A USAF B-52H Stratofortress conducts an operational demonstration of the QS-ER naval mine over the Pacific Ocean in May 2019. (Photo: USN/ Mass Communications Specialist 1st Class Holly Herline)
Boeing is to design and produce glide kits and associated equipment for the Quickstrike Extended Range (QS-ER) aircraft-launched sea mine.
The company will provide the USN with non-functional glide kits, glide kit prototype articles, and glide kit shipping containers for QS-ER, the DoD announced on 20 July.
Work on the $58.3 million contract is scheduled for completion by March 2024.
QS mines are general-purpose bombs retrofitted with Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM) guidance kits plus magnetic, seismic and acoustic sensors. Aircraft drop the mines to settle on the sea floor at depths of 12-61m.
The QS-ER variant for the USN includes a glide kit that enables the mine to be launched from standoff distances of up to 40nm at 35,000ft.
The takeover of the Italian firm by Baykar solidifies the company’s efforts to forge closer ties with Italian industry, bolsters its partnership with Leonardo to produce UAVs and secures its foothold in Europe.
The F-15EX Eagle II had already been singled out for further funding in January 2025, when it was chosen to replace the A-10 aircraft for the US National Guard.
Spain’s Defence Minister told the Senate Defense Commission on 27 June of the decision to acquire Turkish Aerospace Industries’ (TAI) trainers as the country seeks to replace its Northrop F-5M aircraft.
The company has tested over 15 mission sets for the drone, with the rotorcraft used to demonstrate the viability of armed forces utilising large uncrewed aerial systems’ (UAS) for autonomous missions in the future.
The US Navy’s answer to a sixth-generation fighter has experienced a range of setbacks and delays to the programme, with only $47 million in this latest proposed budget set aside for completing the aircraft.
The UAE’s Edge Group has been positioning itself as a key defence and technology partner to Indonesia, where it has been focusing on naval platforms, UAVs and long-term industrial collaboration.
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