May 7, 2024 | International, Land
How DC became obsessed with a potential 2027 Chinese invasion of Taiwan
Some in defense circles say the U.S. needs to prepare for Beijing's invasion of Taiwan in 2027. China experts say it isn’t a deadline.
September 30, 2019 | International, Naval, Land
BAE awarded $50.3M for nuclear missile work for U.S., Britain
ByTauren Dyson
Sept. 26 (UPI) -- BAE Systems Technology Solutions and Services has received a new contract for services on the nuclear weapon systems aboard U.S. and British submarines.
The $50.3 million contract, the Department of Defense announced Wednesday, covers services on Trident II D5 strategic weapon system programs, submarine guided-missile attack weapons systems, nuclear weapon surety and future concepts for both nations.
In early-September, the Navy launched four unarmed test Trident II missiles off the coast of Southern California as part of a Commander Evaluation Test to gauge performance expectation of the Trident II strategic weapon system.
The Trident II D5 strategic weapon system is equipped aboard Ohio-class submarines and carries up to 24 missiles. The Polaris Sales Agreement requires the system to be aboard the Vanguard-class submarines used by the U.K. Navy, as well.
The Trident missiles have a range of 4,000 nautical miles capable of carrying multiple W76-Mk4/Mk4A or W88-Mk5 reentry bodies. They were initially planned to be phased out of use by 2024 but the system went through a life-extending program to keep them operational through the 2040s.
Work under the new contract is expected to be completed by Sept. 30, 2020.
https://www.upi.com/Defense-News/2019/09/26/BAE-awarded-503M-for-nuclear-missile-work-for-US-Britain
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September 24, 2020 | International, Aerospace, Naval, Land, C4ISR, Security, Other Defence
Turkey eyes new markets for exports
Burak Ege Bekdil ANKARA— Turkish government officials and industry executives are hoping to find new sales in what they see as emerging export markets in Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan. “These are promising markets for Turkish manufacturers,” said one senior procurement official. A Turkish diplomat familiar with the three countries said that “smooth, friendly, problem-free political relations” with all three Asian countries promise export deals for Turkish companies. “As more Turkish-made systems become combat-proven [by local use], interest from those countries will increase,” he said. Hakan Kurt, chairman of Capital Exhibition, calls Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan as “hot markets” for Turkish defense and aerospace industries. Capital Exhibition organizes Defence Port Turkey South Asia. “Turkish manufacturers do not have the problem of ‘lack of sellable platforms' like they had a decade ago,” Kurt said. Kurt expects that Turkish defense and aerospace exports to the three Asian countries could reach $5 billion in the next 10 years. Turkey's overall defense exports stood at $2.74 billion in 2019, down from the official target of $3 billion. A defense specialist in Ankara advised caution about Asian markets. “These countries need hardware. They have good political ties with Turkey. But their economies are often cash-strapped. Turkey may also have licensing problems in any potential export deal as it depends on foreign technology for local production,” he said. In 2018, Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI) signed a $1.5 billion agreement to sell a batch of 30 T129 attack helicopters to Pakistan. But the deal has not moved forward as TAI has failed to secure U.S. export licenses for the contract. The T129 is a twin-engine multirole attack helicopter produced under license from the Italian-British company AgustaWestland. It's powered by two LHTEC T800-4A turboshaft engines. Each engine can produce 1,014 kilowatts of output power. The T800-4A is an export version of the CTS800 engine. LHTEC, the maker of the engine, is a joint venture between the American firm Honeywell and the British company Rolls-Royce. The defense specialist said that most likely Turkish hardware to go into Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan would include naval vessels and patrol boats (except Afghanistan), smart ammunition, drones and armored vehicles. https://www.defensenews.com/global/2020/09/23/turkey-eyes-new-markets-for-exports/
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June 11, 2021 | International, Land
Textron's Cottonmouth emerges for USMC recce vehicle requirement
Textron announced its Cottonmouth 6×6 armoured vehicle as an entrant for the US Marine Corps' (USMC) Advanced Reconnaissance Vehicle (ARV) requirement in May, revealing that the vehicle had entered validation testing at the National Automoti...