Meggitt provides ammunition handling systems for military aircraft, including the Apache attack helicopter. (Crown Copyright)

UK Secretary of State for Business, Energy, and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) Kwasi Kwarteng is “minded to accept” the commitments that Parker Hannifin Corporation is offering to ease concerns about its proposed acquisition of Meggitt, the UK government announced on 28 June.

Kwarteng will not make a final decision on Parker's legally binding commitments, or “undertakings”, until a public comment period ends on 13 July, the government said.

Parker, which welcomed the announcement, is headquartered in the United States, and Meggitt is based in the United Kingdom. To address UK national security concerns about the deal, Parker has committed to honouring Meggitt's existing contracts with the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) and will notify the MoD if Meggitt's ability to supply the ministry changes. Parker has also agreed that UK nationals residing in the UK would continue to make up a majority of Meggitt's board of directors.

A computer-generated image of the OPV that will be built by Hyundai Heavy Industries for the Philippine Navy. (Hyundai Heavy Industries)

Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI) has secured a contract to supply the Philippine Navy with six new 2,400-tonne offshore patrol vessels (OPVs).

The contract, which was signed with the Philippine Department of National Defense (DND) on 27 June, is valued at USD573 million, HHI disclosed in a media statement on the same day.

The OPV will have an overall length of 94.4 m and a width of 14.3 m. It will have a maximum speed of 22 kt, a cruising speed of 15 kt, and a maximum range of 5,500 n miles.

In terms of weapons, each OPV will be equipped with a 76 mm naval gun in the primary position and two 30 mm secondary guns, said HHI. The vessel will have a flight deck that can accommodate one helicopter and unmanned aerial vehicles.

“The OPV was designed by incorporating the Philippine Navy's OPV requirements to the proven Jose Rizal-class frigate platform,” said the company in reference to the service's two Jose Rizal-class vessels, which were also supplied by HHI.

A CH-47F Chinook destined for the Australian Army is unloaded from a USAF C-5M Super Galaxy aircraft at RAAF Base Townsville on 23 June 2022. (Australia Department of Defence/Corporal Lisa Sherman)

The Australian Army has taken delivery of the last two of four new CH-47F Chinook transport helicopters ordered by the government in 2021. This takes the army's Chinook fleet to 14.

In a press statement, Boeing Australia said that the two helicopters arrived at Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) Base Townsville on 23 June. The company added that the helicopters were delivered by a US Air Force (USAF) C-5 Galaxy aircraft.

The aircraft will join the Australian Army Aviation Command's fleet of 12 Chinooks, which are operated by C Squadron, 5th Aviation Regiment.

The commanding officer of the 5th Aviation Regiment, Lieutenant Colonel Christopher McDougall, said that the “additional helicopters will provide defence with additional lift capacity and strengthen the army's ability to support operations globally”.

The previous two aircraft arrived in Australia a year earlier on 23 June 2021, according to Boeing. The acquisition of the four helicopters is valued at AUD595 million (USD410.2 million).