Defence`s Feeds

The US Air Force's (USAF's) Lockheed Martin F-35A Lightning II combat aircraft completed its first air-to-air weapons test against an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) target, the air force announced on 1 August. The USAF test pilot, Major Raven LeClair, launched an AIM-9X missile from an F-35A's

While Singapore continues to remain tight lipped about its next-generation combat aircraft programme it is widely believed that an F-35 Joint Strike Fighter buy is a matter of not if, but when for the Southeast Asian country. Kelvin Wong reports on the latest perspectives from the Singapore

Chilean shipbuilder ASMAR (Astilleros y Maestranzas de la Armada) is to launch the fourth Patrullero de Zona Maritime (PZM) offshore patrol vessel for the Chilean Navy on 3 August, a navy spokesperson told IHS Jane's on 1 August. Cabo Odger (OPV 84), ordered by the navy on 12 January 2015, is being

AM General has been awarded a USD356 million contract to manufacture and deliver 1,673 High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicles (HMMWVs) - also known as Humvees - to the US government for further delivery to the Afghan National Army and Afghan National Police, the US-based company said in a

The US Marine Corps (USMC) expects an optionally manned helicopter to emerge from the joint-service Future Vertical Lift (FVL) programme being led by the US Army, the corps' deputy commandant for aviation said on 29 July. Although the USMC has been using the remotely piloted Lockheed Martin K-MAX

Key Points The USAF has released an RfP for a programme to replace its nuclear-armed ICBMs The Pentagon plans to award up to two 36-month technology maturation and risk reduction contracts by the end of FY 2017, and to field a new system in the late 2020s The US Air Force (USAF) has released a

Key Points Coronado will be the first LCS to deploy with the Harpoon Block 1C The missile met test objectives on 19 July, although it failed to hit its target The US Navy (USN) is installing the Harpoon Block 1C missile onto Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) USS Coronado (LCS 4) now that the vessel has

Key Points The USAF has issued an RfP for its LRSO weapon The new missile would replace the Boeing AGM-86B ALCM The US Air Force (USAF) has issued a long-delayed request for proposals (RfP) for its Long-Range Standoff (LRSO) weapon, the planned successor to the Boeing AGM-86B Air Launched Cruise

The Russian Ministry of Defence (MoD) has confirmed that one of its Mil Mi-8 helicopters was shot down in Syria on 1 August. The MoD said the helicopter had delivered humanitarian aid to Aleppo and was returning to Humaymim Air Base when it was hit by ground fire as it flew over Idlib province. It

The Portuguese Army is currently working on plans to entirely replace the bulk of its small arms, the Portuguese Ministry of National Defence (MoND) told IHS Jane's on 29 July. The plans will see the acquisition of 10,225 weapons including: assault rifles, light machine guns, sub-machine guns, and

Croatia's first five Bell OH-58D Kiowa Warrior helicopters were delivered to Zemunik Air base on 30 July. The donated helicopters, the first of 16, and around 30 tonnes of additional equipment were delivered by a US Air Force Reserve Command Lockheed C-5 Galaxy transport aircraft. This is the first

The Royal Australian Navy (RAN) has taken delivery of its 24th and final MH-60R Seahawk Romeo maritime helicopter from Lockheed Martin, the company announced on 28 July. The aircraft was handed over a day prior to the announcement at Lockheed Martin's facility in Owego, New York. The RAN is the

Airbus has agreed to sell AXIO-NET to Trimble, the company announced on 1 August. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. AXIO-NET provides Global Navigation Satellite System services to several European countries, including Germany and the United Kingdom. ANALYSIS AXIO-NET does not work with any

EVENT At least 1,000 demonstrators protested in Awaday, northeastern Oromo region, Ethiopia, on 31 July, after a government soldier beat a shop owner, local media reported. An Agazi paramilitary unit, predominantly ethnic-Tigray, was deployed to disperse the protesters, resulting in the use of

A group of Argentine Army Aviation officers travelled in late July to the United States to examine and select a batch of surplus UH-60 Blackhawk helicopters that the Argentine government is negotiating to buy, an Army Aviation source told IHS Jane's . Quantities and variants were not disclosed, but

An aircraft repair facility, Avionams, that had been moved to private ownership has been reclaimed by the Bulgarian government, the country's prime minister announced according to a report by the Sofia News Agency published on 2 August. The plant provides servicing for Mi-8/17 and Mi-24 rotary-wing

The People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) has decommissioned two Haizhui/Shanghai III (Type 062/1)-class coastal patrol vessels. The platforms, with pennant numbers 1271 and 1273, were retired in a ceremony held by the PLAN's East Sea Fleet on 28 July where the vessels were previously based,

AT LEAST 15 people - including four militants, five civilians and a soldier - were killed and 20 others were wounded when Harakat al-Shabaab al-Mujahideen militants detonated two suicide vehicle-borne improvised explosive devices (SVBIEDs) before launching a small-arms assault on the Criminal

In an effort to allay concerns ahead of the withdrawal of regular troops from Thailand's insurgency-plagued southern border provinces, senior Royal Thai Army (RTA) officials have stressed that the drawdown and related changes in the command structure for counter-insurgency operations will have no

Today's very active Russian navy needs a future equipment programme that can deliver the right ships and submarines, at the right cost, at the right time. Alex Pape considers the sustainability of the navy's equipment plan in meeting this requirement There is something going on in Russia, something