LIG Nex1 displayed a mock-up of its LAMD system at the DX Korea defence show in 2022. The missile is 165 mm in diameter and will intercept targets at a maximum firing range of 7 km and at an altitude of 5 km. (Janes/Jon Grevatt)  South Korea's Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) has accelerated the exploration and development of the low-altitude missile defence (LAMD) system – also known as the long-range artillery interception system – by a year, the agency said in a press release on 1 January.  According to DAPA, the system's...

South Korea's fleet of 22 Westland WG13 Lynx Mk 99 maritime helicopters has been operational with the RoK Navy since 1991. (NurPhoto via Getty Images)  South Korea has approved a plan to replace the country's ageing Westland WG13 Lynx Mk 99 maritime helicopter fleet amid other decisions on future rotary-wing-related acquisitions.  During its 158th meeting on 29 December, the Defense Acquisition Program Committee backed a “basic strategic plan” to replace the Republic of Korea (RoK) Navy's 22 operational Lynx Mk 99s. The Lynxes, which entered...

The Talaiyeh long-range anti-ship missile is seen next to its launcher during the ceremony at Konarak naval base. (defapress.ir)  The Islamic Republic of Iran Navy (IRIN) held a ceremony on 24 December to induct new equipment that included an anti-ship missile called the Talaiyeh, which is said to have a range of more than 1,000 km.  Iranian media coverage showed a Talaiyeh on display next to a mobile launcher at the naval base in Konarak, the headquarters of the IRIN's third region. It appeared to be the same type of missile as the one unvei...

A UK F-35B flying from HMS   Queen Elizabeth  intercepted a Russian Ilyushin Il-22 Coot special mission aircraft on 6 October. NATO has reported a drop in alliance interceptions of Russian military aircraft for 2023 compared with the spike of 2022, with numbers now at about the same level as before the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.  (Royal Norwegian Air Force)  The number of NATO intercepts of Russian military aircraft fell in 2023 to approximately the same levels as before the war in Ukraine was...

An artist's rendering of the MiG-UTS shows it to be similar in appearance to the L-39 it is intended to replace. This is based largely on earlier design work done in the 1990s on the MiG-AT that is now being carried over. (Rostec)  Russia's Mikoyan (MiG) design bureau is developing a new affordable jet trainer aircraft to be used by the country's aviation forces, the Rostec conglomerate announced on 28 December.  The MiG-UTS will be a twin-seat, single-engined aircraft that will form part of a wider training system being developed.  “We have...

On 22 December the Netherlands said it had made the first 18 F-16s available to Ukraine, with more potentially to follow. (Royal Netherlands Air Force)  The Netherlands has released to Ukraine the first 18 Lockheed Martin F-16 Fighting Falcon combat aircraft, with others potentially to follow.  Dutch Defence Minister Kajsa Ollongren made the announcement on 22 December, saying that with the export approvals in place, the jets are being prepared for delivery. No details on the delivery timeline were provided, except that it would happen when t...

German C-130Js are to be equipped for the SOF role, a senior Luftwaffe official has disclosed. (Janes/Gareth Jennings)  Germany is to equip its Lockheed Martin C-130J transport aircraft for the special operations forces (SOF) role, it was revealed in late November.  The Head of the Air Transport/Jet/Unmanned Aircraft System Branch at the German Air Force Command, Colonel Stefan Kleinheyer, made the disclosure during the SAE Media Group Military Airlift and Air-to-Air Refuelling conference in Lisbon, Portugal.    The SOF capabilities con...

The 15,000 lbf-class turbofan engine to be developed by South Korea could potentially lead to a domestic powerplant for the Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) T-50/FA-50 trainer/light fighter and unmanned combat aerial vehicles. (Janes/Akhil Kadidal)  South Korea's Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) has announced that it has launched a research programme to develop a 15,000 lbf-class turbofan engine for fighter aircraft.  In a statement on 26 December, DAPA said it plans to complete the development of the engine by the mid-to-lat...

With five KC-390 aircraft already on order, the Portuguese Air Force is considering the procurement of a sixth aircraft as part of a wider revamp of its capabilities. (Janes/Gareth Jennings)  The Portuguese Air Force (FAP) is looking to strengthen its transport and intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) capabilities through the acquisition and modernisation of existing aircraft.  The Director of the Engineering and Programs Directorate, Brigadier General João Rui Ramos Nogueira, told Janes that a sixth KC-390 Millennium tanker-t...

A US Army Sikorsky UH-60L in medical evacuation markings. (P Jackson)  The US Army is set to divest 157 Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk utility helicopters as the service sheds excess capacity and prepares for Bell V-280 Valor's entry into service.  “The majority of the reduction comes from older UH-60 Lima models along with a few remaining UH-60 Alpha models,” the Program Executive Office (PEO) for Aviation told Janes on 21 December.  The UH-60s are to be culled from units not deploying or preparing to deploy, PEO Aviation said.  The army today op...

