Defence's CDG last month awarded a contract to NIITEK, a Chemring company, teamed with Minelab Australia, for the RPDE of the Groundshark handheld dual sensor, under CDG's CIED handheld device detector prototype program.

Birdon managing director, Jamie Bruce has said the company may prioritise expansion in the US over Australia because it is easier for small businesses to participate in defence contracts in the US, and the cost of labour is substantially cheaper.

Assistant Minister for Defence, Stuart Robert has announced an extension of funding for the Defence Materials Technology Centre (DMTC).

BAE Systems last week signed an AU$77 million, five-year contract extension with Boeing Defence Australia to continue support for the electronic warfare sub-systems aboard the RAAF's Wedgetail Airborne Early Warning and Control aircraft.

DRS Technologies Canada has been awarded a subcontract by Selex to provide communications systems in support of the RAN's Anzac-class vessels.

With the ADF's fleet of ATVs moving towards the end of their life-of-type, Defence is seeking replacements in the form of 25 deployable 4WD ATVs.

As part of Northrop Grumman Corporation's effort to increase innovative thinking in engineering and technology among today's youth, the company is sponsoring the 2014 UAV Outback Challenge competition in Australia.

A summary of the latest news and views in the defence industry, locally and overseas. Check out our webpage for daily news updates on the ADM home page and make sure you bookmark/RSS this for a regular visit.

German naval systems company Atlas Elektronik is showing a containerised anti-submarine warfare mission module to offshore patrol vessel operators in the Asia-Pacific region.

Reports that the US Navy's effort to develop and acquire mission packages for the LCS will cost some $7.2 billion emphasises what a disappointment this aspect of the LCS program has been to Australian industry.

The US Navy's P-8A Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft conducted its first training missions in the Republic of Korea March 27-31 in support of exercise Foal Eagle 2014.

Rolls-Royce has been awarded a contract to support the US Marines Corps fleet of KC-130J air-to-air refuelling tankers, worth more than $50 million.

The full version of Defence Week Premium no.293 of 27 March 2014 can be downloaded here as a PDF. A separate PDF of the latest Defence tenders can also be downloaded here.

Professional Engineers Australia has called for the Minister for Defence to urgently review and invest in Commonwealth engineering capacity on the AWD and the Future Submarine projects.

In the near future, the Australian Government will consider the second-pass approval of the acquisition of the bulk of the proposed F-35 Joint Strike Fighter fleet.

The 2014 rotation of approximately 1150 US Marines will arrive in northern Australia in coming days with equipment, vehicles and helicopters.