Defence`s Feeds

Key Points With no credible impartial broker in Libya, the most likely outcome of the escalation in the oil crescent is further fighting. The poor performance of the LNA, and the loss of the terminals, has undermined Khalifa Haftar's political power, although his foreign backers are unlikely to

Australia's Defence Science and Technology Group (DSTG) is to collaborate with local company Grollo Aerospace in the further development of the Evader autonomous supersonic aerial target system, Defence Industry Minister Christopher Pyne announced on 10 March. Pyne said the collaboration would

Rheinmetall Denel Munition (RDM) has completed the qualification of its extended-range 155 mm M2005 Velocity Enhanced Artillery Projectile (V-LAP) for an international client, the South African company announced on 9 March. Full-scale production is under way and the first production batch has been

Saab is positioning its Swordfish maritime patrol aircraft (MPA) to meet a requirement in the Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF) for a future air surveillance capability, the company has confirmed to Jane's . A Saab spokesperson said that the company has already briefed New Zealand procurement

Kenya Army units serving with the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) used a Boeing Insitu ScanEagle unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) to facilitate a successful intelligence-driven attack on the Harakat al-Shabaab al-Mujahideen group in southern Somalia, according to a Kenyan Defence Forces (KDF)

Thales is working to defend security systems against cyber threats through the use of 'genetic behavioural algorithms', with the concept already deployed and being tested on a number of customers' networks. The company's genetic behavioural algorithm is designed to detect a cyber attack on a

Iranian and US reports have corroborated a successful test of Iran's new Hormuz-2 radar-guided anti-ship ballistic missile (ASBM) in early March. Iran's Tasnim news agency reported on 9 March that the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) had carried out the test. "We fired the Hormuz-2

Australian Defence Industry Minister Christopher Pyne has officially opened shipbuilding company Austal's new pacific patrol boat replacement (PPB-R) shipbuilding facility.

US Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) researchers have created a transparent thermoplastic elastomer armour, which is designed to help reduce weight.

Lockheed Martin's Rotary and Mission Systems business unit has secured a $100.44m contract modification to support the A-RCI (acoustic-rapid-commercial-off-the-shelf insertion) Technical Insertion 16 programme.

The British Royal Navy's first new Batch 2 River-class offshore patrol vessel (OPV) has been formally named HMS Forth in a ceremony at BAE Systems' Scotstoun shipyard in Glasgow, Scotland.

The military base that China is building in Djibouti will be completed "later this summer", General Thomas Waldhauser, the commander of the US military's Africa Command, told the Senate Armed Services Committee on 9 March. Noting the proximity of the Chinese base to the US military's Camp

The Brazilian Army has ordered additional RBS 70 man-portable very short-range air defence (VSHORAD) systems from Saab, the company announced on 6 March. Deliveries will take place throughout 2017 and 2018. The contract, worth SEK105.046 million (USD11.640 million), was placed on 1 March by the

Brazilian aerospace and defence manufacturer Embraer published its financial results for 2016 on 9 March, showing growth in revenue and profit. Sales exceeded USD6.2 billion, a rise of 4.9% from 2015. Net income, adjusted to take account of non-recurring items, expanded 6.8% to USD290.5 million.

Meeting in Brussels on 9 March, EU leaders said that they want the decisions of their previous December 2016 summit about the EU's external security and defence "set in motion and reinforced". "In the present international environment, Europe must do more … including by

The European Union (EU) should directly fund the European Defence Agency (EDA) and any arrangement for a permanent structured co-operation (PESCO) in defence by a core group of EU countries, say members of European Parliament's Foreign Affairs and Constitutional committees. In a joint resolution on

The Portuguese Air Force (Força Aérea Portuguesa: FAP) has taken delivery of an initial four AN/AAQ-28(V) Litening AT Block II airborne navigation and targeting pods upgraded to the Litening G4 standard by original equipment manufacturer (OEM) Northrop Grumman, the Portuguese Ministry of

Navies face several challenges in introducing unmanned systems into the underwater environment, Dr Kevin LePage, principal scientist and anti-submarine warfare (ASW) programme manager at NATO's Centre for Maritime Research and Experimentation (CMRE), told the TDN UK 'Underwater Defence and Security'

Key Points The high rate of missile launches conducted by North Korea in 2016 is likely to have been for propaganda purposes, but also to determine the reliability of untested systems. Relatively stronger performance in North Korea's solid-fuelled missile programme represents a shift from three

US defence and space contractor Orbital ATK reported improved performance in its 2016 financial year in results published on 8 March. The company's Defense Systems segment, which produces ammunition and missile rocket motors, recorded sales of USD4.46 billion in 2016, an annual rise of 2.1%.