Briefings : LPPV, Phantom, KC-X

The Supacat SPV 400 (below) and the Force Protection Ocelot are the two contenders for an MOD order for 200 light protected patrol vehicles (LPPVs) to replace the Snatch Land Rover in British Army operational use in Afghanistan.

A 4th Skynet satellite will be launched in 2013 further extending British military communications. 

The Phantom lives on, Turkey has received the first of 16 upgraded F-4Es. The old birds have upgraded avionics, communication systems and flight control software. 54 of it's RF-4Es are also being upgraded in a separate project.

Northrop Grumman will not take part in the USAF's future tanker programme competition, the KC-X. They had partnered up with EADS in an earlier competition but will not take part again. EADS have also ruled out going it alone. They say the new USAF competition favours Boeing with it's smaller 767 offering.

Briefings : Armour, Helicopters, Naval

A new fleet of armoured vehicles is to be urgently bought to replace the controversial Snatch Land Rovers which have been blamed for 35 troops deaths (or rather have been blamed for not protecting the occupants sufficiently). 200 vehicles will be bought though the MOD are denying it originally was going to buy 400. The MOD is assessing a range of potential vehicles which will be "world-beating British-built vehicles and will provide unprecedented levels of protection for their weight class."

Aviation Week looks at some technologies which could produce faster helicopters, something special forces are crying out for. The USN has commissioned it's latest destroyer, USS Dewey, the 55th Arleigh Burke. A new Hyperbaric Medical Unit has been opened at St. Richards hospital in Chichester for the treatment of decompression illness in RN divers.

Sunday Fail : Rockwell XFV-12

The Harrier is, to date, the only successful V/STOL jet fighter in the west. The US adopted the Harrier themselves but in the 1970s they tried to produce a superior and supersonic fighter to replace it. This was the Rockwell XFV-12 which was fine except it couldn't actually take off.

The XFV-12 had a thrust augmented wing, engine thrust was diverted through slots in the wing to produce vertical thrust. The XFV-12 had 2 sets of wings more or less as it's canards providing almost half of the available wing area. So why did it fail?

The problem was simple. The thrust available, even with an uprated engine, was not enough to get the plane off the ground. Too much engine thrust was being lost through the exhaust ducting. It probably could have worked, if the aircraft weighed 25% less. A major drawback with the thrust augmented wing scheme by the way was that the wings could not be used to carry weapons which meant that the only place to carry weapons was under the fuselage.

This proved rather academic in any event as the project was canceled by the end of the 1970s due to cost... and being useless.

Briefings : Iraq, A400M, Iran missile

Today the PM had to face the Chilcot Iraq Inquiry, what he said was no surprise really. He said the decision to overthrow Saddam was right, he rejected he had starved the military of funds while Chancellor and that the military got everything they asked for. He admitted the reconstruction phase had been badly planned though tried to blame the Americans for that.

EADS have struck a deal with it's European partners over the A400M to amend the contract. Though Spain want the UK to reduce the amount of work it gets out of the project unless it pays more.

Jane's say the next generation Iranian missile / space launch vehicle Simorgh shows similarities with the North Korean Unha-2 missile. The USAF is considering whether to keep the production tooling for the F-22 after production ceases. Russia will destroy all of it's chemical weapons by 2012.

Briefings : E-8 upgrades, GLONASS, US fighters

The USAF have begun a programme to re-engine it's fleet of E-8 JSTARS aircraft. They have gone for the JT8D-219 over the more fuel efficient CFM56 as fewer modifications to the aircraft will be needed.

Russia has launched 3 more satellites for it's GLONASS GPS system, 19 satellites are now in place with 1 under repair. This is said to be enough to provide coverage across all of Russia though at least 24 are required for worldwide coverage.

124 more Super Hornets and Growlers may be bought for the USN, once the Pentagon makes up it's mind. Meanwhile an audit of the troubled JSF shows part shortages will cause further delays of aircraft deliveries. Defense Tech looks at the programme and asks if the plane is militarily vital. Egypt wants to buy 24 more F-16s.

China has announced it's smallest increase in it's defence budget for years, it will only increase by 7.5% in 2010 which is tiny obviously. Here the MOD is misleading people over it's budget problems MPs say.

Briefings : Exercise, Russian bomber, MAV

The MOD have a photo gallery from Operation Cold Response currently being held in Norway. The Royal Navy, Royal Fleet Auxiliary and Royal Marines took part in an amphibious assault.

Russia, having got it's next generation fighter the T-50 into the air, will switch it's attention to a new strategic bomber to replace the Bear and the Blackjack in the next decade PM Putin has said. Meanwhile 3 more T-50s will be built before the end of the year.

The USAF is working on a "killer micro-drone" called Anubis with AeroVironment, a killer MAV that can engage high-value manovering targets, like insurgent leaders in pick-up trucks? The Royal New Zealand Air Force's display team, the Red Checkers, have been grounded following a minor mid-air collision.

Briefings : Engineers, Russia, Training

Construction has begun of 60 new armoured earth moving machines for the Royal Engineers. The BAE Systems Terrier is said to have been honed by experience by other machines in Iraq and Afghanistan. Well lets hope so.

Two RAF Typhoons were scrambled after a disturbance on a Dallas-London flight but returned to base when it was confirmed the 767 was not involved in a terrorism incident.

Russia will give Lebanon Mi-24 Hind helicopter gunships under a military aid programme instead of the MiG-29 Fulcrum fighters previously considered. Russia meanwhile are negotiating with France for the sale of 4 Mistral amphibious warfare ships, the first will be built in France but the building location of the next 3 has yet to be decided. The ex-Soviet Baltic states are meanwhile concerned about the deal. Gas supplies to France are part of the deal, this is how the 21st century is going.

The Advanced European Jet Pilot Training (AEJPT) programme is a 9 nation scheme to combine jet training although the governments involved are yet to allocate any funds.