WASHINGTON — A contract for the sale of F-35 Joint Strike Fighters to the United Arab Emirates is likely to be inked before the end of the Trump administration, according to a top U.S. State Department official.
“Everything is on that trajectory” for a signed contract before Jan. 20, R. Clarke Cooper, assistant secretary of state for political-military affairs, told reporters on a Friday…
Defense department reform office shuts down
January 7, 2021
WASHINGTON — With Congress overriding President Donald Trump’s veto of the 2021 National Defense Authorization Act, the Pentagon’s chief management officer job has officially been eliminated.
While the NDAA language calls for the roles and responsibilities of the…
LONDON — British F-35B combat jets are to be equipped with a new mini cruise missile following the signing of a £550 million (U.S. $750 million) production contract by the Ministry of Defence and contractor MBDA, the company announced Jan. 6.
The deal should see the…
Israel, Greece sign $1.7 billion deal for Air Force training
January 6, 2021
JERUSALEM — As part of a $1.68 billion deal between Israel and Greece — the largest-ever defense agreement between the two countries — the Hellenic Air Force will acquire 10 M-346 aircraft and Israel’s Elbit Systems will establish a flight school and maintain training aircraft.
Israel will also provide simulators, training and logistical support as part of the 20-year deal. It is part…
Lockheed aeronautics chief Michele Evans has died
January 3, 2021
WASHINGTON — Michele Evans, who led Lockheed Martin’s Aeronautics business since 2018, died on Jan. 1, the company announced Saturday.
Evans took a leave of absence that began Dec. 1 “to address health issues unrelated to the coronavirus pandemic,” according to a…
WASHINGTON — Lockheed Martin delivered 123 F-35s to the U.S. military and international customers in 2020, missing its initial 141-aircraft goal for the year but meeting its revised target, the company announced Monday.
The COVID-19 pandemic proved itself to be a…
WASHINGTON — An effort to pursue a mid-range missile capable of going after maritime targets using the Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS) has been terminated, according to the fiscal 2021 defense spending bill released Dec. 21.
The bill, which emerged from conference committee, has zeroed out the Cross-Domain ATACMS program due to the program being terminated. The Pentagon had requested…
WASHINGTON — Buried inside the massive $2.3 trillion spending package passed by Congress on Monday was a $286 million lifeline for General Atomics that will keep the Air Force buying MQ-9 Reaper drones at least one more year.
In its fiscal 2021 budget request, the Air…
LONDON — An industry consortium led by Capita is taking over Royal Navy personnel training in a deal awarded earlier this month by the Ministry of Defence.
The British company announced via Linked-In that a consortium it is leading alongside Raytheon UK, Elbit Systems…
Army long-range cannon gets direct hit on target 43 miles away
December 22, 2020
WASHINGTON — The Army’s Extended Range Cannon Artillery (ERCA) system under development hit a target 43 miles away — or 70 kilometers — on the nose at Yuma Proving Ground, Arizona, Dec. 19, using an Excalibur extended-range guided artillery shell, according to Brig. Gen. John Rafferty, who is in charge of the service’s Long-Range Precision Fires modernization.
“I don’t think our…
