Jane's Defense News

EVENT Mohammad-Bagher Nobakht, President Hassan Rowhani's advisor for supervision and strategic affairs, announced on 25 May the implementation of the third phase of Iran's subsidy reform programme, passed into law in 2010. This phase includes replacing motorists' subsidised allowance with a

Rolls-Royce Power Systems has been awarded an EUR80 million (USD87 million) contract for the engines for the British Army's future fleet of General Dynamics European Land Systems Scout Specialist Vehicles (SV), the company has announced. The company will deliver 589 MTU Series 199 TE21 V-8 diesel

The Russian Navy has ordered a second batch of upgraded Ilyushin Il-38N 'May' maritime patrol aircraft (MPA) from Ilyushin, the company announced. The company did not disclose how many aircraft would be upgraded in the second batch, although the upgrade of the first batch included five aircraft.

The Chinese foreign ministry official in charge of boundary and maritime affairs has said the country's island building in the Spratlys is necessary for the country to "fulfill her relevant international responsibilities and obligations" and is in no way an attempt to firm up its

Images have appeared on a Chinese website of a new large twin-fuselage turbofan-powered unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) that could serve as a new high-altitude, long-endurance (HALE) multi-mission platform. Reportedly produced by the 601 Institute of the Shenyang Aircraft Corporation (SAC), the large

The Israeli Navy is assigning more offensive roles to one of its three fast inflatable boat units that are traditionally used for port security missions, a senior naval source said on 27 May. The three Snapir (Fin) units operate small rigid-hulled inflatable boats (RHIBs) made by US-based Safe

The participation of the Chinese People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) in international exercises continues to increase, with Chinese warships involved in three separate exercises in the second half of May. Type 054A 'Jiangkai II'-class frigate Yulin was dispatched to Singapore to take part in the

The US Marine Corps (USMC) is on schedule to conclude the first operational test (OT-1) of its new short take-off and vertical landing (STOVL) variant of the Lockheed Martin F-35B Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter aboard amphibious assault ship USS Wasp on 27 May, USMC and US Navy officials told

The imminent sale by Russia of 46 Mikoyan MiG-29 fighters to Egypt, reported by Russian business daily Vedomosti on 25 May, was stated to be worth about USD2 billion, making it the largest order for the MiG-29 since the fall of the Soviet Union. The MiG-29 contract would follow the announcement in

More evidence has emerged showing that the Libyan National Army (LNA) continues to receive aircraft and armoured vehicles from Egypt and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The LNA is a coalition of military units and allied militias that is fighting on behalf of the Tobruk-based government

Canada has released the second edition of its Defence Acquisition Guide (DAG) long-term procurement planning document and formally confirmed that it will stand up a third-party panel to "review and validate" projects valued at CAD100 million (USD80 million) or more. The announcement was

The European Defence Agency's (EDA's) newest research project into transferring command-and-control (C2) of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) from one satellite to another should carry that goal a step or two closer to regulatory and operational reality, but will fall short of actually demonstrating

India's Ministry of Defence (MoD) has cleared the USD2.5 billion procurement of 22 AH-64E Apache and 15 CH-47F Chinook helicopters from Boeing ahead of US defence secretary Ashton Carter's visit to New Delhi in early June. Industry sources said the MoD had forwarded the tenders to the finance

NATO is considering expanding its activities in the Middle East and North Africa to address instability there through 'capacity building', according to Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg. Challenges along the alliance's southern perimeter tend to stem from non-state actors and, therefore, the

Chinese news media have reported a fatal accident involving a training aircraft on 13 May, thought to be from the Naval Aviation Academy at Huludao. The 27-year-old instructor and 22-year-old student pilot were killed when the aircraft crashed following an engine failure caused by fire. Coverage on

Bell Helicopter has sold its first 407GT light attack and armed reconnaissance platform to BBM Inc to perform a variety of security missions in the Middle East and Africa, it was announced on 27 May. Bell Helicopter did not disclose how many of the armed 407GTs are to be acquired, but the private

Saudi sources have denied claims that an F-15 crashed in Yemen on the night of 23-24 May. The claims made by various Yemeni media organisations were prompted by photographs and videos purportedly showing the wreckage of the aircraft that had crashed near the capital Sanaa during an attempt to bomb

A total of 250 Brazilian scientists, engineers, and technicians could be sent to Sweden for training and to increase their knowledge of fighter aircraft technologies, the Brazilian government announced on 27 May. The idea was discussed during a meeting in Brazil between Brazilian defence minister

Vietnam has deepened defence industrial ties with France and India as part of Hanoi's efforts to secure technology transfers and develop indigenous capabilities. State media in Hanoi reported on 27 May that senior officials from Vietnam's Ministry of National Defence (MND) and the international

The Brazilian Navy took delivery of its first upgraded Douglas AF-1 Skyhawk from aerospace conglomerate Embraer on 26 May under the A-4BR programme. The single-seat AF-1 has now been redesignated AF-1B and is expected to remain in service until 2028. The upgraded twin-seat aircraft will be