Defence`s Feeds

Australia The RAN’S ANZAC upgrade programme has benefited from a series of incremental update packages.  One of the most important has involved the fitting of the RIM-162 Evolved Sea Sparrow Missile (ESSM), which offers improved kinematic performance and

Americas

• Sikorsky’s S-97 Raider helicopter prototype has made its maiden flight, with this likely to be a welcome distraction from the firm’s current ailing business situation. The coaxial helicopter’s core X2 technologies will be at the heart of the Sikorsky-Boeing Defiant, a finalist for the Army’s Joint Multi-Role, Future Vertical Lift (JMR – FVL) competition.

• BAE Systems has submitted a bid for the USMC’s Amphibious Combat Vehicle (ACV) competition, with the company teaming with Italian firm Iveco Defence to develop the ACV 1.1 design.

• Lockheed Martin has been handed a $27.3 million option for seven TB-37 multi-function towed array (MFTA) production units, as well as auxiliary equipment and support services. The work and production will be split between the US Navy and Japan under a previous Foreign Military Sale. The TB-37 is a potent anti-submarine warfare sensor, with the system offering several enhancements to the AN/SQR-19 Tactical Towed Array System which it replaces. The TB-37 Multi-Function Towed Array is the first new surface ship array to be built for the US Navy in 25 years and is configured as a long array that can be towed behind surface ships for ASW mission sets.

Europe

• Russian Helicopters has begun series production of the company’s new Mi-26T2 model, a modernized version of the Mi-26T. The model is the most powerful heavy-lift series production helicopter ever, capable of lifting 15 metric tons, with recent reports indicating that Russia and China may have recently signed a joint construction deal for a large heavy-lift helicopter, thought to be the upgraded Mi-26T.

• Russia’s Sputnik News is reporting that US firm Bell Helicopter has signed a contract with Russian firm Urals Civil Aviation Plant (UZGA) for the licensed assembly of the former’s latest 407GXP single-engine helicopter. Bell Helicopter is a Textron company, which was recently awarded another sole-source contract from the Canadian Coast Guard.

• Polish and German defense companies are collaborating to develop a new 6×6 amphibious armored personnel carrier. Two Polish firms – Polska Grupa Zbrojeniowa (Polish Armament Group) and the OBRUM company will partner with Germany’s Rheinmetall Man Military Vehicles on the new vehicle, intended to form a potential option to replace the Polish fleet of Soviet-era BRDM-2 APCs.

• Poland has also released a tender for 200 “revolver-type” 40mm grenade launchers, with five firms having completed the technical dialogue with the government’s armaments directorate earlier in the year, including South African and Turkish, as well as domestic companies.

Middle East

• Egypt is reportedly ordering 46 MiG-29 fighters, according to Russian media. Two Russian industry sources leaked details of the deal on Monday to Russian newspaper Vedomosti [Russian], indicating that the deal could be worth up to $2 billion in the highest single order of MiG-29s since the end of the Soviet Union. The Egyptians have mulled purchasing Russian MiGs before – both the -29 and more advanced -35 models. The Air Force possesses a diversified fleet, including US, French and Russian aircraft, partially a result of the US’s decision to suspend military aim to the country following the overthrow of the government in July 2013.

Asia

• In addition to the recent order of 145 M777 howitzers, the Indian Army is to receive 114 upgraded Dhanush guns, based on the Swedish Bofors 155mm guns bought by the country in the 1980s. The initial $252 million contract comes on the heels of a set of successful trials, with the upgraded guns mostly (80%) Indian-manufactured. India’s attempts to both recover from the Bofors scandal and plug operational gaps previously led to a messy and ambiguous competition. A follow-on order for up to 481 guns is expected following the delivery of these 114 guns within a three-year time frame.

