Land

ETS enters service with British Army
In 2001 a contract worth GBP255 million (USD485 million) was awarded to the then Vickers Defence Systems (now BAE Systems Land Systems) for the design, development and production of two versions of ETS: the Titan armoured vehicle-launched bridge (AVLB) and Trojan breacher vehicle.A total of 66 production vehicles (33 Titans and 33 Trojans) are being built for the Royal Engineers at Newcastle-upon-Tyne. The first production vehicles were completed in 2005 and to date more than 25 vehicles have been completed, with final deliveries due in 2008.
[Jane's Defence Weekly - first posted to http://jdw.janes.com - 09 November 2006]
India's Bharat outlines artillery command system specifications
India's Bharat Electronics has revealed further details of the Artillery Combat Command and Control System (ACCCS) that it has been developing in co-operation with ARDE of Pune, CAIR of Bangalore and Elbit of Israel.ACCCS is described by Bharat as "a major subsystem of C3I [command, control, communications and intelligence] systems being fielded in the Indian Army.
[Jane's International Defence Review - first posted to http://idr.janes.com - 16 November 2006]

Rumsfeld leaves troubled legacy
The move came immediately after the ruling Republican party suffered a solid thumping in the 7 November congressional elections, during which the difficult situation in Iraq was a top issue. While Rumsfeld should not shoulder the blame for Iraq alone, he had come to symbolise all that has gone wrong with the US strategy and campaign there.
[Jane's Defence Weekly - first posted to http://jdw.janes.com - 10 November 2006]

UN peacekeepers could reach 140,000
"The unprecedented growth represents a growing confidence in UN peacekeeping as a means to help build stability after conflict," Jean-Marie Guehenno, UN Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations, said on 10 November.Outside of the US, the UN has the largest contingent of troops deployed throughout the world.
[Jane's Defence Weekly - first posted to http://jdw.janes.com - 14 November 2006]

Lieutenant General Ulrich Wolf: Director, NATO Communications And Information Systems Services Agency
One of the largest commands in NATO, NCSA is headquartered at Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe (SHAPE) in Mons, Belgium, and has 10 sectors co-located with NATO joint force and component commands. "We are providing services for commanders and staff officers and soldiers in their peacetime work and in operations," said Gen Wolf.
[Jane's Defence Weekly - first posted to http://jdw.janes.com - 14 November 2006]


Naval

USCG details Fast Response Cutter requirement
Integrated Coast Guard Systems (ICGS) has formally requested bids to fulfil the US Coast Guard's (USCG) Fast Response Cutter-B (FRC-B) requirement for 12 new patrol vessels to fill a looming capability gap.ICGS intends to select the winning FRC-B bid from among 27 different designs expected to be submitted by 19 international companies.
[Jane's Navy International - first posted to http://jni.janes.com - 16 November 2006]

African countries sign US-led plan for better security in Gulf of New Guinea
Ministers of 11 African countries have signed a communique for a six-point action plan aimed at improving maritime security in the Gulf of Guinea at a US-led conference in Cotonou, Benin on 15 November 2006. The document commits to improving maritime domain awareness; strengthening and sustaining political will; strengthening regulatory frameworks; enhancing regional co-operation; enlisting the support of regional and international partners; and raising public awareness.
[Jane's Navy International - first posted to http://jni.janes.com - 16 November 2006]

DARPA study looks into high-speed underwater capability
The US Defence Advance Research Projects Agency (DARPA) has awarded contracts to Northrop Grumman and General Dynamics Electric Boat to create and demonstrate a high-speed underwater express vehicle.It will be designed with the aim of carrying out high-speed littoral missions using supercavitation technology, testing the feasibility of the technology to transport high-value cargo and/or small units of personnel.
[Jane's Navy International - first posted to http://jni.janes.com - 16 November 2006]

Financial worries put UK maritime ISTAR programme under threat
BUDGET pressures have cast doubt over the future of a key UK maritime intelligence, surveillance, target acquisition and reconnaissance (ISTAR) programme intended to give selected Royal Navy (RN) warships a state-of-the-art communications eavesdropping system.Project Shaman is intended to deliver the RN with a new surface ship communications electronic support measures (CESM) capability to succeed the COBLU (Co-operative Outboard Logistics Update) CESM suite currently in service aboard the RN's four Type 22 Batch 3 frigates.
[Jane's Defence Industry - first posted to http://jdin.janes.com - 13 November 2006]

VT Group eyes US acquisition
UK shipbuilding and services specialist VT Group is close to concluding another transatlantic acquisition with a view to increasing its presence in the US market, Chief Executive Paul Lester has indicated.Such a deal would follow the purchase of Washington-based facilities management specialist The Cubic Corporation, which was absorbed into VT Group in March 2005, at a cost of USD25.5 million.
[Jane's Defence Industry - first posted to http://jdin.janes.com - 14 November 2006]

VT Group expects consolidation outline in 2006
AN outline agreement on consolidating the UK's naval shipbuilding base in line with the Ministry of Defence (MoD) Maritime Industrial Strategy (MIS) is likely to emerge before the end of 2006, VT Group Chief Executive Paul Lester has indicated.The sale of VT Group's shipbuilding interests to BAE Systems remains a potential outcome of the discussions, Lester added, along with a formal alliance approach between the two partners.
[Jane's Defence Industry - first posted to http://jdin.janes.com - 14 November 2006]


