Saab and Brazil Sign Contract for Gripen NG

Defence and security company Saab has signed a contract with the Brazilian Federal Government (Ministry of Defense through the Aeronautics Command, COMAER) covering the development and production of 36 Gripen NG fighter aircraft for the Brazilian Air Force.

The total order value is approximately SEK 39.3 billion. Saab and COMAER have also signed an Industrial Co-operation contract to deliver substantial technology transfer from Saab to Brazilian industry.

On 18 December 2013 Brazil selected the Gripen NG to be its next-generation fighter aircraft, through the F-X2 evaluation programme.

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RAAF Orion drawdown begins

A Royal Australian Air Force Orion has been scrapped and two more are scheduled for disposal by the end of 2014, Defence has confirmed.

The first aircraft, A9-663, which was the only aircraft in the RAAF’s 19-strong Orion fleet not upgraded under the AP-3C program, was scrapped on October 20. All 19 Orions are due to be progressively drawn-down through to June 2019.

“The first stage of the disposal activity is the reduction of the fleet from 19 to 16 aircraft,” a spokesperson for Defence told Australian Aviation.

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Nuclear power not the best option for China's next aircraft carrier: expert

Cao Weidong, a Chinese military expert told state-run Beijing Television that China should not build its first domestic aircraft carrier as a nuclear-powered vessel since the nation does not have the technology to operate it.

During the interview, Cao said that it is better for China to construct an aircraft carrier for the People's Liberation Army Navy with a displacement of 60,000 tons.

Since a light aircraft carrier cannot carry as many aircraft, Cao suggested that China's new aircraft carrier should at least be a medium-sized vessel like the Liaoning, China's first carrier introduced from Ukraine. However, a medium-size carrier can only carry 30 aircraft on board.

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Taiwan eyes homegrown submarines after 13-year wait on U.S. deal

Taiwan is moving ahead with plans to build its own submarines, with an initial design to be completed by the year-end, after lengthy delays in getting eight vessels under a 2001 U.S. defense deal and as China's navy expands rapidly.

While major obstacles remain, such as overcoming significant technical challenges and what would almost certainly be strenuous objections from Beijing, a political consensus has emerged in Taiwan in recent months that it can wait no longer, officials and lawmakers said.

China is Taiwan's largest trading partner and economic ties have warmed since China-friendly President Ma Ying-jeou came to power in 2008.

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AWD's $800 million blowout

The projected cost of Australia’s troubled Air Warfare Destroyer (AWD) program has risen to about $800 million more than its $8.5 billion budget, informed sources have told IHS-Jane’s.

This figure is nearly $500 million more than an overrun forecast by an Australian National Audit Office (ANAO) report in March, although the ANAO warned that the situation was likely to deteriorate significantly.

The first of the three 7,000 tonne Hobart class AWDs is not scheduled to be delivered to the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) until March 2016, with the second delivery scheduled for September 2017 and the third for March 2019.

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The Royal Thai Navy and Air Force acquire five EC645 T2 and two EC725 rotorcraft from Airbus Helicopters

The airborne capabilities of Thailand’s navy and air force will be significantly enhanced with the acquisition of two mission-ready Airbus Helicopters rotorcraft types: the light-utility EC645 T2 and the 11-ton-class EC725.

The Royal Thai Navy signed for five EC645 T2s to be deployed on transport duties and other missions, with deliveries scheduled to begin in 2016.

Its purchase represents the first export order of this militarized version of the EC145 T2, which is the newest and most powerful model in Airbus Helicopters’ proven EC145 light twin-engine helicopter family.

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China's J-31 to debut at Zhuhai air show next month

China's mysterious J-31 fighter jet will make its long-awaited debut at the annual China International Aviation & Aerospace Exhibition in Zhuhai on Nov. 11, reports our Chinese-language sister paper Want Daily.

The J-31, also known as "Gyrfalcon," or Falcon Hawk by some military enthusiasts, is a twin-engine, mid-size fifth-generation jet fighter currently under development by Shenyang Aircraft Corporation.

The jet is said to be even more mysterious than the J-20, the fellow fifth-generation fighter being developed by the Chengdu Aerospace Corporation.

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Russia to get advanced aircraft carrier in 2030s: official

Russia has worked out a long-term military development program that envisages construction of an aircraft carrier for the Navy, a high-ranking military official said Saturday.

"An aircraft carrier whose construction is planned will significantly differ from heavy aircraft cruisers that our Navy used to have and has now," Russian Navy Deputy Commander Viktor Bursuk told a local radio station.

"This will be a versatile warship equipped with manned and unmanned aircraft systems and also robotic systems capable of operating in all possible environments, including outer space. Such a vessel may appear in the 2030s," Interfax news agency quoted him as saying.

