Defense Industry Daily

Americas General Dynamics Land Systems  was awarded a $21,998,374 modification for Abrams systems technical support. Work will be performed in Sterling Heights, Michigan, with an estimated completion date of Jan. 15, 2025. Fiscal 2024 research, development, test, and evaluation, Army funds in the amount of $21,998,374 were obligated at the time of the award. Army […]

M1A2 SEP (click to view full) America’s M1 Abrams tanks come in a number of versions. In addition to the M1A1 that is now standard, the US Army is beginning to field its M1 TUSK for urban warfare. It also operates the M1A2 System Enhancement Program (SEP), currently the most advanced standard variant. This Spotlight […]

Americas BAE Systems has been awarded $25 million to provide the US Marine Corps with more Amphibious Combat Vehicle-Personnel units (ACV-P) under its fourth order for full-rate production. The deal is a follow-on order to a previously-awarded $181-million contract for the vehicles. The agreement also covers the vehicles’ fielding and sustainment costs, as well as support […]

Americas Insitu Inc. won a $84 million modification, which increases the contract ceiling to procure six RQ-21A and 20 ScanEagle unmanned air vehicles (UAS) including payloads and turrets; support equipment; spares and special tooling. Additionally, this modification procures services to include training, site surveys, engineering and technical and repair of repairable in support of the […]

ScanEagle launch (click to view full) ScanEagle’s base Insight UAV platform was originally developed by Washington state’s Insitu, Inc. to track dolphins and tuna from fishing boats, in order to ensure that the fish you buy in supermarkets is “dolphin-safe”. It turns out that the same characteristics needed by fishing boats (able to handle salt […]

Americas FlightSafety International Defense Corp. won a $7.9 million modification for the exercise of the KC-46 Aircrew Training System. The contract modification will provide an additional weapon system trainer, additional learning management workstations, systems engineering and program management, as well as new refresher training scenarios. Work will be performed at Broken Arrow, Oklahoma, and is […]

KC-135: Old as the hills… (click to view full) DID’s FOCUS articles cover major weapons acquisition programs – and no program is more important to the USAF than its aerial tanker fleet renewal. In January 2007, the big question was whether there would be a competition for the USA’s KC-X proposal, covering 175 production aircraft […]

Americas The US Navy’s transition to the CMV-22B Osprey for its long-range and medium-lift aerial logistics missions took a significant step forward on April 5, with the arrival of the first tiltrotor aircraft assigned to the East Coast at Naval Station Norfolk, Virginia. Fleet Logistics Multi-Mission Squadron (VRM) 40, nicknamed “Mighty Bison,” received the first […]

Americas India’s Cochin Shipyard Limited has signed a maintenance and repair agreement with the US Navy. The third Master Shipyard Repair Agreement with an Indian company follows agreements with Larsen & Toubro in 2023 for Mazagon Dock and Kattupalli Port. The US Navy’s effort to expand maintenance and repair centers in the Indo-Pacific stems from the […]

Americas The US Army Security Assistance Command (USASAC) has a news article on the delivery of the first Beechcraft King Air 350ER, designated CE-145C Vigilance in Canada, to the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) on February 22nd. This marks the initial phase of a program that will see a total of three CE-145C Vigilance aircraft […]

Italian Eurofighters (click to view full) The multi-national Eurofighter Typhoon has been described as the aerodynamic apotheosis of lessons learned from the twin engine “teen series” fighters that began with the F-14 and F-15, continued with the emergence of the F/A-18 Hornet, and extended through to the most recent F/A-18 Super Hornet variants. Aerodynamically, it’s […]

Americas Elbit Systems has unveiled the Air Keeper, a revolutionary airborne system designed to integrate Intelligence, Surveillance, Target Acquisition, and Reconnaissance (ISTAR) capabilities with Electronic Warfare (EW) functionalities on a single platform. The Air Keeper is built with a modular architecture, allowing for compatibility with various business jets and civilian platforms. This flexibility enables customization […]

F-15C over DC (click to view full) “Array of Aging American Aircraft Attracting Attention” discusses the issues that accompany an air force whose fighters have an average age of over 23.5 years – vs. an average of 8.5 years in 1967. One of the most obvious consequences is the potential for fleet groundings due to […]

Americas The US Navy plans to mount a high-powered microwave-based counter-air defense system prototype on one of its vessels in 2026. The Meteor will be the navy’s first high-powered microwave (HPM) project to counter targets such as drones and anti-ship missiles, USNI News wrote, citing the Navy’s Fiscal Year 2025 budget documents. The US Army and the US […]

USN MH-60S test (click to view full) Hellfire I/II missiles are the USA’s preferred aerial anti-armor missile, and are widely deployed with America’s allies. They equip America’s helicopter fleets (AH-64, AH-1, OH-58D, MH-60S/R), AH-64 and S-70 helicopters flown by its allies, and even Australia and France’s Eurocopter Tiger attack helicopters. Range is officially listed as […]

AH-64 in Afghanistan (click to view full) The AH-64 Apache will remain the US Army’s primary armed helicopter for several more decades, thanks to the collapse of the RAH-66 Comanche program, and the retirement sans replacement of the US Army’s Armed Reconnaissance Helicopter (ARH). Apaches also serve with a number of American allies, some of […]

Americas Boeing won a $116 million hybrid deal for Apache logistics support. Bids were solicited via the internet with one received. Work will be performed in Mesa, Arizona, with an estimated completion date of April 30, 2025. Fiscal 2024 Army working capital funds in the amount of $116,703,697 were obligated at the time of the […]

EA-18G at Pax The USA’s electronic attack fighters are a unique, overworked, and nearly obsolete capability. With the retirement of the US Air Force’s long-range EF-111 Raven “Spark ‘Vark,” the aging 4-seat EA-6B Prowlers became the USA’s only remaining fighter for radar jamming, communications jamming and information operations like signals interception [1]. Despite their age […]

Americas General Atomics Aeronautical Systems won a $561 million cost-plus-fixed-fee contract for Gray Eagle technical services. Bids were solicited via the internet with one received. Work locations and funding will be determined with each order, with an estimated completion date of March 28, 2029. Army Contracting Command, Redstone Arsenal, Alabama, is the contracting activity. General […]

ER/MP, armed (click to view full) Its initial battles were fought within the Pentagon, but the US Army’s high-end UAV has made its transition to the battlefield. The ER/MP program was part of the US Army’s reinvestment of dollars from the canceled RAH-66 Comanche helicopter program, and directly supports the Army’s Aviation Modernization Plan. The […]