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EUROPE
LAND
31 May 24. Bittium has received a purchase order from the Finnish Defence Forces for system support for the software-defined radio based Bittium Tactical Wireless IP Network™ (TAC WIN) system and Bittium Tough VoIP™ communication system. Both systems are meant for tactical communications. The purchase order applies to the year 2024 and includes technical support for the systems and related equipment, software support, maintaining readiness for system support, and system support management. The value of the purchase order is approximately EUR2m. Bittium TAC WIN system forms a broadband backbone network on the battlefield and the Bittium Tough VoIP system enables voice and data transfer in the tactical network. The systems support the combat doctrine of the Finnish Defence Forces where mobility, leading the troops on the move, and effective communications play a key role. The resilient and modular systems are used by all troops of the Finnish Defence Forces. Bittium Tactical Wireless IP Network (TAC WIN) is a software-defined radio (SDR) based wireless broadband network system intended for military and public safety use. With the system, MANET (mobile ad hoc network), link, and connection networks can be formed into one logical IP network quickly, no matter what the location is. Bittium TAC WIN is compatible with existing fixed and wireless network infrastructures. The core of the system is a tactical router that enables users to freely form both wired and wireless broadband data transfer IP connections. The tactical router also enables connections to different types of terminals and other communication systems in order to connect them into a single communication network. In addition to the router, the system comprises three types of radio heads, and each radio head covers its own frequency band area and can be used for flexible formation of optimized network topologies for different communication needs. All the products of the system are designed for harsh conditions, and thanks to the system’s automated functions, the implementation of the system can be done quickly. Due to the software-based functionality of the Bittium TAC WIN system, it can be easily updated with additional performance, which allows it to be developed and maintained cost-efficiently throughout the whole lifespan of the system.
04 Jun 24. Türkiye signed a contract on the serial production of the Altay main battle tank (MBT), the Turkish Defence Industry Agency (SSB) announced on 29 May. The agency said on its website that the Altay project would meet the modern tank requirements of the Turkish Land Forces and would acquire technology for the design, production, and testing of tanks and their subsystems in Türkiye. The SSB set out the scope of the project – establishment of a serial production line, the supply of subsystems for the tank and domestic development of those of foreign origin, development of parts that are different from those of the tanks produced during the initial period, preparations for the production of the first tanks, and supply of the powerpack. The Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) received their first two Altay MBTs for testing from domestic manufacturer BMC in April 2023. Altay is armed with a 120 mm L/55 smoothbore gun and 7.62 mm co-axial machine gun and can carry 40 120 mm rounds. The tanks feature a new active protection system, an improved armour system, a renewed fire-control system and vehicle control system, and other localised subsystems. BMC unveiled the new Altay with Aselsan’s Örümcek 360° situational awareness system in March 2023. The tanks delivered were powered by South Korean engines. (Source: Janes)
SEA
03 Jun 24. Terma, a global leading provider of radar systems, announced a significant contract to supply four SCANTER 6002 naval surveillance radars for the 2 Belgian and 2 Netherlands Navy Anti-Submarine Warfare frigates. This milestone contract underscores Terma’s position as a trusted partner in delivering cutting-edge radar solutions to enhance maritime security and surveillance capabilities. Damen Naval, responsible for constructing the frigates and main contractor with the NL MOD/NAVY, will manage the integration of the SCANTER 6002 radars onto the vessels, while RH Marine, serving as system integrator, will work closely with Terma to guarantee the smooth integration and peak performance of the radar systems. The SCANTER 6002 naval surveillance radar is an International Maritime Organization (IMO) approved product, renowned for its advanced features and superior performance. Equipped with X-band technology, multi-frequency capabilities, and state-of-the-art small target detection algorithms, these radars excel even in adverse weather conditions, providing unmatched reliability and accuracy for naval surveillance operations.
AIR
06 Jun 24. The German Ministry of the Interior has ordered up to 44 H225 helicopters for its Federal Police. This record order for the H225 includes 38 firm orders with options for a further six helicopters. Its payload, range and advanced systems make it a versatile aircraft capable of conducting a large array of law enforcement and homeland security missions ranging from special forces transport to firefighting and disaster relief. Deliveries are scheduled to start in 2029.
