The Babcock Immersive Training Experience (BITE), unveiled at IT²EC 2024, was configured to imitate a bunker control room, equipped with communication devices and video feeds, including from UAVs and social media. (Janes/Olivia Savage)  Babcock unveiled a new modular, immersive training system at the International Training Technology Exhibition & Conference (IT²EC) 2024 held from 9 to 11 April in London.  Known as the Babcock Immersive Training Experience (BITE), the system is designed to provide trainees with a realistic training environment...

VBS4 24.1, the latest version of BISim's VBS4 virtual simulation software pictured being used by MoD personnel with commercial-off-the-shelf hardware, is due to be released in May. (Bohemia Interactive Simulations )  The latest version of Bohemia Interactive Simulations' (BISim's) Virtual Battlespace 4 (VBS4) environment will feature munition-equipped unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), the company announced at the International Training Technology Exhibition & Conference (IT2EC) 2024 held from 9 to 11 April in London.  VBS4 is a virtual desktop...

NATO has selected SitaWare HQ as its primary C2 software for land operations. Pictured is a screenshot visualising SitaWare HQ's geographic information system. (Systematic)  Systematic's SitaWare Headquarters (HQ) software has been selected by NATO as its primary command-and-control (C2) solution for land operations.  The software, selected as part of a EUR28.21 million (USD30.47 million) contract, aims to provide the Future Land Command and Control (FLC2) system (Demeter), supporting NATO land forces at strategic and operational levels.  The...

DSIT's DogFish sonar system is designed for use on underwater vehicles. (DSIT)  DSIT Solutions publicly unveiled its new multimission sonar system designed for operation onboard underwater vehicles at the Undersea Defence Technology (UDT) 2024 conference and exhibition, held in London from 9 to 11 April.  The system, named DogFish, was developed in response to the proliferation of threats in the underwater environment from manned and unmanned vessels. It has the capability to autonomously detect, track, and classify submarines, mini-submarine...

Saildrone has partnered with Thales Australia to enhance the capabilities of its Surveyor-class USVs (pictured) by equipping them with Thales Australia's BlueSentry thin-line fibre-optic towed array. (Saildrone)  Thales Australia has signed an agreement with California-based Saildrone to collaborate on integrating its BlueSentry sonar system into Saildrone's Surveyor-class unmanned surface vessels (USVs).  The agreement, announced at the Navy League Sea-Air-Space 2024 global maritime exposition in National Harbor, Maryland, on 8 April, will h...

Collins Aerospace's sixth-generation cockpit demonstrator as seen at the Navy League Sea-Air-Space global maritime exposition in April 2024. (Janes/Jeremiah Cushman)  Collins Aerospace is demonstrating its latest cockpit technology for sixth-generation manned combat aircraft at the Navy League Sea-Air-Space 2024 global maritime exposition in National Harbor, Maryland, held from 8 to 10 April.    The technology demonstrator is conceptual and is being constantly upgraded with feedback from potential users, Tracy Miller, principal sales eng...

A CIR Fuchs Kampfwert-Steigerung Radio Multiband (KWS RMB) radar reconnaissance vehicle during electronic warfare exercise ‘Vigilant Owl' held in Lithuania at the end of 2023. (Bundeswehr/Stefan Uj)  German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius announced in a press conference on 4 April that he had approved the restructuring of the Bundeswehr in response to Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine on 24 February 2022. The restructuring aims to make the Bundeswehr combat ready and optimise it for defending Germany and its NATO allies.  The restructu...

Australia has ended the deployment of its E-7A Wedgetail AEW&C aircraft that had been operating over Europe since July 2023. (Commonwealth of Australia)  The Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) has withdrawn its Boeing E-7A Wedgetail airborne early warning and control (AEW&C) aircraft that had been deployed to Europe to help oversee military and humanitarian relief efforts in Ukraine.  The Australian Department of Defence (DoD) announced on 2 April that the aircraft had completed its planned six-month deployment out of Ramstein Air Base in Germ...

India's TASL launched an Earth observation satellite aboard SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket as part of the Bandwagon-1 rideshare mission on 7 April. The satellite can be used to gather intelligence for the Indian Armed Forces. (SpaceX)  India's Tata Advanced Systems Limited (TASL) has launched an Earth observation satellite that can be leveraged by the Indian Armed Forces to enhance surveillance of strategic areas of interest.    The satellite, named TSAT-1A, was carried into space by SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket as part of the Bandwagon-1 rideshar...

SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket (pictured) launched South Korea's second reconnaissance satellite on 7 April. The satellite is equipped with a SAR payload that can capture high resolution images of strategic areas of interests. (SpaceX)  South Korea has launched a second reconnaissance satellite to strengthen military preparedness against possible threats from North Korea.  South Korea's Ministry of National Defense (MND) announced on 8 April that this synthetic aperture radar (SAR) satellite was carried into space using SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket, wh...

