Jane's Defense News

The Portuguese Air Force (Força Aérea Portuguesa: FAP) has taken delivery of an initial four AN/AAQ-28(V) Litening AT Block II airborne navigation and targeting pods upgraded to the Litening G4 standard by original equipment manufacturer (OEM) Northrop Grumman, the Portuguese Ministry of

Navies face several challenges in introducing unmanned systems into the underwater environment, Dr Kevin LePage, principal scientist and anti-submarine warfare (ASW) programme manager at NATO's Centre for Maritime Research and Experimentation (CMRE), told the TDN UK 'Underwater Defence and Security'

Key Points The high rate of missile launches conducted by North Korea in 2016 is likely to have been for propaganda purposes, but also to determine the reliability of untested systems. Relatively stronger performance in North Korea's solid-fuelled missile programme represents a shift from three

US defence and space contractor Orbital ATK reported improved performance in its 2016 financial year in results published on 8 March. The company's Defense Systems segment, which produces ammunition and missile rocket motors, recorded sales of USD4.46 billion in 2016, an annual rise of 2.1%.

Key Points The US HAC introduced a USD577.9 billion defence spending bill on the House floor for FY 2017 during the week of 6 March 2017 The bill contains USD516.1 billion in the base budget and USD61.8 billion in wartime OCO accounts The US House Appropriations Committee (HAC) introduced a

The Portuguese Ministry of National Defence (MoND) currently considers the Embraer KC-390 multipurpose transport aircraft as an adequate solution to progressively replace the country's Lockheed Martin C-130H Hercules aircraft, it told Jane's on 9 March. No contract has yet been placed, but up to

The Russian Navy's Project 949A Antey ('Oscar II')-class nuclear-powered attack submarines will be re-armed with the Kalibr-PL missile system during an extensive overhaul at the Zvezda shipyard in the country's Far East, Deputy Defense Minister Yuri Borisov said while visiting the facility on 7

The Komsomolsk-on-Amur Aviation Plant (KnAAZ: a subsidiary of Sukhoi) will deliver three T-50 (PAK FA) fifth-generation multirole fighters to Russia's Ministry of Defence (MoD) in 2017, Deputy Defence Minister Yuri Borisov said on 9 March during a working trip to the Far East and Siberia. "The

The United States has deployed approximately 400 additional personnel to Syria as it struggles to de-escalate the conflict between NATO ally Turkey and the Syrian Kurds, who have proved to be Washington's most effective partner against the Islamic State in Syria. The new deployments were first

Industry has been asked to submit cost proposals for a 40 ft (12.2 m) patrol boat (PB-X) to replace ageing force protection (FP) craft operated by the US Navy's Coastal Riverine Force (CRF). Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA) intends to award a five-year design and construction contract for 18 PB-X

United Technologies Corporation (UTC) Aerospace Systems is transitioning its MS-177 multi-spectral sensor from a 7- to 10-band configuration, now designated the MS-177A. The systems will be integrated onto the Northrop Grumman RQ-4 Global Hawk, and the first flight test of the 7-band sensor aboard

Spain is donating two patrol boats to Guinea-Bissau to help the West African nation monitor its coastal waters. The first vessel, M08, left Spain in late February 2017 aboard the Guardia Civil police maritime service (SEMAR)-operated Rio Tajo transport vessel with a team of Guardia Civil

Yemen's rebels appear to have provided more evidence that they are getting military support from Iran after they displayed an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) that looked similar to the Iranian Ababil 2. Called the Qasef 1, the UAV was unveiled on 26 February along with three other smaller unmanned

New Zealand has requested detailed cost and availability information from the US government for the Boeing P-8A Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft (MPA), the country's Ministry of Defence (MoD) confirmed to Jane's on 2 March. The MoD sent a letter of request to the US government seeking these

The Czech Ministry of Defence (MoD) announced plans on 28 February to issue a public tender to replace about 700 light 4x4 vehicles in service with the Army of the Czech Republic (ACR), starting in 2020. The MoD is seeking to replace Russian-made UAZ and British Land Rover Defender vehicles that

NATO's cyber security unit within Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe (SHAPE), known as the NATO Computer Incident Response Capability (NCIRC), is now trialling a new three-nation cyber threat exchange system for a year to test the feasibility of its use during coalition operations. In

Lockheed Martin rotary-wing subsidiary Sikorsky has announced a 10-year agreement with Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI) relating to the production of aerostructure and the delivery of an S-70i Black Hawk helicopter to TAI stable-mate Aselsan to permit avionics integration work. The developments

The Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) and Airbus are to partner in developing an automatic capability for the air-to-air refuelling boom on the Airbus KC-30A multi-role tanker transport (MRTT). An agreement signed on 2 March at the Avalon international air show near Melbourne by chief of air force

Key Points Airbus is flying out the A400M to South Jakarta in a bid to further promote the aircraft Platform is the front runner in Indonesia's effort to modernise its military airlift capabilities Airbus is currently in the process of flying out an A400M Atlas multirole aircraft to Indonesia in

Bell Helicopter is offering its AH-1Z Viper and UH-1Y Venom platforms to Australia based on the commonality between the two types and the interoperability they afford with the US Marine Corps (USMC). Speaking to Jane's at the Avalon Airshow on 2 March, vice-president Global Military Business