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.

Australia's Satellite Utilisation Policy was released by the government this week providing certainty and strategic direction for Australian users of satellite technology.

A West Australian company has begun trials of its new airbags designed for defence force helicopters in case they crash into water.

New appointments have been made at Rheinmetall MAN Military Vehicles and FireEye.

RPC have been selected as a finalist in the 2013 Manufacturers' Monthly Endeavour Awards in three categories.

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 UK Royal Air Force has passed out its first set of specialist unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) pilots during a ceremony at Creech Air Force Base in Nevada, it announced on April 1.

DARPA's Distributed Agile Submarine Hunting (DASH) program has tested two complementary prototype systems as part of its Phase 2 development effort.

General Dynamics Land Systems has been awarded an additional $US40 million for the procurement and production of Saudi M1A2 (M1A2S) Abrams tanks for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

The US Navy has awarded Lockheed Martin a $US57 million contract to upgrade the fleet's electronic warfare defences against anti-ship missile threats.

Ricardo has received an order from prime contractor General Dynamics Land Systems-Force Protection Europe, for the assembly of 76 additional vehicles, bringing the total Foxhound fleet size ordered to date by the UK Ministry of Defence to 376.

The core Team Complex Weapons (Team CW) air defence missile development program - the Common Anti-air Modular Missile (CAMM) for the Future Local Anti-Air Defence System (FLAADS) - has been the catalyst for the creation of a new business relationship between MBDA and Thales UK's Belfast site.