Americas
The Navy awarded a $26.3 million contract to Rolls Royce for repair of T56-A-427 engines, used on the E-2 Hawkeye aircraft. The E-2 Hawkeye is an American all-weather, carrier-capable tactical airborne early warning aircraft by Northrop Grumman. Its primary mission is battlespace mission command and control, as well as early warning detection. The aircraft was designed specifically for electronic warfare and early detection, which was a big change from previous aircraft. The Allison T-56 is a single-shaft, modular design turboprop with a 14-stage axial flow compressor driven by a four-stage turbine. The T56-A-427 fitted to the E-2 Hawkeye has a 5250 shp rating and a 12:1 compression. In addition, the T56 produces approximately 750 lbs of thrust from its exhaust. Work for the contract till take place in Canada, Texas, Indiana and California and is scheduled to be finished by January 2020.
The Navy tapped Northrop Grumman with a $19.6 million contract modification for the procurement of software design and system integration, qualification testing and cybersecurity activities as well as engineering services in support of the MQ-8 Fire Scout Unmanned Air System. The Northrop Grumman MQ-8 Fire Scout is an unmanned autonomous helicopter designed to provide reconnaissance, situational awareness, aerial fire support as well as precision targeting support for ground, air and sea forces. The System has the ability to autonomously take-off from and land on any aviation-capable warship and also at unprepared landing zones close to the forward edge of the battle area. Work under the modification will occur in San Diego and is scheduled to conclude in December.
Middle East & Africa
Despite earlier media reports, Egypt will not sign any contract with Dassault Aviation for purchase of an additional twelve Rafale fighter aircraft during President Emmanuel Macron’s visit. The french president is currently visiting Egypt until the 29th of January. In 2015, France agreed to deliver 24 Rafale fighter jets to Egypt at a price of $5.9 billion in order to equip its Air Force with a latest-generation multirole fighter capable of meeting the country’s operational requirements and enabling Egypt to secure its geostrategic position in the region. In June 2016, Egypt started negotiations with Dassault to acquire 12 additional Rafales, which was an option on the original contract. However, Egypt has been facing opposition from the French Treasury to recieve the same favorable financial package it obtained for the original order.
Europe
The Air Force Lifecycle Management Center awarded Lockheed Martin Aeronautics with a $33.7 million ceiling requirements contract for C-130J long-term sustainment support for the Royal Norwegian Air Force. The company will provide the Royal Norwegian Air Force with return and repair support, spares support, engineering support, and in-country representative support for their C-130J aircraft platform. The C-130J Super Hercules is a four-engine turboprop military transport aircraft. It is the newest model of the Hercules and the only one still in production. Lockheed Martin received a contract from the U.S. government in November 2007 for the purchase of four C-130J Super Hercules airlifters, plus initial spares and training, through the Foreign Military Sales program. The contractor delivered Norway’s first C-130J in November 2008 and its second in April 2009. Work for the current contract will take place in Marietta, Georgia as well as Gardermoen Air Station, Norway and is scheduled to be completed by the end of the year.
The program office for the Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter awards BAE Systems a sole-source contract to conduct flight trials of the F-35’s future electronic warfare (EW) and countermeasures suite, Jane’s reports. The British defense company will conduct tests of a modified version of the AN/ASQ-239A suite aboard the CATBird surrogate test aircraft. The AN/ASQ-239 system is BAE System’s advanced electronic warfare suite, providing the F-35 with end-to-end capabilities. The demonstration of elements of the EW/countermeasures suite on the modified Boeing 737 airliner known as the Cooperative Avionics Test Bed (CATBird) is known as the Project Heisenberg.
Asia-Pacific
The Air Force contracted Space Dynamics Laboratory $18.3 million to support the Republic of Korea’s Global Hawk program. The deal includes tasking, collecting, processing, exploitation, and dissemination (TCPED) capability. The contract provides for the procurement of the TCPED system, spares and support equipment, sustainment support, and system familiarization. The Global Hawk is an unmanned surveillance aircraft by Northrop Grumman. In November 2018 Northrop was contracted to provide contractor logistics support to the Republic of Korea’s Global Hawks. Space Dynamics Laboratory is a nonprofit unit of the Utah State University Research Foundation. It is responsible for the design, fabrications, and operation of sensors on over 400 payloads ranging from aircraft to rocket-borne experiments to space shuttle experiments and satellite-based sensor systems. Work under the current deal will be performed at North Logan, Utah, and is expected to be completed by May 2020. The contract involves Foreign Military Sales to the Republic of Korea.
Today’s Video
Watch: America’s newest carrying-F-35B amphibious assault ship to replace USS Wasp in Japan
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-WBHBOsSyGc
