Navy, Marine Corps pitched three systems for first Replicator batch

On the same subject

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  January 13, 2024 | International, Naval

  US Navy reports successful tests of newest shipboard radar

  The system completed its first at-sea live fire test and will continue development through the summer in Hawaii.

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  January 4, 2019 | International, Aerospace

  Croatia gives Israel deadline for sale of US-made fighter jets

  Croatia urges Israel to overcome disagreement with the US by January 11 or says it will cancel deal. Croatia has urged Israel to overcome a rare disagreement with the United States and to confirm it can carry through on a deal to sell 12 used American-made fighter jets. Croatia's Defence Ministry said on Thursday it needed an answer from Israel by January 11 or the Balkan country's $500m order for a dozen F-16 aircraft would be cancelled. Israel made a tentative deal to sell the upgraded F-16 Barak fighters to Croatia in March pending US approval for allowing the jets to go to a third party. The deal ran into trouble after the US State Department hinted that Israel needs to strip off the upgrades that were added after Israel took delivery of the planes from the US some 30 years ago. Israel upgraded the jets with sophisticated electronic and radar systems, which was crucial in Croatia's decision to buy the planes from Israel rather than from the US. "If the planes are not in accordance with what we have agreed, the deal will not be carried out and we will have another purchase bid," Croatia's parliament speaker, Gordan Jandrokovic, said. Relations between the Trump administration and Israel have been very close, particularly on defence issues. But the sale of the jets to Croatia appears to be an exception. US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met on Tuesday in Brazil but didn't agree on a way to end the impasse. "We are expecting final and clear stands from both Israel and the United States on this issue and then we will make a final decision," Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic said. Croatian Defence Minister Damir Krsticevic said Thursday that Israel provided guarantees during the contract bidding process that US officials would greenlight the sale. The controversy over the bid has triggered calls for the defence minister's resignation. The deal is Croatia's largest single military buy since it split from the Yugoslav federationduring the 1991-95 war. NATO member Croatia faces a mini arms race with Russian ally Serbia, which recently received six used Russian MiG-29 fighter jets. SOURCE: NEWS AGENCIES https://www.aljazeera.com/news/europe/2019/01/croatia-israel-deadline-sale-fighter-jets-190103180521852.html

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  July 8, 2020 | International, Aerospace, Naval, Land, C4ISR, Security

  Defense Industry’s Covid Closings Decline, Pentagon Agency Says

  By Anthony Capaccio The defense industry has made major strides reducing the impact of Covid-19 on operations, decreasing total closings of facilities to six on Monday from a high of 148 in mid-April, according to the Pentagon agency that oversees contracts. “We're seeing a significantly smaller fraction of the industrial base impacted on a daily basis” as contractors have become “better at restoring operational capability after potential exposures” to the coronavirus, Army Lieutenant General David Bassett, director of the Defense Contract Management Agency, said in an interview. “We've gone from having a substantial fraction of the industrial base impacted to today,” where it's “just a handful.” In total, 279 defense contracting locations were forced to shut down an average of 20 days since April because of the pandemic. In addition, 149 locations currently have reduced operations because of the virus, according to the agency, which tracks 10,509 locations of major defense contractors and their subcontractors. “These closures have generally been short-term in order to clean facilities” or to “reduce the potential exposure of employees,” according to agency spokesman Matthew Montgomery. Ellen Lord, the Defense Department's acquisitions chief, has warned that pandemic disruptions are expected to result in defense industry claims for reimbursement of more than $10 billion under the Cares Act, which provides economic aid including reimbursing contractors for payments to employees affected by disruptions such as plant closings. She has said a single contractor, which she didn't name, is estimated to have at least $1.5 billion in potential claims. Bassett said the decline in plant closings reflects that companies “have really got a plan in place so that they know what they have to do when they find people who have been exposed, how they have to handle the plant and then what they can do to get back up quickly and safely.” Bassett assumed command of the contract agency on June 3 after a career that included positions as the Army's top program manager for command-and-control networks and for ground-combat vehicles. “As we watch right now and cases are beginning to rise in certain areas of the country, I've asked all of our teams to really think about what we can do right now to make sure if we do end up in a shutdown we can avoid impacts to the industrial base and our deliveries,” he said. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-07-07/defense-industry-s-covid-closings-decline-pentagon-agency-says