The Defence Production Action Plan that the heads of state of NATO members agreed to during their Vilnius summit in July prioritizes standardization of materials and weapons interoperability, according to Wendy Gilmour, the alliance’s assistant secretary general for defense investment. Gilmour told Defense News that the plan does not seek to have every NATO member...
The Republic of Singapore Air Force hosted an open house event that revealed several capability upgrades on its F-16 fighter jets. An information board on the upgraded aircraft listed among its weaponry the Python-5 air-to-air missile from Israeli company Rafael Advanced Defense Systems, as well as satellite-guided and laser-guided Joint Direct Attack Munition variants, according...
The Swedish government has released its 2024 budget bill, which proposes an added military defense funding of about $63 million. The increase, considering final adjustments, would add over $2.43 billion to the Swedish defense budget, an increase of 28 percent at $10.72 billion from $8.24 billion in 2023. This doubles the country’s military appropriations since...
The European Defence Agency, in charge of the European Union’s Common Security and Defence Policy, has signed eight joint procurement contracts on 155 mm ammunition for Ukraine. The procurement marks the first time that the EU purchased weapons as a bloc. Twenty-five EU member countries and Norway signed a Collaborative Procurement of Ammunition agreement in...
The Global Combat Air Program of multinational companies developing a new jet fighter has set a timetable for designing its sensors, Defense News reported Monday. The radar and other sensors of the planned sixth-generation warplane, involving defense contractors from the United Kingdom, Japan and Italy, account for up to 30 percent of the value of...
Canada has selected Netskope as a preferred cloud access security broker under Shared Services Canada’s cybersecurity procurement vehicle. Netskope said it won the CSPV slot after passing a competitive process to determine if a commercial CASB meets the wide-ranging requirements of Canadian government organizations and agencies. The services that qualified brokers provide to government users...
The Chertoff Group, a security and risk management consultant, said it has partnered with software-as-a-service company Exiger to provide federal contractors with solutions to manage the risk of foreign ownership, control, or influence in their supply chains. The tools that Exiger will contribute in the tie-up include supply chain mapping technologies and strategic FOCI risk...
Norway’s Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace has won a $1.49 billion contract to supply Poland with four Naval Strike Missile Coastal Defense System squadrons. Both land- and sea-based platforms can launch the NSM fifth-generation strike missile, for delivery to or already in use in 12 countries. It was initially developed for the Norwegian Navy. The NSM...
Duesseldorf-based arms company Rheinmetall has started shipments of 35 mm ammunition for the German-made Gepard anti-aircraft tanks deployed in Ukraine, with 40,000 rounds expected to be delivered by the end of 2023. The Federal Ministry of Defence awarded the contract in mid-February, guaranteeing a supply of up to 300,000 rounds of ammunition for Ukrainian troops....
Jordan has taken another step toward enhancing its role in naval security in the Middle East, with the Royal Jordanian Navy’s membership in the International Maritime Security Construct as its latest initiative. Jordan is also a member of the 38-nation Combined Maritime Forces, another Mideast-based naval security partnership in the region’s major international shipping lanes. CMF’s...
