International Military Markets & Budgets - North America

WASHINGTON - The U.S. Navy has awarded Raytheon a five-year contract valued at up to $24.4 billion to accelerate production of the Standard Missile-6 (SM-6). The multi-year procurement agreement includes two additional option years and is designed to expand manufacturing capacity and throughput for the critical anti-air and anti-surface warfare munition.

The deal follows recent awards to expand production of Tomahawk cruise missiles (worth up to $22.9 billion), AMRAAM air-to-air missiles (worth up to $20.7 billion), and Patriot interceptors (worth up to $58.6 billion). These pacts are intended to bolster production and rebuild stockpiles that have diminished during operations against Iran. The massive award figures represent potential values, and don't reflect money that has been obligated. Action on these agreements will require continued funding from Congress at a time when the Pentagon's reconciliation and supplemental requests have stalled. According to Navy leadership, the long-term commitment provides industry predictability to strengthen supply chains and workforce capacity while delivering cost savings through a negotiated agreement.

Source: Forecast International
Associated URL: https://www.navy.mil/Press-Office/Press-Releases/display-pressreleases/Article/4617054/us-navy-rtx-strengthen-munitions-production-through-sm-6-award/

WASHINGTON - The U.S. military is deploying roughly 9,000 service members to the Middle east, including over 7,000 sailors and 2,000 Marines. The deployment features the USS Theodore Roosevelt carrier strike group, accompanied by the cruiser USS Chosin, and the USS Makin Island amphibious readiness group, which includes the landing ships USS John P. Murtha and USS Anchorage. Upon arrival, expected as early as late October, the addition could mark the presence of three U.S. aircraft carriers in the region, joining the USS George H.W. Bush and the USS George Washington. The USS Boxer amphibious readiness group is also in the region. This expansion will elevate total U.S. naval strength in the theater to over 20,000 personnel and hundreds of aircraft.

The buildup comes as President Donald Trump considers expanding air strikes against Iran following the November 3 U.S. midterm elections, having rejected Tehran's recent ceasefire offer regarding the Strait of Hormuz. Strategic dynamics have become further complicated by potential Iranian links to an attempted hijacking by a FlyDubai co-pilot and suspected terror plots targeting U.S. air operations at RAF Fairford in the U.K. U.S. officials believe Tehran may be shifting toward asymmetrical tactics as the Navy's blockade restricts Iranian petroleum exports while keeping allied oil corridors open.

Source: https://apnews.com/article/iran-war-trump-ships-deployment-middle-east-42c23e9af0333f4bc3b4f419cc3a603e
Associated URL: AP

VANDENBERG SPACE FORCE BASE, Calif. - On the cusp of a new era in military space operations, Northrop Grumman has delivered 21 satellites to Vandenberg Space Force Base, California for launch, a significant step in advancing the Space Development Agency’s (SDA) Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture (PWSA). These satellites, part of the Tranche 1 Transport Layer (T1TL), will provide secure and resilient communications for the warfighter and data transport for the PWSA Tracking Layer. Over the next six months, several dozen additional Northrop Grumman-built satellites for the PWSA will be launched into low Earth orbit (LEO), contributing to both the missile defense and data transport missions.

As a trusted innovator who’s delivered technologies that ensure American leadership in space for decades, Northrop Grumman is building on its unmatched experience building highly capable systems like the James Webb Space Telescope and the Arctic Satellite Broadband Mission. The company is applying this multi-orbit, end-to-end system expertise to produce resilient, proliferated architectures and manufacture satellites at speed and scale - an essential shift to meet the demands of modern warfighting.

The PWSA is a classic mission with a modern twist: a constellation of satellites designed to detect and track missiles and pass data around the world with almost no lag time. Northrop Grumman is combining its advanced technology and decades of mission expertise with the best commercially developed solutions to make high-volume manufacturing repeatable, affordable and resilient, and stay ahead of evolving global threats.

Northrop Grumman’s satellite production capabilities support a wide-scale rollout. Multiple PWSA contracts are underway, each delivering incremental improvements in mission capability. Dozens of satellites are fully integrated, with final checkouts in progress. The company’s robust supply chain management and diverse, growing supplier base has strengthened its ability to overcome challenges and efficiently deliver complex space systems.

By collaborating closely with the SDA, industry partners and suppliers, Northrop Grumman is advancing interoperable and modular solutions that meet SDA’s open architecture standards. These standards ensure seamless interoperability across satellites, payloads, and ground systems from multiple providers, enabling continuous, secure data flow across domains.

Source: Northrop Grumman
Associated URL: https://news.northropgrumman.com/satellites/northrop-grumman-advances-operational-capability-for-the-pwsa-with-delivery-of-21-satellites