Defence

US DoD starts planning for proposed AFRICOM
Since 1946, the DoD has divided responsibility for Africa between three of the five geographic unified commands - Central (CENTCOM), European (EUCOM) and Pacific (PACOM) - under the premise that the continent required fewer interventions than other regions.Now, concerns that Africa's vast lawless regions could become safe havens for terrorists and increasing US economic interests are among factors driving a proposal to stand up a sixth geographic command, perhaps called AFRICOM.
[Jane's Defence Weekly - first posted to http://jdw.janes.com - 15 November 2006]

Rebels take control of northeastern CAR
The UFDR captured the provincial capital, Birao, on 30 October and previously took the towns of Gordil (in June) and Tiroungoulou (in April). Together, those four towns effectively control access to the province
[Jane's Defence Weekly - first posted to http://jdw.janes.com - 15 November 2006]

Budget casts shadow over Shaman
Project Shaman is intended to deliver to the RN with a new surface ship commu nications electronic support measures (CESM) capability to succeed the COBLU (Cooperative Outboard Logistics Update) CESM suite currently in service aboard the RN's four Type 22 Batch 3 frigates.
[Jane's Defence Weekly - first posted to http://jdw.janes.com - 16 November 2006]

Thales to provide satcom service to ISAF
Tim Waugh, programme manager, NATO Satcom and Deployable CIS, NATO C3 Agency, said at SMi's Global Milsatcom conference in London from 13-15 November: "This is a new dimension for NATO in terms of the provision of services. For the very first time in satcom, we are outsourcing a capability to a company who will provide contracted service-level support to NATO within the theatre satcom overlay."Under FOC+ Thales will provide a 60+ node, secure X-band network
[Jane's Defence Weekly - first posted to http://jdw.janes.com - 16 November 2006]

Russia could provide EADS with alternative marketplace, says analyst
RUSSIA's moves to gain influence over EADS could ultimately benefit the pan-European group by paving the way towards defence and aerospace sales in the East, a UK analyst has argued.Charles Armitage, Merrill Lynch's defence and aerospace research analyst, added that the benefits of Moscow's involvement could ultimately outweigh the drawbacks and provide EADS with an alternative to the US marketplace.
[Jane's Defence Industry - first posted to http://jdin.janes.com - 16 November 2006]

India seeks advice on defence finances
INDIA's ministry of defence (MoD) hopes to overcome its persistent problem of inadequate fiscal management and systematic defence planning by drawing on the experience of more than 80 international experts who gathered at New Delhi for a three-day seminar that ended on 15 November.
[Jane's Defence Industry - first posted to http://jdin.janes.com - 16 November 2006]

Canberra, Jakarta revive security co-operation deal
The framework agreement for security co-operation was signed on the Indonesian island of Lombok by Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer and his Indonesian counterpart, Hassan Wirayuda. It replaces the 1995 Agreement on Maintaining Security, angrily rescinded by Jakarta in 1999 in response to Canberra's military intervention in the unsettled former Indonesian province of East Timor.
[Jane's Defence Weekly - first posted to http://jdw.janes.com - 15 November 2006]

Arms deals with developing countries reach record level
"The value of all arms transfer agreements with developing nations in 2005 was nearly USD30.2 billion," the CRS stated in its 'Conventional Arms Transfers to Developing Nations, 1998-2005' report.
[Jane's Defence Weekly - first posted to http://jdw.janes.com - 15 November 2006]


Air

UK's FR Aviation improves EW control in Dassault Falcon 20s
UK special mission flight services contractor FR Aviation (FRA) is updating the core electronic warfare (EW) control functionality in its fleet of 15 modified Dassault Falcon 20 EW training aircraft through the integration of an updated PC-based Control Panel (PCCP).
[Jane's International Defence Review - first posted to http://idr.janes.com - 14 November 2006]

Russia to consolidate more aircraft companies
It has also emerged that Russian Defence Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Sergei Ivanov has been confirmed as chairman of the United Aircraft Building Corporation (UABC) and that he has called on President Vladimir Putin to exclude foreign investors from the military aspects of the venture.
[Jane's Defence Weekly - first posted to http://jdw.janes.com - 10 November 2006]

Boeing wins CSAR-X contract with late HH-47 Chinook bid
The USAF is replacing its fleet of 1980s-vintage Sikorsky HH-60G Pave Hawks with a new model of the Chinook airframe that has been in production since the early 1960s. However, with the HH-47, the USAF has opted to reduce the risk of development delays by selecting a mature airframe that also provides the largest cabin for a rescue team, medical staff and air crew
[Jane's Defence Weekly - first posted to http://jdw.janes.com - 10 November 2006]

STRATCOM sees role change for bombers
US Marine Corps General James Cartwright, commander of STRATCOM, said on 6 November that US Air Force (USAF) bombers are increasingly in demand to support conventional forces, delivering precision weapons such as the Joint Direct Attack Munition and the Joint Air to Surface Standoff Missile.
[Jane's Defence Weekly - first posted to http://jdw.janes.com - 09 November 2006]

Netherlands signs first JSF MoU
THE Netherlands has become the first Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) partner nation to sign the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) that covers future co-operation in the production, sustainment and follow-on development (PSFD) phase of the multinational programme.The MoU was signed by Netherlands State Secretary for Defence Procurement Cees van der Knaap and US Deputy Secretary of Defense Gordon England in Washington on 14 November 2006.
[Jane's Defence Industry - first posted to http://jdin.janes.com - 16 November 2006]