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GD to Provide $169.6M in Hydra Rockets Under FMS | Norway Expresses Interest in Boeing P-8As | Russia Offering Nuclear Aircraft Carrier Design to India

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Americas * Kratos has been awarded a $40.8 million contract by the US Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) to demonstrate a high-speed, long-range, low-cost, limited life-strike Unmanned Aerial System (UAS). Beating seven other competitors, the company must demonstrate that its UAS can carry out missions such as Nap-of-The-Earth (NOE) Flight, Cruising at High Altitudes, Defensive […]
Americas

* Kratos has been awarded a $40.8 million contract by the US Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) to demonstrate a high-speed, long-range, low-cost, limited life-strike Unmanned Aerial System (UAS). Beating seven other competitors, the company must demonstrate that its UAS can carry out missions such as Nap-of-The-Earth (NOE) Flight, Cruising at High Altitudes, Defensive Counter Air (DCA) Maneuvers, Offensive Counter Air (OCA) Maneuvers, the Suppression of Enemy Air Defenses (SEAD) and the Destruction of Enemy Air Defenses (DEAD). Other specifics include a cost of $3 million or less per unit for the first 99 and $2 million or less for each unit after.

* General Dynamics has been awarded a $169.6 million Foreign Military sales contract to provide Hydra rockets to Colombia, Afghanistan, Iraq, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, India, and Belgium. Completion of the contract is expected for January 31, 2019. The Hydra rocket family performs a variety of roles, including anti-materiel, anti-personnel and air-to-ground suppression missions.

Middle East North Africa

* Boeing is to commence deliveries of the AH-6i Little Bird light attack/reconnaissance helicopter to the Saudi Arabia National Guard (SANG) at the end of the month. The Gulf Kingdom ordered 24 Ah-6is at a cost of $243 million in 2014 as part of a wider $25.3 billion helicopter deal which includes a number of AH-64E Apaches, Sikorsky UH-60M Blackhawks, and 12 MD Helicopters MD-530F. Derived from the AH-6 Little Bird, the latest version includes advanced technology from the AH-64E Apache.

Europe

* MBDA’s Meteor Beyond Visual Range Air to Air Missile (BVRAAM) has entered the Initial Operational Capability phase on Swedish operated Gripen fighters. Chief-of-Staff Maj. Gen. Mats Helgesson made the announcement at the Farnborough Air Show. The Swedish Air Force is the only military branch in the world to operate the munition.

* Norway has expressed an interest in procuring five to six Boeing P-8A maritime patrol aircraft according to a senior US Navy official. Rear Admiral Dean Peters, program executive officer for anti-submarine warfare, assault, and special missions programs, said the Navy had asked potential P-8 buyers to express their interest by next summer. Production of the aircraft is to cease in the next three years.

* Negotiations between Germany, Lockheed Martin and MBDA over the Medium Extended Air Defense System (MEADS) looks likely to run into next year, dashing earlier hopes by the manufacturers that they would have a final contract proposal submitted by the end of the month. Experts say it may be difficult to win parliamentary approval for the $4.5 billion project if negotiations drag on too long too close to Germany’s national elections in September 2017. The MEADS system won out against Raytheon’s Patriot system to replace the current Patriot system fielded in the 1980s.

* A 3D-printed surveillance drone has been presented at the Innoprom-2016 exhibition in Russia. Weighing only four kilograms and with a range of 50 kilometers, the UAV’s elements can be printed in a day and assembled under 20 minutes. The aircraft can be equipped with different types of photo and video cameras and communication devices, making it a handy inexpensive tool for reconnaissance and monitoring.

Asia Pacific

* Russia has offered its nuclear Project 23000E aircraft carrier design to India. If chosen, the design will be used as the basis for the Indian Navy’s second indigenous aircraft carrier, INS Vishal. Russia has already overhauled and modernized a Kiev-class carrier-cruiser, renamed INS Vikramaditya, but the US is also in the hunt offering the electromagnetic aircraft launch system (EMALS), which does not include nuclear propulsion technology.

Today’s Video

* Drone footage of Russia’s road mobile ICBM units out in the field:

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