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August 25, 2024 | International, Land

Croatia plans to order HIMARS this year

The country is posed to join a number or central and eastern European nations adopting the weapon system.

https://www.defensenews.com/global/europe/2024/08/23/croatia-plans-to-order-himars-this-year/

On the same subject

  • OMFV: Army Team Won’t Compete For Bradley Replacement

    September 21, 2020 | International, Land

    OMFV: Army Team Won’t Compete For Bradley Replacement

    SYDNEY J. FREEDBERG JR Industry and Congress were deeply skeptical of the Army's suggestion to enter a government design team in the OMFV competition. Now the Army has backed off. WASHINGTON: The defense industry, Congress, and thinktanks breathed a unanimous sigh of relief at the Army's latest announcement on the Optionally Manned Fighting Vehicle program. In an email to reporters Thursday afternoon, the Army said it would no longer seek to enter its own design team in the OMFV competition, a controversial plan it had suggested in a draft Request For Proposals in July. “The whole purpose of publishing a Draft RFP was to elicit feedback from our industry partners. We take their feedback seriously,” the Army's armored vehicle modernization director, Brig. Gen. Richard Ross Coffman, told me. “We won't always agree — and must act in the best interest of our soldiers — but we will always listen.” Thursday's announcement is the latest twist in the decades-long struggle to replace the Reagan-era M2 Bradley, a heavily armed and armored troop carrier. It also suggests the notoriously bureaucratic and inward-looking Army acquisition system is finally starting to take defense contractors seriously when they say something is a bad idea. “The only surprising thing here is that the Army may have actually taken into account and listened to the over 500 industry comments received,” said Bill Greenwalt of thinktank AEI, a former Hill staffer who spent years reforming military procurement. “I expect they got an earful.” While the Army's announcement Thursday said it was still “carefully reviewing and analyzing industry comments (over 500 in total) [for] the next few weeks,” the message from industry on the government team seems to have been so strong the service didn't want to wait any longer to take action. https://breakingdefense.com/2020/09/omfv-army-team-wont-compete-with-industry-for-bradley-replacement/

  • Leonardo DRS wins Army network installation contract

    June 29, 2020 | International, Land

    Leonardo DRS wins Army network installation contract

    Andrew Eversden The Army program executive office responsible for network modernization awarded Leonardo DRS a $206 million contract to provide vehicle installation kits for network systems, the company announced June 25. The indefinite delivery, indefinite quantity contract, awarded by Army PEO Command, Control, Communications-Tactical and Project Manager Mission Command, has a performance period of three years with seven option years. Leonardo DRS will provide “cables, brackets and other associated hardware” to support the installation of the next-generation Mounted Family of Computer Systems II, which includes tablets, processors and ruggedized displays. “These are mission-critical components of the Army's Mission Command capability. We are proud to have been selected for high-volume production and delivery of quality, reliable systems for use in almost every type of tactical platform,” said Bill Guyan, senior vice president and general manager of the Leonardo DRS Land Electronics business unit. In June 2018, Leonardo DRS won an $841 million contract to provide the Army with MFoCS II technology. MFoCS II is the service's combat computing platform. https://www.c4isrnet.com/battlefield-tech/it-networks/2020/06/26/leonardo-drs-wins-army-network-installation-contract/

  • US Air Force eyes KC-46A aerial refuelling boom redesign

    January 31, 2019 | International, Aerospace

    US Air Force eyes KC-46A aerial refuelling boom redesign

    Pat Host, Everett, Washington - Jane's Defence Weekly Key Points The US Air Force is planning to redesign the KC-46A boom to better accommodate lighter aircraft The USAF agreed to pay for this upgrade as Boeing met its international standard The US Air Force (USAF) will redesign the problematic boom on the Boeing KC-46A Pegasus aerial refuelling tanker to better accommodate lighter aircraft such as the Fairchild-Republic A-10 Thunderbolt II. USAF Secretary Heather Wilson said on 24 January that the boom does not disconnect as well from lighter aircraft as it does with heavier aircraft. The service has identified an actuator fix that will make the boom a little more sensitive, and she believes it is likely that the A-10 is the only aircraft affected by this issue. The A-10 is a lighter aircraft compared with some of the USAF's other aircraft such as transports, bombers, and even other tactical combat aircraft. The Lockheed Martin C-130H Hercules weighs 34,686 kg empty and the A-10 weighs 9,183 kg empty, while the Lockheed Martin F-35A Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) weighs 13,290 kg empty. At Boeing's KC-46A first delivery ceremony, Wilson said that the USAF is paying for the boom redesign as it meets the international standard that the service gave to Boeing. In the deal reached in mid-January over the first delivery, the USAF agreed to pay for the boom fix while Boeing would pay for upgrading the remote vision system (RVS). Boeing is planning both hardware and software fixes to the RVS to allow it to automatically adjust and operate effectively in both the sun's glare and in shadow. Wilson also said that this boom redesign will be the first programme change in the history of the KC-46A. https://www.janes.com/article/86037/us-air-force-eyes-kc-46a-aerial-refuelling-boom-redesign

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