The Five Power Defence Arrangements (FPDA) comprising Malaysia, Singapore, Australia, New Zealand and the United Kingdom have agreed to organise larger and more complex military drills in Southeast Asia this year. The move will likely emphasise on deepening cooperation into non-conventional aspects, focusing on counter-terrorism, maritime security, humanitarian and disaster relief, along with cyber and drone warfare. The announcement was made after the FPDA Defence Minister’s Meeting (FDMM) on the sidelines of the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore. The meeting, held every three years was attend ..read more

Paratroopers from the Malaysian Army’s elite 10th Parachute Brigade have kicked off the bilateral Tiger Strike 2024 exercise with the United States Marine Corps (USMC) and United States Navy (USN). Held from May 29 to June 6 around Kuantan and Kuala Terengganu, 300 airborne troops will train with 1,100 Marines and sailors from the USMC’s 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU) embarked on the San Antonio-class landing platform dock USS Somerset. The bilateral exercise will give participating members a platform to share training practices across a myriad of military skills including amphibious ope ..read more

Thailand’s Defence Ministry delivered 10 locally manufactured wheeled First Win 4×4 armoured vehicles and a number of small arms for the Royal Bhutan Police for use in its peacekeeping operations. In a ceremony headed by Thai defence minister Sutin Klungsang, Bhutan’s Bangkok embassy officials representing the police force took delivery of the 10 armoured tactical vehicles (ATV), 200 MI-47 7.62mm carbines and 30 MI-9 handguns. Designed and built indigenously by Thai Defence Industries Company (TDI), the First Win provides NATO STANAG 4569 Level 2 protection for the maximum 11 personnel onboar ..read more

General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. (GA-ASI) and the US Marine Corps (USMC) teamed up to conduct flight training on the operation of the MQ-9A Block 5 Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) for the Marine Aviation Weapons and Tactics Squadron One (MAWTS-1) at Marine Corps Air Station in Yuma, Arizona. The students participated in Weapons and Tactics Instructor (WTI) Course 2-24, which is a comprehensive course designed for select pilots and enlisted aircrew that incorporates Marine Corps planning along with implementation of advanced air and ground tactics, GA-ASI said. The seven-week course fo ..read more

South Korean firm, STX Corp and its partner Hyundai Rotem have signed a deal with Peru’s materiel manufacturing institution affiliated with its Ministry of Defence, Fabrica De Armas Y Municiones Del Ejercito (FAME) to export 30 units of armoured vehicles to the country by 2025. The deal for 30 armoured personnel carriers (APC) based on the K808 White Tiger APCs operated by the Republic of Korea Army (ROKA) is valued at USD60 million and is reportedly the first of 120 units for the Peruvian Army to boost its power projection. Furthermore, STX has secured rights to supply military and specialise ..read more

The Philippine Air Force (PAF) has carried out an Arrival and Blessing Ceremony for its fifth and sixth Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI) T-129 ATAK attack helicopters. After a traditional and ceremonial welcome, the pair of aircraft have been formally received by the PAF. Delivered in November 30 last year, the helicopters are the last two units of a total 6 units under a government-to-government (G2G) deal worth USD269 million with Turkiye in July 2020. The T-129 procurement was among the higher priority projects under Horizon 2 of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP)’s Modernisation P ..read more

EDGE Group has signed an agreement with Fincantieri to officially launch MAESTRAL, an Abu Dhabi-based shipbuilding joint venture (JV) between the two industry giants. First announced in February this year, the venture seeks to leverage the high global demand for the design and manufacture of cutting edge naval vessels. With EDGE’s 51 percent share of the venture, the company will receive priority to handle non-NATO orders and a portion of strategic orders from selected NATO member states. MAESTRAL will place emphasis on its sales, commercial operations and engineering for design and service wh ..read more

The Royal Marines (RM) will receive 6 new warships courtesy of the British government, said Secretary of State for Defence Grant Shapps following Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s announcement that the United Kingdom would raise its defence spending by 2.5 percent of its Gross Domestic Product (GDP) a year by 2030, amounting to USD94 billion over the next 6 years. The new vessels, called the Multi Role Support Ships (MRSS) will be built in Britain by main contractors BAE Systems and Babcock to replace the Royal Navy’s (RN) current amphibious flagships, HMS Albion and HMS Bulwark which will remain i ..read more

The Singapore Army has begun progressively introducing the brand new Colt Infantry Automatic Rifle (IAR) 6940E-SG into service since April 24, according to the Army. In a move back to an AR-style platform, the Army together with the republic’s Defence Science and Technology Agency (DSTA) tapped Colt in May 2023 to replace their inventory of Ultimax 100 Mk2 light machine guns (LMG) with the IAR 6940 chambered in 5.56x45mm NATO. The Singapore-made Ultimax 100 manufactured by ST Engineering has served the Army since 1982. A Singapore Ministry of Defence (MINDEF) statement said, “the Singapore Ar ..read more

The United Arab Emirates’ (UAE) EDGE Group, one of the world’s leading advanced technology and defence groups, signed a USD27 million agreement to supply an ammunition production line to PT Pindad, Indonesia’s state-owned enterprise and one of Asia’s leading defence manufacturers. The agreement is for the production of 5.56x45mm and 7.62x51mm calibre ammunition, and is aligned with the Indonesian Ministry of Defence’s objective to increase local job creation and sovereign manufacturing capabilities. The ammunition facility is scheduled to commence production in 2026. The agreement is part of a ..read more