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US defence firms offering to set up production lines in India to win deals worth billions of dollars want stronger assurances they won't have to part with proprietary technology, according to a business lobby group's letter to India's Defence Minister. These companies are also saying they shouldn't be held liable for defects in products manufactured in collaboration with local partners under Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Make-in-India's drive to build a military industrial base. Lockheed Martin and Boeing are both bidding to supply combat jets to India's military, which is running short of hundreds of aircraft as it retires Soviet-era MiG...

The CAMM missile is seen on its first flight from HMS Argyll. The missile’s clean aerodynamic design provides it with improved performance in the air, while also making it highly compact for installation onboard ship. Photo: MBDA The Sea Ceptor weapon system recently completed its first successfully firings from HMS Argyll. The frigate is one of three Royal Navy Type 23 frigates being modified with the Sea Ceptor system, replacing the older Sea Wolf. The test is a major milestone for the life-extension program of Type 23 frigates. HMS Argyll is the first Type 23 to undergo the life-extension program....

With more than 3,300 pounds of weapons, the fierce Super Tucano can swoop in to unleash hefty firepower from above and save lives of warfighters on the ground. The A-29 “Super Tucano” turboprop aircraft looks like a Latin spin throwback to the World War II era of iconic American fighters- but make no mistake this aircraft is a modern hybrid of low tech and high tech fit to fight current threats. The Super Tucano is currently taking part in the U.S. Air Force's exciting Light Attack Experiment. The A-29 that is part of the Experiment is a partnership between Brazilian...

President Trump spoke with South Korean President Moon Jae-in on Friday about the North Korean threat and during the call gave "conceptual approval of planned purchases" of military equipment. As Pyongyang continued its provocations in the region this week, launching a ballistic missile that flew over Japan, a readout from the White House said Trump and Moon discussed their countries' "coordinated response to North Korea's continued destabilizing and escalatory behavior."

Russia are claiming their new MiG-41 will be able to reach space and even potentially operate without a pilot, according to the CEO of the MiG corporation working on the project. The new fighter will, the company say, be a spiritual successor of MiG-31, MiG Corporation CEO Ilya Tarasenko stated, shedding some light on the interceptor under development. “The development is at the stage of finalizing the image of the plane. It will be a gradual transition from MiG-31 to PAK DA” Tarasenko said in an interview on Russian TV. The jet, he said, will not be just a modernisation...

Israel’s Ministry of Defense has completed the acquisition process of an additional 17 F-35 stealth jets, officially giving the Israel Air Force two squadrons of the world’s most advanced fighter planes. The purchase of the 17 additional planes, whose delivery will be completed by December 2024, was approved by the cabinet in November and the contract was signed by the director general of the Ministry of Defense Maj.-Gen (res) Udi Adam. Israel, which has already received five F-35 “Adir” jets now being tested by the IAF, will receive an additional two next week and another two jets by November, bringing...

The U.S. Embassy in Lebanon has announced that President Donald Trump’s administration has delivered military equipment to the Hezbollah-linked Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF), namely Bradley Fighting Vehicles. “It will provide the Lebanese Armed Forces with new capabilities to protect Lebanon, to protect its borders, and to fight terrorists,” declared Elizabeth Richard, the U.S. ambassador to Lebanon, referring to the U.S.-supplied military vehicles. “Over the next several months, the Army will undergo intensive training on how to operate and maintain this new, very sophisticated combat system.” “I am pleased to once again demonstrate our long-term commitment to Lebanon, and our support...

“All warfare is based on deception,” Sun Tzu wrote 2,500 years ago. It’s a lesson the US military largely forgot after the Cold War, when we got in the habit of building huge, easily targeted bases. Now we must relearn deception as Russia, China, and other adversaries field, not only their own precision weapons, but the satellites, drones, and other sensors to find targets for them. But what does deception mean in the 21st century? Once it required recruiting courtesans as spies and camouflaging troops with tree branches and green facepaint. Now it involves putting out fake news on Facebook...

Full Title: Russia unveils new fleet of 'invisible' supersonic fighter jets - and boasts that they will be the envy of air forces around the world Russia has unveiled its new fleet of 'invisible' supersonic fighter jets, boasting that they are already the envy of air forces around the world. The £120million Sukhoi-57, which will have a top speed of 1,615 mph, is said to rival America's F-22 and China's Chengdu J-20, Kremlin officials say the fifth-generation stealth jet has been 'christened like a baby after its birth' as Su-57 and will undergo another year of testing before it enters...

New Delhi (Sputnik) — The Indian Air Force (IAF) is set to get their first fighter jet equipped with a new age active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar as upgrades to their deep penetration Jaguar fighter are completed. Defense sources told Sputnik the AESA-equipped Jaguar DARIN III will take its first flight this month. Technical trials and other necessary tests have been completed. "The new age AESA radar has been integrated into Jaguar and it is ready to take its first flight in a few days. Suitable date is being finalized by the Ministry of Defense and IAF," a defense...

HUNTSVILLE, ALA.: If you fly Russian MiG fighters, Sukhoi attack jets, or Hind helicopters, your life just got a little harder — and in the event of war, potentially much shorter. At the Space & Missile Defense conference here, General Dynamics rolled out the latest variant of their eight-wheel-drive Stryker armored vehicle, with the troop compartment that’s normally in the back replaced with a Boeing-built anti-aircraft turret. Scroll down for our photos of the vehicle, dubbed the Maneuver SHORAD (Short-Range Air Defense) Launcher, or MSL Stryker. Evolved from the Cold War era Avenger, which mounted Stinger missiles on Humvee, the...

