The USAID Bureau for Europe and Eurasia has awarded a cybersecurity protection and response contract to IBM nearly $95 million, according to a Sam .gov posting. Under the contract award dated Dec. 29, the global technology company, nicknamed Big Blue, will strengthen the cybersecurity capabilities of USAID host governments’ civilian infrastructures in the region. It...
Accenture further expanded its footprint in cybersecurity following the completed acquisition of the U.K. technology consultancy 6point6, which specializes in cyber, cloud and data solutions. The newly acquired company, which operates from London and Manchester, brings in about 400 technologists to service clients’ needs, Accenture said in announcing the finalized deal on Wednesday. It did...
Germany’s 2023 arms exports hit a record $12.8 billion as of mid-December, with the bulk of sales going to Ukraine, according to preliminary figures for the Bundestag, the German federal parliament, as reported by Defense News. Total exports included weapons valued at $6.6 billion and $6.2 billion listed as “other defense articles.” The previous record...
Semiconductor company ASML has announced its compliance with the Dutch government’s suspension of its lithography systems shipments to China. The ecport license suspension of the lithography systems, which are critical to semiconductor manufacturing, stemmed from U.S. government rules released in October restricting exports of some mid-critical system configurations for advanced production facilities. Veldhoven-based ASML said...
U.S. State Secretary Antony Blinken has approved an amended ammunition sale to Israel, calling for additional M107 155 mm ammunition ancillaries, which increases the estimated cost to $147.5 million from the initial $96.51 million order. The Defense Security Cooperation Agency said the Department of State skipped congressional review for the added procurement after Blinken determined...
The United Kingdom’s 7th Light Mechanised Brigade Combat Team will be deployed in 2024 as the core of the British leadership role in NATO’s Very High Readiness Joint Task Force starting Jan. 1. The brigade, dubbed “Desert Rats,” led NATO’s Strategic Reserve Force when it was activated in Kosovo in 2022. Its components include a...
Slovenia has received the first of two C-27J Spartan Next Generation aircraft that the Balkan country ordered from Italian aerospace, defense and security firm Leonardo under a government-to-government agreement in 2021. The aircraft brings the Slovenian Armed Forces “on the path of development and modernization,” Defence Minister Marjan Sarec said during the C-27J handover ceremony...
Japan’s efforts to boost its military capability and ease military equipment sales will enhance Indo-Pacific stability, U.S. Ambassador to Japan Rahm Emanuel said in a meeting with Japanese Defense Minister Minoru Kihara on Wednesday. According to Military.com, Emanuel lauded Tokyo’s recent approval of the shipments of Japanese-manufactured Patriot missiles to the United States to replenish...
Rheinmetall is now commissioning the first Hungarian-built Lynx KF41 infantry fighting vehicle following development, production and testing at its Rheinmetall Hungary unit’s plant in Zalaegerszeg. The locally made IFVs will be delivered to the Hungarian army in mid-2024, according to the company. Hungary’s Lynx KF41 order totals 209 units in seven variants. The production of the...
The Australian government has more than doubled its investment in BAE Systems Australia’s F-35 Lightning II aircraft maintenance facility in Hunter Valley, New South Wales, signing a Stage 2 facility services deed with the company. The funding, worth $75.4 million, is in addition to the $68.6 million that Canberra initially committed in 2022 to the...
