Sikorsky To Upgrade Jolly Green II | DoS Approved FMS For Training Jordanian F-16 Pilots | Kongsberg To Upgrade Sentinel Radar
Americas
The US Air Force is to contract Sikorsky to upgrade its HH-60W Jolly Green II combat search and rescue (CSAR) helicopter to improve on the 2012 requirements baseline. According to the service, the manufacturer is to bring the capabilities of the Combat Rescue Helicopter (CRH) up to today’s specifications, ahead of the commencement of full rate production in fiscal year 2022. Under the potential five-year deal for rolling capability upgrades to both the helicopter’s hardware and software systems, Sikorsky stands to receive up to $980 million.
Work to integrate the AN/SPY-6 radar on the new Aegis Flight III guided-missile destroyer, the future USS Jack H. Lucas (DDG 125), has started. Installation is being carried out at the Huntington Ingalls Industries shipyard in Pascagoula, Mississippi. “As the future USS Jack Lucas takes shape, we are at the cusp of a new era for detection and discrimination of threats and decision-making at sea,” said Capt. Jason Hall, program manager for Above-Water Sensors for the US Navy’s Program Executive Office for Integrated Warfare Systems. “SPY-6 will fill critical mission gaps and enable precision operations in jammed and cluttered environments like never before.”
Middle East & Africa
The US State Department that it has approved an FMS package to Jordan, worth about $60 million, for an F-16 air combat training centre and related equipment. The Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) delivered the required certification on February 11 to notify Congress of this possible sale. The government of Jordan has asked to buy an F-16 Air Combat Training Center and related equipment, which includes full mission trainers, combat tactics trainers, instructor/operator stations, tactical environment simulators and brief/debrief stations, as well as technical support and documentation. “This proposed sale will support the foreign policy and national security of the United States by helping to improve the security of a Major Non-NATO Ally that is an important force for political stability and economic progress in the Middle East,” the DSCA’s announcement said.
Europe
The French defense procurement agency has awarded Thales and Airbus a contract for the new joint tactical signals intelligence (SIGINT) system to upgrade the French forces’ critical signals monitoring, direction finding and spectrum analysis capabilities. The tactical SIGINT programme will upgrade the electronic warfare capabilities of front-line units, providing a set of high-performance portable or vehicle-mounted assets compatible with the latest communications technologies.
Kongsberg disclosed that it has been awarded $31 million by the Norwegian Materiel Defense Agency to upgrade the Identification Friend or Foe (IFF) portion of the Sentinel radar for the National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile System (NASAMS). “Norway continues to upgrade their ground-based air defense capability by implementing the latest available technology. The modernization will enhance NATO commonality and reinforce the NASAMS capability,” says Kjetil Reiten Myhra, Executive Vice President of Integrated Defense Systems in Kongsberg.
Asia-Pacific
The Times Now News from India has reported that the Indian Army has leased four Heron unmanned air vehicles from Israel as part of an emergency procurement program. The news coincide with a press release from IAI recently on the lease of two Herons to an unnamed country in Asia. The lease comes with the defense ministry changing the rules and allowing for the leasing of certain weapon systems. Similarly, the Navy has leased Predator drones from the United States.
Today’s Video
Watch: First HH-60W Jolly Green II Helicopters Arrive At Moody
