GAO: Army’s Patriot Upgrade Needs More Oversight | Beijing to Boost Missile Def Due to THAAD | Datron World Comm to Provide $495M in Radio & Support to Afghanis

Americas

• The Government Accountability Office (GAO), Congress’ watchdog, has stated that it wants more oversight into the Army’s Patriot upgrade. With $1.8 billion in funding allocated for the next five years, the GAO stated that the service’s plan, which is expected to remain in operation until at least 2050, lacks oversight mechanisms as the Army carries out its strategy in the coming years. Congress has consistently taken issue with what it sees as the Army’s inability to estimate the cost of the system in future years, and has regularly withheld funds to upgrade portions of the system, demanding the Army provide more clarity to its plans before shelling out all of the requested cash to fund it.

Middle East North Africa

• Israeli firm Rada Electonic Industries are to provide radars as part of the US Army’s Iron Curtain close-in active protection system (APS). The US DoD gave approval to Virginia-based defense solutions company Artis for the use of two Israeli Compact Hemispheric Radar-based RPS-10 radars “to support Artis’ active protection against rocket-propelled grenades (RPG) and other shoulder-launched threats.” Optimized to detect fire from RPGs and anti-tank guided missiles, the compact, multi-mission Rada radar has been validated dozens of times in live-fire tests of another hard kill system, the Israeli-developed Iron Fist by state-owned IMI Systems.

Europe

• Heckler & Koch are to provide a $14 million shipment of G-36 rifles and 40mm under-barrel grenade launchers to the Lithuanian Army in the Baltic nation’s latest round of defense procurements. The company was dropped as Germany’s main rifle supplier last year following criticisms that the G-36 was unable to shoot straight in hot conditions. But with winter fast approaching and relations between Russia and its former-Soviet neighbors continuing to frost, it doesn’t seem to be too much of a concern for Vilnius (Lithuania).

• Russia’s VPK has announced the introduction of their own life-size remote control 4×4 based on their armored Tigr vehicle. Fitted with a a combat module and a 30-mm automatic gun, the unmanned Tigr can move and fire via an operator’s commands and can also identify and track targets on its own. Since its introduction in 2006, the Tigr has been spotted in Syria and has even gained attention from King Abdullah II of Jordan.

• A Swiss Air Force jet has gone missing, according to military officials. The F/A-18C, disappeared on Monday afternoon during a routine training mission. According to Defense Ministry sources, the suspected accident site in the mountainous Alpine region was difficult to access, with bad weather and darkness hampering the search efforts.

Asia Pacific

• In response to THAAD coming to South Korea, Chinese Communist Party mouthpiece the People’s Daily reports on Beijing’s plans to boost their missile defense capabilities. A PLAAF spokesperson made the announcement Monday, indicating that such an increase would be a solid step in increasing national security. Monday also saw the US Missile Defense Agency (MDA) award Lockheed Martin a $19 million contract modification for the production of two additional Lot 8 interceptors for THAAD. The modification to the previously awarded contract increases the total value to $916 million.

• Datron World Communications has been awarded a $495 million contract to provide the government of Afghanistan with radios and support equipment. The US Army deal is expected to be completed by August 2021. Datron provides an array of HF and VHF military voice and data radio products, rapidly deployable IP networking solutions and vertical take-off and landing drone systems with customers in over 80 countries.

• Three Taiwanese Naval officers have been indicted in relation to last month’s accidental firing of an HF-3 supersonic anti-ship missile. The mishap resulted in the destruction of a fishing vessel and the death of its captain. Petty Officer Second Class Kao Chia-chun was charged with negligence and causing the captain’s death while Kao’s supervisor, Chief Petty Officer Chen Ming-hsiu, and the ship’s weapon systems officer Lt. Hsu Po-wei were indicted for neglecting their duties.

