NATO defence ministers meeting in Brussels on 12–13 October decided to increase the allies' stockpiles of munitions and equipment and to use the NATO defence planning process to provide the defence industry with the long-term demand required to boost production. (NATO)  Both NATO and the European Union (EU) are scrambling to foster joint procurement, stimulate accelerated defence-industrial production, and promote shared warehousing among their national militaries to replace depleted stocks sent to Ukraine and bolster Europe's own territorial...

South Korean F-15Ks and USAF F-16 jets fly in response to North Korea's IRBM launch on 4 October 2022. The F-15s subsequently bombed an uninhabited South Korean island 50 km west of the mainland. This appears to have partly prompted a larger bombing exercise by North Korea on an undisclosed islet on 8 October. (South Korean Ministry of National Defense)  North Korea has conducted an unprecedented series of live-fire drills using warplanes. This includes what Pyongyang describes as one of its largest air combat exercises.  In a statement on 10...

South Korean F-15Ks and USAF F-16 jets fly in response to North Korea's IRBM launch on 4 October 2022. The F-15s subsequently bombed an uninhabited South Korean island 50 km west of the mainland. This appears to have partly prompted a larger bombing exercise by North Korea on an undisclosed islet on 8 October. (South Korean Ministry of National Defense)  North Korea has conducted an unprecedented series of live-fire drills using warplanes. This includes what Pyongyang describes as one of its largest air combat exercises.  In a statement on 10...

The Luftwaffe deployed a small contingent of Eurofighters to Japan between 28 and 30 September for joint drills. The deployment reflects Japan's role as an important partner for Germany in the region. (Bundeswehr/Christian Timmig)  The German Air Force (Luftwaffe) has concluded its deployment of Eurofighters and support aircraft in the Indo-Pacific region. The deployment, titled ‘Rapid Pacific 2022’, potentially sets the stage for future flights into the region by the Luftwaffe.  A Luftwaffe spokesperson told Janes that the detachment returne...

Airbus NEO satellite imagery shows the Project 885M Severodvinsk (Yasen)-class SSGN   Novosibirsk  and Project 955A Dolgorukiy (Borey)-class SSBN   Knyaz Oleg  at the Pacific Fleet's Rybachiy naval base in Kamchatka Krai, Russia, on 28 September 2022.  (©Airbus DS 2022/SkyWatch Space Applications Inc/Tony Roper)  The Russian Navy's Pacific Fleet has received two submarines in one day at the Rybachiy naval base in Kamchatka Krai, Russia.  The Project 885M Severodvinsk (Yasen)-class nuclear-powered guided-mis...

The Pentagon has shared a classified version of the 2022 National Defense Strategy with Congress. (Getty Images)  US President Joe Biden's administration plans to publicly release an unclassified version of its new National Defense Strategy (NDS) “shortly”, a White House official said on 27 September.  The US Department of Defense (DoD) sent a classified version of the 2022 NDS to Congress in March. The DoD's two-page “fact sheet” on the NDS describes China as “our most consequential strategic competitor and the pacing challenge for the depar...

LIG Nex1's low-altitude missile defence system, a model of which is shown above, has a range of 7 km. (Janes/Dae Young Kim)  South Korea's LIG Nex1 has disclosed plans to supply its low-altitude missile defence (LAMD) system to the Republic of Korea (RoK) Armed Forces by the end of the decade.  The company started development of the system earlier this year, and told Janes at the DX Korea 2022 exhibition in Goyang that the LAMD will undergo seven more years of work before it is ready for deployment.  “We have planned two years of engineering...

NATO-Russia relations since 1999. (Janes)  NATO's strategy since the collapse of the Soviet Union was noted for its drift and lack of purpose. Comments by French President Emmanuel Macron in November 2019 that NATO was “brain-dead” highlighted this...

The UK Royal Navy's fifth Astute-class nuclear-powered attack submarine, HMS   Anson  , was commissioned into service at BAE Systems' yard in Barrow-in-Furness, North West England, on 31 August. Australian submariners will join RN crews to train on   Anson  and other Astute-class boats under the AUKUS security partnership.  (Royal Navy)  Australian submariners are set to train onboard the UK Royal Navy's (RN's) newest Astute-class nuclear-powered attack submarine (SSN) under the trilateral AUKUS sec...

The UK is donating six AUVs to Ukraine to help with mine clearance. (UK MoD/Crown Copyright)  The UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) has announced plans to donate mine-hunting autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) to Ukraine to help the country clear its coastline of Russian mines.  Ahead of delivery, Ukrainian personnel are also being trained to operate the systems, the MoD said.  Since the United Nations brokered a deal with Russia and Ukraine in July to enable commercial ships to safely export foodstuffs from Ukraine through the Black Sea, a sma...

