Americas
Lockheed Martin won a $8.1 million modification by the US Navy to exercise options for Combat System Ship Integration and Test on Littoral Combat Ships and Large Unmanned Surface Vessels. Work will be performed in Camden, New Jersey; Pittsfield, Massachusetts; Jacksonville, Florida; Pascagoula, Mississippi; Moorestown, New Jersey; San Diego, California; Virginia Beach, Virginia; and Marinette, Wisconsin, and work is expected to be completed by February 2025.
BAE Systems will provide an advanced electromagnetic warfare (EW) mission systems for four of the US Air Force’s EA-37B aircraft. The next-generation Baseline 4 mission systems “deliver powerful, long-range electromagnetic attack capabilities to disrupt and suppress the enemy’s use of the electromagnetic spectrum for communications, navigation, and air defense,” the company explained.
Middle East & Africa
Israel will launch its long-threatened offensive against Rafah next month if Hamas has not freed the remaining hostages held in Gaza by the start of Ramadan, Israeli war cabinet member Benny Gantz said. “The world must know, and Hamas leaders must know — if by Ramadan our hostages are not home, the fighting will continue everywhere, including the Rafah area,” Gantz, a retired military chief of staff, told a conference of American Jewish leaders in Jerusalem Sunday. Ramadan, the Muslim holy month, is expected to begin on March 10.
Europe
British Army soldiers have, for the first time, fired the Swedish-made Archer wheeled artillery system procured last year. The historic moment was part of a live-fire test at the end of a 14-week training course provided by Stockholm to the new Archer operators. According to the service, two of its detachments put into practice the theories they learned from training, as they successfully fired the weapon and performed ammunition replenishment without the direct support of the Swedish Army.
According to Janes, the UK Royal Marines has inducted the first batch of revamped raiding craft designed for use on coastal commando raids. The vessels, which have been redesignated as Commando Raiding Craft (CRC), are an upgraded version of the service’s in-service Offshore Raiding Craft (ORC). It is a multi-purpose craft that can be reconfigured, replacing the troop carrying and fire support variants.
Asia-Pacific
The Philippine Department of National Defense announced that it is finalizing an Implementing Arrangement with Sweden to facilitate the procurement of defense equipment. This announcement follows the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between the two nations in June 2023, marking a significant step towards strengthening their defense cooperation. The IA, scheduled to be finalized during a meeting in Sweden this March, will focus on streamlining logistics and procurement procedures for Philippine acquisition of Swedish defense materiel. This collaboration aligns with the Philippines’ ongoing modernization program aimed at bolstering its armed forces’ capabilities. One specific piece of defense equipment has emerged as a potential frontrunner: the JAS 39 Gripen multirole fighter aircraft. Sweden’s interest in partnering with the Philippines on its modernization efforts goes back even further, with Ambassador Annika Thunborg discussing the Gripen with DND officials as early as August 2023.
Brazil’s Embraer Defense & Security and India’s Mahindra Defense Systems have inked a Memorandum of Understanding to jointly offer the C-390 Millennium multirole tactical airlifter for the Indian Air Force’s (IAF’s) Medium Transport Aircraft (MTA) acquisition programme. The IAF is understood to be seeking to acquire between 40 and 80 transport aircraft under the MTA project. The service earlier released a request for information (RFI) in February 2023 that stipulated that MTA contenders are required to have a cargo-carrying capacity of between 18 and 30 tons.
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