Tag: defense contractors

Kratos Conducts First Test Of Mysterious Stealth Drone

Aviation Week revealed that US-based Kratos Defense successfully tested its Thanatos stealth Uncrewed Combat Air Vehicle (UCAV) prototype within the last few months.

Steve Fendley, president of Kratos’ Unmanned Systems Division, told the aviation news website that the company’s Thanatos stealth UCAV was successfully tested in recent months. However, he declined to provide specifics about the test or its location.

“Kratos unveiled the Thanatos design in November 2023 when company CEO Eric Demarco said in an earnings report that the company hoped to have a contract within a year. The design shows what appears to be a single-engine UCAV with two inlets and a single exhaust,” Aviation Week said, adding, “The aircraft does not have a vertical tail and horizontal stabilizers, showing the company’s stealth approach.”

On Dec. 7, during an interview at the Reagan National Defense Forum at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, California, Fendley said: “The air vehicle for Thanatos is now effectively proven. We’re not trying to figure out does the airplane fly, we’re now trying to figure out does the integrated system tick the mission box.”

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US Firms Compete For ‘Huge Contracts’ To Control North Gaza Security

Israel is examining the launch of a “pilot program” that could see US private security firms replace the army in northern Gaza to “accompany food and medicine convoys” for Palestinians who remain in the devastated region, according to a report by Israeli daily Globes.

Among the top competitors for the multi-million dollar contract are Constellis, the direct successor to infamous mercenary company Blackwater, and Orbis, a little-known South Carolina company run by former generals that has worked with the Pentagon for 20 years.

Officials say the pilot program for north Gaza aims to “prevent Hamas or other gangs from taking over the aid trucks and free the IDF soldiers from the dangerous mission.”

In recent weeks, Gaza’s interior ministry established a new police force to deal with groups of bandits and gangs that have been raiding humanitarian aid shipments and blackmailing international organizations in the southern Gaza Strip.

The UN has said these gangs are likely “benefiting from a passive if not active benevolence” or “protection” from the Israeli army.

In October, a third US security firm – Global Delivery Company (GDC) – which describes itself as “Uber for warzones” – claimed to be working with another firm to create and manage “humanitarian bubbles” in Gaza.

GDC is run by Mordechai Kahane, an Israeli businessman who worked with Israeli intelligence during the war on Syria to arm extremist groups seeking to topple the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

Although no official figure exists about the size of the contracts being offered by Tel Aviv for these mercenary firms, Globes cites Lt. Col. Yochanan Zoraf, a researcher at the Institute for National Security Studies (INSS) and former advisor on Arab affairs in the Israeli army, as saying the figure will likely reach “billions of shekels per year.”

“These are not companies that will manage the daily lives of the residents,” Zoraf claims, adding that “peripheral responsibility for the defense of [north Gaza] as well as the civil responsibility itself” falls at Israel’s feet.

The former army officer also says Tel Aviv will likely “ask that the US – or an outside party – finance the program.”

On Tuesday, Israel Hayom reported that the pilot program has yet to receive approval from the security cabinet “due to legal difficulties in defining the occupation” based on international law.

“In order to circumvent the legal obstacles, the security services are examining bringing in external funding from humanitarian aid organizations or foreign countries for the [mercenary firms], which costs tens of millions of dollars to operate,” the report adds.

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US Military Supplier Accuses Ukraine’s Police and Ministry of Defense of Corruption

Sinclair & Wilde, which supplies military uniforms to Ukraine, has accused the country’s National Police and Ministry of Defense of corruption and extortion over unpaid equipment. The company made the claim in an open letter posted by BGD Legal & Consulting, its official representative.

“Sinclair & Wilde categorically denies the false and baseless claims made in the recently released video by the National Police Force of Ukraine [which alleges illegitimate price hikes by the US firm]. It is clear that the release of this story is an attempt by the National Police Force to cover up their own internal corruption and the corruption of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine in its continued attempts to deny payment to Sinclair & Wilde after it repeatedly refused to pay bribes requested of it,” the letter states.

Sinclair & Wilde signed five contracts with Ukraine’s Ministry of Defense for military uniforms. The company reportedly agreed to delay a $12.5 million payment on the fifth contract until the equipment was delivered. However, Ukraine purportedly later refused to pay both the fifth contract and the outstanding debt from the first one, despite receiving the goods.

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The Ukraine war is a war that should never have happened; who’s keeping it going and why?

“This is a war that should never have happened,” Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said at the beginning of the year.  “It’s a war the Russians tried repeatedly to settle on terms that were very very beneficial to Ukraine.”

“The big military contractors want to add new countries to NATO all the time,” he said. Why? “Because then that country has to conform its military purchases to NATO weapon specifications which means certain companies … get a trapped market,” he explained.

