UK-based Raytheon Systems has won a $7.8 million US Air Force contract to develop the ADAP digital anti-jam GPS antenna, an upgrade to the widely used GAS-1 antenna providing M-code capability. The contract includes 17 first-article units and production options. The US Air Force has bought two ex-Italian air force C-130H transports from Lockheed Martin for $13 million. The surplus aircraft will be delivered to the Colombian and Romanian air forces. DRS Technologies is to modernise the US Air Force unmanned threat emitter training system at Eielson AFB, Alaska, which simulates surface-to-air missile and anti-aircraft artillery radars, with new threat kits and remote emitters. The contract is potentially worth $14.3 million. Aermacchi will conduct a mid-life upgrade to 49 MB339A basic jet trainers for the Italian air force. The €33 million ($40 million) contract also provides support for the air force's MB339CDs and SF260 primary trainers, plus ground equipment and flight simulators. Boeing is to supply 14 MA-31 supersonic sea-skimming aerial targets, based on the Russian Zveda-Strela Kh-31 anti-ship missile, under a $16.4 million US Navy contract. Data Link Solutions has received a $48.3 million contract, and ViaSat a $47.1 million order, for MIDS tactical datalink low-volume terminals for delivery to Belgium, Canada, Japan, Poland, Switzerland, Taiwan and the US Air Force, Army and Navy. The US Air Force is to evaluate use of Canadian Radarsat-2 imagery to provide unclassified information to be shared between coalition forces for mission planning and time-critical targeting. The commercial radar satellite will provide 3m- to100m-resolution images to the USAF's Eagle Vision mobile ground station. Australian Technology Information is to provide Link 16 tactical datalink support to the Royal Australian Air Force's Boeing AF-18 Hornet upgrade programme under a contract from the US company.
Source: Flight International
