Americas
Northrop Grumman Systems won a $248.2 million contract modification, which adds scope to procure two additional low rate initial production Lot 5 MQ-4C Triton unmanned aircraft systems for the Navy. The contract is projected to be completed by February 2027. The deal has been awarded by the Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, MD. Work will take place in California, Texas, Maryland, Mississippi, Utah, West Virginia, Indiana and North Dakota. Expected completion will be in February 2027.
Austal USA won a $45.2 million to exercise an option for Littoral Combat Ships (LCS) Class Design Support and Integrated Data and Product Model Environment (IDPME) support. The littoral combat ship is a new family of surface ships for the US Navy. The LCS is a fast, highly manoeuvrable, networked surface combat ship, which is a specialized variant of the family of US future surface combat ships. Work will take place in Alabama and Massachusetts. Expected completion will be by June 2023.
The US Air Force has selected LIFT Airborne Technologies to provide a new helmet for its fixed-wing aircrew and the F-15E community will be the first to receive the new equipment. “These new helmets will offer greater applicability and better fit for operators of all sizes, genders and ethnicities,” said Capt. Timothy James, AFLCMC Human Systems Division of Agile Combat Support Directorate program manager. Production is expected to start in 2024.
Middle East & Africa
DIEHL Defence and RAFAEL announced that they are strengthening their partnership by introducing for the first time the recently-unveiled SPICE 250 ER, alongside the gliding SPICE 250 as a system intended to be manufactured in Germany by DIEHL Defence. SPICE 250 is the smallest of the SPICE Family, which includes the SPICE 250, SPICE 1000, and SPICE 2000.
Europe
The Biden administration has approved the sale of hundreds of precision guided munitions, or so-called “smart bombs,” to 12 member states of the NATO alliance, the Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) announced. DSCA noted that the sale includes 279 GBU-39/B Increment I Small Diameter Bombs, 204 FMU-152 fuzes, 204 MK-82 500-pound general purpose bombs and 50 BLU-109 2000lb hard target penetrator bombs. The proposed sale supports the foreign policy and national security of the United States by increasing the flexibility of Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, Greece, Hungary, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Spain, and the United Kingdom, twelve NATO nations and one NATO enhanced opportunity partner nation, to contribute to overseas contingency operations.
Asia-Pacific
Lockheed Martin was awarded a $37.8 million modification by the US Naval Air Systems Command. The modification increases the contract, based on the configuration item list, which provides for modifications for final country-unique configuration requirements for 24 MH-60R aircraft for the government of India. Additionally, this modification procures production spares, flight test assets, and goods and service tax recovery. Work will take place in New York, Connecticut and Alabama. Expected completion will be in June 2025.
Chinese President Xi Jinping warned against “expanding” military ties on Wednesday in a speech ahead of a virtual summit with top leaders from Russia, India, Brazil, and South Africa. Beijing is hosting the meeting of the influential club of BRICS emerging economies, which accounts for more than 40 percent of the global population and nearly a quarter of the world’s gross domestic product.
Today’s Video
WATCH: American GBU-39/b VS Turkish Miniature B O M B | Future SDB Technology
