US military orders billions worth of systems, services, equipment

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
30 Mar 2024 08:39

The US Department of Defense releases a list of contracts that it awarded to companies in the US and Canada on Friday.

A staff gets on a US Air Force plane at Mandalay International Airport, Myanmar, on March 12, 2020. (AP)

The United States government made a number of large military orders that included tooling for F-35 stealth fighter jets, MQ-25 refueling drones, air-to-ground missiles, and billions of dollars worth of cartridges, a press release by the Department of Defense reveals.

Lockheed Martin Aeronautics received two large sum contracts to supply the US military with special tooling and test equipment for the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter fleet and air-to-ground missiles.

The first contract that Lockheed received was a $181 million US Navy contract extension for the F-35s.

"Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Company [of] Fort Worth, Texas is awarded a ...$181 million ...modification ...contract to procure various special tooling and special test equipment in support of F-35 aircraft production," the release said on Friday.

Work on the contract will be performed in Garden Grove, California, over the next three years and is expected to be completed in January 2027, according to the Department of Defense.

The second contract awarded to the company was an extension worth upward of $483 million to produce lethal air-to-ground missile systems for the US Army, which have been in high demand, especially after the US backed the Israeli genocidal war on Gaza.

"Lockheed Martin Corporation [of] Orlando, Florida was awarded a $483,478,740 modification ...contract for air-to-ground missile systems," the DoD stated.

Work on the contract will be performed in Orlando, Florida, for a period of two years, as the authorities estimate the completion date to be March 28, 2026, the press release explained.

Interestingly, many of the missiles will be sent to three US and NATO allies, the Czech Republic, France, and Poland, under the Foreign Military Sales program.

Boeing awarded MQ-25 Stingray contract

Moreover, the US Navy awarded Boeing a contract extension worth more than $657 million to produce two more MQ-25 Stingray aerial refueling drones.

The drone, which grew out of the Unmanned Carrier-Launched Airborne Surveillance and Strike (UCLASS) program, made its first flight in September 2019 and remains in development to this point.

"The Boeing Company [of] St. Louis, Missouri is awarded a ... $657,090,000 modification ...contract ...for the production and delivery of two additional MQ-25 System Demonstration Test Article aircraft," the release said.

The contract includes tooling and communication system changes for the Navy. The Defense Department said that much of the work will be conducted in St. Louis (45.43%), while the rest will be spread across multiple locations in the United States and Canada.

Additionally, work on the contract is scheduled to last for four and a half years and is expected to be completed in October 2028.

General Dynamics, Northrop share whopping $3 Bln contract

However, the largest contract was awarded to General Dynamics Ordnance and Tactical Systems and Northrop Grumman Systems. The contract amounts to more than $3 billion and will see the two companies compete for each order of medium-caliber training cartridges.

"General Dynamics Ordnance and Tactical Systems [of]Marion, Illinois and Northrop Grumman Systems Corporation [of] Minneapolis, Minnesota will compete for each order of the $3,053,991,547 ...contract for medium caliber training cartridges," the DoD stated.

Work on the contract will last for five years with an estimated completion date of April 4, 2029, the Defense Department said.

The US Army Contracting Command based at Rock Island Arsenal, Illinois, will oversee work on the program, which is expected to last for five years with an estimated completion date of April 4, 2029.

A number of other firms were awarded multi-million dollar deals individually to provide various products and services to the US military on Friday.