Americas
The US Army has awarded Oshkosh Defense a $102-million contract to produce Joint Light Tactical Vehicles (JLTV) for its international allies. The tactical vehicles will be handed over to the armed forces of Romania, Lithuania, North Macedonia, Brazil, and Montenegro to bolster their ground mobility. According to the American defense firm, the contract reflects the willingness of US allies to leverage the vehicle’s “superior mobility, proven protection, and unmatched reliability.”
Washington and Seoul are planning an “effective coordinated” response if North Korea uses nuclear weapons, the White House warned on Tuesday. South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol and US President Joe Biden have “tasked their teams to plan for an effective coordinated response to a range of scenarios, including nuclear use by North Korea,” a spokesman for the National Security Council at the White House said.
Middle East & Africa
Boeing has secured a $426-million deal to deliver 12 CH-47F Chinook helicopters to the Egyptian Air Force. The deal comes more than seven months after the US State Department gave the Middle Eastern nation the green light to procure up to 23 “F” models of the heavy-lift chopper.
Europe
Germany has taken command of the NATO Response Force (NRF) Very High Readiness Joint Task Force (VJTF) on January 1, the alliance announced on its website on December 28. Germany takes over the leadership of VJTF 2023 from France, which led the force in 2022 during its first ever collective defence mission ? to Romania ? following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on February 24. The French-led VJTF 2022, including its Belgian contingent, formed the basis for the NATO enhanced Vigilance Activity battlegroup in Romania.
Asia-Pacific
The arrival of the first new P-8A Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft (MPA) in New Zealand will see Royal New Zealand Air Force’s (RNZAF’s) No 5 Squadron move to its new base at RNZAF Base Ohakea. No 5 Squadron will transfer from Auckland to Ohakea after the retirement of the remaining fleet of three P-3K2 Orion aircraft at the end of January 2023 – six months earlier than planned. It will also see the ramp up of the training of RNZAF aircrew and maintenance personnel. The first P-8A landed at RNZAF Base Ohakea on 13 December. It was flown by US Navy pilots with stopovers in Hawaii and Fiji en route to New Zealand.
The Indian Army plans to purchase 300 rough terrain vehicles suitable for logistical operations in high-altitude locations. According to a request for proposal (RFP), the vehicles must be wheeled, highly-mobile, and multi-configurable to support various missions. They must also be air-transportable and operate at an altitude of up to 16,000 feet (4,876 meters).
Today’s Video
WATCH: Oshkosh JLTV: The Next-Gen $400K Badass Vehicle
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=07Rysp4q3oU
