Global wrap-up: US delays F-35s for Turkey, China to receive more Su-35s from Russia

Asia-Pacific: 

• China is set to take delivery of the final 10 Sukhoi Su-35 multirole fighter aircraft from Russia by the end of the year. Under a US$2.5 billion deal from November 2015, China will operate 24 of the advanced, thrust vectoring capable aircraft. 
• The Chinese Navy and Air Force have continued to throw it's weight around the South China Sea allegedly warning a US Navy P-8A Poseidon reconnaissance plane from continuing it's 'Freedom of Navigation Operations', which the US aircraft ignored. 
• The Singapore Navy has launched the seventh littoral mission vessel (LMV), the Dauntless. The LMVs have been designed to offer enhanced sea keeping capabilities that would allow the vessels to operate in higher sea state conditions. 
• Hyundai Heavy Industries has begun construction for the Royal New Zealand Navy future fleet repleniment tanker, HMNZS Aotearoa. The vessel will provide refuelling services, freshwater generation and cargo-carrying capabilities, in addition to conducting air patrols using an embarked Seasprite or NH90 helicopter.
• The Republic of Korea Navy is allegedly considering modifying the Dodko class LPH to accommodate Lockheed Martin F-35B Joint Strike Fighter aircraft to boost the blue water capabilities of the ROKN following similar announcements made by Japan.
• Major Kiyun Jun of the Republic of Korea Air Force has conducted the first flight of a Lockheed Martin F-35 Joint Strike Fighter for the ROK-AF at Luke Air Force Base in Arizona. 
• India has approved a US$707.7 million procurement of six indigenously built Next Generation Offshore Patrol Vessels (NGOPVs). The OPVs will strengthen maritime security by undertaking a variety of missions in both blue water and littorals, including seaward defence, protection of offshore assets, maritime interdiction operations and search and seizure operations. 

Middle East: 

• Turkey's planned procurement of the Lockheed Martin F-35 Joint Strike Fighter has been delayed following US President Donald Trump signing a bill which would delay the delivery of the aircraft to Turkey, pending the outcome of a Congressional hearing following concerns about the intentions of the Turkish government. 
• Saudi Arabia has kicked off modernisation efforts of the Saudi Navy. The US$20 billion Saudi Naval Enhancement Program (SNEP II) will focus on modernising the outdated East Naval Fleet in response to growing tensions with Iran in the Persian Gulf. 
• Israeli Aerospace Industries has announced that it will provide the Barak-8 air and missile defence system to the Israeli Navy's Sa'ar 6 Corvettes. 
• Iran has apparently launched a new, domestically designed and built fighter aircraft, which looks suspiciously like the Cold War-era Northrop F-5, most famous for it's role as an aggressor training aircraft and the infamous MiG-28 from Top Gun.    

Europe: 

• Latvia has signed an estimated US$200 million purchase from the US for four UH-60M Black Hawk Helicopters and related equipment, including 10 T700-GE-701D engines, 10 embedded GPS/Inertial navigation systems, one aviation Mission Planning System, five Talon Forward Looking Infrared Radar (FLIR), 20 AN/AVS-6 Helmet Mounted Night Vision Devices, and aircraft warranty, air worthiness support, spare and repair parts, support equipment, communication equipment, publications and technical documentation, personnel training and training equipment, ground support equipment, site surveys, tool and test equipment. 
• The Royal Navy and UK Ministry of Defence have announced the relaunching of the Type 31e Frigate program to supplement the planned procurement of eight Type 26 Frigates following a poor industry response to the initial request for information announcement. 
• HMS Queen Elizabeth has set sail for the US as part of ongoing sea trials and will conduct the very first F-35B carrier landings for the UK Armed Forces, as the Royal Navy and Royal Air Force gear up to receive the new STOVL platform. 
• During a fly off as part of capability building, US Air Force F-22 Raptors participated in mock dog fights with Norwegian F-35 Joint Strike Fighters, which highlighted the capabilities of both fifth-generation platforms. 

North America:

• Raytheon secured a US$110 million contract to provide laser-guided Paveway smart munitions to the US Air Force over a 10-year contract. Paveway kits use both laser and GPS satellite navigation and inertial guidance to glide Paveway bombs precisely to their targets and can be attached to 250-, 500-, 1,000-, and 2,000-pound bombs.
• Lockheed Martin has been awarded a US$2.9 billion contract to provide three missile warning satellites for the US Air Force.
• Lockheed Martin secured a US$480 million hypersonics weapons contract with the US Air Force to design a hypersonic weapon prototype to keep pace with developments in Russia and China. A hypersonic weapon is a missile that travels at Mach 5 or higher, which is at least five times faster than the speed of sound. 
• BAE Systems secured a US$146.3 million contract to modernise the Ticonderoga Class USS Gettysburg Guided Missile Cruiser for the US Navy to be completed by March 2020.
• The US Army has awarded Lockheed Martin a US$218 million contract to provide High Mobility Artillery Rocket System launchers and associated hardware for an undisclosed international customer. 
• L3 Communications will be partnering with Northrop Grumman to conduct work on the multi-increment ALQ-249 mid-band jamming system, supporting lead contractor Raytheon who was awarded US$1.2 billion for the project in 2016.
• Canada has announced a CAD$115 million upgrade of soft-kill anti-ship missile defence systems fitted to the Royal Canadian Navy's 12 Halifax Class frigates, which will see Lockheed Martin Canada upgrade and sustain the RAMSES jammer and Rheinmetall providing a third MASS decoy launcher for each vessel. 
• In the latest twist for Canada's own US$60 billion 'Canadian Surface Combatant' program, the Canadian government has asked bidders not to make comments during the selection process, while a number of the bidders claim that the process has been rigged to favour the joint BAE Systems Canada and Lockheed Martin Canada bid with the Type 26 frigate. 
• Canada will spend US$27 million to develop and incorporate urban operations training systems (UOTS) into the Canadian Weapon Effects Simulation platform. UOTS is designed to monitor actions and events, manage training devices and process training exercise data.
• Mexico made a foreign military sale with the US for six Evolved Seasparrow tactical missiles (ESSM) and two Evolved Seasparrow telemetry missiles for an estimated cost of US$41 million, also included are one Mk 56 VLS launcher (eight-cell), eight Mk 30 canisters, eight Mk 783 shipping containers, spare and repair parts, support and test equipment, publications and technical documentation, training, USG/Contractor technical and engineering support services, and technical assistance. 

Australia: