Defence`s Feeds

The challenges facing today’s border agencies and international organisations are acute and becoming ever more demanding. The increasing flow of extremists to and from the Middle East, the dramatic immigration scenes on the Mediterranean and at the Channel Tunnel in Calais this s

If there is one common theme linking the limitations of almost all Counter-IED (C-IED) operations it is information sharing. As regional events begin to spill over into global concerns and the hybrid threat continues to evolve, there has never been a greater need for a coordinated inte

The Royal Thai Air Force (RTAF) has received its first batch of EC725 helicopters from Airbus, in accordance with the order signed in 2012. Four units were received in the last week of August; two more are expected before the contract is fulfilled in 2016. The deliv

The US-Mexican border has been a source of vigorous debate for American politicians for decades. Whether anger is raised over perceived impacts on crime, jobs, or entitlements, the end result is, invariably, new laws or practices designed to curb illegal immigration at America’s

EVENT On 2 September, 18 construction workers (17 of whom were Turkish nationals) were reported to have been abducted in Sadr City. The workers were employed at a project for the construction of a sports stadium in Habiba. According to the Iraqi news site, al-Mada press, the attackers wore

Fighting between insurgents and the Afghan National Defence and Security Forces (ANDSF) has intensified in Musa Qala, one of a number of districts in northern Helmand province that temporarily fell to the insurgency in late August. Afghan media first reported heavy fighting in Musa Qala on 24

The Royal Australian Navy ANZAC-class frigate HMAS Ballarat has completed dock work related to the Project SEA 1448 Phase 2 Anti-Ship Missile Defence (ASMD) upgrade and will be commencing sea trials with its newly installed equipments, BAE Systems Australia announced on 2 September. The upgrades

Boeing may be laying off potentially hundreds of employees, according to a Reuters report. The company would have notified employees on 31 August, according to Reuters. Boeing representatives did not immediate return calls requesting comment. Those employees are tied to Boeing's satellite business,

China placed its latest satellite in orbit on 27 August, carried by a Long March 4C rocket launched from the Taiyuan satellite launch centre in northern China. Yaogan-27 was described by Chinese media as a remote sensing satellite to be used for land surveys, crop yield forecasts, and disaster

EVENT Guatemala's national congress yesterday (1 September) voted to remove President Otto Pérez Molina's immunity from prosecution, the first time in Guatemalan history that such a move has been made. According to investigations carried out by the UN-backed International Commission Against

International ratings agency Fitch has reported that it "expects" Italian defence technologies group Finmeccanica to sell its 25% stake in pan-European missile systems house MBDA to co-owners BAE Systems and Airbus Group. BAE Systems and Airbus both hold a 37.5% ownership in MBDA, which

Israel Military Industries (IMI) has announced that it is now marketing its MPR-500 bomb internationally. The weapon is already in service with the Israeli Air Force, which used it during Operation 'Protective Edge' against militants in the Gaza Strip in 2014. The MPR-500 has the same form as a

India's Ministry of Defence (MoD) approved programmes worth nearly INR140 billion (USD 2.2 billion) for all three services on 1 September. The Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) cleared the Indian Air Force (IAF) to buy 48 more Mil Mi-17V5 'Hip' medium-lift helicopters for INR69.92 billion and seven

Denmark is offering to Indonesia a programme to jointly develop and produce radar systems in a bid to secure additional sales in the market, it has emerged. The Indonesian Ministry of Defence (MoD) said on 1 September that Denmark has outlined a potential programme to transfer technologies to

Indonesia is discussing with Moscow the terms of a USD3 billion loan to support its acquisition of Russian military equipment, according to a senior member of the Indonesian House of Representatives' (DPR's) defence commission. Citing Tubagus Hasanuddin, vice-chairman of the defence commission,

Lockheed Martin has been contracted to deliver Block 3F software for the F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter for the US and UK militaries. The USD311.4 million contract announced by the Department of Defense (DoD) on 1 September covers delivery of the aircraft's full combat software to the US

Nordic defence munitions and missile propulsion products group Nammo announced on 1 September that it had established a subsidiary in Poland. The group - owned 50:50 by Finnish land systems group Patria and the government of Norway - said that the establishment of the Polish business meant that it

Russia is to begin production of a new helicopter that will be capable of speeds of up to 270 kt (500 km/h; 310 mph) in the early part of the next decade, state media reported on 1 September. Development of the high-speed helicopter is progressing well, with a prototype expected to make its maiden

Key Points Russian Borey-class SSBN scheduled to complete transfer to Pacific Fleet Russia plans to base four Boreys in the Pacific The Russian Navy's Borey-class nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarine (SSBN) Alexander Nevsky is scheduled to arrive at its Pacific Fleet home base in early

Key Points Singaporean, Indonesian navies co-ordinated to foil an attack at sea, with three arrested Incident highlights the ongoing risk of robbery and piracy in the region A bid to rob a Malaysian-flagged tugboat in the eastern approaches of the Singapore Strait has been foiled by a