Release

Israel Aerospace Industries President and Chief Executive Joseph Weiss sat beside Spacecom head David Pollack at Ben Gurion Airport yesterday and signed a single document that binds both companies to deliver, launch, and operate the Amos-6 communications satellite for roughly $195 million. The agreement’s signature ends nine months of negotiation, locks the delivery calendar, and maintains Israel’s ambition to keep national satellites working at the crowded 4° West slot.

The Dutch government has ordered nine more Lockheed Martin F-35A Lightning II fighters, lifting the Royal Netherlands Air Force (RNLAF) plan from 37 to 46 aircraft. State Secretary Barbara Visser told Parliament the purchase slots into the Joint Program Office (JPO) production queue and keeps deliveries on track for 2022-2024.

Romania locked in a $1.07 billion plan to buy M1A2 SEPv3 Abrams tanks. Officials call it a clean break from its aging Soviet stock. They argue the move lines up with NATO goals and lifts combat readyness fast. Parliament agreed after a short but heated debate, then sent the file to the Defence Ministry for action.

The United Kingdom faces fresh budget pain round its next-gen Protector RG Mk 1 drones. Latest figures show the bill jumping forty per cent above first plan. Ministers stay quiet on why the math went off, yet insiders point at fast-shifting specs and a rough pound-to-dollar rate. Critics fear the rush to sign papers back in 2016 left blind spots that now bite. RAF chiefs, for their part, say the fleet still matters if Britain wants teeth in skies crowded with peer threats.

The Taranis unmanned combat air vehicle once showed up in the corner of BAE Systems’ Warton site, almost out of sight. At first glance the jet-black body looked like a sculpture more than a warplane. That day in 2010 set off fresh talk in defense circles, and the story still grows even fifteen years on. The aircraft carries the name of a Celtic thunder god, yet its real weight sits in data files spread across labs from Lancashire to Canberra.

Alliant Techsystems Inc. (ATK) confirmed a landmark move on January 28, 2004. The company announced its plan to purchase Mission Research Corporation (MRC) for roughly $230 million. That figure reflected a significant investment in technology meant for national security and homeland defense. ATK believed MRC’s expertise would help expand its focus beyond conventional munitions and into more advanced areas of aerospace and defense.

The Indian Navy has fought hard to keep its carrier aviation alive after retiring the Sea Harrier. MiG-29K fighters now fill that hole on INS Vikramaditya and the soon-to-sail INS Vikrant. Admiral Sunil Lanba told reporters on the eve of Navy Day that the spares drought and maintenance snags dogging the fleet are “behind us for good.” He stressed that every outstanding invoice with Russian suppliers has a clear payment path despite U.S. sanctions.