Defense`s Feeds

Americas

General Dynamics Bath Iron Works won a $23.9 million contract modification to exercise options for the accomplishment of planning yard efforts such as engineering, technical, planning, ship configuration, data and logistics efforts for DDG-1000 class destroyers post-delivery and in-service life-cycle support. The Zumwalt Class is the largest and most technologically advanced surface combatant in the world. Zumwalt is the lead ship of a class of next-generation multi-mission destroyers designed to strengthen naval power from the sea. Work will take place in Maine and California. Estimated completion will be by December 2021.

The US Army and Clemson University announced a partnership to study conversion of Bradley tanks and armored personnel carriers to autonomous use. The study for the conversion of existing Army equipment to self-driving vehicles is enabled by an $18 million Defense Department grant in the school’s Virtual Prototyping of Ground Systems, and a partnership between the US Army Ground Vehicle Systems Center and the Clemson University International Center for Automotive Research, Clemson University announced. The multi-year project will involve 60 faculty members in seven engineering disciplines, and will focus on autonomy-enabled ground vehicles, including digital engineering, next-generation propulsion and energy systems, and manned and unmanned teaming in unknown off-road environments.

Middle East & Africa

A community that connects the innovation, technology, and business ecosystems of Israel and the UAE was launched last week. The establishment of the UAE-IL Tech Zone, the first community of its kind, follows the signing of the Abraham Accords by the two counties. The tech zone is said to already include more than 1,000 people in the business, innovation and technology sectors, investors, developers, and government entities from both countries. The community connects investors and entrepreneurs from both countries and helps Israeli entrepreneurs deepen their understanding of the business and innovation culture in the UAE, said Start-Up Nation Central, an independent nonprofit organization that builds bridges to Israeli innovation.

Europe

The Hungarian Air Force has taken delivery of 16 H145M helicopters that it ordered. A total of twenty helicopters were ordered. Four Zlin light training aircraft were also delivered recently. The H145Ms of the Hungarian fleet are equipped with a fast roping system, high-performance camera, dual cargo hook, hoist, disaster management kit, ballistic protection as well as an electronic countermeasures system to support the most demanding operational requirements.

An old Swedish submarine was relaunched after a 12-month mid-life upgrade, defense contractor Saab announced. The HMS Uppland, the second in the Gotland class of three submarines, had 50 new systems installed or modified, including installation of an Optronic Mast to replace a periscope. Some of the new systems will be used on the planned Blekinge class of vessels, next-generation submarines to replace the Gotland class. The HMS Uppland was returned to the Swedish Navy’s Defense Materiel Administration in a ceremony this week in Karlskrona, Sweden. At 198 feet in length, it is powered by two diesel and two Stirling electrical engines, and carries torpedoes and external mines.

Asia-Pacific

CFM International won a $28.5 million contract modification, which adds scope to procure two P-8A Poseidon CFM56-7B27AE engines for the governments of Australia and New Zealand. The P-8A Poseidon has advanced sensors and mission systems, including a state-of-the-art multi-role radar, high definition cameras, and an acoustic system with four times the processing capacity of the AP-3C Orions. In July, the Australian Government had signed a new deal with Boeing Defense to deliver support services and provide advanced surveillance and response capabilities to the P-8A Poseidon aircraft.

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Watch: 4K??? Airbus H145M Light Attack & Battlefield Support Helicopter Flight Demonstration

Americas

L3 Technologies won a $29.2 million deal for the manned/unmanned teaming hardware, as well as technical and engineering support, for the Apache helicopter. The Apache attack helicopter was developed by Boeing for the US armed forces. It entered service with the US Army in 1984. is an American twin-turboshaft attack helicopter with a tailwheel-type landing gear arrangement and a tandem cockpit for a crew of two. It features a nose-mounted sensor suite for target acquisition and night vision systems. Work will take place in Salt Lake City, Utah. Estimated completion date is June 30, 2023.

Lockheed Martin won a $9.3 million contract modification for the US and United Kingdom to provide strategic weapon system Trident fleet support, Trident II SSP Shipboard Integration (SSI) Increment 8, SSI Increment 16, Columbia class and UK Dreadnought class navigation subsystem development efforts. Trident II D-5 is the sixth generation member of the US Navy’s Fleet Ballistic Missile (FBM) program which started in 1956. Systems have included the Polaris (A1), Polaris (A2), Polaris (A3), Poseidon (C3), and Trident I (C4). The first deployment of Trident II was in 1990 on the USS Tenessee (SSBN 734). While Trident I was designed to the same dimensions as the Poseidon missile it replaced, Trident II is a little larger. Work will take place in New York, California, Florida and Massachusetts. Estimated completion date is November 30, 2023.

Middle East & Africa

The AC-130W Stinger II is conducting air operations over Somalia under Joint Task Force – Quartz in support of Operation OCTAVE QUARTZ. The mission of OOQ is to reposition US DOD personnel from Somalia to other locations in East Africa. The AC-130W Stinger II primary missions are close air support and air interdiction. The aircraft is a highly modified C-130H featuring improved navigation, threat detection, countermeasures, and communication suites. All AC-130W aircraft are modified with a precision strike package to perform the gunship mission.

Europe

General Atomics won a $36.3 million contract modification for France contractor logistics support MQ-9 Block Five and Block One aircraft. The contractor will provide an additional period of contractor logistics support for the French Air Force. Work will take place in California. Estimated completion date is December 31, 2021.In January 2014, French Air Force took delivery of MQ-9 (Block 1) Medium Altitude Long Endurance (MALE) Reaper drones and deployed them at Niamey Air Base in Niger for border reconnaissance in the Sahel desert.

Asia-Pacific

Royal Malaysian Air Force chief Gen. Tan Sri Ackbal Abdul Samad has disclosed that the service will acquire the Fighter Lead-In Trainer/ Light Combat Aircarft (FLIT/ LCA) aircraft within the next three years. The Ministry of Defense will request for the budget to buy 18 aircraft in the 2021 budget and another 18 aircraft in the 13th Malaysia Plan. The Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF) will be terminating the service of all Nuri helicopters within five years, said RMAF chief General Tan Sri Ackbal Abdul Samad. He said the helicopter, which has served for more than 52 years, is now obsolete as most of its components and spare parts are no longer in production.

Local media reports that Japanese defense officials are considering the option of installing new long-range standoff attack missiles on the two new Aegis warships to be built. Yomuiri Shimbun says the range of the new indigenous missiles will be around 1,000 km. The government may install such missiles on the two ships equipped with Aegis missile interceptor systems in response to increasing naval activities by Beijing in the East China Sea amid tensions over the Japanese-administered Senkaku Islands, which Beijing claims and calls the Diaoyu. The Cabinet approved Friday the building of the two vessels to enhance its defense capabilities in the face of the North Korean missile threat.

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Watch: Japan Building Two Super-Sized Destroyers As An Alternative To Aegis Ashore

Americas

Boeing won a $41.7 million delivery order for consumable and depot-level repairable parts for the KC-46 military unique program. The Boeing KC-46 Pegasus is a military aerial refueling and strategic military transport aircraft. In 2011, the DOD announced the Boeing Company as the winner of a competition to build 179 new KC-46 Aerial refueling tankers for the Air Force, a contract valued at roughly $35 billion. Boeing designed the KC-46 to carry passengers, cargo and patients. The aircraft can detect, avoid, defeat and survive threats using multiple layers of protection, which will enable it to operate safely in medium-threat environments. Work will take place in Missouri. Estimated completion date is December 15, 2023.

Boeing won a $10.9 million contract modification for additional F/A-18 A-D and E-G aircraft integrated product support. The F/A-18 Hornet is a twin-engine, supersonic, all-weather, carrier-capable, multirole combat jet, designed as both a fighter and attack aircraft. The F/A-18 has a top speed of Mach 1.8. It can carry a wide variety of bombs and missiles, including air-to-air and air-to-ground. Work will take place in Missouri, California, Virginia, Washington, Nevada and South Carolina. Estimated completion date is December 31, 2023.

Middle East & Africa

The US Army contracted Oxford Federal LLC with an $11.6 million deal for design-build construction at sites in Israel. Oxford Federal is a company engaged in building US government and private sector infrastructure projects located within and outside the Continental United States. Work will take place in Tel Aviv, Israel. Estimated completion date is June 8, 2022. Fiscal 2021 Foreign Military Sales (Israel) funds in the amount of $11,554,000 were obligated at the time of the award.

Turkish media reports that Turkish Aerospace Industries sold three Anka unmanned air vehicles to Tunisia. Around 52 Tunisian pilots and maintenance personnel will go to Ankara for training. The Turkish drones were purchased following nearly two years of negotiations. The Tunisian Ministry of Defense began talks for the procurement of the UAVs from TAI at the beginning of 2019. Some 52 Tunisian pilots and maintenance personnel will be given the necessary training at TAI facilities in the capital Ankara.

Europe

British Royal Navy frigate HMS Northumberland has arrived in Lerwick harbour. HMS Northumberland was recently involved in an effort to monitor the movements of a Russian Udaloy Class destroyer in the North West of the Outer Hebrides, off the west coast of Scotland. „Type 23 frigate HMS Northumberland watched the movements of Udaloy-class destroyer, the Vice-Admiral Kulakov, as she sailed North West of the Outer Hebrides, off the west coast of Scotland. Patrol ship HMS Severn was on duty in the English Channel and Dover Strait, where she shadowed a surfaced Kilo-class submarine, the Stary Oskol, the corvette Boikiy, patrol ship Vasiliy Bykov and support ships. Severn was also on patrol as the Vice-Admiral Kulakov sailed through the Channel“, the Royal Navy said in a statement.

Asia-Pacific

India has decided that it will acquire six A320 airliners from Air India to modify them into airborne early warning (AEW) platforms. The radars supplied by the Defense Research and Development Organization (DRDO) will have full 360-degrees coverage. The previous plan was to buy two new A330 airliners for conversion. The new proposal will take between four to seven years to be completed.

