BY : DNA-INDIA

The government has put in cold storage a massive joint venture for a new generation Barak missiles for Indian Air Force, as the CBI makes major breakthroughs in nailing arms agent Suresh Nanda and others in the original Barak contract for Indian Navy in 2000.

According to dependable sources, a new version of the Barak missiles, a medium range surface-to-air missiles, was to be made for the IAF under the Rs 10,000 crore project in a joint venture between the Defence Research and Development Organisation and the Israel Aerospace Industries, the makers of Barak missiles.

BY : BBC

It seems that they are moving further and further apart over a number of issues.

Their leaders still visit each other's countries and rarely miss any opportunity to emphasise their decades-old ties. But nagging doubts remain over their ability to redefine their relationship in a fast-changing world.

The Admiral Gorschkov is a good example. From a negotiated price of $700m, the Russians subsequently demanded $1.2bn with delivery delayed till 2013.

Around the same time, the Indian navy has refused to accept an upgraded diesel-powered submarine after delays in the installation of a missile system.

BY : TNN

Pack your bags, return to India and work in the cutting-edge defence technology arena to bolster the country’s military strength.

Often lambasted for huge time and cost overruns in strategic projects, the Defence Research and Development Organisation now wants to add some solid NRI firepower to its armoury.

After losing close to 1,500 scientists to much greener pastures of corporate world just since 2002, DRDO is stepping up its 'talent search scheme' to lure NRIs into its fold through some 'reverse brain drain'.

BY : MARTIN SIEFF For UPI Senior News Analyst

India's success in co-producing the Mach 2.8 BrahMos supersonic cruise missile with Russia raises the question as to whether New Delhi would be willing or able to sell that technology to Israel -- which urgently needs it.

And it also raises the question of whether Russia would allow India to sell such technology well in advance of current U.S. cruise missile systems to a close U.S. ally.

Israel's strategic deterrent against Iran is its survivable second-strike capability of nuclear-capable U.S.-supplied cruise missiles deployed on its three German-built

BY : Typicallyspanish



Spain’s largest aircraft carrier was launched in Ferrol last night. ‘Juan Carlos I’ has cost 360 million € and will be handed over to the Spanish Navy in a years time, and be ready for service in two. She has four times as many features and abilities than the current carrier ‘Principe de Asturias’.

'Juan Carlos I' moved down the slipway at 6,09 pm last night, to coincide with the high tide, after Queen Sofia had blessed the ship and named her with the traditional bottle of Champaign. The Spanish National Anthem was played as the vessel entered the water, to the cheers of thousands of locals who had gone down to the docks to

BY : Jane's Information Group

The Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF) is analysing data provided by potential suppliers of a new advanced jet trainer (AJT) with a view to issuing a formal request for proposals (RfP) soon.

Singapore issued a request for information (RfI) to a number of manufacturers in 2007, with the deadline for submissions by the end of that year. The RfP is expected shortly and a final selection and contract signature is anticipated in 2009 or 2010.

Singapore is thought to require between eight and 12 aircraft for the AJT task.

BY : Bloomberg News

Lockheed Martin’s Joint Strike Fighter, already the most expensive weapons program ever, is projected to increase in price by as much as $38 billion, congressional auditors said Tuesday.

That would bring the cost to develop and build 2,458 U.S. aircraft to $337 billion, 45 percent above the estimate when the program started in October 2001.

“Midway through development, the program is over cost and behind schedule,” Michael Sullivan, who tracks the program for the U.S. Government Accountability

BY : AP



The world's first attack aircraft to employ stealth technology is slipping quietly into history.

The inky black, angular, radar-evading F-117, which spent 27 years in the Air Force arsenal secretly patrolling hostile skies from Serbia to Iraq, will be put in mothballs next month in Nevada.

Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton, which manages the F-117 program, will have an informal, private retirement ceremony Tuesday with military leaders, base employees and representatives from Holloman Air Force Base in New Mexico.

BY : The Hindu

One of the reasons behind deciding on the Siliguri region in north Bengal as venue for the two-day “Shock and Awe” demonstration of sophisticated land and air warfare weaponry beginning on Friday is to “send out covert signals to certain neighbouring countries in the region about India’s defence preparedness,” a well placed Army source told The Hindu on Tuesday. Nearly 2,000 personnel from the Indian Army and Air Force will be engaged in the demonstration.

An array of heavy weaponry will be fired at specially made targets to provide fire

BY : Thehill

Facing a delay with Bell-Textron’s new armed reconnaissance helicopter, Army aviation officials and Boeing Co. are making their case to Congress for hundreds of millions of dollars to buy more battle-tested Apache Longbow choppers.

The Army has converted most of its older Boeing Apache models, the AH-64 A, into the more capable, high-tech Apache Longbows, or AH-64 D. The Longbow can shoot more rounds, at faster speeds and longer distances, than the earlier models. It is also safer for its two-man crew.The Army National Guard still employs Apache A models. Four Apache A-model battalions, totaling 92 helicopters, were supposed to be replaced with Bell’s armed reconnaissance helicopter rather than Longbows.