Pakistan receives three US F-16 aircraft

Pakistan Saturday received three new F-16 aircraft from the US as part of 18 such fighter jets scheduled to reach the country by December.

The jets landed at the Shahbaz Airbase of Pakistan Air Force (PAF) in southwestern Jacobabad city, media reports said.

It was initially reported that five F-16s will reach Pakistan in this consignment but only three arrived Saturday.

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French carrier returns to sea after repairs

France's only aircraft carrier returned to sea Saturday after repairs that forced it to return to port only a day after it set off to fight piracy in the Indian Ocean and support NATO's Afghan mission, the navy said Saturday.

The nuclear-powered Charles de Gaulle had turned back to its home port of Toulon on October 13 after a malfunction of a safety valve caused an electrical fault.

The navy said at the time it would take "several weeks" to replace the valve.

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Iran sends new mission to fight piracy

Iran has sent a new fleet of vessels to the Gulf of Aden to protect its merchant vessels and oil tankers from Somali pirates, an Iranian naval official says.

This is Iran's tenth dispatch to the piracy-infested waters, the official said on Saturday.

In line with international efforts against piracy, the Iranian Navy has been conducting anti-piracy patrols in the Gulf of Aden since November 2008 to safeguard maritime trade and in particular ships and oil tankers owned or leased by Iran.

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Vietnam to Become Biggest Buyer of Russian Weapons in Southeast Asia

The great potential for Russian-Vietnamese military technical cooperation would make Vietnam the Number One buyer of Russian weapons in Southeast Asia during the next few years, said a Russian military official Saturday.

"The volume of the weapon contracts between the two countries in recent years suggests that Vietnam could become Russia's No.1 partner of military technical cooperation," the unnamed military source was cited by the Interfax news agency as saying.

The official recalled that Russia and Vietnam signed an inter-governmental memorandum on military cooperation in October 2008, when their weaponry trade exceeded one billion U.S. dollars that year.

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Indian navy to buy anti-submarine bombs for aviation fleet

To strengthen its anti-submarine warfare capability, the Navy will soon buy bombs that can be air-dropped to hit enemy vessels lurking in the dark underwaters.

The Defence Ministry has issued a request to original equipment manufacturers and vendors for information on such bombs, which could be USED by Navy's fixed-wing aircraft.

"The Defence Ministry intends to procure air-dropped underwater bombs for fixed wing aircraft (in service), to be used as an urgent attack weapon against submarines," a Navy officer said here.

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U.S. wants own aircraft carrier in the Thames Estuary during Olympics

The White House has offered to send a U.S. aircraft carrier to be stationed off the British coast and boost security during the London Olympics, Ministry of Defence sources claimed last night.

The suggestion is said to have been rejected by No10 because it would make the UK look ‘weak’. And last night Downing Street was silent on the claim.

But a well-placed source, with knowledge of international discussions about security for the 2012 Games, said the MoD had been offered a U.S. carrier, based in the Thames Estuary, to help defend the skies over London and eavesdrop on any terrorist ‘chatter’.

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Turkey's relationship with west on the line in European missile defence negotiations

Turkey's government has been told that its relationship with the West could be seriously damaged if it rejects Nato's request to house part of a £165 million ballistic missile-defence shield that is being built to protect Europe from nuclear attack.

Hillary Clinton, the US secretary of state and Robert Gates, the US secretary of defence, have held out the warning in behind-the-scenes talks with Turkish officials ahead of a Nato summit to be held in Lisbon on November 19, where a final decision is expected to be made on the missile-defence plan.

"Essentially we've told Turkey that missile-defence is an acid test of its commitment to the collective security arrangements it has with its western allies," a senior US official told The Daily Telegraph.

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USS Pasadena to get overhaul at shipyard next year

The workload at the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard continues to be steady with the announcement that another U.S. Navy submarine will be headed to the facility to be overhauled next year.

U.S. Senators Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins of Maine have announced that the USS Pasadena (SSN 752) will be moved from its homeport in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, to the Kittery shipyard for an engineered overhaul expected to begin in October of 2011.

Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard in Hawaii has the capability to provide maintenance on submarines, but shipyard officials said the USS Pasadena's overhaul in Kittery comes as a result of the Navy's continuous efforts to balance workloads across its industrial base.

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U.S. Air Force Nears UH-60 Deal With Army

The U.S. Air Force is close to finalizing a sole-source deal to buy up to 93 UH-60M Black Hawk helicopters from the U.S. Army, according to defense industry sources.

Air Force officials launched the effort to replace the service's Vietnam War-vintage UH-1N Hueys with commercially available helicopters last year.

From the beginning, the Air Force said it would make performance tradeoffs to keep costs down for what is called the Common Vertical Lift Support Platform.

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Carrier costs 'to rise by £500m'

The overall cost of completing the two Queen Elizabeth class aircraft carriers is to rise by at least £500m due to the installation of catapult and arrestor equipment and changes to the flight deck, according to Defence Secretary Liam Fox

Fox said that estimates of the cost of the changes were "ranging upwards from £500m".

HMS Queen Elizabeth, the first of the two carriers, had been due to launch in 2016, but the Strategic Defence and Security Review (SDSR) set out plans to delay the introduction of the carrier until 2020 and to include the 'cat and trap' system on the flight deck.

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Nishant UAV successfully tests breakthrough SHM technology

The DRDO has successfully test flown the indigenous Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) Nishant, which was used to try out the breakthrough technology of monitoring the UAV's health in-flight.

The trial was held yesterday at the Kolar airfield by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), the country's premier defence R&D agency.

The DRDO said in a press note here that the Aeronautical Development Establishment (ADE), a laboratory under it, had used the Structural Health Monitoring (SHM) technology developed by it along with the National Aerospace Laboratories (NAL), a CSIR establishment.

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UK and France to sign formal defence treaty

David Cameron and French President Nicolas Sarkozy will next week sign a formal defence treaty between Britain and France that ensures a new drive for military co-operation between the two nations cannot be reversed by their successors.

As the two leaders prepare for the most important declaration of Franco-British defence co-operation in more than a decade, a deal to co-ordinate deployments of the countries’ aircraft carriers and ground troops looks set to be the centrepiece of their summit in London.

The Financial Times has learnt that both leaders want to shore up plans for co-operation across all three military services by signing a formal defence treaty, which will need ratification by the French National Assembly and possibly by British MPs.

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Russian Navy launches top frigate

The first Russian ocean-going navy frigate to be built since the fall of the USSR was launched on Friday.

The building of Admiral Gorshkov began in 2006, in St. Petersburg.

The Russian Navy expects the vessel to be in service next year, Itar-Tass news agency reports.

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Russian govt. to decide on Bulava missile's fate

The decision to put Russia's Bulava submarine-launched ballistic missile into service will be made by the country's leadership and only after the test program is complete, a government source said on Friday.

"After the three test launches planned for 2010, another series of tests will follow in the first half of 2011. A decision on the fate of the missile will only be made after that," the source said.

"The final decision on putting the missile into service will be made by the country's leadership, based on a report by the defense minister," the source added.

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Navy Awards Northrop Grumman $48 Million Advance Procurement Contract for Multi-Purpose Amphibious Assault Ship LHA 7

The U.S. Navy has awarded a $48 million cost-plus fixed-fee contract modification to Northrop Grumman Corporation for advance procurement of long-lead materials and performance of engineering/planning efforts for LHA 7, the second in the Navy's newest class of large-deck amphibious assault ships.

The first ship, America (LHA 6) is being built in Pascagoula and is currently 33 percent complete.

With this award, Northrop Grumman will provide additional engineering, planning and technical support for the current contract.

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Northrop Navy Ships `Not Survivable' in Combat, Official Says

Northrop Grumman Corp.’s $1.68 billion amphibious warship, designed to transport Marines close to shore, wouldn’t be effective in combat and couldn’t operate reliably after being hit by enemy fire, according to the Department of Defense’s top testing official.

The San Antonio-class vessel’s critical systems, such as electrical distribution, ship-wide fiber optics and voice- communications networks, aren’t reliable, according to Michael Gilmore, the Defense Department’s director of operational test and evaluation.

The ship’s armaments can’t effectively defend against the most modern anti-ship weapons, Gilmore said.

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Egypt orders three Airbus Military C295 aircraft

The Egyptian Air Force (EAF) signed a contract with Airbus Military for the acquisition of three C295 aircraft.

The aircraft are to be delivered from 2011 and will be used to increase the Egyptian Air Force's capacity in tactical and logistic transport.

The Egyptian Air Force herewith becomes a new Airbus Military customer.

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Japan carries out successful missile-defense test

A Japanese destroyer thwarted a simulated missile attack against Japan on Thursday – practice for the real-world threat posed by North Korea.

From its position off the coast of Hawaii, the JS Kirishima intercepted the target missile 100 miles over the Pacific Ocean, according to the Missile Defense Agency.

The test illustrated the effectiveness of the U.S.-Japan missile defense system, established in the wake of North Korea’s 1998 Taepodong-1 ballistic missile test.

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Netherlands Government Enters into Underwater Defence Co-Operation Program With Ultra Electronics Maritime Systems

Ultra Electronics announced that its Maritime Systems division in Nova Scotia, Canada has entered into an Underwater Defence Co-operation Program with the Netherlands' Defence Material Organisation (DMO).

The Co-operation Program was signed by Rear Admiral Klaas Visser, Deputy Director and Director of Weapon Systems of the DMO and by Mr. James Hanlon, President of Maritime Systems, at a ceremony held at the Canadian Embassy in The Hague.

The Co-operation Program is the culmination of a series of contracts between the Netherlands and Maritime Systems, the most recent of which was a $25 M (CDN) contract awarded to Ultra in July to supply low frequency active-passive sonar subsystems for DMO's Multistatic Active Passive Sonar (MAPS) project.

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Bulgaria lifts women in submarines ban -- but too late

Bulgaria's defence ministry on Thursday lifted a ban on women serving aboard submarines just as parliament decided to mothball the country's only submarine.

"There is no such ban anymore," Defence Minister Anyu Angelov told journalists, adding that women would be free to apply for jobs on submarines and in the national guard -- which was also banned previously -- as early as next month.

In effect, however, women wishing to serve on submarines will have no such opportunity, as parliament on Thursday also passed a plan to reform the armed forces that involved mothballing the nation's lone sub.

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Russian arms firm denies Yakhont missile deliveries contract

Russian state arm company Rosoboronexport says it has no contracts for delivery of P-800 Yakhont (SS-N-26) anti-ship cruise missiles or the associated Bastion missile system, the firm's general director Anatoly Isaikin said on Thursday.

"Rosoboronexport does not have delivery contracts for Yakhont missiles or Bastion," Isaikin said.

"Rosoboronexport delivers arms in compliance with international norms without upsetting regional balances of power, and does not permit the illegal proliferation of arms...or allow them to fall into the hands of terrorists or abhorrent totalitarian regimes," he said.

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US Investigates Nuclear Missile Incident

The U.S. military is looking into an incident on Saturday in which it lost communications with 50 long-range nuclear-armed missiles based in the northern United States.



The U.S. Air Force's new Global Strike Command lost communications with the missiles for about 45 minutes, and says it immediately dispatched troops to inspect the sites.

The check determined there was no damage and no evidence of sabotage.

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Future of Greek shipyard secured

The contracts for implementing the framework agreement signed by the Greek government, ThyssenKrupp and the Abu Dhabi MAR group on 30 September come into effect today, 27 October.

The contracts form the basis for the transfer of a 75.1% interest in the Greek shipyard of Hellenic Shipyards to the Abu Dhabi MAR group, acceptance of the submarines built to date and the purchase of two further class 214 submarines as part of the existing Neptune II program (instead of the modernization of two class 209 submarines).

This ends the dispute with the Greek government over acceptance of the HS Papanikolis class 214 submarine which has been running since 2006.

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Russian ICBM «Topol» Launch Test Successful. 29 Oct 2010

29 Oct 2010 Flight test.
Russia has successfully tested an intercontinental ballistic missile ICBM RS-12M «Topol» by polygon «Kura» in Kamchatka. The country's Defence Ministry has reported that it hit the target on the testing ground in the far eastern region of Kamchatka.
The ICBM «Topol» the weapon is capable of bypassing the most advanced missile defence systems.

Source

Russia carries out successful tests of two SLBMs

Russia successfully tested two ballistic missiles in separate launches from nuclear submarines in the Barents Sea and the Pacific Ocean on Thursday, a Defense Ministry source said.

The official said a Sineva ballistic missile was launched at 2:30 p.m. Moscow time (10:30 GMT) from the Bryansk (Delta IV class) strategic submarine in the Barents Sea and hit its designated target on the Kura test range in Russia's Far East Kamchatka region.

A SS-N-18 Stingray ballistic missile was launched at the same time from the Svyatoy Georgiy Pobedonosets (Delta III class) strategic submarine in the Sea of Okhotsk and hit its designated target on the Chizha testing site in the White Sea.

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Jordan Snapping Up AH-6s

Boeing officials revealed today that they expect to sign a contract with Jordan for 18 to 24 of its new AH-6 light attack choppers by the end of the year while another 36 of the birds are set to go to Saudi Arabia as apart of the $60 billion arms deal recently penned with the United States.

Jordan has been testing the new chopper for nearly a year now, both in the desert Kingdom and in the Southwestern U.S., and in May it signed a letter of intent to buy the aircraft,Mike Burke, Boeing’s chief of business development for Army rotorcraft said today at the Association of the United States Army’s annual conference in Washington.

The company plans to have its Mesa, Ariz., production line ready to produce the choppers for Jordan soon after the new year with first deliveries expected about 24 months later, according to Burke.

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U.S. Army Deploys First Lockheed Martin EQ-36 Counterfire Target Acquisition Radars in Theater

The U.S. Army recently deployed the first Lockheed Martin Enhanced AN/TPQ-36 (EQ-36) counterfire target acquisition radar systems in Iraq and Afghanistan.

A new advanced radar for the Army, EQ-36 systems have the ability to detect, classify, track and locate enemy indirect fire such as mortars, artillery and rockets in either 360- or 90-degree modes.

The new systems will supplement and eventually replace legacy AN/TPQ-36 and AN/TPQ-37 medium-range radars now in the Army’s inventory.

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Russian arms exporter denies MiG-31 fighter contract with Syria

Russia does not have a contract to supply MiG-31 Foxhound fighter jets to Syria, the head of the Russian state-run arms exporter Rosoboronexport said on Wednesday.

Media rumors about the sales of at least six MiG-31 aircraft to Damascus under a 2007 contract sparked criticism in the West and Israel, which consider arming Syria a threat to regional security.

"The existence of a contract on the delivery of MiG-31 interceptors to Syria is a journalistic hoax," Rosoboronexport General Director Anatoly Isaykin told reporters at the Euronaval 2010 exhibition in Paris.

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Ignatieff says Liberals would scrap F-35 purchase

government wouldn't follow through on the F-35 fighter jet deal, party leader Michael Ignatieff vowed for the first time Wednesday as he pushed the Conservative government to withdraw from the $16-billion procurement process now underway for 65 of the planes.

Ignatieff said his party decided to take the position in the wake of Tuesday's report from Auditor General Sheila Fraser, in which she highlighted "troubling" cost overruns and delivery delays for the government's purchase of two new helicopter fleets and she warned about similar risks with the F-35 agreement.

"The auditor general's report on the helicopters is a wake-up call for Parliament and Canadians," Ignatieff said.

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Russia, India to begin design of 5G-fighter in December

Russia is planning to sign in December an agreement with India on the preliminary design of a joint fifth-generation fighter aircraft, a senior Russian aircraft industry official said on Wednesday.

Russian Sukhoi holding and Indian Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) agreed in early 2010 to jointly develop a fifth-generation fighter jet, tentatively dubbed PAK FA.

"An agreement with India on the pre-design of the PAK FA will be signed in December," said Alexei Fyodorov, head of Russia's United Aircraft Corporation.

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Navy to get amphibious dock ship USS Arlington

The Navy's new amphibious transport dock ship will be based at the Norfolk Navy base.

USS Arlington is scheduled to be delivered to the Navy in December 2011. It will be the eighth in the San Antonio class of ships, a group that ultimately will replace 27 ships from three amphibious-ship classes now in service.

U.S. Senator Jim Webb (D-VA) said the decision announced Tuesday reinforces the strategic importance of Norfolk and affirms its place as the preeminent Navy town on the East Coast.

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Anglo-French armed forces plan greater military co-operation

Britain and France are putting the finishing touches to plans for unprecedented co-operation on defence across all three branches of the armed forces, ranging from military operations to simulated nuclear tests.

What is described as a "whole package" of measures, including a major army exercise in Flanders, will be unveiled at a summit meeting between David Cameron and France's president Nicolas Sarkozy in London on 2 November, top officials say.

The two countries account for what one senior diplomat called a "critical mass" of Europe's military capabilities, including 45% of all EU military spending, half the total number of armed forces, and 70% of military research and development in the EU.

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Iran to stage military drill in Nov.

The Iranian Army and Iran's Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) will stage a joint massive military drill in November to demonstrate the country's defensive capabilities.

The drill will be held across the country in four phases and Iran's Armed Forced, including the army and the IRGS, will take part in the maneuver, Mehr news agency reported on Wednesday.

In the massive air, land and sea exercise, various defensive equipment including tanks, personnel carriers, ballistic missiles and vessels will be put on display, the report added.

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Japan, US set for joint missile-defense test

A Japanese naval destroyer fitted with a Lockheed Martin Corp Aegis ballistic missile defense system is set to carry out a flight-intercept test Thursday in cooperation with U.S. forces, the Pentagon's Missile Defense Agency said.

The test, in Hawaiian waters, will focus attention on growing U.S. missile-defense cooperation with Japan even as Washington urges its NATO allies to join in a NATO-wide shield prompted largely by concerns over Iran.

Missile defense is a multibillion-dollar business for Pentagon contractors such as Lockheed Martin, Boeing Co, Northrop Grumman Corp, Raytheon Co and Orbital Sciences Corp.

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Canada's auditor general blasts military helicopter purchase

Canada's auditor general on Tuesday raised concerns over an unprecedented renewal of the nation's military, pointing to "troubling" delays and cost overruns in the procurement of army helicopters.

The government has earmarked tens of billions of dollars in recent budgets for new fighter jets, navy frigates and other military equipment.

Auditor General Sheila Fraser in her report looked at the military's latest 11 billion-dollar purchase of 15 CH-147 Chinook medium to heavy-lift and 28 CH-148 Cyclone maritime helicopters.

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Turkey in Dilemma Over NATO Shield

Turkey's top security body is set to discuss Wednesday whether to back a U.S.-led plan to build a missile-defense shield against rogue states—a moment that could force Ankara to choose between its longstanding westward orientation and its recent courtship of Iran.

The National Security Council, which consists of top military commanders and political leaders, is expected to debate the North Atlantic Treaty Organization's proposal for a defense shield largely built and funded by the U.S.

A senior Turkish diplomat said Ankara will have to decide its position before next month's summit of the 28-nation alliance in Lisbon, Portugal, where Turkey and other NATO members are due to decide whether to go ahead with the plan.

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Major ICBM drill over the Arctic

Russia prepares to test launch several intercontinental ballistic missiles over the Arctic the next couple of days.

On Thursday the Russian navy will launch intercontinental missiles of the Sineva class from nuclear submarines in the Arctic Ocean and the Pacific, a military source told Interfax. At the same time there will be launches from strategic missile complexes based on land.

According to the source, the U.S. has been informed about the test launches, in accordance with existing agreements.

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Nuclear Missiles Go Offline after Computer Error

A series of computer errors at an Air Force base in Wyoming Saturday took 50 nuclear intercontinental ballistic missiles -- one-ninth of the U.S. missile stockpile -- offline for about an hour, CBS News chief political consultant Marc Ambinder reports.

Engineers believe that the outage at F.E. Warren Air Force Base was caused by a hardware failure in a launch control computer rather than a power failure as had been previously reported, according to a defense official with knowledge of the situation.

Adm. Mike Mullen, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, was immediately briefed about the incident Saturday. He in turn told Defense Secretary Robert Gates. President Obama was briefed Tuesday morning.

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Raytheon-Boeing Team Completes JAGM Launcher, Missiles Flight Testing on Super Hornet

Raytheon Company and The Boeing Company completed flight testing of the Joint Air-to-Ground Missile's fixed-wing launcher and Instrumented Measurement Vehicle on the Boeing F/A-18 E/F Super Hornet fighter aircraft.

An IMV is the same size, shape and mass as an all-up JAGM round, and it contains equipment that evaluates JAGM's performance during a mission.

The flight tests are a crucial first step toward qualifying JAGM for Super Hornet employment.

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Northrop Grumman Introduces New Coherent Doppler Radar System for Patrol Vessels and Small Combatants

Northrop Grumman Corporation today announced the introduction of a new family of X-Band Coherent Radar (XBCR) systems designed primarily for offshore patrol vessels (OPV) and other smaller combat ship platforms.

The SeaGuard XBCR systems are being developed by Northrop Grumman's Sperry Marine business unit, in cooperation with Australian company CEA Technologies Pty Limited, and are expected to be available for deliveries in early 2012.

The system's Doppler signal processing enables detection of aircraft and helicopters at ranges of 20 nautical miles over sea or land at altitudes up to 6,000 feet, as well as high- and slow-speed surface targets such as rigid-hull inflatables or periscopes.

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Russia announces tender for purchase of helicopter carriers

The Russian Defense Ministry has announced a tender for the purchase of amphibious assault ships for the Russian Navy, a deputy defense minister said on Tuesday.

"We have just announced a tender on the purchase of two vessels and on the transfer of technology for future deliveries," Vladimir Popovkin said at the Euronaval 2010 exhibition, which opened on Monday in Paris.

Popovkin said the tender was not public, and he was unable to reveal details.

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First Deliveries of Israel Aerospace Industries' Multi Function Surveillance & Threat Alert Radar to a foreign customer

Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) delivered it’s first multi function surveillance and threat alert radar (MF- STAR) to a foreign customer.

IAI will display a 1:2 scale MF- STAR model at the 22nd International Naval Defense & Maritime Exhibition and Conference, EURONAVAL 2010, October 25 to October 29, 2010 in Paris, France (Booth C24).

The MF- STAR is an advanced all-weather, day/night radar capable of performing various missions simultaneously such as multiple target tracking and identification, defense munitions guidance, and more. It provides a 360° defense against a wide variety of airborne platforms and munitions.

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Gripen won't be grounded: Sisulu

The defence force will find the money within its shrunken budget to keep South Africa's fleet of new Gripen fighter jets flying, Defence minister Lindiwe Sisulu says.

Sisulu said a warning in the department's annual report that the aircraft, which cost some R19.9 billion, risked being mothballed was based on a worst-case scenario if the military failed to secure extra money from Treasury, the South African Press Association reported.

"This is in its starkest form what our analysts told us if would happen if we do not have the money that was asked for," Sisulu told a media briefing in Cape Town.

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Next Bulava missile launch scheduled for Oct. 29

The 14th test-launch of the Bulava intercontinental ballistic missile is scheduled for Oct. 29, official from test flight commission said on Tuesday.

The Bulava missile, a three-stage, liquid and solid-propellant, submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM), was designated for the fourth generation submarines of Project 955 Borei. However, it has officially suffered seven failures in 13 test launches.

"Three Bulava tests were planned for late 2010. The three missiles were manufactured under strict technological control which yielded positive results," the Itar-tass news agency quoted the source as saying.

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Lockheed Provides Saudis Info on LCS

Lockheed Martin has supplied price and availability information on its version of the littoral combat ship (LCS) to Saudi Arabia, which is looking to buy eight modern frigate-sized warships, a senior executive said Oct. 26.

Saudi Arabia is one of the "bright opportunities," along with the Asia/Pacific region, as foreign navies look to upgrade capabilities despite the downturn in defense spending, Orlando Carvalho, president, Lockheed Mission Systems & Sensors, told journalists on the sidelines of the Euronaval trade show.

The information is "one of the first steps in the FMS" (Foreign Military Sales) procedure overseen by the pentagon, under which the U.S. Navy and the Saudi Navy are in talks on acquiring the ships.

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Sagem to provide detection systems for Brazilian submarines

Defence company Sagem of the Safran group has been awarded a contract by French shipbuilder DCNS to develop air-surface detection systems which will be installed on four conventional submarines being built for the Brazilian Navy.

Under the contract, Sagem will supply three kinds of instruments for each submarine.

They would include the Series 30 SMS (1) multi-sensor tracking optronics mast, with a wide-array infrared imager and high-definition colour camera; Series 20 APS (2) attack periscope, also incorporating a high-definition colour camera and Series 10 CSR (3) navigation radar mast.

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SIS Wins DARPA Contract for Autonomous Anti-Submarine Tracking

Spatial Integrated Systems, Inc. (SIS) announced that it has won a major proof-of-concept contract from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) in response to its recent solicitation for the Anti-Submarine Warfare Continuous Trail Unmanned Vessel (ACTUV) program.

The award builds on SIS's successful development to date of an autonomous maritime navigation and control system in partnership with NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (NASA JPL) and Naval Surface Warfare Center, Carderock Division (NSWCCD).

"This is a significant milestone in the evolution of SIS's maritime unmanned surface vessel capabilities," said Rick Simon, director of SIS's Autonomous Maritime Navigation (AMN) program.

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First S-70i™ Black Hawk Helicopter Completes Test Flight Program

The first S-70i™ Black Hawk helicopter has successfully completed production flight testing and will begin development and flight testing of options that will be made available to international customers.

Sikorsky Aircraft is a subsidiary of United Technologies Corp.

The aircraft has flown more than 50 hours in its production flight test program. It will undergo extensive flight testing in the coming months as options are integrated into the aircraft.

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Underwater Test for MBDA's Scalp Booster Missile

MBDA in September conducted a first underwater ignition of the booster for the submarine version of the Scalp Naval cruise missile, in preparation for a full test-fire launch in 2011, the European missile company said Oct. 25.

"The underwater test, which set the booster in operation for several seconds, was carried out at a significant depth in a Norwegian fjord using an instrumented model of a Scalp Naval rear section secured in a submerged structure," the company said in a statement released at the Euronaval trade show.

The ignition of the booster was intended to prepare for a full test-fire launch of the missile from a submarine, a company spokesman said.

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Dutch MPs want to buy fewer JSFs

MPs from across the political spectrum want to reduce the number of JSF fighter jets the Netherlands is planning to buy to below the 85 on the provisional order books, the Telegraaf reports on Monday.

The need to make government spending cuts and the rising cost of the aircraft are forcing a rethink, the paper says.

Labour, the Socialists, left-wing greens GroenLinks and anti-Islam PVV all want the total number reduced or the order scrapped altogether, while the Christian Democrats say the figure of 85 is no longer set in stone.

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U.S. Army Completes Type Classification of Raytheon's Excalibur Ia-2 Round

The U.S. Army completed the M982 type classification of Raytheon Company's Excalibur Block Ia-2.

By designating Excalibur Block Ia-2 the M982, the U.S. Army is accepting Excalibur Ia-2 for service use and taking the next step toward production and deployment.

Excalibur Ia-2 enhances Excalibur Ia-1 by increasing the range from 23 to 40 km (14.3 to 25.9 statute miles) when fired from U.S. howitzers.

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Boeing Receives US Army Contract for Low Rate Initial Production of AH-64D Apache Block III

The Boeing Company today announced it has received a $247 million contract to begin Low Rate Initial Production (LRIP) for the U.S. Army’s AH-64D Apache Block III helicopter, the most advanced multi-role combat helicopter in the world.

The contract, signed by the U.S. government on Oct. 22, covers production of eight Apache Block III helicopters in the Lot 1 configuration.

An Acquisition Decision Memorandum signed by the Department of Defense on Oct. 7 authorized the program to enter the LRIP phase to produce 51 aircraft.

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Lockheed Martin Delivers First MEADS Intra-Fire Unit Communications Hardware

Lockheed Martin recently delivered the first two intra-fire unit communications hardware components for the tri-national Medium Extended Air Defense System (MEADS).

The two Message Routing Subsystem units are essential elements of the MEADS Internal Communications Subsystem (MICS) hardware, which will support the system-level integration and test of intra-fire unit communications for the air and missile defense system.

MICS provides secure tactical communications between the MEADS major end items (consisting of the launcher, surveillance radar and multifunction fire control radar) across a high-speed network.

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Funds pinch may ground SA’s R10bn Gripen fleet

SA’s R10bn fleet of Gripen jet fighters may soon be mothballed unless funds can be found to keep them flying, warns the Department of Defence’s annual report.

The move could leave the country without an air defence capability and raises more uncomfortable questions about the legacy of the multibillion-rand arms deal.

The mothballing could also compromise SA’s defence commitments to the United Nations (UN) and African Union (AU).

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US to hand over first C-130J plane to India in December

The US will hand over the first of the six C-130Js ordered by India to its Air Force in December and it is expected to reach its base near here by February next year.

The C-130J made for India by American aerospace major Lockheed Martin at its Marietta facility had recently carried out its first flight successfully after it was painted in IAF colours.

"The first of the six C-130Js ordered by India will be handed over in December this year in Georgia and it will reach its Indian base by February next year," American government officials told reporters here ahead of their President Barack Obama's visit here beginning November six.

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US to build £8bn super base on Pacific island of Guam

Andersen Air Force Base in Guam
The US is building an £8 billion super military base on the Pacific island of Guam in an attempt to contain China's military build-up.

The expansion will include a dock for a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, a missile defence system, live-fire training sites and the expansion of the island's airbase.

It will be the largest investment in a military base in the western Pacific since the Second World War, and the biggest spend on naval infrastructure in decades.

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Russia's new-generation frigate to be floated out on Friday

The Admiral Sergei Gorshkov frigate will be floated out on Friday, a Russian Navy spokesman said.

"It is planned that the sea trials of the ship constructed using the latest methods in shipbuilding will begin in 2011," the spokesman said.

The warship is part of an upgrade program of Russia's Black Sea Fleet.

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Repair bill will run into millions as nuclear submarine returns to base

Britain’s most advanced nuclear-powered submarine has returned to base after running aground off the Scottish coast, as the MoD faces a repair bill expected to run into millions.

It was confirmed the MoD would carry out a “full and thorough” investigation into what happened to HMS Astute, which made its way back to the Faslane base on the Clyde.

The £1 billion vessel, which will have its hull and rudder checked for damage, was being put through sea trials on Friday in a channel between Skye and Kyle of Lochalsh when it became stuck.

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Poland tries to annul Norwegian missile

Following cuts in expenditure and quality concerns, Poland’s Defense Ministry is trying to annul a contract for the purchase of anti-ship and land attack missiles from Norway’s Kongsberg Defence and Aerospace company.

In December 2008, Poland’s Defence Ministry signed a contract for 12 Naval Strike Missiles (NSM) plus additional equipment including missiles launchers, transport and communication vehicles.

The contract was worth 430 million zloty (109 million euro).

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We can't afford another Collins-class debacle

The failure to correctly build the central keel block on Australia's first air warfare destroyer in Melbourne is a dismal start to the nation's largest defence project.

It is also a wake-up call to the defence industry here.

If local naval shipbuilders have trouble constructing three AWDs, based on a tested Spanish design, what hope will they have of carrying out the government's plan to build 12 new submarines here virtually from scratch?

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U.S. Navy Completes First Test of New Warhead for Tomahawk Block IV Missile

The U.S. Navy completed the first live test of the Joint Multi-Effects Warhead System (JMEWS), meeting all performance objectives for the new warhead for the Tomahawk Block IV tactical cruise missile.

The JMEWS program is designed to deliver a warhead that will give the Tactical Tomahawk Land-Attack Missile all of the same blast-fragmentation capabilities that make it a formidable weapon today and to introduce enhanced penetration capabilities into a single warhead.

"This static test of the JMEWS program brings this powerful capability one step closer to potential integration into the Tactical Tomahawk Block IV missile, delivering enhanced capabilities to the operationally proven system," said Captain Dave Davison, the U.S. Navy's program manager for the Tomahawk Weapon System. "This first test demonstrates that the program is on schedule and moving forward as planned."

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German Committee Recommends Cutbacks in Defense Spending

As major European countries seek to cut military forces in response to the economic slowdown and pressure from finance officials to rein in spending, the Defense Ministry of Germany has been advised to cut its staff by half, close several army bases and slim the armed forces from 250,000 to 180,000.

The recommendations were announced Sunday by Frank-Jürgen Weise, the head of a special cross-party commission charged with restructuring Germany’s military.

Mr. Weise’s proposal is likely to bolster efforts by Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg, who was appointed defense minister just over a year ago, to transform the German military.

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Seoul says won’t join U.S. missile defense

The Ministry of National Defense said Saturday that it currently has no plan to join the U.S.-led Missile Defense system. But it said Seoul would seek to strengthen cooperation between the system and the Korea Air Missile Defense program to better deal with North Korean nuclear threats.

“South Korea and the U.S. will discuss intelligence sharing and operation of means regarding the missile defense system so as to protect the Korean Peninsula from the threats of North Korean nuclear weapons and its weapons of mass destruction at the Extended Deterrence Policy Committee,” said the ministry in a statement.

“This does not mean that we will join the MD (U.S. missile defense system). This means we will strengthen cooperation with the U.S. Forces Korea in the sharing of intelligence and operation of available assets to effectively respond to threats from North Korean ballistic missiles.”

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Russia ''not worried'' over India buying arms from US

Describing India as a "super power in the making", Russia today said it was "not worried" over Indian armed forces buying military equipment from the US and pledged its support to see the Asian giant "strong militarily" apart from economically.

Apart from expressing surprise over US sanctioning Pakistan with a USD 2-billion military aid just ahead of US President Barack Obama's visit to India in early November, Russia also promised that it would give the best military equipment it has to New Delhi."

We understand India is a super power in the making and India can choose which better equipment that suits her.

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Iran Develops New Missile System with Longer Range

The Iranian Defense Ministry announced on Saturday that it has succeeded in improving the range of its mid-range missile defense system named as 'Mersad'.

"The Mersad missile system is a highly important system and the range of its new generation will be more than the range of its current generation possessed by the Iranian Armed Forces," Defense Minister Brigadier General Ahmad Vahidi told FNA today.

Elaborating on the features of the missile system which is capable of destroying advanced airplanes in low and mid altitudes, Vahidi reiterated, "The new generation of Mersad system covers higher altitudes and hits more targets simultaneously."

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Raytheon Tests New Weapon Designed for Unmanned Aircraft Systems

Raytheon Company successfully flight tested Small Tactical Munition, a new weapon specifically designed to be employed from unmanned aircraft systems (UAS).

STM is a 13-pound guided bomb that is approximately 2-feet long, making it the smallest bomb in the Raytheon family of weapons.

The bomb's dual-mode, semiactive laser seeker and GPS-inertial navigation system enable the weapon to engage both fixed and moving targets around-the-clock, regardless of weather conditions.

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