Latest updates[?]: Raytheon won a $17.8 million firm-fixed-price contract for 114 High Speed Anti-Radiation Missile command launch computers to include two pre-production units, one first article test unit and 111 production units in support of the Navy. The system known as HARM’s primary mission is to suppress or destroy an enemy's surface-to-air missile radar and radar-directed air defense artillery systems. When it is airborne, the 800-pound missile can operate in preemptive, missile-as-sensor and self-protect modes. The AGM-88 HARM is a joint US Navy and Air Force program developed by the Navy and Raytheon. The company will perform work in Tucson, Arizona, and is scheduled to be finished in October 2021.

Latest updates[?]: The Australian government has issued a request for information (RfI) for a replacement of the Australian Army’s fleet of Airbus Helicopters ARH Tiger armed reconnaissance helicopters. The Australian Department of Defense’s Capability Acquisition and Sustainment Group is seeking information to acquire a total of 29 airframes under the Land 4503 program. Of these 29, 24 are to be based at a single location, with a further five to be used for training operations. The timelines for the program anticipate an initial operating capability (IOC) of a squadron of 12 aircraft by 2026, with full operational capability (FOC) from 2028.

Latest updates[?]: Lockheed Martin won a $41.3 million contract modification for the design, procurement and integration of flight test instrumentation and data processing solutions for F-35 Lightning II development test aircraft to support the Tech Refresh-3 and the Follow on Modernization Block 4 mission systems configuration. The Naval Air Systems Command awarded the contract. The deal, with expected completion date of February 2021, will cater to the US Air Force, Navy, Marine Corps and non-US Department of Defense partners. The F-35 Lightning is a supersonic, multi-role fighter jet that represents a quantum leap in air-dominance capability, offering enhanced lethality and survivability in hostile, anti-access airspace environments. The jet is being utilized by the defense forces of the United States and 11 other nations, chiefly owing to its advanced stealth, integrated avionics, sensor fusion, superior logistics support and powerful integrated sensors capabilities.

Latest updates[?]: The first Rafale aircraft will arrive in India right on time within the next two months, local news reports. There has been a lot of controversy in India over the purchase of the French fighters. India claims that Rafale is a fifth generation war plane. However, aviation experts dispute it. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi survived a scam hovering around purchase of the planes in his first stint. The first batch of four combat jets is expected to be ferried to India by May next year and will form the first squadron of Rafale fighters that will be deployed at the Ambala Air Base. Indian pilots will undergo extensive training on the jets in France as part of the contract and will initially be given lessons on simulators for the full range of missions planned with the fleet.

Latest updates[?]: India’s Ministry of Defense has sent Requests for Expression of Interest (REoIs) to local shipyards inviting them to participate in the long-deferred Project-75 India that aims to domestically construct six diesel-electric attack submarines equipped with air-independent propulsion (AIP) systems for the Indian Navy. The REoIs were sent out on June 20. The shipyards have two months to respond to the REoI. Project-75I is the second project after the procurement of 111 armed light naval utility helicopters and 24 naval multirole helicopters, under the MoD’s SP model. The Defense Acquisition Council, the Indian MoD’s principal procurement body chaired by the country’s defense minister, has approved the procurement of the six new SSKs back in January.

Latest updates[?]: India’s investigation into the fatal crash of a Mirage 2000 fighter in February found that the incident was probably caused by an issue with the jet’s fly-by-wire flight control system. Reportedly, a glitch in the Mirage 2000’s flight computer that kicks in without warning, causes the aircraft to behave unpredictably. Apparently, Indian Air Force flight records examined by the Court of Inquiry show at least four such incidents in the past. In each incident the aircraft suddenly and without command from the pilot, jerked its nose towards the ground. Then, the nose would jerk upwards. Each time, the aircraft has continued these so called “pitch oscillations” for several seconds before resuming normal flight. Dassault supplies the flight computer. The company initially offered the explanation that the “pitch rate gyrometers”, which are sensors that tell the flight computer the aircraft’s attitude, were not securely fitted. However, the Mirage 2000s behaved perfectly for the rest of the flight when the incidents occurred. Dassault has yet to comment on the assumptions of a faulty flight computer.

Latest updates[?]: The British Royal Navy’s Type 45 Destroyer HMS Duncan carried out anti-submarine and air defense training in an exercise with eight other countries and 57 ships, helicopters and aircraft. The HMS Duncan is the sixth Type 45 Destroyer and was deployed in 2018 as the Flagship of NATO Task Group SNMG2, returning in July. The Type 45 Destroyers built for the Royal Navy are primarily designed for anti-aircraft and anti-missile warfare. For the exercise, dubbed Mare Aperto, the ship spent two weeks off the coast of Italy, where it provided air and surface defenses as the exercise moved through the Messina Straits which divide Sicily and mainland Italy. The exercise is focused on training and testing the abilities of the Commanders and Staff of the Naval Squadron, in conducting operations in areas of international crisis. Through the reproduction of a scenario characterized by a multidimensional threat and with increasing difficulty, ships and crews practice the main activities of fighting on the sea and from the sea such as anti-aircraft, anti-submarine and anti-ship activities, fighting illicit trafficking, crisis management in environments with conventional and asymmetric threat.

Latest updates[?]: The Type 23 frigate HMS Montrose reportedly arrived in Bahrain to start a three-year mission. The Duke Class ship, that was commissioned in 1994 started its 47,000 mile journey six months ago from her home in Plymouth, sailing via the Pacific and Indian Ocean to reach the Gulf. The Montrose will conduct patrols related to drug trafficking in the Indian Ocean, support counter-terrorism and counter-smuggling operations, and work with Middle East and allied Navies to ensure the safety and security of the region. According to the ship’s Commanding Officer, this deployment „marks a significant milestone“ for the UK’s operations in the Middle East.

Latest updates[?]: The Pakistan Air Force (PAF) successfully test-fired an indigenously developed range smart weapon from JF-17 multi-role fighter aircraft. The JF-17 Thunder is a single-engine, multi-role combat aircraft developed jointly by the Pakistan Aeronautical Complex and the Chengdu Aircraft Corporation of China. The PAF inducted its first JF-17 squadron in February 2010. The Thunder was part of media attention during recent hostility between Pakistan and India. It was recently reported by CNN that a JF-17 fighter jet brought down an Indian warplane in Azad Jammu and Kashmir. The report contradicted Indian claims that Pakistan used F-16s to down Indian planes.

Latest updates[?]: The UK Royal Navy's new Sea Venom/ANL missile faces a year-long delay. The missile is being developed under a $630 million contract issued by the UK and French governments. The missile will fulfil the UK's Future Anti-Surface Guided Weapon (Heavy) requirement and will meet France's national Anti Navire Léger requirement. The Sea Venom will eventually equip the Royal Navy's Wildcat HMA2 helicopter and the French Navy's Hélicoptère Interarmées Léger (HIL—Joint Light Helicopter) respectively. The delay means that the Royal Navy's Wildcats will have to operate without their main anti-ship armament, ultimately limiting their ability to provide British ships - such as the HMS Queen Elizabeth - with an extended anti-ship capability until late 2021. The Sea Venom is a lightweight, subsonic sea-skimming missile guided by an IIR seeker. The missile is designed to counter a wide range of threats such as fast-moving patrol boats, corvettes and coastal targets.