Taiwan donates two UH-1H to Guatemala/Guatemala recibe dos helicópteros del Gobierno de Taiwán

Taiwan donated two UH-1H helicopters to Guatemala this week.
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Los dos helicópteros donados por el Gobierno de Taiwán a Guatemala llegaron al país el domingo 24 de noviembre por mar, y se encuentran en las instalaciones de la Fuerza Aérea Guatemalteca (FAG), zona 13.

alert5

prensalibre

Dutch CH-47F training at Fort Hood kicks off

The first Dutch CH-47F training at Fort Hood was inaugurated on Nov. 27

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forthoodsentinel

First X-47B UCAS catapult launch

The X-47B Unmanned Combat Air System (UCAS) carried out its first land-based catapult launch Nov. 29 from Patuxent River.

alert5

USAF had plans to nuke the moon

During the Cold War, the U.S. Air Force hatched a top-secret plan in 1958 to shoot a nuclear bomb to the moon and detonate it there.

alert5

security

Increasing Europe’s Strategic Tanker Capability By 2020

During the meeting of the EDA steering board on 19 November, defence ministers from ten European states signed a letter of intent to work together to boost their military air-to-air refueling capacity.

defencetalk

España entrega a la OTAN el Centro de Operaciones Aéreas de Torrejón

El Centro de Operaciones será responsable del planeamiento operativo de las operaciones aéreas del sur de Europa: «desde Azores a Turquía y desde Hungría a Canarias»

El Ejército del Aire pondrá este viernes a disposición de la OTAN el equipamiento y conectividad del nuevo Centro de Operaciones Aéreas Combinadas de la OTAN en Torrejón, cuya activación está prevista para el próximo 1 de enero teniendo bajo su responsabilidad el planeamiento y dirección de las operaciones aéreas del sur de Europa: «desde las Azores a Turquía y desde Hungría a las Islas Canarias», tal y como explica el general Francisco Almerich, jefe del Sistema de Mando y Control del Ejército del Aire (Grucemac).

abc

RAAF Retires C-130H from Service

Australian Minister for Defence farewelled the C-130H Hercules from Air Force service after an illustrious 34-year career at a ceremony at RAAF Base Richmond, Sydney.

RAAF operated a fleet of 12 C-130H Hercules from RAAF Base Richmond between 1978 and 2012

defense-studies

Upgraded Dutch C-130s in unique get-together

The Royal Netherlands Air Force has demonstrated its full fleet of four modernised Lockheed Martin C-130H tactical transports together for the first time, following the introduction to service of its last example to have been upgraded by the UK's Marshall Aerospace.

Pictured at Eindhoven air base, the quartet comprises two stretched-fuselage C-130H-30s introduced in 1994 and two short-fuselage Hercules acquired from ex-US Navy stocks, and the subject of a major modernisation effort in the UK.

flightglobal

Four bidders pursue UK maritime UAS deal

Four contractors have been invited to tender for an initially two-year requirement to provide the UK with a maritime unmanned air system capability to be deployed from Royal Navy and Royal Fleet Auxiliary vessels.

Boeing Defence UK, Cassidian, Lockheed Martin UK Integrated Systems and Qinetiq have been asked to contest the urgent operational requirement (UOR) deal for a contractor-owned, contractor-operated service

flightglobal

Israel working on low-observable UAV

The Israeli military is developing a large, classified unmanned air vehicle (UAV) with features consistent with stealthy aircraft designs

flightglobal

Chile’s first UAV makes first flight

Chile's Lascar unmanned aircraft prototype made its first flight on 23 November in the country's Bío region. The aircraft, the country's first unmanned air vehicle, has been in development since 2008 and was designed by the Chilean army in conjunction with the University of Concepción and the private sector.

flightglobal

Bangladesh army inducts two Eurocopter Dauphins

The Bangladesh army has formally introduced two new Eurocopter AS365 N3+ Dauphin helicopters.
The aircraft will be used for UN humanitarian missions and in general transport roles.

flightglobal

BAE Completes Upgrade of RAF Eurofighter Typhoons

Under the programme known as Retrofit 2, 43 Royal Air Force Typhoon aircraft have been upgraded to the Tranche 1 Block 5 standard.

defencetalk

Second Batch of Sokols Delivered to the Philippine Air Force

PZL-Świdnik, an AgustaWestland company, is pleased to announce that the second batch of Sokol helicopters in combat utility configuration has been delivered to the Philippine Air Force.

