Jane's Defense News

North Korea fired off three ballistic missiles into the Sea of Japan on 5 September as the leaders of the Group of Twenty (G20) advanced and emerging economies held a summit in the Chinese city of Hangzhou. The missiles, believed to be No Dong (also known as Rodong) intermediate-range ballistic

The Royal New Zealand Navy (RNZN) has certified its lead Otago-class offshore patrol vessel (OPV) to embark the service's new Super Seasprite SH-2G(I) naval combat helicopter. A series of qualification procedures, which culminated in an activity referred to by the navy as an 'Aviation Safety and

Key Points A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket exploded during a 1 September engine firing The company is scheduled to launch a USAF GPS 3 satellite with a Falcon 9 in 2018 A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket exploded during an engine firing test at Cape Canaveral, Florida on 1 September. The explosion resulted in the

EVENT Representatives of the United Nations Security Council visited the South Sudanese capital, Juba, last week and agreed on 4 September with the government as the date to deploy a 4,000-person protection force to the city under UN Security Council Resolution 2304 (2016) passed on 12 August. The

Key Points The USMC continued operational tests of the F-35B with test-firing of the AMRAAM The three weeks of trials were designed around operational employment scenarios The US Marine Corps (USMC) continued operational tests of the Lockheed Martin F-35B Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter (JSF),

Colder weather may loom ahead, marking the close of Afghanistan's fighting season, but clashes between the Taliban and the Afghan National Defence and Security Forces (ANDSF) are still expected in the country's northern, southern, and eastern provinces, according to Brigadier General Charles

BAE Systems and Fincantieri have signed contracts with the Australian government to refine ship designs in support of the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) SEA 5000 Future Frigate programme. The two companies issued statements on 1 September that they have signed the agreement for the risk-reduction and

The Chilean Navy (Armada de Chile) has received into service the first of seven Vulcanair P68 Observer 2 twin-propeller aircraft, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) announced on 1 September. The first of the Italian-built aircraft (designated Naval Aircraft 321 in Chilean service) arrived at the Naval

Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering (DSME) has confirmed plans to spin off its naval shipbuilding business. The company, which is under substantial financial pressure, said in a statement on 1 September that it is conducting a feasibility study and expects to finalise its divestiture plans

The German regional court in Koblenz ruled in favour of Heckler & Koch (H&K) on 2 September in an action initiated by the company to challenge the assertion by the German Ministry of Defence (MoD) that the Bundeswehr's G36 assault rifle is technically deficient and in violation of

The Brazilian Army is to procure additional REMAX (REparo de Metralhadora Automatizado X) and UT30BR lightweight remote-controlled weapon stations from Elbit Systems' ARES, the service's Projects Management Office (EPEx) told IHS Jane's . REMAX was developed jointly with army's Science and

Canada has launched a new Peace and Stabilization Operations Program (PSOPs) and pledged to make available up to 600 Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) personnel for possible UN peace operation deployments. In a 26 August announcement, the Canadian government said it would devote CAD450 million (USD346

The US Department of Defense Inspector General (DoD IG) has recommended the US Army either move forward or cancel the XM25 Counter Defilade Target Engagement (CDTE) weapon programme. Army officials deployed prototype XM25 systems to Afghanistan as part of a 'forward operational assessment' from

Key Points Production of the German Army's Puma armoured infantry fighting vehicle is set to increase from 2017 Future upgrades to the vehicle are also being planned Projekt System and Management (PSM) is now ramping up production of the Puma Armoured Infantry Fighting Vehicle (AIFV) for the

DCNS Group, the French shipbuilder selected to lead Australia's Future Submarine programme in April, has received a warning from the Australian Department of Defence (DoD) following a substantial leak of technical data relating to the company's Scorpene submarine design. The unauthorised release of

BAE Systems has topped the list suppliers to the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) over the past year, according to data published by the London-based ministry on 25th August. The ministry's spend with the UK-based defence giant was some GBP3.67 billion (USD4.85 billion) in the financial year 2015-16 or

Key Points Boeing will deliver the Underwater Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance capability package for New Zealand's P-3K2 Orion fleet New Zealand companies Safe Air, Beca, and Marops Limited will be involved in supporting the acquisition through-life Boeing has clinched a NZD36

The Colombian government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) have reached a final agreement towards ending a bloody war ongoing since the 1960s, the parties announced on 24 August. "We have reached a final accord, complete and definitive, to end an armed conflict with the

Key Points The Pentagon's director of operational testing has warned that the F-35 programme is still at risk of failing to deliver its full combat capability at the conclusion of SDD The USAF and the USMC have declared IOC with interim 3i combat software, while the USN has said that it will wait

Key Points GAO has raised concerns about lost mission capability if the A-10 is retired CSAR-Sandy and FAC(A) are two mission sets that could be weakened if the USAF divests the aircraft Congressional auditors have raised concerns about potential for lost mission capability in a 24 August report