BRUSSELS. NATO Support and Procurement Agency (NSPA) awarded three Next Generation Rotorcraft Capability (NGRC) contracts to Airbus, Leonardo, and Lockheed Martin Sikorsky, paving the way for the helicopter manufacturers to undertake "detailed platform concept studies" as NATO seeks to deliver a new class of medium-lift military helicopters between 2035 and 2040.

LONDON. The tri-nation cooperative at the heart of the Global Combat Air Program (GCAP) -- the U.K., Italy, and Japan -- unveiled a new concept model of their next-generation combat aircraft at Farnborough International Airshow.

ROME, Italy. Leonardo's AW609 tiltrotor successfully completed its first ship trial campaign with support from the Italian Navy, the company announced in a statement.

LONDON, United Kingdom. The UK Ministry of Defence has announced plans to fast-track the development of the DragonFire laser weapon system for installation on Royal Navy ships, MBDA announced in a statement.

ROME. Aerospace and defense firm Leonardo has accepted a project from the Italian Ministry of Defense (through the contractual agency Teledife) that intends to use supercomputers, artificial intelligence/machine learning (AI/ML), and cloud computing aboard a constellation of what it calls "cybersecure" satellites orbiting the earth. 

PORTON DOWN, Wiltshire. Qinetiq won a contract from the UK Defence Science and Technology Laboratory to better protect the British Army's land armored vehicles from using drones and other weapons, the company announced in a statement.

LONDON. Leaders of defense organizations in Italy, Japan, and the United Kingdom signed a trilateral Collaboration Agreement to deliver the concept phase requirements of a next generation combat aircraft for the Global Combat Air Program (GCAP).