The Royal Thai Air Force's upgraded F-5E/F TH ‘Super Tigris' force has improved combat capabilities. The RTAF expects the aircraft to provide another 10 to 15 years of operational service. (Royal Thai Air Force)  The Royal Thai Air Force (RTAF) has completed upgrades to its active force of Northrop F-5E/F Tiger II fighter aircraft.  In a statement on 16 February, the RTAF said that 14 aircraft have been upgraded to the F-5E/F TH ‘Super Tigris' standard as part of the B.Khor.18 B/C Capability Improvement Project. The RTAF added that the “struc...

Yahsat has been mandated to launch Al Yah 4 and Al Yah 5 by 2026. Pictured is Al Yah 3, Orbital ATK's first satellite built on the GEOStar-3 platform. (Orbital ATK)  A decision on the preferred vendor for the UAE's satellite programme, which seeks two geostationary (GEO) satellites, is expected in 2023.  UAE-based company Yahsat is currently in the process of evaluating bids, with a decision expected, following government approval, in 2023 to determine which preferred supplier will manufacture the Al Yah 4 and Al Yah 5 satellites, Eisa Al Sha...

A general view of the Tekever AR5 surveillance UAV. (Tekever Systems)  Tekever has integrated a synthetic aperture radar (SAR) payload on its AR5 unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), the company announced at IDEX 2023 being held in Abu Dhabi from 20 to 24 February.  Developed by the company's space division, GAMASAR can detect objects in challenging environments during the day and night, extending the operational capabilities of the platform.  It is intended to support both maritime and land-based surveillance missions.  Tekever's Paulo Ferro told...

Saab's LWS-700 self-protection system, displayed at IDEX 2023. (Janes/Olivia Savage)  Saab has revealed a new self-protection system called the Laser Warning Sensor-700 (LWS-700) at IDEX 2023, being held in Abu Dhabi from 20 to 24 February.  Speaking to   Janes  , Gavin Copeland, business development and marketing for naval electronic warfare at Saab Grintek Defence, said that the LWS-700 is a “laser warning sensor for the automated detection, classification, and identification of laser-based weapons”.   The sensor has been developed...

ADSB's 170 M-Detector USV. (ADSB)  Abu Dhabi Ship Building (ADSB) has unveiled a new unmanned surface vessel (USV) at IDEX 2023, being held in Abu Dhabi from 20 to 24 February.  Speaking to Janes, Francesco Paolo Lo Monaco, director of shipbuilding and engineering at ADSB, said that the 17 m boat, known as the ‘170 M-Detector USV', is designed for mine countermeasures (MCM) and anti-submarine warfare (ASW) missions, and can operate as both a manned and unmanned platform.  The USV was involved in a live demonstration at NAVDEX 2023.  The vesse...

A model of the Tejas Mk2 fighter aircraft was displayed at Aero India 2023, featuring an IRST, the small black object in front of the cockpit. (Janes/Akhil Kadidal)  India's state-owned Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) is testing an indigenous infrared search and track (IRST) system that has been developed for the Indian Air Force (IAF) Tejas Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Mk2.    HAL told   Janes  at the Aero India 2023 show in Bangalore, held from 13 to 17 February, that the Tejas Mk2 variant is expected to feature an inter...

A Royal Australian Air Force EA-18G Growler taxis past a US Air Force F-16 Falcon at Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada, during Exercise ‘Red Flag 23-1'. The Growler is equipped with three AN/ALQ-99 pods, including one AN/ALQ-99 (low-band) pod in the centreline hardpoint. (Commonwealth of Australia/Samantha Holden)  Australia has announced a programme to upgrade the capabilities of its Boeing EA-18G Growler fleet.  The Australian Department of Defence (DoD) had not responded to a request for comment about the programme at the time of publication....

The SAMI Mulhim BMS solution in the Vehicular and Dismounted Soldier configurations is pictured at IDEX 2023. (Janes/Olivia Savage)  Saudi Arabian Military Industries (SAMI) is seeking a partner to progress the development of its Mulhim battle management system (BMS), Ibrahim Alswaidan, programme director at SAMI, told Janes at IDEX 2023 in Abu Dhabi, held from 20 to 24 February.  The partner would work with SAMI to add more features to Mulhim, specifically to develop “cognitive command-and-control (C2)”, Alswaidan said. This involves, among...

DTC and Cordan unveil the Sentry Mesh 6161-L squad radio at IDEX 2023. (Janes/Olivia Savage)  Codan and Domo Tactical Communications (DTC) have unveiled a new solider radio at IDEX 2023 in Abu Dhabi, held from 20 to 24 February.  Known as ‘Sentry Mesh 6161-L', the software-defined radio (SDR) is the latest in the Sentry Series product family, offering high throughput in a small form factor, Sam Medler, sales account manager for DTC told Janes.  Intended for soldiers and special forces, the system operates in the L-band (1.2–1.7 GHz) frequency...

The DRDO's Compact Airborne Multisensor Optronic Payload was displayed at the Aero India 2023 show in Bangalore. (Janes/Sheikh Akhter)  India's Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) has developed a new electro-optic/infrared (EO/IR) payload for airborne intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) roles.    Speaking to   Janes  at the Aero India 2023 show held in Bangalore from 13 to 17 February, a DRDO official said the new payload has been tested on the Tactical Airborne Platform for Aerial Surveillanc...

