Raw Intel

Americas The Georgia Air National Guard has received its first of eight C-130J-30 Super Hercules tactical airlifters from defense giant Lockheed Martin. The new jet builds on a tradition of Hercules operation for the 165th Airlift Wing, which received its first model in 1975 and has been operating many versions of the military transport aircraft […]View the full article

Americas Rolls-Royce won a $21.8 million contract modification, which exercises an option to provide depot repair of T56-A-427 engines utilized on E-2 Hawkeye aircraft, to include repair of the power section, torque meter, gearbox and accessories in accordance with Navy depot manuals and approved repair practices. The Hawkeye is an s an American all-weather, carrier-capable tactical airborne early warning (AEW) aircraft. Work will take place in Texas, Canada and Indiana. Expected completion date is January 2022. The aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford completed Combat Systems Ship’s Qualifications Trials, a milestone in validating its defenses, the US Navy said. The five…

Americas An AC-130J Ghostrider assigned to the 1st Special Operations Wing recently underwent Benefield Anechoic Facility (BAF) testing at Edwards Air Force Base for its new radio frequency countermeasures system. Back in 2017, the US Air Force selected BAE Systems to provide new radio frequency countermeasures equipment for the AC/MC-130J fleet. Raytheon won a $482.7 million deal for DDG 1000 Class Combat System activation, sustainment and modernization support for Mission Systems and Total Ship Computing Environment infrastructure (TSCEi) hardware/equipment, in addition to non-recurring engineering services supporting combat system installation, integration, developmen…

CF-18: which way? (click to see clearly) The F/A-18 Hornet is the F/A-18 E/F Super Hornet‘s predecessor, with the first models introduced in the late 1970s as a spinoff of the USAF’s YF-17 lightweight fighter competitor. Hornets are currently flown by the US Marine Corps as their front-line fighter, by the US Navy as a second-tier fighter behind its larger F/A-18 E/F Super Hornets, and by 7 international customers: Australia, Canada, Finland, Kuwait, Malaysia, Spain, and Switzerland. The USA’s aircraft were expected to have a service life of 20 years, but that was based on 100 carrier landings per year. The US Navy and Marines have been rather busy during the Hornets’ s…

Americas Global military spending reached $2.718 trillion in 2024, marking a 9.4 percent increase over 2023, the largest annual rise since the end of the Cold War, the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) reported. This marks the 10th consecutive year of rising spending worldwide, particularly in Europe and the Middle East. The top five spenders last year were the US, China, Russia, Germany, and India. “As governments increasingly prioritize military security, often at the expense of other budget areas, the economic and social trade-offs could have significant effects on societies for years to come,” said Xiao Liang, Researcher with the SIPRI Military …

Americas Canada has awarded GM Defense a contract to deliver 90 Light Tactical Vehicles (LTVs) for the army. The $25.9 million deal covers 54 personnel and 36 cargo variants of the LTV. It will also supply training, logistics support, technical manuals, and spare parts sourced from other local companies. Additionally, this agreement offers an option for up to 18 more LTVs depending on the army’s requirements in the future. The first five systems are expected to arrive in Canada this month. The US Air Force has conducted the final flight of the T-1 Jayhawk medium-range trainer jet, marking the aircraft’s retirement after three decades. The aircraft flew from Joint Base San…

Americas Canada has opened a rebuilt pier at its Esquimalt naval base in British Columbia. This project cost 1.1 billion Canadian dollars and is part of a larger plan to upgrade the harbor. The new pier will be able to handle the Royal Canadian Navy’s new ships, like the Joint Support Ships and Arctic Offshore Patrol Vessels, which are being built as part of the country’s National Shipbuilding Strategy. This upgrade will allow the base to support these larger, modern vessels. GM Defense has been awarded a $44.8 million contract to provide its Infantry Squad Vehicles (ISV) to the US Army. The exact number of vehicles to be supplied hasn’t been specified, and work locations…

Americas Lockheed Martin won a $79 million contract. This contract procures diminishing manufacturing sources parts required for the production and sustainment in of the F-35 aircraft for the Air Force, Marine Corps, Navy, Foreign Military Sales (FMS) customers, and non-US Department of Defense (DOD) participants. Work will be performed in Fort Worth, Texas, and is […]View the full article

Americas Huntington Ingalls Inc. won a $913,2 million deal for advanced planning and long-lead-time material procurement to prepare and make ready for the accomplishment of the USS Harry S. Truman (CVN 75) Refueling and Complex Overhaul. Work will be performed in Newport News, Virginia and is expected to be completed by June 2026. The USS […]View the full article

Americas Saab Inc. won an $8 million firm-fixed-price modification to previously awarded contract to exercise options for fiscal 2025 MK 9 production efforts. Work is expected to be completed by March 2027. Fiscal 2025 shipbuilding and conversion (Navy) funds in the amount of $8,097,844 were obligated at the time of award and will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, DC, is the contracting activity. General Atomics has tested the Gray Eagle Extended Range (GE-ER) drone using the Proliferated Low Earth Orbit (PLEO) satellite network for aircraft communications under a US Army contract. The company has completed two GE-ER …

