Top secret spy satellite blasts off using world’s most powerful rocket

Using the world’s most powerful rocket, U.S. space agency officials launched a top secret spy satellite early Friday.

An unmanned Delta IV-Heavy rocket lifted off Friday morning from Cape Canaveral, Florida. It carried a satellite for the National Reconnaissance Office.

“And the RS-68A engines roar to life!” a launch commentator said just after liftoff. “The NRO systems continue to ensure vigilance from above.”

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Qatar keen on $2.5bn US helicopters deal

Qatar is interested in a $2.5bn deal to buy military hardware including 22 Seahawk helicopters, according to the US Defence Security Cooperation Agency.

It said it has notified Congress of a possible military sale to the Government Qatar with an option to expand the helicopter fleet at a later date.

The sale includes 22 Seahawk multi-mission helicopters, 12 fitted with the armed helicopter modification kit, the US agency said in a statement.

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Sex abuse scandal rocks US Air Base

A US air force investigation has identified 31 female cadets who were sexually assaulted by their trainers at a Texas military camp. The scandal has raised concerns that the US armed forces are not doing enough to protect women in the military.

An internal probe is currently looking at 12 male military instructors that were serving at Lackland Air Force base in San Antonio, Texas. Six of them face charges of misconduct, including allegations of rape and adultery.

The majority of those under investigation were from the 331st training squadron, whose commander was dismissed from duty last week. He was not charged with sex crimes but was relieved because of the unacceptable level of misconduct in his unit.

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US hosts world's largest naval exercises in Hawaii

Some 25,000 sailors and other military personnel from 22 nations are converging on Hawaii starting Friday to practice hunting for submarines and catching pirates in the world's largest naval exercises.

The U.S. Pacific Fleet is hosting the Rim of the Pacific exercises, which take place every two years in Hawaii and surrounding waters.

Countries from Japan to Tonga and Russia to Chile are sending 42 surface ships, six submarines and 200 aircraft to participate in the series of drills, which takes place over the next five weeks.

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Russia approves plans for NATO base

Ulyanovsk airport
Moscow confirmed Friday that it gave its consent for NATO to use an air base as a transit hub for operations in Afghanistan.

The Kremlin said it approved a decree for U.S. and NATO forces to use the Russian airbase in Ulyanovsk as a transit hub, Russia's state-run news agency RIA Novosti reports.

Announcements of the proposal sparked protests early this year in the region, the birthplace of Soviet leader Vladimir Lenin. Communist leader Gennady Zyuganov said the NATO deal was "humiliating."

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Iran expects to equip Gulf ships with missiles soon

Iran expects to equip its ships in the Strait of Hormuz soon with shorter-range missiles, a Revolutionary Guards commander was quoted as saying, in the latest apparent warning to the West not to attack it over its disputed nuclear program.

The Islamic Republic has threatened to shut the Strait, the conduit out of the Gulf for 40 percent of the world's seaborne oil trade, if Western sanctions aimed at curbing its nuclear works block its own crude exports.

The European Union plans to impose a total embargo on Iranian oil from Sunday and has told Tehran that more punitive steps could follow if it keeps defying U.N. demands for limits nuclear activity that could be of use in developing bombs.

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Pakistan Navy’s ‘Nuclear’ Aspirations

Recent reports from Pakistan seem to suggest the Pakistan Navy (PN) may be on the cusp of developing a naval nuclear missile capability, even as its plans for acquiring a nuclear submarine capability gradually become clearer.

The first indication of this came in May 2012 when Pakistan tested the Hatf VII (Babur)—an indigenously developed Cruise Missile with high precision and manoeuvrability.

Reports suggested that the missile was launched from a state-of-the-art multi-tube Missile Launch Vehicle (MLV), which significantly enhances the targeting and employment options of the Babur Weapon System in both the conventional and nuclear modes.

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Alion Awarded Contract Valued at up to $542 Million to Support Navy’s “Team Submarine”

Alion Science and Technology, a global engineering, R&D, IT and operational solutions company, has been awarded a contract valued at up to $542 million to provide technical and management expertise to support the U.S. Navy’s submarine force.