05 Jun 24. Germany will buy 20 additional Eurofighter jets from Airbus (AIR.PA), Chancellor Olaf Scholz said on Wednesday, as the NATO member spends more on defence in the wake of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Scholz, speaking at the opening of the ILA air show just outside Berlin, said he was strongly committed to maintaining and expanding arms production capacity. Germany’s air force wants to replace its aging Tornado jets with the Eurofighter, known as Typhoon in Britain. It currently operates 138 Eurofighters, according to its website. (Source: Defense News Early Bird/Reuters)
05 Jun 24. Sensor solutions provider HENSOLDT is once again equipping helicopters of the Ukrainian armed forces with state-of-the-art detection and self-protection sensors. The order includes further AMPS (Airborne Missile Protection System) self-protection solutions. The order value is in the double-digit m range. With this delivery, HENSOLDT is providing the Ukrainian armed forces with modern equipment required by current events. HENSOLDT delivered 16 AMPS self-protection solutions to the Ukrainian armed forces for the first time in June last year. The Airborne Missile Protection System is a flexible, stand-alone self-protection solution for helicopters and aeroplanes. Thanks to its modular design, AMPS can be easily configured to meet specific operational requirements and for different mission profiles. AMPS components are the Missile Launch Detection Sensor (MILDS), an AMPS Control and Display Unit (ACDU) and the active confirmation system (MACS), which determines the distance and speed of detected missiles and eliminates false alarms. The Counter Measure Dispensing Systems (CMDS) already installed on the helicopters can continue to be operated with the current AMPS configuration. A high percentage of aircraft losses in recent operational areas were caused by infrared surface-to-air missiles (IR SAMs). In addition, laser and radar threats are increasingly common in theatres of operations. To reliably detect these threats, AMPS can be configured with missile, laser and radar warning systems to ensure the best possible protection through rapid detection. HENSOLDT has already equipped more than 2,000 different flying platforms with AMPS.
30 May 24. The US State Department cleared a second and third foreign military sale of Blackhawk Helicopters this week, with the announcement on 29 May 2024, granting approval for Austria and Sweden to buy 12 of the rotorcraft each, and a decision on 24 May to permit Brazil to buy 12 units for its air force. Both potential sales are with Lockheed Martin, Sikorsky with Austria’s contract valued at $1.05bn (€1bn), and Sweden’s contract valued at $900m (Skr9.5bn). Neither sale is expected to affect US readiness or influence the military balance in the region. The sales are approved as supporting US foreign policy and national security objectives, and contribute to supporting US allies in deterring future threats while improving interoperability with US forces and their partners. The difference between contract values is not explained by the quantity of aircraft or other Major Defence Equipment (MDE) systems, but may reflect the wide array of additional systems purchased by Austria. While both countries ordered the same number of Blackhawk helicopters, Sweden intends to buy 30 T700-GE-701D engines, with 24 installed and 6 spares, whereas Austria will buy only 26 engines. Sweden is also buying more AN/AAR-57 Counter Missile Warning Systems (CMWS), purchasing 17 units, compared to Austria’s 15. The only MDE systems listed for Austria that is not referenced in the announcement of the potential foreign military sale to Sweden, the first is an order of 30 764U Embedded Global Positioning Systems with Inertial Navigation (EGI) with country-unique selective availability anti-spoofing modules (or Future M-Code replacement) as a counter-electronic warfare measure. (Source: airforce-technology.com)
USA
AIR
05 Jun 24. BAE Systems received an $95m contract from the U.S. Navy for advanced countermeasure pods to protect the P-8A Poseidon Multi-Mission Maritime Aircraft from missiles and other threats. The electronic warfare (EW) pod detects and counters inbound threats, protecting the Poseidon and its crews, and expanding the aircraft’s operating range in contested environments. BAE Systems’ survivability pod provides early threat detection and effective countermeasures to protect U.S. and international high-value airborne assets. The system’s flexible, open architecture design allows rapid and affordable modernization, is compatible with future threat-detection and decoy countermeasure capabilities, and can host third-party EW techniques. (Source: ASD Network)
