Australia's defense minister said that MC-55A represents a significant step forward in the ability to monitor and protect strategic interests, including key maritime approaches.
After Poland chose the Viper Shield for it's F-16s, L3Harris' David Nyikos told Breaking Defense that of the "European air force conglomerate," operating the combat jet, Greece is "likely next," to buy an EW system.
Standoff capability means warfighters stay connected and remain remotely located in a safer environment while making it harder for adversaries to target them.
L3Harris proposed its Phoenix aircraft, which is a Bombardier Defense Global 6500 business jet modified with an advanced radar system, for the US ally, the Defense Acquisition Program Administration said Tuesday.
"It's all the communications that army needs, from the forward rifleman, who's walking around carrying his pack, who's really just talking on a radio right the way through to a big Joint Task Force headquarters with heaps of people in it, a field hospital with big logistics sort of node -- everything that's deployed," Darcy Rawlinson of Boeing Australia said.
The award follows years of delay due to a GAO protest stemming from the service's attempt in 2020 to award the contract.
Executive Dave Johnson told Breaking Defense that European customers are trying to "build up capability" after watching the conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East.
Knowing when to build on commercial systems and when to develop something new can be the difference between parity and information dominance.
HADES is “designed to support active campaigning short of conflict and then potentially support targeting in conflicted areas where you might let high-end stealthy fighters or unmanned systems take first contact,” said Andrew Evans, the ISR Task Force director.
L3Harris is also in the process of setting up an engineering center at joint venture laboratory where "we will be doing waveform development, crypto, and that type of niche technology that complements the production capabilities in Saudi Arabia."
Asked about the timeline floated by an L3Harris official, a NATO spokesperson told Breaking Defense the alliance is still assessing "the way ahead."
While key executives tell Breaking Defense they have adjusted to the new normal, experts worry IT supply chain vulnerabilities could be exploited in the future by adversarial nations.
Balancing security and access to data are critical to providing users with trustworthy, reliable data for real-time decisions.
“They were very interested in our plane in the past, but to be honest with you, we are not in touch with them anymore,” Bosco da Costa Junior told Breaking Defense during the Paris Airshow. “I don't have any kind of open conversation with them.”
The deal, which is subject to approval by the Federal Trade Commission, is expected to close in 2023.
EPF-13 is expected to be the first operational US Navy ship capable of autonomously transiting a commercial sea lane.