The Australian Department of Defence (DoD) is to extend the presence of its Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) Heron medium-altitude long-endurance (MALE) unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) in Afghanistan through to mid-2014, it announced on 11 December. With the Australian Defence Force (ADF) set to

Saudi Arabia has requested the sale of nearly 15,000 Raytheon TOW wireless anti-tank missiles for its national guard and another 1,750 of the wire-guided version for its army, the US Defence Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) announced on 5 December. The proposed deal for the Saudi Arabia National

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 demise 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 leader Kim Jong-un. "North Korea is currently engaged in a reign of terror while carrying out

France has launched Operation 'Sangaris' to stabilise the chaotic Central African Republic (CAR) and secure the strategic land routes to Cameroon, Chad, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). The operation, which has faced little resistance, is being conducted under the auspices of a UN

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

BAE Systems is to cut almost 1,800 jobs from its UK-based Maritime - Naval Ships business, and will cease shipbuilding operations at its Portsmouth facility in 2014. At the same time, the company has reached agreement with the Ministry of Defence (MoD) on a series of measures to restructure its