MBDA's PARS 3 LR successfully tested on German Tiger

Three firings, three hits! This is the impressive score of the test firing exercise conducted with the PARS 3 LR guided antitank missile system.

For the first time, the test firings with warheads were carried out using a Tiger support helicopter of the German Army.

All guided missiles hit their targets at the optimum point of impact.

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Fire Scout Littoral Combat Ship Testing

The Northrop Grumman-built MQ-8B Fire Scout conducts first test flights from the U.S. Navy's littoral combat ship, USS Freedom (LCS 1) in November 2010.

AFP to acquire 2 more modern seacraft from US

The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) is seriously considering the acquisition of two more modern large Hamilton-class patrol crafts to shore up its naval defense capabilities and aptly defend the country’s 200-mile exclusive zone from foreign intruders, particularly in the disputed Spratly group of islands in the South China Sea.

The AFP spokesman, Commodore Juan Miguel Rodriguez, disclosed yesterday that the plan had already been discussed by top military officials even as formal communications have yet to be made to the President and as well as to the US government, which is offering the Hamiltons to the world market.

“I’m sure that it has already been discussed. The United States is offering the Hamiltons there in the world market,” Rodriguez said.

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New Navy ship to have 'pirate guns'

The new ship to replace the navy's ageing tanker, Endeavour, could have some serious weaponry to fight off pirates.

The 23-year-old Endeavour will be replaced with a new ship in 2018 at a cost of about $250 million.

Navy planners looking at the best ship to order said the new ship would at the least have .50-calibre machine guns and other measures to ward off pirates.

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Iraq says ready to buy Czech-made combat jets

Iraq is ready to buy light attack aircraft, offered for sale by the Czech republic earlier this month, Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki said after talks with his Czech counterpart in Baghdad.

The visit to Baghdad by Czech Prime Minister Petr Necas, which began on Monday, focused on bilateral economic and political cooperation.

In mid-April, the Czech Republic announced its plans to offer Iraq 24 L-159 combat aircraft and help in modernizing the Iraqi helicopter fleet.

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Pakistan to ask US for two more Orion planes

Pakistan will ask the United States to supply it two additional PC-3 Orion planes for its Navy to make up the deficiency of the loss of two planes which were destroyed by the terrorists on Sunday evening at Mehran Air Base Karachi in an act of terrorism.

Pakistan being an ally of the US in the so-called war on terrorism reserves the right for making such demand.

The Defence Committee of the Cabinet (DCC) that will discuss various aspects of the matter in its meeting on Wednesday could take a position about the demand.

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U.S. may scrap F-35, slated to be Israel's future fighter jet

The F-35, with stealth capabilities, is slated to replace an entire generation of jet fighters in the U.S. Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps; Pentagon looking into other alternatives due to massive cost overruns.

Senior members of the U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee last week instructed the Pentagon to come up with alternatives to the jet fighter of the future, the F-35, with the project facing massive cost overruns.

The plane has been selected as the future of the Israel Air Force, and for now there are no plans for an alternative if the American project is shelved.

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First Gerald R. Ford-Class Carrier Gets Superlift Toward Completion

Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78), the lead ship in the new class of U.S. Navy super carriers, took another step toward completion Saturday as Huntington Ingalls Industries erected a 945-ton superlift near the stern of the ship.

Gerald R. Ford is being built using modular construction, a process where smaller sections of the ship are welded together to form large structural units called superlifts.

These superlifts are pre-outfitted and then lifted into the construction dry dock with the shipyard's 1050-metric ton crane.

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What's Indian Air Chief PV Naik doing in Russia?

Indian Air Chief PV Naik watched the demonstration flight of the prototype of fifth generation fighter aircraft (FGFA) at a Russian airbase near Moscow on Monday, which will be jointly developed and produced by the two countries under an inter-governmental agreement signed in October 2007.

Besides the flight demonstration of one of the two prototypes of PAK-FA T-50 (FGFA) fighter, the Indian Air Chief also watched the flight of modernised MiG-29UPG of the Indian Air Force at the airfield of M M Gromov Flight Research Institute in Zhukovsky town.

Under a multi-million dollar contract signed in 2008, Russia's MiG Aircraft Corporation is upgrading six of the IAF's fighter MiG-29 fleet, while rest will be modernised in India for which the Russian aircraft maker will supply kits.

