A report on extremism in the U.S. military not only offers insights into white supremacists’ activities but also recommends ways to better identify them and preferably stop them from enlisting. Commissioned by Congress and dated last October 2020, the recently-disclosed report concludes that although extremism was not widespread, there are concerns about how “individuals with extremist affiliations and military experience are a concern to U.S. national security because of their proven ability to execute high-impact events.”

The U.S. Department of Defense Department could be issuing a sole-source request for proposal “within the next month or two” for a performance-based F-35 logistics contract which the company says will improve spares availability and maintenance timelines. The Lockheed Martin proposal is a scaled down version of a more costly one it proposed in 2019.

The U.S. Army plans to field test a new microwave weapon designed to protect installations against attacks by unmanned aerial systems. Demonstrated recently in New Mexico, the Tactical High Power Operational Responder evidently can target multiple drones simultaneously compared with lasers which are single-target technology.

DND has confirmed an investigation into Canada's new Chief of the Defence Staff for unspecified allegations of misconduct. Admiral Art McDonald, who assumed office in January, has voluntarily stepped aside as he is investigated by the Canadian Forces National Investigation Service.

The cost of building 15 Canadian Surface Combatant ships for the Royal Canadian Navy was pegged by the Parliamentary Budget Officer today at more than $77 billion and he warned that it could top $82 billion if there are any more delays. The CSCs are based on the British Type 26 frigate and there are suggestions costs could be contained by procuring two classes of ships.

Two Boeing KC-46 air-to-air refuelling platforms have been ordered for the Israeli Air Force along with additional Lockheed Martin F-35 fighters, more helicopters, advanced munitions and other weapon systems. The tankers are being procured through the U.S. Foreign Military Financing program.

BAE Systems Hägglunds has chosen Elbit Systems to provide the Royal Netherlands Army with the Israeli firm’s Iron Fist active protection system for its fleet of Swedish CV90 tracked combat vehicles. The $82-million contract also includes electro-optical sights for new turrets ordered in a $500-million procurement announced last month.

A senior UN official says Iran committed multiple violations of human rights and international law in connection with the shooting down of Ukranian International Airlines Flight PS752 in January 2020. Among other things in a report, Special Rapporteur Agnès Callamard cites military operations near Tehran’s international airport

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and U.S. President Joe Biden used their first bilateral meeting to promise an “ambitious new partnership roadmap, based on shared values and priorities” as their governments address climate change, the post-pandemic world and China’s detention of two Canadians in December 2019. “Job One remains keeping people safe,” the PM said today after the virtual meeting.

Gary Walbourne, the former military ombudsman, has been called to testify before the House of Commons Standing Committee on National Defence about what the government knew about allegations of misconduct by Gen Jonathan Vance, the former Chief of the Defence Staff. Walbourne, who retired early in 2019, had declined an earlier invitation.

A report by the London-based International Institute for Strategic Studies warns that even if the U.S. manages to keep its allies from using Chinese telecommunications technology, Beijing’s “digital silk road” strategy enables China to burrow into those countries' economies and infrastructure, creating dependencies that may ultimately weaken alliance ties.

The president of the Alabama-based shipbuilder, Austal USA, has resigned amid investigations by U.S. and Australian authorities into losses incurred from its involvement in the U.S. Navy’s littoral combat ship program. Craig Perciavalle been replaced for now by the company’s chief financial officer.

The projected cost of a new Canadian Coast Guard research vessel has ballooned to nearly $1 billion, according to Public Services and Procurement. The original estimate in 2008 was $108 million and the latest number is triple a 2016 estimate.

Lockheed Martin aeronautics vice president Gregory M. Ulmer says unit prices for the next three lots of F-35 fighters likely won’t be much, if any, lower than in the previous three when it fell slightly below $80 million for the first time. Ulmer said reduced procurement and increased capability will make it tough to keep costs “neutral.”

U.S. President Joe Biden’s declaration during an online conference that “the transatlantic alliance is back” signalled a renewed commitment to NATO, but his French counterpart had a different message Feb. 19 for the Munich Security Conference. Emmanuel Macron, who described the alliance in November 2019 as “brain dead,” said he is looking for a new transatlantic “security architecture.”

The U.S. Coast Guard icebreaker Polar Star is back at its Seattle base after the first winter deployment of a U.S. government surface vessel since 1982. The only U.S. icebreaker rated for “heavy” ice, it transited the Gulf of Alaska and the Bering Sea into the Chukchi Sea.

Sig Sauer Inc. is being sued by a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer seeking $10 million in damages arising from the accidental discharge of his P320 pistol. The former U.S. Marine alleges that “potentially deadly design defects” resulted in the holstered weapon firing a 9mm round into his leg.

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg announced Feb. 18 that the alliance will expand its security training mission in Iraq in order to prevent it from becoming a haven for terrorists. “The size of our mission will increase from 500 personnel to around 4,000,” he said at the end of a two-day virtual meeting of defence ministers.

