May 17, 2021 | International, Aerospace
USAF to Cut F-35 Buy in Future Years Defense Plan - Air Force Magazine
The Air Force will propose about a 10 percent cut in its planned F-35 purchases in the upcoming future years defense plan.
July 20, 2020 | International, Aerospace
It’s do or die for Germany’s new missile defense weapon
COLOGNE, Germany — The German government continued another round of talks with vendors Lockheed Martin and MBDA this week about a contract for the TLVS missile defense system.
The ongoing negotiations suggest there is still no common ground on the legal framework for costs and risks associated with the next-generation program. Berlin had asked the contractors in early May to submit a revised bid, the third attempt to nail down a replacement for the country's aging Patriot fleet.
For its part, the Defence Ministry is still expecting a formal offer later this summer, a spokeswoman told Defense News on Friday.
Hiccups lie mostly within the industry team, specifically relating to how and if the U.S. defense giant Lockheed can bend to Berlin's demands that the contractors absorb the majority of risk if problems come up in the program.
German officials have so stretched the scope of desired capabilities of the former Medium Extended Air Defense System — the basis for TLVS — that the effort amounts to a new development, including a ramp for integrating defenses against hypersonic missiles.
Those high-tech aspirations come packaged in Germany's new defense acquisition process that seeks to right past procurement failures by pushing more liability to companies.
The ongoing negotiations come with the understanding that the new offer, if Lockheed decides to go forward sometime next month, equates to a contract-ready agreement that would be presented to lawmakers after the summer break.
Next year is an election year in Germany, which means there's little appetite to push big-ticket acquisitions come January.
A lot hangs on the TLVS program for Lockheed, as German defense leaders last year connected its outcome to the competition for a new heavy-lift helicopter fleet.
Lockheed's subsidiary Sikorsky is offering the CH-53K for that race, going against Boeing's CH-47 Chinook.
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June 17, 2020 | International, Aerospace
Canadian CF-18 upgrade package OK’d by US
By: Aaron Mehta WASHINGTON — The U.S. State Department has cleared Canada to purchase a package of upgrades for its fleet of CF-18 Hornets, including upgraded radars and weapons, intended to serve as a bridge between the legacy fleet and Canada's future fighter. The package, which comes with an estimated price tag of $862.3 million, would fulfill the requirements for Canada's “Hornet Extension Project Phase 2,” which was announced last year. The program seeks to upgrade the “sensors, weapons, survivability, security and mission support to maintain parity with evolving threats” for 36 of Canada's Hornets, with initial delivery in 2023, according to a statement on the Canadian military's website. Canada has 80 CF-18s in inventory and is in the midst of a long attempt to replace the aging fighters with 88 newer designs — one of which has been marred with restarts and political challenges. The Phase 2 extension is designed to help bridge the capability gap until new jets come online. Among the upgrades included in this potential package: 50 Sidewinder AIM-9X Block II tactical missiles; 38 APG-79(V)4 active electronically scanned array radars; 38 APG-79(V)4 AESA radar A1 kits; 46 F/A-18A wide-band RADOMEs; upgrades to the Advanced Distributed Combat Training System; and technical assistance to support the upgraded jets. “This sale will provide Canada a 2-squadron bridge of enhanced F/A-18A aircraft to continue meeting NORAD and NATO commitments while it gradually introduces new advanced aircraft via the Future Fighter Capability Program between 2025 and 2035,” said a statement from the Defense Security Cooperation Agency, using an acronym for the U.S.-Canadian North American Aerospace Defense Command. “The proposed sale of the capabilities, as listed, will improve Canada's capability to meet current and future warfare threats and provide greater security for its critical infrastructure,” it added. Work would be performed by Raytheon in its El Segundo, California, location; General Dynamics Mission Systems in Marion, Virginia; Boeing's St. Louis, Missouri, facility; and Collins Aerospace in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Any industrial offset agreements will be sorted out in the future. Announcements of potential Foreign Military Sales deals are not final, and dollar amounts or quantities of items may change during final negotiation. https://www.defensenews.com/global/the-americas/2020/06/16/canadian-cf-18-upgrade-package-okd-by-us
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February 24, 2024 | International, Aerospace
Record numbers at Singapore Airshow as post-COVID boom raises hopes