Jane's Defense News

Iran announced the first official launch of a Simorgh satellite launch vehicle (SLV) took place at the new Imam Khomeini National Space Centre in Semnan province on 27 July. The Iranian media coverage of the launch did not claim that the SLV was carrying a satellite, but reported that the Simorgh

Japan's Defence Minister Tomomi Inada resigned on 28 July following allegations of a cover-up at her ministry of sensitive logs detailing the activities of Japanese troops operating as UN peacekeepers in South Sudan. The Ministry of Defence (MoD) in Tokyo had been under heavy criticism over

Boeing has completed electromagnetic testing of its KC-46A Pegasus tanker to test and evaluate the aircraft’s electromagnetic pulse (EMP) protection while in flight. The test, which was announced by Boeing on 27 July, took place at Naval Air Station (NAS) Patuxent River in Maryland and

China People’s Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF) has increased the frequency of its far-sea training activities from four times a year in 2015 to several times a week at present, the China Military Online website quoted PLAAF spokesperson Senior Colonel Shen Jinke as saying on 25 July.

Italian defence group Leonardo published financial results for the first half of its financial year on 27 July, showing relatively stable profits, despite a fall in revenue. Sales in the six months to 30 June were EUR5.3 billion (USD6.2 billion), a fall of 1.6% year on year. However, earnings

European defence and aerospace manufacturer Airbus announced on 28 July that it is to sell Plant Holdings Inc to communications company Motorola Solutions. Plant Holdings, whose revenue exceeded USD100 million in 2016, is parent company to Airbus DS Communications, which focuses on critical public

Cubic Global Defense has announced that it recently supplied more than 60 P5 Combat Training Systems (CTS/TCTS) with Air Combat Maneuvering Instrumentation (ACMI) pods for the upgrade of the Royal Australian Air Force’s (RAAF’s) Hawk 127 fleet. In a 27 July statement, the company said

The Bundeswehr is using two leased PZL Mielec M28 Skytruck twin-turboprop short takeoff and landing (STOL) aircraft for paratroop training. German paratroopers jumped from an M28 flying for the first time on 27 June. The jump was conducted through the emergency exit at the rear of the aircraft over

THREE civilians were wounded when an improvised explosive device (IED), emplaced by unidentified militants, detonated near a sheep market in al-Suwaib region south of Iraq's capital Baghdad on 26 July, Iraqi News reported. No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack.

The Indian Army (IA) is advancing its ‘roadmap’ to indigenously source spares and key components for its principal platforms in order to ensure operational preparedness ‘at all times’, senior officers have revealed. By 2020–21 the army aims to halve its spares import

Indonesian defence officials have outlined a potential programme to procure unmanned combat aerial vehicles (UCAVs) from China. In comments published by state-run news agency Antara on 26 July, Laksda Leonardi, head of the Ministry of Defence’s Defence Facilities Agency, said the Indonesian

The Lebanese Shia group Hizbullah has defeated Sunni militants from Jabhat Fatah al-Sham (JFS) and the Islamic State in less than a week, forcing them to withdraw from the outskirts of Arsal, a town in northeast Lebanon close to the Syrian border. By 27 July, Hizbullah had recaptured most of the

By cutting back on the speed required for the Littoral Combat Ship (LCS), the US Navy (USN) will gain more capability for the successor multimission guided-missile frigate (FFG[X]), Admiral John Richardson, chief of naval operations (CNO), told Jane’s . “It doesn’t have to go as

Ultra Electronics’ Canadian-based Maritime Systems has been contracted by the Indian Ministry of Defence to provide surface ship torpedo defence systems to the Indian Navy. Under the three-year contract, Maritime Systems, supported by UK-based Ultra Electronics Command and Sonar Systems and

A CIVILIAN was killed and three others were wounded when a missile, fired by unidentified militants, hit a residence in Hamid Shaaban area west of Iraq's capital Baghdad on 26 July, Iraqi News reported. No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack.

Event The Global Islamic Media Front, an Islamist media organisation associated with Al-Qaeda, on 27 July announced the formation of a new jihadist group in Indian-administered Kashmir (IAK). The new group is called Ansar Ghazwat-ul-Hind (AGUH) and will be led by Zakir Musa (Zakir Rashid Bhatt).

A defence production committee in Pakistan has highlighted a requirement for greater government investment in the country’s state-run defence industrial base. At a hearing of the Senate Standing Committee on Defence Production on 26 July, officials said companies that required additional

Key Points Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's removal will increase the likelihood of a coalition or opposition-led government following general elections next year. A coalition government will be unlikely to prioritise foreign investment as the current administration has. Contract cancellations will

Event On 19 July, the Zones of Special Operations Act became law in Jamaica. The law increases the prime minister's prerogative to deploy the police (Jamaica Constabulary Force: JCF) and army (Jamaica Defence Force: JDF) to areas recording high levels of murder, crime, and gang warfare. The

French aerospace and defence company Safran posted organic revenue growth of 2.4% year on year in the first half of 2017, according to financial results released on 28 July. Adjusted sales were EUR8 billion (USD9.3 billion) in the period, including EUR624 million generated from the company’s