Weekend Briefing (13-17 December)

Welcome to Overt Defense’s Weekend Briefing where we round up the week’s most interesting and important defense news. Among many interesting subjects we covered this week we examined tensions between Russia and NATO, Romanian interest in ex-Norwegian F-16s, Polish S-70i procurement, continued US Navy tests with laser technology and Indian SMART tests, as well as an in-depth look at China’s peacekeeping commitments and the drive behind them. As always, you can find the full list of the week’s articles below.

Marine Nationale Receives Final Caiman as Norway Evaluates Commercial Alternatives to NH90

Moscow: Military Response Possible If Our Missile Deployment Demands Not Met

India Tests Extended Range Pinaka Rockets, Ready For Serial Production

Taiwanese Ministry of Defense Assesses Chinese Invasion Would Be Very Difficult

Romania Expresses Interest In Ex-Royal Norwegian Air Force F-16s

India’s 650km Ranged Supersonic Anti-Submarine Missile ‘SMART’ Tested Successfully

Australia (Finally) Signs for AS9 & AS10

Russia Delivers The Second Batch of BTR-82A Armored Vehicles to Belarus

The Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps Navy Receives More Than 100 Combat Speedboats

Both UK Aircraft Carriers To Be Operationally Deployed In 2022

A Critical Line in Russian Relations With the West

US Still Willing To Go Forwards With UAE F-35 Sale Despite Negotiation Impasse

OCEA Launches First FPB 98 Patrol Boat Built For Ukraine

Australia Launches First Arafura Class OPV amid Delays and Design Changes

“Complex Combination” Of Institutional Weaknesses Allowed Ajax-Related Hearing Injuries

USS Portland Conducts High-Energy Laser Weapon Test In Gulf of Aden

DARPA Runs Final Test for OFFSET Program Drone Swarm

RAF Typhoon Destroys Drone Approaching US Base In Southern Syria

First RAF Lakenheath-Based United States Air Force F-35s Arrive

Poland Purchases Four New S-70i Black Hawk Helicopters

US and Lithuania Sign Interoperability Agreement as Lithuanian Tensions with Russia and China Escalate

Editorial: China’s Peacekeepers

Russia Demands Eastern European NATO Presence Rolled Back To 1997

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