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NAS Whidbey Prowlers returning from final mission

A carrier with EA-18G Growlers from Whidbey Island Naval Air Station is en route to assist with air strikes against the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant.

The USS Carl Vinson strike group, which includes Electronic Attack Squadron 139, replaces the USS George H.W. Bush carrier strike group, deployed since Feb. 15, according to the Navy.

NAS Whidbey-based VAQ 134 has been a part of the departing strike group, and the squadrons involvement will be the Navy’s final job for the Prowler.

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The USS North Dakota, a $2.6-billion attack submarine, is commissioned

A large crowd and a warm October Saturday morning welcomed the Navy’s most advanced attack submarine, USS North Dakota, and its crew into Navy history.

The commissioning ceremony for the $2.6-billion submarine, currently the most advanced member of the Navy’s fleet, was held at the Naval Submarine Base and lasted about 90 minutes.

It featured remarks from politicians, Navy officials and executives, who spoke just feet away from USS Virginia, the first of the Virginia-class submarines, of which USS North Dakota is now a member.

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Defence ministry clears Israeli anti-tank missile, six submarines

The defence ministry Saturday cleared big ticket defence deals worth Rs.80,000 crore which include Israel's guided anti-tank missile Spike, sources said.

Spike missiles were chosen instead of the US' Javelin missiles, for which Washington had lobbied hard.

India will be buying over 8,000 missiles worth Rs.32,000 crore.

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6 Made-in-India Submarines for Navy for 53,000 Crores

The Defence Acquisition Council of India on Saturday cleared defence deals worth Rs. 80,000 crore.

The deal includes the acquisition of six conventional submarines to augment the aging and depleted submarine fleet and two midget submarines -- also known as 'Swimmer Delivery Vehicles' - which are used for special operations.

Following Prime Minister Narendra Modi's 'make in India' campaign and the overall policy to build and strengthen the fledgling Indian defence industry, all six boats will be made in Indian shipyards.

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Video and photo coverage: Catamaran 2014 large joint amphibious exercise with CVN, LHD, LPD

From October 13 to 26, French forces (as well as British ones at staff level) take part in a large-scale operational exercise simulating an expeditionary amphibious operation in a crisis situation.

The joint maneuvers take place in the western Mediterranean and the French Riviera.

The French Navy (Marine Nationale) invited Navy Recognition to cover the exercise: We could witness some of the amphibious assault, we then got on board an EDA-R (L-CAT) to reach the Mistral LHD at sea and the pinnacle of the event was a tour on board the Charles de Gaulle aircraft carrier.

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Kongsberg showcased a Vertical Launch Joint Strike Missile (VL JSM) during AUSA 2014

AUSA 2014 (Association of the US Army) may be an army event (which our affiliate website Army Recognition was covering) an eminently naval product was showcased, from our knowledge for the first time, at the Kongsberg booth: A vertical launch version of the Norwegian company's anti-ship missile.

Nobody at the Kongberg booth at AUSA could comment on the reason why this model was showcased at an army event, and nobody could confirm if it was the first time Kongsberg was showing a vertical launch version of the missile. From our own knowledge it very much was.

Navy Recognition exclusively reported on the submarine launch version of the NSM back in June while covering Balt Military Expo in Poland.

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Bath Iron Works lands $32.5 million contract modification for second stealth destroyer

The U.S. Navy has awarded Bath Iron Works a $32.5 million contract modification to perform technical and industrial engineering work on the future USS Michael Monsoor, the second Zumwalt-class destroyer, at its Bath shipyard.

The modification follows a $24.4 million modification awarded in April for additional detail design and construction of the Navy’s newest class of destroyers.

Bath Iron Works is building three DDG 1000s for the U.S. Navy, which truncated the line after deeming construction costs to be too high. The USS Zumwalt, named for Adm. Elmo R. “Bud” Zumwalt Jr., was christened in April.

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German helicopter fleet 'not fit for Nato'

Germany's fleet of NH90 helicopters is undergoing engineering checks after one of them suffered a serious engine failure, in the latest blow to the country's military capabilities.

Die Welt reported on Friday that a medical evacuation flight from Uzbekistan to Afghanistan in June had to make an emergency landing in the Uzbek city of Termes after an engine exploded just four minutes into the journey.

The crew were only able to land the stricken machine by the skin of their teeth as many of the aircraft's electronic systems immediately failed.

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You Spot, I Shoot: Aegis Ships Share Data To Destroy Cruise Missiles

Imagine you’re a sniper. Imagine the bad guys are coming — but you can’t see them yet. Imagine your spotter can see them — but only because he’s miles away from where you are, with a better view. Now imagine that when you put your eye to your gunsights, you see the view through his. You fire. You hit the target. It goes down.

Replace the sniper and spotter in this scenario with a pair of 9,000-ton warships, replace the bad guys with incoming anti-ship cruise missiles, and replace your sniper rifle with a Raytheon SM-6 Standard Missile: Now you’ve got what actually happened in a recent Navy test whose results were announced today.

