Royal Navy begins transferring ex-RAF Merlins to Yeovilton
The UK Royal Navy (RN) has relocated the first of its newly acquired fleet of AgustaWestland AW101 Merlin HC.3/3A troop transport helicopters to their homebase in Yeovilton following a five-year...
View ArticleObama to keep 9,800 US troops in Afghanistan through 2015
Key Points US force levels for Afghanistan in 2016 will also be relooked A 'regular embassy presence' is still expected by 2017 President Barack Obama has decided to keep 9,800 US troops in Afghanistan...
View ArticleNavantia to sign shipbuilding collaboration accord with Colombia's COTECMAR
Key Points Spain's Navantia is to sign a shipbuilding collaboration agreement with Colombia's COTECMAR The accord is designed to enable both parties to explore collaboration options relating to current...
View ArticleIndia still faces massive recruitment shortfall
India's military faces a shortage of more than 52,200 personnel, including 11,000 officers, Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar told parliament on 20 March. He said the Indian Army was the worst off with...
View ArticleFrance to receive modified VBCIs, inducts last of 630 vehicles
The French Army is scheduled to receive the first three of 95 up-armoured VBCI (Véhicule Blindé de Combat d'Infanterie) 8x8 armoured vehicles next month. The vehicles will be 29-tonne VCI (Véhicule de...
View ArticleEU policymakers work towards centralised defence R&D funding
EU policymakers have only a few months to complete their planning for a new pilot programme in 2017 to test the notion of using EU money for dual-use research projects. The experiment raises a host of...
View ArticleCanada seeks expanded role against Islamic State via Syrian air campaign
Canadian prime minister Stephen Harper on 24 March asked the House of Commons to extend his government's military operation against Islamic State militants for up to a year, and expand its air campaign...
View ArticleAirbus to develop virtual cyber ops centre for UK MoD
Airbus Group Innovations, the corporate research and technology arm of Airbus Group, announced on 23 March that it had won a competed contract from the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) for a cyber...
View Article'Type 093T' sub design breaks cover
A computer-generated image of a Chinese nuclear-powered submarine (SSN) has recently appeared on both news and social media websites. It illustrates a variant of the Type 093/Shang-class SSN carrying a...
View ArticleParrikar heading to Tokyo with US-2, closer strategic ties on the agenda
Indian Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar will make a two-day visit to Japan from 30 March that officials in New Delhi describe as part of an ongoing bid to strengthen bilateral strategic and defence...
View ArticleBritish Army completes exercise to validate armour deployability
The British Army held a major month-long divisional exercise in March that was designed to test the ability of the 3rd Division's Lead Armoured Task Force (LATF) to deploy on potential future overseas...
View ArticleChina's KJ-500 AEW&C platform 'enters service'
Images from Chinese military issue websites indicate the Kongjing 500 (KJ-500) airborne early warning and control (AEW&C) aircraft has started to enter service with the People's Liberation Army Air...
View ArticleWestern officials discuss stepping up military support for Ukraine
All options, including selective arms transfers, should be in the West's toolbox for reinforcing the Ukrainian military, according to top NATO and European Union military officials, who say Kiev needs...
View ArticleUK defence posture overtaken by events, says Defence Select Committee
Crises in Ukraine, Syria, Iraq, Africa, and the Mediterranean region mean the United Kingdom's 2010 defence review has been overtaken by events, meaning the United Kingdom's conventional forces need to...
View ArticleRussia threatens Denmark with nukes over support for NATO missile defences
Russia has threatened that its nuclear forces would target Danish naval vessels if Copenhagen follows through on its plan, first indicated in August 2014, to equip a frigate to support NATO's missile...
View ArticleRussia lays keel for fifth Yasen-class boat
Construction has started on Arkhangelsk , Russia's latest Yasen-class nuclear-powered multipurpose attack submarine. The keel laying took place on Submariners' Day, 19 March, at Sevmash Shipyard in...
View ArticleReport: internal review slams Australian DoD for waste, inefficiency
Australia's Department of Defence (DoD) and its agencies are rife with waste and inefficiency and suffer from a proliferation of structures, processes, and systems with unclear accountabilities,...
View ArticleLebanon to get Super Tucanos in 2018
The Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) will receive six Embraer EMB-314 Super Tucano counter-insurgency aircraft in 2018 as part of the continuing US military assistance programme, American defence officials...
View ArticleJapan commissions helicopter carrier Izumo
The Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF) commissioned first-in-class helicopter carrier JS Izumo (DDH 183) in a ceremony in Yokohama on 25 March. The 248 m-long vessel, which displaces 24,000...
View ArticleIraq to receive additional King Air 350ER ISR aircraft
Iraq will receive an additional Beechcraft King Air 350ER special mission platform under a USD27 million contract set out by the US Department of Defense (DoD) on 24 March. The contract covers the...
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