News
Kurdish troops advance on ISIS-held villages east of Mosul –
About 4,000 Kurdish pesh merga troops are involved in the operation to retake 10 villages, the opening phase of a battle that could take weeks or months and could involve nearly 30,000 Iraqi and Kurdish troops, with American warplanes providing air support.
Business
Insitu awarded Tunisian ScanEagle drone contract –
Insitu has been awarded a $9.8 million contract to support ScanEagle UAVs used by Tunisia.
Poland likely to award sub deal to Saab –
In the aftermath of the spat between Poland and France over Warsaw’s decision to cancel the Caracal helicopter deal with Airbus Helicopters, the Polish Defence Ministry is most likely to purchase three A26-class submarines from Sweden’s Saab.
India, Russia to announce Ka-226T helicopter joint venture –
India and Russia are to announce a joint venture agreement to produce the Ka-226T light utility helicopter on Oct. 15, the first day of this weekend’s meeting in Goa, India, of the association of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, known as BRICS.
F-35 insulation fix: All Air Force planes flying by end of year –
Israel and Japan are likely to get their first F-35 Joint Strike Fighters on schedule, and the Air Force‘s operational F-35s should be flying by the end of this year without faulty insulation in fuel pipes that could damage the aircraft, the F-35 Joint Program Office says.
Spain reveals new delivery schedule for S 80 submarines –
A new delivery schedule for Spain’s long-delayed S 80 submarine program has been drawn up by the Ministry of Defence, after former admiral of the fleet Francisco Javier Franco Suanzes confirmed that the handover of the lead boat is now due for the end of 2021.
U.S. Army kicks off competition to upgrade workhorse FMTV trucks –
The U.S. Army on Oct. 13 solicited proposals for a competition to upgrade 2,400 platforms for the service’s Family of Medium Tactical Vehicles program.
GenDyn gets $125 million U.S. Coast Guard Rescue 21 contract –
The deal covers program management, system support, maintenance, sustainment and engineering support for the U.S. Coast Guard Command, Control and Communications Engineering Center, the company said.
DARPA do-it-all drone among new VTOLs nearing flight –
A bevy of new vertical take off and landing aircraft conceived to take the military beyond the speed, range and altitude limits of helicopters are scheduled to fly over the next two years.
Japan may accelerate missile defense upgrades in wake of North Korean tests –
Japan may accelerate around $1 billion of planned spending to upgrade its ballistic missile defenses in the wake of rocket tests suggesting North Korea is close to fielding a more potent medium-range missile, three government sources said.
Defense
A new federal court ruling has huge significance for military reservists –
A high-level federal court Sept. 14 delivered a blow to the rights of military reservists.
DIUx offers $36 million in fiscal year 2016 contracts –
The Pentagon’s Defense Innovation Unit-Experimental (DIUx) ended the fiscal year by awarding 12 contracts, for a total of $36.3 million.
Air Force releases guidance on transgender airmen –
The guidance spells out how the Air Force will handle questions of which lodging, bathroom and shower facilities transgender airmen will use while they are transitioning.
Army announces Iraq deployment for 500 soldiers –
About 500 soldiers from the 1st Infantry Division headquarters will deploy this fall to Iraq, the Army announced Sept. 7.
Super stealthy destroyer Zumwalt joins the fleet –
Adm. Harry Harris, commander of the U.S. Pacific Command, described the Navy’s largest and most sophisticated new destroyer as the ship Batman would have if he had a warship.
Space
European space probe starts there-day descent to Mars –
The European Space Agency launched a probe to land on the Martian surface to scour the area for any signs of life.
China sends two astronauts to live onboard its space station –
After months of preparation, China has launched two astronauts into space this morning on a mission to its orbiting laboratory.