For the first time, one Navy ship shot down a simulated cruise missile — two of them in a row, actually — that its own radars couldn’t see, relying entirely on data relayed from another vessel. (In this case, the shooter was the Aegis cruiser Chancellorsville, the spotter was the Aegis destroyer Sampson).

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Navy's top officer wants Sea Dragons retired

The Navy's top officer says he would like to retire the service's aging fleet of mine-sweeping helicopters "sooner than later," primarily because they are expensive to operate and not as efficient as the underwater robots that will someday replace them.

Adm. Jonathan Greenert, the chief of naval operations, made the remarks Wednesday after a Virginian-Pilot reporter asked about the state of the Navy's mine warfare program.

Greenert, who was in Norfolk talking to sailors in an all-hands call, said the program is in a state of transition. The service is in the process of testing a new fleet of underwater, unmanned vehicles that can be launched from littoral combat ships to find and disable underwater mines.

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Navy tests MQ-8C unmanned helos

Northrop Grumman's MQ-8C unmanned autonomous helicopter has completed precision sloped landing tests at a U.S. Navy base in California.

The testing of Fire Scout at Naval Base Ventura County, Point Mugu, was to further validate the aircraft's capabilities in preparation for at-sea testing later this year.

"The sloped takeoff and landing tests are designed to be as real as it gets to actually operating on a Navy ship," said Capt. Patrick Smith, Fire Scout program manager at Naval Air Systems Command. "The autonomous MQ-8C Fire Scout system is able to precisely track and understand the roll and pitch of the surface which resembles at-sea conditions."

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China, Tanzania carrying out month long joint naval drills

The Chinese People Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) and the naval wing of the Tanzania People's Defence Force (TPDFA) are carrying out a month-long joint naval training exercise off the Indian Ocean coast as the two countries extend their long-standing defence and military training partnership to the naval domain.

A statement posted on the Chinese Ministry of National Defence website and attributed to the PLAN said exercise "Beyond 2014" involves various aspects of naval training for maritime security operations in the high seas.

"The Chinese People’s Liberation Army and the Tanzanian People’s Defence Force navies began a one-month-long joint marine military training code-named “Beyond 2014” on October 16, 2014, in Dar es Salaam, capital of Tanzanian.

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Navantia to conduct risk reduction design study on new Australian frigates

Navantia has received a risk reduction design study contract from the Australian Defence Materiel Organisation (DMO) for the SEA 5000 programme for new frigates.

The company will carry out management and coordination activities at its offices in Adelaide, Australia.

Under the agreement, which will last for approximately nine months, Navantia will analyse the impact of deployment of the CEA Australian aerial radar and SAAB command and control system on the F-105 frigate, as well as specific Australian requirements.

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Official: Navy far behind in attack sub, ship repairs

The Navy's top maintenance official warned this week that the service is "in a tail-chase" to get submarines and ships the overhauls they need, with some running much longer than foreseen.

Vice Adm. William Hilarides said the shipyards got backed up because of budget cuts and a hiring freeze that left thousands of jobs unfilled at Naval Sea Systems Command, which Hilarides leads.

"We found ourselves almost 2,000 people behind out of a workforce of 30,000, on an increasing workload ... and we fell behind," he said.

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Russia And China Are Sprinting To Catch Up With The US's Advanced Submarine Fleet

US national security officials are concerned about the pace and intensity of Russian submarine development, Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Jon Greenert said Thursday.

"There are competitors that are pursuing us. We know about China. That is very well spelled out, but not as many people know what the Russians are up to. I can't go into detail, obviously, but they spend a lot of money.

The Russians have been working on a sea-based strategic deterrence — and an SSN (attack submarine)," Greenert said at the Naval Submarine League's annual symposium in Falls Church, VA.

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Israel seals long-delayed $144 million missile deal with India

India will take possession of hundreds of Israeli-made Barak missiles for its battleships late next year, following approval of a weapons deal between the two countries that had been delayed for years.

The purchase deal was approved by India’s cabinet committee on security matters, headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, according to the Times of India.

Under the plan, India will take delivery of 262 Barak 1 missiles over the course of about five years, starting in December of 2015.

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South Korea may cancel F-16 upgrade contract with BAE

The South Korean Government is likely to cancel a contract with BAE Systems for modernisation of the national air force's KF-16C/D Block 52 fighter aircraft fleet.

In December 2013, BAE received a foreign military sales contract from the US to upgrade the Republic of Korea Air Force's ageing fleet of 134 KF-16 fighters in two phases at a cost of KRW1.75tn ($1.7bn).

Two US-based sources were quoted by Reuters as saying that the deal ran into rough weather after the US Air Force (USAF) added on significant risk 'reserves' to proposed costs.

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