Jane's Defense News

Key Points France is to spend an extra EUR1.5 billion on defence equipment by 2019 under an update to the country's military programming law Included is the addition of four C-130s, more helicopters, and the acceleration of several naval programmes French defence minister Jean-Yves Le Drian

Key Points CMN has unveiled a mine countermeasures variant of the Ocean Eagle 43 patrol boat The vessel is positioned to meet the demands of modern mine warfare operations, company says French shipyard Constructions Mécaniques de Normandie (CMN) has introduced a mine countermeasures (MCM)

Singapore shipbuilder ST Marine is in talks with Texas-based engineering company Kellogg Brown & Root (KBR) to jointly bid for Australia's Pacific Patrol Boat Replacement Program, a source has confirmed to IHS Jane's during the IMDEX 2015 exhibition in Singapore. The potential collaboration

The Indian Coast Guard has commissioned four new vessels at Porbandar in the western state of Gujarat. The vessels - the Aadesh-class fast patrol ship ICGS Ankit (pennant number 247) and the interceptor boats C-419, C-420, and C-155 - were commissioned on 14 May. In recent months, the coastguard

Key Points The Kurdistan Region's constitution is unlikely to be amended before President Massoud Barzani's term expires, increasing the likelihood that elections will be postponed and his term extended by at least a year. The Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) and the Gorran party - which

Key Points Environmental crimes are lucrative ventures for organised crime groups in Italy, particularly in Campania and Lombardy. The state response is hindered by corruption in local administrations, although a new law has been passed that elevates environmental crimes to the status of felony.

Key Points The Islamic State took control of the city of Ramadi, capital of Iraq's Anbar province, on 17 May, following heavy fighting with security forces. The city was the first major Iraqi urban centre to be seized since security forces and militias recaptured Tikrit in late March, representing

The top US Marine Corps (USMC) official in the Pacific believes embarked marine forces have become too heavy and should consider dropping main battle tanks from their load plans. "Our equipment is getting too heavy … we've got to get lighter," Lieutenant General John Toolan,

Key Points The French Navy's new Missile de Croisière Naval cruise missile was fired from multimission frigate Aquitaine on a DGA test range off the Île du Levant The qualification firing marks the first firing of a cruise missile from a European surface ship and the first shipborne

EVENT Following calls by the Lebanese army, the security committee of the Ain al-Hilweh Palestinian refugee camp in Sidon deployed joint security forces on 19 May. Following calls by the Lebanese army, the security committee of the Ain al-Hilweh Palestinian refugee camp in Sidon deployed joint

Swiss aerospace and defence firm RUAG announced on 22 May that its aviation division, RUAG Aviation, had signed a teaming agreement with Chilean aerospace company ENAER. According to RUAG, the two companies will look to leverage potential opportunities in a variety of sectors, focusing on aircraft

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

A number of enhancements are being planned or explored for Air Force Special Operations Command's (AFSOC's) Lockheed Martin AC-130J gunships now entering fixed-wing inventories, including a 105 mm cannon, an offboard sensor, and a directed energy weapon. The command's gunship fleet has decreased