Britain’s ministry of defence has contracted with Suffolk-based Aeralis to continue development of a modular jet aircraft for potential Royal Air Force use. “Aeralis is focused on re-inventing how future military aircraft are developed and operated,” CEO Tristan Crawford said. The Deputy Chief of Defence Staff added that Aeralis’ innovative approach “offers the potential to break the capability cost curve that has dogged military fast jet programs for many generations.”

Saab’s proposal of its Gripen fighters as a replacement for Finland’s current Boeing F/A-18 Hornets is being supported by Swedish defence officials as an opportunity for unprecedented cooperation against any “aggressive moves” by Russia. April 30 is Finland’s deadline for final offers by Eurofighter; Dassault, Lockheed Martin and Saab.

Aero Vodochody, a Czech aircraft maker based in Prague, has contracted to sell 12 L-39NG jet trainers to Vietnam’s Ministry of National Defence. Deliveries are scheduled for 2023-2024 but the value of the deal was not disclosed. The Czech Ministry of Defence certified the aircraft last last September.

Design, construction and equipment challenges evidently mean that it will be at least another decades before the first of a planned 10 Surface Combatant ships enters services with the Royal Canadian Navy. Kevin McCoy, the outgoing president of Irving Shipbuilding, expects first steel to be cut by mid-2024 and “our build cycle will be seven and a half years.”

The Taliban says NATO must withdraw its troops from Afghanistan by May or face a fresh insurgency.” Our message to the upcoming NATO ministerial meeting (Feb. 17-18) is that the continuation of occupation and war is neither in your interest nor in the interest of your and our people,” the militants said in a statement. “Anyone seeking extension of wars and occupation will be held liable for it just like the previous two decades.”

The U.S. Supreme Court has been asked to rule that the military draft is unconstitutional because it applies only to a specific male demographic and excludes women. Among those who have signed a legal brief are a former National Security Agency director and nine former senior military officers.

Claude Carignan, a Quebec Conservative Senator, has complained to the Commission of Official Languages about the recent report on GovGen Julie Payette’s behaviour having been only in English. “Persons targeted by the investigation and the witnesses who participated in it must . . . be able to consult this report in the official language of their choice,” he said Feb. 15.

Despite warnings by the international community that it was breaching a 2015 multinational agreement, Iran has begun producing uranium metal, one use of which is for weapons manufacturing. International Atomic Energy Agency inspectors verified the existence of 3.6 grams at a facility in Isfahan. Iran continues to insist that its aims are peaceful as it continues to argue about economic sanctions with the U.S., which withdrew from the agreement in 2018.

President Joe Biden has announced a review of how the U.S. is postured to deter China in the Pacific theatre. “It will require a whole of government efforts, bipartisan cooperation in Congress and strong alliances and partners,” he said Feb. 10. “That is how we will meet the China challenge.”

A prototype high-energy weapons for use against drones by U.S. Special Forces is the goal of a new Army project. “The primary opportunity and purpose of this effort is to integrate a government owned High Energy Laser subsystem with a power and thermal subsystem and sensor package to demonstrate increased lethality,” the Rapid Capabilities and Critical Technologies Office says in calling for proposals.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau evidently is disinclined to update federal whistleblower legislation which makes it illegal for civil servants to publicly flag internal wrongdoings. While conceding that it is “extremely important” to have a workplace free from inappropriate behaviour, he declined Feb. 9 to explain his reluctance to improve protections. “The level of transparency and confidence a government can give Canadians in constantly improving and constantly doing better and sharing what we need to do to improve is something we have always been committed to.”

Days after the U.S. began limiting some military sales to Saudi Arabia, it has been confirmed that Britain signed off on arms exports worth nearly £1.4 billion in the third quarter of 2020. The government had imposed a moratorium in June 2019 after a court ruling raised concerns that some weapons could be used in violation of international humanitarian law.

Nothrop Grumman CEO Kathy Warden says more defence sector mergers and acquisitions can be expected over the next two decades as industry deals with rapid development of new technologies. “There will also be more new entrants, and so it’s hard to say there will be fewer players,” she says, “but the ones that exist today will likely continue to consolidate as we have seen in recent years and we’ve seen in other cycles.”

Canadian officials are reviewing a recording in which a man identified as Iran’s foreign affairs minister is heard discussing the possibility that the January 2020 shooting down of a Ukrainian airliner with many Canadian passengers was intentional. Mohammad Javad Zarif, is heard saying that while a deliberate attack involving two or three “infiltrators” was “not at all unlikely,” his government would not disclose details because that could “open some doors into the defence systems of the country that will not be in the interest of the nation to publicly say.”

After focusing for decades mainly on traditional training platforms, CAE is moving to diversify into the cyber and space realms. Dan Gelston, who took over CAE’s its defence and security business unit last August, also is looking to partner with defence primes early in new competitions for contracts as national defence budgets shrink.

Airbus and Thales have signed a €160 million contract to provide the French armed forces with their first joint tactical signals intelligence system. Initial deliveries are expected in 2023, setting up for full operational capabilities by 2025.