THE NAVY HAD intended to choose this year between competing LCS designs from Lockheed Martin and Austal USA, but on Nov. 3 the service revealed its desire to buy 10 more ships of each design - a move that needed congressional approval. ( U.S. Navy )
BY KATE BRANNEN
With the House's passage of a federal funding bill Dec. 21, the U.S. Navy received the necessary congressional permission to buy both versions of the Littoral Combat Ship (LCS). ... full story
AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
BEIRUT - France will give Lebanon 100 anti-tank missiles, a government official said Dec. 17, confirming a deal that raised concerns in Israel and the United States earlier this year. ... full story
17 Dec 13:44 EST (18:44 GMT)
France Will Give Lebanon 100 Anti-Tank Missiles
AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
BEIRUT - France will give Lebanon 100 anti-tank missiles, a government official said Dec. 17, confirming a deal that raised concerns in Israel and the United States earlier this year. ... full story
17 Dec 13:44 EST (18:44 GMT)
First Flights for French, Spanish Tactical Helos
BY PIERRE TRAN
PARIS - French and Spanish NH90 tactical transport helicopters (TTHs) made maiden flights Dec. 17 at Eurocopter's Marignane facility in southern France, prime contractor NHIndustries said in a statement. ... full story
17 Dec 13:04 EST (18:04 GMT)
ThalesRaytheonSystems To Supply Germany Air Defense Radars
BY PIERRE TRAN
PARIS - ThalesRaytheonSystems (TRS) on Dec. 16 signed a contract worth 100 million euros ($133 million) with the German BWB defense procurement office to supply six GM 400 air defense radars, said a senior executive of the joint venture company. ... full story
17 Dec 12:29 EST (17:29 GMT)
ThalesRaytheonSystems To Supply Germany Air Defense Radars
BY PIERRE TRAN
PARIS - ThalesRaytheonSystems (TRS) on Dec. 16 signed a contract worth 100 million euros ($133 million) with the German BWB defense procurement office to supply six GM 400 air defense radars, said a senior executive of the joint venture company. ... full story
17 Dec 12:29 EST (17:29 GMT)
Tanker Arrives for Conversion to Intel Role for RAF
BY ANDREW CHUTER
LONDON - The first of three Boeing KC-135 tankers scheduled to be converted to Rivet Joint signals intelligence-gathering aircraft for the Royal Air Force has arrived at prime contractor L3 Communications' U.S. factory. ... full story
17 Dec 12:29 EST (17:29 GMT)
N. Korea Has Other Uranium Enrichment Site: U.S.
AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
WASHINGTON - North Korea has "at least one other" uranium enrichment site than that disclosed to U.S. experts last month, U.S. State Department spokesman Philip Crowley said Dec. 14. ... full story
15 Dec 10:53 EST (15:53 GMT)
U.S. Not Helping Taiwan Produce Cruise Missiles
AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
WASHINGTON - The United States has not provided any help to Taiwan in its bid to mass produce cruise missiles, a Pentagon spokesman said Dec. 10, as a Chinese military delegation held talks here. ... full story
10 Dec 14:29 EST (19:29 GMT)
France Will Give Lebanon 100 Anti-Tank Missiles
AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
BEIRUT - France will give Lebanon 100 anti-tank missiles, a government official said Dec. 17, confirming a deal that raised concerns in Israel and the United States earlier this year. ... full story
17 Dec 13:44 EST (18:44 GMT)
Unused in Afghanistan, Longbow Deliveries Continue
BY KATE BRANNEN
In announcing the delivery of the 400th Longbow fire control radar for the AH-64 Apache attack helicopter, the U.S. Army acknowledged, not for the first time, that commanders in Afghanistan choose not to fly with the system. ... full story
16 Dec 16:25 EST (21:25 GMT)
Israeli Jet Downs Flying Object Near Nuclear Plant
AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
JERUSALEM - An Israeli warplane shot down a "suspicious object" flying on Dec. 16 over the southern part of the Dead Sea, the military said, adding that the intruder appeared to have been a balloon. ... full story
France Will Give Lebanon 100 Anti-Tank Missiles
AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
BEIRUT - France will give Lebanon 100 anti-tank missiles, a government official said Dec. 17, confirming a deal that raised concerns in Israel and the United States earlier this year. ... full story
17 Dec 13:44 EST (18:44 GMT)
Sweden to Strengthen Presence in Afghanistan
BY GERARD O'DWYER
HELSINKI - Four days after the first jihadist suicide bomb on Swedish soil injured two in an attack in downtown Stockholm, lawmakers voted 290-20 with 19 abstentions on Dec. 15 to extend the country's military presence in Afghanistan. ... full story
16 Dec 09:51 EST (14:51 GMT)
N. Korea Threatens To Retaliate Against Exercise
BY JUNG SUNG-KI
SEOUL - North Korea threatened Dec. 17 to retaliate with force if South Korea goes ahead with a planned live-fire exercise on an island near the disputed sea border in the western waters of the Korean Peninsula. ... full story
17 Dec 10:51 EST (15:51 GMT)
U.S. Army: 'Insatiable Demand' for UAVs in War Zone
BY KATE BRANNEN
The U.S. Army is working to meet its troops' huge demand for unmanned aircraft systems (UAS), but the expected budget cuts will force the service to prioritize what they really need, officials said. ... full story
16 Dec 17:24 EST (22:24 GMT)
U.S. Army Modernization Review Set for Dec. 22
BY KATE BRANNEN
Senior U.S. Army leaders plan to meet with Pentagon acquisition chief Ashton Carter on Dec. 22 to discuss the fate of the Early Infantry Brigade Combat Team (E-IBCT) equipment, originally developed for the Future Combat Systems (FCS) program. ... full story
16 Dec 13:55 EST (18:55 GMT)
N. Korea Threatens To Retaliate Against Exercise
BY JUNG SUNG-KI
SEOUL - North Korea threatened Dec. 17 to retaliate with force if South Korea goes ahead with a planned live-fire exercise on an island near the disputed sea border in the western waters of the Korean Peninsula. ... full story
17 Dec 10:51 EST (15:51 GMT)
India, China Tackle Border Dispute
BY VIVEK RAGHUVANSHI
NEW DELHI - India and China, which fought a brief battle in 1962 over a territory dispute, have reiterated their resolve to sort out the border problem through dialogue. ... full story
16 Dec 12:36 EST (17:36 GMT)
U.K. To Double Reaper UAV Fleet
BY ANDREW CHUTER
Britain is to spend 135 million pounds ($213 million) to double the size of its fleet of Reaper UAVs, Prime Minister David Cameron said during a Dec. 7 visit to British troops fighting in Afghanistan. ... full story
7 Dec 16:58 EST (21:58 GMT)
France Will Give Lebanon 100 Anti-Tank Missiles
AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
BEIRUT - France will give Lebanon 100 anti-tank missiles, a government official said Dec. 17, confirming a deal that raised concerns in Israel and the United States earlier this year. ... full story
17 Dec 13:44 EST (18:44 GMT)
Iran Pledges to Support Lebanon's Army
AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
TEHRAN, Iran - Iranian Defence Minister Ahmad Vahidi on Nov. 28 told Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri that Tehran was prepared to help the Lebanese Army, state television's website reported. ... full story
28 Nov 09:12 EST (14:12 GMT)
NATO Pins Hopes On Afghan Security Force
AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
WASHINGTON - The training of Afghan soldiers is designed to pave the way for the exit of NATO-led troops in 2014 but the effort faces difficulties over the quality of security forces and a high attrition rate, a Pentagon report said Nov. 22. ... full story
No New Russian Aircraft Carriers Until 2020
BY DMITRY ZAKS, AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
MOSCOW - The Russian military admitted Dec. 10 that it lacked the funds to deploy a powerful new armada of aircraft carriers as promised and that no more would be built for at least another decade. ... full story
10 Dec 13:24 EST (18:24 GMT)
France Says It Would Transfer Technology to Russia
AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
MOSCOW - French Prime Minister Francois Fillon said Dec. 9 on a visit to Moscow that France was ready to transfer military technology if it won a tender to supply Russia with Mistral warships. ... full story
9 Dec 14:31 EST (19:31 GMT)
N. Korea Threatens To Retaliate Against Exercise
BY JUNG SUNG-KI
SEOUL - North Korea threatened Dec. 17 to retaliate with force if South Korea goes ahead with a planned live-fire exercise on an island near the disputed sea border in the western waters of the Korean Peninsula. ... full story
17 Dec 10:51 EST (15:51 GMT)
LCS Measure Approved by U.S. House
BY CHRISTOPHER P. CAVAS
The House of Representatives approved Wednesday morning a stand-alone measure that would allow the U.S. Navy to award construction contracts to both Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) competitors. ... full story
15 Dec 11:28 EST (16:28 GMT)
N. Korea Threatens To Retaliate Against Exercise
BY JUNG SUNG-KI
SEOUL - North Korea threatened Dec. 17 to retaliate with force if South Korea goes ahead with a planned live-fire exercise on an island near the disputed sea border in the western waters of the Korean Peninsula. ... full story
17 Dec 10:51 EST (15:51 GMT)
Iran Protests U.S. Navy Use Of 'Arabian Gulf'
AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
TEHRAN - Iran on Dec. 1 summoned the Swiss ambassador to Tehran in protest after the U.S. Navy used the term "Arabian Gulf" instead of "Persian Gulf" in a directive, ISNA news agency reported. ... full story
1 Dec 11:04 EST (16:04 GMT)
Nigeria Seizes More Weapons, Trucks At Port
AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
LAGOS - Nigeria has seized another illegal arms shipment at its main port, including pistols and military vehicles, a navy spokesman said Nov. 24, weeks after the discovery of a weapons cache sent from Iran. ... full story
24 Nov 11:09 EST (16:09 GMT)
Nigerian Illegal Arms Shipment Was Loaded In Iran
AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
LAGOS - An illegal arms shipment that included rockets and grenades discovered in Nigeria this week was loaded in Iran by an Iranian trader, the firm that operates the vessel that delivered it said on Oct. 29. ... full story