The Djiboutian Air Force is to operate a pair of Grand Carvan EX aircraft (pictured), which the US is selling as part of a wider effort to increase security around the Horn of Africa. (Textron)  Djibouti is to receive two Textron C-208B Grand Caravan EX aircraft as the United States looks to enhance security across the Horn of Africa.  US Army Contracting Command awarded the contract on 13 March, with the manufacturer disclosing that the aircraft will be owned and operated by the Djiboutian Air Force (Force Aerienne du Djibouti: FAD).  “The t...

The Thales SquadNet soldier radio will be pitched for the UK's forthcoming next-generation personal role radio replacement programme, expected to be launched in 2025. (Thales)    Thales is planning to pitch its SquadNet radio for the UK armed forces' next-generation Personal Role Radio (PRR) replacement programme due to be announced in 2025,   Janes   learnt at SAE Group's Future Soldier Technology conference held from 11 to 13 March.   According to John Dix, Thales UK sales manager for land communications, SquadNet is a su...

The Chinese PLA conducted air operation over the Western Pacific, in the vicinity of the Japan's southwestern islands and Taiwan on 9–10 and 12 March 2024. (Japan Ministry of Defense/Taiwan Ministry of National Defense/Janes)  The Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) conducted a long-range operation over the Western Pacific with special mission and combat aircraft.  The operation, conducted over three days from 9 to 10 March and on 12 March, according to data from the Japan Ministry of Defense (MoD), was potentially an effort to gauge Japan...

A computer-generated image (CGI) showing how, under the ASCEND2LEO programme, Fleet Space's Centauri satellites are being leveraged to develop a low Earth orbit satcom system that can connect defence assets and personnel. (Fleet Space Technologies)  South Australia-based Fleet Space Technologies has demonstrated push-to-talk (PTT) capabilities using a low Earth orbit (LEO) satellite as part of an Australian military project on satellite communications (satcom).  Fleet Space implemented a “software update” to its Centauri 4 satellite, currentl...

The British Army has been experimenting with the Android Team Awareness Kit (ATAK) battle management application installed on a Samsung phone as a potential option for the DSA programme. (ATAK)    The British Army's Dismounted Situational Awareness (DSA) programme is delayed,   Janes   learnt at SAE Group's Future Soldier Technology conference, being held from 11 to 13 March.   According to Lieutenant Colonel Gareth Davies, SO1 Combat Systems and Bearers, British Army, the delay is primarily because the DSA team has not yet...

The Indian Army and the Indian Air Force (IAF) are each procuring 25 units of Big Bang Boom Solutions' long-range Vajra Sentinel C-UAS (pictured). (Big Bang Boom Solutions)  Chennai-based Big Bang Boom Solutions (BBBS) has secured two contracts worth more than INR2 billion (USD24 million) to provide its counter-unmanned aircraft system (C-UAS) to the Indian Army and the Indian Air Force (IAF).  Janes understands that the Indian Army and the IAF will each receive 25 units of BBBS' long-range Vajra Sentinel C-UAS by mid-2025.  In an interview t...

The airborne SAR was displayed on the Iranian stand labelled as both the S-811 and the larger S-813. (Janes/Ajay Shankar Pandey)  Iran displayed a synthetic aperture radar (SAR) that it has developed for unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) during the DIMDEX 2024 show held in Doha from 4 to 6 March.  The SAR has a monopulse flat-plate slotted-array antenna and was labelled as both the S-811 and S-813, with Iranian officials refusing to identify which one it was.  An Arabic-language brochure provided details of both types, saying they can provide...

US Coast Guard cutters, such as the icebreaker   Healy  , deploy to the Arctic, but the US needs greater presence, said Admiral Daryl Caudle, commander of United States Fleet Forces Command.  (Janes/Michael Fabey)  The US Navy (USN) must deploy more surface ships to the Arctic, and the US needs to improve its overall infrastructure for naval operations in the region to meet threats and competition in the High North, according to Admiral Daryl Caudle, commander of US Fleet Forces Command.  “We have to build a more-...

SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launches from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida, on 14 February, sending six satellites to orbit – two for the Missile Defense Agency and four for the Space Development Agency. (US Space Force )  The Pentagon's Space Development Agency (SDA) anticipates having a testing strategy in place by the end of 2024 to evaluate Link 16 connectivity across US airspace for satellite communications (satcom) in the agency's Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture (PWSA).  Officials from SDA and...

A model of Schiebel's Camcopter S-300 vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV). Schiebel in collaboration with South Korea's Hanwha Systems and UI Helicopter will provide three Camcopter S-300s equipped with locally developed synthetic aperture radars (SARs) and electro-optical/infrared (EO/IR) sensors to the RoK Navy. (Janes)    The Republic of Korea (RoK) Navy plans to equip two undisclosed classes of its vessels with Schiebel's Camcopter S-300 unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), the company confirmed to  Ja...