A total of six USAF B-2s have landed in Australia between January and August 2022. The unprecedented deployment of these bombers in Australia between July and August 2022 affirms the growing nature of US-Australia defence and strategic alliance following AUKUS. (Janes)  The first deployment of United States Air Force (USAF) Northrop Grumman B-2 Spirit bombers to Australia has ended.  The deployment is very likely to have resulted in significant capability enhancements for the Australian Defence Force (ADF). It also sets the ground for future...

Germany has demonstrated its ability to deploy a detachment of combat and support aircraft in the Indo-Pacific region. The detachment, which includes six Eurofighter Typhoons, four A400Ms, and three A330 MRTTs, will operate in the region until 4 October 2022. (Janes)  The German Air Force (Luftwaffe) has flown a detachment of Eurofighters with supporting aircraft and personnel into the Indo-Pacific region. The aircraft covered a distance of 12,700 km within 24 hours.  According to the German Bundeswehr (armed forces of the Federal Republic of...

A 3D-printed satellite engine mount. (Boeing)  Boeing and Northrop Grumman have signed up to participate in the Biden administration's Additive Manufacturing (AM) Forward initiative, which intends to strengthen US supply chains by increasing the use of 3D-printed parts.  Both companies have agreed to expand opportunities for small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) suppliers to provide AM parts, according to a 17 August announcement by nonprofit Applied Science & Technology Research Organization of America (ASTRO America), which supports AM Fo...

Taiwan has announced it will award a ‘missile engineering' contract to the United States. This will reportedly include sustainment of the island's Patriot air-defence system. (Lockheed Martin)  Taiwan has awarded the US a contract to sustain missile systems operated by the Republic of China Air Force (ROCAF). The deal – worth TWD2.5 billion (USD84 million) – comes amid Taiwanese efforts to bolster missile production capacity on the island in the face of growing tension with China.  The missile sustainment deal was announced by Taipei's contra...

Taiwan said that the PLA flew 49aircraft into the Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ) on 5 August whereas China has said that it is flying ‘hundreds' of aircraft into the ADIZ. (VCG via Getty Images)    China says it is dispatching hundreds of combat aircraft to the six live-fire zones around Taiwan. However, Taipei's daily air incursion reports show smaller figures.   Janes   assesses that this could partly be because of strains on the country's radar network.   China launched a four-day live-fire exercise around Taiwan...

Taiwan air force F-16 Fighting Falcon fighter jets prepare to take off from Hualien Air Force Base on 6 August 2022. The aircraft were scrambled to monitor PLA live-fire drills around the island. (Annabelle Chih/Getty Images)  A series of drills conducted by China's People's Liberation Army (PLA) recently are intended to demonstrate its warfighting capabilities to invade Taiwan.  The drills, which began on 4 August, were officially started to illustrate Beijing's displeasure over a 2 August visit by the US House of Representatives Speaker, N...

China's Eastern Theatre Command says it is launching hundreds of aircraft to participate in live-fire drills around Taiwan. (VCG via Getty Images)    China says it is dispatching hundreds of combat aircraft to the six live-fire zones around Taiwan. However, Taipei's daily air incursion reports show smaller figures.   Janes   assesses that this could partly be because of strains on the country's radar network.   China launched a four-day live-fire exercise around Taiwan from 4 August, in response to a visit by US House Speak...

The Russian Navy's Project 22350 frigate   Admiral Gorshkov   is set to be the first vessel to be equipped with the 3M-22 Tsirkon hypersonic missile in the coming months.  (Michael Nitz/Naval Press Service)  Russian President Vladimir Putin approved a new naval doctrine on 31 July that offers a glimpse of Russia's global maritime ambitions.    The doctrine, which was unveiled during Russia's annual Navy Day celebrations, replaces the   Maritime Doctrine of the Russian Federation   (2015)  .  It...

Boeing is developing the MQ-25 Stingray unmanned tanker for the US Navy. The company has averted a labour strike at three US factories that build military aircraft, including the MQ-25. (Boeing)  Unionised workers at three Boeing military aircraft factories in and near St Louis, Missouri, have approved a new three-year contract, averting a looming labour strike, the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM) announced on 3 August.  Boeing welcomed the news. “We're pleased with the outcome of the vote and we look forw...

While the PLA has said that it is conducting sorties by Chengdu J-20 stealth fighters into Taiwan's ADIZ, Taipei has not recorded this aircraft in its daily ADIZ incursion disclosures. Chinese military experts on the mainland cite this as evidence of gaps in Taiwan's surveillance network. (Chen Chang/VCG via Getty Images)  China conducted its most significant air breach of the median line in the contentious Taiwan Strait on 3 August.  Data from Taiwan's Ministry of National Defense (MND) shows that 22 People's Liberation Army (PLA) aircraft,...