The announcement that this country is finally to acquire eight new Poseidon P-8A maritime surveillance aircraft, at a cost of some $4 billion, as part replacements for the 19 strong AP-3C Orion fleet, comes as no great surprise.

A team working to improve missile defence for the ADF has, for the second time, claimed the major title in the ADM Team of the Year Awards.

The latest Defence additional estimates shows the part that foreign exchange differences play in the costing of major defence projects.

Our somewhat lightweight 'chewing-the-cud' style narrative in last week's issue, drew an immediate response from an interested industry observer who was keen to have answers to the following questions.

Soldiers from Darwin's 1 Combat Service Support Battalion are building a Protected Military Vehicle capability to provide protected battlefield mobility for combat soldiers.

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.

The US Air Force has announced plans to launch a competition for a project it hopes will bolster the self-protection capabilities of its large aircraft.

The US Navy will not contract for any more than 32 Littoral Combat Ships, 20 less than the Navy planned for, Defence Secretary Chuck Hagel said.

Singapore-based ST Engineering, has developed a special 40mm grenade as part of their Soldier Parachute Aerial Reconnaissance Camera System.

Reports out of the UK on profligate defence spending will strike a chord with Australian tax payers concerned over the way APS staff cuts are replaced by well-paid contractors - sometimes the same individuals!

Bernard Gray, UK Chief of Defence Materiel, said it was "mad" that officials ended up covering the cost of the higher salaries workers are paid in the private sector instead of offering staff better pay.

As the US Army prepares to mothball its Ground Combat Vehicle program, questions remain regarding how it might live on as a scaled-down science and technology project.

For modern armed forces, the rapid and safe movement of troops is just as important as having the correct armoury and protective equipment.

The full version of Defence Week Premium no.288 of 20 February 2014 can be downloaded here as a PDF. A separate PDF of the latest Defence tenders can also be downloaded here.

ASPI intern Daniel Nichola writes in The Strategist that the contrast between Defence's strategic guidance and Land 400's operational guidance reflects two contending priorities for Army: leading non-conventional missions vs. fighting conventional wars.

Defence has extended Fujitsu Australia and New Zealand's distributed computing centralised services contract for three more years.