L3Harris Technologies is supplying its AN/PRC-163 handheld radio (pictured) for the ‘Replacement of Ground-Air Radios' requirement under Foxtrot. The very-high-frequency (VHF)/ultra-high-frequency (UHF) radio supports secure two-channel, simultaneous up-and-down echelon connectivity and Mobile Ad hoc Network (MANET) applications. (Janes/Olivia Savage)    The Netherlands Ministry of Defence (MoD) is looking for a systems integrator to assist with running the Foxtrot tactical digitisation programme,   Janes  learnt.   Foxtro...

An illustration of the SeaEagle FCEO surveillance system that will go onboard the RAN's first batch of Hunter-class frigates. (Chess Dynamics)  Chess Dynamics has been selected by BAE Systems to supply the former's SeaEagle fire-control electro-optical (FCEO) system for the Royal Australian Navy's (RAN's) first batch of Hunter-class frigates.  The SeaEagle is a stabilised electro-optical system that can be incorporated with a wide variety of naval guns, directing these weapons against air, surface, and shore targets.  The system is equipped w...

The GM400α radar from Thales is replacing the MPR (pictured) in Nieuw Milligen while the new Herwijnen radar station is fitted with the long-range SMART-L Multi-Mission/Fixed system. (Netherlands Ministry of Defence )  The Royal Netherlands Air Force (RNLAF) has retired its 52-year-old Medium Power Radar (MPR) based in Nieuw Milligen, the Netherlands Ministry of Defence (MoD) announced on 2 April.  The MPR in Nieuw Milligen has been in service since 1971, supporting the RNLAF Nieuw Milligen air operations control station (AOCS) with air surve...

A Falcon 9 rocket carrying a Starlink payload launches from Kennedy Space Center in Florida on 17 December 2022. (US Space Force)  The US Department of Defense (DoD), for the first time, has issued guidance on how the Pentagon will continue to and possibly accelerate integration of commercial, space-based technologies into the department's national security space architecture.  The 2024 Commercial Space Integration Strategy, released on 2 March, establishes the “foundational principles, priorities, and approaches” that the DoD will leverage a...

The US Navy and Missile Defense Agency hit a target using the SM-6 Dual II with Software Upgrade. (Missile Defense Agency)  The US Navy (USN) and Missile Defense Agency (MDA) intercepted an advanced medium-range ballistic missile (MRBM) test target using the Standard Missile-6 (SM-6) Dual II with Software Upgrade (SWUP), the MDA confirmed on 28 March.    Guided-missile destroyer USS   Jack H Lucas  (DDG 125), the first Flight III Aegis destroyer equipped with the new SPY-6 radar, participated in the test as part of its Initial...

LMUK's Skykeeper Command is designed for main HQs in semi-static locations or in an ISO-container configuration. (Lockheed Martin UK)  Lockheed Martin UK (LMUK) has finished upgrading the British Army's Land Environment Air Picture Provision (LEAPP) capability and is developing future iterations of its SkyKeeper command-and-control (C2) software,   Janes   learnt at a media briefing on 26 March.   LEAPP is a truck-mounted system integrated with the Saab Giraffe Agile Multi-Beam (G-AMB) 3D surveillance radar that provides early air-de...

A convoy of Cold Weather All-Terrain Vehicles perform command-and-control operations for the Joint Pacific Multinational Readiness Center training rotation in Fort Greely, Alaska. (Janes/Meredith Roaten)    Life in the Arctic can shift from -40ºF with 20 to 30 mph winds one week to the snow melting away as temperatures climb closer to 40ºF every day the next week. This kind of chaos makes the Joint Pacific Multinational Readiness Center (JPMRC) 24-02 training rotation an excellent trial for new US Army equipment and operations in contest...

A US Army soldier with the 2nd Squadron, 2nd Cavalry Regiment, inspects a MAPS Gen 1 A-PNT component installed on a tactical vehicle. (US Army)  The US Army's combat capabilities development directorate is seeking industry input on an Assured Position, Navigation, and Timing (A-PNT) capability specifically designed for dismounted operations.  Officials from the research and technology integration directorate at the service's Command, Control, Communications, Computers, Cyber, Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (C5ISR) Center are s...

SkyWiper Omni (pictured), developed by NT Service, is an omnidirectional jammer being procured by the Lithuanian MND, which has a 500 m domed range. (Janes/Olivia Savage)  Lithuania-based NT Service has been contracted to deliver counter-unmanned aircraft systems (C-UASs) to the Lithuanian military to meet an urgent requirement to combat ‘drones'.  The contract, valued at EUR8.03 million (USD8.72 million) and spanning 36 months, involves the provision of anti-drone dome systems and individual suppressors, according to a contract notice publis...

The USN CNO noted the need for the development of directed energy weapons, such as the laser system shown in this artist's rendition. (Lockheed Martin)  Recent US Navy (USN) operations in the Red Sea have underscored the importance of logistics, according to Admiral Lisa Franchetti, the USN chief of naval operations (CNO).  Adm Franchetti also noted the importance of developing new weapons and related capabilities to match emerging threats.  The CNO made the comments during a discussion for Defense One that was shown online on 27 March.  “I'v...