Americas Boeing won a $33 million deal for Small Diameter Bomb I sustainment and titled contractor logistics support. The deal provides for the SDB-I program and requires continuous contractor logistics support throughout production, fielding, and sustainment. The Small Diameter Bomb I (SDB I) is a type of precision-guided bomb used by military aircraft. It’s designed […]View the full article

Americas The Brazilian Air Force achieved a major milestone in the effort to modernize its air combat capability with the beginning of the delivery phase of Saab F-39E Gripen multimission fighters. The first six series-produced Gripen E aircraft have left the factory to begin the delivery phase. The aircraft were unveiled on Wednesday, November 24 at Saab’s facilities. The aircraft for the Brazilian Air Force will arrive in Brazil by sea at the port of Navegantes in the middle of December. Boeing won a $212.6 million contract modification for six MH47-G renew rotary wing aircraft and eight spare shipsets in support of US Special Operations Command (USSOCOM). The Boeing …

Americas The Saab Gripen E was inducted into operational service at Anápolis Air Base, Brazil on December 19. Brazil marked the milestone during a 19 December ceremony at Anapolis air base, the home to its First Air Defense Group. During the event, two of its locally designated F-39Es (registrations 4103 and 4104) were displayed before being parked alongside a Dassault Mirage 2000C – the already retired type that they are replacing. Northrop demonstrated the inflight integration of two of its most advanced sensor and communication systems, enhancing the survivability and lethality of the US Army’s Future Vertical Lift (FVL) platforms. The demonstration saw a UH-60 Black …

Americas Rolls-Royce won a $23.3 million deal, which provides for the depot repair of T56-A-427A engines installed on E-2D Advanced Hawkeye aircraft for the Navy. The Allison T56 is a single shaft, modular design military turboprop with a 14-stage axial flow compressor driven by a four-stage turbine. The E-2D is a twin-engine turboprop aircraft. Work will take place in Texas, Canada and Indiana. Estimated completion date is in November 2022. The MQ-25 has been undergoing ground testing at Naval Station Norfolk as the unmanned aircraft prepares to embark on board an aircraft carrier next month. The MQ-25 Stingray introduces unmanned aerial refueling and intelligence, surv…

Americas Leidos has awarded CAE a deal to supply a Full Flight Simulator (FFS) for the US Army’s High Accuracy Detection and Exploitation System (HADES) program. HADES seeks to enhance the service’s aerial intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (A-ISR) capabilities by replacing existing ISR aircraft fleets that have been operational since the Cold War. CAE will […]View the full article

Americas Hamilton Sundstrand won a $135 million deal for C-130 production. The total estimated value of all the options is $573,028,284. The maximum ceiling value of the contract is $708,031,469. This contract provides for manufacturing and engineering support of the NP2000 eight-blade propeller, electronic propeller control system and procurement of initial spares under C-130 for […]View the full article

Americas Hamilton Sundstrand won a $60 million requirements contract for the repair of the constant frequency generator used on the V-22 aircraft in support of the weapon replaceable assemblies and shop replaceable assemblies programs. The V-22 Osprey is a joint-service, medium-lift, multimission tilt-rotor aircraft. The aircraft operates as a helicopter when taking off and landing vertically. The nacelles rotate 90° forward once airborne, converting the aircraft into a turboprop aircraft. Work under the contract will take place in Illinois. Estimated completion will be by September 2026. Midnight Sun-Centennial Kirratchiaq won a $19 million deal for providing Simplified…

Americas Harper Construction won a $101.7 million construction contract for design and construction of an F-35C hangar addition at Naval Air Station Lemoore, California. The project will include the construction of a two-module addition in support of F-35C operational squadrons. It will construct an aircraft parking apron and marshalling area, access apron and shoulders, taxiway connections and associated lighting, and construct an alternate mission equipment storage facility. The hangar addition will be constructed with reinforced concrete masonry unit, structural steel frames, metal deck and pile foundation. The work to be performed includes design and construction of t…

Before: M109 & M992 (click to view full) The USA’s 155mm M109 self-propelled howitzers (SPH) were first introduced in 1962, as a form of armored mobile artillery that could stand up to the massed fire tactics of Soviet heavy artillery and rockets. They and their companion M992 Armored Ammunition Resupply Vehicles (AARV) have been rebuilt and upgraded several times, most recently via the M109A6 Paladin upgrade. In the meantime, the Army has re-learned a few home truths. Artillery arrives in seconds rather than minutes or hours, is never unavailable due to bad weather, and cheaply delivers a volume of explosive destruction that would otherwise require hundreds of mil…

Americas According to Breaking Defense, Pentagon leaders are planning to change how they buy and use technology. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth might make the Software Acquisition Pathway (SWP) the main way to develop software. The SWP is a faster method created in 2020 to speed up software development by using ideas from private companies. It helps the Department of Defense (DoD) get custom software quickly, aiming to deploy new features in hours or days instead of months. RTX has introduced its first aircraft radar warning receiver (RWR) with artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) capabilities. This technology uses the Cognitive Algorithm Deployment Syst…