US Army soldiers from the 82nd Airborne Division use an IVAS prototype during a trench-clearing exercise in October 2020 at Fort Pickett in Virginia. (US Army)  US Army soldiers continued to experience technology and fit challenges during a recent operational test of Microsoft's Integrated Augmentation System (IVAS), Assistant Secretary of the US Army for Acquisition, Logistics, and Technology Douglas Bush told reporters on 27 July.    Bush is now drafting a production division recommendation for the multibillion programme based around t...

One of the posters at the Iraqi Air Defence headquarters included this photograph of the Thales Ground Master 200. (Thales)  Iraq's Air Defence Command (ADC) will receive Thales radars in addition to the Lockheed Martin TPS-77. This was announced during a ceremony marking the start of construction of a new operations centre for the military branch on 24 July.  The Iraqi Ministry of Defence (MoD) released a video of the event in which Minister of Defence Juma Inad Sadoun said the “new operations centre will be connected to the new radar system...

NGFP components displayed at the Air and Space Chiefs' Conference included a mock-up of the PHOLOS VTOL UAS. (Andrew White)  The UK Royal Air Force (RAF) unveiled multiple components of its Next Generation Specialist Air Force Protection Vision for the first time at the Air and Space Chiefs' Conference held in London between 13 and 14 July.  RAF officials said at the event that the concept, also referred to as Next Generation Force Protection (NGFP), will be rolled out between 2022 and 2040, subject to funding. Budget requests are expected to...

QinetiQ controls UAS via FSOC communication link. (QinetiQ)  QinetiQ has conducted the world's first demonstration of an airborne unmanned platform controlled through a laser communication system, the company announced on 20 July.  The demonstration involved an unmanned aerial system (UAS) controlled by a ground-based operator using free-space optical communications (FSOC) as a bidirectional link in its mission communication system to transmit control commands and receive sensor and platform information, the company stated.    A QinetiQ...

A US Marine Corps field radio operator from the 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit set up satellite communication at Camp Korean Village, Iraq, in 2008. (US Department of Defense )  Senior policy decision makers at the US Department of Defense (DoD) and US Space Force (USSF) are seeking to transition the US missile defence apparatus away from geosynchronous (GEO) satellite constellations, in favour of those that operate at low Earth Orbit (LEO) and mid Earth orbit (MEO), a top Pentagon official said.  “As the future progresses ... the department...

EC-130H Compass Call aircraft serial number 73-1590, assigned to the 41st Expeditionary Electronic Combat Squadron, takes off in support of a large force employment exercise at Al Dhafra Air Base, United Arab Emirates, on 13 July 2021. (USAF)  The EC-130H Hercules aircraft has been in US Air Force (USAF) service since 1982. It is no ordinary C-130. The EC-130H is configured with the Compass Call electronic warfare (EW) system that employs a broad range of techniques to engage the electromagnetic spectrum (EMS) to disrupt enemy command-and-con...

The P6 CTS TCTS II pod displayed at the Farnborough International Airshow 2022. (Janes/Giles Ebbutt )  The US Air Force (USAF) has established the P6 combat training system (P6 CTS) as its next-generation air combat training programme of record, Collins Aerospace announced at the Farnborough International Air Show 2022.  The system will replace the air combat manoeuvring instrumentation (ACMI) at an estimated 55 USAF training ranges. The USAF's priority is to integrate P6 CTS on fighter aircraft, followed by trainer, bomber, cargo, and other...

CEA Technologies is building four new air-defence radars (pictured above) for the ADF. (Commonwealth of Australia)  Canberra-based CEA Technologies has secured a “multimillion-dollar” contract from the Australian Department of Defence (DoD) to build four new air-defence radars, Australia's Minister for Defence Industry Pat Conroy announced on 21 July.  “The new sensors will be able to detect aircraft and missile threats at greater ranges and with increased accuracy than our current systems, allowing for real-time critical information to be re...

The Brazilian Army is developing an FTD and is to acquire an FFS for its HM-1A Pantera helicopter. (Helibras-Helicópteros do Brasil SA)  The Brazilian Army Aviation Command (CAvEx) is increasing its use of combat simulation technologies for advanced training for its helicopter personnel.  The simulation training for helicopter flight and maintenance crews is run by the Simulation Division, which was established in 2016 by the Army Aviation Instruction Center (CIAvEx) at the Fort Ricardo Kirk in Taubaté, State of São Paulo.  Colonel Luiz Marce...

A total of 22 CSWIs to receive prototype gunnery simulator to meet currency training requirements. (Inzpire)  Inzpire was awarded a GBP346,024 (USD414,049) contract from the UK Defence and Security Accelerator (DASA) in June to develop a prototype mixed-reality deployable simulator.    Speaking to   Janes   at Farnborough Airshow on 20 July, Steven Pook, head of Mission Training Devices for Inzpire, said that the company was awarded a GBP346,024 contract from DASA in June – funded via Defence and Science Technology Laboratory (...