The contract, issued by the Naval Sea Systems Command, covers a full range of services to the Team Submarine Program Offices, including engineering, logistics, program management and business and financial management.

Team Submarine unifies submarine-related organizations across the Navy to focus on strategies and solutions for undersea warfare research, development and acquisition.

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Japan Nails Down Purchase Of First Four F-35s

A letter formally committing Japan to buy the first four of 42 F-35s is expected to land in the hands of Lockheed Martin and U.S. government officials today or tomorrow. We heard this from two very well informed sources.

While Japan has formally announced its intention to buy -- and then warned the U.S. it would cancel the deal should the price rise too much -- this is the first official action by Japan that will result in the purchase of aircraft.

The four planes would be delivered in fiscal 2016.

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Reducing reaction times key factor for Russian Air Force modernization

Newly appointed Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Air Force Victor Bondarev has given a press conference in Moscow.

Major General Bondarev related to journalists plans for the Air Force’s development, and voiced some previously unknown information.

C-500 in the year 2013

The greatest interest aroused by Bondarev’s statement was that the first complex of new generation C-500 anti-missile systems could be supplied to the troops already in 2013, though it had been previously announced that the system would only be ready for testing in 2015. Such a sharp “acceleration” of the process raises questions, but a possible explanation lies in the system being gradually brought to specified conditions.

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Rolls-Royce to lead Canadian research project for unmanned naval vehicles

Rolls-Royce, the global power systems company, will lead a project to develop new technologies to support unmanned naval vehicle missions, following an award of $3 million from the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency (ACOA).

The development of Unmanned Surface Vehicles (USVs) and Unmanned Underwater Vehicles (UUVs) is a rapidly expanding part of naval marine technology, and Rolls-Royce has extensive capability in the handling systems that enable these advanced craft to be launched, refuelled and recovered from the sea.

Rolls-Royce will develop automated systems to support the missions carried out by unmanned naval vehicles, including mine-countermeasures, anti-surface warfare, anti-submarine warfare, coastal security patrols and environmental data collection.

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Turkey sends convoys of arms to its Syrian border

Turkey has sent missile batteries, tanks and troops to the Syrian-Turkish border, almost a week after the Syria downed a Turkish military jet.

A first substantial convoy of about 30 military vehicles, including trucks loaded with anti-aircraft missile batteries was dispatched from Turkey’s coastal town of İskenderun and moving slowly towards the Syrian border 50 kilometers away.

Several anti-aircraft guns have also been deployed elsewhere along the border. Some trucks were seen carrying self-propelled multiple rocket launchers, TRT footage showed.

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New S-400 Long-Range Missile Ready For Service

A new long-range missile for Russia’s formidable S-400 air defense system will soon enter service, chief-of-staff of Russia’s Air and Missile Defense Command Maj. Gen. Andrei Demin said on Thursday.

“A long-range missile for S-400 has passed all trials and will soon be delivered to air defense units,” Demin told RIA Novosti without specifying the model.

According to experts, it could be the 40N6 variant, which has an active radar homing head and is capable of destroying airborne targets at ranges of up to 400 kilometers (250 miles).

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Lockheed Martin receives $241 Million Contract for JASSM® Lot 10 Production

The U.S. Air Force recently awarded Lockheed Martin a $241.6 million contract for Lot 10 production of the Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile (JASSM) and Extended Range (ER) variant.

The JASSM Lot 10 contract is for 191 baseline missiles, 30 ER missiles, Test Instrumentation Kits and systems engineering support. Produced at the company’s award-winning manufacturing facility in Troy, Ala., Lockheed Martin has assembled more than 1,100 JASSMs for testing and operational use toward a total objective of 4,900 JASSM and JASSM-ER missiles.

While this is the tenth production lot for the JASSM baseline missile, it is only the second lot for JASSM-ER. In January 2011, JASSM-ER was authorized for Low Rate Initial Production (LRIP).

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USAF Readies For C-130 Engine Upgrade Tests

Flight tests of a fuel-saving upgrade to the Rolls-Royce T56 are set to begin at Edwards AFB, Calif., in July.

The modified engine will be fitted to an Air National Guard-operated Lockheed Martin C-130H and is aimed at demonstrating flying qualities data as well as verifying overall improvements in performance. Flight tests are expected to run through August.

