Jane's Defense News

South Korean shipbuilder Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI) has attributed its improved financial performance during the second quarter of fiscal year 2016 to continuing restructuring efforts. The company, one of South Korea's biggest naval shipbuilders, said that while second-quarter sales fell 17% to

The Indian government has abolished a set of rules previously introduced to support state-owned defence companies entering joint ventures (JVs) with private sector firms, it has been announced. The 'Guidelines for establishing joint venture companies by defence public sector undertakings (DPSUs)'

India's Ministry of Defence (MoD) signed a USD1 billion deal with Boeing on 27 July for four additional P-8I Neptune long-range maritime multi-mission aircraft for the Indian Navy (IN), official and industry sources said. The aircraft, which are being acquired via a direct commercial sale with

India's Ministry of Defence (MoD) has concluded negotiations with Italian arms manufacturer Beretta for the import of 177 sniper rifles for its Marine Commandos (MARCOS), the special forces unit of the Indian Navy (IN), for an estimated INR200 million (USD2.98 million). Official sources said the

An 85-year-old priest - identified as Jacques Hamel - was killed and a worshipper was wounded after two Islamist militants, armed with knives, entered a church service in the town of Saint-Etienne-du-Rouvray in France's Seine Maritime department on 26 July and took three other people hostage, the

A final instalment of 25 Cheetah self-propelled anti-aircraft guns (SPAAGs) has now arrived in Jordan. Decommissioned by the Armed Forces of the Netherlands in 2006, the Cheetah (Gepard in German service) consists of a modified Leopard 1 tank hull armed with twin 35 mm Rheinmetall Air Defence

China rolled out a new amphibious aircraft from the Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC) production line in Zhuhai on 23 July, state media announced. With a wing span of 38.8 m and a length of 37 m, the four-turboprop AG600 is the largest 'flying boat' to have been built by China. The

The VH-92A Presidential Helicopter Replacement Program recently passed its Critical Design Review (CDR), Lockheed Martin announced on 25 July. The milestone means that the programme to replace the presidential fleet of ageing Sikorsky VH-3D (Sea King) and VH-60N (Black hawk) helicopters with the

TWO people were killed when Harakat al-Shabaab al-Mujahideen militants attacked an army base in the town of Adale in Somalia's Shabeellaha Dhexe region on 24 July, Goobjoog reported. The attack reportedly involved the initial detonation of an explosive device near the base before militants with

The Argentine Ministry of Defence (MoD) is evaluating the purchase of a new medium transport aircraft to replace the Fokker F27 Friendships of the Argentine Air Force, the last operational example of which is to be retired this year. According to Walter Ceballos, the MoD's logistics and emergencies

Australia's Productivity Commission - the government's independent research and advisory body - has questioned the industrial efficiency of building the Royal Australian Navy's (RAN's) next-generation submarines in Australia. In its annual Trade and Assistance Review , published on 25 July, the

Key Points Flight trials on UK Typhoon IPA 6 already under way Typhoon firing trials scheduled for the first quarter of 2017 Following successful completion of a series of delayed Operational Evaluation trials in February 2016, the UK Royal Air Force has finally declared an Initial Operating

EVENT Mombasa's county commissioner reported to local media on 24 July that militants affiliated with Harakat al-Shabaab al-Mujahideen (Al-Shabaab) had planned to launch a co-ordinated vehicle-borne explosive device (VBIED) and small-arms assault against the Likoni ferry terminal in the Kenyan

AT LEAST 80 people were killed and 230 others were wounded when at least two suicide bombers detonated their explosives among a gathering of Shia Muslim Hazara protesters in Afghanistan's capital Kabul on 23 July, Al-Jazeera reported. The Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attack through

Lockheed Martin has begun work on the mid-life upgrade (MLU) of Greece's P-3B Orion maritime patrol aircraft (MPA) fleet, the manufacturer announced on 25 July. The launch of the effort to modernise and refurbish four of the five P-3B aircraft that are owned jointly by the Hellenic Air Force and

The Israeli company Elbit Systems is close to a deal to buy Mectron from Odebrecht Defesa e Tecnologia (ODT) for a total of about USD50 million, sources told IHS Jane's . According to the Brazilian sources, the purchase could be through AEL, which is the local subsidiary of Elbit Systems. Mectron

Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), India's state-owned aerospace company, is reportedly close to finalising a deal to take over a company in Goa in order to expand its capacity to enable it to undertake helicopter maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) services. The Times of India newspaper

AN IMPROVISED explosive device (IED), emplaced on the vehicle of the chairman of the Somali Ulema Council - identified as Sheih Yusuf Ali Aynte, detonated in the Mecca al-Mukaramah road in Somalia's capital Mogadishu on 23 July, Hiiraan reported. No group immediately claimed responsibility for the

The Indian Army (IA) has deployed 120 T-72M1 main battle tanks (MBTs) to the northern Himalayan region of Ladakh along a portion of the 4,057 km Line of Actual Control (LoAC): the country's disputed Himalayan border with China. China and India went to war in 1962 over this un-demarcated mountainous

Airbus Defence and Space (DS) has said India's Ministry of Defence (MoD) terminated in late June the six-year-old USD2 billion tender for six multi-role tanker transport (MRTT) aircraft for the Indian Air Force (IAF), for which the company's A330 MRTT had been shortlisted. "We have been