USS Gravely brought to life at commissioning

After three years of building and testing, a week of celebrations and the largest commissioning ceremony a Navy destroyer has ever seen, the USS Gravely is ready for action.

It was a day rich with tradition, celebration and gratitude.

The ship's namesake Vice Adm. Samuel Lee Gravely was a man of many firsts.

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$3.5 Billion Full-Funding Contract Awarded For Fourth Lot Of Lockheed Martin F-35s

Lockheed Martin has received a $3.5 billion contract modification from the U.S. Department of Defense to manufacture 31 F-35 Lightning II stealth fighters in the fourth lot of low-rate initial production (LRIP).

The contract also funds manufacturing-support equipment, flight test instrumentation and ancillary mission equipment. Including the long-lead funding previously received, the total contract value for LRIP 4 is $3.9 billion.

Under the contract, Lockheed Martin will produce 10 F-35A conventional takeoff and landing (CTOL) variants for the U.S. Air Force, 16 F-35B short takeoff/vertical landing variants for the U.S. Marine Corps, four F-35C carrier variants for the U.S. Navy and one F-35B for the United Kingdom.

Additionally, the Netherlands has the option to procure one F-35A.

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Iconic Harrier jets' final farewell at Dunsfold

There were cheers but also tears during an historic event at Dunsfold Park on Thursday.

Not one but two Harrier GR9 jump jets paid a final visit to the airfield near Cranleigh, to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the pioneering aircraft’s first vertical take-off there.

The landmark event had added significance because it was also the last operational visit by the jump jet fighter to its original launch pad.

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NATO adopts new Strategic Concept

At their Summit meeting in Lisbon, NATO leaders adopted a new Strategic Concept that will serve as the Alliance's roadmap for the next ten years and that reconfirms the commitment to defend one another against attack as the bedrock of Euro-Atlantic security.

The document lays out NATO's vision for an evolving Alliance that will remain able to defend its members against modern threats and commits NATO to become more agile, more capable and more effective.

"NATO is an unparalleled community of freedom, peace, security and shared values," the Secretary General said. “But the world is changing. We face new threats and new challenges. And this Strategic Concept will ensure that NATO remains as effective as ever in defending our peace, our security and our prosperity."

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Russian MiG-31 fighter crashes in Urals, pilots eject

A Russian MiG-31 Foxhound interceptor/fighter crashed on Friday in the Perm region of the Urals, but the pilots ejected safely.

The Defense Ministry has grounded all MiG-31s following the crash.

A preliminary cause of the crash was that the plane went into a tailspin, a spokesman for the Investigative Committee's military department said.

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Pak to get six more F-16 aircraft from US today

Pakistan will get six more new F-16 C/D Block 52 aircraft from the United States on Saturday.

Sources revealed that these six F-16 aircraft would bring the number of such fighter aircraft in the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) to 12, Geo News reported.

Pakistan will get six more jets this year, after which the PAF would have a total of 18 such aircraft, the sources added.

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RAF Kinloss: Scrapped replacement for Nimrod 'largely completed'

Further questions have been raised about the government's decision to drop the new Nimrod planes after a minister admitted that all nine of them were largely completed.

In a written answer to Moray SNP MP Angus Robertson, defence minister Peter Luff said that one of the MR4A maritime reconnaissance aircraft was ready, three were more than 90 per cent complete and the other five were at least 40 per cent complete.

The cancellation of the project, which has already cost the UK £3 billion, sealed the fate of RAF Kinloss, which now can only survive as a potential army base for troops being withdrawn from Germany.

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UK eyes export market for Wildcat

The AW159 Lynx Wildcat is being actively promoted on the export market by the UK government, despite the aircraft still being several years away from entering service.

The agency charged with helping the UK defence industry sell its products overseas, the Defence and Security Organisation (DSO) within UK Trade and Investment (UKTI), is engaging with potential customers early about possible collaboration on the Wildcat programme.

‘It’s the whole model now for export. It’s now part of the MoD’s [Ministry of Defence’s] procurement process – a project won’t pass through unless it is shown that there is clear exportability,’ Cdr Mark Sheehan (Royal Navy), Naval Air Advisor to UKTI DSO, told Rotorhub.com during the Heli-Power 2010 conference in London on 18 November.

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No injuries after Canadian frigate collides with U.S. ship

A Canadian navy frigate was headed for a Florida port Friday to assess damage after it hit an American navy supply ship during a joint training exercise.

Canadian navy spokesman Maj. Paul Doucette said no one was injured when HMCS Fredericton and USNS Kanawha scraped during a routine manoeuvre east of Miami on Thursday night.

"They were just about to go into a replenishment at sea, which is basically where two ships come alongside and one is refuelled by the other," said Doucette.

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Nato to unveil new goals for austerity-hobbled alliance

Nato leaders meeting in Lisbon on Friday (19 November) and Saturday are to update the alliance's strategy to deal with modern threats and to massage ties with Russia, while trying to put a positive spin on the lack of resources for the military organisation in an era of austerity cuts.

Advertised by its secretary general as "one of the most important summits in Nato history," the two-day meeting aims to modernise a now 10-year-old 'strategic concept' to include new threats such as cyber attacks and ballistic missiles.

Agreement on a Nato-wide anti-missile shield is also expected, as well as friendly statements from Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, who will join Nato leaders on Saturday.

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Dutch defence minister says 10,000 job cuts planned by 2015

The Dutch defence minister says he plans 10,000 job cuts in the coming four years, or about one in seven military personnel.

The cuts stem from plans by the new Cabinet that took office in October to slash €18 billion ($24 billion) from the national budget by 2015.

Minister Hans Hillen says there is a fundamental disconnect between the defence budget and ambitions to participate in international peacekeeping missions.

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Timorese tweak Canberra with patrol boat buys

East Timor is acquiring two navy patrol boats from South Korea as the country moves further out of Australia's sphere of military influence.

The acquisition, which has not been publicly announced, comes after the country bought two 43-metre Chinese patrol boats, which strained relations between Australia and the government in Dili earlier this year.

East Timor's marine police unit is also moving to purchase nine smaller boats, adding to its fleet of three, the marine police commander, Lino Saldanha, told journalists in Dili.

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Israel worried over US defence sales to India

Israel is concerned over losing its largest defence market to close ally US, which has reached an understanding with India that could result in billions of dollars of American defence sales to New Delhi, a media report has said.

"(US President Barack) Obama is embracing the Indian Prime Minister and 40 to 50 billion USDs worth of deals are being wrapped up in one shot," Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) President Itzhak Nissan told Middle East Newsline adding, "We don't have such personalities."

Israeli officials said the Defence Ministry and major companies have been closely monitoring the US marketing drive in India.

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Aircraft carrier plan shows China naval ambitions

The new generation of combat aircraft China proudly showed off at the Zhuhai Air Show in the country's south this week could soon be taking off from a prestigious runway: an aircraft carrier.

Beijing has become increasingly assertive in its ambitions on the high seas -- as demonstrated by recent tensions with old rival Japan -- but still lacks this naval centrepiece.

This looks set to change.

Although it has not officially announced as much, China is working on a carrier and Western experts believe it could be launched as early as next year, though not in a fully operational state.

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IMTECH : 28 million euro orders for Dutch and Belgian naval ships

Imtech (technical services provider in Europe and on the global marine market) has received new orders for new and existing ships from the Royal Netherlands and Belgian navies worth over 28 million euro.

Damen Schelde Naval Shipbuilding (Vlissingen, the Netherlands), builder of the new logistic support ship `Karel Doorman` of the Royal Netherlands Navy, granted Imtech the contract for the design, production, delivery and implementation of various technological solutions on board this Joint Support Ship (JSS).

Imtech also obtained orders for a technological upgrade of the Royal Netherlands Navy`s supply vessel `Hr. Ms. Amsterdam` dating from 1995 and a technological upgrade of two M-class frigates owned by the Belgian Navy.

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US diplomat asks Czech ministry to buy Raytheon missiles

U.S. charge d'affaires John Ordway has asked the Czech Republic to buy RIM-7 Sparrow anti-aircraft missiles made by U.S. Raytheon company in a letter sent to the Czech Defence Ministry in June, the Euro news server writes Tuesday.

The server writes that the RIM-7s are used by the militaries of the United States and some other NATO member countries.

The Defence Ministry wants to update the Czech air defence as soon as possible and complete it by 2015. The update is to cost about one billion crowns, the server writes.

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Denmark ready to enter missile defence programme

Denmark could become an active part of the Nato missile defence programme. However, the opposition will make participation contingent on Russian involvement.

The Danish contribution to the programme could consist of the Navy’s three new frigates, which are specifically designed to fire ballistic missiles.

This would enable the ships to enter into Nato’s controversial missile defence programme, which covers North America and the European members of the alliance.

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Chinese missiles for Pak's new JF-17 fighters

Pakistan will buy Chinese air-to-air SD-10 missiles and avionics to arm its 250 JF-17 Thunder fighter fleet, the country's air force chief has said, amid signs that the French had spurned offer to equip them.

"Islamabad is seeking to deepen military cooperation with Beijing", Air Chief Marshal Rao Qamar Suleman Chief of the Pakistani Air Force told the Global Times revealing that his country may also opt to acquire other advanced defence missile systems including Chinese Surface to Air Missiles (SAM) systems.

Pakistan has opted to go in for full Chinese armament systems for the jointly developed fighters and Suleman currently on a visit to China told the paper that the advanced active radar and homing middle-range missile developed by China, called the SD-10 will become the standard Beyond Visual Range (BVR) weapon of the JF-17.

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'Scandalous' submarine deal highlighted ahead of Nato summit

Nato leaders are heading to Lisbon for a summit on Friday (19 November) at a time of escalating economic problems in Portugal, due, in part, to a submarine deal, with corruption investigations launched both in Germany and Portugal into the way the deal was made.

US President Barack Obama and his European counterparts are likely to discuss Portugal's economic situation, a White House official said on Wednesday (17 November), as quoted by Reuters.

Washington is "fully supportive" of Portugal's efforts to improve its debt situation, said Elizabeth Sherwood-Randall, a Europe expert at the White House National Security Council.

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Latest Type 45 destroyer enters service with the Royal Navy

The latest Type 45 destroyer, HMS Dauntless, has entered service with the Royal Navy, the Ministry of Defence announced today.

The warship, which has a hull made of 2,800 tonnes of steel, is the second in the fleet of six air defence destroyers and has undergone months of extensive sea trials.

She recently returned from the Hebrides where she successfully fired the world-leading air defence missile system, Sea Viper, for the first time.

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The most important summit in NATO's history

Russia to gift Lebanon with arms, military supplies to bolster army

Russia will be giving Lebanon a free, unconditional gift of arms and military supplies to strengthen the Lebanese army, Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin told Lebanese Prime Minister Sa'ad Hariri this week.

The gift will include six Mi-24 attack helicopters, 31 T-72 tanks, 36 130-millimeter artillery pieces and 500,000 shells to be used by existing Lebanese artillery.

Lebanon has no real air force, aside from 30 helicopters and a few British jets from the 1950s, so it will need to train its soldiers to use the tanks and helicopters.

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Iran tests local S-300 missile system successfully

Iran has designed and tested successfully an air defense system that has the same capability as the Russian-made S-300 missile system, the local satellite Press TV reported on Thursday.

"We have developed the system by upgrading systems like S-200 and we have tested it successfully using all our potential and experience in the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC), the Army and the Defense Ministry," Brigadier General Mohammad Hassan Mansourian was quoted as saying.

This comes as Russia cancelled a deal concerning the sale of its S-300 system to Iran, Mansourian told Press TV on Wednesday.

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Rescuers find wreckage of missing U.S. F-22 fighter jet

A rescue plane has discovered the wreckage of an U.S. Air Force F-22 Raptor fighter jet that went missing Tuesday night, the Elmendorf-Richardson airbase in Alaska said in a statement on Wednesday.

The fighter jet lost contact with air traffic control at 7:40 p.m. Alaska time Tuesday (04:40 GMT on Wednesday) while on a night-time training mission.

The crash site has been located at about 160 kilometers north of Anchorage. A rescue team is searching for a missing pilot, the airbase said in a statement.

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PAF wants more Chinese defense missile systems

Pakistan is interested in buying more defense systems and equipment from China, and hopes to deepen cooperation to upgrade its armed forces, a top Pakistan Air Force officer said, SAMAA learnt today.

Air Chief Marshal Rao Qamar Suleman told China Daily that Pakistan is evaluating, among other options, three or four Chinese surface-to-air missiles including the advanced "HQ-18".

The missiles, with a maximum range of 100 km, can be used against short-range ballistic missiles, aircraft or cruise missiles, with intercepts taking place between a low-level 25 meters and an altitude of 25 kilometers.

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