Jane's Defense News

Key Points NAVSEA has set out the mission packages for LDUUV Decision was reached by pooling requirements across command forces The US Navy's (USN's) Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA) has revealed details of planned mission packages for the large displacement unmanned undersea vehicle (LDUUV)

Key Points Final qualification of the Aculeus HE-MM scheduled for March 2017 TDA is also evaluating a surface-to-surface capability for the Aculeus LG for land and maritime platforms With final development of its Aculeus LG induction laser-guided rocket (ILGR) system now under way for the French

Turkey's state-owned Machines and Chemical Industries Board (MKEK) delivered on 11 January the first 500 serially-produced MPT-76 battle rifles to the Turkish Land Forces Command (TLFC). The rifles delivered on 11 January are the first batch from a 2015 deal which will see the production of around

President Yoweri Museveni made major changes in the Uganda People's Defence Forces' (UPDF's) senior command in a reshuffle announced on 10 January. After less than four years at the helm, General Katumba Wamala was sacked as chief of defence Forces and re-appointed Minister of State for Works. He

Senior defence officials from Vietnam and Israel have pledged to expand defence ties, it was announced on 11 January. A statement by the Ministry of Defence (MoD) in Hanoi said that following talks between the two parties, Vietnam and Israel would look to increase activities in defence research,

China has called for "discretion" from Washington and Seoul regarding the planned deployment of the US Army's Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system to South Korea. THAAD is "detrimental to strategic stability, mutual trust, and the strategic security interests of China

Key Points Finland's Hamina-class FAC will receive a torpedo fit as part of a planned MLU The addition of a torpedo capability underlines Helsinki's increasing focus on underwater security The Finnish Navy's four Hamina-class missile-capable fast attack craft (FAC) will receive a torpedo fit as

Images posted in Chinese online forums in late December 2016 show for the first time a Xian Aircraft Corporation (XAC) H-6K bomber carrying what appear to be six 250 kg bombs on each of its six under-wing pylons for a total of 36 bombs: a new demonstration of the aircraft's strike capabilities.

Belarus-based Minotor Service has developed an upgrade package for the PT-76 light amphibious tank, which was originally manufactured at the Volgograd Tractor Plant. The upgraded PT-76 is designated the PT-76M by Minotor Service, and the enhancements are focused on mobility and firepower. The

China North Industries Corporation (NORINCO) has expanded its armoured vehicle portfolio with the development of the ST2 tracked 105 mm Tank Destroying Vehicle (TDV), which is understood to have been developed specifically for the export market rather than the People's Liberation Army (PLA). The

The US Navy (USN) Nimitz-class nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson (CVN 70) carrier strike group (CSG) sailed from San Diego, California, on 5 January for a deployment to the Western Pacific region. The navy had said previously that the deployment would "focus on maritime security

EVENT Chadian prime minister Albert Pahimi Padacke on 5 January announced the closure of his country's border with Libya due to the threat of "terrorist infiltration". He claimed that several "isolated terrorist groups" had converged in southern Libya, warning that Chad's

China's latest Jiangdao-class (Type 056) corvette was launched on 29 December at the Hudong-Zhonghua Shipyard in Shanghai, according to Chinese media. The ship is the 13th of the class to be launched by the yard since May 2012. Three more of the class were commissioned in December 2016, bringing

EVENT Israel's anti-corruption police questioned Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on 5 January and 2 January "under caution", meaning as a suspect, in an ongoing corruption investigation over allegations of accepting gifts from an Israeli businessman and a foreign businessman with

Northrop Grumman E-2D Advanced Hawkeye airborne early warning and control (AEW&C) aircraft in February are to join forward deployed forces as part of Carrier Air Wing (CVW) 5 in Japan, the US Navy (USN) announced on 5 January. As part of wider Pentagon efforts to 'rebalance' towards the

EVENT The opposition-controlled National Assembly is planning to debate on 9 January whether to formally remove President Nicolás Maduro from office and to call for an early general election. The initiative is based on Article 233 of the constitution, which allows the National Assembly to

Key Points The Columbia-class SSBN has been established as a programme of record that can begin development Funds to procure the future Columbia class are available for the first time The US Navy's (USN's) Ohio-class nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarine (SSBN) replacement programme (ORP)

India and Portugal signed an agreement on 7 January that provides a framework for bilateral defence trade and related industrial collaboration. The accord was signed in New Delhi during talks between Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Portuguese counterpart Antonio Costa. According to the

India's Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) aims to begin manufacturing components and spare parts for the Sukhoi Su-30MKI multirole fighters it licence-builds for the Indian Air Force (IAF). A HAL official told IHS Jane's on condition of anonymity that India and Russia are negotiating a transfer

The government of India has agreed to sell a major stake in state-owned military vehicle manufacturer BEML (formerly Bharat Earth Movers Limited). The move represents the first strategic sale of an Indian defence public sector undertaking (DPSU). BEML said in a filing to the Bombay Stock Exchange