News
Venezuelan fighter jet ‘aggressively shadows’ US Navy recon aircraft-
A U.S. Navy EP-3 Aries II reconnaissance aircraft, was approached in an “unprofessional manner” by a Venezuelan SU-30 Flanker fighter aircraft in “approved international airspace” on July 19 according to a U.S. Southern Command press release on July 21.
U.S. Navy flotilla encounters Iran in Strait of Hormuz-
Immediately after entering the Strait of Hormuz at 7 a.m. local time on July 18, a group of six U.S. Navy ships had a series of tense encounters with the Iranian military, culminating in the downing of an Iranian drone.
Business
The List is here, and we reveal how global defense companies performed in FY18-
Suddenly the top 10, which historically remained relatively consistent year after year, is blown up. We also have quite a few new U.S. companies on the list, thanks to a more concentrated effort to expand the list’s reach and scope.
Chinese firms bump down Western companies on Top 100 list-
Like so much in Washington these days, this year’s Top 100 list is all about China.
Rocked by scandal: Can defense conglomerate Ukroboronprom regain some legitimacy?-
The director general of government-owned Ukrainian defense conglomerate Ukroboronprom, Pavlo Bulkin, was one of a number of individuals named by Ukrainian investigative journalists as being involved in a 2015 kickback scheme to smuggle Russian military hardware parts into Ukraine.
Influence or profit? Russia’s defense industry is at a crossroads-
Russia has long been one of the world’s largest arms dealers, reporting about $15 billion in sales annually.
Rheinmetall’s move in the UK nudges European-wide shakeup-
The consolidation of Europe’s fragmented armored-vehicles market inched forward this month as Rheinmetall took control of BAE Systems’ U.K. activities in the sector.
Italy matches French naval tie-up with German sub partnership-
Italian state shipyard Fincantieri and its French counterpart Naval Group signed a long-planned deal in June to create a joint venture to build and market naval vessels, with a “European patrol corvette” in the works.
Three lessons for industry from the Defense News Top 100 list-
The data listed in the Top 100 for eight Chinese enterprises raises a host of questions: Are these firms profitable?
Does Israel’s Rafael foresee export potential?-
As maker of the Iron Dome and David’s Sling, Rafael has a strong foothold in Israel, where the country depends heavily on those air defense systems for its national security.
What’s left in the dust of a massive merger?-
There’s a phrase — the mid-market squeeze — that encapsulates a truism in defense contracting: If you’re not really big, and you’re not categorically small, then you’re going to have a harder time competing.
Saab banks on Gripen upgrade in new UK-Sweden warplane alliance-
Saab on July 19 celebrated its inclusion in a British-led push to build a sixth-generation warplane, with executives eyeing near-term improvements to the company’s Gripen E aircraft rather than the creation of a brand-new fighter in the more distant future.
America’s defense export strategy is key to deterrence in the Indo-Pacific region-
In late March, two Chinese fighter jets crossed the maritime border separating China from Taiwan, lingering in Taiwan’s airspace for about 12 minutes.
Defense
Officials: U.S. putting troops back in Saudi Arabia-
With Iranian military threats in mind, the United States is sending American forces, including fighter aircraft, air defense missiles and likely more than 500 troops, to a Saudi air base that became a hub of American air power in the Middle East in the 1990s but was abandoned by Washington after it toppled Iraqi strongman Saddam Hussein in 2003.
Army readies long-range missile tests — post INF-
The Army has moved flight testing of its new long-range missile from this summer until after the drop-dead date for U.S. withdrawal from the INF treaty with Russia. That will mean the Pentagon will kick off testing of longer-range weapons banned by the Cold War-era pact.
Soldiers will run a platoon attack of robot vehicles from a Bradley in a test-
Soldiers will use a platoon’s worth of robotic vehicles controlled from the back of modified Bradly Fighting Vehicles sometime next year.
Tech’s nice, but to fire artillery’s big guns soldiers must break out maps, charts and darts-
Even as the Army finds high-tech ways to connect the lowest ground soldier to space systems, vulnerabilities in that way of war mean soldiers still have to use the basics their grandfathers practiced.
Airborne Rangers test new civilian rucksack designed for parachute operations-
Airborne Rangers recently tested a civilian company-made rucksack on parachute jumps at Fort Benning, Ga.
Auto-loader may be a challenge for Army’s new self-propelled cannon-
The U.S. Army is poised to see its dream of fielding an auto-loading, self-propelled howitzer become a reality nearly two decades after the Pentagon killed the service’s futuristic Crusader program.
It ain’t broke, but still fix it: How predicting repairs is transforming maintenance-
The Air Force is going all-in on a new maintenance technique that it hopes will allow it to predict when parts are going to fail on aircraft before they break — and save vast amounts of time and money.
Veterans
Last D-Day Pathfinder pilot flies C-47 aircraft this weekend-
David Hamilton is going to spend his 97th birthday in an unusual way.
Remains of killed sailor come home-
The remains of a New York sailor killed in the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941 have been brought home for reburial.
New military suicide report may revive debate over gun restrictions-
A new report from the Defense Department is likely to revive debate over the prospect of using “means restriction” — limiting access to firearms — as a way to reduce the number of suicides among U.S. troops.
Space and Technology
Pentagon scientists are making talking plasma laser balls for use as non-lethal weapons-
Instead of beaming a flashing light or shouting over a loudspeaker to keep people away from sensitive areas, new technology being developed could allow troops to fire a laser that can form a “plasma ball” that talks to the potential intruders.