Americas
The Georgia Air National Guard has received its first of eight C-130J-30 Super Hercules tactical airlifters from defense giant Lockheed Martin. The new jet builds on a tradition of Hercules operation for the 165th Airlift Wing, which received its first model in 1975 and has been operating many versions of the military transport aircraft since.
Summit Technologies won a $40 million ceiling, single-award, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for mission planning support services. This contract provides for continued mission planning support of mission planning systems consisting of UNIX-Mission Planning System, portable flight planning system, joint mission planning system, and joint precision airdrop system. Work will be performed in locations worldwide with Hill Air Force Base, Utah, serving as the main location and is expected to be completed by December 31, 2024.
Middle East & Africa
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has awarded Saab a $190-million contract to provide in-service support for its GlobalEye Airborne Early Warning and Control aircraft. As part of the multimillion-dollar deal, the Swedish firm will provide maintenance and logistics support, along with training services, for a period of three years.
Europe
NATO on Tuesday inked contracts worth $1.2 billion to acquire over 200,000 155-millimeter artillery shells in the face of Russia’s invasion in Ukraine. Members of the Western military alliance have drained their stocks sending shipments of heavy ammunition to help Ukraine’s forces battle Russia in a brutal war of attrition. The latest deals — signed with French firm Nexter and Germany’s Junghans Microtec — are estimated by officials to cover around 220,000 shells and deliveries to NATO members will start at the end of 2025.
German drone maker Quantum Systems has recorded a three-fold increase in aircraft deliveries to Ukraine, with demand driven by the need of Kyiv’s forces to find the enemy after dark, according to company officials. The Munich-based vendor made the first delivery of long-range Vector surveillance drones to Ukraine in 2022, starting with roughly 40 systems.
Asia-Pacific
Taiwan is renovating its military runaways as a countermeasure to potential Chinese ballistic missile strikes. According to reports by local news outlets, the runways on seven air force bases will be widened to 60 meters to reduce repair time after a missile attack. The current width of the seven unidentified military airstrips on the island nation ranges from 45 to 50 meters.
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