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Americas BAE Systems Land & Armaments won a $121.4 million modification to produce M2A4 and M7A4 Bradley vehicles from various inducted legacy source variants. Work locations and funding will be determined with each order, with an estimated completion date of May 31, 2026. Army Contracting Command, Detroit Arsenal, Michigan, is the contracting activity. US company Boeing is offering the latest variant of its famed CH-47 Chinook helicopter as Poland’s new heavy-lift military transport solution. Announced at the International Defence Industry Exhibition in Kielce, company director Tim Flood said the 47F Block II version of its Chinook would support Warsaw’s defense needs with its ability to transport 31 combat troops and up to 16,000 pounds (7,257 kilograms) of cargo. Middle East & Africa Syrian state media said Monday that overnight Israeli strikes killed 16 people in central Hama province, while a war monitor reported a higher death toll in the “intense” raids on military sites. The Israeli military, which has carried out hundreds of strikes in Syria since its civil war started in 2011, declined to comment on the latest reported attack. Syrian official news agency SANA, citing a medical source, said the number of dead “in the Israeli aggression on a number of sites on the […]

Americas Sargent Aerospace & Defense won a $15 million contract for the procurement of 104 linear direct valves used on the Virginia-class submarines. This is a stand-alone contract with no options. All work will be performed in Tucson, Arizona, and is expected to be completed by June 2039. Naval Supply Systems Command Weapon Systems Support, Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania, is the contracting activity. In a comprehensive analysis of US Army aviation from 2000 to 2023, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) has revealed significant trends in fleet size, availability, and utilization. The report, released in Sept. 2024, offers insights into the Army’s ongoing efforts to modernize its aviation assets while maintaining operational readiness. Despite an overall decline in fleet size since 2000, the Army’s aircraft availability has shown a marked improvement, bucking the trend observed in other military branches. As of 2023, the Army maintained approximately 3,900 manned aircraft, primarily helicopters, with an additional 700 large unmanned aerial systems (UAS). Middle East & Africa Iraq has finalized a contract for the purchase of 14 Caracal H225M multi-role troop transport helicopters. The deal, signed on Sept. 5, includes 12 new aircraft and two pre-owned units slated for modernization. Iraqi Defense Minister Thabet al-Abbassi stated […]

Americas Northrop Grumman’s AN/ALQ-257 Integrated Viper Electronic Warfare Suite (IVEWS) for the F-16 fighter jet has successfully completed testing at the US Air Force’s Joint Preflight Integration of Munitions and Electronic Sensors (J-PRIMES) facility, paving the way for flight testing on Air Force F-16 aircraft. The J-PRIMES testing, conducted in an anechoic chamber, subjected the IVEWS to complex radio frequency spectrum threats, simulating real-world combat scenarios. The system demonstrated its capability to detect, identify, and counter advanced RF threats while maintaining compatibility with other F-16 systems. Austal has rolled out the US Navy’s 15th Spearhead-class expeditionary fast transport vessel in Mobile, Alabama. During the ceremony, the USNS Point Loma (EPF 15) was lifted via a self-propelled modular platform three feet (approximately 1 meter) above ground a distance of 400 feet (121.9 meters) to a deck barge adjacent to the final assembly bay. The barge moved the vessel to the firm’s West Campus repair yard where it was submerged via a floating dry dock to complete its first float. Middle East & Africa A war monitor said a senior commander from the security forces in northeast Syria’s semi-autonomous Kurdish-led administration was killed on Tuesday in a blast near a prison in […]

Americas Canada’s procurement of National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile Systems (NASAMS) is showing signs of advancement following earlier setbacks. The $406 million purchase, initially announced in January 2023, is now on track for delivery in early 2025, marking a significant step forward in bolstering Ukraine’s defensive arsenal. Defense Minister Bill Blair recently provided an optimistic update on the situation, highlighting that despite initial delays in fund transfer, the procurement process is now moving ahead steadily. The minister emphasized that the four-month lag between the announcement and the execution of funds did not materially impact the overall timeline for delivery. US Air Force’s Air Combat Command (ACC) received its first EA-37B Compass Call aircraft at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Arizona, on August 23, 2024. The delivery of aircraft 19-5591 marks the introduction of an advanced electronic warfare platform, upgrading from the legacy EC-130H. This new addition to ACC’s fleet brings enhanced electromagnetic attack capabilities to the US Air Force, designed to meet evolving challenges in the electromagnetic spectrum. The decision to transition to the EA-37B platform dates back to Oct. 23, 2018, when then-Secretary of the Air Force Heather Wilson approved ACC’s request to replace the EC-130H Compass Call aircraft operated by […]

