Defence`s Feeds

Boeing anticipates an extension of its F/A-18E/F Super Hornet and EA-18G Growler production lines as a result of an increased operational tempo by the US Navy (USN) and strong international interest in procuring the platform, company officials told reporters on 10 June. Speaking at Boeing's Global

British Army troops from The Duke of Lancaster's Regiment are training in Belize as part of Exercise 'Mayan Warrior.' British and Belize Defense Force (BDF) instructors are teaching jungle warfare techniques to soldiers from the visiting regiment's Blenheim Company, 2nd Battalion. The UK's

Afghanistan's route clearance capabilities are set to be enhanced by the delivery of a large number of mine rollers. US-based company Critical Solutions International has been awarded a USD32.8 million foreign military sales contract to deliver 464 mine rollers, 300 brackets and manuals, and

Czech Army troops deployed on expeditionary undertakings in the future may soon be fielding modular shelters that feature protection against small-arms fire and shrapnel under an initiative led by the Military Research Institute (Vojensky Vyzkumny Ustav; VVU) in Brno. Under development since 2014,

THE Danish Supreme Court on 8 June upheld a decision to strip the citizenship of 56-year-old Danish-Moroccan man Sam Mansour who had been convicted of inciting terrorism and jailed for four years in December 2014, Reuters reported. The high court initially passed the decision in July 2015, before

Dassault Aviation has completed the repurchase of 5.5% of its share capital from Airbus Group, the company announced on 10 June. The 502,282 share buyback was performed as part of a total Airbus divestment of 1.33 million Dassault Aviation shares, equivalent to 14.6% of the company. The remaining

Key Points In an extremely tight run-off vote on 5 June, the market's favourite candidate, economist Pedro Pablo Kuczynski, was elected as Peru's new president to replace incumbent Ollanta Humala. Kuczynski will assume office on 28 July. Kuczynski's election underlines Peru's strong commitment to

Brazilian aerospace and defence manufacturer Embraer announced the appointment of a new chief executive officer (CEO) on 9 June. Current CEO Frederico Fleury Curado is to relinquish the role in July in order to "concentrate on other professional and personal activities". The position

Israeli electro-optical manufacturer Meprolight has won a tender to provide the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) with reflex sights for 7.62 mm and 5.56 mm firearms. The contract includes the rapid delivery of "thousands" of MEPRO MOR multipurpose reflex sights and maintenance, it said on 5

India's Special Forces (SF) are desperately short of combat free fall (CFF) parachutes, as the state-run Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) has been unable to develop them after 12 years of research, costing almost INR107.50 million (USD1.62 million). The country's Comptroller and

Iraqi special forces entered Al-Fallujah on 8 June, but divisions between the forces assembled for the offensive have begun to emerge in public. The Counter Terrorism Service (CTS) said its troops, who are the special forces that have spearheaded previous offensives against Islamic State

Key Points The high-impact nature of the VBIED and the apparent complexity of the planning, involving multiple individuals each responsible for different aspects of the attack, leading to the attack indicate the increased sophistication of the Teyrênbazê Azadiya Kurdistan's operations.

UK defence procurement minister Philip Dunne officially opened the new Lockheed Martin UK (LMUK) AFV turret production facility at Ampthill, Bedfordshire, on 9 June. It has been constructed at a cost of GBP5.5 million (USD8 million), bringing the total investment at the site to more than GBP23

Lockheed Martin has confirmed interest within the Asia Pacific to procure used P-3 Orion maritime patrol aircraft (MPA) and S-3 Viking anti-submarine warfare (ASW) aircraft. Countries linked with potential purchases include Vietnam and South Korea, although a Lockheed Martin spokesperson did not

Pakistan's Ministry of Defence Production (MoDP) and Ministry of Science and Technology have signed an agreement to collaborate on researching and developing (R&D) military products, the government announced on 9 June. Rana Tanveer Hussain, who heads both ministries, said in a statement that

Peru's new warship, BAP Ferré (PM 211), is travelling from South Korea to the Peruvian port of Callao, temporarily docking on 6 June in Guam. The former ROKS Gyeongju (PCC 758) is a Pohang-class corvette constructed by Hyundai Heavy Industries that was commissioned in 1985. Ferré weighs

Key Points Several Marina de Guerra del Peru (MGP) capability programmes are passing prominent milestones in 2016 Once completed, the capability augmentations would see the MGP deploying arguably one of the most modern navies in its region The Peruvian Navy (Marina de Guerra del Peru: MGP) is

Key Points A former US research vessel that was donated to the Philippines has arrived in the country Platform will improve the Philippine Navy's understanding of its underwater topography A former Melville-class oceanographic research ship belonging to the United States' Office of Naval Research

Key Points French Armed Forces will be the launch customer for the new AT4 CS HE and AT4CS ER variants Initial tranche will be delivered to the French Armed Forces in Q3-Q4 2017 Saab Dynamics is in the final phase of qualification of three 84 mm AT4 CS (anti-tank, confined space) round variants

Americas

• Leonardo-Finmeccanica’s new Osprey X-band active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar has been selected by the US Navy for mounting on its MQ-8C VTOL unmanned aerial vehicle. Consisting of three panels for 360 degree field of regard, the Osprey contains incorporated algorithms from the company’s other radar product lines such as the Seaspray maritime search radar and Vixen air-to-air radar. This now makes it possible for the MQ-8C to function with an airborne early-warning capability while operating on small ships.

