Americas
Lockheed Martin won a $53.1 million modification, which adds scope for non-recurring engineering, delivery and installation of F-35 Joint Strike Fighter Pilot Training and Maintainer Training technical refresh hardware. Work will take place in Florida and Texas. Estimated completion date is January 2025. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Maryland, is the contracting activity.
The aerospace firms of Korea Aerospace Industries and Lockheed Martin have inked a “Teaming Agreement” on June 9 to jointly design, produce and promote an improved model of FA-50 in order to compete in the US market. The US Air Force and the US Navy plan to introduce about 280 and 220 units of new fighter trainers, respectively, in around 2024 and 2025.
Middle East & Africa
Israeli company Plasan, which operates globally in the area of survivability for land, air and naval platforms for the defense market, is revealing its new vehicle, the Wilder, at the Eurosatory 2022 exhibition currently taking place in Paris. According to the company announcement, the Wilder provides Stanag 4569 Level 2 protection for 4 people in a compact package weighing just 3.7t and offering a full 800kg of payload.
Europe
Hungary’s 2023 budget bill reached the country’s parliament on June 7. The draft budget’s allocation to the Ministry of Defense is $1.9 billion, a 28.3% nominal and 31.7% real cut compared to this year’s budget. This is largely due to a 92% fall in the ‘accumulation budget’ for the Hungarian Defense Forces, which is linked to the Zyrinyi 2026 defence development programme.
Russian troops forced Ukraine’s units out of central Severodonetsk, a strategically vital city in Ukraine’s eastern, the Ukrainian military said on Monday as Putin’s forces increasingly press forward in the Donbas region. On Sunday, Ukrainian President Zelensky said that Ukrainian troops were fighting for “every meter” of Severodonetsk and pleaded to international partners for “modern missile defense systems.”
Asia-Pacific
Australia’s deputy prime minister and defense minister, Richard Marles, has said on the weekend, that China’s military buildup must be accompanied by transparency and reassurances to its neighbours or risk triggering an arms race. Speaking in Singapore at the Shangri-La Dialogue on Saturday, Marles laid out a vision of economic cooperation balanced with military deterrence, but sounded a warning about militarisation in the Asia Pacific.
Today’s Video
WATCH: Plasan WILDER – Ultra Light Armored Vehicle
