News Analysis

The Russian Army is planning to begin modernize its armored and mechanized forces beginning in 2015, fielding a new family of vehicles comprising the new Armata main battle tank, Kurganets-25 armored infantry fighting vehicles, and various support platforms.

The largest fleets of M-60 are in Egypt, Turkey, and Saudi Arabia, where the M-60 is used alongside the M-1A1. In the recent years, these tanks are heavily engaged in combat operations, in Yemen, Syria, and Sinai where they have suffered significant losses to anti-tank weapons. To survive and continue to be effective in service these tanks must be modernized.

What are the implications of Moscow delivering S-300 air-defense systems to Syria, could one weapon system decide the outcome of the Syrian power struggle, is the Russian missile system as invincible as it is described? Alexey Eremenko from the Russian news agency Novosti provides some answers. Defense-Update reports. // "The missile batteries would give Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s...

With ongoing domestic procurement of naval weapon systems for Magen corvettes and Dolphin submarines, and growing export opportunities, naval programs become an important growth opportunity for Israel’s defense industries.

Saudi Arabia publicly displayed its Dong Feng-3 (DF-3) ballistic missiles for the first time in a 29 April 2014 on a parade that marked the end of the largest ever military exercise held in the kingdom. The military exercise and official display of the ballistic missiles, which were acquired secretly from China in 1987 were clear signals Riyadh is...

The expected arrival of the P800 Yakhont supersonic anti-ship missile in Syria is considered the first serious attempt by Syria to directly challenge the Israel Navy since the 1973 war, when the Israeli Navy sunk five Syrian vessels in the first missile-boat engagement known as the 'Battle of Latakia'. Four decades later, the P800 Yakhont is far superior than...

One of the largest fleets in NATO, the German Navy appears to have escaped most of the recent cuts imposed by the government’s austerity plan, since construction of the new vessels and upgrades for existing platforms seems to continue. However, the planned reduction of 60 percent in its defense budget could have negative effect in the future, if the government decides to press on with the cuts.

in order to fight ISIS effectively the Iraqi kurd Peshmerga militia urgently needs modern weapons, which only the Americans can deliver. Others may help, but may not be enough to maintain a long term war fighting, which looks inevitable as western nations hesitate to get actively involved in this strange but highly dangerous conflict.

As the Western US lead coalition allies are dragging their feet trying to curb ISIS operations in the Middle East, it seems that the coveted "boots on the ground" could eventually come from the east - where China faces a growing ISIS-inspired subversive activity in the strategic Xinjiang province.

The crisis in Ukraine was the largest battlefield of cyber war since Russia's cyber-attacks on Estonia in 2007 and Georgia in 2008. Russian cyber operations in Ukraine were based on the experience and lessons learned from previous attacks; they haven't left 'fingerprints' leading to the sources. Russia has managed to hit almost all Ukraine government websites and it was able to take control and to put on surveillance and monitoring all the Internet and telephone communications lines, before the invasion and occupation of Crimea by its military.

Iran conducted the first launch of the 'Simorgh' last week, Tehran's largest satellite launch vehicle, and what the Pentagon views as a key element of its effort to build long-range missiles. Although Iran has not confirmed the test flight, both US and Russian sources reported the event, but the sources are not in agreement whether it was a success, part success or failure.

The Israeli drone downed by the Iranian IRGC on August 23 may have exploited a serious gap in Iran's air defense system, an Iranian analyst told Azeri publication Trend.

Sharing a common interest in securing offshore mineral exploration areas throughout the Eastern Mediterranean, Israel and Cyprus are tightening defense cooperation through a series of air and naval exercises conducted over the Islands' southern coast. The relations between Israel, Cyprus and Greece are warming since 2008, as Israel's close relations with Turkey deteriorated since the rise of Turkish Prime Minister Recep...

The Russian Ministry of Defense plans an evaluation of an innovative robotic tank formation concept that will enhance the operational capabilities of mechanized formations in urban areas. The ‘Storm’ concept will employ a robotized T-72B3 tank in at least five configurations, to create a semi-autonomous ‘robotic vanguard’, coordinated and controlled by human operators from few kilometers away.