Americas
Northrop Grumman won a $119 million long-term, requirements contract for the repair of 17 weapon replaceable assemblies and shop replaceable assemblies in support of the E-2 aircrafts. Work will take place in Syracuse, New York; Duluth, Georgia; Woodland Hills, California (4%); Burnsville, Minnesota; and Ronkonkoma, New York. No funds will be obligated at time of award and funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. Appropriate fiscal year working capital funds (Navy) will be used as delivery orders are issued. Naval Supply Systems Command Weapon Systems Support, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, is the contracting activity.
Lockheed Martin won a sole-source, firm-fixed-price contract modification under Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense (BMD) weapon systems contract HQ085121C0002. The total value of this contract modification is $8 million. Work will be performed in Moorestown, New Jersey, with an expected delivery date of June 1, 2025. The Missile Defense Agency, Dahlgren, Virginia, is the contracting activity.
Middle East & Africa
Iraq has reportedly requested the M-SAM-II air and ballistic missile defense system from South Korea in a potential $2.56-billion deal. Eight M-SAM-II batteries have been included in Baghdad’s wish list to be delivered on an “urgent” basis, according to a report by Army Recognition, citing a person familiar with the request. Iraq’s planned acquisition comes more than a month after it announced it is again shopping for new air defense systems, for which Seoul is a preference.
Europe
Swedish transport firm Scania has inked a contract to deliver 265 vehicles for the Estonian Defense Forces beginning this summer. Signed by the Estonian Center for Defense Investments, the agreement is estimated to be worth $54 million. The deliveries will include vehicles for cargo and defense equipment transportation, such as tractors, platform trucks, and trucks fitted with cranes and hook lifts.
Asia-Pacific
Australia will allow non-citizens to join its armed forces, the government said Tuesday, as the sparsely populated nation struggles to meet recruitment targets. Defense Minister Richard Marles said that from July, looser eligibility criteria would allow “permanent residents who have been living in Australia for 12 months” to serve. Citizens from Britain, Canada, New Zealand, and the United States are being favored, he added. Australia has a coastline that would stretch one-and-a-bit times around the Earth but a population of just 26 million.