Tom Hartmann, Rolls-Royce vice president for customer business, says flight tests mark the final qualification stage for the upgrade kit, which is attracting interest from domestic and international C-130 operators.

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Aviation trials of INS Vikramaditya to start in July

Russia will deploy a MIG-35 and other aircraft to check out the aviation facilities of INS Vikramaditya, the Russian aircraft carrier which is set to join the Indian Navy by the year end.

The 'aviation facilities complex trials' of the aircraft carrier will begin sometime in the middle of July in the Barents Sea, Navy sources said.

A team of about 20 Navy aviation personnel including pilots are on their way to Russia to observe the trials, which will be carried out by a Russian crew.

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Russia’s Second Borey Class Sub to Enter Service by Yearend

Russia's second Borey class strategic submarine, the Alexander Nevsky, will be commissioned by the end of 2012, First Deputy Defense Minister Alexander Sukhorukov said on Thursday.

The submarine sailed for the White Sea on June 21 to join the first Borey class vessel, the Yuri Dolgoruky, in sea trials.

“If a state commission reports on August 1 that all tasks envisioned by the trials program have been fulfilled, we will immediately start preparing documents for the submarine’s commissioning,” Sukhorukov said.

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EU Naval Force and TF 508 Collaborate to Escort WFP

From the 18th to 21st June 2012, EU Naval Force (EUNAVFOR) frigates Guépratte and Reina Sofia collaborated with USS Taylor, engaged in TF 508 (NATO) to escort World Food Programme chartered ship MV Tupi Maiden 3.

The escort of WFP ship started in Salalah (Oman) and was performed by EUNAVFOR French frigate Guépratte up to the east point of entry into the IRTC (Internationally Recognized Transit Corridor in the Gulf of Aden).

Once in the IRTC, US frigate USS Taylor, engaged in NATO operation Ocean Shield, took over the escort before she eventually handed it over again to EUNAVFOR, but this time under the protection of the Spanish frigate Reina Sofia.

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Funds for Lockheed-Led Missile Defense Urged by Panetta

U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta urged a Senate committee chairman to support $400 million for a Lockheed Martin Corp.-led international mobile missile defense program that three other defense panels have rejected.

Failure to provide one more year of funding for the Medium Extended Air Defense System, or Meads, would “be viewed by our allies as reneging on our promises,” Panetta said in his letter yesterday to Senator Daniel Inouye, the Hawaii Democrat who is chairman of the Senate Appropriations committee and its defense panel.

Congressional critics say the system, designed to intercept medium-range ballistic missiles, cruise missiles and drones, has been plagued by cost overruns and performance failures.

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Olympic roof missiles: residents to launch legal action

A group of residents are today expected to launch legal proceedings against proposals to station surface-to-air missiles on the roof of their tower block during the Olympics.

Solicitors acting for the local authority tenants said they are mounting a challenge against Ministry of Defence plans to potentially place the ground-based air defence system on top of the Fred Wigg Tower in Leytonstone, east London.

Defence officials are considering deploying the weapons across six sites in the capital if there is a security scare during the Games. The move is yet to be confirmed.

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Texas college hacks government drone

There are a lot of cool things you can do with $1,000, but scientists at an Austin, Texas college have come across one that is often overlooked: for less than a grand, how’d you like to hijack a US government drone?

A group of researchers led by Professor Todd Humphreys from the University of Texas at Austin Radionavigation Laboratory recently succeeded in raising the eyebrows of the US government. With just around $1,000 in parts, Humphreys’ team took control of an unmanned aerial vehicle operated by the US Department of Homeland Security.

After being challenged by his lab, the DHS dared Humphreys’ crew to hack into their drone and take command. Much to their chagrin, they did exactly that.

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Final Sea Trials of F-105 frigate

Navantia and the Spanish Navy have started final sea trials of the F-105 frigate “Cristóbal Colón” last Monday, in Ferrol (Northern Spain), which will last all week.

During these sea trials, the shipyard will test the correct integration of the combat system in the platform, including trials of all sensors and weapons on board, as anti-air, anti-surface, anti-submarine, electronic war and communications exercises.

