Today's headlines

EADS preparing to quit A400M project
EADS is preparing to exit its A400M military transporter programme amid uncertainty over further support from NATO buyers, a German newspaper reported on Tuesday.
Reuters

UK probes Sea Viper missile test failures
The UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) and Royal Navy (RN) are examining the potential impact of two successive test failures of the Sea Viper air-defence system on the overall programme for the service's new Type 45 destroyers.
Jane's

Fraud office draws fire over BAE
The planned prosecution of the arms maker BAE Systems for alleged bribery is being delayed by further Serious Fraud Office investigations, amid growing questions over the agency's handling of the affair.
Financial Times

Northrop Relocating to Washington Area
Defense contractor Northrop Grumman said Jan. 4 it will move its headquarters from Los Angeles to the Washington area by 2011. The move will put company leaders in closer proximity to Northrop Grumman's federal government customers, Northrop said.
Defense News

Airbus not ready to risk jet business over A400M
The head of Airbus has signalled he is not prepared to risk the company's civil aviation business to launch the A400M military transporter, Europe's largest defence project which has been dogged by delays and soaring costs.
Reuters

Russia says arms talks at risk
Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has warned that Washington's designs to build a weapons defense system could strain talks between the United States and Russiaon replacing the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty.
UPI

UK Ministry of Defence signs contract for seventh C-17 Globemaster
Contracts have been signed for the RAF's seventh C-17 strategic transport aircraft to increase the size of the fleet that has seen heavy usage during recent operations in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Defpro