With all of the unrest going on in other parts of the world this summer (North Korea, Venezuela, Turkey, Syria, etc.), it’s not too surprising if we miss some of the stories coming out of the Philippines. But they’ve got their own share of troubles to worry about. Their new president has been raising eyebrows around the world with his war on drugs, which sometimes entails killing the occasional mayor of a smaller city, as well as some external threats as well. But they remain one of our allies, at least for now, and you take your friends where...

An Indian Air Force Mirage 2000 refuels mid-air from a Su-30 buddy-tanker NEW DELHI: Indian Air Force fighter jets will be able to effectively tackle Chinese Air Force fighters over Tibet in the event of hostilities between the two countries. A new yet-to-be-released document, "The Dragon's Claws: Assessing China's PLAAF Today" makes the point that the IAF has significant operational advantages over the Chinese Air Force in operations in the Tibetan Autonomous Region which lies to the North of the Line of Actual Control between the two countries. Written by Squadron Leader Sameer Joshi, a former Indian Air Force Mirage...

Some off the most modern additions to the Egyptian Navy, Type 209/1400 submarine, Ezzat class missile boat and Aqquitaine class frigate ''A navy is a state’s main instrument of maritime force. What it should do, what doctrine it holds, what ships it deploys, and how it fights are determined by practical political and military choices in relation to national needs. Choices are made according to the state’s goals, perceived threat, maritime opportunity…'' [1] (Baer, 1994) Are the recent Egyptian naval procurements in coherence with the above mentioned words? On March 17, the first Gowind Corvette of the Egyptian navy successfully...

During the last year, the Indian Air Force (IAF) and the Indian Navy (IN) confirmed what must have been the worst kept secret in New Delhi: that the Tejas Light Combat Aircraft, for all its achievements, was unsuitable as a strike-fighter for their near-term modernisation requirements. Where the IAF was concerned, the request for information (RFI) for a new single-engine fighter issued in the United States, Russia, and Sweden in October 2016 marked a further twist in its long-running saga to complete the Medium Multi-Role Combat Aircraft (MMRCA) acquisition that first began in 2001. After the aborted competition led to...

Qatar confirmed today its order for seven vessels from Italian shipbulder Fincantieri following the signing of a preliminary contract in June 2016. The deal consists in four air defence corvettes of over 100 meters in length, one amphibious vessel (LPD - Landing Platform Dock acting as mobile radar station for the corvettes), and two patrol vessels (OPV - Offshore Patrol Vessel) Fincantieri air defence corvette QatarDesign of the air defence corvettes allegedly contracted by Qatar in the amount of four units. Picture: Fincantieri. "We have signed a contract on behalf of the Qatari navy to acquire seven warships from Italy...

Qatar confirmed today its order for seven vessels from Italian shipbulder Fincantieri following the signing of a preliminary contract in June 2016. The deal consists in four air defence corvettes of over 100 meters in length, one amphibious vessel (LPD - Landing Platform Dock acting as mobile radar station for the corvettes), and two patrol vessels (OPV - Offshore Patrol Vessel) Fincantieri air defence corvette QatarDesign of the air defence corvettes allegedly contracted by Qatar in the amount of four units. Picture: Fincantieri. "We have signed a contract on behalf of the Qatari navy to acquire seven warships from Italy...

According to Yonhap News Agency, South Korean Defense Minister Song Young-moo said nuclear-powered submarines could be considered to counter the threat from North Korean submarines. South Korea Considering Nuclear-Powered Submarine for ROK Navy KSS-III Batch I is a 3000 tons SSK submarine project fitted with 6x VLS (vertical launch systems) Asked about the need to build nuclear-powered submarines in the face of the growing military threat from the North, Song said that the ministry is "ready to review" it. "To catch an enemy submarine, we should also have one," Song said in response to a question on what countermeasure the...

The photographs in this post were taken by The Aviationist’s contributor Tony Lovelock at Cambridge airport on Jul. 5 and 7, 2017. They show one of the two Bombardier Global Express 6000 aircraft reportedly destined to UAE and being modified by Marshall Group into an ELINT/SIGINT platform, during flight trials flown as “UAE 1326.” As first unveiled by Aviation Week’s Tony Osbourne back in May, the aircraft is probably an advanced electronics and signals intelligence-gathering (elint/sigint) derivative of Bombardier’s Global 6000 business jet: it sports. “A large canoe fairing extends back to the center of the wingbox,” noted Osbourne. “Behind...

It was reported on July 20 that Russia and Iraq have struck a deal on supplying a large batch of T-90 tanks. Vladimir Kozhin, the Russian president’s aide for military technical cooperation, confirmed the agreement but declined to provide details, saying only «the number of tanks is substantial». Russian military analyst Ruslan Pukhov told Russian newspaper Izvestia that the deal might cover deliveries of several hundred T-90 tanks, and that the contract may exceed $1 billion. SNIP The T-90 is among the best-selling tanks in the world. Hundreds of vehicles have been sold to India, Algeria, Azerbaijan and other countries....