August 2, 2023 | International, Naval
The trials tested the capability of the new maritime Electronic Warfare (EW) system to effectively respond to complex missile attack scenarios, including launching decoy rounds from several launchers against multiple...
January 15, 2024 | International, Aerospace
A pair of US Army surplus Sikorsky UH-60A Black Hawk helicopters were delivered to Albania on 13 January, Albanian Minister of Defence Niko Peleshi disclosed on the same day. A file photo of a UH-60A Black Hawk, of the type that Albania has ...
November 23, 2020 | International, Aerospace
By: Seth J. Frantzman JERUSALEM — Israel Aerospace Industries has named Boaz Levy, its former vice president for the Systems Missiles and Space Group, as its new CEO. Levy's group oversaw major contracts for IAI over the years, including billion-dollar deals in India in 2018. He was also central to the Arrow 3 program, which was developed with U.S. support to intercept high-altitude targets in space, such as ballistic missiles. In his new position, Levy said he plans to lead the company through the challenges of the future. “IAI has transformed in recent years, but we still have a considerable way to achieve the company's potential and strengthen our position in existing and new markets,” he said. Levy's appointment was approved by the Board of Directors, according to a statement from the company. The search committee chose Levy to replace Nimrod Sheffer after announcing in July he would step down. Sheffer had replaced Joseph Weiss as CEO in 2018, who had been at the helm of the company for six years. Sheffer came from the strategic planning area of the company and had drafted a new growth strategy for IAI. In March the company said its annual revenue surpassed $4 billion for the first time. That was an increase from $3.6 billion in 2018 and $3.5 billion in 2017. IAI's chairman of the board, Harel Locker, praised the unanimous decision to nominate Levy. “Levy has successfully managed the Systems Missiles and Space Group — IAI's most profitable group that in recent years has made technological and financial groundbreaking achievements. Boaz knows the domestic and international defense market and understands our customer's needs,” Locker said. Sheffer officially stepped down on Oct. 31, and Levy's nomination has been submitted to Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz and Minister for Cyber and National Digital Matters Dudi Amsalem, who supervise the government's authority over IAI. IAI is one of Israel's three large defense companies along with Elbit Systems and Rafael Advanced Defense Systems. Many of the companies' capabilities are integrated into key Israeli weapon systems, such as the Iron Dome air defense system, which uses radar made by IAI subsidiary Elta Systems. Similarly, the new Sa'ar-class corvette will combine capabilities from IAI, including a new sea-to-sea missile the company recently tested. Levy was previously head of IAI's air defense division between 2010 and 2013. A graduate of Israel's Technion, he came to IAI in 1990 as an engineer and worked on the Arrow program in the 1990s and 2000s. According to IAI, he “headed the induction of the Arrow-2 into operational service.” He also headed the Barak-8 program, which IAI claims is one of the world's most advanced air defense systems. The Barak-8 is also a major revenue source for the company. In 2017, Levy indicated Israel aimed to build future interceptors beyond Arrow 2 and Arrow 3. The Arrow 3 is currently Israel's top tier in a multilayered air defense system that includes the Iron Dome and David's Sling, all programs supported by the U.S. More than 20 American states are involved in the production of Arrow 3. Israel faces increasing threats from Iran and also challenges at sea, which is partly why it has shifted its naval doctrine amid adoption of the new Sa'ar 6 corvettes, and also why it rolled out a new multiyear defense strategy called Momentum. The country has aso begun modernizing training, creating new military units and upgrading communications systems for its armed forces. https://www.defensenews.com/industry/2020/11/20/iai-names-boaz-levy-as-new-chief-exec
April 14, 2020 | International, Aerospace, Naval, Land, C4ISR, Security
By Anthony Capaccio As of Wednesday, 86 sites were closed out of 10,509 locations Boeing's aircraft plant closings are one big exception The Pentagon's contractors have largely avoided widespread closings or “major impacts” so far from the coronavirus pandemic, according to a running tally compiled by its contracts management office. Of 10,509 locations tracked or monitored by the Defense Contract Management Agency, 135 had closed at some point as of Wednesday. Forty-nine of those reopened after an average of about 10 days. “These closures have generally been short-term in order to clean facilities” or to “reduce the potential exposure of employees,” agency spokesman Matthew Montgomery said in a statement. The agency doesn't track how many workers are affected, he said. And the numbers on closings don't reflect defense contractors that have cut back their operations -- or the outsized impact of Boeing Co.'s shutdowns. Boeing, the No. 2 U.S. defense contractor, has indefinitely halted assembly of the KC-46 refueling tanker and the P-8A Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft at its facilities in Washington State, the initial U.S. center of the pandemic. Last Friday, the company began a two-week shutdown of the Philadelphia-area factory where it manufactures military rotorcraft, including the Chinook CH-47 cargo helicopter and the tilt-rotor V-22 Osprey. Huntington Is Open By contrast, Huntington Ingalls Industries Inc., has had no closings to this point, according to spokeswoman Beci Brenton. With 42,000 employees, it's the sole U.S. builder of aircraft carriers and the co-contractor of Navy attack submarines and DDG-51 destroyers. Montgomery said the Defense Department “has worked closely with local and state governments to ensure that the defense industrial base is considered critical infrastructure to help minimize the impact of statewide closures.” Impacts from closings “are being seen across all sectors including but not limited to clothing and textiles, aerospace, shipbuilding, and ground vehicles,” he said. Many Pentagon contractors “are struggling to maintain a mission-ready workforce due to work site closures, personnel quarantines and state and local restrictions on movement” that can't “be resolved through remote work,” Kim Herrington, the Defense Department's pricing and contracting director, said in a memo Wednesday. To support the defense industry, the DCMA has modified about 1,400 contracts to increase the rate for “progress payments” for work completed on time from 80% to 90% of costs incurred for large businesses and from 90% of cost to 95% for small businesses. The move resulted in $3 billion being advanced to industry, according to Herrington. That's in addition to $882 million that the Air Force is providing to Chicago-based Boeing. The funds were being withheld until the company corrected or provided sufficient plans to correct numerous deficiencies with KC-46 tankers. Most of those flaws remain unresolved. Also, the Pentagon issued guidance Thursday that lets military contracting officers reimburse companies for documented payments to employees who can't work because of coronavirus facility closings or related restrictions. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-04-10/defense-contractors-keep-most-plants-running-despite-outbreak