Defence`s Feeds

The Afghan Taliban's turbulent negotiations with the United States on a peace deal have ground to a halt over differences on how to reduce insurgent violence.

There are lots of interesting new details in the new renderings of the B-21 stealth bomber. The U.S. Air Force has just published three new renderings of the B-21 “Raider”, the U.S. Air Force’s next [...]

Everything you need to know about the F-35 deal just signed in Poland. On Jan. 31, 2020, Poland signed the deal for the purchase of the F-35 Lightning II aircraft at the Dęblin Air Force [...]

The “Europe for Aviation” team, made up of eight European aviation organisations working to implement the Single European Sky (SES), will gather at this year’s World ATM Congress, from 10 to 12 March in Madrid, Spain.  Over the course of the 3-day Congress, these organisations will showcase how through collaboration they can go much further tackling the most pressing challenges facing aviation, such as sustainability, capacity and innovation.

This year EDA will be there as part of the “Europe for Aviation” stand and theatre (#849 and #1151) to represent the military aspects of SES/SESAR. The stand will host a wide range of briefings, presentations and guided SESAR walking tours, illustrating the collaboration in action between the European aviation organisations working to implement SES,  namely the European Commission, EUROCONTROL, SESAR Joint Undertaking (SESAR JU), SESAR Deployment Manager (SESAR DM), European Union Aviation Safety Agency, Innovation and Networks Executive Agency (INEA), and EUROCAE.

Our experts will be on the stand throughout the congress, so pass by and find out more about the EDA and its work on SES/SESAR.  For more on the World ATM Conference visit our event page.

Americas

The Pentagon is considering leasing aerial refueling tankers to mitigate Boeing KC-46A Pegasus tanker delivery delays to the US Air Force. General Stephen Lyons said hat the aerial refueling force element across the command is the most stressed. USTRANSCOM is a unified, functional combatant command that provides globally integrated mobility operations and support to the 10 other US combatant commands and military services. An advantage of leasing tanker capability, he said, would be immediately relieving tanker pressure as the USAF continues to retire Boeing KC-135 Stratotankers and McDonnell Douglas KC-10 Extenders. But Gen Lyons said a disadvantage would be that these leased tankers could not be used in contested or combat environments. Gen Lyons is specifically concerned that the continuing retirement of legacy tankers, combined with insufficient KC-46s, would result in a significant decrease of “taskable tails.” Douglas Birkey, executive director of the Air Force Association’s Mitchell Institute for Airpower Studies, told Jane’s on 29 January that these are aircraft that can be tasked by the tanker airlift control centre at Scott Air Force Base in Illinois to perform mission requirements.

Boeing and Embraer received the penultimate regulatory clearance to permit the companies to form two joint ventures in the fields of commercial and military aerospace. The companies reported on January 27 that they have received unconditional approval from the General-Superintendence of the Administrative Council for Economic Defense in Brazil. CADE is Brazil’s national competition authority and an executive agency of the government. Boeing and Embraer said in a statement on the CADE decision that “unconditional clearance has now been granted in Brazil, United States, China, Japan, South Africa, Montenegro, Colombia, and Kenya”. The creation of the joint ventures awaits a decision from the European Commission.

Middle East & Africa

Israel Aerospace Industries announced on that it will unveil the Heron MK II at the Singapore Airshow next month. The company said in a press release that the Heron MK II has long-range observation sensors and radars, allowing it to perform Standoff Capability, gathering intelligence from tens of kilometers away without crossing borders. Fitted with a Rotax 915 iS engine, the Heron MK II can reach an altitude of 35,000 feet, a maximum speed of 140 knots and can remain in the air for 45 consecutive hours. The Heron MK II is a strategic and versatile aircraft capable of carrying diverse payloads.

Europe

The US Army awarded AECOM Management Services a $17 million contract modification for Army Prepositioned Stock (APS-2) logistics support services in support of maintenance, supply and transportation at Mannheim and Dulmen, Germany. AECOM provides professional technical services to the United States government, state, local, and non-US governments and agencies, and commercial customers. The company’s services include consulting, planning, architecture, engineering, construction management, project management, asset management, environmental services, and design-build services. Work under the modification will take place in Mannheim and Dulmen, Germany. Estimated completion date is November 20, 2020.

Italy’s Fregata Europea Multi-Missione (FREMM) multimission frigate Emilio Bianchi was launched at Fincantieri’s Riva Trigoso shipyard in Genoa on 25 January 2020. The frigate is the 10th and last FREMM ordered by the Italian Navy under the Franco-Italian FREMM program co-ordinated by the Organization for Joint Armament Co-operation (OCCAR). The company added that the launch will be followed by the fitting of equipment on Emilio Bianchi at the Muggiano shipyard in La Spezia before its delivery scheduled for 2021.

