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Opposition seems to be gaining momentum for the awarding of the U.S. Air Force (USAF) aerial tanker deal to Northrop Grumman/EADS instead of Boeing. Boeing and their supporters are planning to stop the deal and are protesting to Congress about unfair treatment.

An alternative option for the C-130 Hercules purchase is suggested saving billions of Canadian dollars and still providing the much needed addition.

The United States is planning to sell AIM-120 Advanced Medium Range Air-to-Air Missiles (AMRAAMS) to Jordan and AGM-88 High-speed Anti-Radiation Missiles (HARMs) to Egypt, the deals that have made Israel uncomfortable. Israeli attempts to block the sale of AMRAAM to Jordan are deemed to be motivated by politics, whereas its objection to HARM sales to Egypt is to create leverage.

Greece's purchase of 333 second-hand main battle tanks (MBTs) from Germany is expected to bring about 200 million euro ($247 million) in business to Greek defense companies. The 270 million euro government-to-government agreement for procurement of German tanks was signed on August 3, 2005 in Berlin.

Companies are creating multimillion-dollar modeling and visualization laboratories to be competitive in the network-centric operations (NCO) race. Lockheed Martin, like many other firms, inaugurated the $31 million Center for Innovation in Suffolk that covers 50,000 square feet and provides more than 2 million cubic feet of reconfigurable space that can support concurrent work on multiple projects.

The Canadian government will request the defense and ship building companies to indicate their interest in a multi-billion-dollar program to build a fleet of supply and support ships for the Navy. The government will be sending out a letter of interest requesting that the firms state whether they intend to bid on the 2.1 billion Canadian Dollar ($1.7 billion) Joint Support Ship (JSS) program, which also includes a second contract, valued at 4 billion Canadian dollars, to provide in-service support for the ships for 30 years.

The author examines Australia-based ADI Ltd. defense contracts with the Royal Australian Navy. Topics include command and control systems, weapon systems, and fire control systems.

The author examines a contract between the Saudi Arabia Armed Forces and Raytheon Integrated Defense Systems. Topics include integrated logistic support services, technical training, and management of ballistic missile defense systems.

The author examines the $15.1 million contract between Northrop Grumman Corp. and the U.S. Navy. Topics include evaluating performance testing of composite structures used in high-speed hulls.

The author examines Harris Corp.'s contract with the U.S. military to provide state-of-the-art handheld radios. Topics include encryption software, use of cryptography, and military communication systems.

The author examines Rockwell Collins Ltd. contract with the United Kingdom's armed forces for military communications systems. Topics include high-frequency radio communications, command and control software, and product support services.

The author examines plans by the Indian government to purchase $500 million worth of command and control systems and weapons control systems from Russia.

The author examines Societe Nationale d'Etude et de Construction de Moteurs d'Aviation business strategy. Topics include pending contracts, aircraft engine designs, and international marketing plans.

The US National Security Agency has given a contract to the Eagle Alliance led by Computer Sciences Corp. for the Groundbreaker II project, a study the looks at the costs and efficacy of having commercial contractors to manage cryptography centers and listening posts.

WorldCom Inc. should continue to provide telecommunications services to the US military despite its filing for bankruptcy.

The U.S. Navy (USN) is busy trying to convince the U.S. Congress to pass a provision allowing the USN to award contracts for construction of the Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) program to both contenders. The offers by both rivals for the LCS, Lockheed Martin and Austal USA are good and they have even agreed to extend their contract offers past the expiry deadline.

A WikiLeaks cable leak has revealed that Russia in a deal with Israel offered one billion dollars and the cancellation of the sale of S-300 anti-aircraft missiles to Iran in order to help tap into its unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) technology. However, Israel under pressure from the U.S. negotiated a deal involving the sale of 12 less-advanced UAVs.

The cancellation by the U.K. government of the Defense Training Review (DTR) has led to defense firms looking for alternatives for the intellectual, human and financial investment already made by them in the same. Plans are on to rescue and repackage the program into new schemes and market them.

