US ambassador to South Africa. Marks attended a brief ceremony aboard the ship. “This visit of the USS Carney to Cape Town is a symbol of the United States’ commitment to encouraging commerce with Africa, protecting sea routes for the benefit of all countries, and promoting trade with South Africa,” she said, “and this visit is just the beginning of even stronger and ever more amazing relations between our two militaries and our two countries.” The ship traveled to South Africa from the Seychelles, in the Indian Ocean, and will continue westward.
Europe
The budget committee of the Bundestag, the German parliament, approved the launch of the systems architecture definition phase for the Franco-German Main Ground Combat System (MGCS), the German Ministry of Defense announced. The ministry described the two-year study as “an important next step in the continuation of German-French co-operation” and in the realization of the jointly funded MGCS project. The MGCS will replace the German Leopard 2 and French Leclerq tanks starting in the mid-2030s, retaining mechanized combat capabilities and developing them in line with the threat, especially for fighting armored forces within the framework of territorial and alliance defense, according to the German MoD.
Asia-Pacific
The Indian Navy will lease a 260 meter berth in a private shipyard in Kattupalli for its indigenous aircraft carrier INS Vikrant. The warship was suppose to make Vishakhapatnam its home port but the base is not ready to receive the ship. The lease for the berth is from 2022 to 2030. India has plans of having at least two aircraft carriers at any point of time looking after the eastern and western seaboards to look after the vast exclusive economic zone and maritime boundaries.
Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI) has received a $325 million contract to design and build the first Ulsan Class Batch III frigate for the Republic of Korea Navy (RoKN). The contract, which has been signed with South Korea’s Defense Acquisition Program Administration, was announced on March 16. The vessel is the first of six 3,500-tonne frigates planned for the batch. The contract covers detailed designed work and construction of the first-of-class. HHI received the contract to carry out basic design work for the batch in 2016. The frigate can utilize its electric propulsion systems during anti-submarine operations to minimize its acoustic signatures. Accordingly, the vessel will rely on gas turbine propulsion when it needs to operate at high speeds, said HHI.
Today’s Video
Watch: RUSSIA WRAPS ITSELF WITH S 400 AIR DEFENSE SYSTEM MAKING IN ALMOST INVULNERABLE TO AIR STRIKES !
