Americas
* The Navy’s latest thirty-year shipbuilding plan has been revised up to 308 ships. The addition of another San Antonio-class – to bring the total number of ships in class to twelve – and a third Afloat Forward Staging Base. The report – available here – was sent to Congress last week.
* The Army’s shiny new Paladin PIM M109A7 artillery systems will be rolled out on Thursday, on the back of a $141.8 million contract modification in October.
* The Army contracted to spend another $200.8 million on advertising and marketing services with McCann on Monday, whilst the Air Force awarded a $6.8 million contract for Wideband Global Satellite SATCOM systems, with the thirty-four terminals destined for the Danish Army and Air Force.
Middle East
* The Saudis are yet to call on US air refueling assets in the region, despite these being available and authorized for use, media reported Monday. The US has also reportedly offered combat rescue capabilities to the Saudis, with the Navy recovering two downed F-15S pilots last week.
Asia
* India’s indigenous Ashvin interceptor – developed specifically to function in an anti-ballistic missile capacity – failed during testing Monday, a let-down following a successful series of tests of the Ashvin Air Defense system, with this latest test being the seventh.
* Pakistan’s recently gifted Z-10 attack helicopter flew for the first time Monday. China gave three of the helicopters to Pakistan earlier this year.
* India’s plans to buy Japanese US-2 amphibious planes could encounter problems, with the Indian Defense Ministry looking to review the operational requirements for the aircraft, Indian media reported Monday. Although the sale is unlikely to be scrapped, a slimming of the number of planned planes could be the result of this review.
* Following the news in March that India’s first Scorpene-class sub was floated in Mumbai, the new boat has been handed over to the Indian Navy for sea trials.
Today’s Video
* The M109A7 fires 155s…
