Archive: News & Articles

Belgium’s FN Herstal is introducing onto the market a new less-than-lethal system designed to drastically reduce the occurrence of serious injuries inflicted by unintentional headshots. To be showcased at the Milipol 2023 trade show, held in Paris from 14 to 17 November, the FN Smart ProtectoR-303T less-lethal solution detects human heads so as to drastically […]

Northrop Grumman and LIG Nex1 signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) at the ADEX 2023 defence exhibition in Seoul to collaborate on airborne electronic warfare (EW) and targeting systems for the Republic of Korea, Northrop Grumman announced on 18 October 2023. “This agreement with LIG Nex1 builds on Northrop Grumman’s decades of delivering advanced defence […]

Construction has begun on a new ship build hall at BAE Systems’ Govan shipyard now that the basin has been filled and piling has begun, the company announced on 16 October 2023. Measuring 170 m long and 80 m wide, the vast new hall will be large enough for two Type 26 frigates to be constructed […]

Northrop Grumman Corporation announced on 16 October 2023 that it has been awarded a contract by Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) to provide Airborne Laser Mine Detection System (ALMDS) solutions and technical support for the engineering, manufacturing and design (EMD) phase of the Korean Mine Countermeasures Helicopter (KMCH) programme. The EMD phase is expected to be […]

The Turkish government has indicated that its defence budget for 2024 will be two-and-a-half times the amount allocated for 2023. In a presentation at the Presidential Complex in Ankara on 17 October 2023 Turkish Vice President Cevdet Yilmaz noted that Turkey will allocate more than USD 40 Bn (EUR 37.9 Bn) to its defence budget […]

Technology house Exail and the French Gendarmerie have validated the acceptance and commissioning of the driving simulator for the Gendarmerie’s new Centaure Multi-Purpose Intervention Vehicle (VIGP), Exail announced on 17 October 2023. The simulator was designed and manufactured by Exail under a contract awarded back in October 2022 by the French Interior Ministry’s Purchasing, Innovation […]

Lockheed Martin announced on 16 October 2023 that its Next Generation Interceptor (NGI) programme has executed its digital All Up Round (AUR) Preliminary Design Review (PDR). The review was secured in partnership with the US Missile Defense Agency (MDA) and was achieved on 29 September. The company says it remains on-plan to deliver the NGI programme […]

European missile house MBDA announced at the ADEX 2023 defence exhibition in Seoul on 16 October 2023 that it has received a contract from Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) to integrate the Mistral ATAM anti-air missile system onto the Korean Marine Attack Helicopter (KMAH). The Mistral ATAM is based on the Mistral short-range anti-air missile, which […]

The Czech Ministry of Defence (MoD) announced on 17 October 2023 that it has initiated discussions with Brazil’s Embraer regarding the potential acquisition of two C-390 Millennium airlifters.   The Czech decision to start negotiating a C-390 purchase, according to an Embraer 17 October press release, was based on a market assessment and analysis prepared […]

The Latvian Ministry of Defence (MoD) announced the country’s intention to purchase four MD Helicopters MD 530F Cayuse Warrior light attack helicopters from the United States on 16 October 2023. A Latvian MoD statement said the MD 530Fs “will help carry out air operations against enemy targets at close range, provide air support for combat […]

Airbus and the Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF) have successfully completed the automatic air-to-air refuelling (A3R) flight test campaign for the Airbus A330 Multi Role Tanker Transport (MRTT) and Boeing F-15 fighter ahead of its certification in the first half of 2024, Airbus announced on 11 October 2023. Over the course of three weeks […]

What challenges have arisen from the increased use of UAVs in modern warfare? The explosive growth of UAV technology has resulted in the relatively cheap and rapid acquisition of modified commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) assets for use in the defence arena. UAVs are undoubtedly re-defining modern warfare and a clear demonstration of the rapid advancement in […]

The US Marine Corps (USMC) has completed the first test flight of the XQ-58A Valkyrie autonomous, low-cost tactical unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) out of Eglin Air Force Base, Florida, with the aircraft performing as expected, the USMC announced on 5 October 2023. The flight, which took place on 3 October, was conducted in collaboration with […]

The US Army has ordered more than 7,000 additional Thales RT-2129 Combat Net Radios (CNRs) under a dual-vendor, multi-year, indefinite delivery, indefinite quantity (IDIQ) contract awarded in March 2022, Thales announced on 11 October 2023. The initial contract was awarded to both Thales and L3Harris and has a ceiling total value of USD 6 Bn (EUR […]

Airbus has officially launched the construction of a new maintenance centre for the A400M airlifter in Wunstorf, the company announced on 9 October 2023. The traditional groundbreaking ceremony on the site at Wunstorf Air Base, out of which the German Air Force’s A400Ms operate, was held by Airbus Defence and Space CEO Michael Schöllhorn together […]

BAE Systems Inc has named Dan Sallet as its senior vice president for finance, the company announced on 11 October 2023. Sallet will be responsible for the financial operations of the company’s US-based businesses, which have more than 35,000 employees in the United States, United Kingdom, and Sweden, and generated 2022 sales of nearly USD […]

Northrop Grumman has developed a new next-generation helicopter missile warning capability in the form of the Advanced Tactical Hostile Engagement Awareness (ATHENA) sensor, the company announced on 16 October 2023. Billed by Northrop Grumman as providing “a generational leap in threat detection capability”, ATHENA is a staring sensor, meaning that it is ‘always on’, that […]

Lockheed Martin’s Sikorsky business has received a contract via the US Navy to produce eight MH-60R Seahawk helicopters for the Spanish Navy (Armada), Lockheed Martin announced on 12 October 2023. The US Department of Defense’s contracts website noted that this Foreign Military Sale is valued at USD 379.58 M (EUR 361.46 M) and that work under […]

The latest version of the Boeing AH-64E Apache attack helicopter, known as the Version 6.5 (V6.5), has successfully flown with an upgraded capabilities suite, Boeing announced on 11 October 2023. “We saw our hard work come to life with this first flight,” said Christina Upah, vice president of Attack Helicopter Programs and senior Boeing Mesa […]

Rheinmetall strengthened its mobile counter-uncrewed aerial system (C-UAS) credentials at this year’s Association of the US Army annual symposium, held in Washington, DC, from 9-11 October, by showcasing its Skyranger 30 air defence turret mounted on a Textron Systems Ripsaw M5 robotic combat vehicle (RCV). “The use of best-in-class cannon systems means that Skyranger can […]

At the Armed Forces Reserve Center in Richmond, Kentucky, on 11 October 2023, various dignitaries celebrated the US military destroying the last of its chemical warfare (CW) agents. It was in Kentucky, at the Blue Grass Chemical Agent-Destruction Pilot Plant, where the last remaining M55 rocket filled with deadly sarin nerve agent was destroyed on 7 […]