British Forces Hand Over Control of Last Base in Afghanistan

     British forces Sunday handed over formal control of their last base in Afghanistan to Afghan troops, ending combat operations in the country after 13 years which cost hundreds of lives.

The Union Jack was lowered at Camp Bastion in the southern province of Helmand, while the Stars and Stripes came down at the adjacent Camp Leatherneck — the last US Marine base in the country.

Selex, Raytheon Compete To Supply IFF System to UK

Defense News

      Raytheon UK and Selex ES are going head-to-head to supply a new identification friend-or-foe (IFF) system for the British military, the Ministry of Defence announced.

The two companies have each been awarded £5.1 million (US $8.2 million) assessment phase contracts to provide the new NATO-mandated Mode 5 IFF system for British military aircraft, warships and battlefield vehicles.

Britain to speed up Typhoon upgrade for Iraq campaign

Telegraph

EurofighterTyphoon and C-27J Spartan

     The Ministry of Defence is speeding up plans to upgrade the RAF’s Typhoon jets with precision missiles in case they are one day needed to bomb Isil fighters in Iraq.

Defence sources said Britain’s role in the unexpected campaign against Islamist militants had exposed a shortage of ground attack jets which will only get worse as the RAF’s ageing Tornado planes retire.

IAF to hold exercise with UK and France in 2014

Indian Air Force will conduct two joint air exercises , christened “Indradhanush” with the UK and “Garuda” with France, in 2014 with a gap of six months, sources said. The last exercise was held in 2010.    

       While the “Garuda” exercise with the French Air Force is likely to take place in the IAF base in Gwalior, the exercise with the Royal Air Force may happen in the RAF base in Waddington. Venue of the 2010 edition of “Indradhanush” was Kalaikunda, while “Garuda” was held in Istres, France.
         The exercises assume additional significance in the IAF training schedule after the last minute cancellation of “Exercise Red Flag” in July at the US Air Force (USAF) base in Nevada, sources said. The USAF has abandoned plans of holding the exercise citing budgetary constraints. Conceived after the Vietnam war, “Red Flag” is the world’s most challenging air-exercise that provides air force pilots with realistic combat experience. Participation in the exercise was earlier restricted to close US allies, but was extended to India after bilateral relations between New Delhi and Washington improved in the last decade.