A prototype InterSense IS-1500 Scorpion HMD shown at AUSA 22. The InertiaCam is the labelled device mounted above the monocular display. (Giles Ebbutt)  Thales Visionix, part of Thales Defense & Security Inc, is developing a position location information (PLI) navigation system for dismounted users in Global Positioning System (GPS)-denied or degraded environments, and demonstrated its progress at the Association of the United States Army (AUSA) 2022 annual convention in Washington, DC, in October.    When fully developed the new system,...

The Teledyne FLIR Defense MUVE R430 is pictured here. It is a radiation detector payload suited for UASs. (Teledyne FLIR Defense )  Teledyne FLIR Defense has unveiled MUVE R430, a payload that remotely detects and identifies radiation sources.  Launched at the 2022 CBRNe Convergence in Boston on 1 November, the radiation detector is suited for use on unmanned aircraft systems (UASs) and can detect, locate, measure, map, and identify radioactive sources, a company announcement said.    Joe Ailinger, director of public relations at Teledy...

SNC trials its HAB for Project Aether, a UK MoD programme that seeks a stratospheric ISR solution. (World View Enterprises)  Sierra Nevada Corporation (SNC) has successfully trialled its persistent high-altitude balloon (HAB) as part of the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) Aether project.    Bill Leonard, director of programmes for SNC's Mission Solutions & Technologies (MST) business area, told   Janes   on 28 October that the company's HAB successfully accomplished all mission objectives set by the Aether programme office, provin...

The Ford  -  class design features changes meant to improve carrier operations.  (HII)    As the aircraft carrier USS   Gerald R Ford  made its arduous journey from development towards US Navy (USN) fleet operations, the spotlight always shone brightest on the ship's futuristic launching, recovery, and weapons-elevators systems.   However, now that the ship unmoored in the first week of October 2022 for its first deployment to lead the USN's inaugural Gerald R Ford Carrier Strike Group (CSG), U...

Project Crenic will deliver a new-generation force protection ECM capability to the UK armed forces. (UK MoD/Crown Copyright)  The UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) has appointed PA Consulting Services as systems integrator for the recapitalisation of land and littoral force protection electronic countermeasures (FP ECM) under Project Crenic.  A five-year contract valued at GBP45 million (USD 52.15 million) was awarded to PA Consulting in late September, but revealed publicly only on 28 October. The systems integrator contract, which includes five...

Raytheon demonstrates its REDPro ZTX cybersecurity system, as part of the company's Operational Zero Trust (OZT) cyber-resiliency platform, during Project Convergence 2022. (Raytheon)  Industry officials are sharpening their focus on developing platforms, software, and applications designed to increase efficiency and resiliency for current and future battlefield networks, with an eye towards showcasing those technological advances as part of the US Army's Project Convergence initiative.  Engineers from Raytheon Technologies' Intelligence and...

Quantum-Systems is delivering an undisclosed number of Vector UAVs to the Netherlands Ministry of Defence. Pictured is the Vector eVTOL UAV exhibited by ESG at Dubai Airshow 2021. (Janes/Akshara Parakala)  Quantum-Systems and BSS Holland have delivered unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) to the Netherlands Ministry of Defence (MoD).  According to a Quantum-Systems announcement on 27 October, the MoD has received its first tranche of Vector intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) UAVs.  The company was unable to provide further inform...

The Rohde & Schwarz SigBadger control vehicle displayed at AUSA 22, with its roof and mast-mounted ADDx multichannel DF antennas. (Giles Ebbutt)  Rohde & Schwarz (R&S) has developed a mobile system to provide electronic warfare awareness training and support for ground force exercises, which it provides as a training service to the US Marine Corps (USMC) at the Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Centre (MCAGCC) at 29 Palms in California.  The SigBadger system consists of two vehicles, each with signals intelligence (SIGINT) capability. According...

Sonar 2087 – the four-ring towed body pictured here on HMS   Westminster   – equips eight RN Type 23 frigates.   (Richard Scott/NAVYPIX)  The UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) and the Royal Navy (RN) have unveiled plans to fast-track a series of enhancements into the Sonar 2087 low-frequency active/passive variable depth sonar fitted to the RN's eight anti-submarine warfare (ASW)-optimised Type 23 frigates.  A Request for Information (RFI) released on 24 October has outlined a capability insertion project (CIP), which,...

The first block of the first FDI HN frigate is laid down in dry dock at Naval Group's shipyard in Lorient on 21 October. (Naval Group)  French shipbuilder Naval Group has laid down the keel for the first Frégate de Défense et d'Intervention (FDI) multimission frigate on order for the Hellenic Navy (HN).    The first block of the first FDI HN, to be named  Kimon  , was officially laid down in dry dock during a ceremony held at Naval Group's shipyard in Lorient on 21 October. The keel-laying follows a steel-cutting ceremony for t...

