As part of the SDW contract, Babcock International will be required to operate and manage the spacecraft and the ground communications network, refresh any obsolete ground assets, and introduce new processes and technologies. (Airbus)  Babcock International has been awarded a major contract to support the Skynet 6 programme.  According to a UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) announcement on 15 February, the authority has awarded Babcock International a GBP400 million (USD486.7 million) contract to manage and operate Skynet, under the Skynet 6 sate...

The DRDO's Naval Physical and Oceanographic Laboratory has developed the Low Frequency Dunking Sonar-X – a model of which is pictured above – for use on India's Dhruv Advanced Light Helicopter. (Janes/Chinmay Kohad)  The Naval Physical and Oceanographic Laboratory (NPOL) – an agency under India's Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) – has unveiled a model of its Low Frequency Dunking Sonar (LFDS)-X system at the Aero India 2023 show being held in Bangalore from 13 to 17 February.  The sonar, which has a length of around 1.5 m,...

India's MRMR/MMMA project aims to provide the Indian Coast Guard and the Indian Navy with a medium-range maritime patrol aircraft. (Janes/Chinmay Kohad)  India's planned development of a maritime patrol variant of the Airbus C295 transport aircraft has been delayed after the Defence Acquisition Council (DAC), which is chaired by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, raised questions about the project.    The Indian Coast Guard has outlined a requirement for six of the proposed maritime patrol aircraft (MPA) while the Indian Navy has issued a r...

Newport News Shipbuilding is preparing to test the combat systems for the carrier   John F Kennedy  .  (Janes/Michael Fabey)  Aircraft carrier John F Kennedy should enter combat system testing this quarter, according to Christopher Kastner, president, CEO, and director of Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII), whose Newport News Shipbuilding unit is constructing the ship.  “CVN 79 Kennedy is well into the test programme,” Kastner said during a quarterly investment call with investment analysts on 9 February. “Distri...

The EDA's ATRIT project seeks to improve the technology behind automatic targeting, as well as in threat recognition and identification. (EDA)  Six European militaries have begun a new research project with a small budget but a big goal – to carry digitalised collaborative combat between different platforms to a new degree of automation. If their work succeeds, it will connect to many other research strands of work within the European Defence Agency (EDA), which is overseeing the project.  “The legacy aspect of making this capability applicab...

A US Army solider with 2nd Squadron, 2nd Cavalry Regiment inspects a MAPS Gen 1 component installed on a tactical vehicle. (US Army)  The US Army has tapped US information technology company CACI International to support the service's ongoing development work on advanced Assured Positioning, Navigation, and Timing (A-PNT) capabilities.  Company officials announced on 6 February they had finalised a five-year co-operative research and development agreement (CRADA) with the ground service to “further the development of advanced payload technolo...

The Peregrine UAS, which comprises a Schiebel S-100 Camcopter and a Thales I-Master radar, will be deployed on board an RN Type 23 frigate in the Gulf from 2024. (Schiebel)  The UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) has awarded Thales and Schiebel a GBP20 million (USD24.1 million) contract to supply the Royal Navy (RN) with a rotary-wing unmanned aircraft system (RUAS) to meet an urgent capability requirement (UCR) for enhanced situational awareness, principally in the Gulf region.  Under the contract, announced on 10 February, Schiebel, together with...

The COMSATBw spacecraft were developed in collaboration with Airbus Defence and Space, Thales Alenia Space, and TESAT. The systems are the first dedicated military communications satellites operated by the Bundeswehr. (EADS Astrium)  Airbus will continue to operate and provide support for Germany's military satellite communication (satcom) systems.  Announced by the Bundeswehr on 9 February, the company has been awarded a contract extension for the operation of the authority's COMSATBw 1 and 2 satellites until 31 December 2028.  The deal is v...

The GM200 tactical, medium-range air-defence radar operates in S band and provides 3D coverage from -7° to 70° in one rotation. (Thales)  French Defence Minister Sébastien Lecornu and his Ukrainian counterpart Oleksiy Reznikov signed a contract with Thales for the delivery of a short-range air-defence system.  Under the contract, Thales will supply its Ground Master 200 (GM200) radar as well as a command-and-control (C2) centre, a radio communications system, and air target designators to Ukraine, the company announced on 1 February.  The sy...

The Hughes 9203 BGAN Patrol manpack satcom system shown at the SAE Media Mobile Deployable Communications 2023 conference, London. The white square object is the BGAN modem, which is carried in the backpack. (Giles Ebbutt)  Inmarsat and Hughes have developed a new on-the-move (OTM) manpackable satellite communications (satcom) terminal for use with Inmarsat's L-Band Tactical Satellite (L-TAC) service.    Speaking to   Janes  at the SAE Media Mobile Deployable Communications 2023 conference in London, Daan Ruhe, Inmarsat global...