• Canada’s new fighter jet selection has started to cause a bit of a ruckus in parliament with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau slamming the F-35 as a fighter “that doesn’t work.” In response to the Liberal government’s plan to purchase F/A-18 Super Hornets as an interim fighter, Conservative Party leader Rona Ambrose accused Trudeau of selecting a fighter jet without the proper knowledge of what the Royal Canadian Air Force needs. By purchasing Super Hornets on an interim basis, Trudeau would keep his election promise of renewing the CF-18 replacement competition but also perhaps kicking the can on any new fighter competition well into the late 2020s.

Middle East North Africa

• The USAF has acquired the Advanced Precision Kill Weapon System (APKWS) laser-guided rockets for its A-10s and F-16s operating in Afghanistan and Iraq under an urgent field requirement. To fulfill the urgent need, the service will acquire its initial supply of rockets out of the current Navy inventory. The BAE-developed guidance kit was first tested on the AV-8B Harrier, F-16 and A-10 during flight demonstrations in May 2013, the company said. It is already widely used on Navy and Marine Corps helicopters such as the Bell AH-1Z Viper, and was acquired last year by the Army for the Boeing AH-64 Apache gunship. The addition of the kits will allow current “Hydra” rockets to act as a precision-guided munition capable of destroying soft targets like hostile boats, vehicles, and exposed enemy combatants instead of using more expensive guided bombs and missiles.

• Elbit Systems has debuted a new sensor-fused Helmet Mounted System (HMS) that allows tank commanders to essentially see through the walls of their armored vehicles. Dubbed IronVision, the vehicle-adapted HMS provides “protective glass walls” for tank or armored fighting vehicle crews who may need to operate in so-called closed-hatch mode when maneuvering in high-threat areas. The system has been developed from using airborne platform technologies to help improve crew’s abilities to locate, identify, track and engage enemy forces and threats.

Europe

• Denmark has officially selected the F-35 as its replacement for its F-16 fleet. The official announcement follows early indications that Copenhagen would purchase the fighter following a government recommendation in May for 27 F-35A models at a cost of $3 billion. Earlier, competitors such as Boeing had hoped that they could offer their F/A-18 Super Hornets by calling into question the F-35’s questionable cost estimates, but these efforts did nothing to curry favor with the Danes.

• A request for information by the French government for an off the shelf purchase of light multi-role armored vehicle in the French army’s Scorpion program has passed. The Scorpion modernization drive will see the defense ministry order 358 four-wheeled, 10-ton vehicles, with first delivery in 2021. While the tender is restricted to French suppliers, electronics company Thales plans to pitch its Australian Bushmaster vehicle in the competition, picking an industrial partner for assembly in France. It’s likely that the Lohr Group could provide such a partnership having built the Mercedes Unimog chassis under license for the MBDA Multi-Purpose Combat Vehicle, which was sold to Saudi Arabia.

Asia Pacific

• The Indonesian ambassador to Russia, Mohamad Wahid Supriyadi, has told Russian media that his country’s talks with Moscow over the purchase of eight Su-35 multi-role fighters is drawing to a close. With the main negotiations over, the deal now complete, the talks have now moved to discuss the matter of transferring technology from Russia to Indonesia. Indonesian laws require that any military pronouncements are supplemented by the transfer of technology, something Supriyadi claims has not been an issue for the Russians.

• The International Institute for Strategic Studies has released a piece on Vietnam’s indigenous KCT 15 anti-ship missile program that can trace its lineage to the Russian Zvezda-Strela 3M24 Uran. This makes Vietnam the second Asia-Pacific nation to embark on a home-made adaption of the Russian missile after North Korea. While Pyongyang’s development -as with the majority of its military production- remains mostly shrouded in secrecy, Hanoi’s initial acquisition of the 3M24 was aimed at improving the anti-surface warfare capacity of the Vietnam People’s Navy. The missile’s development, along with potential aircraft procurements from the US and Indonesia, come as militaries in the region scramble to increase naval maritime capabilities to protect and monitor island territories in the South China Sea.

Today’s Video

• Elbit Systems’ IronVision: