Americas
* The US has imposed sanctions on 30 foreign individuals and companies for alleged aiding of arms sales to Syria, North Korea and Iran. A State Department statement said that 11 companies or individuals from China, North Korea or the United Arab Emirates were sanctioned for technology transfers that could boost Iran’s ballistic missile program, while 19 others were sanctioned for other violations under the Iran, North Korea and Syria Nonproliferation Act (INKSNA). INKSNA was passed by the US Congress in 2000 as the Iran Nonproliferation Act, with Syria and North Korea added in 2005 and 2006 respectively.
* Northrop Grumman’s APG-83 AESA fifth-generation radar has been installed on USAF F-16 fighters. The install is part of the F-16 Radar Modernization Program which intends to replace currently used APG-66 and APG-68 radars and provide the F-16 with advanced capabilities similar to fifth-generation fighters like the F-22 Raptor and F-35 Joint Strike Fighter. It’s believed that the APG-83 could satisfy a need for F-16 users to counter increasingly sophisticated and technological threats with increased bandwidth that would allow the F-16 to detect, track and identify greater numbers of targets faster, and at greater distances.
* Lockheed Martin has announced that it is to switch the production line of the F-16 Fighting Falcon fighters from Forth Worth, Texas, to their facility in Greenville, South Carolina. The switch will take place in September following the delivery of the last F-16 being built for Iraq, after which the Forth Worth operation will focus on the company’s F-35 production effort. Of the 4,500 F-16s sold to customers since 1976, about 3,600 have been built in Forth Worth.
Middle East & North Africa
* FNSS has been contracted to produce armored amphibious assault vehicles for the Turkish Naval Forces Command. The Turkish company will deliver a total of 27 vehicles — 23 personnel carriers, two command-and-control vehicles, and two recovery vehicles — to Ankara, in a deal thats value remains undisclosed. Meanwhile, the German government has blocked deliveries of defense equipment to its NATO ally, claiming that Turkish President Recep Erdogan may be using imported weapons to oppress his own citizens.
Europe
* The French government has approved key upgrades for the Rafale multi-role fighter which will bring the aircraft up to its F4 standard. Under the program, manufacturer Dassault will modernize legacy F3-R standard jets with updated technological capabilities that will boost their performance in a network and be more effective in combat missions, with Thales and Safran providing subsystems, and MBDA supplying missiles. It is expected that the F4 standard will begin qualification in 2018 and enter service by 2025.
* Poland’s deputy minister for national defence Bartosz Kownacki has stated that his government will not purchase second-hand early F-16 variants, deeming them too expensive and bad value for the money. Citing Romania’s purchase of second-hand F-16A/Bs from Portugal, deputy commander in chief of the Polish armed forces Gen. Jan Sliwka commented that Bucharest had paid more to upgrade the fighters than buying them new. Instead, Warsaw may look at either purchasing brand new F-16s or the F-35.
* New British Royal Navy Queen Elizabeth-class aircraft carriers will not have V-22 tiltrotor aircraft onboard, according to a written parliamentary reply to Lord West. Lord West, a retired Royal Navy officer and former government minister, had asked if the government was considering the Osprey for use by the state’s special forces. In response, the government stated that the aircraft was not part of plans to deliver the UK Carrier Strike capability. However, the MoD will continue to explore a variety of options to augment the capabilities of the carriers.
Asia Pacific
* India is set to commence contract negotiations for the purchase of 56 Airbus C-295 aircraft for the Indian Air Force after New Delhi selected the tactical transporter to replace its aging Avro HS-748 fleet in 2015. The aircraft will be built in partnership between manufacturer Airbus and Tata Advanced Systems Ltd where Airbus will first deliver 16 units in “fly-away” condition from their own final assembly line in Spain, and the remaining 40 aircraft will be produced in India by Tata. The arrangement will see the Indian firm undertake structural assembly, final aircraft assembly, systems integration and testing, and management of the indigenous supply chain. In a separate order, India’s Border Security Force (BSF) is also looking at four additional C-295s for movement of its troopers within the country.
Today’s Video
* Indonesian Jupiter and South Korean Black Eagles friendship flight at LIMA 2017:
