Defence - Industry News

Below are up to the minute news articles concerning the Defence industry. This is your one stop place for all your latest Global Defence industry news. Don’t forget to add this page to your favourites as we know you will want to return…

• Britain’s Navy: Supplies are From MARS

  RFA Bayleaf, 1982-2011 (click to view full) Britain’s Military Afloat Reach and Sustainability (MARS) program was begun in 2002, and aimed to buy up to 11 supply ships for the Royal Navy. Unfortunately, all the project could produce was studies, MoD planning delays, and slow progress. In 2007, MARS was broken up into a series of smaller [...]

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• Australia Buying 24 Super Hornets As Interim Gap-Fillers

  Latest updates: Australia to opt for EA-18 upgrades; New air combat training system bought; Article updates. RAAF F/A-18F rollout (click to view full) Australia’s Super Hornet purchase began life in a storm. “The Australian Debate: Abandon F-35, Buy F-22s?” offers full coverage of the controversies over Australia’s involvement in the F-35 Lightning II program, amid criticisms that the [...]

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• Singapore’s Aerial Tanker Buy

  RSAF KC-135R (click to view full) The Republic of Singapore Air Force currently relies on 4 re-engined KC-135R aerial refueling tankers, in order to extend the range of its fighter jets, and perform some long-range transport and cargo missions. This means that they share their aircraft type with the USAF, but it also means that they share [...]

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• Submarines for Indonesia

  Latest updates: Turkey consoled with prospect of follow-on sub tender, additional weapon orders. KRI Cakra (click to view larger) Indonesia sites astride one of the world’s most critical submarine chokepoints. A large share of global trade must pass through the critical Straits of Malacca, and the shallow littoral waters around the Indonesian archipelago. That makes for excellent submarine [...]

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• India’s Light Helicopter Contract Hits Turbulence, Rises

  Eurocopter's AS 550 Fennec and Bell Textron's 407 were competing for the Indian Army contract for 197 light helicopters to replace its aging fleet of Chetaks (Alouette II) and Cheetahs (Alouette III). Now the whole tender is being reissued, which may introduce new competitors...

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• Rapid Fire 2012-02-22: Contrat Pricing Reference Guides

  Contract Pricing Reference Guides (CPRG) have been made available to the American defense acquisition workforce in PDF and MS Word format. They cover price and cost analysis, quantitative techniques for contract pricing, federal contract negotiation techniques, and a set of advanced topics such as how to forecast cost overruns or how to recognize and deal [...]

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• Apres Harfang: France’s Next High-End UAVs

  Latest updates: MALE UAV study to BAE & Dassault; France to look at Watchkeeper. Harfang UAV, DGA (click to view full) Unmanned Aerial Vehicles have become a must-have item for modern armies, and the pressures of modern campaigns are forcing rapid acquisitions. Mini-UAVs are being bought off the shelf, and leased tactical options like Boeing’s ScanEagles and Aeronautics [...]

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• The UK’s Watchkeeper ISTAR UAV

  Britain has given the green light to the Watchkeeper Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Program. The contract with Thales UK will be worth around GBP 700 million ($1.23 billion), and is expected to create or sustain up to 2000 high-quality manufacturing jobs in the UK. The Watchkeeper program also received recent praise for "best practices" in the UK National Audit Office's (NAO's) annual Major Projects Report....

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• APKWS II: Laser-Guided Hydra Rockets in Production At Last

  Latest updates: UH-1Y helicopter firing with new warhead; 1st fixed-wing firing uses AT-6C; Article updates. Hydras & Hellfires (click to view full) The versatile Hydra 70mm rocket family is primed for a new lease on life, thanks to widespread programs aimed at converting these ubiquitous rockets into cheap laser-guided precision weapons. Conversion benefits include cost, use on both [...]

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• A Higher-Tech Hog: USAF A-10C Upgrades and Refurbishments

  Latest updates: 1st re-winged A-10C rolled out; A-10 cuts. A-10A over Germany (click to view full) The Precision Engagement modification is the largest single upgrade effort ever undertaken for the USA’s unique A-10 “Warthog” close air support aircraft fleet. While existing A/OA-10 aircraft continue to outperform technology-packed rivals on the battlefield, this set of upgrades is expected to [...]

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