Jane's Defense News

US Army chief of staff General Ray Odierno said that if the Iraqi Security Forces (ISF) are not finding more success against Islamic State militants soon, he would recommend embedding American troops within their formations. "I believe if we find in the next several months that we are not

The German government approved defence materiel export licences valued at EUR3 billion (USD3.3 billion) during the first half of 2015, figures from the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWi) reveal. The ministry reported the statistics in a 3 August response to a parliamentary

AT LEAST 25 anti-government militants were killed when Islamic State militants attacked them in the town of Marea in Syria's Aleppo governorate early on 11 August, Maan News Agency reported. At least four Islamic State suicide bombers detonated their explosives before engaging in armed clashes.

Lockheed Martin announced on 12 August that it had formally opened a new cruise missile annex at its Pike County facility in Troy, Alabama. The site overall employs 370 people, including 75 recruited since the start of the year. A total of 150 support cruise missile programmes. The new annex -

Key Points Nigeria will audit recent arms deliveries and attempt to revitalise its domestic defence industry The announcements come as part of the new government's efforts to clamp down on corruption, build industrial capability, and promote development The Nigerian government is set to undertake

The Nigerian military announced on 13 August that it had deployed additional combat aircraft to the northeast of the country as part of Operation 'Lafiya Dole' (peace by force): the current name of the counter-insurgency campaign against the militant group Boko Haram. It did not say what aircraft

EVENT The Straits Times reported that Myanmar's parliamentary speaker, Thura Shwe Mann, has been removed as chair of the ruling Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) today (13 August). Shwe Mann's son has also claimed that guards were outside his father's house, amid further reports that

The Portuguese Air Force (FAP) will award Northrop Grumman a USD22.7 million contract to upgrade its 12 AN/AAQ-28(V) Litening AT (Advanced Targeting) Block II airborne navigation and targeting pods, IHS Jane's learned on 11 August. The modernisation, to the Litening G4 advanced standard, should be

Key Points Results show no interoperability issues between USS John Paul Jones and BTS SM-6 SBT software modification will be integrated into new production missiles The recent US Missile Defense Agency (MDA) and US Navy (USN) test of the Standard Missile (SM)-6, SM-2 Block IV, and Aegis Combat

Rheinmetall Defence has received a new order for its DM63A1 tank gun round, the company announced on 11 August. Worth EUR39 million (USD43 million), the customer and the number of the 120 mm tungsten armour-piercing fin-stabilised discarding-sabot tracer (APFSDS-T) rounds being purchased was not

Russia is to begin developing a replacement for the MiG-31 'Foxhound' interceptor before the end of the decade, state media reported on 12 August. Development of the next-generation PAK-DP (Predpolagayemyy vozdukha Kompleks dlya Dal'ney Perekhvat - Prospective Air Complex for Long-Range

ANALYSIS The US intelligence community has leaked fresh claims that Iran is attempting to 'sanitise' its Parchin weapons production facility ahead of inspections by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). However, satellite imagery published by a US think tank shows there has been no work at

IHS Jane's Security Alerts provide a snapshot of political and security news likely to break in the week ahead. Further improvised explosive device (IED) and gun attacks are likely in the Afghanistan capital, Kabul, over the coming week as the Taliban attempt to resolve an internal leadership

The Swiss Federal Council has approved an amendment to the country's 2015 Armament Programme to add four more acquisitions valued at CHF874 (USD893 million). Approval for the programmes came on 12 August. The aim is to fill capability gaps by releasing funds that had previously been set aside for

Taiwan's Ministry of National Defense (MND) has showcased several new indigenous weapon systems at this year's biennial Taipei Aerospace & Defense Technology Exhibition (TADTE), running from 13-16 August in Taipei. The MND pavilion was the largest of about 100 defence industry exhibitors from

Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI) has been awarded a contract to upgrade Turkey's Lockheed Martin F-16 Block 30 Fighting Falcon fighter aircraft, the company told IHS Jane's on 13 August. Known as the F-16 Block 30 Structural Modernisation Programme, the effort will include the Turkish Air Force's

Key Points The UK prime minister has called for more spending on "readily deployable counter-terrorist capabilities" to address the threat posed by Islamic State The ongoing SDSR will dictate to what extent UK service chiefs can comply with such a request UK prime minister David Cameron

Iranian diplomats have told media that a draft nuclear agreement has been reached with the P5+1 countries in Vienna on 14 July. The agreement will gradually allow investment in Iran's economy, Saudi Arabia and Turkey will likely attempt to maximise their gains in Iraq and Syria in the short term,

The Russian Air Force (Voyenno-Vozdushnyye Sily - VVS) is set to ground its ageing Tupolev Tu-95 'Bear' strategic bomber fleet for a second time in barely a month after the loss of an aircraft over the country's Far East on 14 July. The grounding, which had not been ordered at the time of writing

Key Points Those advances are part of a Saudi-led coalition effort to secure a base to mobilise the resistance in southern provinces, advance against Houthi and Saleh positions in Hodeidah province, and force a future political settlement acceptable to Saudi Arabia and the internationally