Defence Notes

Tariff talks not denting military relations with US allies

12th June 2018

Ongoing tensions between America and its closest allies over tariffs and other issues have not soured military-to-military relationships, US Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said on …

Defence Notes

US military exercises on Korean peninsula to stop

12th June 2018

The US will stop holding military exercises on the Korean peninsula, President Donald Trump said Tuesday after his summit with the North's leader Kim Jong …

Digital Battlespace

Thales, BAE, CGI team up for MEWSIC

8th June 2018

Thales, BAE Systems and CGI have announced a strategic teaming agreement to offer a collective solution for the second phase of the Royal Navy’s Maritime …

Defence Notes

NATO chief hails German defence spending boost

7th June 2018

NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg hailed on 7 June German plans to increase defence spending by 80% by 2024 as 'a step in the right direction' …

Land Warfare

Norway orders Saab’s Carl-Gustaf ammo

7th June 2018

Saab has received a $12.5 million order from the Norwegian Defence Materiel Agency (NDMA) to supply ammunition for the Carl-Gustaf man-portable weapon system, the company …

Defence Notes

EU-US trade row looms over NATO defence meet

7th June 2018

NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg said on 6 June that he was battling to stop the increasingly bitter row between Europe and the US spilling over …

Defence Notes

Qatar says 'stronger' despite year-long Gulf dispute

6th June 2018

On the first anniversary of a bitter Gulf diplomatic rift, Qatar's foreign minister on 5 June declared his country stronger than ever and said it …

Defence Notes

UN envoy concerned by fight for key Yemen port

5th June 2018

The UN envoy for Yemen, Martin Griffiths, said on 5 June that he was ‘very concerned’ over fighting for the rebel-held port of Hodeida, as …

Defence Notes

US sanctions will not impact India-Russia defence ties

5th June 2018

India's Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said on 5 June that US sanctions on Russia military exports would not impact long-standing ties between New Delhi and …

Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - MALE

Wing Loong I-D [Eygpt]

Programme Background Context According to SIPRI, 10 Wing Loong I UAVs were acquired from China in 2016, with deliveries occurring from 2016 to 2018. The Chinese Sohu newspaper reported that ...

Landing platform docks/dock landing ships

San Antonio LPD 17 Flight I [USN]

The LPD 17 Flight I ships are the first flight of the San Antonio-class Landing Platform Docks (LPD). Procured between FY1996 and FY2017, the vessels ...

Tanks

Arjun Mark-II

Programme Background While original plans envisioned the production of up to 250 Arjun Mk IIs, the programme's many delays have prompted the Indian Army to ...

Tanks

Al-Khalid-I

Programme Background Pakistan operates a vast fleet of Chinese and Ukrainian MBTs primarily aimed at deterring regional rivals such as India. In order to build ...

Fast attack/patrol craft and interceptors

PKX-B Batch II (9-22) [South Korea]

Programme Background Contracts Award On 24 November 2022, HJ Heavy Industries was awarded a contract worth KRW212 billion ($160 million) to build four PKX-B Batch-II ...

Fast attack/patrol craft and interceptors

PKX-B Batch II (1-4) [South Korea]

Programme Background Contracts Award On 24 November 2022, HJ Heavy Industries was awarded a contract worth KRW212 billion ($160 million) to build four PKX-B Batch-II fast attack ...

Tanks

Al-Khalid-II

Programme Background Pakistan operates a vast fleet of Chinese and Ukrainian MBTs primarily aimed at deterring regional rivals such as India. In order to build ...

Fast attack/patrol craft and interceptors

PKX-B Batch II (5-8) [South Korea]

Programme Background Contracts Award On 24 November 2022, HJ Heavy Industries was awarded a contract worth KRW 212 billion ($160 million) to build four PKX-B ...

Military helicopters - attack

New Exploration and Escort Helicopter (NEES) (Phase II) [Italy]

Programme Background Phase I In 2017, the Italian government signed a contract with Leonardo to replace its fleet of AW129 Mangusta attack helicopters with the ...

Fast attack/patrol craft and interceptors

Fast Interceptor Craft - Indigenous (FIC-I) (India)

Programme Background Requirements The craft are required to have a length of 13-17m, a sustained speed of 45kt, a range of at least 200nm at 15kt, ...

Submarines: conventional, attack

KSS-III (Boats 1-3) [South Korea]

Programme Background Timeline The new KSS-III Dosan Ahn Chang-Ho-class submarines for the Republic of Korea Navy (RoKN) are a significant advance on the earlier KSS-II ...

Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - HALE

RQ-4 Global Hawk (Japan)

Programme Background Selection & Contract AwardIn 2015, Northrop Grumman's RQ-4 Global Hawk UAS and E-2D Advanced Hawkeye airborne early warning aircraft were selected by Japan to ...

Landing platform docks/dock landing ships

San Antonio LPD 17 Flight II [USN]

Programme Background Requirements The LPD 17 Flight II programme will fully and functionally replace the ageing LSD-41 class and LSD-49 class ships for embarking, transporting, ...

APCs/IFVs - 4x4, APCs/IFVs - 6x6

Wheeled Armoured Vehicles (Ghana)

Programme Background Requirement After coming to power in 2017, President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo approved the expansion of Ghana's armed forces. The resulting military modernisation programme ...

Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - MALE

Wing Loong I [Uzbekistan]

Programme Background On 16 November 2023, Uzbekistan announced that the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan, Supreme Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, Shavkat Mirziyoyev, had ...

Subsystems: software

SWORD

The SWORD is a high-level, automated war-game solution for training, analysis and planning. Developed in close relation with armies worldwide, the SWORD immerses brigade and ...

Air: air combat simulators

TAOS

In Tactical Aircraft Online Services (TAOS), live Aero L-29 jets are flown by experienced combat pilots alongside a wingman flying a ground-based flight simulator, controlled ...

Land: fire support simulators

FIDex

Fidelity has merged the technology of its JTAC and IDF product lines. It released FIDex (Fidelity Extreme) at I/ITSEC 2011 with its first demo of ...

Air: helicopter flight simulators, Land: tactical engagement simulators

VBS Blue IG

At I/ITSEC 2017, Bohemia Interactive Simulations (BISim) unveiled a new simulation technology to help international militaries train for operations. VBS Blue IG, an upgrade from the ...

Subsystems: visual

EP-8100

At I/ITSEC 2015, Collins Aerospace (formerly Rockwell Collins) unveiled its EP-8100 image generation system, which is driven by real-time, simulation-specific graphics cards and software. It ...

Subsystems: visual

WholeEarth Synthetic Environment

Rockwell Collins unveiled its enhanced synthetic training environment, WholeEarth, at I/ITSEC 2015 and the official release occurred in May 2016. The high-resolution complete Earth database ...

Land: Radio and SATCOM

ULV MicroVSAT

Ultra I&C;'s ULV MicroVSAT is a tri-band, lightweight SATCOM terminal that emphasises portability. First introduced in 2022, the modem-agnostic system supports WGS, Intelsat Flex, Inmarsat GX ...

APCs/IFVs - 4x4

Cockerill i-X

The Cockerill i-X is a wheeled armoured vehicle designed as a light armoured platform with a modular turret for intercepting enemy forces. John Cockerill Defense unveiled the new ...

Loitering munitions, Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - mini

ALTIUS-600 / ALTIUS-600M

Part of the ALTIUS family, the ALTIUS-600 is an air-launched, tube-integrated UAV that Area-I has designed to conduct ISR, SIGINT collection and electronic warfare missions.  At AUSA 2022, Anduril ...

Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - MALE

Wing Loong I

Designed by Chengdu Aircraft Industry Group, a subsidiary of the Aviation Industry Corporation of China, the Wing Loong I is the first member of the ...

Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - mini

Skylark I-LEX

The Skylark I-LEX is a mini-UAV manufactured by Elbit Systems.  Unveiled at the Paris Air Show 2015, the UAV is designed for ISR operations. It enables ...

Self-propelled rocket launchers

Pinaka

The Pinaka 214mm MRL was developed indigenously by India's Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) from 1986 to meet the Indian Army's requirement for an ...

Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - MALE

Anka-I

Anka-I is a SIGINT/COMINT variant of Turkey’s Anka-S and is operated by Turkey’s National Intelligence Organization. The COMINT capability allows operators to track, geolocate and ...

Air: aerial targets

QF-16 FSAT

The QF-16 Full Scale Aerial Target (FSAT) is an optionally piloted supersonic aerial target developed to replace the QF-4 in USAF service. Retired F-16 fighters are ...

Air: mission management systems

I-C2F

The Integrated Command and Control Framework (I-C2F) provides an end-to-end C2 architecture delivering J1-J9 functionality across the joint battlespace. As well as C2 messaging and ...