Americas
Lockheed Martin won a $173.2 million modification, which procures long lead materials, parts, components and support necessary to maintain on-time production and delivery of Lot 15 F-35 aircraft for the Navy, Marine Corps and the government of Italy. The F-35 Lightning II is a family of single-seat, single-engine, all-weather, stealth multirole combat aircraft. The Lockheed Martin Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) team also includes Northrop Grumman, BAE Systems, Pratt and Whitney and Rolls-Royce. Work will take place in Texas, California, UK, Florida, New Hampshire, Italy and Maryland. Estimated completion will be by December 2023.
The US Navy might not buy more Ford Class aircraft carriers after the fourth ship, Doris Miller or CVN 81, is completed. Two studies are being conducted by the Pentagon could decide how the service designs and builds aircraft carriers beyond 2030. Acting Navy Secretary Thomas Modly is spearheading the Future Carrier 2030 Task Force effort while Deputy Defense Secretary David Norquist is examining the sailing branch’s future force structure. “I don’t know if we’re going to buy any more of that type,“ Acting Secretary of the Navy Thomas Modl told Defaeroreport. The USS Gerald R. Ford, the first of the new class of flattops, is going through post-delivery tests and trials, USS John F. Kennedy is 70% complete, construction has started on the USS Enterprise, and material is reportedly being procured for the Doris Miller. The last vessel is expected to be delivered in 2032.
Middle East & Africa
UAVOS and the King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology (KACST) in Saudi Arabia have created a new medium-altitude long-endurance (MALE) UAV that features fully autonomous operational capability. The Saker-1B is derived from a 10-year research and development effort between UAVOS and the KACST to develop a flight-control system designed for multimission, multi-domain UAV platforms. The two stakeholders have completed flight tests of the Saker-1B in Saudi Arabia to verify the autonomous online and offline operation of the aircraft from takeoff to landing, according to a UAVOS statement. The aircraft performed a series of heavy weight landing tests with a maximum take-off weight of 1,100 kg. Multiple different payloads were tested in surveillance experimental missions to confirm overall system performance. The Saker-1B uses a direct radio link when flying within line of sight and switches to a satellite link for beyond line-of-sight (BLOS) missions.
Europe
Boeing won a $191.9 million deal for post-production support services and warehouse management services for the United Kingdom AH-64E Apache helicopter fleet of 50 aircraft and three Longbow crew trainers. The Longbow flight simulator is designed to help Apache operators train on how to manage procedures and perform missions with the aircraft. Foreign Military Sales funds to the UK in the full amount were obligated at the time of the award. Work will take place in Mesa, Arizona and estimated completion date is December 31.
B-2 stealth bombers deployed to Portugal for training and integration into the European theater of operations, the US European Command on Monday confirmed. According to Eucom, a US Air Force task force including B-2 strategic bombers and KC-10 refueling planes left the United States and arrived on Monday at Lajes Field in Portugal’s Azores Islands. First flown 30 years ago, the B-2 Spirit offers stealth technology designed for penetrating dense anti-aircraft defenses which can deploy both conventional and thermonuclear weapons, including up to 80 500-pound class Global Positioning System-guided bombs, or 16 2,400-pound B83 nuclear bombs.
Asia-Pacific
Japan plans to choose the US as its partner for developing the successor to the F-2 fighter jet, while taking on most of the R&D costs to avoid leaving essential design information solely in American hands again, Nikkei reported. A proposal to enlist British companies, which would have given Japan the freedom to update the planes at will, was ultimately rejected in favor of the increasing security ties between Japan and the United States, according to Japanese officials. Japan seeks a replacement for its aging F-2 aircraft, currently built by Mitsubishi, to enter service sometime in the 2030s. US contractors Lockheed Martin and Boeing have been named as possible partners, although Japan has made it clear that it will not name a single partner.
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