The two additional helicopters follow the four Sokols delivered by PZL-Świdnik to the customer in February 2012. The second batch of Sokols are part of a contract signed with the Philippine Air Force in 2010. The contract includes a total of eight Sokol helicopters plus ground support equipment, spare parts, support services and training for aircrew and maintainers. The remaining two helicopters will be delivered in early 2013.

defense-studies

Boeing to Modernize U.S. Nuclear Bombs

In another demonstration about how the world of nuclear weapons and classification of information has changed it was announced that Boeing (BA) has received a contract from the U.S. Air Force to design a new tail kit for the standard B61 aerial nuclear weapon.

The contract is worth a little over $175 million and is part of a program to improve the weapon’s reliability and upgrade the design.

The B61 has been in existence for almost fifty years in various versions. Boeing will work with the Mod 12 of the bomb. The B61 is a key component of the current U.S. stockpile of weapons.

In the past even confirmation of the existence of this weapon would have been impossible and now contract awards are treated routinely.

defenseprocurementnews

Spanish Admiral to Lead EU Anti-Piracy Mission

A Spanish admiral was appointed on Tuesday to lead the EU anti-piracy operation in the Gulf of Aden.

nosint

en.ria

44 Israel's Skyhawks For Sale

The SIBAT department of the Israeli Ministry of Defense is calling defense entities, militaries and countries from around the world and inviting them to acquire the fleet of Skyhawk aircraft which have been in IDF service since the 1960s.
The Skyhawk was the first fighter aircraft that the United States agreed to sell to Israel, and the Israeli Air Force began using the aircraft in 1967.
Today, the aircraft are used for combat training and instruction in the framework of the IAF’s flight course, and the sale comes as part of the preparation for when the IAF receives the new Italian M-346 trainer aircraft.



nosint

israeldefense

Pakistan test fires nuke capable ballistic missile

Pakistan today tested the Hatf-V nuclear-capable ballistic missile with a range of 1,300 km, with the military saying that the launch was aimed at strengthening the country's deterrence capability.

nosint

deccanherald

Rheinmetall Delivers MANTIS Air Defence System to the German Air Force

The German Air Force took formal delivery today of the Rheinmetall-made MANTIS air defence system at a ceremony in Husum, Germany, home of Air Defence Missile Squadron 1 “Schleswig-Holstein”

defencetalk

DCNS Delivers First FREMM Frigate

On 23 November, European Joint Armament Cooperation Organisation OCCAR* formally signed acceptance documents on behalf of French defence procurement agency DGA following the delivery of FREMM frigate Aquitaine in compliance with all contractual requirements.
Aquitaine is the first FREMM multimission frigate for the French Navy.


defencetalk

Syria rebels use new arms to down chopper

Syrian rebels downed an army helicopter for the first time Tuesday with a ground-to-air missile from newly acquired stocks in what a watchdog said could be a turning point in the 20-month conflict.

defencetalk

Royal Navy's 847 Squadron returns from USA trained and ready to fight

Why did 847 Naval Air Squadron go all the way to the US Naval Air Facility at El Centro in California? Well, it replicates many of the climatic and geographical features that the squadron will encounter in Helmand province, Afghanistan, and provides excellent value in terms of training.

mod.uk

El buque "Galicia" podría desplegarse en Australia en 2014 (el "Cantabria" zarpa en enero)

El 3 de enero zarpará de Ferrol el buque de aprovisionamiento de combate (BAC) "Cantabria" rumbo a Australia donde se desplegará en 2013 tras el acuerdo firmado por las armadas españolas y australiana el pasado mes de julio. El objetivo, como ya se explicó en su día, es «apoyar diversas actividades operativas» y ayudar a «aumentar el adiestramiento» de la Marina australiana, que ya adquirió estos últimos años a la industria naval española dos buques de proyección estratégica (LHD), tipo «Juan Carlos I.