The US Coast Guard is trying innovative approaches to overcome communication hurdles in the Arctic and other higher-latitude locations. (US Coast Guard)  To help overcome communication challenges in the Arctic and other Alaskan regions, the US Coast Guard (USCG) is trying to strengthen existing partnerships, while continuing to emphasise to mariners the need to carry multiple means of communication, according to Captain Darwin Jensen, commander of Coast Guard Sector Juneau.  “Since 2019 the coastguard has been working to upgrade our VHF [very...

Terma unveils new F-35 Multi-Mission Pod model at Farnborough Airshow. (Janes/Olivia Savage)  Denmark-based Terma has unveiled a new F-35 Multi-Mission Pod (MMP) at Farnborough Airshow on 20 July.  Based on Terma's F-35 Gun Pod, the MMP enables the integration of additional payloads, allowing the aircraft to be tailored to specific mission requirements. The payloads include, but are not limited to, an electronic warfare (EW) jammer; intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) payloads; a directed energy weapon; a synthetic aperture r...

Raytheon PhantomStrike medium array displayed at the Farnborough International Airshow 2022. (Janes/Olivia Savage)  Raytheon plans to have its PhantomStrike active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar ready for export by 2025.  Speaking to Janes at the Farnborough International Airshow 2022 on 20 July, Eric Ditmars, president of Secure Sensor Solutions, Raytheon Intelligence & Space, said that the company intends to have its radar exportable by 2025, with plans to integrate the system onto specific platforms by the end of 2023 or early 2...

The Vrgineers portable reconfigurable flight trainer displayed at the Farnborough International Airshow 2022. The XTAL 3 HMD is on the top of the seat, with the tracking sensors shown as white dots. The infrared detector is mounted on the tripod. (Giles Ebbutt)  Vrgineers has developed a portable reconfigurable flight trainer incorporating its XTAL 3 virtual reality (VR) head-mounted display (HMD).  The company displayed the system at the Farnborough International Airshow 2022, and according to company literature, the trainer has been develo...

US airmen assemble a SATCOM Earth Terminal Subsystem (SETSS). (US Air Force)  A new, space-based cryptologic tool developed by Northrop Grumman could be crucial to unlocking satellite communications (satcom)-based networking between sensor and shooter platforms at low Earth orbit (LEO) for US armed forces, a senior company official told Janes.  The Space End Crypto Unit (ECU) prototype, as designed, will be a multi-algorithm-based encryption device capable of supporting secure communication across multiple waveforms and datalinks via a singl...

A lab demonstration of technologies being developed for the Jaguar advanced combat air sensing system. (Leonardo UK-Mitsubishi Electric)  An advanced combat air sensor technology demonstrator called Jaguar has moved closer to development, following agreements at Farnborough International Airshow.  Leonardo UK and Mitsubishi Electric announced on 18 July that they have agreed on the concept for the sensor. Leonardo UK said that this follows the completion of joint concept work and feasibility studies conducted earlier in 2022.  The Jaguar is i...

An ADF Bushmaster (pictured above) provides protection as part of an Australian reconstruction task force convoy in southern Afghanistan. (Australian Department of Defence)  Raytheon has secured a AUD75 million contract (USD51 million) to deliver electronic warfare (EW) capabilities to the Australian Defence Force (ADF), Australia's Minister for Defence Industry Pat Conroy announced on 18 July.    Raytheon has been contracted to deliver a “Bushmaster protected mobility vehicle-medium based force level” EW capability to the Australian Arm...

Estonia is upgrading its GM 403 air surveillance radars (pictured above in operation in Estonia) (Thales-Raytheon Systems)  The Estonian Air Surveillance Wing (ASW) is upgrading its two Thales-Raytheon Systems Ground Master (GM) 403 long‐range air surveillance radars with a series of hardware and software updates, the Estonian Centre for Defence Investment (ECDI) announced on 18 July.  Priit Soosaar, Communications and Radar Category Manager for ECDI told Janes that, once upgraded, the systems will be able to automatically detect NATO aircraf...

Typhoon aircraft (BS116) alongside an ECRS Mk2 radar model in the test and evaluation hangar at BAE Systems in Warton, Lancashire. (BAE Systems)  The UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) has awarded BAE Systems GBP2.35 billion (USD2.78 billion) to integrate an active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar aboard Royal Air Force (RAF) Eurofighter Typhoon combat aircraft.  Announced ahead of the Farnborough Airshow, the contract sees the MoD commit to fitting the Leonardo European Common Radar System Mark 2 (ECRS Mk2) E-Scan radar to a portion of th...

The deployable data centre assembly (pictured above) is one of the final capabilities being developed by Boeing as part of Currawong's ‘Release 3'. (Boeing)  “The final two pieces of capability” of the last stage or “Release 3” of the Australian Department of Defence's (DoD's) Project Currawong “are currently in the final phases of completion and acceptance”, Tom Minge, Boeing's Currawong programme manager told Janes.  Boeing is the prime contractor of Currawong, officially known as Joint Project (JP) 2072 Phase 2B. The project is focused on...