Latest updates[?]: Japan’s first F-35A stealth fighter reportedly made seven emergency landings in the months prior to crashing in the Pacific Ocean last week. The Japanese Air Force started using its fleet of 13 F35As in January. On April 9, the first plane of Mitsubishi assembly crashed. Of the 13 planes provided by the United States to Japan, five have been forced to make emergency landings in seven incidents. The plane that crashed made two of the emergency landings. Final assembly of four of the error reporting planes, including the fighter that went missing, was carried out in Japan by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. The other aircraft was built and assembled in the US. The crashed fighter reportedly had issues with its cooling and navigation systems twice. Japan grounded its fleet of 13 F-35As in the wake of the crash.

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[?]: Dassault Aviation’s Rafale F4 will include an upgraded version of a Thales/MBDA Rafale Fire-Control Radar Protection and Avoidance System (SPECTRA) self-protection suite, Jane’s reports. The SPECTRA provides long-range detection, identification and accurate localization of infrared, electromagnetic and laser threats. It incorporates radar warning, laser warning and missile warning receivers for threat detection and a phased array radar jammer as well as a decoy dispenser for threat countering. In March 2017 the French government authorized development of the F4 configuration. Last month the French government awarded Dassault a contract to develop the Rafale F4. The F4 standard is part of the ongoing process to continuously improve the Rafale in line with technological progress and operating experience feedback. The Dassault Rafale is a twin-engine, canard delta wing, multirole fighter aircraft intended to perform air supremacy, interdiction, aerial reconnaissance, ground support, in-depth strike, anti-ship strike as well as nuclear deterrence missions.

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.

Latest updates[?]: The 2017 crash of a German army Tiger helicopter in Mali which resulted in the death of two crew members was caused by a mechanic's error, a German defense ministry report claims. A mistake during a rotor blades configuration led to the autopilot automatically turning itself off when the pilot pointed the Eurocopter Tiger's nose towards the ground. This caused the disintegration of the main rotor blade, leaving the crew with "no chance to avoid the accident," according to the report. The Tiger helicopter had been serviced by Airbus team which apparently forgot to set the blades' airflow angle correctly. As the helicopter was flying roughly 155 mph at an altitude of 1640 ft over the Gao desert, the Tiger's autopilot switched itself off believing that it had recognized a manual override, leading the helicopter to tilt forwards abruptly. Once the vehicle had started to descend, parts of the aircraft broke off, including the main rotor blades.

Latest updates[?]: MBDA will soon launch a naval version of its proven MMP 5th generation missile system. MBDA’s Missile Moyenne Portee has been designed to be France's next portable anti-armor missile for troops and vehicles. Its attack modes include fire and forget, man in the loop mode, re-assignment in flight, and even seeker lock-on after launch. As a medium missile, it needs to kill targets up to an including main battle tanks. The unveiling of the missile at Euronaval follows an operational evaluation campaign carried out at the end of the summer by the French armed forces in Djibouti to confirm the reliability and operational performance of the MMP system in a hot environment, both from the ground and also from a rigid hulled inflatable boat (RHIB) moving at high speed. The new missile variant can be used on fast attack craft or semi-rigid boats for missions against hostile ships, coastal defenses or armored vehicles, especially in support of a landing of small units or Special Forces.

Latest updates[?]: Northrop Grumman confirms that the Italian Air Force successfully completed operational testing of the company's Advanced Anti-Radiation Guided Missile (AARGM). The missiles are integrated on Italy's Tornado fighter jets. A series of flight tests ended with two direct hits on critical air defense targets, this milestone allows for the transition of the AARGMs into operational squadrons. Italy and the US signed a MoU in 2005 to cooperatively develop the AGM-88E AARGM missile. The AARGM is a medium range, supersonic, air-launched tactical missile whose primary job is to attack and kill enemy radars. Italy currently plans to buy a total of 250 AARGMs.

Latest updates[?]: Germany is issuing a long-awaited final request for its multi-national TLVS (Taktisches Luftverteidigungssystem) program. MBDA and Lockheed Martin will now negotiate the cost and technical parameters of the program with the Bundeswehr. If the German Bundestag, the country's parliament, approves the necessary procurement funding, the Bundeswehr would receive its first-ever fielded air-defense system with a built-in 360-degree capability. The Medium Extended Air Defense System (MEADS) program aimed to replace Patriot missiles in the United States, the older Hawk system in Germany, and Italy’s even older Nike Hercules missiles. MEADS will be designed to kill enemy aircraft, cruise missiles and UAVs within its reach, while providing next-generation point defense capabilities against ballistic missiles. MEADS is the product of a $4 billion development program shared by the US, Germany and Italy that incorporates Lockheed Martin’s hit-to-kill PAC-3 Missile Segment Enhancement (MSE) missile in a system including 360-degree surveillance and fire control sensors, netted-distributed tactical operations centers, and lightweight launchers. So far, only Germany has chosen to field the system.

Latest updates[?]: Jane’s reports that the UK Royal Navy is currently upgrading its fleet of Type 45 destroyers. The HMS Defender is the first vessel to receive a datalink software upgrade for its CMS-1 combat management system (CMS). The UK Royal Navy’s Type 45 destroyers have replaced the Type 42 destroyers, which were in service since 1978. BAE Systems Integrated System Technologies (Insyte) supplied the combat management system (CMS) and fast ethernet data transfer system for the destroyers. The Type 45 CMS integrates the PAAMS missile system and control all sensors and weapons. The new CMS-1 software (version 3.0.0.2) brings an improved version of the Cayman software application that interfaces with Defender’s Link 11 and Link 16 tactical data exchange networks and the ship’s satellite tactical data link (STDL) system. Cayman correlates information, including contacts, from these various systems. The ship’s communications bandwidth capacity was also increased, with the installation of the latest SCOT5 Full Maritime Terminal (FMT) to support the ship’s satellite communications capability.