The CEW-102E UAV countermeasure system replica is displayed at DIMDEX 2024. (Janes/Ajay Shankar Pandey)    China's People's Liberation Army (PLA) is deploying a new counter-unmanned aircraft system (C-UAS) suite known as the CEW-102E from domestic company Poly Defence,  Janes  learnt at the DIMDEX 2024 show held in Doha from 4 to 6 March.     A spokesperson for the company was unable to provide details to  Janes  about when and how many units had been ordered.   The CEW-102E is an integrated detection, tr...

US soldiers carry out the Warfighter Information Network-Tactical Transportable Tactical Command Communications operational test at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska. (US Army)  US Army officials are looking to develop a new slate of zero trust software for use on the service's tactical networks as a way to further insulate battlefield command, control, and communications operations from rapidly maturing cyber threats.  Industry proposals for tactical zero trust software are due to programme officials at the army's Command, Control, Co...

USS   Portland  has been outfitted with a Laser Weapon System Demonstrator.  (US Navy)  US Navy (USN) Secretary Carlos Del Toro highlighted milestones and development of surface ship combat systems equipment and directed energy weapons on 7 March during the 2024 McAleese Defense Programs Conference.  “We are pushing the bounds of tactics and capability with the future [landing transport dock] USS Richard M McCoolJr (LPD 29),” Del Toro said. “Earlier this year, she was fitted with the Enterprise Air Surveillance R...

Royal Norwegian Air Force Lockheed Martin F-35 (F-35A) Lightning II Joint Strike Fighters operating over the High North. The Nordic countries have opened a CAOC to protect NATO's northern flank. (Royal Norwegian Air Force)  The Nordic countries of Denmark, Finland, Norway, and Sweden have opened a combined air operations centre (CAOC) aimed at protecting NATO's northern flank.  The Danish Ministry of Defence (MoD) said on 6 March that the new CAOC at Bodø in northern Norway is made up of personnel drawn from the air forces of the four Nordic...

HMS   St Albans  heads back out to sea after a longhaul refit at HMNB Devonport in Plymouth.  (Crown Copyright)    The UK Royal Navy's (RN's) Duke-class Type 23 frigate HMS   St Albans   (F 83) has returned to sea following the completion of a major life-extension (LIFEX) refit.   St Albans  departed HMNB Devonport on 1 March to begin a period of post-refit trials, the RN announced the same day.   After completing sea trials and subsequent UK-based training, the ship is planned to be...

XSS-11 was designed to advance technologies and techniques to increase the level of autonomy, guidance, and safety for microsatellites. However, US officials say it could be used to carry out RPOs as part of an ASAT mission. (USAF research labatory)  The US Space Force (USSF) is looking to industry to provide inputs in support of its efforts to develop an operational architecture for a new slate of satellites and payloads operating at geosynchronous orbit (GEO), according to a 5 March USSF request for information (RFI).  USSF's Space Systems...

The Republic of China Air Force (RoCAF) uses its E-2K Hawkeye fleet for aerial surveillance and command-and-control operations. (Annabelle Chih/Getty Images)  Northrop Grumman and Aerospace Industrial Development Corporation (AIDC) have announced a partnership to collaborate on a possible upgrade of Taiwan's Northrop Grumman E-2K Hawkeye airborne early warning and control (AEW&C) fleet.  According to AIDC, the Republic of China Air Force (RoCAF) requires a strengthening of its reconnaissance, search, and early warning capabilities to offset t...

A GQM-163 Coyote target overflies a mobile ship target. (Orbital Sciences)  The US Navy (USN) is looking to expand the kinematic envelope of the GQM-163A Coyote supersonic aerial target to enable more stressing and realistic threat representations.  US Naval Air Systems Command's (NAVAIR's) Aerial Targets program office (PMA-208) in February issued a pre-solicitation of its intent to contract Northrop Grumman for a 12-month study to increase the target's performance envelope. A contract award is anticipated in the first quarter of fiscal year...

Royal Norwegian Air Force Lockheed Martin F-35 (F-35A) Lightning II Joint Strike Fighters operating over the High North. The Nordic countries have opened a CAOC to protect NATO's northern flank. (Royal Norwegian Air Force)  The Nordic countries of Denmark, Finland, Norway, and Sweden have opened a combined air operations centre (CAOC) aimed at protecting NATO's northern flank.  The Danish Ministry of Defence (MoD) said on 6 March that the new CAOC at Bodø in northern Norway is made up of personnel drawn from the air forces of the four Nordic...

The first Saab 340 Erieye AEW&C aircraft for Poland was delivered on 6 March. (Polish Ministry of National Defense)  Poland has received the first of two Saab 340 Erieye airborne early warning and control (AEW&C) aircraft contracted in 2023.  Secretary of State at the Ministry of National Defense (MND) Paweł Bejda made the announcement on 6 March, saying in-country acceptance testing will take place before the aircraft is handed over to the Polish Armed Forces.  The milestone came about five months after the first aircraft was officially pres...