The Australian government is collaborating with Thales and Lockheed Martin to boost domestic defense solutions manufacturing. On Wednesday, the Ministry of Defence announced that the Albanese government has tapped Thales to build, establish and commission a 155-millimeter M795 artillery ammunition facility in the country. The factory, to be built at the Benalla Munitions Facility, is...
Drone technology company Red Cat announced that it has secured a contract to deliver 12 FlightWave Edge 130 Blue unmanned, military-grade tricopters to the Royal Australian Navy. FlightWave Edge, a Blue UAS-approved drone, offers long-range surveillance and reconnaissance and vertical take-off and landing capabilities, making it ideal for maritime operations and missions in other challenging...
Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States recently participated in the inaugural Maritime Big Play exercise, a series of experiments and demonstrations focused on enhancing the capabilities and interoperability of uncrewed maritime systems. According to Madeline Mortelmans, U.S. acting assistant secretary of defense for strategy, plans and capabilities, the Maritime Big Play exercise has...
The New Zealand Ministry of Defence has signed a contract with NATO Helicopter Industries to provide software and hardware upgrades for its NH90 helicopter fleet. NHI is a partnership between Airbus Helicopters, Leonardo Helicopters and Fokker Aerostructures. According to the ministry, the project will focus on equipping the helicopters with new navigation systems to meet...
The U.S. and Australian navies participated in bilateral operations in the Strait of Malacca from Sunday to Wednesday, aiming to ensure a free, open Indo-Pacific. The four-day drills saw the U.S. Navy’s USS Dewey Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer and the Royal Australian Navy’s HMAS Stuart Anzac-class frigate engage in several exercises, including formation sailing, maritime communications...
The Australian government plans to procure Standard Missile 2 Block IIIC and Standard Missile 6 missiles from the United States for the Royal Australian Navy’s Hobart‑class destroyers and Hunter‑class frigates. Canberra said Tuesday that the acquisition, valued at about $4.7 billion, will boost the layered strike and missile defense capability of RAN’s surface combatant fleet,...
The first batch of 29 AH-64 Apache helicopters Australia ordered from Boeing in 2022 is expected to be delivered in the fourth quarter of 2015, kicking off the phaseout of the Tiger ARH, Australian Army Maj. Gen. Richard Vagg told Breaking Defense. According to the general, the military service will operate the Apaches from the...
Iranian cyber actors have been using brute force attacks such as password spraying since October 2023 to access critical infrastructure networks, according to a joint cybersecurity advisory from U.S., Canadian and Australian government agencies. The advisory authors, including the U.S. National Security Agency, Communications Security Establishment Canada and the Australian Federal Police, warned that the...
U.S. Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. David Allvin said interoperability with allies is key to addressing the logistics and connectivity challenges that hinder efforts to maintain stability and security in the Indo-Pacific region. Speaking on a panel during the Indo-Pacific Air Chiefs Conference in Japan on Tuesday, Allvin highlighted the need to strengthen alliances...
The New Zealand Parliament has approved the first reading of a bill to align the country’s laws with the Budapest Convention on Cybercrime. The Budapest Convention, also known as the Council of Europe Convention on Cybercrime, provides guidelines for international cooperation in investigating various criminal activities carried out online. Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith announced the...
