Defence`s Feeds

USS Harry S. Truman (CVN 75) lost an F/A-18E Super Hornet along with a tow tractor. All personnel have been accounted for, and one Sailor suffered a minor injury. While operating in the Red Sea on April 28, USS Harry S. Truman (CVN 75) lost an F/A-18E Super Hornet from Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 136 […]

The post F/A-18E and Tow Tractor Lost at Sea During Operations Aboard USS Truman appeared first on The Aviationist.

The E-3 Sentry is afflicted by acute parts and maintenance issues as the Boeing 707 aircraft it is based on ceased production 30 years ago. Nearly three months after the fuselage of the U.S. Air Force’s first E-7A Wedgetail AEW&C (Airborne Early Warning and Control) aircraft reached Boeing’s factory in Renton, Washington, Boeing Defense released […]

The post USAF’s First E-7 Wedgetail Takes Shape as Service Struggles to Keep E-3 Sentry Flying appeared first on The Aviationist.

The JSM is the only weapon in its class that can be carried internally by the F-35. The Norwegian Armed Forces will celebrate on Apr. 28, 2025, the completion of the program of record for 52 F-35A Lightning II stealth fighters, while also receiving their first Joint Strike Missiles (JSM). The JSM will be the […]

The post First Joint Strike Missiles for Norway’s F-35s are Ready appeared first on The Aviationist.

Americas The US Army and General Dynamics Ordnance and Tactical Systems have opened a new load, assemble, and pack facility in Camden, Arkansas, to produce 155mm high-explosive artillery projectiles. The facility will manage the final stage of ammunition production, where two active lines will produce about 50,000 units per month. Advanced automation, digital quality tracking, and more new manufacturing technologies will be incorporated into the new site. Saft America Inc., based in Valdosta, Georgia, has won a contract worth up to $7. 5 million to provide storage batteries for H1, Seahawk, and CH-53 helicopters. The contract is a firm-fixed-price, indefinite-quantity agreement, meaning the price is set but the number of batteries needed can vary. This deal was open to competition, and two companies submitted offers. The agreement covers three years, with the option to extend for two more years if needed. Work must be finished by April 24, 2028. The batteries will be used by the Air Force, Navy, Army, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard. Funding will come from defense working capital funds for fiscal years 2025 through 2028. The Defense Logistics Agency Land and Maritime in Columbus, Ohio, is managing the contract. Middle East & Africa Gaza mediator Qatar said […]

Aviation spotter Michał Rokita captured two F-117s landing at Groom Lake, where the stealth fighters have relocated as Tonopah Test Range Airport undergoes maintenance. Over the last couple of years, we have published a few articles featuring videos by Michał Rokita, an aviation spotter and photographer known for traveling to remote public lands in Nevada […]

The post Spotter Captures F-117’s Return to Area 51 appeared first on The Aviationist.

Project Iron Agility is a dynamic exercise which sharpens deployment readiness skills through ACE operations with F-16s, MQ-9 Reapers, and integrated logistics support. The third iteration of the Project Iron Agility exercise at Holloman AFB (Air Force Base), New Mexico, saw unique approaches to refine ACE (Agile Combat Employment) capabilities. These include a table top […]

The post MQ-9 and F-16 Crews Work Together in ACE-Focused Project Iron Agility Exercise appeared first on The Aviationist.

The next meeting of the Committee on Security and Defence (SEDE) is scheduled to take place on Wednesday, 14 May 2025 from 9:00 - 12:30 and 14.30 - 18.30 and on Thursday, 15 May 2025 from 9:00 - 12:30 in Brussels (ANTALL 6Q2).
Further information about the meeting can be found here.
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SEDE missions 2025:

• Moldova and Ukraine - 14-17 April 2025
  
• Bosnia and Herzegovina - 24-27 February 2025
• Israel and Palestine - 5-8 February 2025

SEDE missions 2024:

• United Kingdom - 28-30 October 2024
• Ukraine - 25-26 October 2024

SEDE Committee meetings' calendar 2025
EP calendar 2025
SEDE meetings' calendar 2nd half of 2024 - 10th legislature
Source : © European Union, 2025 - EP

Americas Overland AI has added its autonomous technology to the US Army’s SMET (Small Multipurpose Equipment Transport) vehicle, made by General Dynamics. The vehicle was upgraded with Overland AI’s OverDrive software, SPARK hardware, and OverWatch control system, allowing it to drive itself. The upgraded vehicle was tested over two weeks during Project Convergence Capstone 5, an important Army event for trying out new technologies. RTX has been approved to start limited production of the US Army’s new radar system, called the Lower Tier Air and Missile Defense Sensor (LTAMDS). This new radar will replace the old Patriot radar, which has been in use since the 1980s. LTAMDS can scan in all directions (360 degrees) and passed eight flight tests. It also reached “Milestone C,” meaning it’s ready for production and deployment. RTX has been working on this project since 2019. Normally, projects like this take over 10 years to reach production. But the Army used a special fast-track process from Congress to speed things up and get this modern radar out sooner to deal with new threats. Middle East & Africa The Israeli Army has rolled out a new remote-controlled engineering vehicle said to transform the “paradigm of war” in […]

