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WEAPONS

Sweden’s Saab secures major arms deal

Swedish defence firm Saab has received an order for ammunition worth more than a billion kronor, according to a company statement on Friday.

Sweden's Saab secures major arms deal

The order comprises the production of anti-armour ammunition to the Carl-Gustaf man-portable weapons system amounts to 1.16 billion kronor ($181.3¨million). Delivery will start in September 2011 and continue throughout 2012.

“The order is of large value for Saab, and is estimated to create approximately 40 new job opportunities within Saab’s production unit in Karlskoga, as well as new jobs with our sub-suppliers,” Tomas Samuelsson, Saab senior vice president, said in a statement.

In accordance with industry praxis the firm declined to divulge information regarding the customer for the ammunition.

The Carl-Gustaf M3 is system is an antitank recoilless rifle which is designed for hand-held use.

The weapon was first developed in 1947 and introduced into Swedish service in 1948. It has since been sold around the world and has featured in conflicts such as the Falklands War and Afghanistan.

Versions of the weapon are in use by armies from a slew of countries including the US, the UK, Germany, Brazil, India and Israel. British troops refer to the weapon as the Charlie G, and it also goes by the (irreverent) name of Charlie Gusto or Charlie Gutsache.

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DEFENCE

France recruits 1,800 extra staff to cyber warfare unit

The French defence ministry on Wednesday announced plans to significantly boost the country's four-year-old cyber warfare force, citing the "growing number and gravity" of hacking attacks on the country.

France recruits 1,800 extra staff to cyber warfare unit
French defence minister Florence Parly. Photo: Alain Jocard/AFP

The government had already planned to add an additional 1,100 recruits to a unit created in response to the growing number of cyber attacks on the West, mostly blamed on Russia and China.

Defence Minister Florence Parly told a cyber security conference in the city of Lille on Wednesday she had decided to go further to try make France “a cyber security champion”.

Warning of a “Cold War in cyberspace” she said she would hire an extra 770 cyber combattants on top of an additional 1,100 already planned, bringing the force’s staffing level to 5,000 by 2025.

France and other Western countries are alarmed over a growing number of increasingly aggressive cyber attacks, including data breaches and ransomware attacks, which typically see hackers encrypting victims’ data and then demanding money for restored access.

Recent high-profile targets have included a US oil pipeline, Ireland’s health service and India’s flag carrier Air India.

Parly said that the French army needed to increase it use of the “cyber weapon”.

“Our opponents do not shy away from doing so, whether state powers, terrorist groups or their backers,” she said.

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