Jane's Defense News

Slovakian companies Incoff Aerospace and Compel Industries presented a new lightweight loitering munition development at the IDEB 2018 exhibition in Bratislava on 16–18 May. Development of the new loitering munition, designated Predator AX-1, began in May 2017 in response to a Slovak Ministry

A Northrop F-5FM Tiger II combat aircraft of Brazilian Air Force’s (FAB) 1st Fighter Group crashed on 24 May, moments after taking off from its homebase in Rio de Janeiro for a combat training mission. Both crew members ejected and were rescued. An investigation has been launched by the

The North Atlantic Council agreed on 24 May to accept Japan’s request to designate its embassy to Belgium as its mission to NATO, the military alliance announced in a statement, adding that Japan’s ambassador to Belgium will thus be the head of the mission. The announcement comes after

Kazakhstan has ordered another batch of Sukhoi Su-30SM multirole fighters from Russia. A contract for the additional aircraft was signed by the Kazakh Ministry of Defence’s Kazspetsexport agency and Russian aircraft manufacturer Irkut Corporation on 24 May during the KADEX 2018 defence

Event President Faustin Taoudéra of the Central African Republic (CAR) held talks with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin in St Petersburg on 23 May, during which Putin called for strengthening of bilateral relations. The meeting, on the sidelines of the International Economic Forum,

Rafael Advanced Defence Systems has unveiled the development of an advanced networked attack system designed to deliver multiple simultaneous selected precision effects on time-critical targets within seconds of their acquisition. Fire Weaver is an open-architecture target acquisition and precision

Raytheon has secured a US Army contract award worth nearly USD400 million to build Romania’s new Patriot missile defence system. Romania will join five other European NATO countries (Greece, Germany, Netherlands, Poland, and Spain) that are also Patriot users. NATO partner country Sweden has

Russia’s Borei-class (Project 955) ballistic missile submarine (SSBN) Yuri Dolgoruky successfully test fired a volley of four Bulava submarine-launched ballistic missiles (SLBMs) from the White Sea to hit designated targets at the Kura test range, situated 5,000 miles away on the Kamchatka

North Korea destroyed several tunnels and other facilities at its only known nuclear test site on 24 May in a move described by the government in Pyongyang as an “important process” towards achieving global nuclear disarmament. The dismantling of the northeastern Punggye-ri test ground,

The US Army has issued a request for proposals (RFP) for a Common Robotic Systems – Heavy (CRS-H) prototype unmanned ground vehicle (UGV) programme. “The army is continuing to standardise its fleet of unmanned ground vehicles into programmes of record based on three weight

Australia’s state-owned naval shipbuilder ASC has entered an agreement with US consultancy company Accenture to support its implementation of advanced manufacturing techniques, ASC announced on 25 May. ASC said the agreement is part of its “digital transformation programme”

The Australian government has been warned that its naval shipbuilding programme (NSP) could consume so much of the country’s defence procurement budget that it might put at risk the ability of the Australian Defence Force (ADF) to respond to emerging priorities. The Australian Strategic

Key Points Boeing expects two Super Hornet Block 3 test aircraft to be delivered at the end of 2019 The Block 3 upgrades also include an improved cockpit display and radar Boeing expects to deliver two F/A-18E/F Super Hornet Block 3 test aircraft at the end of 2019, according to a company

The Australian Army (AA) will soon roll out the PD-100 Black Hornet Personal Reconnaissance System (PRS) across one of its brigades in Brisbane, the Department of Defence (DoD) in Canberra announced in a 24 May statement. The rollout and sustainment of the micro unmanned aircraft systems (UASs) is

Japan has taken delivery of a second batch of four Bushmaster 4x4 protected mobility vehicles for the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force (JGSDF), manufacturer Thales Australia confirmed on 24 May. The company built and supplied four Bushmasters to the JGSDF in 2014 at a cost of about AUD3.6 million

Kazakhstan has placed a “new and substantial order” for Arlan mine-resistant, ambush protected (MRAP) vehicles, manufacturer Kazakhstan Paramount Engineering (KPE) announced during the 23-26 May Kazakhstan Defence Expo 2018 (KADEX 2018) exhibition in Astana. The announcement comes after

Russian Helicopters holding, a subsidiary of the Rostec state corporation, has presented the Mi-38T utility rotor at the KADEX 2018 defence show being held in Astana, Kazakhstan, on 23-26 May. The Mi-38T can be supplied in the baseline transport, search-and-rescue (SAR) or medical evacuation

Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI) and Kazakhstan Aviation Industry (KAI) signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on 24 May at the KADEX 2018 exhibition to co-operate on the joint development and procurement of the Turkish company’s Anka unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and Hurkus advanced

Poland plans to extend the operational life of its oldest helicopters so they can remain in service, Deputy Defence Minister Wojciech Skurkiewicz told parliament on 10 May. In a status report on the modernisation of the Polish Armed Forces’ helicopter fleet, he said PLN4.7 billion (USD1.3

The Argentine Coast Guard (Prefectura Naval Argentina) has taken delivery of an initial batch of two Shaldag Mk II fast patrol boats on order from Israel Shipyards Ltd. A total of four vessels are being built under a deal worth EUR50 million (USD56.8 million) that was approved in December 2016.