Malaysia will retain 10 of its MiG-29 fighters for a few years and delay buying a replacement, according to defence minister Ahmad Hamidi. Despite reports last year that the fleet would be retired by the end of 2010 and sold on to a third party country, the decision to retain the capability will see six
An in principle agreement has been reached between partner nations and EADS on the future of the A400M transport, according to Spain’s defence minister, Carme Chacon. The announcement was made at a meeting of European defence ministers in Spain where future funding for the ailing project was discussed. “I am able to tell you with
The USAF has budgeted more than US$950m (A$1.07bn) through to 2015 to continue its acquisition of Lockheed Martin AGM-158 JASSM missiles. The move comes after a successful round of tests late last year in which the weapon achieved 15 hits in 16 test firings. The tests were conducted after earlier tests revealed flaws in the
The Commonwealth has called for tenders for the destruction of the RAAF’s retired F-111Gs which are currently in open storage at Amberley. The tender specifies the destruction of 13 F-111G airframes and 70 TF30 engines. It is understood the G models must be destroyed under US International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITARS) rules rather than
Federal cabinet’s National Security Committee has approved the upgrade of the RAAF’s fleet of 12 C-130J Hercules transports in service with 37SQN at Richmond, but a statement from Defence Minister Senator John Faulkner makes no mention of plans to acquire a further two of the aircraft. The $45 million upgrade will see the aircraft receive
Defence will run a competitive tender process to select the Air 9000 Phase 8 Naval Combat Helicopter replacement for the RAN’s 16 S-70B-2 Seahawks and the 11 cancelled SH-2G(A) Seasprites, Defence Minister Senator John Faulkner has announced. Contrary to earlier reports and defence sources saying a sole-sourced contract for Lockheed Martin/Sikorsky’s MH-60R ‘Romeo’ would likely