Few people understand what the war in Ukraine means for big business – namely, opportunity. It’s not just the weapons and reconstruction contracts. Ukraine’s vast agricultural lands-  among the most fertile in the world – are up for grabs, and American companies like BlackRock are at the front of the line.  Robert F. Kennedy Jr. (“RFK Jr.”) deftly and clearly explains.

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US Jury Awards $42 Million To 3 Iraqi Men Tortured At Abu Ghraib By Defense Contractor

The released photos documenting torture of prisoners at the United States government’s Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq during the Iraq War disgusted many people who could look beyond the war propaganda to feel sympathy for their fellow human beings.

Even if it was assumed that all the people pictured in the midst of their torture were themselves guilty of heinous crimes — an assumption that lacked foundation, the torture was a breach of civilized behavior.

Two decades later, some accountability has been meted out by a jury in Alexandria, Virginia.

The jury decided Tuesday that the military contractor CACI Premier Technology Inc. is liable to pay a total of 42 million dollars in damages to Suhail Al Shimari, Salah Al-Ejaili, and Asa’ad Zuba’e — three former detainees at Abu Ghraib in the 2003 through 2004 time period who had brought a lawsuit against the company whose employees worked as interrogators at the prison.

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Moscow Warns German Arms Factory In Ukraine Is ‘A Legitimate Target’

The Dusseldorf-based German arms manufacturer Rheinmetall this week announced that it has completed delivery of twenty more 20 Marder 1A3 infantry fighting vehicles (IFVs) to Ukraine.

But its relationship with Kiev has gone much further, becoming among the very first major European arms companies to open a factory in Ukraine. This has provoked outrage among Kremlin officials, who are now warning that military action could be taken against the Rheinmetall plant.

Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov has told reporters in a briefing that “A plant of Rheinmetall, a German arms manufacturer, launched in Ukraine, is a legitimate military target for the Russian Armed Forces.”

“Certainly it is,” he emphasized in response to a question on whether the factory is now a target by being established inside Ukraine.

Not only is the German company going to produce armored vehicles, and maintain and repair them from inside the war-ravaged country, but it is even seeking to develop a local gunpowder and munitions plan.

TASS notes that Rheinmetall is NATO member Germany’s largest defense contractor. “It substantially profits from the Ukrainian conflict and anticipates further increased revenues. In 2023, its turnover went up by 12%, to 7.1 bln euros, with its net income growing by 9%, up to 0.6 bln euros,” the report reviews.

Rheinmetall has indicated it eventually plans to open no less than four military production installations inside Ukraine, with the ammo side expected to begin within the next two years.

The company downplayed the Tuesday threat from Peskov, saying the “production of weapons in Ukraine is well protected and this is not the first time they have heard threats from the Kremlin.” It plans to move forward despite the threats.

Among Russia’s key rationales for the February 2022 invasion was to ‘demilitarize’ Ukraine amid accusations that NATO is building up its military infrastructure inside the country which shares a large border with Russia. But now it appears the Western military alliance is rushing to do just that.

CEO of Rheinmetall AG, Armin Papperger, issued the following statement earlier this week: “Things are progressing. The first plant is already ready. The second one is on the way. And now I insist on speeding up all of this work, because we don’t have much time, we shouldn’t waste it.”

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Spain cancels arms deal with Israeli company worth billions

The Spanish government has canceled a contract to buy ammunition for its Civil Guard police force from an Israeli defense company, Madrid announced in a statement on 29 October.

“The Spanish government maintains the commitment not to sell weapons to the Israeli state since the armed conflict broke out in the territory of Gaza,” Spain’s Interior Ministry announced. 

“Although in this case it is an acquisition of ammunition, the Interior Ministry has initiated the administrative procedure to cancel the purchase,” it added. 

It also said Israeli firms will be excluded from any outstanding tenders. 

The Cadena SER radio station reported earlier that Spain’s Civil Guard police force had agreed to a sale of over 15 million nine-millimeter rounds for $6.48 million from Guardian LTD Israel. 

The announcement comes the week after the Spanish Defense Ministry told local media that it had halted the purchase of weapons from Israel. The European country had said it would stop arms sales to Israel after the start of the war on 7 October 2023.

This decision marks the first signal that the Spanish pledge will include purchases from Israel and not just sales.

Spain has been vocal about Israel’s genocide and continuous war crimes in the Gaza Strip, as well as in Lebanon. 

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez urged other members of the EU on 14 October to suspend the bloc’s free trade agreement with Israel. 

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Raytheon To Pay Over $950 Million In Settlement Over Fraud, Qatari Bribery, And Export Violations

Raytheon, a subsidiary of defense contractor RTX, has agreed to pay more than $950 million to resolve federal investigations into government contract fraud, as well as violations of anti-corruption and export control laws.

The settlement, announced by the Department of Justice (DOJ) on Oct. 16, addresses allegations involving defective pricing on military contracts with the U.S. government, as well as illegal bribes to a Qatari official, with the resolution involving both civil and criminal penalties.

An RTX spokesperson confirmed the settlement, telling The Epoch Times in an emailed statement that the company acknowledges responsibility for the misconduct and has cooperated with investigators. The company also emphasized its commitment to bolstering its compliance and ethics programs.

Raytheon has admitted to two major fraud schemes affecting Department of Defense (DoD) contracts, including the provision of PATRIOT missile systems and radar systems.

In the first case, Raytheon employees provided defective pricing information, leading the DoD to overpay on two contracts by roughly $111 million between 2012 and 2018.

In a separate scheme, Raytheon failed to provide accurate cost or pricing data for numerous DoD contracts, including a weapons maintenance agreement, leading to further inflated payments.

Under the terms of a three-year deferred prosecution agreement, Raytheon will pay a criminal monetary penalty of $146.8 million and $111.2 million in victim compensation and retain an independent compliance monitor for three years.

The company received a 25 percent reduction in penalties for taking remedial actions, such as firing employees responsible for the misconduct and implementing new controls to prevent future fraud.

Additionally, Raytheon has agreed to pay $428 million to settle False Claims Act allegations related to providing false data during contract negotiations with the DoD. As part of the settlement, Raytheon admitted it misrepresented labor and material costs for weapon systems and double-billed on a radar station contract.

“The department is committed to holding accountable those contractors that knowingly misrepresent their cost and pricing data or otherwise violate their legal obligations when negotiating or performing contracts with the United States,” Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Brian M. Boynton, head of the DOJ’s Civil Division, said in a statement.

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Witnesses backed by military, foreign $$ hype war with Iran

At a House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee hearing on Thursday, witnesses proposed confronting Iran directly by deploying more military capabilities to the Middle East and the authorization of the use of force.

Yet, they conveniently neglected to mention that their employers — which included one Pentagon contractor and several think tanks funded by weapons manufacturers — stand to rake in profits from selling Congress on a military-first approach to Iran.

One of the witnesses of the hearing — billed as “Israel and the Middle East at a Crossroads: How Tehran’s Terror Campaigns Threatens the U.S. and our Allies” — was Kirsten Fontenrose. Fontenrose, a former Trump administration official, testified that the U.S. should pass an Authorization for the Use of Military Force (AUMF), an open-ended congressional resolution that would authorize the president to engage in military action against Iran.

“The U.S. should make it clear to the leadership of Iran’s proxy, drone and missile programs that new capabilities now permit the U.S. and partners to dismantle their facilities and chains of command with low to no risk of negative secondary effects,” she said. “Though ‘AUMF’ is a four letter word in Congress, an Authorized Use of Military Force could convey this quickly and clearly.”

Fontenrose is the President of Red Six Solutions, a red team defense consulting company and Pentagon contractor that prepares clients for threats against unmanned aerial systems. Its website boasts that its “pilot services include UAS operations, training, airspace coordination, event planning, and data generation with all types of UAS to include swarm, large-scale and turbine aircraft.”

According to one of Red Six’s partners, the company has explicitly prepared clients to combat threats from Iran.

Fontenrose is also a non-resident fellow at the Atlantic Council. In a financial conflict of interest document submitted to the subcommittee, Fontenrose disclosed a grant from Norway to the Atlantic Council. Yet, she did not mention the think tank’s funding from Gulf countries, despite being required to list all foreign government contributions related to the hearing’s content. Through embassies and state-owned companies, the UAE and Saudi Arabia (both have had an adversarial relations with Iran) contributed over $3 million and $300,000 respectively to the Atlantic Council over the past two years based on a review of annual reports.

Elliott Abrams, who was convicted of lying to Congress during the Iran-Contra affair, is back on Capitol Hill testifying on — of all things — Iran. During the hearing, Abrams testified that “we have too often been guided by fear of Iran, and have restrained the ability of both our own CENTCOM forces and of our ally Israel in responding to Iranian attacks. It’s past time to put those fears behind us.”

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How EA-18G Growler’s Next Generation Jammer Actually Works And The Future Of Offensive Electronic Warfare

Electronic warfare (EW) has taken on new prominence as the threat from near-peer adversaries has ballooned in recent. Who can best dominate the radio frequency spectrum and take the electronic fight directly to the enemy will have a massive advantage in tomorrow battles.

To find out more about the state of play in offensive EW, we sat down with Chuck Angus, director of business development in Naval Power at Raytheon. He oversees the company’s cutting-edge offensive electronic warfare (EW) portfolio. Angus talked with The War Zone about the latest in offensive EW, his company’s new AN/ALQ-249(V)1 Next Generation Jammer-Mid Band (NGJ-MB) electronic warfare pods (currently installed on EA-18G Growlers aboard the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln) and the applicability of such systems on sixth-generation fighters and loyal wingman drones. This conversation, which took place on the sidelines of the Air & Space Forces Air, Space & Cyber conference in National Harbor, Maryland, has been slightly edited for clarity.

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