DefenseNews

Italian, British F-35B jets train together for first time, all thanks to the pandemic

PANTELLERIA, Italy — The Italian Air Force is getting its money’s worth out of its single F-35B jet. The jet made a short landing Tuesday on the Italian island of Pantelleria to join a British Royal Air Force F-35B. The two Joint Strike Fighters practiced fast ground refueling from a parked C-130J, marking the first time F-35Bs from Italy and the U.K. have trained together. The British…
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DefenseNews

What’s a fair price for KC-46 spare parts? The Air Force isn’t sure

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Air Force recently awarded Boeing an $88 million contract for spare parts for Japan’s KC-46 tankers, but service officials confirmed to Defense News on Monday the deal included about $10 million in costs that Air Force leaders investigated and could not determine if they were fair or reasonable. That finding has led to concerns from Capitol Hill that Boeing is…
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DefenseNews

Lebanese Navy to receive 7 offshore patrol vessels

BEIRUT — The Lebanese Navy expects to receive seven offshore patrol vessels, including four with help from France and three Protector-class OPVs that are part of U.S. military aid. “Currently, there is coordination with French shipbuilders to supply Lebanon with four…
DefenseNews

China will only benefit from the US Navy’s shipbuilding budget

The proposed U.S. Navy shipbuilding budget for fiscal 2021 contains only good news for China. The threat of a larger U.S. Navy has disappeared. Reductions of cruisers eliminate long-range offensive and anti-submarine warfare ships. Frigates and Marine expeditionary ship programs are delayed. Force assessments form the plan for the Navy. An assessment conducted in the 1970s and implemented in…
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DefenseNews

US approves location for Singaporean F-16, F-35 training

MELBOURNE, Australia — The U.S. and Singaporean governments have chosen Ebbing Air National Guard Base in Fort Smith, Arkansas, to host the Southeast Asian nation’s Lockheed Martin F-16 Fighter Falcon and future F-35B fighter jet training detachments. The Arkansas…
DefenseNews

US Army chooses winner to build its new Stryker gun system

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Army has chosen Oshkosh Defense to build its new Medium Caliber Weapon System — a 30mm, unmanned turreted auto-cannon — for the Stryker combat vehicle. The first delivery order covers 91 vehicles valued at roughly $130 million. The Army could build up to six Stryker Brigades with the MCWS version so the potential contract value is roughly $942 million over six years…
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