Contracts & Deals

MADRID  –  France, Germany, and Spain signed a trilateral contract on December 15 that launches Phase 1B of the New-Generation Weapon System/Future Combat Air System (NGWS/FCAS). The deal names Dassault Aviation, Airbus Defence and Space (Germany and Spain), Indra Sistemas, and Eumet (the Safran Aircraft Engines–MTU Aero Engines joint venture) as prime contractors. Valued at about €8 billion for the full demonstration campaign, it allocates more than €3 billion for the first 36-month work package that starts this month.

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.

The single-engine F-35 keeps dragging the Pentagon into deeper trouble. Early budgets spoke about $233 billion for building the fleet. Today the ledger shows roughly $412 billion for 2 470 jets. Money keeps pouring, yet the fighter still can’t fly at full strength. A key reason sits right behind the cockpit: Pratt & Whitney’s F135 engine. Program leaders now admit the motor never met the real-world loads it faces, and every extra flight hour cuts its life shorter than planned.

Cubic Corporation has picked up a hefty, fresh slice of work at Fort Polk. A new extension, capped at about 468 milion dollars, keeps its teams locked in with the Army’s Joint Readiness Training Center for up to ten more years. The baseyear runs now, and nine option years sit in line. This step carries on a partnership first inked back in 2007 and, frankly, it shows how much trust the Army holds in Cubic’s way of shaping live training.