Asia-Pacific

Last week, Australia’s defense secretary paid a working visit to Brunei, the first by an individual in his position. The engagement highlighted the ongoing efforts by both sides to continue to develop the defense aspect of their relationship. Australia and Brunei have long had a defense relationship as part of their wider bilateral ties, which date back to when Brunei gained its full independence from Britain in 1984. Australia’s Secretary of Defense Greg Moriarty was in Brunei for what was characterized as the first working visit by a sitting defense secretary to the Southeast Asian state. Moriarty’s visit consisted of a series of interactions. In terms of meetings, during his short trip, he met with a wide range of senior officials including the commander of the Royal Brunei Armed Forces (RBAF), the chief of staff of the RBAF, the director of intelligence, the commander of the Royal Brunei Navy, the permanent secretary of Brunei’s defense ministry, and the second minister of defense.

Today’s Video

Watch: NOVOSIBIRSK – RUSSIA LAUNCHES ONE OF THE MOST FORMIDABLE SUBMARINE IN THE WORLD !

The UK Royal Navy’s (RN’s) First Sea Lord, Admiral Tony Radakin, has outlined plans to start using HMS Prince of Wales , the second Queen Elizabeth-class carrier, as an experimentation platform for large unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) operations in 2021. Speaking at the Defence IQ

India’s Ministry of Defence (MoD) has shortlisted two indigenous manufacturers for the long-deferred INR450 billion (USD6.3 billion) Project 75I (India) programme to build six conventional diesel-electric submarines (SSKs) for the Indian Navy (IN). The MoD’s Defence Acquisition Council

Polish Defence Minister Mariusz Blaszczak signed a USD4.6 billion contract for 32 F-35A Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) aircraft on 31 January at the 4th Training Aviation Wing Headquarters in Deblin. This is the second-most expensive acquisition of high-technology military

Warship and army equipment availability in the UK’s Royal Navy and British Army has been hit by poor contractor performance, a shortage of spares, and a rising operating tempo, according to the country’s Defence Equipment and Support (DE&S) organisation. In its annual report and

Despite intense White House pressure on NATO to get more operationally involved in the Middle East, there is very little enthusiasm to go beyond what the allies are already doing across the region, according to NATO insiders. Publicly, allied diplomats point to a wider military training role in Iraq

Russia’s fifth Alexandrit-class (Project 12700) mine countermeasures vessel (MCMV), Yakov Balyayev , was launched at Sredne-Nevsky Shipyard in St Petersburg on 29 January. Announcing the launch, Sredne-Nevsky Shipyard said Yakov Balyayev will now undergo final trials before being transferred

Syrian government troops have launched a two-pronged offensive along the M5 highway running through Idlib province, prompting Turkey to threaten intervention. After capturing Maarat al-Numan, Idlib province’s second-largest city, on 27–28 January, Syrian forces moved north to advance up

The Malian Armed Forces (FAMa) announced on 28 January that it has received the first batch of 15 Streit Cougar light armoured vehicles from the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The Cougars are the first of 30 vehicles the UAE is donating as part of a wider agreement that also covers the sale of 100

UAVOS has expanded its product portfolio of vertical take-off and landing unmanned aerial vehicles (VTOL UAVs) with the UVH R22 platform, which is derived from the Robinson R22 single-engine light utility helicopter. According to company specifications, the UVH R22 has a maximum take-off weight

An attack by the Somali militant group Harakat al-Shabaab al-Mujahideen on a Kenyan airfield used by the US military destroyed six aircraft, the commander of US Africa Command (AFRICOM) confirmed on 31 January. “They were able to get access to that airfield, kill three Americans, and destroy

Japanese Ministry of Defense (MoD) officials have confirmed Tokyo’s plans to acquire the Lockheed Martin AGM-158B Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile – Extended Range (JASSM-ER) and the AGM-158C Long Range Anti-Ship Missile (LRASM) to meet a requirement for air-launched stand-off

Japan Ministry of Defense (MoD) officials have expressed their growing concerns about North Korea’s increasing military capabilities, especially regarding the communist country’s development of weapons of mass destruction, reiterating their assessment that Pyongyang has already

Leonardo had a ‘strong’ performance in 2019, meeting or exceeding its financial goals for the year, according to the Italy-based defence and aerospace manufacturer. An initial review by Leonardo’s board of directors found that the company’s main businesses performed

Fighting between the Afghan National Defense and Security Forces (ANDSF) and militant groups in Afghanistan intensified during the last three months of 2019, with the NATO-led ‘Resolute Support’ (‘RS’) mission registering a 15% increase in the number of enemy-initiated

Saab has officially launched the flight evaluation phase of its Gripen E/F fighter and GlobalEye airborne early warning and control (AEW&C) aircraft for Finland’s HX programme. Gripen E test aircraft 39-10 arrived at Tampere-Pirkkala Airbase north of Helsinki the day prior to Saab’s