The 19th Type 054A Jiangkai II-class frigate to be commissioned by the People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN), pennant number 579, Handan , joined the North Sea Fleet at a ceremony held at the Lushun naval base near Dalian on 19 August.
Built at the Huangpu shipyard in Guangzhou, the ship was
PLAN commissions frigate, launches corvette
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Pakistan buys initial batch of four Mi-35s
Pakistan and Russia signed a formal agreement on 19 August for Russia to sell four Mi-35 attack helicopters to the Pakistan Army, the country's main operator of helicopters, in a deal considered a breakthrough between the two countries.
Neither a price for the contract nor the potential number of
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MAG announces BOSH acquisition
US-based Momentum Aerospace Group (MAG) announced on 20 August that it had acquired intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) systems and services firm BOSH Global Services.
Details of the transaction were not disclosed.
BOSH manufactures the Super Swiper unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV),
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Greece reshuffles military general staff
In a surprise move on 20 August the Greek Ministry of National Defence announced that the Chief of the Hellenic National Defence General Staff (HNDGS) had been replaced.
The move came as the Greek government called a snap election for late September to bolster support for its economic/bailout
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F-35A fires 25 mm gun during ground test
Key Points
An F-35 test article fired 181 rounds from its Gatling gun during a 14 August ground test
The gun is scheduled to be fully operational in 2017
A Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter test article fired 181 rounds from its GAU-22/A Gatling gun during a 14 August ground
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Czech Republic funds Pandur II command vehicle purchase
The Czech government approved on 20 August the procurement of 20 Steyr Pandur II 8x8 armoured vehicles for the Army of the Czech Republic (ACR) for CZK1.3 billion (USD70 million).
Czech defence manufacturer Excalibur Army will be awarded a contract by the Ministry of Defence (MoD) by the end of
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Airbus begins work on Tiger Mk3 attack helicopter
Airbus Helicopters is working on a new version of its Tiger attack helicopter, dubbed the Tiger Mk3.
The work is being conducted under an 'architecture study' commissioned by the Organisation for Joint Armament Cooperation (OCCAR) on 31 July.
According to OCCAR the study aims "to define the
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USN names 26th Virginia-class submarine
The US Navy (USN) has named its 26th Virginia-class nuclear-powered attack submarine.
Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus announced on 22 August that SSN 799 will become the future USS Idaho . The boat will be built, under a teaming arrangement, by General Dynamics Electric Boat (GDEB) in Connecticut
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North Korea moves forces south as talks continue at DMZ truce village
North Korea has moved artillery and hovercraft towards the border with South Korea and put most of its submarine fleet out to sea as tensions continued despite high-level talks in the Demilitarised Zone (DMZ) on 23 and 24 August.
Citing South Korean defence officials, Yonhap News Agency reported on
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Belgium declares IOC for naval NH90 helo
Belgium has declared its NHIndustries NH90 NATO Frigate Helicopter (NFH) to be operationally ready, it was announced on 21 August.
With three of its four NH90 NFH helicopters now in service with the Naval Component of the Belgian Armed Forces, initial operational capability (IOC) was declared for
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Saudi Apache helo reportedly shot down near Yemeni border
A Boeing AH-64 Apache attack helicopter of the Saudi Arabian Armed Forces was shot down during combat operations over Yemen on 21 August, the Reuters news agency reported.
The helicopter came down in the Saudi border province of Jizan after reportedly being hit by Houthi ground forces. Although
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Lockheed Martin designs new high-altitude surveillance aircraft options
Key Points
Lockheed Martin is designing options for a successor aircraft to the U-2 and the RQ-4
The company sees the need for a more survivable follow-on aircraft as anti-aircraft threats proliferate
Lockheed Martin's Skunk Works advanced technology unit has begun possible designs for an
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USAF blames internal errors for LRS-B cost estimate discrepancies
Key Points
Internal USAF process errors led to an inaccurate cost estimate of the LRS-B programme provided to Congress
The error has been corrected and is not expected to affect the programme internally
The US Air Force (USAF) on 24 August blamed errors in internal processes for an inaccurate
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US to deploy F-22s in Europe as part of 'reassurance' initiative
Key Points
The USAF will deploy F-22s to Europe as part of the "European Reassurance Initiative"
The air-to-air fighters will join several other types that began deploying to Europe on a rotational basis in June
The Pentagon will deploy the Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor combat aircraft to
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US looking to grow CARAT into multilateral drills
The US Navy's Task Force 73 is looking to evolve its current bilateral exercises in Southeast and South Asia into multilateral ones, according to its commander, Rear Admiral Charlie Williams.
Task Force 73 is the 7th Fleet's executive agent for theatre security co-operation in the regions.
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UK orders more Saab Giraffe AMB radars
The British Armed Forces have ordered additional Giraffe AMB (Agile Multi-Beam) 3-D air-defence radars from Saab, the company announced on 24 August.
Worth SEK610 million (USD74.6 million) the contract also includes the upgrade of the United Kingdom's existing Giraffe radars to the latest
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Thailand receives four EC725 helos
The Royal Thai Air Force (Kongtap Agard Thai - RTAF) has received into service four Airbus Helicopters EC725 utility helicopters it ordered in 2012, the company announced on 25 August.
The medium-lift helicopters will be used for search-and-rescue and troop transport duties from September. The
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Peru reinstates shoot-down law for suspected drugs smuggling aircraft
The Peruvian National Congress approved the Airspace Surveillance and Control Law on August 20, authorising the country's air force to shoot down aircraft suspected of transporting drugs, weapons, or explosives.
A shoot-down law that was enacted in 1995 was suspended in 2001 after a Peruvian Air
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Moroccan Navy orders Damen water barge
The Royal Moroccan Navy has contracted Netherlands-based Damen Shipyards to build a water barge to help relieve the severe drought in the country, the company announced on 15 August.
Damen said this would be the first time that it will combine its Stan Pontoon 3011 barge with water-making
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Indian Air Force loses another MiG-21
An Indian Air Force (IAF) MiG-21I Bison fighter aircraft crashed during a routine training sortie on 24 August.
The single-seat aircraft took off on a routine training sortie from Srinagar Air Force Base in Jammu and Kashmir and crash-landed in Soibugh area of Budgam at 1100 h local time. The pilot
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