July 7 (Reuters) – Defence companies from NATO member states gathered in Ankara on Tuesday for an industry forum held alongside the alliance’s annual summit, where several defence cooperation and procurement agreements were expected to be announced.
Following are the deals announced so far:
SAAB
Swedish defence equipment maker Saab said NATO will begin formal negotiations on the acquisition of up to 10 GlobalEye airborne early warning and control aircraft.
CEO Micael Johansson told reporters the company could start deliveries as soon as 2030, and the final price would be roughly $400 million to $450 million per aircraft.
LOCKHEED MARTIN, RHEINMETALL
Lockheed Martin and Rheinmetall signed a memorandum of understanding on Tuesday to jointly produce ATACMS missiles in Germany, a move that would mark the first manufacture of the short-range ballistic missile outside the United States.
Separately, the United States will establish a maintenance facility in Europe for Lockheed Martin’s advanced PAC-3 air defence missile, U.S. Undersecretary of Defense Michael Duffey said on Tuesday. Washington is not ruling out production of the missile abroad, he added, although it is not yet clear where the maintenance facility will be built.
NORTHROP GRUMMAN
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said allies will buy up to five Northrop Grumman MQ-4C Triton high-altitude surveillance drones, with Norway, Finland, Germany and Denmark signing a letter of intent for the purchase.
AIRBUS
NATO will launch a strategic airlift fleet of Airbus A400M transport planes and expand its existing A330 MRTT tanker and transport fleet by one aircraft, Rutte said.
ISAR AEROSPACE
German rocket maker Isar Aerospace signed a contract with Canada’s Maritime Launch Services to build and use a dedicated launch pad for its Spectrum rocket at Spaceport Nova Scotia, eastern Canada.
(Reporting by Emanuele Berro, editing by Matt Scuffham)
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