Jane's Defense News

US secretary of defence Jim Mattis has reaffirmed the United States' commitment to its defence treaty with Japan. "I want to make certain that Article 5 of our mutual defence treaty is understood to be as real to us today as it was a year ago, five years ago - and as it will be a year, and 10

Polish state-owned defence company Polska Grupa Zbrojeniowa (PGZ) signed a cooperation agreement with pan-European missile specialist MBDA on 2 February, in a deal which aims to facilitate the transfer of technology to Poland's defence industry. The agreement sets out MBDA's intention to share

NATO launched its latest trust fund project on 2 February to help Montenegro safely dispose of unneeded ordnance. Administered from Podgorica, the fund will be used to finance an environmentally sound demilitarisation of more than 400 tonnes of surplus ammunition. NATO's Support and Procurement

The Nigerian Customs Service (NCS) formally handed over two new Bell 412EP helicopters to the Nigerian Air Force (NAF) during a ceremony held at Lagos' international airport on 27 January. NCS officials told local media that it was handing over standard-configuration 412EP civilian helicopters,

Key Points Alleged abuses by the security forces risk alienating the local population and are likely to encourage jihadists' recruitment and expansion of their support base. Increasing indicators of discontent in the security forces in Sinai call into question police capability in the event of

An escalation in fighting in the eastern Ukrainian Donbas region is being referred to in Kiev as becoming a 'second Debaltseve' after the battle of January 2015 that was the scene of hundreds of casualties on the Ukrainian side, many due to saturation bombardments by Russian-backed rebels using Grad

US secretary of defence Jim Mattis has warned North Korea that any nuclear attack on the United States or its allies would be met with an "overwhelming" response. "North Korea continues to launch missiles, develop its nuclear weapons programme and engage in threatening rhetoric and

Brazil's armed forces have maintained significant participation in peacekeeping operations abroad as part of the country's quest for a larger international role, and do so despite budget cuts and related military resource constraints, but power projection is becoming more difficult, particularly for

Key Points Consortium submits new MEADS bid to Poland MEADS International is looking to involve Polish industry in about 40% of the workshare for the system The MEADS International consortium announced on 31 January that it had submitted an updated bid for Poland's Wisla medium-range air-defence

Russia's first Pacific-built Project 20380 light frigate has set out on sea trials, 12 years after the vessel was first laid down and 4 years late. The ship, named Sovershenny (hull number 2101), has put to sea with a mixed naval crew and workers from the Amur Shipyard (ASZ) where it was built to

The US military will deploy 12 Lockheed Martin F-16 Fighting Falcon fighters to South Korea in February in a move that would mark Washington's first deployment of military assets to the northeast Asian country since the inauguration of President Donald Trump. "Approximately 200 Airmen and 12

Key Points Human operators will train artificial intelligence during naval missions The partnership is intended to develop machine-learning technology to augment critical defence systems The US Navy (USN) is partnering with Indiana University (IU) to increase artificial intelligence usage in

US National Security Advisor Michael Flynn said on 1 February that the United States is "officially putting Iran on notice" in the wake of a ballistic missile test and an attack on a Saudi frigate off Yemen. Speaking to journalists at the White House, Flynn said the ballistic missile test

Argentine minister of defence Julio Martínez announced on 1 February that, following discussions with President Mauricio Macri, the government decided to suspend purchasing a new fighter aircraft to replace Lockheed Martin (McDonnell Douglas) A-4AR Fightinghawks. The Argentine Air Force

Argentine Navy icebreaker ARA Almirante Irízar is due to start sailing trials 10 years after it almost sank owing to a fire while returning from Antarctica. The ship's repair took much longer than expected owing to budget delays, discussions of modernising the ship, and because it had

Spanish shipbuilder Construcciones Navales Paulino Freire has signed a contract to build an oceanographic survey ship for Saudi Arabia. Initial contacts got under way in 2015, when the company was asked to draw up plans and specifications for the proposed survey vessel. Now Vigo, Spain-based Freire

EVENT Martin Schulz's recent bid for the German chancellorship slightly increases the possibility of an SPD-led centre-left government following the general election in September 2017. On 29 January, the centre-left Social Democratic Party (Sozialdemokratische Partei Deutschlands: SPD) nominated

Communications and defence electronics company Harris Corporation published its second quarter results on 2 February, showing a 2% fall in organic revenue. Sales, adjusted to take account of the company's recent divestitures, totalled USD1.7 billion in the quarter. Operating income also fell to

German firearms manufacturer Heckler & Koch has unveiled a modular rifle, the HK433, chambered in 5.56x45 mm. It will be proposed to the Bundeswehr as a replacement for the currently issued G36 rifle. This is the fourth rifle family being offered by the Oberndorf-based manufacturer after the

Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) unveiled its ADA anti-GPS jamming system on 31 January, saying it recently won an Israeli Ministry of Defense contract to integrate into one of the "main platforms" of the Israeli Air Force (IAF). It added that the ADA system has already been integrated