Americas
* A US federal jury in Florida has convicted Wenxia “Wency” Man of attempting to export defense items to China without a license. Man, a Chinese national and naturalized US citizen was arrested in September after she conspired to illegally acquire and export a variety of defense items, including Pratt & Whitney F135-PW-100 engines for the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter; Pratt & Whitney F119-PW-100 turbofan engines for the F-22 Raptor fighter; General Electric F110-GE-132 engines for the F-16 fighter jet; and the General Atomics MQ-9 Reaper/Predator UAV. Sentencing is due in August where she could face up to 20 years. Her accomplice, Xinsheng Zhang, has absconded to China.
* A report by the US Armed Services Committee on the 2017 National Defense Authorization Act has revealed that the Navy is having second thoughts on whether to stick to the Advanced Arresting Gear (AAG) on the Ford-class carrier or revert back to the current version. The committee says the service is reviewing the installation of the AAG on CVN-79 and CVN-80, however, since the AAG has been ordered for CVN-79, it is unlikely to switch to the arresting gear from the Nimitz-class.
Middle East North Africa
* Critical Solutions International has been contracted by the US Department of Defense to provide 464 mine rollers, 300 brackets and manuals, and training on its Humvees to the government of Afghanistan. Completion of the $32.8 million deal is expected for June 4 2017. The company’s Route Clearance Roller (RCR) features independently rotating roller banks that improve handling for vehicles that require higher-speed capability and will greatly increase Afghanistan’s route clearance capabilities.
Europe
* Thales has announced the release of its export version of its software-defined radio, Synaps. Aimed at armed forces seeking to upgrade their tactical radio systems, the system is based on the company’s earlier radio, Contact, a software-defined radio developed under a $4 billion contract awarded by France in 2012. Features of the radio include the ability to create a shared network and boost bandwidth 10 times that of present systems, allowing voice, data, video links and the delivery of blue force tracking.
* The French government has pledged $6.7 billion over 11 years for the Army’s Scorpion modernization program, with more being sought by both the Army and industry members involved. Aspects of the program include the delivery of 780 Griffon multirole troop carriers and 248 units of the light multirole Jaguar combat vehicle by 2020. Also included is an upgrade of the Leclerc tank, a battle management system, crew training with onboard 3D simulation, and maintenance.
* The Polish Air Force is to equip its new Airbus H225M attack helicopters with Rafael Spike-ER missiles, according to the Israeli company. While the Airbus deal for 50 heavy helicopters has yet to be finalized, it is understood that the air force plans to utilize the Israeli-built guided anti-tank munition on the 21 designated for the service.
Asia Pacific
* Pakistan plans for greater indigenous input of the avionics, communication systems, and other subsystems and components for its fifth generation fighter. The Vision 2030 program will see the further development of the human resources and infrastructure required over the next 10-15 years. Included in this will be its Aviation City near Pakistan Aeronautical Complex in Kamra, the home of Pakistan’s aviation industry, which will have its own higher education facilities to nurture talent for the indigenization process.
Today’s Video
* Yak-130 flying demo at KADEX 2016:
