Daily Rapid Fire Articles

Post US Mid-Terms Wrap Up: Elections Have Consequences?

Post US Mid-Terms Wrap Up: Elections Have Consequences?

* If you haven't read enough about how and why Republicans won the US Senate and increased their control of the House [The Hill], here are a couple pointers: Military Times' elections guide | Familiar Faces in New Places on Senate Defense Committees [Defense News]. *...

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New Zealand’s New NH90 & A109E Helicopter Fleets

New Zealand’s New NH90 & A109E Helicopter Fleets

NH Industries’ NH90 helicopter has been selected to replace the Royal New Zealand Air Force’s aging UH-1 Iroquois, which will remain in service until 2009. A firm deal has not been finalized with respect to numbers or dollars. The 10-tonne NH90, which first flew in 1996, uses composite materials instead of riveted alloy plates, and electronic fly-by-wire systems to save the weight of the usual strong and heavy power-boosted hydraulic control systems. This allows…

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Euronaval Brings Local Shipbuilding to the Forefront

Euronaval Brings Local Shipbuilding to the Forefront

* Herve Guillou, the new boss at French shipbuilder DCNS, is eager to get a share of Canada's huge forthcoming naval programs, and is willing to build ships in Canada with local partners as well as transfer technologies to sweeten the deal. National Post. * Dutch...

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You Can Track Your F-35s, At ALIS’ Maintenance Hub

You Can Track Your F-35s, At ALIS’ Maintenance Hub

Keeping track of...(click to view full) For the last 50 years, newer fighters have been sold as requiring less maintenance than their predecessors, due to technical advances. As people like Chuck Spinney and the Congressional Research Service have documented, the...

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Russian, US 2014 Armament Exports

Russian, US 2014 Armament Exports

* US Foreign Military Sales (FMS) reached $31.2B in FY14 (i.e. ending Sept. 30), and with additional exports handled through other mechanisms, total sales announced by the Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) reached $34.2B. That's slightly above the previous...

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