Future Fleet: Australia’s F-35 Commitments – and Choices

by Joe Katzman | Aug 8, 2017 | Australia & S. Pacific, Contracts - Intent, Fighters & Attack, Force Structure, Lockheed Martin, USA

F-35 mockup (click to view full) Australia’s new Liberal Party government has announced that they’ll buy up to 58 F-35s, raising the RAAF’s approved fleet size to the 72 aircraft mentioned in the Labor Party’s May 2013 White Paper....

Scorpene’s Sting: Malaysia’s Bribery & Murder Scandal

by Joe Katzman | Aug 4, 2017 | Asia - Other, Contracts - Awards, Events, France, Issues - Political, Legal, Other Corporation, People, Policy - Procurement, Rumours, Scandals & Investigations, Submarines

Malaysian Scorpene (click to view full) The Franco-Spanish Scorpene diesel-electric attack submarine competes on the global market against an array of competitors, especially ThyssenKrupp HDW’s U209/212/214 family. In June 2002, the Malaysian government signed a...

Ruin on Rails: The US Navy’s Rail Gun Project

by Joe Katzman | Aug 4, 2017 | BAE, Boeing, Britain/U.K., Contracts - Awards, Design Innovations, FOCUS Articles, General Atomics, Guns - Naval, Laser & EM Weapons, New Systems Tech, R&D - Contracted, Surface Ships - Combat, T&C - SAIC, University-related, USA

The concept (click to view full) Back in March 2006, BAE Systems received a contract for “design and production of the 32 MJ Laboratory Launcher for the U.S. Navy.” Some hint of what they are talking about can be gleaned from the name. BAE isn’t the...

Australia Preps Regional Pacific Patrol Boat Replacement Program

by Joe Katzman | Aug 3, 2017 | Australia & S. Pacific, Coastal & Littoral, Contracts - Intent, Issues - International, Support & Maintenance, Support Functions - Other

PB Lata Australia’s Pacific Patrol Boat program solves a regional problem. Australia needs stability, but many of its neighbors are island sets with vast territories to cover, small populations, and small economies. Australia’s regional Defence Cooperation...

Namer: Israeli Leopard; Troop Carriers

by Joe Katzman | Aug 2, 2017 | Budgets, Contracts - Intent, Design Innovations, General Dynamics, Israel, Tanks & Mechanized, USA

Namer (click to view full) Urban fights are thought of as the future of warfare in many countries, but to Israel, urban fighting is a very current reality. At the same time, conventional defense requires well-protected forces that can maneuver and survive with the...