December 2, 2024 | International, Aerospace
August 20, 2020 | International, Naval
Britain moves to boost Ukraine’s naval chops
By: Andrew Chuter
LONDON — Britain is stepping up its military support in Ukraine with an announcement that the U.K. will lead a multinational maritime initiative to train the Ukrainian navy.
During a visit to Ukraine on Aug. 17 British Defense Secretary Ben Wallace confirmed the Royal Navy is coordinating a training initiative which also involves Canada, Denmark and Sweden.
The training initiative will be complemented by U.S. security assistance support, said the British Ministry of Defence in a statement.
Other nations are expected to join the naval training effort, said the MoD.
The British-led training will focus on areas such as navigation, operational planning, military diving, sea surveillance, firefighting and damage control.
The Royal Navy also plans to deploy warships to the region later in the year, Wallace said.
Last year the Royal Navy Type 45 destroyer HMS Duncan visited Ukraine as part of the NATO's Sea Breeze exercise. That followed a visit by the survey ship HMS Echo.
The U.K. has been conducting maritime training with the Ukraine for a while. Last year the British announced they were enlarging the scope of a wider military training effort, known as Operation Orbital, by deploying training teams from the Royal Navy and Royal Marines to boost a Ukrainian Navy facing increasing threats from Russia in the Sea of Azov.
The Ukrainians are trying to rebuild a maritime presence following Moscow's annexation of Crimea in 2014. Ukraine lost most of its navy, including 75 percent of personnel, 70 percent of ships and key infrastructure.
It faces a rising number of threats from the Russians in the Sea of Azov and the Black Sea, and its armed forces continue to counter Moscow-backed separatists in the Donbass region of the country.
Last year the Ukrainian navy unveiled a 15-year, three-stage strategy to rebuild naval capabilities starting with the aim of developing capabilities to establish control over territorial waters and beyond by 2025.
Britain announced late last year it was extending Operation Orbital by three years to March 2023, and despite a COVID-19 enforced suspension, now lifted, the U.K. armed forces have trained over 18,000 Ukrainian military personnel.
https://www.defensenews.com/global/europe/2020/08/19/britain-moves-to-boost-ukraines-naval-chops/
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October 3, 2018 | International, Aerospace
Northrop Grumman Awarded $171 Million for Advanced Anti-Radiation Guided Missile Contract
Contract finalizes seventh full rate production lot of AARGM, providing unmatched protection from surface-to-air threats LOS ANGELES – Oct. 2, 2018 – The U.S. Navy has awarded Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE: NOC) a $171 million contract for Lot 7 full rate production (FRP) of the AGM-88E Advanced Anti-Radiation Guided Missile (AARGM). The contract will deliver advanced capability to U.S. warfighters as well as the Italian Air Force and Royal Australian Air Force to counter the accelerating proliferation of surface-to-air threats. “The rapid proliferation of today's threats require the most advanced solution to detect and defeat surface-to-air-threats and protect our nation and allies,” said Cary Ralston, vice president and general manager, defense electronic systems, Northrop Grumman. “AARGM is an affordable, game-changing solution and we are proud to provide this capability to the warfighter.” AARGM is a supersonic, air-launched tactical missile system, upgrading legacy AGM-88 HARM systems with capability to perform destruction of enemy air defense missions. AARGM is the most advanced system for pilots, with in-cockpit, real-time electronic order of battle situational awareness against today's modern surface-to-air threats. It is able to rapidly engage traditional and non-traditional advanced land- and sea-based air-defense threats, as well as striking, time-sensitive targets. AARGM is a U.S. Navy and Italian Air Force international cooperative major acquisition program with the U.S. Navy as the executive agent. AARGM is currently deployed and supporting operational requirements for the U.S. Navy and U.S. Marine Corps. The missile is integrated into the weapons systems on the FA-18C/D Hornet, FA-18E/F Super Hornet and EA-18G Growler aircraft. The Italian Air Force (ItAF) recently completed operational testing of AARGM on their Tornado Electronic Combat and Reconnaissance (ECR) aircraft. A series of flight tests culminated with direct hits on critical air defense threat targets, confirming the operational effectiveness and suitability of AARGM on the Italian Air Force Tornado and allowing the Italian Air Force to transition AARGM into operational squadrons. Northrop Grumman is a leading global security company providing innovative systems, products and solutions in autonomous systems, cyber, C4ISR, space, strike, and logistics and modernization to customers worldwide. Please visit news.northropgrumman.com and follow us on Twitter, @NGCNews, for more information. https://news.northropgrumman.com/news/releases/northrop-grumman-awarded-171-million-for-advanced-anti-radiation-guided-missile-contract
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June 10, 2022 | International, Aerospace
Boeing Can’t Find Enough Workers to Build the New Air Force One
A new GAO report details the latest setback for the presidential planemaker.