Defence`s Feeds

An expansion of unmanned operations is underway at the Royal Navy airfield, which could soon be used by General Atomics MQ-9 and Leonardo AW09 (Proteus) type aircraft. Located in the far south-west of the United Kingdom, and only around three miles from mainland Britain’s most southerly point, Predannack Airfield has operated since 1958 as a […]

The post New UK National Drone Hub Facility to be Constructed at Predannack Airfield appeared first on The Aviationist.

On the eve of Donald Trump's second presidential term, as part of the pending battle between Washington and Beijing, the US Congress wants to give the executive a new weapon in the form of a joint task force to combat [...]

The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) is to issue its ruling on France's intelligence legislation on Thursday, 16 January. [...]

French open source intelligence (OSINT) specialist Elephantastic is to stop providing its services to the corporate intelligence sector, according to [...]

Thailand's defence minister and deputy prime minister, Phumtham Wechayachai, has discreetly informed his defence industry contacts in recent weeks that [...]

The Middle East Forensic Services practice at PwC (PricewaterhouseCoopers) poached at least seven senior financial investigators from rival consultancies in [...]

Having recently suffered a setback in the UK Commercial Court, Kazakhstan-born businessman Yermek Alimov now faces another hurdle in his [...]

The internal launch, the first ever by a Turkish aircraft, demonstrated the ANKA III’s ‘ability to perform stealth strikes by maintaining a low Radar Cross Section (RCS) until the strike moment.’ Turkey’s ANKA III UCAV (Unmanned Combat Aerial Vehicle) released a TOLUN guided bomb from its internal weapons bays in a first-of-its-kind test, announced the […]

The post Turkey’s ANKA III UCAV Drops TOLUN Guided Bomb from Internal Bays for the First Time appeared first on The Aviationist.

The goal of the experimentation with FPV drones is to ‘accelerate cooperation between nano drones and Army Light Aviation aircraft,’ developing the employment doctrine for the Air-Launched Devices concept. The French Army (Armée de Terre) is moving towards integrating its armed helicopters with attack drones, aiming for “dronization” by 2040. Opex360, quoting French military publications, […]

The post French Army Tests FPV Drone Controlled from Gazelle Light Attack Helicopter appeared first on The Aviationist.

On Monday afternoon, MEPs discussed the security situation in Europe and beyond as well as defence and EU-NATO cooperation with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte.
Committee on Foreign Affairs
Subcommittee on Security and Defence

Source : © European Union, 2025 - EP

Top Russian military brass, under the command of General Valery Gerasimov, has dropped its reluctance to recruit personnel from the country's population of Chinese migrants. That development has yet to spur diplomatic correspondence between Moscow and Beijing, with China preferring [...]

The French consulate in Shanghai has not altered its response to the application for a long-stay "talent passport" visa by [...]

Intelligence Online has learned that Christelle Astorg-Lepine will be joining the French Embassy in Abu Dhabi as its new space [...]

Americas Raytheon won a $333.2 million contract for Standard Missile-6 (SM-6) full rate production requirements, spares, and round design agent. This contract includes options which, if exercised, would bring the cumulative value of this contract to $908,144,803. Work will will continue through September 2030. This contract was not competitively procured in accordance with 10 U.S. Code 3204(a)(1) (only one responsible source and no other supplies or services will satisfy agency requirements). Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, D.C., is the contracting activity. General Dynamics won a $188 million modification for Construction Spares associated with the Virginia Class Block V submarines. Work will be performed in Sunnyvale, California (36%); South Yorkshire, United Kingdom (7%); Westfield, Massachusetts (6%); Staffordshire, United Kingdom (4%); McKeesport, Pennsylvania (3%); Manchester, New Hampshire (3%); Tacoma, Washington (3%); Newport News, Virginia (2%); Warren, Massachusetts (2%); Farmingdale, New York (2%); El Cajon, California (2%); Tucson, Arizona (1%); Chesapeake, Virginia (1%); Tampa, Florida (1%), Portsmouth, New Hampshire (1%); and other locations less than 1% (26%), and is expected to be completed by September 2035. Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, DC, is the contracting activity. Middle East & Africa Qatar has bought GM Defense’s Suburban Shield armored vehicles for the armed forces and […]

Dassault Rafale (click for cutaway view) Will Dassault’s fighter become a fashionably late fighter platform that builds on its parent company’s past successes – or just “the late Rafale”? It all began as a 1985 break-away from the multinational consortium that went on to create EADS’ Eurofighter. The French needed a lighter aircraft that was suitable for carrier use, and were reportedly unwilling to cede design authority over the project. As is so often true of French defense procurement policy, the choice came down to paying additional costs for full independence and exact needs, or losing key industrial capabilities by partnering or buying abroad. France has generally opted for expensive but independent defense choices, and the Rafale was no exception. Those costs, and associated delays triggered by the end of the Cold War and reduced funding, proved to be very costly indeed. Unlike previous French fighters, which relied on exports to lower their costs and keep production lines humming, the Rafale has yet to secure a single export contract – in part because initial versions were hampered by impaired capabilities in key roles. The Rafale may, at last, be ready to be what its vendors say: a true omnirole aircraft, […]

The Finnish Air Force will secure NATO skies by deploying four F/A-18 Hornets to Keflavik Air Base for the next rotation of the Icelandic Air Policing mission in February 2025. The Finnish Air Force is preparing to safeguard the NATO skies for the first time as a NATO member by deploying four F/A-18 Hornets to […]

The post Finnish Air Force to Participate in Icelandic Air Policing for the First Time appeared first on The Aviationist.

The planned delivery of the first six F-35B Lightning II fighters for Japan in FY2024 has now been pushed back to sometime during FY2025, Japan’s Defense Minister announced. The delivery of the first six F-35Bs to the JASDF (Japan Air Self Defense Force), which was planned to happen sometime during FY (Fiscal Year) 2024 (which […]

The post Delivery of the First F-35Bs to Japan Delayed appeared first on The Aviationist.

By 2027, in areas west of the international dateline where U.S. assets are deployed, China will outnumber U.S. forces about 12 to 1 in modern fighter jets (including 5 to 3 in fifth-generation aircraft) and 3 to 1 in maritime patrol planes. Speaking from the base theater to both an in-person and virtual audience, Brig. […]

The post ‘The Chinese Military is the Largest and Most Modern It’s Ever Been,’ Edwards AFB Commander Warns appeared first on The Aviationist.

Americas The Pentagon has awarded QinetiQ a $13.3-million contract to supply its Vindicator II uncrewed aerial vehicle (UAV) target support services to the US Navy (USN). As QinetiQ Target Systems is based in Canada, the deal was facilitated by the Canadian Commercial Corporation as the prime contractor together with Public Services and Procurement Canada.  The five-year deal – with a six-month extension provision – came into effect in December and includes Canadian personnel deployed to provide services to the USN. Lockheed Martin won a $678.4 million modification to support the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter aircraft retrofit and modification efforts for the Air Force, Marine Corps, Navy, non-US Department of Defense (DoD) F-35 program partners, and Foreign Military Sales (FMS) customers. Work will be performed in Fort Worth, Texas, and is expected to be completed in December 2028. The order and contract being modified were not competed. Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Maryland, is the contracting activity. Middle East & Africa Europe Norway said Friday it wants to reintroduce mandatory construction of air raid shelters in new buildings, one of around 100 proposals aimed at boosting preparedness in case of war. Norway, a NATO member that shares a northern border with Russia, […]

Footage from inside an Israeli Air Force KC-707 Re’em tanker aircraft was recently published on the official IDF Instagram page, providing a rare tour of the aircraft. The IDF (Israeli Defense Forces) uploaded a short Instagram reel on their official @idfonline page on Jan. 6, 2025, offering previously unseen footage inside one of the IAF’s […]

The post A Rare Look Inside Israel’s Secretive KC-707 Re’em Tanker appeared first on The Aviationist.