Defence`s Feeds

Russia has warned against imposing sanctions on Myanmar's military, saying punitive measures could spark a full-blown civil war in the Southeast Asian country following the recent coup there.

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday signed a bill into law enabling the incumbent head of state to run for two more terms starting 2024.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov began a two-day official visit Tuesday to Pakistan amid growing diplomatic, economic, and military ties between the two countries.

Police have detained the head of the Russian Alliance of Doctors outside a prison after she attempted to seek permission to examine jailed opposition politician Aleksei Navalny after he was moved to a sick ward with a severe cough and temperature amid reports of a possible tuberculosis outbreak in the facility.

Jailed Russian opposition politician Alexey Navalny has been moved to a prison hospital and tested for the coronavirus, Russian media reported. His hospitalization came Monday, just hours after he released a statement on social media in which he alleged a tuberculosis outbreak in the prison and complained of a heavy cough and high fever.

A Russian court has ordered a fine against the popular video-sharing application TikTok in the country's latest major dispute with a global social platform over content allegedly related to political protests.

Turkish F-16 fighter jets have conducted new airstrikes on Duhok Province in Iraq's northern semi-autonomous Kurdistan region, defying Baghdad's numerous protests at such violations of the Arab country's sovereignty.

European Council President Charles Michel and EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen met with the Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Tuesday for talks on a reset in relations. After meeting Erdogan in Ankara, Michel spoke to reporters about the EU's deep concern over human rights in Turkey.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has confirmed during talks with the heads of the European Commission and European Council on Tuesday that Turkey remained committed to entering the bloc, his spokesman, Ibrahim Kalin, said.

Several F-5F fighter jets at the Taitung Air Base took to the skies Tuesday for test flights after the Air Force completed a major checkup of its fleet following a deadly F-5E crash on March 22 that led to the grounding of all F-5s.

Militants affiliated with the Islamic State (IS) terror group kidnapped at least 19 people, mostly civilians, near a town in central Syria, state media and a monitor group said.

The ruling Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is ordering the screening and enforced viewing of revolutionary and propaganda movies in theaters around the country ahead of its centenary celebrations on July 1.

China says the sailing of a Chinese carrier group near self-ruled Taiwan is part of naval drills that will become regular.

Recently the Liaoning aircraft carrier formation conducted the training exercise in waters around Taiwan, said the Chinese PLA Navy Spokesperson Senior Captain Gao Xiucheng in a written statement on April 5.

A Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) aircraft carrier task group was training in the east of Taiwan island as at least 10 PLA warplanes appeared in the west of the island in a routine exercise on Monday, indicating that the island is surrounded from the east with an aircraft carrier task group and by land-based PLA forces on the west.

Americas

Universal Propulsion Company won a $10.9 million contract for the manufacture of up to 5,000 cartridge initiators and thrusters used in V-22 and CV-22 aircraft. This contract includes a five-year base period with no options. The V-22 Osprey is a joint-service, medium-lift, multimission tilt-rotor aircraft developed by Boeing and Bell Helicopters. Boeing is responsible for the fuselage, landing gear, avionics, electrical and hydraulic systems, performance and flying qualities. Work will take place in California. Estimated completion will be by March 2026.

The XQ-58A flew its sixth flight on March 26 and this time the drone opened its weapons bay door in-flight for the first time. A ALTIUS-600 small drone was then released from the weapons bay. Alyson Turri, demonstration program manager, added that the XQ-58A flew higher and faster during this flight.

Middle East & Africa

The UK has confirmed it is to establish a joint operating unit with Qatar for the BAE Systems Hawk advanced jet trainer (AJT) aircraft as part of a wider military co-operation agreement signed by the two countries on April 1. The unit, which will be based at Royal Air Force (RAF) Leeming in England, will operate the Mk 167 (T2 in RAF nomenclature) variant of the Hawk recently acquired by the Qatar Emiri Air Force (QEAF) in support of its Eurofighter Typhoon procurement. The updated defense agreement will also see the RAF deploy a Voyager aircraft to Qatar to periodically provide air-to-air refuelling training for the Qatari Emiri Air Force.

Europe

BAE Systems won a $21 million contract from the UK Ministry of Defense. The contract is to support the Common Missile Warning System (CMWS) over the next four-and-a-half years. “The UK Ministry of Defence has been a key partner on CMWS for decades,” said Christopher Austin, BAE Systems’ director of Threat Detection Solutions. According to the company, the system alerts crews to incoming threats and commands automated countermeasure dispensing, ensuring survivability of the aircraft and its crews.

The Pentagon said that it’s aware of Russian military activity in the Arctic and that it is committed to protecting US interests in the region. “Without getting into specific intelligence assessments, obviously we’re monitoring it very closely,” John F. Kirby, the Department of Defense press secretary, said during a press conference. “Obviously, no one wants to see the Arctic as a region become militarized.” One day prior, CNN had reported on satellite images by space technology company Maxar that document Russia’s build-up of military equipment and the testing of weapons, including that of a Poseidon 2M39 torpedo, in the Arctic.

Asia-Pacific

The runway reconstruction project at Hsinchu air base, Taiwan is progressing ahead of schedule and the Mirage 2000 jets can return to their home base after May. The air force says the project is now 83.9 percent completed and 7.67 percent ahead of schedule.

Today’s Video

Watch: America’s New Stealthy Drone Fighter Is Back: XQ-58 Valkyrie Makes a 2nd Test Flight

Yemen's Houthi rebels targeted oil facilities in Riyadh on 19 March, less than two weeks after an attack on the Ras Tanura refinery and, a few days before that, the deployment of drones against Abha airport. Ever since the attacks

Poly Group, the state-owned conglomerate that controls the defence company Poly Technologies (IOL 762), is poised to up its technological

Frontex is turning to the private sector to identify data algorithms best suited for its needs, with the help of

UAE National Security Adviser Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan's Group 42 (IOL 869) and other Al Nahyan family-owned companies are