Lockheed Martin announced that the US Navy has issued a funding balance of $279 million for the construction of the future Freedom-class littoral combat ship USS Cooperstown (LCS 23). Earlier in March 2015, Congress awarded Lockheed Martin $79 million in advanced procurement funding for the future USS Cooperstown.

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) announced that they have launched Japan’s first dedicated commercial satellite with an HII-A rocket. Carrying the Telstar 12 Vantage broadcast and telecommunications satellite developed by Ottawa, Canada-based Telesat, the H-IIA launch vehicle took off from the Yoshinobu launch pad at Tanegashima Space Center. This was the first time the H-IIA upgraded second stage has been deployed and the first commercial launch for the rocket.

The United States military has completed the delivery of two brand new radar systems to Ukrainian armed forces. Ukraine is in a time of crisis, so the decision was made by the US Army to deliver the system - thus shoring up the country’s defense and internal security operations. Ukrainian president Petro Poroshenko gave the green light on the delivery after being debriefed by the US military. The radars will be used by the Ukrainian military to help protect themselves and civilians from deadly attacks from rockets and other artillery.

Cobham announced that they have received a $157.5m in missile electronics order. The missile electronics order is specifically being worked on by the Cobham Microelectronic Solutions, a business sector of the Cobham Advanced Electronics Solutions.

Toyota, the Japanese auto giant, announced a five-year, $1 billion research and development effort in Artificial Intelligence and establishing a Silicon Valley research and development center to pursue those goals. Conceived as a research facility bridging basic science and commercial engineering, it will be organized as a new company named Toyota Research Institute. Toyota will initially have a laboratory adjacent to Stanford University and another near M.I.T. in Cambridge, Mass. The Toyota Research Institute will be led by Gill Pratt, who recently joined Toyota from DARPA where he ran the Robotics Challenge, an event that promoted work on robots that can work with humans.

Bombardier Inc., the Canadian multinational transportation and aerospace company, has agreed to trade off nearly half of their stake in the CSeries jet program to the government of Quebec. In exchange for this large stake, the Quebec government will provide a $1 billion lifeline to Bombardier Inc. This deal confirms that Bombardier is too important and vital to the economy of Quebec, to the extent that the government would not allow it to fail. The company employs more than 35,000 people, playing a crucial role in the Canadian aerospace sector.

Bridgestone has announced that they have acquired Pep Boys for $835 million in all cash via their shares. The shares are about $15.00 each. The transaction is being structured as a tender offer.

Gary Garfield, the CEO and President of Bridgestone America, commented on the companies:

The United States government has recently approved of the potential sale of four Lockheed Martin Freedom-class ship variants to Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabia will be using these ships in order to create the core for their Royal Saudi Navy’s Eastern Fleet. This foreign military sale, which is estimated to be valued at $11.25 billion, will include four Lockheed Martin Freedom-class variants which will come equipped with five COMBATSS-21 Combat Management Systems (4 installed, 1 spare), five Identification Friend or Foe (IFF) UPX-29 (4 installed, 1 spare), five Compact Low Frequency Active Passive Variable Depth Sonar (4 installed, 1 spare), as well as many more associated systems, munitions, and weapons. All of this equipment will serve as the basis for the Saudi Naval Expansion Program II (SNEPII), which is a program estimated to be valued at $20 billion in order to update the weathered United States-built Saudi fleet which is currently operating in the Persian Gulf.

Lockheed Martin is upgrading the battle command systems of the United States’ military branches. These battle command systems are in charge of all airborne assets which include the U.S. Air Force, Marine Corps, and Navy. This includes bombers, tankers, fighters, unmanned aerial vehicles, helicopters, and cruise missiles.

The United States Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) has been working on a potential foreign military sale (FMS) to Saudi Arabia, who is interested in purchasing UH-60M Black Hawk utility helicopters along with the associated equipment. Under this potential sale, which is estimated to value $495 million, Saudi Arabia has requested a wide selection of supplies including nine UH-60M Black Hawk utility helicopters, 20 incorporated global positioning systems with inertial navigation systems, 21 T700-GE-701D engines (comprised of three spares and 18 installed), 12 AN/AAR-57, 20 M240H 7.62mm machine guns, as well as common missile warning systems. Additional equipment that Saudi Arabia has also requested includes M134 miniguns, aircraft survivability equipment, dual-mode controllable search lights, electro-optical infrared (EO/IR) system, external electric hoists, quick rope insertion and extraction system, dual patient litter system, internal auxiliary fuel tank system, and ballistic armor protection system.

