Archive: News & Articles

At a recent bilateral summit, Russia and India agreed on a schedule for military-technical cooperation between 2021 and 2031. The agreement was signed by the Head of the Russian Federal Service for Military-Technical Cooperation (FSVTS), Dmitry Shugaev, and Deputy Minister of Defence of India for military procurement, Kant Rag. According to the Kremlin, the agreement […]

At the North Atlantic Council meeting, the Allies decided on the NATO budget for 2022. According to an official announcement, the budget will be reduced by €25 million to €1,849 million. The civilian budget, with funding for civilian personnel, operating costs and civilian programme spending, has been raised to €289.1 million, an increase of 8.9 […]

The Finnish Border Guard is once again operating the CAMCOPTER® S-100 for implementing coast guard functions in the Baltic Sea. The Remotely Piloted Aircraft System (RPAS) service is offered by the European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA). Based at a coast guard station in Hanko, Finland, the CAMCOPTER® S-100 is supporting the Finnish authorities in carrying […]

The Council of Presidents and the International Meeting of the European network EURODEFENSE took place from 16 to 18 June, which includes associations from 15 Member States of the European Union and the United Kingdom. The purpose of the EURODEFENSE network is to promote greater dissemination in civil society of Security and Defence matters, in […]

The US violated India’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) in early April, thereby inviting New Delhi’s annoyance, by carrying out maritime manoeuvres in Indian coastal territory without permission. This was aimed at challenging India’s excessive maritime claims. New Delhi raised concerns with Washington citing the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) of […]

The Swiss Federal Council has adopted the Army Dispatch 2021, thus defining the way forward. With guarantee credits of around CHF 2.3Bn, the Federal Council is pursuing five priorities: expand command and communication systems improve mobility protect members of the Armed Forces more effectively adapt logistics infrastructures to greater readiness modernise training infrastructures With these […]

An arms deal worth billions of dollars between the Israeli Defence Ministry and the US for new fighter jets, tankers and helicopters received preliminary approval from the security cabinet on Sunday. This decision ends a three-year-long dispute between the Defence Ministry and the Finance Ministry over the payment method of the deal. The defence minister asked […]

Natalina Cea has been appointed Head of Mission to the EU Border Assistance Mission (EUBAM) in Libya. She will take up her duties on 1 February 2021 succeeding Vincenzo Tagliaferri, who has held the post since September 2016. Natalina Cea is an Italian civil servant who has worked at a senior level for more than […]

US Army General Stephen Townsend, US Africa Command’s commander, has directed the formation of Joint Task Force- Quartz to oversee Operation Octave Quartz, a mission designated to reposition forces from Somalia. “I directed the activation of a Joint Task Force [JTF] Quartz, built around the headquarters of Special Operations Command-Africa, to oversee Operation Octave Quartz, […]

Stefano Sannino has been appointed as the next Secretary General of European External Action Service (EEAS). Sannino has worked as EEAS Deputy Secretary General for Economic and Global Issues since February 2020 having previously been Italy’s Ambassador to Spain and the Italian Permanent Representative to the EU. Mr. Sannino also served as Director General for […]

President-elect Joe Biden plans to nominate retired General Lloyd J. Austin III to be Secretary of Defence, according to reports from the US. Austin, 67, rose to become a four-star general in the Army and retired in 2016 as the chief of US Central Command, a role from which he oversaw US military operations across […]

On 12 November 2020, the fifth and final NATO RQ-4D PHOENIX UAV landed at the Main Operating Base (MOB) of the NATO Alliance Ground Surveillance system (AGS) in Sigonella, Sicily, meaning the main part of the AGS has been delivered. The NATO Alliance Ground Surveillance Force (NAGSF) is currently preparing for Initial Operating Capability (IOC), […]

The Israel Missile Defense Organization (IMDO), in the Directorate of Defense R&D (DDR&D) of the Israel Ministry of Defense has delivered the first Multi-Mission Radars (MMR) manufactured by ELTA Systems to the US Army. This comes after the US and Israel signed an agreement for the procurement of two IRON DOME Defence System batteries (IDDS-A), which […]

Taiwan is to buy four MQ-9B UAVs and related equipment for an estimated cost of US$600m. The principal contractor for the armed aircraft will be U.S-based General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. (GA‑ASI). The deal also includes: two Fixed Ground Control Stations, two Mobile Ground Control Stations and 14 Embedded Global Positioning System/Inertial Navigations Systems (EGI) with Selective […]

Yesterday’s terror attack in Vienna was performed by what is called a connected local network of terrorists inspired by ISIS, according to Prof. Boaz Ganor, Executive Director of the International Institute for Counter-Terrorism (ICT) in Israel. Austrian officials said that the attack was Islamist terrorism with two men and two women being killed and a further […]

Standing NATO Mine Countermeasures Group One (SNMCMG1) has completed a Historical Ordnance Disposal Operation (HODOPS) in Estonian territorial waters between 20 and 29 October 2020. The NATO Group, together with Estonian Mine Countermeasure Vessels (MCMV), covered an area of 34 square nautical miles and identified 20 historical ordnance objects, including two torpedoes. 19 of these, and […]

Part of the BV 206 D6 and VIKING fleets used by the Dutch Marines will be replaced from 2024, State Secretary Barbara Visser of the Dutch Ministry of Defence reported to Parliament on 24 September 2020. This comes after Germany and the United Kingdom had agreed to jointly procure a successor for the BV 206 […]

The Netherlands will buy 34 PATRIOT Advanced Capability‑3 (PAC-3) Missile Segment Enhancement (MSE) missiles and related equipment from the U.S. at an estimated cost of US$241m. This comes after the Defense Security Cooperation Agency delivered the required certification notifying Congress of this possible sale yesterday. In addition to the request for 34 PAC-3 MSEs, eight kitted […]

Israel is to purchase five advanced training helicopters from Italy, increasing the Air Force’s training fleet to 12 aircraft and in return, Italy will purchase Rafael SPIKE missiles and Elbit Systems simulators. Last week’s signing ceremony took place simultaneously in the defence headquarters of each country and screened via secure video conference, a process which completes […]

Standing NATO Maritime Group Two (SNMG2) flagship, ESPS ALVARO DE BAZAN carried out a training programme with the Algerian ship EL MOUDAMIR in the Mediterranean on 14th September 2020. The exercise took place after a three-day visit to the capital Algiers, aimed at increasing cooperation between NATO Maritime Command and Algeria, a member of NATO’s […]

China is using the COVID-19 pandemic as an opportunity for a policy of expansion not only along the Indo-Chinese border, but also in the South China Sea, the Baltic Sea, Taiwan, Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines. While the world has been grappling with the deadliest pandemic in over a century, with up to 197 countries […]