* A few allies are saying [US Today] they’ll join the US in its efforts against the Islamic State, though there are many reasons [AP] why Middle Eastern countries may offer little more than lip service. * Iran seems more motivated [BBC video] than Sunni Arabs,...
* State-owned CCTV ran a program/infomercial on China’s FD2000 air defense system, showing a recent live test in north China. The system is meant for exports and the demonstration’s purpose seems to be to convince Turkey. But the Turks have expressed...
* President Obama announced that air strikes against ISIL will be expanded to Syria, hopefully but not necessarily with Congressional support. Video | Transcript. * Conrad Crane from the US Army War College makes plenty of interesting observations [War on the Rocks]...
* The French government released its annual report [PDF, in French] on armament exports. They saw orders grow by almost 43% in 2013 from the previous year, to €6.9B ($8.9B), with more than half of the total accounted by Asian and Middle East customers. This is their...
* USNAVAIR is going to organize a series of technical meetings [FBO] with companies interested in candidate replacements for the F/A-18E/F and EA-18G by 2030. This comes ahead of an Analysis of Alternatives (AoA) scheduled next year. * According to DPA (via RIA...
