Jane's Defense News

Spain's Everis Aerospace and Defense and New Technologies Global Systems (NTGS) have been awarded their first production contract for the Alakran 120 mm light mortar carrier (LMC). Work on the platform began in 2010 as a private venture with the aim of developing a system that could provide rapid

Key Points Australia has begun investigations into training materials that may have sparked row with the Indonesian Armed Forces A suspension of military co-operation by the Indonesian Armed Forces has not been endorsed by the country's government Canberra has taken steps towards mending military

EVENT On 1 January 2017, a prison riot in Manaus, the capital of the state of Amazon, resulted in 56 deaths after a 17-hour gun battle between rival gangs, the Primeiro Comando da Capital (PCC) and Família do Norte (FDN). This is the bloodiest riot since 2002 and highlights the inability of

The Burkinabe military has reinforced its presence on the border with Mali in the aftermath of an attack on one of its outposts on 16 December. A Burkinabe officer told IHS Jane's that the attack involved more than 40 militants targeting a military position near the village of Nassoumbou, 20 km

Key Points The USN's plan for a 308-ship fleet requires spending about one-third more annually than the service has for several decades, according to the CBO A 350-ship navy proposed by the Trump administration could cost around USD25 billion per year The US Navy's (USN's) 2017 shipbuilding plan

The People's Republic of China has donated non-lethal military equipment, worth USD2.5 million, to Uruguay, the Uruguayan presidency announced on 4 January. The package includes 10 winter tents, 400 summer tents, 4 light trucks, 14 energy generators, and more. The Chinese government will pay for

Images posted on Chinese online forums at the end of December 2016 suggest that China's People's Liberation Army (PLA) may be equipping ground units with a new light tank first seen in 2011. Posted on 31 December on the CJDBY and FYJS websites, the images show around 10 of the new tanks on railway

Images posted on Chinese online forums in December show three new Yuan-class (Type 039B) patrol submarines being fitted out in the water at the Wuchang Shipyard in Wuhan, central China: a clear indication that China has resumed production of these diesel-electric boats after a near-three-year

TWO men - identified as 26-year-old Aras Mohammed Hamid and 21-year-old Shivan Hayder Azeez Zangana - were convicted at Kingston Crown Court in the United Kingdom's capital London on 3 January on charges related to planning to travel to Iraq for terrorism purposes and were sentenced to seven and

The US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) announced on 4 January a world-record breaking endurance flight for a diesel-powered unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), with a nearly 56-hour sortie flown by a craft built by Vanilla Aircraft of Falls Church, Virginia. The flight of aircraft

EVENT An agreement mediated by the Catholic Church between the ruling Presidential Majority (Majorité Présidentielle: MP) and the opposition Rally (Rassemblement) coalition was reached on 31 December, allowing for President Joseph Kabila of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) to remain

Key Points There is a high risk that Mugabe will die or become incapacitated before the 2018 election. If Mugabe has not implemented a succession plan before then, it is likely that there will be a destabilising internal battle within the ruling ZANU-PF party. An opposition victory or a contested

The US Navy (USN) shifted the homeport of Littoral Combat Ships (LCSs) USS Milwaukee (LCS 5) and USS Detroit (LCS 7) on 22 December 2016 from San Diego, California, on the West Coast to Mayport, Florida, on the East Coast. Mayport will eventually become the home for all of the Lockheed Martin-built

EVENT Criminals killed a national civil police officer (PNC) on 3 January in Las Flores, San Martin municipality, during a firearm confrontation between gangs and police in the first security force death of 2017. About 45 police and 27 soldiers were killed in gang-linked incidents in 2016 as El

AT LEAST two civilians were killed when an improvised explosive device (IED), emplaced by unidentified militants, detonated near the Akhund Baba shrine in Afghanistan's Laghman province on 25 December, Khaama Press reported. No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack.

AT LEAST six people were wounded when an improvised explosive device (IED), emplaced by unidentified militants, detonated on the highway of Aleosan in the Philippines' North Cotabato province on 28 December, GMA News reported. No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack.

AN IMPROVISED explosive device (IED), emplaced by unidentified militants, detonated at the Lamitan City Hall in the Philippines' Basilan province on 30 December, GMA News reported. No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack. Reports did not contain details of casualties.

China's People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) has for the first time deployed its Liaoning carrier group beyond the First Island Chain. The carrier group is thought to have commenced its transit into the West Pacific on 23 December and passed through the Miyako Strait south of the Japanese island of

AT LEAST ten Ansar Allah militants raided and stole furniture and televisions from the closed Al Jazeera Network office in Yemen's capital Sana'a on 26 December, Al Jazeera reported. No casualties were reported.

Austal USA delivered the future Independence-class trimaran hull USS Gabrielle Giffords (LCS 10) to the US Navy (USN) on 23 December 2016. Gabrielle Giffords is the ninth littoral combat ship (LCS) and the fifth of the Independence variant to be delivered to the USN. Commissioning of Gabrielle