Here are the programs that made the biggest news over the past week:
Fourth Stryker DVH set on its way — The Army has given the green light to buy a fourth brigade of Stryker Double V-Hull (DVH) vehicles,
we reported. We noted back in July that both Senate and House appropriators had backed funding for a fourth DVH set for Strykers, which would better protect troops from improvised explosive devices. House authorizers also OK’d the move. However, the DVH set is still at risk if fiscal 2016 sequestration is not dealt with. If all goes well, delivery of the set is expected to begin in fiscal 2017, immediately following final delivery of the third brigade set. Read more Stryker analysis >>>
Global interest turning into sales for CH-47 — The Brazilian Army has expressed interested in buying a “handful” of CH-47 helicopters, according to Reuters, the latest in a string of international victories for the aircraft. A 2011 Pentagon report stated that the Chinook’s operations in Iraq and Afghanistan have attracted interested from around the world in the platform, and orders have been piling up since late 2013 when South Korea purchased 14 of the aircraft. The Indian government also authorized $2.5 billion in August 2014 for an arms deal that included Chinooks, and two of 16 CH-47s were delivered to the Italian army earlier this year. Read more CH-47 analysis >>>
Japan about to announce V-22 buys? — As we noted in late August, the V-22’s prospects on the international market are dimming, but the program got a big boost in the announcement by the Marine Corps’ commandant that there would be a second foreign buyer of the aircraft in six months, according to Reuters. While that buyer is unnamed, it is most likely Japan, and while it has long been expected that Japan would buy some Ospreys, the report notes that the nation could buy as many as 40 aircraft — a significant figure that would be above what some experts have expected. In the meantime, U.S. officials have also been discussing the program with the United Arab Emirates, Canada, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Italy, Brazil, Colombia, Singapore, and Australia, according to the report. Israel was the first foreign buyer of the aircraft. The program still faces an uphill battle due to its high price tag and niche capability. Read more V-22 analysis >>>
E-2D officially joins the fleet — The E-2D Advanced Hawkeye has finally reached the ultimate milestone: initial operational capability, according to Seapower Magazine. Officially, the airborne early warning aircraft achieved operational status on Oct. 10, although it will not deploy until next year aboard the aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN-71). E-2D resembles — and will operate alongside of — the E-2C Hawkeye, but it will sport a new APY-9 radar that will provide a “two-generational leap in capability,” according to the program. Not only that, but the program plans to operate and deploy the E-2D in an entirely different way than the E-2C. The E-2D will have the ability to track targets over land as well as at sea, and can track surface and air targets simultaneously. Read more E-2D analysis >>>