The Textron Airland Scorpion combat aircraft made its maiden flight from McConnell Air Force Base in Wichita, Kansas, on 12 December. The intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR)/light strike twin-engined jet flew for approximately 1 hour and 25 minutes during the sortie, which took

Russia has significantly bolstered its western air defence capability with the standing up of a new long-range radar system and the deployment of fighter aircraft to Belarus, state media disclosed on 9 December. A new over-the-horizon radar system is officially being trialled near the town of

Key Points A command-and-control system and testing plans are to be delineated in the contract The deal is expected to be worth USD91 million EADS subsidiary Astrium and Raytheon have signed a teaming agreement that formalises the companies' plans to compete for the roles of lead system engineers

Raytheon UK is preparing to unveil what it believes to be the "world's first" handheld tactical improvised explosive device (IED) confirm/diagnose system for dismounted soldiers and small- to medium-sized unmanned ground vehicles (UGVs). The system, known as GroundEye, spins off existing

The execution of a key North Korean political figure could destabilise the Korean peninsula, officials in Seoul have said, and is a sign that the Kim family is closing ranks to strengthen the position of "supreme leader and respected marshal" Kim Jong-un. Chang Song-taek, the uncle by

The third battalions of the Malian Armed Forces (FAMa) to be trained by the EU Training Mission-Mali (EUTM-Mali) graduated on 7 December after completing a 10-week course at the Koulikoro facility. A fourth battalion will be trained before the EUTM-Mali's current mandate runs out in May 2014,

EVENT Around 300 environmentalist activists protested peacefully outside parliament buildings in the Albanian capital Tirana on 12 November. A second protest was staged at the nearby US embassy following a diplomatic request for Albania to host and dismantle Syrian chemical weapons. The Mjekes

In a series of statements released on its Twitter account on 4 December, the Sunni Islamist militant group Liwa Ahrar al-Sunna Baalbek claimed responsibility for the assassination of senior Hizbullah commander Hassan al-Laqis. He was attacked by two gunmen as he travelled home in the Hadath district

The execution of a key North Korean political figure could destabilise the Korean peninsula, officials in Seoul have said, and is a sign that the Kim family is closing ranks to strengthen the position of "supreme leader and respected marshal" Kim Jong-un. Chang Song-taek, the uncle by