The Department of State will host two batches of NATO officials under an exchange program, opening up an opportunity to exchange knowledge with their American counterparts. Under the International Visitor Leadership Program, the State Department expects more than 40 current and future leaders to visit the United States to attend the 2024 NATO Washington Summit...
Category: National Security
European USV Minesweeping Project Enters Third Phase, Targets 2026 Demo in Norway
Work has started on the European Defence Agency’s Modular Lightweight Minesweeping Next Generation project’s third phase to further advance the technology readiness level of systems under development and demonstrate their use in an operational environment. The project seeks to develop and deploy smaller unmanned surface vehicles as lightweight minesweepers operating in a formation or as a...
Rheinmetall Secures Potential $3.8B German Military Truck Procurement; Armin Papperger Quoted.
Germany’s Federal Office of Bundeswehr Equipment, Information Technology and In-Service Support has signed a framework contract with Rheinmetall to supply the German armed forces with up to 6,500 military trucks valued at a potential $3.8 billion. The German Parliament’s budget committee approved the procurement’s funding on June 26. The contract, which Rheinmetall described as a “record...
Swedish Government to Procure 10 Saab Combat Boats
The Swedish Defence Materiel Administration has ordered 10 combat boats worth $37.83 million from Saab. The boats, which will be delivered over several years, are based on Saab’s CB90 Next Generation vessel manufactured in the company’s shipyard in Docksta. According to Saab’s website, the CB90 Next Generation features a new combat management system and sensors...
Under-Construction Canadian Warships Designated as River-Class Destroyers; Bill Blair Quoted
Irving Shipbuilding has started construction on the production test module for the new fleet of Canadian Surface Combatants, which according to a Canadian government announcement will be known as River-class destroyers. The PTM will enable testing and streamlining of the shipbuilding processes to gear up the project for full-rate production starting in 2025, according to...
Air Force Taps Lockheed Martin to Start F-16 Electronic Warfare System Production
The U.S. Air Force has decided to continue working with a vendor responsible for the development of an electronic warfare solution designed for the F-16 aircraft. On Thursday, the Department of Defense announced that it had awarded Lockheed Martin Aeronautics a fixed-price incentive, (firm-target) modification to an existing contract expanding the current long-lead materials contract...
Korea Aerospace Industries to Begin KF-21 Fighter Delivery in 2026 Under $1.4B Contract
Korea Aerospace Industries targets delivering the first 20 KF-21 Boramae Block I fighter jets to the South Korean government by the end of 2026. The Defense Acquisition Program Administration awarded the company a $1.41 billion production contract in June to manufacture the Block I batch of the aircraft, which KAI has been developing since 2015...
MDA Space to Build Lunar Gateway’s Robotic Arm Under $1B Contract
Ontario-based MDA Space will build Canadarm3 robotic space system for the Gateway lunar space station. The company secured a $1 billion contract from the Canadian Space Agency for Phase C and Phase D of the program, which covers the robotic system’s final design, construction, assembly, integration and testing. MDA Space will also support the technology’s...
Viasat to Install Broadband Satcom Terminal on Spain’s Maritime Patrol Aircraft; Victor Farah Quoted
Viasat announced that it will integrate its dual-band broadband terminal GAT-5530 into Spain’s C295 maritime patrol aircraft in collaboration with the airplane’s supplier, Airbus. The joint effort aims to provide the Spanish C295 MPA fleet with secure and reliable satellite communication capability for mission support using the sovereign, next-generation SpainSat NG satellites. The mission needs...
Saab Secures $245M Contract to Deliver Sweden’s Third GlobalEye Surveillance Aircraft; Micael Johansson Quoted
Saab has secured a $244.1 million contract from the Swedish government to deliver the country’s third GlobalEye airborne early warning and control aircraft. The platform combines the S band Erieye Extended Range radar and mission system with Bombardier’s Global 6000 jet aircraft to provide an AEW&C solution that supports long-range detection and identification of objects....