Raytheon Company's Standard Missile-6 has completed tests which validate the extended-range anti-air warfare missile's airframe and autopilot performance.
By performing a series of preprogrammed maneuvers, the SM-6 missile was pushed to the limits of its performance, allowing the U.S. Navy to gather vital simulation validation data.
"The technology that was proven in this test will provide the Navy with the weapon system it needs for outer and area defense to defeat current and future missile threats," said Louis Moncada, Raytheon Missile Systems' director of the SM-6 program.
The Ministry of Defense (MOD) said despite statements from the president suggesting a redeployment of funds, Taiwan will go ahead with its purchase of 60 Black Hawk helicopters from the United States.
President Ma said on the 18th that Taiwan could cut its purchase of Black Hawk helicopters by 15 in order to free up funds to buy rescue helicopters and other emergency supplies.
But in a statement issued Sunday, the MOD said the plan is to purchase the 60 Black Hawk helicopters, and earmark 15 of the helicopters for rescue missions.
Iraqi officials have discovered that they may have a real air force, after all.
The Defense Ministry revealed Sunday that it had recently learned that Iraq owns 19 MIG-21 and MIG-23 jet fighters, which are in storage in Serbia. Ministry officials are negotiating with the Serbs to restore and return the aircraft.
The Serbian government has tentatively promised to make two of the aircraft available "for immediate use," according to a news release from the ministry. The rest would be restored on a rush basis, the ministry said.
In its ongoing efforts to gain air supremacy, India will have its first stealth fighter aircraft in four month's time, a senior Indian Defense Ministry official said Sunday.
"By this year end, India will acquire its first stealth fighter called Fifth Generation Fighter Aircraft.
The aircraft, which can attain a top speed of Mach 2 or twice the speed of sound without consumption of huge amounts of aviation fuel, is being developed by Sukhoi in Russia under a 3-billion-U.S.-dollar deal," the official said, on condition of anonymity.
jJapan's second "Hyuga Class" helicopter-carrying destroyer was launched Friday at IHI Marine United Inc's shipyard in Yokohama.
At a ceremony held at the shipyard, Parliamentary Secretary for Defense Nobuo Kishi, on behalf of Defense Minister Yasukazu Hamada, gave the official name of "Ise" to the nation's largest destroyer.
The 197-meter long, 13,950-ton Ise can carry up to 11 helicopters aboard by using the deck and the hanger deck beneath it.
The United States has accused Pakistan of illegally modifying American-made missiles to expand its ability to hit land-based targets in what could be a direct threat to India, the New York Times reported.
The accusation triggers a new round of U.S.-Pakistani tensions amid concern over the country's weapons development.
It stems from U.S. detection of a suspicious missile test on April 23 which was never announced by Pakistan and appeared to give it a new offensive weapon.
Pakistan has rejected reports about purchase of submarines from France.
Briefing Senate’s Standing Committee on Defence and Defence Production, Defence Production Secretary, Israr Ghumman said an evaluation committee formed by the Naval Headquarters has recommended purchase of German submarines.
Ghumman clarified that the government has not inked any agreement with France regarding the purchase of submarines as was being reported in the media.
South American leaders remain uneasy about a military agreement between the US and Colombia. The deal gives the US military a 10-year lease on space at seven Colombian bases, to help fight drug traffickers and leftist rebels.
The deal between the US and Colombia is being hotly debated by South American presidents at the summit in Bariloche.
Colombia's Alvaro Uribe defended his country's decision.
Russia cannot assign production of Bulava ballistic missiles to another manufacturer because there is only one plant in the country that makes solid-fuel ballistic missiles, Russian experts have said.
Chief of the Russian General Staff, Gen. Nikolai Makarov, said on Wednesday that production of the troubled Bulava missile had been moved to an alternative factory due to problems in the production cycle. He did not specify its name.
According to the Russian Nezavisimaya Gazeta newspaper, Makarov's announcement took the Russian military and defense industry experts by surprise because only one plant in Russia - the Votkinsky Zavod in the Urals - makes solid-fuel ballistic missiles for Russia's Armed Forces, including the Topol-M, the Iskander-M, and the Bulava-30.
India will have to soon shell out well over Rs 2,000 crore more to French armament companies if it does not want its ongoing mammoth Rs 18,798 crore project to construct six Scorpene submarines at Mazagon Docks Ltd (MDL) in Mumbai to come to a grinding halt.
The Scorpene project, under which the first submarine was to roll out by December 2012, with the others following one per year thereafter, is already running two years behind schedule, as was first reported by TOI.
"Our submarine force-levels need to increase...there is no doubt. We have lost a lot of time (in the Scorpene project),'' says Navy chief Admiral Sureesh Mehta.
As the former Director/ Deputy Director of the Joint Strike Fighter Program (1997-2001) and Deputy Commandant of Aviation (2002-2006), I have watched with disappointment over the last few months as those advocates of sole-sourcing the F-35 with only the Pratt & Whitney engine have attempted to spin a tale of myth and innuendo to deliberately muddy the waters around the issue of the competition of the engine for the F-35. Let me set the record straight.
First, there was no JSF engine competition as part of the overall air frame competition. We didn’t compete the JSF engine ... it never happened! In 1995, the three primes in the competition selected the core of F-22 engine (119) to power the JSF demonstrators during the Program Definition & Risk Reduction Phase (1996-2001).
Several years ago, if the Russian icebreaking fleet did not seem hopeless, the outlook was definitely bleak.
Veterans of the Soviet “ice power” ships, Lenin and Siberia, were effectively obsolete; three more nuclear-powered icebreakers were ready to be discarded; the unfinished successor – the nuclear-powered 50 Years of Victory – had been rusting on the water since 1993.
In 2007, it moved to an operational stage and shipbuilders also began working on a new order – the construction of two diesel-electric icebreakers, Moscow and St Petersburg.
The embedded system for journalists, originally designed to facilitate their requests, is now used by the Pentagon for obstructing war correspondents with a “negative” coverage record.
SLNS 'Sayurala', an Off Shore Patrol Vessel acquired in August 2008 was commissioned at the Sri Lanka Navy Dockyard, Trincomalee today (28th August 2009) by the Secretary, Ministry of Defence, Public Security, Law & Order Mr.Gotabaya Rajapaksa.
The Commissioning Ceremony was attended by the Commander of the Navy Vice Admiral Thisara Samarasinghe and large number of Naval Personnel with traditional Naval Customs and Ceremonies taking precedence.
The former Indian Coast Guard Ship 'Vigraha' joined the Sri Lanka Navy fleet on 23rd August 2008 and was assigned Pennant Number P 623.
Brazil's Defense Minister Nelson Jobim said on Thursday that the country will build five submarines in a partnership with France by 2021.
According to the minister, the construction of the submarines will be started in 2016, and is part of an agreement which foresees transfer of the French military technology.
The agreement, which was reached in late 2008, will be signed by the Brazilian and French presidents at a ceremony on Sept. 7, Brazil's Independence Day.
“Azerbaijan has cooperated and will cooperate with NATO as a part of the peacekeeping operations under the alliance’s aegis in Afghanistan,” Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Elkhan Polukhov said commenting on media reports claiming that Azerbaijan not allowing flight of German troops through country’s airspace undermined NATO mission in Afghanistan.
As a part of cooperation with NATO, Azerbaijan has recently increased its peacekeeping contingent in Afghanistan.
This successful cooperation is continuing with the alliance to date, Polukhov said.
The United States will abandon plans to house an anti-missile shield in Poland and the Czech Republic, a Polish daily reported on Thursday, citing US officials and lobbyists.
The multi-billion dollar project, intended for defense against attacks from Iran and other “rogue” states, was to install 10 interceptor missiles in Poland and a radar base in the Czech Republic. It had met with fierce objections from Russia.
The Polish daily, Gazeta Wyborcza, said that Washington was now considering deploying anti-missile interceptors on naval vessels and at bases in Israel, Turkey and the Balkans, reports AFP.
A German mission to send AWACS surveillance planes to Afghanistan is delayed after Turkmenistan and Azerbaijan refused to allow NATO to fly them through their airspace, an official said today.
"It is an annoyance," Thomas Raabe, a defence ministry spokesman, told a regular briefing in Berlin.
Germany decided in July to deploy the AWACS (Airborne Warning and Control System) surveillance planes, which are fitted with long-range radar allowing them to detect other aircraft and prevent mid-air collisions.
The Navy officially accepted delivery of the future USS Dewey (DDG 105) Aug. 17 from Northrop Grumman Shipbuilding (NGSB) during a ceremony in Pascagoula, Miss.
In June, the guided-missile destroyer completed a combined builder's and acceptance trial, also called "super trials," after spending three days in the Gulf of Mexico.
"This is the second DDG we've delivered this summer," said Capt. Pete Lyle, DDG 51 class program manager in the Navy's Program Executive Office, Ships (PEO Ships). "That's really a testament to the benefits of serial production."
Russia is planning on signing by the end of 2009 a contractual agreement with France on the purchase of a Mistral class amphibious assault ship, the chief of the Russian General Staff said on Wednesday.
"We are planning to reach an agreement [with France] this year on the production and the purchase of a Mistral class vessel," Gen. Nikolai Makarov told a news conference in the Mongolian capital, Ulan Bator.
"We are negotiating the purchase of one ship at present, and later planning to acquire 3-4 ships [of the same class] to be jointly built in Russia," the general said.
Aeronautics Defense Systems will build two additional demonstrators for the unmanned version of the two-engine, propeller-driven Diamond DA42 for the U.S. market, according to Flight Global.
The company's president, Avi Leumi, was quoted as saying that the decision followed a first string of test flights in July.
"We will resume the test flights in September," Leumi said. But at the same time, he added, "we will prepare a marketing effort to potential customers, mainly in the USA."
In the next decade, American soldiers deployed around the world could be protected by high-tech aerostats built by TCOM in Weeksville.
On Tuesday, U.S. Army officials joined TCOM staff, local officials and guests gathered near the old blimp hangar to christen the first in a series of 16 aerostats to be part of a new missile defense system. The unmanned, tethered helium
balloons will operate in pairs to provide extensive radar coverage for troops and military installations. From their stationary positions aloft, they will scan for incoming missiles while providing accurate targets for U.S. and friendly forces.
The first components, to begin assembly operations for the new UK Queen Elizabeth class aircraft carriers, arrived yesterday at Rosyth shipyards, in Scotland. The ships of this class will be two, the "Queen Elizabeth" and the "Prince of Wales".
This has been the first of a series of about 20 shipments that are going to continue until January 2012.
These components have been built by Babcock, member of the Aircraft Carrier Association, in Appledore and the transport has been carried out in cooperation with experts from the ministry of defence.
India has grounded its ageing fleet of British-made Sea Harrier fighter jets to conduct safety inspections following a deadly crash last week, a navy official said Wednesday.
The 11 aircraft that were delivered in 1983 operate from India's only aircraft carrier, the INS Viraat, which is currently being refitted.
"The fleet has been grounded for immediate physical checks on all the flying controls," navy spokesman P.V.S. Satish told AFP.
The fourth of the new Russian Borey-class strategic nuclear submarine submarines will be named after Saint Nicholas and called “Syvatitel Nikolay”.
It was during a conversation with Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill, who visited Arkhangelsk last week, that General Director at Sevmash shipyard Nikolay Kalistratov revealed the name of the submarine, Vesti.ru reports.
Construction of “Syvatitel Nikolay” is planned to start up in connection with the shipyard’s 70 year anniversary on December 22.
Production of Russia's troubled Bulava ballistic missile has been moved to another manufacturer following reports of the faults in the production cycle, the chief of the Russian General Staff said Wednesday.
The Bulava submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM), which is being developed by the Moscow-based Institute of Thermal Technology (MITT), has suffered six failures in 11 tests.
The general director of the institute has resigned over the failures, seen as a setback in the development of Russia's nuclear deterrent.
