Browsing: All news

Robyn Hutchins, RealClearDefense

The Czech Republic has issued a contract for the provision of spare parts for its fleet of BVP-2 armoured infantry fighting vehicles (IFV) valued at up to CZK 28.4m ($1.3m), with the programme due to run from February-October 2024.
A contract notice listed on the EUTender site, a supplement to the official supplement of the European Union, stated the deal would see the supply of spares to enable “routine and technical” maintenance on BVP-2 IFVs operated by the Army of the Czech Republic.

Thirteen Nato countries have come together between 8-26 May 2023 in the High North and North Atlantic Ocean for exercise Formidable Shield.
The exercise demonstrates the partners’ interoperability when it comes to the organisation’s missile defence across the Euro-Atlantic. The exercise will comprise a live-fire joint and combined integrated air and missile defence (IAMD) environment, orchestrated by standard Nato command and control structures.

The UK’s Defence Infrastructure Organisation (DIO) has awarded a £560m contract to Landmarc Support Services to manage training areas used by the country’s armed forces, with the deal set to sustain over 1,300 jobs aligned with the Defence Training Estate.
According to a 10 May release by the UK Government, the contract will also deliver additional services to training troops, including providing them with around four million meals a year and approximately one million bed spaces.

The first FA-50 for Poland was rolled out in March 2023. (KAI)
Poland is to equip its soon-to-be-delivered Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) FA-50 Fighting Eagle light combat aircraft with the Lockheed Martin AN/AAQ-33 Sniper Advanced Targeting Pods (ATP).
The US State Department approved the sale of 34 Sniper ATPs on 9 May, saying the pods will enhance the FA-50’s abilities to identify targets, track, and engage from a standoff distance, while increasing interoperability with US and NATO forces. The estimated value of the proposed deal is USD124.7 million.

The global aerospace, defence & security industry experienced a 3% drop in social media posts on robotics in Q1 2023 compared with the previous quarter, with the highest share accounted for Space Exploration Technologies, according to GlobalData’s analysis of social media posts. GlobalData’s Robotics in Defense – Thematic Intelligence market report provides a detailed understanding on how Robotics impacts the value chain in the Aerospace, Defence & Security sector, and the leading Robotics adopters and vendors in the market. Buy the report here.

The vexing security dynamic on the Korean Peninsula and the mysterious nature of the Kim family regime continue to whet the public and professional appetite for insightful analysis of North Korea. This attention, however, does not always translate to high-quality analysis. Too often, authors and readers alike fall prey to the same mistakes: They misunderstand […]
The post How to Avoid a Bad Take on a Hard Target: Analyzing North Korea the Right Way appeared first on War on the Rocks.

Chris, Melanie, and Zack discuss a recent article by Rosella Cappella Zielinski and Samuel Gerstle in the Texas National Security Review. Zielinski and Gerstle explain why the United States should fund the defense budget with higher taxes, not more debt, while conceding that this will be a tough sell for a country trying to maintain […]
The post Paying the Costs of Competition appeared first on War on the Rocks.

Editor’s Note: This is the introductory essay for Volume 6, Issue 1 of the Texas National Security Review, our sister publication. Be sure to read the entire issue.   In April 1968, historian of modern Europe James Joll delivered an inaugural lecture at the London School of Economics entitled “1914: The Unspoken Assumptions.” He presented […]
The post Unspoken Assumptions appeared first on War on the Rocks.

Japan’s defence budget is forecast by
Janes
to grow strongly over the next few years.
(Janes Defence Budgets)
Japan’s biggest defence companies – Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) and Kawasaki Heavy Industries (KHI) – have said they expect orders for military equipment to expand rapidly on the back of the country’s growing defence budget.
The companies reported on 10 May strong increases in defence-related revenues and profits for fiscal year (FY) 2022.