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Newport News Shipbuilding Completes Dry Dock Work for USS Theodore Roosevelt Refueling and Complex Overhaul

Newport News Shipbuilding, a division of Huntington Ingalls Industries, has completed the dry dock portion of work for the refueling and complex overhaul (RCOH) of the aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN 71).

The ship is undergoing its one and only RCOH by the nation's sole designer, builder and refueler of nuclear-powered aircraft carriers.

Tugboats moved the carrier May 21 from dry dock to a shipyard pier, where it will undergo final outfitting and testing.

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Devonport Dockyard wins battle to refit two Royal Navy warships

Two Royal Navy warships will be refitted in Plymouth instead of Scotland, a government minister has revealed.

In a massive boost for Plymouth the two Type 23 frigates HMS Richmond and HMS Somerset will join the Royal Navy's flagship, HMS Ocean, in Devonport.

The decision, announced by defence minister Peter Luff, is a victory for Dockyard unions, city's MPs and council, and The Herald's Save the Dockyard campaign last year.

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Final trip for HMS Gloucester after Falklands’ duties and Saxon Warrior exercise

The 29 year-old Type 42 destroyer holds the record for the first successful engagement of a missile by another missile in combat at sea during the Gulf War.

She is being decommissioned next month as the Royal Navy’s fleet of ageing Type 42s is gradually being phased out to make way for the new hi-tech Type 45 destroyers.

HMS Gloucester – which has clocked up 787,928 miles during service across the globe, marked her final entry to the Naval Base in traditional fashion by flying a decommissioning pennant.

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Successful flight test of Rustom UAV in Bangalore

A successful flight test of 'Rustom 1 Unmanned Aerial Vehicle' was conducted today.

"Rustom 1" being developed by the Aeronautical Development Establishment (ADE), a DRDO lab engaged in pioneering R&D work in the field of aeronautics, has an endurance of 14 hours and altitude ceiling of 8000 metres," a DRDO release said.

"Rustom 1 has been achieved by converting a manned aircraft into a UAV (Unmanned Aerial Vehicle) by removing pilot seat and making required electrical, mechanical and aerodynamic modifications", the release said.

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Turkey develops missile for T129 helicopters

Turkey’s first active laser-guided missile, the “Cirit,” has been receiving attention from other countries as well, Turkish executives have told the Anatolia news agency.

As successful tests continue, foreign armies have started showing interest in the air-to-ground weapon.

Turkish officials expect a high volume of foreign sales after the missile meets domestic needs.

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Philippines armed forces due to receive helicopters

The armed forces is due to take delivery of billions of pesos worth of military hardware as part of efforts to upgrade the capability of the Philippine armed forces.

By November this year, the Philippine Air Force will take into service four brand new Sokol medium transport helicopters from Poland's PZL Swidnik, Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) chief Gen. Eduardo Oban Jr. was quoted by reports as saying.

The helicopter acquisition package is worth P2.8 billion (Dh230,900,000) and is expected to boost the military's internal security capability as well as ability to move troops anywhere in the country at short notice and with considerable reliability.

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IAF plans to replace old Hawks with upcoming David’s Sling

The 50-year-old Hawk is a US-made medium-range surface-to-air that was first supplied to Israel in 1965 and has since served as the main defense system against enemy aircraft.

The air force is considering replacing the Hawk surface-toair missile, which been the backbone of the country’s air defense systems since 1965.

The MIM-23 Hawk is an American-made medium-range surface-to-air that was first supplied to Israel in 1965 and has since served as the main defense system against enemy aircraft. Its arrival was a significant success for the country and came after a long period of diplomatic negotiations with the US.

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Pakistan Port Gwadar To Become Chinese Naval Base

Gwadar port
Pakistan and China have finalized a strategic partnership that will allow the Pakistani strategic port of Gwadar to be utilized by China as China's first military base overseas.

China has significant oil, gold, copper and other raw material interests in Pakistan.

The Gwadar port will allow China to safeguard her interests in the Persian Gulf and will simultaneously allow China to supply its South-Eastern regions with vitally needed supplies.

The port will host major oil refineries and Chinese naval assets.

