In recognition of the increasingly close defence ties between the two countries, Defence Minister Stephen Smith and the Spanish Minister of Defence, Pedro Morenes Eulate, signed an MOU on bilateral defence cooperation during the naming ceremony of Canberra last week.

QinetiQ has celebrated five years in Australia. The celebrations across QinetiQ Australia's Adelaide, Brisbane, Canberra, Port and South Melbourne and Sydney offices involved all 250 employees participating in a cake-cutting ceremony.

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.

Rolls-Royce has been awarded a $97.3 million contract from the US Air Force to support its C-130J transport fleet in 2013.

Boeing and Elbit Systems have signed a Memorandum of Understanding to offer Elbit Systems' DIRCM systems for a range of Boeing military fixed-wing and vertical-lift aircraft.

The prime contractor of an urgently needed Marine Corps anti-armour weapon has issued a stop-work order after it was found that a nearly 43-cent component in the weapon's nose cap was sourced to a Chinese company.

The US Army's behemoth hybrid airship - the Long Endurance Multi-Intelligence Vehicle - has been terminated, according to sources.

RADA Electronic Industries has successfully tested its advanced Multi-Mission Hemispheric Radar with the RPS-40 Counter-Artillery, Rockets and Mortars mission.

BMT Isis has announced its latest contract with the UK Ministry of Defence's ECI Team, to provide a comprehensive review of its safety processes and associated documentation.

OCCAR and Airbus Military have signed the initial In-Service Support contract providing an 18-month A400M support services package to the French Air Force.

The full version of Defence Week Premium no.240 of 14 February 2013 can be downloaded here as a PDF. A separate PDF of the latest Defence tenders can also be downloaded here.

There have been reports recently in the mainstream media about the hows and whys of BAE Systems Australia pulling out JP2072 Ph 2B. The worst of which is that the corruption claims against the UK parent company over two decades are some how connected.

In his third address to the Australian Defence Magazine Congress, Defence Minister Stephen Smith noted the important role ADM plays in fostering commentary and analysis on defence policy, major projects and equipment acquisitions.

Defence Materiel Minister Dr Mike Kelly this week announced the public release of the first Australian Industry Capability Plans.

A range of SME and Primes were recognised for their work in 2012 at the ADM2013 Congress dinner this week. The ADM/DMO Industry Awards recognise excellence in the level of collaboration between DMO and Industry teams.

Jessica White from MEMKO Pty Ltd was announced as the national winner of the 2013 Australian Industry & Defence Network Young Achiever Award at the ADM2013 Congress awards dinner on Tuesday 12 February in Canberra.