Northrop Grumman has shipped an initial batch of Common Infrared Countermeasure missile defense systems to the U.S. Army as part of an engineering and manufacturing development contract awarded in August 2015. The Army received the CIRCMs after the company completed software qualification tests to evaluate the system’s performance and compliance with program requirements, Northrop said Tuesday. CIRCM is designed to help protect rotary […] More

Marc Allen, president of Boeing’s international business, has said Canada is evaluating data from five potential contractors that could help replace the country’s fleet of CF-18 aircraft, Reuters reported Monday. Leah Schnurr writes Canada requested information such as aircraft features and economic factors from Boeing, Lockheed Martin, Saab, Dassault Aviation and the Eurofighter Typhoon consortium comprised of BAE Systems, Leonardo-Finmeccanica and Airbus Group. […] More

Britain-based industrial team UK Dragonfire will conduct the Laser Directed Energy Weapons Capability Demonstrator under a potential $39.2 million deal with the U.K.’s ministry of defense. MBDA said Friday the group will look to mature the country’s high energy laser weapon systems capacity as well as technologies for a high energy defensive laser weapon system that can engage with targets […] More

Lockheed Martin and Elbit Systems have partnered to compete for a contract to update the U.K. army’s fleet of Challenger 2 tanks. The U.K. subsidiaries of Lockheed and Elbit Systems will submit a bid to the U.K. defense ministry to extend the British army’s main battle tanks through 2035 under the Life Extension Project, Lockheed […] More

Lockheed Martin has delivered a 30th updated Merlin Mk2 helicopter to the U.K.’s military during a ceremony at a Leonardo facility in Yeovil, England. The delivery was part of a $985.2 million contract that required 30 Mk1 helicopters to be upgraded in support of the British navy, the company said Thursday. Each helicopter contains new radars, sonar systems, infrared cameras and large flat, […] More

The U.K. military has selected MBDA to demonstrate a capacity to field laser-directed weapons that can potentially urge the country’s navy and other services to utilize similar systems, Defense News reported Sunday. Andrew Chuter writes MBDA leads a bid team called UK Dragonfire that includes BAE Systems, Leonardo-Finmeccanica, Marshall Defense and Aerospace and Qinetiq to develop a solid state high power demonstrator weapon […] More

A team comprising General Dynamics, DRS Technologies and Leonardo-Finmeccanica will build a training facility in Comox, British Columbia if the team wins a $3 billion contract to build search-and-rescue aircraft for Canada. Former Canadian Air Force chief Steve Lucas told a press conference that Team Spartan offers to construct a 73,000-square-foot building to serve as the location for the group’s […] More

MBDA’s Italian subsidiary will supply Qatar’s naval units with four corvette ships, two patrol vessels and a landing platform dock under a contract with the country’s naval force. MBDA said Thursday the contract is part of an agreement that Italian defense minister Roberta Pinotti and Qatar’s defense chief Khalid Bin Muhammad Al-Attiyah signed in Rome Thursday. […] More

BAE Systems will lead a team comprising General Dynamics‘ U.K. land systems and international mission systems subsidiaries, Leonardo-Finmeccanica, Moog, QinetiQ and Safran Electronics to bid under the U.K. defense ministry’s project to update the Challenger 2 main battle tank fleet. The team will pursue a contract to update the tanks to the Challenger 2 Mark 2 design to feature thermal […] More

An Esterline subsdiairy has been chosen to supply a suite of avionics systems for the C-27J Spartan platform a General Dynamics-led team aims to offer to Canada’s Fixed-Wing Search and Rescue program. Team Spartan comprises General Dynamics’ mission systems business, DRS Technologies and Leonardo-Finmeccanica‘s aircraft division, Esterline said Wednesday. The consortium seeks to integrate Esterline CMC Electronics‘ CMA-9000 Flight Management System, TacView Portable […] More

  Babcock‘s proposed system for the British defense science and technology laboratory’s Laser Directed Energy Weapon Capability Demonstrator program will incorporate the Raytheon-built Phalanx air defense technology, Flightglobal reported Thursday. Beth Stevenson writes the LDEW-CD competition seeks a 20-millimeter laser-equipped Gatling machine gun designed to counter potential airborne threats, including unmanned aircraft systems, to naval ships. The report said the Babcock offering […] More

The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency has awarded a contract to DRS Technologies to update the company’s ultra-small pixel infrared focal plane arrays under DARPA’s Lambda Scale program. The FPAs work to support the functions of cooled infrared sensors to address pilot situational awareness and visibility concerns, DRS said Monday. The company uses thin-film deposition technology and a high-density capacitance […] More