March 31, 2023

The Defense Post Newsletter 3/31/23

Welcome! Stay ahead of the curve with our newsletter covering the latest developments in the US and global defense industries, ongoing conflicts, and emerging trends.

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US Industry News

Milley Warns of High Ammo Use in Event of Major War

America’s top military officer warned Wednesday that war between the US and another major power would see “off the charts” munitions consumption and said there is work to be done to ensure the country is prepared.

Ukraine and Russia have fired huge amounts of artillery ammunition since Moscow invaded its neighbor in February 2022, sparking concerns about the amount the United States — which has supplied large amounts of shells to Kyiv — has on hand.

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BLACK HAWK CRASH: Two US Army helicopters crashed during a nighttime training mission in Kentucky, killing all nine soldiers on board.
HYPERSONIC WEAPON PROGRAM: The US Air Force will no longer pursue the development of its troubled Air-launched Rapid Response Weapon hypersonic missile program.
PATRIOT SOFTWARE UPGRADE: Lockheed Martin has flight-tested its PAC-3 Missile Segment Enhancement to validate the platform’s latest software update.
SWITCHBLADE DRONE: AeroVironment has unveiled a new version of its Switchblade suicide drone featuring significant performance and capability improvements.
HALO SHIP-KILLING MISSILE: The US Navy has contracted Raytheon and Lockheed Martin to develop a hypersonic anti-ship missile.
ENGINE SUSTAINMENT CENTER: Pratt & Whitney will invest $255 million to construct a military engine sustainment center in Oklahoma.
CYCLONE-CLASS PATROL SHIPS: The US Navy is transferring its remaining Cyclone-class patrol ships to the Philippines.
THAAD: Lockheed Martin has contracted Aerojet Rocketdyne to produce solid rocket motors that power the US Missile Defense Agency’s THAAD system.
GROUND COMBAT VEHICLES: The US Army and L3Harris have partnered to support the service’s modular open systems approach for next-gen ground combat vehicles.
LASER GUIDANCE KITS: The US Army has tested BAE Systems’ APKWS laser guidance kits on a counter-drone mission.
PATRIOT MISSILE SYSTEM: Raytheon has been awarded a $1.2-billion contract to manufacture Patriot missile system fire units for the US Army.

Global Industry News

Poland to Equip New AW149 Helicopters With Hellfire Missiles

Poland has announced its new AW149 multi-role helicopters will be equipped with AGM-114 Hellfire missiles. Integrating Lockheed Martin’s powerful missile system would allow the chopper to neutralize enemy armor autonomously.

The announcement comes after the US State Department approved a $150-million sale of Hellfire air-to-ground missiles to Warsaw.

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SINGAPORE: ST Engineering Marine will build six multi-role combat vessels to replace the Republic of Singapore Navy’s Victory-class missile corvettes.
NEXT GENERATION WEAPON SYSTEM: Spain, Germany, and France have begun designing tactical sensors to support the Next Generation Weapon System program.
TAIWAN: Taiwan has deferred purchasing the ground-launched small-diameter bomb from the US due to Washington’s Ukraine commitment.
AIRBUS: Airbus has trialed in-flight drone guidance and control with an A310 multirole tanker transport aircraft in Spain.
INDIA: India’s defense ministry has signed a contract with NewSpace India Limited to deliver an advanced communications satellite to the Indian Army.
ITALY: The Italian defense ministry has tasked MBDA with exploring a replacement for the FIM-92 Stinger man-portable air defense system.
FINLAND: Finland has contracted Nammo Lapua Oy to manufacture additional 155-millimeter ammunition parts for its military.
ISRAEL: Israel launched a new spy satellite with advanced imaging capabilities early on Wednesday, the defense ministry said.
INDIA: India showed off domestically made helicopters, drones, and artillery at a gathering of army chiefs and officials from 31 African nations on Wednesday.
FRANCE: SURVEY Copter has unveiled a light tactical drone concept that can perform vertical takeoff and landing.
NATO: NATO’s A330 multinational multi-roe tanker transporter fleet has achieved initial operational capability for a complete range of missions.
TURKEY: Baykar Technologies has unveiled its Bayraktar TB-3 drone for launch from naval vessels.
AUSTRIA: Thales has received a contract to supply more than 2,500 SquadNet tactical radios for the Austrian Armed Forces.
SINGAPORE: Singapore and Thales have signed a “master agreement” to enhance the capabilities of the company’s Defence Hub for the Singapore Armed Forces.

