Militaries order a lot of metal equipment, but they also order significant quantities of raw metal or basic metal forms directly for use in repair depots, machining shops, et. al. This DID article will cover these orders from FY 2007 through 2014, offering a bit of...
* Reuters reports that titanium originating from China was found in some US aircraft and may also have been used in SM-3 missiles, in violation of the Berry Amendment. The Aerospace Industries Association (AIA) raised years ago the issue [PDF] that documentation...
72m TSV concept(click to view full) Austal has announced a $124.9 million contract for a pair of High Speed Support Vessel (HSSVs) catamarans, from "a naval customer in the Middle East.... to support naval operations, including helicopter operations, rapid deployment...
* Airbus wants to grow in the US through helicopter and space programs. They seem to rule out short-term large acquisitions. Reuters | National Defense. Ukraine * The quote of the day comes from Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk: "Germany's dependence on Russian gas...
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...
* Ng Eng Hen, Singapore's Minister for Defence, presented a full-spectrum vision of what his country's defenses might look like in 2030. In a nutshell: highly technological, and highly integrated. North Korea Still Bad to the Bone Marrow * The Pentagon released its...
* Crimea is to set up its "own" law enforcement and security services, according to Russia's state-funded RIA Novosti, which also claims [in Russian], without noting any apparent contradiction, that the Crimean Supreme Council submitted a request to join Russia. * One...
* As China's "parliament" convenes for the 2nd session of the 12th NPC, the country is announcing another year of double-digit defense spending growth, with a budget up 12.2% to 802.2B yuan (about $131B). This growth rate is notable not just for its high level, but...
* Japan's ministry of defense posted their account (with maps) of Chinese aircraft operating in the East China Sea over the last two years. Japan has been scrambling jets sometimes several times a day in response, though in fairness, there was just a single episode of...