Jane's Defense News

The US Marine Corps (USMC) is looking to expand its fleet of weaponised Lockheed Martin KC-130J Hercules turboprop aircraft that are capable of extended endurance multi-sensor imagery reconnaissance and close air support (CAS) in low-threat scenarios. 10 of the USMC's planned fleet of 79 KC-130Js

CAE continues to migrate its next-generation Medallion-6000 visual system onto the Common Database (CDB) architecture of its Dynamic Mission Simulators (DMSs) at its Medium Support Helicopter Aircrew Training Facility (MSHATF) located at Royal Air Force (RAF) Benson, UK, in order to provide more

Key Points Russia's aircraft carrier Admiral Kuznetsov is set to be refitted in 2017 The process is likely to take at least 2-3 years, leaving the Russian navy without an aircraft carrier for some time Russia's sole aircraft carrier, the Admiral Kuznetsov , will undergo an extensive overhaul and

Key Points The Spanish and US navies have conducted the first escort interoperability trials involving a Spanish Aegis ship and a US Aegis BMD-capable ship The trials focused on establishing communications, testing interoperability, and conducting pierside exercises. The Spanish Navy has

The Australian government has pointed to a new contract secured by Victoria-based Marand Precision Engineering as evidence of local industry's increasing involvement in the Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) programme. Secured earlier this month, Marand's contract calls on

The Cameroon Air Force's (CAF's) 23 Squadron is now capable of conducting night attack operations using its three Harbin Z9WE helicopters. One Z9WE crewmember told IHS Jane's that the capability was operationally tested in late January, when the three Z9WEs were involved in a live firing training

Colt Canada introduced a new family of infantry weapons at CANSEC 2016 on 25 May: the Modular Rail Rifle (MRR) that is based on the C7 assault rifle and the C8 carbine in Canadian service. The 5.56 x 45 mm MRR is available in four versions based on barrel length: 11.6, 14.5, 15.7, and 18 inches.

Key Points The live fire test demonstrated the FCLIP software update introduced into the SSDS Mk 2 system RAM Block 2 missiles successfully engaged and killed two supersonic sea-skimming targets A live fire test performed from the United States Navy (USN) Self-Defense Test Ship (SDTS) has

General Dynamics Land Systems Canada (GDLS-C) on 25 May introduced the latest variant of its LAV family at CANSEC in Ottawa. The LAV Combat Support Vehicle (LAV CSV) builds on the LAV 6.0 baseline and is said to improve the LAV family's modularity. Doug Wilson-Hodge, GDLS-C's manager of corporate

Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI)'s revenue in the first quarter of 2016 was 5.6% lower than in the first quarter of 2015, results released by the company on 26 May show. IAI, which is state owned, generated USD859 million in the three months to March 2016, down from USD910 million in the same

TWO civilians were killed and four others were wounded when an improvised explosive device (IED), emplaced by unidentified militants, detonated in the village of al-Karaghul in al-Rashid district south of Iraq's capital Baghdad on 25 May, Iraqi News reported. No group immediately claimed

India aims to conclude a deal with France for 36 Dassault Rafale fighters for the Indian Air Force (IAF) by the end of June, 14 months after the purchase was announced, Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar said in New Delhi on 26 May. "There is no reason why it [the Rafale deal] should not be

Key Points With the amendment, the courts will now be able to indict People's Democratic Party (Halklarin Demokratik Partisi: HDP) MPs, based on charges of terrorism and affiliation with the Partiya Karkerên Kurdistan (PKK). To delegitimise the HDP would amount to shutting the Kurdish

EVENT On 27 May 2016, Ukraine's army said that its positions in Donetsk and Luhansk regions had been shelled by separatist militants 30 times in the previous 24 hours. The most intense fighting, as in previous weeks, was north of Donetsk, in the vicinity of Avdiivka. An industrial centre of 35,000

Key Points AQIM's possession of Grad-type rockets used in the attack on the Nigerien mine indicates the group's increasing military capability. AQIM is likely to increasingly use Grad-type rockets to attack well-protected energy and mining sites, as well as military targets, in northern Niger and

L-3 Communications unveiled plans on 25 May to create a new facility in Canada under the control of a new organisation that will be known as L-3 Communication Systems - Canada . The facility, to be based in Ottawa, will be used by L-3's design, software, and systems engineers for developing

New Zealand has announced a defence budget of NZD3.7 billion (USD2.5 billion) for 2016/17, representing an 8.8% increase over the previous financial year. A further NZD301 million of new funding was also announced for defence, which will be allocated over the four years between 2016/17 and 2019/20.

Norway is considering the introduction of a government-to-government sales mechanism to facilitate national defence and security exports, it has emerged. News that Oslo is considering such a scheme was announced by Age Skoelv, the principal researcher of the Norwegian Defence Research

The four congressional defence committees have now all drafted initial elements of fiscal year 2017 (FY 2017) defence legislation, but each has taken a somewhat different approach with the Pentagon's topline budget and these will have to be de-conflicted. In the latest development, the Senate's FY

The Polish Armed Forces has placed its largest ever order for small arms, ordering over 26,000 Beryl rifles from Fabryka Broni Lucznik Radom. Worth PLN156 million (USD39.4 million), the contract includes the delivery of 17,621 wz. 96C Beryl assault rifles and 8,400 wz. 96C Mini Beryl carbines