* South Korea, US delay joint anti-submarine drills as UN Security Council considers sanctions against North Korea over sinking of ROKS Cheonan (PCC-772), a Pohang-class patrol combat corvette. * Chinese defense firms - including China North Industries (NORINCO) and...
* NATO looks to use local military spending to boost Afghanistan's economy. That may just be an interim step, though - 2006 surveying by P-3 aircraft discovered a very surprising volume of valuable minerals: iron, copper, lithium, rare earths, gold, and more. See also...
* Rep. Barney Frank's left wing and libertarian "Sustainable Defense Task Force" group reports [PDF]; supposedly identifies $1 trillion in Pentagon budget cuts. * UK's new defense minister Liam Fox "sets out his priorities" for coming budgetary decisions. Well, not...
* Come together: Mergers and acquisition in defense industry are expected to increase in 2010, surpassing deal volumes in 2009, with larger companies acquiring smaller niche firms. * Help wanted: US pushes NATO countries unwilling to send troops to Afghanistan to send...
(c) DJ Elliott(click to view full) DJ Elliott is a retired USN Intelligence Specialist (22 years active duty) who has been analyzing and writing on Iraqi Security Forces developments since 2006. His Iraqi Security Forces Order of Battle is an open-source compilation...
June 9/10: Finmeccanica subsidiary SELEX Sistemi Integrati announces [PDF] a 5-year, EUR 238 million contract from the Italian Ministry of Defence's Land Armaments General Directorate, for a digitized system known as Forza NEC (Network Enabled Capability). The...
USCG Boutwell, Iraq(click to view larger) In June 2010, India's largest privately-owned ship-builder, Pipavav Shipyard, won a Rs 2,600 crore (about $553.5 million) contract, as the lowest bidder to build 5 new 110m, 2,000t offshore patrol vessels (OPVs) for the Indian...
* Running of the Bulls: Deutsche Bank is bullish on military aircraft segment but cautious about weapons production firms. * FOR SALE: US defense security contractor Xe Services, formerly known as Blackwater Worldwide, is on the block. * I, Robot: General Dynamics-led...
* A400M transport aircraft: What a long strange trip it's been! * Don't get no respect: Pentagon opposes US Senate bill giving USMC equal billing to US Navy in department's title. * US State Department accepts first modernized S-61T helicopters. * EADS Eurocopter...