Norway's CV90 armoured reconnaissance vehicles will be equipped with Chess Dynamics' Hawkeye MMP long-range surveillance solution. (Janes/Patrick Allen)  The Norwegian Defence Materiel Agency (NDMA) has selected UK-company Chess Dynamics to provide its surveillance systems for the country's Combat Vehicle 90 (CV90) armoured reconnaissance vehicles.  According to a Chess Dynamics announcement on 2 October, the company will supply its Hawkeye Modular Mission Pod (MMP) long-range surveillance solution for the Norwegian military's Observation T...

The KVD-002 UCAV is capable of supporting the PLAGF's large fleet of attack and transport helicopters. (Janes)  The People's Liberation Army Ground Force's (PLAGF's) acquisition of the new KVD-002 integrated surveillance unmanned combat aerial vehicle (UCAV) has reinforced the modernisation of its airborne intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) capabilities.    Since 2021 the PLAGF has focused on the acquisition of ISR or target-detection platforms such as the KVD-001 fixed-wing unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and HAIG Z-11...

SNC's HAB will participate in the second phase of the UK's Project Aether. (Sierra Nevada Corporation)  The UK has selected two companies – Sierra Nevada Corporation (SNC) and Airbus subsidiary AALTO – to compete in the second phase of Project Aether, Janes learnt.  Project Aether is a UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) programme that seeks an unmanned stratospheric ultra-persistent communication and intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) capability or high altitude platform station (HAPS).  The second phase will see SNC's high altit...

Q-CTRL and Diraq have partnered to develop silicon-based quantum processors under three projects funded by the Australian government and the US Army Research Office. The companies will also explore defence applications of quantum computing technologies developed under these projects. (Commonwealth of Australia)  Sydney-based quantum-focused companies Q-CTRL and Diraq have partnered to develop advanced quantum computing technologies under three multimillion-dollar projects secured from the Australian government and the US Army Research Office...

The New Zealand Army's new Bushmaster vehicles at the Trentham Military Camp located in Upper Hutt near Wellington. The New Zealand MoD has issued request for proposals (RFP) to install new communications and digital systems into the army's fleet of Bushmasters. (New Zealand Ministry of Defence)  The New Zealand Ministry of Defence (MoD) has issued a request for proposals (RFP) for services related to development and installation of communications and digital systems in the New Zealand Army's Bushmaster 4×4 Protected Mobility Vehicles.  “[The...

One of the USAF's trio of legacy ‘Senior Scout' SIGINT shelters being loaded into a fixed-wing transport aircraft. (Lockheed Martin)  The US Air Force's (USAF's) research division is looking to develop advanced cyber and signals intelligence (SIGINT) processing capabilities, which once developed and deployed will accelerate SIGINT data distribution to operational and tactical units in near real time.  The broad agency announcement (BAA), issued on 25 September by the information directorate of the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL), is spec...

The first of two Saab 340 AEW&C for Poland was presented to the Polish Air Force on 29 September, ahead of the formal delivery in the coming months. (Polish Armament Agency)  Poland has been presented with the first of two Saab 340 Erieye airborne early warning and control (AEW&C) aircraft contracted earlier in 2023.  The event at Saab's Linkoping facility in southern Sweden on 29 September was attended by Polish Minister of National Defence Mariusz Błaszczak who noted that this first aircraft will be delivered “within a few months”.  The pre...

The third Italian Navy PPA,   Raimondo Montecuccoli,  was formally handed over at Fincantieri's Muggiano shipyard on 27 September.  (Fincantieri)  Fincantieri has delivered the Italian Navy's first multi-purpose offshore patrol ship (Pattugliatore Polivalente d'Altura: PPA) configured for medium-intensity (light plus) operations.  Raimondo Montecuccoli (P 432) was handed over during a formal ceremony held at Fincantieri's shipyard in Muggiano, Trieste, on 27 September.  Laid down in November 2018 and launched in...

Zen Technologies will provide 20 Zen Anti-Drone Systems (pictured) to the Indian Army along with 69 driving simulators for the Ashok Leyland Stallion range of trucks under two contracts secured in September. (Zen Technologies)  Hyderabad-based Zen Technologies secured two contracts worth INR2.27 billion (USD27.3 million) and INR1.2 billion from the Indian Ministry of Defence (MoD) in September to provide counter-unmanned aircraft systems (C-UASs) and driving simulators to forces.    An industry source told   Janes  on 27 Septe...

The new class of the ASWFs is planned to enter service with the Netherlands and Belgian navies from 2029 to 2031. (Damen)  Dutch shipbuilder Damen Naval has awarded Heinen & Hopman a contract to supply the climate and filtration systems for the four new anti-submarine warfare frigates (ASWFs) on order for the Netherlands and Belgian navies.  Under the contract, announced on 26 September, the Spakenburg-based company will supply a complete heating, ventilation, air conditioning, and refrigeration (HVAR-R) system as well as a chemical, biologic...

The completion of the mid-life upgrade of the Republic of Singapore Air Force's F-16 fleet increases the type's operational service life to the mid-2030s. (Getty Images/Suhaimi Abdullah)  The Republic of Singapore Air Force's (RSAF's) Lockheed Martin F-16C/D fleet has been upgraded for improved operational capabilities.  The enhancements are part of a long-standing mid-life upgrade (MLU) for the RSAF's F-16C/D/D+ Block 52/52+ fleet. Singapore first announced a plan to upgrade the fleet in September 2013. The RSAF is currently thought to opera...

Al Yah 1 and Al Yah 2 (pictured) developed by Thales Alenia Space and Airbus will continue to provide secure satellite services to the UAE government under a USD5.1 billion agreement with Yahsat until they are replaced with the new Al Yah 4 and Al Yah 5 satellites being built by Airbus. (Yahsat)  United Arab Emirates (UAE) company Yahsat has been awarded a major AED18.7 billion (USD5.1 billion) deal to provide satellite services to the UAE government, the company announced on 22 September.  Under the 17-year Authorisation to Proceed (ATP) agr...

An image of Intel's Nervana Neural Network Processor. Development of advanced neural networking capabilities, coupled with those focused on nanocomputing and other edge network technologies, is part of the AFRL's new extreme computing initiative. (Intel Corporation)  The US Air Force (USAF) is soliciting emerging technology prototypes from industry, focusing on how to further enable adoption and integration of ‘extreme computing' systems and programmes into USAF operations.  Issued by the Air Force Research Laboratory's (AFRL's) information d...

A still from the JAF's coverage of Exercise ‘Decisive Response' shows a soldier operating a JODDB counter-UAV jamming system. (Jordanian Armed Forces)  A Jordanian mechanised infantry brigade used various types of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) for the first time during a live-fire exercise viewed by King Abdullah II.  The television coverage of Exercise ‘Decisive Response' that was broadcast on 13 September showed a Schiebel Camcopter S-100 rotary UAV, an Al-Basheq vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) UAV, an armed multicopter, and smaller...

At C-UAS TIE23, SAPIENT enabled the integration of companies' C-UAS sensory information into 12 different command-and-control applications. (Janes/Olivia Savage)  NATO will adopt the SAPIENT (Sensing for Asset Protection with Integrated Electronic Networked Technology) protocol developed by the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) as a C-UAS (counter-unmanned aircraft system) standard, Janes learnt at NATO's C-UAS Technical Interoperability Exercise 2023 (TIE23) in Vredepeel, Netherlands, held from 12 to 22 September.  A year-long ratification proces...

The Luftwaffe intends to equip all its Eurofighter combat aircraft with the ECRS Mk 1 E-Scan radar. (Luftwaffe)  The German Luftwaffe will equip its entire fleet of Eurofighter combat aircraft with electronically scanned (E-Scan) radar sets, the government disclosed on 21 September.  Included in the Bundestag's Budget Committee approval list was the commitment to receive all newbuild Eurofighters with the European Common Radar System Mark 1 (ECRS Mk 1) E-Scan radar, and to retrofit the Luftwaffe's existing fleet of aircraft with Captor-M mech...

A Republic of Singapore Air Force Heron 1 unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), seen here at Paya Lebar Air Base in September 2023. The Singapore Armed Forces' upgraded command and control information system is able to automatically detect and classify objects of interest in real-time video feeds provided by the UAV. (Janes/Ridzwan Rahmat)  The Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) is validating an upgraded command and control information system (CCIS) that seeks to improve the efficiency of its strike missions.  This new capability is being proven at Exerci...

A new, flexible silicon-on-polymer semiconductor chip developed by the US Air Force Research Laboratory. (US Air Force)  The US Department of Defense (DoD) has inked a 10-year, USD3.1 billion semiconductor manufacturing deal with New York-based GlobalFoundries (GF), to produce critical microelectronics (ME) for current and future aerospace systems and weapons platforms.  GF will receive USD17.3 million up front, as part of the contract with the department's Defense Microelectronics Activity (DMEA), according to a 21 September company stateme...

DARPA's Diverse Accessible Heterogeneous Integration effort is developing transistor-scale heterogeneous integration processes seeking to combine advanced compound semiconductor wafers with CMOS technology. Pictured here is a DAHI wafer. (Northrop Grumman)  The US Department of Defense (DoD) has officially announced the eight new research and development (R&D) hubs in the United States that will make up the department's new Microelectronics (ME) Commons.  The ME Commons initiative, funded through the Creating Helpful Incentives to Produce Sem...

The Skywiper EDM4S C-UAS handheld jammer, displayed at DSEI 2023 in London, is widely used by the Ukrainian army. Its dimensions are 1,045 (L) × 350 (H) × 250 (W) mm. (Janes/Olivia Savage)    “Thousands” of Lithuanian counter-unmanned aircraft systems (C-UASs) are operational with the Ukrainian army, Ivan Sybyriakov, manager of the unmanned systems centre at Ukrainian state-owned SpetsTechnoExport (STE), told   Janes  .   The C-UAS solutions in question are the Skywiper Electronic Drone Mitigation 4 - System (EDM4S) and the...