Defence`s Feeds

Wildcat of 847 Naval Air Squadron conducted training at Gibraltar’s airport as part of the early phases of the Littoral Strike Group (Experimentation) (LRG(X)) deployment. HMS Albion, HMS Dragon and RFA Lyme Bay called into [...]

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Americas

BAE Systems announced a contract Monday worth up to $111 million to supply the US Navy with Archerfish mine neutralizers. Archerfish is used by the US Navy’s MH-60S Helicopter squadrons as part of their Airborne Mine Neutralization System capability, and reduces the need to put diving personnel in the water for clearance missions, according to the company. Archerfish is a remotely-controlled underwater vehicle equipped with an explosive warhead to destroy sea mines. The Navy established a requirement for rapid neutralization of bottom and moored sea mines to support operations in littoral zones, confined straits, choke points and the amphibious objective area.

HSC-22 received their first MQ-8C Firescout on September 15 aboard Naval Station Norfolk, the US Navy said. It is now the first East Coast squadron to operate the MH-60S, MQ-8B and MQ-8C. The Firescout is the US Navy’s latest combat drone to hit the skies and provide aerial surveillance, reconnaissance, situational awareness, aerial fire support, and precision targeting support to ground, air, and sea units. The MQ-8C Fire Scout’s main purpose is to provide radar surveillance with its multi-spectrum targeting system. The multi-spectrum targeting system is a camera that is capable of reading light, heat, and electrical signatures to find anything that might be of interest.

Middle East & Africa

Lockheed Martin won a $12.8 million contract modification, which exercises options to procure consumable parts and material in support of the C/KC-130J aircraft for the Marine Corps, Marine Corps Reserves, Coast Guard and the government of Kuwait. The KC-130J is a multi-role tanker aircraft designed and developed by Lockheed Martin to replace the KC-130F/R/T aircraft. The KC-130J is in operation with the US Navy, the US Marine Corps (USMC), the Italian Air Force, the Kuwait Air Force and the Royal Saudi Air Force. Work will take place in Georgia, California, Kuwait, Japan, North Carolina, Texas, New York and South Carolina. Estimated completion will be by December 2023.

Europe

The British government classifies its new fleet support ships as “warships”. Previously the Government had argued that the new Fleet Solid Support Ships were not warships and as such, were eligible for international tendering rather than being restricted to British shipyards. The $1.9 billion competition to build up to three Fleet Solid Support Ships was suspended last year and an update was due this autumn. The definition of warship used by the Government had been previously challenged by people from all sides of the political spectrum. Until today, ministers repeatedly insisted the vessels would not be “warships” – meaning they could be built abroad. For national security reasons, Royal Navy warships can only be built in the UK. But because the supply ships will be part of the Royal Fleet Auxiliary, the Government previously claimed they were not warships.

Asia-Pacific

A woman MiG-21 fighter pilot with the Indian Air Force has been selected to transition to fly the Dassault Rafale fighter. The Indian Air Force pilot will reportedly begin active duties flying Rafale jets soon. She will be the first woman in the Rafale squadron. The woman pilot, who had earlier operated MiG-21 fighter jets, has been placed under the ‘full fighter training course’ and will join ‘active duties’ soon in the 17 Squadron. As per the report, the training regimen for both men and women pilots are identical. Every pilot, irrespective of gender, has to mandatorily undergo conversion training while switching from one fighter jet to another. Currently, there are 10 women fighter jet pilots in the Indian Air Force.

The Political Work Department of the People’s Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF) released a propaganda video on September 19 and in the video, the H-6K bomber from the 28th Air Regiment was shown launching a missile strike on Andersen Air Force Base, Guam. The Chinese propaganda video borrows heavily from Hollywood and depicts an airstrike on an island some observers say resembles the US base in Guam. The presentation suggests that it was produced as a warning to any country of base within the strike range of the bombers.

Today’s Video

Watch: HOW POWERFUL IS MQ-8 FIRE SCOUT

In light of increased attention being brought on the activities of US spy planes near China, Beijing has accused the US of disguising them as civilian airliners more than 100 times in 2020 alone, calling the practice a “serious security threat” and warning it poses a danger to actual civilian aircraft.

India expressed concern over the presence of Chinese troops in the Ladakh region during the meeting of foreign ministers in Moscow on the side-lines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation on 10 September. New Delhi pointed out that there was no credible explanation for the deployment from the Chinese side.

Deputy Secretary of State Steve Biegun and Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs David Hale participated in a meeting last Thursday with United Nations Security Council members, Kuwait, Sweden, and Germany on the margins of the UN General Assembly to discuss the Yemen civil war that has resulted in a humanitarian disaster.

Today, the United States is sanctioning, José Bernabé Gutiérrez Parra, Miguel Antonio José Ponente Parra, Guillermo Antonio Luces Osorio, Chaim José Bucaran Paraguan, and Williams José Benavides Rondón for their complicity in enabling Maduro’s efforts to rob the people of Venezuela of their right to choose their leaders in free and fair elections.

Today, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) designated five key figures that have facilitated the illegitimate Maduro regime’s efforts to undermine democracy in Venezuela. These

As the U.N. General Assembly annual debate got under way Tuesday, combating and eliminating the coronavirus pandemic was the foremost preoccupation of the world's major powers.

U.S. President Donald Trump called on the United Nations to “hold China accountable for their actions” in a speech to the world body’s General Assembly Tuesday.

The United States is offering a reward up to $5 million for information leading to the arrest of a leader of the National Liberation Army (ELN) rebel group in Colombia.

Cameroon police have surrounded the home of opposition leader Maurice Kamto and detained an unknown number of his supporters. Kamto, who accuses President Paul Biya of stealing the 2018 presidential election from him, called for protests Tuesday against regional elections and Biya's leadership of the country. Authorities deployed riot police and troops, some of whom used tear gas on the protesters.

Italy’s fragile coalition government breathed a collective sigh of relief Tuesday after voters denied the country’s populist leader Matteo Salvini the major electoral breakthrough he was seeking in hotly contested regional elections.

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China and India agreed to stop sending more troops to the frontline, refrain from unilaterally changing the situation on the ground, and avoid taking any action that may complicate the situation, Chinese National Defense Ministry spokesperson Wu Qian said on Tuesday, after a series of border clashes between the two countries since May, and escalating tensions in recent months.

On September 21, the Indian and Chinese Senior Commanders held the 6th round of Military Commander-Level Meeting.

In a face-to-face meeting on Tuesday (22 September), Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg thanked Swedish Foreign Minister Ann Linde for Sweden’s contributions to international security and its long-standing partnership with NATO.

Venezuela has stepped up its efforts to recover nearly a billion pounds’ worth of gold currently held by the Bank of England, the UK's central bank.

The Palestinian resistance movement Hamas has censured the United Nations for inaction in the face of Israel’s aggressive policies, calling on the world body to "rectify" its mistakes and help end Israeli atrocities.

US President Donald Trump has once again blamed China for the COVID-19 pandemic and called on Beijing to be punished for its handling of the disease.

Venezuela and Cuba have called on the international community to put up a united front and fight the United States’ hegemony and its blockade against nations at a time of global crises, including the coronavirus pandemic.