Americas Vectrus Systems won a $7 million modification to a cost-plus-fixed-fee, cost-reimbursable contract. This modification exercises an option to provide case/project, program, financial management, and engineering and technical support for the MH-60R Multi-Mission helicopter, subsystems, armament, engines, airborne weapons, spares, and support equipment for the government of Australia. Work will be performed in Patuxent River, Maryland, and is expected to be completed in September 2025. Foreign Military Sales customer funds in the amount of $7,709,869 will be obligated at the time of award, none of which will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division, Patuxent River, Maryland, is the contracting activity. Raytheon/Lockheed Martin Javelin JV won a $12 million cost-plus-fixed-fee contract for the Javelin Weapon System. Work will be performed in Tucson, Arizona, with an estimated completion date of August 31, 2027. US Army Contracting Command, Redstone Arsenal, Alabama, is the contracting activity. Middle East & Africa Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed on Sunday to “settle the score” with Hamas after the military had recovered the bodies of six hostages from a Gaza tunnel. “Those who kill hostages do not want an agreement” for a Gaza truce, Netanyahu said in a statement, […]

Javelin, firing (click to view full) The FGM-148 Javelin missile system aimed to solve 2 key problems experienced by American forces. One was a series of disastrous experiences in Vietnam, trying to use 66mm M72 LAW rockets against old Soviet tanks. A number of replacement options like the Mk 153 SMAW and the AT4/M136 spun out of that effort in the 1980s, but it wasn’t until electronics had miniaturized for several more cycles that it became possible to solve the next big problem: the need for soldiers to remain exposed to enemy fire while guiding anti-tank missiles to their targets. Javelin solves both of those problems at once, offering a heavy fire-and-forget missile that will reliably destroy any enemy armored vehicle, and many fortifications as well. While armored threats are less pressing these days, the need to destroy fortified outposts and rooms in buildings remains. Indeed, one of the lessons from both sides of the 2006 war in Lebanon has been the infantry’s use of guided missiles as a form of precision artillery fire. Javelin isn’t an ideal candidate for that latter role, due to its high cost-per-unit; nevertheless, it has often been used this way. Its performance in Iraq […]

Americas Raytheon won a $1 billion contract for Group B hardware, spares, and support equipment. This contract provides for the F-22 sensor enhancements program that is designed to improve the F-22 sensor capabilities. Work will be performed in McKinney, Texas, and is expected to be completed by May 8, 2029. The Air Force Life Cycle Management Center, Wright Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, is the contracting activity. The Idaho Air National Guard’s 124th Fighter Wing recently hosted German armed forces joint terminal attack controllers (JTACs) for a joint training exercise. This marks the second time this year that the two nations have collaborated on training. The training focused on validating standard operating procedures across five warfighter pillars: communications, mobility, tactical combat casualty care, shooting, and fitness. Members of the 124th Air Support Operations Squadron (ASOS) Tactical Air Control Party (TACP) worked alongside their German counterparts, focusing on scenarios designed to maximize safety, efficiency, and lethality in joint combat environments. Middle East & Africa The US has restarted talks over the future of its armed forces in Chad — the latest African country to express doubt over its relationship with the American military. In the last month, senior leaders from the […]

Block IV Cutaway (click to view full) Block IV Tomahawk is the current generation of the Tomahawk family of cruise missiles. The BGM-109 Tomahawk family began life in the 1980s as sub-sonic, low-flying nuclear strike weapons, before being developed into long-range RGM/UGM-109 conventional attack missiles. They’re most frequently launched from submarines and surface ships, and have been the US Navy’s preferred option for initial air strikes in Iraq, Libya, et. al. Britain has also bought Tomahawk missiles, and launches them exclusively from submarines. Block IV is the latest variant. It adds innovative technologies that improve combat flexibility, while dramatically reducing the costs to buy, operate, and support these missiles. That’s why the Block IV program, under US Navy PMA-280, has been one of the USA’s defense acquisition success stories over the last decade. xGM-109: Missile & Launcher Types [youtube:v=8sa7ZX58Kk4] TLAM operation (click for video) Tomahawk missiles have become the US Navy’s major land strike missile. The USA has bought more than 4,000 over the years, and March 2011 saw the 2,000th GM-109 Tomahawk fired in combat, from USS Barry [DDG 52]. The missile typically flies at 50 – 100 feet above ground using terrain-following radar, and navigates to its targets […]

Americas Defense Maritime Solutions won a $16 million contract for the manufacture of 12 main shaft seal assemblies in support of the submarine main propulsion system on Virginia-class submarines. The contract has no options. All work will be performed in Havant, Hampshire, United Kingdom, and is expected to be completed by June 2026. Naval Supply Systems Command Weapon Systems Support, Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania, is the contracting activity. Sikorsky won a $11 million deal for the procurement of 30 main generators, 54 stators, 58 rotors, 31 power distribution panels, and five generators in support of the CH-53K aircrafts. All work will be performed in Stratford, Connecticut. There are no options, and work will be completed by March 2027. Naval Supply Systems Command Weapon Systems Support, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, is the contracting activity. Middle East & Africa The Iraqi military said it downed a Turkish drone over the northern city of Kirkuk on Thursday as Ankara kept up its operations against Kurdish militants inside Iraq. Falling debris damaged a house in the city center, police and army officials told AFP, speaking on condition of anonymity. There were no reports of any direct casualties but the police official said a carpenter working on a nearby building […]