The CIRRUS MoD cloud delivery model from the Cloud Strategic Roadmap that seeks to join the dots within Defence Digital and across the wider defence landscape. (MoD Crown Copyright 2023)  The UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) has published the first edition of its ‘Cloud Strategic Roadmap for Defence'.  Released on 2 February, the road map outlines the vision, deliverables, and outcomes for achieving a “hyperscale cloud ecosystem” designed to span across all MoD “functions, commands, and enabling organisations”. This is intended to provide the fou...

The UK's RC-135W Rivet Joint fleet has been operating at almost 200% of the normal tempo. (Crown Copyright)  UK Royal Air Force (RAF) RC-135W Rivet Joint signals intelligence (SIGINT) aircraft have been operating at nearly three times their normal operating tempo to support intelligence-gathering operations in the Black Sea theatre, according to the service's senior operations officer.  Delivering the annual Sir Sydney Camm Lecture at the Royal Aeronautical Society in London on 1 February, Air Marshal Harvey Smyth, deputy commander (operation...

The USAF's 45th Space Wing launches an advanced extremely high frequency satellite onboard an Atlas V launch vehicle, which is part of the Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle programme. (US Air Force)  Engineers at the US Department of Defense (DoD) and US Space Force (USSF) are looking to develop a new generation of microchips that can withstand the harsh radiation exposure associated with deep-space operations, while also employing cutting-edge micro-electronics (ME) technologies from the military and commercial sectors.  The Advanced Next Ge...

An artist's rendering of the SEWIP Block 3 EA subsystem installed on a DDG-51 destroyer. (Northrop Grumman)  Northrop Grumman is preparing to conduct a new round of sea trials of its prototype electronic attack (EA) system for the US Navy, building upon the lessons learned from the system's last live demonstration carried out during the sea service's Rim of the Pacific' (RIMPAC) exercises in the summer of 2022.  As part of thatramp up to the new sea trials, tentatively scheduled for the end of 2023, company officials are preparing to conduct...

Several US Army conventional 155 mm artillery projectiles outfitted with Northrop Grumman's Precision Guidance Kit. (US Army/Northrop Grumman)  US defence company Northrop Grumman will begin integrating Military Code (M-Code) global positioning system (GPS) capability into the company's precision guidance systems for medium- and long-range artillery systems.  CAES, a Northern Virginia-based company specialising in advanced radio frequency (RF) technologies, will carry out the M-Code GPS integration work into Northrop Grumman's Precision Guid...

The Technical High Mobility Shelter is a rapidly deployable C2 system that can be fitted on wheeled or tracked vehicles. (Elbit Systems )  Elbit Systems is to equip the Swedish Armed Forces with new mobile tactical communications stations.  The Swedish Defence Materiel Administration (FMV) awarded a SEK500 million (USD48.79 million) contract to Elbit Systems Sweden for the supply of its Technical High Mobility Shelters (THMSs) to the Swedish Army, the company announced on 24 January.  Under the contract, the company will develop and deliver...

The German Army will receive additional IdZ-ES VJTF 2023 solider systems  .  The variant is based on Rheinmetall's modular Gladius 2.0, showing (l) the CeoTronics CT-MultiPTT 3C central operation and control unit and chest-mounted tablet and (II) the single central hub. This configuration has two radios, suited for a platoon commander.  (Giles Ebbutt)  Rheinmetall is to expand delivering its latest dismounted Future Soldier command-and-control (C2) system to the German Army.  As per a company announcement on 26 J...

Janes  assesses that the design of the new VTOL UAV by KAI and Northrop Grumman could be influenced by the US company's MQ-8C UAV (pictured).  (US Navy)  Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) signed an agreement with Northrop Grumman to develop vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) that can be operated from warships and coastguard vessels.  Janes understands that the Republic of Korea (RoK) Navy plans to acquire around 20 of these VTOL UAVs.  The UAVs will be used for “territorial defence missions” such...

The Qatari LPD   Al Fulk  in the dry dock at Fincantieri's Palermo yard before its launch on 24 January.  (Fincantieri)  Fincantieri launched the landing platform dock (LPD) amphibious assault ship it is building for Qatar at its shipyard in Palermo on 24 January, confirming it is equipped with vertical launch systems (VLSs).    Photographs of   Al Fulk  (L 141) show a box for the VLS has been attached to the ship's starboard side close to the end of the flight deck that looks sufficiently deep to...

Janes  assesses that the design of the new VTOL UAV by KAI and Northrop Grumman could be influenced by the US company's MQ-8C UAV (pictured).  (US Navy)  Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) signed an agreement with Northrop Grumman to develop vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) that can be operated from warships and coastguard vessels.  Janes understands that the Republic of Korea (RoK) Navy plans to acquire around 20 of these VTOL UAVs.  The UAVs will be used for “territorial defence missions” such...