The Sicilian government is resisting US Navy efforts to place one of four Mobile User Objective System ground sites in Niscemi, Sicily, according to a service spokesman.

A blueprint for future scientific advice and technology support to defence was launched by the Minister for Defence Science and Personnel Warren Snowdon.

Quickstep has received new F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter purchase orders from Northrop Grumman Corporation during the third quarter 2012/13, under the long term agreements already signed with Northrop Grumman.

Rohde & Schwarz has released the Broadband Manpack Antenna R&SHK060, a vertically polarized omnidirectional receive and transmit antenna designed specifically for portable radios.

Illicit markets in East Asia and the Pacific earn organised criminal groups nearly US$90 billion a year - an amount roughly equal to twice the GDP of Myanmar, according to a UN Office on Drugs and Crime report released this week.

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The Marine Corps' RQ-21A small tactical unmanned aerial system is rapidly approaching several acquisition milestones in the coming months and is set for initial operational capability early next year, even as the Marines and industry are still brainstorming more ideas for payloads to attach to the drone.

The US Navy last month released a market survey seeking information from industry on potential improvements in selected subsystems of the F/A-18 aircraft, in order to "assess improvement initiatives for F/A-18 aircraft parts that are experiencing degradation due to wear and tear, as well as age," the survey notice states.

Cubic Worldwide Technical Services has been awarded a contract for nearly US$134 million for the Base Period and Option Years from the US Naval Air Warfare Centre Training Systems Division based in Orlando, Florida.

L-3 WESCAM has successfully demonstrated its MX-Series of designator systems at the US Army's Yuma Proving Ground in Arizona.

Selex ES has formally handed over the first of its Modernized Laser Rangefinder/Designators (M-LRFDs) to its customer and prime contractor Lockheed Martin.

The full version of Defence Week Premium no.249 of 18 April 2013 can be downloaded here as a PDF. A separate PDF of the latest Defence tenders can also be downloaded here.

While the pros and cons of this country's proposed Future Submarine fleet and its type, number, cost, and whether we will ever be able to find crews for them, is debated exhaustively on The Strategist, other blogs and in the media generally, local websites don't have much to say about their unmanned successors.

Defence is negotiating with preferred tenderer Transfield Services (Australia) regarding the new Land Materiel Maintenance Service (LMMS) contract, a landmark agreement that Defence says will underpin efficiency reforms in the ADF's logistics system.

The Congressional Budget Office, in a new report on alternatives to the Army's Ground Combat Vehicle program, concludes that every option open to the service is less risky and more affordable than the Army's current path.

Australia has offered to sell Indonesia five Lockheed Martin C130 Hercules aircraft at a "bargain" price after discussions between defence ministers.