South Korea has signed a KRW170 billion (USD132.6 million) deal with Bell Textron Asia to purchase 40 helicopters for basic flight training by 2025. According to the country’s Defence Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA), the deal, which was signed on 6 May, is for 40 Bell 505 Jet Ranger X helicopters plus eight simulators. The helicopters are to be equipped...
Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) and Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) have signed a contract for the joint development and production of a new infrared search and track (IRST) system. In a statement released on 26 April, HAL said that the long-range dual-band IRST system will be deployed aboard Indian Air Force (IAF) Su-30 MK1 multirole fighter aircraft. The company...
US electronics company TTM Technologies plans to expand its defence portfolio by acquiring Telephonics Corporation for about USD330 million in cash, the buyer announced on 18 April. TTM said the purchase will help it benefit from an expected spending increase for defence electronics, including microelectronics, which the US Department of Defense has called a priority sector....
Nigeria has been approved to buy the Bell AH-1Z Viper attack helicopter from the United States in a potential deal worth an estimated USD997 million. The Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) announced the US State Department approval on 14 April, saying that the west African nation had been cleared to buy 12 Viper helicopters, as well as related equipment, spares,...
The Sikorsky Raider X prototype, the company’s pitch for the U.S. Army Future Attack Recon Aircraft (FARA), is more than 85 percent complete. Sikorsky, a Lockheed Martin company, is making significant progress on RAIDER X, progressing 50 percent faster through production and assembly compared to legacy programs and resulting in a cost-effective, transformational aircraft. As...
Continuing its transformation into a space company, Switzerland’s RUAG International has agreed to sell its Australian aircraft maintenance subsidiary to Australia’s Asdam Group. On 1 April RUAG said that it expects to complete the transaction in the “coming months” after receiving regulatory approval. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. RUAG...
Private contractor Sierra Nevada Corporation (SNC) announced the final delivery of the third A-29C Super Tucano aircraft to U.S. Air Force Special Operations Command (AFSOC). SNC says the aircraft, the most technologically enhanced and mission capable A-29 brought to market, are intended for AFSOC’s Combat Aviation Advisor (CAA) mission which is designed to build international...
Hensoldt has received an order from Qinetiq GmbH to supply its ARGOS-II HD electro-optical (EO) infrared system and EuroNAV control and evaluation software on two Diamond DA62 MPP multipurpose platform aircraft, Hensoldt announced on 9 March. A Hensoldt spokesperson told Janes that the ARGOS-II and EuroNav capabilities form an EO reconnaissance system, which is part of...
Defense giant Northrop Grumman Corp. was awarded an Integrated Modification and Maintenance Contract from the U.S. Navy for E-6B Mercury aircraft. An E-6B plane is a large, high-tech aircraft that can communicate with important assets such as nuclear submarines and is built with a system that can launch intercontinental ballistic missiles. NG says the work will be performed...
Northrop Grumman and Ball Aerospace will design and develop the two mission payloads for the U.S. Space Force’s Next-Generation Overhead Persistent Infrared Polar (NGP) program. “NGP combines Northrop Grumman’s proven experience in missile warning and defense with Ball Aerospace’s expertise in optical sensors and mission data processing,” said Sarah Willoughby,...