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Eleven killed in Pakistan navy base attack

At least eleven people were killed when about 20 Taliban militants stormed one of Pakistan’s most heavily guarded naval bases in Karachi late on Sunday night with fiery explosions in a revenge attack for the killing of Osama bin Laden.

The Pakistan Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack, that also wounded at least eleven people and destroyed several warplanes, on Monday saying it was to avenge the killing of al Qaeda chief bin Laden by U.S. commandos in Pakistan’s Abbottabad on May 2.

As a gunfight between the militants and soldiers raged on, hostages, including Chinese military personnel, were possibly taken in, BBC reported, quoting officials who said that eleven soldiers had died in the attack and two US made P-3C Orion fighter aircraft were destroyed with rocket-propelled grenades.

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$36 billlion submarine project

Construction of 12 new submarines will go ahead in Adelaide despite the uncertainty cast by cuts in the Federal budget.

Defence materiel minister Jason Clare says these 12 new Collins Class submarines will not be scrapped after $2.7 billion was cut last month.

The $36 billion project will replace the current six current Collins Class submarines serving in the Royal Australian Navy.

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Taiwan renews bid to buy subs, F-16s from US

Taiwan on Sunday said it was still pursuing its bid to buy eight submarines and dozens of F-16 fighters from the United States despite warming relations with former arch-rival China.

The Taipei-based China Times reported on Sunday that Taiwan had decided to accept a US proposal of just four conventional submarines to help expedite the arms deal which has been in limbo since 2001.

'The report is not true. The country's position to seek (eight) diesel-powered submarines and F-16C/Ds has never changed,' Taiwan's defence ministry said in a statement.

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Send in the drones: New Arcturus pilotless aircraft is smallest yet to sneak weapons behind enemy lines

The appeal of a drone, or unmanned aircraft, is obvious: avoid putting a pilot in danger and slip behind enemy lines with increasingly small, light and quiet machines.

Now, a Northern California-based aerospace company has unveiled the smallest drone yet that can carry weapons behind enemy lines (and hopefully not impale our troops, as humorously shown in a recent episode of the TV show 'Weeds'.)

The Arcturus company is showing its new T-20 drone off at the Special Operations Forces Industry Conference in Tampa, Florida.

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China 'asks USA to respect Pak sovereignty'

In the wake of the US raid in Abbottabad that killed Osama bin Laden, China has “warned in unequivocal terms that any attack on Pakistan would be construed as an attack on China”, a media report claimed today.

The warning was formally conveyed by the Chinese foreign minister at last week's China-US strategic dialogue and economic talks in Washington, The News daily quoted diplomatic sources as saying.

China also advised the USa to “respect Pakistan's sovereignty and solidarity”, the report said.

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Second wave of aircraft carrier construction begins

Defence Secretary Liam Fox and the country’s top military brass will this week assemble on the banks of the Clyde for a ceremony to mark the start of construction on Britain’s second giant aircraft carrier, the Prince of Wales.

But there is a good chance that the 65,000- ton vessel, which is not due to be launched until 2020, will never see action – and may even be mothballed.

This is because the Government has not yet made up its mind whether Britain can afford two huge carriers, together expected to cost more than £7 billion.

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Venezuela rebuffs reports over Iranian missile base

The German renowned daily “Die Welt” last week has reported that Iranian engineers are planning a base for launching long range missiles on the Paraquana peninsula.
The deputy Venezuelan president rebuffed rumors claiming Iranian Revolutionary Guards are constructing a base for long range missiles in his country, Fars news agency reported Friday.

Elias Java has said “we officially deny reports over an Iranian military base in Venezuela”.

He reiterated such rumors are produced in the “propaganda labs of imperialistic United States aiming to attack our country.”

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Australia could get first two A330 tankers in June

Australia could take delivery of its first delayed A330-based multi-role tanker/transports in June, while Airbus Military has received certification for a safety modification to the type's fly-by-wire refuelling boom.

Aircraft two and three from the Royal Australian Air Force's eventual five-strong KC-30A fleet have been awaiting acceptance at the company's Getafe site near Madrid, Spain since late last year.

"Our expectation is that both aircraft will be in Australia in June," said Antonio Caramazana, Airbus Military's vice-president derivative programmes.

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