Jane's Defense News

AT LEAST 32 soldiers - including two Nigerian soldiers - were killed and seven Nigerien soldiers and eight Nigerian soldiers were wounded when hundreds of Boko Haram militants attacked a military position in the town of Bosso in Niger's Diffa region on 3 June, Reuters and Al-Jazeera reported.

Bulgaria's Chief of Defence, General Konstantin Popov, pushed for an increase in pay for service members, and for adding fighter aircraft to the country's arsenal in an interview with Darik radio, Novinite.com reported on 4 June. Popov did not commit to the specifics of a pay raise, but did say

Terma, DCNS and Chemring Countermeasures have jointly conducted trials of the DCNS-developed CANTO 130 mm acoustic decoy from Terma's C-Guard decoy launching system. Performed from the frigate HDMS Iver Huitfeldt on 12 May off the coast of Northern Zealand, Denmark, the trial was facilitated by the

During a 1-7 June technology innovation exhibition in Beijing, an official from the state-owned Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC) told the People's Daily newspaper that China required "more than 1,000" Xian Aircraft Corporation (XAC) Y-20 heavy strategic transport aircraft and

EVENT On 6 June 2016, Minister of Internal Affairs Kalmukhanbet Kasymov provided details of what he described as co-ordinated "terrorist attacks", carried out in Aktobe on the previous day. According to Kasymov, 26 men raided two gun shops for firearms and then attacked National Guard

Key Points South Korea has launched its first FFX-II guided-missile frigate Platform is on track to be commissioned by the end of 2018 South Korea's Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering (DSME) has launched the country's first FFX-II platform, the company confirmed with IHS Jane's on 7 June.

Phase I of the annual military exercise 'Tradewinds' commenced on 5 June in Grenada, with Phase II scheduled for 20-28 June in Jamaica and a final Phase III in Miami from 20-22 July. Phases I and II include land and maritime operations, while Phase III is a seminar for regional decision makers.

EVENT On 6 June 2016, the Ukrainian security service (Sluzhba Bezpeky Ukrayiny; SBU) said it had arrested a French national, identified as 25-year-old Gregoire Moutaux, on 21 May on the border between Ukraine and Poland near Yahodyn, Volyn region, on suspicion of arms trafficking and terrorism. He

Key Points Militaries continue to seek overmatch versus adversaries' ammunition performance Weight concerns remain a priority and have driven the development of lighter cartridges The annual National Defense Industries Association (NDIA) Armament Systems Forum provided an insight into the

The Islamic State (IS) has released evidence that weapons bought from Bulgaria by the Saudi Ministry of Defence have been diverted to Syrian rebel groups. The evidence came in the form of a video released on 4 June that showed IS fighters in action against rebel groups in the Azaz area of Syria's

AT LEAST 130 soldiers were killed in a series of attacks by Islamic State militants targeting security forces near the city of Fallujah in Iraq's Anbar province on 1 June, Al-Jazeera reported. Ten suicide bombers attacked soldiers in the town of Kubaisah before the militants attacked the village of

China's Chengdu Aircraft Industry (Group) Company (CAC) has sold two of its Wing-Loong unmanned combat aerial vehicles (UCAVs) to the Kazakhstan Air Defence Forces in a move that marks the company's first such sale in Central Asia, local media reported. Chinese media noted that discussions

Amid continuing clashes with ethnic rebels, Myanmar's military is confirmed as having deployed unmanned combat aerial vehicles (UCAVs) for counter-insurgency operations in the north of the Southeast Asian country. First inducted into the inventory of the Myanmar Air Force (Tatmadaw Lay) in 2013 or

Defence spending by the European allies must increase to deal with the security threats facing Europe, and particularly Russia's more assertive stance, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg has said. However, the allied leader refuses to characterise the rising tensions between the alliance and

The Nigerian Air Force (NAF) is hoping to replace its Dassault-Dornier Alpha Jets with Embraer EMB 314/A-29 Super Tucano turboprops, NAF spokesman Group Captain Ayodele Famuyiwa said on 6 June. The revelation came in a statement announcing that the apron at Yola Air Base was being expanded in

North Korea appears to have restarted its nuclear facility at Yongbyon, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said on 6 June. "There are indications that the reprocessing plant at Yongbyon has been reactivated. It is possible that it is reprocessing spent fuel," IAEA spokesman

The US Navy (USN) has drawn up plans to test a refuelling and data transfer system that could be forward deployed to significantly extend the endurance and reach of unmanned surface vehicles (USVs). In a Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) the Office of Naval Research (ONR) outlined requirements for

The Portuguese Army has formally received its final Pandur II 8x8 armoured fighting vehicles from General Dynamics European Land Systems (GDELS), the service told IHS Jane's on 6 June. A final batch of 14 vehicles was delivered on 3 June, according to the army, which has received a total of 188

Key Points Guinea-Bissau's fourth prime minister in 10 months is attempting to form a controversial government with the support of opposition members of parliament. The failure to agree on a new government is blocking the disbursement of funds for major infrastructural projects and developing the

Defence spending across the European Union (EU) rose in absolute terms in 2014 for the first time in six years, with estimates for 2015 showing an even larger nominal rise, according to the European Defence Agency (EDA). Deeming 2014 "a turning point", the EDA reported on 7 June that