Today’s Video

Remote control Tigr firing tests:

LM Contract Mod Allots Five Add’l C-130Js to USAF | USAF Global Hawk UAVs to Get Upgrades | China Gets in the Game with Own Aircraft Engine Manufacturer

Americas

• Lockheed Martin is to provide five additional C-130J Super Hercules aircraft to the USAF. The $287 million modification contract is expected to be completed by April 2020. An update of the C-130 Hercules, the C-130J has attracted a wide number of interested customers, with orders received from at least 15 nations since induction in 1999. It’s expected that the company could see another 100 units produced for US and international customers.

• RQ-4 Global Hawk UAVs operated by the USAF are to get an upgraded control system following a $104 million contract awarded to Raytheon. Under the deal, new payload controls for UAV will be incorporated, and the GCSs will be moved from temporary building to permanent structures at Beale AFB in California and Grand Forks AFB in North Dakota. Raytheon added that a new open architecture will be introduced, which will introduce scalability and the operation of new payloads and platforms, following which the old system will be gradually phased out.

• The words “weapons tester,” “memo,” and “F-35A” have seldom come with good news; and the latest memo on the F-35A from director of Operational Test and Evaluation is no different. Despite the USAF declaring initial operational capability on the fighter earlier this month, the memo highlights many significant limitations that remain on the aircraft, in particular with the aircraft’s new Block 3i software. However, the Joint Program Office remains confident that the capability gaps will be fixed on the aircraft in time and under the current budget parameters.

Middle East North Africa

• Turkey is in talks with Eurosam over the possible purchase of the SAMP/T air defense missile system as part of bolstering its air defenses. Government sources stated that negotiations have been ongoing between the missile consortium and Turkey’s military procurement agency, the undersecretariat for the Defense Industry (SSM) and National Defense Ministry. Turkey has been struggling with finding a suitable platform for some of its air defense, and it is possible that if the ongoing talks reach maturity, the main procurement is going to address the country’s urgent security needs via a short-term bridge solution and technology transfer and co-production will be considered as the long-term solution.

Europe

• Airbus has successfully conducted a sand strip landing test of its A400M transporter during certification demonstrations in Woodridge, UK. The surface is the last of three unprepared landing strips on which the company is certifying the aircraft to operate, and follows completion of gravel testing during trials in Ablitas, Spain, and testing on a grass surface in Écury-sur-Coole, in France. A final week of testing will now be carried out with the aircraft carrying higher payloads.

Asia Pacific

• A recently received S-300 surface-to-air missile defense system has been deployed by Iran at its Fordow underground uranium enrichment facility. A number of the Russian-made S-300s have been delivered to Tehran since Moscow decided to lift a 2010 self imposed ban on selling equipment to Iran following Western pressure. The 2015 nuclear deal allowed for a new deal to continue with delivery to be completed by the end of 2016.

• China has set up its own state-owned aircraft engine maker. Registered with $7.5 billion in capital, the move comes as Beijing seeks to push Chinese products and services up the value chain, prioritizing aircraft engines, high-speed rail, and nuclear power as areas in which it wants China to excel. State-owned AVIC said in March that it was finalizing a 129 billion yuan merger of its aircraft engine businesses in a move to create a giant that could eventually compete with the likes of United Technologies Corp’s aircraft engine maker Pratt & Whitney.

• Lockheed Martin has been awarded a $7 million contract for providing the multispectral database for the upcoming delivery to South Korea of 40 F-35A fighters with conventional take-off and landing (CTOL) capability. Seoul had initially been cleared to purchase 60 F-35s at a cost of $10.3 billion, but budgetary constraints saw that number culled with the current acquisition costing $7.06 billion. Delivery of the fighters will be carried out between 2018 and 2021.

Today’s Video

The A400M sand strip landing test:

US Army Developing New 155mm Extended Range Artillery Rounds | Russian Satellite Jamming System Operational | Boeing to Upgrade NZ’s P-3K2 Orions

Americas

• A new 155mm artillery round with extended range is being developed by the US Army. Initial low rate production of the XM1113 Insensitive Munition High Explosive Rocket Assisted Projectile (XM1113 RAP) is expected to commence in 2022, and is due to replace the aging M549A1 rounds first produced in the 1970s and 1980s. The XM1113 program is a joint development between the Armament Research, Development and Engineering Center and the Program Executive Office Ammunition.

• Canada’s government has announced the purchase of RQ-21A BlackJack UAVs in a $14.2 million foreign military sale (FMS). Included in the package are five unmanned aircraft, two ground control stations and one launch and recovery system. This marks the first sale of the system outside of the US Navy and will join the Canadian Army as part of its Land Force Intelligence, Surveillance, Target Acquisition and Reconnaissance program.

Europe

• Russia’s new satellite navigation jamming system, dubbed POLE-21, is now operational. Newspaper Izvestiya made the announcement following a statement from the Russian MoD. POLE-21 is capable of disrupting signals from GPS, GLONASS, Galileo and Beidou in the 1176.45-1575.42 MHz frequency. It is installed on cell phone towers and covers a radius of 80km.

• Ukrainian firm Antonov has cleared the An-178 for production. So far, the plane has clocked more than 160 hours in its development program over 100 flights and the manufacturer expects orders to reach 200 aircraft by 2032. The An-178 aircraft was developed on the basis of the An-158 passenger plane and is designed to replace the An-12 transport plane. It is able to carry up to 18 tonnes of cargo, including large-sized 1C containers.

Asia Pacific

• The Afghan Air Force has received its final batch of four MD-530 Cayuse Warrior helicopters. Unlike the previous delivery of five, the latest units are equipped with rocket and .50 caliber firing capabilities. This brings to 27 the number of Cayuse warriors now operated by the AAF, who often engage in providing aerial escort to convoys, providing over-watch to ANDSF operations and responding to “troops in contact” situations.

• Indonesia has been offered three US-2 amphibious planes by Japan. The offer would see a deal valuing the aircraft at $100 million each with discussions between Jakarta and Tokyo ongoing. The seaplane has also been sold to India, who previously ordered 18 to aid in monitoring and rescue missions based out of the Nicobar and Andaman Islands.

• French shipbuilder DCNS has been warned to beef up its security measures by Australian defense officials following a massive leak at the company. DCNS had just previously been contracted to build a fleet of submarines for Canberra, valued at $38.13 billion. In response, DCNS said that the leak, which covered details of the Scorpene-class model, and not the vessel currently being designed for the Australian fleet, bore the hallmarks of “economic warfare” carried out by frustrated competitors.

• Boeing has been tapped by New Zealand to conduct upgrades on their P-3K2 Orions. The $26.06 million deal will see Boeing replace aging, less reliable systems on the Orions, allowing the country to re-instate its anti-submarine warfare capability. New Zealand’s Orions have been in service since 1966, with five aircraft originally delivered as P-3Bs, and then upgraded in the 1980s to P-3K standard. A subsequent upgrade saw them designated as P-3K2s.

Today’s Video

GoPro Footage from the MiG-29 SMT:

More Holdups on F-35 Program | Russia Making Major Investments in Naval Ships, Bases | North Korea’s SLBM Reaches Japan’s ADIZ

Americas

• Issues with weapons integration on the F-35 have been found and could hinder an operational capabilities declaration, according to the Pentagon’s director of operational test and evaluation (DOT&E) . Challenges include the possibility, when the jet fires its 25mm cannon, that the aircraft could yaw as the gun door opens, reducing accuracy. Testing last December also threw up issues with AIM-9X missiles on the F-35C. Here testers found excess stress on the carrier-variant’s wing structure during landings and certain maneuvers. This could have an impact on the wing structure and might warrant a redesign on that part of the wing.

• $313 million is the price that Canada would have to pay if it is to exit from the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter program. The calculations were made by the Liberal government, and accounts for the difference of what Ottawa had contributed so far since 2006 and the $551 million it pledged to commit when it enrolled into the program. A Canxit from the program could occur with just 90 days written notice given to other partner nations.

Middle East & North Africa

• Kazakhstan and Israel have come to an agreement over the provision of UAV systems. While the exact nature of the deal remains unknown, it is believed that Kazakhstan will acquire an undisclosed number of medium-altitude, long-endurance platforms such as the Israel Aerospace Industries Heron 1 and Elbit Systems Hermes 450. Early deliveries will see completed systems come straight from Israel, but long term plans will see an assembly facility open in the Kazakh capital, Astana.

Europe

• Russian efforts to improve their capabilities in combatting terrorism have seen their Navy receive unprecedented funds to be invested in the construction of new ships, bases and infrastructure. In the decades following the collapse of the Soviet Union, Russian naval modernization stagnated, and efforts are only now being raised to improve their aging fleet. Naval bases will also get a major upgrade in order to better accommodate the new vessels.

• Leaked documents in relation to a new naval submarine for the Indian Navy were stolen from French manufacturer DCNS. The French government made the statement; adding that the information so far showed only operational aspects of the submarines. Both France and India have downplayed the security risk of the leak which has caused concerns over the future of a recently agreed upon $38 billion deal with Australia.

Africa

• Thales UK is now operating three Hermes 900 as part of the United Nations (UN) Multidimensional Integrated Stabilisation Mission in Mali. A three year contract had been signed back in December and holds options for a further two years. The contract covers the deployment of three aircraft (two for operational duties, the third as a spare) with two control stations and flight crews to enable the simultaneous use of both aircraft.

Asia Pacific

• A North Korean submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM) has flown 500km towards Japan. Wednesday’s test marks a growing improvement in North Korean missile capabilities, with sources believing the SLBM could potentially reach 1,000km when fired from a normal trajectory. Pyongyang’s push to increase its offensive missile threats also include claims that it has miniaturised a nuclear warhead to fit on a ballistic missile, but outside experts have said there is yet to be firm evidence to back up the claim.

• An Asian military has ordered an undisclosed but significant number of RADA Electronic’s Multi-Mission Hemispheric Radar (MHR) based RPS-42 aerial surveillance radar systems. Delivery of the systems is expected to be completed by mid-2017, and the company stated that the sale will generate significant income for profits in both 2016 and 2017. The customer selected the system after a thorough and competitive evaluation process in comparison to various other competing radar systems.

Today’s Video

GoPro Footage from the MiG-29 SMT:

India’s Project 75 SSKs: Too Late to Save the Submarine Force?

Scorpene cutaway

India’s submarine fleet currently consists of 16 boats: 10 Russian SSK Kilo (Sindhugosh) Class, 4 locally built SSK U209 (Shishumar) Class, a leased nuclear-powered Improved Akula Class SSN from Russia (INS Chakra), and its own INS Arihant SSBN. Most of the Kilos have been modernized, but readiness rates for India’s existing submarine fleet sits below 40%, and the U209s will have trouble lasting much beyond 2015. With Pakistan acquiring modern submarines, and Chinese submarine building exploding, expanding India’s submarine fleet became an obvious national priority.

In 2005, India confirmed that it would buy 6 Franco-Spanish Scorpene diesel submarines, with an option for 6 more and extensive technology transfer agreements. Unfortunately, 7 years after that deal was signed, “Project 75” has yet to field a single submarine. A poor Indian procurement approach, and state-run inefficiency, are pushing the country’s entire submarine force toward an aging crisis. This DID FOCUS article covers the Scorpene deal and its structure, adds key contracts and new developments, and offers insights into the larger naval picture within and beyond India.

Raytheon Wins $92M for EASR from US Navy | US Army Gives a Boost to GE’s T700 Engine Replacement | NK Threat Kicks off US-South Korean War Games

Americas

• Raytheon has been awarded a $92 million US Navy contract for engineering and manufacturing development of the Enterprise Air Surveillance Radar (EASR). The deal includes options which, if exercised, would bring the cumulative value of the contract to $723 million. A 2015 US Naval Institute report stated that EASR will be deployed on the future USS John F. Kennedy, the second Gerald R. Ford-class aircraft carrier that is set to debut in 2020.

• The US Army awarded a series of contracts as part of the preliminary design review for the replacement of General Electric’s T700 engine. General Electric and Advanced Turbine Engine were awarded $102 million and $154 million contracts respectively, with the winner getting to provide engines for a wide variety of military helicopters including the UH-60 Blackhawk and AH-64E Apache. The Improved Turbine Engine Program (ITEP) plans to deliver an engine early in the next decade that will replace the T700 with a new design that delivers more power and consumes less fuel, yet fits into the same space reserved for current engines.

• Following the Twitter reveal of the Northrop Grumman & BAE offering to the USAF’s T-X trainer competition, Boeing and Saab’s clean sheet design was revealed on Boeing’s website. With two engine inlets, a high mounted wing and a conventional, vertical tail, the design is a step away from its T-45 Goshawk used by the US Navy. Things are hotting up.

• After much waiting, trial and error, the F-35’s Block 3F software upgrade has speeded up testing of the new fighter’s weapons systems. Since it’s completion, Lockheed Martin has completed 30 weapons delivery accuracy tests in one month, compared to just three accomplished with the Block 2 software. These include Boeing’s Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM) and GPS-guided Small Diameter Bomb, and Raytheon’s AIM-120 AMRAAM and AIM-9X Sidewinder.

Middle East & North Africa

• The US State Department has approved the sale of Mark V fast patrol boats, weapons, ammunition and training to Qatar in a $124 million defense package. Used by US Special Operations Forces for insertion and extraction of SEAL combat swimmers, the vessels will be equipped with .50-caliber machine guns, MLG 27mm naval gun systems and Forward Looking Infrared (FLIR) Systems.

• An inquiry into a leak of sensitive technical information of France’s Scorpene attack submarine is being planned by the French government. The leak surfaced in a report by an Australian newspaper who received 22,400 pages of ship builder DCNS’s company data on the six Scorpene boats it’s constructing for the Indian Navy. The company fears that such a leak may harm the company’s deal with Australia to design and build the Shortfin Barracuda A1 diesel-electric submarine.

Europe

• Russia’s latest armored tank, the T-14 Armata, is to be equipped with additional protective armor in order to better defend it in urban operations. Developed by the Russian Research Institute, “plate shields,” which are similar in appearance to the bars on metal bunk beds, will be installed along the perimeter of the machines giving additional protection to the platform’s wheels and tracks. The Russian Army plans to acquire 2,300 of the tanks by 2020.

Asia Pacific

• The annual US-South Korean war games kicked off this week in what has been a year of growing diplomatic tension on the peninsula. The Ulchi Freedom Guardian exercise will run until September 2 and involves some 50,000 US troops stationed in South Korea. In response, the The North called the exercises preparations for invasion, and early on Monday threatened a pre-emptive nuclear strike that did not occur. The last number of months has seen increased North Korean missile testing, the deployment of THAAD systems in the South and most recently, the defection of the North Korean ambassador to the UK. What’s next?

Today’s Video

The T-14 Armata:

GE Wins Multi-Year Extension for T700 Engine Family

T700 engine

GE’s T700 family powers a number of helicopters, from Army UH-60 Black Hawk and AH-64 Apache helicopters to the USAF’s HH-60 Pave Hawks, naval SH/MH-60 Seahawks, and even the US Marines’ H-1 Hueys and AH-1 Cobras.

In 2004, the US military placed a multi-year production contract to cover engines and spares for its H-60 family helicopters, covering up to 1,200 engines. That contract has now been extended to cover up to 4,900 T700-401C (Coast Guard HH-60J, Navy SH-60/MH-60 Seahawks), T700-701D (UH-60A/L/ early-build M), and T700-701E (new UH-60M) engines for the US Army and Navy through 2014. Each helicopter requires 2 engines…

Swiss Project Offers Weapon ID Workshop to Journos | Gen Atom to Develop Laser Tracking for MQ-9 Reaper | Finland in Defense Collaboration Talks with US

Americas

• The Small Arms Survey, a Swiss-based research project, will host a series of workshops for journalists on the identification of small arms and light weapons. Aiming to improve the reporting on weapons and ammunition, the event will take place in New York from September 6-7. Participants will learn skills in the identification and recording of weapons and ammunition, tracking them to their source, and understanding the strategic and diplomatic implications of their proliferation.

• General Atomics has been contracted by the Missile Defense Agency (MDA) to develop a laser tracking system for the MQ-9 Reaper UAV. Valued at $9.6 million, the contract will set the company to design, build and test in the lab key laser subsystems to demonstrate precision tracking. Furthermore, the company will develop and demonstrate an MQ-9 flight representative laser system with the beam train optics required to upgrade a multi-spectral targeting system for use as an active tracking sensor.

Middle East & North Africa

• US and Russian talks over coordinating activities in Syria still remain to be finalized. The talks, based on “on necessity, rather than trust” according to US Defense Secretary Ash Carter, still have a long way to go before anything is decided. Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov will meet for another round of discussions on Friday, with the goal of setting up some sort of intelligence sharing agreement in order to coordinate strikes against the Islamic State.

Europe

• Lithuania’s Ministry of Defense continues with the modernization of their land forces after awarding a $435.1 million contract to the German-Dutch Artec consortium for the provision of 8×8 Boxer infantry fighting vehicles (IFVs). The group, a cooperation between Krauss-Maffei Wegmann and Rheinmetall MAN Military Vehicles will deliver the vehicles equipped with Israeli-made turrets and armed with 30 mm cannons and Spike LR anti-tank missiles. This follows a bilateral cooperation between Lithuania and the Dutch government, who are currently in the process of transferring second hand Army land vehicles east to boost Lithuanian military capabilities.

• Russia is to fly its first aircraft with a long-range surveillance and control system for the first time in 2018. An Ilyushin Il-76MD, often used as an aerial tanker, will be fitted with the A-100 Premier system which boasts a greater range compared to the US-made Airborne Warning And Control System (AWACS). Once operational, the aircraft will reportedly be able to detect fighter jets at a distance of more than 324 nautical miles, and identify ships at 216 nautical miles.

• When is a neutral state not neutral? After spending most of the Cold War adhering to strict military neutrality, Finland is in talks with the US over a defense collaboration with the intention to have an agreement signed this Fall. With Finland sharing a 1,300 km border with Russia, it is one of a number of Nordic and former Soviet Baltic states concerned over increased Russian military activity following the annexation of Crimea from Ukraine in 2014. Moscow has denied that it poses a threat to Nordic countries, but this hasn’t stopped another neutral nation, Sweden, signing a deal with the US in June similar to what Finland now hopes to achieve.

Asia Pacific

• The US State Department has approved another $60 million arms sale to the Afghan government with FN America standing to be the principle contractor. 4,891 M16A4 5.56mm rifles, 485 M240B 7.62mm machine guns and 800 M2 .50-caliber machine gun alongside an unspecified numbers of M249 light automatic machine guns, M1110 7.62mm sniper rifles and MK-19 40mm grenade launchers will be transferred as part of the deal. Since 2002, the US has spent over $68 billion training and equipping the Afghan Armed Forces.

• Saab has announced that it has been contracted by the New Zealand government to provide the New Zealand Army with the Tactical Engagement Simulation System, the company announced Monday. The five-year deal offers a wide range of realistic training scenarios that will enhance the army’s ability to conduct and analyze the outcomes of force-on-force exercises. So far, the company has provided the system to US, British, Canadian, Australian, and NATO forces.

Today’s Video

The Boxer 8×8:

First Glimpse of NG’s T-X Competitor Hits Twitter | Cali Woman Gets 4 Years in Fed Prison for Illegal Exports to China | Japan’s Defense Upgrades to Beef Up F-15J Fleet

Americas

• The US Missile Defense Agency’s (MDA) plan to equip unmanned, high-endurance, long-endurance aircraft with high-power electric lasers in order to shoot down ballistic missiles in their boost phase will see a proof of concept test between 2020-2021. It’s been reported that this fall, the agency plans to award contracts to two industry teams for preliminary design and fabrication of flying laser testbed aircraft beginning in 2018. One of the two teams is Lockheed Martin, who is rumored to be contemplating the use an unmanned version of the Cold War-era U-2 Dragon Lady as one of its potential platforms.

• Pictures have surface on Twitter unveiling the first glimpse of Northrop Grumman’s offering in the USAF T-X competition. The trainer prototype, Model 400, was snapped on a runway in Mojave, California during a high speed taxi test, and sports a prominent, single vertical fin and a nose section similar to the T-38.

• A court in Miami has sentenced a California woman to 4 years in federal prison after being convicted of illegally exporting US military gear to China. Wenxia Man said she colluded with a spy who specializes in copying foreign military equipment for the Chinese government. In June, a jury convicted Man of conspiring to export and actually exporting military equipment without the proper license, which involved engines used in F-35, F-16 and F-22 fighter jets as well as an MQ-9 Reaper UAV.

Middle East & North Africa

• A deal has been struck between the Algerian government and Leonardo for the sale and home-made production of a number of the helicopters, including the AW101. The move is being viewed by analysts as a way of both increasing Algerian defensive capabilities and domestic job creation as well as potentially preventing an Arab Spring type event among its population’s youth. Algeria is all too familiar with security threats following a number of attacks on its oil and gas facilities by Jihadist militants in recent years; most notably 2013’s In Amenas hostage crisis, which left 39 foreign hostages, an Algerian worker, and 29 militants dead.

Africa

• Nigeria is to import a number of Mi-35M attack helicopters and the UAE-made Yabhon Flash-20 UAV. The purchases will boost the government’s capabilities against the Jihadist insurgency of Boko Haram in the country’s north-east, as well as attacks against its Niger Delta oil installations in the south. Delivery of the hardware is expected to start arriving later this year and continue into 2017.

Asia Pacific

• Incheon-class frigates operated by the South Korean Navy are to be armed with Haeseong II ship-to-surface cruise missiles. Six of the vessels have already been produced as part of the first batch with 18-24 planned in total. While Seoul had initially scheduled the missiles to be incorporated on all vessels from batch two onward, it was decided to retrofit the first six as well, with work scheduled to commence next month. To accommodate the new missiles, the ships will have angled canister launchers installed on their decks.

• With a national-record breaking defense budget on the cards for Japan next year, upgrades to increase the country’s air-superiority capabilities are being rolled out by the government. With Japan’s F-35 deployment not due until the end of 2017, plans are underway to upgrade and upgun its current F-15J fleet. Among the changes are plans to double the number of air-to-air missiles the F-15J can carry to 16 as well as an expansion of the jet’s lifespan.

• Plans to deliver Russian-made equipment to the Afghan Armed Forces has been delayed by India. The cause, a lack of spare parts for an Mi-25 helicopter. New Delhi has already transferred three of the attack helicopters to Kabul and has received pleas by some in the US military to increase its supply of Russian weapons and parts. An embargo imposed on Moscow has seriously hampered the availability and access to spare parts for Afghanistan, which operates a hodgepodge selection of various military vehicles.

Today’s Video

Iran unveils its indigenous Bavar-373 air-defense system:

Korea’s New Coastal Frigates: the FFX Incheon Class

FFX: Jeonbuk launch

South Korea currently owns some of the world’s best and most advanced shipyards. That civilian strength is beginning to create military leverage, and recent years have seen the ROK take several steps toward fielding a true open-ocean, blue water navy. Their new KDX-II destroyers, KDX-III AEGIS destroyers, LPX amphibious assault ships, and KSS-I/KSS-II (U209/U214) submarines will give the nation more clout on the international stage, but what about the home front? North Korea’s gunboats have launched surprise attacks on the ROK Navy twice in the last decade, while its submarines continue to insert commandos in South Korean territory, and committed acts of war by sinking ROKN ships. To the west, Chinese fishing rights are a contentious issue that has led to the murder of a Korean Coast Guard official on the high seas.

Hence the Future Frigate Experimental (FFX) program. It aims to build upon lessons learned from ROK naval shipbuilding programs in the 1980s and 1990s, and replace 37 existing ships with a modern class of upgunned inshore patrol frigates. A contract to build the lead FFX frigate Incheon was issued in December 2008, and South Korea continues to work to define the program, including the forthcoming Batch II design.