Defence`s Feeds

The Independence-class littoral mission vessels (LMVs) are being built by Singapore Technologies Marine (ST Marine) Benoi shipyard, for the Republic of Singapore Navy (RSN).

The US Navy’s 50th P-8A Poseidon (P-8A), the next-generation long-range maritime patrol aircraft has been delivered by Boeing at the Naval Air Station (NAS) in Jacksonville, Florida.

US federal agency the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) has estimated that the proposed 350-ship US Navy could cost around $25bn per year or 60% above the historical average.

Australia’s Future Submarine Programme is making good progress with construction set to begin in 2022.

The US Navy (USN) Nimitz-class nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson (CVN 70) carrier strike group (CSG) sailed from San Diego, California, on 5 January for a deployment to the Western Pacific region. The navy had said previously that the deployment would "focus on maritime security

EVENT Chadian prime minister Albert Pahimi Padacke on 5 January announced the closure of his country's border with Libya due to the threat of "terrorist infiltration". He claimed that several "isolated terrorist groups" had converged in southern Libya, warning that Chad's

China's latest Jiangdao-class (Type 056) corvette was launched on 29 December at the Hudong-Zhonghua Shipyard in Shanghai, according to Chinese media. The ship is the 13th of the class to be launched by the yard since May 2012. Three more of the class were commissioned in December 2016, bringing

EVENT Israel's anti-corruption police questioned Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on 5 January and 2 January "under caution", meaning as a suspect, in an ongoing corruption investigation over allegations of accepting gifts from an Israeli businessman and a foreign businessman with

Northrop Grumman E-2D Advanced Hawkeye airborne early warning and control (AEW&C) aircraft in February are to join forward deployed forces as part of Carrier Air Wing (CVW) 5 in Japan, the US Navy (USN) announced on 5 January. As part of wider Pentagon efforts to 'rebalance' towards the

EVENT The opposition-controlled National Assembly is planning to debate on 9 January whether to formally remove President Nicolás Maduro from office and to call for an early general election. The initiative is based on Article 233 of the constitution, which allows the National Assembly to

Key Points The Columbia-class SSBN has been established as a programme of record that can begin development Funds to procure the future Columbia class are available for the first time The US Navy's (USN's) Ohio-class nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarine (SSBN) replacement programme (ORP)

India and Portugal signed an agreement on 7 January that provides a framework for bilateral defence trade and related industrial collaboration. The accord was signed in New Delhi during talks between Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Portuguese counterpart Antonio Costa. According to the

India's Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) aims to begin manufacturing components and spare parts for the Sukhoi Su-30MKI multirole fighters it licence-builds for the Indian Air Force (IAF). A HAL official told IHS Jane's on condition of anonymity that India and Russia are negotiating a transfer

The government of India has agreed to sell a major stake in state-owned military vehicle manufacturer BEML (formerly Bharat Earth Movers Limited). The move represents the first strategic sale of an Indian defence public sector undertaking (DPSU). BEML said in a filing to the Bombay Stock Exchange

The Indian Army (IA) will soon begin retiring its ageing fleet of licence-built Chetak (Aerospatiale SA 316B Alouette III) and Cheetah (Aerospatiale SA 315B Lama) light utility helicopters (LUHs) following a series of recent accidents. An IA official told IHS Jane's on condition of anonymity that

US president-elect threatens to restructure intelligence agencies United States president-elect Donald Trump is planning to restructure the country's intelligence community (IC) when he comes into office, The Wall Street Journal reported on 5 January. The report came after Trump had engaged in a

Key Points The government will be forced to meet mutineers' demands, but their basic loyalty to the president means the risk of a return to generalised civil conflict is minimal. Militant soldiers, particularly recent recruits from former northern rebels, will continue to make demands that

Japan and France have strengthened defence links, agreeing to start talks on sharing supplies and the co-development of military equipment. The Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) said on 8 January that the agreements were reached during talks in Paris between France's defence and foreign

The US Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) is developing a system of sensors that could shorten the time it takes for a ship's network administrator to identify anomalies, determine the cause of a problem, and fix the issue. The Integrated Satellite Communications (SATCOM) Tactical Resiliency Risk

Uruguayan president Tabare Vazquez, through an official Presidential Resolution, has finalised the controversial purchase of an aircraft to serve as VIP transport as well as for medical evacuation and navigation aid calibration. The aircraft, an HS 125-700A built in 1979, was purchased for USD1