Northrop Grumman won a $13 million contract modification for repair services for the RQ-4 Global Hawk and MQ-4C Triton. The Global Hawk and the Triton are both high-altitude surveillance aircraft. The Navy MQ-4C differs from the Air Force RQ-4 mainly in its wing. While the Global Hawk remains at high altitude to conduct surveillance, the Triton climbs to 50,000 ft to see a wide area and can drop to 10,000 ft to get further identification of a target. The Triton’s wings are specially designed to take the stresses of rapidly decreasing altitude. Work will take place in California, Utah, Virginia, New Mexico, Missouri, Ohio, New York, Kansas and Maryland. Estimated completion date is October 31, 2021.
Saab received an order valued approximately $75 million for Carl-Gustaf ammunition from the US Army. The deliveries will take place in 2022. The shoulder-fired ammunition order is placed within an Indefinite Delivery, Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) framework agreement signed in 2019 between Saab and the US Army that allows the customer to place orders for Carl-Gustaf ammunition and the disposable AT4 shoulder-fired weapon systems during a five-year period. This order for the US Army and Marine Corps is comprised of seven different types of ammunition including anti-armor, anti-structure, smoke, and illumination rounds, all underlining the versatility of the multi-purpose Carl-Gustaf system.
According to news reports, an Alpha Jet was shot down by criminals on July 18. Nigerian Air Force spokesman Air Commodore Edward Gabkwet said the aircraft had carried out a successful interdiction mission on the border of Zamfara and Kaduna states when it “came under intense enemy fire” and crashed. The pilot, Flight Lieutenant Abayomi Dairo, ejected and was rescued.
Russia sent a commercial offer to India for the delivery of 21 MiG-29 fighters in response to a request for proposal from the Indian side. A spokesperson for Russia’s Federal Service for Military-Technical Cooperation (FSMTC) told the news to Russian media at the MAKS-2021 show on July 21.
The German Bundeswehr inked contract with Rheinmetall to supply 130,000 laser light modules worth a potential $210 million. To begin with, 2,460 devices worth a total of $3.5 million will be delivered. This is the largest order for laser light modules ever booked by the device’s maker, Rheinmetall Soldier Electronics of Stockach, Germany. The framework contract is initially set to run for seven years.
The Republic of Korea Air Force has commissioned Korean Air (KAL) and a research team from Seoul National University to study the feasibility of developing an air-launched space rocket that can send small satellites into orbit. The approach is similar to what Virgin Orbit is doing with its LauncherOne rocket by using a Boeing 747 airliner as the mothership. The South Korean government hopes to have this capability to send satellites into space by 2040.
Watch: Guided Carl-Gustaf® munition flight tests
