Defence`s Feeds

The British Royal Navy's first new Batch 2 River-class offshore patrol vessel (OPV) has been formally named HMS Forth in a ceremony at BAE Systems' Scotstoun shipyard in Glasgow, Scotland.

The military base that China is building in Djibouti will be completed "later this summer", General Thomas Waldhauser, the commander of the US military's Africa Command, told the Senate Armed Services Committee on 9 March. Noting the proximity of the Chinese base to the US military's Camp

The Brazilian Army has ordered additional RBS 70 man-portable very short-range air defence (VSHORAD) systems from Saab, the company announced on 6 March. Deliveries will take place throughout 2017 and 2018. The contract, worth SEK105.046 million (USD11.640 million), was placed on 1 March by the

Brazilian aerospace and defence manufacturer Embraer published its financial results for 2016 on 9 March, showing growth in revenue and profit. Sales exceeded USD6.2 billion, a rise of 4.9% from 2015. Net income, adjusted to take account of non-recurring items, expanded 6.8% to USD290.5 million.

Meeting in Brussels on 9 March, EU leaders said that they want the decisions of their previous December 2016 summit about the EU's external security and defence "set in motion and reinforced". "In the present international environment, Europe must do more … including by

The European Union (EU) should directly fund the European Defence Agency (EDA) and any arrangement for a permanent structured co-operation (PESCO) in defence by a core group of EU countries, say members of European Parliament's Foreign Affairs and Constitutional committees. In a joint resolution on

The Portuguese Air Force (Força Aérea Portuguesa: FAP) has taken delivery of an initial four AN/AAQ-28(V) Litening AT Block II airborne navigation and targeting pods upgraded to the Litening G4 standard by original equipment manufacturer (OEM) Northrop Grumman, the Portuguese Ministry of

Navies face several challenges in introducing unmanned systems into the underwater environment, Dr Kevin LePage, principal scientist and anti-submarine warfare (ASW) programme manager at NATO's Centre for Maritime Research and Experimentation (CMRE), told the TDN UK 'Underwater Defence and Security'

Key Points The high rate of missile launches conducted by North Korea in 2016 is likely to have been for propaganda purposes, but also to determine the reliability of untested systems. Relatively stronger performance in North Korea's solid-fuelled missile programme represents a shift from three

US defence and space contractor Orbital ATK reported improved performance in its 2016 financial year in results published on 8 March. The company's Defense Systems segment, which produces ammunition and missile rocket motors, recorded sales of USD4.46 billion in 2016, an annual rise of 2.1%.

Key Points The US HAC introduced a USD577.9 billion defence spending bill on the House floor for FY 2017 during the week of 6 March 2017 The bill contains USD516.1 billion in the base budget and USD61.8 billion in wartime OCO accounts The US House Appropriations Committee (HAC) introduced a

The Portuguese Ministry of National Defence (MoND) currently considers the Embraer KC-390 multipurpose transport aircraft as an adequate solution to progressively replace the country's Lockheed Martin C-130H Hercules aircraft, it told Jane's on 9 March. No contract has yet been placed, but up to

The Russian Navy's Project 949A Antey ('Oscar II')-class nuclear-powered attack submarines will be re-armed with the Kalibr-PL missile system during an extensive overhaul at the Zvezda shipyard in the country's Far East, Deputy Defense Minister Yuri Borisov said while visiting the facility on 7

The Komsomolsk-on-Amur Aviation Plant (KnAAZ: a subsidiary of Sukhoi) will deliver three T-50 (PAK FA) fifth-generation multirole fighters to Russia's Ministry of Defence (MoD) in 2017, Deputy Defence Minister Yuri Borisov said on 9 March during a working trip to the Far East and Siberia. "The

The United States has deployed approximately 400 additional personnel to Syria as it struggles to de-escalate the conflict between NATO ally Turkey and the Syrian Kurds, who have proved to be Washington's most effective partner against the Islamic State in Syria. The new deployments were first

Industry has been asked to submit cost proposals for a 40 ft (12.2 m) patrol boat (PB-X) to replace ageing force protection (FP) craft operated by the US Navy's Coastal Riverine Force (CRF). Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA) intends to award a five-year design and construction contract for 18 PB-X

United Technologies Corporation (UTC) Aerospace Systems is transitioning its MS-177 multi-spectral sensor from a 7- to 10-band configuration, now designated the MS-177A. The systems will be integrated onto the Northrop Grumman RQ-4 Global Hawk, and the first flight test of the 7-band sensor aboard

Spain is donating two patrol boats to Guinea-Bissau to help the West African nation monitor its coastal waters. The first vessel, M08, left Spain in late February 2017 aboard the Guardia Civil police maritime service (SEMAR)-operated Rio Tajo transport vessel with a team of Guardia Civil

Russian Iskander-K Cruise Missile

Tracking and shooting errors of a shipboard weapon system are often very hard and costly to investigate and require extensive and time-consuming testing at sea.