Pues bien, esta colaboración podría hacerse extensiva en 2014 a uno de los dos buques de asalto anfibio (BAA) de la Armada: el "Galicia" (en la imagen superior) o el "Castilla", según informan fuentes militares de toda solvencia. Así lo ha requerido Australia. Una posibilidad que está siendo estudiada ahora por la Armada. De este modo, uno de estos dos buques podría ser desplegado por un año junto a su dotación en Australia.El objetivo es el mismo: intensificar la colaboración entre ambas Armadas y de paso permitir a los australianos valorar las prestaciones de los BAA españoles para un posible encargo a los astilleros españoles Navantia. Australia prevé reemplazar en los próximos años sus buques de clase Kanimbla, con similares prestaciones a las que ofrecería los españoles de clase "Galicia".

abc blogs-tierra, mar y aire por Esteban Villarejo

Third AW169 prototype takes to the skies

AgustaWestland's third AW169 prototype began flight testing on 23 November. The 4.5t light intermediate twin made a 35min flight from the airframer's base in Cascina Costa, Italy.

flightglobal

HAL's Jaguar Darin III Makes Maiden Flight

Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) successfully carried out the maiden flight of avionics upgraded Jaguar aircraft "Darin III".

livefist

X-47B unmanned test aircraft hoisted aboard ship for first sea tests

One of two Northrop Grumman X-47B Unmanned Combat Air System (UCAS) demonstrator aircraft was barged down from Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Maryland, and arrived on Nov. 26 at Norfolk naval base, Va., where it was promptly hoisted aboard the aircraft carrier USS HARRY S. TRUMAN (CVN 75). This marks the first time one of the stealthy aircraft has been on board a ship.

blogs.defensenews

Japanese government counter-suing Toshiba for failing to come up with reconnaissance F-15J

The Defense Ministry is countersuing Toshiba Corp. for breach of contract related to the remodeling of F-15 fighters into reconnaissance planes, seeking ¥1.2 billion in penalties for failure to complete the work on schedule

alert5

japantimes

La Fuerza Aérea Venezolana recibe los dos primeros aviones de transporte Y-8C

Han llegado a la base aérea El Libertador de Palo Negro, estado Aragua, los dos primeros aviones de transporte táctico Shaanxi Y-8C, de fabricación china, de un total de ocho adquiridos por la Fuerza Aérea Venezolana.

A finales de 2011, el Gobierno venezolano adquirió en China ocho aviones Y-8C. En el próximo mes de diciembre se recibirán tres aviones más y en enero de 2013 se completará la entrega con el arribo de los tres últimos

podermilitar

After three months on ground, combat aircraft Tejas resumes test flight

The Tejas Light Combat Aircraft (LCA), which has remained grounded for more than three months, finally resumed flight-testing last week. Seven flights of the Tejas have taken place since then without mishap.

nosint

business-standard

India says to get Soviet-era aircraft carrier in 2013

India on Monday said long-time ally Russia would finally hand over a refurbished aircraft carrier next year and end a bitter dispute over the Soviet-era warship caused by rising costs and delays.

defencetalk

US Navy releases draft RFP for Presidential helicopter

The US Navy (USN) has released a new draft request for proposal (RFP) for the VXX Presidential helicopter replacement programme. A formal RFP should be released by the middle of the current fiscal year.

flightglobal

X-47B hoist on board USS Harry S. Truman

A X-47B was hoisted on board aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman on Nov. 26. The unmanned aircraft will test carrier deck handling aboard Truman next year.

alert5.com

navair.navy

Britain Offers Malaysia RM10bil Arms Package

The British government has offered Malaysia an arms package which can be worth more than RM10 billion if all options are exercised.

The proposed package includes new Hawk jet trainers, advanced frigates, howitzers and future soldier systems for the army, industry sources told theSun.

Separately, the British government is also backing the offer by BAE Systems to sell 18 Eurofighter Typhoon fighter jets for the Royal Malaysian Air Force's multi-role combat aircraft (MRCA) requirement.

defense-studies

La Armada Española busca futuros clientes para los astilleros españoles de Navantia

El buque de acción marítima ‘Relámpago’ de la Armada se encuentra estos días realizando una gira por diferentes puertos del Golfo para mostrar a las Marinas de la zona las características de esta serie de patrulleros fabricados por Navantia, que busca hacerse con nuevos contratos.

Según ha informado la Armada, el patrullero ha realizado un “paréntesis” en la ‘Operación Atalanta’, en la que participa desde el pasado mes de septiembre, y esta misma semana ha hecho su primera escala en Qatar. También está previsto que visite Arabia Saudí y Emiratos Arabes Unidos, antes de volver a integrarse en la misión naval europea que lucha contra la piratería en aguas del Indico.