For the performance of several combat scenarios, Navantia will count on the collaboration of other surface units, including a F-100 class frigate, as well as land radio stations and communication satellites.

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Russia Will Deliver First Mi-25 Gunships to Syria on Time - Arms Official

The first consignment of three Mil Mi-25 helicopter gunships for Syria has been overhauled and will be delivered to the customer within the contracted time, Federal Service for Military Technical Cooperation director Alexander Fomin said on Thursday.

The contract for the repair of the helicopters was signed by Russia and Syria in 2008, he said.

"Syria is our friend, and we we fulfil all our obligations to our friends. According to the 2008 contract, we repaired three Mi-25s and are ready to delivery them on time," Fomin said on the sidelines of the Technology in Machine-Building 2012 exhibition at Zhukovsky near Moscow.

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MBDA sharpens Spear missile design for F-35 integration

European manufacturer MBDA has unveiled a UK-developed design for a next-generation air-to-surface weapon suitable for internal carriage by the Lockheed Martin F-35 Joint Strike Fighter.

To be shown for the first time as a full-scale mock-up at the Farnborough air show, the Spear concept would use a turbojet engine and a wing kit to provide a stand-off range of about 100km (54nm).

"Speed and range are the two main drivers" behind this configuration, says Rob Thornley, export working group leader for MBDA UK.

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Indo-Russia hypersonic BrahMos 2 missile to be ready by 2017

The first prototype of the hypersonic BrahMos 2 cruise missile being jointly developed by Russia and India will be ready for flight testing in 2017, an official said.

Russia and India have recently agreed to develop hypersonic BrahMos 2 missile capable of flying at speeds of Mach 5-Mach 7.

"I think we will need about five years to develop the first fully-functional prototype(of the hypersonic missile. We have already carried out a series of lab tests at the speed of 6.5 Mach," said Sivathanu Pillai, chief executive officer of the Russian-Indian joint venture Brahmos Aerospace.

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Turkey issues warning to Syria

Turkey warned Syria on Tuesday to keep its forces away from the countries’ troubled border or risk an armed response — a furious reply to the downing of a Turkish military plane last week by the Damascus regime.

NATO backed up Turkey and condemned Syria for shooting down the plane but stopped short of threatening military action, reflecting its reluctance to get involved in a conflict that could ignite a broader war.

Near the capital of Damascus, meanwhile, Syria’s elite Repub­lican Guard forces battled rebels in some of the most intense fight­ing involving the special forces since the uprising against President Bashar Assad’s regime began in March 2011, according to activists.

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Royal Netherlands Navy and Thales Sign SMART-L Early Warning Capability Contract

Today, the Netherlands Defence Materiel Organization and Thales Nederland signed an agreement to modify the four SMART-L volume search radars installed on the “De Zeven Provinciën” class air defence and command frigates of the Royal Netherlands Navy.

The new SMART-L radar will be optimized for the early detection of ballistic missiles.

SMART-L will be able to detect ballistic missiles shortly after their launch. It has this early warning capability simultaneously with its traditional air defence capability.

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A Dutch ally in war on drugs

A new, shiny light gray, $160 million patrol ship was docked last week at the U.S. Navy’s Outer Mole Pier in Key West.

While there is an American flag aboard, the ship clearly does not belong to the United States, not with the signage in Dutch, framed pictures of Queen Beatrix and beer taps — featuring Heineken.

The ship, named the HNLMS Holland, is the new pride and joy of the Royal Netherlands Navy. It boasts a large communications satellite, infrared cameras, friend-or-foe identification system and long-range surveillance radars all contained within an innovatively designed mast that does not rotate.

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MoD ‘wastes £6.6bn on unused kit and supplies as it axes thousands of frontline troops’

The Ministry of Defence is wasting billions of pounds on equipment it does not need while axing frontline troops to save money.

A damning report today reveals how staggering sums of taxpayers’ cash are being squandered by defence chiefs buying and holding excess supplies.

In one extraordinary example, the MoD admitted holding enough bomb-dropping equipment for the RAF’s Nimrod MR2 maritime patrol aircraft to last 54 years – despite the plane being scrapped in 2009.

