Americas
Goodrich won a $64.2 million contract for the manufacture of surface ship sonar domes to support ship classes DDG-51, CG-47, and FFG-7 antisubmarine warfare requirements. DDG-51 or Arleigh Burke Class is a class of destroyer built around the Aegis Combat system. CG-47 or Ticonderoga Class were the first surface combatant ships equipped with the Aegis Weapons System. FFG-7 is a class of guided missile frigates. Work will take place in Florida. Expected completion date is in September, 2025. If all options are exercised, work will continue through September 2027.
Raytheon won a $60.5 million deal to exercise options for design agent and engineering support services for the Rolling Airframe Missile (RAM) MK-31 Guided Missile Weapon System improvement program. The MK-31 RAM Guided Missile Weapon System is a cooperative development and production program conducted jointly by the US and the Federal Republic of Germany under memoranda of understanding. Per the agreement, the company will provide support for the maintenance of current weapon system capability. Additionally, the unit will resolve issues through design, systems, software maintenance, reliability, quality assurance and logistics engineering services. Work will take place in Arizona and Kentucky. Estimated completion will be by December 2021.
Middle East & Africa
Hiller Measurements won a $66.3 million contract for the Marine Corps Automatic Test Systems program. The deal involves Foreign Military Sales to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The Marine Corps employs Automatic Test Systems that are capability targeted and fielded to units that will only utilize the inherent functions of the ATS they have on hand. This flexibility maximizes mission accomplishment and reduces the unit’s overall operational footprint. Work will take place in Texas, Indiana and Alabama. Estimated completion will be by September 2025.
Europe
According to the British Royal Air Force, RAF Hercules transport aircraft enabled a historic first jump into southern Ukraine by over 200 British paratroopers. Flying directly from their base at RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire and carrying out air-to-air refuelling on route, the C-130 aircraft dropped 250 soldiers from 16 Air Assault Brigade into the Ternivsky training area from a height of 600 feet as an opener for Exercise Joint Endeavour. The UK and Ukraine have built a strong defense relationship in recent years, with British troops having trained over 18,000 members of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the five years since the start of Operation Orbital, the UK’s training mission in the country.
Asia-Pacific
L3Harris Technologies won a maximum $21.7 million deal for P-8 aircraft sonobouy rotary launchers. L3Harris designs and manufactures pneumatic powered sonobuoy launching systems for maritime patrol and anti-submarine warfare applications. The Boeing-built P-8A has been designed for long-range anti-submarine warfare, anti-surface warfare and intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance missions. Work will take place in New York. Performance completion date is March 18, 2024.
The Philippine government confirmed on September 19 that four A-29 light attack aircraft landed around 1:06 pm at Clark Air Base that day. Department of National Defense (DND) spokesperson Arsenio Andolong said two more aircraft are still in India waiting for clearance to depart. Andolong said Embraer pilots will train PAF pilots selected to fly the “Super Tucano” for two months as part of the agreement under the Technical Inspection and Acceptance Committee. The A-29s were earlier scheduled to be delivered by the end of July but the coronavirus disease pandemic and subsequent travel bans have skewed the delivery timetables.
Today’s Video
Watch: Super Powerful US Transformer Hybrid V-22 Helicopter in Action: Boeing-Bell V-22 Osprey
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wlh-oNi4lrs