Defence`s Feeds

The UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) and France's Direction Générale de l'Armement (DGA) have launched the next phase of their £117m joint maritime mine countermeasures (MMCM) programme.

DCNS and Airbus Helicopters have partnered to design a new vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) for the French Navy.

A consortium consisting of Navantia and Indra has been contracted by Indonesian shipbuilder PT PAL to jointly upgrade the Indonesian Navy's Fatahillah-class KRI-362 Malahayati corvette.

Poverty and socio-economic inequalities are inextricably linked with crime and conflict in Colombia. Unless they are addressed the current peace process will be unsuccessful and crime and insecurity will continue to afflict Colombia and its people, particularly the more vulnerable and marginalized.    Editor’s Note: This blog article features forthcoming research to be published in

M109 155 mm Self-Propelled Howitzer

Americas

• A Grumman F9F-8 Cougar on the flight deck of USS Lexington Museum has been painted pink for the month October. The new paint job is in support of Breast Cancer Awareness Month. However, the retired Navy fighter won’t stay pink forever, as a special procedure — applying liquid dishwashing soap to the latex paint — keeps the pretty paint job from becoming permanent.

• $8.25 billion has been given as the price of the life-extension program for the B61-12 atomic bomb by the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA). The new cost estimate was completed over the summer as the agency prepared to enter the production-engineering phase of the program. The baseline cost of the program is $7.605 billion, with an additional $648 million in “funds leveraged from other NNSA programs for technology and manufacturing readiness,” according to an agency statement – money that has common applications across multiple weapon systems.

Middle East & North Africa

• Claims have been made by the head of US Central Command (CENTCOM) that Iran may have been involved in a rocket attack on the USS Mason. Gen. Joseph Votel made the allegations saying “I do think that Iran is playing a role in some of this. They have a relationship with the Houthis, so I do suspect there is a role in that.” Recent missile launches on US vessels have come from territory held by Houthi militants in Yemen. A US-supported coalition led by Saudi Arabia is currently conducting a military campaign against the Houthis.

Europe

• Anti-corruption agents will investigate the recently scrapped military helicopter deal between Poland and Airbus. Defense Minister Antoni Macierewicz made the announcement while also criticizing Airbus for misleading the public on the amount of jobs that would have been created by the deal to buy 50 multi-purpose H225M Caracel helicopters. While Macierewicz failed to mention which particular aspect of the deal would come under the scrutiny of the anti-corruption team, he accused some opposition lawmakers of acting against the state in favoring an international corporation.

• Norwegian F-35s grounded last month for repairs will be back in the air by November, sooner than expected. 15 F-35A Lightning II aircraft had been grounded in September due to peeling and crumbling insulation in avionics cooling lines inside the fuel tanks. The Norwegian Defense Ministry said the insulation is now being removed and extra filters installed to intercept any potential remains, although it has not yet been decided whether this fix should be regarded as temporary or permanent.

• An IHS Markit report has revealed a planned tripling in defense spending by the governments of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania amid fears of a Russian Crimea-style annexation of their territory. According to the report, it is expected that combined defense spending will reach $670 million by 2018 and $2.1 billion by 2020, more than double that when the countries entered NATO in 2004, and the fastest such growth in any region worldwide. After Russia’s annexation of Crimea in 2014, Latvia and Lithuania agreed to raise military spending to reach NATO’s informal target of 2 percent of GDP by 2018, something that Estonia has already achieved.

Asia Pacific

• Rumors that talks are underway between Russia and Pakistan over the Su-35 fighter have been dismissed. Anatoly Punchuk, the deputy director of the Russian Federal Service for Military-Technical Cooperation (FSMTC), said no such negotiations are being held despite earlier reports that Islamabad is keen to switch to Russian fighters by buying the Su-35. Other Russian-made items wanted by Pakistan include tanks and air-defense systems.

• A ground-breaking defense deal between Japan and India is back in motion after Japan agreed to a clear price concession for 12 US-2 amphibious aircraft for the Indian Navy. A ten percent drop in unit pricing from $133 million to $113 million has finally allowed the deal to move forward after a two year delay. The deal, the first of its kind between the two countries, shows a growing cooperation between New Delhi and Tokyo as part of India’s Look East Policy meant to counter China’s influence in the Indian Ocean and Pacific Ocean regions.