The Pakistani Air Force, as part of its modernization efforts has unveiled the first of four Chinese-built AEW&C planes. The key technology on which the ZDK-03Karakorum Eagle is based and functions is highlighted.

The article discusses the clerical administrative error in the KC-X tanker bidding contest of the U.S. Air Force (USAF) that led to the technical assessment of Boeing's bid ended up being delivered to rival EADS and vice-versa. The USAF is analyzing the inadvertently disclosed information to ensure that both competitors have had equal access to the same information.

The international forum for Nordic economic and security cooperation has backed the proposed Nordic-Baltic defense alliance. The main aim is to fulfill the objectives laid down in the NB8 Wise Men report.

The U.S. Navy (USN) has declared its intention to go ahead with both competing designs for the Littoral Combat Ship (LCS). Lockheed Martin and Austal USA have both been selected after waiting for nearly a year for the same and is planning to award 10 LCS ships to each team, following approval from U.S. Congress for the same.

Talks are on between Canada's Department of National Defense (DND) and U.S. officials over the purchase of the VH-71 helicopters meant for U.S. presidential transportation. Canada plans to use parts of the helicopters for Cormorant search-and-rescue helicopters.

DCI, the French company has made an unsolicited offer to the French Navy to train its young officers on privately owned boats in an attempt to reduce training costs. Outsourcing contracts have already been signed by the Navy with DCNS for maintenance of its surface and submarine fleets; however, training would be a first.

Chances of a delay are imminent in the U.S. Army's revised request for proposals (RfP) for its Ground Combat Vehicle (GCV) program. The RfP is expected to be delayed by 6 to 9 months, thereby giving the Army more time to figure out what it really wants.

Lockheed Martin, the prime contractor of the F-35B short-takeoff and 'vertical-landing (STOVL) and carrier-based F-35C has said that the decision of the British government to purchase F-35Cs instead of F-35Bs will lead to an increase in the cost of the B model by less than 1%. However, the decision is not meant to have any impact on other buyers of the Joint Strike Fighter (JSF).

Analysts have said that the decision by Turkey, Syria, Lebanon and Jordan to launch a free-trade zone to boost trade and economic cooperation could end up growing into a political pact as well. Turkey has been spearheading the efforts in an attempt to create a powerful regional bloc promoting welfare, peace and stability.

U.K. and France have decided to join hands and work towards industrial cooperation keeping in mind the tough defense budgetary cuts being faced by both countries. Several areas in which France and the U.K. are looking to cooperate are highlighted.

State-owned Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) signed a US$400 million agreement October 12, 2010 to supply unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) to Russia. The deal includes supporting technology and production expertise aimed at helping Russia develop full indigenous production capabilities for UAVs for domestic use and the export market within three years.

The article discusses the talks that are going on between the U.S. and Russia, where in Moscow is being asked by the U.S. to directly buy the Mi-17s helicopters. The various benefits of the direct dealing of the helicopters between the two countries are highlighted.

South Korea has started enhancing its defense ties with other countries for facilitating and diversifying the exports of arms taking place in the country. The different MOUs (memorandum of understanding) being formed between Korea and other countries are discussed in detail.

Britain has joined Italy and France in the competition to supply the Brazilian Navy's requirement of five offshore patrol vessels (OPVs), one logistics vessel and five frigates as part of its fleet renewal. BAE Systems and other British suppliers have already begun working on the same.

The U.S. Air Force is examining the possibility of upgrading its T-38 Talon fleet or replacing it with the more advanced trainer aircraft under its T-X project. A strong contender for the T-X program is the Alenia Aermacchi M-346 and its accompanying full-mission simulator and part-task trainer designed by CAE.

Russia and Israel signed their first military cooperation agreement on September 6, 2010, giving Moscow access to Israel's defense technology in exchange for a promise not to supply arms to Iran and Syria. The deal includes cooperation on unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and special equipment for anti-terrorist units.

