The 2009 Defence White Paper states bravely that the principal task for the ADF is to deter and defeat armed attacks on Australian territory by conducting independent military operations without relying on the combat or combat support forces of other countries.

Prime Minister Tony Abbott declared Australia's longest war at an end during a surprise visit to Afghanistan, with more than 1,000 troops to return home before Christmas in a "bitter-sweet" withdrawal.

The US DOD's inspector general plans to audit the Army and Marine Corps Joint Light Tactical Vehicle program next year, according to a fiscal year 2014 audit plan recently released.

The AGVC is an annual event jointly sponsored by the Department of Defence and the CISR, Deakin University to stimulate robotics related research in Australian tertiary institutions.

Codan Radio Communications, a division of Codan Limited has announced the opening of its new office in Dubai.

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Still considered by some as a possible design contender for this country's Future Frigate project, the French Navy's second FREMM multi-mission ship, Normandie, has begun initial sea trials off Brittany.

The Austrian Ministry of Defence revealed the order for 6 Tracker mini unmanned air systems (18 aircraft).

US special forces are working with a 'one-stop' application designed to help them better plan parachute insertion missions, keep track of friendly forces, navigate to a target, and safely call in close air support if needed.

Cassidian, the defence division of EADS, has successfully finalised its flight testing of the Eurofighter Typhoon Phase 1 Enhancements program.

Lockheed Martin has received a US$33.9 million follow-on production contract from the NSWC, Crane Division, for the Target Sight System, the fire control system for the US Marine Corps' AH-1Z Cobra attack helicopter.

The full version of Defence Week Premium no.276 of 24 October 2013 can be downloaded here as a PDF. A separate PDF of the latest Defence tenders can also be downloaded here.

NZ's Ministry of Defence is assessing responses to a Request of Information on possible replacements for the NZ Defence Force's 13,000 Steyr assault rifles.

Under the HQJOC Joint and Combined Training CONOPS, the Australian Amphibious Concept describes what the ADF aspires to in the development, acquisition, training and employment of Australia's future amphibious warfare capability.

As the Chief of Army has pointed out, the ability to deploy offshore is crucial and Plan Beersheba will tie in with existing programs to improve the Australian Defence Force's amphibious capability.

As a precursor to the foregoing, Exercise Sea Lion 2013 got underway on June 10 as HMAS Choules slipped out to sea with a complement of more than 400 Army and Navy personnel on board, and various pieces of equipment firmly secured on the vehicle deck.