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UNITED KINGDOM AND NATO
06 Oct 25. UK’s Project Vanquish sets sights on ACP carrier demonstration. The UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) has outlined plans to test a Fixed-Wing Short Take Off and Landing Autonomous Collaborative Platform (FW STOL ACP) from a Royal Navy (RN) aircraft carrier before the end of 2027. In a request for information (RFI) released on 3 October, the MoD said the technical demonstration – known as Project Vanquish – was intended to inform capability and procurement options for a carrier-capable ACP able to operate as part of a future hybrid crewed/uncrewed carrier air wing. The move comes less than a month after First Sea Lord General Gwyn Jenkins revealed the ambition to fly an ACP from a Queen Elizabeth-class (QEC) aircraft carrier as soon as 2026. Under the Maritime Aviation Transformation (MATX) strategy, the RN is developing a road map for the transition of the Fleet Air Arm to a largely uncrewed aviation force by 2040. The RN’s ambition is to have the bulk of airborne logistics; strike; and intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) roles uncrewed by this point. Speaking at the DSEI 2025 exhibition on 10 September, Gen Jenkins set out his intention to begin the transition to a hybrid air wing by the end of this decade. “We intend to launch the first jet-powered collaborative platform drone as a concept demonstrator off a Queen Elizabeth-class aircraft carrier as soon as next year,” he added. (Source: Janes)
EUROPE
USA
REST OF THE WORLD
09 Oct 25. New defence deals with India deepen strategic partnership and boosts UK business. A new £350m deal with India will support hundreds of jobs in Northern Ireland and supply India, a key strategic partner, with air defence missiles and launchers.
- £350m deal set to deliver UK missiles for the Indian Army, supporting hundreds of jobs in the UK
- New milestone reached in UK-India defence industrial collaboration on electric-powered engines for naval ships, worth an initial £250m
- Prime Minister Keir Starmer, speaking in Mumbai, hails the deals as an example of the growing strategic partnership between the UK and India
A new £350m deal with India will support hundreds of jobs in Northern Ireland and supply India, a key strategic partner, with air defence missiles and launchers. The contract is set to deliver UK-manufactured Lightweight Multirole Missiles (LMM) built in Belfast to the Indian Army, delivering on the Government’s Plan for Change in another significant boost for the UK defence industry. It secures over 700 jobs in Northern Ireland as the air defence missiles and launchers due to be manufactured for the Indian Army are the same as those currently being manufactured in Belfast for Ukraine. The deal paves the way for a broader complex weapons partnership between the UK and India, currently under negotiation between the two governments. A new milestone has also been reached in the UK and India’s cooperation on electric-powered engines for naval ships as both countries signed the Implementing Arrangement to advance collaboration to the next stage, worth an initial £250M. It comes during Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s two-day visit to Mumbai, and as the UK Carrier Strike Group (CSG) participates in complex air and naval exercises in the Indian Ocean with the Indian Military, in a further sign of the growing strategic partnership between both countries.
Defence Secretary, John Healey MP, said: “The defence deals announced today show how our growing strategic partnership with India will boost UK business and jobs. I am hopeful that this will pave the way for a deeper relationship between our two defence industries, particularly in the development of electric engines for naval ships and in air defence. As we deepen our defence relationship with India, we will harness the UK defence industry as an engine for growth, securing vital jobs in Northern Ireland and throughout the UK.” The UK Carrier Strike Group (CSG), led by the aircraft carrier HMS Prince of Wales commenced Exercise Konkan with the Indian Navy on Sunday 5th of October, in the Western Indian Ocean, marking another major engagement with partners in the Indo-Pacific. The UK CSG, currently on an eight-month deployment to the Indo-Pacific region known as Operation Highmast, linked up with the Indian Navy’s Carrier Strike Group, led by the aircraft carrier INS Vikrant, to begin 4-days of complex maritime exercises involving ships, submarines and aircraft from both the forces. Following the completion of the exercise, CSG units will visit Mumbai and Goa. During these visits, in addition to enhanced military interactions, the UK CSG will promote engagements between UK and Indian industries, facilitate cultural exchanges, and participate in outreach activities within the local communities. (Source: https://www.gov.uk/)
07 Oct 25. Bangladesh air force gets nod to spend billions on multirole fighters. Two air forces fly the Chinese-manufactured J-10 fighter – China and Pakistan – but a third nation could soon become an operator of this 4.5-generation jet. Air Chief Marshal Hasan Mahmood Khan, Bangladesh’s top air force officer, announced last month that his country’s interim government had given an in-principle approval for the purchase of “multirole combat and attack aircraft” plus new surface-to-air missiles and long-range radars. Khan did not specify what type of aircraft the Bangladesh Air Force – the BAF – would procure, but there is a strong likelihood it will be the J-10CE fighter from China. Such an ambition had already been aired when Muhammad Yumus, Bangladesh’s interim Chief Adviser and head of the caretaker government, met Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing in March. According to the government, the BAF could buy up to 20 J-10CE jets by 2027. However, an inter-ministerial committee led by Khan still needs to approve the purchase and to conduct negotiations with Chinese officials. The Chief Adviser’s office estimates the aircraft would cost $1.2bn, while other costs such as training and spares would bring the price tag to $2.2 bn. Payments would be spread over a ten-year period until the mid-2030s. Sandwiched by India, and to a lesser extent Myanmar, Bangladesh must defend its constrained airspace and protect littoral territory in the Bay of Bengal. The need for new fighters is urgent because the BAF possesses a largely obsolete fighter fleet of Chinese-built and accident-prone F-7s, plus MiG-29s from Russia. One F-7, a Chinese version of the MiG-21, crashed into a Dhaka college campus in July. The accident caused an estimated 36 fatalities. Besides the Chinese J-10, the BAF has been exploring Western fighter options. For example, Khan and air force personnel were in Italy for Eurofighter Typhoon demonstration flights in May. A Chinese option could end up winning out, however, because Bangladesh is already an ardent user of Chinese equipment, with recent purchases including Type 15 light tanks and Type 035G submarines. Despite the geopolitical risk of upsetting Western countries like the United States, if the J-10CE purchase proceeds under Bangladesh’s Forces Goal 2030 modernization plan, it would see J-10s flying on India’s western, northern and eastern borders. Bangladesh’s predilection for the J-10 also predates the sharp aerial conflict between India and Pakistan in May. On that occasion, Pakistani J-10CEs received significant publicity for their alleged performance against Indian fighters. Brendan Mulvaney, director of the China Aerospace Studies Institute affiliated with the U.S. Air Force, told Defense News that the J-10C is “a modern and fairly capable aircraft, the best one that China exports.” He assessed that the Indo-Pakistan conflict “clearly proves that Chinese-made equipment, even the export versions, are modern and capable, and are going to be a force to be contended with in the future, beyond just the borders of China”. All told, The J-10CE, with its active electronically scanned array radar, data links and beyond-visual-range missiles like the PL-15E, would effectively revolutionize the BAF’s combat capabilities. (Source: Defense News)
