Jane's Defense News

On 31 December Polish newspaper Dziennik Gazeta Prawna revealed that Airbus Helicopters is seeking financial compensation from Poland over a cancelled contract for 50 H225M Caracal multirole helicopters signed in October 2016. The contract was worth an estimated PLN13.5 billion (USD3.9 billion) and

An image has emerged on Chinese online forums showing a Chengdu Aircraft Industries Company J-10 multirole fighter aircraft powered by what may be an engine featuring a thrust vector control (TVC) nozzle. The grainy photograph, which first appeared on social media platform Weibo, shows the

South Korean firm Hanwha Systems has secured a contract to deliver the second stage of its networked communications system for the Republic of Korea Army (RoKA), the company announced on 29 December. Hanwha Systems said its contract with the Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) is

Pakistan is preparing to restart a long-delayed programme to develop a naval shipyard in Gwadar in the far west of the country, Pakistan Navy (PN) Chief of Naval Staff Admiral Zafar Mahmood Abbasi announced on 28 December. In comments published by the state-run Associated Press of Pakistan (APP),

Key Points By late 2017, the fighting strength of the Islamic State in Syria was largely exhausted, with the group contained in several territorial pockets by Kurdish and Syrian forces and US airpower. Nonetheless, it appears that the group chose to withdraw rather than suffer overwhelming

Key Points Russia will probably expand its military presence in the Arctic, opening military bases and conducting frequent exercises in the increasingly ice-free waters. Such increased military activities will probably increase hostility between Russia and other littoral states, especially the

Saab has won a contract to support the development of South Korea’s indigenous active electronically scanned array (AESA) fighter radar, the company announced late December 2017. The SEK125 million (USD15.2 million) deal calls for Saab to provide technology support – namely algorithm

Key Points The South Korean navy has received a new type of naval training vessel Platform will bolster the service’s more advanced training capabilities The Republic of Korea Navy (RoKN) has received a new type of training vessel from local shipbuilder Hanjin Heavy Industries &

The French Air Force (Armée de l’Air: AdlA) has received the first of four Lockheed Martin C/KC-130J Hercules transport/tanker aircraft at Orléans-Bricy in late December. Transport Squadron 2/61 ‘Franche-Comté’ based at Air Base 123 Orléans-Bricy received the

South Korea’s Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) has announced plans to restart indigenous programmes to develop a long-range radar and an aerial infrared countermeasures system. In a statement on 26 December, DAPA also confirmed indigenous programmes to start mass producing a

South Korean shipbuilder Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI) has said it plans to generate funds worth KRW1.28 trillion (USD1.2 billion) through a share sale to strengthen its financial structure and support new development programmes. The company said in a filing to the Korea Exchange on 26 December

The Myanmar Navy commissioned seven new vessels into service on 24 December 2017, the service’s 70th anniversary. The vessels included an offshore patrol vessel (OPV), named UMS Inlay (54), two 56 m landing craft utility (LCU) vessels (1614 and 1615), as well as four 29 m landing craft tank

Key Points South Korea has retired an Ulsan-class frigate, and two Po Hang-class corvettes Retirement paves way for induction of newer warships, including the new FFX-II platform The Republic of Korea Navy (RoKN) has decommissioned a third Ulsan-class frigate, and two more Po Hang-class

Thales has qualified its Brazilian subsidiary Omnisys for the in-country production of sonar transducers, the company has announced. The transducers produced by Omnisys are intended for the Thales Underwater Systems Kingklip medium-frequency hull-mounted sonar which Jane’s understands is

The United States has agreed the sale to Nigeria of 12 Sierra Nevada Corporation (SNC)–Embraer A-29 Super Tucano light-attack turboprops, it was reported on 27 December. The Nigerian Air Force (NAF) received from the US ambassador to the country letters of offer and acceptance for the

The US Department of Justice (DoJ) has obliged Transdigm to divest Schroth Safety Products, 10 months after the company was purchased from Takata Corporation; the latest example in a month of US regulators flexing their muscles by unwinding transactions on competition grounds. Transdigm announced

Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman have been awarded separate contracts by the US Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) to develop and demonstrate a prototype low-cost autonomous cruise missile under the ‘Gray Wolf’ science and technology demonstration programme. The contracts derive

China Avionics Systems, a listed subsidiary of state-owned Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC), has issued convertible corporate bonds to raise CNY2.4 billion (USD367 million) to support industrial expansion, it was announced on 27 December. The AviChina Industry & Technology Company

The French government is considering some changes to the status of the island of Corsica, according to comments made by President Emmanuel Macron in an interview with Spanish daily El Mundo on 27 December. The remarks come following the victory of a coalition of two Corsican nationalist

Key Points General Atomics Electromagnetic Systems is to develop and build an advanced permanent-magnet propulsion motor for use in the USN’s LDUUV programme Characterisation and testing will be conducted by Penn State University Applied Research Laboratory The US Office of Naval Research