In 2005, the Canadian Department of National Defence awarded a 22-year, $1.77-billion (USD $1.5 billion) contract to an "Allied Wings" team lead by Kelowna Flightcraft Ltd. of Kelowna, British Columbia, who beat out a competing group led by Bombardier's military...
* Will Middle East unrest prompt governments to boost defense spending? Or kill/ delay existing arms deals, as has already happened in Iraq? * Meanwhile, Japan is considering its acquisition path for new fighters. The F-2 program didn't go quite as hoped, but Japan is...
* BAE Systems returns to profitability in 2010, but expects decline in 2011 sales due to reduced volume at its Land and Armaments unit and UK defense cutbacks. * Arrest made in 2010 theft of 3,000 US special ops laptops - worth $7.2 million - from an iGov Technologies...
* GAO takes DoD's personnel security clearance program off its high-risk list [PDF] of programs facing fraud, waste, and management challenges; however, its weapons system acquisition program remains on the list. * DoD to expand cybersecurity personnel swaps with...
* What about FY 2011?: While the Pentagon is asking for $671 billion in FY 2012 (DoD Comptroller breakdown), Gates tells Congress, "We need $540 billion in FY 2011!" * The Russian Defense Ministry grounds its fleet of Mi-28 attack helicopters after an Mi-28N Night...
AN/PAS-13 family(click to view full) Thermal sights on weapons see heat. This has advantages in complete darkness, or in the presence of obscurants like dust storms, normal smoke, etc. because they can still pick out human and vehicle targets. Using deep infrared...
C-130 ATS(click for cutaway) Lockheed Martin recently announced an 8-year, $270 million contract to continue offering its C-130 Aircrew Training Systems (ATS), which provide simulators, computer training, and instruction to C-130 pilots in the USA and around the...
* Obama administration's fiscal year 2012 budget [PDF] boosts defense spending by $22 billion over FY 2010 appropriations, to $671 billion, while projecting $78 billion in "savings" through 2016. [Update: 2013 request.] * Russia's armed forces rely on aging equipment,...
Boomerang System(click for cutaway) 300 "Boomerang III perimeter systems." (Feb 14/11) Sniper attacks are an ongoing problem/ opportunity in any urban conflict, which is tailor made for the practice. The bad news is that most future conflicts and even peacekeeping...