BAE Reveals IFV with Iron Fist APS

BAE Systems revealed at Eurosatory 2018 its CV90 Mk IV infantry fighting vehicle (IFV) fitted with Iron Fist active protection system (APS). The platform has been offered as a replacement to the Czech Army’s aging BMP-2 armored vehicles.

Report: Trump Pledged Not to Pressure Israel on Nuclear Issue

The New Yorker reported on Monday that US President Donald Trump had signed a secret letter pledging not to pressure Israel into relinquishing its nuclear weapons.

US Senate Blocks F-35 Sale to Turkey

The US Senate has passed a $716 billion defense policy bill on Monday, which contains a clause that could remove Turkey from the F-35 production program over Ankara's purchase of Russian S-400 missile defense systems.

Turkey is currently one of the partner countries in the F-35 program and had plans to buy about 100 of the stealth jets, which are manufactured by Lockheed Martin.

Elbit Systems Closes Acquisition of IMI Systems

Elbit Systems announced on Tuesday that the agreements reached with the Israeli Government regarding the acquisition of IMI Systems were approved by the Committee for the Tender of the Sale of State Shares and by Elbit’s Board of Directors of the Company. The purchase price will be approximately $495 million (NIS 1.8 billion), with an additional payment of approximately $27 million (NIS 100 million) contingent upon IMI meeting certain performance goals.

Trumps Orders Pentagon to Create US ‘Space Force’ as Sixth Military Branch

US President Donald Trump on Monday ordered the Pentagon to create a new US "Space Force," which would become the sixth branch of the American military.

"I am hereby directing the Department of Defense and Pentagon to immediately begin the process necessary to establish a space force as the sixth branch of the armed forces," Trump said during a meeting of the National Space Council.

"Our destiny beyond the Earth is not only a matter of national identity but a matter of national security," the president added.

Crypto Wallets – The Next Frontier

A recent survey by the American Bankers Association confirmed that only 12 % of consumers trust alternative payment providers such as digital wallets (e.g., Apple Pay) to secure their payment transactions. The majority still prefers to use credit cards, mainly owing to security-related issues.

When it comes to cryptocurrency wallets, these concerns are well-founded. According to Reuters, US$1.2 billion in cryptocurrency were stolen since 2017. Only 20% of this amount has been recovered, and law enforcement is yet to find the perpetrators.

Kaspersky Lab Pauses European Cybercrime Projects

Kaspersky Lab has frozen all cybersecurity collaborations with European agencies and organizations in protest against an EU statement that referred to its software as "malicious." The company said the accusation was "untrue" and demonstrated a "distinct lack of respect."

The EU's motion is following in the steps of the US and the UK, which have banned all Kaspersky products from use within government offices.

Former Israeli Minister Charged with Spying for Iran

Former Minister and MK Gonen Segev was arrested on suspicion of spying for Iran, it was cleared for publication Monday.

Segev, who served as energy and infrastructure minister from 1992 to 1995, was arrested by the Israel Security Agency and the Israel Police last month on suspicion of committing the offenses of assisting the enemy in a time of war and of spying against the State of Israel.

CardioScale Announced Winner of the 2018 Combating Terrorism Technology Startup Challenge

Israeli startups CardioScale and Colugo were announced as the winners of the "2018 Combating Terrorism Technology Startup Challenge" (CTTSC3), organized by the US Department of Defense, Combating Terrorism Technical Support Office (CTTSO), together with the Israel Ministry of Defense, Directorate of Defense Research and Development (DDR&D, aka MAFAT), and the MIT Enterprise Forum of Israel. Both startups were chosen from amongst hundreds who applied to the contest from all over the world, and 23 who reached the finals.

The Singapore Agreement: What’s Next?

There are many essential points of the US-North Korean talks which have been treated, albeit briefly, in the Singapore summit between Kim Jong-un and US President Donald J. Trump.

It was certainly not a mere photo-opportunity but, inevitably, it was not an already fully-fledged agreement between the two parties.