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- 🔷 Saved Rounds 8.6.24
🔷 Saved Rounds 8.6.24
Welcome to Tuesday's Saved Rounds, where we send out all the goodies we couldn't squeeze into our Sunday newsletter.
🌴 Sipping Margaritas. We’re off this week recharging our batteries, so your inbox is going to be empty next Sunday and Tuesday. We’ll be back, re-charged and re-loaded on Sunday. August 18th.
In that Number
196
The US approved the sale of 196 Small Diameter Bomb-Increment II (SDB-II) glide weapons to Belgium for integration on F-35s.
Zoom in
The Air Force wants to field large quantities of low-cost cruise missiles to augment its limited supply of high-end weapons.
Zoom in here to see how the service wants to shake up the industrial base by tapping a number of non-traditional suppliers.
They Said It
“At the end of the day, it’s going to have both incredible power and no power at all. There are no formal authorities. It can’t move people’s cheese, can’t move budget, can’t generate requirements, can’t do any of that. The power that ICO will have will come from its position and insights and influence.”
— Tim Grayson, special assistant to Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall, on the role of the service’s new Integrated Capabilities Office (ICO)
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Every day, 3.5 million readers turn to 1440 for their factual news. We sift through 100+ sources to bring you a complete summary of politics, global events, business, and culture, all in a brief 5-minute email. Enjoy an impartial news experience.
Watching the ongoing unrest in the Middle East this week and thinking about Combatant Command infighting:
In that Number
$1.7B
The US announced another $1.7B in security assistance for Ukraine, consisting of $200m in near-term equipment drawn from existing US military stocks and $1.5B in new orders that will take longer to arrive in theater.
Saved Rounds
Raytheon was awarded a $2.1B contract for Lower Tier Air and Missile Defense Sensors (LTAMDS, aka big ass 3-antenna array radars) for Poland
BlueHalo announced it hit critical development milestones for its Freedom Eagle anti-drone missile
The UK created an ally MQ-9B operator’s club, which comprises 10 nations
Boeing’s KC-46 tanker has a new top-tier deficiency (now 7 total; 3 are close to resolution)
Parsons is acquiring BlackSignal Technologies, an EW and cybersecurity firm
The US is providing $500m in military financing to the Philippines
NATO awarded contracts to Airbus, Leonardo, and Lockheed Martin for next-gen rotorcraft concepts
L3Harris opened an electronic warfare center in Australia
Northrop Grumman delivered the first MQ-4C Triton drone to Australia
SES Space & Defense won a $47m Air Force contract to provide Ku-band SATCOM bandwidth for drones (MQ-9, etc.)
Slovakia was approved to buy 12 AH-1Z attack helicopters
CACI won a $450m Space Force contract to support the Joint Navigation Warfare Center
CACI also won a large contract to evaluate drones for the Army
The Air Force is evaluating BlackFly’s unique-looking eVTOL aircraft for military utility
AFRL opened a new lab for Collaborative Automation for Manufacturing Systems
Boeing received a $115m order for more special operations MH-47G Block II Chinooks
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