Archive: News & Articles

German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius and his Dutch counterpart, Kajsa Ollongren, signed an agreement to further intensify bilateral military cooperation on 30 November 2023. The signing took place on the fringes of the Berlin Security Conference. According to a spokesperson from the German Federal Ministry of Defence (BMVg), one of the aims of the new […]

Italy’s Fincantieri and France’s Naval Group, the parent companies of joint venture Naviris, announced on 30 November 2023 that the final demonstrations of the five-project Research & Technology (R&T) Programme that initiated the joint venture’s activities had taken place in Genoa, Italy, on 22 November. Signed on 4 June 2020 and managed by the Organisation […]

Artificial intelligence (AI) spatial computing company Hadean announced on 30 November 2023 that it is teaming with technology solutions provider DXC Technology “to disrupt and advance the development of new capabilities for next-generation training and simulation”. The team-up, announced at the I/ITSEC 2023 training and simulation exhibition in Orlando, Florida, will “address the ‘technical debt’ […]

Technology specialist Exail has signed a contract with naval systems integrator RH Marine Netherlands to provide advanced inertial navigation systems (INS) and data distribution units for the Royal Netherlands Navy and Belgian Naval Component, Exail announced on 29 November 2023. The INS and data distribution units will be installed on the Dutch and Belgian navies’ […]

Ukraine’s USV campaign in the Black Sea has demonstrated how uncrewed systems can have critical impact on naval warfare. Western navies and industry alike are taking this lesson onboard in uncrewed system operation and design. The use of stealth at sea by Ukraine, a country with lesser absolute and relative naval capability has enabled that […]

The US Navy has begun the search for replacements for its shipboard manned and unmanned vertical lift aircraft. The Future Vertical Lift (Maritime Strike) or FVL (MS) program seeks to develop and acquire a ‘family of systems’ (FoS) including both manned and unmanned aircraft to replace rotary lift aircraft currently deployed aboard US Navy (USN) […]

The annual report of the European Defence Agency (EDA) on the defence data of EU member states in 2022, published on 30 November 2023, shows a record amount of EUR 240 Bn in European defence spending: an increase of 6% compared to the previous year and the eighth year of consecutive growth. Countries recording the […]

The shotgun might not have the ‘glamour’ of some other small arms, for instance it cannot successfully engage a target at 600 m. However in urban combat scenarios, the weapon truly comes into its own. At present many militaries are working towards the development and fielding of new generations of small arms that combine high […]

Displays are critical to modern military electronic systems, visualising sensor data, communications, and system status. As the most critical link between the human and machine, displays must be carefully integrated into the overall system architecture to enable reliable and effective presentation of information to operators. A key consideration is the need to balance the interface […]

The war in Ukraine has clearly shown the value of anti-ship missiles. Both Bulgaria and Greece are NATO member states that, due to significant threats and a risk of war, must strengthen their capabilities in this regard. One of the lessons learned from the Russian full-scale aggression against Ukraine initiated in 2022 relates to the […]

Video imagery has emerged showing that Fujian, China’s first Type 003-class aircraft carrier, has been conducting dead-load launch testing of its electromagnetic catapult. A video clip originally loaded onto the Chinese social media channel Weibo on 26 November 2023 shows an aerial view of the carrier with a heavy splash off its bow made by […]

French automotive specialist Texelis announced on 28 November 2023 that it has launched a new “turnkey offer for vehicle mobility” called Celeris. The development is designed to offer original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) of military 4×4s “modern, high-performance, military-grade mobility on their vehicles without having to worry about adapting or developing a new mobility solution”. As […]

Brazil’s Embraer signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Saudi Arabian state-owned defence concern SAMI on 29 November 2023 to establish aerospace co-operation with a particular focus on defence. The agreement is geared towards expanding the operational footprint of both companies in Saudi Arabia while promoting the capabilities of Embraer’s C-390 Millennium transport aircraft and […]

Saab has signed a contract with South Korea’s Defense Acquisition Program Administration regarding support and supply of spare parts for its Arthur weapon-locating systems, the company announced on 29 November 2023. The contract is worth approximately SEK 795 M and covers the period from 2023 to 2028. Saab will carry out the work with its […]

UK spatial computing company Hadean announced on 28 November 2023 that it has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Stockholm-headquartered training readiness and organisational resilience solutions provider 4C Strategies. The accord is designed to explore capability integration opportunities that will aim to transform training and exercising in the public, private and defence sectors. Under […]

As militaries around the world test and deploy new autonomous vehicles, commercial enterprises are developing innovative solutions which could change the battlefield in both big and small ways. In late 2022, BAE Systems Australia supplied two fully autonomous vehicles (AVs) for a ‘battlefield simulation’ demonstration for the Australian Army. This is just one more milestone […]

The US Navy is working to preserve the operational capability of a P-8A Poseidon multi-mission maritime patrol aircraft that overshot the runway at Marine Corps Base Hawaii on 20 November 2023 and ended up in Kaneohe Bay off the eastern coast of Oahu. The P-8A, which has the tail number 561 and is assigned to […]

The US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) has downselected for contenders for its Speed and Runway Independent Technologies (SPRINT) X-Plane project, the first phase of which was initiated on 1 November 2023. The four contenders are Aurora Flight Sciences, Bell Textron, Northrop Grumman Aeronautic Systems and Piasecki Aircraft Corporation. Phase 1A of the programme […]

The Norwegian government has announced it is starting the development of the next-generation naval strike missile in co-operation with Germany with Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace as the lead industrial partner, the Norwegian company reported on 24 November 2023. Having developed the current Naval Strike Missile (NSM), Kongsberg will take the lead role in developing the […]

Babcock International has been awarded two further contracts for work on the UK’s future Dreadnought-class nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarines (SSBNs) worth a combined GBP 121 M (EUR 139.5 M), the company announced on 28 November. The first contract is a four-and-a-half year, GBP 66 M contract with the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) to provide […]

BAE Systems has teamed with modelling and simulation software house PLEXSYS and augmented-reality specialist Red 6 in an attempt to revolutionise the future of military training. The agreement – announced at the I/ITSEC 2023 global simulation and training exhibition, which took place in Orlando, Florida, in the week beginning on 27 November 2023 – will […]