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Watch: Dream Realized: The Air Force’s New Multi-Mission KC-46 Tanker Is Ready

Americas

The Marine Corps and the Air Force successfully tested bi-directional data sharing on the F-22 and F-35 in exercises in Arizona and Nevada for the first time. The test was reportedly the latest demonstration of the network architecture underpinning its Advanced Battle Management System. Fifth-generation fighters are generally only able to communicate with each other and to command and control centers, but not with fighters in other classes because they use digital languages that aren’t compatible. But the gatewayONE system can translate between those formats, allowing the aircraft to more fully gather and share data and intelligence. The service announced that the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL), along with partner Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc., had flown with the gatewayONE payload aboard a XQ-58A Valkyrie UAV demonstrator in formation with a Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor and F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter (JSF). “During the test event, an F-22 Raptor and F-35 Lightning, the air force’s two fifth-generation fighters formed up off the wings of the smaller Valkyrie as it continued to fly autonomously in formation. This is a major milestone in the service’s efforts to provide low cost force multipliers in relevant operational environments,” the USAF said.

The first seven people to enlist directly into the US Space Force have graduated from basic military training at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland. The five men and two women, who graduated December 10, were among 414 recruits who completed seven and a half weeks of training, according to an Air Force announcement. Training began Oct. 20 following the recruits’ swearing-in at Fort George G. Meade Military Entrance Processing Station in Fort Meade, Md. At the graduation ceremony, Air Force Secretary Barbara M. Barrett spoke about three Airmen who represent the Air Force’s ideals of integrity, service and excellence, including Lt. Gen. Susan Helms, who flew more than 30 different types of aircraft as an Air Force test pilot and then served 12 years as an astronaut.

Middle East & Africa

Boeing won a $46.9 million deal for the F-15 Qatar program. The deal provides or the Foreign Military Sales (FMS) requirement to procure Digital Electronic Warfare System spares for the Qatar Emiri Air Force. The F-15QA is the most state-of-the-art variant of the Eagle to date, building upon the F-15SA that was developed for Saudi Arabia. Qatar has ordered 36 F-15QAs which are the first to feature a new Advanced Cockpit System with Large Area Displays, among other improvements.Work will take place in St. Louis, Missouri. Estimated completion date is August 23, 2023.

Bell Textron won a $22.8 million order, which provides engineering and logistics support, procures four resident integrated logistics support detachment computer seats, trailer lease site for flight test engineers, support equipment workaround material and aircraft wiring integration remote terminal and flight control computer test station material in support of Marine Corps (USMC) AH-1Z; the governments of Bahrain and the Czech Republic UH-1Y and AH-1Z production aircraft; and USMC UH-1Y and AH-1Z aircraft modifications and sustainment. Work will take place in Texas and Maryland. Estimated completion date is in February 2022.

Europe

The US State Department approved a possible $500 million sale of two fully equipped Gulfstream G550 Aircraft to Italy. Italy’s government had requested two aircraft and supporting equipment including four Multifunctional Information Distribution Systems, three GPS security devices and four (4) RIO Communications Intelligence Systems. Italy also requested that up to six additional US contractors work in Italy for a year train personnel in use of the new equipment. The Gulfstream is a private business jet also utilized by the USAF for transportation of elected officials, cabinet secretaries and top generals.

Asia-Pacific

South Korea will go ahead to sign a contract to buy 12 MH-60R naval helicopters from Lockheed Martin this month. The contract is worth $878 million and all helicopters will be delivered by 2025. A total of 12 Seahawks will arrive according to an agency official said. The 19.76-meter-long and 5.1-meter-high chopper with the maximum cruising speed of 267 kilometers per hour can handle multiple missions, including operations of warfare, search, rescue, and medical evacuation.

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Watch: Full F-22 Demo: Exclusive Look Inside the Raptor

Americas

Northrop Grumman Systems won a $185.7 million deal for the A-10 Aircraft Structural Integrity Program (ASIP) Legacy VII. This contract provides for sustaining engineering services of A-10 aircraft. The A-10 Thunderbolt is also known as the Warthog, the ‘flying gun’ and the Tankbuster. The aircraft was used extensively during Operation Desert Storm, in support of Nato operations in response to the Kosovo crisis, in Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan and in Operation Iraqi Freedom. Work will take place in Clearfield, Utah. Expected completion date is December 13, 2030.

Boeing won a $79.6 million deal for F-15 Eagle Passive Active Warning and Survivability System low rate initial production. The Eagle Passive Active Warning Survivability System provides the US Air Force F-15 fleet with advanced electronic warfare technology to maximize mission effectiveness and survivability. Developed by BAE Systems as a sub-contractor to Boeing, the EPAWSS is designed to sample the radio frequency (RF) spectrum, identify threats, prioritize, and allocate jamming resources against them, and will replace the 1980s-vintage Tactical Electronic Warfare Suite (TEWS) currently fitted to the US Air Force’s (USAF’s) about 220 F-15E Strike Eagles. It is also one of the systems earmarked for the service’s latest F-15EX Advanced Eagle, of which as many as 200 are slated for eventual procurement. Work will take place in San Antonio, Texas. Estimated completion date is December 13, 2026.

Middle East & Africa

Moscow has struck a deal with Khartoum to establish its first naval outpost on the continent. On December 8, the Russian government officially announced its agreement with Sudan to build a modern port and establish a navy base for at least 25 years. The new port, along with Russia’s base in the Syrian city of Tartus, will strengthen its military presence in the Red Sea and the Mediterranean. The port in Sudan will be Russia’s first military base in Africa, providing a convenient docking station for Russian battleships for refuel and repair.

Europe

A plan to use sustainable sources for up to 50 percent of military aviation fuel was announced by British Defense Secretary Ben Wallace this week. The British Ministry of Defense on Saturday said it would look to algae, alcohol, household waste, wood and biomass as potential sources of fuel for the nation’s F-35 and Typhoon planes and Wildcat helicopters. Aviation fuel consumes nearly two-thirds of fuel used by the British military, the ministry said. New aviation fuel standards in effect since November call for a reduction in emissions and carbon footprints, and complement the British government’s goal of net zero emissions throughout the country by 2050.

Safran’s 1,000-kg AASM precision guided munition has carried out two inert separation tests from a Rafale fighter. The tests were conducted at the French defense procurement agency DGA’s Cazaux flight test center in southwest France.This paves way for the first live firing tests to be conducted in 2021. The separation dynamics observed during the two firings were in line with simulations. These industrial validation tests were designed to check the correct sequencing of all components of the wing hardpoint and the weapon, as well as the wing deployment mechanism on the range extension kit.

Asia-Pacific

South Korea’s Defense Acquisition Program Administration has provisionally declared the Korea Aerospace Industries Light Armed Helicopter fit for combat. KAI announced in an 11 December statement that DAPA’s assessment, which came five years and six months after the launch of the LAH project, “lays the foundation” for mass production of the helicopter, development of which is due to be completed by late 2022.

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Watch: The Insane Engineering of the A-10 Warthog

Americas

General Atomics won a $305.2 million deal for MQ-9 Reaper contractor logistics support. The deal provides for program management, contractor filed service representative support, depot repair, depot maintenance, sustaining engineering support, supply and logistics support, configuration management, tech data maintenance, software maintenance and inventory control point/warehouse support for the MQ-9. The Reaper is designed primarily to disable or destroy time-sensitive targets and has a secondary function as an intelligence-gathering platform. The service branch will obligate $65.4M at the time of award from its fiscal 2021 operation and maintenance funds. Work will take place in Poway, California. Estimated completion date is December 31, 2022.

The US Navy’s 30-year shipbuilding plan calls for building 82 new ships by 2026 at a cost of $147 billion, a significant increase over previous plans. The “Report to Congress on the Annual Long-Range Plan for Construction of Naval Vessels“ calls for construction of three new attack submarines, four large unmanned surface vessels, designation of a second shipbuilder for frigates and retirement of most of the Navy’s current cruiser fleet. It also refers to development of light amphibious warships and next-generation logistics programs. These plans differ from previous Navy projections, which in part include an increase of 44 ships between Fiscal Years 2021 and 2026 at a cost of $102 billion.

Middle East & Africa

According to local reports Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI), via Indian company HAL Hyderabad, will start manufacturing components for IAI subsidiary ELTA’s AESA radar in India.The type of radar in question is the ELTA ELM-2052. HAL will manufacture gallium arsenide-based modules using ToT for about 54 ELTA AESA radars, which were ordered for the ongoing Jaguar Darin-III aircraft upgrade program.

Europe

Lockheed Martin won a $43.6 million contract modification for the US as well as the United Kingdom to provide Strategic Weapon System Trident Fleet support, Trident II SSP Shipboard Integration (SSI) Increment 8, SSI Increment 16, Columbia class and UK Dreadnought class Navigation Subsystem development efforts. According to Lockheed Martin, the Trident II D5 is the latest generation of the US Navy’s submarine-launched fleet ballistic missiles, following the highly successful Polaris, Poseidon, and Trident I C4 programs. First deployed in 1990, the Trident II D5 missile is currently aboard OHIO-class and British VANGUARD-class submarines. Each Trident II missile has a range of 4,000 to 7,000 miles. The Navy started the D5 Life Extension Program in 2002 to replace obsolete components using as many commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) parts as possible to keep costs down and to enhance the missile’s capability. Work will take place in New York, California, Florida and Massachusetts. Expected completion date is November 30, 2023.

Hungary has decided to replace the Soviet-era P-37, PRV-17 and ST-68U radars with the ELM-2084 radar made by Israel. The contract was signed with Rheinmetall Canada last week by Chief of the Staff Lt. Gen. Ferenc Korom. Deliveries will start from 2022. The number of radars to be purchased is unknown. ELTA’s ELM-2084 is a ground-based, mobile multi-mission radar with a 3D active electronically steered array. It is capable of detecting and tracking both aircraft and ballistic targets and providing fire control guidance for missile interception or artillery air defense. The IDF employs several variants of the radar as an air defense and artillery detection radar, and fire control radar for its air defense systems (Iron Dome and David’s Sling).

