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Americas

The US Navy has approved a $590 million contract modification with Bell Boeing to produce and deliver five CMV-22B Osprey aircraft. These tiltrotor planes, designed for delivering personnel, mail, and cargo to aircraft carriers, will replace the older C-2A Greyhound. Work will take place at various locations in the US and is expected to finish by January 2028. An initial $132.1 million from the Navy’s 2024 budget has been allocated for this project.

Raytheon Co. has been awarded a $141 million contract modification to supply Standard Missile-2 (SM-2) production spares to several U.S. allies through the Foreign Military Sales (FMS) program. Japan will cover 57% of the funds, followed by Australia at 19%, the Netherlands at 13%, Spain at 6%, and Germany at 5%. Work will be performed primarily in East Camden, Arkansas (72%), and Tucson, Arizona (28%), with an expected completion date of June 2030. The SM-2 is a key component of naval air defense systems, used for intercepting aircraft and missiles. This contract highlights strong defense ties between the US and its allies.

Middle East & Africa

The US State Department has approved what would be the first sale of advanced precision kill weapon systems to Saudi Arabia for an estimated cost of $100m, according to the Pentagon. The Advanced Precision Kill Weapon System (APKWS) approved for sale to Saudi Arabia is a laser-guided rocket that can hit both airborne and surface targets, it said in a statement on Thursday.

Europe

Germany on Friday approved $3.25 billion in new military aid for Ukraine, just days before planned US-brokered talks with Moscow and Kyiv on a limited truce. The money is earmarked for defense equipment for the country fighting Russian forces, including munitions, drones, armored vehicles and air-defense systems. The parliament’s budget committee gave the green light for the funds, which had been on hold for months amid discord in the coalition government of outgoing Chancellor Olaf Scholz. But the final adoption on Friday of a major new spending package that also eased Germany’s strict debt rules for defense outlays gave the government new room for maneuver. President Volodymyr Zelensky thanked Germany for the new aid in a post on X, saying it would provide “exactly what Ukraine needs most — what saves Ukrainian lives.

Asia-Pacific

North Korea said Friday it had test-fired a new weapons system which would boost its combat readiness, as Russia’s security chief arrived in Pyongyang for talks with leader Kim Jong Un. Traditional allies Russia and North Korea have drawn closer since Moscow’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine, with Seoul accusing Kim of sending thousands of troops and container loads of weapons to help Moscow fight Kyiv. Neither Moscow nor Pyongyang has officially confirmed the troop deployment, but the two countries last year signed a sweeping military deal, including a mutual defense clause, when Russian President Vladimir Putin made a rare visit to the nuclear-armed North.

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