30 May 24. BAE Systems has been selected to build the Ocean Color Instrument (OCX) for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Geostationary Extended Observations (GeoXO) satellite constellation. With the selection, BAE Systems is now contracted to build all three hyperspectral instruments for the mission, including OCX, the GeoXO Sounder (GXS), and the Atmospheric Composition Instrument (ACX). BAE Systems is leveraging modular designs and its extensive experience managing multiple instrument programs to drive efficiencies and deliver value for the nation across the OCX, GXS, and ACX programs. GeoXO is a constellation developed to broaden and improve on observations made by NOAA’s current Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellites-R series (GOES-R) of weather satellites. The constellation is set to launch in the early 2030s, as GOES-R nears the end of its planned mission, and will continue operating through 2055. The BAE Systems-developed OCX instrument is a hyperspectral imager that will make high-spatial resolution observations of the Great Lakes and wide swaths of the U.S. Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), a massive 4 m square feet of ocean expanding about 200 miles off American coastal regions. By imaging ocean and lake environments across a spectrum of ultraviolet to near-infrared light, the instrument will provide the most comprehensive data ever collected on the region’s water quality, ocean biology and chemistry, ecosystem changes, and more. OCX will also provide more frequent observations than previous instruments, collecting complete surveys every two hours to reduce issues like cloud cover and allow scientists to monitor quickly changing conditions. (Source: ASD Network)
31 May 24. General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. (GA-ASI) announces that the Army National Guard (ARNG) has ordered 12 Gray Eagle 25M (GE 25M) Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) paid for as part of 2023 congressional funding. The funding comes after ARNG leaders, which make up 45 percent of the U.S. Army’s combat divisions, requested GE 25Ms to make ARNG Divisions mirror the active component in being Multi-Domain Operations (MDO) capable, deployable, and better able to team with newly formed Division Artillery Brigades (DIVARTY). They will also be available to support domestic missions, such as homeland defense and disaster response, as needed. GE 25M is a modernized model of the Gray Eagle designed to meet the U.S. Army’s needs for MDO capability for both active duty and National Guard units. GE 25M is equipped with the new EagleEye multi-mode radar and electro-optical/infrared sensors, and can host a wide range of additional kinetic and non-kinetic payloads. Equipping ARNG Divisions with organic GE 25Ms makes possible the necessary mission planning, targeting, communications, detailed coordination, and realistic training needed to employ the systems successfully in combat. GE 25M will allow ARNG Divisions to have Divisional Reconnaissance, Surveillance, and Target Acquisition (RSTA) for the first time.
31 May 24. General Electric Co, Cincinnati, Ohio, has been awarded a maximum $438,623,538 firm-fixed price, requirements-type contract for workload augmentation/offload support of F-110 engine modules supplies. This contract was a sole-source acquisition using justification 10 U.S. Code 3204 (c)(1), as stated in Federal Acquisition Regulation 6.302-1(a)(1). This is a four-year four-month base contract with one five-year option period. The performance completion date is Sept. 30, 2028. Using military service is Air Force. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2024 through 2028 defense appropriated funds and working capital funds. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency Aviation, Richmond, Virginia (SPE4AX-24-D-9418).
04 Jun 24. Iridium Communications Inc. (NASDAQ: IRDM), a leading provider of global voice and data satellite communications, today announced it has been awarded a new five-year contract by the United States Space Force’s Space Systems Command’s Commercial Space Office (COMSO) for Enhanced Mobile Satellite Services (EMSS) capabilities and security sustainment services (ECS3). In support of the Iridium EMSS program, the ECS3 contract will ensure continued optimal operations of the EMSS Service Center in support of critical U.S. government applications. The value of the contract is approximately $94m with a potential total value of $103m, based on future surge requirements.