Asia-Pacific

The United States officially returned 12 former military bases to South Korea, but questions are being raised about environmental contamination, according to South Korean press reports. The two militaries agreed to the handover on Friday during a virtual meeting, but were unable to solve an impasse over costs of any cleanup on bases like Yongsan Garrison in central Seoul, Yonhap and Hankook Ilbo reported. Discussions ended after the two sides agreed to continue cost sharing negotiations. A South Korean government official who spoke to reporters Friday said 24 out-of-use bases returned in the past cost Seoul about $202 million in decontamination costs.

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Watch: MQ-9 Reaper: The Most Feared U.S. Air Force Drone in Action

Americas

Raytheon won a $38.8 million contract modification for the production of two Fire Control System MK 99 ship sets and the associated technical engineering services in support of the Aegis Combat System on DDG-51 class ships. The DDG 51 Class are the Arleigh Burke class destroyers in service with the US Navy. They are multi-mission warships with offensive and defensive capability in multi-threat air, surface, and subsurface environments. The USS Arleigh Burke (DDG 51), the first ship and namesake of the class, was commissioned on July 4, 1991. Since then 62 more ships have been commissioned. The MK-99 Fire Control System (FCS) is a major component of the AEGIS Combat System, a centralized, automated, command-and-control and weapons control system that was designed as a total weapon system, from detection to kill. It controls the loading and arming of the selected weapon, launches the weapon, and provides terminal guidance for AAW missiles. FCS controls the continuous wave illuminating radar, providing a very high probability of kill. Work will take place in Massachusetts, Virginia, Rhode Island and California. Estimated completion is in August 2024.

Northrop Grumman won a $73.2 million delivery order for Remote Visual Assessment II production and deployment for the Minutemen III. This delivery order provides for modification to the Remote Visual Assessment program by adding six capabilities to procure, produce, remove, install, audit, test and document the equipment. The Minuteman III is a land-based intercontinental ballistic missile developed by Boeing to carry single or multiple nuclear warheads and serve a part in the US nuclear deterrence triad. Work will take place in Montana, North Dakota and Wyoming. Estimated completion date is July 31, 2023.

Middle East & Africa

Brazilian aircraft manufacturer had suffered a cyber attack on November 25. Although the company did not disclose what was stolen, those files were made available on a website hosted on the dark web. One of those files that was made available by the hackers was a 4.4MB file of the Nigerian A-29 program. The African state has an order for 12 A-29 light attack aircraft. The airplane maker said the attackers had “access to only a single environment,” and that the incident caused only a temporary impact on “some of its operations.”

Europe

British company BAE Systems received a $60 million contract to deliver additional advanced missile seekers for LRASM. The seeker comprises long-range sensors and targeting technology that help the stealthy missile find and engage protected maritime targets in challenging electromagnetic environments. According to the company, LRASM combines ‘extended range with increased survivability and lethality to deliver long-range precision strike capabilities’. Work on the LRASM sensor will be conducted at BAE Systems’ facilities in Wayne, New Jersey; Greenlawn, New York; and Nashua, New Hampshire.

Asia-Pacific

News reports from Japan said that Lockheed Martin has been chosen to assist Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd. (MHI) in the development of the F-X fighter. Officials say the American company will provide assistance in the avionics and weapons integration. It will also assist in improving the plane’s aerodynamics and stealth characteristics. The F-X fighter program will cost around $40 billion; and the new fighter will replace Japan’s aging fleet of F-2 fighters, which were also developed by MHI and Lockheed Martin two decades ago.

Kyodo News reports that the Japanese Ministry of Defense has drop its request for $205 million in the budget next year for the modification of F-15 to carry the JASSM. The report says the modification is now in doubt as the development cost has soared by five times as electrical components required are in short supply and suppliers need to restart production lines to make them.

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Watch: F-X Future Fighter Jet – Japan’s Most Sophisticated Fighter To Deal With The Competition From China

Americas

Bell Boeing won a $170.4 million contract modification, which adds scope for the production and delivery of one CMV-22B variation in quantity aircraft for the Navy and exercises options for V-22 Common Configuration Readiness and Modernization (CC-RAM) Lot 4 requirements. Additionally, this modification provides for planned maintenance interval inspections, repairs, shipping and storage containers and tooling in support of the V-22 CC-RAM program. The Bell Boeing V-22 Osprey is a joint service, multirole combat aircraft that uses tiltrotor technology to combine the vertical performance of a helicopter with the speed and range of a fixed-wing aircraft. With its nacelles and rotors in vertical position, it can take off, land and hover like a helicopter. Once airborne, its nacelles can be rotated to transition the aircraft to a turboprop airplane capable of high-speed, high-altitude flight. Work will take place in Ridley Park, Pennsylvania and Fort Worth, Texas. Estimated completion is in September 2024.

McCallie Associates won a $27.6 million contract for C-5M sustainment. This contract is for the delivery of technical data for organizational maintenance of the C-5M using a common source database. The C-5M Super Galaxy strategic transport aircraft, a modernized version of the legacy C-5, was designed and manufactured by Lockheed Martin to extend the capability of the C-5 Galaxy fleet to remain in service at least until 2040. The C-5M Super Galaxy transport aircraft achieved initial operational capability (IOC) in February 2014. Work will take place in Nebraska. Expected completion date is June 9, 2025.

Middle East & Africa

Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI) announced that it has carried out seven aircraft modifications under the Erciyes C130 Modernization Project. The program’s scope is to upgrade the avionic system of 13 C-130E and 6 C-130B aircraft under a contract signed between TAI and the Presidency of Defense Industries (SSB) in 2006. A total of 23 systems and 117 components have been modernized along with the central control computer, which has been completely developed by TAI engineers and described as the brain of the aircraft, the company statement said. Additionally, other critical systems are being modernized and nationalized as part of the project, including the GPS, indicator, anti-collision system, weather radar, advanced military and civilian navigation systems, nighttime invisible illumination for military missions, the voice-recorded black box, communication systems, advanced automatic flight systems (military and civilian), the digital floating map and ground mission planning systems.

Europe

According to Jane’s, Airbus is offering a Tranche 5 standard of the Eurofighter combat aircraft to replace Germany’s fleet of Panavia Tornados. Speaking at a virtual running of the company’s annual Trade Media Briefing (TMB), the head of combat aircraft business development, Wolfgang Gammel, said that this future standard will be offered to the Luftwaffe as the service looks to replace 90 Tornado Interdiction and Strike (IDS) and Electronic Combat Reconnaissance (ECR) aircraft with 85 new aircraft from 2030.

Asia-Pacific

Japan has officially decided that it will build two more Aegis warships to replace the abandoned Aegis Ashore program, Defense Minister Nobuo Kishi said. Tokyo will also be extended the range of its indigenous Type 12 surface-to-ship missile.Opposition lawmakers criticize the move to boost the range of the missile, saying that this is to make the weapon as a tool to attack enemy bases. Chief cabinet secretary Kato explained that the range improvement was to extend the defense capabilities.

South Korea received a bid from a US aerospace manufacturer for attack helicopters that can be introduced to South Korea’s Marine Corps. Vince Tobin, executive vice president at Bell Textron Inc., based in Fort Worth, Texas, said Wednesday at a virtual press conference in Seoul that the company’s AH-1Z Viper would provide superior support, Yonhap and Newsis reported. The helicopter with anti-armor and air-to-air missile capabilities can take on the “broadest array of threats” in “any environment on land or sea” while withstanding saltwater corrosion and resistant to dust and sand, the US manufacturer said.

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Watch: Here’s What Can Fit inside C-5M Super Galaxy The Largest Aircraft

Americas

L3 Technologies won a contract modification, which exercises an option to procure 12 AN/SRQ-4 kits and associated components for the MH-60 Common Data Link system. Sikorsky Aircraft developed the MH-60R Seahawk multi-mission naval helicopter, also called ‘Romeo’, in order to replace the US Navy’s legacy SH-60B and SH-60F helicopter fleet. The MH-60 R integrates advanced mission systems and sensors developed by Lockheed Martin Mission Systems and Training (MST). The helicopter is integrated with a data link for data transmission, an ARC210 Gen 5 multi-function radio for flexible and secure communication, and chaff and flare decoys dispenser. It also features an integrated self defense system for protection against RF, IF, laser and missile threats. Work will take place in Salt Lake City, Utah. Estimated completion date is in February 2023.

The House on Tuesday granted overwhelming bipartisan approval to the annual defense spending bill despite threats by President Donald Trump, he would veto the bill. Lawmakers approved the $740 billion National Defense Authorization Act by a vote of 335-78, surpassing the two-thirds necessary to override a presidential veto, although there was no solid commitment that Republican lawmakers would vote against the action by Trump. A total of 140 Republicans joined a majority of Democrats in voting “yes” for the bill, while 37 Democrats voted “no” and one voted present. The NDAA includes funding for major military programs and weapons systems, and authorizes dozens of special pay and bonuses for service members.

Middle East & Africa

Raytheon won a $13.7 million contract modification for the procurement, manufacture and storage of spares in support of sustainment for the Qatar Early Warning Radar (QEWR). QEWR is an early warning radar that will add long-range detection to Qatar’s layered Integrated Air and Missile Defense (IAMD) architecture, which includes Patriot systems and an Air Defense Operation Center (ADOC). The 360-degree radar tracks ballistic missiles as part of a missile defense shield, expanding Qatar’s ability to protect its people and assets from missile attack. Work will take place in Andover, Massachusetts, and is expected to be completed by December 2025.

Europe

France is planning to build a new 300 meter long, 75,000 tonne nuclear powered aircraft carrier. The new nuclear powered aircraft carrier will be able to carry over 30 aircraft and will be in service by 2038. President Emmanuel Macron officially launched the project to build a new nuclear-powered aircraft carrier to replace the Charles de Gaulle. Macron made the announcement during a visit to a nuclear facility in the Burgundy town of Le Creusot.

