Jane's Defense News

Russia's Kalashnikov Group (a subsidiary of the Rostec state corporation) unveiled its new RPK-16 light machine gun (LMG) at the Army 2016 defence show held outside Moscow from 6-11 September. Intended to replace the ageing RPK-74 light support weapon, a company official told IHS Jane's at the

Airbus Defence and Space is working to enhance its React-Lite capability, introducing new functionality to the mobile crypto system. React-Lite is packaged into a Pelicase and is designed to enable a user or small group of users to reach back into a secure network. Richard McLachlan, product

The Argentine Air Force (Fuerza Aérea Argentina - FAA) is evaluating the Korean Aerospace Industries (KAI) FA-50 Fighting Eagle as a potential new platform, IHS Jane's has learned. An Argentine delegation visited the Republic of Korea Air Force's (RoKAF's) 16th Fighter Wing at Yecheon on 7

EVENT On 8 September 2016, Prime Minister of Armenia Hovik Abrahamyan announced his resignation. He said that his departure should lead the way towards a coalition government which would offer "new approaches in order to consolidate society". On 9 September President Serzh Sargsyan

Russia's Kalashnikov Group unveiled its AK-15 assault rifle and Malogabaritny Avtomat (MA - Compact Assault Rifle) at the Army 2016 defence exhibition held outside Moscow. The firearms are intended to replace several models of small arms previously developed by the company. Essentially the AK-15 is

Russia's Bazalt, a subsidiary of the TekhMash Concern, is to complete state trials of its latest PBK-500U Drel (Drill) 500 kg-class universal gliding cluster bomb in 2016, according to TekhMash's director general, Sergei Rusakov. "We are planning to complete them before the year end,"

The Russian Ministry of Defence (MoD) signed 17 contracts worth RUB130 billion (USD2 billion) with local industry at the Army 2016 exhibition outside Moscow, according to Deputy Defence Minister Yuri Borisov. The largest contracts were for shipbuilding, with one, worth RUB27 billion (USD400

Russia's Military Industrial Company (VPK) has developed an unmanned variant of its VPK-33115 Tigr-M light utility vehicle armed with a 30 mm automatic cannon. The unmanned ground vehicle (UGV) was unveiled at the Army 2016 defence exhibition held outside Moscow. Speaking to IHS Jane's at Army

Russia's Precise Machinebuilding design bureau (TsNIITochMash) demonstrated its concept for the third generation of the Ratnik soldier system at the Army 2016 defence exhibition outside Moscow. "TsNITochMash is conducting Ratnik-3 design work to define [the] requirements for the new generation

Gunmen attacked a petroleum convoy on 9 September in Loa, South Sudan, 36 kilometres from the town of Nimule, close to the Ugandan border, leaving at least six dead, several wounded, and two petroleum tankers destroyed. The tankers were travelling from Nimule to Juba, the capital. Earlier in the

Two future enhancements to the German Army's fleet of Puma armoured infantry fighting vehicles (AIFVs) have been proposed for Australia's infantry fighting vehicle (IFV) requirement, a source told IHS Jane's on 9 September. Speaking at a Land Forces exposition in Adelaide a day earlier, Tobias

The US Navy (USN) is exploring all options for bolstering defences against growing missile threats in the Pacific, including the potential for using an Aegis Ashore site in Hawaii. "The weapons are becoming very energetic these days, so really the idea of doing everything we can to bring

Damen Shiprepair & Conversion, headquartered in the Netherlands, announced on 12 September that it had finalised a concession agreement with the government of Curaçao to assume the running of the Curaçao Drydock Company. The agreement will see Damen form a new company named Damen

Hanwha Corporation has revealed a new indigenous all-weather day/night capable guided air-to-surface anti-armour missile system destined for the Republic of Korea Army's future Light Armed Helicopter (LAH) at DX Korea 2016, the country's premier land warfare systems exposition, which was held at the

The Salvadoran and Colombian air forces are finalising negotiations to work together modernising El Salvador's Bell UH-1H helicopter fleet to the Huey 2 standard, a Salvadoran Air Force source told IHS Jane's . The force was among the largest Latin American operators of the Huey, but after El

President Barack Obama on 9 September nominated US Air Force General John Hyten to become the next head of US Strategic Command (STRATCOM), replacing Admiral Cecil Haney. Gen Hyten serves as head of US Air Force Space Command, which is responsible for organising, equipping, training, and

The Indian Ministry of Defence (MoD) is looking into the alleged payment of bribes by Brazilian aircraft manufacturer Embraer to secure three EMB-145 platforms in 2008 for India's indigenous aircraft early warning and control (AEW&C) programme. On 10 September Indian defence minister Manohar

India's Reliance Defence and Engineering (RDE), formerly Pipavav Defence and Offshore Engineering, has reported more losses during the first quarter of 2016-17. The company said in a filing to the Bombay Stock Exchange on 10 September that its total income in the quarter ending 30 June fell

Key Points India's Zen Technologies experiences volatility but remains on track for major orders, says company's managing director Exports expected to be an area of growth for the Hyderabad-based training and simulation company India's Zen Technologies, a specialist in military training and

The Indonesian armed forces have been asked to find savings equivalent to 7.3% of the 2016 defence budget in the remaining months of the 2016 fiscal year, as part of government attempts to address a widening budget deficit. The changes to the budget - if fully implemented - would see defence