Jane's Defense News

A FORMER local self-government head was wounded during an improvised explosive device (IED) attack - described in media reports as a pressure bomb - by Communist Party of India - Maoist (CPI-M) militants on a road between Dornapal and Polampalli in Sukma district in India's Chhattisgarh state on 3

India has attracted less than USD1 million in foreign direct investment (FDI) in the defence sector over the past three fiscal years, India's defence minister Manohar Parrikar has disclosed. In a recent parliamentary reply, Parrikar said that since fiscal year 2013/14 India's defence sector has

The Indian Army's Infantry Directorate has published a request for information (RFI) for a new sniper rifle. The service plans to acquire 5,000 bolt-action sniper rifles chambered for the .338 Lapua Magnum, with a requirement for the rifle to be capable of operation in environments to include high

A service inquiry has found that a loss of crew situational awareness was the most significant contributory cause of the crash of a Royal Air Force (RAF) Westland/Aerospatiale SA 330E Puma HC2 medium transport helicopter in Afghanistan in October 2015, with the loss of five of the nine personnel on

The US Office of Naval Research (ONR) awarded Metron Inc, of Reston, Virginia, a USD29.8 million contract to develop advanced autonomy for unmanned undersea vehicles (UUVs) on 14 December 2016. The contract contains options that, if exercised, would bring the total potential value to almost USD34

The Myanmar Air Defence Force (Tatmadaw Lay) commissioned four Airbus Helicopters H120 (formerly designated EC120 B) Colibri helicopters and four Beechcraft 1900D utility transport aircraft in a ceremony to mark the service's 69th anniversary at Meiktila Air Base on 15 December, according to a

NATO officially terminated its 'Ocean Shield' counter-piracy mission in the Indian Ocean on 15 December, although the mission's activities operationally ended in late November. Launched in 2009 at the height of pirate raids off Somalia, 'Ocean Shield' worked alongside the EU's Operation 'Atalanta'

Syrian government forces appeared on the verge of overrunning the last pocket of opposition fighters in Aleppo on 9 December, the rebels having lost more than 75% of their territory in the city since the Russian-backed offensive began on 18 November. The latest advances involved Syrian troops

Argentina's Fabricas Militares has signed an agreement with Italian weapon manufacturer Beretta to locally produce the ARX-200 automatic rifle and the PX4 pistol, Argentine Defence Ministry Secretary of Science, Technology, and Production Hector Lostri announced on 9 December. The local company is

The French government has donated 15 new vehicles, along with weapons, communication, and ballistic equipment to Cameroon for use by the country's Special Forces. The handover to the Cameroonian military took place on 29 November in Yaoundé during a ceremony attended by Defence Minister Joseph

Cognitive Systems is looking to transition its commercial R10 integrated circuit (IC), referred to as "radio frequency [RF] situational awareness on a chip", to military customers seeking a high-performance, agile, and low-size, weight, and power (SWaP) solution. RF situational awareness

General Atomics Aeronautical Systems Inc (GA-ASI) has begun flight testing for its MQ-1C Gray Eagle Extended Range (ER) series unmanned aircraft for the US Army's Improved Gray Eagle (IGE) requirement, the company announced on 8 December. GA-ASI said it has conducted the first flight of a

Indonesia and Russia are continuing to negotiate the terms of the Indonesian Air Force's (TNI-AU's) procurement of Sukhoi Su-35 'Flanker-E' multirole combat aircraft, Indonesian defence minister Ryamizard Ryacudu has confirmed. In comments reported by state-owned media agency Antara on 9 December,

Key Points Lawmakers continue to worry about the LCS' cost as auditors call for increased testing The USN expressed concern that restraining spending on the LCS may reduce navy leverage for negotiating contracts competitively Cost overruns for the US Navy's (USN's) Littoral Combat Ship (LCS)

EVENT Influential members of outgoing prime minister Matteo Renzi's Democratic Party (Partito Democratico: PD) and its junior coalition partner, the New Centre-Right (Nuovo Centrodestra: NCD), have joined the opposition in calling for a snap election in Italy following the rejection of a

Rheinmetall Defence Australia (RDA) has awarded its first supply contract to a local company under its newly signed industrial alliance with the Australian government. RDA, a subsidiary of German group Rheinmetall Defence, said in a press release on 12 December that it has contracted

Lockheed Martin-owned helicopter specialist Sikorsky announced that it had completed a new Systems Integration Lab in Stratford, Connecticut, on 7 December, as part of its investment in the US Air Force's (USAF's) Combat Rescue Helicopter (CRH) programme. The 2,500-ft facility has been added to

UK minister for Defence Procurement Harriett Baldwin formally launched a Defence and Security Accelerator competition on 8 December, calling on British companies to "develop new technologies to improve the UK's ability to analyse and exploit data". The competition, which has received GBP3

British Secretary of State for International Trade Liam Fox has raised the prospect of the country resuming a partnership with Brazil in defence activities, Brazilian defence minister Raul Jungmann announced on 7 December. The two ministers met in Brasilia, where they discussed a common need to

The Pentagon is deploying another 200 special operations forces (SOFs) personnel to Syria, for a stated total of about 500, to help rebels battling to expel Islamic State fighters from Raqqa, US Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter announced on 10 December. "The United States will deploy