Indonesia's delays in payments towards the joint development of the KAI KF-21 4.5-generation fighter programme has been of concern to the South Korean government. (DAPA/KAI)    Amid concerns over Indonesia's delays in meeting its cost-share obligations for the Korea Aerospace Industries' (KAI's) KF-21 ‘Boromae' 4.5-generation    fighter aircraft project, a KAI official, at the Seoul International Aerospace & Defense Exhibition (ADEX) 2023, said that a recent meeting between South Korean and Indonesian defense officials left roo...

Boeing AH-64E v6.5 first flight. (Boeing)  Boeing has flown the latest version of the AH-64E Apache attack helicopter, Version 6.5, the company announced on 11 October. The flight took place at Boeing's Mesa, Arizona, factory.    “Subsequent to the first test flight, we'll be looking at software baseline verification testing,” Christina Upah, Boeing's vice-president of attack helicopter programmes, told   Janes  on 9 October ahead of the flight. “Essentially, we're taking the Version 6 software baseline, which was our common c...

Germany's AWS will be based at Holzdorf Air Base starting in 2025. (IAI)  German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius visited Holzdorf Air Base, 100 km south of Berlin, on 16 October, where Germany will base components of the Luftwaffe's Arrow Weapon System (AWS) and CH-47F Chinook helicopters.  Pistorius told journalists that Arrow would be based in Holzdorf starting in 2025, although he did not know if the conflict between Israel and Hamas would have an impact on production of the system. He said other locations in southern and northern Germany...

An artist's impression of the KC-390 in Czech national livery. (Embraer)  The Czech Republic has selected the Embraer KC-390 Millennium for its future aerial refuelling and fixed-wing medium-lift transport requirements.  The Czech Ministry of Defence (MoD) and the Brazilian manufacturer announced the selection on 17 October, saying that negotiations for two aircraft will now begin.  “The Czech Republic intends to acquire two aircraft that will significantly increase its airlift capacity, allowing the Czech army to perform missions such as air...

South Korea's multi-purpose unmanned helicopter (MPUH). (Agency for Defense Development/Janes)  With development of South Korea's new multi-purpose unmanned helicopter (MPUH) complete, the government and industry partners are seeking customers for the unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV).  During Seoul International Aerospace & Defense Exhibition (ADEX) 2023, a source with South Korea's Agency for Defense Development (ADD) told Janes that the Republic of Korea Army (RoKA) has expressed an initial interest in acquisition of the rotary-wing UAV.  Deve...

A trial to standardise the assessment of C-UAS technologies was held in Belgium in October 2023. Pictured here are OpenWorks Vision Flex optical detection capability and the Iris system from Robin Radar. (Belgian Ministry of Defence/Gert-Jan D'Haene)  A trial to standardise the assessment of counter-unmanned aircraft systems (C-UASs) was held from 2 to 5 October at Lombardsijde barracks, Belgium.  Organised by the Belgium Royal Military Academy (KMS) and announced by the Belgian Ministry of Defence on 12 October, project Courageous aims to de...

The Czech Republic has now retired the last of its Russian-built Mi-24 (pictured) and Mi-8 helicopters, which it is replacing with US-built AH-1Z and UH-1Y platforms. (Janes/Patrick Allen)  The Czech Republic officially retired the last of its Russian-built helicopters on 15 October.  A farewell ceremony at the 22nd Helicopter Base at Náměšť nad Oslavou saw the Army of the Czech Republic (Armáda České republiky: AČR) say goodbye to the last of its Mil Mi-24 ‘Hind' and Mil Mi-8 ‘Hip' rotorcraft.  According to Janes World Air Forces, the AČR ha...

Space is set to benefit in France's 2024 defence budget, with programmes such as Syracuse IV (pictured) and Syracuse V receiving funding. (Thales Alenia Space)  France has allocated over a billion euros towards the space, cyber, and robotics domain in 2024, according to the 2024 Projet de loi de finances (PLF) defence budget.  Published on 11 October, the PLF has earmarked EUR47.5 billion (USD50.2 billion) for defence spending in 2024, EUR3.3 billion more than the previous year. Investment will be channelled towards continuing to modernise th...

L3Harris, Leidos, and MAG Aerospace's HADES concept. (L3Harris)  L3Harris, Leidos, and MAG Aerospace announced a joint bid for the US Army's High Accuracy Detection and Exploitation System (HADES) intelligence-gathering aircraft contest on 9 October.  “We have a relationship with both companies from many years working on several different projects for the army,” Todd Kishpaugh, L3Harris' director of business development, told Janes on 11 October on the sidelines of the Association of the United States Army (AUSA) 2023 annual conference. “MAG...

A Luftwaffe Eurofighter at the ILA 2022 exhibition in Berlin. With the previous German government having said it would buy Eurofighter Tranche 5 aircraft to partially replace the Luftwaffe's Tornado fleet, German industry has called on the current government to make good on that commitment. (Janes/Gareth Jennings)  Representatives of German industry have pressed Berlin to make good on its previously announced plan to buy Eurofighter Tranche 5 combat aircraft.  Commenting after a meeting on the future of the Eurofighter programme hosted by the...

The deployment of US GA-ASI MQ-9s from Kyushu to Okinawa is expected to improve joint US-Japan reconnaissance capabilities near the Senkaku Islands and Taiwan. (US Air Force/Staff Sgt Christopher Broome)  The US military is redeploying a unit of General Atomics Aeronautical Systems Inc (GA-ASI) MQ-9s from Kyushu island to Okinawa to enhance intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) operations in southwest Japan.  The 319th Expeditionary Reconnaissance Squadron (ERS) operates eight MQ-9s, according to information from the US Depart...

Spain is set to become the latest international operator of the MH-60R Seahawk, with a contract for eight helicopters announced on 12 October. (US Navy)  Spain has confirmed the procurement of Lockheed Martin MH-60R Seahawk maritime helicopters, seven months after the proposed buy was approved by the US government.  The manufacturer announced on 12 October that it had been contracted by the US Navy (USN) to deliver eight helicopters to the Spanish Navy (Armada) following US government approval that was granted on 15 March.  According to the...

Belgium is the latest European NATO country to offer F-16s to Ukraine, after Denmark, Norway, and the Netherlands. (Belgian Ministry of Defence)  Belgium has joined Denmark, Norway, and the Netherlands in pledging the transfer of Lockheed Martin F-16 Fighting Falcon combat aircraft to Kyiv.  Belgian Minister of Defence Ludivine Dedonder and Ukrainian Minister of Defence Rustem Umerov made the disclosure in a joint communiqué released on 11 October.  “From 2025, the [Belgian] Minister of Defence will be able to offer to supply F-16s to the Ukr...

An artist's rendering of the Protector RG1 UAV in 31 Squadron markings. (GA-ASI via Janes/Gareth jennings)  The UK Royal Air Force (RAF) has reconstituted 31 Squadron ‘Goldstars' to operate the General Atomics Aeronautical Systems Inc (GA-ASI) MQ-9B Protector RG1 medium-altitude long-endurance unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV).  The former Panavia Tornado GR4 unit was stood up at RAF Waddington on 11 October, just over a week after the first of 16 Protector air vehicles was delivered to the same location and future Protector operating station on...

The sixth KF-21 prototype flies in June 2023 with both South Korean and Indonesian flags painted on its nose section. However, the Indonesian flag was missing from the fifth prototype, which is expected to be given to Jakarta. This likely reflected ongoing tensions between the two partners over Jakarta's payment delays. (DAPA)  The head of South Korea's Defence Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) has visited Indonesia in a bid to resolve problems associated with Jakarta's delayed payments for the joint development of the Korea Aerospace...

UVision's Hero-120 tactical loitering system. (UVision)  Israeli-based company UVision is developing a smaller munition in its family of loitering munitions that will participate in the US Army's only loitering munitions programme.  The Hero-120 – a tube-launched anti-tank loitering munition being used in Ukraine – weighs 40 lb and can fly at a maximum speed of 140 kt, said Itzik Huber, UVision vice-president for North America. The new Hero-90 munition is lighter and intended for a dismounted soldier, making it ideal for the Low Altitude Stal...

The future of US homeland defence likely includes a need to protect the army's ability to deploy from domestic bases. (376th Air Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs/Staff Sgt Stacy Jonsgaard)  US Army North is examining the impact of emerging technologies on homeland defence through to 2040, with implications for how the ground service would project power in the event of a conflict with near-peer competitors such as Russia or China.  The Future of Homeland Defense project grew out of several years of work that informally began during the US gov...

One of two Norwegian F-35As arriving at Vidsel forward operating base, marking the first time this aircraft type has operated in Sweden. (Swedish Armed Forces)  Lockheed Martin F-35A Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) aircraft operated from Sweden for the first time on 11 October, as part of the Nordic Cross Border Training agreement.  A pair of Royal Norwegian Air Force (RNoAF) F-35As from 331 Squadron flew into Vidsel forward operating base (FOB) in the north of Sweden, before being refuelled and departing again.  “In this way, the air...

Quantum-Systems Twister small UAV. (Quantum-Systems)  Quantum-Systems unveiled the Twister small unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) at the Association of the United States Army (AUSA) 2023 symposium in Washington, DC, complementing the manufacturer's larger Vector UAV.  Twister, which can be carried disassembled into six parts in a manportable rucksack, has a 4.1 ft (1.2 m) wingspan (assembled) and weighs 5.5 lb (2.5 kg), of which 350 g are reserved for payload.  The UAV is intended to lift off vertically from a tail-sitting position before transi...

A Republic of Singapore Air Force F-15SG Eagle combat aircraft connects to an MRTT tanker during A3R testing in August. (Airbus)  Airbus Defence and Space (DS) has completed trials of the automatic air-to-air refuelling (A3R) system for its A330-200 Multi-Role Tanker Transport (MRTT) aircraft.  Announced on 11 October, the completion of testing was carried out in conjunction with the Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF), which utilised one of its own MRTTs along with its full fleet of receiver aircraft types in a series of ‘wet' and ‘dry' (...