BAMS Operation Concept (click to view full) The world’s P-3 Orion fleets have served for a long time, and many are reaching the end of their lifespans. In the USA, and possibly beyond, the new P-8 Poseidon Multi-mission Maritime Aircraft will take up the P-3’s role. While the P-8’s base 737-based airframe offers strong service & maintenance arguments in its favor, the airframe is expensive enough that the P-3s cannot be replaced on a 1:1 basis. In order to extend the P-8 fleet’s reach, and provide additional capabilities, the Poseidon was expected to work with at least one companion UAV platform. This DID FOCUS Article explains the winning BAMS (Broad Area Maritime Surveillance) concept, the program’s key requirements, and its international angle. We’ll also cover ongoing contracts and key events related to the program, which chose Northrop Grumman’s navalized MQ-4C Triton Global Hawk variant. Next-Gen Maritime Patrol Systems: Issues and Options USN ERJ-145 ACS concept The P-3 fleet’s heavy use in both maritime surveillance and overland roles points up a potential problem with its successor the P-8A Poseidon. The 737-based aircraft will be bought in fewer numbers than the aircraft it replaces, but its high end Littoral Surveillance Radar System […]

On Thursday, MEPs backed a draft law designed to strengthen Europe’s defence industry, ramp up defence product manufacturing and provide more support for Ukraine.
Committee on Industry, Research and Energy
Committee on Security and Defence

Source : © European Union, 2025 - EP

Length of video : 15'

Disclaimer : The interpretation of debates serves to facilitate communication and does not constitute an authentic record of proceedings. Only the original speech or the revised written translation is authentic.
Source : © European Union, 2025 - EP

Americas Rockwell Collins, based in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, has been awarded a $13.7 million contract to help maintain and improve the communication systems on KC-135 aircraft. The project includes adding a second radio to the planes for better communication. The work will take place in Cedar Rapids and at Tinker Air Force Base in Oklahoma, and is expected to be finished by March 22, 2027. The Air Force is providing $7.35 million from its 2023 research and development budget to start the project. The contract is managed by the Air Force Lifecycle Management Center’s Legacy Tanker Branch at Tinker Air Force Base. The US Navy’s USS Toledo (SSN 769) has returned to service after its eleven-month engineering overhaul at the Norfolk Naval Shipyard (NNSY) in Portsmouth, Virginia. Refurbishment and modernization efforts such as mast and periscope installation, as well as engine room tests, were conducted to extend its operational life. Maintenance for the nuclear-powered attack submarine was carried out by 50 employees across shipyard production shops. Middle East & Africa South Korea and the UAE have inked a letter of intent for comprehensive cooperation on the development and operation of Seoul’s KF-21 Boramae fighters. The agreement was signed by the Republic of […]

Americas Lockheed Martin has received the first shipment of PAC-3 Missile Segment Enhancement (PAC-3 MSE) launch tubes manufactured by Polish firm WZL-1. Launch tubes serve as the main structural housing for PAC-3 MSE missiles, forming the connection between the missile and the launcher system. The delivery is part of Lockheed Martin’s partnerships program with key Polish government defense companies to develop and manufacture components of the PAC-3 missile. The launch tubes will be used in PAC-3 MSE deliveries worldwide. Lockheed Martin’s Skunk Works and Spanish firm Arquimea have just dropped a major upgrade in tactical ISR — an AI-driven anomaly detection system designed to elevate visual intel to a whole new level. Built to enhance electro-optical/infrared sensors, the tech lets ISR platforms spot subtle changes in a threat’s physical features and flag any anomalies that might slip past the human eye. Middle East & Africa The United States will roughly halve the number of troops it has deployed in Syria to less than 1,000 in the coming months, the Pentagon said Friday. Washington has had troops in Syria for years as part of international efforts against the Islamic State (IS) group, which rose out of the chaos of the country’s civil war to […]

Americas Northrop Grumman has opened a new facility in Madison, Alabama, to increase the production of crucial Integrated Battle Command System (IBCS) components. The facility, named the Enhanced Production and Integration Center (EPIC), will integrate technological and digital advancements in the process to support the US Army’s accelerated modernization plan for air and missile defense. With 175,500 square feet (16,304 square meters) of production space, EPIC can manufacture up to 96 Engagement Operation Centers (EOCs), 96 Integrated Collaborative Environments (ICEs), and 192 Integrated Fire Control Network (IFCN) relays annually. The Air Force is still a few years away from getting its hands on its first E-7 aircraft for airborne early warning and control, but the service is already seeking industry input on new systems to either enhance or replace the sensor capabilities of the Wedgetail—or possibly even acquire new capabilities for an entirely different targeting and battle management platform. The plan is to start an engineering and manufacturing effort in fiscal 2027, around the same time as the first E-7 gets delivered. Middle East & Africa The US State Department has approved the foreign military sale of engines for the Israel Defense Forces’ Eitan 8×8 armored personnel carriers. The $180-million deal covers […]

The French defence procurement arm, the DGA, is actively looking for cheap kamikaze drones. On 21 April, DGA officers are [...]

The Africa-India Key Maritime Engagement, India's first-ever naval exercise off the coast of Tanzania, which it is conducting with nine [...]

Illia Samoilenko, better known by his pseudonym Gandalf, a reference to the wizard from The Lord of the Rings saga, has [...]

Leaders from the Republic of Srpska, a Serbian breakaway region of Bosnia and Herzegovina, are flocking to align themselves with [...]

The next meeting of the Committee on Security and Defence (SEDE) is scheduled to take place on Wednesday, 14 May 2025 from 9:00 - 12:30 and 14.30 - 18.30 and on Thursday, 15 May 2025 from 9:00 - 12:30 in Brussels (ANTALL 6Q2).
Further information about the meeting can be found here.
_______________________

SEDE missions 2025:

• Bosnia and Herzegovina - 24-27 February 2025
• Israel and Palestine - 5-8 February 2025

SEDE missions 2024:

• United Kingdom - 28-30 October 2024
• Ukraine - 25-26 October 2024

SEDE Committee meetings' calendar 2025
EP calendar 2025
SEDE meetings' calendar 2nd half of 2024 - 10th legislature
Source : © European Union, 2025 - EP

French president Emmanuel Macron met with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and special envoy Steve Witkoff on 17 April, [...]