ADSB's 170 M-Detector USV (ADSB)  Abu Dhabi Ship Building (ADSB) has unveiled a new unmanned surface vessel (USV) at IDEX 2023 in Abu Dhabi.    Speaking to   Janes  , Francesco Paolo Lo Monaco, director of shipbuilding and engineering at ADSB, said that the 17 m boat, known as the ‘170 M-Detector USV', is designed for mine counter measure (MCM) and anti-submarine warfare (ASW) missions and can operate as both a manned or unmanned platform.   The vessel is a modular system that can integrate a range of payloads and sensors,...

SIGN4L Sky Shield C-UAS system displayed at IDEX 2023, intended for the UAE. (Janes/Olivia Savage)  SIGN4L has unveiled a new mobile vehicular-based counter-unmanned aircraft system (C-UAS) at IDEX 2023, being held in Abu Dhabi from 20 to 24 February.  The platform, known as Sky Shield, provides full omnidirectional C-UAS protection in the tactical environment and can be deployed within five minutes, Filip Kostomlatsky, senior programme manager for electronic warfare and intelligence at SIGN4L,told Janes.  According to Kostomlatsky, the platf...

The DRDO has partnered with Adani Defence and Aerospace to manufacture its D4 C-UAS (pictured above). (Janes/Akshara Parakala)    The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) has partnered with Adani Defence and Aerospace to manufacture its Drone Detect, Deter, and Destroy (D4) counter-unmanned aircraft system (C-UAS), a company official told  Janes  at the Aero India 2023 show, which was held in Bangalore from 13 to 17 February.   The technology transfer has been completed, and Adani has started manufacturing...

US Coast Guard icebreaker   Healy  calls in Seward, Alaska, in July 2022, while embarking on a North Pole deployment. US Senator Lisa Murkowski wants to accelerate the acquisition of additional icebreakers.  (Michael Fabey)  Citing growing national security concerns in the Arctic, US Senator Lisa Murkowski of Alaska called for speedier acquisition of the proposed fleet of Polar Security Cutters (PSCs) and improvement of infrastructure for Arctic communications.    With their icebreaker capability, the PSCs w...

The US Army tests its Integrated Tactical Network during a demonstration featuring more than 200 Stryker combat vehicles. (US Army)  The US Army evaluated its Integrated Tactical Network (ITN) for the first time in a mounted configuration from 19 January to 5 February, Program Executive Office Command, Control, Communications-Tactical (PEO C3T) officials told Janes on 15 February.  The three-week event at the Joint Multinational Readiness Center in Hohenfels, Germany, was the “most significant evaluation of our capability set to date”, said L...

Cingularity Aerospace has developed a UAV, named Shaurya-1, that can be used as a loitering munition as well as to conduct ISR and logistics missions (pictured above). (Cingularity Aerospace)  Bangalore-based Cingularity Aerospace has developed two unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) featuring tandem wings, including one that can be used either as a loitering munition or to conduct intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) missions while the second one is focused on combat.    Both the UAVs, displayed at the Aero India 2023 show h...

The Indian Air Force's 9 Base Repair Depot unit has developed a new counter-unmanned aircraft system with soft-kill capabilities (pictured). (Janes/Oishee Majumdar)    The Indian Air Force (IAF) has developed a low-cost counter-unmanned aircraft system (C-UAS) with soft-kill capabilities to improve security of vital areas/vital points (VAs/VPs) against hostile unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), Project Officer Wing Commander Ranjith Unnikrishnan, told  Janes   at the Aero India 2023 show being held in Bangalore from 13 to 17 Feb...

The IAF has developed a new data sharing platform named ‘Vayulink' to enhance situational awareness of forces. The IAF displayed a model of Vayulink (pictured) at the Aero India 2023 show in Bangalore. (Janes/Oishee Majumdar)  The Indian Air Force (IAF) has developed a new platform that can be used to share location and a variety of other data between soldiers and equipment on ground, at sea, or in the airspace.  The system was unveiled by the IAF at the Aero India 2023 show being held in Bangalore from 13 to 17 February 2023.    The sy...

BEL unveiled a new manpack version of its HF SDR at the Aero India 2023 show in Bangalore. (Janes/Rakend P)  India's state-owned Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) unveiled a manpack version of its newly launched high-frequency software-defined radio (HF SDR) at the Aero India 2023 show in Bangalore, which was held from 13 to 17 February.    The radio operates in an    HF band range of 1.5–30 MHz, with a maximum transmit power of 20 W. According to BEL, the radio features clear, secure, and frequency-hopping (FH) modes for voice,...

The new SWIR REV III – developed by the DRDO's Instruments Research and Development Establishment – displayed at the Aero India 2023 show in Bangalore. (Janes/Kasthurica Panigrahy)  India's Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) has displayed its short wave infra-red (SWIR) REV III multisensor optical payload for the Dhruv Mk III light helicopter at the Aero India 2023 show, being held in Bangalore from 13 to 17 February.    The    Mk II version of the Dhruv helicopter is fitted with the Digital Compass electro-optical payload system...