Elbit Systems will supply its Skylark I-LEX UAV (pictured above) to the Australian Army. (Elbit Systems)  The Australian Army will be procuring Elbit Systems' Skylark I-LEX unmanned aerial systems (UASs) equipped with electro-optic (EO), and automatic dependent surveillance-broadcast (ADS-B) system.  The certified ADS-B system will “support the Australian Army achieve wider use cases outside of traditional army UAS employment including integration into more classes of airspace”, Elbit Systems said in a media release on 7 November.  In particu...

Thales has been selected as the prime contractor for increment 3 of the French Army's communications network programme.  The French defence procurement agency, Direction générale de l'armement (DGA), has awarded a EUR720 million (USD758.8 million)...

The Royal New Zealand Air Force's (RNZAF's) new Boeing P-8A Poseidon force will be used for the surveillance of the country's Exclusive Economic Zone and assist with humanitarian operations in the region. (Boeing)  New Zealand has received the first of four Boeing P-8A Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft ordered in 2018.  In a press statement, Boeing said that it handed over the aircraft to the Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF) at the Museum of Flight in Seattle, Washington, on 7 December. The delivery was made over eight months, after the ke...

Indra and Centum Electronics are partnering to submit a joint proposal to ISRO to build a space surveillance radar for India based on Indra's S3TSR radar (pictured above). (Indra)  Spanish technology company Indra has signed an agreement with Bangalore-based Centum Electronics to submit a joint proposal to the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) to manufacture a space surveillance radar that can improve the security of India's spatial assets.    Indra and Centum Electronics will “undertake together the statement of work of the prog...

Rear view of KMW's PzH 2000 turret trainer, shown without the surrounding screen. (KMW)    Delivery of systems to the Hungarian army's new integrated tank/howitzer simulation centre has begun,   Janes  has learnt, with the PzH 2000 howitzer turret trainer having passed factory acceptance tests.   In December 2018, Krauss-Maffei Wegmann (KMW) was awarded a contract by the Hungarian army to supply 44 Leopard 2A7 main battle tanks (MBTs) and 24 PzH 2000 howitzers. The contract also included the provision of an integrated sim...

Finland has signed a follow-on contract with Senop for its Soldier's Laser Sight and Tactical Laser Sight devices as well as the EVA 40 NVG. Pictured above is the NVG M40 monocular, which Finland previously bought as part of the wider contract. (Senop Oy)  Senop, part of the Patria Group, will supply new laser sights and image intensifiers to the Finnish Defence Forces.  The Finnish Defence Forces Logistics Command has signed a follow-on agreement with Senop for its EVA 40 NVG (night-vision goggle) monocular image intensifiers, LUKE Soldier's...

A screenshot of course of action analysis in MASA's SWORD constructive simulation software, showing probable casualty rates and ammunition expenditure over time and equipment status resulting from a particular plan. (MASA)  MASA has recently been awarded several contracts to supply its SWORD command and staff training (CAST) constructive simulation, Janes has learnt.  The most recent contract, worth “more than” EUR1 million (USD1.05 million), is with the Armed Forces of Côte d'Ivoire to supply a system capable of providing training up to brig...

The new SIGINT ships will replace the Polish Navy's Modified Moma-class (Project 863) intelligence-collection ships, ORP   Nawigator  (pictured) and ORP   Hydrograf  , which have been in service since the mid-1970s.  (Jaroslaw Cislak)  Swedish defence and security company Saab has been awarded a contract by the Polish Armaments Agency to design and build two signals intelligence (SIGINT) ships for the Polish Navy.  Under the contract, announced on 25 November and worth EUR620 million (USD644 million...

Aircraft carrier USS  Gerald R Ford  successfully used its new launching systems for reliable sortie operations during the ship's first official deployment.  (Michael Fabey)    US Navy (USN) aircraft carrier USS   Gerald R Ford  (CVN 78) returned from its first official deployment in late November as shipbuilder HII acknowledged further work on other Ford-class carriers at its Newport News Shipbuilding yard.     Speaking to financial analysts in early November, Christopher Kastner, HII p...

Gurutvaa Systems has started bulk deliveries of its Dronaam C-UAS (pictured above) to the IAF. (Gurutvaa Systems)  Indian company Gurutvaa Systems has despatched the first bulk production lot of its Dronaam counter-unmanned aerial system (C-UAS) to the Indian Air Force (IAF).    Speaking to   Janes   on 24 November, Sandeep Dawkhar, vice-president of Gurutvaa Systems, said that the first lot of Dronaam C-UAS was recently despatched. He added that prior to the despatch, a team of officials from the IAF's Directorate of the Air S...

Project Oberon will comprise a cluster of three SAR-based satellites as part of the ISTARI programme. (Airbus)  The UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) has issued a pre-qualification questionnaire (PQQ) for Project Oberon, a programme that seeks high-resolution synthetic aperture radar (SAR) satellites.  According to the PQQ released by the MoD on 24 November, the contract will involve a cluster of three satellites equipped with an active SAR payload and, at a lower priority, passive radio frequency (RF) functionality, which the supplier will be re...