Malcolm O'Neill, the U.S. Army's acquisition chief has cancelled the current request for proposals mainly due to too much government risk and too much time spend on research and development with the Ground Combat Vehicle (GCV) program of the U.S. Army. O'Neill feels that the Army is quite close to having sufficient technologies required for the GCV.

Prime contractor Boeing expects to finalize the Future Combat Systems (FCS) program with the U.S. Army by the end of December 2010. U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates canceled some portions of the FCS program in 2009 and the two parties are negotiating a termination fee and a new contract for the remainder of the program.

Lockheed Martin in August 2010 pledged a US$4 billion work share deal with Israeli industry on the F-35 fighter, with the possibility of increasing the amount by at least US$1 billion over the next ten years. The percentage of pledged work relative to the value of the planned procurement is much higher than the offset awards currently offered to other participants in the Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) project.

The article discusses the success and business prospects that SpaceX has achieved with contracts for 30 flights of its Falcon 9 rocket in the coming 7 years. SpaceX has also revealed that it has been successful in capturing launch deals for Pentagon's Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle (EELV) program.

David Cameron, the Prime Minister of U.K. and CEO's of top British defense companies are going all out to establish stronger Indo-British ties in an attempt to obtain defense contracts from the Indian government. Cameron managed to successfully endear India by his remarks that Pakistan must not be allowed to promote the export of terror.

The U.S. Navy's (USN's) DDG 1000 Zumwalt-class destroyer program appears to be steadily moving ahead defying all expectations. The program suffered a setback earlier when I weathered a Nunn-McCurdy breach; however, currently seems to be meeting all its cost targets.

Chinese aerospace officials have gone all out to help Russia boost the power of its jet fighter engines in a move to increase sales. Ma Zhiping, president of the China National Aero-Technology Import and Export Corp. (CATIC) has said that Chinese know-how can help Russia boost the capability of its Russian-built RD-93 engine.

European and U.S. fighter jet manufacturers are preparing to bid for South Korea's third-phase fighter acquisition contest in 2011. The South Korean Air Force plans to replace its old McDonnell Douglas F-4Es and Northrop F-5 E/Fs with a combination of modern imported and indigenously produced aircraft by 2020.

Italy's Finmeccanica in July 2010 confirmed that its Aermacchi M-346 jet trainer aircraft had been selected by Singapore over South Korea's T-50. In addition, Finmeccanica is competing with several other manufacturers for the U.S. Air Force's key T-38 jet trainer replacement program.

Qatar is looking to acquire up to 40 fighter jets and has asked manufacturers to offer proposals for an upgrade of its fleet by end-July 2010. The proposals are likely to include BAE Systems' Eurofighter Typhoon, Boeing F/A-18 E/F, Dassault's Rafale, Lockheed Martin's F-16 and Saab's Gripen NG.

Top Russian defense companies have used aggressive foreign sales and strong state orders to cope with the negative impact of the global financial crisis and the devalued Ruble. Details of export orders as well as domestic ones undertaken by the companies are highlighted.

Potential defense deals between Turkey and the U.S., its largest weapon supplier are getting hampered by Turkey's growing ties with Iran and worsening relations with Israel. A range of major Turkey policy shifts are also angering the U.S. such as Turkey's refusal to send troops to southern and eastern Afghanistan to fight the Taliban.

The decision on the U.S. Air Force (USAF) KC-X tanker refueling award is expected to be finalized by November, 2010, following the November 2nd U.S. congressional elections. One of the bidders EADS was given an extension by 60 days following the pull out of its partner Northrop Grumman from the bid while the other bidder is Boeing.

Britain is collaborating with BAE Systems to work at developing a new better-performing 5.56mm bullet ammunition to be delivered for testing to the U.K. Ministry of Defense (MoD) by the end of 2010. The new ammunition will offer a better range as well as be more lethal as well as lead-free, thereby making it more environment-friendly.

The French government has hinted on plans that it has to procure the Predator unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) from General Atomics. The government is looking at the Predator for its selection of a medium-altitude, long-endurance (MALE) UAV.