Jane's Defense News

Key Points Navantia is to advance the delivery of two BAM vessels ordered by Spain in 2014 The Spanish Navy is now expected to receive the ships in 2018, instead of 2019 Navantia is to bring forward to 2018 the delivery of two corvette-style BAM patrol vessels it is building for the Spanish Navy.

Indian company Punj Lloyd has formed a joint venture (JV) with Israel Weapon Industries (IWI) to produce a range of firearms for the Indian defence and security markets. An official from Punj Lloyd told IHS Jane's on 4 February that equity in the JV will be split 51:49, with the Indian company

Rheinmetall Defence Australia has appointed Gary Stewart as chief operations officer to drive its growth in Australia and New Zealand. Stewart's responsibilities will include enhancing Rheinmetall Defence Australia's footprint in the region as well as implementing technology-transfer projects

Americas Bolivia - 3 February 2016: State oil company YPFB guaranteed the supply of fuel despite a protest by truck drivers that had blocked roads and border crossings. Chile - 4 February 2016: In Vilcún, Araucania, a group of unidentified people attempted to explode an improvised explosive

The Lebanese military is to receive more than 200 French-made armoured vehicles as part of a pledged USD3 billion grant from Saudi Arabia to upgrade its capabilities. The contract was signed on 2 February between Volvo-Renault trucks and ODAS, a company created by the French government to serve as

Norway has downselected four contenders for its 155 mm self-propelled artillery (SPA) procurement programme, the Norwegian Defence Materiel Agency (DMA or Forsvarsmateriell) told IHS Jane's on 4 February. Norway currently operates 14 ageing M109A3GN tracked SPAs, which are in need of replacement by

The Indian Air Force (IAF) has received the last of the Mil Mi-17V-5 'Hip' medium-lift platforms it ordered from Russian Helicopters, ahead of the expected signing soon of a contract for more, it was announced on 2 February. Delivery of this final batch of the 151 Mi-17V-5 helicopters for India

US Navy leaders, defence civilian officials, and industry representatives discussed the evolving concept of 'distributed lethality' at the recent Surface Navy Association symposium. Grace Jean assesses the debates that took place In early 2015, the US Navy (USN) unveiled its 'distributed lethality'

Key Points Industry and operators are looking to heavy fuel engines Onboard power generation key to supporting UAV capability growth The next generation of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) will not emerge until advances in engine technology are achieved and introduced, according to Jim Edmondson,

Malaysia is looking at ways to upgrade elements of its fleet of armoured fighting vehicles (AFVs) to extend its operational life, even though the country is currently taking delivery of 257 AV8 8x8 vehicles from local company DEFTECH, the first of which were delivered from the FNSS production line

Key Points The USN will pursue development of a carrier-based tanker instead of a surveillance and/or strike UAV In order to accelerate acquisition of stealth technology and to increase the range of its strike assets, more F-35Cs will instead be added to the FY 2017 budget US Navy (USN) officials

Airbus, having submitted a bit for Canada's fixed-wing search-and-rescue (FWSAR) replacement programme, is teaming with Provincial Aerospace on a new company that would provide services for Airbus' entry, the company announced on 11 January. 11 January was the final date for bidders to submit their

EVENT On 12 January 2016, Myanmar's Opposition National League for Democracy (NLD) leader Aung San Suu Kyi addressed the opening of the peace conference, following the signing of a nationwide ceasefire agreement (NCA). Suu Kyi pledged to end decades of conflict with the country's armed insurgents

US aviation and defence firm HEICO announced on 12 January that it had completed the acquisition of Robertson Fuel Systems. The deal, first announced on 21 December, saw HEICO pay Robertson's private equity owners American Securities USD255 million in cash for the business. Robertson designs and

A McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II fighter aircraft of the Islamic Republic of Iran Air Force (IRIAF) crashed on 12 January, killing both crew members. The aircraft came down in the country's southeastern province of Sistan and Baluchestan after suffering unspecified 'technical problems', state

Korean Air Aerospace Division (KAL-ASD), a unit of the South Korean national airline, has secured a contract from the Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) to manufacture a new tactical unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) system for the Republic of Korea Army (RoKA), a company official

President Barack Obama, during his final 'State of the Union' address, sought to moderate US national security concerns regarding terrorism. Obama's speech was relatively light on defence issues, and he only mentioned a handful of conflicts - including continued wars in Iraq and Afghanistan - in

EVENT On 12 January 2016, the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) announced on social media that one of the group's assault teams had destroyed a mobile phone tower owned by Telenor, in Swabi district, in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province. In the statement posted on the TTP media site Umar Media, the

US IT services firm Preferred Systems Solutions (PSS) announced on 12 January that it was acquiring cloud-computing firm Tetra Concepts. Details of the deal were not disclosed. Tetra undertakes a range of cloud computing and analytics for US Department of Defense and intelligence community

Russia is to activate three more of its 'Voronezh'-series long-range early warning radar systems in 2016, as it looks to fully recapitalise its ground-based ballistic missile defence network by the end of the decade, state media announced on 12 January. Along with a further two radar stations that