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Iran to deploy submarines in Caspian Sea

With three super-heavy submarines operating in the Persian Gulf, Iran is seeking to use lighter submarines in the Caspian Sea.

Admiral Abbas Zamini told Fars news agency that Iran's navy has made huge gains and become self-sufficient in designing, building and repairing its own submarines.

Iran is producing semi-heavy submarines with the goal of building super-heavy ones in the future.

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Sindhurakshak Set

The modernised INS Sindhurakshak is expected to be launched in the near future and to start dock trials. The vessel was taken out of Zvyozdochka’s ship-house, where the submarine has been “revived”.

The ceremony was attended by Roman Trotsenko, president of the United Shipbuilding Corporation, which runs Zvyozdochka, Deputy Navy Attaché of the Indian Embassy in Russia Rupak Kumar Pandey, members of the crew and Indian Navy observation group and their families.

The contract for intermediate overhaul and modernisation of the large diesel-electric submarine INS Sindhurakshak (project Type 877EKM Kilo) was signed between Zvyozdochka ship repair centre and the Indian Defence Ministry in June 2010, and the submarine arrived in Severodvinsk and was accepted for repairs in August of that year.

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Russia May Deploy First S-500 Missiles in 2013 - Air Force

Russia's Armed Forces could receive the first of its next-generation S-500 air defense missile systems as early as in 2013, Air Force commander Maj.Gen. Viktor Bondarev said on Wednesday.

"I think that as soon as next year we will get the first of these (S-500) systems in service," Bondarev said at a RIA Novosti press conference dedicated to the 100th anniversary of the Russian Air Force.

The commander stressed that Russia's air defenses are in very good shape with new regiments of a formidable S-400 Triumf air defense system entering service every year.

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New Containerized Missile System on Show

Russia's Morinformsistema-Agat has unveiled a containerized system of its Club-K missile system using a new Kh-35UE cruise missile with a highly advanced target acquisition and seeker system, company representative Rostislav Atkov said on Wednesday at the Technology in Machine-Building 2012 exhibition at Zhukovsky near Moscow.

"We are demonstrating Club-K with the Kh-35UE cruise missile (NATO SS-N-25 Switchblade) for the first time, which differs from earlier versions due to its advanced target acquisition and seeker systems," Atkov said.

The company showed a similar system last year at the MAKS Moscow air show, but with four supersonic 3M54TE missiles in a container.

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Raytheon's newest SM-3 takes out ballistic missile target

Standard Missile-3 Block IB fired from the USS Lake Erie has destroyed another ballistic missile target.

The test marks the 21st successful intercept for the SM-3 program, a critical piece of the United States' Phased Adaptive Approach for missile defense.

"Today's flight test was the second, back-to-back successful intercept for the newest variant of SM-3, and it further increases our confidence in this weapon's defensive capabilities," said Dr. Taylor Lawrence, Raytheon Missile Systems president.

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Turkey changes rules of engagement with Syria

Turkey has relaxed its rules of engagement for military units operating along the country's border with Syria after the shooting of a Turkish jet by Syrian air defences last week.

While the country was not said to be planning or seeking a military response to the shooting of one of its F-4 Phantom jets on 22 June, the changes to the rules of engagement will allow Turkish units to fire on any Syrian military units approaching the border.

Syria has been criticised over the incident after Turkey claimed the jet was unarmed and had been carrying out a test of radar systems in the Eastern Mediterranean when it was brought down.

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Boeing and Embraer Sign Agreement to Collaborate on KC-390 Program

The Boeing Company and Embraer today announced an agreement to collaborate on the KC-390 aircraft program.

Under this agreement, Boeing and Embraer will share some specific technical knowledge and evaluate markets where they may join their sales efforts for medium-lift military transport opportunities.

"Boeing has extensive experience in military transport and air refueling aircraft, as well as deep knowledge of potential markets for the KC-390, especially those which were not considered in our original marketing plan," said Luiz Carlos Aguiar, president and CEO of Embraer Defesa e Segurança.

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Northrop Grumman Awarded Contract to Modify E-6B With High-Speed, Secure Networking and Communications

The U.S. Navy has awarded Northrop Grumman Corporation a $44.3 million contract to integrate high-speed, secure communications and networking systems on an E-6B Mercury aircraft, part of the Take Charge and Move Out (TACAMO) strategic communications relay mission.

