One of two new Su-30 combat aircraft received by Ethiopia on 16 January. (FDRE Defense Force)  Ethiopia has received new Sukhoi Su-30 ‘Flanker' fighters and Baykar Bayraktar Akıncı armed unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs).  The Ethiopian National Defense Force (FDRE Defense Force) reported the arrival of an undisclosed number of Su-30s on 16 January, with the state-owned Ethiopian Broadcasting Corporation (EBC) reporting the arrival of an undisclosed number of Akıncı UAVs on the same day.  “We will continue to be equipped with modern weapons tha...

A Bayraktar TB2 carries a Desert Sting 16 guided bomb during an integration test flight. (Edge)  The Emirati defence group Edge is working with Baykar to integrate its Desert Sting guided bomb on the Turkish company's Bayraktar TB2 unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), it was announced on 17 January.  In a statement, Edge said the plan is to initially integrate the Desert Sting 16 (DS-16) with the TB2 before the end of this year as part of its strategic alliance agreement with Baykar, with other payloads to follow.  “Integration of the Desert Sting...

The first ECRS Mk 2 E-Scan radar has now been fitted aboard Eurofighter test aircraft ZK355/BS116 ahead of flight trials scheduled to begin later in 2024. (BAE Systems)  BAE Systems and its programme partners have progressed with the integration of...

A file photo of a UH-60A Black Hawk, of the type that Albania has received from surplus US Army stocks. (US Department of Defense)  A pair of US Army surplus Sikorsky UH-60A Black Hawk helicopters were delivered to Albania on 13 January, Albanian Minister of Defence Niko Peleshi disclosed on the same day.  Delivered aboard a US Air Force Boeing C-17A Globemaster III strategic airlifter, the helicopters were transferred to Rinas Air Base, near Tirana.  Albania plans to use its UH-60s in utility, tactical transport, fast-roping, and aerial fire...

The Royal Netherlands Air Force is relocating an undisclosed number of Reaper UAVs from the Caribbean to Romania. (Royal Netherlands Air Force)  The Netherlands is to deploy General Atomics Aeronautical Systems Inc (GA-ASI) MQ-9A Reaper unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) to Romania to help bolster NATO's eastern flank, it was announced on 12 January.  The Royal Netherlands Air Force (RNLAF) said it is to redeploy the Reapers it has been trialling from the Dutch island of Curaçao in the Caribbean region, saying the work to dismantle and transport...

A screengrab from the 501st Separate Marine Battalion of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (Grifon 501) destroying a Russian armoured vehicle with a UAV, possibly an MBT or TOS-1 MLRS, because of the large explosion. (501st Separate Marine Battalion of the Armed Forces of Ukraine)  Russia is said to have lost approximately 90% of its military equipment in Krynky, Kherson, likely because of a shortage of Russian electronic warfare (EW) systems in the area, according to a UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) intelligence update on 12 January.  The equipment...

A file photo of a Russian A-50 AEW&C aircraft of the type that Ukraine says it shot down along with an Il-22 on 14 January. (United Aircraft Corporation)  Russia lost two intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) aircraft on 14 January, the Ukrainian military has said.  Reports that a Russian Beriev A-50 ‘Mainstay' airborne early warning and control (AEW&C) aircraft and an Ilyushin Il-20 ‘Coot' surveillance aircraft were shot down were seemingly confirmed the following day by the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, G...

The US Navy combined a CUSV with a UAV for a recent live-fire targeting demonstration. (Textron Systems)    The US Navy (USN) recently combined different types of unmanned platforms for    a successful live-fire demonstration, Captain Matthew Lehmann, programme manager for Littoral Combat Ship Mission Modules (LCS MM), noted on 10 January during a briefing at the Surface Navy Association (SNA) National Symposium 2024.   According to the USN's Unmanned and Small Combatants (USC) programme office, during a C4F Fleet Experimen...

The French Air and Space Force is to receive a further 42 Rafale combat aircraft, the country's minister of armed forces has announced. (French Air and Space Force)  France has ordered additional Dassault Rafale combat aircraft, the country's Minister of the Armed Forces Sébastien Lecornu announced on 12 January.  Lecornu said that 42 new aircraft will be acquired for the French Air and Space Force.  “A new decisive step has been taken with the order for 42 Rafale for the air force. This is excellent news for our sovereignty, our security, an...

A Hermes 900 in maritime configuration. The Indian Navy will induct two Hermes 900 Starliner UAVs by the end of February. (Elbit Systems)  The Indian Navy will induct two Hermes 900 Starliner unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) by the end of February, a spokesperson for the Indian Navy told Janes on 10 January.  Elbit Systems' Hermes 900 Starliner is manufactured in India by Adani Defence and Aerospace under the name ‘Drishti 10' for Indian customers. Drishti 10 was unveiled on 10 January in the presence of India's Chief of the Naval Staff, Admir...

One of two F-16s handed over to Slovakia. (Lockheed Martin)  Lockheed Martin has formally handed over to Slovakia its first F-16 Block 70 Fighting Falcon multirole combat aircraft, the manufacturer announced on 10 January.  The first two of 14 jets were delivered to the Slovak Air Force at Lockheed Martin's Greenville production facility in South Carolina.  Lockheed Martin told Janes that, in this context, ‘delivery' “refers to the acceptance of the two Slovakia F-16 Block 70s by the [US] Defense Contract Management Agency. This acceptance w...

With older F-16s (pictured) already in service, Jordan is now to receive the latest Block 70 aircraft. (Janes/Patrick Allen)    Jordan has signed for new F-16 Fighting Falcon combat aircraft, with Lockheed Martin telling   Janes  that the previous letter of acceptance (LOA) has now been firmed up into a contract.   With Jordan signing its LOA for eight Block 70/72 aircraft in June 2022, Lockheed Martin said on 11 January that this had now become a contract for 12 Block 70 aircraft (the Block 70 is powered by the General El...

A Hermes 900 in maritime configuration. The Indian Navy will induct two Hermes 900 Starliner UAVs by the end of February. (Elbit Systems)    The Indian Navy will induct two Hermes 900 Starliner unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) by the end of February, a spokesperson for the Indian Navy told  Janes  on 10 January.   Elbit Systems' Hermes 900 Starliner is manufactured in India by Adani Defence and Aerospace under the name ‘Drishti 10' for Indian customers. Drishti 10 was unveiled on 10 January in the presence of India's Chief...

ULA's Vulcan rocket lifts off from Cape Canaveral on 8 January, launching the Peregrine lunar lander into a trans-lunar injection orbit. (ULA)  United Launch Alliance (ULA) launched its first Vulcan launch vehicle the morning of 8 January, paving the way for a slate of national security, scientific, and private launches.  The rocket lifted off from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station's Space Launch Complex-41 at 0218 h local time. Vulcan launched in the VC2S configuration, with two GEM 63XL solid rocket boosters and a standard 5.4 m (17.7 ft)...

Tanzania has ordered two Leonardo C-27J Spartan transport aircraft that it will use primarily for civil support duties. (Janes/Patrick Allen)  Tanzania has ordered two Leonardo C-27J Spartan transport aircraft, the Italian government announced on 9 January.  Signed by the Tanzanian Minister of Defence and National Service, Stergomena Tax, and the Italian Ambassador to Tanzania, Marco Lombardi, the deal will see the Tanzanian Ministry of Defence (MoD) use the aircraft primarily for civil support duties.  “Equipped with kits for humanitarian, s...

Minister of Defence Margarita Robles was joined by the Chief of Staff of the Air and Space Force, Air General Javier Salto Martínez-Avial; the Chief of Staff of the Space Command, Brigadier General Isaac Manuel Crespo Zaragoza; and others at the standing up of the new MESPA Space Command at Torrejón de Ardoz Air Base. (Spanish Air and Space Force)  Spain stood up its Space Command (Mando del Espacio: MESPA) on 9 January, formalising the new Spanish Air and Space Force structure.  Spanish Minister of Defence, Margarita Robles, visited MEPSA at...

Taiwan's AIDC's new basic trainer aircraft programme – the design for which is pictured above – aims to compete to replace the RoCAF's Beechcraft T-34C aircraft by the early 2030s. (AIDC)  Taiwan's Aerospace Industrial Development Corporation (AIDC) has completed the first stage-design of a new basic trainer aircraft, the company announced on 10 January.  The basic trainer – which AIDC plans to introduce into the Republic of China Air Force (RoCAF) by 2033 – aims to replace the service's 36 Beechcraft T-34C Turbo-Mentor trainer aircraft, whic...

South Korea's domestically developed TAipers anti-tank missile is scheduled to start replace the Republic of Korea's (RoK's) military stocks of ageing TOW missiles from 2024. (Janes)  South Korea is preparing to mass-produce its domestically developed TAipers (‘Tank Snipers' or Cheongeom) air-launched anti-tank guided missiles (ATGMs).    The TAipers will go into mass production from 2024 to 2031, a spokesperson from South Korea's Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) told  Janes  . According to the agency, the prog...

A US Navy P-8A Poseidon aircraft takes off from Lajes Field in the Azores. The base provides a stopping point for aircraft to commute back and forth between the US and Europe and is to be upgraded to support P-8A operations, though it is not clear if this describes the current transient flights or represents a plan to launch anti-submarine warfare missions from the islands. (DVIDS)  The US Department of Defense (DoD) is to upgrade Lajes Field in the Azores to support the Boeing P-8A Poseidon multimission maritime aircraft (MMA).  Disclosed in...

ULA's Vulcan rocket lifts off from Cape Canaveral on 8 January, launching the Peregrine lunar lander into a trans-lunar injection orbit. (ULA)  United Launch Alliance (ULA) launched its first Vulcan launch vehicle the morning of 8 January, paving the way for a slate of national security, scientific, and private launches.  The rocket lifted off from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station's Space Launch Complex-41 at 0218 h local time, putting the privately operated Peregrine lander on a path towards the moon. Vulcan launched in the VC2S configurat...