Kuwait to purchase 28 Typhoons
Kuwait has purchased 28 Typhoon jets it has been announced. Kuwait had started discussions to buy up to 28 Eurofighters in May this year. The purchase is a government to government agreement between Kuwait and Italy. Italian firm Finmeccanica is believed to be behind the sales effort. Typhoon is manufactured by a consortium of three companies; Alenia Aermacchi, Airbus Group and...
Netherlands to expand bombing of Islamic State into Syria
The Dutch parliament has backed the Netherlands extending air strikes against Islamic State into Syria. Like the United Kingdom, the country was previously only participating in air strikes in Iraq. On the 24th September last year, the Dutch government decided to send F-16's to contribute to the international effort in Iraq. Dutch forces have been operating from Shaheed Mwaffaq Air...
Australian assault ship completes sea trials
Australia's second Canberra class Amphibious Assault Ships, HMAS Adelaide, has completed of sea trials off the south east Australian coast The trials reportedly centred on testing navigation, combat and communications systems. Commanding Officer, Captain Paul Mandziy, said: "These final sea acceptance trials will determine the shape of the final pre-delivery work package before the ship is delivered to the Commonwealth later this...
Russian flagship puts in for repairs to keep her floating
The Russian Northern Fleet’s flagship, the Pyotr Veliky, is now laid up in dry dock for planned repairs to keep her at sea for the next few years. According to the Moscow Times: "The flagship of Russia's Northern Fleet, the Pyotr Veliky (Peter the Great) battle cruiser, is on its way into a Murmansk shipyard for renovations as part of a...
Is Russia stepping up military presence in Syria?
Russia has confirmed it has sent personnel to Syria to oversee arms deliveries, this is believed to be the first official confirmation of an expanded Russian presence in the country. This comes after the United States attempts to halt a suspected Russian military buildup in Syria by asking various countries to close their airspace to Russian transport aircraft bound for...
South Korea to operate S-3 Vikings
South Korea is to introduce refurbished S-3 Viking anti-submarine warfare aircraft to counter threats from North Korea according to the Yonhap news agency. The proposal to incorporate 12 former US Navy Vikings into South Korean service was reportedly approved last month by a military program review group in the country. The twin-turbofan powered aircraft served as the primary ASW platforms aboard...
UAE and Egypt poised to purchase Russian Mistrals
The United Arab Emirates has now confirmed their interest in one of two French Mistral class vessels that were built for Russia. Rumour is also circulating that Egypt will purchase the other ship. According to DefenseNews, a UAE official had this to say: "Our interest in purchasing the ship is real, it fulfils the capability requirements for our forces, the Mistral...
Trident Juncture 2015
NATO’s largest exercise in over a decade, involving 36,000 personnel from more than 30 Allied and Partner Nations. The exercise is centred around certifying Headquarters Staff from Joint Force Command Brunssum to lead the NATO Response Force(NRF), if activated, throughout 2016. Trident Juncture(TJ) will also test elements of the U.K.-led Very High Readiness Joint Task Force (VJTF). The NRF is NATO’s...
Can China become the world’s largest defence supplier?
Poet Allan Ginsberg once said that 'War is a business', and in 2015, we can say without any shadow of a doubt that business is booming. Although a lull was seen after the end of the Cold War due to western budget cuts (SIPRI, 2015), for the last couple of years we have observed a significant increase in defence...
Argentine military capability almost all gone
After a significant period of decline, the Argentine armed forces will cease to become a capable military force.