31 May 24. Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace, Kongsberg, Norway, has been awarded a not-to-exceed $141,000,000 firm-fixed-price, undefinitized contract action for the Joint Strike Missile production Lot 1. This contract provides for all up rounds, containers, and test equipment for the Joint Strike Missile. Work will be performed in Kongsberg, Norway, and is expected to be completed by August 31, 2026. This award is the result of a sole source acquisition. Fiscal 2024 (USAF) procurement missile funding in the amount of $69,212,397 is being obligated at the time of award. Air Force Life Cycle Management Center, Eglin Air Force Base, Florida, is the contracting activity (FA8681-24-C-B005).
04 Jun 24. Terran Orbital Corporation (NYSE: LLAP) (“Terran Orbital” or the “Company”), a global leader in satellite-based solutions primarily serving the aerospace and defense industries, announced the expansion of its capabilities under NASA’s long-standing multi-participant Rapid Spacecraft Acquisition IV (Rapid IV) Indefinite-Delivery/Indefinite-Quantity (IDIQ) contract. NASA has on-ramped two additional space vehicle platforms, which could position Terran Orbital as a premier partner for the space agency, offering a wider range of solutions for diverse missions. Terran Orbital has been an existing awardee under this contracting vehicle since 2020 through its Tyvak Nano-Satellite subsidiary, with two space vehicles already eligible for NASA task orders. The Rapid IV awards have a shared potential ceiling of $6 billon amongst all contractors selected.
03 Jun 24. The US Department of Defense (DoD) has allocated $29.3m as part of a contract modification for Textron Aviation at the end of May to build three additional T-6C Texan II trainer aircraft. This iteration serves as an improved version of the T-6B primary aircraft training system – of which the US Air Force currently has 251 units in its inventory. Beechcraft improved the trainer to provide reliable training operations with lower maintenance and operational costs than its predecessors. T-6C features a hard-point wing to carry external fuel tanks, weapons and other external stores. The aircraft is capable of providing military training for more than 18,720 hours. It is equipped with a trim aid device to reduce the need for rudder control and uses CAE’s ground-based training systems, including an operational flight trainer, computer-based classroom training systems, courseware, and full-mission simulators. T-6C has been in active service with the Royal Moroccan Air Force from as early as 2010. Thereafter the Royal New Zealand Air Force, the Mexican Air Force, the Royal Thai Air Force, the UK Royal Air Force, the Columbian Air Force and the Tunisian Air Force also procured the military flying system. (Source: airforce-technology.com)
06 Jun 24. UVision Inc., a global supplier of aerial loitering systems, and Mistral Inc., a US defense industry company, have secured a $73,552,208 contract with the U.S. Government to supply Hero-120SF Loitering Munitions for the U.S. Special Operations Command. The contract includes munitions, spare parts, engineering change proposals, new equipment training, and conversion from organic precision fires-mounted to medium-range precision strike systems. The Hero-120SF Loitering Munition System is a state-of-the-art, mid-range, anti-tank system designed specifically for heavy strikes against armored targets like tanks, vehicles, and other hard targets on the modern battlefield. With its ability to cause minimal collateral damage and equipped with a range of multi-purpose warheads, the Hero-120SF provides operational users with an unparalleled effective engagement solution. Tailored for Special Forces operations, the Hero-120SF includes enhancements such as improved payload capacity, advanced guidance systems, and increased flexibility for deployment from various platforms. (Source: UAS VISION)
TECHNOLOGY
04 Jun 24. Vigilant Aerospaces’ FlightHorizon airspace management and uncrewed traffic management (UTM) system has been selected as the airspace management system for the Skyway36 droneport in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Skyway36 is a leading droneport in the United States and serves as an “airport for drones” and for larger Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) aircraft, like air taxis. Vigilant Aerospace is a provider of multi-sensor detect-and-avoid and airspace management software for uncrewed aircraft systems (UAS) and advanced air mobility (AAM). With FlightHorizon, Skyway36 will be able to track and coordinate drones, detect intruding aircraft and provide a safe environment for beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) flight of drones, which is essential for growing the UAS industry. Skyway36 is the Osage Nation’s aerospace innovation zone, providing dedicated facilities for UAS flights. It is designed to support advanced air mobility and drone missions including survey drones, first responder drones, autonomous delivery aircraft and other missions. The facility includes a state-of-the-art UAS indoor test facility operated by Windshape, hangar and office space under development, a 3,000-foot runway suitable for larger, fixed-wing drones, and a certified helipad for both conventional helicopters and for new electric vertical takeoff and landing vehicles (eVTOLs). The site is managed by DronePort Network, under contract to Osage LLC and is the first commercial node on the Skyway Range Flight Corridor, a 114-nautical mile drone corridor and one of the most ambitious advanced air mobility projects in the nation. Skyway Range consists of four major nodes for autonomous flight testing along multiple routes and is supported in part by a grant from the US Economic Development Administration.