Más adelante, se dirigirá hacia el sur de Africa, donde permanecerá desplegado unos dos meses, en una zona en la que, según explica la Armada, España está “acrecentando su presencia”. El ‘Relámpago’ tiene previsto llegar a su base en Las Palmas de Gran Canaria el 1 de febrero del próximo año.

Además, Australia es un cliente destacado de Navantia, a quien ha encargado ya dos buques de proyección estratégica como el ‘Juan Carlos I’. Además, está interesado en los submarinos de la clase S-80 que está fabricando para España.

minutodigital

Russia Opposes NATO Missiles In Turkey

Russia has said it opposes the potential deployment of NATO missiles in Turkey. Proponents say the move could help secure Turkey’s border with Syria, currently embroiled in civil war.

defencetalk

Tejas Mk.2 Build Begins

Finally, HAL has begun the process to build the first Tejas Mk.2 air force prototype, envisioned as a slightly larger but much more capable fighter than the floundering Tejas Mk.1.
livefist

North Korea preparing for missile launch

US satellites have picked up signs that North Korea is preparing to launch a long-range missile.

defencetalk

China to launch indigenous aircraft carrier in 2013

China will launch it’s first indigenous aircraft carrier next year and the ship will be commissioned between 2015 and 2016.
alert5.com

focustaiwan

J-15 landing and take off on Liaoning

Xinhua releases 14 photos of J-15 taking off and landing on board Liaoning

alert5

Escudo antimisiles: la participación de las fragatas españolas costaría 250 millones

El Estado Mayor de la Armada, informó que la adaptación del software y adquisición de misiles para que las cinco fragatas F-100 de la Armada española pudieran participar en el Sistema de Defensa Antimisiles de la OTAN supondría una inversión de unos 250 millones de euros, una cantidad que ahora la Armada no puede asumir y, por tanto, se descarta a corto plazo dicha participación de los buques españoles en este proyecto de defensa de la OTAN.

abc.es-blogs/tierra-mar-aire

Cyber offensive against Israel: 100 million attacks with little to show for it

Hackers launched an estimated 100 million attacks against Israeli websites during Operation Pillar of Defense, but caused relatively little damage.

haaretz

Lockheed Martin Delivers Three F-35Bs To The US Marine Corps

Three Lockheed Martin F-35B short takeoff/vertical landing (STOVL) aircraft were officially delivered to the U.S. Marine Corps during ceremonies at Marine Corps Air Station Yuma, Ariz.
The three jets are assigned to Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 121 residing with the host Marine Aircraft Group 13

spacemart

South Korea deploys new cruise missiles

South Korea has begun fitting naval destroyers with a new, indigenously-developed cruise missile capable of making precision strikes anywhere in North Korea.

Yonhap news agency quoted a senior military official as saying the South had armed two destroyers with 32 of its Hyunmu 3C Tomahawk-style cruise missiles.

The missiles have a range of 400 km and are capable of reaching targets in the farthest corners of North Korea within a three meter degree of accuracy.


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thehindubusinessline

UK to launch Crowsnest AEW assessment in 2013

The UK Ministry of Defence will launch the assessment phase for its planned Project Crowsnest effort to replace the Royal Navy's Westland Sea King 7 surveillance helicopters during 2013, only three years before the current type's retirement from use.
"The Sea King Airborne Surveillance and Control (SKASaC) aircraft will be retired in 2016 when the Sea King fleet exits service in entirety," says UK's minister for defence equipment, support and technology
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flightglobal

Russia opposes NATO missiles in Turkey

Russia has said it opposes the potential deployment of NATO missiles in Turkey. Proponents say the move could help secure Turkey's border with Syria, currently embroiled in civil war.

nosint.blogspot

dw.de

UK MoD 'to order 50 more Foxhounds'

The Ministry of Defence is set to confirm an order for 50 more Foxhound light protected patrol vehicles (LPPVs) for use in Afghanistan.

defencemanagement

Pilot who made first arrested landing on Liaoning

Reports by Chinese media say the first pilot to make an arrested landing on board aircraft carrier Liaoning is Dai Mingmeng.

alert5

sina.com