October 29, 2024 | International, Land
October 26, 2018 | International, Aerospace
F-35 officially wins Belgian fighter contest
By: Valerie Insinna
WASHINGTON — Belgium has officially selected the F-35 as its next-generation fighter, becoming the 13th country to join the program, the Belgian government announced Thursday.
With that decision, Lockheed Martin has defeated a bid by the governments of Spain, Italy, Germany and the United Kingdom for the Eurofighter Typhoon, as well as an informal offer by France for the Dassault Rafale and an option for Belgium to upgrade its existing F-16s.
Belgium plans to buy 34 F-35As to replace F-16 inventory, which numbers about 54 jets. The U.S. State Department has already approved the deal, which has an estimated value of $6.5 billion.
According to Reuters, Belgian Defence Minister Steven Vandeput told reporters on Oct. 25 that the F-35 beat the other contenders in all seven selection criteria.
“We are investing heavily in defense,” Vandeput tweeted, citing Belgium's decision to buy F-35s and new land vehicles.
Meanwhile, U.S. stakeholders immediately began celebrating the outcome of the competition.
“Lockheed Martin is honored by the Belgian government's selection of the F-35A Lightning II for their future national security needs,” the company said in a statement. “We look forward to supporting the U.S. government in delivering the F-35 program to meet the requirements of the Belgian government.”
Vice Adm. Mat Winter, head of the the F-35 joint program executive office, said the decision to join the program will strengthen the U.S.-Belgian relationship.
“We look forward to working closely with our Belgian teammates as they mature plans for purchasing their F-35s,” he said in a statement.
The U.S. Embassy in Brussels tweeted a response to Vandeput, stressing how Belgium's F-35 selection would add to NATO interoperability.
“Belgium will fly @thef35 alongside some of its closest @NATO allies & longtime partners in air defense. US is extremely proud of our enduring air partnership w/ Belgium,” it said.
U.S. Rep. Mike Turner, R-Ohio, who chairs the House Armed Services Committee's Tactical Air and Land Forces Subcommittee, said Belgium's F-35 buy “reaffirms Belgium's military and strategic partnership with the United States, as well as builds Belgium's defense capabilities as a strong NATO ally.”
Turner had interfaced with Belgian officials over the past year, providing assurances that the U.S. Congress would support an F-35 sale to Brussels, he said in a statement.
https://www.defensenews.com/air/2018/10/25/f-35-officially-wins-belgian-fighter-contest
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April 21, 2020 | International, Aerospace, Naval, Land, C4ISR, Security
Pentagon Pumps $3B Into Industry As COVID-19 Delays Loom
PENTAGON: The Pentagon's acquisition chief today said she expects major defense programs to be delayed by around three months due to COVID-19 closures and disruptions, while DoD rushes to pump $3 billion into the defense industry to bolster programs at greatest risk. Speaking to reporters here this morning, Lord said she expects to have to ask the White House and Congress for “billions” more to reimburse contractors affected by work delays and broken supply chains. “We believe it will cost us something,” she said, declining to get any more specific than “billions” of dollars. The months-long delays to programs will likely be spread throughout the defense industry as small parts suppliers shut down operations for days or weeks at a time. “We're looking at schedule delays and inefficiencies and so forth: this isn't about a particular program.” Lord singled out “a slowdown in the shipyards, to an extent. Aviation is actually the most highly impacted sector we have right now.” It's unclear what programs are at highest risk, but the Navy has been bullish on speeding up its new frigate program to award contracts some time this summer. If work slowdowns continue, that could be pushed further down the road. The Army and Navy have also been moving ahead on their nascent hypersonic weapons program, with a series of critical tests planned this year. Lord pointedly suggested that large defense companies need to start pushing more money into their supplier base to ensure small parts suppliers don't go out of business, further impacting new programs and ongoing maintenance efforts. She did praise Lockheed and Boeing for increasing cash flow to lower-tier suppliers, then not-so-subtly says, she is “hoping for similar public announcements from other major primes.” Last month, Lockheed said it would advance more than $100 million to suppliers hurt by the slowdown, and this week Boeing said it was reopening the Philadelphia-area facility where it makes the Chinook, the V-22 Osprey and other helicopters. The Pentagon is starting to award higher progress payment rates this week, pumping $3 billion dollars in increased cash flow to industry. “We try to anticipate the problems and work with the companies to keep going to the greatest degree possible,” Lord said. As part of that effort, DoD's first priority is the modernization process of the nuclear triad, she said: “we look at the Missile Defense Agency, we look at the critical capabilities. We're looking where the greatest pain points are.” While she singled out Lockheed and Boeing, shipbuilder Huntington Ingalls is making a push to speed up contracts and get money into the hands of sub-tier suppliers early, in order to ensure companies way down the supply base food chain can continue chugging along. In a recent interview, company representatives told me they've reached out to over 2,000 suppliers in 48 of the 50 US states. “We need their products today, but we also need them in 90 days, so we want to help them brave the storm,” said Lucas Hicks, vice president of new construction aircraft carrier programs. “We've actually changed some payment terms on some of our supplier contracts to try to make sure that we can front them what they need to stay afloat. We're doing some creative stuff to try and help them be able to weather the storm.” The Department's efforts to backstop the defense industrial base while taking steps to protect its workforce and purchase critical protective clothing like facemasks is still in its relative stages, despite the COVID-19 pandemic having been with us for months. “We are just really beginning to pick up momentum,” Lord said. https://breakingdefense.com/2020/04/pentagon-pumps-3b-into-industry-as-covid-19-delays-loom
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June 23, 2022 | International, Aerospace
Germany And Lockheed Martin ‘Sprint’ For F-35 Contract Finalization