DID - Bath Iron Works To Provide DDG-51 Lead Yard Support | Greece Sends LOR For F-16C/D Upgrade | Australia Unveiled New Bushmaster

Americas

Bath Iron Works won a $35.4 million contract modification for lead yard support effort for the DDG-51 Class Guided Missile Destroyer program. Work will take place in Maine. Estimated completion will be in June 2023. The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, DC, is the contracting activity.

General Dynamics won a $59.8 million modification for multiple items used in the Abrams Main Battle Tank, Stryker Family of Vehicles, Light Armored Vehicle Family of Vehicles, Cougar, Buffalo and RG-31. The M1 Abrams is a third-generation American main battle tank designed by Chrysler Defense and named for General Creighton Abrams. Work will take place in Florida. Estimated completion date is July 29, 2029. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency Land and Maritime, Columbus, Ohio.

Middle East & Africa

The German defense ministry said Friday it had suspended most of its operations in Mali after the local military-led government denied flyover rights to a UN peacekeeping mission. “The Malian government has once again refused to give flyover rights to a flight planned today” for the rotation of personnel on the ground, a ministry spokesman said at a regular press conference. In response, Germany had decided to “suspend until further notice the operations of our reconnaissance forces and CH-53 (helicopter) transport flights.”

Europe

In an interview with Finnish daily Iltalehti, Estonia’s Minister of Defense Hanno Pevkur says his country will integrate its coastal anti-ship missile system with Finland. This will create a choke point for Russian warships in the Gulf of Finland. The widest point of the gulf is 120km and the narrowest is just 52km. The Blue Spear anti-ship missile has been ordered by Estonia and it has a range of 290km. Finland currently deploys the MTO 85M, which is the Saab RBS 15 anti-ship missile.

The Hellenic Air Force will soon send a letter of request (LOR) to the United States for the upgrade of 38 F-16C/D Block 50 fighters to the V variant. These fighters will be upgraded at Nea Anchialos Air Base while two Greek F-16s have completed their upgrade to the F-16V standard and will soon be used to train pilots. Older F-16 Block 30s that are in Greek inventory will not undergo the upgrade process.

Asia-Pacific

The Australian Department of Defence unveiled the Bushmaster electric protected military vehicle (ePMV) reflecting an effort, it said, to ensure the Australian Army is ‘future ready’. The prototype was showcased on August 10 at the Chief of Army Symposium, a three-day event in Adelaide. The vehicle was developed by the Australian Army’s Robotic and Autonomous Systems Implementation & Coordination Office (RICO), working in collaboration with an Australian company, 3ME Technology, which specialises in lithium-ion battery systems for mining and military vehicles, and the DoD’s Defence Science and Technology Group (DSTG).

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WATCH: Here is The New Generation of High-Tech, Heavily Armed DDG 51 Flight III Destroyers

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