Archive: News & Articles

Bear Midkiff is Vice President Sales and Marketing for John Cockerill Defense.The Belgian company, with over 200 years history, presents its modular turrets and weapon systems as a part of a comprehensive solution for customers around the world. ESD: The COVID-19 crisis has caused a great deal of difficulty in business worldwide. How did the […]

Over the next couple of years, the Polish Armed Forces will continue with the modernisation of its technical park. With the addition of new weapon systems and the upgrade of those currently still in service, the Armed Forces intend to significantly enhance their operational and combat capabilities, therefore boosting country’s security in an increasingly unstable […]

Experts at the NATO Communications and Information (NCI) Agency have built an experimental prototype system to detect, identify and localise small Unmanned Aircraft Systems (sUASs) using low-cost commercial devices and machine learning. The ‘Advanced Recognition Tool using Electromagnetic (EM) waves for Identifying unmanned aerial Systems’ (ARTEMIS) uses advanced techniques to detect and classify Radio Frequency (RF) […]

Aero Vodochody has handed over the first of 16 single-seat L-159 ALCA aircraft to the 21st Tactical Air Force Base, Čáslav. These are undergoing periodic work after sixteen years of operation (PP16), meaning the operation of those light combat aircraft will be extended by another eight years on the basis of a contract with the Czech Military. […]

The annual International Exhibition of Rotorcraft Equipment (or HeliRussia) was held at the Crocus Expo Centre on the outskirts of Moscow from 15 to 17 September with 153 exhibitors (including 40 from the media) making it the smallest since 2009. Previously scheduled for May, it was moved to this new date due to COVID -19, making […]

The 2020 edition of the EURONAVAL exhibition will be held in Paris-Le Bourget from 20 – 23 October 2020. ESD was granted an exclusive interview with Hugues d’Argentré, Director of SOGENA, which organises EURONAVAL. In this interview, Mr d’Argentré addresses the most pressing topics for would-be exhibitors and visitors to EURONAVAL 2020. ESD: How many […]

Standing NATO Maritime Group Two (SNMG2) flagship, ESPS ALVARO DE BAZAN carried out a training programme with the Algerian ship EL MOUDAMIR in the Mediterranean on 14th September 2020. The exercise took place after a three-day visit to the capital Algiers, aimed at increasing cooperation between NATO Maritime Command and Algeria, a member of NATO’s […]

Escribano Mechanical & Engineering has developed ASPIS, its new Remote Weapon Station (RWS) for naval and land use. This RWS weighs less than 90 kg, making it the lightest RWS on the market. It is also equipped with a 7.62 mm M240 automatic gun and a Gatling M134D machine gun of similar calibre. ASPIS includes advanced […]

Greece has announced major arms purchases with “six emblematic decisions that multiply the power, functionality and effectiveness of Greek weapons,” in the words of Prime Minister K.Mitsotakis. These decisions include: The Hellenic Air Force will immediately acquire a squadron of 18 RAFALE fighter jets that will replace older MIRAGE 2000 fighters. The Greek PM said […]

Belgium and the Netherlands will replace almost their entire fleets in the next 15 years. This will mean six new ships for the Belgian Navy, and 23 for the Royal Netherlands Navy. Some of these new ships are being developed jointly by Belgium and the Netherlands, while for some others the Netherlands is seeking cooperation […]

A HERON UAV, developed and built by Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI), has landed at Ben Gurion International Airport, becoming the first UAV to land in an international airport alongside commercial flights occupying civilian air space. The UAV took off from Ein Shemer Landing pad in Northern Israel, landed at Ben Gurion, and flew back to Ein Shemer (operated from the Ein […]

Rohde & Schwarz has launched a high-performance Electronic Intelligence (ELINT) receiver that incorporates cutting-edge radar detection technology in the form of the R&S WPU2000 wide-band processing unit. Following the success of the R&S WPU500, the newly introduced device increases its real-time bandwidth to 2 GHz, a new processing unit that will be the new core of radar signal collection and […]

BMT has announced a partnership with Marine Specialised Technology (MST), the company selected by the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) following a competitive tender process to provide two state-of-the-art high-speed fast patrol vessels. With an overall length of 19 metres, the new design, which is capable of 40 knots, has been selected by the MoD […]

Northrop Grumman Corporation has been selected by the Defense Innovation Unit and the U.S. Army Tactical Exploitation of National Capabilities (TENCAP) office to develop two prototype ground stations for the Tactical Intelligence Targeting Access Node (TITAN) system. This will be a scalable and expeditionary intelligence ground station that will leverage space, high altitude, aerial and […]

Cyclone, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Elbit Systems, has been awarded a contract by Lockheed Martin to supply assemblies for the F-35’s Forward Equipment Bay – made from composite materials and the associated structures – across all F-35 aircraft variants. Elbit Systems will deliver more than 1,400 components to Lockheed Martin during the four year contract period. […]

BIRD Aerosystems, the leading developer of Airborne Missile Protection Systems (AMPS) and Airborne Surveillance, Information, and Observation (ASIO) solutions, has won a new contract to upgrade and improve the AMPS systems which were previously provided to the Czech Air Force. BIRD’s AMPS are installed on the Czech Air Force Mi-17 helicopters which are successfully and […]

No sooner had Donald Trump and his Secretary of Defence Mark Esper announced the withdrawal of some 12,000 US soldiers, than commentators in Germany were largely in agreement: the step, according to public opinion, was a “campaign of revenge” against the renegade NATO member Germany. In fact, there has been a lot of pent-up friction […]

An increasing number of countries in Europe have now purchased new fleets of wheeled Armoured Fighting Vehicles (AFV) in the 8×8 configuration. In some cases, these have replaced tracked AFV while other countries have deployed a mix of tracked and wheeled AFVs. When compared to their tracked counterparts, wheeled AFV have a number of advantages […]

An Elbit Systems HERMES 900 Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) has successfully completed a series of flight demonstrations for the UK’s Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) to test the capabilities of using a UAV to enhance Search and Rescue (SAR) capabilities in addition to the use of long-range unmanned capabilities in civilian airspace. Taking place off the West […]

The Lithuanian Armed Forces will be equipped with SFP9 SF Paddle Pistols by the end of 2021 following a contract concluded with Heckler & Koch that amounts to €1.57m and includes the training of personnel on the new weapon. In addition, an option for the delivery of further pistols was agreed. With the introduction of the […]

Damen Shipyards Cape Town (DSCT) has held a keel-laying ceremony for the second of three Multi-Mission Inshore Patrol Vessels (MMIPV) that DSCT is building for the South African Navy’s Project BIRO. This unique event was held on 28th August and planned to ensure the well-being of delegates during the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. As well as […]