Jane's Defense News

Jordan’s military is being restructured to replace members of the royal family that hold senior positions with professional service personnel. The commander-in-chief of the Jordan Armed Forces (JAF), King Abdullah II, announced on 26 December that three senior ranking princes are to retire as

The Royal Canadian Navy’s (RCN’s) Resolve-class auxiliary oiler replenishment vessel (AOR) MV Asterix arrived at Canadian Forces Base Halifax on 27 December and will begin at-sea training in the new year. The ship was crewed by 36 Canadian merchant seafarers on its maiden voyage from

Indian corporations Reliance and Hinduja are reportedly looking to form an alliance to develop and build armoured vehicles for the Indian armed forces. News reports in India on 27 December said the partnership will be headed by Reliance subsidiary Reliance Naval & Engineering (RNEL) and Hinduja

South Korean shipbuilder Samkang M&T announced on 28 December that it had been awarded a contract to build a 1,500 ton offshore patrol vessel (OPV) for the Korea Coast Guard (KCG). According to disclosure documents released by Samkang, the contract, valued at KRW60.99 billion (USD56.9 million),

Two recent major reviews of USN policies, procedures, and culture recommend wholesale overhauls of the way it operates. While the reports diverge on some aspects, it’s clear the service is heading for significant changes. Michael Fabey reports The US Navy’s (USN’s) Strategic

Key Points Libyan governance is likely to remain split between east and west, even should elections be held, although the central bank and the National Oil Corporation are likely to maintain their political neutrality. East-west fighting is unlikely to resume on a significant scale, although

Liberia's National Election Commission on 28 December announced opposition leader George Weah the winner of the 26 December presidential run-off election with 61.5% of the vote. The poll, pitting Weah of the Coalition for Democratic Change (CDC) party against current vice-president Joseph

The G5 Sahel initiative that brings together Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali, Mauritania, and Niger is on its way to meeting its aim of fielding a 5,000 strong joint anti-terrorist force by March 2018, General Mohamed Znagui Sid’Ahmed Ely, the chief of its Security and Defence Department, has told

The new Czech defence minister, Karla Slechtova, who was appointed to her post on 13 December, has announced that she will order thorough evaluations of a number of key upcoming procurements for the Army of the Czech Republic (ACR), contracts for which were prepared but not signed by her

US lawmakers are campaigning harder for a block buy of next-generation aircraft carriers to help curb costs of the nation’s largest and most expensive warships. Such an acquisition would mark the first time since 1988 that the United States has sought to buy more than one carrier at a time.

Event The leader of Somalia’s opposition Wadajir party, Abdirahman Abdikashur Warsame, had been detained by “government militia forces” on allegations of receiving bribes from unspecified foreign countries, local media reported on 18 December. The attorney-general stated the same

US and Brazilian defence and aerospace companies Boeing and Embraer announced on 21 December that they are in engaged talks examining potential merger proposals. Both companies emphasised that the talks are tentative and are not necessarily expected to yield a transaction. In addition, the

Ambitions by British Army chiefs to have an acquisition strategy for the flagship Mechanised Infantry Vehicle (MIV) programme firmed up by the end of 2017 appear to have been dashed by the UK government’s National Security Capability Review (NSCR). Senior British Army sources told

Senior British Army officers have been tasked with developing a strategic rail capability to allow UK forces and equipment to be rapidly moved to European crisis zones. The initiative was launched by the UK’s chief of defence staff, Air Chief Marshal Stuart Peach, earlier in December in

The US government has added two Russian companies, Novator Design Bureau and Titan Central Design Bureau, to the country’s Export Administration Regulations (EAR) entity list. The announcement was made via the US government’s Federal Register publication on 20 December. Addition to the

Six Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) F/A-18F Super Hornets will return home in January from a three-year air strike campaign in the Middle East following the declaration by Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi of his country’s victory over the Islamic State militant group, which is also

BAE Systems Australia has formed an alliance with domestic and foreign defence and engineering firms to support the Royal Australian Navy’s (RAN’s) expanding power and propulsion requirements, the company said on 21 December. BAE Systems said the Australian Power and Propulsion Team

South Korean group Hanwha has confirmed an export order from Norway to supply its K9 Thunder 155 mm/52-calibre self-propelled tracked howitzer under a contract worth KRW245.2 billion (USD227 million). Hanwha said in a statement on 21 December that the contract, signed a day earlier in Oslo,

The cabinet of Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe approved on 22 December a defence budget of JPY5.19 trillion (USD45.7 billion) for fiscal year 2018 (FY 2018): an increase of 1.3%, or JPY66 billion, over the previous year, according to the Ministry of Defense (MoD) in Tokyo. The draft budget,

The UK Royal Navy’s second Queen Elizabeth-class aircraft carrier was officially launched on 21 December, achieving another milestone for the construction programme. The future HMS Prince of Wales , originally planned to launch in 2018, was floated out ahead of schedule during a ceremony held