Jane's Defense News

Ireland-based robotics specialist Reamda has been contracted to modify its unmanned ground vehicle (UGV) controller to support a variety of platforms. The contract falls under an award to US company JGW International by the US Department of Homeland Security Science and Technology (DHS S&T)

Taiwan's President, Tsai Ing-wen, attended her first 'Han Kuang' live-fire exercise as Commander-in-Chief on 25 August and said her administration will seek to devise a "new military strategy" aimed at "charting a new direction for the armed forces and changing its culture".

The US State Department has approved the sale of five Mk V fast patrol boats to Qatar, the Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) announced on 23 August. It said the prime contractor for the Foreign Military Sale (FMS) will be United States Marine Inc (USMI) and that the estimated cost of the

Australia's state-owned naval shipbuilder ASC has warned its workforce that it will need to reduce the number of trade positions on the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) Air Warfare Destroyer (AWD) programme by about 175 by the end of October. In a statement on 24 August, ASC said the cuts are part of

Bolivian Minister of Defence Reymi Ferreira Justiniano and Ruben Lazo, vice-president and director of Latin America for Thales Group, signed a contract concluding protracted negotiations for Bolivia's national Integrated Air Defence and Traffic Control System (SINDACTA) on 23 August. A previous

China's investment in its aircraft carrier programme continues with the construction of a second Daguan-class auxiliary ship. The first of class, Xu Xiake (pennant number 88), was introduced into service in 2011 and has accompanied the carrier Liaoning on all of its sea trials. The Daguan-class

The Australian government has signed two contract extensions totalling approximately AUD300 million (USD229 million) with BAE Systems Australia and Raytheon Australia to support the Royal Australian Air Force's (RAAF's) fleet of Hawk lead-in fighters and to sustain and operate simulators used by the

South African defence group Denel has reported a good year, firming up its turnaround plan and continuing its five-year trend of growing revenue and profitability. Revenue for the 2015/16 financial year climbed 41% to ZAR8.228 billion (USD596 million) while EBIT and net earnings reached ZAR637

The European Union has said Pyongyang's 24 August launch of a submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM) represents "yet another serious violation" by the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) of UN Security Council resolutions. Adding its voice to international condemnations, the

Operation 'Sophia', the EU's maritime mission in the Mediterranean, will soon train Libya's coastguard and navy. Meeting in Rome on 23 August, the two sides signed a memorandum of understanding to carry out the training, which begins in the autumn. Sophia will join with other EU agencies and

EVENT On 22 August 2016, Finnish defence minister Jussi Niinisto said that Finland was negotiating a defence co-operation agreement with the United States, which it hoped would be signed before the US presidential election in November. On the same day, Swedish defence minister Peter Hulqvist said

India has ordered an investigation into a leak of sensitive information to an Australian newspaper. The information reportedly details the operational and combat capability of six French Scorpene-class submarines that are being licence-built for the Indian Navy (IN) in Mumbai. "The available

Key Points Indonesia has selected the Type 730 close-in weapon system for a second Kapitan Pattimura corvette Selection is in line with a wider adoption of Chinese-made weapon systems within the Indonesian Armed Forces The Indonesian Navy (Tentara Nasional Indonesia - Angkatan Laut, or TNI-AL)

Iran unveiled its locally developed Bavar-373 long-range air defence system on 21 August, indicating it is continuing the programme even though it is now receiving S-300 systems from Russia. The head of the Iranian air defence command first announced the Bavar-373 was being developed in September

The Japan Self-Defense Forces (JSDF) will undergo new training to enable them to more effectively take part in United Nations (UN) peacekeeping operations, Defence Minister Tomomi Inada said on 24 August, according to Kyodo news agency. The JSDF were restricted in their operational capabilities

Australian government ministers have dismissed concerns that a massive leak of secret documents suffered by French submarine constructor DCNS could affect the security of Australia's AUD50 billion (USD38 billion) Future Submarine fleet. DCNS was named in April as the preferred international partner

Lithuania has placed a EUR390 million (USD440.7 million) contract with Europe's Organisation for Joint Armament Cooperation (OCCAR) for the supply of 88 Boxer (8x8) Multi-Role Armoured Vehicles (MRAVs), of which most will be in the infantry fighting vehicle (IFV) configuration and a small number in

Lockheed Martin is in talks with Indian company Vem Technologies about a partnership to produce sensors, a spokesperson from the US corporation has confirmed to IHS Jane's . The partnership is geared towards producing and integrating electro-optical sensors that could support Indian military

Lockheed Martin has been awarded a USD36.4 million contract for Phase 2 of the US Air Force's (USAF's) System of Systems Integration Technology and Experimentation (SoSITE) programme, the Department of Defense (DoD) announced on 24 August. The company will develop system-of-systems (SoS)

New Zealand is to issue an international tender to support its procurement of a new multi-purpose vessel, the government announced on 24 August. A statement said the government has approved a Ministry of Defence (MoD) and New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF) recommendation to request tenders for a new