Jane's Defense News

The Portuguese Navy commissioned its third Viana do Castelo-class offshore patrol vessel (OPV), NRP Sines (P 362), on 6 July. NRP Sines and fourth ship NRP Setúbal (P 363) form a second batch of OPVs ordered from a consortium comprising West Sea-Estaleiros Navais and Thales subsidiary EDISOFT

A UK Royal Air Force (RAF) demonstrator project will examine how swarms of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) could help traditional manned combat aircraft fight in complex and heavily defended airspace. Senior RAF sources told Jane’s that the project was briefed at an industry day in March by

IBD Deisenroth Engineering (IBD) has disclosed development of a new active armour solution designed to protect main battle tanks and medium to heavy armoured fighting platforms against tandem warhead threats. Modern anti-tank weapons – anti-tank rockets (ATRs) and anti-tank guided missiles

Production of the Arquus (previously Renault Truck Defense) Vehicule de l’Avant Blinde (VAB) Mk 3 6x6 is now underway, and additional variants have been developed to meet potential export customers’ requirements. The latest VAB Mk 3 6x6 model is being described as a reconnaissance and

The Finnish Ministry of Defence (MoD) has authorised the Finnish Defence Force’s Logistic Command to proceed with an acquisition of the Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) Gabriel anti-ship missile to equip the Finnish Navy’s Squadron 2000 Hamina-class missile fast attack craft and future

The UK government has declared that nearly every major defence aviation procurement programme currently ongoing is either in danger of not being successfully delivered, or can only be delivered once significant issues have been overcome. In its Annual Report on Major Projects 2017-18, the

Japan will send one of its two Izumo-class helicopter carriers on a two month-long tour of the South China Sea and Indian Ocean for the second straight year as the country aims to bolster international co-operation in safeguarding key sea lanes in the Indo-Pacific region, a Japanese official told

Following the loss of Argentina’s TR 1700-class diesel-electric submarine (SSK) ARA San Juan in November 2017, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) is considering restarting construction of sister vessel ARA Santa Fe and competing it as a nuclear variant, the Argentine Congress was informed on 3

The Belarusian armed forces paraded new 4x4 armoured vehicles in Minsk on independence day on 3 July. On parade were several Lis-PM (Fox-PM) armoured vehicles produced by Minsk Wheel Tractors Plant (MZKT Volat) in close co-operation with Russian industry. Russia supplies stripped-down VPK-233136

The Belarusian armed forces paraded new types of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) during the country’s 3 July Independence Day parade. Shown for the first time were Burevestnik-MB fixed-wing unmanned combat aerial vehicles (UCAVs), which were carried by MAZ-6317-family trucks. The

Belgium stood up its new Special Operations Regiment (SOR) in a ceremony in Heverlee, east of Brussels, on 3 July. The regiment replaced the Belgian Land Component’s Light Brigade, taking over its 3 Parachute Battalion and 2 Commando Battalion – known collectively as para-commandos

The High Court (Audiencia Nacional) was to launch the trial of a suspected Islamist militant - identified as Abdeljalil Ait El Kaid - detained in Warsaw in June 2015 who allegedly planned to conduct a terrorist attack at the Sagrada Familia, the Casino or a public transport Plaza de Catalunya in

The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) is seeking to develop algorithms and new technologies to model the operational environment, enabling military planners to make more informed and quicker decisions. Today, the techniques for understanding the issues behind a conflict are labour

The Anti-Terrorism and Organised Crime Directorate (DIICOT) detained a 15-year-old teenager suspected of dissimentating terrorist propaganda, plans to conduct terrorist attacks and joining combat in conflict zones.

The Indian Navy’s Project 15 destroyer INS Delhi is receiving a major combat system upgrade as part of its ongoing mid-life upgrade (MLU). Imagery analysis suggests Delhi had entered its MLU cycle at Naval Dockyard Mumbai by May 2017 and work is currently ongoing. Under the destroyer’s

Key Points On 25 June, Haftar handed over the control of Ras Lanuf and es-Sider oil ports to the eastern National Oil Corporation (NOC), which reports to the eastern-based government, which is not recognised internationally. In response, the Tripoli-based NOC declared force majeure on loadings from

The Polish Air Force's MiG-29 fleet has been grounded until the cause of the latest crash of an aircraft of this type is clarified, Polish Minister of National Defence Mariusz Błaszczak said at a press conference in Warsaw on 6 July. The pilot managed to eject but did not survive the crash at

TWO soldiers were wounded by pro-Russia separatist militants fired on army positions in Horlivka in Ukraine's Donetsk Oblast on 4 July, BBC Monitoring reported. Reports added that the soldiers were wounded by small-arms fire during a pro-Russia separatist sabotage attack.

The UK Royal Air Force (RAF) has received back into service the first of its Eurofighter Typhoon combat aircraft to be provisioned for the Project Centurion weapons fit, BAE Systems told reporters on 5 July. Speaking at the company’s Warton facility in northern England, a senior programme

Event On 4 July, Colombian authorities reported that they had recovered the bodies of two Ecuadorian nationals near Tumaco, in Colombia’s Nariño department. The pair were kidnapped in April by a dissident faction of the Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia (FARC) led by alias