Archive: News & Articles

On 29 July 2020, after three years of design and build, the Royal New Zealand Navy’s (RNZN) new POLAR class Maritime Projection and Sustainment Capability (MPSC) ship HMNZS AOTEAROA[1] was officially inducted into the RNZN. During the commissioning ceremony, in the presence of the Governor General the Rt Hon Dame Patsy Reddy, RADM David Proctor […]

Shot at, but from where? With technology dominating today’s battlefield, the survivability of vehicles, crews and troops now depends, to a large extent, on vehicle-borne sensors to provide them with real-time awareness of the situation around them. Vehicular Situational Awareness (SA) capabilities are crucial to vehicle and crew survival, as well as the soldier-vehicle connection, […]

The Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (MSDF) is to introduce a new crew system which will be implemented on the second ship of the new FFM class of frigate. This is the means to increase the operation rates of ships by assigning a number of crews which is more than the number of the same type […]

One of the major growth areas in recent years in the Armoured Fighting Vehicle (AFV) sector has been the rapid design, development and production of remote weapon stations (RWS). In the past many AFVs, especially Armoured Personnel Carriers (APC), were fitted with an unprotected roof mounted 7.62 mm or a 12.7 mm Machine Gun (MG), […]

In recent years a number of countries in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) have launched comprehensive modernisation efforts for their armed forces. Many projects, the goal of which is to enhance the operational and combat capabilities of the forces, enabling them to operate on the modern battlefield, are implemented with significant assistance from the German […]

The General Manager of the NATO EUROFIGHTER and TORNADO Management Agency (NETMA), Miguel Ángel Martín Pérez, and the CEO of Eurofighter GmbH, Hermann Claesen, yesterday signed a contract to supply 38 new EUROFIGHTER aircraft to the German Armed Forces. The order, also known as Quadriga, covers a total of 30 single-seater and 8 two-seater EUROFIGHTERs. […]

In a video presented during its Euronaval workshop, Navantia explained how the Cartagena shipyard has evolved to adapt to the challenge of building the S80 submarine, the first fully indigenous submarine and the only 3000 tonne Air-Independent Propulsion (AIP) submarine produced worldwide. Investments concerned the physical infrastructure (such as the creation of dedicated workshops and […]

Nowadays, Offshore Patrol Vessels (OPVs) are less multipurpose than they could be, as it usually takes months and funds for adapting them to different mission profiles. SH Defence’s The CUBE, a patent pending multipurpose module for vessels, which was launched earlier this month, provides a solution to this issue. The CUBE can be shipped worldwide […]

In September 2019, Headquarters Multinational Corps Northeast celebrated its twentieth birthday. The age of twenty might ordinarily signify reaching a certain level of maturity and even capability, but one would be mistaken to believe that this actually means being fully grown up. Moving with the times and keeping pace with developments, means appreciating the present, […]

The US Government has agreed for Switzerland to purchase the MIM104 PATRIOT via an FMS from Raytheon, the Defence Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) has announced. Switzerland intends to renew its ground-based air defence (Bodengebundene Luftverteidigung) as part of the BODLUV 2020 project, with the choice between SAMP/T (Surface-to-Air Missile Platform/Terrain) from Eurosam (MBDA/Thales) and the MIM104 […]

Interview with Rear Admiral (RADM) Fabio Agostini, Commander, Operation EUNAVFOR MED IRINI On 19 January, the Berlin Libya Conference brought together the parties committed to step-up the EU’s efforts to enforce the UN arms embargo on Libya established by the UN Security Council Resolutions UNSCR 1970 in 2011, and extended with the UNSCR 2292 in […]

Over the past several years, Poland set out a number of priority procurement programmes, which are expected to change the posture of the Polish Air Force, as well as the Army’s aviation fleet. In early 2019, Polish authorities signed a contract for the procurement of 32 F-35A LIGHTNING II 5th generation multirole fighter aircraft. A […]

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 […]

The latest defence agreement in Denmark includes building new capacities for the Danish Army to meet NATO requirements – most notably, the XIII Light Infantry Battalion. After years of specialisation in counter-insurgency operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, the Danish Army has spent the last six years in transformation in order to meet the new geopolitical […]

Leonardo UK has confirmed that in November 2020 it will complete, on schedule, the contract for the ICARUS Technology Demonstrator Programme (TDP) which in the longer term will enable the British Army to field agile automatic Active Protection Systems (APS) on its current and future armoured fighting vehicle (AFV) platforms to enhance their survivability against […]

Elbit Systems has won a contract to supply the Swiss Armed Forces with Command and Control (C2) systems. Specifically, the solution will form part of the Tactical Reconnaissance System (TASYS) being fielded by Swiss reconnaissance battalions and forward observers. The contract, worth around $15m, will be performed over a three-year and has the aim of […]

Alan Warnes In recent years, the French Air Force (FAF – Armée de l’Air), arguably the most operational of any air arm in Europe, has seen its resources stretched. FAF assets are based all over the world these days in combat. In November 2018, the French Air Force Chief of Staff, General Philippe Lavigne, announced […]

Esteban Vilarejo Q&A with the Chief of the Spanish Navy: Spain stands by its commitments to NATO and the EU. The Spanish Navy currently has a permanent presence in the Euro-Atlantic, Mediterranean, Indian Ocean and Gulf of Guinea. In addition, the Spanish Navy participates in NATO operations, which also take its ships to the Baltic […]

David Saw Unnoticed by many and often uncredited, the French Army is in the midst of a major effort to enhance its operational capabilities through the acquisition of new equipment. In parallel with this it is working to upgrade the capabilities of its existing equipment, as well as investing in spare parts and maintenance to […]

When fighting a peer or near-peer adversary, there is always an imminent threat of counter fire in response to your mortars or artillery engagement. Radars and drones in all variants have proven to be effective assets in providing target information. To defend the counter-fire threat, the Danish Army will have to change the way we […]

Interview with Raimo Jyväsjärvi, National Armaments Director at the Ministry of Defence of Finland. ESD: In many western countries, the changed security-political situation in Europe has induced governments to allocate additional funds for defence and armament. To what extent and in what way has this trend influenced things in your country? Jyväsjärvi: This is indeed […]