Negotiations between France and Indonesia for the purchase of 48 French Rafale fighter jets are advancing at a fast pace and a deal could be inked soon, French website La Tribune.fr said last week, citing several sources.Indonesia would like to seal a deal before the end of the year but French negotiators want to take the time necessary to fine-tune the details, it said.

Asia-Pacific

Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, Gen. Gilbert Gapay, has hinted that Manila has decided to buy F-16s. “Soon, before our President steps down, we will finally have multi-role fighters in the likes of the F-16 in our Air Force inventory,” said Gapay at a Laging Handa press briefing held online. The F-16 is running in the competition together with Saab’s JAS-39. The potential acquisition of F-16 fighter jets was among the topics discussed by American and Philippine officials during the visit to Manila of US Secretary of the Air Force Barbara Barrett in November.

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Watch: Nothing Can Kill the F-16 Fighting Falcon

Americas

International Enterprises won a $12.5 million requirements contract requirements contract for F-16 modular low power radio frequency (MLPRF) and dual mode transmitter (DMT) repairs. This contract provides for the repair of both MLPRF and DMT, which function as part of the radar systems of each F-16 C/D aircraft. The General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon is a single-engine supersonic multirole fighter aircraft originally developed by General Dynamics for the USAF. One of the most versatile aircraft in the US Air Force inventory, the F-16 Fighting Falcon has been the mainstay of the Air Force aerial combat fleet. With over 1,000 F-16s in service, the platform has been adapted to complete a number of missions, including air-to-air fighting, ground attack and electronic warfare. Work will take place in Alabama. Estimated completion date is December 6, 2025.

The US Air Force is to field interim enhancements to the problematic Remote Vision System (RVS) for its Boeing KC-46A Pegasus tanker-transport aircraft. The Air Force Materiel Command (AFMC) announced the move, saying that demonstration flights conducted over the summer (third quarter) had validated the Enhanced Remote Vision System (ERVS) as a stopgap measure until RVS 2.0 is rolled out in late 2023. RVS 2.0 is the agreed final solution to resolve Category 1 deficiencies associated with the current RVS. “The implementation of ERVS will provide some benefit to our ‘Total Force’ boom operators in the near-term, but most importantly will not delay the fielding of RVS 2.0,” General Jacqueline Van Ovost, commander of Air Mobility Command (AMC), was quoted as saying.

Middle East & Africa

The guided-missile destroyer USS Ralph Johnson captured over 2,000 pounds of suspected narcotics in the Arabian Sea, the US Navy said on Monday. The interdiction was in support of the 33-nation Combined Maritime Forces’ mission known as Combined Task Force 150, which combats illicit operations on the seas. The Navy Ship assigned to the Nimitz Carrier Strike Group, found a stateless dhow, a privately-owned sailing vessel, “loitering without power in international waters” on Friday, a Navy statement said. The Combined Maritime Forces, formed in 2002 and currently led by the Royal Saudi Naval Force, conduct security operations in the Arabian Gulf, Red Sea, Gulf of Aden, Gulf of Oman and Indian Ocean.

Europe

France proposed selling six MRTT aerial tankers to India in a government-to-government deal that involves converting second-hand A330 airliners. These former passenger airplanes are between five to seven years in age and France will certify them for 30 years of lifespan. Another alternative proposal being considered by the Indian Air Force was to wet-lease the tankers from a British company. The IAF now operate seven Russian IL-76 M refuellers with Pakistan acquiring four of the same refuellers from Ukraine and China operating three of the same Russian refuellers along with 10 vintage modified versions of Russian bombers.

NATO announced the operational capability of a special operations command on Monday, organized by Belgium, the Netherlands and Denmark. The Composite Special Operations Component Command, or C-SOCC, was launched in 2017 to provide a unified “deployable multinational headquarters, specifically designed for commanding several Special Operations Forces task groups.” The new command is expected to provide “the participating nations with a capability that exceeds the sum of their individual national contributions,“a NATO statement said. The effort is one of 13 NATO High Visibility Projects meant to reduce costs and improve operational values through shared equipment, training and procedures.

Asia-Pacific

The US State Department approved a possible Foreign Military Sale to the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in the United States (TECRO) of a Field Information Communications System (FICS) and related equipment for around $280 million. The decision “shows the US commitment to the Taiwan Relations Act and Six Assurances,” the Taiwanese Foreign Ministry said Tuesday on Twitter after the sale was approved by the US State Department. “It also enables the country to maintain a robust defense in the face of China’s military provocations, as well as Indo Pacific peace and stability,” it added. The US Defense Security Cooperation Agency said on Monday the US State Department made a “determination approving a possible Foreign Military Sale to the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in the United States (TECRO) of a Field Information Communications System and related equipment for an estimated cost of $280 million”.

Today’s Video

Watch: Dream Realized: The Air Force’s New Multi-Mission KC-46 Tanker Is Ready

Americas

Southeastern Computer Consultants won a $43 million task order, which shall provide Tactical Tomahawk Weapon Control System (TTWCS) Integrated Logistics Support (ILS) products and services in support of Training Support Activity responsibilities at Naval Surface Warfare Center, Port Hueneme Division. This is a single award, five-year, cost-plus-fixed-fee term level of effort task order that consists of one base year with four option years, which, if all line item quantities are ordered, would bring the cumulative value of this contract to $42,989,767. The Tomahawk missile is a long-range, all-weather, jet-powered, subsonic cruise missile that is primarily used by the US Navy and the Royal Navy in ship and submarine-based land-attack operations. Work will take place in Virginia, California, Florida, Washington, Georgia, Hawaii, Japan and The UK: Expected completion date is in December 2021.

Boeing won a $20.7 million order, which provides for the production and delivery of 48 retrofit kits, support equipment and special tooling in support of phase two of the T-45 Service Life Extension Program (SLEP) for SLEP production Lots Three and Four. In addition, this order provides retrofit engineering and logistics from the original equipment manufacturer to support the installation of associated technical directives. The T-45A/C Goshawk is the US Navy’s two-seat advanced jet trainer. It entered service with the US Navy in January 1992. Work will take place in St. Louis, Missouri and estimated completion will be in May 2024.

Middle East & Africa

The Trump administration on Friday ordered most US troops out of Somalia, a move a Defense Department watchdog warned last month could damage gains the country has made against al-Shabab. The Pentagon said “the majority of personnel and assets” in Somalia will be removed from the East African country by “early 2021.” A news release from the department declined to offer a specific timeline on the moves. “As a result of this decision, some forces may be reassigned outside of East Africa,” the release said. “However, the remaining forces will be repositioned from Somalia into neighboring countries in order to allow cross-border operations by both US and partner forces to maintain pressure against violent extremist organizations operating in Somalia.”

Europe

The Ukrainian Ministry of Defense has placed an order for three An-178 cargo planes with Antonov. This was revealed by Vice Prime Minister, Minister for Strategic Industries Oleh Urusky. The An-178 is based on the An-158 regional jetliner but with an enlarged diameter to hold more cargo. The Defense Ministry of Ukraine and the state-owned Antonov Design Bureau are set to sign a contract for the construction of three new An-178 transport aircraft. AN-178 is a short-range medium-airlift military transport aircraft designed by the Ukrainian Antonov company and based on the Antonov An-158 (An-148-200) regional jet.

Airbus Helicopters announced that it successfully performed autonomous take-off and landing (ATOL) from a moving deck using its Vertivision Surveillance Rotorcraft 700 (VSR700) optionally piloted vehicle (OPV). The milestone was achieved using the Deck Finder local positioning sensor system and the DeckMotion Simulator supplied by Airbus Defense and Space. The VSR700 OPV is being developed as a multimission naval UAS under a joint venture between Airbus Helicopters and Hélicoptères Guimbal in response to the French Navy’s Système de Drones Aériens de la Marine (SDAM) requirement announced in 2016. The effort also involves French naval shipbuilder DCNS, which is responsible for integration of the VSR700 into ship-based operations.

Asia-Pacific

According to Jane’s, officials from Indonesia’s defense ministry are in discussions with a consortium led by French shipbuilder Naval Group for a possible order of the Riachuelo (Modified Scorpene)-class submarine. The discussion is the latest development in what has been a series of sporadic talks between Indonesian defense planners and Naval Group since 2016, when Jakarta first indicated its interest in the Scorpene 1000 vessel type for its naval requirements. Due diligence specifically for the Riachuelo class began after a variant of the submarine type was suggested by Naval Group as being suitable for Indonesia’s requirements, said one of the industry sources.

Today’s Video

Watch: Launch of “Riachuelo”, Brazil’s first Scorpene-class attack submarine

Americas

Bell Boeing won a $18 million contract modification, which exercises an option to continue providing technical analysis, engineering and integration services for various systems and sub systems in support of the V-22 aircraft for the Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force and Foreign Military Sales customers. The V-22 Osprey is a joint service multirole combat aircraft utilizing tiltrotor technology to combine the vertical performance of a helicopter with the speed and range of a fixed-wing aircraft. With its rotors in vertical position, it can take off, land and hover like a helicopter. Once airborne, it can convert to a turboprop airplane capable of high-speed, high-altitude flight. Work will take place in Texas and Pennsylvania. Estimated completion will be by 2022.

Lockheed Martin Space won a $29.1 million contract modification to procure a pilot assessment of the contractor’s property management system and exercise options under previously awarded contract N00030-20-C-0100 for Trident II (D5) missile production and deployed systems support. The modification includes a $5 million not-to-exceed value for the pilot assessment, which is being awarded as an undefinitized contract action. The Trident II D5 fleet ballistic missile (FBM) is a three-stage, solid-propellant, inertial-guided ballistic missile developed by Lockheed Martin. The Trident II D5 submarine launched ballistic missile (SLBM) is a successor to Polaris A1, Polaris A2, Polaris A3, Poseidon C3 and Trident I C4 missiles. Work will take place in Colorado, Utah, Florida, Illinois, New York and California. Work will take place in September 20, 2025.

Middle East & Africa

Mali has decided to expand its C295 fleet by ordering another cargo plane to expand the number of aircraft to two. Airbus says this contract includes an integrated logistics support package with spare parts for the two aircraft and training for flight crews and mechanics. This second aircraft, to be delivered in 2021, will supplement the first C295 already in operation since December 2016 which has already accumulated 1,770 flight hours and transported more than 38,000 passengers and 900 tonnes of cargo in less than four years of operations.

Europe

The Italian Air Force will double its intake at the International Flight Training School after the school moves to Sardinia. Head of the training operation, Gen. Luigi Casali, says 80 new pilots will be able to complete Phase 4 training at Sardinia and two thirds of those students will be from foreign air forces. Italy currently gathers its Phase 2, 3 and 4 pilots at Galatina where pilots in Phase 2 and 3 fly the Italian MB339 and Phase 4 students fly 18 T346A air force jet trainers, built by Italy’s Leonardo, as well as another four of the type owned by the firm. As the Phase 4 pilots move to Sardinia, the earlier stage students will stay on at Galatina to take advantage of the freed up space and start to switch over to new, M345 aircraft, also built by Leonardo, which is partnering the air force in the running of the flight school.

Asia-Pacific

Japan media have confirmed that a Royal Navy naval task force lead by aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth will be sailing to Asia as early as next year. The British warships are likely to conduct wargames with Japanese and US forces in waters off the Nansei Islands chain in southwestern Japan. The move comes amid concerns over China’s increasing assertiveness in the East and South China seas as well as about its handling of pro-democracy protesters in Hong Kong. It could trigger an outcry from Beijing. During the dispatch, the British navy also plans to conduct maintenance on carrier-based F-35B stealth fighter jets at Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd.’s aerospace systems works in Aichi Prefecture, central Japan, the sources said.

The US State Department has made a determination approving a possible Foreign Military Sale to the Government of Australia of 155mm Ammunition and Accessories, and related equipment, for an estimated cost of $132.2 million. The Government of Australia has requested to buy M825A1 155mm White Phosphorous projectile munitions, M782 Multi-Option Fuze for Artillery, M762A1 electronic-timed fuzes, M231 and M232A2 propelling charges, percussion primers, technical publications and books, technical data for operational maintenance, technical assistance and services, and other related elements of logistics and program support. The total estimated program cost is $132.2 million. This proposed sale will support the foreign policy and national security objectives of the United States. Australia is one of our most important allies in the Western Pacific. The strategic location of this political and economic power contributes significantly to ensuring peace and economic stability in the region.

Today’s Video

Watch: Exclusive visit of the new C295 FWSAR for Canada

The second and final day of EDA’s virtual Annual Conference 2020 (see main highlights of the first day here) was marked by several high-level political speeches and contributions which all had as a common thread the urgent need for Europe to take more responsibility for its own security and defence, and to use the already existing cooperation tools to move towards more collaborative defence planning, spending and capability development. 
 

Josep Borrell: “Time for action is now”

In the opening speech of the second day, the Head of the Agency, High Representative Josep Borrell, said the conference theme ‘Sustaining European defence’ was not only the topic of the day “but our common task for the years and decades to come”. The first ever EU threat analysis that has just been done as part of the process that will lead to the Union’s Strategic Compass to be adopted in 2022 “confirms that we are facing - now and for the foreseeable future - the most challenging combination of risks and threats since the end of the Cold War”, he said. 

In the face of that, “strengthening the EU’s security and defence policy is not a luxury; it is a necessity because the challenges we face can only be addressed by providing a collective European answer”.  This means that Europe needs to enhance its ability to act - autonomously when necessary. “In other words, we need to increase our strategic autonomy. For that, we need to increase our operational effectiveness, our resilience and our civilian and military capabilities”, while at the same time strengthen of our relations with partners, first and foremost the transatlantic bond and cooperation with NATO, Mr Borrel stated. The upcoming Strategic Compass, “a key deliverable of my mandate”, is sometimes questioned by people who doubt about the need to have “yet another paper”. But this Compass is needed to “give a clear direction to enhance coherence between all these initiatives and strategies” and to develop a common strategic culture on security and defence”. 

But defining goals or shared ambitions is not enough, the Head of Agency pursued: “We also need to follow them through and deliver on them”. Together, the EU's defence instruments set up over the past years (CARD, PESCO, EDF) have a unique potential to help us advance towards a stronger European defence, he said. “What is needed in the future - and there is no better place to state this than at the European Defence Agency - is concrete progress and greater convergence among Member States in three areas: defence investment, defence planning and defence cooperation. This is also the main message that comes out of the first CARD report”. Therefore, “what Europe needs is a more coherent and integrated defence landscape. We need more capable, deployable, interoperable and sustainable military capabilities and forces. To achieve this, we need a drastic change of mindset in the Member States. Cooperation is not always the easiest way, but it is the only and best way to achieve results”, Mr Borrell stressed; adding: “Cooperation must become the default option in Europe”.

The Head of the Agency concluded with a call for urgent action: “I am often told that defence lifecycles are long and that we need strategic patience. This is true, but it should not become an excuse. Let me be blunt: I do not think we have the luxury to take time. We need to think big, be perseverant and action-oriented. We Europeans need to take responsibility for our own future. And the time to do so is now”. 

 

Mircea Geoană: NATO and EU defence are “inextricably linked”

In his keynote speech, Mircea Geoană, NATO’s Deputy Secretary General, said that sustaining European defence is very important for NATO because European defence is “inextricably linked to transatlantic defence”. “In recent years, the level of NATO-EU cooperation has reached unprecedented levels. We are working together on so many issues. From improving military mobility and countering hybrid and cyber threats and countering disinformation together - we have done this during the pandemic very successfully - to coordinating our exercises or improving our strategic communications”, he said.

Stressing that NATO and the EU should work “even closer together”, Mr. Geoana noted that NATO is already delivering on the Emerging and Disruptive Technology Implementation Roadmap that NATO leaders agreed in London, when they last met in December 2019. “I think we can do and should do more when it comes to new technologies and the way in which these technologies are affecting, not only defence and security, but also the way of life. Because the definition of security is becoming far more multifaceted. The line between traditional threats and non-traditional threats is becoming more blurred”, he said.

Highlighting the importance of “a very close and complimentary cooperation between NATO and the EU”, he said that “It is good that EU is becoming more ambitious on defence and security”. He noted that today 80% of defence spending in NATO is done by non-EU countries and that 90% of the population of the EU is also population of NATO countries. “So we are, in a way, obliged to work together”, he said.
 

Commissioner Breton: “Europe needs both soft and hard power”

In his keynote speech (delivered via video message), Thierry Breton, the Commissioner for Internal Market who also oversees the  Directorate-General for Defence Industry and Space (DEFIS), said Europe needed to define its place in the world and take “strategic leadership”. To do that “Europe’s soft-power is not enough”.  “This is why Europe needs to acquire some of the features of ‘hard power’ so that it can defence its vision and interests and become a more credible partner for its allies”, he stressed.

The massive economic recovery package the EU adopted as its answer to the Covid-19 pandemic can also have an impact on Europe’s international position and help it “become more resilient by investing in areas of strategic importance”, the Commissioner said, adding: “To take strategic leadership, and remain able to autonomously analyse, decide and act, we also need to protect autonomously our strategic interests”. 

As regards Europe’s defence, “it is of paramount importance that we collectively invest in defence and secure our supply by protecting our defence value supply chains”, said Mr Breton, underlining that Member States should “spend wiser by spending together”. To sustain European Defence, defence cooperation should become the “new norm”. It is also important to follow an “holistic approach including all relevant actors at EU and national level”, he said.
 

Panel discussion, conversations

Participants at the second day of the Conference also witnessed an interesting and informative high-level panel discussion moderated by EDA Chief Executive Jiří Šedivý and focused on ‘Increasing European defence cooperation in times of crisis’,  featuring the Greek Minister of Defence, Nikólaos Panayotópoulos, and Nathalie Loiseau, the Chair the European Parliament’s SEDE Committee. 

The panel discussion was followed by two particularly informative ‘conversations’ moderated by Dr Florence Gaub (Deputy Director of the EUISS): one with Jean Pierre Van Aubel (EEAS) on the Strategic Compass, and one with EDA Deputy Chief Executive Olli Ruutu on the first Coordinated Annual Review on Defence (CARD) report. 
 

More information:

• Opening speech Head of Agency HR/VP Josep Borrell
• Keynote Speech Commissioner Thierry Breton (via video message)

 

Americas

Lockheed Martin won a $48.7 million contract modification to exercise an option for AEGIS Combat System Engineering Agent efforts for the design, development, integration, test and delivery of Advanced Capability Build 20. The Aegis Combat System is the Navy’s most modern surface combat system. It was designed as a complete system: the missile launching element, the computer programs, the radar and the displays are fully integrated to work together. This makes the Aegis system the first fully integrated combat system built to defend against advanced air and surface threats. The Aegis combat system uses powerful computers and radar to track and guide weapons to destroy enemy targets. Aegis, not an acronym, refers to the shield of the mythical Greek God Zeus. Work will take place in Moorestown, New Jersey, and is expected to be finished by December 2021. Estimated completion will be by December 2021.

The State Department approved a possible Foreign Military Sale to the Government of Brazil of MK 54 Lightweight Torpedoes and related equipment for an estimated cost of $70 million. The Government of Brazil has requested to buy twenty-two (22) MK 54 conversion kits – to convert MK 46 Mod 5 A(S) torpedoes to MK 54 Mod 0 lightweight torpedoes. Also included are torpedo containers, Recoverable Exercise Torpedoes (REXTORP) with containers, Fleet Exercise Section (FES) and fuel tanks, air-launch accessories for rotary-wing, torpedo spare parts, propellant, lanyard start assembly suspensions bands, thermal batteries, training, publications, support, and test equipment. U.S. Government and contractor engineering, technical, and logistics support services, and other related elements of logistics and program support. The Government of Brazil intends to utilize MK 54 Lightweight Torpedoes on its Sikorsky S-70B “Seahawk” aircraft and surface ships. The principal contractor will be Raytheon Integrated Defense System, Portsmouth, RI. There are no known offset agreements proposed in connection with this potential sale.

Middle East & Africa

Moroccan tabloid Al Ahdath Al Maghribia reports that the country will take delivery of the first G550 intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) aircraft early next year. This will be the first of four aircraft that was ordered with Raytheon in 2019. The Gulfstream G-550 business jet is equipped with an Israeli-American made intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) system. The subcontracting has also been entrusted to the Israeli group Elta Systems, a subsidiary of Israel Aerospace Industries, giant of Hebrew state aerospace technology.

Europe

German defense contractor Rheinmetall on Wednesday announced the sale of MK-82-EP general purpose aircraft-dropped bombs to France and Germany. The order, for about 2,000 bombs, totals $42.3 million, Rheinmetall said. The 500-pound bomb bodies will be used by France’s Mirage 2000 and Rafale fighter planes, the Direction General de l’Armament said, and as the warhead of the GBU-54 Laser Joint Direct Attack Munition system for Germany’s Tornado and Eurofighter platforms. The upgraded bomb, designed by General Dynamics, is regarded as a free-fall, standard bomb, although it can be fitted with laser guidance and other improvements.

Asia-Pacific

The US State Department has made a determination approving a possible Foreign Military Sale to the Republic of Korea of two (2) MK 15 MOD 25 Phalanx Close-In Weapons System (CIWS) Block 1B Baseline 2 (IB2) systems and related equipment for an estimated cost of $39 million. The Republic of Korea has requested to buy two (2) MK 15 MOD 25 Phalanx Close-In Weapons System (CIWS) Block 1B Baseline 2 (IB2) systems; and four thousand (4,000) rounds, 20MM cartridge API linked. Also included are spare parts; other support equipment; ammunition; books and other publications; software; training; engineering technical assistance and other technical assistance; and other related elements of the program and logistical support. The estimated total cost is $39 million. The proposed sale will improve the Republic of Korea’s capability to meet current and future threats. Korea will use the systems aboard its first KDX III Batch II Class destroyer to provide it with effective means of detecting and defending itself against incoming airborne threats. The Republic of Korea will have no difficulty absorbing this equipment into its armed forces.

CNN Philippines reports that Manila has decided to postpone the purchase of BrahMos missiles from India due to lack of funds. The government is putting on hold plans to purchase the country’s first cruise missile system from an Indian-Russian joint venture. This was supposed to be part of the military’s long-term modernization program to boost the country’s defense capabilities. BrahMos is a supersonic cruise missile, which can fly at three times the speed of sound (2.8 Mach). It can be used for both coastal defense and ground attack.

Today’s Video

Watch: C-RAM • MK 15 Phalanx Close-In Weapons System (CIWS)

The European Defence Agency’s Annual Conference 2020 entitled 'Sustaining European Defence’ was opened this morning by EDA Chief Executive Jiří Šedivý. As exceptional circumstances (Covid pandemic) require exceptional measures, this year’s conference is held in online format with a very broad audience representing the whole European defence spectrum (governments, armed forces, industry, EU institutions, NATO, think tanks and media) connected remotely to listen to speeches and panel discussions and also actively take part in debates through interactive Q&A sessions. 

The conference is split in two parts: while the first one, held this morning, primarily dealt with operational and industrial aspects, the second part tomorrow (4 December) will focus on political and strategic questions. Among the speakers will be, inter alia, the Head of the Agency, High Representative Josep Borrell, NATO Deputy Secretary General Mircea Geoană and European Commissioner Thierry Breton.
 

"We need more cooperation in defence"

In his welcome, EDA Chief Jiří Šedivý said the conference, at the end of a particularly challenging year, was coming at the “right moment” as the Covid-19 crisis had not only revealed risks and vulnerabilities but also the clear necessity to further enhance security and defence cooperation to make Europe stronger in the future. Since the required cooperation tools are already all in place (CARD, PESCO and the precursor programmes of the European Defence Fund), they should now be used to the fullest extent, Mr Šedivý stressed. The message of the first CARD report presented by EDA to Defence Ministers two weeks ago could not have been clearer: “We need more cooperation in defence. And we need the political will and the urgency” to turn Europe into a more credible and more autonomous security provider, as pledged in the EU Global Strategy in 2016. So far, most Member States have not yet made full use of the common instruments which explains why the European capability landscape continues to suffer from fragmentation, duplication and insufficient operational engagement. These findings, clearly confirmed by the CARD findings, “are not new. What is new is the method how we retrieved them. Today we have clear evidence. And we should use it to change our approach towards European defence”, Mr Šedivý urged.
 

German EU Presidency

In his Presidency speech, German Defence State Secretary Benedikt Zimmer recalled the main defence-related objective of the ongoing German EU Presidency: “Strengthening the EU in the area of security and defence”. In the current Coivid-19 crisis, “we need, more than ever, stand together in the EU, unified by a clear vision regarding our values, interests and ambitions. Our citizens expect a strong EU. An EU that protects and defends them in the face of any current and future crisis”, he said. Despite some progress in deepening the EU´s CSDP over the past years, “the ongoing crisis has revealed not only strengths but also weaknesses in our system”. Hence the need for Europe to focus on two core issues. “First, the EU needs the capacity to provide support and assist in the direct and immediate management of the crisis. Second, in the long run, we have to be able to act in order to position ourselves in a post-COVID-19 order, especially in the domain of security and defence”, in close cooperation with NATO “which remains the cornerstone of collective defence in Europe”, Mr Zimmer said. Member States need to be clear about their intentions and objectives; hence the importance of the ongoing work on the EU’s Strategic Compass which “will help us to plan better and to act more decisively in the future, if and when European action is required. This will also provide more transparency for our partners”. As regards the more urgent challenge to respond to the current Covid crisis, Mr Zimmer expressed the hope that the ongoing PESCO project European Medical Command (EMC) will lead to “higher resilience and closer cooperation among the Armed Forces of the EU Member States”. The EMC will also be closely linked with NATO’s Multinational Medical Coordination Centre (MMCC) and thus creates vivid and much-needed close cooperation between NATO and the EU, he insisted. “The current COVID-19 pandemic may only be one of several crises throughout the 21st century, but it emphasizes the necessity to develop a EU that is more resilient and able to act towards a variety of different challenges. This will require more cooperation and coordination between all EU Member States. Important is also close coordination between the EU and its partners, especially the cooperation with NATO”, Mr Zimmer concluded. 
 

Military viewpoint

Presenting the operational military viewpoint, the Chairman of the EU Military Committee (EUMC), General Claudio Graziano, stressed the importance of having the end-user’s view, the one of the Armed Forces operating on the ground, well integrated into the EU’s overall efforts to move towards a more homogeneous and interoperable defence landscape. “We all know that the end-user, by definition, is the ultimate consumer of a final product, which in case of the military domain, can be a weapon, a system, or even a policy. But the role of the end user goes further than this. Military inputs and expertise coming from the field represent an essential factor for the best definition of the product itself, optimizing the outcome of the whole manufacture chain. In other words, it should be the militaries to drive the changes, asking for the capabilities they need to accomplish their tasks, which, in the case of the EU, means to fulfil the Level of Ambition defined at political level, being able to defend Europe interests and citizens”, he said. All recently launched EU Defence initiatives (CARD, PESCO, EDF) go into the right direction, also because they have integrated the end-user perspective, General Graziano stressed: “All these efforts will have to monitor closely the geopolitical trends as well as the new threats, compelling us to continuously improve our military tools, if we are to succeed against our adversaries, in whatever nature they will challenge us: traditional, hybrid, cyber or - probably - a combination of all these dimensions”. 
 

Panel discussions

The first half day of the Conference was also marked by two lively and interesting panel discussions:

• The first one, moderated by Dr Daniela Schwarzer (Director at the German Council on Foreign Relations) focused on ‘Delivering on military effectiveness: from priorities to implementation’ and featured the following panelists: Jukka Juusti (Permanent Secretary, at the Finnish Ministry of Defence),  Admiral Michel Hofman (Chief of Defence of Belgium) and Vice-Admiral Hervé Bléjean (Director General of the EU Military Staff):
• The second one, moderated by EDA’s Pieter Taal (Head of Unit Industry Strategy and EU Policies) dealt with the  impact of COVID-19 on defence and the question: ‘How does the EU defence industry adapt to a new normal?’ This panel was composed by Dr Lucie Béraud-Sudreau (Director of the Arms and Military Expenditure Programme, SIPRI), Lauri Almann (Co-Founder, Member of the Executive Board, CybExer Technologies) and Giovanni Soccodato, (Chief Strategic Equity Officer, Leonardo).
   

EDA Defence Innovation Prize

Today’s session also saw EDA’s Deputy Chief Executive Olli Ruutu hand over this year’s EDA Defence Innovation Prize to the owners of the two winning projects: the Centro Italiano Ricerche Aerospaziali (CIRA) one the one hand, and Rantelon and Tampere University, on the other hand. More details on the Innovation Prize ceremony are available in this specific webnews.

 

The European Defence Agency’s Annual Conference 2020 entitled 'Sustaining European Defence’ was opened this morning by EDA Chief Executive Jiří Šedivý. As exceptional circumstances (Covid pandemic) require exceptional measures, this year’s conference is held in online format with a very broad audience representing the whole European defence spectrum (governments, armed forces, industry, EU institutions, NATO, think tanks and media) connected remotely to listen to speeches and panel discussions and also actively take part in debates through interactive Q&A sessions. 

The conference is split in two parts: while the first one, held this morning, primarily dealt with operational and industrial aspects, the second part tomorrow (4 December) will focus on political and strategic questions.
 

"We need more cooperation in defence"

In his welcome, EDA Chief Jiří Šedivý said the conference, at the end of a particularly challenging year, was coming at the “right moment” as the Covid-19 crisis had not only revealed risks and vulnerabilities but also the clear necessity to further enhance security and defence cooperation to make Europe stronger in the future. Since the required cooperation tools are already all in place (CARD, PESCO and the precursor programmes of the European Defence Fund), they should now be used to the fullest extent, Mr Šedivý stressed. The message of the first CARD report presented by EDA to Defence Ministers two weeks ago could not have been clearer: “We need more cooperation in defence. And we need the political will and the urgency” to turn Europe into a more credible and more autonomous security provider, as pledged in the EU Global Strategy in 2016. So far, most Member States have not yet made full use of the common instruments which explains why the European capability landscape continues to suffer from fragmentation, duplication and insufficient operational engagement. These findings, clearly confirmed by the CARD findings, “are not new. What is new is the method how we retrieved them. Today we have clear evidence. And we should use it to change our approach towards European defence”, Mr Šedivý urged.
 

German EU Presidency

In his Presidency speech, German Defence State Secretary Benedikt Zimmer recalled the main defence-related objective of the ongoing German EU Presidency: “Strengthening the EU in the area of security and defence”. In the current Coivid-19 crisis, “we need, more than ever, stand together in the EU, unified by a clear vision regarding our values, interests and ambitions. Our citizens expect a strong EU. An EU that protects and defends them in the face of any current and future crisis”, he said. Despite some progress in deepening the EU´s CSDP over the past years, “the ongoing crisis has revealed not only strengths but also weaknesses in our system”. Hence the need for Europe to focus on two core issues. “First, the EU needs the capacity to provide support and assist in the direct and immediate management of the crisis. Second, in the long run, we have to be able to act in order to position ourselves in a post-COVID-19 order, especially in the domain of security and defence”, in close cooperation with NATO “which remains the cornerstone of collective defence in Europe”, Mr Zimmer said. Member States need to be clear about their intentions and objectives; hence the importance of the ongoing work on the EU’s Strategic Compass which “will help us to plan better and to act more decisively in the future, if and when European action is required. This will also provide more transparency for our partners”. As regards the more urgent challenge to respond to the current Covid crisis, Mr Zimmer expressed the hope that the ongoing PESCO project European Medical Command (EMC) will lead to “higher resilience and closer cooperation among the Armed Forces of the EU Member States”. The EMC will also be closely linked with NATO’s Multinational Medical Coordination Centre (MMCC) and thus creates vivid and much-needed close cooperation between NATO and the EU, he insisted. “The current COVID-19 pandemic may only be one of several crises throughout the 21st century, but it emphasizes the necessity to develop a EU that is more resilient and able to act towards a variety of different challenges. This will require more cooperation and coordination between all EU Member States. Important is also close coordination between the EU and its partners, especially the cooperation with NATO”, Mr Zimmer concluded. 
 

Military viewpoint

Presenting the operational military viewpoint, the Chairman of the EU Military Committee (EUMC), General Claudio Graziano, stressed the importance of having the end-user’s view, the one of the Armed Forces operating on the ground, well integrated into the EU’s overall efforts to move towards a more homogeneous and interoperable defence landscape. “We all know that the end-user, by definition, is the ultimate consumer of a final product, which in case of the military domain, can be a weapon, a system, or even a policy. But the role of the end user goes further than this. Military inputs and expertise coming from the field represent an essential factor for the best definition of the product itself, optimizing the outcome of the whole manufacture chain. In other words, it should be the militaries to drive the changes, asking for the capabilities they need to accomplish their tasks, which, in the case of the EU, means to fulfil the Level of Ambition defined at political level, being able to defend Europe interests and citizens”, he said. All recently launched EU Defence initiatives (CARD, PESCO, EDF) go into the right direction, also because they have integrated the end-user perspective, General Graziano stressed: “All these efforts will have to monitor closely the geopolitical trends as well as the new threats, compelling us to continuously improve our military tools, if we are to succeed against our adversaries, in whatever nature they will challenge us: traditional, hybrid, cyber or - probably - a combination of all these dimensions”. 
 

Panel discussions

The first half day of the Conference was also marked by two lively and interesting panel discussions:

• The first one, moderated by Dr Daniela Schwarzer (Director at the German Council on Foreign Relations) focused on ‘Delivering on military effectiveness: from priorities to implementation’ and featured the following panelists: Jukka Juusti (Permanent Secretary, at the Finnish Ministry of Defence),  Admiral Michel Hofman (Chief of Defence of Belgium) and Vice-Admiral Hervé Bléjean (Director General of the EU Military Staff):
• The second one, moderated by EDA’s Pieter Taal (Head of Unit Industry Strategy and EU Policies) dealt with the  impact of COVID-19 on defence and the question: ‘How does the EU defence industry adapt to a new normal?’ This panel was composed by Dr Lucie Béraud-Sudreau (Director of the Arms and Military Expenditure Programme, SIPRI), Lauri Almann (Co-Founder, Member of the Executive Board, CybExer Technologies) and Giovanni Soccodato, (Chief Strategic Equity Officer, Leonardo).
   

EDA Defence Innovation Prize

Today’s session also saw EDA’s Deputy Chief Executive Olli Ruutu hand over this year’s EDA Defence Innovation Prize to the owners of the two winning projects: the Centro Italiano Ricerche Aerospaziali (CIRA) one the one hand, and Rantelon and Tampere University, on the other hand. More details on the Innovation Prize ceremony are available in this specific webnews.

EDA today announced the two winners of the 2020 EDA Defence Innovation Prize. Launched in March, this year’s contest looked for the most innovative ideas, technologies and solutions for the countering of swarms of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), in particular to protect land facilities and platforms. After a thorough assessment of all applications received, the jury decided to announce two winners, each of whom is rewarded with €30,000. 
 

SWADAR  

The first of the two winning projects is called SWADAR (SWarm ADvanced Detection And TRacking) and was proposed by the Centro Italiano Ricerche Aerospaziali (CIRA) based in Capua, Italy.  

SWADAR proposes a technological solution for drone-swarm tracking to provide the operational picture of swarm attacks. It uses a defensive team of drones, which tracks the hostile swarm from different perspectives. Defensive drones are equipped with proximal sensors to achieve the required resolution and sensitivity. A coordination mechanism and an ad-hoc network ensure the cooperation of the defensive team to maintain optimal performance for tracking. A fusion of the drones’ views is also performed to provide the operator with the common operational picture and to assess swarming metrics, which are key indicators to establish the most effective counter-actions and to possibly automate the decision-making of mitigations. Moreover, the tracking solution is extended with the automated recognition of the swarm-attack scenario and with the learning of new swarming behaviours. This guarantees the adaptability of the system in face of evolving attacks. 
 

Full-Duplex Radio Technology for Enhanced Defence Capabilities Against Drone Swarms 

The second winning project is called ‘Full-Duplex Radio Technology for Enhanced Defence Capabilities Against Drone Swarms’ and was presented by Rantelon, an Estonian small to medium-sized company, in cooperation with Tampere University, Finland. 

The core innovation of reaching full duplex capability should allow to simultaneously recon drones via their Radio Frequency (RF) signals and to neutralise them, e.g. via jamming, contributing to an enhanced situational awareness, improved neutralisation performance, multifunction capabilities, and minimised collateral damage.  The proposed solution would bring detection and countermeasures, such as jamming and spoofing, to a higher level because it will allow the execution of both tasks simultaneously, what is not possible currently. Considering that the technological concept is already verified and experimental proofs-of-concept have been reported, it is possible to assume that this very relevant technology can be translated in enhanced security and defence capabilities by 2030.  The technology has a high potential to create excellent dual-use synergies and to capture the attention of key players in the defence field to form valuable partnerships with non-traditional defence R&T communities and innovators for both defence and civil applications. The idea was considered by the jury as coherent and very likely to be feasible as proposed, given that the higher demand of power can be solved and expanded frequencies can be addressed.  
 

Strategic importance of counter-UAV capabilities 

“The fact that this year’s contest was focused on innovations related to countering UAVs reflects the strategic importance of drones and the threat they represent for modern air defence systems, especially when used in large swarms coordinated by Artificial Intelligence supported platforms”, said EDA Deputy Chief Executive Olli Ruutu when symbolically handing over the prize to the two winners at EDA’s virtual Annual Conference 2020 which opened today (see other news). Counter-UAV capabilities are therefore not only part of the revised European Defence Capability Development Priorities adopted in 2018, but also of the six focus areas for potential future cooperation identified in the recent first Coordinated Annual Review on Defence (CARD), Mr Ruutu stressed. 
 

About the winners 

CIRA (Italian Aerospace Research Centre) is a company mainly in public ownership created in 1984. The Centre was founded with the aim of performing and promoting research and technological development in the fields of space and aeronautics and enabling Italian enterprises to compete on the international markets. CIRA has the biggest research facilities in the field of aerospace in Italy, with cutting-edge testing facilities and state-of-the-art laboratories. 

Rantelon is an Estonian company specialised in developing and producing radio frequency (RF) electronics, including low level components and integrated systems, for a range of applications. The company provides solutions from civilian cellular and public safety networks to various signals intelligence and effector capabilities for the defence sector. 

Tampere University participated the winning project with assistant professor Taneli Riihonen’s team in the Unit of Electrical Engineering. They are currently pursuing research on full-duplex counter-drone and radio shield technologies with support from the Finnish Scientific Advisory Board for Defence and the Academy of Finland. 
 

About the EDA Defence Innovation Prize 

The award, organised by EDA since 2018, aims to stimulate defence technological innovation in Europe, in particular by reaching out to non-defence R&T communities and innovators set to play an ever-bigger role in developing and producing Europe’s future defence capabilities. It is also meant to provide non-traditional defence stakeholders (civil industries, SMEs, research organisations, universities, etc.) with an opportunity to showcase their know-how in domains relevant for defence, maximize dual-use synergies and engage in partnerships with the defence sector. 

EDA today announced the two winners of the 2020 EDA Defence Innovation Prize. Launched in March, this year’s contest looked for the most innovative ideas, technologies and solutions for the countering of swarms of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), in particular to protect land facilities and platforms. After a thorough assessment of all applications received, the jury decided to announce two winners, each of whom is rewarded with €30,000. 
 

SWADAR  

The first of the two winning projects is called SWADAR (SWarm ADvanced Detection And TRacking) and was proposed by the Centro Italiano Ricerche Aerospaziali (CIRA) based in Capua, Italy.  

SWADAR proposes a technological solution for drone-swarm tracking to provide the operational picture of swarm attacks. It uses a defensive team of drones, which tracks the hostile swarm from different perspectives. Defensive drones are equipped with proximal sensors to achieve the required resolution and sensitivity. A coordination mechanism and an ad-hoc network ensure the cooperation of the defensive team to maintain optimal performance for tracking. A fusion of the drones’ views is also performed to provide the operator with the common operational picture and to assess swarming metrics, which are key indicators to establish the most effective counter-actions and to possibly automate the decision-making of mitigations. Moreover, the tracking solution is extended with the automated recognition of the swarm-attack scenario and with the learning of new swarming behaviours. This guarantees the adaptability of the system in face of evolving attacks. 
 

Full-Duplex Radio Technology for Enhanced Defence Capabilities Against Drone Swarms 

The second winning project is called ‘Full-Duplex Radio Technology for Enhanced Defence Capabilities Against Drone Swarms’ and was presented by Rantelon, an Estonian small to medium-sized company, in cooperation with Tampere University, Finland. 

The core innovation of reaching full duplex capability should allow to simultaneously recon drones via their Radio Frequency (RF) signals and to neutralise them, e.g. via jamming, contributing to an enhanced situational awareness, improved neutralisation performance, multifunction capabilities, and minimised collateral damage.  The proposed solution would bring detection and countermeasures, such as jamming and spoofing, to a higher level because it will allow the execution of both tasks simultaneously, what is not possible currently. Considering that the technological concept is already verified and experimental proofs-of-concept have been reported, it is possible to assume that this very relevant technology can be translated in enhanced security and defence capabilities by 2030.  The technology has a high potential to create excellent dual-use synergies and to capture the attention of key players in the defence field to form valuable partnerships with non-traditional defence R&T communities and innovators for both defence and civil applications. The idea was considered by the jury as coherent and very likely to be feasible as proposed, given that the higher demand of power can be solved and expanded frequencies can be addressed.  
 

Strategic importance of counter-UAV capabilities 

“The fact that this year’s contest was focused on innovations related to countering UAVs reflects the strategic importance of drones and the threat they represent for modern air defence systems, especially when used in large swarms coordinated by Artificial Intelligence supported platforms”, said EDA Deputy Chief Executive Olli Ruutu when symbolically handing over the prize to the two winners at EDA’s virtual Annual Conference 2020 which opened today (see other news). Counter-UAV capabilities are therefore not only part of the revised European Defence Capability Development Priorities adopted in 2018, but also of the six focus areas for potential future cooperation identified in the recent first Coordinated Annual Review on Defence (CARD), Mr Ruutu stressed. 
 

About the winners 

CIRA (Italian Aerospace Research Centre) is a company mainly in public ownership created in 1984. The Centre was founded with the aim of performing and promoting research and technological development in the fields of space and aeronautics and enabling Italian enterprises to compete on the international markets. CIRA has the biggest research facilities in the field of aerospace in Italy, with cutting-edge testing facilities and state-of-the-art laboratories. 

Rantelon is an Estonian company specialised in developing and producing radio frequency (RF) electronics, including low level components and integrated systems, for a range of applications. The company provides solutions from civilian cellular and public safety networks to various signals intelligence and effector capabilities for the defence sector. 

Tampere University participated the winning project with assistant professor Taneli Riihonen’s team in the Unit of Electrical Engineering. They are currently pursuing research on full-duplex counter-drone and radio shield technologies with support from the Finnish Scientific Advisory Board for Defence and the Academy of Finland. 
 

About the EDA Defence Innovation Prize 

The award, organised by EDA since 2018, aims to stimulate defence technological innovation in Europe, in particular by reaching out to non-defence R&T communities and innovators set to play an ever-bigger role in developing and producing Europe’s future defence capabilities. It is also meant to provide non-traditional defence stakeholders (civil industries, SMEs, research organisations, universities, etc.) with an opportunity to showcase their know-how in domains relevant for defence, maximize dual-use synergies and engage in partnerships with the defence sector. 
 

More information 

More details on both projects can be read in the latest issue of EDA’s biannual European Defence Matters magazine which is available here. 

Americas

Raytheon won a $235.6 million deal for the production and delivery of the Silent Knight Radar in support of US Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) requirements. The Silent Knight radar is designed to be outfitted on the MH-47G Chinook and MH-60M Blackhawk helicopters, MC-130 transports and CV-22 Osprey tilt-rotor aircraft. The Silent Knight is built for safe navigation through low altitudes at night or in bad weather. In June 2019 Raytheon was awarded a $96.6 million contract for the initial production of the Silent Knight system for Special Operations Command. Work will take place in McKinney and Forest, Mississippi. Estimated completion will be by July 2025.

Canada will receive new equipment for its Royal Canadian Air Force C-17 transport planes, the US government announced. The DoS approved the upcoming sale that is estimated to cost $275 million and the US Congress has been notified of the proposed deal. The Canadian government “has requested to buy C-17 sustainment support to include aircraft hardware and software modification and support; software delivery and support; ground handling equipment; component, parts and accessories; GPS receivers; alternative mission equipment; publications and technical documentation; contractor logistics support and Globemaster III Sustainment Program participation”, according to the US announcement. The deal will also include US government and contractor engineering, technical, and logistical support services; and related elements of program and logistical support.

Middle East & Africa

Kellogg Brown and Root Services won a $28.3 million contract modification for the incorporation of additional services for Option Periods Three through Seven under the base operating service contract at Naval Support Activity (NSA) Kingdom of Bahrain. The work to be performed provides for, but is not limited to, all management, supervision, tools, materials, supplies, labor and transportation services necessary to perform security operations, galley services, unaccompanied housing, facility management, emergency service requests, urgent service, routing service, facilities investment, custodial, pest control service, integrated solid waste, grounds maintenance, utility management, wastewater, operate reverse osmosis water treatment system, chiller and transportation, at NSA Kingdom of Bahrain. Work will take place in Bahrain. Performance period is December 1, 2020, to November 30, 2021.

Europe

US Ambassador to Athens Geoffrey Pyatt has confirmed Greece’s intention to buy F-35s. Pyatt says the US government welcomes the decision by Athens “at the highest levels” and will support the aquisition. “We have signaled our support for procurement and are working closely together on a future acquisition program, which would enhance Greece’s defense capabilities, ensure interoperability with US Armed Forces and improve regional stability.  All reports to the contrary are false and misrepresentations of US policy“, Pyatt said in a statement. Although some in Greek media claimed that the US was reversing its decision in procuring the F-35 fighter jet, the American ambassador ensured that these reports are false. “We take great pride in our defense and security partnership with Greece and work daily to advance that from strength to strength, including through Greece’s future acquisition of the F-35,” Pyatt said.

General Atomics has delivered the final two MQ-9A Block 5 UAVs ordered by the Spanish Air Force. The delivery took place on November 23 and includes a ground control station. The new MQ-9s will be operated by the 233rd Squadron at Talavera la Real Air Base near Badajoz, Spain. Besides being the first for the issuance of the Airworthiness Military Type Certificate, Spain’s program represents the first MQ-9A Block 5 acquisition by an international partner. Other milestones for the program have included the SpAF taking initial delivery of its MQ-9A Block 5 aircraft at the end of 2019 and launching its first flight in January 2020. The 233rd Squadron has flown nearly 300 hours with its MQ-9A Block 5 aircraft and is steadily building the expertise of its crewmembers and maintainers as the SpAF moves towards declaring the Initial Operational Capability for the system.

Asia-Pacific

Lockheed Martin won a $12.4 million contract modification, which adds scope to provide non-recurring engineering and obsolescence services in support of the Airborne Low Frequency Sonars integration into MH-60R production aircraft for the governments of India and Denmark. The MH-60 R integrates advanced mission systems and sensors developed by Lockheed Martin Mission Systems and Training (MST). The helicopter is intended to carry out a range of missions, including anti-submarine warfare (ASW), anti-surface warfare (ASuW), surveillance, communications relay, search and rescue (SAR), naval gunfire support (NGFS), personnel transport, vertical replenishment (VERTREP) and logistics support. It can be launched from aircraft carriers, destroyers, cruise ships, frigates and amphibious ships.

Today’s Video

Watch: Just How Big is America’s C-17 Globemaster III

The Agency’s latest European Defence Matters magazine (N°20) is now online with the main spotlight put on the EU’s first Coordinated Annual Review on Defence (CARD), steered by EDA as the CARD penholder, for which the final report was presented to Defence Ministers on 20 November. A crucial piece of work in the overall effort to move towards more synergies and increased coherence between Member States´ defence planning, spending and capability development through cooperation, the CARD certainly deserved the magazine’s cover story!

We analyse the key CARD findings and recommendations and take Member States’ pulse on the potential take-up of the collaborative opportunities identified by the CARD. We also look at the increasing number of PESCO projects whose implementation benefit from EDA support; also a reminder that the CARD is not an end in itself but a pathfinder towards new collaborative projects which must eventually lead to joint defence capabilities.

Readers of our magazine will also hear from the German EU Presidency’s defence & security priorities and get an insight into the ongoing work on the EU’s Strategic Compass. 

Furthermore, we shed light on the Commission’s new Incubation Forum on Circular Economy in European Defence as well as on EDA’s cooperation with the EU Satellite Center.

Finally, we present the winning projects of the 2020 EDA Defence Innovation Prize and assess at the prospects of EU defence beyond 2030. 

Have a look immediately and enjoy your reading!

The magazine is available here.