Navy E-6B TACAMO aircraft provide survivable and reliable airborne command, control and communications between the president of the United States, secretary of Defense, and U.S. strategic and nonstrategic forces.

With the Block II Modification, the E-6B aircraft will be able to connect to secure U.S. Department of Defense networks at high data rates while still in flight.

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Lockheed Martin Awarded $27.1 Million Contract for MLRS M270A1 Launcher Cab Upgrades

Lockheed Martin received a $27.1 million contract from the U.S. Army for the first phase of a three-year development program that will increase crew protection and update the Army’s fleet of Multiple Launch Rocket System (MLRS) M270A1 mobile rocket launchers.

Under the contract, Lockheed Martin will upgrade, assemble and test seven prototype vehicles.

Phase one is expected to be followed by a production contract for the Army’s entire fleet of 225 vehicles.

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Tiger helicopters grounded again

The decision follows the precautionary landing of a Tiger at the Shoalwater Bay training area on Monday after the aircraft's two-man crew detected fumes in the cockpit.

There was a similar incident in mid-May when a pilot detected fumes in his plane.

As a precaution, the Army's operational fleet of 19 Tigers was grounded while tests were conducted to detect the source of these fumes.

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MBDA completes Meteor test campaign, launches production

MBDA is satisfied with the results of its recently-completed live firing campaign with the Meteor beyond visual-range air-to-air missile (BVRAAM), and will deliver its first production rounds before year-end, says Andy Bradford, the company's chief engineer and head of the project.

Three electronic protection measures firings conducted at the Aberporth test range off the west Wales coast earlier this year from Panavia Tornado F2 trials aircraft resulted in direct hits on Selex Galileo Mirach target drones, Bradford says, despite their use of jamming equipment and chaff.

In all, 21 Meteor missiles fitted with telemetry equipment were fired during a development and test campaign conducted for lead customer the UK and its partner nations France, Germany, Italy, Spain and Sweden.

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Missile defense system installed on tank brigade

The IDF has completed the installation of the Trophy active protection system on a first brigade of Merkava MK 4 main battle tanks.

The Trophy system, developed by Rafael Advanced Defense Systems, creates a hemispheric protected zone around armored vehicles such as the Merkava tank.

It successfully intercepted a rocket-propelled grenade last year along the border with the Gaza Strip.

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New Coast Guard Class For Sweden

The first of a new 90ft class of five vessels for the Swedish Coast Guard Service was recently delivered to the port of Falkenburg, west Sweden with a further four under construction at Baltic Workboats AS, Estonia.

The vessels are designed for main duties of maritime surveillance, border including fisheries control, protection of the environment, rescue and civil protection including firefighting, monitoring and diving operations.

The 52t vessels have an LOA of 90ft (26.5m), beam of 20ft (6.2m) and draft of 5ft (1.5m). Unsual for its size, there is a triple pod propulsion system comprising three Volvo Penta IPS 1050 steerable pod drives with D13-800 diesels each rated at 800hp at 2,000 rpm (Rating 4 - light commercial application).

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Russia halts plans to supply S-300 missile system to Syria

Russia’s main weapons producer has allegedly suspended its contract with Syria to supply S-300 long-range missile systems. Russia’s ‘Vedomosti’ daily published the report, citing unnamed sources within the military-industrial complex.

The very fact of the contract’s existence was not known until it was revealed in an annual report made only last week and published online by the makers of the S-300 systems, Almaz-Antey.

The report states that the company’s largest contracts are with Algeria (which is paying $39 million for a long-range missile defense system), and Syria, which signed a contract for the same system for $105 million.

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Indian Navy set to complete nuclear triad: Admiral Verma

With the Navy poised to attain a retaliatory nuclear strike capability, India will soon have a "credible and invulnerable" deterrent nuclear triad in place, Navy Chief Admiral Nirmal Verma said.

Verma said such a nuclear triad was required in view of India's 'no first-use' policy. Setting out his analysis of India's maritime security, Admiral Verma, who is on a three-day visit to the United Kingdom as part of a bilateral Indian Navy-Royal Navy interaction, said there was increasing awareness in India that "the destiny of our nation is entwined with our maritime destiny".