In an effort to meet California initiatives to combat global warming, the Irvine Company has decided to fit more than a dozen office buildings with battery-powered energy systems. The new energy saving systems will use batteries purchased from Tesla, and they will primarily be used during the peak summer months when tenants turn up their air conditioners. One of if not the main selling points of the new energy saving system is that they charge up during periods of lower use when electricity is fairly inexpensive. Tesla plans on teaming up with San Francisco-based Advanced Microgrid Solutions (AMS) to install and operate the energy storage systems. Each office building will be fitted with an “energy farm” of batteries roughly the size of 5 parking spaces.

iRobot has received an IDIQ contract with the potential value of $96 million from the U.S. Navy to deliver its new MK1 robots. iRobot is a leader in providing robotic technology-based solutions. According to the first multi-year IDIQ contract (which has a total ceiling of $46.7 million), it has support services, upgrades, and spares for the Man Transportable Robotic System (also known as the MTRS) MK1 robots. The MK1 robots are modeled after the iRobot’s multi-mission’s iRobot 510 PackBot.

The United States Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) has recently and successfully tested its persistent close air support (PCAS) prototype system. This system was tested on the United States Air Force A-10 Thunderbolt II attack aircraft. The most recent test, which took place near Nellis Air Force Base in Nevada, marked the system’s initial debut on a United States Air Force platform. With 50 successful attacks made by troops coming out from a position of defense (also known as a ‘sortie’), the test demonstrated that a joint terminal attack controller (JTAC) on the ground is capable of commanding an airstrike with three simple clicks on a tablet.

Aerospace and defense giant Lockheed Martin has just received a $227 million contract from the US Army for its brand new Alternative Guided Multiple Launch Rocket System Unitary (GMLRS). The new US Army contract also includes provisions to provide for a Foreign Military sale of GMLRS rockets to Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates. GMLRS is an all-weather rocket designed to perform in any condition, with swift deployment and a range far greater than that of conventional weapon. Also, the new alternative version of the GMLRS vastly improves upon its predecessor. New features include a more precise accuracy processor, an enhanced anti-jam system, a 200 pound Unitary Warhead, one-round one kill capability, and reduced collateral damage. One of if not the largest improvement in the alternative GMLRS is the lowered risk of unexploded ordinance. This missile has one of the longest ranges of any submunition warheads, but it is also incredibly accurate.

The United States Navy has cleared Raytheon to begin full-rate production on the AIM-9X Sidewinder Block II infrared air-to-air missile, according to reports out of Tucson.

Jet2.com, a low-cost British airline in the United Kingdom, has recently finalized a deal with Boeing for 27 next-generation 737-800 aircraft. Under this contract, which is estimated to be valued at $2.6 billion, Jet2.com will be receiving 737-800NG airliners over the span of the next two years. The company will be using these aircraft to serve its holiday package and flight-only customers by deploying these airplanes to leisure destinations in the Mediterranean, such as the Canary Islands and other European leisure cities. Jet2.com hopes that this new fleet with help to strengthen its business, as well as to provide the company with reliable, comfortable, and cost-effective aircraft.

Harris Corporation has received a $97 million contract from the United States Navy for an Airborne Jammer order.

On August 7, 2015, the State Department approved a potential Foreign Military Sale to Japan for technologies including the guided missile destroyer 7 (DDG), AEGIS Combat System (ACS) 8, Underwater Weapon System (UWS), and Cooperative Engagement Capability (CEC) for an estimated cost of around $1.5 billion.

In an effort to revitalize the city of Flint, Michigan, who was synonymous with the meteoric rise of Ford in the first half of the twentieth century, General Motors plans to invest $877 million dollars into the Flint Assembly Plant. This overhaul and investment is expected to be part of a plan to open up and expand three U.S. truck plants to install new assembly lines, body welding shops, and paint operations for future production of Silverado pickups and SUVs such as the Chevrolet Tahoe and Cadillac Escalade, while avoiding shutting down the plant and delay ongoing production.

Bombardier Inc. has delayed the commercial debut of its Global 7000 business jet by two years, the most recent in a string of setbacks.