December 2018 Global Defence & Security Industry - Military News

 
 
 
 

U.S. Marine Corps Systems Command at Quantico Marine Base are ordering 30 Amphibious Combat Vehicles (ACVs) and accompanying vetronics to replace the Corps's ageing fleet of Amphibious Assault Vehicles (AAVs). A $140.4 million contract has been signed with BAE Systems Platforms & Services segment in Sterling Heights, Michigan. Expected delivery of the first vehicles is fall 2019 and the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force’s 3rd Assault Amphibian Battalion out of Camp Pendleton, Calif., is expected to be the first to get them the following year.

On 11 December, French Defense Minister Florence Parly oversaw the handover at a ceremony at M'Polo military base in the capital Bangui. France donated over 1,400 AK-47 assault rifles and three amphibious vehicles (no model specified) to the Central African Republic. The 1,400 AKs are a gift: they were seized aboard a dhow off Somalia in 2016 that was intercepted for breaching an arms embargo with Yemen.

The Armament Inspectorate of the Polish Ministry of Defense signed an agreement on 10 December with the WB Electronics company for the delivery of three sets of FlyEye mini-UAVs (four platforms in each set. The agreement also covers optional procurement of another nine sets. The UAVs will be assigned to the Polish Territorial Defense Component.

In a tweet (of course), Donald Trumphas announced he has selected Gen. Mark A. Milley, chief of Staff of the Army, as the next chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff: "I am pleased to announce my nomination of four-star General Mark Milley, chief of Staff of the United States Army -- as the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, replacing General Joe Dunford, who will be retiring," the president tweeted. "I am thankful to both of these incredible men for their service to our Country!"

Japan will increase military spending over the next five years in response to security challenges with China and North Korea, as well as to narrow its trade surplus with the U.S. by buying American equipment, the Nikkei business daily reported on 8 December.

24 High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicles (HMMWVs) have been delivered by the United States to the Security Forces of Kosovo, Pristina-based RTK2 reported. It is expected that they will be later put at the disposal of the (future) Kosovo army. The report forwarded by B92 recalled that, in July, the government of Kosovo signed a contract to buy 51 such vehicles.

A source close to the Azerbaijani Defense Ministry said that Baku and Paris have agreed in principle that France would supply air defense systems to Azerbaijan, reported the Turan news agency on 11 December. MBDA Systems, manufacturer of the air defense missiles, informed the Turan that negotiations on procurement had begun in 2014. The Azerbaijani side reportedly became acquainted with the tactical and technical data of these systems and was pleased. The value of the transaction was not reported.

India has successfully test-fired its most advanced nuclear-capable intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), the Agni-V, the Indian Ministry of Defense (MoD) said in a statement reported by The Diplomat. The missile was fired from a canister on a road mobile launcher at Dr Abdul Kalam Island in the Bay of Bengal off the coast of the eastern Indian state of Odisha on December 10.

Iveco Defence has delivered a first batch of 34 latest-generation Light Multirole Vehicles (LMV) Lince 2 (Lynx 2) to the Italian army. These LMVs are in Networked Enabled Capability (NEC) configuration. The army’s initial contract covers 400 vehicles.

DroneShield Ltd, a leader in the emerging industry of drone security solutions, announced on 5 December that Zain Group and DroneShield have entered into a Teaming Agreement which will see the companies working together on meeting Zain’s customers’ requirements for counter-drone security solutions in the region.

The Egyptian armed forces started on Sunday joint counterterrorism military exercises with African counterparts. Sudan, Nigeria and Burkina Faso are the first group of states from the Community of Sahel-Saharan States (CEN-SAD) with which Egypt plans to hold joint drills. Held at Egypt's Mohamed Naguib military base, the largest in the Middle East and Africa that is located in Egypt's Mediterranean province of Matrouh, the joint exercises will last until Dec. 14.

According to the French newsletter "Intelligence online" titled "Des drones d'IAI dans le ciel vietnamien", Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) recently signed a contract with the armed forces of Vietnam to supply three unmanned aerial vehicles Heron 1 and ground control stations). The contract value is $ 140 million, which seems to be somewhat overstated for such devices. The implementation of the contract was postponed several times, but it entered into force after the visit to Vietnam of the Minister of Defense of Israel, Udi Adam.

Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu has pledged to strengthen military cooperation between the Russian and Vietnamese defense ministries at a meeting with Vietnamese Deputy Minister of National Defense Nguyen Chi Vinh held in Moscow, the Russian Defense Ministry said.

A battery of Tor-M2 SAM (Surface-to-Air defense missile system) produced by Concern Almaz-Antey will enter in service with the 1146th Guards surface-to-air missile regiment deployed near a Belarusian nuclear power plant, which is under construction, Major General Igor Golub, the commander of the Air and Air Defense Forces of the Belarusian Armed Forces, said.

The Kalashnikov Concern continues to test Nanuk outfit for commandos who operate in low-temperature conditions. The trials are proceeding in Khanty-Mansi, Yamalo-Nenets and Taimyr regions, Kalashnikov Media said. "All prototypes of the main outfit elements proved 80 percent effectiveness in the Extreme North. We shall consider all proposals to determine the optimal composition and materials of the outfit. The Kalashnikov Concern is ready to offer its experience in ensuring security of military and civilian facilities in the Arctic," company CEO Vladimir Dmitriyev said.

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