REST OF THE WORLD
LAND
31 May 24. BlackSky Technology Inc. (NYSE: BKSY) won a $7m contract renewal to provide dynamic space-based imagery and analytics monitoring services to a legacy international government customer.
30 May 24. CACI International Inc has announced that it was selected by the Canadian Armed Forces to deploy counter-uncrewed aerial systems (C-UAS) that will defeat uncrewed aerial vehicle threats, including small drones, which have increasingly become more sophisticated and deadly. As part of the contract, CACI will provide dismounted omnidirectional systems (DODS) that are easy to field quickly and ready for use. The company’s counter-uncrewed technology suite, SkyTracker®, includes integrated platforms that are low in size, weight, and power (SWaP); fixed, mounted, and dismounted; and operationally proven against a wide range of threats. Specifically, Canadian soldiers will employ a critical man-packable component of CACI’s SkyTracker suite called BEAMTM as part of their layered defense solution to detect, track, and defeat drone threats. CACI’s counter-uncrewed technologies are developed and fielded based on decades of operational experience and are supported by top engineers, analysts, operators, and maintainers who are focused on the operator’s safety and security, and the mission’s overall success. (Source: UAS VISION)
31 May 24. Saab received an order from the Government of a Western country for a number of defence systems and equipment. The order value is approximately SEK 7.7bn with deliveries planned 2027-2028. The order includes systems and equipment from Saab’s business areas Dynamics and Surveillance.
SEA
30 May 24. Lockheed Martin Canada has awarded L3Harris Technologies (NYSE:LHX) the Integrated Communications System for the Canadian Surface Combatant (CSC) of the Royal Canadian Navy (RCN), aimed at bolstering their operational efficacy and security on maritime missions. The CSC program, spearheaded by Irving Shipbuilding Inc., Lockheed Martin Canada and a consortium of partners, is a beacon of maritime innovation and revitalization within Canada’s shipbuilding sector. With Irving Shipbuilding leading the construction efforts under the National Shipbuilding Strategy (NSS), Lockheed Martin Canada is at the helm of the design team, collaborating with L3Harris to integrate systems in Canada. The program marks a significant milestone in Canada’s defence industry, with promising prospects for market expansion and global exports. Initial deliveries for the first three ships of the 15-vessel program are slated to commence in 2027, signalling a bright future for growth and advancement. Central to L3Harris’ Integrated Communications System is the assurance of reliable and effective communication capabilities for RCN vessels, amplifying maritime safety, operational efficiency and mission success. This emphasizes the pivotal role played by L3Harris in supporting Canada’s maritime interests and national security imperatives. (Source: ASD Network)
AIR
06 Jun 24. HENSOLDT is once again equipping helicopters of the Ukrainian armed forces with state-of-the-art detection and self-protection sensors. The order includes further AMPS (Airborne Missile Protection System) self-protection solutions. The order value is in the double-digit million range. With this delivery, HENSOLDT is providing the Ukrainian armed forces with modern equipment required by current events. HENSOLDT delivered 16 AMPS self-protection solutions to the Ukrainian armed forces for the first time in June last year. (Source: ASD Network)
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