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FY 2014: US Department of Defense Budget Headed for Another Rocky Year

May 21, 2013
FY 2014: US Department of Defense Budget Headed for Another Rocky Year

By releasing its budget proposal for fiscal year 2014 in mid-April, the Obama administration was two months over the legal deadline and later than at any time in the modern record. The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) reiterated the gambit that failed and arguably backfired in the previous fiscal year by ignoring the sequester.…

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S-80: A Sub, for Spain, to Sail Out on the Main

May 21, 2013
S-80: A Sub, for Spain, to Sail Out on the Main

S-80 cutaway, labeled(click to view full) The CIM-2000 Scorpene class diesel-electric attack submarine partnership was just the first step for Spain’s Navantia, as it joined with France’s DCNS to enter the global submarine market. Now Navantia is building on that base of expertise, to field…

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Australia and USA Collaborating on New Small-Ship Radars

May 21, 2013
Australia and USA Collaborating on New Small-Ship Radars

Upgraded ANZAC concept(click to enlarge) In August 2005, Australia’s Ministry of Defence reported that Australia and the United States had joined forces by signing a joint agreement to develop active phased array radar technology in Australia. The total development cost was estimated to be approximately…

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Rapid Fire May 21, 2013: Arctic Actors | South American Decision Delaying

May 21, 2013

Why was Xi Jinping quick to chair China’s Central Military Commission (CMC)? Foreign Policy: “Xi, then, has ultimately chosen to defend the Communist Party against internal political threats rather than…

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Rapid Fire May 20, 2013: Poland, Australia Eye Sustained Spending

May 20, 2013

Poland’s strong economy allows it to plan for solid defense modernization in the decade ahead. Russia’s posture and the EU’s weakness may also have something to do with it. They…

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Royal Guard: LAIRCM Systems for Oman & Qatar’s VVIP Jets

May 17, 2013
Royal Guard: LAIRCM Systems for Oman & Qatar’s VVIP Jets

The problemclick for video On May 15/13, the US DSCA announced a pair of official export requests to provide and install Northrop Grumman’s AN/AAQ-24(V) Large Aircraft Infrared Countermeasures (LAIRCM), for…

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Rapid Fire May 17, 2013: Maintaining the US Naval Nuclear Deterrent

May 17, 2013
Rapid Fire May 17, 2013: Maintaining the US Naval Nuclear Deterrent

Rear Adm. Richard Breckenridge, the US Navy’s Director of Undersea Warfare, says they have enough SSBNs at the moment to fulfill deterrence goals, and will need at least 10 operational…

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P-8i: India’s Navy Picks Its Future High-End Maritime Patrol Aircraft

May 16, 2013
P-8i: India’s Navy Picks Its Future High-End Maritime Patrol Aircraft

TU-142: headed out(click to view full) India’s fleet of Soviet-era maritime patrol aircraft has been upgraded, but it needs to be replaced. Indian naval responsibilities are growing, and the 2008…

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Slovenian Army’s New APCs: Patria’s AMVs

May 16, 2013
Slovenian Army’s New APCs: Patria’s AMVs

Slovenian “Svarun”(click to view full) In June 2006, the Slovenian Ministry of Defence picked Patria’s 8×8 wheeled Armored Modular Vehicle (AMV) as the preferred choice for its 135 vehicle armored…

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Rapid Fire May 16, 2013: More Russian Helos for Afghanistan

May 16, 2013

Rosoboronexport will deliver more Mi-17 helicopters to Afghanistan before the end of the year despite concerns raised in the US Congress, reports RIA Novosti. The Electric Ships office within the…

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CAMM Opener for the Naval Missile Market: MBDA & LMCO’s MoU

May 15, 2013
CAMM Opener for the Naval Missile Market: MBDA & LMCO’s MoU

CAMM-M launch(click to view full) In mid-May 2013, MBDA signed an MoU with Lockheed Martin that has the potential to shake up the naval missile industry. It sounds innocuous: both…

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RQ-4 Euro Hawk UAV: Death by Certification

May 15, 2013
RQ-4 Euro Hawk UAV: Death by Certification

Euro Hawk UAV(clickto view full) Since the 9/11 terrorist attacks, the RQ-4 Global Hawk high-altitude, long-endurance (HALE) UAV has gone from a developmental platform to the next generation of American…

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Rapid Fire May 15, 2013: Friends Don’t Let Friends Buy Counterfeits

May 15, 2013

The Pentagon’s latest proposition for furloughs of its civilian employees is down to 11 days, spread between July 8 and the end of FY13 on Sept. 30. ...

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Today’s Special: Turkey Subs

May 14, 2013
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Preveze Class(click to view larger) In 2006 the Turkish SSM procurement agency issued a request for information (RFI) for 4 more diesel-electric submarines. That RFI became an RFP for 6…

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Iraq Seeks Armed Reconnaissance Helicopters

May 14, 2013
Iraq Seeks Armed Reconnaissance Helicopters

YRH-70 w. Hydras(click to view full) In July 2008, the US Defense Security Cooperation Agency announced Iraq’s formal request to buy 24 Armed Reconnaissance Helicopters that act as scouts, perform…

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Rapid Fire May 14, 2013: Savings Catalog | Asian Naval Buildup

May 14, 2013

The centrist Stimson Center issued a report [PDF] compiling ideas for defense savings from a wide variety of sources. Whereas the Pentagon tends to point to billions of dollars of…

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Rapid Fire May 13, 2013: Israel’s Budget Cuts Taking Shape

May 13, 2013

After long negotiations between its ministry of finance and defense officials, Israel’s defense budget looks set to be reduced by 3 billion sheqels (about $830M) in 2014, with 1 NIS…

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Rolling Sales: Indonesia Becomes the Latest Buyer of German Tanks

May 12, 2013
Rolling Sales: Indonesia Becomes the Latest Buyer of German Tanks

Leopard 2A6(click to view full) In August 2012, reports emerged that Indonesia had made a deal with Germany to buy heavy tanks and infantry carriers, after the Dutch had demurred.…

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Meltem-III: Turkey’s New ATR-72 Maritime Patrol Planes

May 11, 2013
Meltem-III: Turkey’s New ATR-72 Maritime Patrol Planes

ATR-72 ASW(click to view full) In July 2005, Turkey’s SSM defence procurement authority signed a contract to meet its Meltem III requirement for 10 maritime patrol and anti-submarine warfare (ASW)…

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Rapid Fire May 10, 2013: Raytheon, US Army to Improve C-RAM

May 10, 2013

Raytheon Missile Systems announced it completed test flights of the control test vehicle (CTV) for the Counter-Rocket Artillery Mortar(C-RAM) Accelerated Improved Intercept Initiative (AI3). In February 2013 the US Army…

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