"A retaliatory strike capability that is credible and invulnerable is an imperative. The Navy is poised to complete the triad, and our maritime and nuclear doctrines would then be aligned to ensure that our nuclear insurance will come from the sea," he said while addressing a conference here yesterday.

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Is Syria giving Scuds to Hezbollah?

Is Hezbollah set to acquire Scud ballistic missiles as a consequence of the worsening security situation in Syria?

According to recent Israeli media reports, Israel’s military officials are fretting that the turmoil in Syria and the slowly improving capabilities of the armed opposition could compel the Syrian authorities to place some of its ballistic missile arsenal under Hezbollah’s protection.

The speculation has swirled with a video clip uploaded to YouTube on June 14 showing a convoy of military vehicles, including four Scud transporters carrying missiles, driving along a road purportedly in the area of Damascus.

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Northrop Grumman's F-35 DAS and Radar Demonstrate Ability to Detect, Track, Target Ballistic Missiles

Northrop Grumman Corporation recently demonstrated the ballistic missile detection, tracking and targeting capabilities of the company's AN/AAQ-37 distributed aperture system (DAS) and AN/APG-81 active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar, both of which are featured on the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) aircraft.

Leveraging NASA's Science Mission Directorate-sponsored Anomalous Transport Rocket Experiment launch operation, the demonstration was coordinated with NASA and the U.S. Air Force to ensure that it did not impact NASA's primary science mission goals. The systems were demonstrated in flight onboard the company's BAC1-11 testbed aircraft.

Northrop Grumman's DAS and APG-81 autonomously detected, tracked and targeted multiple, simultaneous ballistic rockets. The DAS autonomously detected all five rockets, launched in rapid succession, and tracked them from initial launch well past the second stage burnout.

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India Tests Upgraded Arjun Tank

India has started testing a deeply modernized version of its domestically-developed Arjun main battle tank, The Times of India newspaper reported.

The trials of the Arjun Mark II main battle tank (MBT) began at the Pokhran field firing range in northwestern India on June 22 and will continue until the end of July.

The testing focuses on 19 major modifications to improve the features that came under heavy criticism in its earlier version, the Arjun Mark I MBT, The Times of India cited on Monday India's Defense Research and Development Organization (DRDO) spokesperson Ravi Gupta as saying.

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Boeing Completes Wind Tunnel Tests on Silent Eagle Conformal Weapons Bay

Boeing recently completed wind tunnel tests on the Silent Eagle Conformal Weapons Bay (CWB). The tests, conducted at the company's St. Louis facility, validated the aerodynamics of the CWB design.

CWBs are integral to the adaptable configuration and balanced survivability of the Silent Eagle.

"Boeing and its partners have advanced to the next phase in the development of the Silent Eagle, an evolved derivative of the combat-proven F-15 family of aircraft," said Roger Besancenez, F-15 Program vice president for Boeing.

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Rolls-Royce to power new frigate for the Republic of Korea Navy

Rolls-Royce, the global power systems company, has been selected to supply its MT30 gas turbine to power a new FFX frigate for the Republic of Korea's Navy.

This is the first order for the MT30 in Asia.

The FFX frigate will use a single MT30 rather than a pair, which demonstrates that the engine is suitable to power a variety of naval ships.

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Lockheed Martin Provides Italian Ministry of Defence with Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance Aircraft

An innovative Airborne Multi-Intelligence Laboratory (AML) developed by Lockheed Martin for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) is now being used by the Italian Air Force in a live operational environment.

Lockheed Martin signed a use agreement with the Italian Ministry of Defence (MoD) to provide the AML aircraft, three ground intelligence processing systems as well as flight crew and maintenance personnel for the plane.

This agreement is for one year, with an option to extend to two years.

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Third X-51 hypersonic test vehicle to fly soon

A third Boeing X-51 hypersonic test vehicle will fly shortly, a senior company official says.

"We're planning to fly another vehicle shortly," says Joe Vogel, Boeing's hypersonics director. The test vehicle will fly as soon as the government gives its assent. "It'll be this year."

