Archive: News & Articles

Lockheed Martin is eyeing significant potential future sales for its radar portfolio as its new-generation systems come online to address markets where legacy systems – including significant inventories of radars previously supplied by the company – are starting to be replaced. Speaking to ESD on 12 June 2023 in the run-up to this year’s Paris […]

The UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) has awarded BAE Systems a 10-year contract to support, upgrade, and maintain critical radar systems operated by the Royal Navy (RN), the ministry announced in a press release on 9 June 2023. The contract, which is worth GBP 270 M (EUR 314.77 M), covers the Artisan, Sampson and ‘Long-Range […]

The Ukrainian Ministry of Defence (MoD) has placed an order for 300 Vector tactical unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) from German small unmanned aerial system (sUAS) specialist Quantum Systems, the company announced on 31 May 2023. The order is in addition to two previous orders for 105 Vector UAVs in January 2023 and 33 in August […]

Allen-Vanguard, a specialist in providing customised solutions to defeat radio frequency (RF)-based terrorist and extremist threats, has recently secured funding from the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) to develop novel technologies and techniques to counter improvised explosive devices (IEDs), the company announced on 4 May 2023. The funding comes under the aegis of a focused […]

German sensor specialist Hensoldt announced on 2 May 2023 that it has successfully concluded the modernisation of core test systems for its Counter Battery RAdar (COBRA) system, which is in service with several NATO armies. Under a contract worth several million euros awarded by Europe’s Organisation for Joint Armament Co-operation (OCCAR) on behalf of Germany […]

Raytheon Technologies announced the launch on 3 May 2023 of NexGen Optix, which is describes as “a tactical free-space optical communications system that enables high-speed, secure data transfer in challenging environments”. Developed by Raytheon Blackbird Technologies, NexGen Optix provides greater bandwidths in a form factor that is smaller, weighs less, uses less power and costs […]

The UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) has signed a contract with Saab for Giraffe 1X surveillance radars, the Swedish company announced on 2 May 2023. The order is valued at around SEK 264 M (EUR 23.36 M) and covers 11 Giraffe 1X systems, deliveries of which have already begun. The acquisition of Giraffe 1X systems […]

Three companies – BAE Systems, Serco and Scientific Research Corp (SRC) – have been awarded work under a contract from the US Naval Information Warfare Systems Command in San Diego to engineer command, control, communications, computers, and intelligence (C4I) services on surface ships, the companies have recently announced. The total value of the eight-year indefinite-delivery, […]

Infrared and laser specialist SCD is launching a new shortwave infrared (SWIR) detector called the SWIFT-EI, the Israeli company announced on 24 April 2023. Billed as a very low size, weight and power (SWaP) device with a low-cost, VGA-format, 10-micron-pitch SWIR detector, the SWIFT-EI is the world’s first SWIR detector integrating event-based imaging capabilities, according […]

The US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) has awarded BAE Systems a USD8.3 M (EUR 7.58 M) contract to develop an advanced autonomy system to speed operational planning under the Strategic Chaos Engine for Planning, Tactics, Experimentation, and Resiliency (SCEPTER) programme, BAE Systems announced on 19 April 2023. The SCEPTER programme is designed to […]

Israeli unmanned aerial systems (UAS) specialist Aeronautics Group is to supply dozens of its Orbiter 3 UASs to the Greek Ministry of National Defence, the company announced on 17 April 2023. The deal is part of a larger contract between the Israeli and Greek defence ministries, worth approximately EUR 370 M, for the procurement of […]

The Baykar Bayraktar TB3 armed unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) will be exhibited publicly for the first time at the Teknofest exhibition to be held in Istanbul from 27 April to 1 May 2023, Baykar revealed in a tweet on 27 March 2023. The Turkish manufacturer added that the UAV was “counting [down] the days for […]

French tethered unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) manufacturer Elistair announced the launch of its Orion Heavy Lift (HL) platform on 8 March 2023. Designed to support the growing demand for variable-height antennas from military, public safety and homeland security customers, the Orion HL platform leverages the Orion and Orion 2 platforms used by military and security […]

Thales Alenia Space, a joint venture between Thales (67%) and Leonardo (33%), announced the initiation of the European High-Altitude Platform Systems (EuroHAPS) project on 9 March 2023. A demonstration project selected by the European Commission on 20 July 2022 after a call for collaborative defence research and development projects from the European Defense Fund (EDF), […]

The UK defence acquisition process is out of date and dysfunctional, a paper published by Risk management consultancy Redstone Risk on 6 March 2023 has asserted. Titled ‘Unwrapping the Riddle of Defence Acquisition in the United Kingdom’, the report outlines the fundamental changes Redstone says are required to optimise defence acquisition in the UK. It […]

South Korean defence contractor Hanwha has agreed with Polish IT manufacturer WB Group to buy command-and-control (C2) systems for the K239 Chunmoo multiple rocket launchers (MRLs) ordered by Poland in November 2022, Hanwha announced on 23 February 2023. The Polish procurement contract for the systems, signed in October 2022, stipulates that WB Group’s TOPAZ combat […]

In response to the NATO Support and Procurement Agency’s request for information (RFI) under the ongoing Alliance Future Surveillance and Control (AFSC) programme, Boeing has provided data on its E-7 airborne early warning & control (AEW&C) platform, it emerged on 21 February 2023. The aircraft is a military version of the Boeing 737-700ER airliner featuring […]

In response to a request for information (RFI) from the NATO Support and Procurement Agency (NSPA), Sweden’s Saab has offered its GlobalEye airborne early warning and control (AEW&C) platform as a successor to the E-3 Airborne Warning and Control System (AWACS), the company announced on 21 February 2023. In the Alliance Future Surveillance and Control […]

The United Arab Emirates’ EDGE Group announced two contracts worth a combined value exceeding AED 70 M to deliver multiple V-Protect convoy protection systems and Skyshield counter-unmanned aerial system (C-UAS) solutions “to a key international customer” at the IDEX 2023 defence exhibition in Abu Dhabi on 22 February 2023. V-Protect is a radio frequency (RF) […]

Israel’s Elbit Systems announced on 6 February 2023 that it has shipped the 600,000th radio in its E-LynX series of software-defined radios (SDRs). The recipient of the unit was the Swedish Defence Materiel Administration (FMV), which received the system as part of its Tactical Ground Radio (TGR) programme. For more than 55 years Elbit has […]

The EU Council of Ministers approved a draft administrative arrangement between the European Defence Agency (EDA) and the US Department of Defense (US DoD) on 6 February 2023. According to a statement by the EDA, the aim of the agreement is to establish a framework for the exchange of information and the exploration of possibilities […]