The U.S. State Department has approved a potential sale to Spain of Sikorsky MH-60R anti-submarine and anti-surface warfare helicopters.

Italian defense conglomerate Leonardo is planning to invest around €300 million ($328.6 million) annually over the next five years to modernize its production processes and develop new products and technology.

Germany is now set to purchase Lockheed Martin’s F-35 Joint Strike Fighter to partially replace the country’s aging Panavia Tornado fleet. 

Sweden has joined the growing list of European countries set to hike defense spending in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. 

The first of three Northrop Grumman RQ-4 Block 30 (I) Global Hawks arrived in Japan March 12, more than three years after the Foreign Military Sales (FMS) contract was signed in November 2018. 

The U.S. Congress is moving forward with a government-wide spending bill that would provide $728.5 billion for the Defense Department in fiscal 2022, placing a priority on protection of the Indo-Pacific region, space capabilities and assistance for Ukraine.

While the 2022 growth rate is well below the double digits achieved through the 1990s and early 2000s, in dollars it is $15 billion, the largest-ever annual increase.

Chinese aircraft intrusions still accounted for 70% of all Japanese scrambles in February but Russian aircraft movements in were unusually high.