Americas
Mercury Mission won a $14 million modification, which exercises an option for the production and delivery of 121 high-definition video recorders (109 for the Navy and 12 for Australia), in support of F/A-18C-F and EA-18G aircraft retrofit efforts. Work will be performed in Torrance, California, and is expected to be completed in July 2027. The contract being modified was not competed. Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Maryland, is the contracting activity.
Lockheed Martin won a $16 million modification, which increases the contract ceiling to provide overrun funding for diminishing manufacturing sources non-recurring engineering and associated materials in support of a redesigned panoramic cockpit display electronic unit video mixer in support of F-35 Joint Strike Fighter production aircraft for the Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, and non-Department of Defense (DOD) participants. Work will be performed in Fort Worth, Texas, and is expected to be completed in January 2029.
Middle East & Africa
A Syria war monitor on Thursday said clashes between the army and jihadists killed more than 130 combatants in the worst fighting in the country’s northwest in years, as the government also reported fierce battles. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said jihadist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) and allied factions launched a surprise attack on the Syrian army in the northern province of Aleppo on Wednesday.
Europe
A criminal investigation has been launched after the US Air Force reported that drones were spotted flying over English military bases, a British official said Wednesday. The US Air Force reported several incursions occurred in the past week at four bases where the American forces operate. The drones were monitored and unspecified mitigation measures were underway.
Asia-Pacific
The Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF) has begun a new chapter in its long history of supporting Antarctic operations with the first flight of its new C-130J Hercules to the icy continent on November 26. Operation Antarctica, one of the New Zealand Defence Force’s (NZDF) largest summer deployments, involves the transportation of personnel and cargo, and providing logistical support to scientific research in Antarctica. This effort is a critical part of the NZ/US Joint Logistics Pool, which supports both nations’ Antarctic programs. The C-130H, which has been a mainstay of the RNZAF since 1965, first landed on the Antarctic ice that same year. The H-model’s last flights to Antarctica were scheduled in October, marking the end of 60 seasons of dedicated service to Antarctic operations.
