Americas
Reason Building Group won a $10.3 million deal for constructing the interim building for the F-35. This contract provides for the purchase and construction of a temporary facility to house the F-35 Partner Support Complex Exchange Reprogramming Laboratory Office to support F-35 mission data development and verification for Japan, South Korea, Israel, Belgium, and Poland (in a secure environment), as international partners in the F-35 program. Work will be performed at Eglin Air Force Base, Florida, and is expected to be completed by Oct. 2, 2024. This contract involves Foreign Military Sales to Japan, Israel, Belgium, and South Korea. This contract was a competitive acquisition and four offers were received.
Sikorsky Aircraft won a $23.5 million deal under previously awarded basic ordering agreement N00383-20-G-X901 for the procurement of six AI gearbox assemblies and six input module gearboxes in support of the CH-53K aircraft. All work will be performed in Stratford, Connecticut. This contract contains no options and work is expected to be completed by March 2029. Annual working capital funds (Navy) in the amount of $17,617,595 will be obligated at the time of award, and funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year.
Middle East and Africa
Israel unveiled its new Barak tank for the military’s Armored Corps, a platform equipped with artificial intelligence, sensors, radar and small cameras. The Defense Ministry said the tank’s systems will provide superiority to Israeli troops by revealing enemy locations and providing targets for combat troops on the battlefield based on 360-degree peripheral observation technology.
The US State Department has approved the possible sale of repair and recertification of Patriot missiles and support to Kuwait for an estimated cost of $150 million, the Pentagon said on Wednesday. The Government of Kuwait has requested the replacement of expiring limited life components and certifications testing in order to support an operational life of thirty (30) years for Patriot Advanced Capability-3 (PAC-3) missiles.
Europe
he Estonian army will soon stand up a unit solely dedicated to loitering munitions drawing on lessons from the Ukrainian war. Estonian Land Forces Maj. Andrei Šlabovitš said he believed it would be the first unit of its kind in NATO, whose members have been watching the Ukrainian military’s extensive use of these one-way attack drones.
Asia-Pacific
New Zealand’s Defense Ministry has issued a request for information to replace nearly the entire naval fleet, which currently includes nine ships in six different classes. The Royal New Zealand Navy’s flagship — its 568-foot replenishment vessel HMNZS Aotearoa — has been in service for three years, but the remaining eight ships — two frigates, two inshore and two offshore patrol vessels, a sealift ship, and a dive and hydrographic ship — will reach the end of their service lives in the mid-2030s.
Today’s Video
WATCH: How the Patriot Missile System Works in Ukraine | WSJ
