US Iron Dome interceptor production site opens as Israel places major new order
The Iron Dome money comes as a result of a $8.7 billion aid package passed by the US Congress in April 2024, which included $5.2 billion for air defense assets.
The Iron Dome money comes as a result of a $8.7 billion aid package passed by the US Congress in April 2024, which included $5.2 billion for air defense assets.
“We already know the F-22 will play a critical role in crewed-uncrewed teaming operations, and General Atomics is in a unique position to get this started now,” company spokesman C. Mark Brinkley told Breaking Defense.
CDAO’s Advana data analytics platform is ingesting data from about 500 DoD business systems.
The missiles may be carried by Germany's new F127 class frigates as part of a maritime air defense capability, a US government notice said.
"The DoW [Department of War] wants to go fast,” said L3Harris CEO Chris Kubasik. “Then Congress can't fund the DoW. So we're kind of stuck between those two situations.”
“This is certainly a growth market. It’s gonna take awhile to get there, but you could easily see hundreds of air vehicles built per year in this market sometime in the early 2030s,” Richard Aboulafia, managing director at AeroDynamic Advisory, told Breaking Defense.
The $24.3 billion deal covers 148 aircraft each in production lots 18 and 19, closing out negotiations that have stretched since 2023.
“Over the past several months, it's been very clear that the priority for” Pentagon and congressional leadership “is fixing our munitions gap,” said Anduril’s Diem Salmon.
The sale would cover up to 400 copies of the Advanced Medium Range Air-to-Air Missile produced by defense giant RTX, which the Defense Security Cooperation Agency says will “provid[e] increased air-to-air capability for the German F-35 program” and other NATO requirements.
RTX will provide autonomy capabilities for General Atomics’s Collaborative Combat Aircraft offering dubbed the YFQ-42A, while Shield AI will supply the autonomy pilot for Anduril’s YFQ-44A, a source told Breaking Defense.
Lockheed Martin will serve as the primary contractor for the modernization effort, valued at approximately $3.8 billion, and will partner with local supplier Military Aviation Works No. 2 in Bydgoszcz to perform the upgrade work in-country.
The Next Generation Adaptive Propulsion program is designing new engines that could power aircraft like the Air Force’s forthcoming F-47 stealth fighter.