04 Oct 25. Leaked Russian export plan hints at Su-57 and Su-35 jets sales to Iran and Algeria. Screenshots of a purported Rostec pricing table surfaced Oct. 3, listing EW and onboard kits tied to Sukhoi exports. The quantities track with prior reports, Su-57s for Algeria, disputed Su-35s for Iran, while the material remains unconfirmed pending official verification. On 2 October 2025, The Insider reported that the hacker group Black Mirror released the first batch of 300-plus internal Rostec documents detailing Russia’s international military deals and export pricing practices. On 3 October 2025, a set of screenshots purportedly from a hacked Rostec subsidiary pricing table circulated online, @MonitorX99800 in X included, appearing to bundle electronic-warfare kits and onboard packages for Sukhoi aircraft for export users; while the quantities and scales seem to echo long-rumored Iranian and Algerian ambitions, the leak remains unconfirmed and should be treated with caution pending official comment. Iran’s 48-jet Su-35 program, scheduled for 2026–2028 deliveries, alongside Algeria’s package of 12 Su-57E shipsets and Su-34 kits, together mark one of Russia’s most consequential fighter export cycles in a decade. The screenshot resembles a KRET JSC “summary table” for export avionics and EW suites tied to Su-35, Su-34, and Su-57 programs. Customer code 364 maps to Su-35 components supporting a 48-aircraft program, totaling about €588.6 m in EW and spares with deliveries 16–18 to 46–48 months after advance payment; a smaller Su-35 tranche, code 231, adds roughly €57.7 m. Code 012 appears twice: Su-34 kits at about $175.6 m through 2026, and Su-57 “PKI” shipsets for 12 aircraft at roughly $238.7 m with a 15% advance. Mixed euro/dollar pricing indicates separate export contracts tracked on one internal dashboard. Group 364 in the leaked export table lists 24 Khibiny-M electronic warfare suites for the Su-35, with a 15–20% advance payment. This matches details in the same document about a 48-jet Su-35 order scheduled for 2026–2028 with a 15% down payment, pointing to Iran as the likely customer. The 24 EW units likely represent an initial batch, spares, or phased integration. Group 012 combines Su-34 electronic warfare packages with Su-57 board-level shipsets, a complete avionics set per aircraft, counted as 6 plus 6 for a total of 12. This pattern aligns with Algeria’s rumored plan to add Su-34s for deep-strike roles and to take an early Su-57E export lot. Open-source pricing places a Su-57E package near $130 m per aircraft, so 12 aircraft would sit just under $1.6 bn. The table reflects only the share belonging to KRET, Rostec’s radio-electronics holding, which covers avionics and EW rather than full airframe costs. Group 231 appears to be a smaller Su-35 export slice and is less significant to the Iran–Algeria picture suggested by the quantities.
If the leak reflects real contracts, Iran would receive 48 Su-35s in 2026–2028 with a 15% advance payment, backed by Khibiny-M electronic-warfare sets and spares listed under code 364. The Su-35 would give Iran a clear jump over legacy F-14, F-4 and MiG-29 fleets through the Irbis-E PESA radar (passive electronically scanned array), long-range AAMs (air-to-air missiles) and greater endurance for patrols. Russian use in Syria offers a reference for multi-role missions and standoff strikes. A 48-jet fleet can field two operational squadrons plus an OCU (operational conversion unit) and attrition reserve, which would shift the regional air balance and complicate neighboring air defenses. For Algeria, a 12-aircraft Su-57E package, paired with Su-34 EW provisioning under the same customer band, would mark Africa’s first fifth-generation entry and add low-observable penetration, sensor fusion and long-range engagement capacity. The Su-34’s combat record in Syria points to deep-strike and maritime interdiction roles that fit Algeria’s coastline security and energy-infrastructure needs, while the quantities suggest a layered force in the near term and stronger deterrence and power-projection options in the Western Mediterranean over the medium term. While the code-to-country mapping remains unconfirmed, cross-referencing the leaked quantities, timelines, and cost data with known rumors and industrial indicators suggests the most plausible match: code 364 likely corresponds to Iran with 48 Su-35s, and code 012 to Algeria with 12 Su-57E shipsets and a Su-34 electronic warfare batch. If validated, these buys would accelerate two separate regional stories: Iran’s drive to regain a credible fourth-generation plus air-combat backbone with modern EW, and Algeria’s bid to couple deep-strike capacity with a limited fifth-generation entry, each reshaping adversary planning assumptions and air-defense investment across their neighborhoods. Iran’s 48-jet Su-35 program, scheduled for 2026–2028 deliveries, alongside Algeria’s package of 12 Su-57E shipsets and Su-34 kits, together mark one of Russia’s most consequential fighter export cycles in a decade. The deals carry immediate strategic repercussions for the Gulf, the Levant, and the Western Mediterranean. Until Russia, Iran or Algeria put their names to it, the leak remains an unconfirmed signal, but it is a strong one, and the quantities visible are hard to reconcile with any other pairing. (Source: Google/armyrecognition.com)
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