Defence Alert

The Phantom Badger isn't a children's cartoon superhero, or something that creeps up to your house at night and messes up your garbage. No, it's the latest ground tactical vehicle from Boeing, and it looks downright awesome, in a butch golf cart sort of way.

Chief of the Defence Force General David Hurley will visit his home town of Wollongong this morning to help the Flagstaff Group recognise many of its employees with disabilities.

General Hurley grew up in Warrawong and still has family living in the city, including his sister Denise, who encouraged him to find time in his schedule to visit Flagstaff today for the important mission.

It's ironic that one of the few growth areas in the U.S. defense industry these days involves making things smaller, but this is the world we live in. While demand for military aircraft, tanks, and ships appears to be on a steady decline, small is where it's at.

I know you're dreading it, but I'll say it anyway: SWAP (you can uncover your ears now). It's that ubiquitous term you can't escape that refers to electronic systems that are small in size, weight, and power consumption. Strange that SWAP never seems to mean electronics that are large, heavy, and use a lot of power, but I digress.

"G'day, mate! You wouldn't happen to have a few sub-hunting airplanes we could throw on the barbie, now, would you?"

I doubt that's exactly how Australia phrased its recent request to the U.S. government, when it asked for a price quote on some new drones for the Royal Australian Air Force. But that's at least the upshot.

After two decades defined by the nuclear free standoff there is a new buzzword to describe relations between New Zealand and the United State - the "new normal".

New Zealand and US officials, analysts and long-term observers agreed yesterday that short of calling the relationship a formal alliance, relations were nearly back to where they were before the Anzus bust-up over New Zealand's nuclear free legislation.

Faced with the threat of sequestration and a generally muted government spending ability here at home, U.S. defense contractors might be well-advised to seek new revenue streams... Down Under.

Last week, the government of Australia published its defense budget (actually, they called it a "defence budget") for fiscal 2013-2014. In it, investors can find a number of items that suggest U.S. companies have significant revenue opportunities in Australia.

The Pentagon handed out $717.7 million worth of defense contracts on Monday, with Boeing (NYSE: BA  ) capturing 10% (two) of the 20 contracts awarded. Specifically, Boeing won:

• a $52.9 million modification of a previously awarded firm-fixed-price Navy contract to supply jumper bundles, pylons, and bomb racks for installation on F/A-18E/F fighter jets and EA-18G electronic warfare aircraft. The named parts are hardware to which ordnance is attached on a warplane. Boeing's estimated delivery date on the hardware is May 2016.

LONDON -- According to weekend newspaper reports, Sir Roger Carr -- currently chairman of Centrica -- is being lined up as the next chairman of BAE Systems . If true, it will be another good reason to hold the high-yielding shares.

The current incumbent, Dick Olver, is expected to step down this year, with more than a little push from shareholders after BAE's plan to merger with Airbus manufacturer EADS fell apart. Fund manager Neil Woodford of Invesco Perpetual, BAE's largest shareholder with 13%, campaigned for Olver to go and is said to support Sir Roger's candidature.

Australia's defence minister says the withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan next year will mean a greater focus for Australia on the Asia Pacific.

Australia's defence minister says the withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan next year will mean a greater focus for Australia on the Asia Pacific.

Vancouver, BC, Canada -OSI Maritime Systems is pleased to announce the provision of an advanced Command, Control and Situational Awareness system to the Royal Australian Navy Amphibious Task Group.

OSI’s Tactical Asset Control and Tracking System (T-ACT) will be equipped on two Mother Ships and 12 Landing Craft.  Designed for close C2 between the mother ships and landing craft, T-ACT will leverage information gained through the use of Warship-AIS, and support the coordination of assets in overt and covert tactical situations.

THE defence industry is a crucial component of the Hunter economy.

The region is home to a strong concentration of innovative defence manufacturers and service providers, both large and small, that have established themselves as industry leaders.

Despite this, the capacity to further develop the sector remains unrealised and the time is right for a commitment to build and promote the Hunter as a centre of excellence for defence.

ABOARD THE CARRIER USS BUSH, 15 May 2013. The X-47B unmanned combat aerial vehicle (UCAV) launched Tuesday from the U.S. Navy aircraft carrier USS George H.W. Bush off the coast of Virginia in an important test to demonstrate the viability of future carrier-based unmanned fighter-bomber aircraft.

The Australian Defence White Paper 2013 was not the only such document to be released recently: France's 2013 White Paper on Defence and National Security appeared the same week. But, as far as strategic perceptions of France in our region are concerned, there the symmetry ends.

New Zealand is preparing to increase its military presence in the South Pacific, in close collaboration with the Australian government. The moves further align the two regional imperialist powers with the US Obama administration’s “pivot” to the Asia-Pacific and its aggressive confrontation of China.

The New Zealand government announced its plans following an inaugural meeting of regional defence ministers and military chiefs in Tonga on May 2-3. The meeting covered cooperation on maritime security, disaster relief coordination and military exercises.

Before analyzing a company for investment, it's important to have a perspective on how well the business has performed. Because at the end of the day, if you are an investor, you are buying the business. The FAST Graphs™ presented with this article will focus first on the business behind the stock. The orange line on the graph plots earnings per share since 2003. A quick glance vividly reveals the historical operating record of the company.

The Queensland government has recently appointed a defence envoy to bolster defence industries in the state. In this it joins other states and the federal government in actively adopting defence industry sector strategies. But for strategies to be effective, they must be built on a clear understanding of the objectives sought. There are several different objectives that a defence industry strategy could be potentially optimised for. At the fundamental level this raises the question of what an Australian defence industry is for.

Devices built around Apple's iOS operating system have been approved by the U.S. Department of Defence for use on its networks, as the department moves to support multivendor mobile devices and operating systems.

The Defence Information Systems Agency (DISA), which certifies commercial technology for Defence use, said Friday it had approved the Apple iOS 6 Security Technical Implementation Guide (STIG).

QinetiQ Group plc (LON: QQ)‘s stock had its “hold” rating reaffirmed by Liberum Capital in a research note issued on Monday, ARN reports. They currently have a GBX 180 ($2.77) price target on the stock.

A number of other firms have also recently commented on QQ. Analysts at JPMorgan Chase cut their price target on shares of QinetiQ Group plc from GBX 207.96 ($3.20) to GBX 203.01 ($3.12) in a research note to investors on Tuesday, April 2nd.

Rheinmetall MAN Military Vehicles Australia (RMMVA) has been awarded a contract to supply New Zealand’s armed forces with up to 200 vehicles.

Under the contract, which is worth NZ$113 million, Rheinmetall will begin supplying the trucks this year, with all of the vehicles due to be delivered by the end of 2014.

Investigators at the Arms Commission of Inquiry, probing the controversial R70 billion arms deal, are awaiting crucial evidence from German law enforcement agencies that could shed light on bribes that several high profile ANC politicians allegedly received.

Separately, the probe will also investigate allegations that former president Thabo Mbeki received a 40 million Deutsche Mark payment into his personal bank account after confidential meetings with British arms manufacturer, BAE Systems.