The graphic shows Link-M integrated with other tactical datalinks. (Giles Ebbutt)  Turkish company MilSOFT showcased its new indigenous tactical datalink system (TDLS) at the Euronaval 2022 maritime exhibition in Paris in October.  According to the company, the new Link-M enables information-sharing between land, sea, and air platforms using existing or new high, very-high, ultra-high frequency (H/V/UHF) radios and digital satellite communications (satcom) channels.  With an electronic counter-countermeasures (ECCM) capability provided by fr...

SEAMOSC launcher sets configured for either six (pictured) or nine munitions are being proposed by Lacroix Defense. (Richard Scott/NAVYPIX)  French countermeasures and pyrotechnic specialist Lacroix Defense has debuted a new shipborne masking/obscurant dispenser to serve as a complement to its existing Sylena soft-kill decoy launcher system (DLS).  The Sylena SEAMOSC masking optronic screening system, unveiled at the Euronaval 2022 maritime exhibition in Paris, has been designed to counter visible range or laser-guided threats by deploying a...

The AEW&C Mk 2 based on the Airbus A321 platform. The DRDO is modifying six aircraft. (Janes/Akhil Kadidal)  India's Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) displayed an advanced airborne early warning and control (AEW&C) system being developed for the Indian Air Force (IAF), at Defexpo 2022, being held in Gandhinagar, Gujarat, from 18 to 22 October.  The system, which is known as the AEW&C Mk 2, is being developed by the Centre for Airborne Systems (CABS), a lab of the DRDO.  CABS said that work to finalise development of the ne...

A full-scale mock-up of the Thales and Nexter RapidFire turret is pictured on display in its final configuration at the Nexter stand at Euronaval 2022, Paris. (Janes/Kate Tringham)  Nexter and Thales displayed a full-scale version of their 40 mm RapidFire Naval gun in its final design configuration at the Euronaval 2022 maritime exhibition in Paris.  RapidFire Naval is a multirole, artillery, medium-calibre 40 mm gun developed by Thales and Nexter to meet the French Navy's requirement for a close-in self-defence capability against air and sur...

OCCAR has renewed a contract with ESG to provide continued engineering services for the COBRA system. Pictured is the UK COBRA in Iraq. (EADS)  The Organisation for Joint Armament Cooperation (OCCAR) has signed an agreement with Elektroniksystem- und Logistik-GmbH (ESG) in relation to the Counter Battery Radar (COBRA) programme.  Announced by OCCAR on 17 October, ESG has been awarded a three-year in-service support (ISS) contract for the COBRA programme.  The ISS follows an earlier ISS agreement signed in 2013 between OCCAR and ESG, which wi...

TASL's Rajak TGC-DNL-2 (pictured above) is a stabilised gimbal for land platforms. It has been purpose-built for certain platforms used by the Indian Army such as the BMP that are undergoing upgrades. (Janes/Oishee Majumdar)    Tata Advanced Systems Limited (TASL) has been developing a stabilised gimbal for land platforms to enable “stabilised sight, both for the gunner and commander”, a source at TASL told   Janes  at Defexpo 2022 being held at Gandhinagar, Gujarat, from 18 to 22 October.   The product – named Rajak TGC-D...

An RAF Rivet Joint ISTAR aircraft was “in the vicinity” of a Russian Su-27 fighter when a missile was fired, UK Defence Minister Ben Wallace said. (Crown Copyright)  A Russian fighter aircraft released a missile “in the vicinity” of an unarmed UK surveillance aircraft during a recent patrol over the Black Sea.  UK Defence Minister Ben Wallace disclosed the encounter, telling British parliamentarians that he had conveyed his concerns over the encounter between a Russian Air Force (VKS) Su-27 ‘Flanker' fighter and a Royal Air Force (RAF) L3 Tec...

L&T's rotary-wing VTOL UAV (pictured above) has been developed to conduct surveillance and logistics operations. (Janes/Oishee Majumdar)  Larsen & Toubro (L&T) Defence has developed a rotary-wing vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) that can support the Indian Armed Forces in surveillance and logistics operations.    Discussions are under way for the UAV to be tested by the Indian Armed Forces in the coming months, a source familiar with the matter told   Janes  at Defexpo 2022 being held at Gand...

Pictured is RAF Fylingdales Raytheon AN/FPS-132 UEWR SSPAR, capable of detecting ballistic missile attacks and conducting general space surveillance and satellite tracking. (DVIDS/Robert Lingley)  The UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) has awarded Serco a contract extension for the Solid State Phased Array Radar (SSPAR) at Royal Air Force (RAF) Fylingdales, North Yorkshire.  This contract extension is the second of two three-year options, which will run from 2023 to 2026, the company stated on 18 October.  SSPAR forms part of the UK and US ballisti...

Safran's VIGY 4 stabilised electro-optical surveillance/fire-control director has already secured initial sales. (Richard Scott/NAVYPIX)  Safran Electronics & Defense has unveiled the latest addition to its VIGY family of shipborne stabilised electro-optical surveillance/fire-control directors.  The new VIGY 4 system, formally debuted at Euronaval 2022, has been designed by Safran to address the market for an intermediate-size multisensor optronic sight suitable for installation on small and medium-size vessels ranging from light patrol boats...