Today’s Video

Harrier GR3 XZ130 For Sale:

UK Defence Secretary Michael Fallon has announced that the first of the UK Royal Navy’s new nuclear deterrent submarines is to be named Dreadnought.

Raytheon has received a $255m contract from the US Navy for the development and production readiness of its next-generation joint precision approach and landing system (JPALS).

US Naval Air Systems Command has awarded a $203.71m prime contract to ERAPSCO, a joint venture of Sparton Corporation and Ultra Electronics USSI, for the manufacture of sonobuoys.

Vector Hawk small unmanned aircraft system (sUAS) was successfully launched by a Marlin MK2 autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) for the first time in September.

EDA National Armaments Directors (NADs) met on 19 October at the European Defence Agency for their biannual Steering Board meeting under the chairmanship of Czech Deputy Minister of Defence, Daniel Kostoval.

EDA Chief Executive Jorge Domecq updated NADs on progress made in key defence-related dossiers, including the EU Global Strategy Implementation Plan on European Security and Defence, the Policy Framework for Systematic and Long-Term Defence Cooperation, the Pilot Project on defence research, the Preparatory Action on CSDP-related research as well as the EDA strategic review process.

Lead nations also briefed participants on the status of the four key capability programmes: Air-to-Air Refuelling (AAR), cyber defence, GovSatCom, and RPAS.

NADs then discussed a wide variety of topics, including industry involvement in defence cooperation, the Collaborative Database (CODABA), the ongoing work on the setting up of a Cooperative Financial Mechanism, energy and environmental implications for the defence sector and EDA-Nato cooperation.  

US officials appear less certain that missiles were launched at the destroyer USS Mason as it sailed in international waters off Yemen on 15 October than they were after two similar incidents prompted retaliation against Yemeni coastal radar sites. The incident was first revealed by Admiral John

The Argentine Gendarmería Nacional plans to acquire two second-hand ATR 72 twin-turboprop transport aircraft. The decision, announced on 19 October by Security Ministry officials, was made after an analysis began in December 2015 when 43 gendarmerie members died in a bus crash while deploying

The Australian Department of Defence (DoD) announced on 20 October a defence industry roadmap to support domestic companies' involvement in the Land 400 Phase 2 armoured vehicle programme. The DoD said the 'Australian Industry Opportunity Roadmap' was developed by the two Land 400 Phase 2

IMP Aerospace of Halifax, Nova Scotia, on 17 October announced it was contracted by the Chilean Navy to provide service-life extension, depot maintenance, and avionics upgrades for the service's two Lockheed UP-3A Orion maritime patrol aircraft under the Orion III programme. The project entails a

Key Points US business, domestic exports, and drawing on commercial expertise are key elements Austal hopes its domestic operation will become a major part of its business, just as its US operation is Austal's CEO has identified three core components in the future development of the company's

Key Points KRI Malahayati will receive new command, fire-control, and electronic warfare systems + Indra and Navantia have stepped up efforts to jointly pursue both domestic and export business Indra and Navantia have stepped up efforts to jointly pursue both domestic and export business A

The French Navy offshore patrol vessel L'Adroit has been equipped with a Spynel S-6000 long-range panoramic infrared (IR) surveillance system supplied by HGH Systems Infrared. Spynel S-6000 is a compact, stabilised 360 degree mid-wave IR surveillance and tracking system scanning at up to 60 rpm.

A French industry cluster comprising aluminium shipbuilder OCEA, underwater and robotics specialist ECA, and training facilitator DCI has come together to offer an end-to-end, stand-off unmanned mine-countermeasures (MCM) system for the export market. The co-development and marketing agreement

General Dynamics wrapped up alpha trials for the future USS Rafael Peralta (DDG 115), the first Flight IIA Arleigh Burke guided missile destroyers that the company has taken to sea since the destroyer programme restarted in 2010. Alpha trials, the initial set of builder's trials, were completed on