U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT approved $11.25b foreign military sale to Saudi Arabia of four modified Freedom-class Littoral Combat Ships, equipped with weapon systems including eight MK. 41 vertical launchers, 532 tactical RIM-162 Evolved Sea Sparrow Missiles, eight Harpoon Shipboard Launchers, 48 RGM-Harpoon Block II missiles, five MK-15 Mod 31 SeaRAM Close-in Weapon Systems and 188 RIM 116C Block II Rolling Airframe Missiles.
Foreign direct investment (FDI) into the U.S. aerospace sector reached a 6.3% compound annual growth rate in 2014, according to the U.S. Commerce Department. At the end of 2014, FDI into U.S. aerospace products and parts manufacturing industries totaled $22.5 billion, growing annually since 2008. The rate “outpaced the compound annual growth rate of FDI positions in transportation equipment manufacturing and even growth in FDI of all industries during the same period,” officials said.
If Canada’s next prime minister follows through on his party’s campaign pledge to reject the F-35, it will increase the cost to other buyers by about $1 million per aircraft.
South Korea will probably decide in early 2016 whether the proposed KF-X fighter will be equipped with the Eurojet EJ200 or General Electric F414 engine.
The guided-missile destroyer DDG 71 USS Ross intercepted a ballistic missile in the Atlantic during the Maritime Theater Missile Defense Forum’s At Sea Demonstration.
Senior Pentagon officials and the Russian Ministry of Defense signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) this week to minimize the risk of inflight incidents among coalition and Russian aircraft operating in Syrian airspace. The MOU includes specific safety protocols for aircrews to follow, such as maintaining professional airmanship at all times, the use of specific communication frequencies and the establishment of a communication line on the ground. The U.S. and Russia will form a working group to discuss any issues in following the MOU.
LOCKHEED MARTIN has $85m U.S. Army contract for an additional seven AN/TPQ-53 (Q-53) counterfire target acquisition radars. Full-rate production contract for 77 additional systems expected in early 2016. COBHAM has $15m in recent orders from BAE SYSTEMS for microelectronic components and integrated microelectronic assemblies for radar and electronic warfare (EW) systems for the F-35 Lightning II.
Who better to turn to than the creative side of almost everyone for ideas on how to find and protect the Earth from asteroids on potential collision courses.
Military policy leaders in Congress took steps to reform the acquisition system this year, including allowing service chiefs to sign off on purchasing decisions.
The Deep Space Climate Observatory spacecraft mission has debuted images of the sunlit Blue Marble Earth on a new NASA website, http://epic.gsfc.nasa.gov/.
Canada’s Liberal party scored a surprise victory in Monday’s federal election, and, for the time being, eliminated one of the largest export customers for the F-35.
The U.S. Navy will have to rely on more of its current aircraft to complement its planned carrier-based F-35C force, service officials and analysts say.
Dirk Hoke, 46, currently CEO of Siemens’ Large Drives business unit, will join Airbus Defense & Space on Jan. 1 as deputy CEO and will step up to the role of CEO on April 1, 2016.
