Assets like the E-7A Wedgetail will contribute to the Joint Air Battle Management System being created under Project Air 6500. (Photo: Gordon Arthur)
Australia has down-selected two US-based conglomerates in a competition to develop the Joint Air Battle Management System for the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) under Project Air 6500 Phase 1.
The two primes chosen to go through to the final stage of the competitive evaluation process are Lockheed Martin Australia and Northrop Grumman Australia, with an announcement made by Defence Minister Peter Dutton on 5 August.
Air 6500 will invest A$2.7 billion ($1.99 billion) on a system to provide situational awareness and help defend against hostile aircraft and missiles.
The management system will also be at the core of
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More than 40,000 military personnel from 19 participating nations took part in the 11th iteration of the biennial Exercise Talisman Sabre multi-domain event which was held across Australia and in Papua New Guinea.
AFRICOM is seeking IT systems and supply chain management solutions to enhance interoperability and standardise logistical processes in its area of responsibility.
Germany’s Rheinmetall released its 1H 2025 results on 7 August, continuing the strong growth of recent years. A particular highlight of the result’s presentation was the Skyranger air defence system for which the company is predicting sales of about US$8.2 billion from the German Government before the end of the year.
Vehicle and technology companies are reporting substantial growth compared to the first half of 2024. Italy’s Fincantieri saw revenues jump 24% for the first half of the year compared to 2024 and Thales up 6.8% for the same period. General Dynamics reported second quarter revenue growth of 8.9% for the second quarter compared to last year and MilDef reported organic order intake growth of 58%.
Singapore spends about 3.5% of GDP on defence and the section’s budget sits on high on the proportion of national spending. The country is investing in uncrewed technology, medium- and long-range fires and new submarines and ships with the hunt also on for new maritime patrol aircraft.
At this year's IDEF in Istanbul, Shephard spoke to World Defense Show (WDS) CEO Andrew Pearcey about his event's strategic role in Saudi Arabia, its themes and new features for 2026 and how it has grown since its launch in 2022.
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