The situation in Crimea remains tense. Speaking at a press conference on 4 March, Russian President Vladimir Putin played down the prospect of going to war, but warned force could be used "as a last resort". While Putin ruled out an invasion of Ukraine or the annexation of its territory, a
Pro-Russian protests in Ukraine
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Pentagon budget 2015: USAF to award combat rescue helo contract
Key Points
The USAF seemingly reversed course in order to request FY2015 funding for CRH
Congressional pressure that likely led to the reversal is expected in still more upcoming USAF decisions
In a surprise announcement, the US Air Force (USAF) on 4 March said that it would award a contract for
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Pentagon budget 2015: MDA to begin EKV redesign, add new long-range radar
The US Missile Defense Agency (MDA) will restart interceptor flight-testing by mid-2014 with a focus on Ground-Based Midcourse Defence (GMD) system reliability and performance.
MDA is requesting USD7.4 billion for its fiscal year 2015 (FY 2015) budget, which includes USD99.5 million to begin a
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Pentagon budget 2015: DoD seeks 3% growth in five-year funding plan
Key Points
The White House has requested USD495.6 billion for the DoD next year, followed by a sharp rise to USD535.1 billion and then about 3% growth thereafter
Funding requested after FY 2015 would breach caps imposed through sequestration
The US Department of Defense's (DoD's) budget request
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Pentagon budget 2015: Army's USD120.5 billion proposal drops end strength, dooms GCV
Key Points
Army end strength will move towards 420,000 soldiers in 2019 until sequestration is reversed
The GCV is to be cancelled and there is not yet a replacement programme
The US Army's fiscal year 2015 (FY 2015) budget proposal would continue the service's funding decline at the expense of
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Pentagon budget 2015: 'Resource constrained' QDR accompanies budget
The US Department of Defense's (DoD's) 2014 Quadrennial Defense Review (QDR) seeks to change the Pentagon's planning construct but has already drawn criticism for straying from the review's intent.
The 2014 QDR, released in conjunction with the fiscal year 2015 (FY 2015) defence budget, provides an
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Japan, US to launch high-speed trimaran design study
Japan and the US have agreed to launch joint research on high-speed trimaran.
The Japanese Ministry of Defence (MoD) announced on 4 March that it had signed a preliminary agreement on joint research into a high-speed trimaran with the Pentagon.
The announcement followed the signing of a
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Israeli commandos seize arms shipment in Red Sea
The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) announced on 5 March that it had detained a ship in the Red Sea that was carrying long-range Syrian rockets destined for militants in the Gaza Strip.
Operation 'Full Disclosure' began in 2013, when IDF intelligence saw a consignment of rockets being loaded onto a
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Infographic of comparative Ukrainian and Russian air power
An infographic showing the relative air power strengths of both Ukraine and Russia. The inventory figures are drawn from IHS Jane's World Air Forces , IHS Jane's World Navies , and IHS Jane's World Armies .
The data takes in total force numbers, and is not limited to those assets located in the
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Embraer updates on Brazilian aircraft upgrade programmes
Embraer has revealed details of several Brazilian military upgrade plans in 2014, including for the AMX fighter fleet, during the local firm's fiscal year 2013 (FY 2013) financial results reporting.
The company announced that it had received 23 of the 43 AMX fighters that are to be upgraded to A-1M
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EC finalising policy statement on strengthening Europe's defence industry
The European Commission (EC) is finalising how it will translate its July 2013 policy statement on strengthening Europe's defence industry into concrete measures. EU officials say the new action plan will provide a "clear mandate" for supporting the sector. However, the 28 member states
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Dassault, HAL sign workshare deal for Rafale
France's Dassault and India's state-owned Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) successfully concluded negotiations in late February on a work-share agreement to license-build 108 Rafale fighters for the Indian Air Force (IAF).
Official and industry sources told IHS Jane's on 4 March that both sides
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Boeing conducts maiden flight of MSA
Boeing has conducted the first flight of its business jet-based Maritime Surveillance Aircraft (MSA), the company announced on 5 March.
The four-hour flight, from Toronto's Pearson International Airport on 28 February, involved a Bombardier Challenger 604 testbed platform with structural and system
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Australia welcomes As-Pac focus of US 2014 QDR
The restatement in the US 2014 Quadrennial Defense Review (QDR) of the US pivot to the Asia-Pacific region has been welcomed by Australian Defence Minister David Johnston, who confirmed an increase in the number of US Marine Corps (USMC) personnel that will train in Australia this year.
Australia
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Pentagon budget 2015: USAF seeks funds for JTARS, T-X recap
Key Points
The T-X combat trainer would receive USD600 million over five years, while a JSTARS replacement would get USD2.4 billion
Those two efforts are among the few new programmes in the USAF's budget
The US Air Force (USAF) has requested funding for a new combat trainer and battle management
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Pentagon budget 2015: DoD 'wish list' keeps aircraft from breaching FY 2015 funding caps
Key Points
Just over USD26 billion worth of aircraft are in a separate budget request
A fresh political compromise would be needed to fund the proposal
In order to stay within a congressional cost cap imposed by a bipartisan compromise hatched last year, the US Department of Defense's (DoD's)
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Pentagon budget 2015: Army plans to drop three aviation brigades
Key Points
Active duty CABs would reduce to 10 while the Reserve components retain 12
A restructuring seeks to focus Reserve brigades on assault, lift, and medevac missions, and active brigades on attack and scout functions
The US Army plans to reduce its active duty combat aviation brigades
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Details emerge on Colombia's CPV-46 programme
The Colombian Navy plans to buy new coastal surveillance and patrol vessels, IHS Jane's has learned.
Under the Coastal Patrol Vessel-46 (CPV-46) programme, the navy is to ultimately receive 14 new CPVs, reportedly at a cost of USD430,000, that were designed by the Colombian Navy-run COTECMAR
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USAF increases support for Poland and Baltic states
The US Air Force (USAF) has spelled out its increased commitment to NATO's eastern-most members, following Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel's promise of support in the wake of Russia's invasion of Ukraine's Crimea region.
Hagel announced on 5 March that the United States is to increase its military
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Turkey's Mizrak-U undergoes first guided firing test
Turkey's long-range anti-tank missile, code-named Mizrak-U, has successfully completed its first guided firing test from a Bell AH-1S Cobra helicopter, according to a press release posted on the Turkish Defence Industries Undersecretariat (SSM) website on 4 March.
The missile, which was developed
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