Russia has deployed its most advanced S-400 Triumf anti-missile defence systems in its far eastern region to counter the threat posed by North Korean missile tests, a top military official said on Wednesday.
"We have already deployed a battalion of the S-400 systems in Russia's Far East in order to guarantee protection from failed launches of (N Korean) missiles and to ensure that the fragments of these missiles never fall on the Russian territory," chief of the general staff, Gen Nikolai Makarov was quoted as saying by RIA Novosti.
A regular S-400 battalion comprises at least eight launchers with 32 missiles and a mobile command post, according to local military experts.
It would replace a 40 knot speedboat for special forces. It would probably have a thermal power source (maybe a nuclear engine or a diesel engine) that would power water jets.
It would probably have a thermal power source (maybe a nuclear engine or a diesel engine) that would power water jets.
Russia is concluding talks with Saudi Arabia on selling 30 Mi-171B helicopters, a source close to the negotiations said on Tuesday.
"We are in a final stage of talks on the purchase of 30 helicopters and hope to sign the deal in September," the source told RIA Novosti.
The Mi-171 is an export version of the Mi-8 Hip multipurpose helicopter. Currently in production at two factories in the Russian Volga city of Kazan and the East Siberian city of Ulan-Ude, it features more powerful turbo-shaft engines and can carry up to 37 passengers.
South Korea has launched its first space rocket. The satellite onboard the rocket successfully separated from the carrier, but failed to reach the intended orbit.
Raytheon Company delivered the 1000th Evolved SeaSparrow Missile to a multinational consortium during a ceremony at the Raytheon Missile Systems Weapon Integration Center - Camden.
Deployed by the U.S. Navy and nine international fleets, ESSM defends the battlespace by delivering ship self-defense firepower against high-G maneuvering anti-ship cruise missiles as well as surface and low-velocity air threats.
"ESSM's increased speed coupled with its improved guidance system allows for engagements at extended ranges," said Capt. Mike Anderson, the U.S. Navy's ESSM project manager. "The hallmarks of the missile are its international design, combat system flexibility and performance edge."
The Royal Air Force Tornado GR4/4A fleet is to benefit from a £28M Mid-Life Fatigue Programme (MLFP) contract, awarded to Panavia, which is aimed at seeing the fleet through to its planned Out-of-Service Date (OSD) in 2025.
The Tornado GR4 aircraft remains the most capable ground attack platform within the RAF inventory.
Recent investments in state of the art avionics, defensive aids, precision weapons and reconnaissance systems have ensured the aircraft remains a potent and flexible offensive air platform.
Sustainment of this robust capability is vital to the RAF and to its successful involvement in current and future operations.
U.S. Senator Kit Bond, R-Mo., promoted the sale of fighter planes made by Boeing in St. Louis during a recent trip to Denmark and Greece.
Both Greece and Denmark are looking to upgrade their fighter aircraft, so Bond, vice chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, said he promoted the St. Louis-built F/A-18 Super Hornet.
About 5,000 of 16,000 local Boeing jobs are tied directly to the F/A-18, which cost between $29 million and $57 million each. The jet creates thousands more jobs among suppliers.
A NATO E-3 AWACS took part in six-hour combat scenarios that demonstrated interoperability between its prototype interrogator and various joint platforms that interrogate in the same mode in July flying at an observation point 100 miles off the coast of Patuxent River Naval Air Station, Md.
During the multiservice, multinational Joint Operational Test Approach Operational Assessment, a combined international E-3 team -- led by a Hanscom Air Force Base 635th Electronic Systems Squadron team-- had the opportunity to test the interrogator in a genuine multiservice environment.
A team from the 635th ELSS, the Electronic Systems Center team responsible for test and development of the aircraft's Mode 5-capable UPX 40 Interrogator, was among Air Force, Army, Navy and Marine Corps participants there to test their respective interrogators and transponders.
Was Israel's secret service behind the unexplained hijacking of a Russian freighter, to foil a secret attempt to ship cruise missiles to Iran?
The mystery surrounding the hijacking of a Russian freighter in July has taken a new twist with reports claiming the pirates were acting in league with the Mossad in order to halt a shipment of modern weapon systems hidden on board and destined for the Islamic republic.
While Israeli and Russian officials dismissed the reports, accounts published in the Russian media sounded more like a spy thriller than a commercial hijacking.
The teams at the MAKS aviation and space show have finished their aerobatic displays near Moscow. Multimillion dollar deals have been done and over half a million people have attended the show.
The MAKS-2009 has been a successful event by all accounts: both on the business side and on the public appeal side. But for 580 thousand people that visited the event during the week it is the amazing aerial performances which have been the highlight.
The Frecce Tricolori, or the “Tricolor Arrows” is the Italian aerobatics team which stunned the crowds at this year’s MAKS show with their spectacular performance, such as painting the grey Moscow skies with the colors of the Italian flag.
India began flight evaluations in the skies of Bangalore for its largest-ever military purchase of 126 multi-role fighter aircraft last week.
At the same time, thousands of miles away in Moscow, officials from Russia's legendary Sukhoi Design Bureau and its Indian partner, Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL), finally decided that this November they would begin flight-testing the highly secretive prototype of a futuristic fifth generation fighter aircraft.
It is being developed under a joint technology and equity partnership between India and Russia.
Brazil will build five submarines in collaboration with France to protect its vast off shore oil reserves in the Amazon region, a media report said Sunday.
The Folha de Sao Paulo newspaper said President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has already approved the submarine project prepared by the defence ministry.
Brazil will also build a nuclear submarine as part of the project, it said.
BS reported that although the craftsmen from Garden Reach Shipbuilders & Engineers swarm over what will be the Indian Navy’s most high tech stealth warship, Project 28 is two years behind schedule.
The first corvette was to join the fleet early next year. Business Standard discovered, during a first ever media visit to this secretive project, that it will be delivered only in June 2012. The other three corvettes of Project 28 will follow at one year intervals.
The major reason for the delay the Indian Navy has stipulated such unprecedented standards of stealth for every piece of equipment on board that suppliers have struggled to develop engines, transmission, air conditioning and power-generating systems that work silently enough to meet those requirements. Furthermore, the navy mandated that Indian suppliers would provide much of that equipment.
Sole-source deal for Joint Strike Fighters a mistake: critics
The Defence Department is recommending a multibillion-dollar sole-source purchase of a U.S. stealth-like aircraft to replace Canada's CF-18 fighter jets.
Work is under way on a presentation to cabinet for approval to buy 65 Joint Strike Fighters, known as JSF, even though military leaders had earlier claimed that a competitive process would be followed in any CF-18 replacement.
It is unclear how much the deal would cost taxpayers. At one point, the Defence Department estimated the full cost of replacing the CF-18 fleet would be around $10 billion, but that was based on the purchase of 80 planes as well as long-term support for those jets.
As it is, India solitary aircraft carrier, the 50-year-old INS Viraat, is being flogged to ensure it can operate for another five years. To make matters worse, Navy is fast running out of fighter jets to operate from its deck.
This is just another example of how the utter lack of long-term strategic planning and execution continues to be a bane for India, which harbours notions of being a major player on the global stage.
The crash of another Sea Harrier jump-jet off Goa on Friday, which killed its pilot, means Navy is left with barely eight single-seater fighters and three twin-seater trainers.
A new high tech Navy submarine will bear the name of the state of Missouri.
There have been just four ships named in in honor of the Show-Me state. This new submarine, which is being built in Groton, Conn., will be the fifth.
The last ship named after Missouri is now a floating museum at Pearl Harbor. The USS Missouri World War II battleship was the site of the Japanese surrender in 1945.
For that reason, the new USS Missouri brings with it a sense of history.
Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia visited the Dmitri Donskoi nuclear submarine at Russia’s biggest shipyard Sevmash in Severodvinsk on Saturday.
The patriarch was met with military honours. He walked along the pier to the tune of a military march, past the lines of Navy officers, and stepped aboard the submarine. The submariners saluted him in unison.
Northern Fleet Commander, Vice Admiral Nikolai Maksimov and Sevmash chief designer Nikolai Kalistratov were also there to greet the patriarch.
One of Russia's oldest and most famous aircraft, the Mig, was the star of the MAKS air show on Friday. Despite being 70 years old, the Mig remains a world leader in military aviation.
Since the first MIG took to the skies about 70 years ago, these Russian planes have become one of the world's most heralded fighters.
Thousands of them were used by the Soviet Union in the Second World War.
Rosoboronexport and Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) have signed a contract at the MAKS-2009 air show on the delivery of 26 RD-33 series 3 engines to India, Russia's state arms exporter said on Friday.
The RD-33 series 3 is an upgraded version of the RD-33 powerful RD-33 turbofan engine with thrust vectoring for MiG family fighters.
The engine provides superior maneuverability and enhances the fighter's performance in close air engagements.
Sale of the Indo-Russian supersonic cruise missile BrahMos around the world will commence only after the Indian armed forces are fully equipped, according to the director general and chief designer of the NPO Machine Building Military-Industrial Corp., Alexander Leonov.
"To date, there are no 'third country' contracts for the BrahMos,'' said Leonov. This he said was a consequence of ''the Indian Government's declared intentions to first arm its army, air force and navy with these missiles."
The Russian director of the BrahMos Aerospace joint venture also affirmed the same sentiment saying that as of now "there is no single protocol of intentions, although interest in the missile is very large."
Weapons-handling systems on at least four Virginia Class submarines were installed incorrectly by workers at Northrop Grumman Corp.'s Newport News shipyard, restricting the ability of sailors to move torpedoes into launch tubes.
Northrop and the Navy on Friday confirmed the problems, which were found on the North Carolina, New Mexico, Missouri and California.
Of the four boats, none are under way. Only the North Carolina is commissioned, but it is in a maintenance period. The other subs are in various stages of construction in Newport News and in Groton, Conn.
Techport The US Navy is considering a bid to use a Port Adelaide shipbuilding centre as a repair base for its warships.
The US is in talks with the State Government over the proposal involving the $300 million Techport facility at Osborne.
Australia's new $8 billion air warfare destroyers will be built at Techport, which also will be the construction base for the Royal Australian Navy's next generation of submarines, The Advertiser reports.
South Korea has given the production go-ahead for the first 70 Hongsangeo anti-submarine torpedoes for deployment between 2010 and 2012, the government has said.
Up to 70 of the long-range ship-to-submarine light torpedoes, called Red Shark in English, will be operational aboard some of South Korea's newest country's destroyers, the KDX-I/II, according to the procurement agency Defense Acquisition Program Administration.
After nine years of development, the final tests were completed earlier this year, the DAPA's sister organization the state-funded Agency for Defense Development announced in June. Deployment is in response to a growing threat from North Korean submarines, the ADD noted.
Submarine warfare experts at the Lockheed Martin Maritime Systems and Sensors (MS2) segment in Manassas, Va., will provide submarine sonar upgrades for the 10 existing U.S. Navy Virginia-class attack submarines, as well as new sonar system equipment for the next four Virginia-class boats to be built.
Lockheed Martin will provide Acoustic Rapid COTS Insertion (A-RCI) submarine technology for existing and future models of the Virginia-class attack submarine under terms of a $25.1 million contract modification awarded 19 Aug. by officials of Naval Sea Systems Command in Washington.
Lockheed Martin is the lead contractor for the Navy's A-RCI initiative to provide anti submarine sonar system upgrades on submarine sonar systems.
The first Lockheed Martin C-5 Galaxy strategic transport was inducted into the Reliability Enhancement and Re-engining Program (RERP) production line in ceremonies at the Lockheed Martin facility here August 18.
The RERP modifications consist of more than 70 improvements and upgrades to the C-5 airframe and aircraft systems, and include the installation of new higher-thrust, more reliable turbofan engines.
"We have been planning this day for more than a decade and it is a day we have been working incredibly hard to get to for the past two years," said Lorraine Martin, Lockheed Martin C 5 vice president.
The Swedes are joined by French and US defence companies that have stepped up their campaigns following reports that the Brazilian government is likely to delay its decision until October at the earliest.
France's Dassault, which is fielding its high-tech Rafale fighter, had been seen as the frontrunner up to now because of a guarantee to share all technology with Brazil - a key requirement of the tender.
But Sweden's Saab, offering a new generation of its cost-effective Gripen jet, and US aerospace giant Boeing, plugging its F/A-18 Super Hornet, have sought to blunt that advantage.
Introduction Since establishing diplomatic ties in 1951, China and Pakistan have enjoyed a close and mutually beneficial relationship.
Pakistan was one of the first countries to recognize the People's Republic of China in 1950 and remained a steadfast ally during Beijing's period of international isolation in the 1960s and early 1970s.
China has long provided Pakistan with major military, technical, and economic assistance, including the transfer of sensitive nuclear technology and equipment.
Some experts predict growing relations between the United States and rival India will ultimately prompt Pakistan to push for even closer ties with its longtime strategic security partner, China.
Others say China's increased concern about Pakistan-based insurgency groups may cause Beijing to proceed with the relationship in a more cautious manner.
Taiwan is in price negotiations to buy six Alenia Aermacchi C-27J Spartans for its armed forces, with industry sources expecting the deal to go ahead in the next year.
Taipei has been assessing the C-27J and EADS Casa CN-235 for its medium tactical airlift capability for several years, and industry sources say that it has decided to go ahead with the Spartans.
The purchase will be made through the US government's foreign military sales mechanism, they add. The US Air Force is buying the C-27J Spartans, an upgraded version of the Alenia G222, under its Joint Cargo Aircraft programme.
More than a year after U.S. defense officials offered three RC-135 Rivet Joint aircraft as a replacement for the same number of Royal Air Force BAE Nimrod R1 signals intelligence (SIGINT) aircraft, the UK Ministry of Defence has not made a decision.
Senior RAF officers have said that the Nimrods perform a vital task, and they last month promised the UK Parliament that there would not be “a capability gap” when the Nimrods are withdrawn from service in 2011.
But the Nimrod SIGINT replacement seems to have fallen afoul of the UK’s defense budget squeeze. The MoD told AIN that a decision would be made late this year, and the R1s would be extended in service if necessary.
ITT Corp. will extend the lifecycle of a key Navy shipboard radar system under a $29 million contract.
Under the contract, ITT will furnish modification kits for the AN/SPS-48G(V) radar as part of the ongoing Radar Obsolescence Availability Recovery program, the Defense Department announced Aug. 18.
The purpose of the program is to extend the life of the radar system for several more decades.
View Larger Map India is planning to establish a naval base and listening post in the Maldives, the tropical holiday islands in the Indian Ocean, in an attempt to contain growing Chinese influence in the region.
Its naval chiefs and military strategists have become increasingly alarmed by China's expansion in South Asia where it has established a series of bases in neighbouring countries.
It is currently developing a deep water harbour for its expanding fleet of nuclear submarines in Gwadar, Pakistan, and is developing ports in Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. Indian strategists have described its growing number of ports as a "string of pearls" around its neck.
Italian shipbuilder Fincantieri has won a contract to build a 1,650-ton corvette for the U.A.E. navy amid a drive by Gulf Arab states to build up their naval strength.
The United Arab Emirates also has an option for a second corvette for what will be designated the navy's Abu-Dhabi class.
The design is based on the 270-foot Commandante Cigala Fulgosi-class ships in service with the Italian navy.
The Russian Defense Ministry and the Tupolev aircraft maker have signed a contract on the development of a new-generation strategic bomber, the company's general director said on Wednesday.
"We signed a contract this year on research and development of a future strategic bomber for the Russian strategic aviation.
It will be a conceptually new plane based on the most advanced technologies," Igor Shevchuk said at the MAKS-2009 air show near Moscow.
Russia will fulfill a contract on the delivery of eight Su-30MK2 fighters to Vietnam in 2010, state arms exporter Rosoboronexport said on Wednesday according to RIA Novosti.
Russia and Vietnam signed a of $500 million agreement on the sale of eight Su-30MK2 fighters in January 2009.
"The contract was signed in January, and we will fulfill it in 2009-2010," Alexander Mikheyev, deputy general director of Rosoboronexport said at the MAKS-2009 air show near Moscow.
In Maryland, USA, the Naval Air Systems Command is preparing to test biofuels in an F/A-18 Super Hornet by next summer.
The Navy has issued an RFP for JP-5 jet fuel made from biomass, and has stipulated that it be made from non-food feedstocks, pointing the RFP towards algae, jatropha and camelina.
The initial RFP is for 40,000 gallons of fuel and will commence with ground tests in December or January on the Super Hornet’s F414 engine, followed by flight tests.
The U.S. military said on Wednesday it would be deploying unmanned reconnaissance aircraft in the skies above the Seychelles archipelago to bolster anti-piracy patrols.
Maritime security groups warned in May of an increase in the number of pirate "mother ships" operating in Seychellois waters.
Piracy has increased off the Somali coast, where sea gangs defy foreign navies monitoring the vast shipping lanes linking Asia and Europe, although monsoon rains have caused a lull in attacks.
India's second indigenous nuclear-powered submarine will be ready soon and will take less time from launch to induction than the first one, says a retired Indian Navy officer who was associated with the top secret project since its inception.
"The second one will be ready and will take lesser time," Vice-Admiral (retd) Mihir K. Roy said.
Roy, who is now 84, was the first head of the Advanced Technology Vessel (ATV) that was launched in 1984 and guided it during its first four years.
Lockheed Martin Corp said it has invested tens of millions of dollars to improve the reliability of its troubled JASSM cruise missile ahead of tests that could make or break the future of the $6 billion program.
Christopher Kubasik, who runs the Lockheed sector that includes missile programs, told Reuters the company had "made a significant financial contribution to increase the reliability of this program."
He gave no specific sum but said the numbers were in the tens of millions of dollars.
Army’s long-pending case for new air defence weapons to protect its tanks and troops as well as ‘‘vital areas and installations’’ from aerial threats has finally got a boost, with the the defence ministry giving the green signal for the various projects.
With the indigenous Akash and Trishul air defence projects not meeting its ‘‘user-requirements’’, the Army for instance is now on course to procure three regiments of quick-reaction surface-to-air missile (QR-SAM) systems from Israel for around Rs 4,000 crore.
The Defence Acquisitions Council, chaired by defence minister A K Antony, discussed the entire matter on Monday.
The Russian Defense Ministry and the Sukhoi aircraft maker signed on Tuesday a contract on the delivery of 64 Su fighters to the Russian Air Force.
The contract, signed during the MAKS-2009 air show in Zhukovsky near Moscow, stipulates the delivery of 48 Su-35 by 2015, and 12 Su-27SM and four Su-30M2 multirole fighters by 2011.
The value of the contract was not disclosed, but according to open sources, the cost of a Su-35 fighter, billed as "4++ generation using fifth-generation technology," is estimated at up to $65 million.
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev promised President Shimon Peres Tuesday that Russia will review a decision to sell Iran S-300 anti-aircraft missiles.
Peres told his Russian counterpart that a Iranian nuclear weapon would be a "flying death camp." The two leaders met in the Russian president's summer residence in the Black Sea town of Sochi.
Peres had also asked Medvedev to assist in the release of kidnapped soldier Gilad Shalit by pressuring Syrian and Hamas leadership in Damascus.
This site contains copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner.
The material is being made available in an effort to advance understanding arms trade activities, for non-profit research and educational purposes only.
I believe this constitutes a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law.
If you wish to use this copyrighted material for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use,' you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.
This is a completely non-commercial site for private personal use. No fee is charged, and no money is made off of the operation of this site.
Raytheon Company's Standard Missile-6 has completed tests which validate the extended-range anti-air warfare missile's airframe and autopilot performance. 
.jpg "First look at the new high tech Navy submarine that will bear the name of the state of Missouri")
