The Czech Republic is to receive surplus Viper attack and Venom utility helicopters to augment newbuild platforms that are shortly to be delivered. (Czech MoD)  The US government has progressed the Czech Republic's plan to acquire surplus Bell H-1 helicopters, approving the refurbishment and modernisation of mothballed airframes now stored at ‘the boneyard' at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base (AFB) facility in Arizona.  The US Department of State approval announced on 3 May covers the refurbishment and modernisation of six Excess Defense Article...

The TB3 UAV was showcased publicly for the first time at Teknofest 2023 in Istanbul. (Diego Cupolo/NurPhoto via Getty Images)    A prototype of the Baykar Bayraktar TB3 unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) to be used onboard the amphibious docked landing ship TCG   Anadolu  was displayed to the public for the first time at the Teknofest aviation, aerospace, and technology festival, held from 27 April to 1 May.   Development of the TB3, a modified version of the Bayraktar TB2, was announced in 2021. The new UAV is larger and heavi...

A CH-4 UAV displayed with weapons at the Iraqi Army Aviation Command's area at Balad Air Base in August 2022. (Iraqi Ministry of Defence)  The Iraqi military has significantly increased the number of hours its intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) aircraft are flying, according to the latest quarterly report from the US Department of Defense's Office of Inspector General (OIG).  Released on 2 May and drawing on information supplied by the US-led coalition, the report said Iraqi fixed-wing ISR aircraft flew 85 hours in January,...

A-29 Super Tucanos under the new sunshades at Nigerian Air Force Base Kainji. (Nigerian Air Force)  The Nigerian Air Force (NAF) announced on 28 April that it had commissioned the operations support facility for its new A-29 Super Tucano aircraft at NAF Base Kainji.  The NAF said the formal handover of the new infrastructure marked the completion of the second phase of the A-29 project, the first phase being the delivery of the 12 aircraft in 2021. It added that the last six of 24 pilots to be trained under the government-to-government con...

GA-ASI has secured a contract to provide four MQ-9B SeaGuardians (pictured) along with two ground control stations, spares, and support equipment to Taiwan. (General Atomics)  General Atomics Aeronautical Systems Inc (GA-ASI) has secured a contract to provide four MQ-9B SeaGuardian medium-altitude long-endurance (MALE) unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) to the Republic of China (RoC) Armed Forces. .  The US Department of Defense (DoD) announced on 1 May that the value of this “undefinitised contract action” secured by GA-ASI will not exceed USD2...

The planned deployment of new IFC-4 configuration Northrop Grumman MQ-4C Tritons on Guam is expected to improve Australia's ability to develop advanced capabilities for its own Triton fleet. This photo features an earlier IFC-3 configuration MQ-4C on Guam in 2020. (US Air Force photo/Senior Airman Michael S Murphy)  The Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) is to receive forward operating base (FOB) equipment for its on-order Northrop Grumman MQ-4C Triton fleet at the end of 2023. As it prepares to receive the equipment, the RAAF has been support...

Flight test with the first Brazilian Gripen E fighter aircraft. (Saab)    The Brazilian Air Force (FAB) is in an advanced stage of negotiations with Sweden's Saab to acquire four or more new F-39E Gripen fighter jets, the service's President of the Coordinating Committee of the Combat Aircraft Program (COPAC) Brigadier Antonio Luiz Godoy Soares Mioni Rodrigues told   Janes  .   The additional jets will be acquired through an addendum to the SEK38.9 billion (USD3.77 billion) contract signed in October 2014 for the initial 36...

The British Army Air Corps looks set to add the APKWS II laser-guided rocket to the armoury for its AH-64E Apache Guardian attack helicopter. (Janes/Gareth Jennings)  The United Kingdom is set to acquire the BAE Systems Advanced Precision Kill Weapon System (APKWS) II laser-guided rocket, likely to equip the British Army Air Corps' (AAC's) Boeing AH-64E Apache Guardian attack helicopter.  The US State Department approved the sale of 768 APKWS II guidance kits on 28 April, as well as related equipment, support, and training for an estimated US...

US Coast Guard icebreaker Healy conducted operations using the Arctic-capable communications, sending, and navigation system in 2022. (Michael Fabey)  The US Navy (USN) will deploy a new Arctic navigation, communication, and environmental sensing system later in 2023, according to Admiral Michael Gilday, chief of naval operations (CNO).  “Our navy continues important communications, surveillance, navigation, marine meteorology, and physical oceanography research activities to improve situational awareness in support of future cold weather hig...

OPS-SAT is a ESA nanosatellite designed to test and validate new mission control capabilities. (European Space Agency)  Thales was able to gain access to and directly control the European Space Agency's (ESA's) OPS-SAT nanosatellite during the Cysat cyber-security exercise held in Paris from 26 to 27 April.  According to the company, participants used a variety of ethical hacking techniques to take control of the system used to manage the payload's global positioning system, altitude control system, and camera.  The four-member team infilt...

Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd's Carbonite+ satellite is one of a network of satellites that will form part of Minerva. Juno is the second confirmed satellite to join the constellation. (SSTL)  The UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) issued a tender for the design and manufacture of an electro-optical (EO) satellite known as Juno under the Minerva programme.  Announced on 26 April, the GBP40 million (USD50 million) three-and-a-half-year project is seeking a high-resolution EO satellite for space-based intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance...

An informational graphic by the US Department of Defense's Space Development Agency, detailing the multilayer National Space Defense Architecture. (US Department of Defense)  The prototype low Earth orbit (LEO) satellites designed for the Tracking Layer of the Space Development Agency's (SDA's) Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture (PWSA) have cleared the critical design review (CDR), marking a key milestone for the architecture's ongoing development.  The CDR clearance was for the design of the prototype space vehicle and datalink capab...

Australia intends for its northern military bases to become a forward deployment line for joint combat capabilities and the protection of the country's northern maritime approaches. Here, an RAAF F-35A flies over HMAS   Sydney   during Exercise ‘Tasman Shield' in April 2023.  (Commonwealth of Australia)  The Australian government has announced an investment of AUD3.8 billion (USD2.5 billion) to improve a network of military bases across the northern part of the country.  The funding will be spread over four years,...

Norway is to replace its 14 NH90 helicopters with six new MH-60Rs (pictured) to be procured from the US. (US Navy)  The United States has approved the sale to Norway of Lockheed Martin MH-60R Seahawk anti-submarine warfare (ASW) and search-and-rescue (SAR) rotorcraft for an estimated USD1 billion.  The State Department approval announced on 26 April covers six helicopters, as well as related equipment, spares, training, and support.  “The proposed sale will improve Norway's capability to perform coastguard missions along with the ability to p...

A view of the ATAK 2 heavy attack helicopter, being developed for the Turkish Armed Forces and export customers. (Aytac Unal/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images))  Turkey's new T929 ATAK 2 broke cover on 24 April, with Turkish Aerospace (TA) releasing new imagery and information on the heavy attack helicopter to coincide with its first engine run trials.  The new imagery was released by TA and the Turkish Defence Industry Agency, which are both developing the T929 to equip the Turkish Armed Forces and potential export customers. These provided th...

The Covid-19 pandemic and the Ukraine conflict delayed reinforcement of the unmanned aerial system capabilities of the Danish army's 1st Brigade. (Danish MoD/Mads Rolf Ahrenskjær)  Acting Danish Defence Minister Troels Lund Poulsen informed Denmark's Defence Conciliation Circle parliamentary group on 25 April that seven procurement programmes of the country's 2018–23 defence agreement will be delayed during the period it covers. He told the circle of parliamentarians who had voted for the defence agreement, “When many projects with tight sche...

The deployment of the Royal New Zealand Air Force's first Boeing P-8A on Fiji will bolster Wellington's engagements with regional partners and associated islands in the South Pacific. (New Zealand Defence Force)  The Royal New Zealand Air Force's (RNZAF's) first Boeing P-8A Poseidon maritime reconnaissance aircraft has been conducting operational trials from Fiji.    The operational trials began in the first week of April. A spokesperson from the New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF) told   Janes   that the aircraft (NZ4801) and its...

The Starliner UAV is called the Hermes 900 HFE in Swiss service after its heavy fuel engine. (Federal Office for Defence Procurement (Armasuisse))  Elbit's flagship Hermes 900 unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) is still finding new customers as the company continues to develop it so as to compete with the larger General Atomics MQ-9 Reaper, a senior executive told Janes.  Amir Bettesh, vice-president of marketing and business development at Elbit's UAS – Airborne Division, described the past 12 months as “perhaps the most successful we've ever had...

With its MOU with Secapem Defence Training Solutions, Aeralis is hoping to break into the French ‘Red Air' training market with the modular jet it is developing. (Aeralis)  Aeralis has announced that it has entered the French market, with a memorandum of understanding (MOU) signed with a national ‘Red Air' training provider on 26 April.  The MOU will see Aeralis and Secapem Defence Training Solutions (SDTS) explore light fast-jet aviation services in France.  “The MOU is designed to facilitate collaborative working to explore an aircraft serv...

A new electronic warfare aircraft to be developed and built in South Korea could be based on the Dassault Falcon 2000 business jet. The Republic of Korea Air Force (RoKAF) already operates the Falcon 2000 as an intelligence and surveillance aircraft. (Korean Air)  South Korea has launched a project to develop a new electronic warfare (EW) aircraft using a business jet as the baseline platform.  The project was revealed by South Korea's Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) on 13 April. According to DAPA, the project was discussed...