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28 Sep 17. L3 Successfully Delivers Final Airseeker to U.K. Royal Air Force. L3 Technologies (NYSE:LLL) announced today that it has successfully delivered the third and final RC-135V/W Rivet Joint (RJ) signals intelligence aircraft to Britain’s Royal Air Force (RAF), a milestone marking the completion of the historic U.S. Air Force (USAF) and U.K. Ministry of Defence (MOD) Airseeker program. The three U.K. RJ aircraft form the backbone of the U.K.’s Airseeker capability, providing new and collaborative intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) resources in support of global security missions. Upon touchdown at Royal Air Force Waddington, Lincolnshire, U.K., the aircraft was formally transferred to the RAF, completing the hardware deliveries under the Foreign Military Sales contract valued at approximately $1bn.
Taken together, the U.K. RJ and USAF RJ aircraft form a combined fleet of 20 aircraft, and L3 will perform future baseline upgrades and periodic depot maintenance on the fleet. L3 has also delivered a station to support ground operations and training systems to train both operators and maintainers.
“This groundbreaking agreement gives the U.K. access to future innovative technology and presents a very high level of interoperability with major coalition partners,” said Christopher E. Kubasik, L3’s President and Chief Operating Officer. “This partnership has provided our U.K. allies with an intelligence-gathering platform that supports near-real-time on-scene collection, analysis and dissemination capabilities.”
“Analysts have hailed this U.K./U.S. program as the highest level of intelligence cooperation between the two countries since World War II,” said Mark Von Schwarz, L3’s Senior Vice President and President of its Aerospace Systems business segment. “The U.S. and the U.K. will be closely involved in future maturation of the Rivet Joint weapon system for at least the next 25 years.”
Under the agreement, the U.K. purchased three Rivet Joint aircraft for conversion by L3 from KC-135R tankers to the RC-135W configuration. The first two aircraft were delivered in 2013 and 2015, respectively, and upon gaining their airworthiness releases.
“The cooperation between L3, the USAF and the U.K. MOD throughout the Airseeker program has been the key to delivering aircraft early and fielding the capability ahead of the original schedule,” said Bill Chrispin, the U.K. MOD’s Airseeker Delivery Manager. (Source: BUSINESS WIRE)
25 Sep 17. Leonardo eyes work on NATO cyber command. Italy’s Leonardo is eyeing work on a possible NATO cyber command after six years in which the company says it has successfully defended NATO sites from hackers, a company official said.
The firm was first contracted in 2011, along with Northrop Grumman, to ensure cybersecurity at NATO sites, and its systems are now in use with 75,000 users at 75 NATO sites in 28 member nations, work worth €65m (U.S. $77m) since the contract began.
Northrop Grumman left the partnership in 2014, making Leonardo the sole contractor as NATO faces 350 million suspicious interactions daily across its network.
“Attacks range from mischief making through to significant, state-sponsored attacks,” said Paul MacGregor, senior vice president and general manager for security and information systems at Leonardo‘s British division.
“Nothing has got through yet — we have successfully defended NATO, including the Wales and Warsaw summits,” he added.
As its cyber defense contract comes up for renewal in 2019, Leonardo is looking at further work if and when NATO stands up a fully fledged cyber command.
“We would welcome the opportunity to contribute to a NATO cyber command when it emerges, as it would build on the capabilities we already deliver with NATO. The ability to exploit intelligence from the dark