Conflict News

Long-Range US Rockets Could Give Ukraine Major Boost: Analysts

The long-range rockets that Moscow says the United States has delivered to Ukraine could be a strategic asset for Kyiv against Russian troops in coming months, analysts say.

Russia on Tuesday said it had for the first time downed a ground-launched small-diameter bomb, a munition that can fly up to 150 kilometers (93 miles).

Kyiv has not confirmed the delivery, but the Pentagon in early February said it would ship over the rocket-propelled precision bombs as part of a fresh arms package for the country.

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DR CONGO: Democratic Republic of Congo rebels continued to occupy strategic positions in the east late Thursday, the day M23 militants were supposed to withdraw under a regional peace initiative.
RUSSIA & NORTH KOREA: The White House said Thursday that Russia is seeking more arms from North Korea for the Ukraine war, revealing the identity of a Slovakian man allegedly brokering deals between Moscow and Pyongyang.
PAKISTAN: Four policemen were killed by a roadside bomb as they scrambled to protect a police station under siege by Taliban militants in northwest Pakistan, officials said Thursday.
SYRIA: Israel carried out missile strikes near Damascus early Thursday that wounded two Syrian soldiers, Syria’s defense ministry said.
RUSSIA: Russia’s cyberwar on Ukraine largely failed and Moscow is increasingly targeting Kyiv’s European allies, according to US and French analysts.
SPAIN & UKRAINE: Spain will send six promised Leopard battle tanks to Ukraine after Easter to help the war-torn country fend off Russia’s invasion.
COLOMBIA: Colombia’s ELN guerrilla group has killed nine soldiers in an attack in the country’s northeast, the government said on Wednesday.
UKRAINE: Ukrainian soldiers have completed their Challenger 2 main battle tank training in the UK.

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Latest Pentagon Contracts

Northrop Grumman was awarded $13,900,000 to provide mission command training and technical, exercise, simulation, and organizational support.
Lockheed Martin was awarded $33,566,331 to support acquisition of the Terrestrial Layer System Brigade Combat Team.
Walsh Federal was awarded $148,978,000 for design and construction of a nuclear command, control and communications alert campus.
Kratos Unmanned Aerial Systems was awarded $11,123,211 for 15 additional full rate production Lot 4 BQM-177A surface launched aerial targets.
Raytheon was awarded $650,433,839 for the production and delivery of low rate initial production Lot III Next Generation Jammer Mid-Band.
General Electric Aerospace - Marine was awarded $16,748,330 for one LM2500+G4 gas turbine engine and auxiliary systems in support of the Navy DDG(X) land based test site.
Ocean Shipholdings was awarded $59,416,597 for the operation and maintenance of seven government-owned Oceanographic Survey vessels.
Raytheon was awarded $19,112,607 for engineering and technical support of Standard Missiles 2 and 6 (SM-2/6).
Lockheed Martin was awarded $120,269,044 to support the development, production, and sustainment of software builds, as well as to execute developmental flight tests in support of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter aircraft.
Silver Ships was awarded $8,496,795 for the procurement of Marine Corps assault amphibian safety vessels.
Raytheon was awarded $55,076,756 for guided missile assemblies, shipping containers, and spare parts in support of the Evolved Seasparrow Missile Block 2 full rate production requirements.
Lockheed Martin was awarded $179,013,526 for the ongoing development, installation, integration, testing, training, and delivery of the F-35 Autonomic Logistics Information System and Operational Data Integrated Network.
Raytheon was awarded $619,242,288 for hardware production of the AN/SPY-6(V) family of radars.
Valero Marketing and Supply was awarded a maximum of $905,836,659 for JAA aviation fuel to Altus Air Force Base, Oklahoma.