01 September 2021
by Nicholas Fiorenza
Latvia signed a contract with Patria on 30 August for more than 200 6×6 armoured personnel carriers (APCs) under a joint development programme with Finland, the Finnish company announced in a press release the next day.
Latvia signed a EUR200 million contract with Patria on 30 August for over 200 6x6 APCs. (Patria)
Announcing the contract on 27 August on its website before it was signed, the Latvian Ministry of Defence (MoD) valued the order at about EUR200 million (USD236 million). Patria gave a delivery schedule of between 2021 and 2029, with the Latvian MoD adding that the country's armed forces would receive its first vehicles in October. The contract includes support and training systems.
Finland, Latvia, and Patria also signed a framework for the production phase management of the joint 6×6 armoured vehicle system, which the company expected to achieve “technical and economic benefits from the overall procurement scope of the programme”.
27 March 2024
by Michael Fabey
An artist rendering of the proposed US Coast Guard Polar Security Cutter, whose cost estimates are being questioned. (VT Halter Marine/Technology)
The accuracy of the estimated procurement cost of the proposed US Coast Guard (USCG) Polar Security Cutter (PSC), given its size and internal complexity, is a potential issue of concern, according to the US Congressional Research Service (CRS).
“The PSC's estimated procurement cost per weight is roughly half that of the [US] Navy's LPD-17 Flight II and LHA amphibious ships,” the CRS said in its report, Coast Guard Polar Security Cutter (Polar Icebreaker) Program: Background and Issues for Congress , released on 25 March.
“These amphibious ships are equipped with expensive combat system equipment that is not included in the PSC design, but whether this would account for all of the difference in cost per weight between the PSC design and the two amphibious ship designs is not clear,” the CRS said. “If substantial cost growth occurs in the PSC program, it could raise a question regarding whether to grant some form of contract relief to the PSC shipbuilder.”
27 March 2024
by Igor Bozinovski
Seen here in Italian service, the AW169M will soon be fielded by North Macedonia alongside the AW149 under a deal finalised on 26 March. (Bundesheer Fotos)
North Macedonia finalised its agreement to acquire eight new battlefield lift helicopters from Leonardo on 26 March, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) announced on the same day.
The deal to buy four AW149 and four AW169M helicopters was signed between the North Macedonian Minister of Defence, Slavjanka Petrovska, and the vice-president of Leonardo, Cesare Cacha, in Skopje.
The milestone came weeks after the Army of the Republic of North Macedonia (ARNM) selected the Italian-built helicopters in January to replace Soviet-built airframes operated by the Aviation Brigade of the ARNM.
Deliveries will take place from August 2026 through to the end of 2028. Petrovska initially said the deal was valued at an estimated EUR230 million (USD250.5 million), but this has since risen to EUR249.9 million.
For more information on the Aviation Brigade of the ARNM, please seeNorth Macedonia - Air Force .
26 March 2024
by Gareth Jennings
Aircraft BK35 seen at RAF Marham shortly after its arrival on 20 March. With deliveries to the UK of TR-2 standard aircraft now complete, the arrival of TR-3 standard aircraft should commence later in the year. (Crown Copyright)
The UK has received its final Lockheed Martin F-35B Lightning combat aircraft to be delivered at the Technology Refresh-2 (TR-2) standard, the manufacturer confirmed to Janes on 25 March.
The Ministry of Defence (MoD) announced the arrival of the two jets on 20 March. Lockheed Martin told Janes that BK (the factory code given to UK aircraft) 34 and BK35 are the last TR-2 jets for the UK, ahead of the delayed commencement of TR-3 deliveries to the wider international programme later in 2024.
Latvia signed a contract with Patria on 30 August for more than 200 6×6 armoured personnel carriers ...
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