UK Navy Employs Drones for Inspections | Grounded A400Ms Clog Seville | Saab Pushes Gripens on India

Americas

• Raytheon has been awarded a $152.9 million contract for 53 AN/APY-10 radar systems, which equip the P-8 Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft, with this contract partially fulfilling a Foreign Military Sale to Australia.

• Also announced on Thursday, McKesson Corp. of San Francisco was handed a $6.1 billion modification to exercise an option for the Defense Logistics Agency’s Tricare pharmacy program. The contract is due to run to December 2017, with McKesson Corp. set to provide pharmaceuticals in support of Tricare. In a separate contract on Thursday, Anda Inc. was handed a $12.3 million contract in support of the pharmaceutical vendor managed inventory program. This program provides sustainment material in support of US operations.

Europe

• The Royal Navy has trialled the use of small UAVs to conduct inspections and assessments of one of its vessels, with a view to rolling out the system more broadly. The trials were conducted on HMS Diamond, a the third Daring-class Type 45 destroyer in the Royal Navy fleet.

• Airbus is running out of space to park its grounded A400M aircraft. With the Final Assembly Line coming under scrutiny following the revelation that a software issue was the likely cause of the fatal crash on 9th May – and all A400Ms rolling off this line subject to a grounding order by the Spanish authorities – the Airbus facility in Seville is running out of room.

• Russia will reportedly receive a new large landing ship by 2018. The Pyotr Morgunov is under construction in Kaliningrad Yantar Shipyard, with work on the ship having started in December. The vessel is the second ship in the Ivan Gren-class, ordered in October last year. The Ivan Gren vessel is due for delivery by the end of this year.

• A Hungarian JAS-39 C Gripen performed a belly-landing on Wednesday, with the pilot ejecting, according to the country’s Defense Ministry [Hungarian]. The cause of the accident has been attributed to technical issues, with the entire fleet now grounded until further assessment can take place. A Hungarian Gripen also came down in the Czech Republic in May, however the two incidents are not thought to be related.

• The German Defense Ministry has confirmed previous reports that the country will buy the MEADS air defense system for its next-generation air and missile defense requirement.

• Saab has received a $15.3 million order from the European Defence Agency for Carl Gustav recoilless rifle ammunition. The anti-tank rounds are headed for the Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, as well as Poland and the Czech Republic, with delivery scheduled for next year.

Asia

• Sweden has offered to partner with India to produce Gripen light combat aircraft, coming in the context of persistent problems with the indigenously-developed HAL Tejas LCA. Gripen-manufacturer Saab has been positioning for a potential government-to-government sale to replace the Indian Air Force’s aging fleet of MIG-21 fighters.The Swedes previously offered the Gripen E for the MMRCA competition, with the Scandinavian jet subsequently eliminated in 2011.

• India’s indigenous carrier the INS Vikrant has successfully undocked, following a failed attempt at the end of last May. The carrier has been under construction at Cochin Shipyard for several months, following its official launch in August 2013. A second Vikrant-class carrier has been cleared for construction by the Indian Defense Acquisition Council.

• Australia has stood-up its first MH-60R training squadron, following a $3.2 billion 24-helicopter order for the “Romeo” Black Hawks in 2011, after the US model beat out the NH90-NFH. The Royal Australian Navy’s 725 Squadron will undertake training and evaluation on the MH-60R.

Today’s Video

• The Gripen C…