Raytheon [RTN] on Dec. 7 said it has created a subsidiary in the United Arab Emirates to further strengthen its partnerships in the small Middle Eastern country that is a key customer.

“The establishment of Raytheon Emirates is a strong step forward in our longstanding alliance with the United Arab Emirates,” Thomas Kennedy, Raytheon’s chairman and CEO, said in a statement. “Through partnerships with government, industry and academia, Raytheon is committed to helping the UAE achieve its economic goals while providing trusted, innovative solutions that support the nation’s defense and security requirements.”

Raytheon said the new subsidiary will leverage its existing operations in the UAE in the areas of cyber security, air defense and sustainment, and advanced technology, while developing talent and local suppliers.

Raytheon Emirates will be led by John Brauneis, who previously worked in the company’s United Kingdom office.

“We are focused on expanding the capabilities of Raytheon and its business partners in the UAE by emphasizing local hiring and talent development, cultivating a stronger supplier base, and development new technology solutions,” Brauneis said in a statement.

In the spring the U.S. State Department approved a potential $2 billion deal for Patriot missile systems to the UAE to be supplied by Lockheed Martin [LMT] and Raytheon. The UAE has operated the Patriot air and missile defense system since 2003.

In November, at the Dubai Airshow, the UAE announced that it had signed a deal with Raytheon worth $684 million for precision-guided munitions.

Raytheon said its 30-years of partnering with the UAE has included pilot training, supporting air traffic control radars, the TALON laser-guided rocket, Patriot, the Rolling Airframe Missile, and the Evolved Seasparrow Missile.

The Canadian government’s procurement agency rejected a last-minute bid by France’s Naval Group and Italy’s Fincantieri to propose their FREMM frigate to satisfy the country’s new frigate project.

Canada closed bids on the bids for the Canadian Surface Combatant (CSC) program on Nov. 30. The government previously said there were 12 eligible bidders for this future frigate program but has not disclosed how many actually made bids.

The French-Italian team directly offered the Defense Ministry an off-the-shelf version model of their FREMM frigate that would be built at Canada’s Irving Shipyard, CSC prime contractor at a fixed fee of $24 billion and in a shortened time frame, Canada’s National Post reported the week of Nov. 26.

The report said the Naval Group-Fincantieri team thinks the procurement process is biased in favor of a bid by a Lockheed Martin [LMT]-led team with Britain’s BAE Systems Type 26 Global Combat Ship. BAE is building the Type 26 for the British Royal Navy. The Lockheed Martin team submitted its bid the week of Nov. 26.

On Dec. 5, Public Services and Procurement Canada (PSPC) clarified that “any proposals submitted outside of the established competitive process will not be considered.”

The agency said establishing and respecting the bidding process being consistently applied is a key part of transparent and fair procurement. Without common requirements and criteria, the government cannot effectively or consistently evaluate proposals.

“The submission of an unsolicited proposal at the final hour undermines the fair and competitive nature of this procurement suggesting a sole source contracting arrangement,” PSPC said in a statement.

“Acceptance of such a proposal would break faith with the bidders who invested time and effort to participate in the competitive process, put at risk the Government’s ability to properly equip the Royal Canadian Navy and would establish a harmful precedent for future competitive procurements,” it added.

The agency also said it is “far from evident” that the Naval Group-Fincantieri offer would provide significant cost savings. PSPC noted warship budgeting must cover delivering the ship, design and definition work, infrastructure, spare parts, contingencies, training, and management.

“Typically, the acquisition of the ships themselves only represents about 50-60% of the project’s overall budget,” and any prices named outside the context of the Request for proposals (RFP) terms and conditions “are effectively meaningless,” the agency said. This includes intellectual property rights, liability limitations, indemnities, and divisions of responsibility.

PSPC said the government and Irving Shipbuilding “will work together to evaluate the proposals in accordance with the published evaluation plan.” Potential bidders had over a year to prepare their proposals since the RFP was finalized and the government noted by the close of the period on November 30, “multiple bids were properly submitted.”

A House science panel is requesting the Department of Homeland Security provide all documents related to its directive for all federal agencies departments to remove Kaspersky Lab software products from their systems, following concerns on the Russian-based company’s alleged ties to the Kremlin.

Chairman of the Science, Space and Technology (SST) Committee Lamar Smith (R-Texas) sent a letter Dec. 5 to Acting DHS Secretary Elaine Duke calling for all documents related to the binding operational directive issued in September be provided by Dec. 19.

“The federal government needs to leverage all resources to ensure that Kaspersky products on federal systems have been completely removed,” Smith wrote in his letter.

Smith sent an earlier letter in July to all 22 federal agencies detailing concerns on the potential for Kaspersky’s antivirus software to collect sensitive government information, which could then be shared with Russian intelligence officials under the country’s communication laws.

DHS then issued its directive in September giving federal agencies up to 90 days to remove Kaspersky products from their systems.

Jeanette Manfra, DHS assistant secretary for cyber security and communications, discussed preliminary findings on her department’s directive at a Nov. 14 SST Committee hearing. At the time, 94 percent of agencies had reported their findings to DHS and 13 percent of those had found some instance Kaspersky software on their systems.

Lamar is now requesting DHS provide all relevant information related to their binding operational directive, including a list of all agencies who have yet to submit their report or plans for removing the software and prevent future use of Kaspersky products.

DHS must also detail communications with Office of Management and Budget, any non-government or private sector party, and federal contractors related to the directive. Specifically, Lamar has requested documentation of discussions on the applicability of the directive to contractors and any potential timeline for non-governmental partners to remove the products.

Department officials must also present all communications between DHS and Kaspersky, including documents before the September directive.

Lamar has also requested another briefing from DHS representatives to update the committee as soon as possible, but no later than Dec. 19.

“The Committee’s investigation is consistent with its broader goal of uncovering all risks associated with Kaspersky. This includes identifying all necessary actions needed to eliminate the risk, even beyond the risk to federal systems,” wrote Smith in his letter.