August 1, 2023 | International, Naval
Navy awards nine Arleigh Burke destroyers in five-year contracts
The Navy awarded Ingalls Shipbuilding a contract for six destroyers across 2023 to 2027, and Bath Iron Works a contract for three DDGs.
January 25, 2021 | International, Land, C4ISR
Elbit UK to make new target-marking kits for British foot soldiers
By: Andrew Chuter
LONDON – Britain's armed forces are investing just over £100 million ($134 million) acquiring equipment to improve sensor-to-shooter capabilities for dismounted troops, the Ministry of Defence announced Jan 21.
Under the effort, the UK arm of Israeli-based Elbit Systems has been awarded an £101 million deal to supply the British dismounted joint fires integrators (D-JFI) program.
The equipment will give British Army, Royal Marine, special forces and Royal Air Force units improved ability to find, identify and instantly distribute battlefield target information to artillery, aircraft and others.
The new kit, based around the latest thermal sight technology, will primarily be used by joint terminal attack controllers and fire-support teams.
The contract, which includes support, comes to a close in March 2026, although there is an option to extend it by two years.
Elbit Systems UK secured the contract in mid-December, but officials only now announced it.
British defense procurement minister Jeremy Quin said the contract “not only delivers the very latest in battlefield technology to our frontline soldiers, but also invests in the British defense industry, sustaining more than 500 jobs across the UK.”
In a statement the company said their D-JFI solution will “enable fast and secured transition of target information across the British and allied armed forces, allowing swift and accurate utilization of artillery and close air support.”
Several Elbit technologies are being used in the system, including: the TORCH-X battle management application; the HattoriX system for high-precision target marking, the CORAL thermal-imaging system, and the Rattler XR laser designator.
This new contract is the latest of a number of deals secured by Elbit Systems UK in recent years, furthering the British Army's digitalization efforts.
The company was awarded the £40 million Battlefield Management Application program in 2018 as part of the Morpheus communications modernization program, followed by the Joint Fires Mobile Trainer and the Joint Fires Synthetic Training contract in 2019.
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January 21, 2021 | International, Aerospace
Just hours before Biden’s inauguration, the UAE and US come to a deal on F-35 sales
By: Valerie Insinna WASHINGTON —The United Arab Emirates on Jan. 20 signed off on a deal to purchase up to 50 F-35 joint strike fighter aircraft and 18 MQ-9 Reaper drones from the United States. According to Reuters, which broke the news, the agreement was one of the final acts of the Trump administration, occurring just an hour before President Joe Biden was inaugurated. A source with knowledge of the situation confirmed separately to Defense News that the U.S. and UAE officials on Wednesday signed a letter of agreement, which solidifies the terms of a foreign military sale between two nations. The departments of State and Defense did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The agreement delineates the cost of the aircraft, technical specifications and the schedule for F-35 deliveries to the UAE, people familiar with the deal told Reuters. Those sources could not confirm when the first F-35 is due to be delivered to Abu Dhabi, but stated that an initial proposal stipulated 2027 as one possible date. The UAE deal was previously estimated at a $23.37 billion value, including 50 F-35A fighters worth $10.4 billion, 18 MQ-9B drones worth $2.97 billion, and $10 billion worth of air-to-air and air-to-ground munitions. Those dollar totals are expected to shift around during further negotiations with F-35 prime contractor Lockheed Martin and MQ-9 maker General Atomics. It's unclear whether the incoming administration will seek to undo the deal. Biden's pick for secretary of state, Antony Blinken, told reporters in late October that the sale is “something we would look at very, very carefully,” due to U.S. obligations to preserve Israel's qualitative military edge. In December, the Senate rejected an attempt to block the sale, with Republicans largely voting to preserve the deal. The first vote concerned the drones and munitions and failed 46-50, while the second concerned the F-35s and fell 47-49. Aaron Mehta and Joe Gould in Washington contributed to this report. https://www.defensenews.com/global/mideast-africa/2021/01/20/just-hours-before-bidens-inauguration-the-uae-and-us-come-to-a-deal-on-f-35-sales
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September 16, 2021 | International, Naval
DSEI 2021: Raytheon pitches Naval Strike Missile as RN Harpoon replacement
Raytheon is betting that quick integration and an existing production could help it net success if the UK decides to procure a Harpoon replacement.