Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has announced that the United States is increasing its military assistance to Ukraine by $2.3 billion, according to an Associated Press report on Austin’s meeting with visiting Ukrainian Defense Minister Rustem Umerov at the Pentagon on Tuesday. The increased aid will source $150 million from the presidential drawdown authority allowing the...
BAE Systems has secured a $76 million contract to develop a Sting Ray Mod 2 lightweight torpedo design for the U.K. Ministry of Defence. In a notice, the ministry said the agreement supports a four-year evaluation effort to update the Sting Ray Mod 1 torpedo system that the British military currently uses. The latest defense...
The United States has approved Taiwan’s request to purchase loitering munition systems. The proposed foreign military sale, estimated to be worth $60.2 million, will supply Taipei with AeroVironment’s Switchblade 300 advanced weapon system to strengthen the East Asian nation’s capability to defend itself against regional threats. The Switchblade 300 can be transported in a backpack...
The European Investment Fund has launched an initiative to strengthen investments in the continent’s defense and security capabilities. In a memorandum of understanding with the NATO Innovation Fund, the two organizations aim to encourage private capital funds to allocate more of their investments towards the region’s defense and security industry. The MOU includes plans for...
Security risks at several forthcoming major events in Europe, such as the Paris Olympics and the European football championship, have prompted the U.S. military bases in the region to raise their alert level, Sabrina Singh, the Department of Defense’s deputy press secretary, announced at a Pentagon briefing Monday. Singh did not specify the new alert...
The Department of State will host two batches of NATO officials under an exchange program, opening up an opportunity to exchange knowledge with their American counterparts. Under the International Visitor Leadership Program, the State Department expects more than 40 current and future leaders to visit the United States to attend the 2024 NATO Washington Summit...
Work has started on the European Defence Agency’s Modular Lightweight Minesweeping Next Generation project’s third phase to further advance the technology readiness level of systems under development and demonstrate their use in an operational environment. The project seeks to develop and deploy smaller unmanned surface vehicles as lightweight minesweepers operating in a formation or as a...
Airbus has announced an agreement with Spirit AeroSystems to acquire some of the latter’s operations, particularly the manufacture of key aircraft components. The “definitive agreement” could lead to the purchase of Spirit’s specific activities, including the production sites for A350 fuselage sections and A220 pylons in the United States, Airbus said. The ongoing transaction would also...
Germany’s Federal Office of Bundeswehr Equipment, Information Technology and In-Service Support has signed a framework contract with Rheinmetall to supply the German armed forces with up to 6,500 military trucks valued at a potential $3.8 billion. The German Parliament’s budget committee approved the procurement’s funding on June 26. The contract, which Rheinmetall described as a “record...
General Atomics Aeronautical Systems Inc. will provide logistics and sustainment services to the Belgian Air Force. The U.S. Air Force awarded the California-based company with a $48.54 million undefinitized contract action to support Belgium’s fleet of MQ-9B SkyGuardian. Under the deal, GA-ASI will provide depot repair, engineering, software and field team support from its facilities...
