Americas
Raytheon won a $14 million modification for the continued design, integration, test, and delivery of Joint Multiple Effects Warhead System to be installed into the Recertified Tomahawk All-Up-Round in support of the Navy. Work is expected to be completed in August 2025. Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Maryland, is the contracting activity.
Canada is advancing its program to construct new conventionally-powered submarines, issuing a request for information from industry stakeholders to assess their capability and capacity to build and deliver up to 12 submarines. Public Services and Procurement Canada issued the request “to gain further information on the availability of submarines that are currently in service or in production.”
Middle East & Africa
The US State Department has approved a possible Foreign Military Sale (FMS) to Iraq, providing follow-on technical support for the maintenance and repair of naval vessels. Valued at approximately $65 million, the sale is part of a broader initiative to assist the Iraqi Navy in maintaining its fleet, which includes offshore vessels, patrol boats, and defender-class boats originally supplied by the United States. The potential FMS contract calls for the deployment of approximately 65 contractor representatives from various nationalities to Iraq to support the VMR program.
Europe
The European Union officially opened its defense-innovation office in Kyiv earlier this month, as the bloc seeks to boost cooperation between the Ukrainian and European defense industries. The office is part of Europe’s defense industrial strategy adopted in March, and one role will be connecting the bloc’s startups and innovators with Ukraine’s defense industry and armed forces, the European Commission said in a statement on Friday. The office also aims to strengthen Ukraine’s integration into the European defense-equipment market.
Asi-Pacific
The Taiwanese Coast Guard will adopt an experimental approach to address China’s so-called “gray zone” actions near its territory. Instead of investing in heavy weapons, the service plans to procure less lethal military assets to minimize risks to life when confronting Chinese forces. These assets include 40-millimeter flashbang grenades, and stand-alone grenade launchers with single shot capacity, and less lethal handguns. The coast guard will also buy 70-millimeter rockets with “shock warheads,” which produce high-decibel sounds to deter targets.
