Industrial Partnerships

Lockheed Martin concluded two days of discussions in Cologne with a plan that would see Germany’s first Typhon launchers at the Meppen range by December 2026. Lockheed Martin program manager Edward Dobeck told visiting lawmakers the company’s facility in Moorestown, New Jersey, is currently producing one launcher every five weeks for the U.S. Army. Moving to a second shift would reduce that to four weeks without affecting quality checks. Lockheed is ready to shift upcoming production slots to Germany as soon as a deal is signed.

Defense Department CIO Katie Arrington said on July 24 that the follow-on to the Joint Warfighting Cloud Capability – JWCC Next – will bring in smaller cloud providers offering AI tools, satellite relays, and rugged edge services not typically available from major vendors.

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) and Japan’s Acquisition, Technology and Logistics Agency (ATLA) have signalled a shift in Tokyo’s approach to defence exports. They’re offering to hand all intellectual property related to the Mogami-class frigate to Australia. This marks a departure from Japan’s decades-long policy of strictly domestic defence development, confined to the Japan Self-Defense Forces.

The Franco-German-Spanish Future Combat Air System, better known as FCAS, now faces its toughest moment. France has told Germany it wants about 80 percent of the work on the new fighter that anchors the program. The number surfaced late Sunday and was confirmed by people close to the talks. If Paris holds that line, the current parity deal dies and Berlin’s stake shrinks to a token slice. Spanish industry would lose almost as much. Negotiators ended the weekend without setting a fresh meeting date.

THE HAGUE, Netherlands  –  French armored-vehicle specialist Arquus and German commercial-vehicle giant Daimler Truck have formed a new partnership that aims to replace thousands of aging logistics trucks in French service. The deal, announced this morning, brings together two firms that already supply large fleets across NATO, yet have never before joined forces on a single French program.

Safran Helicopter Engines, MTU Aero Engines, and Avio Aero have sealed a fresh cooperation accord that lays the groundwork for the European Next Generation Helicopter Engine program, widely known as ENGHE. Signed in Paris on 29 June 2025, the deal frames an equal-share development model that draws on the three firms’ complementary strengths. Each partner will handle roughly one-third of the design load and will rely on its own national industrial base, keeping the supply chain inside Europe and trimming reliance on non-European parts.