Americas
Sikorsky Aircraft won a $21 million deal, which provides for non-recurring engineering for the CH-53K to include main gearbox, intermediate gearbox, fuselage fatigue test article, empennage fatigue test article testing, and their associated technical data deliveries, as well as installation of a redesigned wheel brake system on a CH-53K test aircraft in support of the Navy and Marine Corps. Work will be performed in Stratford, Connecticut and is expected to be completed in December 2027. Fiscal 2025 research, development, test and evaluation (Navy) funds in the amount of $3,677,023 will be obligated at the time of award, none of which will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Maryland, is the contracting activity.
The US Navy Fleet Readiness Center Southeast (FRCSE) has placed its first two T-45 Goshawk aircraft in a life extension program. Announced in August 2024, the T-45 maintenance initiative supports the service’s broader goal of addressing pilot training gaps while it awaits the development and fielding of a replacement aircraft for the aging fleet.
Middle East & Africa
Three people, including a policeman, were killed Sunday during clashes in Baghdad between security forces and pro-Iran gunmen, according to authorities and a member of a local armed group. The violence erupted when armed men stormed a local office of the agriculture ministry in the city’s south, the interior ministry said. Police forces responding to the scene “came under fire,” resulting in several injuries among security personnel, the ministry added.
Europe
Denmark has contracted MBDA France to supply a pair of VL (vertically launched) MICA air defense systems. Delivery is expected in mid-2026 and initial capability by the end of the year. The procurement is part of an effort to revive Denmark’s ground-based air defense capabilities, following the decommissioning of the Hawk air defense system in 2004.
Asia-Pacific
Turkey has secured a landmark defense export agreement with Indonesia, signing contracts for 48 KAAN fighter aircraft and two ?stif-class frigates – a sign of Ankara’s growing defense industry footprint in Southeast Asia. On July 26, 2026, Turkey and Indonesia officially signed the commercial contract defining the technical annexes and implementation details of the government-to-government (G2G) procurement agreement for 48 KAAN fifth-generation fighter jets.