Estonia Acquires CV90 IFVs from Netherlands in Biggest Procurement Ever

For sale

The Netherlands and Estonia signed an agreement on Dec. 9/14 for the sale of 44 CV 9035NL Mk-III tracked infantry fighting vehicles. These vehicles are used but were acquired in recent years before the Netherlands decided it no longer needed them, or more accurately, could afford them. The Dutch had announced their intent to sell these vehicles in September 2013, and Estonia had been revealed as their buyer in October 2014.

Russia was already making Estonia nervous after cyber attacks in 2007, but the Baltic states have had even more reason to worry after the events that unfolded in Ukraine through 2014. For Estonia, clearly annexations have consequences.

Europe’s Air Transport Command Agreements

Latest updates[?]: C-27J cooperation in the wings? EATT 2014 in numbers.

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One of the driving forces behind Airbus’ A400M military transport program, and of “pool” programs like NATO’s SALIS with Russian AN-124s or its recent SAC C-17 pool, is Europe’s shortage of transport aircraft to support military missions. This shortage will not be fixed any time soon. In the interim, NATO pools are about to be augmented by a more local partnership.

As the Netherlands struggled over proposed defense cuts in 2007, its Ministerie van Defensie signed an agreement with Germany, France and Belgium to create “European Air Transport Command” (EATC) as a coordination pool for their own military transports. The EU EDA also has a parallel program with much wider participation, the European Air Transport fleet (EATF). EATF offers a step short of EADC level integration, while laying the foundation for wider EADC membership in future. They’re farther away than they’d like to be, but probably closer than you think.

China Says Hypersonic Missile Tests Are Business As Usual

• Last week Bill Gertz at the Washington Free Beacon reported that according to US officials China had conducted its 3rd test of a hypersonic missile. Chinese officials seemed to implicitly confirm the test in the state-run China Daily today.

• Yu Long is the second former United Technologies employee accused of having attempted to provide a foreign country with sensitive documents related to defense aerospace programs. Hartford Courant | Fox CT.

• WSJ: the minuscule cost of equipping a Chinese soldier.