QinetiQ announces ?259 million renewal of Maritime Strategic Capability Agreement

On the same subject

• 

  October 27, 2020 | International, C4ISR

  BAE Systems to Develop Attritable Air Vehicle Systems Under USAF Skyborg Program

  BAE Systems has been awarded an indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity contract to develop an attritable air vehicle system for the Skyborg program. Under this program, which has a contract ceiling of up to $400 million, the company will compete to develop a digital design for an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) capable of autonomous functions. The Skyborg program is intended to create a low-cost autonomous unmanned aerial vehicle that will partner with manned aircraft to increase air combat power. Teamed with a manned aircraft, the UAVs will leverage autonomy to disrupt and defeat adversaries in contested environments. “This award will accelerate the development and deployment of manned-unmanned teaming technologies to give the U.S. Air Force a decisive edge in the battlespace,” said Ehtisham Siddiqui, vice president and general manager of Controls and Avionics Solutions at BAE Systems. The UAVs will be designed with BAE Systems' autonomous systems, which include sensors and payloads that communicate across a shared network with manned aircraft. This modular and common system approach provides the foundation for rapid updates and integration to ensure the fleet is fielding the latest capabilities to defend against emerging threats. The shared network enables manned-unmanned teaming (MUM-T), which allows UAVs and manned aircraft to work together and complete missions more effectively. The network extends the reach of the fleet, while keeping the manned aircraft and personnel out of harm's way. It will allow the UAVs to serve as the eyes and ears for pilots, collecting and sending data from the battlespace to a manned fighter. https://www.defenseworld.net/news/28159#.X5iIvEeSnIV

• 

  November 15, 2018 | International, Aerospace

  Lockheed Gets Interim Payment for First Multiyear F-35 Contract: Pentagon

  By Reuters WASHINGTON — Lockheed Martin Corp has won a preliminary contract valued at up to $22.7 billion to build a batch of 255 F-35 jets for the U.S. military and its allies, the U.S. Defense Department said on Wednesday. The department said the deal would allow Lockheed to receive $6 billion in funding immediately, a move aimed at preventing major delays in production of the new stealthy fighter jets. This contract is the first to lock in multiyear commitments from U.S. allies as Lockheed anticipates that buying components in larger quantities will help move the price of the most common F-35 jet to below $80 million by 2020. The most common variation of the jet, the F-35 A, had a price of $89.2 million after the most recent round of contract negotiations announced in September. Lockheed is developing and building three models of the new warplanes for the U.S. military and 10 other countries that have signed up to buy the jets: Britain, Australia, Italy, Turkey, Norway, the Netherlands, Israel, Japan, South Korea and Belgium. The Pentagon's chief arms buyer, Ellen Lord, told Reuters on Tuesday that she expected to finalize the interim terms of the deal, known as an "undefinitized contract action" or UCA, with Lockheed, its No. 1 supplier, by the spring of next year. A Lockheed representative said: "This is a smart approach for the taxpayer, the warfighter and for industry." According to the Pentagon, Wednesday's agreement means that U.S. allies buy 149 jets over the three-year period. In the United States' one-year deal, it will buy the remaining 106 jets for delivery beginning in 2020. The U.S. government will continue to buy jets in annual contracts, but is also purchasing components for future-year jets and will also benefit from the economies of scale allowed under the multiyear contract. The three-year deal, known as the "block buy" among the United States and allies, has been said to be worth more than $37 billion and encompass a record 440 jets. Wednesday's contract agrees to a high-water mark of $22.7 billion for all of the 255 jets, but that dollar figure is expected to come down during the negotiations while the jet count is considered a minimum commitment. The interim payment authorized on Wednesday will be deducted from the total contract when the two sides reach a final agreement. The Pentagon is negotiating a separate contract with Pratt & Whitney, a unit of United Technologies Corp, for engines to power the jets. (Reporting by Mike Stone in Washington; Editing by Matthew Lewis) https://www.nytimes.com/reuters/2018/11/14/business/14reuters-usa-lockheed-pentagon.html

• 

  March 17, 2021 | International, Aerospace

  Here’s how much one future TF-X fighter jet will cost Turkey

  The maker of the TF-X also has plans to install a Ukrainian engine on its new Atak II-class T929 helicopter.