Peru is planning to amend its offset policy to focus on developing more long-term partnerships with foreign suppliers rather than one-off transactions. The revised policy is expected to be finalised in the next six to seven months.
Owing to limited capital and local infrastructure, Oman is focusing on associating itself with offsets through downstream activities. The country is open to and welcomes partnerships wherein local companies can become a part of foreign supply chains through downstreaming of systems.
Mitsubishi Electric is setting up a joint development defence agreement with Australia to make equipment with “surveillance and survivability”, the Japanese company announced on 19 October. The agreement will involve a combination of Mitsubishi’s know-how in electronic and optical systems, and laser technology developed by Australia’s Defence Science and Technology Group.
Norway’s Kongsberg Defence and Aerospace has secured two new contracts for Poland’s naval air defence systems. On 26 October, WZE and PIT-RADWAR – both part of the national conglomerate, PGZ — were selected to help manufacture and deliver Naval Strike Missiles (NSMs) and associated equipment to the Polish Navy.
Switzerland’s local industry will benefit from indirect offsets, as part of its Patriot Advanced Capability-3 (PAC-3) Missile Segment Enhancement (MSE) guided missile purchase from the US. The Swiss Federal Office for Defence Procurement (armasuisse) signed a USD331m agreement with the US for the purchase of Lockheed Martin’s PAC-3 missiles. An offset agreement was signed as part of the contract signed on 30 October.
Raytheon will build a manufacturing facility in Arkansas, USA, with Israel’s Rafael Advanced Defense Systems to produce the Tamir missile and its US version, the SkyHunter, for the Iron Dome weapon system. The new facility is estimated to cost USD33m and will be established under the Raytheon-Rafael Area Protection Systems joint venture (JV).