Americas
Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII) completed acceptance sea trials on Friday for the amphibious transport dock Fort Lauderdale (LPD 28). The San Antonio Class ship, built at HII’s Ingalls Shipbuilding division, spent several days with the US Navy’s Board of Inspection and Survey. Ingalls’ shipbuilders will now complete final finish work on the ship in preparation for delivery this quarter.
General Dynamics won a $19.2 million deal for Environmental and Ship Motion Forecasting (ESMF) systems, which provides sea-based forces with environmental and ship motion forecasting as input to the common operation tactical picture, in order to forecast windows of opportunity for inter/intra-ship material and personnel movement. The ESMF system allows for single-ship motion modeling and predictions, and for two ship motion modeling and predictions. Estimated completion date is in January 2027.
Middle East & Africa
An unnamed Air Force in the Middle East has carried out the deployment of two Silent Arrow GD-2000 cargo delivery drones. The evaluation was carried out under a $1.5 million contract. Two C-130s were used in the test and each GD-2000 was filled with 465 kg of cargo.
The US State Department has made a determination approving a possible Foreign Military Sale to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) of Foreign Military Sales Order (FMSO) II Case and related equipment for an estimated cost of $65 million. The Defense Security Cooperation Agency delivered the required certification notifying Congress of this possible sale today.
Europe
Russia’s upgraded Tu-160M strategic bomber, which made its first fight last year will be built together with the proposed new stealth bomber, PAK-DA. The Tu-160M aircraft opens up prospects for implementing the new project of building the prospective complex of long-range aviation (PAK DA), Russian Industry and Trade Minister Denis Manturov said on Friday while on a visit to the Tu-160 plant in Kazan.
Asia-Pacific
The US Senate foreign relations committee has been notified on a potential sale of four more Phalanx Close-In Weapons System (CIWS) Block 1B Baseline 2 (IB2) systems to South Korea. Two of those systems were approved by the Biden administration in December 2020 and the new request builds on that Foreign Military Sale package. The new proposal is to cost the South Korea taxpayer $129 million.
Today’s Video
S.Korean DAPA Announces Project to Develop Naval Interception System
