The UK has completed the modification of the first of seven AgustaWestland Merlin HC.3/3As to an intermediate iHC3 configuration to coincide with the transfer of the 25-helicopter fleet from the Royal Air Force (RAF) to the Royal Navy (RN).
The upgrade, which has been carried out at
UK completes first interim Merlin helo upgrade
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Thales teams to offer Watchkeeper UAV to Poland
Thales UK and Poland's WB Electronics have agreed to jointly develop and offer the WK450 Watchkeeper unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) for the Polish Armed Forces Gryf (Gryphon) programme.
Poland is looking to buy 12 Gryf unmanned aerial systems (UASs), with each system including four to five
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India to press on with trilateral exercises with US, Japan amid Chinese objections
Unmindful of Chinese concerns, the Indian Navy (IN) plans to conduct trilateral exercises with US and Japanese navies off its east coast in the Bay of Bengal in October, senior military and diplomatic sources have said.
They noted that Prime Minister Narendra Modi's federal government is finalising
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Canadian Army to trail NovAtel's new GAJT-AE anti-jam antenna
Key Points
An upcoming GAJT demonstration falls under the BCIP
NovAtel has sold GAJT-AE to international customers for use on UAVs
The Canadian Army will begin field testing later in 2015 a new and smaller NovAtel GPS anti-jam antenna that is receiver-agnostic and can be retrofitted onto legacy
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USAF unveils UAV operator retention plan
Key Points
The USAF will offer a USD15,000 per month retention bonus to UAV operators beginning in FY 2016
The move is part of a larger plan to bolster the UAV enterprise after multiple 'surges' overtaxed it
The US Air Force (USAF) plans to begin offering a new retention bonus to unmanned aerial
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Tornado Brimstone incident halts UK operations against Islamic State
An inquiry has been launched after two MBDA Brimstone missiles 'fell' from a Royal Air Force (RAF) Panavia Tornado GR4 fighter as it landed at Akrotiri in Cyprus on 15 July, as it returned from anti-Islamic State operations over Iraq.
Part of the air base was evacuated as a precaution while teams
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NATO's largest exercise in over a decade to focus on expeditionary warfare
NATO's largest training exercise in 12 years will focus on expeditionary warfare in Africa, not an Article 5 scenario, despite the allies' declared urgency to boost their homeland defence against Russian aggression.
The scenario of Trident Juncture 2015 will be set in the fictional African country
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Iraq gets MaxxPro mine rollers
Iraq has taken delivery of 30 Navistar MaxxPro mine-resistant, ambush protected (MRAP) vehicles with mine rolling equipment, the US military announced on 13 July.
The vehicles were handed over at Camp Taji, where US and allied personnel are training and equipping the Iraqi Army's new 15th Division.
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First five Japanese V-22s placed on contract
Key Points
Bell-Boeing has received a USD332.5 million contract for five of up to 17 V-22s for Japan
The deal is the first international V-22 sale
Bell-Boeing has been awarded a USD332.5 million deal for the manufacture and delivery of five V-22B Block C Osprey tiltrotor aircraft for Japan, the
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EU officials debate lack of progress on common defence policy
The EU has made little progress on the creation of an internal European defence market, despite being required to do so by national leaders at their December 2013 defence summit.
The European Commission is far behind schedule in proposed related initiatives, a stasis that was accentuated by the
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Analysis: Sinai's resilient insurgency
ANALYSIS
Egypt's battle with the Sinai branch of the Islamic State Sunni militant group is unlikely to end any time soon, according to Israeli security sources.
The Egyptian military has launched a sustained crackdown against the militants since July 2013, but Wilayat Sinai, as the group now calls
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'Procedural drift' largely to blame for fatal UK Lynx crash in Afghanistan, report finds
The loss of a British Army AgustaWestland Lynx AH.9A utility helicopter over Afghanistan in 2014 was in large part caused by 'procedural drift' on the part of the operating unit as the conflict began to wind down, an official investigation has found.
The redacted Military Aviation Authority (MAA)
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US missile defences to remain in Europe despite Iranian nuclear deal
Key Points
US officials said they plan to move forward with BMD sites in Romania and Poland
The systems, which vex Russia, are meant to defend against Iranian ballistic missiles
The United States does not plan to alter its European ballistic missile defence (BMD) scheme, meant to address Iranian
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USN's fifth LCS repaired and on track for trials, Lockheed Martin says
Key Points
Milwaukee (LCS 5) has completed repairs and is on track to recommence trials in August-September timeframe
Repair work has led to a one-month delay in delivery, but ship commissioning is expected in November
A Lockheed Martin official told reporters on 16 July that the company's third
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Russian government demands efficiency as defence cuts bite
The Russian government has warned defence industry leaders that they must deliver value for money, with defence spending for the period 2016-2018 set to fall from 4.3% of GDP to 3.1%, Russian media reported on 15 July.
In a cabinet meeting to discuss defence spending, parts of which were show on
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Eurofighter trials new Typhoon enhancements
Key Points
Airbus has generated major manoeuvrability upgrades to the Eurofighter Typhoon
BAE Systems and Alenia Aermacchi are continuing work to integrate the Storm Shadow cruise missile onto the aircraft
The Eurofighter Typhoon continues to extend its capabilities with each of the three
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Boxer the favourite for Lithuanian IFV buy
Key Points
A Lithuanian MoD report has recommended the ARTEC Boxer for the country's M113 replacement competition
The State Defence Council has yet to take a final decision
Lithuania's military has recommended the country buys the ARTEC Boxer 8x8 infantry fighting vehicle (IFV), according to the
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Beijing tech show highlights advances in Chinese fighter sensors
China's Jiangsu A-Star Aviation Industries Company (A-Star) used the first Beijing exhibition promoting "civil-military integration" to reveal new combat aircraft electro-optical systems, some of which may be slated for the country's fifth-generation fighters.
A-Star's booth featured
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Australia's ASC cuts more than 100 contractor jobs
State-owned Australian naval shipbuilder ASC has cut 101 contractor jobs from its construction facilities in Osborne, South Australia, as a result of the gradual winding down of the programme to build three Air Warfare Destroyers (AWDs) for the Royal Australian Navy (RAN), a company spokesperson
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Analysis: Iran's 'path to a bomb'
COMMENT
Vastly differing interpretations have predictably emerged since the six powers agreed the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) with Iran on 14 July. US President Barak Obama claimed the agreement has "cut off every single one of Iran's pathways to a nuclear weapons
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