Americas
* The US Navy is to test a potential fix for an issue regarding the F-35C’s nose wheel in order to see if the jet still suffers from excessive vertical oscillations during a catapult launch. Testing will begin tomorrow, Tuesday February 21, at the service’s land-base test facility at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst. However, if the early fixes don’t work, the Navy will be required to do more extensive fixes to the nose gear and the helmet display, or even redesign the entire nose gear for the F-35C (which could take years and further delay the program).
* Navistar Defense has been contracted $35 million by the US DoD to provide 40 Mine Resistant Ambush Protected MaxxPro Dash DXM vehicles. The deal supports foreign military sales for the government of Pakistan and work is expected to be complete by the end of October 2018. MaxxPro Dash DXM vehicles feature a V-shaped hull to deflect IED explosions away from the vehicle and are built to withstand ballistic arms fire and mine blasts. Pakistan will use the vehicles to protect troops against attacks from jihadist militants and other insurgents operating between Pakistan and Afghanistan.
Middle East & North Africa
* It’s been reported that the United Arab Emirates (UAE) cleared $1.2 billion in defense procurement deals on Sunday, and plan to spend a total of $5.4 billion at the International Defence Exhibition (IDEX) over the next week. Local and foreign industry have already benefitted from the spend, including an award to the UAE’s NIMR Automotive, part of Tawazun Holdings, for the provision of 400 armored vehicles to the UAE Armed Forces. Based in Abu Dhabi, IDEX is the region’s biggest defense expo, with over 1,200 companies participating in the four day event.
* Despite slumping oil prices, Gulf nations are expected to continue to maintain defense spending while forced to continue austerity measures in other areas. According to defense analysis firm, Teal Group, Saudi Arabia’s total defense budget is forecast at $82 billion in 2016, steadily rising to $87 billion in 2020 while that of UAE is put at $15.1 billion in 2016 reaching $17.0 billion in 2020. The firm found that Kuwait, Qatar, Oman and Bahrain would also increase defense spending, as “defense spending is linked to national security and threat perception, not resource prices.”
Europe
* Poland has placed another missile order with Lockheed Martin for their F-16 Fighting Falcon fleet. Valued at $1.9 million, the contract will see the company provide Enhanced Laser Guided Training Rounds (ELGTR), providing realistic Paveway II Laser Guided Bomb training for pilots. The deal also covers the provision of technical data, logistics support and introduction to service training to the Polish air force.
* Defense ministers from Norway, Germany and Belgium have announced intentions to join a European program for a new multinational fleet of aerial refueler/transport aircraft. The NATO tanker/transport initiative was started by the Netherlands and Luxembourg last year with the ordering of an Airbus A330 aircraft. Other nations are free to join the initiative and a total of eight aircraft could be procured under the program. According to NATO Deputy Secretary General Rose Gottemoeller, the initiative will reduce European reliance on US air-to-air refueling capabilities and promote greater defense cooperation between nations on the continent.
Asia Pacific
* Japanese naval focus has switched from building one annual 5,000 ton destroyer in favor of more, smaller, 3,000 ton vessels. The decision was made in order to better patrol coastal waters and disputed islands in the East Sea. Eight of the multi-role warships will be initially ordered by Tokyo, produced at a rate of two per year, with construction likely to begin next year.
* An official from the Russian state-owned Rostec said that he believes that contracts for the Su-35 with the government of Indonesia will be signed “in the coming months.” Jakarta is in the midst of an investigation into their procurement of the Leonardo AW101 helicopter, with the first delivered unit currently being stored in a hangar at the Indonesian capital’s Halim Perdanakusuma air base pending the completion of the investigation. Photos of the plane have shown the helicopter surrounded by police tape.
Today’s Video
* Navistar Defense’s MaxxPro DXM program:
