The U.S. Army has reported successful trials of a troop-portable electronic jammer developed by Mastodon Design, a New York subsidiary of Virginia-based CACI International through a $1.5 million prototyping contract using the company’s electronic-warfare products for vehicle installations. [node:read-more:link]
The U.S. Defense Department says Pratt & Whitney will remain the sole source for upgrades of its engines in Lockheed Martin F-35 fighter. It follows the award in July of a $66-million contract with the RTX subsidiary to support fleetwide engine modernization efforts. [node:read-more:link]
Diehl Defence of Germany has signed a contract valued at some €600 million to supply Latvia with IRIS-T medium-range air defense systems. Diehl said December 4 that the deal under a framework agreement with Estonia as well as Latvia in September is the Baltic NATO ally’s “biggest defense investment since its independence more than 30 years ago.” [node:read-more:link]
South Korea will join Austria, the Czech Republic, Hungary, the Netherlands and Portugal in ordering the Embraer C-390 Millenium medium-sized twin-jet transport for its air force. While neither the number of aircraft nor the contract value have been disclosed, the order includes spares, service and support, training and ground support equipment. [node:read-more:link]
The U.S. Air Force project to replace its four E-4B Nightwatch aircraft at a cost of at least $8 billion now has only bidder still in the running. Disagreements over data rights and contract terms mean Boeing is no longer being considered to replace its militarized 747-based “Doomsday” platforms, leaving it to a Sierra Nevada Corporation-Collins Aerospace partnership. [node:read-more:link]
The Defense Department is warning that U.S. industry is struggling to stay ahead of competitors such as China in the high technology arms race. “It does not possess the capacity, capability, responsiveness, or resilience required to satisfy the full range of military production needs at speed and scale,” the DoD says in the document dated November 27. “Just as significantly, the traditional defense contractors […] would be challenged to respond to modern conflict at the velocity, scale, and flexibility necessary to meet the dynamic requirements of a major modern conflict.” [node:read-more:link]
NATO and EU member Estonia’s undersecretary for defence policy worries that some European states’ internal politics threaten commitments to supply Ukraine with more howitzer ammunition. “We are constantly pushing different nations to not give up because the timeline of deliveries is next March,” Tuuli Duneton says. “I wouldn’t say I am entirely pessimistic […] but lot remains to be done.” [node:read-more:link]
Belgian Defence Minister Ludivine Dedonder has disclosed that her country plans to join France, Germany and Spain next July in developing a six-generation fighter through their Future Combat Air System project. Until then, Belgium will have observer status as of January. [node:read-more:link]
The federal government confirmed today that it plans to procure at least 14 Boeing P-8A Poseidon surveillance aircraft to replace its Lockheed CP140s through a government-to-government agreement with the U.S. The CP-140s are a 1950s design which entered service with the RCAF in 1982 and is now scheduled for retirement in 2030. The RCAF has consistently defended the Boeing platform as the only currently available option with delivery expected to start in 2026. [node:read-more:link]
A U.S. commission created in October 2000 to scrutinize economic and security relations with China is urging a more cohesive approach to curbing the outflow of dual-use technology that can be readily transferred by commercial importers to the military. [node:read-more:link]
Florida-based L3Harris Technologies, which has a long-standing relationship supplying surveillance technology to the Canadian military, announced November 27 that it will sell its commercial aviation business to a New York private-equity firm. Contingent on regulatory approval, it would enable the company to focus more on national security and technology while paying down debt. [node:read-more:link]
A year into efforts to boost production of 155mm artillery rounds for Ukraine, the U.S. and EU states are seeing radically different results. U.S. output has increased faster than forecast while European output has been slowed by the consensus-focused nature of NATO and the EU. [node:read-more:link]
Stalled talks between Lockheed Martin and the U.S. Department of Defense about a new F-35 sustainment program have prompted the DoD to consider a temporary fix through to at least the end of 2024. “That’s just to ensure that we have the necessary framework and support in place to sustain currently fielded F-35s and operations globally,” says Assistant Secretary of Defense Christopher Lowman. [node:read-more:link]
The U.S. State Department has approved a potential $2.4-billion sale to Japan of 400 RTX Tomahawk cruise missiles and associated systems and training. The department said today that Tomahawks, which can strike targets at a published 1,600 kilometres, have “significant standoff range that can neutralize growing threats.” [node:read-more:link]
Complaints by EU officials earlier this week that their industries had fallen short on munitions for Ukraine have been rebuffed by the Aerospace, Security & Defence Industries Association of Europe. “The double challenge for industry today – after decades-long underinvestment and the subsequent reduction of manufacturing capacities – is to ramp up production both to support Ukraine and to replenish and reinforce the stocks of armed forces in Europe (ammunition is only one element),” it said. “It is a complex process that requires meticulous long-term planning.” [node:read-more:link]
