Jane's Defense News

The Colombian House of Representatives on 30 November voted in favour of the peace agreement that was signed by Colombian president Juan Manuel Santos and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia's (FARC) leader Rodrigo Londoño on 24 November. The Senate on 29 November also voted favourably,

Cyber, a growing part of the Pentagon's warfighting plans, gained an elevated status on 30 November as congressional leaders filed an annual defence policy bill that would advance US Cyber Command (CYBERCOM). CYBERCOM would become its own unified combatant command, a status shared with nine

Key to the success of the EU's new European defence action plan unveiled on 30 November will be the functioning and impact of its main and most novel idea: the creation of a European defence fund (EDF) for financing multinational joint procurement of equipment and capabilities. Twinned with

The first Lockheed Martin F-35A Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) for the Japan Air Self-Defence Force (JASDF) was handed over at Luke Air Force Base (AFB) in Arizona on 28 November. The arrival of aircraft 69-8701 (also designated AX-1) at the 944th Fighter Wing (FW) marks a significant

Lockheed Martin has been awarded two separate contracts pertaining to France's procurement of four C-130J Hercules transport and tanker aircraft valued at a combined USD170 million. The contracts awarded on 1 December are for USD133.4 million and USD36.6 million, and cover the procurement of two

The Philippines Department of National Defense (DND) has introduced measures to accelerate the procurement of military equipment, a DND official has confirmed to IHS Jane's . The initiatives are intended to overcome the significant delays that the DND has experienced in some major programmes in

AMERICAS Bolivia WATCH FOR: Violent street demonstrations in La Paz over water shortages into the weekend of 3-4 December Risk analysis: Multiple community organisations have threatened to hold protests in La Paz on the weekend of 3-4 December, as water shortages worsen in Bolivia's largest city.

USS Zumwalt (DDG 1000) departed Panama on 30 November after US Navy (USN) and contractor crews repaired propulsion system engineering problems that sidelined the new destroyer for about a week-and-a-half, USN officials said. "On 21 November USS Zumwalt (DDG 1000) experienced two engineering

The Australian Parliament has passed legislation giving the Australian Defence Force (ADF) greater power to target "terrorists" with lethal force, the Department of the Defence (DoD) said in a 1 December statement. Australian domestic law had previously restricted the ADF from targeting

Belarus' Minotor-Service has developed a new tracked light armoured vehicle (LAV), IHS Jane's has learned. Designated Breeze, the vehicle consists of an upgraded one person turret - originally installed on the Volgograd Tractor Plant BMD-2 airborne assault vehicle (AAV) - that is integrated onto a

Rolls-Royce is to increase its presence in Poland following the signing of a partnership agreement with Polish defence industrial conglomerate PGZ on 28 November. According to the partnership agreement, PGZ and Rolls-Royce will look to undertake co-operation on the design, supply, maintenance, and

Russia has promised to provide Tajikistan with "a large quantity" of aircraft in 2017. If implemented, the move would revive the Central Asian country's nearly moribund air forces. Russian Defence Minister Sergey Shoigu met with his Tajikistan counterpart, Sherali Mirzo, on 30 November at

Key Points The risk of terrorist attacks will remain elevated in Russia in the one-year outlook. Terrorist attacks and counter-terrorism measures by the authorities will remain concentrated mostly in North Caucasus, increasing death and injury risks in the area. Islamist militants are likely to

Units from the Republic of Korea (RoK) and the United States commenced the six-day 'Vigilant Ace 17' aerial exercise on 30 November, an official of the Ministry of National Defense (MND) in Seoul told IHS Jane's . The manoeuvre is the latest in a series of joint air, land, and sea drills around the

Leonardo displayed its new low/medium frequency active towed array sonar solution at Exponaval 2016, and revealed an initial two customers for the system The new Active Towed Array Sonar (ATAS) system comprises a towed body with the active source frequency transducers, an in-line passive towed

Key Points The EU has unveiled its sweeping European Defence Action Plan to boost collaboration on defence in Europe The plan could see EUR5.5 billion spent centrally each year on collective defence issues The European Union unveiled its 'European Defence Action Plan' (EDAP) on 30 November. The

Key Points Hong Kong has yet to give a reason as to why it is detaining the SAF' infantry vehicles, said Singapore Vehicles' movement may be in contravention of Hong Kong's strategic commodities regulations The Hong Kong government has yet to provide formal reasons behind the detention of nine

India signed a deal with the United States on 30 November for the procurement of 145 BAE Systems M777A2 155mm/39 calibre lightweight howitzers being acquired under the US Foreign Military Sales programme. Indian Ministry of Defence officials said the delivery of 25 towed M777s in completed form

A delegation from the Indonesian Ministry of Defence (MoD) has concluded a visit to Russia during which a discussion to acquire Mi-26 helicopters for the Indonesian Army (Tentara Nasional Indonesia - Angkatan Darat: TNI-AD) was held. The matter was disclosed to IHS Jane's on 1 December by sources

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) is set to upgrade the Segev unmanned ground vehicles (UGVs) it currently operates on the border with the Gaza Strip with a remote weapon station and an autonomous navigation capability, the commander of the Unmanned Surface Vehicle Company has told IHS Jane's .