Irkut Corporation demonstrated for the first time at the MAKS 2015 air show its Yak-130 'Mitten' trainer/strike aircraft fitted with a nose-mounted laser rangefinder.
An Irkut representative stated that "the laser rangefinder enables using the Yak-130 over a very irregular terrain [mountains,
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MAKS 2015: Irkut showcases Yak-130 strike upgrades
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Ireland presents Defence White Paper
The Irish government released its second-ever Defence White Paper on 26 August. It updates a document released in 2000 and focuses on new security threats such as climate change, migration, non-state threats, and resource scarcity, as well as the need for some equipment renewal.
The White Paper
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French Air Force recreates wing structure
The French Air Force will complete its return to a wing-based structure by the beginning of September, with seven new 'escadres' (wings) being created between 25 August and 3 September.
The move started on 25 August with the Cazaux-based 8th Escadre, which will bring together three
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Egypt set to receive Ka-52 attack helicopters
Egypt is to receive about 50 Kamov Ka-52 'Hokum-B' attack helicopters before the end of the decade, a company report has disclosed.
The report by the Research and Production Corporation Precision Instrumentation Systems (JSC SPC CPR) company, which is developing the helicopter's new ECO-52
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Singapore, Indonesia co-host WP MCMEX multilateral mine countermeasures exercise
Key Points
The 6th WP MCMEX multilateral mine countermeasures exercise, co-hosted by Singapore and Indonesia, got under way on 25 August
With 16 nations participating in sea- and shore-based phases, firsts in the 6th exercise of the series include deploying the ECA K-ster expendable mine disposal
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Saudi Arabia reportedly to get Couach interceptors
Germany's Lürssen group has subcontracted the construction of 79 interceptor craft for the Saudi Coast Guard to the French company Couach, according to a report published by the French lemarin.fr website on 24 August. The website said the announcement was made during a Couach staff meeting
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Polish defence priorities under review
The administration of newly inaugurated Polish president Andrzej Duda is likely to push for changes to the defence planning inherited from his predecessor Bronislaw Komorowski, US industry representatives and Polish defence experts in Warsaw have told IHS Jane's .
Duda, who assumed office on 6
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NATO preps for 'Trident Juncture', largest exercise in a decade
Key Points
The event is to include more than 36,000 troops and range from disaster relief to high-intensity combat operations
NATO hopes to conduct similar large-scale exercises as it seeks to reinvest in manoeuvre warfare capabilities
Exercise 'Trident Juncture 2015' is set for 3 October through
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NATO ACT commander seeks information systems 'resiliency'
NATO must invest more in 'resiliency' to ensure it can still operate if information systems are degraded or attacked, French General Jean-Paul Palomeros, NATO's Supreme Allied commander for Transformation, told reporters during a 27 August roundtable in Washington, DC.
"We need to reinvest in
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India releases updated RfI for battlefield UAVs
The Indian Army has invited responses by 9 September from indigenous manufacturers to a request for information (RfI) for mini unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) intended to provide "battlefield transparency" to its 382 infantry battalions and over 100 counter-insurgency units.
The RfI,
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Auditors recommend more tailored training, equipment for US Army RAF units
Auditors found the US Army's regionally aligned forces (RAF) concept is working well for the most part, but suggested several areas for improvement that the Pentagon said it is now addressing.
The army's RAF units align with geographic combatant commands to provide force packages that have been
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Japan launches second Izumo-class helicopter carrier
Japan's second and final Izumo-class helicopter carrier was launched at the Japan Marine United shipyard in Yokohama on 27 August.
Named Kaga (the first Japanese naval ship to take the name since the Second World War aircraft carrier that took part in the Pearl Harbor attacks and was lost at the
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Yemeni ballistic missile attacks continue against Saudi Arabia
The continuation of ballistic missile attacks has further undermined Saudi Arabia's claims that it and its allies successfully destroyed Yemen's surface-to-surface missile capability since the outset of the military operation they launched in late March.
Saudi Arabia confirmed on 26 August that a
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Update: Pacific Fleet chief admits regional 'angst' over China's island building in the Spratlys
Key Points
The new commander of the US Pacific Fleet has said that US regional allies and partners are deeply concerned about Chinese island building in the South China Sea
Admiral Scott Swift added that the US was only 3% short of its target of 60% of US forces being deployed to the Pacific
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UK requests remanufacture of Apaches to AH-64E standard
The United Kingdom has requested from the US government the remanufacture of 50 of its AgustaWestland-Boeing WAH-64D Block I Apache Longbow AH.1 helicopters to the latest AH-64E Guardian standard.
The request, which was announced by the US Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) on 27 August,
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South Korea reveals plans to boost 2016 defence budget
South Korea's government is looking to "sharply" increase its defence budget, a member of the country's ruling Saenuri Party revealed on 27 August.
Reuters reported that legislator Kim Sung-tae had said the government was expecting to bolster combat power at the border with North Korea
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Saudi MH-60R helo order confirmed
The US Department of Defense (DoD) announced on 27 August that it had awarded a USD11.8 million contract to Science Applications International Corp for the delivery of "weapon systems support and sustainment" for Sikorsky MH-60R and MH-60S helicopters operated by Brazil, Denmark, Saudi
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MAKS 2015: Russia's new Ka-35 AEW helicopter enters service
Russia's latest Kamov Ka-35 airborne early warning (AEW) helicopter has entered service with the Russian Navy, an industry source told IHS Jane's at the MAKS-2015 air show.
The new Ka-35 is both designed as a replacement for the Russian Navy's ageing Ka-31 'Helix' AEW helicopters and to have a
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MAKS 2015: KRTV unveils Grom-E1/E2 stand-off munitions
Russia's Tactical Missiles Corporation (KTRV) used the occasion of the MAKS-2015 airshow to unveil the Grom-E1 guided cruise missile and Grom-E2 gliding bomb.
Both are currently being trialled according to the director general of KTRV, Boris Obnosov.
The munitions have a unified design
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EU sets up unit to counter Russia's disinformation campaigns
The EU announced on 27 August that it is forming a small "rapid response" team of officials within the European External Action Service (EEAS) to deal with Russian propaganda.
To be launched on 1 September, the team will monitor Moscow's propaganda manoeuvres and advise EU and national
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