Jane's Defense News

Americas Colombia - 4 October 2016: In La Granada, Saravena, Arauca, ELN rebels blew up a section of Ecopetrol's Caño Limón-Coveñas oil pipeline. Colombia - 4 October 2016: President Juan Manuel Santos announced that the bilateral ceasefire with FARC militant group would only hold

Key Points A power and propulsion de-risking trial is planned before the end of 2016 A thermal spray deck coating is being applied to protect Queen Elizabeth's flight deck from the extreme temperatures produced by the F-35B Lightning II engine Setting-to-work, test, and acceptance activities on

The US Army expects to issue a request for proposals (RfP) within the next week or two for another Family of Medium Tactical Vehicles (FMTV) 'rebuy' programme. Army officials plan to seek better ride quality and performance to accommodate heavier armour, and will look for better power generation

Key Points The Finnish defence ministry has authorised the commencement of work on the navy's 'Squadron 2020' future OPVs The ships are likely to be constructed by local shipbuilder Rauma Marine Constructions The Finnish Ministry of Defence (MoD) has given its mandate to start work on the

Thailand has ordered two more EC725 Caracal multirole helicopters to augment the six already procured, Airbus Helicopters announced on 4 October. The order represents Phase III of the EC725 procurement plan for the Royal Thai Air Force (Kongtap Agard Thai - RTAF), with the first four medium-lift

General Motors (GM) and the US Army on 3 October unveiled a hydrogen fuel cell vehicle based on a Chevrolet Colorado truck. The vehicle is being jointly developed by General Motors and US Army Tank Automotive Research, Development and Engineering Center (TARDEC), and is to undergo army testing

Japan is ready to be flexible with the cost of ShinMaywa Industries' US-2i amphibious search-and-rescue (SAR) aircraft in order to push through a deal to export the platform to India. Talks between the governments of Japan and India about the sale of the aircraft have been continuing for several

The Taliban launched a co-ordinated assault on the Afghan provincial capital of Kunduz on 3 October, briefly overrunning central neighbourhoods of the city before being driven back by Afghan security forces. The NATO-led 'Resolute Support' mission said on its Twitter account that government forces

The US Army is beginning a new programme to add weapons to Stryker wheeled combat vehicles and is preparing to accept its first 'upgunned' Stryker vehicle for testing in December under an urgent effort. In mid-September the Pentagon approved a second engineering change proposal (ECP2) programme to

US Army leaders are considering how to modernise and structure the service to deal with potentially major shifts in the nature of ground combat, which could be considerably more dispersed and less dependent on current technology, according to the service's top officer. "We're on the cusp of a

BAE Systems unveiled a next-generation Bradley fighting vehicle demonstrator, built with internal research and development (R&D) funding and intended to showcase technology options as the US Army considers how it will replace its ageing but still operational Bradley fleet. The platform takes

The US Army is to receive its first prototypes for an 'upgunned' Stryker Infantry Carrier Vehicle (ICV) in December under an urgent lethality upgrade project, according to contractor General Dynamics Land Systems (GDLS). GDLS was awarded a USD329 million contract modification in May to provide a 30

General Dynamics Land Systems (GDLS) on 3 October unveiled a medium-weight tracked vehicle demonstrator called the Griffin that meshes elements of the turret and 120 mm cannon from the company's M1A1/M1A2 Abrams main battle tank with its Ajax Scout Specialist Vehicle. In fiscal year 2017 (FY 2017)

Trijicon has unveiled a new mounted machine gun optic, the Machine Gun Reflex Sight (MGRS), to provide mounted machine gunners with a sight similar to the company's legacy Advanced Combat Optical Gunsight (ACOG). John Rupp, Trijicon's vice-president for business development, told IHS Jane's the

US Army Europe (USAREUR) is shifting from a deployment model whereby troops fall in on existing equipment, to rotating in a brigade with its own gear early next year. The next heavy brigade to deploy in Europe is to be the 3rd Armored Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, and it is scheduled

Key Points UK Royal Navy is developing a requirement and plans to augment the amphibious capabilities of its aircraft carriers, as directed in 2015 SDSR However, the primary role of the two ships remains the delivery of carrier strike operations The UK Royal Navy (RN) is conducting study work to

Key Points Philippine Air Force (PAF) wants to buy an additional KAI FA-50s and Leonardo AW109 helicopters Saab's Gripen in pole position to secure PAF multirole combat aircraft requirement The Philippine Air Force (PAF) has identified several procurement priorities as it continues its

Key Points Initial operating capability planned for 2017 Pirania can also be configured with an electro-optical payload for reconnaissance missions Poland's Air Force Institute of Technology (Instytut Techniczny Wojsk Lotniczych - ITWL) - a scientific and research organisation supervised by the

Russia's cyber activities continue to increase, with a concurrent rise in the problems this brand of 'warfare' creates for NATO, delegates at the CyberSecurity Europe conference, held from 26-27 September in the Polish capital, Krakow, were told. One of Russia's strategies is to leverage the

Chinese company Hytera, a developer of communications systems, is setting up a new office in Manila to follow up on opportunities to promote its products to the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and government sectors. The privately owned firm is promoting several systems to the AFP, company