Khadija Saeed

The Pentagon awarded Lockheed Martin a ceiling $328.5 million undefinitized letter contract — a preliminary deal that lets work begin before final terms are set — for fixed-wing sensor hardware for Taiwan, a U.S. government contracts notice said. The award covers 55 Infrared Search and Track Legion Enhanced Sensor pods, which can detect aircraft by heat, plus related equipment under the Foreign Military Sales program, the U.S. government’s channel for selling weapons to partners. The notice said $157.3 million in FMS funds were obligated at award, work will be performed in Orlando, Florida, and the project is expected to run through June 30, 2031; it described the deal as a sole-source acquisition. U.S. Department of War Taiwan remained on high alert after China staged “Justice Mission 2025” drills around the island, keeping its emergency response centres running as it monitored Chinese naval manoeuvres, Taiwan’s coast guard said. Taiwan’s defence ministry said 77 Chinese military aircraft and 25 navy and coast guard vessels had been operating around the island in the past 24 hours. Lyle Goldstein, Asia programme head at the U.S. think tank Defense Priorities, said: “They threaten and bluster a lot, but ultimately would be very costly for China