Norway will acquire three Thales GM200 MM/C radars (pictured) as part of an ongoing government-to-government agreement with the Netherlands. (Thales)  Norway will acquire three new mobile artillery location radars from Thales under a government-to-government deal with the Netherlands.  The Norwegian Defence Materiel Agency (FMA) has signed a follow-on contract, valued at NOK460 million (USD45.8 million), with the Netherlands Defence Materiel Organisation (DMO) for an additional three Thales Ground Master 200 Multi Mission Compact radars (GM2...

Hensoldt's MUSS 2.0 prototypes will be installed in Puma IFVs in 2023. (PSM)  Hensoldt presented its Multifunctional Self-Protection System (Multifunktionales Selbstschutz-System: MUSS) 2.0 at SAE Media Group's Future Armoured Vehicles Survivability 2022 pre-conference Active Protection Systems (APS) Focus Day held in London on 15 November.  Jan Spannhake, Hensoldt's chief engineer for ground-based self-protection systems, told at the event that there had been continuous improvements to MUSS since it was introduced into service in 2010 – when...

This graphic shows some of the LUUVs and XLUUVs under various stages of development in the Asia-Pacific. (Janes)  Navies in the Asia-Pacific are increasingly deploying unmanned systems to overcome the challenge of limited resources in personnel. Technological advancement in digitisation and artificial intelligence (AI) has supported such efforts. This has led to the emergence of new concepts of operations (CONOPs) such as fully unmanned mine countermeasures (MCM) formations.  The growing military competition in the Asia-Pacific, the militaris...

KRI   Diponegoro  (pictured above) and the Indonesian Navy's three other Diponegoro (Sigma)-class corvettes will be upgraded with Thales' TACTICOS Baseline 2 CMS and the NS50 radar.  (US Navy)  The Indonesian Navy's (Tentara Nasional Indonesia Angkatan Laut: TNI-AL's) four Diponegoro-class corvettes will be equipped with the Thales' TACTICOS Baseline 2 combat management system (CMS) and the Naval Smarter (NS) 50 radar, the company confirmed to Janes.  The upgradation will take place under a contract signed in ear...

Rheinmetall's state-of-the-art MLG27-4.0 defence system. (Rheinmetall)  German technology group Rheinmetall has been awarded a contract by Damen Naval to supply its next-generation MLG27-4.0 light naval gun for the German Navy's new Type 126 frigates.  Under the contract, announced on 17 November, Rheinmetall will initially supply eight MLG27-4.0 weapon systems – two for each of the four frigates on order. The contract includes an option to equip two additional frigates with the weapon system.  Dutch-owned Damen Shipyards was awarded a design...

Interior of a Carmel armoured fighting vehicle (AFV) prototype, showing touchscreen controls and crew layout. Phase 2 will see an Eitan AFV equipped with a single panoramic screen at the front of the vehicle and four separate operator stations, each with a 24-inch screen. (Janes/Mark Cazalet)  The Israel Ministry of Defense (IMOD) provided further details on the aims, concepts, and timeline for Phase 2 of its Carmel Future Combat Vehicles (FCV) programme at the SAE Media Group Future Armoured Vehicles Survivability 2022 conference.  Speaking...

Draken Europe and Elbit Systems UK will collaborate on delivering contractor-owned UAS services. The Hermes 900 Starliner will be one of the systems meeting this agreement. (Elbit Systems UK)  Elbit Systems UK and British company Draken Europe have signed an agreement to collaborate on and support the delivery of unmanned aerial systems (UAS) services.  The two companies signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to meet a growing market interest for contractor-operated intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) UAS services, Elbit...

The Norwegian Defence Materiel Agency has selected Lockheed Martin's TPY-4 early warning multimission radar. (Lockheed Martin Corporation)  Lockheed Martin will supply its TPY-4 air surveillance radar to the Norwegian Armed Forces.  The Norwegian Defence Materiel Agency (NDMA) has selected Lockheed Martin's TPY-4 radar to replace the country's ageing military air surveillance capabilities, the company announced on 17 November.  Eight military air surveillance radars will be acquired, with an option for a further three additional radars, the N...

A US Army M1A2 SEPv3 tank at Fort Hood, Texas. The Polish army is set to receive 250 vehicles. (US Army)    The Polish army's Abrams main battle tanks (MBTs) will be equipped with battle management hardware and software from Leonardo DRS and Systematic,   Janes  has learnt. The systems will also be fitted onto recovery and bridging vehicles.   The army is set to receive 250 M1A2 SEPv3 Abrams MBTs, 26 M88A2 Heavy Equipment Recovery Combat Utility Lift and Evacuation System (HERCULES) combat recovery vehicles, and 17 M1110 J...