Today’s Video

• The above mentioned Sikorsky S-97 Raider’s first flight…

India is to conduct a safety assessment of its fleet of Sukhoi S030MKI 'Flanker' fighters following the loss of an aircraft on 19 May, national media has reported. A high-level review of the more than 200 Su-30MKI aircraft fielded by the Indian Air Force (IAF) is due to be held in the coming days,

Key Points Russia plans to produce hundreds of UAVs and develop a supporting RDT&E and industrial base by 2025 Most of these UAVs will be for tactical use, and some will be developed for weapons delivery Russia's armed forces and 'power' ministries may procure hundreds of unmanned aerial

The second batch of four Republic of China Army (RoCA) Sikorsky UH-60M Black Hawk utility helicopters arrived in at Kaohsiung Harbour in Taiwan on 24 May, the country's Ministry of National Defense (MND) has announced. Taiwan is set to receive 60 UH-60Ms at a cost of USD3.1 billion. The first four

Key Points Sikorsky's S-97 completed its first flight on 22 May Sikorsky now plans to demonstrate more advanced capabilities needed to support armed reconnaissance, light assault, light attack, and special operations United Technologies' Sikorsky Aircraft unit's S-97 Raider coaxial rotor

The US Army began its first rotational deployment to Europe under the newly restructured aviation presence announced earlier in May. Aviation Task Force Brawler comprises Sikorsky UH-60M/HH-60M Black Hawk helicopters from 4-3 Assault Helicopter Battalion (AHB), based at Hunter Army Airfield in

The United States has stepped up its pressure on China over its island building programme in the Spratly Islands by releasing video footage and audio recordings of exchanges with Chinese naval ships. The US Navy (USN) also allowed CNN on a Boeing P-8 Poseidon surveillance flight from Clark Air

LOCAL government officials reported on 18 May that approximately 500 people - including at least 15 soldiers - had been killed across the past several days after Islamic State militants launched a major offensive, involving artillery and multiple suicide attacks, against security forces in the city

The Brazilian Air Force (FAB) announced on 20 May that it would begin to take delivery of eight EMBRAER P-95 Bandeirulha maritime patrol aircraft in 2015 that are currently undergoing a significant upgrade programme. The upgraded P-95 will be designated P-95M and distributed among the FAB's

The Royal Cambodian Army (RCA) took delivery of a range of defence equipment from China on 23 May as part of further efforts to bolster its maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) capabilities. Chinese state media reported that the People's Liberation Army (PLA) handed over to the Royal Cambodian

China published its new military White Paper on 26 May, which includes unprecedented emphasis on a requirement to accelerate civil-military integration (CMI); the process through which China aims to advance military industrial innovation. The White Paper includes a subchapter dedicated to outlining

Key Points Since a failed coup attempt on 13 May, supporters of President Pierre Nkurunziza have been emboldened to crack down on his opponents ahead of a series of national elections between June and August 2015. Nkurunziza's refusal to withdraw from the presidential elections, and the increased

The first of three air warfare destroyers (AWDs) for the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) was launched on 23 May amid the disclosure of further delays and cost overruns in a programme that is already well behind schedule and significantly over budget. Defence Minister Kevin Andrews referred to the

France and Russia plan to come to an agreement in late May on terms for severing the contract for supply of Mistral-class helicopter carriers to Russia, a source in the Russian military-technical sphere has said, according to the RIA Novosti news agency. "Paris has not yet replied to the

Key Points Recent proliferation of submarines poses security risks for the Asia-Pacific region, says Singapore The RSN has proposed four areas for navies to collaborate in enhancing regional underwater safety Singapore has warned that the recent proliferation of submarines in the Asia-Pacific

Japan and Malaysia have agreed to co-operate on defence trade and related technologies as a reflection of deepening bilateral ties, a joint statement said on 25 May. Following meetings in Tokyo between Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and his visiting counterpart, Najib Razak, a statement said

EVENT A Tunisian soldier opened fire on 25 May in the Bouchoucha military barracks in Tunis, killing seven soldiers and wounding 10 before being shot dead. According to a defence ministry spokesman, the soldier attacked one comrade with a knife and took his weapon before shooting at his fellow

Kazakhstan's Zenit Uralsk Shipyard has launched a new FC-19 interceptor craft for the Kazakh Coast Guard. Mergen (pennant 509) is the 20th vessel to be built for the coastguard by Zenit since the early 1990s, according to Vyacheslav Valiyev, the shipyard's director general. The 27-29-tonne FC-19

EVENT The Kuwaiti interior ministry announced on 25 May that seven members of an alleged militant cell affiliated with the Islamic State had been arrested. The cell reportedly intended to carry out attacks along the lines of the 22 May suicide bombing of a Shia mosque in Saudi Arabia in order to