Australia's fleet of Airbus A330 (KC-30A) MRTTs is receiving improved communications, tactical datalink, and encryption systems to bring the fleet to the latest “enhanced A330 MRTT” standard. (Commonwealth of Australia)  The first Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) Airbus KC-30A Multi Role Tanker Transport (MRTT) has received a communications and cyber upgrade.  Australia's fleet of seven KC-30As are having their secure high-frequency (HF) and very-high frequency (VHF) radios, encryption device, and tactical datalink systems enhanced under the...

South Korea's upgraded Joint Fire Operation System (JFOS-K) provides the Republic of Korea's (RoK's) military with the ability to conduct theatre-level integrated firepower operations with air, sea, and ground forces. It is also connected to other battlefield information, asset management, and command-and-control systems of the RoK and US military forces. (DAPA/Janes)  South Korea's Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) has announced that the military's Joint Fire Operation System (JFOS-K) has been upgraded to support integrated,...

The second MHI (Sikorsky) SH-60L developmental prototype (serial no 8502) conducts a flight test. (ATLA)  Japan has completed the development of its improved Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) (Sikorsky) SH-60L maritime helicopter.  Designed as an improved anti-surface warfare (ASuW) and anti-submarine warfare (ASW) helicopter, the new SH-60L has an updated engine transmission, an ultra-high-speed datalink, and improved ASW systems, according to the Japan Ministry of Defense (MoD). According to Japan's Acquisition, Technology & Logistics Agenc...

An RRAI Small Multipurpose Equipment Transport participates in an automated breaching experiment led by the 18th Airborne Corps at Fort Liberty, North Carolina. (US Army)  The small robots of the 264th Clearance Company will participate in a training centre rotation at the Joint Readiness Training Center at Fort Johnson, Louisiana, in one of the earliest tests of the ground vehicles in army operations, a US army officer told Janes.  The Small Multipurpose Equipment Transport (S-MET) and the Expeditionary Modular Autonomous Vehicle (EMAV) – wh...

The SAMAR air-defence system – as seen at Aero India 2023 – uses Ashok Leyland vehicle mounted with refurbished R-73E missiles on rail launchers. (Janes/Rahul Udoshi)  The Indian Air Force (IAF) has inducted the Surface to Air Missile for Assured Retaliation (SAMAR) system, an IAF source told Janes on 20 December.  According to the source, the service also test-fired the system in mid-December at Air Force Station Suryalanka located in the southern coastal region of India.  The source did not elaborate on the number of systems the service has...

South Korea's induction of the Light Armed Helicopter into service will allow it to field advanced warfighting capabilities, such as manned-unmanned teaming. (Janes)  South Korea has planned to replace its legacy rotary-wing combat aircraft with Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) Light Armed Helicopters (LAHs) within seven years.  A spokesperson of the Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) told Janes that the LAHs will “replace South Korea's [MD Helicopters] 500 and [Bell] AH-1s … by 2031”.  The LAH programme is a five-ton-class twi...

The upgraded Type 12 SSM will have a range of 1,000 km. The original version (pictured above) has a range of 200 km. While the original Type 12 SSM was designed as a land-based anti-ship missile, the upgraded variant can be launched from land, aircraft, and surface combatants. (Japan Ground Self-Defense Force)  The Japan Ministry of Defense (MoD) has accelerated the deployment of the upgraded Type 12 surface-to-ship missile (SSM) by a year, the MoD said in a press release in mid-December.  According to the MoD, the missile's deployment – orig...

Greece is set to become a Black Hawk operator, with the purchase of 35 helicopters approved by the US government. (Janes/Patrick Allen)  The US government has approved the sale of 35 Sikorsky UH-60M Black Hawk helicopters to Greece for USD1.95 billion.  The Foreign Military Sales (FMS) approval, announced by the Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) on 15 December, covers the helicopters, as well as equipment, weapons and ammunition, spares, support, and training.  “The proposed sale will replace Greece's current multirole helicopter fle...

The Akash Air Force Launcher (pictured above) carries three Akash anti-aircraft surface-to-air missiles on a wheeled tractor-trailer combination. (DRDO)  The Indian Air Force and the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) have demonstrated the enhanced capability of the Akash semimobile surface-to-air (SAM) missile system to intercept four unmanned aerial targets from a single firing unit, the DRDO said in a social media post on 17 December.  According to the demonstration footage released by the DRDO, the Akash system's central...

The joint China-Russia strategic air patrol on 14 December involved a core of four bombers and 13 other Chinese-Russian aircraft, which joined the flight at various times and places. A Chinese naval destroyer operating in the area was also likely involved in the drill. A bilateral US-Japan air exercise was also conducted over the Sea of Japan (East Sea) at the same time. (Japan Ministry of Defense/US Pacific Air Forces/South Korea Joint Chiefs of Staff/Janes)  Chinese and Russian military forces have conducted their second joint strategic air...