January 9, 2019 | International, Land
Ashley Roque, Washington, DC - Jane's Defence Weekly
In the US military's bid to protect troops inside its M1 Abrams main battle tanks from incoming threats such as anti-tank guided missiles and rocket-propelled grenades, the army and US Marine Corps (USMC) are purchasing additional Israeli-built Trophy active protection systems (APSs).
Leonardo DRS, Rafael's US-based partner, announced on 8 January that it has received a contract initially worth up to USD79.6 million to provide the services with additional Trophy systems. The latest contract pushes the programme's funded value more than USD200 million.
"Leonardo DRS is proud of the confidence shown by the army in deciding to field Trophy to even more US combat brigades," said Aaron Hankins, vice-president and general manager of the Leonardo DRS Land Systems division. "Together with our Rafael partners, we are fully committed to meeting our customers' demands and are working in parallel to further address the urgent protection needs of other US platforms."
The company declined to discuss the specific number of APSs acquired under the latest contract or how they will be split between the army and USMC.
With a proliferation of anti-tank guided missiles and the Pentagon preparing for a potential ground conflict with Russian forces, the army evaluated three APSs: Rafael's Trophy on the Abrams tank, IMI Systems' (now owned by Elbit Systems) Iron Fist on the M2 Bradley, and Artis' Iron Curtain on the Stryker. Trophy was the first system flagged to proceed. Then, in November, the Army's Requirements Oversight Council (AROC) decided Iron Fist will move into the next phase of urgent qualification testing, and plans to urgently field "at least a brigade's worth of capability", according to Ashley John, the army's public affairs director for the Program Executive Officer - Ground Combat Systems.
December 5, 2023 | International, Aerospace
Members of a select panel created to propose reforms to the defense programming and budgeting process say Replicator may benefit from its recommendations.
September 5, 2018 | International, Aerospace
Neha Dasgupta NEW DELHI (Reuters) - Lockheed Martin (LMT.N) will build wings for its F-16 combat plane in India with its local partner, Tata Advanced Systems Limited, an executive at the U.S. company said on Tuesday. Lockheed is bidding for a contract - estimated at more than $15 billion - to supply the Indian air force with 114 combat planes, which must be all manufactured locally under Prime Minister Narendra Modi's flagship Make in India program. However, Vivek Lall, vice president of strategy and business development at Lockheed, said the proposed Indian production of the F-16 wings would not be contingent upon the company winning the order for the planes. “Producing F-16 wings in India will strengthen Lockheed Martin' strategic partnership with Tata and support Make in India,” the company said in a statement. Modi has been pushing for local manufacturing that will provide jobs and also end the military's dependence on imports. Lockheed's announcement came just days ahead of top level talks between the United States and India aimed at expanding defense ties. U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Defense Secretary Jim Mattis will meet with Indian Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj and Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman. Boeing (BA.N) has pitched its F/A-18 Super Hornet for the Indian contract as well as Sweden's Saab with its Gripen fighter. France's Dassault (AVMD.PA) Systemes SE's Rafale, the Eurofighter Typhoon and Russian aircraft are also in the fray. Lall said Lockheed had offered to make India its sole F-16 production facility that would supply the Indian military but also other countries. “If India buys the F-16 then it becomes the center of manufacturing for the global market,” he said. Lall said the company planned to begin production of the F-16 wings in the southern Indian city of Hyderabad from 2020. He said these were being produced at a facility in Israel and would not impact any jobs in the United States. The Israeli center will continue to be involved in other production, he said. “All F-16 wings globally are to be built in the Hyderabad facility,” he said. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-india-usa-lockheedmartin/lockheed-to-make-wings-for-f-16-jet-in-india-with-partner-tata-idUSKCN1LK17T
November 6, 2024 | International, Naval
Naval DRAKON was specifically developed to provide high-data-rate, robust and secure communications between naval vessels, airborne sensors and command centres.