Serbia to buy 12 Rafale fighter jets in nod to European industry

On the same subject

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  November 29, 2018 | International, Land

  U.S. approves possible $15 billion sale of THAAD missiles to Saudi Arabia

  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. State Department has approved the possible sale of a THAAD anti-missile defence system to Saudi Arabia at an estimated cost of $15 billion (11.48 billion pounds), the Pentagon said on Friday, citing Iran among regional threats. The approval opens the way for Saudi Arabia to purchase 44 Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) launchers and 360 missiles, as well as fire control stations and radars. “This sale furthers U.S. national security and foreign policy interests, and supports the long-term security of Saudi Arabia and the Gulf region in the face of Iranian and other regional threats,” the Pentagon's Defense Security Cooperation agency said in a statement. Saudi Arabia and the United States are highly critical of what they consider Iran's aggressive behaviour in the Middle East. Iran also has one of the biggest ballistic missile programs in the Middle East, viewing it as an essential precautionary defence against the United States and other adversaries, primarily Gulf Arab states and Israel. THAAD missile systems are deployed to defend against ballistic missile attacks. Saudi-owned al Arabiya television reported on Thursday that the kingdom had agreed to buy Russian S-400 surface-to-air missile systems, an announcement that came as Saudi King Salman made during his visit to Russia, the first by a Saudi monarch. Full article: https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-usa-saudi-missiles/us-approves-possible-15-billion-sale-of-thaad-missiles-to-saudi-arabia-idUKKBN1CB2L9

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  June 16, 2024 | International, Land

  Amentum Selected to Deliver Hypersonic Technologies and Capability Development Services to UK Ministry of Defence

  The HTCDF framework, valued up to $1.25 Billion over the next seven years, has been established to accelerate development of a sovereign UK Hypersonic Strike Capability, whilst bolstering AUKUS collaboration...

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  September 30, 2020 | International, Aerospace

  Germany walks away from Lockheed, Boeing cargo helicopter offers

  Sebastian Sprenger COLOGNE, Germany — The German Defence Ministry wants to start fresh on a new heavy transport helicopter after finding that offers from American firms Boeing and Lockheed Martin for the Chinook and the King Stallion, respectively, were too expensive, officials announced Tuesday. The surprise decision halts an acquisition race that was scheduled to a see a contract awarded in 2021. The two companies delivered their initial proposals for the program, aimed at replacing Germany's aging CH-53G helicopters, in January 2020. A request for a second proposal was expected by the end of this year. The move comes as the budget implications of the coronavirus crisis are starting to materialize, despite leaders' pledges to keep military spending high. Given that context, other programs are also expected to be on shaky ground, according to sources in Berlin. Officials canceled the helicopter race — locally known as Schwerer Transporthubschrauber, or STH — because the government deemed offers by the defense giants as “uneconomical,” a Defence Ministry statement read. The chance of meeting all requirements while adhering to the envisioned multibillion-dollar budget would be “unlikely,” officials wrote. The STH program was initially planned to be a poster child for a no-frills, off-the-shelf purchase that's easy on the defense budget. But acquisition officials kept piling on requirements to such a degree that it surprised some industry executives associated with the bidders, Defense News reported earlier this year. Also included in the government's requirements was a decades-long maintenance scheme under which contractors had to guarantee certain availability rates. Tobias Lindner, the Green Party's point man in the Bundestag for defense issues, called the helicopter program's a “bitter sign” for Germany's soldiers. He argued the Defence Ministry had been naive in its approach to the much-needed acquisition. “A new competition alone won't solve that problem,” he said. https://www.defensenews.com/global/europe/2020/09/29/germany-walks-away-from-lockheed-boeing-cargo-helicopt