19 May 2022
by Carlo Munoz
The Combat Net Radio is expected to replace the L3Harris-built RT 1523 SINCGARS VHF radio. (ITT Corporation)
Thales USA has secured a multibillion-dollar procurement deal to provide advanced tactical radios, under the US Army's Combat Net Radio (CNR) programme and is developing a manpackable communication solution to meet mobile ad hoc networking (MANET) requirements for US Special Operations Command (SOCOM).
Thales was awarded one of the two USD6 billion indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity (ID/IQ) contracts to produce communication platforms for the CNR modernisation effort being spearheaded by army leaders, according to a 16 May company statement. The 10-year ID/IQ deal covers production and delivery of a CNR system based on the AN/PRC-148 Joint Tactical Radio System Enhanced Multiband Inter/Intra Team Radio (IMBITR), company officials said in the statement.
The CNR contract announcement comes after army acquisition officials signed procurement deals with Thales for the company's two-channel AN/PRC-148D Leader Radio and the single-channel AN/PRC-170 Javelin Radio, according to the statement.
The adoption of the AN/PRC-148-based platform into the army's tactical-level command, control, and communications (C3) portfolio will help service leaders transition from the L3Harris-built RT-1523 legacy Single-Channel Ground and Airborne Radio System (SINCGARS).
25 April 2024
by Jeremy Binnie
The UAE's fourth Saab GlobalEye was delivered on 18 April. (Ministry of Defence of the United Arab Emirates)
The Ministry of Defence (MoD) of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) announced on 24 April that a reception ceremony for an early warning aircraft had been held at Al-Dhafra Air Base.
It cited Major General Ibrahim Nasser al-Alawi, the commander of the Air Force and Air Defence (AFAD), as saying the aircraft was a “qualitative addition” that will help protect the country's strategic interests.
The MoD released a video showing a Saab GlobalEye airborne early warning and control (AEW&C) aircraft without AFAD markings being escorted by F-16 and Mirage 2000-9 fighters before landing at Al-Dhafra, as well as personnel with 8th Aviation Wing badges working at a ground station.
Saab confirmed on the following day that it delivered the fourth of five GlobalEyes ordered by the UAE on 18 April.
24 April 2024
by Gerrard Cowan
Seen being carried by a US Air Force F-16, the Sniper ATP is built in Florida in the US and Bedfordshire in the UK. Lockheed Martin is now ramping up UK component production to meet increased customer demand. (Lockheed Martin)
Lockheed Martin is building a new production line for AN/AAQ-33 Sniper Advanced Targeting Pod (ATP) components at its Ampthill, Bedfordshire site in the UK, seeking to meet anticipated demand from NATO allies and other customers for the system, the company has told Janes .
The UK-based work on Sniper supports the manufacturing activities at Ocala, Florida. This work has been expanded with a new production line at Ampthill that will focus on producing cabling to integrate the system into aircraft.
Stacy Kubicek, Lockheed Martin's vice-president and general manager – sensors and global sustainment, said the fresh investment is part of a wider strategy at Lockheed Martin. She placed it into the context of a shifting outlook among customers.
19 April 2024
by Olivia Savage
The Bundeswehr has ordered 258 sets of AGDUS systems for its Puma IFVs following successful integration tests. (PSM GmbH)
The Bundeswehr is receiving new training simulators for its Puma infantry fighting vehicles (IFVs).
In total, 258 sets of Training Device, Duel Simulator (Ausbildungsgerät Duellsimulator: AGDUS) systems are being delivered for the Puma IFVs by the end of 2026, the Bundeswehr announced on 15 April.
The EUR109 million (USD116 million) contract will be financed from the EUR100 billion Bundeswehr special fund.
A Rheinmetall/Krauss-Maffei Wegmann (KMW) consortium received an order from the Bundeswehr in December 2019 valued at EUR54 million for the provision of six AGDUS systems for integration tests on the Puma. Full-scale serial production of AGDUS would then begin once testing was complete, with up to 252 Puma IFVs being equipped with the systems for EUR88 million.
A Rheinmetall spokesperson confirmed to Janes that the company, along with KMW+Nexter Defense Systems (KNDS) Germany, are supplying the new AGDUS simulators to the Bundeswehr and that full-scale production has now officially begun.
Thales USA has secured a multibillion-dollar procurement deal to provide advanced tactical radios, u...
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