MS-177 ISR Sensor Supporting RQ-4B Operational Missions | Babcock Sells 1st New Frigate Design License To Indonesia | Germany And Netherlands To Build Tactical Vehicles

Americas

Lockheed Martin won a $49.3 million deal. The contract provides for overhaul of the B-52 Counter Measure Receiver. The B-52H is the US Air Force’s long-range, large-payload multirole bomber. The B-52H Stratofortress is equipped with a range of electronic warfare equipment. The ITT AN/ALQ-172(V)2 electronic countermeasures system features multi-band threat recognition and multiple threat jamming. Work will take place ein New York. Estimated completion date is September 19, 2026.

The US Air Force has started flying operational missions with the Collins Aerospace’s MS-177 multi-spectral imaging (MSI) sensor on the RQ-4B Block 30 aircraft. The MS-177 is derived from the Senior Year Electro-optical Reconnaissance System (SYERS)-2C flown on the U-2.

Middle East & Africa

With the Ongoing discussions on the new Mutual Defense Cooperation Agreement (MDCA) between Athens and Washington, Greece has insisted on creating a naval base at Souda on Crete. The new base is to a part of the efforts of Greece to establish a more permanent presence in the Eastern Mediterranean, Kathimerini reported.

Europe

Babcock won the first export contract for its Arrowhead 140 frigate through a design license agreement with PT PAL Indonesia, a state-owned enterprise that builds and maintains ships for military and commercial use from its facilities in Surabaya, Indonesia. The UK is using a similar design, basing its Type 31 Frigates on the Arrowhead 140 design, being built by Babcock at Rosyth.

Germany’s Krauss-Maffei Wegmann partnered with Dutch company Defenture to build new tactical vehicles to replace the German Army’s two decades-old vehicles. Both companies signed a letter of intent. The companies plan to develop a vehicle based on Defenture’s VECTOR (Versatile Expeditionary Commando Tactial Off Road) light all-terrain tactical vehicle.

Asia-Pacific

The twin surface-to-surface missile launches by North Korea on September 15 were made from a train, the country’s media has revealed. Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), the state news agency of North Korea, confirmed a day later that those missiles came from the country’s test of its new “railway-borne missile system.” The report claimed that the missiles flew 800 km (~500 miles) before striking a target in the sea off North Korea’s east coast.

Today’s Video

Watch: Detailed tour through a B-52 Stratofortress!!