That would be the missile-like test vehicle's third flight. Two earlier tests successfully demonstrated hypersonic flight, but the air vehicles did not fly for as long a duration as was expected.

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Denmark to upgrade its F-16 aircraft with LITENING G4 Targeting Pods

The Danish Ministry of Defence announced that it has selected Northrop Grumman’s LITENING G4 targeting system for its F-16 fighter aircraft. First deliveries are expected in August 2013.

The Litening G4 pods will be supplied with datalinks and full logistics support package.

LITENING G4 Advanced Targeting Pod is the latest version of the Litening targeting pod developed by Israel’s Rafael Advanced Defense Systems.

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Ingalls-built Anchorage (LPD 23) Successfully Completes U.S. Navy Acceptance Trials

Huntington Ingalls Industries announced today the completion of another successful sea trial as the amphibious transport dock Anchorage (LPD 23) returned from a three-day testing voyage in the Gulf of Mexico.

The company's seventh ship in the LPD 17 class returned Friday following rigorous testing of most of the ship's systems.

The ship is currently under construction at Ingalls' Avondale facility.

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India to build second aircraft carrier

India plans to build its second indigenous aircraft carrier after the first one becomes operational by 2015 -16.

The first one – 40,000 tonnes Indigenous Aircraft Carrier 1 (IAC-1) – is being constructed at Cochin Shipyard Limited (CSL) since 2009 and is expected to be inducted by 2017.

Subsequently, CSL will undertake construction of the second carrier, which will be bigger than the first one.

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Nuclear-powered sub "Yuri Dolgoruki" to join Russian Navy

The new nuclear-powered Borei class submarine “Yuri Dolgorukii” will join the Russian Navy next month, Vice-Admiral Viktor Chirkov told the RIA Novosti news agency in St. Petersburg, adding that Russian submarines have already been equipped with the sea-based ballistic “Bulava” missile de facto.

The intercontinental “Bulava” missile has a range of 8,000 kilometres, and its weight is about 37 tons.

The “Bulava” missile can carry 6 to 8 hypersonic nuclear multiple re-entry vehicles.

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Russia acknowledges Bulava missile in service

The Russian Navy has already put in service the Bulava intercontinental ballistic missile, the Navy Chief Commander said Monday.

"Bulava missile has been put in navy service de facto, now the paperwork is in progress," Vice Admiral Victor Chirkov told reporters.

The navy would put on duty strategic nuclear submarine of Project 955 Borei class, Yuri Dolgoruky before July 29, Chirkov said, adding that the fourth-generation 170-meter-long submarine can carry 16 Bulava ICBMs with the range of 8,000 km.

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Turkey calls emergency Nato talks on Syria

Turkey has invoked the softer article four of the Nato treaty after Syria shot down one of its warplanes on Friday (22 June).

Its decision will see the 28 Nato countries' ambassadors hold emergency talks in the North Atlantic Council, the political steering group of the military alliance, in Brussels on Tuesday.

Article four says that any ally can call talks if it thinks its security has been "threatened."

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Russian arms ship to make second attempt to deliver helicopters to Syria

The MV Alaed, which is carrying helicopter gunships and air defence systems on board, will put to sea within days, military officials in Moscow were quoted as saying.

The vessel, sailing under the flag of the Caribbean island of Curacao, returned to Murmansk after its insurance cover was withdrawn at the behest of the Government.

Russia said it feared that British forces would attempt to storm the ship, a step David Cameron is said to have contemplated.

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Navy pushes for new class of aircraft carriers

The U.S. Navy is betting $42 billion on a new class of aircraft carriers, the world's biggest and costliest warships ever, even as the Pentagon budget shrinks and China and Iran arm themselves with weapons to disable or destroy the beheÖmoths.

The Navy says the new carriers rising 20 stories above the water, 1,092 feet long, moving at 30 knots with almost 5,000 Americans on board — can project U.S. power around the globe.

"A carrier is 4 1/2 acres of sovereign U.S. territory," said Capt. Bruce Hay, a Navy pilot who helps set requirements for the new carrier. "An aircraft carrier is a piece of America, and we're going to do what it takes to keep them relevant because a carrier is presence and American resolve all at one time."

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